Management system, management method, program, system, and method

Abstract

To solve a problem in which, when a new destination candidate is registered in a destination list, a management server inquires of a transmission terminal as a new destination candidate whether it is acceptable to register it as a destination candidate, and transmits it as a new destination candidate, and conventionally, there is no disclosure of a method for deleting destination candidates from the destination list when the transmission terminal does not manage the destination list by itself and the management server manages the destination list.SOLUTION: A manager terminal 20a issues a deletion request to a transmission management system 40 to delete a transmission terminal 10ca not under management from each destination list (destination list management DB) of transmission terminals (10aa, 10ab) under management (ST31). As a result, the transmission management system 40 performs collective deletion from each destination list (destination list management DB) (ST32), and transmits deletion completion notification to each of the transmission terminals (10aa, 10ab, 10ca) (ST33).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 15

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an invention for managing destination candidates for a given transmission terminal. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, with the demand for reducing business trip expenses and business trip time, transmission systems for video conferencing and the like via communication networks such as the Internet have become widespread. In such a transmission system, when a call is started between multiple transmission terminals, image data and audio data are transmitted and received, thereby realizing a video conference.

[0003] Also, in order to make it easier for the user to select the desired destination terminal from the call destination candidates, the initiating terminal that requests the start of the call can display a destination list, allowing the user to select the desired destination terminal (see Patent Document 1). Furthermore, when a new destination candidate is to be registered in the destination list, the management server inquires of the transmission terminal that is to be the new destination candidate as to whether or not it is OK to register it as a destination candidate, and if the registration is approved by the transmission terminal that is to be the new destination candidate, the new destination candidate is registered (see Patent Document 2).

[0004] On the other hand, in the case of a mobile phone, it is well known that a user of the mobile phone can delete a candidate destination from the destination list registered in the user's mobile phone. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in the invention described in Patent Document 2, the starting terminal does not manage the destination list by itself, but a management server (transmission management system) connected to the starting terminal via a communication network manages the destination list. In such a case, Patent Document 2 does not disclose a method for deleting destination candidates from the destination list. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The invention of claim 1 is a transmission management system that manages destination candidates for a specific transmission terminal, and is characterized in having: a storage means that stores associated information in which a starting terminal identification information for identifying a starting terminal that is a transmission terminal requesting the start of communication among the transmission terminals is associated with destination candidate identification information for identifying the starting terminal; a receiving means that receives a deletion request to delete a specific destination candidate identification information from the destination candidate identification information associated with a specific starting terminal identification information; and a deletion means that deletes the specific destination candidate identification information from the destination candidate identification information associated with the specific starting terminal identification information in the associated information based on the deletion request received by the receiving means. Effect of the Invention

[0007] As described above, according to the present invention, even when related information equivalent to a destination list is managed on the transmission management system side, it is possible to delete a desired destination candidate from this related information. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a transmission system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing the state of transmission and reception of image data, audio data, and various management information in the transmission system. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the image quality of image data. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an external view of the transmission terminal. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the transmission terminal. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the relay device, the terminal management system, the destination registration system, the program providing system, and the maintenance system. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of a terminal management system and a destination registration system that constitute the transmission management system. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram of the terminal authentication management DB. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram of the terminal management DB. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram of the destination list management DB. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram of the request management DB. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram of the administrator DB. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a process for registering a destination candidate. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a process for registering a destination candidate. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a process for deleting a destination candidate. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a management method by the transmission management system. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a conceptual diagram of the authentication screen. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a conceptual diagram of the administrator registration screen. [Figure 19] FIG. 19 is a conceptual diagram of the management terminal list screen. [Figure 20] FIG. 20 is a conceptual diagram of the management terminal registration screen. [Figure 21] FIG. 21 is a conceptual diagram of a confirmation screen for deleting a managed terminal. [Figure 22] FIG. 22 is a conceptual diagram of the destination candidate registration screen. [Figure 23] FIG. 23 is a conceptual diagram of the destination candidate deletion screen. [Figure 24] FIG. 24 is a conceptual diagram of the destination candidate deletion screen. [Diagram 25] FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing the process of registering and deleting a management terminal. [Figure 26] FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing the process of registering and deleting a destination candidate. [Figure 27] FIG. 27 is a conceptual diagram of the administrator DB according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0010] [First embodiment] First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0011] <Overall configuration of the embodiment> Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a transmission system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing the state of transmission and reception of image data, sound data, and various management information in the transmission system. Fig. 3 is a conceptual diagram explaining the image quality of image data.

[0012] The transmission system 1 also includes a communication system for mutually transmitting information, emotions, etc. between a plurality of terminals. This communication system is a system for mutually transmitting information, emotions, etc. between a plurality of communication terminals (corresponding to "transmission terminals") via a communication management system (corresponding to the "transmission management system" in this embodiment), and an example of such a communication system is a television (video) conference system.

[0013] 1 is constructed by a plurality of transmission terminals (10aa, 10ab, ...), displays (120aa, 120ab, ...) for each transmission terminal (10aa, 10ab, ...), a plurality of administrator terminals (20a, 20b, 20c, 20d), a plurality of relay devices (30a, 30b, 30c, 30d), a transmission management system 40, a program providing system 90, and a maintenance system 100. Furthermore, the transmission management system 40 is constructed by a terminal management system 50 and a destination registration system 80.

[0014] The multiple transmission terminals 10 transmit and receive image data and sound data as an example of content data. Another example of content data is text data. The content data may include at least one of image data, sound data, and text data.

[0015] In the following, any one of the multiple transmission terminals (10aa, 10ab, ...) will be referred to as "transmission terminal 10", any one of the multiple displays (120aa, 120ab, ...) will be referred to as "display 120", and any one of the multiple relay devices (30a, 30b, 30c, 30d) will be referred to as "relay device 30".

[0016] Also, the transmission terminal 10 which is the request source for requesting the start of a video conference or the like is represented as the "start terminal", and the transmission terminal 10 which is the destination (relay destination) of the request is represented as the "destination terminal". Furthermore, the transmission terminal 10 which requests to register the other transmission terminal 10 in its destination list is represented as the "request source terminal", and the other transmission terminal 10 in this case is represented as the "request destination terminal".

[0017] 2, in the transmission system 1, a management information session sei is established between the start terminal and the destination terminal via the terminal management system 50 for transmitting and receiving various management information. Four sessions are established between the start terminal and the destination terminal via the relay device 30 for transmitting and receiving four types of data: high-resolution image data, medium-resolution image data, low-resolution image data, and sound data. Here, these four sessions are collectively shown as an image / sound data session sed. Note that it is not necessary to use the relay device 30 between the start terminal and the destination terminal, and the image / sound data session sed may be established directly between the start terminal and the destination terminal.

[0018] Here, the image resolution of the image data handled in this embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 3(a), there is a low-resolution image consisting of 160 pixels horizontally and 120 pixels vertically, which is a base image; as shown in FIG. 3(b), there is a medium-resolution image consisting of 320 pixels horizontally and 240 pixels vertically; and as shown in FIG. 3(C), there is a high-resolution image consisting of 640 pixels horizontally and 480 pixels vertically. Among these, when passing through a narrowband path, low-quality image data consisting only of low-resolution image data which is a base image is relayed. When the bandwidth is relatively wide, low-quality image data consisting of low-resolution image data which is a base image and medium-quality image data consisting of medium-resolution image data is relayed. Also, when the bandwidth is very wide, high-quality image data consisting of low-resolution image data which is a base image, medium-resolution image data, and high-resolution image data is relayed.

[0019] 1 relays content data between a plurality of transmission terminals 10. A terminal management system 50 centrally manages login authentication from the transmission terminal 10, management of call status of the transmission terminal 10, management of a destination list, and communication status of the relay device 30. Note that the images in the image data may be moving images or still images, or may be both moving images and still images.

[0020] The multiple routers (70a, 70b, 70c, 70d, 70ab, 70cd) select the optimal route for image data and sound data. In the following, any one of the routers (70a, 70b, 70c, 70d, 70ab, 70cd) is referred to as a "router 70."

[0021] The program providing system 90 includes a hard disk (HD) 204 described below, which stores a program for the transmission terminal for causing the transmission terminal 10 to realize various functions (or for causing the transmission terminal 10 to function as various means), and can transmit the program for the transmission terminal to the transmission terminal 10. The HD 204 of the program providing system 90 also stores a program for the relay device for causing the relay device 30 to realize various functions (or for causing the relay device 30 to function as various means), and can transmit the program for the relay device to the relay device 30.

[0022] Furthermore, the HD 204 of the program providing system 90 also stores a transmission management program for causing the terminal management system 50 to realize various functions (or for causing the terminal management system 50 to function as various means), and can transmit the transmission management program to the terminal management system 50. The HD 204 of the program providing system 90 also stores a destination registration program for causing the destination registration system 80 to realize various functions (or for causing the destination registration system 80 to function as various means), and can transmit the destination registration program to the destination registration system 80. The terminal management program and the destination registration program are collectively treated as a transmission management program.

[0023] The maintenance system 100 is a computer for maintaining, managing, or repairing at least one of the transmission terminal 10, the relay device 30, the terminal management system 50, the destination registration system 80, and the program providing system 90. For example, when the maintenance system 100 is installed in Japan and the transmission terminal 10, the relay device 30, the terminal management system 50, the destination registration system 80, or the program providing system 90 is installed outside the country, the maintenance system 100 remotely performs maintenance such as maintenance, management, or repair of at least one of the transmission terminal 10, the relay device 30, the terminal management system 50, the destination registration system 80, and the program providing system 90 via the communication network 2. In addition, the maintenance system 100 performs maintenance such as management of the model number, serial number, sales destination, maintenance inspection, or failure history of at least one of the transmission terminal 10, the relay device 30, the terminal management system 50, the destination registration system 80, and the program providing system 90 without going through the communication network 2.

[0024] Meanwhile, the transmission terminals (10aa, 10ab, 10ac,...), the relay device 30a, and the router 70a are communicatively connected by a LAN 2a. The transmission terminals (10ba, 10bb, 10bc,...), the relay device 30b, and the router 70b are communicatively connected by a LAN 2b. Furthermore, the LAN 2a and the LAN 2b are communicatively connected by a dedicated line 2ab including the router 70ab, and are constructed within a specified area A. For example, the area A is an office in Tokyo, the LAN 2a is constructed within the Sales Department 1, and the LAN 2b is constructed within the Sales Department 2.

[0025] Meanwhile, the transmission terminals (10ca, 10cb, 10cc,...), the relay device 30c, and the router 70c are communicatively connected by the LAN2c. The transmission terminals (10da, 10db, 10dc,...), the relay device 30d, and the router 70d are communicatively connected by the LAN2d. Furthermore, the LAN2c and the LAN2d are communicatively connected by a dedicated line 2cd including the router 70cd, and are constructed in a predetermined area B. For example, the area B is an office in Osaka, the LAN2c is constructed in the Development Department 1, and the LAN2d is constructed in the Development Department 2. The areas A and B are communicatively connected from the routers (70ab, 70cd) via the Internet 2i, respectively.

[0026] The terminal management system 50, the destination registration system 80, and the program providing system 90 are communicatively connected to the transmission terminal 10 and the relay device 30 via the Internet 2i. The terminal management system 50, the destination registration system 80, and the program providing system 90 may be installed in the area A or area B, or may be installed in an area other than these.

[0027] In this embodiment, the communication network 2 of this embodiment is constructed by the LAN 2a, the LAN 2b, the dedicated line 2ab, the Internet 2i, the dedicated line 2cd, the LAN 2c, and the LAN 2d. The communication network 2 may include locations where not only wired communication but also wireless communication such as WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) and Bluetooth (registered trademark) is performed.

[0028] 1, four sets of numbers shown under each transmission terminal 10, each relay device 30, terminal management system 50, each router 70, destination registration system 80, and program providing system 90 simply indicate general IP addresses in IPv4. For example, the IP address of the transmission terminal 10aa is "1.2.1.3". Also, IPv6 may be used instead of IPv4, but for the sake of simplicity, IPv4 will be used in the following description.

[0029] Each transmission terminal 10 may be used not only for calls between multiple offices or between different rooms in the same office, but also for calls within the same room, or calls between outdoors and indoors or outdoors and outdoors. When each transmission terminal 10 is used outdoors, wireless communication such as a mobile phone communication network is performed.

[0030] <Hardware configuration of the embodiment> Next, the hardware configuration of this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 4 to Fig. 6. Fig. 4 is an external view of a transmission terminal. In the following description, the longitudinal direction of the transmission terminal 10 is defined as the X-axis direction, the direction perpendicular to the X-axis direction in a horizontal plane is defined as the Y-axis direction, and the direction perpendicular to the X-axis and Y-axis directions (vertical direction) is defined as the Z-axis direction.

[0031] As shown in Fig. 4, the transmission terminal 10 includes a housing 1100, an arm 1200, and a camera housing 1300. A front wall surface 1110 of the housing 1100 is provided with an intake surface (not shown) formed with a plurality of intake holes, and a rear wall surface 1120 of the housing 1100 is provided with an exhaust surface 1121 formed with a plurality of exhaust holes. This allows the outside air behind the terminal 10 to be taken in through the intake surface (not shown) by driving a cooling fan built into the housing 1100, and to be exhausted to the rear of the terminal 10 through the exhaust surface 1121. A sound pickup hole 1131 is formed in a right wall surface 1130 of the housing 1100, and sounds such as sounds, noises, and the like can be picked up by a built-in microphone 114 described later.

[0032] An operation panel 1150 is formed on the right side wall 1130 of the housing 1100. This operation panel 1150 is provided with a plurality of operation buttons (108a to 108e), a power switch 109, and an alarm lamp 119, which will be described later, and also has a sound output surface 1151 formed by a plurality of sound output holes for passing sound output from a built-in speaker 115, which will be described later. In addition, a storage section 1160 is formed on the left side wall 1140 of the housing 1100 as a recess for storing the arm 1200 and the camera housing 1300. A plurality of connection ports (1132a to 1132c) for electrically connecting cables to an external device connection I / F 118, which will be described later, are provided on the right side wall 1130 of the housing 1100. Meanwhile, a left wall surface 1140 of the housing 1100 is provided with a connection port (not shown) for electrically connecting a cable 120c for the display 120 to an external device connection I / F 118 (described later).

[0033] In the following, "operation button 108" will be used to refer to any of the operation buttons (108a to 108e), and "connection port 1132" will be used to refer to any of the connection ports (1132a to 1132c).

[0034] Next, arm 1200 is attached to housing 1100 via torque hinge 1210, and configured so that arm 1200 can rotate up and down within a range of tilt angle θ1 of 135 degrees relative to housing 1100. Fig. 4 shows a state where tilt angle θ1 is 90 degrees.

[0035] The camera housing 1300 is provided with a built-in camera 112, which will be described later, and can capture images of a user, a document, a room, and the like. A torque hinge 1310 is also formed in the camera housing 1300. The camera housing 1300 is attached to the arm 1200 via the torque hinge 1310. The camera housing 1300 is attached to the arm 1200 via the torque hinge 1310, and is configured to be rotatable in the up, down, left, and right directions with respect to the arm 1200 within a pan angle θ2 range of ±180 degrees, with the state shown in FIG. 4 being 0 degrees, and within a tilt angle θ3 range of ±45 degrees.

[0036] The relay device 30, the terminal management system 50, the destination registration system 80, the program providing system 90, and the maintenance system 100 each have the same appearance as a general server computer, so a description of their appearance will be omitted.

[0037] 5 is a hardware configuration diagram of the transmission terminal. As shown in FIG. 5, the transmission terminal 10 of the present embodiment includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101 that controls the operation of the entire transmission terminal 10, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 102 that stores programs used to drive the CPU 101, such as an IPL (Initial Program Loader), a RAM (Random Access Memory) 103 that is used as a work area for the CPU 101, a flash memory 104 that stores various data such as a transmission terminal program, image data, and sound data, a solid state drive (SSD) 105 that controls reading or writing of various data from the flash memory 104 under the control of the CPU 101, a media drive 107 that controls reading or writing (storing) of data from a recording medium 106 such as a flash memory, an operation button 108 that is operated when selecting a destination of the transmission terminal 10, a power switch 109 that switches the power of the transmission terminal 10 on and off, and a network I / F (Interface) 111 that transmits data using the communication network 2.

[0038] The transmission terminal 10 also includes a built-in camera 112 that captures an image of a subject and obtains image data under the control of the CPU 101, an image sensor I / F 113 that controls the operation of the camera 112, a built-in microphone 114 that inputs sound, a built-in speaker 115 that outputs sound, an audio input / output I / F 116 that processes input and output of audio signals between the microphone 114 and the speaker 115 under the control of the CPU 101, a display I / F 117 that transmits image data to an external display 120 under the control of the CPU 101, an external device connection I / F 118 that is attached to the connection port 1021g shown in FIG. 4 and is used to connect various external devices, an alarm lamp 119 that notifies of abnormalities in various functions of the transmission terminal 10, and bus lines 110 such as an address bus and a data bus for electrically connecting the above-mentioned components as shown in FIG. 8.

[0039] The display 120 is a display unit configured with liquid crystal or organic electroluminescence (EL) that displays an image of a subject, operation icons, etc. The display 120 is also connected to the display I / F 117 by a cable 120c. This cable 120c may be a cable for analog RGB (VGA) signals, a cable for component video, or a cable for HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) or DVI (Digital Video Interactive) signals.

[0040] The camera 112 includes a lens and a solid-state imaging element that converts light into electric charges to digitize an image (video) of a subject. As the solid-state imaging element, a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), a charge coupled device (CCD), or the like is used.

[0041] External devices such as an external camera, an external microphone, and an external speaker can be connected to the external device connection I / F 118 by a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable, etc. When an external camera is connected, the external camera is driven in priority over the built-in camera 112 under the control of the CPU 101. Similarly, when an external microphone or an external speaker is connected, the external microphone or the external speaker is driven in priority over the built-in microphone 114 or the built-in speaker 115, respectively, under the control of the CPU 101.

[0042] It should be noted that the camera 112, microphone 114, and speaker 115 do not necessarily need to be built-in, and a configuration may be adopted in which only an external camera, an external microphone, and an external speaker can be connected. The recording medium 106 is configured to be detachable from the terminal 10. In addition, as long as it is a non-volatile memory that reads or writes data under the control of the CPU 101, it is not limited to the flash memory 104, and an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable ROM) or the like may be used.

[0043] Furthermore, the transmission terminal program may be distributed by being recorded in a computer-readable recording medium such as the recording medium 106 in the form of an installable or executable file. The transmission terminal program may be stored in the ROM 102 instead of the flash memory 104.

[0044] 6 is a hardware configuration diagram of a relay device, a terminal management system, a destination registration system, a program provision system, and a maintenance system. The terminal management system 50 includes a CPU 201 for controlling the operation of the entire terminal management system 50, a ROM 202 for storing a program used to drive the CPU 201 such as an IPL, a RAM 203 for use as a work area for the CPU 201, a HD 204 for storing various data such as a terminal management program, a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) 205 for controlling reading or writing of various data from the HD 204 under the control of the CPU 201, a media drive 207 for controlling reading or writing (storing) of data from a recording medium 206 such as a flash memory, a display 208 for displaying various information such as a cursor, a menu, a window, a character, or an image, a network I / F 209 for transmitting data using the communication network 2, a keyboard 211 having a plurality of keys for inputting characters, numerical values, various instructions, and the like, a mouse 212 for selecting and executing various instructions, selecting a processing target, moving the cursor, and the like, a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory) 212 for storing a program for selecting and executing various instructions, selecting a processing target, moving the cursor, and the like, and a removable recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory) 213 for storing various data such as a program for selecting and executing various instructions, selecting a processing target, moving the cursor, and the like. The computer-readable medium includes a CD-ROM drive 214 that controls the reading and writing of various data from and to a CD-ROM (CD-ROM) 213, and bus lines 210 such as an address bus and a data bus for electrically connecting the above-mentioned components.

[0045] The terminal management program may be distributed by being recorded in a computer-readable recording medium such as the recording medium 206 or the CD-ROM 213 as a file in an installable or executable format. The terminal management program may be stored in the ROM 202 instead of the HD 204.

[0046] Moreover, since the relay device 30 has the same hardware configuration as the terminal management system 50, a description thereof will be omitted. However, a relay device program for controlling the relay device 30 is recorded in the HD 204. In this case, too, the relay device program may be recorded in a computer-readable recording medium such as the recording medium 206 or the CD-ROM 213 as a file in an installable or executable format and distributed. Moreover, the relay device program may be stored in the ROM 202 instead of the HD 204.

[0047] Furthermore, since the destination registration system 80 has the same hardware configuration as the terminal management system 50, a description thereof will be omitted. However, a destination registration program for controlling the destination registration system 80 is recorded in the HD 204. In this case, too, the destination registration program may be recorded in a computer-readable recording medium such as the recording medium 206 or CD-ROM 213 as a file in an installable or executable format and distributed. The destination registration program may also be stored in the ROM 202 instead of the HD 204.

[0048] Furthermore, the program provision system 90 and the maintenance system 100 have the same hardware configuration as the terminal management system 50, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted. However, a program provision program for controlling the program provision system 90 is recorded in the HD 204. In this case, too, the program provision program may be recorded in a computer-readable recording medium such as the recording medium 206 or the CD-ROM 213 as a file in an installable or executable format and distributed. The program for the program provision system may also be stored in the ROM 202 instead of the HD 204. The same applies to the maintenance system 100 and the maintenance program.

[0049] As another example of the removable recording medium, the information may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-R (Compact Disc Recordable), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), or a Blu-ray disc and provided.

[0050] <Functional configuration of the embodiment> 7 to 12, the functional configurations of the terminal management system 50 and the destination registration system 80 will be described in particular. Note that Fig. 7 is a functional block diagram of the terminal management system and the destination registration system that constitute the transmission management system.

[0051] (Functional configuration of terminal management system) First, the terminal management system 50 will be described. The terminal management system 50 includes a second communication unit 51, a second authentication unit 52, a storage control unit 53, and a storage unit 60, using the hardware configuration and terminal management program shown in Fig. 6. The storage control unit 53 includes a storage / read processing unit 54, a second extraction unit 55, a terminal management unit 56, a destination list management unit 57, a request management unit 58, and a second judgment unit 59. The storage unit 60 includes a terminal authentication management DB 61, a terminal management DB 62, a destination list management DB 63, a request management DB 64, and an administrator DB 65.

[0052] 8 is a conceptual diagram of the terminal authentication management DB 61. In the terminal authentication management DB 61, information indicating a terminal ID and a password is managed as associated information. The terminal ID is identification information for identifying the transmission terminal 10. The terminal ID (an example of terminal identification information) may be identification information stored in advance in the transmission terminal 10, or may be identification information input to the transmission terminal 10 by a user of the transmission terminal 10. The password is a password for the transmission terminal 10 to log in to the transmission management system 40 using the terminal ID. Note that the records of the terminal authentication management DB 61 may have columns (fields) other than those described above.

[0053] 9 is a conceptual diagram of the terminal management DB 62. In the terminal management DB 62, each piece of information indicating a terminal ID, a name, an operating state, a reception date and time, and an IP address of the terminal is managed as associated related information. The terminal ID is identification information for identifying the transmission terminal 10. The name is the name of the transmission terminal 10. However, it may be the name of the user of the transmission terminal 10 or the name of a department. The operating state is the latest operating state of the transmission terminal 10. The reception date and time is the date and time when a login request to the transmission management system 40 was received from the transmission terminal 10. The IP address is the IP address of the transmission terminal 10. Note that the records of the terminal management DB 62 may have columns other than those mentioned above.

[0054] 10 is a conceptual diagram of the destination list management DB 63. In the destination list management DB 63, the terminal ID of the start terminal and the terminal IDs of destination candidates that can become destination terminals are managed as associated information. Note that the records of the destination list management DB 63 may have columns other than those described above.

[0055] 11 is a conceptual diagram of the request management DB 64. In the request management DB, the terminal ID of the request source terminal and the terminal ID of the request destination terminal are managed as associated information. The terminal ID of the request source terminal is identification information for identifying the transmission terminal 10 that has requested the registration of a destination candidate. The terminal ID of the request destination terminal is identification information for identifying the transmission terminal 10 that the transmission terminal 10 identified by the request source terminal ID is requesting to register as a destination candidate. Note that the records of the request management DB 64 may have columns other than those described above.

[0056] 12 is a conceptual diagram of the administrator DB 65. In the administrator DB 65, the administrator ID, password, terminal ID of the management terminal, administrator email address, and attribute information of the administrator are associated and managed as related information. Note that it is sufficient that at least the administrator ID, terminal ID of the management terminal, and attribute information of the administrator are associated as related information.

[0057] Among these, the administrator ID is identification information for identifying the administrator of the transmission terminal 10. The administrator ID may be the name of the administrator. The password is a password for logging in to the transmission management system 40 with the administrator ID. The terminal ID of the management terminal is identification information for identifying the management terminal (transmission terminal 10) managed by the administrator. The administrator email address is the email address of the administrator. The attribute information is affiliation information indicating the department to which the administrator belongs in an organization such as a company, position information indicating the position, and authority information indicating the authority, etc. The attribute information may be any one of these pieces of information (affiliation information, position information, authority information), or may be information that combines at least two or more of these pieces of information. Note that the record of the administrator DB 65 may have columns other than those described above.

[0058] In this embodiment, in FIG. 1, the administrator A uses the administrator terminal 20a and manages, as his own management terminal, a plurality of transmission terminals (10aa, 10ab, ...) connected to the LAN 2a. The administrator B uses the administrator terminal 20b and manages, as his own management terminal, a plurality of transmission terminals (10ba, 10bb, ...) connected to the LAN 2b. The administrator C uses the administrator terminal 20c and manages, as his own management terminal, a plurality of transmission terminals (10ca, 10cb, ...) connected to the LAN 2c. The administrator D uses the administrator terminal 20d and manages, as his own management terminal, a plurality of transmission terminals (10da, 10db, ...) connected to the LAN 2d.

[0059] Returning to FIG. 7, the second communication unit 51 communicates with the transmission terminal 10 and other systems via the communication network 2.

[0060] The second authentication unit 52 performs authentication when the transmission terminal 10 logs in to the terminal management system 50 (transmission management system 40) to start communication with another transmission terminal 10. Specifically, the second authentication unit 52 uses the terminal ID and password included in the login information received by the second communication unit 51 as search keys and searches the terminal authentication management DB 61 in the storage unit 60. The second authentication unit 52 performs authentication as to whether or not to permit login to the terminal management system 50 by determining whether or not the search key matches the information in the terminal authentication management DB 61.

[0061] The terminal management unit 56 manages the operation status of the transmission terminal 10 that has requested login to the transmission management system 40. The terminal management unit 56 updates the record in the terminal management DB 62 that corresponds to the terminal ID of the transmission terminal 10 that has requested login to the transmission management system 40. Specifically, when the login is successful, the terminal management unit 56 changes the "operation status" from offline to online (transmission possible) and updates the "reception date and time" and "IP address".

[0062] The second extraction unit 55 searches the destination list management DB 63 using, for example, the terminal ID of the transmission terminal 10 that has requested login to the transmission management system 40 as a search key, and reads out the terminal ID registered as a destination candidate of the transmission terminal 10 that has requested login. The second extraction unit 55 also searches the terminal management DB 62 using the extracted terminal ID as a search key, and reads out the operation status of the transmission terminal 10 for each extracted terminal ID. The read out terminal ID and operation status are transmitted to the transmission terminal 10 that has requested login to the transmission management system 40 via the second communication unit 51. By this process, a destination list showing destination candidates is displayed on the display 120 of the transmission terminal 10 that has requested login, and the user of the transmission terminal 10 can establish a session sed between the transmission terminals 10 by specifying a desired destination from the destination list, and communication between the transmission terminals 10 can be realized.

[0063] The session sed between the transmission terminals 10 may be established via the transmission management system 40, or may be directly established without the intervention of the transmission management system 40. The transmission terminals 10 can exchange content data via the session sed.

[0064] The second extraction unit 55 can also search the destination list management DB 63 using the terminal ID of the transmission terminal 10 that has requested login to the transmission management system 40 as a search key, and extract the terminal ID of the start terminal from a record in which the terminal ID of the transmission terminal 10 that has requested login is registered as the terminal ID of a destination candidate. In this way, the second extraction unit 55 can extract the corresponding operating state by searching the terminal management DB 62 using the terminal ID of the start terminal that has registered the transmission terminal 10 that has requested login as a destination candidate as a search key.

[0065] The request management unit 58 adds, changes, and deletes records in the request management DB 64 .

[0066] The destination list management unit 57 adds, changes, and deletes records in the destination list management DB 63. For example, the destination list management unit 57 extracts records in the destination list management DB 63 in which the terminal ID of the request source terminal managed in the request management DB 64 matches the terminal ID of the start terminal in the destination list management DB 63. Then, the destination list management unit 57 adds the ID of the request destination terminal to the terminal ID column of the destination candidate in the extracted record.

[0067] The storage / read processing unit 54 performs a process of storing data in the storage unit 60. The storage / read processing unit 54 also performs a process of reading out the data stored in the storage unit 60.

[0068] The second determination unit 59 determines whether the terminal ID and the administrator ID (first administrator ID) received by the second communication unit 51 are associated in the above-mentioned related information (first determination). Furthermore, when the second determination unit 59 determines that they are not associated by the first determination, it determines whether there is another administrator ID (second administrator ID) to which this terminal ID is associated in the related information (second determination). Furthermore, when the second determination unit 59 determines that there is a second administrator ID by the second determination, it determines whether the attribute information (first attribute information) associated with the first administrator ID in the related information is the same as the attribute information (second attribute information) associated with the second administrator ID in the related information (third determination).

[0069] (Functional configuration of destination registration system) Next, a description will be given of the destination registration system 80. The destination registration system 80 includes a first communication unit 81, a first authentication unit 82, and a display control unit 83, using the hardware configuration and terminal management program shown in Fig. 6. Furthermore, the display control unit 83 includes a storage / read processing unit 84, a first extraction unit 85, a screen creation unit 86, and a first determination unit 87.

[0070] Of these, the first communication unit 81, the storage / read processing unit 84, and the first extraction unit 85 have the same functions as the second communication unit 51, the storage / read processing unit 54, and the second extraction unit 55, respectively, and therefore their explanations will be omitted. Although the destination registration system 80 does not include a storage unit, by accessing the storage unit 60 of the terminal management system 50 via the communication network 2, the storage / read processing unit 84 and the first extraction unit 85 can realize the same functions as the storage / read processing unit 54 and the second extraction unit 55.

[0071] The first authentication unit 82 performs authentication when the transmission terminal 10 or the administrator terminal 20 logs in to the destination registration system 80 (transmission management system 40) to add or delete a destination candidate. That is, a request to add or delete a destination candidate can be made not only from the transmission terminal 10 but also from the administrator terminal 20.

[0072] Furthermore, the first authentication unit 82 searches the terminal authentication management DB 61 (or the administrator DB 65) in the storage unit 60 using the terminal ID (or the administrator ID) and password included in the login information received by the first communication unit 81 as search keys. The first authentication unit 82 determines whether the search key matches the information in the terminal authentication management DB 61 (or the administrator DB 65) to perform authentication as to whether or not to permit login to the destination registration system 80 (transmission management system 40).

[0073] The screen creation unit 86 creates an authentication screen (see FIG. 17), an administrator registration screen (see FIG. 18), a management terminal list screen (see FIG. 19), a management terminal registration screen (see FIG. 20), a destination candidate registration screen (see FIG. 22), etc. The screen creation unit 86 creates the screens using HTML (HyperText Markup Language), for example.

[0074] Next, a number of patterns of the process for registering destination candidates managed in the destination list will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0075] (First pattern) The first pattern is shown in Fig. 13, which shows a registration process in the case where the user of the transmission terminal 10aa wants to register the transmission terminal 10da of a different organization (for example, a different "office") as a destination candidate in the user's destination list. Note that Fig. 13 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the destination candidate registration process.

[0076] First, the transmission terminal 10aa transmits a destination candidate registration request, which indicates a request to register the transmission terminal 10da as a destination candidate of the transmission terminal 10aa, to the transmission management system 40 (ST11). Next, the transmission management system 40 transmits an approval request, which indicates a request for approval to register the transmission terminal 10da as a destination candidate of the transmission terminal 10aa (ST12). In response, the transmission terminal 10da transmits a response indicating approval or denial to the transmission management system 40 (ST13). When the transmission management system 40 receives a response indicating approval, it registers the transmission terminal 10da as a destination candidate for the transmission terminal 10aa in the destination list management DB 63, and transmits a registration completion notification indicating that the destination registration is completed to the transmission terminals 10aa and 10da (ST14).

[0077] (Second pattern) The second pattern is shown in Fig. 14, which shows a registration process in the case where a user (first user aa) of the transmission terminal 10aa wants to register the transmission terminal 10ab in the same organization (for example, the same "department") as a destination candidate in his / her destination list. Note that Fig. 14 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the destination candidate registration process.

[0078] First, the transmission terminal 10aa transmits a destination candidate registration request, which indicates a request to register the transmission terminal 10ab as a destination candidate of the transmission terminal 10aa, to the transmission management system 40 (ST21). Next, the transmission management system 40 judges whether the transmission terminal 10aa, which is the request source terminal, and the transmission terminal 10ab, which is the request destination terminal, are managed terminals of the same administrator A (transmission terminals under the management of the administrator A) (ST22). As a result, if the transmission terminals 10aa and 10ab are the same managed terminals of the administrator A, the transmission management system 40 registers the transmission terminal 10ab as a destination candidate in the transmission terminal 10aa in the destination list management DB 63 without bothering to request approval from the transmission terminal 10ab as in ST12 above, and transmits a registration completion notification, which indicates that the destination registration has been completed, to the transmission terminals 10aa and 10ab (ST23).

[0079] The request for registering the destination candidates shown in ST21 may be made by the administrator A from the administrator terminal 20a to the transmission management system 40. When the request for registering the destination candidates is made by the administrator A, the requests for registering the destination candidates of the multiple transmission terminals 10 can be collectively requested.

[0080] (Third pattern) The third pattern is shown in Fig. 15, which shows a deletion process in a case where an administrator (administrator A) of the transmission terminals 10aa and 10ab wants to delete a destination candidate as the transmission terminal 10ca under the management of another administrator (administrator C) from the destination lists of the transmission terminals 10aa and 10ab under his / her management at once. Fig. 15 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the deletion process of the destination candidate.

[0081] First, the administrator terminal 20a transmits a request to delete the destination candidate, which indicates a request to delete the destination candidate as the transmission terminal 10ca from the destination list of each of the transmission terminals 10aa and 10ab, to the transmission management system 40 (ST31). Next, the transmission management system 40 deletes the destination candidate as the transmission terminal 10ca from the destination list of each of the transmission terminals 10aa and 10ab (ST32). At this time, the destination candidates as the transmission terminals 10aa and 10ab are also deleted from the destination list of the transmission terminal 10ca. As a result, even if the user of the transmission terminal 10aa (first user aa) and the user of the transmission terminal 10ab (second user ab) do not request the deletion of the destination candidates, the administrator A deletes them all at once and transmits a deletion completion notification to each transmission terminal (10aa, 10ab, 10ca) indicating that the deletion of the destinations has been completed (ST33).

[0082] <Operation or Processing of the Embodiment> Next, the operation or processing of this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 16 to Fig. 27. Fig. 16 is a flowchart showing a management method by the transmission management system 40.

[0083] First, the first authentication unit 82 of the destination registration system 80 judges whether a login request is received from the administrator terminal 20 operated by the administrator via the communication network 2 using the administrator ID (step S101). If a login request is received using the administrator ID (step S101, Yes), the process proceeds to step S102. If a login request is not received using the administrator ID (a login request is received by a user using a terminal ID) (step S101, No), a login process using the terminal ID is performed (step S199). Note that the transmission terminal 10 can only register a destination candidate in its own destination list, but the administrator can register destination candidates in the destination lists of all the management terminals (transmission terminals 10 under management).

[0084] Fig. 17 is a conceptual diagram of an authentication screen of the transmission management system 40. Before the login request in step S101, the screen creation unit 86 displays, for example, an authentication screen shown in Fig. 17 on the administrator terminal 20 operated by the administrator via the first communication unit 81.

[0085] 17 to 25 is held by the screen creation unit 86 itself. Note that the screen data of each of the screens shown in Figs. 17 to 25 may be stored in the storage unit 60, and the storage / readout processing unit 84 may read out each screen data from the storage unit 60 in response to a command from the screen creation unit 86.

[0086] Returning to FIG. 16, when it is determined in step S101 that a login request has been made using the administrator ID (step S101, Yes), the first authentication unit 82 determines whether administrator information such as the administrator ID and password is registered in the administrator DB 65 (step S102). Then, when the administrator information is registered in the administrator DB 65 (step S102, No), the first authentication unit 82 approves the login (step S104). On the other hand, when the administrator information is not registered in the administrator DB 65 (step S102, Yes), the screen creation unit 86 displays a registration screen on the administrator terminal 20 operated by the administrator via the first communication unit 81, and after registering the administrator information inputted on the registration screen in the administrator DB 65, the administrator logs in to the destination registration system 80 (step S103). An example of a case where the administrator information is not registered in the administrator DB 65 is, for example, a case where an administrator is first made to be an administrator using an initial setting password.

[0087] 18 is a conceptual diagram of an administrator registration screen. In step S103, the administrator terminal 20 displays, for example, the administrator registration screen of FIG.

[0088] Returning to Fig. 16, the screen creation unit 86 creates the management terminal list screen shown in Fig. 19, and the first communication unit 81 displays the screen by transmitting data of the management terminal list screen to the administrator terminal 20 (step S105). Fig. 19 is a conceptual diagram of the management terminal list screen. This management terminal list screen shows a list of transmission terminals managed by the administrator. The management terminal list screen is created based on the terminal ID and name in the terminal management DB 62, the terminal ID of the starting terminal in the destination list management DB 63 (the same as the terminal ID in the terminal management DB 62) and the terminal IDs of the destination candidates.

[0089] In order for the screen creation unit 86 to create the management terminal list screen shown in FIG. 19, specifically, the first extraction unit 85 searches the administrator DB 65 using the administrator ID accepted by the destination registration system 80 as a search key, and acquires the terminal ID of the administrator terminal associated with the administrator ID. This makes it possible to identify the transmission terminal 10 managed by a specific administrator. Furthermore, the first extraction unit 85 searches the terminal ID of the start terminal in the destination list management DB 63 using each acquired terminal ID as a search key, and acquires the terminal ID of the destination candidate associated with each terminal ID. In addition, the first extraction unit 85 searches the terminal management DB 62 using the terminal ID acquired in the same manner as above as a search key, and acquires the name associated with each terminal ID. In this way, based on the information acquired by the first extraction unit 85, the screen creation unit 86 can create the management terminal list screen.

[0090] The management terminal list screen displays a "Register Management Terminal" button for registering a new transmission terminal 10 as a management terminal, a "Delete Management Terminal" button for deleting a transmission terminal 10 that is already registered as a management terminal from the management terminal, a "Register Destination Candidate" button for registering a new transmission terminal 10 as a destination candidate, and a "Delete Destination Candidate" button for deleting a transmission terminal 10 that is already registered as a destination candidate from the destination candidates.

[0091] Additionally, the management terminal list screen displays check boxes (C1, C2, C3, CN) for selecting a terminal ID for each terminal ID. Additionally, a check box CA for selecting all terminal IDs at once is displayed. Additionally, the management terminal list screen also displays a "Logout" button for logging out. Each check box and button is selected by being pressed by the administrator.

[0092] Next, the screen creation unit 86 judges whether the "Register Management Terminal" button or the "Delete Management Terminal" button has been selected on the administrator terminal 20 (step S106). If the "Register Management Terminal" button or the "Delete Management Terminal" button has been selected (step S106, Yes), the process (of registering and deleting a management terminal) described below is carried out (step S107). On the other hand, if neither the "Register Management Terminal" button nor the "Delete Management Terminal" button has been selected (step S106, No), the process proceeds to step S108.

[0093] Next, the screen creation unit 86 judges whether the "Register destination candidate" button or the "Delete destination candidate" button has been selected on the administrator terminal 20 side (step S108). If the "Register destination candidate" button or the "Delete destination candidate" button has been selected (step S108, Yes), the process (of registering and deleting destination candidate) described below is carried out (step S109). On the other hand, if neither the "Register destination candidate" button nor the "Delete destination candidate" button has been selected (step S108, No), the process proceeds to step S110.

[0094] Next, the screen creation unit 86 determines whether the administrator's operation is finished depending on whether the "Logout" button is selected on the administrator terminal 20 side (step S110). If the "Logout" button is selected (step S110, Yes), the destination registration system 40 logs out from the administrator terminal 20 (step S111). If the "Logout" button is not selected (step S110, No), the process returns to step S106.

[0095] (Registration and deletion of managed terminals) Next, the management terminal registration and deletion processing in step S107 will be described with reference to Fig. 19 to Fig. 21 and Fig. 25. Fig. 20 is a conceptual diagram of a management terminal registration screen. Fig. 21 is a conceptual diagram of a confirmation screen for deleting a management terminal. Fig. 25 is a flowchart showing the management terminal registration and deletion processing.

[0096] First, the first judgment unit 87 judges whether to register a management terminal by judging whether the administrator selects the "Register Management Terminal" button or the "Delete Management Terminal" button on the management terminal list screen shown in Fig. 19 (step S201). If the "Register Management Terminal" button is selected (step S201, Yes), the screen creation unit 86 transmits data of a management terminal registration screen such as that shown in Fig. 20 to the administrator terminal 20 via the first communication unit 81.

[0097] In response to this, the administrator terminal 20 displays a management terminal registration screen as shown in FIG. 20. This management terminal registration screen displays a plurality of "registered terminal ID" input fields for inputting the terminal ID of the transmission terminal 10 that the administrator wishes to newly register as his / her own management terminal. When the administrator inputs the terminal ID of the transmission terminal 10 in the "registered terminal ID" input field and presses the "Register" button, the administrator terminal 20 transmits a registration request including the terminal ID input in the "registered terminal ID" input field and the administrator ID of the input administrator to the destination registration system 80. As a result, the first communication unit 81 of the destination registration system 80 receives the registration request. Then, the storage / read processing unit 84 adds the terminal ID input as the registered terminal ID to the terminal ID column of the record including the administrator ID used in the login process of step S101 in the administrator DB 65 of the terminal management system 50 (step S202).

[0098] On the other hand, if the request is not for the registration of a management terminal (step S201, No), the first judgment unit 87 judges whether the request is for the deletion of the transmission terminal 10 (step S203). If the request is for the deletion of a management terminal (step S203, Yes), the screen creation unit 86 transmits a deletion request including the terminal IDs checked (selected) in the check boxes (CA, C1 to CN) in FIG. 19 and the administrator ID of the administrator entered to the terminal management system 50 via the first communication unit 81, so that the storage / read processing unit 54 of the terminal management system 50 deletes the terminal ID requested for deletion from the record of the administrator DB 65 in which the administrator ID used in the login process is managed (step S204). If the request is not for the deletion of the transmission terminal 10 (step S203, No), the process ends. In addition, in the process of step S203, the screen creation unit 86 causes the administrator terminal 20 to display a confirmation screen for the deletion of the management terminal shown in FIG. 21 via the first communication unit 81. FIG. 21 shows the confirmation screen for the deletion of the management terminal. In this case, if the administrator presses the "OK" button, the process of step S204 is executed, and if the administrator presses the "Cancel" button, the process of step S204 is not executed.

[0099] In addition, in FIG. 20, an example in which the administrator inputs the terminal ID is described, but this is not limited thereto. For example, the terminal ID may be input by specifying a file in which the terminal ID is written (such as by specifying a path required for the screen creation unit 86 to refer to the file).

[0100] (Registration and deletion of destination candidates) Next, the process of registering and deleting a destination candidate will be described with reference to Fig. 22 to Fig. 24 and Fig. 26. Fig. 22 is a conceptual diagram of a destination candidate registration screen. Figs. 23 and 24 are conceptual diagrams of a destination candidate deletion screen. Fig. 26 is a flowchart showing the process of registering and deleting a destination candidate. Here, an example of (Pattern 3) shown in Fig. 15 will be described.

[0101] First, the first judgment unit 87 accepts from the administrator terminal 20a by the administrator A a request source terminal that wishes to be registered or deleted as a request destination terminal among the management terminals under the management of the administrator A, thereby identifying the request source terminal (step S301). Specifically, when the administrator A checks the check box of the transmission terminal (terminal ID) that is to be set as the request source terminal on the management terminal list screen shown in Fig. 19 and presses the "Register destination candidate" button, the request source terminal that wishes to be registered as a destination candidate is identified. Also, when the administrator A checks the check box of the transmission terminal (terminal ID) that is to be set as the request source terminal on the management terminal list screen shown in Fig. 19 and presses the "Delete destination candidate" button, the request source terminal that wishes to be deleted as a destination candidate is identified.

[0102] Next, the first determination unit 87 determines whether the operation such as pressing received from the manager terminal 20a is an operation indicating the registration of a destination candidate (step S302). For example, the first determination unit 87 determines whether the "destination candidate registration" button on the management terminal list screen shown in FIG. 19 has been pressed. If the operation is not an operation indicating the registration of a destination candidate (step S302, No), the process proceeds to step S313. If the operation is an operation indicating the registration of a destination candidate (step S302, Yes), the display control unit 83 transmits data of a destination candidate registration screen such as that shown in FIG. 22 to the management terminal 20a via the first communication unit 81, and causes the management terminal 20a to display the destination candidate registration screen (step S303).

[0103] 22, the destination candidate registration screen displays a plurality of "Registered Terminal ID" input fields for inputting the terminal ID of the transmission terminal 10 to be newly registered as a destination candidate. Also, for each registered terminal ID, as shown in ST12 of FIG. 13, a check box is displayed as an item for selecting whether or not to omit an approval request to ask the request destination terminal whether it is OK to register the request destination terminal as a destination candidate in the destination list of the request source terminal.

[0104] Next, returning to FIG. 26, the administrator A inputs a desired terminal ID in the "Registered terminal ID" input field on the destination candidate registration screen shown in FIG. 22 and presses the "Register" button to accept the designation of the transmission terminal 10 to be registered as a destination candidate (step S304). The terminal ID of the transmission terminal 10 to be registered is transmitted from the destination registration system 80 to the terminal management system 50. More specifically, the first communication unit 81 of the destination registration system 80 transmits a destination candidate registration request to the second communication unit 51 of the terminal management system 50. This registration request includes the terminal ID of the request source terminal (the request source terminal identified in step S301) requesting the registration of the destination candidate, the terminal ID of the request destination terminal (the request destination terminal indicated by the terminal ID input on the screen of FIG. 22) requested to be registered as a destination candidate, and the logged-in administrator ID. In addition, if the approval omission checkbox for each registered terminal ID on the destination candidate registration screen shown in FIG. 22 is checked, the registration request includes approval request omission request information indicating that a request to omit an approval request for registration to the request destination terminal is requested.

[0105] Next, the second determination unit 59 of the terminal management system 50 determines whether or not omission of approval processing is requested for each request destination terminal that may be registered as a destination candidate based on the received registration request (step S305). Specifically, if approval request omission request information is included in the received registration request, the second determination unit 59 determines that an approval request is not required for request destination terminals with the check boxes shown in Fig. 22 checked, and determines that an approval request is required for request destination terminals with the check boxes not checked.

[0106] 22, the second judgment unit 59 judges whether the terminal ID (specific terminal ID) of the request destination terminal requested to be registered as a destination candidate and the administrator ID (first administrator ID) are associated with each other by referring to the administrator DB 65 (step S306). If they are associated (step S306, YES), approval processing is not required and the process proceeds to step S307, and if they are not associated (step S306, NO), the process proceeds to step S308 for further judgment.

[0107] Next, in step S308, the second determination unit 59 determines whether the specific terminal ID is associated with another administrator ID (second administrator ID) in the administrator DB 65, thereby determining whether the destination candidate to be registered is also managed by another administrator. If there is another associated administrator ID (step S308, YES), the second determination unit 59 further determines whether the first attribute information associated with the first administrator ID and the second attribute information associated with the second administrator ID in the administrator DB 65 are the same (step S309, YES). If the first attribute information and the second attribute information are the same (step S309, YES), the process proceeds to step S307. If there is no other associated administrator ID in the above step S308 (step S308, NO) and if the first attribute information and the second attribute information are not the same in the above step S309 (step S309, NO), the process proceeds to step S310.

[0108] Next, in step S310, the first communication unit 81 of the destination registration system 80 transmits an approval request for destination registration to the transmission terminal 10 that has been requested to be registered as a destination candidate. More specifically, this can be realized by, for example, the following process.

[0109] That is, when it is selected not to omit the approval in step S305, the request management unit 58 of the terminal management system 50 additionally stores a new record in which the request source terminal ID and the request destination terminal ID included in the received registration request are associated with each other in the request management DB 64. Then, the second extraction unit 55 of the terminal management system 50 extracts corresponding operation status information by searching the terminal management DB 62 using the terminal ID of the request destination terminal in the request management DB 64 as a search key. Then, when the operation status is communicable (for example, online (transmission possible)), the second communication unit 51 transmits an approval request for destination registration to the communication-capable transmission terminal 10. Note that, for the transmission terminal 10 whose operation status is not communicable (for example, offline), an approval request is transmitted when the operation status is updated to communication-capable.

[0110] Next, after step S310, the second judgment unit 59 of the transmission management system 40 judges whether or not an approval response has been received from the request destination terminal that has received the approval request (step S311). Then, if the second communication unit 51 has received an approval response (step S311, Yes), the process proceeds to step S307. In this step S307, the destination list management unit 57 registers the terminal ID of the request destination terminal as a destination candidate when the request source terminal is the start terminal in the destination list management DB 63, and also registers the terminal ID of the request source terminal as a destination candidate when the request destination terminal is the start terminal (step S307). That is, the request source terminal and the request destination terminal are registered as destination candidates to each other. Note that in step S307, the request source terminal and the request destination terminal may not be registered as destination candidates to each other, and only the terminal ID of the request destination terminal may be registered as a destination candidate of the request source terminal.

[0111] Then, when the registration is completed, the second communication unit 51 transmits a notification of the completion of registration to the request source terminal and the request destination terminal (step S312). When the above processing is completed, the request management unit 58 of the terminal management system 50 deletes the record for which registration has been completed from the request management DB 64. Note that, if the omission of approval is not requested in step S305 (NO), there is no need to delete the pair of the terminal ID of the request source terminal and the terminal ID of the request destination terminal, since no new record has been added to the request management DB 64.

[0112] Note that even if the answer is NO in step S305, step S306 may be executed. In this case, step S307 may be executed regardless of whether or not there is a response to the approval request for registering the destination candidate, and further regardless of whether or not the response indicates approval.

[0113] Next, the process of deleting a destination candidate will be described.

[0114] If the answer is NO in step S302, the first determination unit 87 determines whether the operation indicates deletion of a destination candidate (step S313). Specifically, when the "Delete destination candidate" button on the management terminal list screen of Fig. 19 is pressed, the first determination unit 87 determines whether the first communication unit 81 has received a request to delete a destination candidate from the administrator terminal 20. In this case, the destination candidates of the transmission terminals 10 whose check boxes (CA, C1 to CN) on the management terminal list screen are checked are subject to deletion.

[0115] If the operation is not an operation indicating deletion of a destination candidate (step S313, No), the process shown in Fig. 26 ends. If the operation is an operation indicating deletion of a destination candidate (step S313, Yes), the screen creation unit 86 causes the manager terminal 20 to display a destination candidate deletion screen as shown in Fig. 23 or 24 via the first communication unit 81, and the first judgment unit 87 identifies the destination candidate to be deleted based on the terminal ID selected and input by the manager (step S314). Note that Figs. 23 and 24 are conceptual diagrams of the destination candidate deletion screen.

[0116] Step S314 will now be described in more detail with reference to Figures 23 and 24. The destination candidate deletion screen shown in Figures 23 and 24 displays a radio button to be selected when "Delete all destination candidates" and a radio button to "Delete specified destination candidates." The destination candidate deletion screen also displays a number of "Delete terminal ID" input fields for inputting the terminal IDs of destination candidates that the administrator wishes to delete, as well as a "Delete" button to be pressed when executing the deletion and a "Cancel" button to be pressed when canceling the deletion.

[0117] In Fig. 23, the administrator has pressed the "Delete specified destination candidate" radio button, and entered the destination candidate terminal ID "01ca" in the "Delete terminal ID" input field. On the other hand, Fig. 24 shows a state in which the "Delete all destination candidates" radio button has been pressed. In the case shown in Fig. 24, since all destination candidates are to be deleted, the "Delete terminal ID" input field is shaded, and the administrator cannot enter a terminal ID.

[0118] Here, we will explain the third pattern shown in Fig. 15. That is, the following will explain the case where administrator A checks the checkbox CA on the management terminal list screen shown in Fig. 19, presses the "Delete destination candidate" button, and then further presses the "Delete specified destination candidate" radio button shown in Fig. 23, enters the terminal ID "01ca" in the "Delete terminal ID" input field, and finally presses the "Delete" button.

[0119] In this case, since the start terminal having the terminal ID "01ca" as a destination candidate in the destination list management DB 63 is the start terminal indicated by the terminal ID "01aa" and the terminal ID "01ab", the administrator A selects the request source terminals (10aaa, 10ab) indicated by the terminal ID "01aa" and the terminal ID "01ab". In addition, the administrator A causes the administrator terminal 20a to request the deletion of the destination candidate indicated by the terminal ID "01ca" from the destination candidates of each start terminal indicated by the terminal ID "01aa" and the terminal ID "01ab". As a result, the first communication unit 81 receives the request to delete the destination candidate from the administrator terminal 20, and the first judgment unit 87 specifies the transmission terminals (10aa, 10ab) indicated by the terminal ID "01aa" and the terminal ID "01ab" as the start terminal, and specifies the transmission terminal 10ca indicated by the terminal ID "01ca" as the destination candidate to be deleted.

[0120] Next, the storage / read processing unit 84 deletes the terminal ID "01ca" from the terminal IDs of the destination candidates in each record of the starting terminal IDs "01aa" and "01ab" in the destination list management DB 63 based on the deletion request received by the second communication unit 51 via the first communication unit 81 (step S315). As a result, the second communication unit 51 transmits a deletion completion notification indicating that the deletion of the destination is completed to the request source terminal (transmission terminals (10aa, 10ab)) and the request destination terminal (transmission terminal 10ca) (step S316).

[0121] In step S315, even in the record in which the terminal ID of the starting terminal is "01ca", the terminal IDs "01aa" and "01ab" may be deleted from the terminal IDs of the destination candidates.

[0122] <Main Effects of the Embodiment> As described above, according to this embodiment, even if the destination list management DB 63 is managed on the transmission management system 40 side, it is possible to delete a desired destination candidate from the destination list management DB 63.

[0123] Furthermore, the terminal IDs of multiple or all of the destination candidates can be deleted collectively from the destination candidates of multiple or all of the starting terminals in the destination list management DB 63. This has the effect of saving the user of each starting terminal (transmission terminal 10) the trouble of deleting the terminal IDs of multiple or all of the destination candidates.

[0124] Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 27. Here, another example of the administrator DB 65 shown in the first embodiment will be described. Note that FIGS. 27(a) and (b) are conceptual diagrams of the administrator DB according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 27, the administrator DB 65' of this embodiment is constructed by two tables. That is, as shown in FIG. 27(a), the administrator ID, password, administrator email address, and attribute information are managed in association with each other as the first table. Also, as shown in FIG. 27(b), the administrator ID and terminal ID are managed in association with each other as the second table. In this way, the information shown in FIG. 27(a) and FIG. 27(b) corresponds to the "related information" shown in the first embodiment. Note that the administrator ID, password, terminal ID, administrator email address, and attribute information are the same as those in the first embodiment, so their description will be omitted.

[0125] In this case as well, the same effects as those of the first embodiment are achieved.

[0126] Other embodiments In the above embodiment, at least one of the processes in steps S306 and S308 may be omitted.

[0127] The transmission management system 40 can be applied to any system as long as it is a communication system that allows communication between the transmission terminals 10. For example, it can be applied to a television (video) conference system, an audio conference system, an audio telephone system (including a mobile phone system), a text chat system, or a whiteboard sharing system. The transmission terminal 10 may be a dedicated terminal for the above-mentioned communication system or a dedicated terminal for a game, or may be a general-purpose terminal such as a personal computer, a smartphone, a mobile phone terminal, or a tablet terminal. The terminal management system 50 and the destination registration system 80 may be an information processing device having the functional blocks exemplified in FIG. 7, and may be a dedicated server device or a general-purpose terminal device. [Explanation of symbols]

[0128] 1. Transmission System 10 Transmission Terminal 20 Administrator terminal 40 Transmission Management System 50 Terminal Management System 51 Second communication unit (an example of a receiving means) 54 Storage and readout processing section 59 Judgment Department 60 Memory unit (an example of a memory means) 61 Terminal authentication management DB 62 Terminal Management DB 63 Destination list management DB (an example of storage means) 64 Request management DB 65 Administrator DB 80 Destination Registration System 81 First communication unit (an example of a receiving means) 84 Storage / read processing unit (an example of a deletion means) 87 Judgment Department [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0129] [Patent Document 1] JP 2006-074453 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2013-085208 A

Claims

1. A management system comprising: a destination list management means for managing a first destination list associated with a first identification information and a second destination list associated with a second identification information; a receiving means; and a deleting means, when receiving an approval response to a request to register a destination candidate corresponding to the second identification information in the first destination list transmitted from a terminal, the destination list management means registers the destination candidate corresponding to the second identification information in the first destination list, while registering the destination candidate corresponding to the first identification information in the second destination list, thereby mutually registering destination candidates; the receiving means receives a request to delete a destination candidate corresponding to the second identification information included in the first destination list in which the second destination list and the destination candidates are mutually registered in response to the approval; The deletion means deletes, based on a request to delete a destination candidate received by the receiving means, from the first destination list, a destination candidate corresponding to the second identification information mutually registered in the response to the approval, while deleting, from the second destination list, a destination candidate corresponding to the first identification information mutually registered in the response to the approval.

1. A management system comprising:

2. The first identification information is included in a plurality of identification information associated as a managed object with an identification information of an administrator different from the first identification information and the second identification information; 2. The management system according to claim 1, wherein the request to delete the destination candidate is a request by the administrator to specify the first identification information from among the plurality of identification information as the target for deleting the destination candidate.

3. The management system described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that when a request to delete the destination candidate specifies a plurality of specific destination candidates including a destination candidate corresponding to the second identification information from the first destination list as destination candidates to be deleted, the deletion means deletes the plurality of specific destination candidates from the first destination list based on the request to delete the destination candidate, while deleting each of the destination candidates corresponding to the first identification information from each destination list associated with the identification information corresponding to the plurality of specific destination candidates.

4. The management system described in Claim 2, characterized in that the deletion means deletes a specific identification information from the multiple identification information associated with the administrator's identification information as managed objects based on a request to delete the specific identification information from the multiple identification information associated with the administrator's identification information as managed objects.

5. A management system as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the first destination list is displayed on a terminal that has requested a login to the management system using the first identification information, and is a list for establishing a session for sending or receiving content data with the specified destination candidate by accepting the designation of a destination candidate included in the first destination list.

6. A management system as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the first identification information is identification information stored in a first transmission terminal that has made a login request to the management system using the first identification information or identification information input by a user to the first transmission terminal, and the second identification information is identification information stored in a second transmission terminal that has made a login request to the management system using the second identification information or identification information input by a user to the second transmission terminal.

7. A management system as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that communication between two or more terminals initiated using the destination candidate is communication via content data including at least one of image data, sound data, and text data.

8. A management system as described in any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the first identification information is used when a first user logs in to the management system, and the second identification information is used when a second user logs in to the management system.

9. A management system as described in any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the terminal is an administrator terminal operated by an administrator registered in the administrator information.

10. The management system described in any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the terminal is a dedicated terminal for a communication system, a dedicated terminal for a game, a personal computer, a smartphone, a mobile phone, or a tablet terminal.

11. A management method executed by a management system having a destination list management means for managing a first destination list associated with a first identification information and a second destination list associated with a second identification information, comprising: a destination list management step of mutually registering destination candidates by registering the destination candidate corresponding to the second identification information in the first destination list and registering the destination candidate corresponding to the first identification information in the second destination list when an approval response is received in response to a request to register the destination candidate corresponding to the second identification information in the first destination list transmitted from a terminal; a receiving step of receiving a request to delete the destination candidate corresponding to the second identification information included in the first destination list in which the second destination list and the destination candidate are mutually registered in response to the approval; a deletion step of deleting, from the first destination list, a destination candidate corresponding to the second identification information mutually registered in the response to the approval, while deleting, from the second destination list, a destination candidate corresponding to the first identification information mutually registered in the response to the approval, based on a request for deleting the destination candidate received in the receiving step; A management method comprising:

12. A management system having a destination list management means for managing a first destination list associated with a first identification information and a second destination list associated with a second identification information, a destination list management step of mutually registering destination candidates by registering the destination candidate corresponding to the second identification information in the first destination list and registering the destination candidate corresponding to the first identification information in the second destination list when an approval response is received in response to a request to register the destination candidate corresponding to the second identification information in the first destination list transmitted from a terminal; a receiving step of receiving a request to delete the destination candidate corresponding to the second identification information included in the first destination list in which the second destination list and the destination candidate are mutually registered in response to the approval; a deletion step of deleting, from the first destination list, a destination candidate corresponding to the second identification information mutually registered in the response to the approval, while deleting, from the second destination list, a destination candidate corresponding to the first identification information mutually registered in the response to the approval, based on a request for deleting the destination candidate received in the receiving step; A program characterized by executing the above.

13. A system comprising an administrator terminal operated by an administrator and a management system for managing a destination list including destination candidates, The management system includes: The system includes a destination list management means for managing a first destination list associated with first identification information used when a first user logs into the management system, and a second destination list associated with second identification information used when a second user logs into the management system, a receiving means, and a deleting means, when receiving an approval response to a request to register a destination candidate corresponding to the second identification information in the first destination list transmitted from the administrator terminal, the destination list management means registers the destination candidate corresponding to the second identification information in the first destination list, while registering the destination candidate corresponding to the first identification information in the second destination list, thereby mutually registering destination candidates; the receiving means receives a request to delete a destination candidate corresponding to the second identification information included in the first destination list in which the second destination list and the destination candidates are mutually registered in response to the approval; The deletion means deletes, based on a request to delete a destination candidate received by the receiving means, from the first destination list, a destination candidate corresponding to the second identification information mutually registered in the response to the approval, while deleting, from the second destination list, a destination candidate corresponding to the first identification information mutually registered in the response to the approval. A system characterized by:

14. A method executed by a system comprising an administrator terminal operated by an administrator, and a management system having a destination list management means for managing a first destination list associated with first identification information used when a first user logs into the management system, and a second destination list associated with second identification information used when a second user logs into the management system, comprising: a destination list management step of mutually registering destination candidates by registering the destination candidate corresponding to the second identification information in the first destination list and registering the destination candidate corresponding to the first identification information in the second destination list when an approval response is received in response to a request to register the destination candidate corresponding to the second identification information in the first destination list transmitted from the administrator terminal; a receiving step of receiving a request to delete the destination candidate corresponding to the second identification information included in the first destination list in which the second destination list and the destination candidate are mutually registered in response to the approval; a deletion step of deleting, from the first destination list, a destination candidate corresponding to the second identification information mutually registered in the response to the approval, while deleting, from the second destination list, a destination candidate corresponding to the first identification information mutually registered in the response to the approval, based on a request for deleting the destination candidate received in the receiving step; The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

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