Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/JP5929305B2/en
Timestamp: 2020-02-19 20:17:45
Document Index: 758691069

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 56', 'art 31', 'art 51', 'art 12', 'art 13', 'art 14', 'art 15', 'art 15', 'art 16', 'art 18', 'art 19', 'art 20', 'art 21']

JP5929305B2 - Communication system, server, terminal, program - Google Patents
Communication system, server, terminal, program Download PDF
JP5929305B2
JP5929305B2 JP2012039317A JP2012039317A JP5929305B2 JP 5929305 B2 JP5929305 B2 JP 5929305B2 JP 2012039317 A JP2012039317 A JP 2012039317A JP 2012039317 A JP2012039317 A JP 2012039317A JP 5929305 B2 JP5929305 B2 JP 5929305B2
JP2012039317A
JP2013175059A (en
章裕 三原
2012-02-24 Application filed by 株式会社リコー filed Critical 株式会社リコー
2012-02-24 Priority to JP2012039317A priority Critical patent/JP5929305B2/en
2013-09-05 Publication of JP2013175059A publication Critical patent/JP2013175059A/en
2016-06-01 Publication of JP5929305B2 publication Critical patent/JP5929305B2/en
The present invention relates to a communication system that relays video and audio content data between a plurality of terminals.
2. Description of the Related Art An electronic conference system in which terminals at remote locations communicate via a network such as the Internet and conduct a conference has begun to spread. In the electronic conference system, an image taken by a terminal operated by one of the attendees participating in the conference and a sound collected by the terminal using a microphone are transmitted to the other party's terminal. The other party's terminal displays an image on a display and outputs sound through a speaker or a headset, so that participants can share the image and sound even if the terminals exist in a remote location (for example, (See Patent Document 1). Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for transmitting display data of a material to a partner terminal and displaying the same material as the transmission source in order to share the material used in the conference.
By the way, the material displayed on the terminal of the transmission source or the other party is often a file of an application program. On the other hand, the screen shared by the electronic conference system is obtained by capturing (hard copying) the material displayed on the display. For this reason, since only a part of the material is included, there is a demand for viewing the entire page, viewing the previous and subsequent pages, and enlarging because characters and figures are small.
Therefore, it is conceivable to share the file itself displayed as the document between terminals. As a method of sharing between terminals, a method in which a transmission source terminal attaches a document to an e-mail and transmits it to a destination terminal can be considered. However, sending an e-mail while a participant (for example, a presenter) operating the terminal is operating decreases the operability of the electronic conference system. In addition, e-mail does not guarantee the safety of materials attached on the network.
Next, a method in which a service that transmits a screen or sound also transmits a material can be considered. However, since this service performs the process of transmitting the screen and audio without delay and the process of receiving the screen and voice from the other party's terminal without delay, the meeting does not proceed smoothly when materials are transmitted or received. There is a fear.
In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a communication system capable of sharing materials used in a communication system capable of sharing screens and sounds.
The present invention is a communication system having a relay device that relays content data to a plurality of terminals participating in a conference, and a file sharing device that provides a file to each terminal. A shared folder location information generating means for generating shared folder location information of a shared folder to be accessed and notifying the terminal, and a participating terminal in which identification information of a terminal participating in the conference is registered in association with the conference identification information A shared folder for sharing the file among the plurality of terminals created at the location of the shared folder location information in accordance with establishment of a session for transferring the content data. A file sharing table in which the shared folder location information is registered in association with the conference identification information, and the sharing from the terminal. If a file is stored in the folder have other terminals participating in the same conference as the terminal transmitting the files and a first file synchronization means for transmitting the file information, and
Each terminal transfers the content data to a folder mounting unit that requests the file sharing apparatus to mount the shared folder on its own device, and a file stored in a storage area created by mounting the shared folder. And a second file synchronization means for transmitting to the shared folder via a communication path different from that for the session .
In a communication system capable of sharing screens and sounds, a communication system capable of sharing used materials can be provided.
1 is a schematic diagram of a transmission system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is the schematic of the transmission system which concerns on other one Embodiment of this invention. It is an external view of the transmission terminal which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a hardware block diagram of the transmission terminal which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of a transmission management system, a relay device, a program providing system, a file temporary storage device, or a maintenance system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a functional block diagram of each terminal, apparatus, and system which comprise the transmission system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram illustrating the relay device selection unit 56 of FIG. 5 in detail. It is a conceptual diagram which shows a change quality management table. It is a conceptual diagram explaining the image quality of image data. It is a conceptual diagram which shows a relay apparatus management table. It is a conceptual diagram which shows a terminal authentication management table. It is a conceptual diagram which shows a terminal management table. It is a conceptual diagram which shows a destination list management table. It is a conceptual diagram which shows a session management table. It is a conceptual diagram which shows a quality management table. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an attribute management table. It is a conceptual diagram which shows a shared folder table. It is the sequence figure which showed the process which manages the status information which shows the operating state of each relay apparatus. It is the conceptual diagram which showed the transmission / reception state of the image data in the transmission system, audio | voice data, and various management information. It is the sequence diagram which showed the process of the preparation stage which starts a telephone call between transmission terminals. It is the sequence diagram which showed the process which selects a relay apparatus. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the destination list of this embodiment. It is an example of the figure explaining the schematic characteristic of an electronic conference system. It is an example of a schematic block diagram of an electronic conference system. (Example 1) which is an example of the sequence diagram which shows the procedure in which each terminal of an electronic conference system transmits / receives a file. It is an example of the figure explaining the mounting of a shared folder typically. It is an example of the figure which illustrates an example of file sharing typically. It is an example of the figure which illustrates an example of file sharing typically. It is an example of the figure which illustrates an example of file sharing typically. (Example 2) which is an example of the sequence diagram which shows the procedure in which each terminal of an electronic conference system transmits / receives a file. (Example 3) which is an example of the sequence diagram which shows the procedure at the time of the meeting end of an electronic conference system. It is an example of the schematic block diagram of the electronic conference system of a present Example. (Example 4) which is an example of the sequence diagram which shows the procedure in which each terminal of an electronic conference system transmits / receives a file. It is an example of the flowchart figure which shows the process sequence of the management system at the time of routing route confirmation.
Hereinafter, a configuration for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 22 is an example of a diagram for explaining the schematic features of the electronic conference system 300. The electronic conference system 300 includes a video conference server 200 and two or more sets of terminals 10 and a PC 120.
The video conference server 200 has a transmission management system (management system) 50, a relay device 30, and a file temporary storage device 40. The management system 50 provides a service for managing communication between terminals participating in the conference. For this reason, for example, a session ID for identifying a session in which content data such as video / audio is communicated between terminals is generated. A terminal sharing a file in the electronic conference system 300 can be identified by the session ID.
The relay device 30 provides a service for relaying content data. For this reason, for example, the delay time or the like is monitored to optimize the relay path, resolution, etc. of the content data.
On the other hand, the temporary file storage device 40 provides a service for sharing a file between terminals participating in a conference. A case where the terminal 1 and the terminal 2 share the file of the PC 1 in the figure will be described as an example.
(1) When the meeting starts, the management system 50 causes the temporary file storage device 40 to create a shared folder. The file temporary storage device 40 creates a shared folder to be shared by terminals participating in the conference, and notifies the terminals 1 and 2 of the shared folder URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) and account information.
(2) The terminals 1 and 2 mount the folder on the shared folder URI using the account information. Mounting means that the shared folder of the file temporary storage device 40 can be used in the same manner as the folder in which the terminals 1 and 2 are located.
(3) For example, when the PC 1 writes a file in the terminal 1, the terminal 1 detects the writing of the file and transmits the file to the file temporary storage device 40. No file remains on terminal 1.
(4) The file temporary storage device 40 stores the file in the shared folder.
(5) The temporary file storage device 40 transmits the file name stored in the shared folder to the terminal 2 mounting the shared folder. The entity of the file is not transmitted to the terminal 2 until there is an explicit request. The user of the PC 2 can request a file from the temporary file storage device 40 when necessary by visually checking the file name. When there is a user operation or the like, the PC 2 can acquire the substance of the file from the shared folder via the terminal 2 and display it on the display or the like.
Thus, the terminal 1 and the terminal 2 can share the same file only by writing the file to the terminal 1 by the PC 1.
In the electronic conference system 300 of this embodiment, since a service different from the relay device 30 that transmits content data shares the file, the terminals can share the file without affecting the transmission / reception of the content data. In addition, since the file temporary storage device 40 manages files in association with session IDs, the file temporary storage device 40, which is a service different from the management system 50, can manage file sharing. Further, since the file is shared only between terminals having the same session ID of the conference, security can be ensured.
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the outline of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1-1 and 2 are schematic diagrams of a transmission system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
1-1 includes a plurality of transmission terminals (10aa, 10ab,...), A display (120aa, 120ab,...) For each transmission terminal (10aa, 10ab,...), And a plurality of relay devices (30a). , 30ab, 30cd, 30d, 30abcd), the transmission management system 50, the program providing system 90, the file storage device 40, and the maintenance system 100.
In the following, “transmission terminal” is simply represented as “terminal”, and “transmission management system” is simply represented as “management system”. Further, in the present embodiment, “terminal 10” is used when an arbitrary terminal is indicated among the terminals (10aa, 10ab,...), And an arbitrary display is indicated among the displays (120aa, 120ab,...). When “display 120” is used and an arbitrary relay device among relay devices (30a, 30ab, 30cd, 30d, 30abcd) is indicated, “relay device 30” is used.
The terminal 10 performs transmission by transmitting and receiving image data and audio data as an example of content data. That is, the call in the present embodiment includes not only audio data transmission / reception but also image data transmission / reception. That is, the terminal 10 in the present embodiment transmits and receives image data and audio data. However, the terminal 10 may transmit and receive audio data without transmitting and receiving image data.
In the present embodiment, the case where the image of the image data is a moving image will be described, but it may be a still image as well as a moving image. The image of the image data may include both a moving image and a still image. The relay device 30 relays image data and audio data between the plurality of terminals 10. The management system 50 centrally manages the terminal 10, the relay device 30, and the file temporary storage device 40.
Further, the plurality of routers (70a, 70b, 70c, 70d) shown in FIG. 1 perform selection of optimal paths for image data and audio data. In the present embodiment, “router 70” is used to indicate an arbitrary router among the routers (70a, 70b, 70c, 70d).
The program providing system 90 includes an HD (Hard Disk) shown in FIG. 4 to be described later, in which a terminal program for realizing various functions or various means in the terminal 10 is stored. A terminal program can be transmitted. The HD of the program providing system 90 also stores a relay device program for causing the relay device 30 to realize various functions or various means, and can transmit the relay device program to the relay device 30. . Further, the HD of the program providing system 90 also stores a transmission management program for causing the management system 50 to realize various functions or various means, and can transmit the transmission management program to the management system 50. .
Further, the terminals (10aa, 10ab, 10a...), The relay device 30a, and the router 70a are communicably connected via the LAN 2a, and are constructed within a predetermined intranet A. The terminals (10ba, 10bb, 10b...) And the router 70b are communicably connected via the LAN 2b, and are constructed within a predetermined intranet B. For example, the intranet A is managed by the company A, and the LAN 2a is constructed in a Tokyo office. Intranet B is managed by company B, and LAN 2b is constructed in an office in Osaka. Further, the LAN 2a and the LAN 2b are constructed in the segment AB. Here, the segment means a section (region) divided on the communication network 2 or according to a geographical position. The segment AB is, for example, Japan.
On the other hand, the terminals (10ca, 10cb, 10c...) And the router 70c are communicably connected via a LAN 2c, and are constructed in a predetermined intranet C. The terminals (10da, 10db, 10d...), The relay device 30d, and the router 70d are communicably connected via a LAN 2d, and are constructed within a predetermined intranet D. For example, the intranet C is managed by the company C, and the LAN 2c is constructed in a New York office. Intranet D is managed by Company D, and LAN 2d is Washington D.C. C. Is built in the office. Further, the LAN 2c and the LAN 2d are constructed in the segment CD. In the present embodiment, the segment CD is, for example, the United States. The intranet A, the intranet B, the intranet C, and the intranet D are connected so as to be communicable from the routers (70a, 70b, 70c, 70d) via the Internet 2i. Here, a firewall is provided between each intranet (A, B, C, D) and the Internet 2i.
Further, the terminal 10 is mobile and can connect to the Internet 2i from an area different from the area where it is usually installed, and communicate content data with other terminals via the relay device 30. For example, the terminal 10ac can connect to the intranet A via the Internet 2i from a region different from the region where it is normally installed (Tokyo), and communicate content data with other terminals via the relay device 30.
Further, as in the transmission system 1b shown in FIG. 1-2, the relay devices (30a, 30d) may be connected to the LAN (2a, 2d) by VPN (Virtual Private Network) connection (2va, 2vb), respectively. good. Accordingly, the relay device 30a can be installed in a region (for example, a data center of a company that provides the transmission system 1b) different from the region where the LAN 2a is constructed (Tokyo office of Company A). The transmission system 1b of FIG. 1-2 is the same as the transmission system 1a of FIG. 1-1 except that the relay devices (30a, 30d) are connected to the LAN (2a, 2d) by VPN connection, respectively. It is the composition. In the present embodiment, “transmission system 1” is used to indicate an arbitrary transmission system among the transmission systems (1a, 1b).
In the transmission system 1 of the present embodiment, the relay device 30a is communicably connected to the terminals (10aa, 10ab, 10a...) And the management system 50 via the communication network 2. The relay device 30a is installed in the LAN 2a or VPN 2va in order to improve the efficiency of the communication path. The relay device 30a is used to relay content data when a terminal (10aa, 10ab, 10a...) Communicates with another terminal installed in the LAN 2a.
In the transmission system 1 of the present embodiment, the relay device 30d is communicably connected to the terminals (10da, 10db, 10d...) And the management system 50 via the communication network 2. The relay device 30d is installed in the LAN 2d or VPN 2vd in order to make the communication path more efficient. The relay device 30d is used to relay content data when a terminal (10da, 10db, 10d...) Communicates with another terminal installed in the LAN 2d.
In the transmission system 1 of this embodiment, the relay device 30ab is connected to the terminals (10aa, 10ab, 10a..., 10ba, 10bb, 10b...) And the management system 50 via the communication network 2 so as to be communicable. The relay device 30ab is installed in a region other than these in order to be less affected by the traffic in the local area of the region A or the region B. The relay device 30ab is a case where terminals (10aa, 10ab, 10a..., 10ba, 10bb, 10b...) Communicate with other terminals installed in the LAN (2a, 2b) (hereinafter also referred to as “segment AB”). In addition, it is used to relay content data.
In the transmission system 1 of the present embodiment, the relay device 30cd is connected to the terminals (10ca, 10cb, 10c..., 10da, 10db, 10d...) And the management system 50 via the communication network 2 so as to be communicable. The relay device 30cd is installed in a region other than these in order to be less affected by the traffic in the local area of the region C or the region D. In the relay device 30cd, terminals (10ca, 10cb, 10c..., 10da, 10db, 10d...) Communicate with other terminals installed in the LAN (2c, 2d) (hereinafter also referred to as “segment CD”). In addition, it is used to relay content data.
In the transmission system 1 of the present embodiment, the relay device 30abcd is connected to terminals (10aa, 10ab, 10a ..., 10ba, 10bb, 10b ..., 10ca, 10cb, 10c ..., 10da, 10db, 10d ...) via the communication network 2. In addition, the management system 50 is communicably connected. The relay device 30abcd is installed in a region other than these in order to make it less susceptible to the amount of communication in the local area of the region A, the region B, the region C, or the region D. In the relay device 30abcd, terminals (10aa, 10ab, 10a ..., 10ba, 10bb, 10b ..., 10ca, 10cb, 10c ..., 10da, 10db, 10d ...) are installed in the LAN (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d). This is used to relay content data when making a call with another terminal.
In the transmission system 1 of the present embodiment, the management system 50 and the program providing system 90 are connected to the terminal 10 and the relay device 30 through the Internet 2i so as to be communicable. The management system 50 and the program providing system 90 may be installed in the region A, the region B, the region C, or the region D, or may be installed in a region other than these.
In the present embodiment, the communication network 2 of the present embodiment is constructed by the LAN 2a, the LAN 2b, the Internet 2i, the LAN 2c, the LAN 2d, and the LAN 2e. This communication network 2 may have a place where not only wired communication but also wireless communication is performed.
Further, in FIG. 1, four sets of numbers shown below each terminal 10, each relay device 30, management system 50, each router 70, and program providing system 90 are simplified IP addresses in general IPv4. Is shown. For example, the IP address of the terminal 10aa is “1.2.1.3”. Further, IPv6 may be used instead of IPv4. In order to simplify the description, description will be made using IPv4.
Next, the hardware configuration of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is an external view of the terminal 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, the longitudinal direction of the terminal 10 will be described as the X-axis direction, the direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction in the horizontal plane as the Y-axis direction, and the direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction (vertical direction) as the Z-axis direction.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the terminal 10 includes a housing 1100, an arm 1200, and a camera housing 1300. Among them, the front side wall surface 1110 of the housing 1100 is provided with an air intake surface (not shown) formed by a plurality of air intake holes, and the rear side wall surface 1120 of the housing 1100 is formed with a plurality of exhaust holes. An exhaust surface 1121 is provided. As a result, by driving a cooling fan built in the housing 1100, the outside air behind the terminal 10 can be taken in via an intake surface (not shown) and exhausted to the rear of the terminal 10 via an exhaust surface 1121. A sound collecting hole 1131 is formed in the right wall surface 1130 of the housing 1100, and sounds such as voice, sound, noise can be collected by a built-in microphone 114 described later.
FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of the terminal 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal 10 of this embodiment includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101 that controls the operation of the entire terminal 10, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 102 that stores a terminal program, and a CPU 101. A RAM (Random Access Memory) 103 used as a work area, a flash memory 104 that stores various data such as image data and audio data, and an SSD (SSD) that controls reading or writing of various data to the flash memory 104 under the control of the CPU 101 Solid State Drive) 105, a media drive 107 that controls reading or writing (storage) of data to a recording medium 106 such as a flash memory, an operation button 108 that is operated when a destination of the terminal 10 is selected, and a power source of the terminal 10 To switch ON / OFF A source switch 109 and a network I / F (Interface) 111 for data transmission using the communication network 2 described later are provided.
The terminal 10 also includes a built-in camera 112 that captures an image of a subject under the control of the CPU 101 to obtain image data, an image sensor I / F 113 that controls driving of the camera 112, a built-in microphone 114 that inputs sound, and sound. The built-in speaker 115 for outputting the sound, the sound input / output I / F 116 for processing the input / output of the sound signal between the microphone 114 and the speaker 115 according to the control of the CPU 101, and the image data on the external display 120 according to the control of the CPU 101. As shown in FIG. 3, a display I / F 117 for transmission, an external device connection I / F 118 for connecting various external devices, an alarm lamp 119 for notifying various functions of the terminal 10, and the above-described components are shown in FIG. A bus line 110 such as an address bus or a data bus is provided for electrical connection. To have.
FIG. 4 is a hardware configuration diagram of the management system 50 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The management system 50 includes a CPU 201 that controls the overall operation of the management system 50, a ROM 202 that stores a transmission management program, a RAM 203 that is used as a work area for the CPU 201, an HD (Hard Disk) 204 that stores various data, and a control of the CPU 201. , A HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 205 that controls reading or writing of various data with respect to the HD 204, a media drive 207 that controls reading or writing (storage) of data with respect to a recording medium 206 such as a flash memory, a cursor, a menu, a window, A display 208 for displaying various information such as characters or images, a network I / F 209 for transmitting data using a communication network 2 to be described later, and a plurality of keys for inputting characters, numerical values, various instructions, etc. Reading data from a keyboard 211 provided, a mouse 212 for selecting and executing various instructions, selecting a processing target, moving a cursor, and the like, and a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory) 213 as an example of a removable recording medium Alternatively, a CD-ROM drive 214 for controlling writing, an external device I / F 215 for connecting an external device, and an address bus for electrically connecting the above components as shown in FIG. A bus line 210 such as a data bus is provided.
The transmission management program is a file in an installable or executable format, and may be recorded and distributed on a computer-readable recording medium such as the recording medium 206 or CD-ROM 213. .
Further, since the relay device 30 has the same hardware configuration as that of the management system 50, the description thereof is omitted. However, the ROM 202 stores a relay device program for controlling the relay device 30. Also in this case, the relay device program is a file in an installable or executable format, and is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as the recording medium 206 or CD-ROM 213 for distribution. Good.
Furthermore, since the program providing system 90 has the same hardware configuration as that of the management system 50, the description thereof is omitted. However, a program providing program for controlling the program providing system 90 is recorded in the ROM 202. Also in this case, the program providing program is a file in an installable or executable format, and may be recorded and distributed on a computer-readable recording medium such as the recording medium 206 or the CD-ROM 213. Good.
Further, since the maintenance system 100 has the same hardware configuration as that of the management system 50, the description thereof is omitted. However, a maintenance program for controlling the maintenance system 100 is recorded in the ROM 202. Also in this case, the maintenance program is a file in an installable or executable format, and may be recorded and distributed on a computer-readable recording medium such as the recording medium 206 or the CD-ROM 213. .
The file temporary storage device 40 has the same hardware configuration as that of the management system 50, and thus the description thereof is omitted. However, the ROM 202 or the HD 204 stores a file temporary storage device program for controlling the file temporary storage device 40. Also in this case, the file temporary storage device program is recorded in a computer-readable recording medium such as the recording medium 206 or the CD-ROM 213 in the form of an installable or executable format and distributed. Also good.
Next, the functional configuration of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of each terminal, device, and system constituting the transmission system 1 of the present embodiment. In FIG. 5, the terminal 10, the relay device 30, and the management system 50 are connected so that data communication can be performed via the communication network 2. Further, the program providing system 90 and the maintenance system 100 shown in FIGS. 1-1 and 2 are omitted in FIG. 5 because they are not directly related to the video conference communication.
The terminal 10 includes a communication unit 11, an operation input reception unit 12, a login request unit 13, an imaging unit 14, an audio input unit 15a, an audio output unit 15b, a display control unit 16, a delay detection unit 18, a storage / read processing unit 19, A destination list creation unit 20, a PC communication unit 21, a mount drive 22, a folder mount unit 23, and a file synchronization unit 24 are included. Each of these units is a function or means realized by any one of the components shown in FIG. 3 operating according to a command from the CPU 101 according to a program stored in the ROM 102. Further, the terminal 10 includes a nonvolatile storage unit 1000 constructed by the flash memory 104 shown in FIG. 3 and a volatile storage unit 1002 constructed by the RAM 103 shown in FIG.
<Functional parts of terminal>
Next, each part of the terminal will be described in detail. The communication unit 11 of the terminal 10 is realized by the network I / F 111 illustrated in FIG. 3, and transmits / receives various data (information) to / from other terminals, devices, or systems via the communication network 2. The communication unit 11 starts receiving state information indicating the state of each terminal as a destination candidate from the management system 50 before starting a call with the terminal 10 (destination terminal) as a desired destination. This state information indicates not only the operating state of each terminal 10 (the state of ON line or OFF line) but also the detailed state such as whether a call is still in progress on the ON line. In addition, the status information includes not only the operating status of each terminal 10, but also the cable (120c, 130c, 140c, 150c) is disconnected from the terminal 10 at the terminal 10, voice is output but no image is output, Various states are shown such as not outputting audio (MUTE). Below, the case where status information shows an operation state is demonstrated as an example.
The operation input receiving unit 12 is realized by the operation button 108 and the power switch 109 shown in FIG. 3 and receives various inputs by the user. For example, when the user turns on the power switch 109 shown in FIG. 3, the operation input receiving unit 12 shown in FIG. 5 receives the power ON and turns on the power. The login request unit 13 is realized by a command from the CPU 101 illustrated in FIG. 3, and requests that the login is made from the communication unit 11 to the management system 50 via the communication network 2 when receiving the power ON. And the current IP address of the terminal 10 (request source terminal) as the request source is automatically transmitted. Further, when the user turns the power switch 109 from the ON state to the OFF state, the communication unit 11 transmits the state information indicating that the power is turned off to the management system 50, and then the operation input receiving unit 12 completely turns the power source. Set to OFF. As a result, the management system 50 side can grasp that the terminal 10 has been turned off from being turned on.
The imaging unit 14 is realized by the instruction from the CPU 101 illustrated in FIG. 3 and the camera 112 and the image sensor I / F 113 illustrated in FIG. 3. The image data obtained in this way is output. The voice input unit 15a is realized by the voice input / output I / F 116 shown in FIG. 3, and after the user's voice is converted into a voice signal by the microphone 114, voice data related to the voice signal is input. The audio output unit 15b is realized by a command from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 3 and the audio input / output I / F 116. The audio output unit 15b outputs an audio signal related to the audio data to the speaker, and outputs the audio from the speaker 115.
The display control unit 16 is realized by the display I / F 117 illustrated in FIG. 3, and performs control for transmitting image data to the external display 120. Further, the display control unit 16 displays a destination list including each destination name based on the status information received by the communication unit 11 before the requesting terminal starts a video conference call with a desired destination terminal. To display.
For example, a destination list frame 311-1 as shown in FIG. 21 is displayed on the display 120 by the display control unit 16. Each destination name such as a destination name “Company A Tokyo office AB terminal” 311-2 is displayed in the destination list frame 311-1, and an icon (311) indicating a state relating to the state information for each destination name. -3a, 311-3b, 311-3c) are displayed. Among these icons, the icon 311-3a indicates that one terminal as a destination candidate is in an on-line state and can communicate with this terminal. The icon 311-3b indicates that one terminal as a destination candidate is in an OFF line state and cannot communicate with this terminal. The icon 311-3 c indicates that one terminal as a destination candidate can participate in the call in a state where the other terminal is in a call. Also, in the destination list frame 311-1, a scroll bar 311-4 is displayed on the right side, and when a triangle upward or downward icon is selected, destination names and states of destination candidates not displayed in FIG. Will be displayed.
The delay detection unit 18 is realized by a command from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 3 and detects a delay time (ms) of image data or audio data sent from another terminal 10 via the relay device 30. .
Further, the storage / read processing unit 19 is executed by the instruction from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 3 and the SSD 105 shown in FIG. 3 as an example, and stores various data in the nonvolatile storage unit 1000, or nonvolatile storage Processing for reading various data stored in the unit 1000 is performed. The nonvolatile storage unit 1000 stores a terminal ID (Identification) for identifying the terminal 10, a password, and the like. Further, the storage / reading processing unit 19 stores various data in the volatile storage unit 1002 and performs processing for reading out various data stored in the volatile storage unit 1002. The volatile storage unit 1002 overwrites and stores image data and audio data received when a call is made with the destination terminal. Among these, an image is displayed on the display 120 by the image data before being overwritten, and sound is output from the speaker 115 by the audio data before being overwritten.
The destination list creation unit 20 uses icons as the destination candidate status as shown in FIG. 21 based on destination list information described later and the status information of the terminal 10 as each destination candidate received from the management system 50. Create and update the indicated destination list.
Note that the terminal ID of this embodiment and the relay device ID described later indicate identification information such as a language, characters, symbols, or various signs used to uniquely identify the terminal 10 and the relay device 30, respectively. . Further, the terminal ID and the relay device ID may be identification information in which at least two of the language, characters, symbols, and various signs are combined.
The PC communication unit 21 is realized by, for example, the external device connection I / F 118 illustrated in FIG. 3, and performs transmission / reception including data such as files with the PC 120. Specifically, the PC communication unit 21 is a USB host, a Bluetooth host, a wireless LAN interface, or the like. The terminal 10 of this embodiment is compatible with USB Mass Storage Class and is recognized as storage by the PC 120.
The mount drive 22 is created when the terminal 10 mounts the shared folder 47. When the terminal 10 receives the notification of the shared folder URI from the management system 50, the folder mount unit 23 mounts the shared folder 47 on the terminal 10. The mount drive 22 is created by mounting. By mounting, the shared folder 47 of the mount source and the file of the mount drive 22 are synchronized.
A file received by the PC communication unit 21 from the PC 120 is written in the mount drive 22. The mount drive 22 is realized by the RAM 103 or the flash memory 104 shown in FIG.
The file synchronization unit 24 receives a notification from the PC communication unit 21 that a file has been written to the mount drive 22 (reception interrupt), or periodically monitors the mount drive 22 to write the file to the mount drive 22 Detect that
When the file synchronization unit 24 detects that a file has been written to the mount drive 22, the file synchronization unit 24 transmits the file on the mount drive 22 to the file temporary storage device 40 using the communication unit 11.
When the file synchronization unit 24 receives the file name of the file stored in the shared folder 47 from the file synchronization unit 44 of the temporary file storage device 40, the file synchronization unit 24 registers the file name in the mount drive 22. Therefore, it appears that the file exists in the mount drive 22 from the PC 120.
Next, functions or means of the relay device 30 will be described. The relay device 30 includes a communication unit 31, a state detection unit 32, a data quality confirmation unit 33, a change quality management unit 34, a data quality change unit 35, and a storage / read processing unit 39. Each of these units is a function or means realized by any one of the constituent elements shown in FIG. 4 operating according to a command from the CPU 201 according to a program stored in the ROM 202. In addition, the relay device 30 includes a non-volatile storage unit 3000 that is constructed by the HD 204 shown in FIG. 4 and that stores various data and information even when the power of the relay device 30 is turned off.
In the nonvolatile storage unit 3000, a change quality management DB (Data Base) 3001 configured by a change quality management table as shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing the changed quality management table. In the change quality management table, the IP address of the terminal 10 as the relay destination of the image data and the image quality of the image data relayed by the relay device 30 are managed in association with the relay destination.
Here, the image resolution of the image data handled in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the image quality of image data. As shown in FIG. 8 (a), the horizontal image is composed of 160 pixels and the vertical image is 120 pixels, and the low resolution image as the base image and the horizontal image as shown in FIG. 8 (b). There are a medium resolution image composed of 320 pixels and 240 pixels vertically, and a high resolution image composed of 640 pixels horizontally and 480 pixels vertically as shown in FIG. 8C. Among these, when passing through a narrow band route, low-quality image data consisting only of low-resolution image data serving as a base image is relayed. When the band is relatively wide, low-resolution image data serving as a base image and medium-quality image data composed of medium-resolution image data are relayed. When the bandwidth is very wide, high-resolution image data composed of low-resolution image data serving as base image quality, intermediate-resolution image data, and high-resolution image data is relayed. For example, in the change quality management table shown in FIG. 7, when the relay device 30 relays image data to the destination terminal (terminal 10db) having the IP address “1.3.2.4”, The image quality (image quality) of the relayed image data is “high quality”.
Next, each functional configuration of the relay device 30 will be described in detail. In the following, in describing each part of the relay device 30, a relationship with main components for realizing each part of the relay device 30 among the components illustrated in FIG. 4 will also be described.
The communication unit 31 of the relay device 30 illustrated in FIG. 5 is realized by the network I / F 209 illustrated in FIG. 4, and other terminals, devices, or systems and various data (or Information). The state detection unit 32 is realized by a command from the CPU 201 illustrated in FIG. 4, and detects the operating state of the relay device 30 having the state detection unit 32. The operating state includes “ON line”, “OFF line”, and “failing” state.
The data quality confirmation unit 33 is realized by an instruction from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 4 and searches the change quality management table (see FIG. 7) of the change quality management DB 3001 using the IP address of the destination terminal as a search key. The image quality of the relayed image data is confirmed by extracting the image quality of the corresponding relayed image data. The change quality management unit 34 is realized by a command from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 4 and changes the contents of the change quality management table based on quality information to be described later sent from the management system 50. For example, a video conference is performed by transmitting and receiving high-quality image data between a request source terminal (terminal 10aa) whose terminal ID is “01aa” and a destination terminal (terminal 10db) whose terminal ID is “01db”. While the request is being made, the requesting terminal (terminal 10bb) and the destination terminal (terminal 10ca) that conduct another videoconference start the videoconference via the communication network 2, etc., so that the destination terminal (terminal 10db) When a delay in the reception of image data occurs, the relay device 30 needs to reduce the image quality of the image data that has been relayed from the high image quality to the medium image quality. In such a case, the content of the change quality management table is changed so as to lower the image quality of the image data relayed by the relay device 30 from the high image quality to the medium image quality based on the quality information indicating the medium image quality.
The data quality changing unit 35 is realized by an instruction from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 4 and changes the image quality of the image data sent from the transmission source terminal 10 to the change quality of the changed change quality management DB 3001. Change based on the contents of the management table. The storage / reading processing unit 39 is realized by the HDD 205 shown in FIG. 4, and stores various data in the non-volatile storage unit 3000 or reads various data stored in the non-volatile storage unit 3000.
Next, functions or means of the management system 50 will be described. The management system 50 includes a communication unit 51, a terminal authentication unit 52, a state management unit 53, a terminal extraction unit 54, a terminal state acquisition unit 55, a relay device selection unit 56, a session management unit 57, a quality determination unit 58, a storage / read process. Section 59, delay time management section 60, and shared folder management section 61. Each of these units is a function or means realized by any one of the constituent elements shown in FIG. 4 operating according to a command from the CPU 201 according to a program stored in the ROM 202. Further, the management system 50 includes a non-volatile storage unit 5000 that is constructed by the HD 204 shown in FIG. 4 and that stores various data and information even when the management system 50 is turned off. The non-volatile storage unit 5000 stores a destination list frame 311-1 shown in FIG.
In the nonvolatile storage unit 5000, a relay device management DB 5001 configured by a relay device management table as shown in FIG. 9 is constructed. FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram showing the relay device management table. In this relay device management table, for each relay device ID of each relay device 30, the management system 50 has received status information indicating the operating status, the number of ports used, the number of available ports, and the operating status of each relay device 30. The reception date and time, the IP address of the relay device 30, and the maximum data transmission rate (Mbps) in the relay device 30 are associated and managed. For example, in the relay device management table shown in FIG. 9, the relay device 30a with the relay device ID “111a” has the operating state “ON line”, the number of used ports “10”, and the number of available ports. Is “100”, the date and time when the management system 50 received the status information is “13:00 on November 10, 2009”, and the IP address of the relay device 30a is “1.2.1.2”. It is shown that the maximum data transmission rate in the relay device 30a is 100 Mbps.
Furthermore, a terminal authentication management DB 5002 configured by a terminal authentication management table as shown in FIG. 10 is constructed in the nonvolatile storage unit 5000. FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram showing a terminal authentication management table. In this terminal authentication management table, each password is associated with each terminal ID of all terminals 10 managed by the management system 50 and managed. For example, the terminal authentication management table shown in FIG. 10 indicates that the terminal ID of the terminal 10aa is “01aa” and the password is “aaaa”.
Further, in the nonvolatile storage unit 5000, a terminal management DB 5003 configured by a terminal management table as shown in FIG. 11 is constructed. FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram showing a terminal management table. In this terminal management table, for each terminal ID of each terminal 10, a destination name when each terminal 10 is a destination, an operating state of each terminal 10, a reception date and time when login request information described later is received by the management system 50, And the IP address of the terminal 10 is managed in association with each other. For example, in the terminal management table shown in FIG. 11, the terminal 10aa with the terminal ID “01aa” has the terminal name “Company A Tokyo office AA terminal”, the operating state “ON line”, and the management system. 50, the date and time when the login request information is received is “13:40 on November 10, 2009”, and the IP address of this terminal 10aa is “1.2.1.3”. .
Further, in the nonvolatile storage unit 5000, a destination list management DB 5004 configured by a destination list management table as shown in FIG. 12 is constructed. FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram showing a destination list management table. In this destination list management table, all terminal IDs of destination terminals registered as destination terminal candidates are managed in association with terminal IDs of request source terminals that request the start of a call in a video conference. For example, in the destination list management table shown in FIG. 12, a destination terminal candidate that can request the start of a call in a video conference from a request source terminal (terminal 10aa) whose terminal ID is “01aa” is a terminal The terminal 10ab having an ID “01ab”, the terminal 10ba having a terminal ID “01ba”, the terminal 10bb having a terminal ID “01bb”, and the like are illustrated. This destination terminal candidate is updated by being added or deleted in response to a request for addition or deletion from the request source terminal to the management system 50.
In the nonvolatile storage unit 5000, a session management DB 5005 configured by a session management table as shown in FIG. 13 is constructed. FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram showing a session management table. In this session management table, for each session ID for identifying a session in which content data is communicated between terminals, the relay device ID of the relay device 30 used for relaying image data and audio data, the request source terminal 10 Management system that receives a terminal ID, a terminal ID of the destination terminal, a reception delay time (ms) when image data is received at the destination terminal, and delay information indicating the delay time from the destination terminal The reception date and time received at 50 is managed in association with each other. For example, in the session management table shown in FIG. 13, the relay device 30a (relay device ID “111a”) selected in the session executed using the session ID “se1” has the terminal ID “01aa”. Request source terminal (terminal 10aa), destination terminal (terminal 10bb) with terminal ID "01bb", destination terminal (terminal 10cb) with terminal ID "01cb", and destination terminal (terminal 10db) with terminal ID "01db" ) Is relaying image data and audio data, and it is shown that the delay time of the image data at “14:00 on November 10, 2009” is 200 (ms). . When a video conference is performed between the two terminals 10, the reception date and time of the delay information may be managed based on the delay information transmitted from the request source terminal instead of the destination terminal. However, when a video conference is performed between three or more terminals 10, the reception date and time of delay information is managed based on the delay information transmitted from the terminal 10 on the image data and audio data receiving side.
Furthermore, a quality management DB 5007 configured by a quality management table as shown in FIG. 14 is constructed in the nonvolatile storage unit 5000. FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram showing a quality management table. In this quality management table, the image quality (image quality) of image data relayed by the relay device 30 is associated and managed according to the delay time (ms) of the image data at the request source terminal or the destination terminal.
(Attribute management table)
Further, an attribute management DB 5008 configured by an attribute management table as shown in FIG. 15 is constructed in the nonvolatile storage unit 5000. FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram showing an attribute management table. In this attribute management table, for each terminal ID of all the terminals 10 managed by the management system 50, the first attribute information indicating the first attribute of the terminal 10 and the second attribute indicating the second attribute Information is managed in association with each other. Here, the first attribute information is, for example, an attribute relating to a predetermined communication network (intranet) to which the terminal 10 is connected, and more specifically, the relay device 30 connected to the predetermined communication network 2 for connection. It is a relay device ID for identification (hereinafter referred to as “intranet relay device ID”). The second attribute information is, for example, an attribute relating to an area where the terminal 10 is connected to the communication network 2. More specifically, the second attribute information is a relay for identifying the relay device 30 connected to the communication network 2 in the predetermined area. Device ID (hereinafter referred to as “segment relay device ID”). That is, in the attribute management table shown in FIG. 15, the relay device ID of the relay device 30 that is preferentially assigned for relaying image data and audio data is associated with each terminal 10 and managed.
(Each functional part of the management system)
Next, each functional unit of the management system 50 will be described in detail. In the following, in describing each part of the management system 50, a relationship with main constituent elements for realizing each part of the management system 50 among the constituent elements shown in FIG. 4 will also be described.
The communication unit 51 is executed by the network I / F 209 illustrated in FIG. 4, and transmits / receives various data (or information) to / from other terminals, devices, or systems via the communication network 2. The terminal authentication unit 52 searches the terminal authentication management table (see FIG. 10) in the nonvolatile storage unit 5000 using the terminal ID and password included in the login request information received via the communication unit 51 as search keys. The terminal authentication is performed by determining whether the same terminal ID and password are managed in the terminal authentication management table.
The state management unit 53 stores the terminal ID of the request source terminal, the operation status of the request source terminal in the terminal management table (see FIG. 11) of the terminal management DB 5003 in order to manage the operation status of the request source terminal that has requested login. The management system 50 stores and manages the reception date and time when the login request information is received and the IP address of the request source terminal in association with each other. In addition, the state management unit 53 manages the terminal based on the state information sent from the terminal 10 to turn off the power when the user turns off the power switch 109 of the terminal 10 from the ON state. The operating state indicating the ON line in the table (see FIG. 11) is changed to the OFF line.
The terminal extraction unit 54 searches the destination list management table (see FIG. 12) in the destination list management DB 5004 using the terminal ID of the request source terminal that requested the login as a key, and can select destination terminal candidates that can make a call with the request source terminal. The terminal ID is extracted by reading the terminal ID. Further, the terminal extraction unit 54 searches the destination list management table (see FIG. 12) of the destination list management DB 5004 using the terminal ID of the request source terminal that has requested the login as a key, and determines the terminal ID of the request source terminal as the destination terminal. The terminal IDs of other request source terminals registered as candidates are also extracted.
The terminal status acquisition unit 55 searches the terminal management table (see FIG. 11) of the terminal management DB 5003 using the terminal ID of the destination terminal candidate extracted by the terminal extraction unit 54 as a search key, and the terminal extraction unit 54 The operating state is read for each extracted terminal ID. Thereby, the terminal state acquisition unit 55 can acquire the operating state of the candidate destination terminal that can make a call with the request source terminal that has requested the login. Further, the terminal state acquisition unit 55 searches the terminal management table of the terminal management DB 5003 using the terminal ID extracted by the terminal extraction unit 54 as a search key, and also acquires the operating state of the request source terminal that requested the login.
The relay device selection unit 56 selects the relay device 30 used for relaying image data and audio data for each session in which content data is communicated between terminals. Therefore, the relay device selection unit 56, in response to an instruction from the CPU 201 illustrated in FIG. 4, the session ID generation unit 56a, the destination determination unit 56b, the attribute extraction unit 56c, the attribute determination unit 56d, And the selection part 56e is implement | achieved. FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram showing the relay device selection unit 56 of FIG. 5 in detail.
Among these, the session ID generation unit 56a generates a session ID for identifying a session in which content data is communicated between terminals. The destination determination unit 56b determines whether the terminal ID of the requesting terminal of the video conference is the same as the terminal ID of the destination terminal that is the request destination. The attribute extraction unit 56c extracts the corresponding attribute by searching the attribute management table (see FIG. 15) of the attribute management DB 5008 based on the terminal IDs of the request source terminal and the destination terminal. The attribute determination unit 56d determines whether the attributes of the terminals extracted by the attribute extraction unit 56c are the same. The selection unit 56e selects a relay device based on the attribute extracted by the attribute extraction unit 56c.
The session management unit 57 stores the session ID generated by the session ID generation unit 56a, the terminal ID of the request source terminal, and the terminal of the destination terminal in the session management table (see FIG. 13) of the session management DB 5005 of the nonvolatile storage unit 5000. Store and manage IDs in association with each other. Further, the session management unit 57 stores and manages the relay device ID of the relay device 30 selected by the selection unit 56e for each session ID in the session management DB 5005 (see FIG. 13).
The quality determination unit 58 searches the quality management table (see FIG. 14) of the quality management DB 5007 using the delay time as a search key and extracts the image quality of the corresponding image data, thereby causing the relay device 30 to relay the image data. Determine the image quality. The storage / reading processing unit 59 is executed by the HDD 205 shown in FIG. 4, and stores various data in the nonvolatile storage unit 5000 and reads various data stored in the nonvolatile storage unit 5000. The delay time management unit 60 extracts the corresponding terminal ID by searching the terminal management table (see FIG. 11) using the IP address of the destination terminal as a search key, and further extracts the session management table ( 13), the delay time indicated by the delay information is stored and managed in the field of delay time in the record including the extracted terminal ID.
When the management system 50 establishes a session, the shared folder management unit 61 mainly performs the following processing.
-Create the shared folder 47 shared by the terminals 10 participating in the session in the file temporary storage device 40-Create the shared folder table 48 (see Fig. 16)
The shared folder table 48 will be described later. In the shared folder table 48, a shared folder URI indicating the location of the shared folder 47, an account name, and a password are registered. The account name and password are account information. Also, access control information is registered in the shared folder table 48, which will also be described later.
The shared folder management unit 61 transmits a record to the file temporary storage device 40 every time one record of the shared folder table 48 is created. The shared folder management unit 61 transmits the shared folder URI, the account name, and the password to the terminal 10 and the file temporary storage device 40.
<Temporary file storage device>
Next, each functional unit of the file temporary storage device 40 will be described in detail. The temporary file storage device 40 includes a folder storage unit 41, a shared folder creation unit 42, an access control unit 43, a file synchronization unit 44, a communication unit 45, and a file management DB 46.
(Shared folder table)
FIG. 16A shows an example of the shared folder table 48 created by the management system 50. The shared folder table 48 is transmitted to the file temporary storage device 40 and stored in the file management DB 46. The management system also stores the same for backup. The shared folder table 48 has a configuration in which “shared folder URI”, “account name”, and “password” are associated with “session ID”. The “session ID” is acquired from the session management table. The “shared folder URI” is created by the shared folder management unit 61.
The shared folder URI indicates the location where the shared folder 47 exists in the URI description method. In the example shown in the figure, a shared folder 47 is created in “http://kaigi.com/share/0001” in a session (conference) with session ID = 0001. This URI often includes the URL of the file temporary storage device 40 in part or in whole.
“Account name” is identification information for the file temporary storage device 40 to identify the terminal 10. “Password” is authentication information for the terminal 10 to mount the shared folder 47. When the set of “account name” and “password” transmitted from the terminal 10 matches the set of “account name” and “password” registered in the shared folder table 48, the temporary file storage device 40 47 mounts are allowed.
The terminal 10 is given access rights to read and write files to the shared folder 47. That is, all terminals have access rights to read and write. The access right can also be restricted for each read or write.
FIGS. 16B and 16C are also examples of the shared folder table 48, which will be described later.
The folder storage unit 41 is a resource for storing the shared folder 47, realized by the HD 204 shown in FIG. That is, the above URI indicates the folder storage unit 41.
When the shared folder creation unit 42 receives a shared folder creation request from the shared folder management unit 61, the shared folder creation unit 42 creates an independent shared folder 47 for each session. A folder is sometimes called a directory. In this case, it is a shared directory. In addition, the shared folder creation unit 42 deletes the shared folder 47 when the conference ends. In many cases, one shared folder 47 is created in one session, but a plurality of shared folders 47 may be created in one session.
The access control unit 43 refers to the shared folder table 48 and determines whether or not the terminal 10 has an access right to write. Further, the shared folder table 48 is referenced to determine whether or not the terminal 10 has an access right to read a file.
The file synchronization unit 44 communicates with the file synchronization unit 24 of the terminal 10 and manages file sharing so that the file in the shared folder 47 mounted by the terminal 1 can be accessed from the terminal 2. That is, the file stored in the shared folder 47 can be displayed and opened on the PC 120 connected to the terminal 2. Note that the file entity exists in the temporary file storage device 40, and each terminal 10 normally holds only the file name (including the file icon).
That is, the file written to the terminal 10 by the PC 120 is uploaded to the shared folder 47 by the folder synchronization unit 26 of the terminal 10 communicating with the folder synchronization unit 44 of the temporary file storage device 40. No file remains on the terminal 10. Further, the folder synchronization unit 44 of the file temporary storage device 40 transmits the file name to the other terminal 10 with which the session is established. Therefore, the file name can be referred from all terminals (PC), and the file can be read (if the Read right is provided).
The file synchronization unit 24 of the terminal and the file synchronization unit 44 of the file temporary storage device 40 share files using, for example, SMB (Server Message Block) or CIFS (Common Internet File System) protocol. File sharing is realized when a device connected via a network issues a request to the file system of the other device and acquires the processing result. For example, when one device requests a file from the other device, the other device reads the file and sends it to one device. Alternatively, when one device sends a file to the other device, the other device writes the file and sends to the other device that the file has been written.
When the file synchronization units 24 and 44 share a file by SMB, the SMB service is called. In the case of SMB, file sharing is provided by a client-server type service (provided by a server when a client requests a service). In the present embodiment, the file temporary storage device 40 may be a server or a client, and the terminal 10 may be a server or a client. For this reason, the terminal 10 and the temporary file storage device 40 have both the client and server SMB services. As a file sharing protocol, WebDAV, NFS (Network File System), or the like may be used.
Next, each functional unit of the PC 120 will be described in detail. Since the PC 120 has the same hardware configuration as the management system 50, the description thereof is omitted. The PC 120 is often a personal computer, but may be any information processing device including a display such as a tablet terminal, a smartphone, or a mobile phone.
The PCs 1 and 2 include an operation receiving unit 71, a file operation unit 72, a file DB 73, and a communication unit 74. The communication unit 74 is realized by the external device I / F 215 illustrated in FIG. 4, and transmits / receives a file to / from the terminal 10. The communication unit 74 is, for example, a USB interface, a Bluetooth host, a wireless LAN, or the like.
The file DB 73 is realized by the HD 204 shown in FIG. 4 and stores various files. Files include files created by various applications such as document files, presentation files, and spreadsheet files. In addition to such data files, application execution files (* .exe * .dll, etc.) are also stored.
The operation accepting unit 71 is realized by the keyboard 211 and the mouse 212 shown in FIG. 4 and accepts an operation of the PC 120 by a participant. Since the terminal (or mount drive 22) 10 from the PC 120 is recognized as a storage device, the operation accepting unit 71 can accept the following operation by the operation of the participant.
Operation for copying the file in the file DB 73 to the terminal 10 Operation for moving the file in the file DB 73 to the terminal 10 (paste)
-Operation for deleting files in terminal 10 When the operation reception unit 71 receives these file operations, the file operation unit 72 operates the files. For example, when the participant performs an operation of copying a file in the file DB 73 to the terminal 10, the file operation unit 72 transmits the file in the file DB 73 to the terminal 10 via the communication unit 74. The PC communication unit 21 of the terminal 10 stores the received file in the mount drive 22. The file name of the file copied to the mount drive 22 of the terminal 10 is displayed on the display 208 of the PC 120.
The above is the description of the configuration and function (or means) of the transmission system 1 according to the present embodiment, and subsequently, the processing method in the transmission system 1 according to the present embodiment is described with reference to FIGS. 17 to 20. . FIG. 17 is a sequence diagram showing processing for managing state information indicating the state of each relay device 30 transmitted from each relay device 30 to the management system 50. FIG. 17 is a conceptual diagram showing a state of transmission / reception of image data, audio data, and various management information in the transmission system. FIG. 18 is a sequence diagram showing processing in a preparation stage for starting a call between a plurality of terminals 10. FIG. 19 is a sequence diagram illustrating processing for selecting a relay device. FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating processing for selecting a relay device. FIG. 21 is a conceptual diagram showing a destination list of this embodiment.
First, processing for managing state information indicating the state of each relay device 30 transmitted from each relay device 30 to the management system 50 will be described with reference to FIG. First, in each relay device 30, the state detection unit 32 shown in FIG. 5 periodically detects the operating state of the relay device 30 as its own device (steps S1-1 to S1-4). In addition, the state detection unit 32 is a port of the relay device 30 as its own device and can be used for communication with the terminal 10 (number of available ports), and the terminal 10 among these available ports. Detecting the number of ports (number of ports used) used for communication with. The communication unit 31 of each relay device 30 periodically transmits each state information to the management system 50 via the communication network 2 so that the operation state of each relay device 30 can be managed in real time on the management system 50 side. (Steps S2-1 to S2-4). Each state information includes the relay device ID for each relay device 30 and the operating state detected by the state detection unit 32 of the relay device 30 related to each relay device ID. Further, the state information includes the port information including the number of available ports and the number of used ports.
In the step of transmitting the state information (steps S2-1 to S2-4), the relay device 30 may perform secure communication in order to ensure security when transmitting the state information via a firewall. preferable. Here, secure communication means that a third party communicates by means such that the communication contents cannot be understood, and TLS (also referred to as Transport Layer Security, SSL (Secure Sockets Layer)) or a tunneling service is used. Communication etc. For example, in the transmission system of FIG. 1-1, the communication unit 31 of the relay apparatuses (30a, 30d) in the intranet can transmit the state information to the management system 50 using SSL. Moreover, the communication part 31 of a relay apparatus (30a, 30d) can map this communication to a secure port, when it cannot communicate by SSL. This mapping is realized by, for example, a known tunneling service such as Tunnel (multiplatform SSL tunneling proxy). Specifically, the communication unit 31 can establish a secure connection with the management system 50 by mapping an SSL port to a mail server port.
Next, the communication unit 51 of the management system 50 receives each status information sent from each relay device 30. Here, the communication unit 51 can receive the state information via the tunneling service of the management system 50 when the communication is mapped. The management system 50 stores the status information received for each relay device ID in the relay device management table (see FIG. 9) of the nonvolatile storage unit 5000 via the storage / read processing unit 59 for management. (Steps S3-1 to S3-4). As a result, the operation status of “ON line”, “OFF line”, or “failing” is stored and managed for each relay device ID in the relay device management table as shown in FIG. The Also, port information including the number of available ports and the number of used ports is stored and managed for each relay device ID. At this time, the reception date and time when the status information is received by the management system 50 is also stored and managed for each relay device ID. If the status information is not sent from the relay device 30, the field portion of the operation state and the field portion of the reception date and time in each record of the relay device management table shown in FIG. The operation status and the reception date and time at the previous reception are shown.
Next, the concept showing the transmission / reception state of image data, audio data, and various management information in the transmission system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 17, in the transmission system 1, a management information session sei for transmitting and receiving various types of management information is transmitted between the terminal 10 </ b> A, the terminal 10 </ b> B, and the terminal 10 </ b> C via the management system 50. Established. In addition, the terminal 10A, the terminal 10B, and the terminal 10C transmit and receive four types of data, that is, high resolution image data, medium resolution image data, low resolution image data, and audio data, via the relay device 30. Four sessions are established. Here, these four sessions are collectively shown as an image / audio data session sed.
Next, with reference to FIG. 18, a description will be given of the transmission / reception processing of each management information in the preparation stage before starting a call between the terminal 10aa and the terminal 10db. Note that FIG. 18 illustrates a process in which various types of management information are transmitted and received through the management information session sei.
First, when the user of the terminal 10aa turns on the power switch 109 shown in FIG. 3, the operation input accepting unit 12 shown in FIG. 5 accepts the power ON and turns on the power (step) S21). The login request unit 13 automatically transmits login request information indicating a login request from the communication unit 11 to the management system 50 via the communication network 2 in response to the reception of the power ON (step S22). This login request information includes a terminal ID and a password for identifying the terminal 10aa which is the own terminal as a request source. These terminal ID and password are data read from the nonvolatile storage unit 1000 via the storage / read processing unit 19 and sent to the communication unit 11. When the login request information is transmitted from the terminal 10aa to the management system 50, the management system 50 that is the receiving side can grasp the IP address of the terminal 10aa that is the transmitting side.
Subsequently, the terminal authentication unit 52 of the management system 50 uses the terminal ID and password included in the login request information received via the communication unit 51 as a search key, and the terminal authentication management table (see FIG. 10) and terminal authentication is performed by determining whether the same terminal ID and password are managed in the terminal authentication management DB 5002 (step S23).
Since the same terminal ID and password are managed by the terminal authentication unit 52, if it is determined that the login request is from the terminal 10 having a valid usage right, the state management unit 53 For each record indicated by the terminal ID and destination name of the terminal 10aa, the operation status, the reception date and time when the login request information was received, and the IP address of the terminal 10aa are associated with the terminal management table of the DB 5003 (see FIG. 11). Store (step S24). Accordingly, in the terminal management table shown in FIG. 11, the terminal ID “01aa”, the operation state “ON line”, the reception date and time “2009.11.10.13:40”, and the terminal IP address “1. 2.1.3 "will be managed in association with each other.
Then, the communication unit 51 of the management system 50 transmits the authentication result information indicating the authentication result obtained by the terminal authentication unit 52 via the communication network 2 to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) that made the login request. (Step S25).
Subsequently, the subsequent processing will be described for the case where the authentication is successful by the terminal authentication unit 52. When the terminal 10aa receives the authentication result information indicating the result of the determination that the terminal 10aa is authorized, the communication unit 11 requests the management system 50 for the destination list via the communication network 2. Is sent to the destination list request information (step S26). Thereby, the communication unit 51 of the management system 50 receives the destination list request information.
Next, the terminal extraction unit 54 searches the destination list management table (see FIG. 12) of the destination list management DB 5004 using the terminal ID “01aa” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) that requested the login as a search key, and the request source Extraction is performed by reading out terminal IDs of candidate destination terminals that can talk to the terminal (terminal 10aa) (step S27). Further, the terminal extraction unit 54 searches the terminal management table (see FIG. 11) of the terminal management DB using the extracted terminal ID as a search key, and extracts the destination name corresponding to this terminal ID by reading. Here, the terminal IDs (“01ab”, “01ba”, “01bb”,...) Of the destination terminals (10ab, 10ba, 10bb,...) Corresponding to the terminal ID “01aa” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa). And terminal names corresponding to these ("Company A Tokyo office AB terminal", "Company B Osaka office BA terminal", ...) are extracted.
Next, the communication unit 51 of the management system 50 receives the destination list frame data (data of the destination list frame 311-1 shown in FIG. 21) from the nonvolatile storage unit 5000 via the storage / read processing unit 59. (Step S28), and “destination list information (destination list frame, terminal ID, destination name)” including the destination list frame and the terminal ID and destination name extracted by the terminal extraction unit 54, the request source It transmits to the terminal (terminal 10aa) (step S29). Thereby, in the request source terminal (terminal 10aa), the communication unit 11 receives the destination list information, and the storage / reading processing unit 19 stores the destination list information in the volatile storage unit 1002 (step S30).
As described above, in the present embodiment, the destination list information is not managed by each terminal 10, but the management system 50 centrally manages the destination list information of all terminals. Therefore, a new terminal 10 is included in the transmission system 1, a new model terminal 10 is included instead of the already included terminal 10, or the appearance of the destination list frame is changed. In this case, since the management system 50 copes collectively, it is possible to save the trouble of changing the destination list information on each terminal 10 side.
Further, the terminal status acquisition unit 55 of the management system 50 uses the terminal IDs (“01ab”, “01ba”, “01bb”,...) Of the destination terminal candidates extracted by the terminal extraction unit 54 as search keys. Each of the terminals (10ab, 10ba, 10bb,...) As destination candidates is retrieved by searching the management table (see FIG. 11) and reading the corresponding operating state for each terminal ID extracted by the terminal extraction unit 54. The operating state is acquired (step S31).
Next, the communication unit 51 includes the terminal ID “01ab” as the search key used in step S27 and the operating state “ON line (call possible)” of the corresponding destination terminal (terminal 10ab). The “terminal status information” is transmitted to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) via the communication network 2 (step S32). Similarly, as a part of step S32, the communication unit 51 includes “terminal state information” including the terminal ID “01ba” and the operation state “ON line (temporary suspension)” of the corresponding destination terminal (terminal 10ba). The remaining “terminal status information” is also individually transmitted to the requesting terminal (terminal 10aa).
Next, the storage / read processing unit 19 of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) sequentially stores the terminal status information received from the management system 50 in the volatile storage unit 1002 (step S33). Therefore, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) receives the status information of each of the terminals, so that each of the current operations of the terminal 10 that is a destination terminal candidate that can talk to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa). The state can be acquired.
Next, the destination list creation unit 20 of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) determines the status of the terminal 10 as a destination candidate based on the destination list information stored in the volatile storage unit 1002 and the status information of the terminal. While creating the reflected destination list, the display control unit 16 controls the timing for displaying the destination list on the display 120 shown in FIG. 3 (step S34).
As described above, as shown in FIG. 21, the destination list in a state in which each destination name 311-2 and the icon 311-3a reflecting each state information are displayed in the destination list frame 311-1 is displayed. 120aa will be displayed.
On the other hand, returning to FIG. 18, the terminal extraction unit 54 of the management system 50 uses the terminal ID “01aa” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) that requested the login as a search key, and the destination list management table ( 12) and the terminal IDs of the other request source terminals that register the terminal ID “01aa” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) as candidates for the destination terminal are extracted (step S35). In the destination list management table shown in FIG. 12, the terminal IDs of the other request source terminals to be extracted are “01ab”, “01ba”, and “01db”.
Next, the terminal status acquisition unit 55 of the management system 50 uses the terminal ID “01aa” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) that has made the login request as a search key, and the terminal management table (see FIG. 11) of the terminal management DB 5003. ) And the operating state of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) that requested the login is acquired (step S36).
And the communication part 51 is a terminal management table of terminal management DB5003 among the terminals (10ab, 10ba, 10db) concerning terminal ID ("01ab", "01ba", and "01db") extracted by said step S35. The terminal (10ba, 10db) whose operation status is “ON line” in (see FIG. 11) and the terminal ID “01aa” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) acquired in step S36 and the operation status “ON” "Terminal status information" including "line" is transmitted (steps S37-1, S37-2). When the communication unit 51 transmits the terminal status information to the terminals (10ba, 10db), the terminal management table shown in FIG. 11 is used based on each terminal ID (“01ba”, “01db”). Refers to the IP address of the managed terminal. As a result, the terminal ID “01aa of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) that requested the login is sent to each of the other destination terminals (10db, 10ba) that can talk with the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) that requested the login. ”And the operating state“ ON line ”.
On the other hand, in the other terminals 10 as well, when the user turns on the power switch 109 shown in FIG. 3, the operation input receiving unit 12 shown in FIG. Since the same processing as the processing of steps S22 to S38-1, 2 is performed, the description thereof is omitted.
Next, processing when a terminal requests the start of communication with another terminal will be described using FIG. Note that FIG. 19 shows a process in which various types of management information are transmitted and received through the management information session sei. Further, in the present embodiment, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) is at least one of the destination terminals whose operation state is ON line based on the terminal state information received in step S32 among the terminals 10 as the destination candidates. One or the terminal (terminal 10aa) can be selected to request the start of communication. Note that selecting the own terminal (terminal 10aa) means that the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) requests that only the own terminal be connected to the relay device 30. Hereinafter, processing for requesting the start of communication will be described.
First, when the user of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) presses the operation button 108 shown in FIG. 3 and selects the destination terminal (here, terminal 10db), the operation input shown in FIG. The accepting unit 12 accepts a request to start a call (step S41). The communication unit 11 of the terminal 10aa includes the terminal ID of the terminal 10aa and the terminal ID of the selected destination terminal, and transmits start request information indicating that a call start is requested to the management system 50 (step S42). ). Accordingly, the communication unit 51 of the management system 50 receives the start request information and grasps the IP address of the terminal 10aa that is the transmission source.
Then, the state management unit 53 uses the terminal management table of the terminal management DB 5003 (see FIG. 11) based on the terminal ID of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the terminal ID of the destination terminal (terminal 10db) included in the start request information. Both of the field portions of the operation state of the records each including the terminal ID are changed to “busy” (step S43). In this state, the terminals (10aa, 10db) have not started a call, but are in a call state, and when another terminal 10 tries to call the terminal (10aa, 10db), a so-called call state is shown. A sound or display to that effect is output.
Next, the management system 50 executes processing for selecting the relay device 30. In this case, first, the session ID generation unit 56a identifies a session (image / audio data session sed) for executing communication with each destination terminal requested by the request source terminal (terminal 10aa). Session ID “se1” is generated (step S44).
Subsequently, the relay device selection unit 56 of the management system 50 selects the relay device 30 for relaying a call between the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the destination terminal based on the relay device management DB 5001 and the selection management DB. Is performed (step S45). The process of selecting the relay device 30 will be specifically described with reference to FIG.
First, the destination determination unit 56b determines whether the terminal ID of the destination terminal (terminal 10db) included in the start request information sent from the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) is the same as the terminal ID of the request source terminal. It is determined whether or not the own terminal is selected as the destination (step S45-1). When the terminal ID of the destination terminal is the same as the terminal ID of the request source terminal, the selection unit 56e selects the relay device 30abcd (common relay device) (step S45-4). This is because when the relay device 30 is selected, the communication network 2 to which a terminal that will participate in this session later is connected, and the region to which the terminal that will participate later is connected to the communication network 2 are unknown. This is because it is preferable to select a connectable relay device.
When the terminal ID of the destination terminal is not the same as the terminal ID of the request source terminal (NO in step S45-1), the attribute extraction unit 56c is based on the terminal IDs of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the destination terminal (terminal 10db). The corresponding intranet relay device ID is extracted by searching the attribute management table (see FIG. 15) of the attribute management DB. Then, the attribute determination unit 56d determines whether or not the extracted intranet relay device IDs are the same (whether the request source terminal and the destination terminal can use the same intranet relay device) (step S45-2). . When the extracted intranet relay device IDs are the same (YES in step S45-2), the selection unit 56e selects a relay device (intranet relay device) identified by the extracted intranet relay device ID. (Step S45-6). As a result, since the selected relay device and all terminals participating in the session are connected to the same intranet, the communication path is shortened to improve the communication speed, and the content data to be communicated through the firewall. Safety is ensured without exceeding.
Even if the intranet relay device IDs extracted by the attribute extraction unit 56c are the same, the processing after NO in step S45-2 proceeds depending on the state of the intranet relay device identified by the intranet relay device ID. . In this case, the management system 50 searches the relay device management table (see FIG. 9) in the nonvolatile storage unit 5000 via the storage / read processing unit 59 based on the relay device ID of the intranet relay device. Extract the corresponding operating status. Here, when the extracted operation state is “OFF line”, the management system 50 proceeds with the processes after NO in step S45-2. In another example, the management system 50 responds by searching the relay device management table (see FIG. 9) via the storage / read processing unit 59 based on the relay device ID of the intranet relay device. The number of used ports and the number of available ports are extracted. Here, when the operation rate calculated by the extracted number of used ports and the number of available ports is larger than a predetermined value, the management system 50 proceeds with the processing after NO in step S45-2.
When the intranet relay device IDs extracted by the attribute extraction unit 56c are not the same (NO in step S45-2), the attribute extraction unit 56c sets the terminal IDs of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the destination terminal (terminal 10db). Based on the attribute management table (see FIG. 15) in the attribute management DB, the corresponding segment relay device ID is extracted. Then, the attribute determining unit 56d determines whether or not the extracted segment relay device IDs are the same (whether the request source terminal and the destination terminal can use the same segment relay device) (step S45-3). . When the extracted segment relay device IDs are the same (YES in step S45-3), the selection unit 56e selects the relay device (segment relay device) identified by the extracted segment relay device ID. (Step S45-5). As a result, the selected relay device and all terminals participating in the session are connected to the communication network 2 in the same segment, so the communication path is shortened and the communication speed is improved.
Even if the segment relay device IDs extracted by the attribute extraction unit 56c are the same, the processing subsequent to NO in step S45-3 is advanced depending on the state of the segment relay device identified by this segment relay device ID. . In this case, the management system 50 searches the relay device management table (see FIG. 9) of the nonvolatile storage unit 5000 via the storage / read processing unit 59 based on the relay device ID of the segment relay device. Extract the corresponding operating status. Here, when the extracted operation state is “OFF line”, the management system 50 proceeds with the processes after NO in step S45-3. In another example, the management system 50 responds by searching the relay device management table (see FIG. 9) via the storage / read processing unit 59 based on the relay device ID of this segment relay device. The number of used ports and the number of available ports are extracted. Here, when the operation rate calculated by the extracted number of used ports and the number of available ports is larger than a predetermined value, the management system 50 proceeds with the processing after NO in step S45-3.
If the extracted segment relay device IDs are not the same (NO in step S45-3), the selection unit 56e selects the relay device 30abcd (common relay device) (step S45-4). This is because each terminal participating in the session cannot use the relay device 30 of the same communication network or the relay device 30 of the same segment.
When the process of selecting the relay device 30 is completed, the session management unit 57 stores the session ID “se1” generated in step S44 in the session management table (see FIG. 13) of the session management DB 5005 of the nonvolatile storage unit 5000. The terminal ID of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa), the terminal ID of the destination terminal (terminal 10db), and the relay device ID of the selected relay device are stored and managed (step S46).
Next, the communication unit 51 shown in FIG. 5 is selected by the selection unit 56e and the session ID generated by the session ID generation unit 56a to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) via the communication network 2. The relay device connection information used for connecting to the relay device is transmitted (step S48). This relay device connection information can include the IP address, authentication information, port number, etc. of the relay device 30. Thereby, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) grasps the relay device connection information used to connect to the relay device 30 used for relaying the image and audio data in the execution of the session with the session ID “se1”. be able to.
Next, the communication unit 51 includes start request information including the terminal ID of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the session ID “se1”, the above relay device connection information used to connect to the relay device 30, and The IP address of the management system 50 is transmitted to the destination terminal (terminal 10db) (step S48). As a result, the communication unit 51 of the terminal 10db receives the start request information, relay device connection information used to connect to the relay device 30 used for relaying content data, and the management system 50 that is the transmission source. The IP address “1.1.1.2” is grasped.
Subsequently, the communication unit 51 of the management system 50 transmits relay start request information indicating a request to start relaying to the relay device 30 selected via the communication network 2 (step S49). This relay start request information includes the IP addresses of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the destination terminal (terminal 10db) to which the content data is relayed. As a result, the relay device 30 establishes a session (image / audio data session sed) for calling the low-resolution, medium-resolution, and high-resolution image data and audio data between the terminals 10. (Step S50). Thereby, the terminal 10 can start a video conference.
FIG. 23 shows an example of a schematic configuration diagram of the electronic conference system 300 of the present embodiment. The electronic conference system 300 includes a video conference server 200, two or more terminals 10 and a PC 120. In addition, the video conference server 200 includes a management system 50, a relay device 30, and a file temporary storage device 40. The management system 50 and the relay device 30 have already been described. The management system 50, the relay device 30, and the file temporary storage device 40 do not necessarily have to be physically mounted in separate information processing devices, and can be mounted in one information processing device. In the present embodiment, this information processing apparatus is referred to as a video conference server 200.
As described so far, the management system 50 performs communication control such as establishing a session between terminals. Further, the relay device 30 relays the video / audio along the route selected so that the video / audio passes through the optimum route. The temporary file storage device 40 makes it possible to share files between terminals.
FIG. 24 is an example of a sequence diagram illustrating a procedure in which each terminal of the electronic conference system 300 transmits and receives a file.
S1. Session establishment A session is established between the terminal 1 and the terminal 2 by the above-described procedure.
S2. For example, the shared folder management unit 61 of the management system 50 causes the temporary file storage device 40 to create the shared folder 47 and creates the shared folder table 48 after steps S47 and S48 described above. In the management system 50, since the URI of the shared folder 47 is unknown, the URI is notified from the temporary file storage device 40. Therefore, the shared folder creation unit 42 of the temporary file storage device 40 creates a shared folder 47, and the shared folder creation unit 42 transmits the shared folder URI of the shared folder 47 to the management system 50.
The shared folder management unit 61 of the management system 50 transmits the shared folder table 48 including the shared folder URI to the file temporary storage device 40.
Alternatively, the management system 50 may create the shared folder URI first. That is, the shared folder management unit 61 creates a shared folder URI by adding a session ID to the URL of the temporary file storage device 40. By notifying the shared folder URI to the file temporary storage device 40 as the shared folder table 48, the shared folder creation unit 42 creates the shared folder 47 in the shared folder URI.
The file temporary storage device 40 updates the shared folder table 48 by adding a record to the shared folder table 48 of the file management DB 46.
As described above, the management system 50 creates account information (account name and password) when creating the shared folder table 48. Further, each terminal 10 has Read and Write access rights unless the management system 50 specifically restricts.
In this figure, after the session is established, the management system 50 automatically creates the shared folder 47. However, the shared folder 47 is created only when there is a request from the terminal 1 (or the terminal 2). (Dotted line "Request"). As a result, in a meeting that does not use the shared folder 47, it is not necessary to waste resources and load for preparing the shared folder 47.
Each terminal may request the setting of the shared folder table 48 described above when mounting the mount drive 22.
S3-1 / 3-2. Notification of shared folder URI and account information When the shared folder 47 is created in the temporary file storage device 40, the shared folder management unit 61 sends the shared folder URI to each terminal participating in the conference. And notify account information.
S4-1 / 4-2. Mounting Shared Folder The folder mount unit 23 of the terminals 1 and 2 mounts the shared folder 47 on the terminals 1 and 2. For example, the mount command when SMB is used is as follows. In protocols other than SMB, the command name and format change, but there is no change in that it can be mounted.
mount Shared folder URI Account name Password Mount path
As a result, the file synchronization unit 24 and the file synchronization unit 44 communicate with each other, and the shared folder 47 is mounted at the path specified by the “mount destination path” of the terminals 1 and 2. The file synchronization unit 44 manages the account names of the terminals 1 and 2 mounted with the shared folder 47 in association with the shared folder URI. Since the shared folder 47 is managed by an account name, a plurality of terminals may have the same account name.
FIG. 25 is an example of a diagram for schematically explaining mounting of the shared folder 47. Assume that the shared folder URI of the temporary file storage device 40 is “http://kaigi.com/share/0001”. Since the terminals 1 and 2 specify this URI and mount the shared folder 47, the shared folder 47 is mounted on the terminals 1 and 2. For example, when the terminals 1 and 2 specify the D drive as the mount destination, the shared folder 47 is mounted as the D drive.
When the file “file.txt” is stored in the shared folder 47 of the temporary file storage device 40, the file synchronization units 24 and 44 communicate and the file name “file.txt” is stored in the D drives of the terminals 1 and 2. Is displayed (the body of the file is in the shared folder 47).
S5-1 / 5-2. Writing / Reading PC1 or PC2 writes a file to the D drive, for example. Here, terminal 1 writes.
S6 Synchronization The file synchronization unit 24 detects the writing of the file to the D drive, designates the shared folder 47 of the temporary file storage device 40, and transmits the file. Then, the file synchronization unit 44 stores the file in the shared folder 47 and transmits the file name to the terminal 2 mounting the shared folder 47 together with the terminal 1. The same file name is displayed on the D drives of the terminals 1 and 2.
Further, the terminal 1 may transmit a file and a terminal ID, and the file temporary storage device 40 may specify a session ID from the terminal ID. If the session ID is known, other terminals participating in the same conference can be known, and the shared folder URI can also be known from the shared folder table 48.
The access control will be described. The temporary file storage device 40 can control access to the shared folder 47 according to the Read / Write access right.
FIG. 16B is a diagram showing an example of the shared folder table 48 when access control is performed.
Compared to FIG. 16A, the access right is registered in the account name. That is, the account name of the terminal whose terminal ID is aaa is acc0001_rw and the access right is Read / Write, but the account name of the terminal whose terminal ID is bbb and ddd is acc0001_r, and the access right is only Read.
The shared folder management unit 61 gives an access right to the terminal according to the following predetermined rule.
A Read / Write access right is given to a terminal in which a session has been established since the start of the conference, and a Read-only access right is given to a terminal that joined later.
The conference start terminal arbitrarily requests access rights to the management system 50 at the start of the conference.
Note that the shared folder management unit 61 does not transmit account information to the terminal, so that the terminal has no access right. In FIG. 16B, the account information is not notified to terminals other than the terminal IDs aaa, bbb and ddd (for example, the terminal having the terminal ID ccc).
FIG. 16C is an example for explaining another example of the shared folder table 48. In FIG. 16C, a plurality of shared folders 47 are registered for one session ID. In this case, the access right of each terminal can be set for each shared folder. For example, for the shared folder “http://kaigi.com/share/0001/1”, a terminal having terminal IDs bbb and ddd has an access right only for Read. On the other hand, for “http://kaigi.com/share/0001/2”, a terminal having terminal IDs bbb and ddd has Read / Write access rights. When there are two shared folders 47, each terminal mounts each shared folder 47.
The plurality of shared folders 47 are used as follows.
The terminal requests to use a plurality of shared folders 47 at the start of the conference. In addition to the shared folder 47 having the access right as shown in FIG. 16B, an additional shared folder 47 is always prepared and Read / Write is prepared. Notify all terminals of access rights.
Access control may be executed on either the terminal side or the file temporary storage device side, or on both sides. That is, access control may be performed by either the shared folder 47 of the file temporary storage device 40 or the D drive of the terminals 1 and 2.
When the access is controlled by the shared folder 47 of the temporary file storage device 40 at the time of writing, the access control unit 43 prohibits writing of files from the terminals 1 and 2 based on the access right. When access control is performed using the D drives of the terminals 1 and 2, the file synchronization unit 24 prohibits writing of files from the terminals 1 and 2 based on the access right.
When performing access control using the shared folder 47 of the temporary file storage device 40 at the time of reading, the access control unit 43 does not transmit a file name to a terminal without the read right. When performing access control using the D drive of the terminals 1 and 2, even if the file name is transmitted from the temporary file storage device 40, the file name is discarded and the file synchronization unit 24 does not display the file name on the D drive.
[Example of file sharing]
FIG. 26 is an example of a diagram schematically illustrating an example of file sharing. Assume that the file sharing table of FIG. That is, the terminals 1 and 2 can perform Read / Write.
In FIG. 26A, “http://kaigi.com/share/0001” is the shared folder 47. A file “shared file.doc” is stored in the shared folder 47. For example, a drive “C: / Share” is mounted on the terminal 1. Since the PC 1 to the terminal 1 and the PC 2 to the terminal 2 look like a USB memory, the file management system 50 of the PCs 1 and 2 displays “E: / shared file.doc”. The E drive is a USB memory drive.
In FIG. 26B, a common account is set for the conference. Since both the terminals 1 and 2 can perform Read / Write, the PCs 1 and 2 can share files stored in “http://kaigi.com/share/0001”.
FIG. 27 is an example of a diagram schematically illustrating an example of file sharing. Different accounts are registered for each terminal as in the file sharing table of FIG. That is, Read / Write can be separately registered as the access right of the terminal 1, and Read / Write can be separately registered as the access right of the terminal 2. In FIG. 27A, for example, both of the terminals 1 and 2 can be read / written.
On the other hand, in FIG. 27B, for example, only the terminal 1 that has started the conference can read / write, and other terminals are permitted only the read right. Such access control can be realized by the Read / Write right being given only to the terminal where the shared folder management unit first mounts the shared folder 47 or the terminal that requested the creation of the shared folder 47, for example.
FIG. 28 is an example of a diagram schematically illustrating an example of file sharing. Different accounts are registered for each terminal as in the file sharing table of FIG. That is, two shared folders “http://kaigi.com/share/0001” and “http://kaigi.com/share/0002” are created for one conference.
In FIG. 28A, the terminal 1 can read / write the shared folder “0001”, but can only read the shared folder “0002”. The terminal 2 can read / write the shared folder “0001”, but cannot read / write the shared folder “0002”.
In FIG. 28B, there are four terminals 1 to 4. A common access right is set for the terminals 1 and 2. The terminals 1 and 2 can read / write to the shared folder “0001”. The terminal 3 can only read the shared folder “0001”. The terminal 4 is not permitted to access the shared folder “0001”. For the shared folder “0002”, an access right can be set in common for each terminal or for a plurality of terminals.
In this way, by controlling the access right in various ways, for example, in the case of multi-site conference (terminals 1, 2, 3, 4), the management system 50 or each terminal can indicate that “only terminal 1 and terminal 2 are Read / Write. Access control such as “Yes, terminal 3 can only read, and terminal 4 cannot read / write” can be easily realized.
For example, when a meeting is held between a head office and a plurality of branch offices, the management system 50 sets that only the head office terminal can perform Read / Write, and the branch office terminal allows only Read. Therefore, although it is possible to distribute the material data from the head office to the branch office, it is possible to perform a control such that the material data cannot be uploaded from the branch terminal (preventing falsification of the material).
As described above, the electronic conference system 300 according to the present embodiment allows the terminal 1 and the terminal 2 to share the same file only by the PC 1 writing the file to the terminal 1.
In this embodiment, a description will be given of an electronic conference system 300 in which a terminal 3 participating in a conference from the middle can share files with the terminals 1 and 2. A terminal that participates from the middle is referred to as terminal 3. Also in this case, the management system 50 notifies the terminal 3 of the shared folder URI and account information, thereby enabling file synchronization.
FIG. 29 is an example of a sequence diagram illustrating a procedure in which each terminal of the electronic conference system 300 transmits and receives a file.
S1. During a meeting A meeting has already started between the terminal 1 and the terminal 2. Of course, a session has been established.
S2. Participating in the middle of the meeting When the terminal 3 is turned on, the login request unit 13 requests the management system 50 to log in. The user of the PC 3 connected to the terminal 3 designates one of the destination terminals (conducting the conference), for example, and participates in the conference halfway.
S3. Session establishment The management system 50 establishes a session between the terminals 1 and 2 and the terminal 3. The management system 50 refers to the session management table based on the destination terminal, and identifies the session ID of the conference in which the terminal 3 participates and other terminals.
S4. The shared folder table confirmation shared folder management unit 61 transmits the session ID to the file temporary storage device 40, and acquires the URI of the shared folder 47 and the shared folder table 48 of this conference.
At this time, although access control information is created, the management system 50 gives an access right allowing only Read to the terminal 3 participating in the middle, or gives an access right in response to a request from the terminal 3.
S5. Notification of Shared Folder URI and Shared Folder Table The shared folder management unit 61 notifies the terminal 3 that has joined in the middle of the shared folder URI and account information.
S6. Mount Shared Folder The folder mount unit 23 of the terminal 3 mounts the shared folder 47.
By mounting, synchronization of the shared folder 47 of the file temporary storage device 40 and the drive mounted on the terminal is started. The file synchronization unit 44 transmits the file name of the file stored in the shared folder 47 to the terminal 3. In this way, the PC 3 can display the file name of the drive mounted on the terminal 3 on the display 208 like a USB memory.
According to the present embodiment, the terminals that have joined the conference later can share the file that was shared before joining the conference at the same time as joining the conference.
In the present embodiment, the shared folder 47 after the conference ends will be described. When a file is stored in the shared folder 47 as in the first and second embodiments, it is not preferable in terms of security as it is, and it is preferable to delete it.
FIG. 30 is an example of a sequence diagram illustrating a procedure at the end of the conference of the electronic conference system 300.
S1-1, S1-2 Conference end When the conference ends, one or more of the terminals 10 notify the management system 50 of the end of the conference, and all terminals in the session management table in response to an inquiry by the management system 50 10 has become unresponsive. Here, it is assumed that the conference is ended under the management of the management system 50. The management system 50 notifies the terminals 1 and 2 when the conference ends.
S2-1, 2-2 Unmounting Shared Folder The folder mount unit 23 of the terminals 1 and 2 that has detected the end of the conference unmounts the shared folder 47 from the temporary file storage device 40. For example, the SMB unmount command is as follows.
unmount Mount path
Further, by unmounting, the file synchronization unit 24 deletes the D drive mounted on the terminals 1 and 2. As a result, the PCs 1 and 2 cannot display the file name of the D drive.
S3 Shared Folder Deletion When the conference ends, the shared folder creation unit 42 requests the temporary file storage device 40 to delete the shared folder 47 from the folder storage unit 41 based on the session ID of the ended conference. The shared folder creation unit 42 deletes all the files transmitted from the terminal by deleting the shared folder 47.
Further, the access control unit 43 updates the folder sharing table by deleting the record of the completed conference from the folder sharing table of the file management DB 46.
According to the present embodiment, the file can be deleted from the temporary file storage device 40 in conjunction with the end of the conference, so that a reduction in security can be suppressed.
In the present embodiment, an electronic conference system 300 with higher security will be described.
FIG. 31 shows an example of a schematic configuration diagram of the electronic conference system 300 of the present embodiment. In FIG. 31, the same components as those of FIG.
Terminal 1 and terminal 2 in FIG. 31 are connected by an in-house LAN. An in-house server 80 is arranged in the company, and the relay device 30 and the file temporary storage device 40 are arranged in the company. The in-house server 80 does not need to be physically located in the office, and may be an external server connected by a secure line such as a VPN (Virtual Private Network).
The management system 50 that has established the session sets the relay device ID in the session management table, and therefore identifies the relay device 30 that relays video and audio. Therefore, comparing the network addresses of the IP addresses of the relay device 30 and the terminal 10, it can be seen that the terminals 1 and 2 use the relay device 80 connected to the in-house LAN. If the network address cannot be obtained directly, the DNS is inquired about the IP address. If the host name is the same, it can be seen that the terminals 1 and 2 and the relay device are connected to the same LAN.
In the configuration as shown in the figure, since the terminal 1 and the terminal 2 can use a video / audio router in a private network (in-house LAN) as a relay device, a conference can be performed without any video / audio passing outside. . Therefore, in this case, the file temporary storage device 40 is also arranged in the in-house LAN, so that security at the time of file sharing can be improved.
FIG. 32 is an example of a sequence diagram illustrating a procedure in which each terminal of the electronic conference system 300 transmits and receives a file. FIG. 32 is substantially the same as FIG. 24 of the first embodiment, but differs in the part (step S1.5) in which the management system 50 confirms the routing route after the conference starts.
S1.5 Confirmation of Routing Route FIG. 33 is an example of a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the management system when confirming the routing route.
The management system 50 checks the routing route of the conference immediately after the conference starts (S150).
If the Internet is used, the shared folder 47 is created outside (on the Internet) as in the first embodiment (S152).
On the other hand, if a private network is used, the shared folder 47 is created on a server (for example, a part of the in-house server 80 or the relay device 30) in the private network (S151).
The subsequent steps are the same as in the first embodiment. That is, the management system 50 creates a shared folder URI and account information, and transmits it to the temporary file storage device 40 (S153).
Also, the management system 50 notifies the shared folder URI and account information to the terminals 1 and 2 (S154).
As a result, the terminals 1 and 2 mount the mount drive 22 at the specified URI without being aware of the file storage location.
According to the present embodiment, the shared folder URI can be changed depending on the terminals participating in the conference, and if the private network is used, the file does not go outside even temporarily, and the security risk can be greatly reduced.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Transmission system 10 Transmission terminal 11 Communication part 12 Operation input reception part 13 Login request part 14 Imaging part 15a Audio | voice input part 15b Audio | voice output part 16 Display control part 18 Delay detection part 19 Memory | storage / reading process part 20 Destination list creation part 21 PC Communication unit 22 Mount drive 23 Folder mount unit 24, 44 File synchronization unit 30 Relay device 31 Communication unit 32 Status detection unit 33 Data quality confirmation unit 34 Change quality management unit 35 Data quality change unit 39 Storage / read processing unit 40 Temporary storage of files Device 48 Shared folder table 50 Transmission management system 51 Communication unit 52 Terminal authentication unit 53 Status management unit 54 Terminal extraction unit 55 Terminal status acquisition unit 56 Relay device selection unit 56a Session ID generation unit 56b Destination determination unit 56c Attribute extraction unit 56d Attribute determination Unit 56e Selection unit 57 Session management unit 5 Providing quality determination unit 60 delay time management unit 61 shared folder management unit 90 program system 100 Maintenance System 120 PC
US Pat. No. 6,760,749
A communication system having a relay device that relays content data to a plurality of terminals participating in a conference, and a file sharing device that provides a file to each terminal,
Shared folder location information generating means for generating shared folder location information of a shared folder that is commonly accessed by a plurality of terminals and notifying the terminal;
A participation terminal table in which identification information of terminals participating in the meeting is registered in association with the identification information of the meeting,
The file sharing device
A shared folder for sharing a file among the plurality of terminals created at the location of the shared folder location information with the establishment of a session for transferring the content data ;
A file sharing table in which the shared folder location information is registered in association with the conference identification information;
First file synchronization means for transmitting file information to another terminal participating in the same conference as the terminal that transmitted the file when the file is stored in the shared folder from the terminal,
Folder mounting means for requesting the file sharing device to mount the shared folder on its own device;
Second file synchronization means for transmitting a file stored in a storage area created by mounting the shared folder to the shared folder via a communication path different from a session for transferring the content data ; A communication system comprising:
The shared folder location information generating means determines whether or not a terminal can write a file to the shared folder in the file sharing table and whether or not a file in the shared folder can be read for each terminal. Register,
The first file synchronization means stores the file in the shared folder only when the file is transmitted from the terminal to the shared folder, and only when the terminal that transmitted the file is allowed to write the file,
The first file synchronization unit is configured such that when a file is stored in the shared folder from a terminal, reading of the file is permitted to another terminal participating in the same conference as the terminal that transmitted the file. Only send the file information,
The shared folder location information generating means registers a plurality of the shared folder location information in association with one identification information of the conference registered in the file sharing table,
For each shared folder, register whether or not the terminal can write a file to the shared folder and whether or not the file in the shared folder can be read.
The shared folder location information generation means registers, in common, a plurality of terminals, whether or not a file can be written to the shared folder and whether or not a file in the shared folder can be read. The communication system according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that
Has a conference managing device for establishing the session of the conference between terminals,
When the terminal receives a communication end notification from the conference management device, the folder mounting means requests the file sharing device to unmount the shared folder,
5. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the file sharing apparatus deletes the shared folder created at the location of the shared folder location information.
The shared folder location information generation means determines whether all of the relay device and a plurality of terminals are connected to the same in-house network,
When all of the relay device and a plurality of terminals are connected to the same internal network, the shared folder location information in the internal network is generated,
If the relay device and all of the plurality of terminals are not connected to the same internal network, the shared folder location information outside the internal network is generated.
The terminal is connected to an external device;
Send the file name of the file stored in the storage area created by the mount to the external device,
The external device displays the file name on a display device;
The communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
A relay device that relays content data to a plurality of terminals participating in the conference;
Shared folder location information generating means for generating shared folder location information of a shared folder accessed by a plurality of terminals and notifying the terminal, and identification information of the terminals participating in the conference in association with the conference identification information A conference management apparatus having a participation terminal table in which is registered,
The plurality of terminals created at the location of the shared folder location information with the establishment of a session for transferring the content data is associated with the shared folder for sharing the file and the identification information of the conference. A file sharing table in which folder location information is registered, and when a file is stored in the shared folder from a terminal, first information is transmitted to another terminal participating in the same conference as the terminal that transmitted the file. A file sharing device having file synchronization means;
A folder mounting means for requesting the file sharing apparatus to mount the shared folder on its own device, a session for transferring the content data to a file stored in a storage area created by mounting the shared folder, and A second file synchronization means for transmitting to the shared folder via a different communication path ;
A program executable by a computer to write a file to the storage area of the terminal;
A relay device that relays content data to a plurality of terminals participating in the conference, and a file sharing device that provides files in the shared folder to each terminal,
A folder mounting means for requesting the file sharing apparatus to mount the shared folder on its own device, a session for transferring the content data to a file stored in a storage area created by mounting the shared folder, and Are each a server having a second file synchronization means for transmitting to the shared folder via a different communication path , and a server connected via a network,
In association with the identification information of the conference, a participation terminal table in which identification information of the terminals participating in the conference is registered,
When a file is stored in the shared folder from a terminal, first file synchronization means for transmitting file information to another terminal participating in the same conference as the terminal that transmitted the file;
The server characterized by having.
The plurality of terminals created at the location of the shared folder location information with the establishment of a session for transferring the content data is associated with the shared folder for sharing the file and the identification information of the conference. A file sharing table in which folder location information is registered, and when a file is stored in the shared folder from a terminal, first information is transmitted to another terminal participating in the same conference as the terminal that transmitted the file. A file sharing device having a file synchronization means, and a terminal connected via a network,
Second file synchronization means for transmitting a file stored in a storage area created by mounting the shared folder to the shared folder via a communication path different from a session for transferring the content data ; A terminal characterized by comprising:
The plurality of terminals created at the location of the shared folder location information with the establishment of a session for transferring the content data is associated with the shared folder for sharing the file and the identification information of the conference. File sharing table in which folder location information is registered, and file synchronization means for transmitting file information to other terminals participating in the same conference as the terminal that transmitted the file when the file is stored in the shared folder from the terminal And a file sharing device having a computer connected via a network,
A folder mounting step for requesting the file sharing device to mount the shared folder on its own device;
Executing a file synchronization step of transmitting a file stored in a storage area created by mounting the shared folder to the shared folder via a communication path different from a session for transferring the content data . program.
JP2012039317A 2012-02-24 2012-02-24 Communication system, server, terminal, program Active JP5929305B2 (en)
JP2012039317A JP5929305B2 (en) 2012-02-24 2012-02-24 Communication system, server, terminal, program
EP13155150.9A EP2631825A1 (en) 2012-02-24 2013-02-14 Communication system, server and terminal, with mounting of a per-conference shared folder
US13/768,772 US20130227015A1 (en) 2012-02-24 2013-02-15 Communication system, server, and terminal
CN2013101566040A CN103354552A (en) 2012-02-24 2013-02-25 Communication system, server and terminal
JP2013175059A JP2013175059A (en) 2013-09-05
JP5929305B2 true JP5929305B2 (en) 2016-06-01
ID=47832902
JP2012039317A Active JP5929305B2 (en) 2012-02-24 2012-02-24 Communication system, server, terminal, program
US (1) US20130227015A1 (en)
EP (1) EP2631825A1 (en)
JP (1) JP5929305B2 (en)
CN (1) CN103354552A (en)
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2012-02-24 JP JP2012039317A patent/JP5929305B2/en active Active
2013-02-14 EP EP13155150.9A patent/EP2631825A1/en not_active Withdrawn
2013-02-15 US US13/768,772 patent/US20130227015A1/en not_active Abandoned
2013-02-25 CN CN2013101566040A patent/CN103354552A/en not_active Application Discontinuation
CN103354552A (en) 2013-10-16
EP2631825A1 (en) 2013-08-28
JP2013175059A (en) 2013-09-05
US20130227015A1 (en) 2013-08-29
JP5310824B2 (en) 2013-10-09 Transmission management apparatus, program, transmission management system, and transmission management method
CN103354552A (en) 2013-10-16 Communication system, server and terminal