Communication control apparatus

• US 7,965,706 B2
• Filed: 08/01/2005
• Issued: 06/21/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Okuyama, Satoshi, Iwakawa, Akinori
• Primary Examiner(s): Phan; Man
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mansoury; Nourali
• Application Number:
  US11/193,426
• Publication Number:
  US 20060251060A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,150 Days
• Field of Search: 370/360, 370/394, 370/389, 370/493, 370/902, 370/912, 370/231, 370/235, 370/236.1
• US Class Current: 370/360
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

A communication control apparatus that manages a media condition and a communication state of communication terminals in an integrated manner and optimizes a communication terminal environment according to events of various types is provided. A communication control module includes a terminal control portion for retaining a media information that can be handled by each of communication terminal devices belonging to a group of terminals available to one user and sending and receiving a call control information between the communication terminal devices, a virtual terminal portion that, by controlling a call with respect to the communication terminal device of another user based on the call control information, functions for the another user as a single virtual terminal, and a terminal environment optimizing portion that, at a time when an occurrence of an event is detected, refers to a media information of the event and the media information in the terminal control portion so as to determine a communication media condition corresponding to the event, and selects a communication terminal device matching this condition.

Claims

1. A communication control apparatus that, on a communication system in which a plurality of users communicate with each other, manages a group of available communication terminals including a plurality of communication terminal devices available to one user in an integrated manner and that is interposed in a communication with another user by using one of the plurality of communication terminal devices, the communication control apparatus comprising:

a communication terminal control portion, provided so as to correspond to each of the communication terminal devices belonging to the group of available communication terminals, for retaining at least one communication terminal control portion media type identifier that is handled by each of the communication terminal devices and sending and receiving a call control information between the communication terminal devices;

a virtual terminal portion that, by controlling a call with respect to the communication terminal device of the another user based on the call control information, functions as a single virtual terminal to make one call with respect to the another user by combining each call made simultaneously in the plurality of communication terminal devices belonging to the group of the available communication terminals; and

a communication terminal environment optimizing portion that, at a time when an occurrence of an event regarding a communication control sequence or an event regarding a change in a communication terminal environment on the communication system is detected, compares a media type identifier of the event contained in an event information accompanying the event and the media type identifier in the communication terminal control portion so as to determine a communication medium, and selects a communication terminal device handling the determined communication medium from the group of available communication terminals, and incorporates the selected communication terminal device into the call in a current communication, wherein

the group of available communication terminals is capable of carrying out the communication using multiple types of media,

the communication system is a multimedia communication system in which the one user selects from the group of available communication terminals the communication terminal device corresponding to the media that the one user is utilizing, and

the communication terminal control portion further retains a priority of each of media type identifiers at each of the communication terminal devices, wherein

the event is a receipt of a call setup request from one of the plurality of communication terminal devices of the another user, and

the communication terminal environment optimizing portion compares the media type identifier contained in the call setup request and the media type identifier in the communication terminal control portion, sends the call setup request to at least the communication terminal device whose media type identifier matches the media type identifier contained in the call setup request among the group of available communication terminals and, on receipt of a receiving response from the communication terminal device performing a receiving operation, sets a call by using the media type identifiers at the communication terminal device irrespective of the priority of each of the media type identifiers, and selects the communication terminal device having the media type identifier of a high priority from the communication terminal device handling a medium that is not contained in the receiving response as the communication terminal device to be incorporated into the call.

2. A communication control apparatus that, on a communication system in which a plurality of users communicate with each other, manages a group of available communication terminals including a plurality of communication terminal devices available to one user in an integrated manner and that is interposed in a communication with another user by using one of the plurality of communication terminal devices, the communication control apparatus comprising:

a communication terminal control portion, provided so as to correspond to each of the communication terminal devices belonging to the group of available communication terminals, for retaining at least one communication terminal control portion media type identifier that is handled by each of the communication terminal devices and sending and receiving a call control information between the communication terminal devices;

a virtual terminal portion that, by controlling a call with respect to the communication terminal device of the another user based on the call control information, functions as a single virtual terminal to make one call with respect to the another user by combining each call made simultaneously in a plurality of communication terminal devices belonging to the group of the available communication terminals; and

a communication terminal environment optimizing portion that, at a time when an occurrence of an event regarding a communication control sequence or an event regarding a change in a communication terminal environment on the communication system is detected, compares a media type identifier of the event contained in an event information accompanying the event and the media type identifier in the communication terminal control portion so as to determine a communication medium, and selects a communication terminal device handling the determined communication medium from the group of available communication terminals, and incorporates the selected communication terminal device into the call in a current communication, wherein

the group of available communication terminals is capable of carrying out the communication using multiple types of media,

the communication system is a multimedia communication system in which the one user selects from the group of available communication terminals the communication terminal device corresponding to the media that the one user is utilizing, and

the communication terminal control portion further retains a priority of each of media type identifiers of each of the communication terminal devices, wherein

the event is a receipt of a call setup request from one of the plurality of communication terminal devices belonging to the group of communication terminals available to its own user, and

upon detecting the call setup request from the communication terminal device, the communication terminal environment optimizing portion sets a call by using the media type identifiers at the communication terminal device irrespective of the priority of each of the media type identifiers, compares a media type identifier contained in the call setup request and the media type identifier in the communication terminal control portion and selects of the communication terminal device having the media type identifier of a high priority from the plurality of communication terminal devices corresponding to a media type identifier that is contained in the media type identifier in the communication terminal control portion but not contained in the call setup request as the communication terminal device to be incorporated into the call.

3. A communication control apparatus that, on a communication system in which a plurality of users communicate with each other, manages a group of available communication terminals including a plurality of communication terminal devices available to one user in an integrated manner and that is interposed in a communication with another user by using one of the plurality of communication terminal devices, the communication control apparatus comprising:

a communication terminal control portion, provided so as to correspond to each of the communication terminal devices belonging to the group of available communication terminals, for retaining at least one communication terminal control portion media type identifier that is handled by each of the communication terminal devices and sending and receiving a call control information between the communication terminal devices;

a virtual terminal portion that, by controlling a call with respect to the communication terminal device of the another user based on the call control information, functions as a single virtual terminal to make one call with respect to the another user by combining each call made simultaneously in the plurality of communication terminal devices belonging to the group of the available communication terminals; and

a communication terminal environment optimizing portion that, at a time when an occurrence of an event regarding a communication control sequence or an event regarding a change in a communication terminal environment on the communication system is detected, compares a media type identifier of the event contained in an event information accompanying the event and the media type identifier in the communication terminal control portion so as to determine a communication medium, and selects a communication terminal device handling media type identifiers from the group of available communication terminals, and incorporates the selected communication terminal device into the call in a current communication, wherein

the group of available communication terminals is capable of carrying out the communication using multiple types of media,

the communication system is a multimedia communication system in which the one user selects from the group of available communication terminals the communication terminal device corresponding to the media that the one user is utilizing, and

the communication terminal control portion further retains a priority of each of media type identifiers of each of the communication terminal devices, wherein

the event is a receipt of a registration request from a new communication terminal device to be added to the group of communication terminals available to its own user, and

the communication terminal environment optimizing portion retains the media type identifier of the another user during the communication with the another user, compares the media type identifier of the another user and a media type identifier contained in the registration request in a case where the event is detected during the communication, sets a call by using the media type identifiers at a new communication terminal device irrespective of the priority of each of the media type identifiers in a case where the media type identifier contained in the registration request is present in the media type identifier of the another user, and it is determined that the media type identifier contained in the registration request is not contained in the call during the communication, and sends a call setup request to the communication terminal device of the another user corresponding to a new medium, and

in a case where the media type identifier contained in the registration request is present in the medium type identifier of the another user, and it is determined that the media type identifier contained in the registration request is contained in the call during the communication, when the priority of the media type identifier for the new communication terminal device is compared with the priority of the media type identifier for the communication terminal device with the call is established, and the priority of the media type identifier for the new communication terminal device is higher, the new communication terminal device is selected as the communication terminal device to be incorporated into the call, and a disconnection request of the medium of the terminal communication terminal with which the call is established is sent to reset the call regarding the medium using the new communication control device.