JP2003250003A - Mobile phone, server apparatus, and information communication method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize an Internet phone call even between mobile phones by quickly acquiring an IP address of an opposite mobile phone even under an environment where an IP address can properly be revised. <P>SOLUTION: A user management unit 205 of a home server sequentially updates an IP address of its own mobile phone A and stores the resulting IP address. A storage unit 105 of a mobile phone B stores the IP address of the home server. The mobile phone B accesses the home server on the basis of the IP address stored in the storage unit 105 to acquire the IP address of the mobile phone A. Then the mobile phone A makes a phone call with the mobile phone A via a network from an access point on the basis of the acquired IP address to establish a communication path. <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 portable telephone device, a server device and an information communication method, and is particularly suitable for data communication via a network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An existing mobile phone system is constructed by a base station and a telephone communication network. During a call, the mobile phone device of the self and the mobile phone device of the other party access the nearest base station, and the communication line between the mobile phone devices is established by the telephone line between the base stations. Call charges in such mobile phone systems usually increase with distance. Therefore, telephone charges for long-distance calls, such as in rural areas and overseas, are considerably high.

Recently, a so-called Internet telephone, in which a terminal device such as a personal computer communicates with a portable telephone device via the Internet, has become widespread.
Such an internet telephone connects to the internet via an access point. Therefore,
Calls can be made cheaply compared to the call charges of existing mobile phone systems. In particular, when making a call over a long distance, such as in a rural area or overseas, the call can be made at a much lower charge.

[0004]

Such an internet telephone establishes a communication path by an IP address. Therefore, when trying to make a telephone call using the Internet telephone, it is necessary to previously assign an IP address between both terminals. However, in the case of a mobile phone device, the access point cannot be set in advance for the mobile phone device because the access point is appropriately changed depending on the movement. In such a case, it becomes necessary to acquire or set the IP address of the other party's mobile phone by some method during a call.

Therefore, the present invention eliminates such an inconvenience, and even in an environment in which the IP address can be changed appropriately, the IP address of the other party's mobile telephone device can be quickly acquired, and thus the internet telephone can be used between the mobile telephone devices. The present invention provides a mobile phone device, a server device, and an information communication method that can realize the above.

[0006]

In view of the above problems, the present invention has the following features.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a data processing means for processing data supplied via a communication path, a self IP address storage means for storing an own IP address supplied from an access point, and a partner mobile phone. IP of device
Between the server IP address storage unit that stores the IP address of the server that stores the address, and the other party's mobile phone based on the IP address of the other party's mobile phone device obtained by accessing the server with the IP address of the server And a communication control means for establishing a communication path.

A second aspect of the present invention relates to a server device, which comprises a transmitting / receiving means for transmitting / receiving data to / from a portable telephone device, and a portable telephone IP address storing means for storing an IP address of the portable telephone device. , The IP address is transferred to the mobile phone I in response to a registration request from the mobile phone device.
IP address registration means for registering in the P address storage means and IP address supply means for reading out the IP address from the mobile phone IP address storage means and supplying it to the mobile phone apparatus in response to an acquisition request from the mobile phone apparatus. It is characterized by having.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the server apparatus according to the second aspect, the portable telephone IP address storage means corresponds to the telephone number of the portable telephone apparatus to which the IP address is attached, and the IP address. Memorize
The P-address registration means compares the telephone number of the mobile telephone device that has made a registration request with the telephone number stored in the mobile telephone IP address storage means, and if the two match, responds to the telephone number. It is characterized in that the IP address is updated to the IP address requested for registration.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the server device according to the second or third aspect, the IP address supply means determines whether or not the IP address registered in the mobile phone IP address storage means is valid. Further comprising: an IP address confirming unit, wherein when the IP address confirming unit determines that the IP address is not valid,
A notification to that effect is supplied to the mobile phone device.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the server device according to the fourth aspect, the IP address confirmation means requests to return a telephone number to the IP address registered in the portable telephone IP address storage means. Is issued, and the telephone number supplied in response to this is compared with the telephone number of the IP address stored in the mobile telephone IP address storage means, and when the two match, the IP address is valid. It is characterized in that

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the server device according to the second or third aspect, the IP address supply means determines whether or not the IP address registered in the mobile phone IP address storage means is valid. Further comprising: an IP address confirming unit, wherein when the IP address confirming unit determines that the IP address is not valid,
The valid IP address is acquired and supplied to the mobile phone device, and the valid IP address is set to the IP address.
The mobile phone IP address storage means is registered by the address registration means.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information communication method performed between a mobile telephone device connected to a network via an access point and a server device connected to the network, wherein the mobile telephone device is used. Issuing a request to register the IP address of the mobile phone to the server device I
P address registration request step, registration request adequacy confirmation step of determining whether or not the registration request is valid in the server device, and IP that registers with the IP address in the server device when the registration request is valid An address registration step and a registration request invalidation notification step of notifying that the registration request is invalid from the server device to the mobile phone device when the registration request is invalid.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information communication method performed between a mobile phone device connected to a network via an access point and a server device connected to the network, the mobile phone device comprising: An IP address supply requesting step for issuing a request for supplying the IP address of the other party's mobile phone to the server device, and an IP address presence / absence determining step for determining whether or not the IP address requested by the server device exists. When the IP address exists, the server device supplies the IP address to the mobile phone device.
It is characterized by including a P address supplying step and an IP address nonexistence notifying step of notifying that the IP address does not exist from the server apparatus to the mobile phone apparatus when the IP address does not exist. .

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the information communication method according to the eighth aspect, when the IP address for which the supply request is made exists, it is determined whether the IP address is valid, and the IP address is determined. Is valid, then I
The P address is supplied to the mobile phone device, and when the IP address is invalid, the mobile phone is notified that the IP address does not exist.

In the above claims, the term "portable telephone device" means a portable terminal device having a function capable of making a telephone connection to an access point, which is a PHS.
(Personal-Handyphone-System
In addition to em) and the like, it also includes a mobile terminal device that has the function therein or is added by an adapter.

The features of the present invention will be further clarified by the following description of the embodiments.

The "data processing means" in the claims
Are data processing units 102A and 102B in the embodiment
Corresponds. The "self IP address storage means" in the claims corresponds to the storage units 105A and 105B in the embodiments. The "server IP address storage means" in the claims corresponds to the storage units 105A and 105B in the embodiments. The “communication control means” in the claims corresponds to the communication control units 101A and 101B in the embodiments.

The "transmission / reception means" in the claims corresponds to the communication interface 201 and the data transmission / reception unit 202 in the embodiment. The "mobile phone IP address storage means" in the claims corresponds to the user management unit (database) 205 in the embodiment. The “IP address registration means” in the claims corresponds to the terminal control unit 204 and the user authentication unit 206 in the embodiment.
The "IP address supply means" in the claims corresponds to the terminal control unit 204 in the embodiment. The "IP address confirmation means" in the claims corresponds to the terminal control unit 204 in the embodiment.

Further, the steps described in claims 5 to 8 are included in the flowcharts of FIGS. 4 to 6, respectively. The correspondence of each step will be apparent from the description of the flowchart.

However, the following embodiment is merely one embodiment of the present invention. The meaning of the terms of the present invention and each constituent element is not limited to those described in the following embodiments.

[0022]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a network system according to the embodiment. A home server (home gateway: HGW) is connected to the network. Further, a mobile phone device (hereinafter, simply referred to as “mobile phone”) is connected to the network via an access point. In the figure, a mobile phone A and a mobile phone B are connected to a network via an access point. The mobile phone A and the home server are owned by the same owner. The mobile phone B is the mobile phone of the calling source of the mobile phone A. First, the configuration of the mobile phone will be described. The mobile phone A and the mobile phone B have the same configuration. For convenience, the symbols A and B are added after the numbers of the respective parts to distinguish them. It should be noted that among the configurations of the mobile phone, other than the configuration related to the Internet phone, the existing mobile phones are well known, and therefore, illustration and description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in the figure, the mobile phone includes a communication interface section 101, a data processing section 102, and a terminal control section 1.
03, a connection confirmation unit 104, and a storage unit 105.

The communication interface unit 101 controls transmission / reception with an access point. In addition, the data processing unit 1
The data processing unit 102 stores the transmission data from the packet No. 02 in the packet and extracts the reception data from the packet
Supply to. The data processing unit 102 processes the data from the communication interface unit 101, encodes the transmission data, and supplies the encoded transmission data to the communication interface unit 101.
The terminal control unit 103 controls each unit according to a preset control flow. The details of the control will be described later.

The connection confirmation unit 104 issues a PING command to the home server when performing wireless communication with the home server, and determines whether or not the wireless communication with the home server is possible depending on whether or not there is a response. Check. Storage unit 105
Updates its own IP address supplied from the access point at any time and stores it. In addition, I
The IP address of the home server that stores the P address is stored.

Next, the configuration of the home server will be described. As illustrated, the home server includes a communication interface unit 201, a data transmission / reception unit 202, and a terminal control unit 20.
3, connection confirmation unit 204, and user management database 2
05 (hereinafter referred to as “user management DB 205”),
The user authentication unit 206 is provided.

The communication interface unit 201 controls transmission / reception with the network. Data transmitter / receiver 20
2 is a data transmission / reception unit 2 for transmitting data from the network.
02, and also transfers the data from the data transmitting / receiving unit 202 to the network. Data transmitter / receiver 202
Controls transmission and reception of data to and from the network via the communication interface unit 201. Terminal control unit 203
Controls each unit according to a preset control flow.
The details of the control will be described later.

The connection confirmation unit 204 issues a PING command to the mobile phone when performing wireless communication with the mobile phone, and determines whether or not the wireless communication with the mobile phone is possible depending on whether or not there is a response. Check. The user management DB 205 is
The IP address of the mobile phone owned by the owner of the home server is stored in association with the telephone number of the mobile phone. When there is a request for registration of an IP address from the mobile phone, the user authentication unit 206 compares the phone number of the mobile phone with the phone number in the user management DB 205 and determines whether the two match.

FIG. 2 shows a storage form of the IP address of the home server in the storage unit 105 of the mobile phone. The storage unit 105 stores the IP address of the home server (HGW) that stores the IP address of the mobile phone in association with the telephone number of the other mobile phone. The registration of the IP address is performed manually or by automatic setting in response to a registration request from the home server.

FIG. 3 shows the user management DB 2 of the home server.
The storage form of the IP address of the mobile phone in 05 is shown. The IP address of the mobile phone owned by the owner of the home server is stored in the user management DB in association with the phone number of the mobile phone. When there are a plurality of owners or when one owner owns a plurality of mobile phones, the IP addresses are registered and managed as many as the mobile phones. The cell phone number is usually entered manually by the owner. The registration of the IP address of each mobile phone is performed according to the following control flowchart.

In FIG. 4, the mobile phone I is connected to the home server.
The control flowchart at the time of registering a P address is shown. The control flowchart defines the operation when the mobile phone A of FIG. 1 registers its own IP address in its own home server.

When the registration operation of the mobile phone IP address is started at a predetermined timing, first, in step S101, the storage unit 105A of the mobile phone A is referenced to allocate the IP address to the mobile phone A. Is determined. Here, if the IP address is not assigned, the process proceeds to step S103, the mobile phone A accesses the access point, receives the supply of the IP address, and stores it in the storage unit 105A. When the IP address is already stored in the storage unit 105A, the process proceeds to step S102, and the work of registering the IP address with the home server is performed.

First, in step S102, it is determined whether wireless communication is possible with the home server. As described above, this determination is performed by the connection confirmation unit 104A. Here, if wireless communication is possible, wireless communication is used. If wireless communication is not possible, connection is made to a network via an access point and the home server is accessed via the network.

When the home server is accessed, the process proceeds to step S104, where the mobile phone A issues a request for registration of its own IP address including its own telephone number to the home server. The home server determines whether the registration request is appropriate, and if the registration request is valid, registers the IP address in the user management DB 205 as described above. The process of the home server after receiving the registration request will be described later in detail.

FIG. 5 shows a control flowchart for establishing a communication path between mobile phones based on IP addresses. The control flowchart defines the operation when the mobile phone B of FIG. 1 calls the mobile phone A to establish a communication path.

When the telephone mode of the Internet telephone is set and the telephone number of the mobile telephone A is input, the mobile telephone B first stores the storage unit 10 in step S201.
5B refers to and determines whether its own IP address is assigned. If the IP address is not assigned here, the process proceeds to step S202, the mobile phone B accesses the access point, receives the supply of the IP address, and stores it in the storage unit 105B. Also, the storage unit 1
If the IP address is already stored in 05B,
In step S203, an IP address supply request to the home server is made.

In this supply request, the mobile phone B
It is determined whether or not the IP address of the home server that manages the IP address of the mobile phone A trying to make a call is stored in the storage unit 105B. Here, if the IP address of the destination home server is not stored, step S20.
At 7, the Internet call mode is canceled and the mode is switched to the normal call mode using radio waves. On the other hand, if the IP address of the destination home server is stored, the process proceeds to step S204, and the destination home server is accessed via the Internet.

When the other party's home server is accessed, the process proceeds to step S205, where the mobile phone B issues a request to supply the IP address of the mobile phone A including the phone number of the mobile phone A to the home server. In response to the supply request, the home server A supplies the IP address of the mobile phone A to the mobile phone B, and if the IP address of the mobile phone A does not exist, the home server A sends a notification to that effect. Supply to B. In response to this response, the mobile phone B
Determines whether the mobile phone A has an IP address. The processing of the home server after receiving the request for supplying the IP address will be described later in detail.

When the response from the home server is "no IP address" in step S205, the process proceeds to step S207, the Internet call mode is canceled, and the mode is switched to the normal call mode using radio waves. On the other hand, if the response is “with IP address”, the process proceeds to step S206, and a call is made to the mobile phone A based on the IP address. Then, mobile phone A
When such a call is received, the communication line via the network is established between the mobile phone B and the mobile phone A, and the call becomes possible.

FIG. 6 shows a processing flowchart of the home server for the registration request and the supply request.

When it is determined in step S301 that a request is made from the mobile phone, it is determined in step S302 whether or not the request is an IP address registration request. If it is determined that the request is a registration request (for example, the registration request from the mobile phone A), the process proceeds to step S303, and based on the phone number included in the registration request, the phone number is set in the user management DB 205. Determine if they match. If they match, the IP address corresponding to the telephone number is updated to the IP address requested for registration and stored. On the other hand, if they do not match, it is determined that the mobile phone does not have registration authority, and the fact is notified to the mobile phone.

If it is determined in step S302 that the request is not a registration request from a mobile phone, the flow advances to step S306 to determine whether the request is an IP address acquisition request. If it is determined that the request is an acquisition request (for example, the acquisition request from the mobile phone B), the process proceeds to step S307. Based on the telephone number included in the acquisition request, it is determined whether the IP address requested to be acquired exists in the user management DB 205. Here, if it is determined that it does not exist, the process proceeds to step S310, and the fact is notified to the supply requesting mobile phone. On the other hand, if it is determined that the IP address exists, the process advances to step S308 to determine whether the IP address is currently valid.

The determination is performed as follows. First, the home server issues a telephone number supply request to the IP address for which the acquisition request has been made (the IP address existing in the user management DB 205). Next, the response from the partner terminal to the request is analyzed to determine whether the response includes a telephone number. Then, the telephone number corresponds to the IP address and the user management DB
It is determined whether or not it matches the telephone number stored in 205, and if it matches, it is determined that the IP address is valid. On the other hand, if the response does not include the telephone number, or if the telephone number included in the response does not match the telephone number stored in the user management DB 205 corresponding to the IP address, It is determined that the IP address is invalid.

If it is determined in step S308 that the IP address is valid, the process advances to step S309 to transmit the IP address to the requesting mobile phone.
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S308 that the IP address is invalid, the flow advances to step S310 to notify the supply requesting mobile phone that the IP address does not exist.

If the wireless communication between the home server and the mobile phone is possible, the processes of steps S308 and S309 are changed as follows. First, the home server requests the mobile phone to supply the current IP address. Next, the supplied IP address is compared with the IP address existing in the user management DB 205. If they match, the IP address is sent to the requesting mobile phone, and if they do not match, the current IP address supplied from the mobile phone is sent to the requesting mobile phone. At the same time, the current IP address is stored in the user management DB 205.

FIG. 7 shows the processing when the IP address is changed during a call. For example, assume that the IP address of the mobile phone A is changed. In such a case, the mobile phone A issues an IP address update request to the mobile phone B. In response to this, the mobile phone B updates the IP address of the mobile phone A during the call and returns an update response to the mobile phone A. As a result, a communication path with the new IP address is established. Furthermore, the mobile phone A issues an IP address update request to the home server. In response to this, the home server updates the IP address of the mobile phone A and returns an update response to the mobile phone A. This completes the IP address update process.

According to the above embodiment, the latest IP address of the mobile phone A is registered in the home server at any time, and the mobile phone B can obtain the latest IP address of the mobile phone A. Cell phone A I
Even if the P address is changed, a communication path can be established with the mobile phone A based on the changed IP address.

Further, since the home server registers the IP address after determining whether or not it has the authority to register the IP address, the unauthorized registration of the IP address by a person other than the owner of the mobile phone can be performed. Can be prevented. Furthermore, the home server confirms the validity of the IP address and then supplies it to the mobile phone B.
It is possible to prevent an incorrect IP address from being supplied from the home server at a timing when the address update registration has not been performed yet. In this way, by preventing illegal registration of IP addresses and supply of invalid IP addresses,
It is possible to prevent the establishment of an undesired communication path such as an erroneous telephone call, and it is possible to realize a good and smooth communication operation.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, a call between mobile phones is shown as an example.
Other than a call, data communication or the like can be performed by the established communication path. In the above description, the mobile phone device is shown as the mobile terminal device, but the present invention can also be applied to a mobile terminal device capable of making a telephone connection to an access point.

The embodiments of the present invention can be appropriately modified in various ways within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention.

[0052]

As described above, according to the present invention, the latest IP address relating to its own mobile telephone device is registered in the server device at any time, and another mobile telephone device can access the server device to generate the latest IP address. Since the latest IP address of the call destination mobile phone can be obtained, even if the IP address of the call destination mobile phone is changed due to movement or the like, the changed IP address is obtained from the server device and the call is made at any time. A communication path with the destination mobile phone can be established on the Internet.

Further, the server device determines whether or not it has the registration authority of the IP address, and then determines the IP address of its own mobile phone.
Since the address is registered, it is possible to prevent unauthorized registration of the IP address by a person other than the owner of the mobile phone. Further, since the server device supplies the mobile phone B with the IP address after confirming the validity of the IP address, an incorrect IP address is sent from the server device at a timing when the update registration of the IP address is not yet performed. It can be prevented from being supplied. By thus preventing the illegal registration of the IP address and the supply of the invalid IP address, it is possible to prevent the establishment of an undesired communication path such as a wrong telephone call, thereby realizing a good and smooth communication operation. become able to. can do.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a network system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a storage form of the mobile phone device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a storage form of the home server according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart when registering an IP address according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart when an IP address is requested according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a control flowchart of the home server according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a flow of control when changing an IP address according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

101 Communication interface section 102 data processing unit 103 terminal control unit 104 Connection confirmation part 105 storage 201 Communication interface section 202 data transceiver 203 terminal control unit 204 Connection confirmation part 205 user management database 206 User Authentication Unit

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04Q 7/34 H04Q 7/04 C F term (reference) 5K024 CC11 GG01 GG03 GG05 5K030 HA08 HB01 HC01 HC09 JT09 KA01 KA05 KA06 5K051 BB01 CC01 CC02 GG03 HH18 5K067 AA21 BB04 BB21 DD17 DD23 HH21 HH23

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A data processing means for processing data supplied via a communication path, a self IP address storage means for storing its own IP address supplied from an access point, and an IP address of a partner mobile telephone device. Server IP address storage means for storing the IP address of the server to be stored, and communication with the other party mobile phone device based on the IP address of the other party mobile phone device obtained by accessing the server with the IP address of the server A mobile phone device, comprising: communication control means for establishing a path. 2. A transmitting / receiving means for transmitting / receiving data to / from a mobile phone device, a mobile phone IP address storing means for storing an IP address of the mobile phone device, and the IP in response to a registration request from the mobile phone device. IP address registration means for registering an address in the mobile phone IP address storage means, and IP for reading out the IP address from the mobile phone IP address storage means in response to an acquisition request from the mobile phone device and supplying the IP address to the mobile phone device. A server device comprising: an address supply unit. 3. The mobile phone IP address storage means according to claim 2, wherein the mobile phone IP address storage means stores the IP address in association with the phone number of the mobile phone device to which the IP address is attached, and the IP address registration means , Comparing the telephone number of the portable telephone device that has made a registration request with the telephone number stored in the portable telephone IP address storage means, and if they match, the IP address corresponding to the telephone number is A server device characterized by updating to an IP address for which a registration request has been made. 4. The IP address supply means according to claim 3, further comprising an IP address confirmation means for determining whether or not the IP address registered in the mobile phone IP address storage means is valid. A server device, characterized in that, when the confirmation means determines that the IP address is not valid, a notification to that effect is supplied to the mobile phone device. 5. The IP address confirmation means according to claim 4, wherein the IP address confirmation means issues a request for returning a telephone number to the IP address registered in the mobile phone IP address storage means, and is supplied in response to this request. And comparing the telephone number with the telephone number of the IP address stored in the mobile telephone IP address storage means, and if the two match, it is determined that the IP address is valid. Server device. 6. The IP address supply means according to claim 2, further comprising an IP address confirmation means for determining whether or not the IP address registered in the mobile phone IP address storage means is valid. When the IP address confirmation unit determines that the IP address is not valid, the valid IP address is acquired and supplied to the mobile phone device, and the valid IP address is registered by the IP address registration unit. A server device characterized by being registered in a mobile phone IP address storage means. 7. An information communication method performed between a mobile phone device connected to a network via an access point and a server device connected to the network, wherein the mobile phone device sends the server device to the server device. An IP address registration request step for issuing a registration request for the IP address of the mobile phone; a registration request adequacy confirmation step for determining whether the registration request is valid in the server device; and a case where the registration request is valid. An IP address registration step of registering with the IP address in the server device, and registration of notifying the registration request from the server device to the mobile phone device when the registration request is invalid An information communication method, comprising: a request invalidation notification step. 8. An information communication method performed between a mobile phone device connected to a network via an access point and a server device connected to the network, wherein the mobile phone device sends the server device to the server device. An IP address supply request step for issuing a supply request for the IP address of the other party's mobile phone; and the IP for which the supply request is made in the server device.
An IP address presence / absence determining step of determining whether or not an address exists; an IP address supplying step of supplying the IP address from the server apparatus to the mobile phone apparatus when the IP address exists; An IP address nonexistence notification step of notifying that the IP address does not exist from the server device to the mobile phone device when the IP address does not exist. 9. The IP address according to claim 8, wherein when the IP address for which the supply request is made exists, it is determined whether or not the IP address is valid and the IP address is valid.
When the address is valid, the IP address is supplied to the mobile phone device, and when the IP address is invalid, the mobile phone is notified that the IP address does not exist. Information communication characterized by the above-mentioned. Method.