Patent ID: 7123914

Claim:
A communication network system comprising: a plurality of communication terminals, each comprising: a first transmitting device; and a first receiving device, the communication terminals connected via a transmission channel, information being transmitted and received among said communication terminals through said first transmitting device and said first receiving device, at least two of said communication terminals being used as relay terminals, each of said relay terminals comprising: a second transmitting device configured to perform only one-to-one communication; a second receiving device configured to perform only one-to-one communication; a received-information relay device configured to transmit information received from said first receiving device to said second transmitting device, the received-information relay device configured to transmit information received from said second receiving device to said first transmitting device; a relay-terminal-information transmitting device configured to transmit relay terminal information to said first transmitting device, the relay terminal information comprising terminal identification information of said relay terminals and terminal identification information of a terminal to which said relay terminals are providing relay services a relay terminal storage device configured to store the terminal identification information of said relay terminal, identification information of another relay terminal and relay situations of the relay terminals, which are acquired from the relay terminal information received from said first receiving device; and a changing device, wherein when the relay terminal which is providing the relay services discontinues the relay services, the changing device refers to the relay terminal storage device to determine whether an available relay terminal is present or absent, and if the changing device determines that there is an available relay terminal, the changing device provides an instruction is to the terminal which is receiving the relay services to change the available relay terminal.