AU646933B2 - Automatic switching system for performing connection control between a plurality of sets of subscriber terminals - Google Patents

Description

I I__ S F Ref: 205590

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 tl69v COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

Name and Address of Applicant: Actual Inventor(s): Address for Service: Invention Title: NEC Corporation 7-1, Shiba Minato-ku Tokyo

JAPAN

Kenji Kinoshita Spruson Ferguson, Patent Attorneys Level 33 St Martins Tower, 31 Market Street Sydney, New South Wales, 2000, Australia Automatic Switching System for Performing Connection Control Between a Plurality of Sets of Subscriber Terminals j i i'.

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The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:- Specification Title of the Invention Automatic Switching System for Performing Connection Control between a Plurality of Sets of Subscriber Terminals Background of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic switching system for performing switch connection control between a plurality of sets of subscriber terminals and, more particularly, to an automatic switching system for performing an additional service in connecting subscriber terminals.

In a video conference or the like using an automatic switching system, various pieces of communication equipment, such as facsimiles and electronic blackboards, as well as image terminals are used to perform advanced data exchange, thereby enriching the contents of the conference.

The automatic switching system includes a switch unit for connecting lines and a switching controller for controlling the switch unit.

Upon receiving a connection request from a subscriber terminal (calling terminal), the switching controller of the automatic switching system performs switch control processing of connecting lines between the calling terminal and a subscriber terminal (called 1 terminal) designated as the other party of the calling terminal by a switch.

In the switch control performed by the switching controller of the conventional automatic switching system, when a plurality of peripheral devices are to be connected at the same time as in a video conference, a user must issue a connection request for each peripheral device. For this reason, the number of operations performed by the user is increased with an increase in the number of terminals to be used at the same time, and consequently a time required for connecting operations is also increased. That is, the switch control performed by the switching controller of the conventional automatic switching system has a problem in that as the number of terminals to be simultaneously used is increased, connecting operations performed by a user are increased in number, and this prolongs a time required for the operations.

Summary of the Invention It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic switching system capable of saving labors and shortening the time required for a user to perform connecting operations when the number of subscriber terminals is increased.

It is another preferred object of the present invention to provide an automatic switching system by which a user can receive a connection service between necessary peripheral terminals by simply performing a calling operation using a subscriber terminal.

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O2 -2- STA/0435K V1. I Therefore, the invention discloses an automatic switching system for performing switching control between a plurality of sets of subscriber terminals, comprising: a switch unit, connected to a plurality of subscriber terminals, for performing switching between said subscriber terminals; a subscriber data file in which a plurality of switch connection pattern data corresponding to said subscriber terminals are registered beforehand; and a connection controller comprising subscriber service data reading means for reading out, when a subscriber terminal performs calling, the switch connection pattern data corresponding to said calling subscriber terminal from said subscriber data file, switch pattern analysis control means for extracting switch connection pattern data corresponding to a called subscriber terminal from the switch connection pattern data read out by said subscriber service data reading means, and switch control means for performing switch connection control of said switch unit in accordance with the switch connection pattern data extracted by said switch pattern analysis control means.

Brief Description of the Drawings Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of an automatic switching system for performing switch connection control; Fig. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an example of a switching controller shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a view showing an example of switch connection pattern data in a subscriber data file for use in the switch connection control; and

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!0 E 3 STA/0435K Fig. 4 is a flow chart showing switch connection control of the automatic switching system.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to Figs. 1, 2, and 3.

Fig. 1 shows the arrangement of an embodiment of an automatic switching system according to the present invention. This automatic switching system includes a switch unit 100 for switching and connecting terminal lines, a switching controller 110 which is constituted by, e.g., a CPU and controls connections of the switch unit 100, and a subscriber data file 120 storing switch connection pattcn data. The switch unit 100 of the automatic switching system is connected to video conference subscriber terminals 130 and 140 and video conference peripheral devices, such as electronic blackboard units 150 and 160 for displaying figures, which are written on an input board, on an image terminal of the other party.

As shown in Fig. 2, the switching controller 110 has a call control task 10 and a switch control task 20. The call control task 10 issues a switch connection request upon receiving a connection request from the video conference terminal 130 or 140. The switch control task performs switch connection control in *i e: STA/0435K accordance with the switch connection request from the call control task The call control task 10 has a subscriber service data reading means 11 for reading out switch connection pattern data from the subscriber data file.

The switch control task 20 has a switch pattern analysis control means 21 and a switch control means 22. The switch pattern analysis control means 21 requests the switch control means 22 to connect all switch connection patterns corresponding to the readout switch connection pattern data. The switch control means 22 controls the switch unit 100. Note that the means 11, 21, and 22 acquire predetermined functions by executing the respective corresponding tasks.

The call control task 10 is ac,-ivated by a connection request from the video conference terminal 130 or 140. The call control task 10 causes the subscriber service data reading means 11 to read out switch connection pattern data corresponding to the above video conference terminals from the subscriber i data file 120, and supplies the readout switch connection pattern data to the switch control task The switch control task 20 causes the switch pattern analysis control means 21 to analyze the supplied switch connection pattern data, and activates the switch control means 22 sequentially for each of a plurality of corresponding switch connection requests. That is, upon 5 i iu receiving a connection request from a single video conference terminal, the switch control task 20 performs switch connection control for corresponding equipment including video conference peripheral devices corresponding to that video conference terminal.

Assume that a plurality of switch connection pattern data of individual called terminals corresponding to subscriber terminals for performing a video conference are written beforehand, as data indicating combinations of two subscriber terminals as shown in Fig. 3, in the subscriber data file. The operation of the switching controller 110 shown in Fig. 1 will be descrined in detail with reference to the flow chart shown in Fig. 4.

Suppose that in order to be connected to the video conference terminal 140, the video conference terminal 130 performs calling and designates the video conference terminal 140 as a called terminal. The switching controller 110 performs reception of the connection request from the video conference terminal 130 (step 5201). In order to cause the call control task 10 to read out switch connection pattern data corresponding to the video conference terminal 1;O, the switching controller 110 activates the subscriber service data reading means 11 to read out switch connection pattern data as shown in Fig. 3 from the subscriber data file 120 (step S202). The call control I 6 0at p -6Tr 8' i:i

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i i: ii f 1 i I; i task 10 supplies the readout switch connection pattern data to the switch control task Since in this case the calling terminal is the video conference terminal 130, switch connection pattern data a corresponding to the video conference terminal 130 shown in Fig. 3 is supplied to the switch control task 20. Upon receiving the supplied switch connection pattern data, the switch control task 20 activates the switch pattern analysis control means 21. The switch pattern analysis control means 21 extracts all switch connection patterns corresponding to the called terminal for which the calling terminal issued the connection request, and requests the switch control means 22 to sequentially perform switch control designated by the extracted switch connection patterns (steps S203 and S204). In this case, since the connection is to be made between the video conference terminals 130 and 140, the switch control task 20 reads out switch connection patterns "130-140" and "150-160" corresponding to the calling terminal 130 and the called terminal 140 from a the switch connection pattern data a shown in Fig. 3, and requests the switch control means 22 to perform switch connection processing for each pattern until the processing is completely performed for all patterns, as shown in step S204 of Fig. 4. Upon receiving this request, the switch control means 22 makes a switch connection between the video conference terminals 130 -7-

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::i and 140 and also 1 s a switch connection between the video conference peripheral units 150 and 160.

Note that although patterns for connecting two subscriber terminals are illustrated as an example of the switch connection pattern data in Fig. 3, patterns for connecting three or more subscriber terminals may be used.

As described above, in accordance with the connection request from the video conference terminal 130, it is possible to make not only the switch connection between the video conference terminals 130 and 140 but also the switch connection between the video conference peripheral units 150 and 160. That is, when a single video con.jrence terminal issues a connection request, connections can be made between video conference peripheral devices to be used together with that video conference terminal. As a result, connections of peripheral devices for use in a video conference performed by an automatic switching system are automated.

In the above embodiment, only a few terminals are illustrated for the sake of convenience, However, the system of the present invention can similarly operate even when a larger number of video conference peripheral devices are connected in a video conference.

In addition, if the automatic switching system is connected to a line from another automatic switching 8 system, it is possible to realize a similar function as an additional service by exchanging control data between the two automatic switching systems through the line.

As has been described above, upon receiving a switch connection request from a single video conference terminal, the system of the present invention performs switch control corresponding to a plurality of switch connection patterns in a subscriber data file. As a result, it is possible to save user's labors for connecting a plurality of video conference peripheral devices to be used together with the terminal and to shorten the time required for making these connections.

That is, a user need only perform a connecting operation for a given single video conference terminal in order to receive a connection service for a plurality of video conference peripheral devices to be used together with the terminal.

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Claims (4)

1. An automatic switching system for performing switching control between a plurality of sets of subscriber terminals, comprising: a switch unit, connected to a plurality of subscriber terminals, for performing switching between said subscriber terminals; a subscriber data file in which a plurality of switch connection pattern data corresponding to said subscriber terminals are registered beforehand; and a connection controller comprising subscriber service data reading means for reading out, when a subscriber tev n~ aerforms calling, the switch connection pattern data corresponding t ing subscriber terminal from said subscriber data file, switch .'lysis control means for extracting switch connection pattern da:* onding to a called subscriber terminal from the switch connec 4 *Ltern data read out by said subscriber service data reading means, ,iid switch control means for performing switch connection control of said switch unit in accordance with the switch connection pattern data extracted by said switch pattern analysis control means.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein the switch connection pattern data is registered in said subscriber data file in correspondence with each of a plurality of combinations of calling subscriber terminals and called subscriber terminals.

3. A system according to claini 1, wherein the switch connection pattern data registered in said subscriber data file is data of a plurality of combinations each indicating numbers of two subscriber terminals to be connected.

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein said calling subscriber terminal is a video conference terminal, and each of said subscriber terminals designated to be connected by the switch connection pattern 30 data is a video conference peripheral device. A system substantially as herein described and as shown in the accompanying drawings. DATED this TWENTY-FIRST day of DECEMBER 1993 NEC Corporation Patent Attorneys for the Applicant T °SPRUSON FERGUSON T- 10 I r I Fr F. r STA/0435K i