Communication system and communication control method for the same

• US 5,887,136 A
• Filed: 08/02/1996
• Issued: 03/23/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Yasuda, Chikara, Ito, Ryuji, Fujiwara, Kazue, Kimura, Narito, Takagi, Masahiro, Hirose, Tsuguhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Ramirez, Ellis B.
• Application Number:
  US08/691,559
• Time in Patent Office: 963 Days
• Field of Search: 395/200.34, 395/200.35, 395/200.47, 395/200.48, 395/200.57, 395/200.59, 348/13, 348/15, 348/16
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1094 Inter-user-equipment sessions transfer or sharing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4038 with floor control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/24 Negotiation of communication capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/152 Multipoint control units therefor

Abstract

A communication system housing a plurality of terminals capable of processing one or more media is provided with an available terminal information storage section for storing a terminal or terminals to be used for each user, an available media information storage section for storing a medium or media or a media realization scheme or schemes to be used for each terminal, a determination section for determining a combination of one or more media or one or more media realization schemes and a terminal combination of one or more terminals to be used by each user in accordance with the contents of the available terminal information storage section and the available media information storage section for each of users engaged in communications according to communication requests and a control section for controlling setting of call/connections based on the media combination and the terminal combination determined by the determination section.

Claims

1. A communication system comprising:

a plurality of terminals capable of processing a medium or media;

an available terminal information storage section for storing a terminal or terminals available for each user;

an available media information storage section for storing the medium or media available for each terminal;

a determination section for determining, on the basis of contents of said available terminal information storage section and said available media information storage section, at least one of a combination of one or more media and a combination of one or more terminals which are available for each of users participating in communication in accordance with a communication request; and

a call/connection control section for setting a call/connection for some of said terminals which correspond to the at least one combination determined by said determination section.

2. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein said determination section is provided with functions for determining media used for communications from media specified by the communication request, media available for the user on a calling user side and media available for the user on a called user side, and determining a combination of terminals available for the user on the calling user side and a combination of terminals available for the user on the called user side to use the media determined.

3. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein said determination section further comprises a section for reporting a communication failure to a user or a terminal that has made a communication request, when the combinations of the media and terminals capable of communicating between users participating in communication are undetermined.

4. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein said determination section further comprising a reporting section for reporting determined or undetermined media to a user or a terminal that has made a communication request, when the combinations of media and terminals which are capable of communication between users participating in communication are determined only in a part of the media.

5. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein said determination section further comprises a setting/releasing section for setting/releasing a call/connection only for determined media when the combinations of media and terminals which are capable of communication between users participating in communication are determined only in a part of the media.

6. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein said available terminal information storage section updates a stored content of the terminal available for each user in accordance with at least any of a movement of the user, power ON/OFF of the terminal or connection and disconnection to a subscriber'"'"'s line of the terminal.

7. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein said available media information storage section updates a stored content of the media available for each terminal in accordance with at least attaching/detaching of an I/O device.

8. The communication system according to claim 1, which further comprises one or more media conversion sections for performing media-conversion among media usable in communication and one or more available media conversion information storage sections for storing types of the media to be converted and positional information representing a media position in a communication system;

and

wherein said determination section is provided with a function for repeatedly starting said available media conversion information storage sections to search at least one of said media conversion sections for connecting the media used by a first user and the media used by a second user, and determining the media available for each user participating in communication and at least one of said media conversion sections for connecting between the media, when there are no media commonly available among users participating in communication.

9. The communication system according to claim 1, which further comprises plural available multi-point media processing sections for arithmetically processing plural media-information, and an available multi-point media processing information storage section for storing a media processing class, available media and positional information within said communication system, as information regarding said available multi-point media processing sections;

and

wherein said determination section determines, at least one of said available multi-point media processing sections on the basis of a communication mode specified by a communication request and media available for each user participating in communication; and

said call/connection control section controls setting of connections between a determined one of said available multi-point media processing section and said terminal available in communication, in accordance with topology based on said communication mode.

10. The communication system according to claim 1, which further comprises an adjusting section for adjusting and determining at least one of a media combination of one or more media and a terminal combination of one or more terminals among users participating in communication.

11. A communication control method for a communication system comprising the steps of:

preparing a media conversion section for performing a media conversion among plural media information objects and a storage section for respectively storing a terminal available for each user and media available for each terminal;

obtaining one or more terminals available for respective users participating in communication on the basis of a content of said storage section in accordance with a communication request containing information for identifying the users participating in the communication and information for identifying types of said media;

obtaining one or more media realization schemes available for the respective users participating in the communication on the basis of information of said storage section for portions or all of the obtained terminals;

determining one or more media realization schemes and a combination of terminals used by the respective users participating in the communication and a media conversion section for performing a media conversion; and

setting a call/connection based on a determination result.

12. The communication control method for the communication system according to claim 11, wherein said preparing step includes providing various multi-spot media processing sections for performing arithmetic processing among plural media information objects;

said determining step includes determining an optimal one from the available multi-point media processing sections according to a communication mode specified by information regarding communication modes contained in the communication request; and

said setting call/connection step includes setting the call/connection on the basis of information regarding the media realization schemes and the combination of terminals, the available conversion sections and the determined available multi-point media processing section.

13. The communication control method for the communication system according to claim 11, wherein said call/connection setting step includes setting/releasing the call/connection only for determined media realization scheme when combinations of media realization schemes and terminals which are available among users participating in the communication are determined only in portions of the media realization schemes.

14. A communication control method for a communication system comprising the steps of:

inputting a communication request containing information regarding at least one or more called users and one or more media that the user wishes to communicate with;

adjusting and determining at least one of a media combination of one or more media and a terminal combination of one or more terminals among users participating in the communication according to the communication request; and

setting call/connections for at least one of the media combination and the terminal combination when at least one of the media combination and the determined terminal combination is available.

15. A communication system comprising:

a communication request input section for accepting the input of the communication request containing information regarding one or more called users and one or more media the user wishes to communicate with;

a candidate determination section for determining one or more sets each including at least one of a media combination of one or more media and a combination of one or more terminals which are available for each of users participating in a communication in order to satisfy a part of a communication request;

a user intention reflex section for reporting to the user or a different user participating in the communication at least one of a candidate of the combination of one or more media and a candidate of the combination of terminals, selecting one of the candidates and determining permission of the communications based on the selected candidate or a change of the communication request in accordance with an input of the user who has received the report; and

a setting section for setting call/connections on the basis of a determination result of said user intention reflex section.

16. The communication system according to claim 15, which further comprises a communication request change section for allowing the user to input a content of the change when said user intention reflex section selects the change of the communication request.

17. The communication system according to claim 15, which further comprises an inter-user adjusting section for making an adjustment regarding the selection of the combination candidate or the change of the communication requests between at least two or more users participating in the communication when said user intention reflex section determines that non-coincidence occurred among the inputs of a plurality of users or such non-coincidence may occur.

18. A communication system comprising as one of a plurality of terminals interconnected by a network a terminal unit capable of processing one or more media,

wherein said terminal unit includes:

a communication request input section for inputting by a user information regarding one or more called users and one or more media the user wishes to communicate with;

a user intention reflex section for reporting to the user or a different user participating in a communication at least one of a combination of one or more media and a combination of terminals which are available for satisfying at least portions of the communication request at the time of issuance thereof, selecting one of the combinations, and determining permission of the communications based on the selected combination or a change of the communication request in accordance with an input of the user who has received the report; and

a setting section for setting call/connections based on a determination result of said user intention reflex section.

19. A communication system comprising:

a plurality of service control sections for connecting a plurality of terminals having various resources to a communication network and providing services by using resources of this communication network or various resources of the terminals connected to the communication network;

a reservation section for reserving resources which one of said service control sections needs to provide desired services when the resources are not available because another service control section has acquired the same;

a management section for managing use of the resources; and

a report section for reporting, when said reserved resources are released, the release thereof to said service control section for providing the desired services based on information of said management section.

20. A communication system comprising:

a plurality of service control sections for connecting a plurality of terminals having various resources to a communication network and providing services by using resources of this communication network or various resources of the terminals connected to the communication network;

a release request section for requesting release of resources which one of said service control section needs to provide desired services when the resources are not available because another service control section has acquired the same; and

a resource release section for releasing resources depending on requests of said release request section.

21. A communication system comprising:

a network having plural resources;

a plurality of terminals connected to said network and provided with various resources;

a plurality of service controllers for providing a desired service, using said resources of said network or said terminals;

a report section for reporting said resources required by said service controllers to provide the desired service and priority thereof;

a release section for releasing the resources corresponding to one of said service controllers when the resources that one of said service controllers requested to provide a desired service have been already secured by the other of said service controllers, and if said the other service controller has a priority lower than said one service controller.

22. A communication system comprising:

a plurality of service control sections for realizing a desired service by controlling resources of a network or resources of terminal units connected to said network;

a management section for managing using state of said resources;

a transmission section for setting information representing the resources required for controlling the service in an available one of said service control sections as requested resource information in a signaling message when setting a communication connection;

a determination section for recognizing requested resources on the basis of the requested resource information in the signaling message and determining whether or not the recognized resource should be allocated to said available one of said service control sections; and

a control section for controlling said system to execute continuously a sequence for setting the communication connection, using a destination of the setting communication connection as the requested resource, when said determination section determines a resource allocation, and to stop setting of the communication connection when said determination section rejects the resource allocation.

23. A communication system comprising:

a plurality of terminals connected to a network and having plural resources;

a receipt section for receiving a reservation register for reserving the resources of at least one of said terminals which is used for realizing a communication service, a reservation time and a called user terminal;

a call generator for generating a call to said called user terminal at the reservation time on the basis of the reservation register; and

a control section for securing reserved ones of said resources and enabling a communication in response to the call.

24. A communication system comprising:

a plurality of terminals connected to a network having plural resources;

a first reservation section for reserving one or more resources of said network and outputting a first reservation identifier in response to a request of a first one of said terminals;

a first storage section for storing a relationship between the first reservation identifier and reservation contents including at least a reserved time and reserved resources which are reserved by the first reservation identifier;

a first connection control section for realizing a communication service by connecting said reserved resources to said terminals;

a second reservation section for reserving terminal resources via said terminals associated with the communication service performed by said first terminal in accordance with a request issued directly or through said network from said first terminal;

a second storage section for storing a relationship between the first reservation identifier and said terminal resources reserved by said terminals associated with the communication service; and

a second connection control section for connecting said terminal resources to said resources of said network reserved by the first reservation identifier in accordance with a correspondence relation between the first reservation and said reserved terminal resources.

25. A communication system according to claim 24, wherein the first reservation identifier is contained in a communication setting request for requesting a communication from said first connection control section to all the terminals associated with the communication to be realized when the communication is realized, and said terminals corresponding to the communication setting request obtains said resources reserved by the first reservation identifier from said second storage section and are connected to said resources of said network which correspond to the communication setting request.