JP2000174925A - Communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication system executing communication between computers according to the connecting state of a telephone set by storing the address of a computer corresponding to the telephone set in state information of the telephone set and outputting it. SOLUTION: A state informing device 106 outputs a state report obtained by adding the address of the computer corresponding to telephone sets 102 and 103 to the state report of a telephone set inputted from an exchange 101 to computers 104 and 105, which starts video communication between the computers by using the address stored in state information, thereby video information can be started by using the computers when the telephone sets are connected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication system for controlling communication between computers in accordance with a circuit switching state in an interlocking system between an exchange and a computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the development of computers and computer networks, CT that integrates telephone networks and computer networks has been developed.
I (Computer Telephony Inte
(gration) technology is evolving.

As this CTI technology, for example, ECMA (Eur
opean Computer ManufacturersAssociation) CSTA (Com
puter Supported Telecommunication Applications) are well known. The CSTA is a regulation corresponding to the OSI application layer between the telephone network and the computer network.

With the advance of the CTI technology, for example, as in the technical idea disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-321889, not only the circuit switching is controlled by a computer, but also The technology for controlling communication has also been developed. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-321889 described above describes a method of setting a shared work space in order to perform joint work using a computer when making a voice call using a telephone.

A conventional communication system will be described below with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 22 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a conventional communication system.

In FIG. 22, 2201 is a wide area network. 2202 is a local area network. 2203 is a first server. 2204 is
This is the first router. Reference numeral 2205 denotes a first computer. Reference numeral 2206 denotes an exchange. 2207 is exchange 2
A first telephone connected to 206. Reference numeral 2208 denotes a local area network. 2209 is a second server. Reference numeral 2210 denotes a second router. 22
11 is a second computer. Reference numeral 2212 denotes a second telephone. That is, in the conventional system configuration, a computer, a server, and a router are connected to a local area network, and each computer and the server can communicate with each other through the wide area network by the router.

Hereinafter, the operation of the conventional communication system will be described with reference to FIG. In the conventional communication system, as shown at 2301, a request for connecting the first telephone 2207 and the second telephone 2212 is sent to the exchange 220.
6 receives, exchange 2206 switches to first telephone 220
7 and the second telephone 2212 are connected.

Next, as shown at 2302, the exchange 2206 notifies the first server 2203 that the first telephone 2207 and the second telephone 2208 have been connected.

In the first server 2203, since the correspondence between the telephone and the computer is held, the first telephone 220
7 and the second telephone 2212 are notified of the exchange 220
6, the correspondence between the telephone and the address of the computer is established as shown at 2303.

As a result, as shown in 2304, the first
Server 2203 performs a process of starting a session between the first computer 2205 and the second computer 2211.
As a result, the first telephone 2207 and the second telephone 221
The shared workspace for the user using the second computer to perform the joint work includes the first computer 2205 and the second computer 2.
211 is provided on the screen.

[0011]

However, in the conventional communication system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-321889, since a server starts a session between computers, the load on the server increases as the number of sessions increases. There was a problem that. In addition, since a session is started in the server, a server function must be added when adding a new function for performing video communication between computers, for example, and there is a problem that the system is not expandable. Was.

Further, in the technical idea disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-321889, a session between computers is started simply based on call control information from an exchange, but, for example, after a telephone is connected, the computer is started. No description is given of a communication control method between computers when the communication start timing between computers is irrelevant to the call control of the telephone set, such as when the user of the computer determines to start communication between computers. However, not only when the communication between computers is started at the will of the user after the voice call is established,
When communication between computers fails, communication between computers can be automatically resumed if telephones are connected, which is generally very difficult in computer networks that are less reliable than telephone networks. This is an important function, and there is also a problem that simply starting a session between computers based on call control information from the exchange is insufficient as a function for communication control between computers.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention reduces the load on the server by starting a session between computers between the computers, and provides a server function when adding a new function for performing, for example, video communication. It is an object of the present invention to provide a communication system capable of establishing a session between computers without any need for addition and without interlocking with call control of a telephone.

[0014]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve this problem, the present invention firstly relates to a state report of a telephone connected to an exchange, the information output by the exchange as a status report, and the information input by a computer. A communication system for controlling communication between computers according to a state of the telephone as a state notification, comprising: an exchange for outputting a state report; a first telephone connected to the exchange; and a second telephone connected to the exchange. Phone and
A first computer for inputting a status notification of the first telephone, a second computer for inputting a status notification of the second telephone, and a circuit switching between the first telephone and the second telephone input from the exchange. A status notification device that outputs the status notification generated by storing the address of the second computer in the field of the status report to the first computer.

Thus, the first computer communicates directly with the second computer using the address of the second computer stored in the input status notification without going through the status notification device or server. Can be started.

Second, the second computer comprises user interface means having means for inputting an image and means for displaying an image, and image communication means for performing image communication. , User interface means,
The system includes status notification processing means for acquiring the address of the second computer from the status notification, and video communication means for starting video communication with the second computer using the address of the second computer.

Thus, voice communication can be performed between the first telephone and the second telephone via the exchange, and video communication can be performed between the first computer and the second computer. There is an effect that a videophone system or the like can be provided easily without requiring a simple terminal.

Third, when the computer outputs the monitoring request to the status notifying device, the status notifying device starts outputting the status notification to the computer, and the second computer adds the monitoring request to the monitoring request. Personal information management means for managing information; additional information stored in the personal information management means;
Monitoring request generating means for generating a monitoring request in which the telephone number of the second telephone is stored, wherein the status notifying device includes the telephone number of the second telephone, the address of the second computer stored in the field of the monitoring request, and Monitoring information management means for managing the additional information added to the monitoring information; and storing the additional information when the status report input from the exchange is a status report for circuit switching between the first telephone and the second telephone. Status notification generating means for generating the status notification and outputting the generated status notification to a first computer, wherein the first computer selects an application to be used from among the additional information in which the additional information is stored. And application executing means for executing an application using information to be used as an input parameter.

Thus, the communication performed between the first computer and the second computer can be specified by the additional information, and the communication between the first computer and the second computer can be performed without adding a new function to the status notification device. There is an effect that communication having a new function can be performed with the second computer.

Fourth, in the status report of the second telephone output from the exchange to the status notification device, a request is made to output a status notification generated from the status report input by the status notification device last. A status notification request generated by the second computer as a status notification request, and the second computer includes a status notification request generating unit configured to generate the status notification request. State report management means for managing a status report; and a state notification means for generating a status notification of the second telephone from the status report managed by the status report means and outputting the status notification to the second computer. Notification request processing means.

Thus, the second computer can know the current connection state of the second telephone, so that even if video communication with the first computer is stopped once, the first telephone and the second telephone can be connected. If the telephone is connected, the video communication with the first computer can be automatically resumed.

Fifth, a telephone different from the first telephone and the second telephone is referred to as a third telephone, and the second computer comprises:
The system comprises user interface means for inputting the telephone number of the third telephone, and state notification request generating means for generating a state notification request storing the telephone number.

Thus, when the telephone number of the third telephone is input in the second computer when the first telephone and the third telephone are connected, the first computer and the second computer are connected. It has the effect that video communication can be started.

Sixth, when the status report managed by the status report management means to the exchange is a status report relating to circuit switching between the first telephone and the second telephone, the first computer and the second computer A status notification requesting unit that outputs a status notification to the computer; and a status notification output from the status notification device to the first computer in response to the status notification request output by the second computer. And a status notification processing unit for requesting the video communication unit to perform preprocessing for the video communication from the second computer.

Thus, the first computer can reject video communication from a device other than the second computer, and can execute the pre-processing for video communication with the second computer until video communication is started. This has the effect of shortening the time.

[0026]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) Hereinafter, Embodiment 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.

The configuration of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the present invention in the first embodiment.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes an exchange.
Reference numeral 102 denotes a first telephone connected to the exchange 101. 103 is a second telephone connected to the exchange 101. Reference numeral 104 denotes a first computer for acquiring information on the first telephone 102. Reference numeral 105 denotes a second computer that acquires information on the second telephone 103. 1
Reference numeral 06 denotes a state notification device that outputs information on the state of the telephone output from the exchange 101 to the computer. 107
Is a communication path between the exchange 101 and the first telephone set 102. Reference numeral 108 denotes a communication path between the exchange 101 and the second telephone 103. Reference numeral 109 denotes a communication path between the exchange 101 and the exchange controller 106.

Reference numeral 110 denotes the exchange controller 106 and the first
This is a communication path between the computer 104 and the second computer 105. Note that the communication path 109 is configured by, for example, RS232C or Ethernet. The communication path 110 is
For example, it is configured by Ethernet or FDDI. further,
The communication path 109 and the communication path 110 may be configured by, for example, Ethernet, and the communication path 109 and the communication path 110 may be the same communication path.

Next, a detailed configuration of the exchange 101 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the exchange 101.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 201 denotes the first telephone 1
02 is a telephone communication means for performing communication between the second telephone 103 and the second telephone 103 and performing line switching. 202 is the status notification device 1
It is a status notifying device communication means for communicating with the communication device 06. 2
Numeral 03 is a status report generating means for generating information on the status of the telephone. Hereinafter, for the sake of simplicity, the information on the status of the telephone generated by the status report generating means 203 will be referred to as a status report. 204 is the exchange 101
This is an exchange overall control means for controlling the whole.

The detailed configuration of the status notification device 106 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 shows the status notification device 1.
It is a block diagram showing an example of the structure of No. 06.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 301 denotes an exchange communication means for communicating with the exchange 101. Reference numeral 302 denotes a status notification generating unit that generates information on the status of the telephone output to the computer from the status report output from the exchange 101. Hereinafter, for the sake of simplicity, the information on the status of the telephone generated by the status notification generating means 302 will be referred to as status notification. Reference numeral 303 denotes a computer communication unit that communicates with the first computer 104 and the second computer 105. Reference numeral 304 denotes a monitoring request processing unit that processes a monitoring request output from the first computer 104 and the second computer 105 to obtain a status notification. This monitoring request will be described later in detail. Reference numeral 305 denotes a monitoring information management unit that manages information of the monitoring request output by the first computer 104 and the second computer 105. 306 is
The status notification device 106 controls the entire status notification device 106.

Further, the first computer 104 will be described with reference to FIG.
The detailed configuration of the second computer 105 will be described. Since the first computer 104 and the second computer 105 have the same configuration, the first computer 104 will be described below as an example. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of the first computer 104.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 401 denotes the status notification device 1
06 and an external communication means for communicating with the second computer 105. Reference numeral 402 denotes a monitoring request generation unit that generates a monitoring request to be output to the status notification device 106. 403
Is a status notification processing unit that processes a status notification input from the status notification device 106. 404 is the second computer 1
Video communication means for performing video communication with the H.05. 405
Is a user interface means of the first computer 104. The user interface unit 405 includes, for example, a camera for capturing video, a display for outputting video, a keyboard for inputting information, and the like. Reference numeral 406 denotes an overall computer control unit that controls the entire first computer 104.

As described above, the first computer 1
04 and the second computer 105 have the same configuration. Therefore, when the detailed configuration of the second computer 105 is described below, descriptions such as 401A to 406A will be made.

The operation of the communication system according to the first embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a signal diagram of the communication system according to the first embodiment.

As shown at 501, in this communication system, first, the first computer 104 sends the status notification device 10
6, a monitoring request, which is a request for the status notification device 106 to output a status notification of the first telephone set 102 to the first computer 104, is output. An example of the format of the monitoring request will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 6, a field 601 stores the address of the status notifying device 106. The field 602 stores the address of the first computer 104. The field 603 stores an identifier indicating a monitoring request. A field 604 contains the first telephone 1 for which the first computer 104 is to acquire the status notification.
02 telephone number is stored.

The operation of the first computer 104 and the status notification device 106 when outputting the monitoring request 501 will be described below. In the first computer 104, a monitoring request is generated by the monitoring request generation unit 402 and output to the status notification device 106 via the external communication unit 401. In the status notification device 106, the monitoring request 5 is sent to the monitoring request processing unit 304 via the computer communication unit 303.
01 is input. The monitoring request processing means 304 pairs the address of the first computer 104 stored in the field 602 with the telephone number of the first telephone set 102 stored in the field 604, and
05 is performed.

As shown at 502, in the communication system, the second computer 105 also outputs a monitoring request to the status notification device 106 to request a status notification regarding the second telephone 103. The operation in this case is the same as that in the case of 501, and a description thereof will be omitted.

When the processing for the monitoring requests indicated by 501 and 502 is completed, the monitoring information management means 305 of the status notifying device 106 stores the information of the monitoring request regarding the first computer 104 and the second computer 105. It will be.

FIG. 7 shows an example of information stored in the monitoring information management means 305. In the monitoring information management means 305, as shown at 701 in FIG. 7, the address of the first computer 104 stored in the field 602 of the monitoring request 501 and the first telephone 1 stored in the field 604
02 telephone numbers are stored in pairs. Similarly, as indicated by 702, the field 60 of the monitoring request 502
2, the address of the second computer 105 stored in
Second telephone 103 stored in field 604
Are stored in pairs.

Hereinafter, the operation of the communication system when a line connection is made from the first telephone set 102 to the second telephone set 103 after the processing for the monitoring requests indicated by 501 and 502 is completed will be described below. .

As shown at 503, the first telephone 102
Is transmitted from the first telephone set 102 to the exchange 101. This call request is input to the telephone communication means 201 of the exchange 101, and the exchange overall control means 204 performs processing such as number analysis.

By this processing, as shown at 504,
An incoming call request is output from the exchange 101 to the second telephone 103, and the second telephone 103 performs an operation such as ringing.

As a result, when an incoming call is answered by an operation such as off-hook of the second telephone 103, 505
As shown in (1), an incoming call response is output from the second telephone 103 to the exchange 101.

This incoming call response is input to the exchange overall control means 204 via the telephone communication means 201 of the exchange 101, and the exchange overall control means 204
Control for making a line connection between the second telephone set 103 and the second telephone set 103,
By performing to the telephone communication means 201, 50
As shown in FIG. 6, the first telephone 102 and the second telephone 1
03 is connected.

When the first telephone set 102 and the second telephone set 103 are connected, the exchange 101 outputs a state report indicating that the connection state is established to the state notification device 106, as indicated by 507. This is the exchange overall control means 2
04, the first telephone 102 and the second telephone 10
3 is notified to the status report generation means 203, and the status report generation means 203 generates a status report indicating that the connection state is established. And is output through

In the status notification device 106, the status report 507
Is input, the first computer 104 and the second computer 1
A status notification indicating that the connection state has been established is output to 505 as indicated by 508 and 509. An example of this state notification will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 8, a field 801 stores an address of a computer. That is, if it is 508, the address of the first computer 104, 5
If it is 09, the address of the second computer 105 is stored. The field 802 stores the address of the status notification device 106. The field 803 stores a connection notification identifier indicating that the status notification is a status notification indicating a connection status.

Stored in 804 is the telephone number of the first telephone 102 which is the telephone on the calling side. 805 stores the telephone number of the second telephone 103 which is the telephone on the receiving side. The first computer 1 806 that has output a monitoring request to the first telephone 102 that is the calling telephone.
04 is stored. The address 807 stores the address of the second computer 105 that has output the monitoring request to the second telephone 103 that is the receiving telephone.

Hereinafter, the operation of the status notification device 106 will be described in detail. In the status notification device 106, the status report generation unit 302 inputs a status report 507 from the exchange 101 via the exchange communication unit 301. In the state notification generating means 302, the first computer 104 is a computer that monitors the calling telephone from the information shown in FIG. 7 managed by the monitoring information managing means 305, and monitors the receiving telephone. It obtains that the current computer is the second computer 105, and generates fields 806 and 807. Next, the computer to which the status notification is to be transmitted is determined.
01 is stored as the address of the computer. In this case, the address is transmitted to both the first computer 104 and the second computer 105.
Are generated.

In the first computer 104, the status notification 508
Is input, a video communication request, which is a request for performing video communication, is output to the second computer 105 as shown at 510. Hereinafter, the operation of the first computer 104 will be described. In the first computer 104, the external communication means 40
1, the status notification process 403 inputs the status notification 508. In the status notification processing unit 403, the second computer 105 stored in the field 807 of the status notification 508
, And controls the video communication unit 404 to start video communication with the second computer 105. As a result, a video communication start request 510 is output from the video communication unit 404 via the external communication unit 401.

In the second computer 105, the status notification 509
Is input, the status notification processing means 404A acquires the address of the first computer 104, and the video communication means 4
05A is controlled to be in a state of waiting for a video communication start request input from the first computer 104, so that when the video communication start request shown at 510 is input from the external communication means 401A, the video communication is started. . As a result, 511
As shown in FIG. 1, a first computer 104 and a second computer 105
And the video communication is started.

As a result, in this communication system, when a call is made from the first telephone set 102 to the second telephone set 103,
When the second telephone 103 answers, the first computer 10
4 and the second computer 105, video communication is started. Therefore, while performing voice communication between the first telephone 102 and the second telephone 103, the first computer 104 and the second
Video communication with the computer 105.
At this time, video is captured by using a camera as the user interface unit 405 of the computer, and a video of the other party is displayed by using a display as the user interface unit 405 of the computer, thereby realizing a videophone.

In the above description, the second computer 10
5, using the address of the first computer 104 stored in the status notification 509 to be output to the first computer 104, the first computer 104 enters a video communication start waiting state. But this is
The second computer 105 may simply be in a state of waiting for the start of video communication from another computer. Thereby, the first computer 104 outputs a video communication request using the address of the second computer 105 obtained from the status notification 508, and the second computer 105 responds to the video communication request by First computer 104 and second computer 105
Video communication with the device can be started. That is, if the address of the second computer 105 is stored only in the status notification 508 to the first computer 104, the first computer 1
Video communication can be performed between the computer 04 and the second computer 105.

As described above, as described in the first embodiment, the communication system according to the first embodiment includes a first telephone, a second telephone, a first telephone and a second telephone connected to each other, and An exchange for outputting the status of the second telephone as a status report, a first computer, a second computer, a first exchange connected to the exchange, the first computer and the second computer, and output from the exchange. A status report in which the address of the second computer is added to the status report of the telephone is output to the first computer, and a status report of the second telephone output by the exchange is output to the second computer as a second status notification. And a status notification device.

Thus, in the present embodiment, the following 5
One effect can be obtained. The first is that the status report of the first telephone, which is output from the exchange, and the status notification of the second computer with the address added thereto is output to the first computer. Therefore, the first computer is added to the status notification. The second computer can communicate with the second computer using the address of the second computer, and does not require a server for performing a process of starting a session between the first computer and the second computer.

Second, the status notification device does not participate in the start of a session between the first computer and the second computer, and the status notification device simply outputs status information output from the exchange as status notification to the computer. That is, when the first computer and the second computer start a session, the processing load of the state notification device does not occur.

Third, since voice communication is performed by a telephone and video communication is performed by a computer, a videophone can be realized without requiring a special terminal.

Fourth, since video communication is performed by a computer, video communication can be performed using a computer network having a larger communication capacity than a telephone network, and video quality can be improved.

Fifth, since the address of the second computer is stored in the status notification output from the status notification device, the first computer assigns the address of the second computer corresponding to the second telephone. Communication with the second computer can be started without storing the information in advance.

In the first embodiment, the video communication between the first computer 104 and the second computer 105 is started by the status notification indicating the connection notification. It is easy to realize that video communication can be started by an incoming call to the first telephone or a status notification indicating that there is an incoming call from the second telephone to the first telephone. At this time, it can be easily analogized that by starting the video communication, it is possible to obtain an effect that the presence of the user of the second telephone can be confirmed with the video. Further, a timer is provided in the first computer 104 or the second computer 105, and when a status notification indicating that there is an incoming call is input, the status notification processing unit 403 activates the timer and the timer manages it. After the time has elapsed, even if the first telephone set 102 and the second telephone set 103 are not in a connected state, it is easy to start the video communication by the video communication means. Thus, it can be easily analogized that an effect that the presence of the user of the second telephone can be confirmed by the video can be obtained.

In the first embodiment, the address of the second computer 105 is added to the status notification indicating the connection status between the first telephone 102 and the second telephone 103. The first computer 104 sends a state notification indicating that the connection between the second telephone 102 and the second telephone 103 is in a connected state, and the first computer 104 sends the state notification device 106 an address of the second computer corresponding to the second telephone 103. Issue an address acquisition request, which is a request for acquiring
06 is provided with address acquisition request processing means for processing the address acquisition request, and the address acquisition request processing means acquires the address of the second computer 105 from the monitoring information management means 305 and outputs it to the first computer 104. It can be easily inferred that the effects of the present invention can be obtained.

Further, in the first embodiment, the status notification indicating the connection status is in a format as shown in FIG.
For the first computer 104 and the second computer 105,
First computer 104 stored in field 806
And the address of the second computer 105 stored in the field 807 have been described. However, this is because the first computer 104
It is easy to realize a method of notifying only the address of the second computer 105 stored in 07 and the address of the first computer 104 stored in the field 806 to the second computer 105. be able to.

In the first embodiment, the exchange 101
First telephone 102 and second telephone 103 connected to
The above description has been made by taking an example of the connection between a telephone and a telephone connected to each of the exchanges via a public network or a dedicated line, and a computer which outputs a monitoring request for the telephone. Thus, it can be easily analogized that voice communication and video communication can be performed.

The video communication described in the first embodiment does not simply correspond to the connection state between the first telephone set 102 and the second telephone set 103, but also includes lines such as hold, transfer, and call transfer. It can be easily inferred that it is possible to cope with the exchange processing.

(Embodiment 2) Hereinafter, Embodiment 2 will be described.

The configuration of the second embodiment is different from that of the first embodiment in the detailed configuration of the first computer 104 and the second computer 105.

Hereinafter, the detailed configuration of the first computer 104 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of the first computer 104.

In FIG. 9, 901 to 903 and 90
5 to 906 correspond to 40 in FIG.
1 to 403 and 405 to 406, the description is omitted.

Reference numeral 904 denotes application execution means. Examples of the application execution unit 904 include, for example, the video communication unit 404 in FIG. 4 of the first embodiment, a file acquisition unit from another computer, and the like. Reference numeral 907 denotes a personal information management unit that manages information on a user who uses the first telephone 102. The information managed by the personal information management means 907 will be described later in detail.

Reference numeral 908 denotes an application execution unit 90
4 is an application selection judging means for judging which application to execute from the information added to the status notification.

As described in the first embodiment, the first computer 104 and the second computer 105 have the same configuration. Therefore, in the following, when describing the detailed configuration of the second computer 105, descriptions such as 901A to 908A will be made.

The operation of the communication system according to the second embodiment will be described below. FIG. 10 shows the second embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a signal diagram of the present communication system in FIG.

The outline of the operation of the communication system described below is as follows.
When the telephone is called, the second telephone 103 is busy, and an application for sending an e-mail to the user of the second telephone 103 using the first computer 104 is activated. This will be described with an example. As in the first embodiment, 1001
And 1002, a monitoring request is output from the first computer and the second computer to the status notification device 106. However, the contents of the monitoring request are the same as those in the first embodiment.
And different.

An example of the format of a monitoring request according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 11, fields 1101 to 1104 are the same as fields 601 to 604 in FIG. 6 of the first embodiment. Field 1105 stores information about the user using the telephone as additional information. An example of this user information will be described with reference to FIG. The additional information includes, for example, a mail address of the user as shown by 1201 in FIG.
As shown at 203, a computer address for performing audio and video communication using the computer network is stored. In the example of FIG. 12, the additional information is RFC1 of IETF.
URL (Uniform Reso) specified in 738
source Locator) description, and ma
Ilto, http, callto, etc., specify a protocol for performing communication.

The operation of the first computer 104 and the status notification device 106 when outputting the monitoring request 1001 will be described below. Information about the user of the first telephone 102 as shown in FIG.
07 is managed. Therefore, in the first computer 104, when the monitoring request is generated by the monitoring request generation unit 902, information about the user is acquired from the personal information management unit 907, stored in the additional information in the field 1105, and Output to the status notification device 106 via the communication means 901. In the status notification device 106, the monitoring request 501 is input to the monitoring request processing unit 304 via the computer communication unit 303. Monitoring request processing means 304
Then, the address of the first computer 104 stored in the field 1102, the telephone number of the first telephone set 102 stored in the field 1104, and the additional information stored in the field 1105 are put together to form monitoring information. A process to be stored in the management unit 305 is performed.

As shown by 1002, in the communication system, the second computer 105 also sends a second request to the status notification device 106 in the field 1105 of the monitoring request for requesting a status notification regarding the second telephone 103. Telephone 1
The information of the user No. 03 is stored and output as additional information. The operation in this case is the same as that in the case of 1001, and the description is omitted.

When the processing for the monitoring request shown in 1001 and 1002 is completed, the monitoring information management means 305 of the exchange 101 stores the information of the monitoring request regarding the first computer 104 and the second computer 105. Become. FIG. 13 shows an example of information stored in the monitoring information management unit 305. In the monitoring information management unit 305, as shown by 1301 in FIG. 13, the address of the first computer 104 stored in the field 1102 of the monitoring request 1001 and the telephone number of the first telephone 102 stored in the field 1104 The number and the information on the user of the first telephone 102 stored in the field 1105 are stored together. Similarly, as indicated by 1302, the address of the second computer 105 stored in the field 1102 of the monitoring request 1002 and the field 1
The telephone number of the second telephone 103 stored in 104 and the information on the user of the second telephone 103 stored in the field 1105 are stored together.

After the processing for the monitoring requests indicated by 1001 and 1002 is completed, a call is made from the first telephone set 102 to the second telephone set 103, but the second telephone set 103 is busy. The operation of this communication system will be described below.

As shown at 1003, the first telephone 10
The call request from the second to the second telephone 103 is output from the first telephone 102 to the exchange 101. This call request is input to the telephone communication means 201 of the exchange 101, and the exchange overall control means 204 performs processing such as number analysis. As a result, it is a call request to the second telephone 103, but the fact that the second telephone 103 is busy and cannot be connected is notified to the first telephone 102 by a BT tone or the like. It is.

At this time, as shown at 1004, the exchange 101 outputs a status report to the status notification device 106 indicating that the incoming call from the first telephone 102 to the second telephone 103 cannot be made. I do. This is because the exchange general control means 204 notifies the status report generation means 203 that the incoming call control from the first telephone set 102 to the second telephone set 103 cannot be performed because the second telephone set 103 is busy. This is realized by the state report generating means 203 generating a state report indicating that it is in a call-disabled state and outputting it via the state notification device communication means 202.

In the status notification device 106, the status report 100
4 is input to the first computer 104.
As shown in FIG. 5, a state notification indicating that the call is in a call-disabled state is output.

An example of this status notification will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 14, fields 1401 to 140
5 up to the field 80 in FIG.
Same as 1 to 805. However, the field 1403 stores an identifier indicating that the status notification indicates that the call cannot be received. The field 1406 contains the monitoring request 100
The additional information stored in the first field 1105, that is, information on the user of the first telephone 102 is stored. A field 1407 stores the additional information stored in the field 1105 of the monitoring request 1002, that is, information about the user of the second telephone 103.
In the status notification device 106, the status report generation unit 302 inputs the status report 1005 from the exchange 101 via the exchange communication unit 301, and the status report generation unit 302 manages the status report 1005 by the monitoring information management unit 305. This is realized by generating fields 1406 and 1407 from the information shown in FIG.

In the first computer 104, the status notification 100
When 5 is input, the process starts based on the information about the user of the second telephone 103 stored in the status notification 1005. Hereinafter, an example in which an application for creating an electronic mail is started will be described. First computer 1
In step 04, the status notification processing unit 903 inputs the status notification 1005 via the external communication unit 901. In the status notification processing means 903, the field 140 of the status notification 1005
Then, the information about the user of the second telephone 103 stored in 7 and the reception of the status notification 1006 indicating the call refusal status are output to the application selection determining unit 908. The application selection judging unit 908 outputs the information described in 1201 in FIG. 12 to the application executing unit 904, and the application executing unit 904 creates an e-mail addressed to the e-mail address described in 1201 in FIG. The application will be started. This is because the application execution unit 904 uses the URL as described in FIG.
Is described as an input parameter, the input parameter is interpreted, and the application to be started and the function to determine an argument to be input to the application are realized. In the case of the above example, the application to be started is the e-mail creation application, and the input argument is the e-mail address.

As a result, when a call is made from the first telephone set 102 to the second telephone set 103, if the second telephone set 103 is busy, an e-mail is issued to the user of the second telephone set 103. An operation for automatically starting an application for performing the operation in the first computer 104 is realized.

In the above description, the e-mail application is activated using 1201 in FIG. 12, but, for example, a status notification 1005 is transmitted from the first telephone 102 to the second telephone 1010.
The first computer 104, which has received the status notification indicating that the incoming call has been received and has received the status notification indicating that the incoming call has been received, uses the 1202 in FIG.
The fact that it is possible to perform processing such as acquiring and displaying a still image file relating to the user's face No. 03 can be easily analogized from the operation of the communication system described above. In addition, it can be easily analogized that video communication can be performed using 1203 in FIG.

As described above, in the communication system according to the second embodiment, the first computer and the second computer are provided with personal information management means for storing information about the telephone user, and a status notification. Application selection determining means for selecting information to be used among information about the user of the telephone to be added, and application executing means for executing an application with information about the user of the telephone added to the status notification as an input parameter, The exchange is provided with monitoring information management means for managing information on the telephone user added to the monitoring request, and status notification generating means for adding information on the telephone user to the status notification.

Thus, in the present embodiment, the following 3
One effect can be obtained. The first is that the status notification device simply manages the additional information stored in the monitoring request and stores it in the status notification to notify the computer.
It is not necessary for the status notification device to perform processing for various types of communication between the computer and the second computer. That is, in order to start a session having a new function between the first computer and the second computer, it is sufficient to simply change the stored additional information, and to add a new function to the status notification device. Do not need.

Second, the status notification device simply manages the additional information stored in the monitoring request and stores it in the status notification to notify the computer, so only the first computer and the second computer are used. In addition, new functions can be easily added to the system, and the system has excellent expandability. For example, when the first computer outputs a monitoring request in which additional information describing the location of, for example, a document file, a drawing, and data is stored, a call is made from the first telephone to the second telephone. The document file, drawing, data, etc. can be sent from the first computer to the second computer.

Third, since the information about the telephone user stored in the monitoring request is in a form in which the application is executed by the application executing means using the information as an input parameter, a state notification is input to execute the application. That is, the processing in the computer until the computer is started can be reduced. In general, recent computers often have means for starting an application using information based on a URL description as an input parameter. That is, as shown in the second embodiment, information about the telephone user stored in the monitoring request is used as a URL description, and the information is stored in a status notification from the status notification device and output to the computer. The system can be easily constructed by selecting information on the user of the telephone to be used by the selection judging means.

In the second embodiment, the description has been made by using an example in which information by URL description is simply listed as shown in FIG. 12. However, for example, an electronic mail address is used during a call. It can be easily analogized that a description for the rule can be added.

(Embodiment 3) Embodiment 3 will be described below.

The configuration of the third embodiment is different from that of the first embodiment in that the status notification device 106, the first computer 104, and the second
Of the computer 105 is different.

Hereinafter, a detailed configuration of status notification device 106 according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of the status notification 106.

In FIG. 15, steps 1501 to 1506 are the same as 301 to 306 in FIG. Reference numeral 1507 denotes status report management means for managing a status report input from the exchange. Fifteen
Reference numeral 08 denotes a status notification request processing unit that processes a request for outputting a status notification. Note that the state notification device overall control means 1506 in FIG.
Although they are connected to 507 and 1508, the connection state is omitted because the figure becomes complicated.

Next, a detailed configuration of the first computer 104 according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of the first computer 104.

In FIG. 16, steps 1601 to 1606 are the same as steps 401 to 406 in FIG. Reference numeral 1607 denotes a status notification request generation unit that generates a request for transmitting a status notification to be output to the status notification device 106.

As described in the first embodiment, the first computer 104 and the second computer 105 have the same configuration. Therefore, in the following, when describing the detailed configuration of the second computer 105, 1601A to 1607
A description shall be given.

The operation of the communication system according to the third embodiment will be described below. FIG. 17 shows Embodiment 3
FIG. 2 is a signal diagram of the present communication system in FIG. The outline of the operation of the communication system described below is described in the first telephone 1
An example is given in which after the second telephone 103 is dialed from 02 to be connected, video communication as described in the first embodiment is started between the first computer and the second computer. Will be explained first.

As shown by 1701 to 1704, the operation of the communication system described in the third embodiment is performed by the first telephone 104 before the first computer 104 and the second computer 105 output the monitoring request. And the second telephone 103 are connected. The operations of the present communication system from 1701 to 1704 at this time can be easily analogized from the first embodiment, and thus description thereof will be omitted.

First telephone 102 and second telephone 103
Is in the connected state, a status report indicating the connected state is sent from the exchange 101 to the status notification device 106 as shown in 1705.
Is output to The status report 1705 is input to the status notification generation unit 1502 via the exchange communication unit 1501 of the status notification device 106. In the third embodiment, the status notification generation unit 1502 processes the input status report in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and outputs the input status report to the status report management unit 1507. Have management done.

At this point, since the first computer 104 and the second computer 105 have not output the monitoring request,
Eventually, the status report 1705 is managed by the status report management unit 1507 without being output to the computer.

Next, the operation when a monitoring request is issued from the first computer 104 will be described. In the third embodiment, after a monitoring request is issued as indicated by 1706, 17
As indicated by reference numeral 07, a status notification request is output from the exchange 101 to the status notification device 106 for the first telephone 102, requesting a status notification generated from the status report output last. This is generated by the status notification request generation unit 1607 of the first computer 104 and output via the external communication unit 1601.

As a format of the status notification request 1707, for example, an identifier indicating a status notification request is stored in the field 603 shown in FIG.
04 is stored with the telephone number of the first telephone set 102.

In the status notification device 106, the status notification request processing means 1508 inputs the status notification request 1707 via the computer communication means 1503. The status notification request processing means 1508 sends the last status report 1705 to the first telephone 102 stored in the status notification request 1707.
From the status report management unit 1507 to generate a status notification. As a result, as shown at 1708, a state notification indicating that the first telephone set 102 is connected to the second telephone set 103 is output to the first computer 104. The status notification 1708 at this time stores an identifier indicating that the field notification is a status notification indicating the connection status by the status notification request in the field 803 among the fields shown in FIG. 8 in the first embodiment. Nothing is stored in the field 807 because the second computer 105 has not output a monitoring request for the second telephone 103 as the receiving telephone. Other fields are the same as in the first embodiment.

The operation when a monitoring request is issued from the second computer 105 will be described. As shown in 1709 to 1710, a monitoring request and a status notification request for the second telephone 103 are also output from the second computer 105 to the status notification device 106, and as shown in 1711, the second telephone 103 A status notification indicating that the mobile phone is connected to the first telephone set 102 is output to the second computer 105. However, since the first computer 104 has output the monitoring request in the field 806 of the status notification 1711 at this time, the first computer 1
04 is stored. The other fields are the same as the status notification 1708.

As a result, as shown in 1712, a video communication request is output from the second computer 105 to the first computer 104, and as shown in the result 1713, as in the first embodiment, Video communication is performed between the first computer 104 and the second computer 105.

Hereinafter, detailed operations of the first computer 104 and the second computer 105 until the start of the video communication will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the operation of the status notification processing means 1603 of the first computer 104 and the status notification processing means 1603A of the second computer 105.

First, the operation of the status notification processing means 1603 of the first computer 104 will be described. As indicated by 1801, the state notification processing unit 1603 enters a wait state until receiving a state notification. When receiving the status notification, 18
It is checked whether or not the address of the partner computer is stored as shown in FIG. At this time, since the address of the second computer 105 is not stored in the field 807 in the status notification 1708, the process shifts to the video communication start request waiting state shown in 1806, and the process ends. This is because the status notification processing means 1603 is actually
4 is instructed to perform a transition process to a video communication start request waiting state.

Next, the operation of the status notification processing means 1603A of the second computer 105 will be described. The state notification processing means 1603A also enters a waiting state until receiving a state notification, as indicated by 1801. When you receive a status notification,
As shown in 1802, it is checked whether the address of the partner computer is stored. At this time, the status notification 1711 includes the address of the first computer 104 in the field 80.
Then, as shown in 1803, it is checked whether or not the received status notification 1711 is a status notification by a status notification request. In this case, the status notification 171
Since an identifier indicating a status notification indicating the connection status by the status notification request is stored in the field 803 of No. 1, the status notification processing unit 1603 as indicated by 1804
A sends the video communication means 1604A a field 8
A request to start the video communication is issued to the address of the first computer 104 stored in 06. As a result,
As shown at 1712, a video start request is output from the video communication unit 1604A of the second computer 105, and the video communication unit 1604 of the first computer 104 that has been waiting for the video communication start request responds, as shown at 1713. Then, video communication is performed between the first computer 104 and the second computer 105.

The flowchart shown in FIG. 18 also corresponds to the operation of the communication system in the first embodiment.

First Computer 104 in First Embodiment
Moves from 1801 to 1802, then, as shown in FIG. 8, moves to 1803 in order to input a state notification in which the partner computer address is stored. In 1803,
Since the status notification is not a status notification request, the process proceeds to 1805. Since the first telephone 102 monitored by the first computer 104 is the calling side, the process proceeds to 1804 to issue a video communication start request.

Further, after the second computer 105 in the first embodiment shifts from 1801 to 1802, the second computer 105 shifts to 1803 in order to input a state notification in which the other computer address is also stored. At 1803, since the status notification is not a status notification request, the process proceeds to 1805,
Second telephone 103 monitored by second computer 105
Is the receiving side, the flow shifts to 1806, and shifts to the video communication start request waiting state.

In the above description, in the present communication system, after the first telephone set 102 and the second telephone set 103 are connected, the first computer 104 and the second computer 1
05 indicates that video communication can be started between the first computer 104 and the second computer 105 even if the monitoring request is output.

Hereinafter, another example of the operation of the communication system according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
This corresponds to the first computer 10 shown in the first embodiment.
A case where the second computer 105 is restarted after starting video communication between the second computer 105 and the second computer 105 will be described as an example.

1901 in FIG. 19 is similar to 511 in FIG. 5 in the first embodiment.

Thereafter, when the second computer 105 is restarted, as shown in 1902 and 1903, the status notification device 1
06 and the first computer 104, the second computer 1
Information indicating that communication with the H.05 cannot be performed is output. This is actually realized by issuing a request to stop the monitoring request from the second computer 105 to the status notification device 106 before the restart, or by the status notification device 1902. There is a method such as detecting that the communication with the second computer 105 cannot be performed on the side of the computer 106. Also, 1903 is realized by issuing a request to stop video communication from the second computer 105 to the first computer 104 before restarting, or on the first computer 104 side. And detecting that communication with the second computer 105 cannot be performed. State notification device 106 and first computer 1
If it is known that the communication with the second computer 105 is stopped once on the 04 side, any method or another method may be used.

When the signal 1903 is input, the first computer 104 shifts to a video communication start waiting state.

Next, when the second computer 105 is restarted, it outputs a monitoring request to the second telephone 103 as shown at 1904 and outputs a status notification request to the second telephone 103 as shown at 1905. . As a result, 1
As indicated by reference numeral 906, a status notification indicating that the second telephone 103 is connected to the first telephone 102 is input from the status notification device 106. In this case, since the first computer 104 has already output the monitoring request to the status notification device 106, the status notification stores the address of the partner computer.
For this reason, the processing is shifted from 1802 to 1803 and further to 1804 shown in FIG.
From 2005, a video communication start request is output to the first computer 104 as indicated by 1907, and the first computer 104 in the video communication start wait state responds, as indicated by 1907.
As shown at 908, the video communication between the first computer 104 and the second computer 105 is automatically restarted.

In the above description, the case where the second computer 105 is restarted has been described as an example. However, this is applicable even when the video communication with the first computer 104 from the second computer 105 is simply stopped. It can be realized similarly.

The operation of the communication system described with reference to FIG. 19 is not limited to the case where the second computer 105 restarts, but also the first telephone 102 and the second telephone 103.
Can be applied when only the first computer 104 issues a monitoring request when is connected. In this case, the first computer 104 executes the processing shown in FIG.
From 1 to 1806, the system enters a video communication start request waiting state. Thereafter, when a monitoring request is issued from the second computer 105, the second computer 105
From 1802 to 1803, and further to 1804, the second computer 105 sends the first computer 10
4, a video communication start request is output, and the first computer 104 in the video communication start wait state responds.
Video communication between the first computer 104 and the second computer 105 is automatically started. This allows
For example, if the second telephone is a mobile phone such as a PHS, and a nearby computer is the second computer 105, the first
After answering the incoming call from the telephone 102 by PHS, the second
User interface means 1605A of the computer 105
From the monitoring request generating means 1602A to the PHS via the computer overall control means 1606A.
A video communication can be started between the first computer 104 and the second computer 105 by outputting a monitoring request to the HS and outputting a status notification request to the PHS from the status notification request generation unit 1607A. Can be easily analogized.

As described above, in the communication system according to the third embodiment, the first computer and the second computer are provided with status notification request means for requesting a status notification of the telephone, and the status notification device is provided with the status notification device. A status report management means for managing a status report output by the exchange, and a status notification request processing means for controlling to output a status notification of the telephone when a status notification request is input.

Thus, in the present embodiment, the following 4
One effect can be obtained. First, after the first telephone and the second telephone are connected, output a status notification request from the first computer and the second computer and obtain a telephone status notification from the status notification device. Thus, the video communication can be automatically started between the first computer and the second computer. That is, if both users start an application that issues a status notification request to the computer while the first telephone and the second telephone are performing voice communication, the computer attached to the status notification is activated. And the video communication can be started.

Secondly, when video communication is performed between the first computer and the second computer, if one of the computers is restarted, the address of the computer that has been performing communication is stored. Even if this is not the case, by outputting a status notification request at the time of restart, the address of the computer that starts video communication can be obtained from the status notification, and video communication can be automatically restarted. . That is, when a failure occurs in the video communication between the first computer and the second computer, even if the video communication is once stopped, the video communication can be automatically restarted, thereby improving the reliability of the video communication. be able to.

Third, since voice communication is performed between the first telephone and the second telephone via the exchange, the first telephone is used.
If a failure occurs in the video communication between the computer and the second computer, even if the computer or the application that performs the video communication is restarted to restart the video communication, the interruption of the voice communication does not occur. It is.

Fourth, even when either the first computer or the second computer has not output a monitoring request after the first telephone and the second telephone are connected, the first telephone and the second telephone are not connected. By outputting the status notification request, video communication can be started between the first computer and the second computer. That is, for example, when the second telephone is a portable telephone such as a PHS, the P
By inputting the HS telephone number, video communication can be performed between the computer and the first computer.

In the third embodiment, the processing in the case where the second computer 105 restarts has been described with reference to FIG. 19, but this processing is performed only when the second computer 105 restarts. However, it can be easily analogized that the present invention can be applied to other cases in which the video communication with the first computer 104 is stopped.

In the third embodiment, when the second telephone 103 is a portable telephone such as a PHS, a nearby computer is referred to as a second computer 105, and the second computer 105
Of the PHS from the user interface means 1605A, the PHS and the second computer 105 are provided with weak radio wave communication means such as infrared rays, and the PHS is transmitted from the PHS to the second computer 105 by the PHS. Is transmitted to the first computer 1 without operating the user interface unit 1605A.
Starting video communication between the computer 04 and the second computer 105 can be easily realized.

Further, in the third embodiment, the status report management means 1507 of the status notification device 106 manages the status report from the exchange, and the first computer 104 and the second
Output a status notification request from the computer 105. As a result, the status notification device 106 can process the status notification request from the computer without providing the exchange 101 with a means for holding the status report output in the past. However, if there is a request in the exchange 101, a status acquisition request processing means for generating a current telephone status report is provided, and a status notification request from the first computer 104 and the second computer 105 is sent to the status notification device 106. When output, a status acquisition request for acquiring the current telephone status from the status notification device 106 is output to the exchange 101, and a current telephone status report is output from the status acquisition request processing means of the exchange 101. However, it can be easily analogized that the effects of the present invention can be obtained.

Further, in the third embodiment, for example, when the line of the second telephone 103 is disconnected while the second computer 105 is restarting, no description is given. Issues a status notification request from the second computer 105 after the restart, the second telephone 1
It can be easily analogized that a status notification indicating that the 03 is in a disconnected state is output from the status notification device 106, so that the video communication need not be performed. Further, for example, when there is a third telephone and a third computer that has output a monitoring request for the third telephone, and the second computer 105 is restarted, the first telephone 10
2 is operated to perform the hold transfer operation so that the second telephone 103 and the third telephone are connected to each other, the second telephone
Responds to the status notification request output by the
A status notification indicating that the third telephone 103 and the third telephone are in a connected state is output from the status notification device 106, so that the video is automatically transmitted between the second computer 105 and the third computer. Enabling communication to be started can be easily realized.

(Embodiment 4) Embodiment 4 will be described below.

Since the structure of the fourth embodiment is the same as that of the third embodiment, the description of the structure is omitted. Hereinafter, the operation of the communication system according to Embodiment 4 will be described using FIG. FIG. 20 is a signal diagram of the communication system in the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 20 corresponds to FIG. 17 in the third embodiment. The difference between FIG. 20 and FIG. 17 is that in the fourth embodiment, the state notification request from the second computer 105 is Then, the status notification device 106
4 is that a status notification request occurrence notification indicating that a status notification request has been issued from the second computer 105 is output.

The operation of the communication system at this time will be described in detail. In the status notification device 106, the status notification request processing means 1508 via the computer communication means 1503
Obtains the last status report 2005 of the second telephone 103 stored in the status notification request 1710 from the status report management unit 1507 when the status notification request 1710 is input.

In the third embodiment, at this time, the status notification request processing means 1508 determines that the status notification request is from the second computer 105, and sends a status notification indicating that the connection status is established. Was output only to the computer 105. However, in the fourth embodiment, the status notification request processing means 1508 sends a message to the computer monitoring the telephone stored in the status report shown in 2005.
A status notification request occurrence notification indicating that a status notification request has occurred is output. That is, in this case, as indicated by 2014, a status notification request occurrence notification is output to the first computer 104. The format of the status notification request occurrence notification will be described with reference to FIG. In the status notification request occurrence notification, an identifier indicating that the notification is a status notification request occurrence notification is stored in a field 2103. The field 2108 stores the address of the computer that has output the status notification request, that is, the address of the second computer 105 in this case.

As shown in 2007, the status notification request is also output from the first computer 104, but in this case, the status notification request occurrence notification is not output to the second computer 105. This is because the second computer 105 has not output a monitoring request at this time.

As described above, the second computer 105
As shown in FIG. 10, when the status notification request is output to the status notification device 106, the status notification device 106
4, a status notification request occurrence notification is output as indicated by 2014. Accordingly, the first computer 104 can determine that the video communication start request is output from the second computer 105 to the first computer 104. In the third embodiment, the first computer 104
8 is in a state of waiting for a video communication start request from another computer. In the fourth embodiment, after inputting the state notification shown in 2008,
When the status notification request occurrence notification shown in 014 is input, the video communication start request wait state is set. That is, in the first computer 104, even if a video communication start request is output from a device other than the second computer 105 after the status notification shown in 2008 is input, the first computer 104 does not start the video communication.
The video communication can be started between the computer 104 and the second computer 105.

When the second computer 105 outputs a status notification request, the second computer 105 starts communication with another computer. For this reason, the second computer 105 is notified that the status notification has occurred to the communication partner, that is, the first computer 104. This is not only used for determining that the first computer 104 does not accept communication from anything other than the second computer 105, as described above, but is also used for pre-processing of communication, for example, video of the first computer. It is also used for purposes such as performing setup processing of the communication means 1604.

As described above, as described in the fourth embodiment, the present communication system is capable of responding to the status notification to notify the second computer when the status notification request is input from the second computer to the status notification device. When the first telephone is stored in the status report, a status notification request indicating that a status notification request has been generated from the second computer to the first computer that has output the monitoring request for the first telephone. It is provided with a status notification generating means for outputting an occurrence notification.

Thus, in the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. Since the first computer can know that the status notification request has been generated from the second computer by the status notification request generation notification, the first computer starts processing for the communication start from the second computer. That is what you can do. The processing for the start of communication means, for example, that the video communication start request from any other than the second computer described in the operation of the present communication system is not accepted, and for example, in the video communication means of the first computer, This includes general preprocessing performed before communication between the first computer and the second computer is started, such as performing setup processing for starting video communication.

Note that the additional information shown in the second embodiment is
By storing the additional information in the status notification request output by the second computer 105, it is possible to easily realize that the additional information can be transmitted to the first computer 104 by the status notification request occurrence notification. For example, by using information indicating the location of a document file, data, or the like as the additional notification, the second computer 105 is connected when a line connection is established between the first telephone and the second telephone.
It can easily be inferred that a document file or data can be transmitted to the first computer 104 from.

[0146]

As described above, according to the present invention, first, regarding the status of the telephone connected to the exchange, information output by the exchange is used as a status report, and information input by the computer is used as a status notification, and What is claimed is: 1. A communication system for controlling communication between computers in accordance with a state, comprising: an exchange for outputting a state report; a first telephone connected to the exchange; a second telephone connected to the exchange; Computer for inputting the status notification of the second telephone, the second computer for inputting the status notification of the second telephone, and data of the status report for the line switching between the first telephone and the second telephone input from the exchange And a status notification device that outputs a status notification generated by storing the address of the second computer to the first computer, so that the first computer can store the status notification in the second notification stored in the status notification data. Calculation The communication with the second computer can be started directly without using the status notification device or the server by using the address, and the status notification is performed for the communication between the first computer and the second computer. An advantageous effect that no load occurs on the device is obtained.

Second, the second computer comprises user interface means having means for inputting video, and video communication means for performing video communication, and the first computer comprises: the user interface means; State notification processing means for obtaining the address of the second computer from the first telephone, and video communication means for starting video communication with the second computer using the address of the second computer, thereby providing the first telephone with A voice communication can be performed with the second telephone via the exchange, and a video communication can be performed between the first computer and the second computer. The system can be provided, and the video can be communicated using a network with a large communication capacity such as a computer network, and the video quality can be improved. Advantageous effect that wear can be obtained.

Third, when the computer outputs a monitoring request to the status notifying device, the status notifying device starts outputting a status notification to the computer, and the second computer adds the monitoring request to the monitoring request. Personal information management means for managing information; additional information stored in the personal information management means;
Monitoring request generating means for generating a monitoring request storing the telephone number of the second telephone, wherein the status notifying device includes a telephone number of the second telephone, an address of the second computer, and monitoring information stored in the monitoring request. Monitoring information managing means for managing the additional information added to the telephone; and storing the additional information when the status report input from the exchange is a status report for circuit switching between the first telephone and the second telephone. An application selection determining means for generating a status notification and outputting the status notification to a first computer, wherein the first computer selects information to be used from among the additional information in which the additional information is stored; And an application executing means for executing an application using information to be used as an input parameter, communication between the first computer and the second computer requires additional information. Can be specified, a communication having a new function can be performed between the first computer and the second computer without adding a new function to the status notification device, and only the additional information is changed. Thus, an advantageous effect that a new function can be added and the system expandability is excellent can be obtained.

Fourth, in the status report of the second telephone output from the exchange to the status notification device, the status notification generated from the status report input by the status notification device last is output. A request to be output by the second computer to the status notification device to request the status notification request, the second computer including status notification request generation means for generating the status notification request; When the status report management means for managing the status report and the status notification request are input, the status report managed by the status report means is
By providing the status notification request processing means for generating the status notification of the second telephone and outputting it to the second computer, the second computer can know the current connection status of the second telephone. Therefore, even when video communication with the first computer is once stopped, if the first telephone and the second telephone are connected, the video communication with the first computer is automatically restarted. This has the advantageous effect of being able to do so.

Fifth, a telephone different from the first telephone and the second telephone is set as a third telephone, and the second computer is
By providing user interface means for inputting the telephone number of the third telephone and state notification request generating means for generating a state notification request storing the telephone number, the first telephone and the third telephone are connected. Sometimes, when the telephone number of the third telephone is input in the second computer, an advantageous effect that video communication can be started between the first computer and the second computer is obtained.

Sixth, when the status report managed by the status report management means to the exchange is a status report related to circuit switching between the first telephone and the second telephone, the first computer and the second computer A status notification requesting unit that outputs a status notification to the computer; and a status notification output from the status notification device to the first computer in response to the status notification request output by the second computer. The status notification processing means for requesting the video communication means to perform preprocessing for the video communication from the second computer.
The first computer can reject video communication from a device other than the second computer, and can reduce the time required to start video communication by preprocessing for video communication with the second computer. The advantageous effect that it can be obtained is obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the exchange of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a status notification device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a computer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a signal diagram illustrating an operation of the present invention in Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a format diagram of a monitoring request according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a management format diagram in monitoring information management means 304 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a format diagram of a connection notification according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a computer according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a signal diagram illustrating an operation of the present invention in Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a format diagram of a monitoring request according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a format diagram of additional information of a monitoring request according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a management format diagram in the monitoring information management means 304 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a format diagram of a call refusal notice according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a status notification device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a computer according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a signal diagram illustrating operation of the present invention in Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the operation of the present invention in the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a signal diagram illustrating an operation of the present invention in Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a signal diagram illustrating operation of the present invention in Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a format diagram of a status notification occurrence notification according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional communication system.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing the operation of a conventional communication system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Switch 102 First telephone 103 Second telephone 104 First computer 105 Second computer 106 Status notification device 201 Telephone communication means 202 Overall switch control means 203 Status report generation means 204 Status notification device communication means 301 Exchange communication means 302 Status notification generation means 303 Computer communication means 304 Monitoring request processing means 305 Monitoring information management means 306 Status notification device overall control means 401 External communication means 402 Monitoring request generation means 403 Status notification processing means 404 Video communication means 405 User interface means 406 Computer Overall control means 901 External communication means 902 Monitoring request generation means 903 Status notification processing means 904 Application execution means 905 User interface means 906 Computer overall control means 907 Personal information management Stage 908 Application determination unit 1501 Switch communication unit 1502 Status notification generation unit 1503 Computer communication unit 1504 Monitoring request processing unit 1505 Monitoring information management unit 1506 Status notification device overall control unit 1507 Status report management unit 1508 Status notification request processing unit 1601 External Communication means 1602 monitoring request generation means 1603 status notification processing means 1604 video communication means 1605 user interface means 1606 computer-wide control means 1607 status notification request generation means 2201 wide area network 2202 local area network 2203 first server 2204 first router 2205 1 computer 2206 exchange 2207 first telephone 2208 local area network 2209 second server 2210 second router 2 211 second computer 2212 second telephone

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Kenji Takagi 1006 Kazuma Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Inside Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Claims (20)

[Claims] 1. A communication system for controlling communication between computers in accordance with the state of a telephone set, wherein information output from the exchange is used as a state report and information input by a computer is used as a state notification regarding the state of a telephone connected to the exchange. An exchange for outputting the status report, a first telephone connected to the exchange, a second telephone connected to the exchange, and a first telephone for inputting a status notification of the first telephone. Computer and a second telephone for inputting a status notification of the second telephone
And the status notification that is generated by storing the address of the second computer in the status report data for circuit switching between the first telephone and the second telephone input from the exchange and generating the second notification. By providing a status notification device for outputting to a first computer, the first computer
A communication system, wherein communication with the second computer is started using an address of the second computer stored in the status notification data. 2. The computer according to claim 1, wherein the second computer includes a user interface unit having a unit for inputting an image, and a video communication unit for performing video communication, wherein the first computer has the user interface unit, Status notification processing means for acquiring the address of the second computer from the status notification; and video communication means for starting video communication with the second computer using the address of the second computer. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein video communication is performed between the first computer and the second computer. 3. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a monitoring request generating unit configured to generate a monitoring request output from the first computer or the second computer to the state notification processing unit in order to obtain a state notification of the telephone. Item 3. The communication system according to Item 2. 4. The state notification processing means of the first computer inputs a state notification indicating an incoming call state from the first telephone to the second telephone, so that the video communication means 3. The communication system according to claim 2, wherein a request is made to start video communication to the second computer. 5. The first computer or the second computer includes timer means, and the state notification processing means inputs a state notification indicating an incoming call state to the first telephone or the second telephone. In this case, after the time managed by the timer has elapsed, the video communication unit is requested to start video communication to a computer having an address stored in the status notification. The communication system according to claim 4. 6. A personal information managing means, wherein the second computer manages additional information added to the monitoring request according to claim 3,
Monitoring request generating means for generating a monitoring request storing the additional information stored in the personal information managing means and the telephone number of the second telephone; and the status notification device, wherein the status notification device is stored in the monitoring request. Monitoring information management means for managing the telephone number of the second telephone, the address of the second computer, and additional information added to the monitoring request; and the status report input from the exchange is transmitted to the first telephone. Status notification generating means for generating the status notification storing the additional information and outputting the status notification to the first computer, if the status report is a status report for circuit switching between the first computer and the second telephone. Means for selecting information to be used from among the additional information in which the additional information is stored, and an application for executing an application using the information to be used as a parameter. Communication system characterized by having a publication executing means. 7. The additional information added to the monitoring information output by the second computer includes information indicating a protocol for transmitting an e-mail and an e-mail address. Item 7. The communication system according to Item 6. 8. The communication system according to claim 6, wherein the additional information is additional information composed of information indicating a communication protocol and information indicating a communication partner. 9. The communication system according to claim 6, wherein said additional information is information constituted by information described by a URL. 10. The status report according to claim 6, wherein the status report is
Outgoing call to the second telephone, but the second telephone
7. The communication system according to claim 6, wherein the status report indicates that the telephone set is busy. 11. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the application executing means executes an application for creating and transmitting an electronic mail using the additional information.
A communication system as described. 12. A method for acquiring a status notification generated from the status report last input by the status notification device in the status report of the second telephone output from the exchange to the status notification device. A request that the second computer outputs to the status notification device is a status notification request,
When the second computer generates the status notification request, the status notification request generation unit, the status notification device manages the status report, and the status report management unit. A communication system comprising: a status notification request processing unit that generates a status notification of the second telephone from the managed status report and outputs the status notification to the second computer. 13. The second computer, when the status notification input by the status notification request is a status notification indicating that the first telephone and the second telephone are in a connected state, 13. The communication system according to claim 12, further comprising status notification processing means for outputting a request to start video communication with the first computer to the communication means. 14. The status notification request processing means determines whether the first computer has output a monitoring request when the status report data contains the telephone number of the first telephone. 13. A process for storing the address of the first computer in the data of the status notification to be generated, when judging from the information managed by the monitoring information management means and outputting it. A communication system as described. 15. The second computer, after stopping video communication with the first computer, outputs the status notification request and inputs a status notification input from the status notification device to the first telephone. And the second telephone is a status notification indicating the connection status, and if the address of the first computer is stored in the data of the status notification, the second computer sends the address to the first computer. 13. The communication system according to claim 12, wherein video communication is started for the communication. 16. A telephone set different from the first telephone set and the second telephone set as a third telephone set, wherein the second computer inputs a telephone number of the third telephone set; A status notification request generation unit configured to generate a status notification request storing the telephone number, wherein the user interface is provided in the second computer when the first telephone and the third telephone are connected. When the telephone number of the third telephone is input by means,
The communication system according to claim 12, wherein video communication is started between said first computer and said second computer. 17. The communication system according to claim 16, wherein the third telephone is a telephone that performs voice communication by wireless communication. 18. The telephone according to claim 16, wherein the third telephone outputs a telephone number of the third telephone by communication using a weak radio wave, and the second computer according to claim 16 performs communication using a weak radio wave. Computer weak radio wave communication means for inputting the telephone number of the third telephone, state notification request generating means for generating a state notification request storing the telephone number of the third telephone input from the computer weak radio communication means; The communication system according to claim 16, comprising: 19. The status notification request processing means, when the status report managed by the status report management means is a status report relating to a line exchange between the first telephone and the second telephone, A communication system for outputting the status notification to a first computer and the second computer. 20. The status notification processing means of the first computer, when the status notification device outputs a status notification output to the first computer in response to the status notification request output by the second computer. , For the video communication means,
20. The communication system according to claim 19, wherein a request is made for preprocessing for video communication from the second computer.