# US 10,320,900 B2 · Communication control method, communication controller, telepresence robot, and recording medium storing program > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,320,900 B2 - Document ID: US10320900B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/973,464 - Filed: 2018-05-07 - Published: 2018-11-22 - Granted: 2019-06-11 - Earliest claimed: 2017-05-22 - Assignees: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Yuri Nishikawa - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10320900B2 ## CPC - H04N 7/15: Conference systems - H04L 12/18: for broadcast or conference {, e.g. multicast} - H04L 12/1886: {with traffic restrictions for efficiency improvement, e.g. involving subnets or subdomains} - H04L 65/1073: Registration or de-registration - H04L 65/1083: In-session procedures - H04L 65/403: Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences (data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15) - H04L 65/4038: with floor control - H04L 67/1051: {Group master selection mechanisms} - H04L 67/1059: {Inter-group management mechanisms, e.g. splitting, merging or interconnection of groups} - H04L 67/12: specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks - H04L 67/54: Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users - H04N 7/152: {Multipoint control units therefor} - H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION - H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M) ## Abstract A communication control method includes detecting whether one master terminal, and m (m is an integer not less than 1 and not more than n-1) slave terminals among n (n is an integer not less than 2) slave terminals are in a conversation state, and in response to detecting that the master terminal and the m slave terminals are in the conversation state, disconnecting the master terminal and the m slave terminals from the basic network, and forming a first sub-network, the first sub-network including the master terminal as a master and each of the m slave terminals as a slave. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A communication control method of a communication controller that controls communication between one master terminal and n (n is an integer not less than 2) slave terminals communicatively connected to the master terminal by a basic network representing a one-to-many connection, the communication control method comprising: detecting whether the master terminal, and m (m is an integer not less than 1 and not more than n-1) slave terminals among the n slave terminals are in a conversation state; and in response to detecting that the master terminal and the m slave terminals are in the conversation state, disconnecting the master terminal and the m slave terminals from the basic network, and forming a first sub-network, the first sub-network including the master terminal as a master and each of the m slave terminals as a slave. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The communication control method according to claim 1, wherein the communication controller includes a priority management database to manage a priority determined in advance for each of the n slave terminals, and wherein the communication control method further comprises, if a number of (n-m) slave terminals corresponding to a number of slave terminals not in the conversation state with the master terminal is two or more, disconnecting the (n-m) slave terminals from the basic network, and forming a second sub-network with a first slave terminal as a master and a second slave terminal as a slave, the first slave terminal being a slave terminal of which the priority is highest among the (n-m) slave terminals, the second slave terminal corresponding to each of remaining (n-m-1) slave terminals. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The communication control method according to claim 1, further comprising, in response to detecting an end of the conversation state between the master terminal and the m slave terminals, disconnecting the master terminal and the m slave terminals from the first sub-network, and forming the basic network that includes the master terminal as a master and each of the n slave terminals as a slave again. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The communication control method according to claim 2, further comprising, in response to detecting an end of the conversation state between the master terminal and the m slave terminals: disconnecting the master terminal and the m slave terminals from the first sub-network, and disconnecting the first slave terminal and the (n-m-1) second slave terminals from the second sub-network; and forming the basic network again, the basic network including the master terminal as a master and each of the m slave terminals, the first slave terminal, and the (n-m-1) second slave terminals as a slave. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The communication control method according to claim 1, wherein the communication controller includes a priority management database to manage a priority determined in advance for each of at least the n slave terminals, and wherein the communication control method further comprises, in response to acquiring, while the master terminal and the n slave terminals are communicatively connected by the basic network, a leave request that requests a leave from the basic network to perform private communication between k (k is an integer not less than 2 and not more than n) slave terminals among the n slave terminals, disconnecting the k slave terminals from the basic network, and forming a third sub-network that includes a master and a slave, the master being a slave terminal of which the priority is highest among the k slave terminals, the slave being each remaining slave terminal. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The communication control method according to claim 5, further comprising, in response to detecting an end of a conversation state between the k slave terminals, disconnecting the k slave terminals from the third sub-network, and connecting each of the k slave terminals to the master terminal on the basic network again as a slave. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The communication control method according to claim 1, further comprising, while the master terminal and the n slave terminals are communicatively connected by the basic network; receiving a master right request from one slave terminal among the n slave terminals, the master right request being made by the one slave terminal to request master right transfer; transmitting a master-right-transfer approval request to the master terminal, the master-right-transfer approval request being a request to confirm with the master terminal whether the master terminal approves master right transfer; and in response to receiving, from the master terminal as a response to the master-right-transfer approval request, a transfer approval that approves the master right request, switching the approved slave terminal to a master and switching the master terminal to a slave. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The communication control method according to claim 1, further comprising, while the master terminal and the n slave terminals are communicatively connected by the basic network; receiving a master right transfer request from the master terminal, the master right transfer request being a request made by the master terminal to request master right transfer to one slave terminal among the n slave terminals; transmitting a master-right-acceptance approval request to the one slave terminal, the master-right-acceptance approval request being a request to confirm with the one slave terminal whether the one slave terminal accepts the master right transfer; and in response to receiving, from the one slave terminal as a response to the master-right-acceptance approval request, an acceptance approval to accept the master right transfer request, switching the one slave terminal that has transmitted the acceptance approval to a master and switching the master terminal to a slave. ### Claim 9 (depends on 2) The communication control method according to claim 2, further comprising, in response to detecting that the first slave terminal, and j (j is an integer not less than 1 and not more than (n-m-2)) second slave terminals among the (n-m-1) second slave terminals are in a conversation state on the second sub-network, disconnecting the first slave terminal and the j second slave terminals from the second sub-network, and forming a fourth sub-network, the fourth sub-network including the first slave terminal as a master and each of the j second slave terminals as a slave. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The communication control method according to claim 8, further comprising, if a number of (n-m-1-j) second slave terminals corresponding to a number of second slave terminals that are not in the conversation state is two or more, disconnecting the (n-m-1-j) second slave terminals from the second sub-network, and forming a fifth sub-network that includes a master and a slave, the master being a second slave terminal of which the priority is highest among the (n-m-1-j) second slave terminals, the slave being each of remaining (n-m-2-j) second slave terminals. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The communication control method according to claim 1, wherein the master terminal and the n slave terminals each comprise a telepresence robot used to deliver a message of a communication source user to a communication target user, and wherein the telepresence robot includes a communicator that transmits the message, an autonomous mover that causes the telepresence robot to move autonomously, and a presenter that presents the message of the communication source user to the communication target user. ### Claim 12 A communication controller that controls communication between one master terminal and n (n is an integer not less than 2) slave terminals, the n slave terminals being communicatively connected to the master terminal by a basic network representing a one-to-many connection, the communication controller comprising: a communicator that communicates with the master terminal and the n slave terminals; and a connection mode switcher that detects whether the master terminal, and m (m is an integer not less than 1 and not more than n-1) slave terminals among the n slave terminals are in a conversation state, and if the master terminal and the m slave terminals are detected to be in the conversation state, disconnects the master terminal and the m slave terminals from the basic network, and forms a first sub-network, the first sub-network including the master terminal as a master and each of the m slave terminals as a slave. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) A telepresence robot comprising: a communicator that communicates with the communication controller according to claim 12; an autonomous mover that causes the telepresence robot to move autonomously; and a presenter that presents a message. ### Claim 14 A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a program, the program causing a computer to execute a process, the process comprising: detecting whether one master terminal, and m (m is an integer not less than 1 and not more than n-1) slave terminals among n (n is an integer not less than 2) slave terminals are in a conversation state, the n slave terminals being communicatively connected to the master terminal by a basic network representing a one-to-many connection; and in response to detecting that the master terminal and the m slave terminals are in the conversation state, disconnecting the master terminal and the m slave terminals from the basic network, and forming a first sub-network, the first sub-network including the master terminal as a master and each of the m slave terminals as a slave.