Communication control system and communication control program

Abstract

To provide a communication control system that allows participants in an electronic conference to easily sense an incoming notification of the electronic conference.SOLUTION: A communication control system 10 according to the present invention includes: an information processing terminal 12 that conducts an electronic conference; and a communication control device 11 to which the information processing terminal 12 and a telephone terminal 13 associated with the information processing terminal 12 are connected. When the information processing terminal 12 detects an incoming call signal for the electronic conference, the information processing terminal transmits a call control signal to the communication control device 11 for causing the telephone terminal 13 to output a ring tone, and the communication control device 11 transmits the call control signal received from the information processing terminal 12 to the telephone terminal 13 corresponding to the information processing terminal 12.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication control device used in an electronic conference system. [Background technology]

[0002] Systems that link and function information processing terminals such as personal computers (PCs) and telephone terminals such as business phones have been commercialized (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1). In the system of Non-Patent Document 1, when an incoming call is received at the telephone terminal and the telephone terminal rings, an incoming call notification is sent to the information processing terminal, and the information processing terminal can know that an incoming call has been received at the telephone terminal.

[0003] In addition, electronic conference systems that hold video conferences over communication networks such as the Internet are becoming more common. Video conference systems are equipped with a function that displays an incoming call notification on a PC display to notify the start of the conference, and outputs a ringtone to the PC speaker to notify the incoming call. [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0004] [Non-Patent Document 1] “DESKPORT instruction manual”, [searched February 14, 2022], Internet<URL: https: / / www.ntt-west.co.jp / kiki / support / pdf / PAC2_DESK.PDF> Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In electronic conference systems, even if an incoming call notification is sent to notify the start of the conference, video conference participants may not notice the incoming call notification. In particular, when a headset is connected to a PC but not worn by a participant, the notification message is simply displayed on the edge of the PC screen and the ringtone cannot be heard, so participants may not notice the incoming call notification. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the communication control system of the present invention comprises an information processing terminal equipped with a conference control unit for conducting electronic conferences, and a communication control unit to which the information processing terminal and a telephone terminal corresponding to the information processing terminal are connected, the information processing terminal having a device driver unit that, when an incoming call signal for an electronic conference received by the conference control unit is detected, transmits a call control signal to the communication control unit to cause the telephone terminal to output a ringtone, and the communication control unit transmits the call control signal received from the information processing terminal to the telephone terminal corresponding to the information processing terminal.

[0007] In addition, the communication control program of the present invention is a program executed in a communication control system including an information processing terminal equipped with a conference control unit for holding electronic conferences, and a communication control unit to which the information processing terminal and a telephone terminal corresponding to the information processing terminal are connected, and causes a computer to function as the communication control system by executing a step in which, when the information processing terminal detects an incoming call signal for an electronic conference received by the conference control unit, the information processing terminal sends a call control signal to the communication control unit to cause the telephone terminal to output a ringtone, and a step in which the communication control unit sends the call control signal received from the information processing terminal to the telephone terminal corresponding to the information processing terminal. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a communication control system that enables participants in an electronic conference to easily sense an incoming call notification in the electronic conference. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a communication control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation of the communication control system according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the information processing terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the communication control device according to the embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] <Embodiments of the present invention> A communication control device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 5. The present invention can be embodied in various forms and is not limited to the embodiment described below.

[0011] <Communication control system configuration> As shown in FIG. 1, the communication control system 10 according to this embodiment includes an information processing terminal 12 such as a personal computer (PC) for conducting electronic conferences such as TV conferences, and a communication control device 11 to which the information processing terminal 12 and a telephone terminal 13 such as a business phone are connected.

[0012] The communication control device 11 is connected to the communication network 1 and has a router function. By connecting to an electronic conference system on the communication network side, the communication control device 11 can provide electronic conference functions such as a video conference to the information processing terminal 12 and telephone communication functions to the telephone terminal 13. The information processing terminal 12 is associated with the telephone terminal 13, and the user of the information processing terminal 12 is associated with the telephone terminal 13 located near the information processing terminal 12. The information processing terminal 12 may be connected to the electronic conference system on the communication network side via another device (such as a router). In this case, the information processing terminal 12 receives a notification signal for the video conference from the communication network 1 without going through the communication control device 11.

[0013] The information processing terminal 12 that holds a video conference or the like is equipped with a function that, when it receives a signal notifying of an incoming call from another participant in the video conference (hereinafter referred to as an "incoming call signal"), displays the reception of the incoming call signal on the display of the information processing terminal 12 and outputs a ring tone to notify of the incoming call from the speaker of the information processing terminal 12. This allows the participants in the video conference to recognize the incoming call signal by the image on the display of the information processing terminal 12 and the sound from the speaker.

[0014] In this case, the incoming call signal notified to the information processing terminal 12 that is conducting the video conference is input to the information processing terminal 12 via the communication control device 11. If the participants in the video conference are using a headset connected to the information processing terminal 12, the ringtone of the incoming call signal is output to the earphones or headphones of the headset.

[0015] If the headset is not attached to the body of a conference participant, a notification message informing of the incoming call will simply pop up on the edge of the display, and the ringtone of the headphones will not be detected, so the video conference user may not be able to recognize the incoming call signal.

[0016] In the present invention, the electronic conference function provided by the information processing terminal 12 that executes the TV conference is linked with the telephone communication function provided by the telephone terminal 13, so that an incoming signal of the TV conference is detected and transmitted to the telephone terminal 13, thereby making the users of the TV conference aware of the reception of the incoming signal.

[0017] Specifically, in a system having a communication control device 11 connected to an information processing terminal 12 for holding an electronic conference and a telephone terminal 13 installed in correspondence with the information processing terminal 12, when the information processing terminal 12 detects an incoming call signal for an electronic conference received via the communication control device 11, it generates a call control signal to cause the telephone terminal 13 to output a ringtone and transmits it to the communication control device 11, and the communication control device 11 is configured to transmit the call control signal received from the information processing terminal 12 to the telephone terminal 13 installed in correspondence with the information processing terminal 12 that sent the call control signal.

[0018] With this configuration, even if participants in a video conference are not wearing headsets, they can recognize the receipt of an incoming signal of the video conference by the ringing of the telephone terminal 13 installed corresponding to the information processing terminal 12.

[0019] <Configuration of communication control device> 2, the communication control device 11 includes a control unit 111, a call processing interface (I / F) 114, a communication interface (I / F) 115, and a storage unit 116. The control unit 111 includes an IP communication control unit 112 for providing the information processing terminal 12 with an electronic conference function, and a call control unit 113 for providing the telephone terminal 13 with a telephone communication function.

[0020] The storage unit 116 stores a communication control program for providing an electronic conference function and a telephone communication function, and a correspondence table between the information processing terminals 12 and the telephone terminals 13. This correspondence table shows the correspondence between the information processing terminals 12 and the telephone terminals 13 installed in association with the information processing terminals 12. The associated telephone terminals 13 are installed near the information processing terminals 12 of the participants in the video conference.

[0021] Here, the programs for providing the electronic conference function and telephone communication function may be supplied to the communication control device 11 via a communication line such as the Internet. The storage unit includes various magnetic recording media, magneto-optical recording media, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, and various memories.

[0022] The communication control device 11 can be realized by a computer equipped with a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory, and an I / F, and can be realized by a program that controls these hardware resources.

[0023] <Configuration of information processing terminal> The information processing terminal 12 includes a communication interface (I / F) 121, a control unit 122, a display unit (screen) 125, an audio input / output unit (for example, a microphone and a speaker) 126, and a storage unit 127. An incoming call signal for a video conference is displayed on the display unit (screen) 125, and a headset equipped with a microphone and headphones can be connected to the audio input / output unit 126.

[0024] The control unit 122 includes a conference control unit 123 as a processing unit for providing the electronic conference function, and also includes a device driver unit 124 for linking with the telephone communication function. The device driver unit 124 is a processing unit for linking the electronic conference function provided by the information processing terminal 12 with the telephone communication function provided by the communication control device 11 and the telephone terminal 13.

[0025] The storage unit 127 stores an audio control program for operating the device driver unit 124 and an electronic conference program for operating the conference control unit 123. The audio control program and the electronic conference program may be supplied to the information processing terminal 12 via a communication line such as the Internet. The storage unit includes various magnetic recording media, magneto-optical recording media, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, and various memories.

[0026] The information processing terminal 12 can be realized by a computer equipped with a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory, and an I / F, and can be realized by a communication control program that controls these hardware resources.

[0027] <Telephone terminal configuration> The telephone terminal 13 includes a call processing interface (I / F) 131, a call control unit 132, and a voice input / output unit 133, and is configured to provide telephone communication functions together with the communication control device 11.

[0028] When an electronic conference is held, an electronic conference program is read from the storage unit 127 in the information processing terminal 12 and executed by the conference control unit 123. At this time, an image to be shared by the participants of the electronic conference is output to the display unit 125 of the information processing terminal 12, and audio is input and output by the audio input / output unit 126. The participants of the electronic conference can input and output audio using a headset connected to the audio input / output unit 126.

[0029] An audio signal input from the communication network 1 passes through the communication control device 11 and is input to the information processing terminal 12 via the communication interface 121, and is then controlled by the conference control unit 123 and output from the audio input / output unit 126. The audio signal input from the audio input / output unit 126 is output to the communication network 1 via the communication interface 121 and the communication control device 11.

[0030] Participants in an electronic conference can also participate in the conference using only voice from telephone terminal 13, without using information processing terminal 12. In this case, a voice signal input from communication network 1 is output by voice input / output unit 133 of telephone terminal 13 via communication control device 11, and a voice signal input by voice input / output unit 133 of telephone terminal 13 is output to communication network 1 via communication control device 11.

[0031] <Operation sequence of the communication control system> FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation of the communication control system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] During a video conference, the IP communication control unit of the communication control device 11 transmits a notification signal of the electronic conference received from the communication network to the information processing terminal. The conference control unit of the information processing terminal 12 controls the electronic conference in accordance with the notification signal of the electronic conference. For example, if the notification signal of the electronic conference is an incoming call signal from a conference participant, the information processing terminal 12 displays the incoming call signal on the display of the information processing terminal 12 and controls the information processing terminal 12 to output a ring tone to notify the incoming call from the speaker of the information processing terminal 12. If the information processing terminal 12 is connected to an electronic conference system on the communication network side via another device (such as a router), the information processing terminal 12 receives the notification signal of the electronic conference from the communication network 1 without going through the communication control device 11.

[0033] The device driver unit of the information processing terminal 12 refers to the notification signal received by the conference control unit and detects an incoming signal for the electronic conference from the received notification signal. For example, the incoming signal for the electronic conference can be detected by identifying the audio signal of the incoming signal for the electronic conference.

[0034] When the device driver unit of the information processing terminal 12 detects an incoming call signal for an electronic conference, it generates a call control signal for causing the telephone terminal 13 to output an incoming call tone and transmits the call control signal to the IP communication control unit of the communication control device 11.

[0035] In this way, the device driver section of the information processing terminal 12 has the function of converting the detected incoming signal for electronic conferencing into a call control signal for the telephone communication function provided by the communication control device 11, thereby enabling the electronic conferencing function and the telephone communication function to be linked.

[0036] The IP communication control unit of the communication control device 11 refers to a correspondence table between the information processing terminal 12 and the telephone terminal 13 stored in the memory unit, determines the telephone terminal to which to send the call control signal, and sends the call control signal received from the information processing terminal 12 to the call control unit of the communication control device 11.

[0037] The call control unit of the communication control device 11 transmits the received call control signal to the telephone terminal 13 that is installed in association with the information processing terminal 12. The telephone terminal 13 sounds a ringtone based on the received call control signal, in the same way as when a normal telephone call is received. Even if the participants of the video conference are not wearing headsets, they can recognize the reception of an incoming call signal by the ringtone of the telephone terminal 13. Here, the ringtone may be changed to distinguish it from an incoming call of a normal telephone call.

[0038] Here, by going off-hook at the telephone terminal 13, the telephone terminal 13 may be used as an audio input / output terminal for the video conference. In this case, audio signals between the information processing terminal 12 and the telephone terminal 13 are transmitted and received via the communication control device 11 using a media stream such as RTP (Real-time Transport Protocol).

[0039] <Operations of the communication control device and information processing terminal> The operations of the communication control device and the information processing terminal according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 4 and 5. Figure 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the information processing terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0040] During the TV conference, the conference control unit of the information processing terminal 12 receives a notification signal of the electronic conference from the communication network (step S1). The conference control unit of the information processing terminal 12 controls the electronic conference in response to the notification signal of the electronic conference.

[0041] The device driver unit of the information processing terminal 12 detects an incoming signal for the electronic conference from the received notification signal (step S2). For example, the incoming signal for the electronic conference can be detected by identifying the audio signal of the incoming signal for the electronic conference.

[0042] When the device driver unit of the information processing terminal 12 detects an incoming call signal for an electronic conference, it generates a call control signal to cause the telephone terminal 13 to output an incoming call tone (step S3) and sends it to the IP communication control unit of the communication control device 11 (step S4).

[0043] In this way, the device driver section of the information processing terminal 12 has the function of converting the detected incoming signal for electronic conferencing into a call control signal for the telephone communication function provided by the communication control device 11, thereby enabling the electronic conferencing function and the telephone communication function to be linked.

[0044] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the communication control device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0045] When the IP communication control unit of the communication control device 11 receives the call control signal from the device driver unit (step S5), it refers to a correspondence table between the information processing terminal 12 and the telephone terminal 13 stored in the storage unit and determines the telephone terminal to which the call control signal should be sent (step S6). The IP communication control unit of the communication control device 11 sends the call control signal received from the information processing terminal 12 to the call control unit of the communication control device 11 (step S7).

[0046] The call control unit of the communication control device 11 transmits the received call control signal to the telephone terminal 13 that is installed in association with the information processing terminal 12 in accordance with the decision of the IP communication control unit (step S8). The telephone terminal 13 sounds a ringtone based on the received call control signal, in the same way as for an incoming call in the normal manner (step S9).

[0047] <Other embodiments> In the above embodiment, an embodiment has been described in which the device driver unit generates a call control signal in response to detecting an incoming signal for an electronic conference. However, the device driver unit may also generate a call control signal if, after detecting an input notification signal, it determines, based on a predetermined determination condition, that there is no reaction to the notification signal in the information processing terminal 12.

[0048] The predetermined condition is, for example, when there is no reaction from the participant to the notification signal after a predetermined time has elapsed since the notification signal was received. If there is a reaction to the notification signal in the information processing terminal 12 before the predetermined time has elapsed, the process of generating the call control signal ends. The call control signal may be generated if there is no reaction from the participant to the notification signal after receiving the notification signal a predetermined number of times.

[0049] <Effects of this embodiment> According to the communication control system of this embodiment, when an information processing terminal such as a PC that is used to hold an electronic conference receives an incoming call notification, if the participant is unable to detect the ringtone and does not notice the incoming call display (pop-up display, etc.) on the screen of the information processing terminal, the participant can easily detect the incoming call notification of the electronic conference by outputting the ringtone from a telephone terminal that is associated with the information processing terminal.

[0050] In the embodiment of the present invention, an example of the configuration and operation of a communication control system that achieves the above-mentioned effects has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. Any configuration that demonstrates the functions of the communication control system and achieves the above-mentioned effects may be used. [Industrial Applicability]

[0051] The present invention can be applied to an electronic conference system connected to a communication network. [Explanation of symbols]

[0052] 1. Communication Network 10. Communication Control System 11 Communication control device 12 Information processing terminal 13 Telephone terminals

Claims

1. an information processing terminal equipped with a conference control unit for conducting an electronic conference; a communication control device to which the information processing terminal and a telephone terminal associated with the information processing terminal are connected, the information processing terminal includes a device driver unit that transmits a call control signal to the communication control device when the conference control unit detects the received electronic conference incoming signal, causing the telephone terminal to output a ringing tone; The communication control device transmits the call control signal received from the information processing terminal to the telephone terminal corresponding to the information processing terminal. Communications control system.

2. The communication control device a storage unit that stores the correspondence between the information processing terminal and the telephone terminal; an IP communication control unit that determines the telephone terminal corresponding to the information processing terminal that is the sender of the call control signal based on the correspondence; a call control unit that transmits the call control signal to the telephone terminal determined by the IP communication control unit; The communication control system according to claim 1 , comprising:

3. The device driver unit When the information processing terminal determines that there is no response to the incoming call signal for the electronic conference based on a predetermined determination condition, the information processing terminal transmits the call control signal to the communication control device.

3. The communication control system according to claim 1 or 2.

4. A program executed in a communication control system including an information processing terminal having a conference control unit for holding an electronic conference, and a communication control device to which the information processing terminal and a telephone terminal associated with the information processing terminal are connected, a step in which the information processing terminal transmits a call control signal to the communication control device when the conference control unit detects the incoming call signal for the electronic conference received by the conference control unit, to cause the telephone terminal to output a ringing tone; a step of transmitting the call control signal received from the information processing terminal by the communication control device to the telephone terminal corresponding to the information processing terminal; A communication control program for causing a computer to function as the communication control system by executing the above program.

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