Panasonic Corporation

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Matshushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America

III Holdings 12, LLC

Masayuki Kumazawa

Hirokazu Kobayashi

Taisuke Matsumoto

Makoto Funabiki

Shinkichi Ikeda

Toyoki Kawahara

Yuji Shimizu

Takeshi Takita

Naoki Koga

Yoshimasa Honda

Mikio Shimazu

Yasuhiko Watanabe

Funabiki Makoto c/oMatsushita Electric IndCo Ltd Ltd

An objective is to prevent occurrence of video loop even in a case where a plurality of video conference apparatuses are connected in cascade. In a cascade mode, that is, in a case where a location of a video conference apparatus is an intermediate location, video and speech selector/combinerselects video data of a location (location where a speech is made) of a maximum sound-volume among connection locations other than the location of the video conference apparatus and a cascade destination. Communication controllertransmits video data of the location of the maximum sound-volume to video conference apparatusof the cascade destination and transmits the video data transmitted from video conference apparatusof the cascade destination to video conference apparatusesin a connection location other than the cascade destination.

Video conference apparatus

A videoconference device displays video data from a speech site such that a viewer can easily understand even in a case where the number of sites is large. A communication controller receives each piece of video data and voice data from conference terminal devices of a plurality of other sites. A video and voice synthesizer determines a screen layout depending on the number of sites participating in a videoconference, and generates synthesized video data obtained by synthesizing video data of each site according to the screen layout. At this time, the video and voice synthesizer generates the synthesized video data such that display of the video data of each site where a level of voice data is higher than or equal to a threshold is highlighted more than display of video data of the other sites. A video and voice output controller displays the synthesized video data on a screen of a display device.

Videoconference device

A wireless communication terminal includes an encoder, configured to encode content data; a destination setting section, configured to set a network address on feedback data for the wireless communication terminal, the network address being set on the wireless communication terminal; a transmitter, configured to transmit the feedback data; a receiver, configured to receive the feedback data transmitted form the transmitter and transferred by way of the wireless communication network; and a reproduction processor, configured to perform reproduction processing on the content data in accordance with the received feedback data.

Wireless communication terminal and communication control method

A router, if judging that a routing function is impossible to execute, sends out a connection instruction message including the address of a terminal on a local network terminating the relaying flow, to another router to solicit switching. The router having received the connection instruction message starts a process for connecting with an external network while executing a process for link connection with a terminal, and then sends out a connection completion notice message when the connection with both the external network and the terminal is established. This process enables the router to switch a path rapidly.

Multi-interface communication device, terminal, and path switching method

In a mobile network system composed of plural mobile networks and a home agent, the home agent inquires mobile routers in a mobile network whether or not a terminal is connected, if detecting the absence of the terminal, when data addressed to the terminal arrives at a home network of the terminal in the mobile network. Responding to this inquiry, the mobile routers search whether or not the terminal is connected to the own mobile networks. If the terminal is connected, the mobile routers inform the home agent of the presence of the terminal. When receiving this notice, the home agent transfers data addressed to this terminal to a mobile router as a notice source. This process, even if a terminal moves to a mobile network having a same network prefix as that of the home network, allows transferring a packet accurately to the terminal.

Mobile router, home agent, and terminal position management method

In a mobile network system composed of a mobile network with a mobile router and a terminal interconnected, and of a home agent, when the mobile router connects to an external network, the mobile router informs the home agent of path information to the mobile network including the mobile router. Receiving the path information, the home agent inquires the mobile router in the home network whether or not the mobile router connects to the mobile network informed. Then, the home agent advertises path information to this mobile network only when the mobile router connecting to the mobile network does not exist. Accordingly, the home agent can rapidly switch to an optimum path to the external network.

Path control method and home agent

In a case where internal links connected to plural mobile routers in a mobile network respectively have unique network identifiers initially set, the mobile router, when receiving a network identifier different from the initial setting advertised from another mobile router, selects either one of the network identifier initially set to the self and that advertised, as a network identifier of the internal link connected to the self. Then, if the one selected is identical to that initially set, the mobile router advertises the network identifier to within the mobile network and registers it in a home agent. If not identical, the mobile router registers the one advertised in the home agent as a network identifier of the internal link connected to the self.

Method of sharing network identifier and mobile router

A mobile communication method includes: a step for transmitting a binding update message for notification of a care-of-address of the network where the mobile network has gone, from a mobile router to a home agent, which can be used after the network has moved; and a step performed upon reception of the binding update message, for notification by the home agent of routing information concerning the route to the mobile network managed by the mobile router to the home network. Thus, the routing information from a mobile node is given to a gateway and the router on the home network without delay after movement, and it is possible to prevent loss of data sent to the mobile node belonging to the network to which the mobile network is connected after the movement.

Home agent, mobile router, and mobile communication method using the same

When first mobile router, which has a MNP, generates a key which corresponds to that MNP and transmits a registration request packet including the key to home agent, home agent stores the MNP and key of the first mobile router, and sends main mobile router registration approval. When first mobile router receives this response, it distributes the MNP and key to second mobile router in moving network. Second mobile router, which receives this, transmits a registration request packet including the MNP and key to home agent, and thereby, home agent registers second mobile router as a subsidiary mobile router. By this means, it is possible to prevent illegal acquirement of a packet addressed to a moving network by use of a mobile router which shares the network prefix (MNP).

Moving router, home agent, router position registration method, and moving network system

When the routing function of router becomes disabled, a routing stop message is multicast to all terminals and another router in a LAN. If another router can provide the routing function, a routing start message is multicast to all terminals and the other router in the LAN. This method allows the terminals in the LAN to switch the default router at a predetermined timing according to both messages, thus minimizing the default router switching delay time and the packet loss.

Routing control method, router, and terminal

A router includes a multicast packet transmitting unit that multicasts the identifier of the router periodically, a relay determining unit that determines whether a received data packet should be relayed to a router in another segment, an order determining unit that determines, on the basis of information included in multicast packets from the other routers, the router to which the data packet shall be transferred, and a packet relaying unit that, when the data packet is not relayed, notifies the transmission source which transmitted the packet as to the router selected by the order determining unit to be the relay destination and then transfers the data packet to the selected router. A router suitable for relaying the packet is thus selected. Since switching of the relay router may be performed by following the router redirection message, it is unnecessary to add a new function to a terminal.

Router selecting method and router apparatus

Between network connection apparatuses connected to each other by use of a virtual redundant arrangement, a first network connection apparatus that is in a standby state receives an advertisement message from a second network connection apparatus that is active as a network connection apparatus, and uses a priority comparing section to compare its own priority with the priority in the received advertisement message. When its own priority is higher, the first network connection apparatus uses a master down timer comparing section to compare the remaining time of a master down timer with the time as weighted in accordance with its own priority and resets the timer for a shorter time.

Network connection apparatus and network connection switching method

When connected to an external network, a mobile router checks an address 0table if a home address is allocated. If it is not allocated, the mobile router derives the address of a position management server from a position-management-server address table and sends an allocation request message to the position management server. The position management server receives an address management table listing addresses to be allocated to each mobile network and the allocation request message sent from the mobile router, searches the address management table for an unused address, and sends an allocation permission message to the mobile router to automatically allocate a home address to the mobile router.

Mobile router, position management server, mobile network management system, and mobile network management method

A packet transmission apparatus transfers arriving packets directly to a highest-priority queue under non-congestion conditions, and classifies the priority of a packet only on the existence of congestion. In one embodiment, non-congestion is determined when all queues are empty. In another embodiment, congestion or non-congestion is determined by upper and lower thresholds on the total number of packets in all queues. The ability to omit classifying incoming packets in the non-congestion condition improves processing speed, and eliminates the need for re-queuing or packet-replacing operations.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Masayuki Kumazawa