JPH0779271A - Communication network terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To utilize an economically optimum ISDN network 1 according to the operation forms every time zone for every connection destination when the ISDN network 1 where the charge system of communication charge is different according to a packet exchange and a line exchange is utilized. CONSTITUTION:An ISDN terminal 2 is the one where an ISDN board 4 is inserted into the extension slot of a personal computer 3 and has an auxiliary storage device 9 storing a time table designating whether a communication is performed by the packet exchange mode by a time zone or the communication is performed by a line exchange mode, for every connection destination. Based on the time table stored in the auxiliary storage device 9, the communication mode is automatically switched by the time zone for every connection destination.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication network terminal device connected to an information communication network capable of circuit-switched communication and packet-switched communication, and more specifically, a packet-switched mode depending on a connection destination and a time zone. The present invention relates to a communication network terminal device having a function of automatically switching between a circuit switching mode and a circuit switching mode.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN:
Integrated Services Digital Network) is a completely digitalized communication network that allows various telecommunication services such as telephone, data communication, facsimile, and image communication, which have been provided separately, to be centralized through the same communication network. Is provided to. Therefore, the ISDN network includes various ISDN terminals such as personal computer (personal computer) terminals, G4 (group 4) type facsimile machines, digital telephones, and local area networks (LA).
A LAN is connected via an N: Local Area Network) connection device.

In the current ISDN, two communication systems, circuit switched communication and packet switched communication, are adopted. In circuit-switched communication, when an ISDN terminal requests call setup to the ISDN network, the ISDN network sets up a communication path with the other terminal (connects the line), and thereafter, until the line is disconnected. This is a communication method that enables communication between both terminals. In packet-switched communication, an ISDN terminal divides transmission data into relatively short blocks and sends information data to the ISDN network in units called packets in which a destination and a sequence number are added. Is a communication method in which packets are accumulated or a transmission route is set and packets are delivered in order to the partner terminal.

For example, when connecting a personal computer not having an I interface which is a user / network interface compatible with the ISDN network to the ISDN network, an ISDN board having an I interface is connected to an external expansion bus (expansion slot) of the personal computer. As a result, the personal computer can be connected to the ISDN network.

Conventionally, ISDN has been used in a personal computer as described above.
In an ISDN terminal equipped with a board, either the circuit switching or the packet switching communication method is selected and I
It communicates with a partner terminal connected to the SDN network. For example, a conventional ISDN terminal has a business-specific communication designation table for designating a business that performs only packet switching and a business that performs only circuit switching, and circuit switching or packet switching is performed using this business-specific communication designation table. Either one of the communication methods is selected.

[0006]

By the way, the current IS
In the DN network, the packet charge and the line switch differ in the communication fee system. That is, the communication fee for packet switching is
The price is proportional to the amount of data. Therefore, the packet-switched communication is advantageous when the density of data transfer within the connection time is low, for example, when the keyboard operation is frequently performed after the connection. On the other hand, the circuit-switched communication has a charge system in which the fee is charged according to the line connection time, and is suitable for use when the density of data transfer within the connection time is high.

For example, there is a server machine at the head office, and an ISDN in which an ISDN board is mounted on a personal computer at a branch office.
Consider a configuration with terminals. In this case, the data communicated between the head office and the branch has a relatively small amount of data such as the product name at the time of selling the product and the sales amount and the inventory amount during the daytime,
At night, a mode of operation is conceivable in which a large amount of data such as the total sales items and sales amount of the branch are communicated between the head office and the branch. In this type of operation,
It is suitable to perform data communication by packet switching in the daytime and circuit switching at night.

However, in the above-mentioned conventional ISDN terminal, when connecting to the server machine via the ISDN network, connection can be made only by either packet switching or circuit switching. However, there is a problem that the economically optimal ISDN network cannot be used.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to provide a communication network terminal device which can use a simple and most economical information communication network according to a connection destination.

[0010]

A communication network terminal device of the present invention is connected to an information processing device (for example, a personal computer) and an information communication network (for example, ISDN network) capable of circuit switching type communication and packet switching type communication. A communication control device (for example, an ISDN board) that relays the connection of the information processing device is provided, and the following means are provided to solve the above problems.

That is, the communication network terminal device has storage means for storing, for each connection destination, information specifying whether to perform communication in the packet switching mode or the circuit switching mode depending on the time zone. Based on the information stored in the storage means, the communication mode setting means sets the communication mode to the packet switching mode or the circuit switching mode according to the time zone for each connection destination.

[0012]

According to the above construction, a communication network terminal device (for example, an ISDN board inserted in an expansion slot of a personal computer) having an information processing device and a communication control device is connected to each connection destination depending on a time zone. It has a storage means for storing information designating whether to perform communication in the packet switching mode or in the circuit switching mode. Then, when establishing a communication path through the information communication network with the connection destination, the communication mode setting means performs communication in the packet switching mode based on the information stored in the storage means, or the circuit switching mode. The communication mode is set by judging whether or not to communicate. That is, in the communication network terminal device, the packet switching mode and the circuit switching mode are automatically selected and switched according to the connection destination and the current time.

Thus, when using an information communication network such as an ISDN network in which the charge system of communication charges differs between packet switching and circuit switching, it is optimal for each connection destination, depending on the operation mode for each time zone. You can select various communication modes.

For example, in the current ISDN network charge system, a charge is made in proportion to the amount of data during a time period in which data communication is performed at a low connection density for each connection destination. Specify the packet switching mode of the charge system, and select and specify the circuit switching mode of the charge system that will be charged according to the line connection time during the time when data communication with high density of data transfer within the connection time is performed. By registering the information necessary for this in the storage means in advance, the economical information communication network can be used according to the connection destination and the time zone.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The following will describe one embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS.

I as a communication network terminal device according to the present embodiment
As shown in FIG. 1, the SDN terminal 2 includes a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a personal computer) 3 as an information processing device, an ISDN board 4 as a communication control device connected to an external expansion bus of the personal computer 3, PC 3
And an auxiliary storage device (storage means) 9 connected to the ISDN network 1 as an information communication network.

Here, the ISDN terminal 2 is installed in one branch of a company having a head office and a plurality of branches, and is a connection destination device 11.1 connected to the ISDN network 1.
It is assumed that communication is carried out via the ISDN network 1 with 2.1 and 13.

Further, the branch office where the ISDN terminal 2 is installed is connected to the connection destination 11 every day from 9:00 to 19:00, and the connection destination 12 is connected to the connection destination 12 at 10 every day. Data communication with a high density of data transfer within the connection time is required during each time zone from 9:00 to 18:00 and from 9:00 to 18:00 to the connection destination 13, and each connection destination has a time other than the above. In the band, it is assumed that data communication is performed with low density of data transfer within the connection time.

The personal computer 3, as shown in FIG.
PU (Central Processing Unit) 31, ROM (Read O
nly Memory) 32, RAM (Random Access Memory) 3
3 and a timer 34 indicating the current time,
An auxiliary storage device 9 such as a hard disk device is connected to the personal computer 3.

As shown in FIG. 3, the auxiliary storage device 9 is used to specify, for each connection destination, whether to perform communication in the packet switching mode or the circuit switching mode depending on the time zone. Stores a timetable. In the figure, for example, "0-8 / packet" indicates that the packet switching mode is in the time zone from 0:00 to 8:00 (from 0:00 to 9:00).

Further, depending on the business content, there is a case where communication is required only by either packet switching or circuit switching regardless of the connection destination or time zone, so the auxiliary storage device 9 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, a communication-specific communication designation table for designating a business that performs only packet switching and a business that performs only circuit switching is stored.

When the ISDN communication is requested, the personal computer 3 checks whether or not the business requesting the ISDN communication is present in the communication designation table, and if the business is present in the communication designation table. , Select the corresponding communication mode. This will be referred to as first communication mode selection. Next, if the ISDN is set in the communication designation table,
When there is no business requesting communication, the communication mode is selected from the timetable based on the connection destination and the current time. This will be referred to as the second communication mode selection.

The ISDN board 4 is connected to the personal computer 3 via the external expansion bus 3b of the personal computer 3, and the communication interface control unit 6 and the I interface control unit 8 are connected.
It has and.

The I-interface control unit 8 is an I.I. interface recommended by the International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee (CCITT). 430-based ISDN basic interface, or CCITT I.D. ISDN based on 431
The primary group velocity interface.

The communication interface control section 6 controls communication with the personal computer 3 via the external expansion bus 3b of the personal computer 3. The I interface control unit 8 controls communication with the ISDN network 1 via the I interface bus 1a, and basically includes a CPU 81, a ROM 82, and a RAM 83.

The operation of the ISDN terminal 2 having the above configuration will be described below.

First, in the personal computer 3 of the ISDN terminal 2, the ISDN address of the connection destination (ISDN number and IDN
The data for selecting the business will be input together with the SDN sub address.

At this time, the personal computer 3 executes the first communication mode selection, and first checks whether or not the selected job exists in the communication designation table shown in FIG. Here, if the business exists in the communication designation table, the personal computer 3 selects the communication mode corresponding to the business from the communication designation table, and sends the communication mode selection data and the ISDN address to the ISDN board 4. Output.

Next, when the selected job does not exist in the communication designation table, the personal computer 3 executes the second communication mode selection and determines the connection destination (that is, the ISDN address) and the current time. Then, the communication mode is selected from the timetable shown in FIG. 3, and the communication mode selection data and ISDN are selected.
The address and the address are output to the ISDN board 4.

The above communication mode selection data and ISDN
The address is input to the ISDN board 4. ISDN
The I interface control unit 8 of the board 4 executes the communication mode setting program and sets the call in the communication mode based on the communication mode selection data (command from the personal computer 3) input from the personal computer 3.

That is, in the circuit switching mode, the I interface control section 8 creates a call setup message according to the ISDN address and sends it to the ISDN network 1. At this time, the ISDN network 1 transmits the above-mentioned call setting message to the connection destination, and upon accepting the call setting message, returns this call setting accepting message to the originating ISDN terminal 2. After this, by the time the line is connected,
A call message is sent from the connection destination to the originating ISDN terminal 2 via the ISDN network 1. After this, the call from the connection destination I
By sending a response message to the SDN terminal 2 via the ISDN network 1, a communication path between the ISDN terminal 2 and the connection destination via the ISDN network 1 is established (ISDN line connection is performed), and communication is performed. Is started.

On the other hand, in the packet switching mode, the I interface control section 8 creates a call request message according to the ISDN address and sends it to the ISDN network 1. At this time, the ISDN network 1 transmits an incoming call message to the connection destination. On the other hand, when the connection destination sends an incoming call acceptance message to the ISDN network 1, the ISDN network 1 returns a connection completion message to the ISDN terminal 2 and, as a result, the ISDN network between the ISDN terminal 2 and the connection destination. A communication path via 1 is established, and then packet communication is performed.

As described above, the ISDN terminal 2 of this embodiment
Includes a personal computer 3 and an ISDN board 4 that relays the connection of the personal computer 3 to the ISDN network 1. In addition to a communication designation table that designates a packet or a line for each business, In addition, an auxiliary storage device 9 that stores information (time table) that specifies whether to perform communication in the packet switching mode or the communication in the circuit switching mode depending on the time zone and the auxiliary storage device 9 that stores the information. The communication mode setting means sets the communication mode according to the time zone for each connection destination based on the existing time table.

As a result, when using the ISDN network 1 in which the charge system of the communication charge is different between the packet switching and the circuit switching, according to the operation mode for each connection destination and for each time zone.
The optimum ISDN network 1 can be used.

That is, generally, in a company, for each connection destination,
In most cases, data communication with different data transfer density is performed depending on the time of day.
By using the N terminal 2, during the time period in which data communication with a low data transfer density within the connection time is performed, packet switching communication with a charge system that is charged in proportion to the amount of data is used It is possible to use circuit-switched communication with a charge system that is charged according to the line connection time during the time period when data communication with high data transfer density is performed, and the connection destination and time period are taken into consideration. The economical ISDN network 1 can be used.

Further, the ISDN terminal 2 of the present embodiment is provided with a means for designating the packet switching mode or the circuit switching mode according to the business (information) regardless of the connection destination or the time zone in the above configuration. Judge whether the communication mode is specified by the business, select the specified communication mode regardless of the connection destination or time zone for the business with the communication mode specified, and for the business without the communication mode specified above The communication mode setting means is based on the connection destination and the time zone,
This is a configuration for setting the communication mode.

As a result, regardless of the connection destination or time zone,
Business (information) that requires communication only through either packet switching or circuit switching and business that performs data communication with different data transfer densities depending on the time of day for each connection destination are mixed. In this case, the economical ISDN network 1 can be used.

For example, when there is a business that performs data communication with a low (high) data transfer density in any time zone and to which connection destination, the packet switching mode is applied to such business. It is more economical to limit to (circuit switching mode). In the above ISDN terminal 2,
Since the communication mode is fixed only for such business and the communication mode is switched for other business depending on the connection destination and the time zone, an economical ISDN network 1 considering the business, connection destination and time zone Can be used.

In the above embodiment, the ISDN terminal 2 in which the ISDN board 4 is connected to the external expansion bus of the personal computer 3 as an information processing device, that is, a so-called personal computer terminal has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. Not something. For example, a workstation or word processor may be used as the information processing device.

In the above embodiment, the ISDN network 1 is taken as an example of the information communication network, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the packet charge and line switch differ in the charge system of communication charges. The communication network terminal device of the present invention can be applied to any information communication network.

The above-mentioned embodiments are intended to clarify the technical contents of the present invention, and should not be construed in a narrow sense by limiting to such specific examples. Various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims.

[0042]

As described above, the communication network terminal device of the present invention relays the connection of the information processing device to the information processing device and the information communication network capable of the circuit switching type communication and the packet switching type communication. And a communication control device for
Based on the information stored in the storage means for storing information designating whether to perform communication in the packet switching mode or the communication in the circuit switching mode depending on the time zone for each connection destination, based on the information stored in the storage means. The communication mode setting means sets the communication mode to the packet switching mode or the circuit switching mode depending on the time zone for each connection destination.

Therefore, when using an information communication network such as an ISDN network in which the charge system of the communication charge is different between the packet switching and the circuit switching, it is optimal according to the operating mode for each connection destination and each time zone. This has the effect that various information communication networks can be used.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a communication system using an ISDN network of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an ISDN terminal of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a time table stored in an auxiliary storage device of the ISDN terminal.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a communication designation table stored in an auxiliary storage device of the ISDN terminal.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ISDN network (information communication network) 2 ISDN terminal (communication network terminal device) 3 personal computer (information processing device, communication mode setting means) 4 ISDN board (communication control device, communication mode setting means) 9 auxiliary storage device (storage means) ) 11 connection destination 12 connection destination 13 connection destination

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A communication network terminal device comprising: an information processing device; and a communication control device for relaying connection of the information processing device to an information communication network capable of circuit-switched communication and packet-switched communication. Based on the information stored in the storage means, storage means for storing information that specifies whether to perform communication in the packet switching mode or the circuit switching mode depending on the time zone for each connection destination. And a communication mode setting means for setting the communication mode to the packet switching mode or the circuit switching mode depending on the time zone for each connection destination.