JP2003188996A - Message transfer system and line management device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the delay of transfer processing due to shortage of the number of incoming call lines for accepting acknowledgments in a message transfer system for performing processing of transmitting a registered message to a transmission destination terminal and acknowledgment reception processing for accepting the acknowledgment of reception of the message from the terminal. <P>SOLUTION: The system is provided with a switchable line which can be selectively used for transmission and reception. A switching judging section 13 judges a progress state of transmission processing on the basis of progress state management information 300 and threshold information 400. When judging that transmission processing progresses to the extent that demand for incoming call lines begins to increase, the section 13 instructs a line control section C to switch the purpose of a line managed by the section C from transmission to reception. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a message transfer system for transferring a message to a callee registered in advance via a public line.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A message transfer system registers a message and its destination in a server in advance and transfers the message to a destination terminal at any timing via a public line. . The approximate procedure is as follows. (1) A message (voice, text data, etc.) to be transferred and a destination (phone, pager (registered trademark), mobile phone with mail function, etc.) are accepted from the client. (2) A message is transmitted to the terminal registered as the transfer target at the timing when the instruction from the client is received. (3) Receive a response (confirmation notification of message reception) from the destination terminal for the notification of (2).

In the system, the line used for the message transmission process of (2) is called the transmission line, and the line used for the confirmation notification of (3) is called the incoming line. However, if you want to convey a message by voice through a telephone call, the terminal holder picks up the handset and listens to the message.
Since the transmission of (2) and the reception confirmation of (3) are performed at the same time, only the transmission line is used and the incoming line is not used. The process (3) via the incoming line occurs when a message is sent by mail to a personal computer or a telephone set with a mail receiving function, or when a message is sent to a pager. Since the reception confirmation is performed as a response to the message transmission, the process of (2) is mostly performed at the beginning of the message transfer, and the process of (3) is hardly performed. Then, (3) gradually increases and finally becomes (3) only.

The number of transmission lines and the number of reception lines are determined at the time of system design based on various conditions such as the number and types of destination terminals (ratio between telephone and other) and message size. Considering the cost of the entire system, we want to reduce the number of lines as much as possible, but we must avoid the situation where message transfer (message transmission, confirmation notification) is delayed due to a shortage of lines.

[0005]

However, the confirmation notification process using the incoming line is concentrated in a short period of time or little by little over a relatively long period, depending on the receiving conditions of each terminal user. Or The number of incoming lines required is large in the case of intensive processing, but a small number is necessary in the case of being carried out little by little. However, it is difficult to predict which case before system operation.

Therefore, after the actual operation of the system is started or as a result of the test operation, it may be found that the number of incoming lines is insufficient, and it is necessary to add additional incoming lines. If a large number of incoming lines are provided from the beginning, it is unlikely that additional lines will be needed, but this will increase the total number of lines in the entire system and increase the cost. In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a message transfer system capable of executing message transfer processing, particularly confirmation notification processing using an incoming line without delay, with as few lines as possible.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the message transfer system of the present invention includes a transmission process for transmitting a message, which has been registered in advance, to each of a plurality of terminals using a transmission line. A message transfer system that executes a message transfer process including a confirmation reception process that receives a confirmation of receipt of the message from each of the plurality of terminals using an incoming line, and is selectively used as a sending line or an incoming line. A plurality of switching lines, and a line usage determining unit that determines whether each of the plurality of switchable lines is used as a transmission line or a receiving line. Of the above switching lines, which were used as transmission lines, as the number of terminals that completed message transmission increased In the form of switching the application to use at least a portion as the incoming line, which is to increase the number of switching circuits to be used as the incoming line, and.

In this way, the number of incoming lines can be increased at a timing when demand is expected to increase without increasing the total number of lines in the system, so that the message transfer processing is delayed due to the shortage of incoming lines. The situation can be avoided without increasing the lines.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the message transfer system of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (Outline) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a message transfer system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention together with a related external configuration.

The message transfer system 1 is a system in which a message and a message destination are registered in advance, and when an emergency such as a disaster occurs, the message is transferred to a destination terminal via a line. The callee terminal includes a pager, a telephone (stationary type, mobile phone), a personal computer, and the like. The message transmission process by the call response system A receives (1) the contents of the emergency message to be transmitted from the contractor at the time of disaster and the destination (telephone number, mail address, etc. of the destination terminal). (2) Accept a message transmission start instruction from the contractor (when a disaster occurs, during disaster training, etc.) (3) Sequentially transmit messages to the destination terminal (using the "transmission line"). (4) Receive a confirmation notice from the terminal for the message transmission of (3) (use the "incoming line").

The procedure is as follows. However, if the message is transmitted by voice through a telephone call (3)
Is confirmed (by the terminal holder picking up the handset and listening to the message), the transmission is also confirmed, so that the processing of (4) is not performed using the incoming line.

The lines included in the message transfer system 1 are divided into three types. The first is a sending line used only for sending messages (3), the second is a receiving line used only for receiving confirmation notifications (4), and the third is for the situation at that time. Accordingly, it is a switchable line that can be selectively switched for use for either transmission or reception.

In the above message transfer processing, message transmission (3) is almost immediately after the start of processing,
After that, the number of confirmation notifications (4) from the terminal receiving the message increases. The confirmation notification from the terminal that responds quickly will be started before the message transmission process is completed for all terminals. Then, after (3) is completed for all terminals, only the process of (4) is performed. That is, in the above processing, there are time zones in which (3) and (4) are performed in parallel. Also in this time period, initially, the process (3) is mostly performed and the process (4) is hardly performed. Then, (4) gradually increases, and finally becomes (4) only.

Therefore, the message transfer system 1 uses all of the switchable lines for transmission at the time of starting the message transfer process, and then increases the number of switchable lines according to the increase in (4). Increase. (Structure) The message transfer system 1 receives a message that is a target of a message transfer service and a registration of a destination terminal of the message from an external unit (administrator terminal T operated by an administrator) and a registered message. A message transmitting unit 2 that transmits to a destination terminal and receives a response (confirmation notification) from the terminal to the destination terminal.
2, one for each of the lines L1 to Ln,
Line control units C1 to Cn (hereinafter, referred to as "line control unit C" unless otherwise mentioned) that controls the transmission / reception processing of messages and confirmation notifications via lines, and the switching of the use of lines that can be switched And a switching unit 10 for controlling the. Then, the message transfer system 1 communicates with the destination terminal via the public network N.

The accepting unit 21 receives the message transfer destination (telephone number, address, etc. of the terminal) and the contents of the message to be transferred from the user, and stores the contents in the registration data holding unit 23. At this time, the switching unit 10 (transmission / reception unit 11) is notified of the total number of registered destination terminals. Then, when a message transmission start instruction is received from the user via the administrator terminal T,
Instruct the terminal to send a message.

The message sending unit 22 sends a message to the destination terminal and sends to the switching unit 10 information and instructions relating to switching the application of the switchable line. In order to execute the process, the message transmission unit 22 manages the information of the lines (transmission line and switchable line) that can be used for transmission (“line number”, “type (transmission-only line or switchable line)” for each line), “Used state (whether or not transmission processing is being executed)”, “current use of switchable line (“ transmission ”or“ incoming call ”)” and the like are held in advance.

The message transmission unit 22 is the line reception unit 21.
When receiving the instruction from, the message and the information of the destination terminal are read from the registration data holding unit 23. Then, referring to the above management information, each of the line control units C corresponding to a line (transmission line and switchable line whose “current use” is “transmission”) that is not currently undergoing transmission processing On the other hand, the content of the message and the telephone number or address of the destination terminal are sent to instruct the execution of the transmission. After that,
Every time a notification of transmission completion is received from any of the line control units C, the process of sending the telephone number / address of the next destination terminal to the line control unit C and instructing the transmission execution is performed. Repeat until sending to. When the transmission is completed, all the contents of "current usage" of the switchable line are rewritten as "transmission".

In addition, the message transmission unit 22 outputs a transmission instruction to a certain line control unit C in the above process,
Of the management information of the line corresponding to the line control unit C, the contents of the "usage state" are rewritten with a value indicating "transmission processing". Also, for each destination terminal, status information (“terminal number / address”, “transmitted / transmitting / not transmitted”,
Keep the "number of the line you are using if it is" sending "" and "presence or absence of confirmation notification"), and update it every time you send a send instruction or receive a send completion notification . Then, based on this status information, the progress status of the transfer process is periodically sent to the administrator terminal T via the reception unit 21.

There is a case where a part of the switchable line is switched from the transmission line to the incoming line by switching by the switching unit 10. The message transmission unit 22 notifies the switched line from the corresponding line control unit C. And update the management information for the above lines based on this ("Current usage" is changed from "Send" to "Incoming" or from "Incoming" to "Send"
To). When the confirmation notification (including the address of the terminal) is received from the terminal via the line control unit C, the content of the item “presence or absence of confirmation notification” in the status information about the terminal is updated to “present”.

The line control unit C corresponds to any one of the lines, and transmits / receives data (message, reception confirmation notification) to / from the terminal via the corresponding line. The line control unit C corresponding to the transmission line performs message transmission to the destination terminal and the line control unit C corresponding to the reception line.
Receives a message reception confirmation notification from the terminal.
The line control unit corresponding to the switchable line performs either message transmission or reception confirmation acceptance.

A line controller C connected to the line used for transmission (a part of the transmission line and the switchable line)
Based on the communication address sent from the message sending unit 22 together with the message data, establishes communication with the destination terminal using the sending line connected to itself and sends the message to the terminal. When this transmission process is completed, the line control unit C indicates the completion of the transmission process together with the line number of the line to which the line control unit C is connected,
Notify the switching unit 10.

A line control unit C connected to a line used for receiving an incoming call (a part of the incoming line and the switchable line)
Upon receipt of the confirmation notification from the terminal addressed to the communication address of the message transfer system 1, the notification is sent to the message transmission unit 22 together with the address of the terminal which has transmitted the confirmation notification. The line control unit C connected to the switchable line performs either the transmission line process or the incoming line process according to the instruction from the switching unit 10. In the initial state, the above-described processing for transmission is performed, but after that, the switching unit 1
It is switched to perform the incoming call processing according to the instruction from 0. At the time of switching, the message transmitting unit 22 is notified of the number of the line corresponding to itself and a notification that switching has occurred. (Configuration of Switching Unit 10) The switching unit 10 determines the progress status of message transmission (ratio of terminals that have completed transmission of all terminals), and according to the result, the line control unit connected to the switchable line. Instruct C to switch the purpose of the line from transmitting to receiving. The switching unit 10
Transmission / reception unit 11, recording unit 12, switching determination unit 13, storage unit 1
Have 4. 1 for judging progress and issuing switching instructions
Each time the message transmission to one terminal is completed, it is started at the timing of receiving the “transmission completion notification” sent from the line control unit C that performed the transmission.

The storage unit 14 stores various information referred to by the switching unit 10 in the determination process. Storage unit 14
The information stored in (1) is information on the attributes of each line (line information), transmission status management information indicating the progress of message transmission, and threshold information referred to at the time of determination. The line information and the threshold information are generated by the administrator when the message transfer system 1 is constructed, and are changed by the administrator if there is a system configuration change or the like. The transmission status management information is generated by the recording unit 12 at the start of message transmission, and then updated according to the progress of message transmission.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing, in a tabular form, an example of the structure and contents of the line information 200 stored in the storage unit 14. The line information 200 includes a line number column 210 and a type column 220.
And a line number, which is identification information of each line, and a line type indicated by the line number. The line types are “transmission line: S”, “reception line: T”, and “switchable line: S / T”.

The transmitting / receiving unit 11 transmits / receives data to / from the message transmitting unit 22 and the line control unit C. Recording unit 12
Is the transmission / reception unit 11 when the message transmission is started.
The instruction from the message transmission unit 22 is received via the above, and the transmission status management information is generated in the storage unit 14 in response to the instruction.
After that, it is updated every time a message transmission completion notification is received from the line control unit C. The line information 200 is the switching determination unit 13
Referenced by.

FIG. 3 is a table showing the structure and an example of the contents of the management information 300. The management information 300 includes a total terminal number column 310 and a completed terminal number column 320. Stored in the total number of terminals column 310 is the total number of terminals to which the message should be transferred, and is notified from the reception unit 21 via the transmission / reception unit 11 when the message is registered in the system 1. The value stored in the terminal total number column 310 is determined for each message.

An initial value "0" is set in the completed terminal number column 320, and thereafter, each time a message transmission completion notification arrives from the line control unit C, the recording unit 12 counts up by one. Management information 300 shown in FIG.
Indicates that the total number of terminals to which the message should be transferred is 256, of which 64 terminals have completed the message registration notification.

Each time the switching determination unit 13 receives a “transmission completion notice” sent from the line control unit C that has sent a message at the timing when the message transmission to one terminal is completed, the switching determination unit 13 receives the message via the transmission / reception unit 11. , It is determined whether or not to switch the line corresponding to the line control unit C. In particular,
First, the line control unit C receives a notification that the message transmission is completed and the line identification information corresponding to the line control unit C. Then, the line information 200 is searched with the identification information of the line as a key to confirm the type of the line. Only when the type is “switchable line (S / T)”, the switching determination unit 13 reads the transmission status management information 300 and divides the number of completed terminals by the total number of terminals (hereinafter, “completion rate”). When the completion rate is equal to or more than the threshold value, the line control unit C is instructed to switch to the incoming call for line use via the transmission / reception unit 11.

The threshold value referred to by the switching determination unit 13 is a value preset at the time of system design, and is determined by predicting the completion of the transmission and the start of the demand for the incoming line. For example, the value is 60%. However, the threshold can be changed by an operation from the administrator terminal T. (Operation) Next, the operation of the line switching processing by the message transfer system 1 will be described with reference to the drawings, centering on the switching unit 10.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the operation at the time of line switching processing by the switching unit 10. The switching unit 10 is activated at the start of the message transfer process. First, the transmission / reception unit 11 receives a "transmission completion notification" from the line control unit C that has finished transmitting a message to the terminal (S40).
1: Yes). Identification information (line number) of the line corresponding to the line control unit C is added to this notification. The transmission / reception unit 11 sends the received line identification information to the recording unit 12, and gives an instruction to update the transmission status management information (see FIG. 3).

The recording unit 12 updates the contents of the transmission status management information 300 stored in the storage unit 14 (counts up the value of the completed terminal number column 320 by "1"), and then "notifies transmission completion". The line identification information added to the line is passed to the switching determination unit 13 to instruct execution of the switching determination process (S40).
2). The switching determination unit 13 uses the line information 20 in the storage unit 14.
The one corresponding to the passed identification information is read from 0,
The line type (content of the type column 220) is referred to (S
403). If the content of the type column 220 is “S / T” indicating a switchable line (S404: Yes), the switching determination unit 1
3 further reads the transmission status management information 300 and the threshold value 400 from the storage unit 14. Then, the transmission status management information 300
The completion rate (the number of completed terminals / the total number of terminals) obtained from is compared with the threshold value 400. Then, when the completion rate is equal to or more than the threshold value (S405: Yes), the switching determination unit 13 causes the recording unit 12
The line identification information received from the above is sent to the transmission / reception unit 11, and the line control unit C corresponding to the line is instructed to switch the processing contents of the line control from transmission to reception (S406).

On the other hand, in the determination of step S404,
If the line type is not a switchable line (“S / T”) (S404: No), or if the transmission completion rate is less than the switching threshold in the determination of step S405 (S4).
05: No), the switching determination unit 13 then ends the switching process. The above-described processing of S401 to S406 is performed each time the message transmission is completed for one terminal, and is repeated until the message transmission is completed for all terminals (S407: Yes). (Summary) As described above, in the message transfer system 1 according to the present exemplary embodiment, after the ratio of terminals that have completed message transmission exceeds the threshold value, the switchable line used for transmission is sequentially switched for incoming call. Will be taken. Therefore, it is not necessary to make a strict prediction in advance how much the lines will be allocated for transmission and reception, and even if there is a difference from the prediction in advance, it is possible to cope with this by switching the line usage. Moreover, the total number of lines can be smaller than that in the case where only the number of incoming lines and the number of outgoing lines are provided according to the peak demand.

In the above embodiment, only one threshold value is set for all switchable lines. Therefore, after the completion rate exceeds, for example, 60%, the switchable line used for transmission is switched to the incoming call at the time when the ongoing transmission process is completed, and the number of lines used for the incoming call increases rapidly. To do. However, by setting a threshold value specific to each switchable line, the switchable line may be gradually switched for incoming call as the message transmission process progresses. For example, the threshold is 61% for the switchable line of the line number "3", 62% for the line of the number "4", and (60 + n)% for the line of the number "n".
In this case, the threshold information 40 is stored in the storage unit 14 in the switching unit 10.
0 is deleted. And instead, the line information 20
A threshold value column is added to 0, and the threshold value as described above is set in the threshold value column only for the switchable line.

Further, in the above embodiment, the timing for executing the switching process is the time when the message transmitting process performed to one terminal via a certain line is finished, and the switching determination target is also the transmission concerned. Only the lines that have completed processing are shown, but the timing and target lines are not limited to this. The switching determination unit 13 performs determination processing at a predetermined time interval, and when switching is necessary, the switching is notified to the line control unit C of the line to be switched, and the line control unit C concerned performs the transmission in progress. It is also conceivable that the line is switched to an incoming call after the processing is completed. This method is rather suitable when different thresholds are set for each line as described above.

Further, in the present embodiment, only 1 is registered.
This is a type of message, and the number of transfer target terminals does not change during the process, but in the actual system operation, multiple messages are registered and the next new message is sent before the transmission of a certain message is completed. The number of transfer target terminals may change when the transmission of such a message is started, or when the transfer is canceled due to a timeout even if the transfer is not completed. In that case, when the transmission of a new message is started or when the cancellation due to a timeout occurs, the recording unit 12 adds the number of destination terminals of the new message to the total terminal number column 310 of the progress management information 300,
The number of canceled terminals is subtracted. Speaking of the processing in FIG. 4, between the steps 401 and S407, “a transmission of a new message has been started? (Has a transfer aborted terminal occurred?)”
And a step of "adding the number of destination terminals of a new message to the total number of terminals (subtracting the number of transfer aborted terminals)" that is executed when the determination is "Yes" It will be. Furthermore, if the value of the completion rate (the number of completed terminals / the total number of terminals after the increase) falls below the threshold value as the total number of terminals increases, the switching unit 10 instructs the line control unit C or the message transmission unit 22. Out,
It is also conceivable to switch some or all of the switchable lines that are being used for incoming calls for sending. In the actual operation, the first message and the second message are transferred to the same terminal at a predetermined time interval, but in this case, the first message is transferred at that time. Since the transfer is canceled for the terminal to which the message has not arrived, the above addition and subtraction of the number of destination terminals occur at the same time.

[0036]

As is apparent from the above description, the message transfer system of the present invention includes a transmission process for transmitting a message, the registration of which is accepted in advance, to each of a plurality of terminals using a transmission line, and A message transfer system that executes a message transfer process including a confirmation reception process that receives a reception confirmation from each of the plurality of terminals using an incoming line, and a plurality of switches that are selectively used as a sending line or an incoming line. A line and a line application determining means for determining whether each of the plurality of switchable lines is to be used as a transmission line or an incoming line, and the line application determining means is one of the plurality of terminals. As the number of terminals that have completed message transmission increases, at least one of the switching lines used as a transmission line In the form of switching the application to use the part as an incoming line, increasing the number of switching circuits to be used as the incoming line it has a configuration that.

According to this structure, the number of incoming lines can be increased at a timing when demand is expected to increase without increasing the total number of lines in the system, so that the message transfer processing is delayed due to the shortage of incoming lines. The situation can be avoided without increasing the lines. Further, the line usage determining means obtains a completion rate which is a ratio of the number of message-transmitted terminals to the total number of terminals to which the message is transmitted, and when the completion rate exceeds a threshold value, the switching line to be used as an incoming line is selected. It is also possible to increase the number.

According to this structure, the number of incoming lines can be increased at a timing when the transmission process proceeds to some extent and the demand for incoming lines begins to increase. Further, a threshold is set for each of the switching lines, and the line usage determining means compares the completion rate with a threshold set for each of the switching lines used as a transmission line, When the completion rate exceeds the threshold, the number of switching lines used as incoming lines can be increased by switching the application so that the switching line for which the threshold is set is used as the incoming line. .

According to such a configuration, the number of incoming lines is sequentially increased as the completion rate rises. Therefore, as compared with the method of rapidly increasing the incoming lines immediately after the completion rate exceeds the threshold, the transmission lines are conversely increased. The situation of shortage is less likely to occur. Further, when the transfer processing of a plurality of messages is executed in parallel, the line usage determining unit determines the total number of the terminals having been transmitted for each of the plurality of messages with respect to the total number of the destination terminals of each of the plurality of messages. Alternatively, the completion rate may be obtained in the form of the ratio of.

With such a configuration, the above effect can be realized even in an environment in which a plurality of messages are changed and transferred. Further, the line usage determining means starts transfer of another message during a certain message transfer process, completes transfer of one message from a state in which a plurality of messages have been transferred, or does not complete transfer. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the completion rate is recalculated when the number of messages being transferred is changed due to the transfer being stopped due to a timeout.

With such a configuration, even if the number of messages to be transferred changes, the number of incoming lines can be increased correspondingly. Further, the line usage determining means further uses the switching as the incoming line when the completion rate is higher than the threshold value until the completion rate becomes less than the threshold value as a result of recalculating the completion rate. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the application is switched so that part or all of the line is used as a transmission line.

According to such a configuration, in an environment in which a plurality of messages are transferred in parallel, the above effect can be achieved without causing a situation in which the transmission lines run short. Further, it may be configured to further include a threshold setting unit that changes the threshold according to an instruction from the administrator.
According to such a configuration, even after the operation of the system is started, the number of incoming lines can be easily adjusted by updating one parameter called a threshold value.

Further, the above effect is that the transmission process of transmitting a message, the registration of which has been accepted in advance, to each of the plurality of terminals using the transmission line, and the reception confirmation of the message is received from each of the plurality of terminals. In a message transfer system that executes a message transfer process including a confirmation acceptance process that accepts using, use as a transmission line or use as a reception line for each of a plurality of switching lines that are selectively used as a transmission line or a reception line. A line management device for deciding whether to make a call, and as the number of terminals that have completed message transmission among the plurality of terminals increases, at least a part of the switching lines used as transmission lines is received. Increase the number of switching lines used as incoming lines by switching the usage to use as lines. Cormorants can also be achieved by the line management device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration in an embodiment of a message transfer system according to the present invention together with a related external configuration.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration and contents of line information according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration and contents of progress management information in the same embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of a switching unit in the same embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Message transfer system 10 Switching unit 11 Transmitter / receiver 12 Recording section 13 Switching determination unit 14 Memory 21 Reception Department 22 Message sender 23 Registered data storage C line controller

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Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A transmission process for transmitting a message, the registration of which has been accepted in advance, to each of a plurality of terminals using a transmission line, and a confirmation of acceptance of receipt of the message from each of the plurality of terminals using an incoming line. A message transfer system for executing a message transfer process including an acceptance process, wherein a plurality of switching lines selectively used as a transmission line or an incoming line and a transmission line for each of the plurality of switchable lines are used. A line usage determining means for determining whether to use or as a receiving line, the line usage determining means is configured to switch the switching line as the number of terminals that have completed message transmission among the plurality of terminals increases. Of the incoming lines, at least a part of those used as outgoing lines was switched to use as incoming lines. A message transfer system characterized by increasing the number of switching lines used as. 2. The line usage determining unit obtains a completion rate, which is a ratio of the number of message-sent terminals to the total number of terminals to which a message is sent, and when the completion rate exceeds a threshold value, it is used as an incoming line. The message transfer system according to claim 1, wherein the number of switching lines is increased. 3. A threshold is set for each of the switching lines, and the line application determining means compares the completion rate with a threshold set for each of the switching lines used as a transmission line. However, when the completion rate exceeds the threshold, the number of switching lines used as incoming lines is increased by switching the use so that the switching line for which the threshold is set is used as the incoming line. The message transfer system according to claim 2. 4. When the transfer processing of a plurality of messages is executed in parallel, the line usage determining means determines the total number of destination terminals of each of the plurality of messages, and the transmitted terminals of each of the plurality of messages. The message transfer system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the completion rate is obtained in the form of a ratio of the total number of. 5. The line usage determining means starts transfer of another message during a certain message transfer process, transfers one message from a state in which a plurality of messages are transferred, and transfers the other message. The message transfer system according to claim 4, wherein the completion rate is recalculated when the number of messages being processed changes. 6. The line usage determining means further uses the line as an incoming line when the completion rate is recalculated and the completion rate, which has been equal to or higher than the threshold until then, is lower than the threshold. 6. The message transfer system according to claim 5, wherein the use is switched so that a part or all of the switching line that has been used is used as a transmission line. 7. The message transfer system according to claim 2, further comprising threshold setting means for changing the threshold according to an instruction from an administrator. 8. A transmission process of transmitting a message, the registration of which has been accepted in advance, to each of a plurality of terminals using a transmission line, and a confirmation of acceptance of receipt of the message from each of the plurality of terminals using an incoming line. In a message transfer system that executes a message transfer process including an acceptance process, it is determined whether each of a plurality of switching lines selectively used as a transmission line or a reception line is used as a transmission line or a reception line. A line management device, wherein as the number of terminals that have completed message transmission among the plurality of terminals increases, at least a part of the switching lines used as transmission lines is used as a reception line. Lines characterized by increasing the number of switching lines used as incoming lines by switching the usage to Management apparatus.