Communication bandwidth control method for a broadcast communication system, a server and a user terminal used in a broadcast communication system, and a program

Abstract

A method transmitting and receiving data other than voice data and preventing deterioration in quality of communication voice data due to transmission and reception of the other than voice data, and utilizing a limited communication bandwidth when a plurality of users conduct the broadcast communication through common use of the conference room on the network. Upon a user terminal transmitting second data, verifying whether any of a plurality of identified user terminals has a right of transmission of first data. The method further includes that upon a user terminal having the a transmission right of first data, setting a value obtained by subtracting the communication bandwidth required for transmission of the first data from the communication bandwidth which each user terminal can use as the communication bandwidth for transmission of the second data. Upon no user terminal having a transmission right of first data, setting a communication bandwidth that each user terminal can use as the communication bandwidth for transmission of the second data.

1 . A data transmission control method for a broadcast communication system in which any of a plurality of user terminals acquires a right of transmission of first data, transmits the first data, and distributes the first data transmitted from a user terminal to another user terminal via a communication network, the method comprising:
 storing information indicating that a user terminal having an identifier has acquired a right of transmission of second data, upon receiving a request for acquiring the right of transmission of the second data from the user terminals;   verifying whether a source user terminal transmitting the second data has the right of transmission of the second data, upon receiving the second data from the source user terminal; and   if the source user terminal has the right of transmission of the second data as verified using the stored information, distributing the second data received from the source user terminal to other user terminals.   
     
     
         2 . The data transmission control method according to  claim 1 , wherein the first data is required to have a realtime property and the second data is not always required to have the realtime property. 
     
     
         3 . The data transmission control method according to  claim 2 , wherein the first data is voice data and the second data is data other than the voice data. 
     
     
         4 . A server used in a broadcast communication system, comprising:
 a first data transmission right management unit giving a transmission right of first data to any of a plurality of user terminals in accordance with a first data transmission right acquiring request received from user terminals, and storing information about a user terminal having the transmission right of the first data;   a second data transmission right management unit giving a transmission right for second data to any of a plurality of user terminals in accordance with a second data transmission right acquiring request received from user terminals, and storing information about a user terminal having the transmission right of the second data;   a second data storing unit storing the second data transmitted from a source terminal among the user terminals; and   a second data distributing unit transmitting the second data stored by the second data storing unit, to each user terminal of the plurality of user terminals, if the second data transmission right management unit verifies that the source user terminal has the transmission right of the second data.   
     
     
         5 . The server according to  claim 4 , wherein the first data is required to have a realtime property and the second data is not required to have a realtime property. 
     
     
         6 . The server according to  claim 5 , wherein the first data is voice data and the second data is data other than the voice data. 
     
     
         7 . A user terminal for a broadcast communication system in which any of a plurality of user terminals acquires a transmission right of first data, transmits the first data, and distributes the first data transmitted from a user terminal to another user terminal of the plurality of user terminals, comprising:
 a first data transmission right control unit receiving a first data transmission right acquiring condition notification, and storing first identifying information of a first user terminal having the transmission right of the first data;   a second data transmission right control unit receiving a second data transmission right acquiring condition notification, and storing second identifying information of a second user terminal having a transmission right of second data; and   a second data transmitting unit transmitting the second data, if the second data transmission right control unit verifies that a source user terminal transmitting the second data has the right of transmission of the second data.   
     
     
         8 . The user terminal according to  claim 7 , wherein the first data is required to have a realtime property and the second data is not always required to have the realtime property. 
     
     
         9 . The user terminal according to  claim 8 , wherein the first data is voice data and the second data is data other than the first data. 
     
     
         10 . A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer-readable program which when executed on a computer controls a server used for the broadcast communication system in which any of a plurality of user terminals acquires the transmission right of the first data to transmit the first data and distribute the first data transmitted from the user terminal to the other user terminals of a plurality of user terminals via a communication network, to execute the processes, by:
 giving a transmission right for the first data to any of a plurality of user terminals in accordance with a first data transmission right acquiring request received from the user terminals, and storing information on a first user terminal to which the first data transmission right is given;   giving a transmission right for second data to any of the user terminals in accordance with a second data transmission right acquiring request received from the user terminals, and storing information on a terminal to which the transmission right for the second data is given;   storing the second data transmitted from a source user terminal among the user terminals and corresponding user terminal identifying information;   verifying whether the source user terminal is the terminal having the transmission right of the second data registered in a database; and   transmitting the second data to each user terminal, if a result of the verifying is that the source user terminal is the terminal having the transmission right for the second data registered to the database.   
     
     
         11 . The computer-readable storage medium according to  claim 10 , wherein the first data is required to have a realtime property and the second data is not always required to have the realtime property. 
     
     
         12 . The computer-readable storage medium according to  claim 11 , wherein the first data is voice data and the second data is data other than the voice data.