JP2004254011A - Home network system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a home network system capable of deciding whether the communication party on called side is at home before starting communication without registering presence/absence. <P>SOLUTION: Each detection means of home network equipment 2 detects the presence/absence state of the communicating party by an electric signal level. For example, a human body movement direction detection means 5 detects the movement direction of a human body as that of radio waves, a luminaire on/off detection means 6 detects an on/off signal in luminaire, and a movement terminal presence-or-absence detection means 7 detects the presence or absence of the movement terminal according to the response of a beacon. The detected information is transmitted to a presence state decision means 3 via a network interface 4 at a home gateway 1. The presence state decision means recognizes information, such as the electric signal level, obtained from the home network equipment as a presence state, thus confirming the presence/absence of the communicating party before starting the communication by allowing the call side to access the presence state decision means before starting the communication. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a home network system for detecting and notifying a home status, and more particularly, to a home network system capable of determining a home status and notifying whether a call can be started or not.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a hot spot service, an IP telephone service, and the like have become widespread as commercial communication services using IP (Internet Protocol) typified by the Internet. In particular, if the telephone charge is provided at a low price in an IP telephone service or the like, it is expected that the amount of information will increase and the traffic will increase more than before, so that the user can easily enjoy long-time communication. . However, if there is a possibility that the calling party may restrain the other party for a long time, the calling party cannot easily start communication without knowing the current situation of the called party, and as a result, In some cases, contact with the called party becomes estranged. For example, it is assumed that a callee on the called side who is in irregular working hours, such as a nurse or a medical worker, inadvertently contacts the workplace privately. In such a case, if it is possible to determine at least whether or not the called party of the called party is at home, it is possible to avoid a situation in which a private contact is made to the workplace.
[0003]
As described above, a technique for determining whether or not to make a call after confirming the home state of a call partner is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1 below. According to the technique of this document, the called side prepares a telephone which can register in advance whether or not it is at home. As a result, the called side automatically responds to the incoming call without ringing the ringing bell and transmits the information on the presence / absence of home / absence to the calling side. If the calling party confirms that the other party is absent, the answering machine activates the answering machine without ringing the bell of the called party. As a result, the ringing bell can be sounded without disturbing the resident person other than the person who wants to communicate on the called side.
[0004]
Patent Document 2 below discloses an incoming call communication system that notifies desired information only when a communication request is made from a specific communication partner. According to this technique, a telephone number of a specific destination is registered in the telephone in advance. When this telephone is called from the public line network, the telephone number of the caller is compared with a telephone number registered in advance. If the two telephone numbers do not match, a general call is performed. If the two numbers match, a call is made to notify the other party (caller) of desired information. As a result, specific information can be transmitted only to a specific call partner set in advance.
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-6-216975 (paragraphs 0023 to 0045, FIGS. 3, 4, 6, and 10 to 12)
[Patent Document 2]
JP-A-10-190879 (paragraphs 0018 to 0063, FIGS. 1 to 7)
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the technique of Patent Literature 1, the called party must previously register whether or not he or she is at home with the telephone. That is, since the telephone according to this technique does not have a function of automatically determining whether or not the user is at home, if the registration of home / absence is forgotten, the calling side recognizes the home state of the other party. There is poor usability such as inability to do so. Even if a function of automatically registering home / absence is added to a telephone according to this technology, for example, when a plurality of home network devices are connected, home / absence must be registered in each home network device. If this is the case, the calling side may still be unable to recognize the home state of the other party. Also, in the technique of Patent Document 2, if the calling party does not register the telephone number of the called party based on an application from the called party, the calling side transmits desired information to the specified called party. Since transmission is not possible, there is still poor usability, such as troubles caused by forgetting to apply or registering on both sides.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to determine whether or not a called party is at home before starting communication without registering at home / absence. It aims to provide a home network system.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, in a home network system according to the present invention, a home network device notifies a network interface of a home gateway of a home state of a communication terminal user by using information corresponding to its own operation state. Then, the home status determination means of the home gateway obtains information from the network interface and determines whether the communication terminal user is at home. Thus, the calling side can automatically know the home state of the other party before starting communication by accessing the notification means of the home gateway. When the other party is absent, the transfer means transfers the incoming information to the transfer address registration destination. That is, if the transfer address (for example, telephone number, IP address, URL, etc.) of the call partner is registered in advance, when the home situation judging means confirms the absence of the call partner, the incoming call information is sent to the desired transfer address. Can be automatically transferred. As a result, even when the other party is absent, information can be smoothly communicated. Therefore, according to the present invention, a home network system that can start communication by communication more smoothly can be constructed.
[0009]
That is, according to the present invention, a home network system including a network interface unit for communicating with a plurality of home network devices and an interface unit for connecting its own communication terminal to an external telephone network A home service that monitors operating states of the plurality of home network devices via the network interface unit and determines whether a user of the communication terminal is at home according to the operating state of each of the home network devices. Situation determination means, notification means for notifying the communication terminal connected to the telephone network of information as to whether or not the user is at home determined by the at-home status determination means, and when there is an incoming call to its own communication terminal And if the determination result of the at-home status determining means is absent, it is registered in advance through the interface unit. Home network system and a transfer means for transferring the incoming call information to the destination is provided.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of a home network system of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings described below, the same elements or components are denoted by the same reference numerals. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of an embodiment of a home network system according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, the home network system includes at least a home network device 2 including a plurality of detecting units for detecting the presence / absence of home / absence by an electric signal level and the like, and information such as an electric signal level acquired from the home network device 2. And a home gateway 1 for determining whether the user of the communication terminal is at home based on the information.
[0011]
The home gateway 1 includes a network interface unit 4 for communicating with a plurality of detection units of the home network device 2, and an operation state of the home network device 2 connected to the network interface unit 4 based on an electric signal level or the like. At-home status judging means 3 for monitoring and judging the at-home status based on information such as the electric signal level, and information on whether or not the home is judged by the at-home status judging device 3 is notified to a communication terminal connected to the telephone network. And an interface unit 15 for connecting its own communication terminal to an external telephone network. In addition, the home network device 2 includes a human body moving direction detecting means 5, a lighting fixture ON / OFF detecting means 6, and a mobile terminal presence / absence detecting means 7 as a plurality of detecting means.
[0012]
As a result, the status change such as the electric signal level of the home network device 2 is notified to the at-home status judging means 3. Therefore, the calling side (not shown) inquires the notifying means 31 of the home gateway 1 before starting the communication. Before starting communication, it is possible to confirm whether or not the call partner is at home. Although the home network device 2 is illustrated as a single unit in the drawing, a plurality of home network devices are actually provided with respective detection units. For example, a first home network device includes a human body moving direction detection unit 5, a second home network device includes a lighting fixture ON / OFF detection unit 6, and a third home network device includes a mobile terminal presence / absence detection unit 7. It can be read as having it.
[0013]
Further, the home network system of the present invention can also include a home status registering unit 8 for registering home status information recognized by the home status determining unit 3. As a result, the information on the result of the at-home status judging means 3 judging at-home / absence is automatically registered in the at-home status registering means 8 such as a server installed at home or outside or a table of the home server. Therefore, the calling side (not shown) can recognize the home state of the other party before starting communication simply by accessing the server (home state registration means 8) installed at home or outside of the other party. .
[0014]
That is, according to the home network system of the present invention, the at-home status determining means 3 determines whether or not the called party is at home based on information from the home network device 2 connected to the home network, and promptly determines that. Is registered in a server (home status registration means 8) placed at home or outside. Therefore, the calling side can automatically know the home state of the called side in advance by accessing the home state determination means 3 or the home state registration means 8 without being conscious.
[0015]
Here, as described above, the plurality of detecting means included in the home network device 2 connected to the home network include the human body moving direction detecting means 5, the lighting fixture ON / OFF detecting means 6, the mobile terminal presence / absence detecting means 7, and the like. Each of the detection means individually detects the home / absence state at an electric signal level.
[0016]
The human body moving direction detecting means 5 detects the moving direction of the human body based on the moving direction of the radio wave by the radio wave resonance coil. Therefore, if the human body moving direction detecting means 5 is provided, for example, at the entrance, it is possible to determine whether or not the person is at home based on the information on the moving direction of the human body detected by the human body moving direction detecting means 5. The lighting fixture ON / OFF detection means 6 detects an ON / OFF signal of a lighting fixture in a house. Therefore, whether or not the user is at home can be determined based on the ON / OFF signal detected by the lighting fixture ON / OFF detection means 6. The mobile terminal presence / absence detecting means 7 detects information on the presence / absence of a mobile terminal responding to a beacon of an access point according to IEEE802.11b which is a network-related standard. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether or not the user is at home based on the presence / absence information of the mobile terminal detected by the mobile terminal presence / absence detecting means 7.
[0017]
Further, the home network system of the present invention includes a transfer address registration unit 9 for registering a transfer address (for example, a telephone number, an IP address, a URL, etc.) for transferring data when the user is absent, If there is an incoming call and the result of determination by the at-home situation determining means 3 is absent, the incoming information is transferred to the transfer destination registered in the transfer address registering means 9 via the interface unit 15. A transfer unit 32 can also be provided. With such a configuration, when the at-home situation determining means 3 determines that the called party is absent, the transfer means 32 transfers the incoming information to the address registered in the transfer address registration means 9. it can. In addition, it is possible to automatically register or cancel the home status in the transfer address registration means 9, and to transfer necessary information to a previously registered transfer destination, if necessary. Even when the called party is absent, the contact can be made smoothly.
[0018]
Next, an embodiment of the home network system of the present invention will be described in more detail. FIG. 2 is a detailed block diagram of a home gateway constituting the home network system of the present invention. 2, the home gateway 1 has a configuration in which a CPU unit 11, a RAM unit 12, a ROM unit 13, a network interface unit 4, and a PSTN / ADSL interface (interface unit) 15 are connected by a system bus 16. Although the home gateway 1 shown in FIG. 1 described above has the minimum required configuration, the home gateway 1 shown in FIG. 2 shows all the configurations. Note that the at-home status determining means 3 in FIG. 1 corresponds to the CPU unit 11 in FIG.
[0019]
The CPU unit 11 performs initialization processing of each unit of the home gateway 1 and controls data transfer to each unit, and controls TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) / IP protocol control and AV / C (Audio Video Control) protocol control as necessary. Control the external communication protocol. The RAM unit 12 is used as a memory for storing variables required by the CPU unit 11 or as a buffer for communication with the network interface unit 4 described later. The ROM section 13 stores a control code for the CPU section 11, and stores a built-in "Linux OS" or "boot code" as necessary. If the “Linux OS” for embedding is selected, the code of the ROM 13 is expanded and temporarily stored in the RAM 12, and the control code of the CPU 11 is executed from the RAM 12. May be configured.
[0020]
Further, the network interface unit 4 includes one or more interfaces conforming to interface standards such as 100Base-TX, USB, and IEEE1394, and performs movement and copying of control commands and data contents. Further, the network interface unit 4 can include a wireless interface. With such a configuration, the home gateway 1 mainly communicates with a mobile terminal (not shown) such as a mobile terminal via a wireless interface by a data link layer or a physical layer conforming to the IEEE802.11b standard, for example. It can be carried out.
[0021]
The PSTN / ADSL interface (interface unit) 15 is connected to a telephone line, and is a telephone interface using a PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) and an ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line: asymmetric digital subscriber line). Built-in modem. The ADSL modem is used to connect the home gateway 1 to an Internet service provider (not shown). However, the ADSL modem is not an essential function for the home network system of the present invention, and is used for PSTN use. It may be an interface. The PSTN can perform incoming and outgoing call control as a telephone function, and can communicate by connecting a handset (not shown in FIG. 2).
[0022]
3A and 3B are conceptual diagrams of a home network system in which the home gateway 1 shown in FIG. 2 is mounted on a telephone having an IP telephone function. FIG. 3A is a configuration diagram of a PSTN-compatible home network system, and FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an ADSL-compatible home network system. That is, FIG. 3 is an application example of a home network system using the home gateway 1 as shown in FIG. 2 as a home gateway 21 with an IP telephone function.
[0023]
In FIG. 3 (a), a network-enabled lighting device for notifying the ON / OFF information of indoor lighting equipment as a plurality of home network devices to a home gateway 21 with an IP telephone function installed indoors and managing a home network. A device 22, a human body moving direction detector 23 for recognizing a direction in which a human body moves based on the moving direction of radio waves, and a network-compatible terminal device 24 responding to a beacon of an access point are connected. That is, when FIG. 3A is compared with FIG. 1, the network-compatible lighting device 22 includes the lighting device ON / OFF detection unit 6, the human body movement direction detector 23 includes the human body movement direction detection unit 5, It can be read that the corresponding terminal device 24 includes the mobile terminal presence / absence detecting means 7. Further, the home gateway 21 with an IP telephone function connects an analog telephone 27 via a telephone network 26 connected to the PSTN 25.
[0024]
Also, in FIG. 3B, the network-compatible lighting device 22, the human body movement direction detector 23, and the network-compatible terminal device 24 are connected to the home gateway 21 with the IP telephone function, similarly to FIG. Have been. Further, the home gateway 21 with an IP telephone function connects an IP telephone terminal 30 such as a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) or a PC (Personal Computer) via an IP network 29 connected to an ADSL 28. When FIG. 3B is compared with FIG. 1, similarly to the case of FIG. 3A, the network-compatible lighting device 22 includes the lighting device ON / OFF detection unit 6 and the human body movement direction detector 23. Can be read as having the human body movement direction detecting means 5 and the network-compatible terminal device 24 having the mobile terminal presence / absence detecting means 7.
[0025]
That is, in the home network system shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the analog telephone 27 connected to the telephone network 26 and the IP telephone terminal 30 connected to the IP network 29 manage the home network. It is connected to a home gateway 21 with an IP telephone function. On the other hand, in a house, home network devices such as a network-compatible lighting device 22, a human body movement direction detector 23, and a network-compatible terminal device 24 are connected to the home gateway 21 with an IP telephone function. As a result, the home gateway 21 with the IP telephone function transmits information as to whether or not the called side is at home from network devices such as the network-compatible lighting device 22, the human body movement direction detector 23, and the network-compatible terminal device 24 at the electric signal level. It has been obtained with such information. Therefore, the analog telephone 27 connected to the telephone network 26 and the IP telephone terminal 30 connected to the IP network 29 access the home gateway 21 with the IP telephone function to start / stop the call partner's home / absence. You can know.
[0026]
In addition, various home network devices are connected to a network interface (not shown) of the home gateway 21 with an IP telephone function for the purpose other than the purpose of detecting the presence of the other party at home, thereby realizing a bridge function and a routing function for Internet connection. You can also. However, since these functions are not directly related to the at-home situation judging function of the present invention, description of those functions is omitted. It should be noted that a PC (not shown) is connected to the home gateway 21 with an IP telephone function so that Web browsing and electronic mail can be obtained via the Internet.
[0027]
FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a home network system for judging the home status, showing in-home home network devices in the home network system of FIG. 3 in detail. In FIG. 4, a network interface unit 4 of a home gateway 21 with an IP telephone function that manages a home network includes a network-compatible lighting device 22, a human body movement direction detector 23, and a network-compatible terminal device 24 in a house. A home network device is connected.
[0028]
The network-compatible lighting device 22 includes a power ON / OFF unit 22a and a lighting device network interface 22b. The lighting device network interface 22b is connected to the network interface unit 4 of the home gateway 21 with an IP telephone function. The human body movement direction detector 23 includes a first radio wave resonance detector 23a, a second radio wave resonance detector 23b, a movement direction detection unit 23c, and a movement detection network interface 23d, and the movement detection network interface 23d functions as an IP telephone. The home gateway 21 is connected to the network interface unit 4. Further, a network compatible terminal device 24 such as a mobile terminal is wirelessly connected to the network interface unit 4 of the home gateway 21 with an IP telephone function. Note that the internal configuration of the home gateway 21 with the IP telephone function has already been described in FIG.
[0029]
That is, in FIG. 4, the movement detection network interface 23d of the human body movement direction detector 23 and the lighting equipment network interface 22b of the network-compatible lighting equipment 22 are connected to the network interface unit 4 of the home gateway 21 with an IP telephone function by signal lines. The network-compatible terminal device 24 is wirelessly connected to the network interface unit 4 of the home gateway 21 with an IP telephone function. With such a configuration, the home gateway 21 with the IP telephone function periodically polls the human body movement direction detector 23, the network-compatible lighting device 22, and the network-compatible terminal device 24, and responds to the moving state of the human body. Information such as electric signal level is acquired.
[0030]
In the human body movement direction detector 23 that determines the direction in which a person moves, a first radio wave resonance detector 23a detects a radio wave movement direction indicated by a right arrow in the figure, and a second radio wave resonance detector 23b detects a left direction in the figure. The direction of movement of the radio wave indicated by the arrow is detected. Then, the moving direction detector 23c recognizes the moving direction of the human body from the moving direction of the radio wave of the first radio wave resonance detector 23a or the moving direction of the radio wave of the second radio wave resonance detector 23b. The information of the recognized moving direction is notified to the network interface unit 4 of the home gateway 21 with a telephone function.
[0031]
In this way, information about the direction in which the human body moves is transferred to the home gateway 21 with the IP telephone function, or information about the direction in which the human body moves is returned by polling of the home gateway 21 with the IP telephone function. Here, when the home status determination means (that is, the CPU unit 11) of the home gateway 21 with the IP telephone function determines that the human body is away from the installation location such as the entrance, it is automatically determined to be “absent”. Conversely, when approaching the installation location (entrance), it is automatically determined to be "at home." Specifically, it is desirable that the software control function of the CPU unit 11 be provided with a home situation judgment unit for management. In this way, the moving direction of the human body is detected based on the moving directions of the radio waves by the two radio wave resonance detectors 23a and 23b, and the CPU 11 of the home gateway 21 with the IP telephone function determines whether the communication partner is based on the moving direction of the human body. It is determined whether or not the person is at home.
[0032]
Furthermore, whether or not the user is at home may be determined based on the presence or absence of the network-compatible terminal device 24 such as a mobile terminal using wireless communication. Normally, if the home gateway 21 with the IP telephone function confirms whether or not a network-compatible terminal device 24 such as a mobile terminal likely to move with a person is present in the house, the person's home status Can be determined. For example, a beacon signal is transmitted at regular intervals from the home gateway 21 with an IP telephone function via wireless communication, and information on the mobile terminal that has responded is managed. If there is no response from the predetermined mobile terminal (that is, the network-compatible terminal device 24) for a certain period of time, the power of the mobile terminal (the network-compatible terminal device 24) is turned off, or the mobile terminal (the network-compatible terminal device 24) is turned off. ) Is likely to be absent together with the person, so the home gateway with IP telephone function 21 determines that "absence", albeit with somewhat lower reliability.
[0033]
In order to improve the reliability of at-home / absence, it is desirable to make a comprehensive judgment by combining the information of the human body movement direction detector 23 and the information of the network-compatible terminal device 24 described above. As an example, if there is no response from the mobile terminal (network-compatible terminal device 24) and the moving direction of the human body detected by the human body moving direction detector 23 is a direction away from the entrance, it is determined that “absence”. Even if there is no response from the mobile terminal (network-compatible terminal device 24), if there is no change in the moving direction of the human body or if the moving direction is from the entrance to the inside of the house, it is determined to be "at home."
[0034]
When the network-compatible lighting device 22 is installed, the power ON / OFF unit 22a detects information as to whether the power of the lighting device is ON or OFF, and the ON / OFF information is transmitted to the lighting device. The data is transferred from the network interface 22b to the network interface unit 4 of the home gateway 21 with the IP telephone function. Then, the home status determining means (CPU unit 11) of the home gateway 21 with the IP telephone function determines that the home is at home when, for example, the timer counts that the power of the lighting apparatus has been ON for a predetermined time. If the power has been turned off for a predetermined time, it is determined that "absence". However, in the daytime, the lighting equipment may be turned off, or the lighting equipment may be absent while being turned on. Therefore, the network-compatible lighting equipment 22, the human body movement direction detector 23, and the mobile terminal It is desirable to determine the presence / absence of home by combining these response information together with the (network-compatible terminal device 24).
[0035]
That is, if the home gateway 21 with the IP telephone function including the network-compatible lighting device 22, the human body movement direction detector 23, and the network-compatible terminal device 24 is connected as a network device, it is automatically determined whether or not the user is at home. Can be. However, in addition to this, comprehensive information based on information from a home network compatible device, such as presence / absence information of a person detected by a human body sensor, information on a moving object detected by a difference camera for detecting a moving object, information on locked / unlocked entrance keys, and the like. It is also possible to determine whether or not the person is at home. Based on these pieces of information, the home status determination means (CPU unit 11) of the home gateway 21 with the IP telephone function can automatically obtain high-precision home information and determine whether or not the user is home.
[0036]
Next, a method of confirming whether or not the called party at the called side is at home before the calling side talks will be described. When a call is made by an IP phone or by a PDA or PC corresponding to the IP phone, the home status can be confirmed by the following three different methods. A first method for confirming the home of the called party on the called side is to construct a server (not shown) for managing the home information on the Internet or ISP (Internet Service Provider) not shown in FIG. The home gateway 21 with the IP telephone function updates the home information to the server. Thus, the calling IP telephone terminal 30 or the PDA or PC corresponding to the IP telephone terminal 30 transmits the home information to the Internet or a server on the ISP (not shown) before starting the call to the home gateway 21 with the IP telephone function. By confirming, it is possible to know whether or not the call partner is at home before starting the call.
[0037]
In a second method for confirming the home of a call partner, before starting a call to the IP address of the home gateway 21 with IP telephone function, the home information stored in the home gateway 21 with IP telephone function is obtained. In a third method for confirming the home of the other party, an IP address or a mail address for which home information is to be notified is stored in the ROM unit 13 in FIG. At this time, the input of the IP address and the mail address is manually performed by the user via the CPU unit 11. By notifying the home information from the home gateway 21 with the IP telephone function to the mail address or the IP address held in the ROM unit 13 in this manner, the calling side can call the other party before starting the call. You can know whether or not.
[0038]
In any of the at-home confirmation methods, the protocol for obtaining the at-home information is not limited, and FTP (File Transfer Protocol) / TFTP, PPPoA (Point to Point Protocol over ATM: PPP over ATM network) is used. TCP / IP, UDP (Point to Point Protocol over Ethernet (R): Specification for performing PPP connection on Ethernet (R)), Telnet (protocol for accessing a specific computer from a remote location), and UDP (Point to Point Protocol over Ethernet (R)). Data communication by User Datagram Protocol (a protocol of the fourth layer transport layer) is selected. In the case of e-mail, POP (Post Office Protocol) or the like is also selected. It should be noted that a confirmation notification of home information in the case of the analog telephone 27 as shown in FIG.
[0039]
When the other party is absent, if the transfer destination address is registered in the ROM unit 13 of FIG. 2 (that is, the transfer address registration unit 9 of FIG. 1), the transfer destination can be automatically contacted. . For example, the user registers an IP address as a transfer destination address and a transfer destination telephone number in the ROM unit 13 via the CPU unit 11. As a result, when a contact is made when the user is absent, the incoming information is transferred to the corresponding transfer destination address with reference to the address registered in the ROM unit 13.
[0040]
In addition, the transfer method includes a method of setting an incoming call / call to a transfer destination address, a method of relaying a call, and a method of mobile IP defined by IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force). There are methods to transfer calls and calls, such as methods using protocols. Further, there is a method in which a call is not possible but a next call is expected, such as a method of notifying only the address of the call partner to the transfer destination address or a method of notifying the call partner of the transfer destination address. Regardless of the transfer method, it is desirable to select a transfer means in consideration of the cost of the home gateway with an IP telephone function, the performance of the CPU, and the like. However, in the home network system of the present invention, it is particularly limited. is not.
[0041]
By the way, as is apparent from the home network system described in the above embodiment, according to the present invention, a network interface unit for performing communication with a plurality of network devices at home and an own communication terminal are connected to an external device. A home network system comprising: an interface unit for connecting to a telephone network; and a home network device including detection means for detecting whether or not the user of the communication terminal is at home based on information such as an electric signal level. And home status determining means for monitoring the electrical signal level of a home network device connected to the network interface and determining the home status of the user of the communication terminal from information such as the electrical signal level, and the home status determining means. Information on whether or not you are at home to a communication terminal connected to the telephone network via an interface It is also possible to configure a home network system comprising a notification means for knowledge.
[0042]
That is, according to the home network system of the present invention, the detection means of the home network device detects the home / absence state of the communication terminal user at the electric signal level and notifies the network interface. Then, the home status determination means of the home gateway acquires information such as an electric signal level from the network interface and determines whether the communication terminal user is at home. Thus, the calling side can automatically know the home state of the other party before starting communication by accessing the home state determining means. Therefore, according to the present invention, a home network system that can start communication by communication more smoothly can be constructed.
[0043]
Further, according to the present invention, in addition to the above-described configuration, a transfer address registering means for registering a transfer address for transferring incoming information when a determination result of the home status determining means is absent, and a home status determining means. If it is determined that the user of the communication terminal is absent, a home network system including a transfer unit that transfers incoming information to a transfer address registered in the transfer address registration unit may be configured.
[0044]
With such a configuration, if the transfer address (for example, telephone number, IP address, URL, etc.) of the called side is registered in advance in the transfer address registering means, the home status judging means can determine whether the called side is absent. Is confirmed, the transfer means can automatically transfer the incoming information to the desired transfer address. As a result, the calling side can smoothly communicate information even when the other party (called side) is not present.
[0045]
Further, according to the present invention, the network interface connects a plurality of home network devices, and among the plurality of home network devices, the first home network device determines a moving direction of a human body caused by a moving direction of a radio wave by a radio wave resonance coil. Is detected as information such as an electric signal level, and the second home network device detects the ON / OFF signal of the indoor lighting device as information such as the electric signal level. The third home network device further comprises a mobile terminal presence / absence detector for detecting information on the presence / absence of the mobile terminal responding to the beacon of the access point as information such as an electric signal level; With human body moving direction detecting means, lighting equipment ON / OFF detecting means and mobile terminal Comprehensively to obtain information such as an electrical signal levels each of which detects the detection means may be a home network system for determining the home situation of the other party.
[0046]
That is, in order to obtain information from a home network device connected to the home network, if a human body moving direction detecting means for recognizing a moving direction of a radio wave by a radio wave resonance coil as a moving direction of a person is provided, for example, at the entrance, the human body It can be determined whether or not the person is at home based on the direction in which the person moves. It is also possible to provide a lighting device ON / OFF detecting means to determine whether or not the user is at home from the ON / OFF signal of the lighting device. Further, if a mobile terminal presence / absence detecting means is provided, it can be determined whether or not the user is at home based on the presence / absence of a mobile terminal responding to a beacon of a predetermined access point.
[0047]
Further, as is apparent from the home network system described in the above embodiment, the present invention further includes a home status registering unit for registering home status information grasped by the home status determining unit. For example, when the calling side accesses the home state registration means, the calling side can confirm the home state of the other party before starting communication. That is, according to the home network system of the present invention, the home status judging means constantly monitors the home status based on information from the home network device, and when the status changes to home / absence, promptly informs the user of the change. It registers with the home status registration means on the server placed at home or outside. Thus, the calling side can know the home state of the other party in advance by referring to this server or the table information stored in the server before starting the call.
[0048]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the home network system of the present invention, the home gateway acquires information from various home network devices such as a human body moving direction detector, a lighting fixture, and a mobile terminal connected to the home network. This makes it possible to automatically determine whether the called party is at home. In addition, the information on the home status that the home gateway knows can be registered by notifying a server installed at home or outside. This allows the calling side to access the home gateway or the server before starting the call, and thereby know the home state of the call partner before starting the call. As a result, it is possible to start communication by telephone call more smoothly.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of an embodiment of a home network system according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a detailed block diagram of a home gateway constituting the home network system of the present invention.
FIG. 3A is a conceptual diagram of a home network system in which the home gateway shown in FIG. 2 is mounted on a telephone having an IP telephone function, and is a configuration diagram of a PSTN-compatible home network system.
FIG. 3B is a conceptual diagram of a home network system when the home gateway shown in FIG. 2 is mounted on a telephone having an IP telephone function, and is a configuration diagram of an ADSL-compatible home network system.
FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a home network system for judging a home situation, showing in detail a home network device in a house in the home network system of FIG. 3;
[Explanation of symbols]
1 home gateway
2 Home network equipment
3 Home situation judgment means
4 Network interface
5 Human body movement direction detection means
6. Lighting equipment ON / OFF detection means
7 Mobile terminal presence / absence detection means
8 Home status registration means
9 Transfer address registration means
11 CPU unit (home status judgment means)
12 RAM section
13 ROM section (transfer address registration means)
15 PSTN / ADSL interface (interface section)
16 System bus
21 Home Gateway with IP Phone Function
22 Network compatible lighting equipment
22a Power ON / OFF section
22b Lighting equipment network interface
23 Human body direction detector
23a first radio wave resonance detector
23b Second radio wave resonance detector
23c Moving direction detector
23d movement detection network interface
24 Network compatible terminal equipment
25 PSTN
26 telephone network
27 analog telephone
28 ADSL
29 IP network
30 IP telephone terminals
31 Notification means
32 transfer means

Claims (1)

A home network system including a network interface unit for performing communication with a plurality of home network devices and an interface unit for connecting its own communication terminal to an external telephone network,
Home status determining means for monitoring the operating status of the plurality of home network devices via the network interface unit and determining whether the user of the communication terminal is at home according to the operating status of each of the home network devices; ,
Notifying means for notifying the communication terminal connected to the telephone network of information as to whether or not the person is at home determined by the at-home situation determining means,
When there is an incoming call to the own communication terminal, and when the result of determination by the at-home status determining means is absent, the incoming information is transferred to a transfer destination registered in advance via the interface unit. Transfer means
Home network system equipped.

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