JP2000349907A - Communication terminal, exchange, telephone network, and connection assurance method in the telephone network - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To assure forming of a transmission path for a caller terminal leading to a called terminal, which is busy for communication at present, when the communication is finished. SOLUTION: When a called telephone set 5 is busy, an exchange 3 divides the length of a queue of the telephone set 5 by a working rate, that is an averaging processing speed for a plurality of reservations registered in advance to obtain an average waiting time. The exchange 3 informs a caller telephone set 1 about it as estimated wait time information. When the telephone set 5 transmits notice of a busy release at a time, while the estimated wait time elapses, the exchange 3 applies update processing to the average wait time information of the telephone set 5, and also conducts processing of transmitting an idle notice of an opposite part to the telephone set 1 every time a prescribed time elapses and processing of transmitting a call signal to the telephone set 5. When the caller hooks off a handset after the called party hooks off its handset earlier, a transmission path is formed between the telephone sets 1, 5 via the exchange 3 and a call between the caller and the called party is started.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a communication terminal such as a telephone, an exchange, a telephone network, and a connection guarantee method in a telephone network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a public telephone network, when a called telephone is busy (busy), a busy tone is transmitted from the exchange to the calling telephone in order to notify the calling party of that fact. The caller can recognize that the called telephone is busy.

[0003]

By the way, if the above-mentioned call is not completed, the exchange cannot set up the line to the called telephone, so that a transmission path is established between the calling telephone and the called telephone. Not formed. Therefore, in such a case, the caller goes on-hook the handset once, then, after a while, off-hook the handset again to call again, or continues calling until the end of the call with the handset off-hook. And waits for a transmission path to be formed with the called telephone.

However, no matter which of the above methods is adopted,
There is no guarantee that a transmission path will be formed with the called telephone. If the called telephone can receive the caller ID notification service, the called party can recognize from which telephone the call originated during the call, so that the call can be continued or the call can be made earlier. You can choose to end it.
On the other hand, it is not clear to the caller how long the waiting time will be before the caller is connected to the called telephone. For this reason, the calling telephone has to repeatedly uselessly make a call, which causes a problem that the use efficiency of the public telephone network deteriorates.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to make it possible for a calling terminal to guarantee the formation of a transmission path for a called terminal during communication at the end of communication.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a called terminal in communication with waiting time information from the end of the communication to the formation of a transmission path with the called terminal. The purpose is to prevent a useless call from being generated by notifying the calling terminal.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A communication terminal according to a first aspect of the present invention is a communication terminal for a called terminal that is configured to be driven while communicating with another terminal. There is provided a means for issuing a connection reservation request at the time of termination, and means for notifying and driving the apparatus in response to the request and receiving notification of communication termination of the called terminal.

According to the above configuration, while the called terminal is communicating with another terminal, the called terminal issues a connection reservation request at the end of communication to the called terminal, and responds to the request. In response to the notification of the communication termination of the called terminal, the notification is broadcast. Therefore, if the calling terminal re-calls based on this notification, a transmission path is formed between the calling terminal and the called terminal. The formation will be guaranteed to the calling terminal.

In a preferred embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention, the communication terminal includes at least an information processing terminal including a telephone and a modem. The notification unit is configured to be driven upon receiving notification of the waiting time information until the end of the communication of the called terminal corresponding to the above request, and to notify the notification. The waiting time information is average waiting time information related to the called terminal. The notifying unit includes a display unit for displaying at least a communication end notification, a sound generating unit for notifying the communication end notification by sounding, and a device for outputting at least the communication end notification to the information processing terminal.

[0010] According to the above arrangement, the display unit as the notification means displays the average waiting time information relating to the called terminal, so that the caller can form a transmission path with the called terminal. Since it is possible to recognize the waiting time until the call is made, useless calling can be suppressed.

An exchange according to a second aspect of the present invention is configured to be driven by receiving a connection reservation request from a calling terminal at the end of communication with respect to a called terminal that is communicating, and receiving the reservation. Means for registering in a queue associated with the calling terminal, means for managing the order in the queue described above, but configured to be driven by being registered in the queue, and Means for detecting the end of communication and notifying the calling terminal of line availability information configured to be driven when the end of communication is detected in a state where the order of reservation has been reached for the calling terminal. Means.

[0012] According to the above configuration, when the end of communication is detected in a state where the order of reservation has been reached to the calling terminal, the line availability information is notified to the calling terminal. Therefore, if the calling terminal calls again based on this notification,
Since a transmission path is formed between the calling terminal and the called terminal, formation of the transmission path at the end of communication with the called terminal during communication is guaranteed for the calling terminal.

In a preferred embodiment according to the second aspect of the present invention, a means for detecting the length of a queue in which a reservation is registered, and an average of a plurality of reservations registered in the queue in the past. Work rate (reserved number / hour)
And means for determining the average waiting time in the queue by dividing the detected queue length by the determined work rate, and the calculated average waiting time information, Means for notifying the calling terminal that has issued the connection reservation request is further provided.

According to the above configuration, the obtained average waiting time information is notified to the calling terminal that has issued the connection reservation request, so that the calling party can communicate with the called terminal. Since the waiting time until the transmission path is formed can be recognized, useless calls can be suppressed.

A telephone network according to a third aspect of the present invention comprises a plurality of communication terminals and a plurality of communication terminals for forming a transmission path between a calling terminal and a called terminal among the communication terminals. Means for requesting the exchange to reserve a connection at the end of communication with the called terminal while the called terminal is communicating with another terminal, and each communication terminal corresponding to the request. Means for receiving notification of the communication termination of the called terminal transmitted from the exchange, and notifying it,
When each switch is requested by the calling terminal to reserve a connection at the end of communication for the called terminal that is communicating with another terminal, the switch registers the reservation in a queue associated with the called terminal. Means, means for managing the order of the above-mentioned reservation in the queue, means for detecting the end of communication of the called terminal, and communication in a state where the order of the reservation has been turned to the calling terminal. Means for notifying the calling terminal of the line availability information when the termination is detected.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a connection guarantee method in a telephone network, comprising: a plurality of communication terminals; and a transmission path between a calling terminal and a called terminal in the communication terminals. A plurality of exchanges, a first step in which the calling terminal requests the exchange for connection termination at the time of communication termination for the called terminal that is communicating with another terminal, and the above-described processing from the calling terminal. In response to the request, a second step in which the switch registers the reservation in a queue associated with the called terminal, and by checking the order of the reservation in the queue and whether communication has been completed, The order of reservation goes to the calling terminal, and
When the communication end is detected, the third step in which the exchange notifies the calling terminal of the line availability information to the calling terminal, and in response to the communication end notification transmitted from the exchange in response to the above-described request, the caller And a fourth step of the terminal notifying the terminal.

[0017]

Here, an embodiment of the present invention will be described.
Prior to the detailed description with reference to the drawings, a configuration of a public telephone network to which the present invention is applied will be described.

In the public telephone network, a plurality of communication terminals such as a facsimile (FAX), a personal computer terminal (information processing terminal) having a modem, etc., in addition to various telephones, and a call from any one of the terminals are used. And a plurality of exchanges for forming a transmission path between the terminal and the called terminal. Hereinafter, a telephone will be mainly described as an example of a communication terminal.

In the public telephone network according to one embodiment of the present invention, the arithmetic processing unit of each telephone has functions as a connection reservation request unit and a broadcast information output unit. On the other hand, the operation processing unit of each exchange includes a queue registration unit, an order management unit, a call termination detection unit, a line availability information notification unit, a queue length detection unit, a work rate calculation unit, an average waiting time calculation unit, And a function as an average waiting time information notification unit.

In each telephone, the connection reservation request unit requests the exchange via the line to reserve the connection at the end of the call to the called telephone while the called telephone is talking with another telephone. On the other hand, upon receiving the notification of the call termination of the called telephone transmitted from the exchange in response to the connection reservation request, the broadcast information output unit performs predetermined signal processing on the notification, and then displays the character information on the display unit of the telephone. Or output as voice information to a speaker of the telephone, or sound a buzzer of the telephone. It is also possible to convert the above-mentioned call termination information into digital information and then output it to a personal computer terminal connected to the telephone.

Further, the broadcast information output unit receives the waiting time information (information indicating how many more minutes to wait for the call to end) until the end of the call for the called telephone from the exchange. It is displayed on the display unit as character information, or is output to the speaker as audio information.
This waiting time information is, as will be described later, average waiting time information relating to the called telephone.

In each of the exchanges, the queue registration unit, when requested by the calling telephone to make a connection reservation at the end of the call to the called telephone that is talking to another telephone, sends the reservation to the called telephone. Register in such a queue.
The order management unit manages the order of the reservations in the queue and, when recognizing that the order of the reservations has come around, notifies the line availability information notification unit to that effect.

The call end detecting section detects the end of the call of the called telephone, and when detecting the end of the call, notifies the line availability information notifying section to that effect. The line availability information notification unit
When the call of the called telephone is completed in a state where the order of reservation has been reached to the calling telephone, the line availability information is notified to the calling telephone. The queue length detector detects the queue length of the called telephone in which the reservation is registered, and outputs the detected queue length to the work rate calculator.

The work rate calculating section calculates a work rate (number of reservations / hour), which is an average processing speed of a plurality of reservations registered in the queue in the past, and outputs the work rate to the average wait time calculating section. The average waiting time calculating section obtains an average waiting time (average waiting time information) in the queue by dividing the queue length from the detecting section by the working rate from the working rate calculating section. Output to the average waiting time information notifying section. The average waiting time information notification unit transmits the average waiting time information to the calling telephone that has issued the connection request.

Next, the processing operation of each unit in the public telephone network having the above configuration will be described with reference to flowcharts shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, respectively. In FIGS. 1 to 5, for convenience of illustration and description, only two telephones, a calling telephone with reference numeral 1 and a called telephone with reference numeral 5, are shown. Only one unit marked with is described.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of each unit when a calling party and a called party shift to a telephone call in a normal sequence in a public telephone network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, when the caller off-hooks the handset of the calling telephone (telephone) 1, a DC circuit is formed between the calling telephone 1 and the exchange 3 (step S1). Through this DC circuit, an off-hook signal (start signal) from the telephone 1 is transmitted to the exchange 3 (step S2), and a tone indicating that the off-hook signal has been received is transmitted from the exchange 3 to the telephone 1 (step S3). ). Next, when the caller dials the number of the called telephone (telephone) 5 (step S4), the dial number is transmitted from telephone 1 to exchange 3 (step S4).
5).

Based on this dial number, exchange 3 connects to the line of telephone 5 and transmits a call signal to telephone 5 (step S6), and informs the caller that the call signal is being transmitted to telephone 5. A ringing tone (ringback tone) is transmitted to the telephone 1 to notify the user (step S).
7). When the called party rings off the handset by ringing the bell of the telephone 5 by the ringing signal (step S8), the off-hook signal is transmitted from the telephone 5 to the exchange 3.
And the ringing of the bell stops (step S
9). Then, a transmission path is formed between the telephones 1 and 5 via the exchange 3, and a call between the calling party and the called party is started (step S10).

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing each part of a public telephone network according to an embodiment of the present invention when a calling party and a called party transition to a call with the called party first off-hook the handset. It is a flowchart which shows a processing operation.

In FIG. 2, after the caller goes off-hook on the handset, transmits an off-hook signal from telephone 1 to exchange 3, and transmits a tone from exchange 3 to telephone 1 (steps S11 to S13), the call is made. When the user dials a predetermined waiting reservation function instruction number together with the number of the called telephone (telephone) 5 (step S1).
4) The dial number and the like are transmitted from the telephone 1 to the exchange 3 (step S15). At this time, busy (during a call)
Is transmitted from the telephone 5 to the exchange 3 (step S16), a busy (busy) sound is transmitted from the exchange 3 to the telephone 1 (step S17). When the caller on-hooks the handset, an on-hook signal (disconnection signal) from telephone 1 is transmitted to exchange 3 (step S18).

In the exchange 3, when the waiting reservation instruction number is read, the queue (queue) length of the telephone 5 is changed to the average processing speed of a plurality of reservations registered in the queue in the past. By dividing by the rate (the number of reservations / hour), the average waiting time in the queue is obtained (step S19). Then, the average waiting time information is notified to the telephone 1 as the estimated waiting time information (step S20). The estimated waiting time information is displayed on the display unit of the telephone 1 (Step S21).

When the estimated waiting time elapses,
When the communication of the telephone 5 is terminated (busy is released) and a notification to that effect is transmitted from the telephone 5 to the exchange 3 (step S22), the exchange 3 updates the average waiting time information related to the telephone 5. (Step S23). In parallel with this process, a process of transmitting the other party's empty notification (that is, line availability information) to the telephone 1 every predetermined time (every N seconds) (step S24), and transmitting a call signal to the telephone 5 The processing (step S25) is also executed. Telephone 1
The bell on the side rings each time the above notification is transmitted (step S26).

When the called party first off-hooks the handset because the bell of telephone 5 rings (step S27), an off-hook signal is transmitted from telephone 5 to exchange 3, and the ringing of the bell stops. (Step S28). Until the caller goes off-hook on the handset, a guidance voice as shown is transmitted from the exchange 3 to the telephone 5, and the guidance voice is transmitted to the called party through a speaker of the telephone 5 (step S29). ).
When the caller goes off-hook on the handset, an off-hook signal is transmitted from telephone 1 to exchange 3 (step S30), and the bell of telephone 1 stops ringing (step S31). The transmission of the guidance voice to the telephone 5 is also stopped (step S3).
2). Further, a transmission path is formed between the telephones 1 and 5 via the exchange 3, and a call between the calling party and the called party is started (step S33).

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which the calling party and the called party cannot shift to a call in a public telephone network according to an embodiment of the present invention, in a state where the called party first off-hooks the handset. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation of each unit.

The processing flow shown in FIG. 3 is based on the fact that the above-mentioned guidance voice from the exchange 3 is flowing through the speaker of the telephone 5 in step S29 of FIG. If the handset is on-hook without waiting for the off-hook (step S3)
4) is shown.

The on-hook of the handset by the called party causes an on-hook signal (end signal) to be transmitted from the telephone set 5 to the exchange 3 (step S35). (Step S36), the transmission of the guidance voice to the telephone 5 is also terminated (Step S37). As a result, the bell of the telephone 1 stops ringing, and the output of the guidance voice from the speaker or the like of the telephone 5 is also stopped.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing each part of a public telephone network according to an embodiment of the present invention when a caller and a called party shift to a call in a state in which the caller first off-hooks the handset. It is a flowchart which shows a processing operation.

The processing flow shown in FIG. 4 is based on the case where the caller first off-hooks the handset in step S24 of FIG. 2 (or FIG. 3) in response to the notification of the other party's availability from the exchange 3 to the telephone 1. (Step S38).

The off-hook of the handset by the caller causes an off-hook signal (activation signal) to be transmitted from the telephone set 1 to the exchange 3 (step S39), thereby stopping the ringing of the bell of the telephone set 1 (step S40). The telephone 3 transmits a ringing tone to the telephone 1, and at the same time, waits for the telephone 5 to bear (step S41). In this state,
When the called party off-hooks the handset, an off-hook signal is transmitted from telephone 5 to exchange 3 (step S42), and the bell of telephone 5 stops ringing (step S43). Further, a transmission path is formed between the telephones 1 and 5 via the exchange 3, and a call between the calling party and the called party is started (step S44).

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which the caller and the called party cannot shift to a call in a state in which the caller first off-hooks the handset in the public telephone network according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation of each unit.

The processing flow shown in FIG. 5 is that the caller first off-hook the handset in step S38 in FIG. 4, and then does not wait for the callee's handset to go off-hook in step S42 in FIG. The case where the handset is on-hook (step S45) is shown. That is, when the caller turns the handset on-hook (step S45), an on-hook signal (end signal) is transmitted from the telephone 1 to the exchange 3 (step S46), whereby the exchange 3 transmits a ringing tone to the telephone 5. Is stopped (step S47). As a result, the bell of the telephone 5 stops ringing (step S48).

In the above configuration, there is no problem if a personal computer terminal, a facsimile or the like is used as the communication terminal instead of the telephone.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, when a busy Internet dial-up connection, a ticket reservation by telephone, or any other request for a reliable connection to the called terminal, a standby state is set. By making a reservation in a queue (queue), the connectivity to the called terminal can be guaranteed.

Also, by knowing the average waiting time at the called telephone and the order of reservation of the calling telephone in the queue, the calling party can connect to the called telephone with approximately how much waiting time. Can be known in advance. Further, since unnecessary calling to the public telephone network can be suppressed, unnecessary congestion can be avoided, and the system efficiency of the entire public telephone network can be improved.

In practicing the present invention, if the service is of a separate charge type, the number of users can be limited and the operator (telephone company) can be a source of profit.

The above description relates to one embodiment of the present invention, and does not mean that the present invention is limited only to the above content. For example, the configuration is such that only the line availability information is output from the broadcast information output unit of the telephone, and the queue length detection unit, the work rate calculation unit, the average wait time calculation unit, and the average wait time information notification unit are removed from the exchange. You can also. In that case, the caller cannot know the average waiting time information, but the connection to the called telephone is guaranteed.

[0047]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to ensure that the transmission side of the called terminal during the communication at the end of the communication is formed for the calling terminal.

Further, according to the present invention, information on the waiting time from the end of the communication to the formation of a transmission path with the called terminal is issued to the called terminal during communication. By notifying the calling terminal, useless calling can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a processing operation of each unit when a caller and a called party shift to a call in a normal sequence in a public telephone network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing operation of each unit when the calling party and the called party shift to a telephone call in a state where the called party first goes off-hook on the handset.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing operation of each unit when the calling party and the called party cannot shift to a telephone call in a state where the called party has first off-hook the handset.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing operation of each unit when a caller and a called party shift to a telephone call in a state where the caller first off-hooks the handset.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing operation of each unit when a caller and a called party cannot shift to a call in a state in which the caller has previously off-hook the handset.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 calling party telephone 3 exchange 5 called party telephone

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A means for issuing a connection reservation request for terminating communication to a called terminal, wherein the called terminal is configured to be driven during communication with another terminal; A corresponding communication terminal comprising: a corresponding device configured to be driven in response to a notification of communication termination of the called terminal, and for notifying the notification. 2. The communication terminal according to claim 1, including at least an information processing terminal including a telephone and a modem. 3. The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the notifying unit is driven upon receiving a notification of waiting time information corresponding to the request until the communication termination of the called terminal, and is notified. A communication terminal configured to: 4. The communication terminal according to claim 3, wherein said waiting time information is average waiting time information relating to said called terminal. 5. The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit displays at least the communication end notification, a sound generation unit that sounds the communication end notification by sounding, and at least the communication end. A communication terminal including a device that outputs a notification to the information processing terminal. 6. A method for receiving a connection reservation request from a calling terminal at the end of communication with respect to a called terminal during communication and driving the connection, and registers the reservation in a queue associated with the called terminal. Means for managing the order in the queue, wherein the means is configured to be driven by the reservation being registered in the queue, and for detecting communication termination of the called terminal. A means for notifying the calling terminal of line availability information, wherein the means is configured to be driven when the end of the communication is detected in a state where the order of reservation has been turned to the calling terminal. An exchange comprising: 7. The exchange according to claim 6, further comprising means for detecting a queue length in which the reservation is registered. 8. The exchange according to claim 6, wherein a work rate (number of reservations / hour), which is an average processing speed of a plurality of reservations registered in the queue in the past, is obtained. An exchange equipped with: 9. The exchange according to claim 6, wherein the length of the detected queue is divided by the determined work rate to obtain an average waiting time in the queue. An exchange equipped with means for determining time. 10. The exchange according to claim 6, wherein said average waiting time information is notified to a calling terminal that has issued said connection reservation request. An exchange further comprising: 11. A communication system comprising: a plurality of communication terminals; and a plurality of exchanges for forming a transmission path between a calling terminal and a called terminal among the communication terminals, wherein each communication terminal comprises: Means for requesting the exchange to reserve a connection at the end of communication for the called terminal while the called terminal is communicating with another terminal; and the called side transmitted from the exchange in response to the request. Means for receiving notification of the communication termination of the terminal and notifying the same, and each exchange makes a connection reservation at the time of communication termination for the called terminal communicating with another terminal, at the calling terminal. Means for registering the reservation in a queue associated with the called terminal, means for managing the order of the reservation in the queue, and terminating communication of the called terminal. Means for detecting, in the order of reservation to the calling terminal In a state that has been traveling around, when said communication termination is detected, the telephone network and means for notifying the line free information to the calling terminal. 12. A communication system comprising: a plurality of communication terminals; and a plurality of exchanges for forming a transmission path between a calling terminal and a called terminal in the communication terminals. A first step in which the calling terminal requests the exchange to make a connection reservation to the called terminal at the end of communication, and in response to the request from the calling terminal, the switching makes the reservation to the called terminal. A second step of registering in a queue relating to a terminal, and by checking the order of the reservation in the queue and whether or not the communication has been completed, the order of the reservation is transferred to the calling terminal. And a third step in which, when the communication end is detected, the exchange notifies the calling terminal of the line availability information, and receiving the communication end notification transmitted from the exchange in response to the request. And a fourth step in which the caller terminal notifies the caller, Connection guarantee method in a telephone network that.