Abstract:
Provided is a communication system-decentralized terminal control method that can prevent terminals from having the same communication system. The communication system-decentralized terminal control method includes a writing step of writing, when there is a connection request from a given terminal, user identification information of the terminal, a password corresponding to the identification information, identification information of a communication system that the terminal is equipped with, and an IP address and port number that the terminal uses for the communication system in a storage so that the user identification information, the password, the identification information of the communication system, the IP address and the port number are associated with one another; and a logoff step of logging off, when the same user identification information, password, and identification information of communication system as the above are already so written in the storage as to be associated with one another, the other terminal that has the IP address and port number that are already so written in the storage unit as to be associated with the user identification information, the password, and the identification information of communication system.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to a communication system-decentralized terminal accommodating switching device that accommodates communication system-decentralized terminals and to a communication system-decentralized terminal control method. Here, the communication system-decentralized terminal is a terminal that has a part of a plurality of communication systems which are originally put together in one terminal. 
       BACKGROUND ART 
       [0002]    In recent years, the means of communication has diversified. Various kinds of communication have become available, including not only conventional voice communication but also video communication, text communication (mail, instant message, chat, and the like), file-sharing communication, whiteboard-sharing communication, and application-sharing communication. 
         [0003]    Moreover, when communication systems are provided to users for such kinds of communication, cases have emerged in which, instead of all communication systems being put together in one type of terminal, a part (one or more) of types of terminal is used in combination in accordance with features of the terminals. 
         [0004]    For example, a communication system that requires, like video communication, a high resolution and a moving image processing capability is offered as application on PC (Personal Computer); a communication system that can have a lower processing capability like voice communication but requires stability is offered on a dedicated terminal like a telephone. 
         [0005]    When a plurality of terminals are used appropriately as described above, the terminals that the same user uses are often linked to each other by inputting into the terminals an ID that identifies a user, such as a user ID, to provide a sense of usability that makes the user feel that the user uses one terminal. 
       Citation List 
     PATENT LITERATURE  
       [0006]    {PTL 1} JP-A-2000-209284 
         [0007]    {PTL 2} JP-A-2007-058502 
         [0008]    {PTL 3} JP-A-2008-160693 
         [0009]    {PTL 4} JP-A-2008-182646 
       SUMMARY OF INVENTION  
     Technical Problem  
       [0010]    However, as the terminals have advanced in capability, the terminals that the user uses may have the same communication systems. In such cases, the problem is that it is unclear which terminal is used for a given communication system. 
         [0011]    Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a communication system-decentralized terminal accommodating switching device and communication system-decentralized terminal control method that can prevent the terminals from having the same communication system. 
       Solution to Problem  
       [0012]    According to the present invention, there is provided a communication system-decentralized terminal accommodating switching device, including a writing unit for writing, when there is a connection request from a given terminal, user identification information of the terminal, a password corresponding to the identification information, identification information of a communication system that the terminal is equipped with, and an IP address and port number that the terminal uses for the communication system in a storage unit so that the user identification information, the password, the identification information of the communication system, the IP address and the port number are associated with one another; and a logoff unit for logging off, when the same user identification information, password, and identification information of communication system as the above are already so written in the storage unit as to be associated with one another, the other terminal that has the IP address and port number that are already so written in the storage unit as to be associated with the user identification information, the password, and the identification information of communication system. 
         [0013]    Moreover, according to the present invention, there is provided a communication system-decentralized terminal control method, including a writing step of writing, when there is a connection request from a given terminal, user identification information of the terminal, a password corresponding to the identification information, identification information of a communication system that the terminal is equipped with, and an IP address and port number that the terminal uses for the communication system in a storage unit so that the user identification information, the password, the identification information of the communication system, the IP address and the port number are associated with one another; and a logoff step of logging off, when the same user identification information, password, and identification information of communication system as the above are already so written in the storage unit as to be associated with one another, the other terminal that has the IP address and port number that are already so written in the storage unit as to be associated with the user identification information, the password, and the identification information of communication system. 
       Advantageous Effects of Invention  
       [0014]    According to the present invention, while the login state of the other terminal that the same user currently uses is not affected, only the terminal having the same communication system is to be replaced for use. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
         [0015]      FIG. 1  A block diagram illustrating the configuration of a system including a voice switching device and various terminals according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 2  A block diagram illustrating the internal configuration of a voice/video terminal illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  A block diagram illustrating the internal configuration of the voice switching device illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0018]      FIG. 4  A conceptual diagram illustrating the configuration of terminal software illustrated in  FIG. 2 . 
           [0019]      FIG. 5  A conceptual diagram illustrating the configuration of a database illustrated in  FIG. 3 . 
           [0020]      FIG. 6  A conceptual diagram illustrating the configuration of a user setting data section inside a terminal illustrated in  FIG. 4 . 
           [0021]      FIG. 7  A flowchart illustrating a login process performed by the system illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0022]      FIG. 8  A flowchart illustrating another login process performed by the system illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0023]      FIG. 9  A flowchart illustrating another login process performed by the system illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS  
       [0024]    Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
         [0025]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , the configuration in which a voice line (internal/external line) and a LAN line are used in an office is described here as an embodiment of the present invention. An example of video communication is used to explain an example of the communication system realized by P2P communication software. 
         [0026]    In the office, there are a switching device  101 , which switches voice communication; video terminals  102  and  104 , which are connected to the LAN line and used by a user A; a voice terminal  103 ; a voice/video terminal  106 ; a voice/video switching terminal  107 ; and a voice terminal  105 , which is connected to the voice internal line. The voice/video terminal here is a terminal that can simultaneously use a voice communication system and a video communication system. The voice/video switching terminal is a terminal that cannot simultaneously use the voice communication system and the video communication system and can use only one of the communication systems at one time. 
         [0027]    Moreover, the voice switching device  101  is connected to a voice communication network  108  via the voice external line. 
         [0028]    The switching device  101  communicates with the voice communication network  108  and each of the terminals  102  to  107  and controls the voice communication connections of the voice communication network  108  and the terminals  102  to  107 . 
         [0029]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , each section of the voice/video terminal  106  works as described below in general. A user I/F section  201  receives input signals from keys, a mouse and the like that are connected to the user I/F section  201  and outputs video signals to a display. A voice I/F section  202  transmits or receives voice data to or from a speaker/microphone  208  that is connected to the voice I/F section  202 . A voice internal line I/F section  203  transmits or receives signals to or from the voice communication line. A LAN line I/F section  204  transmits or receives signals to or from the LAN line. CPU  205  takes overall control of the terminal. A memory  206  is used as working area for use of software and data which are necessary to control the terminal. Terminal software  211  is stored in the memory  206  and is executed by the CPU  205 . A video I/F section  209  receives input signals from a camcorder that is connected to the video I/F section  209 . 
         [0030]    The basic structure of the voice terminals  103  and  105 , video terminals  102  and  104 , and the voice/video switching terminal  107  is the same as that of the voice/video terminal  106 . The voice terminals  103  and  105 , video terminals  102  and  104 , and the voice/video switching terminal  107  can be formed by omitting part of the functional sections or adding necessary functional sections. 
         [0031]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , each section of the voice switching device  101  works as described below in general. A voice internal line I/F section  301  transmits or receives signals to or from the voice communication line. A LAN line I/F section  302  transmits or receives signals to or from the LAN line. A voice external line I/F section  303  transmits or receives signals to or from the voice external line. CPU  304  takes overall control of the switching device  101 . A memory  305  is used as working area for use of software and data which are necessary to control the switching device  101 . A database  306  is an area that holds various kinds of setting data stored in the memory  305 . 
         [0032]      FIG. 4  is a diagram illustrating the configuration of modules of the software  211  stored in the memory  206  of the voice/video terminal. Switching device terminal software  402  and video communication software  406  are application software that runs on OS (Operating System)  401 . 
         [0033]    The switching device terminal software  402  consists of various kinds of software modules. An switching device I/F section  403  controls communication with the switching device  101 . A voice communication control section  404  communicates with the voice I/F section  202 , the voice internal line I/F section  203 , and the LAN line I/F section  204  to control communication of voice signals. A user setting data section  405  stores a user ID and password of a user who uses the terminal, information about a person with whom the user currently communicates, and the like. 
         [0034]    The video communication software  406  is general-purpose P2P communication software and includes a video communication capability in the present embodiment. The terminals on which the video communication software is installed perform a communication start process, a video data transmitting/receiving process, and a communication end process among the terminals. The other software installed on the same terminals includes a function to receive address information from communication counterparts and start communication for the address. 
         [0035]      FIG. 5  shows the contents of the database  306  stored in the memory  305  of the voice switching device  101 . In a switching device user ID  501 , ID information of users who use the switching device is stored. In a switching device user password  502 , passwords corresponding to the user IDs are stored. A communication system/address/port  503  is an area where, as for the communication systems that are currently available to the terminal used by the user, the address of the terminal and the port numbers that the communication systems use on the terminal are stored. If there are a plurality of communication systems currently available to the terminal, a plurality of pieces of information are stored. 
         [0036]      FIG. 6  shows the contents of the terminal software  211  stored in the memory  206  of the voice/video terminal. In a switching device user ID  601 , switching device user IDs of users who use the terminal are stored. In a switching device user password  602 , passwords corresponding to the user IDs are stored. An available communication system/address/port  603  is an area where the communication systems that are available to the terminal, the address of the terminal, and the port numbers that the communication systems use on the terminal are stored. If the terminal supports a plurality of communication systems, a plurality of pieces of information are stored. If the terminal is the one that is connected to the voice line, extension numbers are stored instead of addresses and port numbers. In a selected communication system  604 , the communication systems that the users select are stored. 
         [0037]    The following describes the operation of the present embodiment in detail. 
         [0038]    With reference to a flowchart illustrated in  FIG. 7 , the case in which while using the video terminal  102 , the user A logs in to another video terminal  104  will be described. 
         [0039]    The premise here is that in the sections of the available communication system/address/port  603  of the video terminals  102  and  104 , only the addresses and ports for video communication are stored. Moreover, in the selected communication system  604 , only the video communication systems are stored. 
         [0040]    The user A inputs the user ID and the password using the keys and the display  207  of the video terminal  102  (Step  701 ). 
         [0041]    The switching device terminal software  402  that runs on the CPU  205  and the memory  206  of the video terminal  102  receives the information through the user I/F section  201  and the OS  401 . The input user ID is stored in the section  601 , and the password is stored in the section  602 . Along with the information of the communication system/address/port  603  that corresponds to the communication system stored in the selected communication system  604  of the video terminal  102 , the user ID and the password are transferred to the OS  401  through the switching device I/F section  403 , and then transmitted to the switching device through the LAN line I/F section  204  (Step  702 ). 
         [0042]    After receiving the information at the LAN line I/F section  302 , the switching device searches the switching device user ID  501  of the database  306  inside the switching device for the received user ID and confirms whether the password recorded in the section  502  of the hit area and the received password are the same. If it is confirmed that the passwords are the same, the switching device confirms whether the address/port information of the other terminal that currently logs in is recorded in the section  503  of the same area (Step  703 ). 
         [0043]    In this case, since there is not any terminal, other than the video terminal  102 , that logs in with the same user ID, the address/port information of the video communication system is not stored in the section  503 . Therefore, the received communication system/address/port information is just to be stored in the section  503  (Step  706 ). 
         [0044]    Then, the user A inputs the user ID and the password using the keys and the display  207  of the video terminal  104  (Step  701 ). 
         [0045]    The switching device terminal software  402  that runs on the CPU  205  and the memory  206  of the video terminal  104  receives the information through the user I/F section  201  and the OS  401 . The input user ID is stored in the section  601 , and the password is stored in the section  602 . Along with the information of the communication system/address/port  603  that corresponds to the communication system stored in the selected communication system  604  of the video terminal  104 , the user ID and the password are transferred to the OS  401  through the switching device I/F section  403 , and then transmitted to the switching device through the LAN line I/F section  204  (Step  702 ). 
         [0046]    After receiving the information at the LAN line I/F section  302 , the switching device searches the switching device user ID  501  of the database  306  inside the switching device for the received user ID and confirms whether the password recorded in the section  502  of the hit area and the received password are the same. If it is confirmed that the passwords are the same, the switching device confirms whether the information of the other terminal that currently logs in is recorded in the section  503  of the same area (Step  703 ). 
         [0047]    In this case, the information of the video terminal  102  that has earlier logged in is stored in the section  503 . Therefore, the switching device confirms whether the address/port information is in the video communication system section  503  of the same area (step  704 ). 
         [0048]    In the video communication system section  503 , the address/port information of the video terminal  102  has been already recorded. Therefore, using the LAN line I/F section  302 , the switching device transmits a log-off notice to the address recorded in the section  503 , or to the video terminal  102 . The video terminal  102  receives the log-off notice at the switching device I/F section  403  through the LAN line I/F section  204  via the OS  401 . The switching device I/F section  403  switches the internal state from log-in state to log-off state, and informs the user through the user I/F section  201  that the video terminal  102  has logged off (Step  705 ). 
         [0049]    Then, the switching device overwrites the stored address/port information of the video terminal  102  with the received address/port information (Step  706 ). 
         [0050]    In the present embodiment, the example of video communication as communication system is used for description. However, the communication system is not limited to video communication in particular. By switching the video communication software  406  to arbitrary communication software, various kinds of communication system, including voice communication, mail communication, instant message communication, file-sharing communication, whiteboard-sharing communication, and application-sharing communication, can be applied. 
         [0051]    The following describes another embodiment of the present embodiment. 
         [0052]    The above-described embodiment is about switching between the terminals that can select a single communication system. However, the terminals that can select a plurality of communication systems may also be used. 
         [0053]    Such a case will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in  FIG. 8 . 
         [0054]    The case in which while using the voice/video terminal  106 , the user A logs in to another video terminal  104  will be described. 
         [0055]    The premise here is that in the section of the available communication system/address/port  603  of the voice/video terminal  106 , the address and port for video communication and the address and port for voice communication are stored; in the selected communication system  604 , the video and voice communication systems are stored. Moreover, in the section of the available communication system/address/port  603  of the video terminal  104 , only the address and port for video communication are stored; in the selected communication system  604 , only the video communication system is stored. 
         [0056]    The user A inputs the user ID and the password using the keys and the display  207  of the voice/video terminal  106  (Step  801 ). 
         [0057]    The switching device terminal software  402  that runs on the CPU  205  and the memory  206  of the voice/video terminal  106  receives the information through the user I/F section  201  and the OS  401 . The input user ID is stored in the section  601 , and the password is stored in the section  602 . Along with the information of the communication system/address/port  603  that corresponds to the communication system stored in the selected communication system  604  of the voice/video terminal  106 , the user ID and the password are transferred to the OS  401  through the switching device I/F section  403 , and then transmitted to the switching device through the LAN line I/F section  204  (Step  802 ). 
         [0058]    After receiving the information at the LAN line I/F section  302 , the switching device searches the switching device user ID  501  of the database  306  inside the switching device for the received user ID and confirms whether the password recorded in the section  502  of the hit area and the received password are the same. If it is confirmed that the passwords are the same, the switching device confirms whether the information of the other terminal that currently logs in is recorded in the section  503  of the same area (Step  803 ). 
         [0059]    In this case, since there is not any terminal, other than the voice/video terminal  106 , that logs in with the same user ID, the address/port information of the voice and video communication systems is not stored in the section  503 . Therefore, the address/port information of the received communication system is just to be stored in the section  503  (Step  808 ). 
         [0060]    Then, the user A inputs the user ID and the password using the keys and the display  207  of the video terminal  104  (Step  801 ). 
         [0061]    The switching device terminal software  402  that runs on the CPU  205  and the memory  206  of the video terminal  104  receives the information through the user I/F section  201  and the OS  401 . The input user ID is stored in the section  601 , and the password is stored in the section  602 . Along with the information of the communication system/address/port  603  that corresponds to the communication system stored in the selected communication system  604  of the video terminal  104 , the user ID and the password are transferred to the OS  401  through the switching device I/F section  403 , and then transmitted to the switching device through the LAN line I/F section  204  (Step  802 ). 
         [0062]    After receiving the information at the LAN line I/F section  302 , the switching device searches the switching device user ID  501  of the database  306  inside the switching device for the received user ID and confirms whether the password recorded in the section  502  of the hit area and the received password are the same. If it is confirmed that the passwords are the same, the switching device confirms whether the information of the other terminal that currently logs in is recorded in the section  503  of the same area (Step  803 ). 
         [0063]    In this case, the information of the voice/video terminal  106  that has earlier logged in is stored in the section  503 . Therefore, the switching device confirms whether the address/port information is in the video communication system section  503  of the same area (step  804 ). 
         [0064]    In the video communication system section  503 , the address/port information of the voice/video terminal  106  has been already recorded. Therefore, the switching device checks the address of the corresponding area. Then, the switching device searches to check if there is another address stored in the section  503  of the same user ID  501 . The result of searching is a hit because the address of the voice communication system of the voice/video terminal  106  is also the same. After checking the communication system section  503  of the hit area, the switching device confirms that the voice communication system stored is not the received communication system (Step  805 ). 
         [0065]    Accordingly, using the LAN line I/F section  302 , the switching device transmits to the voice/video terminal  106  a warning notice that not only the video communication but the voice communication that the voice/video terminal  106  currently uses will be unavailable after logoff. The voice/video terminal  106  receives the warning notice at the switching device I/F section  403  through the LAN line I/F section  204  via the OS  401 . The switching device I/F section  403  informs the user about the warning through the user I/F section  201 . In the example here, the user is assumed to agree to logoff. After the user A inputs an agreement response using the keys and the display  207  of the voice/video terminal  106 , the switching device terminal software  402  that runs on the CPU  205  and the memory  206  of the voice/video terminal  106  receives the information through the user I/F section  201  and the OS  401 . Then, the switching device terminal software  402  transfers the information via the user I/F section  201  and the OS  401  to the OS  401  through the switching device I/F section  403 , and transmits the information to the switching device through the LAN line I/F section  204  (Step  806 ). 
         [0066]    Then, the switching device I/F section  403  switches the internal state from log-in state to log-off state, and informs the user through the user I/F section  201  that the voice/video terminal  106  has logged off (Step  807 ). 
         [0067]    After receiving the user&#39;s agreement response at the LAN line I/F section  302 , the switching device deletes the information of all the areas of the section  503  where the address of the video terminal  102  is stored. Then, the switching device stores the communication system/address/port information of the video terminal  104  in the section  503  (Step  808 ). 
         [0068]    Therefore, even if the user uses the terminal that supports a plurality of communication systems, the present invention can be applied. 
         [0069]    The following describes another embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0070]    The above-described embodiment is about automatic logoff of the terminal that uses the same communication system. However, only the same communication system may be cancelled without logoff. 
         [0071]    Such a case will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in  FIG. 9 . 
         [0072]    The case in which while using the voice/video terminal  106 , the user A logs in to another video terminal  104  will be described. 
         [0073]    The premise here is that in the section of the available communication system/address/port  603  of the voice/video terminal  106 , the address and port for video communication and the address and port for voice communication are stored; in the selected communication system  604 , the video and voice communication systems are stored. Moreover, in the section of the available communication system/address/port  603  of the video terminal  104 , only the address and port for video communication are stored; in the selected communication system  604 , only the video communication system is stored. 
         [0074]    The user A inputs the user ID and the password using the keys and the display  207  of the voice/video terminal  106  (Step  901 ). 
         [0075]    The switching device terminal software  402  that runs on the CPU  205  and the memory  206  of the voice/video terminal  106  receives the information through the user I/F section  201  and the OS  401 . The input user ID is stored in the section  601 , and the password is stored in the section  602 . Along with the information of the communication system/address/port  603  that corresponds to the communication system stored in the selected communication system  604  of the voice/video terminal  106 , the user ID and the password are transferred to the OS  401  through the switching device I/F section  403 , and then transmitted to the switching device through the LAN line I/F section  204  (Step  902 ). 
         [0076]    After receiving the information at the LAN line I/F section  302 , the switching device searches the switching device user ID  501  of the database  306  inside the switching device for the received user ID and confirms whether the password recorded in the section  502  of the hit area and the received password are the same. If it is confirmed that the passwords are the same, the switching device confirms whether the information of the other terminal that currently logs in is recorded in the section  503  of the same area (Step  903 ). 
         [0077]    In this case, since there is not any terminal, other than the voice/video terminal  106 , that logs in with the same user ID, the address/port information of the voice and video communication systems is not stored in the section  503 . Therefore, the address/port information of the received communication system is just to be stored in the section  503  (Step  909 ). 
         [0078]    Then, the user A inputs the user ID and the password using the keys and the display  207  of the video terminal  104  (Step  901 ). 
         [0079]    The switching device terminal software  402  that runs on the CPU  205  and the memory  206  of the video terminal  104  receives the information through the user I/F section  201  and the OS  401 . The input user ID is stored in the section  601 , and the password is stored in the section  602 . Along with the information of the communication system/address/port  603  that corresponds to the communication system stored in the selected communication system  604  of the video terminal  104 , the user ID and the password are transferred to the OS  401  through the switching device I/F section  403 , and then transmitted to the switching device through the LAN line I/F section  204  (Step  902 ). 
         [0080]    After receiving the information at the LAN line I/F section  302 , the switching device searches the switching device user ID  501  of the database  306  inside the switching device for the received user ID and confirms whether the password recorded in the section  502  of the hit area and the received password are the same. If it is confirmed that the passwords are the same, the switching device confirms whether the information of the other terminal that currently logs in is recorded in the section  503  of the same area (Step  903 ). 
         [0081]    In this case, the information of the voice/video terminal  106  that has earlier logged in is stored in the section  503 . Therefore, the switching device confirms whether the address/port information is in the video communication system section  503  of the same area (step  904 ). 
         [0082]    In the video communication system section  503 , the address/port information of the voice/video terminal  106  has been already recorded. Therefore, the switching device checks the address of the corresponding area. Then, the switching device searches to check if there is another address stored in the section  503  of the same user ID  501 . The result of searching is a hit because the address of the voice communication system of the voice/video terminal  106  is also the same. After checking the communication system section  503  of the hit area, the switching device confirms that the voice communication system stored is not the received communication system (Step  905 ). 
         [0083]    Accordingly, using the LAN line I/F section  302 , the switching device transmits to the voice/video terminal  106  a warning notice that the video communication is switched to the other terminal. The voice/video terminal  106  receives the warning notice at the switching device I/F section  403  through the LAN line I/F section  204  via the OS  401 . The switching device I/F section  403  informs the user about the warning through the user I/F section  201 . In the example here, the user is assumed to agree to switching. After the user A inputs an agreement response using the keys and the display  207  of the voice/video terminal  106 , the switching device terminal software  402  that runs on the CPU  205  and the memory  206  of the voice/video terminal  106  receives the information through the user I/F section  201  and the OS  401 . Then, the switching device terminal software  402  transfers the information via the user I/F section  201  and the OS  401  to the OS  401  through the switching device I/F section  403 , and transmits the information to the switching device through the LAN line I/F section  204  (Step  906 ). 
         [0084]    After that, the switching device I/F section  403  transmits to the video communication software  406  the instruction to cancel the video communication function. Then, the switching device I/F section  403  informs the user through the user I/F section  201  that the video communication is cancelled (Step  907 ). 
         [0085]    After receiving the user&#39;s agreement response at the LAN line I/F section  302 , the switching device overwrites the stored address/port information of the same communication system of the video terminal  102  with the communication system/address/port information that is received at the time of login (Step  909 ). 
         [0086]    Therefore, even if some of the communication systems are the same when a plurality of communication system terminals are being used, it is possible to switch only the same communication system to the other terminal without logging off all the terminals. 
       REFERENCE SIGNS LIST  
       [0087]      101 : Voice switching device 
         [0088]      102 : Video terminal 
         [0089]      103 : Voice terminal 
         [0090]      104 : Video terminal 
         [0091]      105 : Voice terminal 
         [0092]      106 : Voice/video terminal 
         [0093]      107 : Voice/video switching terminal