Multiplex communications – Pathfinding or routing – Combined circuit switching and packet switching
Reexamination Certificate
1999-02-23
2004-06-15
Ton, Dang (Department: 2732)
Multiplex communications
Pathfinding or routing
Combined circuit switching and packet switching
C370S354000, C379S373010, C379S374020
Reexamination Certificate
active
06751212
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a multimedia data communication system which includes a plurality of types of communication terminal devices accommodated in a network including a LAN (Local Area Network) as a core network and allows multimedia data communication.
This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 10-42112, filed Feb. 24, 1998 and Japanese Patent Application No. 10-354371, filed Dec. 14, 1998, the contents of both of which are incorporated herein by reference.
In a conventional PBX (private branch exchange) network system, voice communication terminal devices are accommodated as extension terminals in a PBX or button telephone main apparatus. In this system, the PBX or button telephone main apparatus performs switching connection between these extension terminals and an external communication network such as a public network and between the extension terminals, thereby allowing voice communication. In addition, data terminals such as personal computers are connected to a LAN to allow data transmission between the personal computers through the LAN. Furthermore, another system is proposed, in which a voice communication system using a PBX or button telephone main apparatus is linked to a data communication system using a LAN by using a gateway.
In such a conventional PBX network system, however, different communication infrastructures must be installed for the voice communication system and the data communication system. In addition, the voice communication system is of a centralized control type using the PBX or button telephone main apparatus, system down tends to occur. In order to prevent this, the PBX must be made duplex. This increases the system configuration and the investment made by the user.
The present inventor has therefore proposed a system in Japanese Patent Application No. 9-161722, which published as WO 98/58475 and is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 09/242,455, in which a plurality of types of media terminals are accommodated in a network including a LAN as a core network through a communication interface. This communication interface performs protocol conversion, data format conversion, and the like to allow multimedia data communication between each media terminal and an external communication network as well as between the plurality of types of media terminals.
In this system, for example, when the user of one of communication terminal devices performs hold operation during voice communication, an audible sound informing that the hold operation is performed must be generated at the communication terminal device of the other party. In addition, when a communication terminal device is set in the off-hook state, a dial tone informing that the off-hook state is set must be generated. Furthermore, there are demands to notify a call originating party of the state and information of the called party if the called party is in communication by using voice messages during voice communication. As described above, in a multimedia data communication system, there are occasions when users want to generate audible sounds from communication terminal devices. At present, however, no effective means for generating audible sounds have been developed.
As described above, in conventional multimedia data communication systems, no effective means for notifying the operation state of a communication terminal device to the communication terminal device of the other party by using audible sounds has been proposed.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a multimedia data communication system which can effectively notify the communication terminal device of the other party of the operation state of a given communication terminal device by using audible sounds.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a multimedia data communication system which can reduce the load on a network in notifying the communication terminal device of the other party of the operation state of a given terminal device by using audible sounds.
According to the present invention, there is provided a following multimedia data communication systems.
(1) A multimedia data communication system comprises:
communication terminals for transmitting/receiving information data in accordance with a first communication protocol;
a communication network for transmitting information data in accordance with a second communication protocol;
communication interfaces each converting a communication protocol between communication terminals and the communication network;
a sound element database for storing sound element data for generating an audible sound indicating an operation state of the communication terminal; and
a sound generator for, when a first communication terminal outputs a request to generate an audible sound indicating the operation state thereof from a second communication terminal, reading out sound element data corresponding to the request from the sound element database, and transferring the sound element data to the second communication terminal, thereby causing the second communication terminal to generate an audible sound corresponding to the sound element data.
(2) A multimedia data communication system of the present invention is the multimedia data communication system described in (1), in which the sound generator comprises:
a sending circuit, provided in the communication interface to which the first communication terminal is connected, for reading out corresponding sound element data from the sound element database, and sending the readout sound element data to the second communication terminal through the communication network; and
sound generator, provided in the communication interface to which the second communication terminal is connected, for generating an audible sound corresponding to the sound element data sent from the sending circuit, and causing the second communication terminal to output the audible sound.
(3) A multimedia data communication system of the present invention is the multimedia data communication system described in (1), in which the sound generator comprises:
a sending circuit, provided in the communication interface to which the first communication terminal is connected, for sending type information of sound element data corresponding to an audible sound, for which the first communication terminal has made a generation request, to the second communication terminal through the communication network; and
sound generator, provided in the communication interface to which the second communication terminal is connected, for reading out from the sound element database sound element data corresponding to the sound element data type information sent from the sending circuit, generating an audible sound corresponding to the readout sound element data, and causing the second communication terminal to output the audible sound.
According to the present invention associated with (1) to (3), necessary sound element data are registered in the sound element database in advance. When a request to generate an audible sound is output from a communication terminal, the corresponding sound element data is selectively read out from the sound element database and sent to the terminal device of the other party. As a result, an audible sound corresponding to the sound element data is generated by the communication terminal. This obviates the necessity to directly transmit an audible sound between communication terminals upon digitizing it, thus allowing efficient transmission and generation of audible sounds.
(4) A multimedia data communication system comprises:
communication terminals for transmitting/receiving information data in accordance with a first communication protocol;
a communication network for transmitting information data in accordance with a second communication protocol;
first communication interfaces each converting a communication protocol between the communication terminals and the communication network; and
a second communication interface for convert
Kaji Akemi
Kashimoto Shinichi
Machida Satoshi
Murai Toshio
Sato Shuichi
Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner L.L.P.
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
Ton Dang
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