Representative Relay Device for Videoconference Session Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
In videoconference systems, relay devices connected to videoconference management systems may not receive necessary notifications for session participation, leading to communication disruptions when they cannot be accessed directly by the management system.
Innovation Solution
A control apparatus determines a representative relay device to manage content data relay and notifies other relay devices, ensuring they can send relay requests to this representative device, even if they cannot be directly accessed by the management system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple videoconference management systems are provided to increase scalability, then the number of end points that can be connected increases, but relay devices may become inaccessible to the management system, causing communication disruptions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a representative relay device as an intermediary that receives session establishment requests from the management system and forwards them to other relay devices. This mediator approach allows the management system to indirectly control relay devices that are otherwise inaccessible, maintaining communication reliability while supporting multiple management systems for scalability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a new communication dimension by allowing relay devices to directly contact the representative relay device alongside the traditional management system communication path. This alternative communication dimension ensures that even when the management system cannot directly access a relay device, session establishment can still proceed through the representative relay device.
2Adaptability or versatility
If relay devices are connected through networks where they cannot be directly accessed by the management system, then system flexibility increases, but the management system cannot transmit session notification to these relay devices
Solution Approach 1:
The representative relay device serves as an information intermediary that receives session establishment requests containing session identifiers from the management system and transmits these requests to other relay devices. This ensures that session notification information is successfully delivered to relay devices even when direct management system access is unavailable.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by having the representative relay device pre-establish communication channels with other relay devices and prepare for session establishment. When the management system sends a session request, the representative relay device is already positioned to immediately forward the request, ensuring timely session notification delivery.
Data Source
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AI summary
A control system (5) includes a first control apparatus (50x) and a second control apparatus (50y). The first control apparatus (50x) obtains information regarding a plurality of relay devices for relaying content data in a session to be established among a plurality of communication terminals (10aa, 10bb), and determines one of the plurality of relay devices (30xx, 30yy) as a representative relay device to manage a relay destination of content: data in the session to be established. The second control apparatus (50yy) receives, from a first communication terminal (10bb) of the plurality of communication terminals subject for participation in the session, a request for starting relay of content data. The second control apparatus (50yy) further transmits, with a request for starting relay of content data, the relay device identification information of the representative relay device (30xx) to a first relay device (30yy) connected to the first communication terminal (10bb), to cause the first relay device (30yy) to further transmit the request for starting relay of content data to the representative relay device identified with the relay device identification information of the representative relay device. The relay device identification information of the representative relay device is transmitted from the first control apparatus (10xx) to the plurality of communication terminals subject for participation in the session. The first communication terminal (10bb) sends the relay device identification information of the representative relay device with the request for starting relay of content data.