JPH1127347A - Incoming call notice system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the entire job efficiency by transferring data to set an incoming call notice means in response to an attribute of a medium to an opposite party in the case of making an incoming call notice to the opposite party via a channel so as to avoid the job of the opposite party from being uselessly interrupted. SOLUTION: In a telephone application working on a computer network, a caller uses a key board and a mouth of an incoming call medium operation section 101 to set how strong an incoming call is noticed to the opposite party. Then a notice of the incoming call is made by a popup menu of a window on a computer monitor and the setting of the strength of the incoming call notice is made by designating a size of the window for the incoming call display. An incoming call information analysis section 109 of a called terminal receives a value denoting the size of the window having a popup menu based on received packet information and gives a popup menu display to the window of the designated size on the computer monitor of an incoming call notice section 105 to notify an incoming call.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system in which users can contact each other via a predetermined medium, and more particularly to a system for assisting a user when he or she tries to contact another person. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, telephone is mainly used to make contact with another person in real time. If there is no real-time restriction, a telegram or a letter is used. Hereinafter, the term “contact” refers to a real-time contact.

In a telephone, when a call is made (a call is made), a ringing tone sounds on the other side, and a notification of an incoming call (an incoming call) is given. Since this ringing tone draws the attention of the surrounding people, some portable telephones and the like notify the incoming call by vibration or the like.

[0004]

However, the following problems are encountered when making a contact using a telephone.

[0005] (1) There is a case where a situation is interrupted ignoring the situation of the other party. That is, when you make a call, the ringtone sounds regardless of the other party's situation.
Even if you are in a situation where you are very busy or want to concentrate and do not want to answer the phone, you will be interrupted.

[0006] (2) When a call is received, attention is drawn to unrelated persons around the user.

Therefore, in order to deal with such a case,
In the case of a mobile phone or a pager, there is a system for notifying only the user of an incoming call by vibration, but this method can be used only for a portable device.

As described above, when a telephone is used, when a call is made, the bell of the other party's telephone rings or vibration occurs, and the other party is forced to receive the telephone call in any situation. In addition, there is a problem that the attention of the surrounding people is attracted.

However, it is not necessary to contact the caller forcibly if the other party is busy unless it is an urgent business. In addition, there is, of course, a need not to bother others who are not related. However, there is no conventional system that supports such a request.

Accordingly, the present invention relates to a contact support system capable of supporting an action when a user attempts to contact another person via a line.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to address the above-mentioned problems, the present invention actively utilizes human characteristics as described below.

Although humans are in contact with various media in daily life at the same time, it is possible to grasp these media to some extent simultaneously.

For example, when working toward a terminal, most of the consciousness is poured into the terminal, but at the same time, it also perceives the noise of surrounding people, the temperature and brightness of the room, and the like. .

However, when a current telephone receives a call, a ringing tone sounds and the consciousness of the other party is forcibly turned to the telephone. Therefore, no matter how busy the other person is, they have to stop their work and pick up the phone.

Therefore, in the present invention, instead of a ring tone, a medium that does not forcibly attract the other party's consciousness is used as a medium for notifying the other party of an incoming call. At this time, if the other party is focused on a specific task,
It is expected that the incoming call will not be noticed, but if the other party is not focused on a particular task, it is expected that the incoming call will be noticed.

For example, instead of a normal ring tone, a telephone is used to notify an incoming call by flashing light. If the user is concentrating on the terminal and working, he may not notice the incoming call, but if he is not focused on a particular task, he may notice the incoming call.

If there is an urgent business and it is necessary to contact the other party, the calling side may notify the incoming call by a normal method, that is, by using a ring tone.

If there is only a trivial task, the incoming call is notified by flashing light, and if the other party notices, a method of taking a contact may be selected.

That is, according to the present invention, the above-mentioned problems can be solved by enabling the calling side to control the incoming call media.

As a solution to the same problem, a method of presenting information on the calling side when a call is received can be used. For example, a telephone that displays the name of the caller may be used. Recipients can use this information to
Judge whether to accept or reject the call. However, in this method, it is necessary to always attract the other party's consciousness.

The present invention is based on the above idea,
The following configuration is provided. That is, the present invention provides an incoming call notification system for notifying a user of an incoming call via a line, an attribute setting means for setting an attribute of a medium for performing the incoming call notification, and an attribute analysis for analyzing the attribute of the medium. Means, incoming notification means for performing an incoming notification according to the attribute of the media analyzed by the attribute analyzing means, response detecting means for detecting a response to the incoming notification by the incoming notification means, and response detection of the response detecting means And data transfer means for transferring data according to

In the above-described incoming call notification system according to the present invention, each of the above means operates as follows.

First, on the calling side desiring to contact,
Using the attribute setting means, the attribute of the media for performing the incoming call notification is set. Then, a connection partner is specified, a line is established, and first, the attribute of the media is transferred. On the other hand, the receiving side receives the attribute of the media. Then, the attribute of the media is analyzed by the attribute analyzing means, and an incoming call is notified according to the result.

By following such a procedure, an operation is performed so that a notification method when an incoming call is received from the calling side can be operated.

[0025]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The present embodiment embodies the present invention as a telephone application on a computer network. The present invention is not limited to this, and may be embodied as, for example, a telephone terminal on a telephone line.

In this embodiment, the notification of the incoming call is made by "pop-up display of a window on the screen of the terminal". At this time, the size of the window for pop-up display is set on the calling side.

If there is an important matter and it is desired to forcibly attract the other party's consciousness, a large window is displayed as a pop-up.

If it is not necessary to make contact for a trivial task, a small window is displayed in a pop-up. If the other party does not notice, no contact will be made. That is, contact is established only when the other party notices.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing components of a computer 100 used in the contact support system according to the present embodiment.

In FIG. 1, incoming media operation unit 101
Sets the notification method when a call is received by the other party. The control unit 102 controls the present embodiment, and controls the memory 1
Numeral 03 stores various programs and data. The input / output unit 104 is a microphone or a speaker, and the incoming call notifying unit 105 notifies the user of an incoming call.

Line operation user interface (U
I) 106 is a user interface for operating connection establishment, termination, and the like. Line establishment department 10
Reference numeral 7 is for establishing a connection with the other party.
The data transfer unit 108 inputs and outputs various control information and data. The incoming information analyzing unit 109 analyzes incoming information, and the network interface unit 110
Is an interface with the network 200. The network 200 is provided with the computers 202 and 204 on the other side, and it is assumed that the network 200 has substantially the same configuration as the computer 100.

Next, the operation of the control unit 102 in the contact support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of the control unit 102 on the calling side, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of the control unit 102 on the called side.

FIG. 4 shows the incoming call media operation unit 101.
FIG. 5 is a graphical user interface of FIG.
Is a graphical user interface of the incoming call notification unit 105.

First, an operation procedure on the calling side will be described with reference to FIG.

First, at step 201, the incoming media operation unit 101 sets information indicating at what level an incoming call is to be notified to the other party. FIG. 4 shows an example of the user interface. As shown in the figure, the degree of notification can be set in multiple stages from "weak" to "strong". The setting operation can be performed using a device such as a mouse in addition to the keyboard.

Next, in step 202, a connection is established. At this time, a connection partner is specified using the line operation user interface 106.

In step 203, the incoming call information packet is transferred. The content of the packet is the information set in step 201. In the case of the present embodiment, the value is a value indicating the degree of the notification intensity, that is, a value indicating the size of the window for pop-up display. In step 204, a response from the other party is waited. If a response to accept the connection is received from the partner, step 20
Move to 6. If there is no response, the process proceeds to step 205, and the process ends.

Here, the case where a response is received from the partner corresponds to a case where the partner notices the incoming call and a contact is established. Further, when there is no response, it corresponds to a case where the other party does not notice the incoming call.

In step 206, the input information from the microphone of the input / output unit 104 is transferred to the memory 103. In step 207, the information acquired in step 206 is transferred to the other party via the data transfer unit 108 and the network interface 110.

In step 208, the data obtained via the network interface 110 and the data transfer unit 108 is transferred to the memory 103. In step 209, the information acquired in step 208 is
Is output to the speaker unit of.

In step 210, it is checked whether the line has been disconnected. This is to check whether or not the processing in steps 207 and 208 has been performed without any problem.
This corresponds to checking whether the user has input a call termination request to the line operation user interface 106.

If the line is disconnected, step 20
Then, the process proceeds to 5 and the process ends. If the line has not been disconnected, the process returns to step 206.

Next, the operation procedure of the called side will be described with reference to FIG.

First, in step 301, connection establishment is set. In step 302, it is checked whether there is an incoming call. If there is no incoming call, the process returns to step 302; otherwise, the process proceeds to step 303.

In step 303, an incoming call information packet is received. This corresponds to receiving the information transferred by the calling side in step 203. In the case of the present embodiment, a numerical value indicating the strength of notifying the incoming call, that is, a numerical value indicating the size of the window for pop-up display is received.

In step 304, step 303
The received information is analyzed by the incoming information analyzing unit 109.
According to the result, the user is notified of the connection establishment request via the incoming notification unit 105. FIG. 5 shows a user interface of the incoming call notification unit 105.

FIG. 5A shows a state in which a small window is displayed in a pop-up manner, and FIG.
This shows a large window popped up.

In the case of (a), if the user concentrates on other work, he may not notice. That is, the possibility of interrupting the work of the partner is low.

However, in the case of (b), if the user is looking at the screen of the terminal, the notification is made without fail.

Next, in step 305, it is checked whether or not there is a response from the user. If not, the process moves to step 306, and the process ends. If there is, the process proceeds to step 307, and the input information from the microphone of the input / output unit 104 is transferred to the memory 103.

In step 308, the information acquired in step 307 is transferred to the other party via the data transfer unit 108 and the network interface 110. Step 3
09, the data obtained via the network interface 110 and the data transfer unit 108 is stored in the memory 103.
Transfer to In step 310, the information obtained in step 309 is output to the speaker unit of the input / output unit 104.

In step 311, it is checked whether the line has been disconnected. This is to check whether or not the processing of steps 308 and 309 has been performed without any problem.
This corresponds to checking whether the user has input a call termination request to the line operation user interface 106.

If the line is disconnected, step 30
Go to 6 and end the process. If the line has not been disconnected, the process returns to step 307.

According to the above procedure, the contact support system operates so that the calling side operates a notification method when a call is received.

In the first embodiment described above, the item that can be set in the incoming call media operation unit 101 is "size of a window for notifying an incoming call when the other party receives an incoming call".

The incoming call notifying section 105 notifies the incoming call by changing the size of the window.

However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the item that can be set in the incoming call media operation unit 101 is “volume for notifying the incoming call when the other party receives the incoming call”.
The incoming call notification unit 105 may notify the incoming call by changing the volume for notifying the incoming call.

Similarly, the media for notifying the incoming call and the degree thereof can be as follows.

(1) Sound, its frequency (2) Air convection, its intensity (3) Temperature, its level (4) Vibration of a desk, etc., its intensity (5) Flashing of light, its In each of the above-described embodiments, the degree of the notification method of the incoming call (the size of the window, the volume, and the like) was operated from the calling side, but the type of the media of the incoming call could not be selected.

Therefore, as still another embodiment of the present invention,
A means for selecting a type of media for notifying an incoming call is realized.

The operation procedure in this embodiment is basically the same as in the first embodiment. Hereinafter, portions different from the first embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

In step 201, means for selecting the type of the notification medium is provided. In this embodiment,
FIG. 6 shows a user interface of the incoming call media operation unit 101. In FIG. 6, the type of media to be notified is selected in the upper part, and the degree of notification is set in the lower part. The setting operation can be performed using a device such as a mouse in addition to the keyboard. In step 203, information on the type of media is transmitted together with the degree of notification.

In step 303, information on the type of media is received along with the degree of notification. In step 304, an incoming call is notified according to the degree of notification using the type of media acquired in step 303.

Further, in each of the embodiments described above, the degree of notification is represented by a continuous amount, but the degree of notification may be represented by a discrete amount.

In this case, the incoming media operation unit 10
FIG. 7 shows the first user interface. In FIG. 7, by selecting one of the three types of buttons, a numerical value indicating the degree of notification strength is determined.

In order to realize such a process, the incoming call media operation unit 101 may manage each button and its corresponding numerical value. For example, 100 when the "emergency button" is pressed, 5 when the "normal button" is pressed.
0, 0 when the “TRY” button is pressed.

In each of the above embodiments, the setting of the incoming call notification is performed from the calling side. However, the setting of the incoming call notification may be performed from the receiving side.

In order to provide more effective contact support, it is necessary to cope with the case that "I do not want interrupting no matter how urgent the business is." To

FIG. 8 shows a user interface of the incoming information analyzing section 109 in this case. In FIG.
By selecting one of the three types of buttons, the notification of the incoming call is set.

Here, when the "always available" button is selected, the operation as in each of the above-described embodiments is performed. If the “absolutely impossible” button is selected, even if there is an incoming call, the incoming notification unit 105 is not used to notify the user.

When the button "only in case of emergency" is selected, a notification is made only when the numerical value received in step 303 is equal to or more than a certain value.
Operate so as not to notify the user.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, the description has been given of the configuration in which the data transmission is performed between the transmitting side and the receiving side after the incoming call response and the data is output. However, the operation after the incoming call response is not limited to this. Instead, the present invention can be widely applied as control at the time of notification of incoming calls in various communications.

[0074]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Depending on the degree of the request from the calling side, the method of notifying the incoming call and the degree of the incoming call can be controlled from the calling side.

In other words, if there is an urgent matter and it is desired to always contact, an incoming call can be notified in such a way that the other party always notices.

Also, in cases where it is not necessary to always make contact due to trivial tasks, and when the other party does not want to interrupt the work or is concentrated on the work, the other party's work is not interrupted. , You can try to contact.

Further, in a case where it is not necessary to make a contact due to a trivial task, and when the other party is not concentrated and there is room to pay attention to the surroundings, the work of the other party is interrupted and the contact is made. be able to.

Therefore, unlike the conventional telephone, it is possible to reduce unnecessary interruption of the other party's work, and it is possible to provide flexible contact support, thereby improving the overall work efficiency.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing components of a computer used in a contact support system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation of a control unit on a calling side in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of a control unit on the called side in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a graphical user interface of a receiving media operation unit in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a graphical user interface of the incoming call notification unit in the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a graphical user interface of an incoming media operation unit according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a graphical user interface of a receiving media operation unit according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a graphical user interface of a receiving media operation unit according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 100, 202, 204: Computer, 101: Incoming media operation unit, 102: Control unit, 103: Memory, 104: Input / output unit, 105: Incoming notification unit, 106: User interface for line operation, 107: Line establishment unit, 108: data transfer unit, 109: incoming information analysis unit, 110: network interface unit, 200: network.

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. An incoming call notification system for notifying a user of an incoming call via a line, an attribute setting means for setting an attribute of a medium for performing the incoming call notification, and an attribute analyzing means for analyzing an attribute of the medium. An incoming notification unit for performing an incoming call notification according to the attribute of the media analyzed by the attribute analyzing unit; a response detecting unit for detecting a response to the incoming call notification by the incoming notification unit; Data transfer means for transferring data in response to the call. 2. The medium according to claim 1, wherein the medium for performing the incoming call notification is a window displayed on a graphical user interface of a partner terminal, and the attribute of the medium is a size of the displayed window. An incoming call notification system characterized by the following. 3. The incoming call notification system according to claim 1, wherein the media for performing the incoming call notification is a sound for notifying an incoming call at a partner terminal, and the attribute of the medium is the loudness of the sound. . 4. The incoming call notification system according to claim 1, wherein the media for performing the incoming call notification is a sound for notifying an incoming call at a partner terminal, and the attribute of the medium is a frequency of the sound. 5. The incoming call notification according to claim 1, wherein the medium for performing the incoming call notification is a convection of air output from a partner terminal, and the attribute of the medium is the strength of the air. system. 6. The incoming call notification system according to claim 1, wherein the medium for performing the incoming call notification is a temperature emitted from a partner terminal, and the attribute of the medium is the level of the temperature. 7. The incoming call notification system according to claim 1, wherein the media for performing the incoming call notification is a vibration output by a partner terminal, and the attribute of the medium is the intensity of the vibration. 8. The incoming call according to claim 1, wherein the medium for performing the incoming call notification is blinking light output by a partner terminal, and the attribute of the medium is the intensity of the blinking light. Notification system. 9. The incoming call notification system according to claim 1, wherein said attribute setting means selects a type of media for performing said incoming call notification. 10. The media type according to claim 9, wherein the type of the media set by the attribute setting means is an incoming call notification using a display on a graphical user interface of a partner terminal or an incoming call notification using a sound. An incoming call notification system. 11. A communication device for making a call to a partner communication device for notifying a user of an incoming call via a line, wherein: attribute setting means for setting an attribute of a medium for notifying the incoming call; Notification means for notifying the other party of the media attribute set by the communication device. 12. A communication device for notifying a user of an incoming call via a line when an incoming call is received, receiving means for receiving an attribute of a medium for performing an incoming call notification notified from a calling communication device; and receiving by the receiving means. A communication device comprising: an attribute analysis unit configured to analyze the attribute of the medium; and an incoming notification unit configured to perform an incoming notification according to the attribute of the media analyzed by the attribute analysis unit. 13. An incoming call notification method for notifying a user of an incoming call via a line, wherein a caller sets an attribute of a medium for performing an incoming call notification, and notifies the callee of the attribute of the media. An incoming call notification method, wherein the incoming call side analyzes attributes of media notified from the calling side, and performs an incoming call notification based on the analysis result. 14. A calling method for a communication partner device for notifying a user of an incoming call via a line, wherein the attribute of a medium for performing the notification of the incoming call is set, and the attribute of the medium is notified to the communication partner device at the time of calling. A transmission method characterized by: 15. An incoming call notification method for notifying a user of an incoming call via a line at the time of an incoming call, comprising: receiving an attribute of a medium for performing an incoming call notification notified from an originating communication device; And an incoming call notification according to the analysis result.