TRANSMISSION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, PROGRAM, COMPUTER READABLE INFORMATION RECORDING MEDIUM, PROGRAM PROVIDING SYSTEM, AND MAINTENANCE SYSTEM

• US 20130223292A1
• Filed: 11/29/2011
• Published: 08/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Taro Okuyama
• Inventors: Asai, Takahiro, Okuyama, Taro
• Granted Patent: US 8,861,377 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/261
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/185 with management of multicast group membership
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/6009 Personal information, e.g. profiles or personal directories being only provided to authorised persons
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/6081 Service authorization mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4931 Directory assistance systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/567 Multimedia conference systems

Abstract

A transmission management system receives, from a request source terminal which is an addition request source requesting to add a certain transmission terminal as a destination candidate, an addition request for the destination candidate, identification information of the request source terminal and identification information of a request target terminal which is an addition request target of the destination candidate; and informs the request target terminal of an approval request for requesting the request target terminal to approve the addition request, and the identification of the request source terminal. The system receives an addition request response from the request target terminal in response to the addition request. When the addition request response indicates to approve the addition request, the system additionally associates the identification information of the request target terminal with the identification information of the request source terminal as the identification information of the destination terminal.

Claims

1. A transmission management system which manages communication between a request source terminal and a destination terminal of from among plural transmission terminals, by sending a start request for the communication from the request source terminal which is a start request source terminal to the destination terminal which is a start request target for the communication, comprising:

a destination list management part configured to manage a destination list indicating a candidate for the destination terminal of the request source terminal, by associating, for identification information of the request source terminal, identification information of the destination terminal which is the destination candidate capable of carrying out the communication with the request source terminal;

a reception part configured to receive, from the request source terminal which is an addition request source requesting to add a certain transmission terminal as a destination candidate, an addition request for the destination candidate, the identification information of the request source terminal and the identification information of a request target terminal which is an addition request target for the destination candidate; and

a transmission part configured to inform the request target terminal of an approval request for requesting the request target terminal to approve the addition request, and transmitting the identification of the request source terminal, wherein

the reception part is configured to receive the addition request response from the request target terminal in response to the addition request, and

in a case where the addition request response indicates to approve the addition request, the destination list management part is configured to additionally associate the identification information of the request target terminal as the identification information of the destination terminal with the identification information of the request source terminal, and manage the identification information.

2. The transmission management system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

an addition request management part configured to associate the identification information of the request source terminal received by the reception part and the identification information of the request target terminal with one another, and manage the identification information, wherein

in a case where the addition request response indicates to approve the addition request, the destination list management part is configured to additionally associate, for the identification information of the request source terminal in the destination list management part the same as the identification information of the request source terminal managed by the addition request management part, the identification information of the request target terminal managed in the addition request management part as being associated with the identification information of the request source terminal, as the identification information of the destination terminal, and manages the identification information.

3. The transmission management system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a terminal management part configured to manage, for the identification information of the transmission terminals, operating state information indicating an operating state of the transmission terminal as being associated with the identification information, wherein

in a case where the operating state indicated by the operating state information managed by the terminal management part is on-line and indicates that communication has not been started yet, the transmission part is configured to transmit to the request target terminal which is the transmission terminal having said operating state the approval request for requesting to approve the addition request, and also, the identification information of the request source terminal.

4. The transmission management system as claimed in claim 1, wherein

in a case where the destination list has been sent to the request source terminal before the identification information of the destination terminal is additionally managed by the destination list management part, the transmission part is configured to transmit only the identification information of the destination terminal having been additionally managed by the destination list management part.

5. A program executed by a transmission management system, wherein when executed by one or plural processors, the program acts as the parts claimed in claim 1.

6. A computer readable information recording medium storing the program claimed in claim 5.

7. A program providing system providing the program claimed in claim 5 to the transmission management system via a communication network.

8. A maintenance system carrying out maintenance of the transmission management system claimed in claim 1.