JP2004172771A - Communication control method and communication control program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem wherein an internet telephone system is prevented from being widely used, because the restrictions on the execution of the internet telephone in a terminal, to which only the private IP addresses are assigned is large, in the internet telephone executed between terminals, such as PCs. <P>SOLUTION: In a communication control method for controlling communication of calling information between first and second terminals which are capable of communicating with each other via the Internet, the first terminal generates first calling information, using information inputted from the first user of the first terminal, and the second terminal generates second calling information using information inputted from the second user of the second terminal. When a global IP address is assigned to only the first terminal, the second terminal uploads the second calling information for the first terminal, and downloads the first calling information from the first terminal. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a communication control method and a communication control program for realizing Internet telephone communication by real-time information communication via the Internet between terminals connectable to the Internet. More specifically, communication is possible not only between global IP addresses but also across private IP addresses without the need for special hardware devices, and it is possible to communicate with the user's location (terminal in use). The present invention relates to an Internet telephone system capable of making a telephone call and information processing thereof.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In TCP / IP, which is a communication protocol used in the Internet, LAN, and the like, there are two types of addresses on a network, such as a global IP address and a private IP address, provided to terminals and the like.
[0003]
A global IP address is an address for specifying a terminal on the Internet by directly using it on the Internet. A terminal to which a global IP address is assigned connects to the Internet, and is similarly connected to the Internet. While being able to access the terminal or network that is present, it can accept access from other networks or terminals.
[0004]
The private IP address is not an IP address directly used on the Internet, but a local address arbitrarily assigned to a terminal connected to a LAN by a network administrator in an in-house LAN or the like. Therefore, a private IP address can uniquely determine a specific terminal in a certain LAN, but has a property of being used repeatedly in a plurality of LANs connected to the Internet, and cannot uniquely identify a terminal. Not available.
[0005]
Internet telephone ("Internet telephone" in the present application refers to real-time voice / image communication (RT) via the Internet using a communication terminal such as a personal computer (PC) or a portable information terminal (PDA) under a network connection environment. In this case, each terminal that performs communication generally needs to have a global IP address in order to perform two-way communication of call information. If one terminal to communicate has only a private IP address, the other terminal having a global IP address cannot receive call information because it cannot identify the communication partner. Become.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a case in which voice and image information communication using an Internet telephone is performed between a terminal 1302 to which a private IP address is assigned and a terminal 1310 to which a global IP address is assigned. It is.
[0007]
In FIG. 12, a terminal 1202 can access a terminal 1210 having a global IP address. At this time, the terminal 1202 converts its own private IP address into a global IP address via a NAT (Network Address Translation or NAPT: Network Address Port Translation) server 1204. Since this address conversion function dynamically assigns an assignable global IP address to a private IP address, the terminal 1210 receives the global IP address from the terminal 1202 even if it is notified of the access. Cannot be used to access the terminal 1202. That is, FIG. 12 connected to the router 1203 has a plurality of terminals (not shown), and a global IP address may be dynamically assigned to any of the terminals, and the terminal 1202 cannot be specified.
[0008]
Also, since the NAT replaces up to the port number at the time of address translation, even if the replaced port number and the global IP address are specified and accessed, the firewall set in the LAN 1201 is not allowed for external access. There is a problem that the connection works and is rejected.
[0009]
As described above, in a general Internet connection environment, communication by Internet telephone using a terminal to which a global IP address is not statically assigned cannot be performed.
[0010]
If you still want to communicate, you can set the router specially or install a repeater with a dedicated router function, but in that case, knowledge about the IP address or router setting and data input Is required for users.
[0011]
In addition, when using a dedicated hardware device for an Internet telephone such as a dedicated router, a dedicated port for transmitting and receiving data may be used, so that a firewall installed on an in-house LAN may be used. There is a problem that can not be.
[0012]
Furthermore, although a global IP address can be statically assigned to a specific client machine, the number of global IP addresses that can be normally assigned is limited, and only a small number of all the client machines connected to the organization LAN. Not only will some machines be able to use Internet phones, meaning that introducing Internet phones will not be meaningful, but will also have a significant effect on the Internet connection status of other client machines.
[0013]
Conventionally, since the IP address of the terminal is used as a so-called telephone number, the latest IP address of the other party who wants to make a call must be known before the call, and a fixed global IP address must be used. With a terminal that does not have it, it is virtually impossible to specify the destination. Also, when an IP address is used instead of a telephone number, it is unfamiliar to general users in the Internet world, which hinders the spread of Internet telephones.
[0014]
To solve this problem, a call management server called a gatekeeper (GK) is installed on the Internet, and those who intend to make a call are required to register in advance. In this method, the address of the partner can be specified in combination with the location server. However, there is no mechanism for exchanging the ID information possessed by the GK between the independent systems, and the system is widely end-to-end. ) Communication cannot be performed. In addition, the GK function is not designed to be installed on the user side, which hinders stable operation on the user side. Furthermore, even in the system via GK, the use of a system-specific address designated by GK, which is unfamiliar to general users, must be used instead of the IP address, which hinders the spread of Internet telephones.
[0015]
Further, when a call between PCs is established using an IP address instead of a telephone number, the presence information on whether or not the intended party uses the client machine to which the IP address is assigned is managed. There is a need to. This presence information is very important in end-to-end communication, and unless the presence information is managed, a call request is made to the client terminal regardless of the user's current location, and privacy is maintained. A problem arises that it cannot be protected.
[0016]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is as follows. If the client machine has an Internet connection environment, the IP address to be assigned may be global or private, and it is possible to make a telephone call uniformly by Internet telephone, In addition, the following means are provided for the purpose of enabling a telephone call using an Internet telephone in the current Internet connection environment without newly installing special hardware or performing complicated environment settings.
[0017]
In a communication control method for controlling communication of call information between a plurality of terminals including a first terminal and a second terminal communicable via the Internet, the first terminal includes the first terminal Generating first call information using information input from a first user of the terminal, wherein the second terminal uses information input from a second user of the second terminal. Generating second call information, wherein the second terminal uploads the second call information to the first terminal when a global IP address is assigned only to the first terminal; Then, the first call information is downloaded from the first terminal.
[0018]
When only a private IP address is assigned to the first terminal and the second terminal, the first terminal and the second terminal communicate with the server on the Internet by the first terminal. The second call information and the second call information are respectively uploaded, and the second call information and the first call information uploaded on the server are respectively downloaded.
[0019]
Further, when a global IP address is assigned to the first terminal and the second terminal, the first terminal downloads the second call information, and the second terminal The first feature is that the call information is downloaded.
[0020]
Further, another aspect of the present invention for solving the above problem is a communication control method for mediating communication of call information between a first terminal and a second terminal communicable via the Internet. Receiving an upload of first call information generated in the first terminal from the first terminal, and uploading second communication information generated in the second terminal from the second terminal Receiving the download of the uploaded second call information from the first terminal, and receiving the download of the uploaded first call information from the second terminal. I do.
[0021]
According to still another aspect of the present invention for solving the above-described problems, the first terminal and the second terminal include a plurality of terminals including a first terminal and a second terminal communicable via the Internet. A communication control method for starting communication of call information to the second terminal, wherein the first terminal receives a communication start request from a first user of the first terminal, In response to accepting the communication start request, a communication start request is transmitted by e-mail to a second mail address used by a second user of the second terminal, and the second terminal starts the communication start. Receiving a request, notifying the second user of the second terminal of the reception of the communication start request, accepting permission to start communication from the second user, and responding to the acceptance of permission to start communication. Communication permission And transmitting the knowledge to the first terminal.
[0022]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0023]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an Internet telephone system according to an embodiment of the present invention. First, in FIG. 1, reference numerals 101 and 102 denote terminals used by users who communicate call data (details will be described later) including voice information and image information using the Internet telephone system of the present invention. An IP address or a private IP address is statically assigned. However, the private IP address may be dynamically assigned using a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server (not shown). In the following description, a user using the user terminal 101 is referred to as a user 1 and a user using the user terminal 102 is referred to as a user 2.
[0024]
FIG. 1 illustrates a case in which the user 1 and the user 2 make a call between the user terminal 101 and the user terminal 102. However, this is merely an example, and the two-way telephone call according to the present invention is an Internet telephone. Not limited to this, three or more users from the user terminal 105 to the user terminal N can talk at the same time.
[0025]
Reference numeral 103 denotes a PhoneGate server for mediating voice communication when either the user terminal 101 or 102 is a terminal to which a global IP address cannot be statically assigned. Reference numeral 104 denotes the Internet to which the user terminals 101 and 102 and the PhoneGate server 103 are connected. In FIG. 1, connections are simplified, but when the user terminals 101 and 102 are client terminals or the like connected to an in-house LAN, as shown in FIG. It goes without saying that it is connected to the Internet via a router, a DHCP server or the like.
[0026]
Next, an outline of the configuration of the user terminals 101 and 102 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2A, a CPU 201 controls the operation of the entire user terminal 101 or 102 according to a program stored in a ROM 202, a RAM 203, or an internal storage device 704. The ROM 202 stores a control program for the CPU 201 and the like. The RAM 203 temporarily stores programs and the like, and operates the user terminal 101 or 102 at high speed.
[0027]
The internal storage device 212 further stores various application programs, web browser software, display objects, and the like, in addition to an InetPhone (InetPhone) program 213, address book data 214, and an operating system (OS) 215. .
[0028]
A user I / F (interface) 204 is an input interface such as a keyboard and a mouse. The display unit 211 performs various displays such as a GUI (graphical user interface) screen and a browser screen generated by the InetPhone program. The communication unit 205 is for connecting to the Internet 104 and performing mutual communication.
[0029]
Reference numeral 206 denotes a sound processing unit which converts sound recorded by the microphone 208 into digital data so that it can be taken into the user terminal, or converts digital data into an analog signal and converts sound information using the speaker 207. It fulfills functions such as reproduction.
[0030]
The image processing unit 209 performs a process of converting an analog image signal acquired by the image input unit 210 into digital image data. The image input unit 210 is configured by an image sensor using an image pickup device such as a CCD or a CMOS.
[0031]
Next, details of the InetPhone program 213 will be described with reference to FIG. 2B.
[0032]
First, in FIG. 2B, the InetPhone program has a call data processing module 221, a calling module 222, a standby module 223, a connection module 224, and an environment setting module 225.
[0033]
The call data processing module is a program for processing call data transmitted / received between the terminal 221 and the user terminals 101 and 102. Specifically, audio information obtained from the microphone 208 via the sound processing unit 206 and image information obtained from the image input unit 210 via the image processing unit 209 are converted into a data stream that can be attached to an HTML file. Convert and attach to HTML file to generate call data (more specifically, compress the data stream of image information and audio information and convert the generated byte data to the format of an HTTP encoded text file) Or a voice and image data stream is extracted from the received call data in the HTML file format, the voice is converted into information reproducible by the speaker 207 via the sound processing unit 206, and the image is converted into information that can be displayed on the display unit. To process.
[0034]
Note that the bit rate of the data stream generated by the call data processing module 221 is changed according to the communication speed (communication band) set by the environment setting module 225 described later. For example, when communicating with a terminal using a 56 kbps modem, while reducing the bit rate of the audio data stream to 14.4 kbps, a communication speed of, for example, 12 Mbps can be secured by communication using ADSL or a cable Internet line. In such a case, the rate may be increased to 132 kbps.
[0035]
The calling module 222 is a program for executing a process of calling the user 2 of the user terminal 102 when the user terminal 101 attempts to make a call to the user terminal 102, and sends a mail to a mail address used by the user 2. Send Therefore, in the following embodiment, the user 1 will be described as a sender, the user 2 will be a receiver, the user terminal 101 will be a sender terminal, and the user terminal 102 will be described as a receiver terminal.
[0036]
The standby module 223 is a program resident in all terminals in which the InetPhone program is installed, and is a program for receiving a call request mail transmitted from the calling side. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the port number 110/143 is constantly monitored when the user terminal 102 receives a call request transmitted by e-mail from the user terminal 101. Also, the standby module 223 is used when the user 2 of the user terminal 102 refuses an incoming call from the user 1 of the user terminal 101 or when the user 2 is already talking with a third party at the time of receiving the call request. , "Call rejection" and "busy" are sent to the user 1's e-mail address by e-mail.
[0037]
The connection module 224 is a program for downloading / uploading an HTML file with voice and image data attached to each other terminal for transmitting and receiving call data between the user terminal 101 and the user terminal 102. .
[0038]
The environment setting module 225 is a program for setting various communication conditions between terminals performing a call and notifying the setting information to the terminal of the other party or the Phonegate server 103. The environment setting module 225 sets a communication speed between two terminals performing a call and a communication speed based on the performance of a modem of each terminal, a format setting of voice / image data, a voice / image processing device. Performs settings for audio / video input / output devices, ports, ringtones, etc., for terminals with a plurality of. This setting information is transmitted to the partner terminal or the Phonegate server 103 in an HTML file.
[0039]
For example, in the environment setting module 225, when “the amount of received voice data” <“the amount of data corresponding to the talk time” is satisfied, that is, since the voice data format is large, the data receiving speed catches up with the talk speed. If not, change the audio data format setting to one with low sound quality. On the other hand, when “the amount of received voice data” >> “the amount of data corresponding to the call time” is satisfied, that is, since the communication speed is sufficiently ensured, the data reception with respect to the call speed is performed. If the speed is sufficiently high, the setting of the format of the audio data is changed to that of high sound quality. Details of the format setting process in the environment setting module 225 will be described later.
[0040]
Next, an outline of the configuration of the PhoneGate server 103 will be described with reference to FIG. The PhoneGate server 103 may be a machine in which the PhoneGate program 313 is installed, and thus, by installing the PhoneGate program 313 on the user terminal 101, the phone gate server 103 can also function as the PhoneGate server 103. Further, among the components constituting the PhoneGate server, 301 to 311 achieve the same functions as the components 201 to 211 of the user terminals 101 and 102 shown in FIG.
[0041]
The internal storage device 312 further stores various application programs, web browser software, display objects, and the like, in addition to the PhoneGate program 313, address book data 314, and an operating system (OS) 315.
[0042]
Details of the PhoneGate program 313 will be described with reference to FIG. 3B. In FIG. 3B, the PhoneGate program 313 includes a voice transmitting / receiving module 321, a data relay module 322, a meta information transmitting / receiving module 323, and a session management module 324.
[0043]
When the user terminals 101 and 102 are both terminals to which private IP addresses are assigned, the call data transmission / reception module 321 uploads the call data from each terminal and downloads the uploaded call data by the user terminals 101 and 102. Is a program for controlling
[0044]
The data relay module 322 is a program for relaying call data. More specifically, for example, the program is a program for relaying data so that the user terminal 102 can download call data uploaded from the user terminal 101.
[0045]
The meta information transmission / reception module 323 stores information on the communication status (band state or communication speed) between the PhoneGate server 103 and the user terminals 101 and 102, and setting information set in the environment setting module 225 in each terminal. This is a program for transmitting and receiving data to and from 101 and 102.
[0046]
Further, when either of the user terminals 101 or 102 has a global IP address, the meta information transmission / reception module 323 uses the global IP address of one of the user terminals without using the global IP address of the PhoneGate server 103. It is also a program for communicating switching information for switching to a call.
[0047]
The session management module 324 is a program for managing a communication session for a call between the user terminals 101 and 102. Specifically, it monitors a call request for starting a call from a user terminal having a private IP address, and monitors a call termination.
[0048]
Next, with reference to FIG. 4, a description will be given of a communication mode in the Internet telephone system of the present invention. In FIG. 4, “GA” stands for global IP address, and “PA” stands for private IP address. Hereinafter, the same applies to other drawings.
[0049]
First, (a) is a diagram for explaining an outline of processing in a call between a terminal 401 having a global IP address and a terminal 402 having a private IP address. In (a), since only the private IP address is statically given to the terminal 402, the terminal 401 cannot identify the terminal 402, and cannot download call data from the terminal 401 to the terminal 402. However, uploading from terminal 402 to terminal 401 is possible because terminal 402 has a global IP address. Therefore, the terminal 402 uploads its own call data to the terminal 401 and downloads the user's call data at the terminal 401 to the terminal 402 side. As a result, both the terminal 401 and the terminal 402 can acquire the call data of the other party, and can make a call.
[0050]
Next, (b) shows a case where the terminals 403 and 404 both have a global IP address. In this case, the terminal 403 and the terminal 404 download the other party's call data from each other. , Call data can be obtained. Therefore, a call is established between the terminal 403 and the terminal 404.
[0051]
(C) shows a case where the terminal 405 and the terminal 406 both have only private IP addresses. In this case, since each terminal cannot access by specifying the other party, a call is made via the PhoneGate server 407. Specifically, the terminals 405 and 406 upload their own call data to the PhoneGate server 407, respectively. Thereby, the PhoneGate server 407 can acquire the call data generated in the terminals 405 and 406. Then, the call data is downloaded from the terminals 405 and 406 and reproduced at each terminal to establish a call. Thus, the PhoneGate server 407 is located between the terminals 405 and 406 and mediates call data.
[0052]
As described above, in the present invention, communication is established by downloading or uploading call data with reference to a terminal or server having a global IP address. Therefore, as long as there is a terminal or a server having a global IP address, simultaneous communication between two or more users has no technical obstacle.
[0053]
For example, as shown in FIG. 4D, in a call between the terminal 408 having the global IP address and the terminals 409 and 410 having the private IP addresses, the terminal 409 and the terminal 410 transmit their own call data to the terminal 408. In addition to uploading each, the call data generated by the terminal 408 and the call data uploaded by the other terminal may be downloaded. In this way, it can be understood that a call is established between the users of the terminals 408, 409, and 410.
[0054]
Next, more specifically, details of the call processing in the present invention for realizing the call form shown in FIG. 4 will be described with reference to flowcharts shown in FIGS. In the following, for the sake of simplicity, a two-party call is taken as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to a two-party call, but enables a call between a larger number of users. .
[0055]
First, a case where a call is made from user 1 (user terminal 101) to user 2 (user terminal 102) will be described with reference to FIGS. 5a and 5b.
[0056]
First, when the user 1 intends to make a telephone call, the user activates the InetPhone program (step S501). When the InetPhone program is started, the IP address of the user terminal 101 is confirmed. As a result, if a global IP address is statically assigned to the user terminal 101, the process proceeds to step S503. On the other hand, if the private IP address is statically assigned, the process moves to step S514.
[0057]
First, a case where a global IP address is assigned to the user terminal 101 will be described below. First, in step S503, a GUI for accepting the input of the receiving side mail address from the user 1 is displayed on the display unit 211, and the input of the mail address used by the receiving side, that is, the user 2 is received.
[0058]
At this time, an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 211 is as shown in FIG. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 901 denotes an input field for inputting the name of a communication partner. This user name can be arbitrarily input by the user of the InetPhone program.
[0059]
Reference numeral 902 denotes an input field for inputting a mail address for transmitting a mail to the other party (user 2 in the description of the present embodiment). Reference numeral 903 denotes an input field for inputting the PhoneGate server 103. If the user terminal 101 has only a private IP address, it is necessary to make a call via the PhoneGate server 103, so the PhoneGate server 103 is specified. If the user terminal 101 has a global IP address, 903 may be left blank, or the input field 903 itself may be set not to be displayed on the display unit 211 by user setting.
[0060]
Reference numeral 904 denotes a call start button for instructing transmission of a call start request mail when a call is to be started. A call end button 905 is used to issue a call end instruction when a call is to be ended.
[0061]
Reference numeral 906 denotes a call status display field, which can display a communication speed during a call. If the other party trying to talk is busy or rejected, a message such as "calling" or "rejected call" is displayed to notify the user.
[0062]
Reference numeral 907 denotes a button for calling the address book data stored in the internal storage device 212. The user clicks the button 907 in the input fields 901 to 903 regardless of the input from the keyboard in the user I / F. You can also call the address book to select and enter.
[0063]
A button 908 is used to call a setting screen when performing user settings. On the user setting screen, registration of user information including the user name, e-mail address, PhoneGate server name to be used, etc., non-display setting of the above-mentioned PhoneGate server selection field, display mode selection of screen 900, advertisement of 909 Settings such as selection and setting of the communication speed of the user terminal 101 can be performed.
[0064]
Reference numeral 909 denotes an advertisement display column, and an advertisement is displayed in this column while the InetPhone program is running. Advertising data can be periodically downloaded and updated from the server that downloaded the InetPhone program.
[0065]
In the address book data called by the button 907, information of each user as shown in FIG. 10 is registered. First, an identifier for identifying each user including the user 2 is registered as a nickname in the field 1001. The nickname 1001 can be arbitrarily assigned by the user 1 or information specified by the other user can be registered. The registration form may be any form, such as "Nihon Daisuke", "Tom" or "Taro", as long as it is a personal name, a nickname, or other information that can identify the user.
[0066]
1002, a mail address of the user identified by the nickname 1001 is registered. Also, a machine name is registered in 1003, which is the machine name when the machine name is given in the in-house LAN. If a global IP address is assigned to a terminal used by the other user, the global IP address is registered in 1004. For example, the terminal used by “Nihon Daisuke” in FIG. 10 is assigned a machine name and a global IP address.
[0067]
In 1005, information on the PhoneGate server 103 is registered. This information includes the global IP address of the PhoneGate server 103 used when making a call with the registered user, and a mail address addressed to the PhoneGate server 103. The PhoneGate server 103 to be registered registers the specified PhoneGate server 103 when specified by the other party user, and registers the PhoneGate server 103 designated by the user who owns the address book when not specified by the other party. You only need to register. It is considered that the PhoneGate server is set in the same domain of the other party, as in the case of “Tom”, which is specified by the other party.
[0068]
1006 is a port number used for a call. Generally, the port number “80” assigned to the HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) is used. However, if another port number is assigned in the PhoneGate server 103, the assigned port number is used. Register In the case of FIG. 10, 25596 is assigned to “Tom”.
[0069]
Further, in FIG. 10, registration is performed as one user 1 registration information. However, when there are users having a plurality of Internet connection environments, registration information corresponding to each connection environment may be provided. For example, users who have an Internet connection environment at both work and home have the same nickname 1001 and mail address 1002, but their terminal information changes depending on whether they are at work or at home. Therefore, it is also possible to have the terminal information for the workplace and the terminal information for the home for the same nickname 1001 and mail address 1002.
[0070]
Here, when returning to step S503 again, the input of the mail address addressed to the user 2 from the user 1 is received, and when the mail transmission instruction by the call start button 904 is received, the process proceeds to step S504 to perform the transmission processing of the call request mail. . FIG. 11 shows an example of the attached data of the call request mail transmitted in step S504.
[0071]
First, in the call request mail, <request> is described to clearly indicate that the mail to be transmitted is the call request mail. Further, <s-mail address>, <s-name>, <s-ip address>, <s-phonegate address>, and <s-phoneport port> include the sender's mail address, nickname, IP address, and IP address of the Phonegate server 103. An address and a port number specified by the Phonegate server 103 are described.
[0072]
The call request mail does not have to include data on the recipient (<r-mail address><r-name><r-ipaddress><r-phonegateaddress><r-phonegateport>). However, when a call request is sent to a called party who has already experienced a call, information can be attached based on the registration information of the address book data 214.
[0073]
In the <sound mode> and <movie mode>, information on the band and system of audio and image data is described in accordance with the settings made by the environment setting module 225 of the user terminal 101. For example, setting information <1> can be described as sound mode and setting information <3> can be described as movie mode. When a plurality of formats exist, the number assigned to each format can be described as the setting information.
[0074]
After the transmission of the call request e-mail, it is monitored whether a call permission e-mail has been transmitted from the user 2 on the receiving side (step S505). If the call permission is not received from the user 2 and a mail notifying of the rejection of the call is received in step S506, the process is terminated. Here, the rejection of the incoming call can be notified by describing, for example, "NG", "REJECT", or "BUSY" in the Subject or header of the mail. Further, it is also possible to notify the reason for rejection of incoming calls by properly using the above described contents.
[0075]
On the other hand, when the call permission notification e-mail is received from the called user 2, the attached information of the e-mail is extracted and the IP address of the user terminal 102 used by the user 2 is confirmed (step S507). The IP address of the user terminal 102 can be extracted from the message attached to the call permission notification. FIG. 11B is a diagram showing an example of a mail for notifying call permission. Here, by describing, for example, "OK", "ACCEPT", or the like in the header of the mail, the reception permission can be notified.
[0076]
If the IP address of the other user terminal 102 is a global IP address, call processing 1 is executed in step S509, and if it is a private IP address, call processing 2 is executed in step S510. The details of the call processing 1 and the call processing 2 will be described later.
[0077]
While the call between the user 1 and the user 2 continues, a GUI as shown by 906 in FIG. 9 is displayed on the display unit 211, and each user can grasp the call state. When the user 1 wants to end the call, for example, the user can click a call end button 905 displayed on the display unit 211. The click of the call end button 905 is accepted in step S511, and a call end notification is made in step S513 to end the call. The call termination notification in step S513 can also be sent to the other party, for example, by transmitting an HTML file in which a “end call” character string is described in the header.
[0078]
If the call end button 905 is clicked on the user 2 side before the call end button 905 is clicked by the user 1, a call end notification is transmitted to the user terminal 101 in step S512. The call processing is also ended when the call end notification is received.
[0079]
If the user 1 does not accept the click of the call end button 905 and does not receive the call end notification from the user terminal 102, the call process 1 in step S509 or the call process 2 in step S510 is further continued. .
[0080]
Here, returning to step S502, a case where only the private IP address is assigned to the user terminal 101 will be described. In this case, the process proceeds to step S514, and a GUI for accepting the input of the destination mail address is displayed on the display unit 211 as shown in FIG. Accept email address input.
[0081]
In step S515, the designation of the PhoneGate server 103 is received. If the PhoneGate server 103 is designated by the user 2, the designated PhoneGate server 103 is selected. On the other hand, if the PhoneGate server 103 is not specified by the user 2, the user 1 may select the PhoneGate server 103 desired to use. If the PhoneGate server 103 specified by the user 2 is registered in the address book 214 or the PhoneGate server 103 used by the user 1 by default is specified, the specification step by the user 1 in step S515 can be skipped. good.
[0082]
When the designation of the e-mail address is accepted in steps S514 and S515, and the outgoing call instruction is accepted, in step S516, a call request e-mail is transmitted to the user 2 on the receiving side. Further, a call request is notified to the PhoneGate server 103. Since the Phonegate server 103 has a global IP address, it is possible to establish a TCP / IP session between the user terminal 101 and the Phonegate server 103. Therefore, the notification of the communication request to the Phonegate server 103 is performed by transmitting the HTML file in the established TCP / IP session. It goes without saying that the notification can be made using the mail address given to the Phonegate server 103.
[0083]
When the user 2 permits the incoming call, the incoming call permission notification is transmitted from the receiving user terminal 102 to the Phonegate server 103. Therefore, the user terminal 101 periodically downloads the call permission notification from the user terminal 101 to the Phonegate server 103. It is monitored whether a request has been made and a call permission notice has been received from the PhoneGate server 103 (step S517). Further, the call permission notification may be transmitted from the Phonegate server 103 to the mail address of the user 1.
[0084]
If the call permission is not received from the PhoneGate server 103 and the notification of the rejection of the incoming call as shown in FIG. 11C is received in step S518, the process ends. On the other hand, if the call permission notification is received, the attached information is extracted and the IP address of the user terminal 102 used by the user 2 is confirmed (step S519).
[0085]
Here, if a global IP address has been assigned to the user terminal 102, the process proceeds to step S521 and the call process 3 is executed. On the other hand, if only the private IP address has been assigned, call processing 4 is executed in step S522. Details of the call processing 3 and the call processing 4 will be described later. Thereafter, the processing from step S523 to step S525 is the same as the processing from step S511 to step S513. However, in step S525, a call termination notification is transmitted to both the user terminal 102, which is the receiving side terminal, and the PhoneGate server 103.
[0086]
Next, details of the processing from communication processing 1 to communication processing 4 in step S509, step S510, step S521, and step S522 will be described.
[0087]
First, FIG. 7A is a flowchart showing the contents of the call processing 1 in which the terminal having the global IP address talks with the terminal having the global IP address in step S509.
[0088]
First, in step S701, audio information is obtained from the microphone 308 via the sound processing unit 306. In step S702, image information is acquired from the image input unit 310 via the image processing unit 309. The voice information and the image information obtained in steps S701 and S702 are converted into a voice data stream and an image data stream by the call data processing module 221 in step S703, respectively, and are then attached to an HTML file to generate call data. Is done. The conversion into the data stream is performed according to the data format currently set in the environment setting module 225.
[0089]
The call data generated in step S703 is temporarily stored in the RAM 203 in the user terminal. The call data in the RAM 203 is downloaded from the other party's terminal.
[0090]
In step S704, the call data generated and stored in the same manner as in steps S701 to S703 is downloaded from the user terminal of the other party. The downloaded call data is temporarily stored in the RAM 203 and is processed in step S705.
[0091]
In this step S705, the attached voice data and image data are extracted from the downloaded call data, processed in the call data processing module 221, and then reproduced in step S706.
[0092]
Next, the processing in the call processing 2 in which the terminal having the global IP address talks with the terminal having the private IP address in step S510 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 7B.
[0093]
The processing from step S711 to step S713 is the same as the processing from step S701 to step S703 in FIG.
[0094]
In step S714, upload of call data of the other party is received from the other terminal having the private IP address. The call data is uploaded from the partner terminal because the terminal having the global IP address cannot access the partner terminal having the private IP address to download the call data of the partner.
[0095]
The uploaded data is temporarily stored in the RAM 203, and the attached voice data and image data are extracted in step S715, processed by the call data processing module 221 and then reproduced in step S716.
[0096]
Next, the processing of the call process 3 when the terminal having the private IP address talks with the terminal having the global IP address in step S521 will be described with reference to FIG. 7C.
[0097]
The processing from step S721 to step S723 is the same as the processing from step S701 to step S703 in FIG.
[0098]
In step S724, the call data generated in step S723 is uploaded to a global IP address given to the terminal of the other party.
[0099]
On the other hand, the call data of the other party is downloaded from the terminal of the other party in step S725, and is processed and reproduced in steps S726 and S727. The processing from step S725 to step S727 corresponds to step S704 to step S706 in FIG. 7A, and thus detailed description is omitted.
[0100]
Next, the processing of call processing 4 when the terminal having the private IP address talks with the terminal having the private IP address in step S522 will be described with reference to FIG. 7D.
[0101]
First, the processing from step S731 to step S733 is the same as the processing from step S701 to step S703, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted. Therefore, steps S733 and S734 will be described below.
[0102]
First, in step S734, the call data generated in step S733 is uploaded to the PhoneGate server 103. Since the global IP address assigned to the PhoneGate server 103 has been received in step S517 in FIG. 5B, the upload is performed using the received global IP address.
[0103]
Next, in step S735, the call data of the other party is downloaded from the PhoneGate server 103. The downloaded call data of the other party is to be processed / reproduced in steps S736 and S737, but this processing is also the same as steps S705 and S706, and a description thereof will be omitted.
[0104]
Next, a case where user 2 (user terminal 102) receives a call from user 1 (user terminal 101) will be described with reference to FIG.
[0105]
First, in step S601, reception of a call request mail from the user terminal 101 is monitored. This mail monitoring is performed by monitoring the status of the port numbers 110/143 by the standby module 224 of the InetPhone program resident in the user terminal 102.
[0106]
If the call request mail is received in step S601, the information of the caller (in this case, user 1) is specified in step S602. The caller information is information attached to the call request mail, and includes, for example, the IP address, mail address, nickname, and MAC address of the other party.
[0107]
Next, in step S603, it is determined whether or not the user 2 is currently on a call. If the user 2 is on a call, an e-mail of a call rejection notice is transmitted to the user terminal 101 in step S606.
[0108]
On the other hand, when the user 2 is not in a call, the user 2 is notified that there is an incoming call. The notification in this case can be made by, for example, displaying “incoming call” at 906 in FIG.
[0109]
The user 2 checks the incoming call notification displayed in step S604, determines whether to make a call with the caller (in this case, user 1), and clicks the call start button 904 to make a call. I do. On the other hand, if the call is not to be made, the call end button 905 is clicked. The input content from the user is determined in step S605, and if the call end button 905 is clicked by the user 2, the process proceeds to step S606 to transmit an incoming call rejection notification mail.
[0110]
On the other hand, if the call start button 904 is clicked by the user 2, it is determined that the call is permitted, and the process shifts to step S607. In step S607, the IP address of the user terminal 101 used by the call partner user 1 is confirmed, and it is determined whether or not the user terminal 101 has a global IP address.
[0111]
If the user terminal 101 has been statically assigned a global IP address, the process proceeds to step S609 to transmit a call permission notification e-mail to the user terminal 101 as the caller.
[0112]
The call is started by transmitting the call permission notification mail. If the user terminal 102 is statically assigned a global IP address, the call is executed in the call process 1 in step S611. You. On the other hand, when only the private IP address is assigned to the user terminal 102, a call is made in the call process 3 in step S612. The processing contents of the call processing 1 and the call processing 3 are the same as the contents described with reference to FIGS. 7A and 7C.
[0113]
While the call between the user 1 and the user 2 is continuing, each user can grasp the call state on the GUI display screen as shown in FIG.
[0114]
When the user 2 wants to end the call, for example, the user can click a call end button 905 displayed on the display unit 211. The click of the call end button 905 is accepted in step S614, and in step S615, a call end notification is sent to the user terminal 101 to end the call.
[0115]
If the call end button 905 is clicked on the user 1 side before the call end button 905 is clicked by the user 2, a call end notification is transmitted to the user terminal 102 in step S614. The call processing is also ended when the call end notification is received.
[0116]
When the user 1 does not receive the click of the call end button 905 and does not receive the call end notification from the user terminal 102, the call process 1 in step S611 or the call process 3 in step S612 is further continued. .
[0117]
Here, returning to step S608, if the terminal 101 is not statically assigned a global IP address, the terminal 101 transmits a call permission notification to the PhoneGate server 103 in step S616. Since Phonegate server 103 has a global IP address, it is possible to establish a TCP / IP session between user terminal 102 and Phonegate server 103. Therefore, notification of the communication permission to the Phonegate server 103 is performed in the established TCP / IP session. It goes without saying that the notification can be made using the mail address given to the Phonegate server 103.
[0118]
The PhoneGate server 103 transfers the call permission notification to the user 1, the caller, or downloads the call permission notification from the user terminal 101, and then starts a call. If the user terminal 102 is statically assigned a global IP address, this call is executed in the call process 2 in step S618. On the other hand, when the user terminal 102 has only the private IP address, a call is made in the call process 4 in step S619. The processing contents of the call processing 2 and the call processing 4 are the same as the contents described with reference to FIGS. 7B and 7D.
[0119]
Processing at End of Call The processing from step S620 to step S622 is the same as the processing from step S613 to step S615, and a description thereof will be omitted here. However, in step S622, a call termination notification is transmitted to both the user terminal 101, which is the calling terminal, and the PhoneGate server 103.
[0120]
Next, the processing in the PhoneGate server 103 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8A and 8B. The PhoneGate server 103 is involved in the call between the user 1 and the user 2 when the user terminal 101 (calling terminal) has a private IP address and when both the user terminal 101 and the user terminal 102 (receiving terminal). Has a private IP address.
[0121]
First, in step S801, the PhoneGate server 103 monitors a call request notification from the user terminal 101 having a private IP address. When the call request notification is received, the information of the caller is specified from the attached information. Thereafter, similarly, it is monitored in step S803 whether a call permission notification has been received from the called party to which the call request mail has been transmitted.
[0122]
If a call rejection notification has been received from the called party (step S804), the call rejection notification is transferred to the caller in step S805, and the process ends.
[0123]
On the other hand, if the call permission notice is received, the called party's IP address attached to the call permission notice is confirmed in step S806, and the called party's user terminal 102 is statically assigned a global IP address. If yes, in step S811, the call permission notification is transferred to the user terminal 101 on the caller side, and the global IP address is notified. This notification can be performed by transmitting an HTML file to which the permission notification and the IP address are attached in response to the download request from the user terminal 101. After the notification, the processing in the PhoneGate server 103 ends. This is because if the user terminal 102 is statically assigned a global IP address, it is not necessary to make a call via the PhoneGate server 103.
[0124]
On the other hand, if the user terminal 102 has only the private IP address, a call permission notification is transmitted to the caller in step S808. This notification can be made by the user terminal 101 downloading an HTML file attached with the permission notification content in a TCP / IP session between the phone server 103 and the user terminal 101.
[0125]
Next, in step S809, a mediation process of a call between the user 1 (user terminal 101) and the user 2 (user terminal 102) is performed. Here, each call data uploaded from the user terminals 101 and 102 is temporarily stored in the RAM 303 by the call data transmission / reception module 321 and the data relay module 322, and download from each terminal is accepted.
[0126]
FIG. 8B shows the detailed processing in step S809. First, in step S813, upload of caller call data is accepted. Next, in step S814, upload of call data from the called party is accepted. Further, in step S815, download of the called party call data is received from the calling party. In step S816, download of the caller call data by the callee is accepted.
[0127]
Here, returning to FIG. 8A, in step S810, it is monitored whether or not a call end notification has been received from either the user terminal 101 or the user terminal 102, and if a call end notification has been received, the process ends.
[0128]
FIG. 8 illustrates a case where a call is performed on the assumption that the caller recognizes the global IP address assigned to the Phonegate server 103 at the time of notification of the connection request in step S801. However, even if the IP address of the Phonegate server 103 is unknown at the time of the connection request, if the mail address is known, the communication by the TCP / IP session using the global IP address in the above description is performed as follows. It can be replaced by communication using e-mail. In this case, when the communication permission notification is received by the phone server 103, the global IP address given to the phone server 103 is notified to the called side and the caller side.
[0129]
Next, details of the data format setting process in the environment setting module 225 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining the data format setting process in the present embodiment.
[0130]
In step S1301, after resetting the talk time timer T, the timer T is started. The timer T is a timer for counting the time during which the call is continued. The timer T is reset and started when the call itself is started. In addition, the format of the voice and image data attached to the call data is changed. Each time it is changed, it is reset and started.
[0131]
Next, in step S1302, a timer value Tm is obtained at a predetermined timing after the timer is started. In step S1303, after resetting the timer T, the data amount Dr of the voice information and / or image information attached to the call data received until Tm is calculated. This data amount is the data amount of audio information and / or image information received and stored after resetting the timer T, regardless of whether the attached information has been reproduced.
[0132]
In step S1304, the communication data amount Dp is calculated according to the timer value Tm and the format information of the received data. For example, when the audio format information is 132 kbps, if the timer value Tm is 10 seconds, the data amount required for a call is 10 (s) × 132 (kbps) = 1.32 in a call for 10 seconds. (M bits).
[0133]
In step S1305, it is determined whether to change the current data format Fd based on the relationship between the data amount Dp calculated in step S1304 and the received data amount Dr. Specifically, in step S1305, it is determined whether or not Dr / Dp is smaller than a predetermined threshold Th1, based on the ratio of the received data amount Dr to the data amount Dp required for the call: Dr / Dp.
[0134]
If it is determined in step S1305 that Dr / Dp <Th1, the data format Fd is changed to a lower order in step S1306. The case where Dr / Dp <Th1 is satisfied means that the communication data cannot be received in real time because the communication speed is slower than the communication speed, and a delay occurs in the voice and / or image reproduction processing for the communication. It is. Therefore, in this case, it is necessary to change the data format to a lower one in order to secure real-time performance even if the voice quality is lowered. Th1, which is a threshold value for determination, can be set to, for example, 0.9.
[0135]
On the other hand, if Dr / Dp is equal to or greater than Th1, it is determined in step S1307 whether Dr / Dp is greater than Th2. If Dr / Dp> Th2 holds, the process advances to step S1308 to change the data format Fd to a higher-level format. The case where Dr / Dp> Th2 is satisfied is the case where the communication speed is sufficiently ensured. In this case, since the real-time property is ensured even if the voice quality is increased, the data format is changed to a higher-order one. To enable higher quality calls. Th2, which is a threshold for determination, can be set, for example, to 1.2.
[0136]
If the data format is changed in step S1306 or step S1308, the change of the data format is notified to the partner terminal or the phone server 103 in step S1309. The format change notification can be performed, for example, by transmitting an HTML file in which a description of <change sound mode> 132 kbps </ change sound mode> or <change sound mode> 3 </ change sound mode> is embedded. .
[0137]
If Dr / Dp> Th2 is not satisfied in step S1307, the process returns to step S1302 without changing the data format and continues the process.
[0138]
In the above description, the data format setting processing has been described using audio data as an example. However, the processing described in the flowchart of FIG. 13 is applicable regardless of the type of data, and the data is naturally included in the image information data. Is included.
[0139]
As described above, according to the present invention corresponding to the present embodiment, an e-mail is used as a means for requesting a call, and a caller desiring a call with a predetermined party attaches a call request to the other party. Send e-mail. The sent e-mail is sent to the e-mail address regardless of where the call partner is located and which terminal is used, so if you are in an environment where the call partner can receive the sent e-mail It is possible to notify a call request. As a result, a call request is notified to a terminal to which the IP address is assigned, as in a conventional Internet telephone for making a call by specifying a call partner only by an IP address, and as a result, the call request is transmitted to a third party In other words, there is no problem that privacy is violated. That is, according to the present invention, it is possible to extremely easily manage the presence information without specifying the terminal currently used by the other party.
[0140]
Further, in the present embodiment, since an e-mail address is used as a telephone number required for starting a call, it is possible to provide an Internet telephone environment without giving a sense of discomfort to general users. Thus, it is possible to promote the spread of the Internet telephone implemented between PCs.
[0141]
Further, according to the present invention, the format of audio data and image data to be communicated can be dynamically changed according to the communication state during a call, so that it is possible to provide the call quality according to the communication state while maintaining the call state. It is.
[0142]
Further, in the present invention, it is possible to make a call regardless of the global IP address assigned to the terminal or the private IP address, and the user uses the information to manage the presence information as described above. Since there is no need to specify the terminal, any type of terminal can be used as long as the terminal can execute the InetPhone program and can connect to the Internet when making an Internet call. Therefore, there is no need to request registration of information for specifying each user in order to provide a service. Therefore, the user can receive the Internet telephone service very easily without performing a complicated registration procedure.
[0143]
Further, according to the present invention, as long as there is only a terminal to which the Phonegate program and the global IP address are statically assigned, the Phonegate server can be easily installed, and the user can freely execute the management. Therefore, unlike conventional gatekeepers that are open to the Internet and are confidential because they can be accessed by anyone, users can set confidentiality by setting access restrictions and limiting available users. Can be maintained.
[0144]
Further, according to the present invention, since a call is made by transmitting and receiving call data in which voice / image data is attached to an HTML file, there is no need to set a new port number for communication of the call data, and security such as a firewall is eliminated. Calls can be made without being affected by the system.
[0145]
Furthermore, according to the present invention, when performing a telephone call by Internet telephone, it is not necessary to have an intermediary server for requesting advance registration, so that the telephone call can be realized only by the Internet connection fee. Conventionally, an intermediary server such as a gatekeeper provided by an Internet telephone provider is always required to identify each user and realize a call, and a call fee is collected as a service fee for the gatekeeper. . On the other hand, in the present invention, the Phonegate server as the mediation server can be arbitrarily installed by the user, and the server is installed only by installing the Phonegate program in a predetermined terminal. Therefore, it is possible to construct a system in which a fee is charged only for the purchase of the Phonegate program except for the connection fee to the Internet, and the cost for the call itself is not charged. In addition, considering that a fixed fee is generally used for a constant connection to the Internet, communication costs for major users such as companies can be minimized.
[0146]
Further, since the present invention can be applied not only to two-party calls but also to three-party calls or more, it is possible to easily realize a video conference using terminals installed at a plurality of bases. Is also possible. Further, even when a call is made by three or more parties, it is extremely effective in that no change from the environment in the two-party call is required.
[0147]
The versatility and security assurance described above are a major motivation for the introduction of Internet telephones by major users, and can be a driving force for rapidly promoting the spread of Internet telephones.
[0148]
【The invention's effect】
As described in detail above, according to the present invention, there is no need to install special hardware devices or to have knowledge of system management, and it is possible to use not only terminals having global IP addresses but also private IP addresses. It is possible to make a call between terminals having only one.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an Internet telephone system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2A is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of user terminals 101 and 102.
FIG. 2B is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an InetPhone program.
FIG. 3A is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a PhoneGate server 103.
FIG. 3B is a diagram showing an example of the content of a PhoneGate program.
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a communication mode in the Internet telephone system according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5A is a flowchart of a process when a call is made from a user 1 to a user 2 in the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5B is a flowchart of a process for making a call from user 1 to user 2 in the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6a is a flowchart of a process when user 2 receives a call from user 1 in the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6B is a flowchart of a process when user 2 receives a call from user 1 in the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7A is a flowchart of call processing 1 when a terminal having a global IP address talks with a terminal having a global IP address according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7B is a flowchart of call processing 2 when a terminal having a global IP address talks with a terminal having a private IP address according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7C is a flowchart of call processing 3 when a terminal having a private IP address talks with a terminal having a global IP address according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7D is a flowchart of call processing 4 when a terminal having a private IP address talks with a terminal having a private IP address according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8A is a flowchart of a process in the PhoneGate server 103 according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8B is a flowchart of a mediation process in the PhoneGate server 103 according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed on the display unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of address book data 214 stored in an internal storage device of a user terminal.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of mail data transmitted when starting a call between users.
FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a conventional Internet telephone system.
FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a data format setting process according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (15)

A communication control method for controlling communication of call information between a plurality of terminals including a first terminal and a second terminal communicable via the Internet,
The first terminal generates first call information using information input from a first user of the first terminal,
The second terminal generates second call information using information input from a second user of the second terminal,
When a global IP address is statically assigned only to the first terminal, the second terminal uploads the second call information to the first terminal, and A communication control method, wherein the first call information is downloaded from a terminal. When a global IP address is not statically assigned to the first terminal and the second terminal, the first terminal and the second terminal communicate with the server on the Internet by the first terminal. The communication according to claim 1, further comprising uploading the second call information and the second call information, respectively, and downloading the second call information and the first call information respectively uploaded on the server. Control method. When a global IP address is statically assigned to each of the first terminal and the second terminal, the first terminal downloads the second call information, and the second terminal The communication control method according to claim 1, further comprising downloading the first call information. The communication control method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the call information is information in an HTML format to which at least one of voice data and image data is attached. The communication control method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the communication of the call information is performed by using a port number given to a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP). The method according to claim 1, wherein the first call information and the second call information are generated according to a communication band between the first terminal and the second terminal. 6. The communication control method according to any one of 5. The first terminal and the second terminal each include a timer for measuring a time of a call being performed between the first user and the second user; and the attached at least voice data and image. Means for storing any of the data,
The data format of at least one of the attached voice data and image data is set based on the call time measured by the clocking unit and the stored data. Communication control method. The format is
The communication control according to claim 7, wherein the communication control is set based on an output data amount determined based on a format of the stored data and the measured call time and the stored data amount. Method. A communication control method for mediating communication of call information between a first terminal and a second terminal communicable via the Internet,
Accepting an upload of the first call information generated in the first terminal from the first terminal;
Accepting an upload of the second communication information generated in the second terminal from the second terminal,
Receiving a download of the uploaded second call information from the first terminal;
A communication control method, wherein a download of the uploaded first call information is received from the second terminal. When trying to start communication of call information from the first terminal to the second terminal between a plurality of terminals including a first terminal and a second terminal communicable via the Internet A communication control method for controlling communication,
In the first terminal,
Receiving a communication start request from a first user of the first terminal;
In response to accepting the communication start request, transmitting a communication start request by e-mail to a second mail address used by a second user of the second terminal,
In the second terminal,
Receiving the communication start request,
Notifying the second user of the second terminal of the reception of the communication start request,
Receiving a communication start permission from the second user;
A communication control method, comprising: transmitting a communication permission notification to the first terminal in response to accepting the communication start permission. The communication start request includes at least information of an IP address assigned to the first terminal, and the communication permission notification includes at least information of an IP address assigned to the second terminal. The communication control method according to claim 10, wherein: When a private IP address is assigned to the first terminal, the communication start request includes at least information of the private IP address and the call information between the first terminal and the second terminal. Information of the global IP address assigned to the mediation server available for communication, and the communication start request is also transmitted to the mediation server,
The communication control method according to claim 10, wherein the communication permission notification is also transmitted to the mediation server. The communication start request and the communication permission notification to the mediation server are transmitted in a TCP / IP session with the mediation server,
The communication control method according to claim 12, wherein the communication permission notification is transmitted by e-mail to an e-mail address of the second user. For communication of call information between a plurality of terminals including a first communication terminal and a second terminal capable of communicating via the Internet, the communication is performed to an e-mail address of a user who uses the second terminal. A communication control method comprising a step of notifying a request to start communication of call information by e-mail. A communication control program for causing a computer to execute the communication control method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

Images