Communication system, server equipment and terminal equipment

• US 20080176555A1
• Filed: 12/21/2007
• Published: 07/24/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/19/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Horio, Kenichi, Okuyama, Satoshi, Ohno, Takashi
• Granted Patent: US 8,718,637 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/424
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0677 Localisation of faults
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1016 IP multimedia subsystem [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4038 with floor control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4046 with distributed floor control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS

Abstract

A server equipment forwards received audio data to multiple terminal equipments; judges good or bad of a communication status between the respective terminal equipments; and transmits communication status data indicating good or bad of the communication status to each of the multiple terminal equipments, while a terminal equipment reproduces voice represented by transferred audio data in real-time; receives communication status data transmitted from the server equipment; and notifies a user whether a communication status indicated by the communication status data is good or bad.

Claims

1. A communication system that includes a plurality of terminal equipments and a server equipment, transmits audio data representing a voice from one of the plurality of the terminal equipments, transfers the audio data to other terminal equipments at the server equipment and reproduces the voice in real-time at the other terminal equipments,

the server equipment comprising:

an audio data receiving section that receives audio data transmitted from the terminal equipments;

an audio data transfer section that transfers the audio data received at the audio data receiving section to each of the other terminal equipments excepting an originating terminal equipment that has originated the audio data;

a communication status judging section that judges good or bad of a communication status between respective terminal equipments of the plurality of terminal equipments; and

a communication status data transmitting section that transmits communication status data indicating the good or bad of the communication status judged at the communication status judging section, to each of the plurality of terminal equipments,

each of the terminal equipments comprising;

an audio data transmitting section that transmits the audio data;

a transferred audio data receiving section that receives audio data transferred from the server equipment;

an audio reproduction section that reproduces in real-time a voice represented by the audio data received at the transferred audio data receiving section;

a communication status data receiving section that receives communication status data transmitted from the server equipment; and

a communication status notifying section that notifies a user of the good or bad of a communication status indicated by the communication status data.

2. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the communication status notifying section displays a communication status indicated by the communication status data on a given display screen.

3. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein each of the terminal equipments further comprises:

a fault detecting section that detects a fault in communication between the server equipment and the terminal equipment; and

a fault notifying section that notifies the server equipment that a fault is detected if a fault is detected at the fault detecting section, and

wherein the communication status judging section of the server equipment judges that a communication status is bad for a terminal equipment having notified that the fault has been detected.

4. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein each of the terminal equipments further comprising a response data transmitting section that repeatedly transmits, to the server equipment, response data indicating that a communication status is normal,

the server equipment further comprises a response data receiving section that receives the response data from each of the terminal equipments, and

the communication status judging section of the server equipment judges that, in the event that the server equipment fails to receive the response data from a terminal equipment, a communication status of the terminal equipment is bad condition.

5. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein each of the terminal equipments further comprises:

a fault detecting section that detects a fault that the audio data transmitting section has failed in transmitting audio data; and

a fault notifying section that notifies the server equipment that a fault is detected if a fault is detected at the fault detecting section, and

wherein the communication status judging section of the server equipment judges that a communication status is bad for a terminal equipment having notified that the fault has been detected.

6. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein each of the terminal equipments further comprises an audio data retransmitting section that, if communication status data indicating a bad communication status is received at the communication status data receiving section after audio data has been transmitted from the audio data transmitting section, retransmits the audio data.

7. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the communication system is capable of communicating both in a first communication method and in a second communication method, the second communication method being relatively slow in communication speed and relatively superior in reliability of communication compared with the first communication method,

the audio data transmitting section and the transferred audio data receiving section of the terminal equipment communicate audio data based on the first communication method, and

each of the terminal equipments further comprises an audio data retransmitting section that, if communication status data indicating a bad communication status is received at the communication status data receiving section after audio data has been transmitted from the audio data transmitting section, retransmits the audio data based on the second communication method.

8. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the server equipment further comprises:

a received data storing section that stores audio data received at the audio data receiving section; and

a retransfer conducting section that, if at the communication status judging section a communication status is judged bad for a terminal equipment among the plurality of terminal equipments excepting the originating terminal equipment, retransfers audio data stored in the received data storing section to the terminal equipment.

9. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the communication system is capable of communicating both in a first communication method and in a second communication method, the second communication method being relatively slow in communication speed and relatively superior in reliability of communication compared with the first communication method,

the audio data receiving section and the audio data transfer section of the server equipment receive audio data based on the first communication method, and

wherein the server equipment further comprises:

a received data storing section that stores audio data received at the audio data receiving section; and

a retransfer conducting section that, if at the communication status judging section a communication status is judged bad for a terminal equipment among the plurality of terminal equipments excepting the originating terminal equipment, retransfers audio data stored in the received data storing section to the terminal equipment, based on the second communication method.

10. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the audio data is a series of delimited data that is delimited per certain timing, and

wherein each of the terminal equipments further comprises:

a list receiving section that receives a list of the delimited data;

a list displaying section that displays the list of the delimited data received at the list receiving section; and

an audio data designating section that designates one delimited data in the list displayed at the list displaying section according to an operation, and

wherein the server equipment further comprises;

a received data storing section that stores audio data received at the audio data receiving section, for each of the delimited data;

a list transmitting section that transmits a list of the delimited data stored in the received data storing section; and

a retransfer conducting section that retransfers the designated delimited data, upon the receipt of designation of one delimited data in the list.

11. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein each of the terminal equipments further comprises a reproducing status notifying section that notifies the server equipment of a reproducing status of the audio data, and

the communication status judging section of the server equipment judges among the plurality of terminal equipments, that a communication status is bad for a terminal equipment that has notified that reproduction is unfinished and a terminal equipment that has failed to notify the reproducing status.

12. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein each of the terminal equipments further comprises a reproducing status notifying section that notifies the server equipment of a reproducing status of the audio data,

the communication status judging section of the server equipment judges among the plurality of terminal equipments, that a communication status is bad for a terminal equipment that has notified that reproduction is unfinished and a terminal equipment that has failed to notify the reproducing status, and

the server equipment further comprises a transmission prohibiting section that, if there is a terminal equipment whose communication status is judged bad at the communication status judging section, prohibits a transmission of audio data to other terminal equipments excepting the terminal equipment that is judged bad, until reproduction of the audio data finishes at the terminal equipment.

13. A server equipment used in a communication system that includes a plurality of terminal equipments and a server equipment, transmits audio data representing voice from one of the plurality of terminal equipments, transfers the audio data to other terminal equipments at the server equipment, and reproduces the voice in real-time at the other terminal equipments,

the server equipment comprising:

an audio data receiving section that receives audio data transmitted from the terminal equipments;

an audio data transfer section that transfers the audio data received at the audio data receiving section to each of the other terminal equipments excepting an originating terminal equipment that has originated the audio data;

a communication status judging section that judges good or bad of a communication status between respective terminal equipments of the plurality of terminal equipments; and

a communication status data transmitting section that transmits communication status data indicating good or bad of the communication status judged at the communication status judging section, to each of the plurality of terminal equipments.

14. The server equipment according to claim 13, further comprising:

a received data storing section that stores audio data received at the audio data receiving section; and

a retransfer conducting section that, if at the communication status judging section, a communication status is judged bad for a terminal equipment among the plurality of terminal equipments excepting the originating terminal equipment, retransfers audio data stored in the received data storing section to the terminal equipment.

15. The server equipment according to claim 13, wherein the communication system is capable of communicating both in a first communication method and in a second communication method, the second communication method being relatively slow in communication speed and relatively superior in reliability of communication compared with the first communication method,

the audio data receiving section and the audio data transfer section receive audio data based on the first communication method, and

the server equipment further comprises:

a received data storing section that stores audio data received at the audio data receiving section; and

a retransfer conducting section that, if at the communication status judging section a communication status is judged bad for a terminal equipment among the plurality of terminal equipments excepting the originating terminal equipment, retransfers audio data stored in the received data storing section to the terminal equipment, based on the second communication method.

16. A terminal equipment used in a communication system that includes a plurality of terminal equipments and a server equipment, transmits audio data representing voice from one of the plurality of terminal equipments, transfers the audio data to other terminal equipments at the server equipment, and reproduces the voice in real-time at the other terminal equipments,

the terminal equipment comprising:

an audio data transmitting section that transmits audio data representing voice;

a transferred audio data receiving section that receives audio data that has been originated from other terminal equipment and transferred from the server equipment;

an audio reproduction section that reproduces in real-time voice represented by audio data received at the transferred audio data receiving section;

a communication status data receiving section that receives communication status data that is transmitted from the server equipment and that indicates good or bad of a communication status between each of the terminal equipments and the server equipment; and

a communication status notifying section that notifies a user of the good or bad of the communication status indicated by the communication status data.

17. The terminal equipment according to claim 16, further comprising an audio data retransmitting section that, if communication status data indicating a bad communication status is received at the communication status data receiving section after audio data has been transmitted from the audio data transmitting section, retransmits the audio data.

18. The terminal equipment according to claim 16, wherein the communication system is capable of communicating both in a first communication method and in a second communication method, the second communication method being relatively slow in communication speed and relatively superior in reliability of communication compared with the first communication method,

the audio data transmitting section and the transferred audio data receiving section communicate audio data based on the first communication method, and

the terminal equipment further comprises an audio data retransmitting section that, if a communication status data indicating a bad communication status is received at the communication status data receiving section after audio data has been transmitted from the audio data transmitting section, retransmits the audio data based on the second communication method.