JP2016184807A - Relay device and relay method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance the certainty of identifying troublesome telephone, while suppressing the burden on the user.SOLUTION: A relay method has steps (S400, S500) of executing authentication of a calling terminal, upon receiving a connection request of speech communication from the calling terminal to a called terminal (S300), a step (S696) of prompting the called terminal to input an instruction, depending on the authentication results, a step (S697) of acquiring the instruction inputted by the called terminal, and a step (S700) of processing the connection request based on at least any one of the authentication results and the inputted instruction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for preventing unwanted calls.

  There are technologies to prevent so-called nuisance calls for the purpose of mischief, sales, fraud and the like. For example, in Patent Document 1, it is checked whether or not the telephone number of the caller terminal is registered in the relay device, and if not registered, voiceprint authentication is executed for the voice of the speaker of the caller terminal Is disclosed.

JP 2011-919953 A

  As in Document 1, it is determined whether or not the relay device is a nuisance call, and if it is determined to be a nuisance call, the reception side terminal is not called, so that the user of the reception side terminal is inconvenienced to the user. Annoying phone calls can be blocked without being aware of the fact that a phone call has occurred. When identifying and determining a communication terminal, it is necessary to register information for identifying the terminal such as a telephone number in advance. In order to improve the determination accuracy, it is necessary to determine whether or not as many terminals as possible are used for the purpose of nuisance by a predetermined method, but covering a huge number of existing terminals It is difficult in practice. In addition, the relationship between the device and the nuisance agent may change, such as when changing the device used by the nuisance agent, so if the registration details are not always verified / updated, it may lead to a misjudgment. .

On the other hand, when the determination is performed based on the voice of the speaker, there is no problem of erroneous determination based on a change in the terminal being used. However, in order to improve the determination accuracy, it is necessary to register as many people as possible who can call themselves, but this is very troublesome and is not practical. In addition, with this method, it is necessary to make the speaker speak to make a decision, so if you have a nuisance call such as a silent call or if the speaker of the nuisance call is not alerting you Cannot judge.
However, if the relay device does not make any nuisance call determinations and calls all the receiving side terminals and determines whether the call is a nuisance call or not, it will be a nuisance call. Considering the disadvantage of the user that may be caused by receiving a nuisance call due to an increase in the burden on the user to deal with, it is not realistic.

  An object of the present invention is to reliably identify a nuisance call while reducing the burden on the user.

In one aspect, the present invention, in one aspect, upon receiving a voice communication connection request from the calling terminal to the receiving terminal, an authentication unit that executes authentication for the calling terminal, and depending on a result of the authentication, The connection request is processed based on at least one of a request unit that prompts the receiving terminal to input an instruction, an acquisition unit that acquires the instruction, and the authentication result and the input instruction. A relay device having a processing unit is provided.
In a preferred aspect, when the result of the authentication is that the possibility that the voice communication made from the caller terminal is a nuisance call is a predetermined value or more, the processing unit receives the reception for a predetermined period. The processing for the connection request is suspended until there is an instruction from the terminal on the side.
In a preferred aspect, the authentication unit includes a first authentication unit that performs first authentication on the same object, and a second authentication unit that executes second authentication after the first authentication, The authentication result includes at least one of the first authentication result and the second authentication.
In a preferred aspect, the request unit prompts input of the instruction using voice.
In a preferred aspect, the first authentication is performed by collating a first database containing telephone numbers, and the second authentication is collating a database containing information on human voice in the database. Is done by.
In a preferred aspect, the instruction is any one of accepting the connection request, rejecting the connection request, and requesting a voice of a speaker of the calling terminal with a permission decision for the connection request suspended. It is.
In a preferred aspect, the first authentication is performed by referring to a first database, and when the information that matches the first database does not exist as a result of the first authentication, the request unit Prompts the user to input the instruction.
In a preferred aspect, the second authentication is performed by referring to a second database, and when the information that matches the second database does not exist as a result of the second authentication, the request unit Prompts the user to input the instruction.
In a preferred aspect, the information processing apparatus further includes an update unit that changes registration contents of at least one of the first database and the second database based on the acquired instruction.
According to another aspect of the present invention, in response to a connection request for voice communication from a calling terminal to a receiving terminal, the step of executing authentication for the calling terminal, and depending on the result of the authentication, Based on at least one of the step of prompting the reception side terminal to input an instruction, the step of acquiring the instruction input at the reception side terminal, and the result of the authentication and the acquired instruction And a relay method having a step of processing a connection request.

  According to the present invention, the certainty of identifying a nuisance call is improved while suppressing the burden on the user.

1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication system 800. FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an outline of operation in the communication system 800. The figure which shows the detailed example of operation | movement in the relay apparatus 100. FIG. The conceptual diagram showing the structure of the communication system 800A. The figure which shows the detailed example of operation | movement in 202 A of receiving side terminals.

FIG. 1 conceptually shows the configuration of the communication system 800. The communication system 800 includes a relay device 100, a transmission side terminal 201, and a reception side terminal 202. The relay device 100 includes a control unit 110, an authentication unit 120, and a storage unit 130.
The control unit 110 is a device operated by a communication company, and is realized by hardware and software such as a processor and a connection interface, and relays voice communication between terminals in charge. In the following, for the sake of convenience, only the case of performing voice communication between the transmission side terminal 201 and the reception side terminal 202 is shown.
The first communication network 901 and the second communication network 902 are managed and operated by the communication management company or the like, and the first communication network 901 includes a plurality of communication devices such as a base station and an exchange. It is connected to the transmission side terminal 201 and the reception side terminal 202 via the first communication network 901 and the second communication network 902. Note that the communication protocols used in the first communication network 901 and the second communication network 902 may be the same or different.

  The transmission side terminal 201 and the reception side terminal 202 are terminals that have a call function and are used by a user, such as a fixed telephone, a public telephone, a mobile phone, and a mobile communication terminal. The transmission side terminal 201 and the voice communication unit 211 include hardware and software for performing voice communication with a partner terminal via the relay device 100 such as a microphone, a speaker, and a voice processing circuit. The input unit 212 is a mechanism for inputting user instructions such as a numeric keypad, a keyboard, a dial, and a button. The calling terminal 201 and the voice communication unit may have a data communication function in addition to the call function. The calling side terminal 201 and the receiving side terminal 202 may or may not have the same function. In addition, the transmission side terminal 201 and the reception side terminal 202 have a voice transmission function and a voice reception function, and both can be a transmission side and a reception side. Hereinafter, for convenience, it is assumed that the transmission side terminal 201 is the transmission side and the reception side terminal 202 is the reception side.

  The storage unit 130 is a storage device such as a hard disk or a semiconductor memory, which is a program necessary for the operation of the communication system 800, information about communication terminals including the transmission-side terminal 201 and the reception-side terminal 202 necessary for relay processing, and Information necessary for realizing a basic function as a relay device, such as information about a user, is stored. In addition, a database (phone book DB 131 and voiceprint DB 132), which is information referred to when realizing a function for preventing annoying calls, is stored.

The telephone directory DB 131 stores information (for example, a telephone number) that identifies a terminal used by a caller that satisfies a predetermined condition. Specifically, the phone book DB 131 includes a white list and a black list. The black list is, for example, a list of identification information of terminals that have previously made nuisance calls, and is provided by, for example, groups of users of terminals managed by the communication system 800 and organizations such as investigation agencies. Alternatively, a telephone number or the like that is highly likely to be a source of annoying calls in the future may be estimated by some method and described in a black list.
The operator of the relay device 100 sequentially stores and updates the provided information in the telephone directory DB 131. The white list is a list of identification information of terminals (typically terminals owned by family members, acquaintances, etc.) that are determined not to be a sender of a nuisance call based on a user's report or the like. That is, if it matches the black list, it can be determined as a nuisance call, and if it matches the white list, it can be determined that it is not a nuisance call. If neither list matches, the phone number alone cannot be judged.

  The information stored in the storage unit 130 may be information provided to all users of terminals managed by the relay apparatus 100 (shared database), or may be provided for each user. When provided for each user, each database may be prepared in association with terminal identification information, and may be customizable. In this case, the control unit 110 outputs the identification information of the terminal designated as the connection destination in the connection request to the first authentication unit 121, and the authentication unit 120 uses a database corresponding to this identifier.

  The voiceprint DB 132 represents characteristics of a human voice and stores information (hereinafter referred to as voiceprint data) used to specify the speaker. Voiceprint data includes frequency analysis of voice data, frequency on the vertical axis and time on the horizontal axis, which shows contour changes in the spectrum intensity of the voice waveform (spectrum graph), and parameters that characterize the spectrum. This is voice information unique to each person. The registration of the voiceprint data may be performed by the user himself / herself, for example, or provided by an investigation organization. Typically, a white list is prepared for each user, and acquaintances of the user are registered. In the blacklist, voiceprint data of a voice identified by the investigating agency as a nuisance agent is registered.

  The authentication unit 120 includes a first authentication unit 121 and a second authentication unit 122. The first authentication unit 121 collates with the telephone directory DB 131 using the identification information of the calling terminal 201 received from the control unit 110 under the instruction of the connection control unit 119. The collation result (match or mismatch) is returned to the connection control unit 119. The second authentication unit 122 collates with the voiceprint DB 132 using the voice data received from the control unit 110 under the instruction of the connection control unit 119. The collation result (match or mismatch) is returned to the connection control unit 119.

  The control unit 110 includes a connection control unit 119, a recording unit 114, and a message providing unit 115. The message providing unit 115 stores a plurality of pre-generated voice messages to be provided to the originating terminal 201 and the receiving terminal 202 or generates synthesized speech, and connects in response to a request from the connection control unit 119. The data is output to the control unit 119. The recording unit 114 includes a voice processing processor, a memory, and the like, records the voice data of the speaker of the calling terminal 201 acquired via the first communication network 901, generates the voiceprint data by appropriately processing, and connects Delivered to the control unit 119.

  The connection control unit 119 receives a connection request to the reception side terminal 202 transmitted from the transmission side terminal 201, and receives the connection request to the reception side terminal 202 according to the result of authentication executed by the authentication unit 120 for the transmission side terminal 201. Prompts for instructions. Then, the connection control unit 119 acquires an instruction input as a response to the request at the receiving terminal 202, and processes the request based on at least one of the authentication result and the input instruction. Specifically, as the processing contents, the request is permitted (line connection), the request is rejected (line disconnection), and the voice of the calling terminal 201 is provided to the receiving terminal 202. Select one of these. More specifically, the connection control unit 119 is realized by a communication control processor or module, and includes a first control unit 111 and a second control unit 113. The first control unit 111 is in charge of control of the transmission side terminal 201, and the second control unit 113 is in charge of control of the reception side terminal 202.

  The second control unit 113 includes a request unit 118 and an acquisition unit 117. The request unit 118 transmits the voice message generated by the message providing unit 115 to the receiving side terminal 202 under the control of the second control unit 113 and prompts the receiving side terminal to input an instruction. Specifically, the user is prompted to press a specific key (“#”). The acquisition unit 117 acquires an instruction that is input at the receiving terminal 202 as a response to this request and transmitted via the second communication network 902.

  When the first control unit 111 acquires the voice uttered by the transmission-side terminal 201 via the first communication network 901, the first control unit 111 outputs the voice to the recording unit 114. Further, the first control unit 111 transmits a predetermined voice message to the caller terminal 201.

An outline example of the operation in the communication system 800 will be described with reference to FIG. The process indicated by the broken line means that it may not be executed depending on the result of authentication (not an essential process).
The connection control unit 119 receives the connection request by designating the receiving terminal 202 from the transmitting terminal 201 (S300). Then, the relay device 100 performs authentication by the first authentication unit 121 (S400). When the authentication result satisfies a predetermined condition, authentication by the second authentication unit 122 is executed (S500). In response to the result of authentication by the second authentication unit 122 and the instruction from the user, the voice of the user of the calling terminal 201 is acquired (S501, S502). In addition, according to the authentication result, the voice of the calling terminal 201 is provided to the receiving terminal 202 and the instruction is requested, the user instruction of the receiving terminal 202 is acquired, and the authentication result and the contents of the instruction are included. Based on this, a process for a connection request (whether connection is permitted or blocked) is determined (S701, 702).

The operation of the relay device 100 will be specifically described in detail with reference to FIG.
When the connection request is received (S300), the relay device 100 first determines whether it corresponds to the white list of the telephone directory DB 131 (S401). If applicable, the second control unit 113 transmits a signal for sounding a ringing tone at the receiving terminal 202 to the receiving terminal 202 (hereinafter simply referred to as “ringing a ringing tone”; S406). When the user of the receiving side terminal 202 picks up the handset or operates the call application to answer the call (hereinafter simply referred to as “answer the call”), the second control unit 113 is MR1 (for example, “this is a relay center”. A voice message for notifying the user that the incoming call is from a trusted party. I will connect. "To the receiving terminal 202. (S402). In the case of corresponding to the white list, the connection control unit 119 connects the line between the transmission side terminal 201 and the reception side terminal 202, and enables the voice communication with each other (S701).

  When the white list is not applicable (S401: NO), the first authentication unit 121 compares the black list with the phone book DB 131 (S403). In the case of corresponding to the black list, the second control unit 113 sounds a ringing tone of the receiving side terminal 202 (S407). The user of the receiving side terminal 202 sends the second control unit 113 to MR2 (“Incoming call that requires attention. Do you want to answer the call? Press“ # ”to answer the call, press the“ * ”key to not answer.” ” A voice message for prompting the user and requesting an instruction) is transmitted to the receiving terminal 202 (S404). Then, it prompts the receiving side terminal 202 to input an instruction (answer / not answer) (S405). Receiving terminal 202 receives a user instruction and transmits a signal representing the instruction content to relay apparatus 100. The connection control unit 119 connects the line when the acquired instruction indicates that the telephone is answered (S701), and disconnects the line when the instruction that the telephone does not answer is acquired (S702).

  If neither the white list nor the black list is satisfied, in other words, if it is not possible to determine whether or not the telephone book DB 131 alone is a nuisance call, the process proceeds to S500. First, MT1 “I'm just taking a phone call now. For voice authentication, please tell me your name, business, etc. for a few seconds. I ’ll connect you once authentication is complete, so please wait for a while. The voice message in the relay device 100 for obtaining the approval of the voice authentication, such as “The voice information is registered in the center” is transmitted to the caller terminal 201 (S501). This process also has the effect of giving a psychological warning when the user of the sending terminal 201 is a nuisance.

  When the connection control unit 119 acquires the voice uttered by the speaker of the transmission side terminal 201, the connection control unit 119 stores the voice as digital data (S 502) and delivers it to the authentication unit 120. The first authentication unit 121 processes the acquired voice data as necessary to generate voiceprint data, and collates it with the whitelist of the voiceprint DB 132 (S503). If they match, the second control unit 113 sounds a ringing tone of the receiving terminal 202 (S504). When the user of the receiving terminal 202 answers the call, a voice message notifying that the call is not a nuisance call, such as MR3 “Voice is registered as an acquaintance and there is a call from a person. I will connect.” (S505) ), The line is connected (S701).

  On the other hand, when it does not correspond to the white list of the voiceprint DB 132 (503; NO), the second authentication unit 122 collates with the blacklist of the voiceprint DB 132 (S506). If applicable, the second control unit 113 sounds a ringing tone of the receiving terminal 202 (S507). When the user of the receiving side terminal 202 answers the phone, MR4 (“Incoming call that requires attention. Do you want to answer the phone? Press“ # ”to answer the call, press the“ * ”key to not answer.”, Etc. ” (Voice message requesting instructions and requesting instructions) is transmitted (S508). The second control unit 113 performs either connection of the line (S701) or disconnection of the line (S702) based on the acquired user instruction content.

  If it does not correspond to the black list of the voiceprint DB 132 (S506: NO), in other words, if the conclusion is not reached even after performing voiceprint authentication, the second control unit 113 sounds a ringing tone of the receiving terminal 202 (S601), and the user When answering the call, MR5 (“I made a nuisance call on the machine, but I couldn't make a decision. Can you answer the call?“ # ”Key to answer the call,“ * ”key to answer the call. If you want to listen to the other party's voice, press “1”, etc. ”to play the voice message), answer the call, do not answer the call, hold the decision and listen to the other party ’s voice The user is prompted to select one of the three options (S602). When “1” is pressed (S 603), the second control unit 113 sends MR4 (“The voice of the caller that was recorded from now on will be sent. When listening to the voice and answering this call,“ # "If not, please press the" * "key" guidance voice) is transmitted to the receiving terminal 202 (S604), then the second control unit 113 sends the recorded voice to the receiving terminal 202. Send. This sound is reproduced at the receiving terminal 202 (S605). The user who has heard this voice determines whether or not the speaker is a nuisance agent based on the content of the story and the tone of the voice, and inputs an instruction. When the second control unit 113 acquires this instruction, line connection (S701) or line disconnection (S702) is performed according to the instruction.

In the above embodiment, when there is a connection request from the transmitting terminal 201 to the receiving terminal 202, first, machine authentication using a database is performed. As a result, if it can be concluded with sufficient reliability that it is not a nuisance call, the line is connected without asking the user for instructions.
On the other hand, the user's intention is asked only when it is determined that there is a certain possibility of making a nuisance call, or when the determination is impossible or the accuracy of the determination result cannot be guaranteed (in other words, no conclusion can be obtained). That is, for those that can be clearly determined to be nuisance calls by machine authentication, the processing for the connection request is promptly performed without asking the user. Therefore, the nuisance call prevention function is realized without causing the user to feel stress.

On the other hand, if the determination by automatic authentication is not possible, if the accuracy of the determination is not sufficient, the recorded voice of the caller is provided as necessary, and the user is made to decide the process for the connection request. Here, since the user listens to the recorded voice instead of the other party's raw voice, the user can calmly determine whether or not the call is a nuisance call.
By making the user participate in the determination of whether or not it is a nuisance call, the reliability of the determination of whether or not it is a nuisance call improves. Further, by giving the user choices, it is possible to give a sense of satisfaction to the determination and a sense of security for the system. In addition, the contents of the options given to the user are different depending on whether it is determined that there is a high possibility that the call is a nuisance call or not (or cannot be determined). By presenting appropriate options according to the determination result (the degree of possibility of annoying calls), the burden on the user can be suppressed to a reasonable range. Further, since the user only needs to perform a simple operation according to the voice guidance, the burden on the user when it is determined whether or not the call is a determination telephone can be minimized.

2. Other Embodiments The DB may be updated according to user input contents. For example, when the user desires to reproduce the recorded voice, voiceprint data relating to the voice is generated and registered in the black list. Alternatively, if the user wishes to answer the telephone that has played the recorded voice, the voiceprint data is placed in the white list. In this way, the DB is updated based on the determination result of the user. There may be a plurality of users. For example, when recording / playback is instructed by a predetermined number of users for one voiceprint data, or when it is selected not to be on the telephone, the voiceprint data is added to the black list record. This is because, in such a situation, it is objectively estimated that the main voice is likely to be a nuisance.

  As a method of prompting an input of an instruction from the relay apparatus 100 to the reception-side terminal 202, a notification function of the reception-side terminal 202 may be used instead of or together with the voice. For example, when the receiving-side terminal 202 is a communication device having a data transmission function such as a portable terminal, an application for informing the notification or an application for calling that is activated when an incoming notification is received from the relay device 100 In such applications, predetermined characters and images for prompting input of instructions are displayed on the screen. Alternatively, a key or button provided in the receiving terminal 202 may be caused to emit light, a predetermined sound may be emitted, or the housing of the receiving terminal 202 may be vibrated using a vibration function.

  As a method for inputting an instruction, an input function of the receiving terminal 202 may be used instead of pressing the button or in combination with pressing the button. For example, when the receiving terminal 202 has a voice recognition function, the user sounds a predetermined voice (such as “answer” or “do not answer”) to the receiving terminal 202 and executes voice recognition processing. The voice instruction content is specified, and the specified instruction content is converted into a control signal and transmitted to the relay apparatus 100.

  The contents that can be instructed by the user are not limited to three: answering a call, not answering a call, and temporarily suspending the contents of processing and listening to the other party's voice. For example, the user may request to provide a part of information related to the caller terminal 201 included in the relay device 100 and its owner. Further, what is requested from the user may not be a final decision as to whether to accept or reject the connection request. For example, regardless of the authentication result, the user's intention may be asked, and the relay apparatus 100 may make a final determination by comprehensively determining the authentication result and the user's intention using a predetermined algorithm.

  As an example, it is assumed that the authentication unit 120 calculates the authentication result with a probability (0 to 100%) instead of two choices, and the contents that can be instructed by the user are two choices (answer / do not answer the phone). Even if the user wishes to answer the call, if the possibility of the nuisance call is very high (for example, 95%), the relay device 100 disconnects the line. In this case, as a result, the intention of the user is ignored, but the risk of the user being disadvantaged or damaged when taking a call is reduced. In short, it is only necessary to make a final decision on the processing content for connection supply using both automatic determination by the machine and manual determination by the user.

  The content and format of data registered in the database and the determination method (algorithm) described above are merely examples of the present invention. In short, any information regarding the registered content (terminal, terminal user, usage status, etc.) that can be used to determine whether or not the outgoing call is a nuisance call. . Regarding the determination method, for example, it is not necessary to use a white list and a black list as a set, and only one of them may be used. Further, three or more databases may be constructed for the same data type. For example, a black list, a gray list, and a white list are prepared in descending order of the probability of annoyingness. When two types of determination are performed, the order of determination is arbitrary. For example, voiceprint authentication may be performed first.

  The process of notifying the reception side terminal 202 of the determination result obtained by the authentication unit 120 may be omitted. For example, when it corresponds to the white list, there is no need to call the user's attention, so the line is connected without performing notification. On the other hand, if the black list has a high degree of accuracy and can be estimated to be a nuisance call almost certainly, the line may be disconnected without giving a notice because there is no actual benefit to ask the user for confirmation. As described above, depending on the determination result, the process for the connection request is automatically performed without asking the user to confirm the connection process. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the user from feeling that the nuisance call prevention function is executed in the relay device 100. As a result, the possibility that the user may feel confused or annoyed when an instruction is requested is reduced. Also, even if it falls under the white list, an instruction such as whether or not to answer the call may be requested from the user just in case.

  For what judgment results, what kind of notifications and instruction input requests are requested, the user's wishes, convenience, blocking effect of unwanted calls to be realized as a whole system, accuracy of judgment using database, etc. It can be determined by taking into account the elements of For example, reflecting the user's own preference (whether you want to judge automatically as much as possible, whether you want to judge yourself as much as possible) and the situation (whether there are a lot of nuisance calls in the past, etc.) reflected in the judgment of nuisance calls Can be made. That is, the nuisance call prevention function can be customized for each user or terminal.

In short, the relay device according to the present invention, upon receiving a connection request for voice communication from the calling side terminal to the called side terminal, performs authentication on the calling side terminal according to the result of the authentication. A request unit that prompts the receiving terminal to input an instruction; an acquisition unit that acquires an instruction input as a response to the request from the request unit at the receiving terminal; and a result of the authentication and the input And a processing unit that processes the connection request based on at least one of the received instructions.
In a preferred aspect, when the result of the authentication satisfies a predetermined condition (for example, the possibility that the voice communication made from the caller terminal is a nuisance call (accuracy) is a predetermined value or more), the processing The unit suspends processing for the connection request at least for a preset period until an instruction is received from the receiving terminal.

  The computer program for executing the above method may be downloaded to the relay apparatus 100 via a communication network such as the Internet, or stored in a storage medium and installed by the operator of the relay apparatus 100.

The apparatus configuration shown in FIG. 1 is merely an example for realizing a function for preventing unwanted calls according to the present invention. All or some of the functions of the relay device 100 may be implemented on the terminal side.
FIG. 4 shows an example in which the nuisance call prevention function according to the present invention is realized by the communication system 800A using the conventional relay device 980 and the receiving side terminal 202A that does not have the nuisance call prevention function. In addition, the same code | symbol as the said Example shows the same element, and abbreviate | omits separate description. The receiving terminal 202A includes a connection control unit 119A, a recording unit 114, a voice communication unit 211, a message providing unit 115, an input unit, an authentication unit 120, and a storage unit 130. The functions of the relay device 100 excluding the line connection / disconnection function performed by the relay device 980 are implemented in the receiving terminal 202A. Specifically, in the receiving terminal 202A, a connection control unit 119A is provided instead of the connection control unit 119. The connection control unit 119A processes an incoming call from the caller terminal 201 via the relay device 980, and is implemented as dedicated hardware or software (for example, a call application) executed by the CPU of the receiver terminal 202A. .

  Upon receiving the incoming call notification, the connection control unit 119A determines whether or not the call is a nuisance call by executing an authentication process and accepting an input from the user as necessary, as shown below. Processing according to the result of the determination is executed. Since the contents of each authentication process are the same as those described above, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. In order to realize the processing according to the result of the determination as to whether it is a nuisance call, the connection control unit 119A turns on (enables) the function of the voice communication unit 211 regardless of the line state (connection / disconnection) or It has a function to turn off (invalidate). When the voice communication unit 211 is in the on state, the voice data acquired via the 901 is emitted from the 211, while the voice collected by the voice communication unit 211 is transmitted to the 201 via the 901. That is, if a line is connected, a state where a call can be made is realized. In a state where the voice communication unit 211 is off (invalidated), the connection control unit 119A does not transmit the voice collected from the voice communication unit 211 to the 901, but outputs the voice data from the 901 to the very voice communication unit 211. do not do. That is, a state in which a telephone call cannot be made even if a line is connected is realized.

  An operation example of the receiving terminal 202A will be described with reference to FIG. When the relay apparatus 980 receives the connection request from the calling terminal 201 (S300), the relay apparatus 980 notifies the receiving terminal 202A of the incoming call as usual without determining whether it is a nuisance call (S302). When the connection control unit 119A receives an incoming notification including the telephone number of the calling terminal 201, the first authentication unit 121 performs authentication based on the telephone directory using the telephone number (S400). The subsequent processing differs depending on the result of this authentication.

  Specifically, when the telephone number corresponds to the white list as a result of the authentication, a notification operation by sound, vibration, image display, etc. is executed to notify the user of the fact of the incoming call (S303). When an operation indicating answering a call is input by the user, the connection control unit 119A generates a response signal and transmits it to the relay device (S304). Subsequently, the function of the voice communication unit 211 is turned on (S601). When the relay apparatus 980 receives the response signal, the relay apparatus 980 establishes a line between the transmission side terminal 201 and the reception side terminal 202A (S797). Thereby, it will be in the state which can start a telephone call between the user of the transmission side terminal 201, and the user of the receiving side terminal 202A.

  On the other hand, in S400, when it corresponds to the black list, when it does not correspond to either list, or when it is determined that there is a certain possibility of other nuisance calls, the connection control unit 119A sends a response signal to the relay device 980. (S304), the call function of the voice communication unit 211 is turned off (S602). As a result, a state is realized in which a physical line is connected but a call cannot be made.

If it is determined that there is a possibility of a nuisance call, the connection control unit 119A then says, “I'm just taking a call now. For voice authentication, please tell me your name for a few seconds. When the authentication is completed, we will connect you, so please wait for a while. In addition, a voice message stored in advance such as “spoken voice information” is transmitted to the calling terminal 201 (S305). ). As a result, the user of the caller terminal 201 knows that the conversation is still not possible. Subsequently, the connection control unit 119A executes authentication using voiceprint data (S500). Depending on the result of authentication, the user is notified that an incoming call has been received from the sending terminal 201, and the user is prompted to input a necessary instruction (S697). (I.e., a determination as to whether or not to respond to an incoming call from the originating terminal 201) is executed (S699). If it is finally determined that the line is to be connected, the function of the voice communication unit 211 is turned on to realize a state in which a call can be made (S799). On the other hand, when it is determined that the line is finally connected, a disconnection request is transmitted to 980 (S798), and the line is disconnected.
According to this device configuration, the conventional relay measures can be used as they are.

800 ... communication system 100 ... relay device 110 ... control unit 120 ... authentication unit 130 ... storage unit 131 ... phone book DB 132 ... voiceprint DB DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 111 ... 1st control part, 113 ... 2nd control part, 201 ... Transmission side terminal, 202 ... Reception side terminal, 901 ... 1st communication network, 902 ... 2nd communication 114, recording unit, 115 ... message providing unit, 117 ... acquisition unit, 118 ... request unit, 119 ... connection control unit, 121 ... first authentication unit, 122. ..Second authentication unit, 211 ... voice communication unit, 212 ... input unit, WL ... white list, BL ... black list

Claims (10)

Upon receiving a connection request for voice communication from the calling side terminal to the receiving side terminal, an authentication unit that executes authentication for the calling side terminal;
A request unit that prompts the receiving terminal to input an instruction according to the authentication result;
An acquisition unit for acquiring the instruction;
And a processing unit that processes the connection request based on at least one of the authentication result and the input instruction. When the result of the authentication is that the possibility that the voice communication made from the caller terminal is a nuisance call is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, the processing unit receives from the receiver terminal for a predetermined period. The relay apparatus according to claim 1, wherein processing for the connection request is suspended until an instruction is given. The authentication unit includes a first authentication unit that executes first authentication for the same target, and a second authentication unit that executes second authentication after the first authentication,
The relay apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the authentication result includes at least one of the first authentication result and the second authentication. The relay apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the request unit prompts input of the instruction using voice. The first authentication is performed by checking a first database containing telephone numbers;
The relay apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the second authentication is performed by collating a database in which information related to human voice is recorded in the database. The instruction is one of accepting the connection request, rejecting the connection request, and requesting a voice of the speaker of the calling terminal with a permission decision for the connection request suspended. The relay device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The first authentication is performed by referring to a first database;
The relay apparatus according to claim 5, wherein, as a result of the first authentication, if there is no information that matches the first database, the request unit prompts the input of the instruction. The second authentication is performed by referring to a second database;
The relay apparatus according to claim 5, wherein, as a result of the second authentication, if the information matching the second database does not exist, the request unit prompts the input of the instruction. The relay apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising an update unit that changes registration contents of at least one of the first database and the second database based on the acquired instruction. Upon receiving a connection request for voice communication from the calling terminal to the receiving terminal, executing authentication for the calling terminal;
Prompting the receiving terminal to input an instruction in accordance with the authentication result;
Obtaining an instruction input at the receiving terminal;
And a step of processing the connection request based on at least one of the authentication result and the acquired instruction.

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