JP2004328309A - Communication service method and communication service system using positional information - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication service system on the basis of positional information capable of providing the positional information representing a present position of a user to the user as presence information. <P>SOLUTION: The communication service system acquires positional information of a mobile terminal 2 by detecting a signal transmitted from the mobile terminal 2 of a user at a low sensitivity corresponding to a narrow zone, registers the positional information to a presence server 4, provides the presence information including the positional information registered in the presence server 4 to another user terminal 1 via a network, and establishes a communication session via the network between the other user terminal 1 and a contact place 3 indicated by contact place information of a particular user in response to a request from the other user terminal 1 for referencing the presence information of the particular user. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, status information indicating the status of a user and presence information including contact information indicating the contact information of the user are notified to another user, and a specific user and another user can be notified based on the presence information. And a communication service method for establishing a communication session.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, a user is presented with status information of another user (e.g., "at home", "in a meeting", "coffee break", etc.) and desirable communication means (e.g., "telephone", "e-mail", etc.). A presence service has been proposed (for example, see Non-Patent Document 1). A server having a function of providing such presence information to a user is particularly called a presence server.
[0003]
Presence information is provided to the user using a mechanism known as an instant messaging (or instance messaging) service.
[0004]
Then, by combining this presence server with a session initiation protocol (SIP) server having a function of establishing / changing / disconnecting a session, for example, the status information of the user A is “at present”. When the user A wants to contact the user B, the user A requests the SIP server to communicate with the user B, and the SIP server establishes an appropriate communication session between the user A and the user B (for example, chat, (E.g., mail, IP phone, etc.) (for a SIP server, see Non-Patent Document 2, for example).
[0005]
[Non-patent document 1]
Masanori Goto, "Details of ENUM, Presence Service, MIDCOM", OPENSIGN, March 2003, p. 70-74
[0006]
[Non-patent document 2]
Translated by Koichi Niibori, "Introduction to SIP", Shoyosha, 2002, p. 96-122
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Information provided by the conventional instant message service may be information on the status of the terminal used by the user such as online or offline, or information such as busy, temporarily away, away, lunch break, etc. Only information about the user's situation.
[0008]
However, the current position information of the user is considered to be highly useful information as information indicating the state / situation of the user. For example, knowing the current location of a particular user, another user may specifically desire to communicate with that particular user to obtain information at or near that particular user's current location.
[0009]
Therefore, the present invention provides a communication service method and a communication service system based on position information that can present position information indicating the current position of the user to the user as presence information in addition to the status information and contact information of the user. With the goal.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention relates to a communication service method and a communication service system using position information by acquiring position information of a user by combining a communication system and a position detection system of a mobile body and providing the position information to a presence system. To achieve.
[0011]
The invention according to claim 1 registers status information indicating the state of the user and contact information indicating the contact information of the user from the terminal of the user to the presence server via the network,
By detecting the signal transmitted from the user's portable terminal with low sensitivity corresponding to a narrow zone, the position information of the portable terminal is obtained,
Register the location information of the portable terminal in the presence server as the current location information of the user,
The status information, contact information, and location information of the user registered in the presence server can be referred to as presence information of the user from another user's terminal via the network,
A communication session via a network between another user's terminal and the contact indicated in the specific user's contact information in response to a request from another user's terminal referring to the specific user's presence information To establish the
This is a communication service method using location information.
[0012]
As described above, according to the first aspect of the invention, it is possible to present the position information of the portable terminal of the user detected with high accuracy to other users as the position information of the user. Then, a communication service between users in the network can be provided.
[0013]
According to the invention, furthermore, a communication session is established between the terminal of another user in the network and the contact of a specific user outside the network via the gateway and the public network.
[0014]
This enables a call from a network (for example, an IP network) to a public network (for example, a public telephone network) via the gateway.
[0015]
The present invention according to claim 3, wherein a presence server having a function of collecting and managing status information indicating the state of the user and contact information indicating the contact information of the user from the terminal of the user via a network,
By detecting the signal transmitted from the portable terminal of the user who can communicate via the communication system with low sensitivity corresponding to the narrow zone, the position information of the portable terminal is acquired and transmitted to the presence server as the position information of the user. A terminal location information acquisition system,
Is provided,
The presence server transmits the registered user's status information, contact information, and location information to the other user's terminal via a network so that the user's presence information can be referred to from the other user's terminal as presence information.
A communication session via a network between another user's terminal and the contact indicated in the specific user's contact information in response to a request from another user's terminal referring to the specific user's presence information A session initiation protocol server having a function of establishing
This is a communication service system using location information.
[0016]
As described above, according to the third aspect of the invention, the terminal location information acquisition system determines which spot the mobile terminal of the user of the mobile communication system belongs to which spot, that is, which user is at which spot. Is collected and supplied to the presence server. The presence server can present the position information of the portable terminal of the user detected with high accuracy to other users as the position information of the user. Then, a communication service between users in the network can be provided.
[0017]
In the communication service system according to the present invention, the session initiation protocol server may further include, when the contact of the specific user is a contact outside the network, the communication between the terminal of another user and the contact of the specific user. It is possible to establish a communication session via another network, gateway and public network.
[0018]
This enables a call from a network (for example, an IP network) to a public network (for example, a public telephone network) via the gateway.
[0019]
The terminal location information acquisition system of the communication service system according to the present invention is a low-sensitivity base station system according to claim 5, a wireless LAN system according to claim 6, an ID transmission / reception system according to claim 7, and an ID transmission / reception system according to claim 7. The position of the terminal can be detected using the GPS method described above or one of the PHS methods described in claim 9.
[0020]
According to the invention according to claim 5, the terminal location information acquisition system includes:
A mobile station including a base station that receives a position registration request signal from a mobile terminal in the coverage area and wirelessly communicates with the mobile terminal, and a control station that manages information necessary for mobile communication and controls the base station. A communication system;
It is installed at a location associated with known location information within the coverage area of the base station, receives a location registration request signal transmitted from a portable terminal with lower sensitivity than the base station, and transmits a location registration request signal. A low-sensitivity base station for notifying the control station of the identification information of the portable terminal,
Has,
The control station,
A position information management unit that associates identification information of the low-sensitivity base station with position information of the low-sensitivity base station,
The position information associated with the low-sensitivity base station that has notified the identification information of the portable terminal that has transmitted the position registration request signal is acquired from the position information management unit, and the acquired position information is used as the position information of the portable terminal. A location information acquisition unit to be associated with the identification information of the portable terminal;
A user identification unit that identifies the owner of the portable terminal by associating the identification information of the portable terminal that sent the position registration request signal with the user management information of the mobile communication system;
Including
The control station is configured to transmit position information of the portable terminal and user identification information corresponding to an identified owner of the portable terminal to the presence server.
[0021]
According to the invention according to claim 6, the portable terminal of the user is a wireless LAN terminal,
The terminal location information acquisition system
A wireless LAN base station that establishes a wireless link with the wireless LAN terminal in the coverage area and connects the wireless LAN terminal that has established the wireless link to a network;
An authentication server that is connected to the wireless LAN base station and checks whether a user of the wireless LAN terminal connected to the wireless LAN base station is a valid user;
The terminal address of the wireless LAN terminal of the authenticated user confirmed to be a valid user and the wireless LAN base station address of the wireless LAN base station are obtained from the wireless LAN base station, and the authentication data of the authenticated user is obtained. A management server obtained from the authentication server,
Has,
The management server generates location information from a wireless LAN base station address of the wireless LAN base station to which the authenticated user's wireless LAN terminal is connected, generates user identification information from the authentication data, Is transmitted to the presence server.
[0022]
According to the invention according to claim 7, the terminal location information acquisition system includes:
An ID transmitter attached to the user's portable terminal or carried by the user and transmitting the user identification information of the user;
It is installed at a location associated with the known location information, receives the user identification information of the user transmitted from the ID transmitter of the user existing in the cover area, and receives the known location information and the user identification information of the user. An ID receiver for transmitting to the presence server,
Having.
[0023]
According to the invention according to claim 8, the terminal position information acquisition system includes a positioning unit attached to the portable terminal of the user and acquires position information of the portable terminal by the GPS method,
The user's portable terminal is configured to transmit the position information and the user identification information of the user acquired by the positioning unit to the presence server.
[0024]
According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, a terminal position information acquisition system receives a position registration request signal from a portable terminal of a user in a cover area and wirelessly communicates with the portable terminal, and mobile communication. It is configured by a mobile communication system having a control station that manages information necessary for and controls the base station,
The control station,
A position information management unit that associates the identification information of the base station with the position information of the base station,
From the location information management unit, acquire the location information associated with the base station that has notified the identification information of the portable terminal that has sent the location registration request signal, and use the acquired location information as the location information of the portable terminal. A location information acquisition unit to associate with the terminal identification information;
A user identification unit that identifies the owner of the portable terminal by associating the identification information of the portable terminal that sent the position registration request signal with the user management information of the mobile communication system;
Including
The control station is configured to transmit position information of the portable terminal and user identification information corresponding to an identified owner of the terminal to the presence server.
[0025]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Throughout the drawings, identical or equivalent components or functions are denoted by the same reference numerals.
[0026]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a communication service system using location information according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the communication service system, a user (for example, user A) registers his / her presence information and uses terminals 1, 3,... That are used to refer to the presence information registered by another user (for example, user B). . . Is provided. The terminal 1 is connected to a network (not shown) (for example, an IP network), and the terminals can communicate with each other via the network. Further, the communication service system transmits status information indicating the state of a large number of users (user A, user B,...) And contact information indicating the contact information of the user from the user terminal 1 to a network (for example, the Internet). And a presence server 4 having a function of collecting and managing the information via the presence server. The presence server 4 determines whether or not a particular user is connected to the IP network, the state of the other party such as the state of the particular user (busy or the like), and the type of communication with the other party. A function of notifying or teaching another user whether the user desires (for example, telephone, e-mail, etc.) is realized.
[0027]
Further, the communication service system detects the signal transmitted from the portable terminal 2 of the user who can communicate via a communication system (not shown) with low sensitivity corresponding to a narrow zone, thereby detecting the position of the portable terminal 2. A terminal location information acquisition system 6 for acquiring information and transmitting the information to the presence server 4 as user location information is provided. The presence server 4 transmits the status information, contact information, and location information of the registered user B as presence information of the user B to the terminal 1 of the other user A via the network so that the terminal 1 of the other user A can refer to the information. Send to 1.
[0028]
The communication service system further includes a session initiation protocol server 5 that implements a protocol for realizing a telephone call setup on the IP network (in the following description, the session initiation protocol server is , For simplicity). In response to a request from another user A's terminal 1 referring to the presence information of the specific user B, the SIP server 5 communicates with the terminal 1 of the other user A and the contact indicated in the contact information of the specific user B. It has a function of establishing a communication session with a destination (for example, terminal 3) via a network. The SIP server 5 can realize an incoming billing function, a transfer function, a caller ID notification function, and the like in addition to a basic call setting function of a general telephone service on an IP network.
[0029]
As described above, in the communication service system using the position information according to the embodiment of the present invention, the terminal position information acquisition system 6 determines to which spot the portable terminal 2 of the user of the mobile communication system belongs to which position. That is, information indicating which user is at which spot is collected and supplied to the presence server 4. The presence server 4 can present the position information of the portable terminal of the user (for example, the user B) detected with high accuracy to another user (for example, the user A) as the position information of the user. Then, a communication service between users in the network (for example, between users AB) can be provided.
[0030]
The user B may use a mobile phone, a wireless LAN terminal, a mobile terminal with an ID transmitter, a mobile terminal with a GPS function, or a PHS terminal so that the location information can be collected by the terminal location information acquisition system 6. Carrying a portable terminal 2. Communication between the user A and the user B is performed between the terminal 1 of the user A and the terminal 3 of the user B. Here, a desktop terminal connected to a network existing in an office or the like can be used as the terminal 3 of the user B, but the terminal 3 of the user A is connected to the terminal 1 of the user A using the communication function of the portable terminal 2. It is also possible to communicate. On the other hand, the terminal 1 of the user A is typically a terminal such as a desktop terminal or a notebook terminal connected to a network, but, similarly to the case of the user B, a portable terminal having a position detecting function. It can be a terminal. When the communication between the user A and the user B is one-to-one communication, the terminal 1 and the terminal 3 of the user make a transition to the peer-to-peer communication after communicating with the SIP server 5.
[0031]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the presence server 4 according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the presence server 4 includes a location information collection unit 41 that acquires the location information and the user identification information of the user's portable terminal 2 from the terminal location information acquisition system 6, and the user's terminal 1 An information registration unit 42 for acquiring and registering status information and contact information, a presence information management unit 43 for managing user status information, contact information, and location information, and in response to a request from the user terminal 1 A presence information presenting unit 44 for transmitting the user's presence information to the terminal 1 and a contact information notifying unit 45 for notifying the SIP server 5 of the user's contact information in response to a request from the SIP server 5. .
[0032]
FIG. 3 is an operation flowchart of the communication service system using location information according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
[0033]
Step 1: The presence server 4 registers status information indicating the state of the user and contact information indicating the contact information of the user transmitted from the terminal 1 of the user via the network.
[0034]
Step 2: The terminal position information acquisition system 6 detects a signal transmitted from the portable terminal 2 of the user with low sensitivity corresponding to a narrow zone, and acquires position information of the portable terminal 2.
[0035]
Step 3: The presence server 4 receives the position information of the portable terminal 2 from the terminal position information acquisition system 6, and registers it as the current position information of the user.
[0036]
Step 4: The presence server 4 makes it possible to refer to the status information, contact information and location information of the registered user as the user's presence information from the terminal 1 of another user via the network.
[0037]
Step 5: The SIP server 5 responds to a request from the terminal 1 of another user referring to the presence information of the specific user, and contacts the terminal 1 of the other user and the contact indicated in the contact information of the specific user. (Terminal 3) and a communication session is established via a network.
[0038]
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an operation sequence of the communication service system using the position information according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Here, an example of establishing a peer-to-peer communication session between two users, User A and User B, will be described. However, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, this example is intended for three or more users. Is easily extensible to communicate in a chat-like format.
[0039]
First, the user A registers his / her status information and contact information in the presence server 4 from the terminal A, and the user B registers his / her status information and contact information in the presence server 4 from the terminal B (step 11). ).
[0040]
The status information includes, for example, “at present”, “temporarily away”, “resting”, “online”, “offline”, “call not possible”, “state where hands cannot be released (busy)” and the like. This is information indicating the current state of the user or the user's terminal. On the other hand, the contact information is information such as the user's e-mail address, direct telephone number, and mobile telephone number.
[0041]
Next, for example, when the user B leaves his / her own room in the first room of the first building and moves to the dining room of the second building, the user B updates his / her status information from “at present” to “during a break”. (Step 12). Here, it is assumed that the user B who has started eating at the cafeteria connects his or her portable terminal 2 to a wireless LAN in the cafeteria.
[0042]
At this time, a signal transmitted from the portable terminal 2 of the user B is detected by the terminal position information acquisition system 6 automatically or in accordance with the instruction of the user B, and the position information of the portable terminal 2 of the user B and the user are detected. The user identification information of B is transmitted to the presence server 4 (step 13). At this time, the position information of the portable terminal 2 is acquired as a zone such as “No. 2 building” or “dining room” according to the sensitivity of the terminal position information acquisition system 6, for example.
[0043]
The presence server 4 changes the position information of the user B from “the first building / the first room” to “the second building / the dining room” based on the received position information and the user identification information.
[0044]
Next, when the presence information is requested from the terminal A of the user A to the presence server 4 (step 14), all the users registered in the terminal A from the presence server 4 or a part of the designated users Is presented (step 15). User A can acquire the presence information of many users. The user A can request communication with a person at a specific location based on the presented presence information.
[0045]
Here, for example, if the user A who is going to eat in the dining room from now on looks for a person who is currently in the dining room from the presence information, it can be understood that the user B is in the “No. 2 building / dining room”. A requests the SIP server 5 to connect to the user B (step 16).
[0046]
Upon receiving the connection request from the user A to the user B, the SIP server 5 requests the presence server 4 for the presence information of the user B (step 17).
[0047]
The presence server 4 stores, as the presence information of the user B, the status information of “resting”, the location information of “the second building / dining room”, and the contact information including the identification number of the portable terminal of the user B by the SIP server. 5 is notified (step 18).
[0048]
The SIP server 5 searches for a medium that can be used as a contact for the user B. In the case of this example, since the user B knows that he is in the dining room from the position information, it is determined whether or not the portable terminal 2 of the user B is connected to the wireless LAN base station installed in the dining room. Check using the identification number. Here, since the SIP server 5 knows that the portable terminal 2 of the user B is connected to the wireless LAN base station in the cafeteria, the SIP server 5 is connected to the wireless LAN base station in the cafeteria as the contact information of the user B. The user A selects the portable terminal 2 of the user B, notifies the portable terminal 2 of the user B of a connection request from the user A (step 19), and the terminal A of the user A and the portable terminal 2 of the user B. (Step 20).
[0049]
Thereby, the user A and the user B can communicate with each other by a method such as a chat or an IP phone. For example, the user A can inquire the user B about the congestion state of the cafeteria. .
[0050]
Note that even when the user moves to another place and connects from a terminal installed in another place, the SIP server 5 detects the actual device address and port number and correctly establishes a communication session. It is possible to establish.
[0051]
Next, an embodiment of the communication service system of the present invention using a mobile communication system in which a low-sensitivity base station is installed as the terminal location information acquisition system 6 will be described.
[0052]
FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a communication service system using location information according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the terminal location information acquisition system 6 includes a mobile communication system 60 and a low-sensitivity base station 64. The presence server 4 and the terminals 1 and 3 are communicably connected using the Internet.
[0053]
The mobile communication system 60 receives a location registration request signal from the portable terminal 2 in the cover area 63 and wirelessly communicates with the portable terminal 2. The base station 61 manages information necessary for mobile communication, and A control station 62 for controlling the station 61 is provided.
[0054]
The low-sensitivity base station 64 is installed in a location associated with known position information in the cover area 63 of the base station 61, and lowers the position registration request signal transmitted from the portable terminal 2 than the base station 61. The identification information (telephone number, e-mail address, terminal MAC address, etc.) of the portable terminal 2 that has received the location registration request signal and received with the sensitivity is notified to the control station 62. In the description of the embodiments of the present invention, terminal identification information or terminal identification information includes a telephone number, a mail address, a terminal MAC address, and the like. The low-sensitivity base station 64 is a low-sensitivity base station dedicated to reception, and equivalently improves the position detection accuracy by narrowing the detection range, that is, by making the detection area spot-like. The control station 62 in the present embodiment detects the location registration request signal from the portable terminal 2 with the low-sensitivity base station 64, thereby independently detecting the location management information used in the normal call service. Perform narrow location management.
[0055]
FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of the control station 62 in the second embodiment of the present invention. The control station 62 notifies the position information management unit 621 that associates the identification information of the low-sensitivity base station 64 with the position information of the low-sensitivity base station 64 and the identification information of the portable terminal 2 that has transmitted the position registration request signal. Location information associated with the obtained low-sensitivity base station 64 from the location information management unit 621, and the location information relating the acquired location information as the location information of the portable terminal 2 to the identification information of the portable terminal 2 And an acquisition unit 622. The control station 62 further includes a user identification unit 623 for identifying the owner of the portable terminal 2 by associating the identification information of the portable terminal 2 that has transmitted the position registration request signal with the user management information of the mobile communication system 60. I do.
[0056]
In this embodiment, the position detection range is narrowed by installing the low-sensitivity base station 64 dedicated to reception, and as a result, the position detection accuracy is improved. Further, since the low-sensitivity base station 64 can be limited to the reception function, there is no problem of interference with the existing mobile phone base station 61 and other wireless systems, and the cost can be reduced. A system can be constructed using equipment. In addition, by using a mobile communication system such as a mobile phone system, for example, user identification can be performed from a telephone number or the like.
[0057]
Further, since the position (information) of the low-sensitivity base station is linked to the identification information of the low-sensitivity base station 64, the position information of the portable terminal can be obtained from the identification information of the low-sensitivity base station. As a result, the terminal location information acquisition system of the present embodiment can be introduced at low cost to an existing mobile communication system such as a mobile phone system.
[0058]
The low-sensitivity base station 64 is a location registration request signal transmitted from the portable terminal 2 when the coverage area in which it is located changes, and / or is periodically transmitted from the terminal, that is, the portable terminal 2. Receive a location registration request signal. By transmitting the position registration request signal periodically by the portable terminal 2, especially when the portable terminal 2 moves through a plurality of low-sensitivity base station cover areas 7 in the cover area 63 of the base station 61, the portable terminal 2 can transmit the signal. It becomes possible to detect the type terminal position.
[0059]
Alternatively, the portable terminal 2 may be configured to transmit a position registration request signal in response to a user operation. In this case, it is preferable that the portable terminal 2 include a mode for transmitting a position registration request signal periodically and a mode for transmitting a position registration request signal in response to a user operation.
[0060]
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the low-sensitivity base station 64 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The low-sensitivity base station 64 is configured to be able to change the sensitivity for receiving the position registration request signal from the portable terminal 2. This allows the terminal position information acquisition system to change the detection range (detection accuracy). Further, the low-sensitivity base station 64 includes a receiving antenna 641 that can change the antenna gain in order to change the receiving sensitivity. The low-sensitivity base station 64 may be configured to change the antenna gain by exchanging the receiving antenna 641 in order to change the receiving sensitivity. Further, the low-sensitivity base station 64 includes a receiver 642 that can change the receiving sensitivity. The low-sensitivity base station 64 further includes a signal demodulation unit 643 and a multiplexing device 644, and demodulates a radio signal from the portable terminal 2 in the low-sensitivity base station 64 and transmits a signal transmitted from a plurality of user terminals. Necessary information such as terminal identification information included in the registration request signal is multiplexed and transmitted to the control station 62.
[0061]
FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a terminal position detection method performed by the terminal position information acquisition system 6 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The terminal position detection method according to the present embodiment includes a base station 61 that receives a position registration request signal from the portable terminal 2 in the cover area 63 and performs wireless communication with the portable terminal 2 and information necessary for mobile communication. In a mobile communication system 60 including a control station 62 for managing and controlling the base station 61, the position of the portable terminal 2 is detected.
[0062]
According to the terminal position detection method of the present embodiment, the terminal is installed at a location associated with known position information in the cover area 63 of the base station 61, and receives a position registration request signal with lower sensitivity than the base station 61. The low-sensitivity base station 64 receives the position registration request signal transmitted from the portable terminal 2 (step 21).
[0063]
When the coverage area in which the mobile terminal 2 is located changes, the portable terminal 2 transmits a position registration request signal periodically or in response to a user operation.
[0064]
The low-sensitivity base station 64 notifies the control station 62 of the identification information of the portable terminal 2 that has transmitted the position registration request signal (step 22).
[0065]
The control station 62 acquires known position information related to the low-sensitivity base station 64 that has notified the identification information of the portable terminal 2 as the position information of the portable terminal 2 (step 23).
[0066]
Further, the control station 62 identifies the owner of the portable terminal 2 by associating the identification information of the portable terminal 2 that has transmitted the position registration request signal with the user management information of the mobile communication system (step 24).
[0067]
In the second embodiment of the present invention, the cover area 63 of the base station 61 includes, for example, a company building, a section of a company building, a restaurant street, a shopping street, a sightseeing spot, a station yard, and the like. It is not limited.
[0068]
An example of the mobile communication system 60 is a current mobile phone system. When a mobile phone system is adopted as the mobile communication system 60, the mobile terminal 2 is a mobile phone as described above. The portable terminal 2 appropriately transmits a position registration request signal in response to broadcast information or the like from the base station 61, and registers the position of the terminal itself with the control station 62. In a mobile communication system 60 such as a mobile phone system, usable portable terminals 2 are registered together with information on the owner (that is, user) of the portable terminal 2. Therefore, by specifying the portable terminal 2 that can be used in the mobile communication system 60 as a terminal of a member of the information providing system, an advantage is obtained in that user authentication is automatically performed.
[0069]
Regarding the location registration processing in the mobile phone system, for example, see the document: Supervised by Tachikawa, "W-CDMA mobile communication system", Maruzen, 2001, pp. 146-64. 250-253 and literature: Hattori, "Wireless Broadband Textbook", IDG Japan, 2002, pp. 32-35.
[0070]
Hereinafter, various embodiments of the information providing system of the present invention corresponding to various configurations of the terminal location information acquisition system 6 will be described. In the following various embodiments, the configuration and functions of the information providing system except for the terminal position information acquisition system are basically the same as those of the information providing system according to the above-described second embodiment of the present invention. I will not repeat the explanation. In the following description, the terminal position information acquisition system of each embodiment will be mainly described.
[0071]
FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of a communication service system using location information according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the terminal location information acquisition system 6 is configured based on a wireless LAN system 70. In the example shown in the figure, the portable terminal 2 is a wireless LAN terminal in the wireless LAN system 70. The portable terminal 2 may be the same as the terminal 3 of the user. The presence server 4 and the terminals 1 and 3 can communicate, for example, via the Internet.
[0072]
In this embodiment, the wireless LAN system 70 constituting the terminal position information acquisition system establishes a wireless link with the wireless LAN terminal 2 in the cover area 72 and connects the wireless LAN terminal 2 having established the wireless link to the network. It has the wireless LAN base station 71 described above. An authentication server 73 is installed in the station building of the company of the wireless LAN system 71, for example, in a data center or the like. The authentication server 73 is connected to a large number of wireless LAN base stations 71 and authenticates authentication data transmitted from the wireless LAN base station 71 (the user of the wireless LAN terminal 2 connected to the wireless LAN base station 71 is authenticated). Check if you are a user). The wireless LAN base station 72 is installed in, for example, a restaurant district, a shopping district, an individual restaurant, an individual store, or a sightseeing spot. The wireless LAN terminal 2 is carried by, for example, an individual (user) who visits a restaurant street, a shopping street, an individual restaurant, an individual store, or a sightseeing spot.
[0073]
The terminal location information obtaining system 6 obtains, from the wireless LAN system 70, terminal identification information of the wireless LAN terminal 2 of the authenticated user who has been confirmed to be a valid user and the authentication data of the authenticated user from the wireless LAN system 70. including. The wireless LAN base station 72 and the management server 74 are connected to the presence server 4 via a network.
[0074]
The management server 74 generates position information from the position of the wireless LAN base station 71 to which the authenticated user's wireless LAN terminal 2 is connected, generates user identification information from the authentication data, and provides the authenticated user with The related position information and user identification information are transmitted to the presence server 4.
[0075]
The management server 74 can be configured by a part that manages position information and a part that manages personal information. The position information management unit uses the identification information from the wireless LAN base station 71, for example, the address information of the wireless LAN base station 71, to determine the current position of the wireless LAN terminal 2 connected to the wireless LAN base station 71, The current position can be specified. The user's current position information can be classified into a method (method A) for associating with the longitude and latitude of the installation location of the wireless LAN base station, and a method (method B) for associating with the identification number of the wireless LAN base station.
[0076]
In the case of the A method, the presence server 4 associates the longitude / latitude acquired from the terminal location information acquisition system 6 with a known specific location existing within a predetermined distance, and the specific location is It is set as the position information of the user.
[0077]
In the case of the B method, the presence server 4 associates a specific location specified in advance with the identification number of the wireless LAN base station, and is located within the coverage area of the wireless LAN base station having the identification number corresponding to the specific location. The specific location is set as the user location information.
[0078]
FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of a communication service system using location information according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the terminal location information acquisition system 6 includes an ID transmitter and an ID receiver. The terminal 1 and the terminal 3 are connected to the presence server 4 and the SIP server 5 via the Internet. The portable terminal 2 is provided with an ID transmitter 83. The ID transmitter 83 transmits the user identification information such as the individual ID of the owner of the mobile phone, that is, in the case of the present embodiment, separately from the signal transmitted by the mobile phone. The ID receiver 81 is installed in various places such as a store, a building, a station yard, a shopping street, and a street, and receives user identification information transmitted by the ID transmitter 83. Since the installation location of the ID receiver 81 is known, the ID receiver 81 determines the user identification information transmitted from the ID transmitter 83 located in the coverage area 82 of the ID receiver 81 and the ID of the ID receiver 81. The known position information is transmitted to the presence server 4. Thereby, the presence server 4 can grasp the current position of the portable terminal 2. Note that the user identification information and the subscriber number or the mail address of the terminal are associated with each other at the time of user registration on the presence server 4 side.
[0079]
The ID transmitter 83 can be realized by a non-contact type tag, for example, a wireless tag, that is, an RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) tag. The ID receiver 81 can be realized by a reader of an RFID tag. RFID is a technology that stores information in an internal circuit and wirelessly communicates with an external reader in a non-contact manner to perform recognition. As an RFID system, an electromagnetic induction system, an electromagnetic coupling system, a microwave system, and the like are known. Another example of a non-contact tag includes a wireless transmission unit (such as an infrared device).
[0080]
There are two types of RFID tags, active and passive. The communication distance between an active RFID tag with a built-in battery and a passive RFID using electromagnetic induction without a battery differs depending on the presence or absence of a battery.
[0081]
The ID receiver 81 corresponds to the ID transmitter 83. When an RFID tag is used as the ID transmitter 83, the ID receiver 81 is a tag reader / writer. When an infrared transmitter is used as the ID transmitter 83, the ID receiver 81 is an infrared receiver. .
[0082]
FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram of a communication service system using location information according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the terminal position information acquisition system 6 is configured by a GPS type positioning unit 91 provided in the portable terminal 2. Since the GPS positioning method is known, no further description will be given. The information providing terminal 2 transmits the position information acquired by the GPS type positioning unit 91 and the user identification information of the user to the position information collecting unit 41 of the presence server 4.
[0083]
In the communication service system according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention, the terminal location information acquisition system 6 is functionally integrated with the portable terminal 2, so that no equipment usage fee for the terminal location information acquisition system 6 is separately generated. .
[0084]
FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram of a communication service system using location information according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the terminal location information acquisition system 6 is realized by the mobile communication system 60 itself. More specifically, the terminal location information acquisition system 6 receives a location registration request signal from the portable terminal 2 in the cover area 63 and wirelessly communicates with the portable terminal 2. The mobile communication system 60 includes a control station 62 that manages necessary information and controls the base station 61. In this case, the portable terminal 2 is, for example, a PHS terminal. The position information of the portable terminal 2 is associated with the position information of the place where the base station 61 in which the portable terminal 2 is located is located in the PHS mobile communication system 60.
[0085]
The control station 62 is associated with the position information management unit that associates the identification information of the base station 61 with the position information of the base station 61 and the base station 61 that has notified the identification information of the portable terminal 2 that has transmitted the position registration request signal. A location information acquisition unit that acquires the acquired location information from the location information management unit and associates the acquired location information with the identification information of the terminal as the location information of the portable terminal 2, and an identification of the portable terminal 2 that has transmitted the location registration request signal. A user identification unit that identifies the owner of the portable terminal 2 by associating the information with the user management information of the mobile communication system 60. The control station 62 is configured to transmit the position information of the portable terminal 2 and the user identification information corresponding to the identified owner of the portable terminal 2 to the position information collecting unit 41 of the presence server 4.
[0086]
FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of a communication service system using location information according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention. The seventh embodiment of the present invention is similar to the first embodiment of the present invention, except that the communication session is performed with the terminal 1 of another user in the network via the media gateway 8 and the public telephone network 9. It differs from the first embodiment of the present invention in that it is established with a contact (terminal 3) of a specific external user. For example, assume that a user of a desktop or notebook terminal connected to a network existing in an office is a user A in the network. Further, as the user B outside the network, the owner of the mobile phone or the PHS terminal or the user of the public telephone can be assumed. The media gateway 8 is a gateway that performs conversion of an IP address and a telephone number, protocol conversion, media conversion, and the like when connecting to the existing public network 9. As a result, a call from an individual network (for example, an individual IP network) to the public telephone network 9 becomes possible via the media gateway 8.
[0087]
As described above, in various embodiments of the present invention, a user can use a mobile phone using a low-sensitivity base station, a wireless LAN terminal, a mobile phone combined with an ID transmitter and an ID receiver, a mobile phone with a GPS, a PHS terminal, and the like. The user carries a portable terminal having a low-sensitivity position detection function, and connects to a presence server or a SIP server using the terminal having a communication function. The terminal having the communication function is a portable terminal having a position detection function and / or a desktop terminal connected to a network existing in an office. By using the portable terminal to capture the user's location information in the network, it is possible to realize a platform that provides a communication service starting from the location information. This communication service transmits the obtained location information to the presence server, and adds the location information as the presence information to the existing information, thereby realizing the function of the instant message service linked to the current SIP server and the presence server. Can be extended.
[0088]
The representative embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications and applications are possible within the scope of the claims.
[0089]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, a platform for providing a new communication service using position information can be realized by adding the current position information of the communication partner to the presence information.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a communication service system using location information according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a presence server according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an operation flowchart of a communication service system using location information according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an operation sequence of the communication service system using the position information according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a communication service system using location information according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of an example of a control station.
FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of an example of a low-sensitivity base station.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a terminal position detecting method according to a second embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of a communication service system using location information according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of a communication service system using location information according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram of a communication service system using location information according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of an operation sequence of a communication service system using location information according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of a communication service system using location information according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 terminal
2 Portable terminal
3 terminal
4 Presence server
5 Session Initiation Protocol Server
6 Terminal location information acquisition system

Claims (9)

Registering status information indicating the state of the user and contact information indicating the contact information of the user from the user terminal to the presence server via the network,
By detecting the signal transmitted from the user's portable terminal with low sensitivity corresponding to a narrow zone, the position information of the portable terminal is obtained,
Register the location information of the portable terminal in the presence server as the current location information of the user,
The status information, contact information, and location information of the user registered in the presence server can be referred to as presence information of the user from another user's terminal via the network,
A communication session via a network between another user's terminal and the contact indicated in the specific user's contact information in response to a request from another user's terminal referring to the specific user's presence information To establish the
A communication service method using location information. The communication service using location information according to claim 1, wherein the communication session is established between a terminal of another user in the network and a contact of a specific user outside the network via the gateway and the public network. Method. A presence server having a function of collecting and managing status information indicating the state of the user and contact information indicating the user's contact from the user's terminal via a network,
By detecting the signal transmitted from the portable terminal of the user who can communicate via the communication system with low sensitivity corresponding to the narrow zone, the position information of the portable terminal is acquired and transmitted to the presence server as the position information of the user. A terminal location information acquisition system,
Is provided,
The presence server transmits the registered user's status information, contact information, and location information to the other user's terminal via a network so that the user's presence information can be referred to from the other user's terminal as presence information.
A communication session via a network between another user's terminal and the contact indicated in the specific user's contact information in response to a request from another user's terminal referring to the specific user's presence information A session initiation protocol server having a function of establishing
Communication service system using location information. The session initiation protocol server, when the contact of a specific user is a contact outside the network, between the terminal of another user and the contact of the specific user via a network, a gateway and a public network. The communication service system using location information according to claim 3, wherein a communication session can be established. The terminal location information acquisition system
A mobile station including a base station that receives a position registration request signal from a mobile terminal in the coverage area and wirelessly communicates with the mobile terminal, and a control station that manages information necessary for mobile communication and controls the base station. A communication system;
It is installed at a location associated with known location information within the coverage area of the base station, receives a location registration request signal transmitted from a portable terminal with lower sensitivity than the base station, and transmits a location registration request signal. A low-sensitivity base station for notifying the control station of the identification information of the portable terminal,
Has,
The control station,
A position information management unit that associates identification information of the low-sensitivity base station with position information of the low-sensitivity base station,
The position information associated with the low-sensitivity base station that has notified the identification information of the portable terminal that has transmitted the position registration request signal is acquired from the position information management unit, and the acquired position information is used as the position information of the portable terminal. A location information acquisition unit to be associated with the identification information of the portable terminal;
A user identification unit that identifies the owner of the portable terminal by associating the identification information of the portable terminal that sent the position registration request signal with the user management information of the mobile communication system;
Including
The control station is configured to transmit position information of the portable terminal and user identification information corresponding to an owner of the identified portable terminal to the presence server.
A communication service system using the position information according to claim 3. The user's portable terminal is a wireless LAN terminal,
The terminal location information acquisition system
A wireless LAN base station that establishes a wireless link with the wireless LAN terminal in the coverage area and connects the wireless LAN terminal that has established the wireless link to a network;
An authentication server that is connected to the wireless LAN base station and checks whether a user of the wireless LAN terminal connected to the wireless LAN base station is a valid user;
The terminal address of the wireless LAN terminal of the authenticated user confirmed to be a valid user and the wireless LAN base station address of the wireless LAN base station are obtained from the wireless LAN base station, and the authentication data of the authenticated user is obtained. A management server obtained from the authentication server,
Has,
The management server generates location information from a wireless LAN base station address of the wireless LAN base station to which the authenticated user's wireless LAN terminal is connected, generates user identification information from the authentication data, Configured to transmit location information and user identification information related to the presence server to the presence server,
A communication service system using the position information according to claim 3. The terminal location information acquisition system
An ID transmitter attached to the user's portable terminal or carried by the user and transmitting the user identification information of the user;
It is installed at a location associated with the known location information, receives the user identification information of the user transmitted from the ID transmitter of the user existing in the cover area, and receives the known location information and the user identification information of the user. An ID receiver for transmitting to the presence server,
Having,
A communication service system using the position information according to claim 3. The terminal position information acquisition system includes a positioning unit attached to the portable terminal of the user and acquires position information of the portable terminal by the GPS method.
The mobile terminal of the user is configured to transmit the position information and the user identification information of the user obtained by the positioning unit to the presence server,
A communication service system using the position information according to claim 3. A terminal position information acquisition system receives a position registration request signal from a portable terminal of a user in a coverage area and wirelessly communicates with the portable terminal. The base station manages information necessary for mobile communication, and Is configured by a mobile communication system having a control station that controls
The control station,
A position information management unit that associates the identification information of the base station with the position information of the base station,
From the location information management unit, acquire the location information associated with the base station that has notified the identification information of the portable terminal that has sent the location registration request signal, and use the acquired location information as the location information of the portable terminal. A location information acquisition unit to associate with the terminal identification information;
A user identification unit that identifies the owner of the portable terminal by associating the identification information of the portable terminal that sent the position registration request signal with the user management information of the mobile communication system;
Including
The control station is configured to transmit the location information of the portable terminal and user identification information corresponding to the identified owner of the terminal to the presence server,
An information providing system using the position information according to claim 3.

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