JP2006191462A - Communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication system which realizes real-time communication without modifying an existing application. <P>SOLUTION: A real-time communication function between a web system 12 and a SIP system 14 in a service system 10 can be added to a service system 10 without modifying an existing business AP 28 by newly providing an RC cooperation AP 30 and an address translation AP 50. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication system. The communication system according to the present invention particularly relates to a system that allows different applications to coexist while linking different systems.

  Systems that link Web (world-wide Web) applications and real-time communications such as VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) have been proposed and are on the market. An example of this is the communication system disclosed in Patent Document 1.

  In such a linkage system, the system on the Web side deploys a link. The link indicates the connection destination address. The caller selects a link displayed by the system on the Web side as a connection destination. Thereby, real-time communication is started. A configuration for starting communication in this way is common.

JP 2004-362236 A

  By the way, in the cooperation system with such a configuration, it is required to create a real-time communication function for a Web application and add the created function. However, it may be difficult to add such new functions to existing Web applications. Therefore, there arises a case where the cooperation system cannot be operated in cooperation with real-time communication.

  An object of the present invention is to solve such drawbacks of the prior art and provide a communication system that realizes real-time communication without modifying existing applications.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is a communication system in which information is communicated with each of clients connected to a system constructed in an environment of different communication protocols and this information is provided as a service. The first system includes a first system and a second system. The first system is a client of the second system based on the existing information and the first information and the first information regarding the communication partner in the second system. Having a common communication protocol for operating the first system and the second system in cooperation with each other, and storing the first and second information. In addition, the client of the first system can be obtained by the cooperative application. The first and second information is displayed in a list that is characterized in that it comprises an address translation application for selecting one of which is the list.

  The communication system of the present invention provides an application function between the first system and the second system without changing the existing application by newly providing a cooperative application and an address translation application. Can do.

  Next, an embodiment of a communication system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  In the present embodiment, the communication system of the present invention is applied to a service system 10 that communicates with a heterogeneous system. The illustration and description of parts not directly related to the present invention are omitted. In the following description, the signal is indicated by the reference number of the connecting line in which it appears.

  In the service system 10, as shown in FIG. 1, a Web system 12 and a SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) system 14 are connected by a communication line 16. The Web system 12 is also connected to the Web client 18 via the signal line 20. The SIP system 14 is connected to the SIP client 22 via communication lines 24a and 24b.

  The Web system 12 includes a Web server 26, a business application (AP) 28, a real-time communication (RC) cooperation application (AP) 30, and a storage 32. The web server 26 is connected to the web client 18. The Web server 26 is connected to the business AP 28 and the RC cooperation AP 30 via signal lines 34 and 36, respectively. There may be a plurality of Web servers 26, which manage the business AP 28 and the RC linkage AP 30.

  The business AP 28 operates as a Web application and has a function of realizing an existing basic business. The business AP 28 is an application that can service this function independently. The business AP 28 operates according to the control of the Web server 26. The business AP 28 also has a function of displaying and selecting a keyword related to the business content (not shown). For the keyword, a part or all of the name, affiliation, and address used for specifying the user is used.

  The RC cooperation AP 30 has a function of starting a communication service for the RC server 38 of the SIP system in accordance with an instruction from the user and performing real-time communication. The RC cooperation AP 30 of this embodiment includes an information search function unit 40 and a SIP accessor component 42 as shown in FIG. The information search function unit 40 has a function of examining either information corresponding to a keyword or information candidates from information stored in the storage 32 according to an instruction. The candidate here is information that can identify the user, for example, name, affiliation, and the like.

  The SIP accessor component 42 outputs information to the RC server 38. In this output, the SIP accessor component 42 makes an important contribution in realizing communication between different systems. Here, the SIP accessor component 46 is a generic term for a component group in which the RC cooperation AP 34 cooperates with the SIP system 14, and is library software called when the RC cooperation AP 30 operates. The SIP accessor component 42 is used when the RC cooperation AP 30 communicates with a Web accessor component (not shown) on the SIP system 14. In this case, the RC cooperation AP 30 can be used in combination with the application of the SIP system 14 from the Web application side according to what function is realized. The SIP accessor component 42 can be expanded at any time according to the application, and the addition / expansion of this component also adds / expands variations of cooperation with the SIP system 14.

  The SIP accessor component 42 includes, for example, a cooperation management function unit 44 and a component API (not shown). Further, the SIP accessor component 42 may include the information search function unit 40 described above as a component for managing information. The SIP accessor component 42 corresponds to a module that accesses a Web accessor component (not shown) in the SIP system 14. As a result, access from the Web side to the SIP side is realized.

  The cooperation management function unit 44 is a module corresponding to the cooperation management function unit of the SIP system 14, and performs cooperation management using SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) or CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture). The component application interface (API) is an interface for the AP that is constructed so that a Web-side application uses the component via the corresponding component.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the storage 32 is a recording / playback apparatus managed by the Web server 26 and storing, for example, business information, user information, presence information, and the like in association with each other. Presence information is information such as whether or not the client is connected to the Web system 12, whether or not the client is activated and used, and whether or not it is connected to another client. As can be seen, the storage 32 stores information representing the state of the client. The storage 32 is connected to the RC cooperation AP 30 via the signal line 46.

  The RC server 38 is a server that realizes VoIP in response to a client request in the SIP system 14 that operates in an end-to-end client-server model protocol. 30 has a function of controlling connection in communication between users designated by 30. There may be a plurality of RC servers 38, and in particular, it has a function of handling and managing SIP compliant with, for example, RFC (Request For Comments) 3261 defined by IETF (International Engineering Task Force). In order to receive communication from the Web side, the RC server 38 includes a Web accessor component (not shown).

  The Web accessor component is a generic term for a component group in which an application on the SIP side cooperates with the Web system 12, and each component represents a library software component. Therefore, the Web accessor component is called when the SIP-side AP operates, and is used when communicating with the aforementioned SIP accessor component 42 of the Web system 12. The Web accessor component also includes a linkage management function unit and a component application interface (component API).

  The web client 18 includes a web browser 48 and an address translation application (AP) 50. The web browser 48 has a function of browsing the web. As shown in FIG. 3, the address conversion AP 50 includes a list list display function unit 52 and a user selection function unit 54. The list list display function unit 52 has a function of classifying information obtained by the above-described search for each corresponding application, and displaying the list as candidates for selecting the classified information. As shown in FIG. 4, the list list display function unit 52 of the present embodiment divides the monitor screen 56 into regions 58 and 60 and displays the candidates in the regions 58 and 60. In areas 58 and 60, for example, keywords that are search results of the business AP 28 and telephone numbers or converted addresses that are communication partner candidates in the RC cooperation AP 30 are displayed. There are a plurality of Web clients 18.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the user selection function unit 54 has a function of selecting and determining one of the displayed keywords or candidates. In the user selection, first, the keyword selected by the user from the page indicated by the business AP 28 is displayed on the monitor, and this keyword is notified to the RC cooperation AP 30. Next, the user selection function unit 54 has a function of selecting response information to the keyword search from the storage 32, that is, a candidate. The address conversion AP 50 also has a function of converting the address of the selected candidate. The address conversion AP 50 converts the response information into an address and outputs the converted address to the RC cooperation AP 30. That is, the address conversion AP 50 supplies the telephone number determined as the response information to the RC cooperation AP 30.

  Further, the SIP client 22 shown in FIG. 1 includes communication terminal devices 62 and 64 that realize real-time communication. The communication terminal devices 62 and 64 include, for example, a VoIP telephone. The SIP client 22 is a component of the client group.

  In this way, in realizing real-time communication between different systems, the user 66 has both the communication terminal device 64 and the Web client 18, and the communication terminal device 64 and the SIP client 22 are instructed by the Web client 18. It becomes possible to call by communicating with the other party.

  Next, the communication connection procedure of the service system 10 will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, a case where a request for real-time communication occurs while the user 66 is operating the business AP 28 with the Web browser 48 will be described. The user 66 starts up the Web browser 48 at time T10, and operates the business AP 28 in response to activation (Launching 70). Thereafter, while operating the business AP 28, the Web browser 48 allows the Web server 26 to be accessed in order to satisfy the user-requested real-time communication request. The web browser 48 logs in to the RC-linked AP 30 that operates under the control of the web server 26 at time T12 (Login 72).

  By this login operation, the Web server 26 outputs an authentication request (Authentication_REQ.) 74 for determining whether or not to authenticate the access to the RC cooperation AP 30 to the storage 32 at time T14. The storage 32 searches and specifies stored information on the user information database corresponding to the information provided at the time of login operation by this access. The stored information is a communication address of the caller (user), and is information such as a telephone number and SIP-URI (Uniform Resource Identifiers). The storage 32 supplies the stored information (Information) 76 specified at time T16 to the Web server 26. When the specified storage information 76 is supplied, the Web server 26 holds the storage information 76 and authenticates it. Further, the Web server 26 does not authenticate if there is no specified accumulated information 76. The Web server 26 supplies the authentication result as display information (Display) 78 to the Web browser 58 at time T18.

  Upon receiving normal authentication, the web browser 58 outputs a keyword request (Keyword_REQ.) 80 to the web server 26 at time T20. The keyword request 80 includes user information. The Web server 26 immediately generates and outputs a keyword collection request (Collection_REQ.) 82 to the business AP 28. The business AP 28 also outputs a collection request 82 to the storage 32. The storage 32 searches for and collects information related to the user information. The storage 32 supplies the keyword collected at time T22 to the business AP 28 as a search result (Result) 84. The search result 84 is further output to the Web server 26. The Web server 26 supplies the search result 84 as display information (Display) 88 to the Web browser 58 at time T24.

  The web browser 48 displays the display information 88 in the area 58 by the list list display function unit 52. The user selects from the keywords displayed in the area 50. At this time, on the screen 56, for example, a character string on the Web browser 58 may be highlighted in accordance with the selection. The keyword here does not need to completely specify the desired user, but may be fragmentary information such as a name, affiliation, and part of an address. The web browser 48 passes the keyword selected by the user to the address conversion AP 50 at time T26. For this handing operation, for example, a switch on the right side of a user interface such as a mouse as a pointing device is clicked on the Web browser 48 to display a menu on the screen. The menu includes an item indicating the address conversion AP 50. When the user selects this item, the keyword selected in advance is delivered to the address translation AP 60. The address conversion AP 50 transmits the keyword selection (Keyword_SEL.) 88 converted by the user selection function unit 54 to the Web server 26.

  The Web server 26 outputs the keyword selection 88 supplied at time T28 to the RC cooperative AP 30 as an address extraction request (Extraction_REQ.) 90. The RC cooperation AP 30 supplies an address extraction request 90 to the storage 32. The storage 32 retrieves and collects related information from the user information database stored in response to the extraction request 90. The storage 32 outputs the collected information (Result) 92 to the RC cooperative AP 30 at time T30. The collected information 92 includes information that allows the user to be identified, that is, the complete name, affiliation, address, and the like and the user's communication address. The communication address is a telephone number or SPI-URI.

  The RC cooperation AP 30 supplies the supplied information 92 to the Web server 26 immediately. The Web server 26 supplies the information 92 supplied at time T32 as display information (Display) 94 to the Web browser 48 via the address conversion AP 50. In the display information 94, the communication address supplied by the list list display function unit 52 of the address conversion AP 50 is displayed as a user list in the area 60 in the screen 56 shown in FIG. The user uses the displayed communication address as a communication partner candidate, and searches for information on a desired communication partner in these candidates. If there is a candidate indicating a desired communication partner, the user clicks a left switch provided on the mouse, for example, and selects the candidate displayed by the user selection function unit 54.

  The Web browser 48 supplies the communication address (SEL._INF.) 96 selected at time T34 to the Web server 26. The communication address includes the address of the communication source that has issued the communication request and the communication destination that is the communication partner. The Web server 26 immediately supplies this communication address 96 to the RC cooperation AP 30. When the RC management AP 54 accesses the SIP system 14 from the Web system 12 using the linkage management function unit 54, the RC linkage AP 30 converts it into instruction information common to both. The RC cooperation AP 30 outputs a connection command (Connection_COM.) 98 including the communication address generated as the instruction information to the RC server 38 at time T36.

  The RC server 38 transmits connection setting information (Connect_SET) 100 to the communication terminal device 64 so that the communication connection can be started at time T38. Further, the RC server 38 transmits connection setting information to the communication terminal device 62 of the communication partner so that the communication connection (Connect_SET) 102 can be started at time T40. The communication terminal device 64 communicates with the communication terminal device 62 while ensuring the state of communication connection with the transmission of the RC server 38.

  The present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and even if an information system such as an LDAP server or a customer management system is configured to have a communication address, it can be linked and can communicate.

  By configuring as described above, the RC system AP 30 and the address translation AP 50 are newly provided, and the Web system 12 and the SIP system 14 in the service system 10 are not changed without changing the existing business AP 28. A real-time communication function can be easily added.

  In the service system 10, the RC cooperation AP 30 searches the information search function unit 40 using the first information as an ambiguous keyword and the second information as a communication address. The first information and the second information may be divided into display areas, displayed in a list, and selected by the user selection function unit 54 from the list display.

  Moreover, it is preferable to use one of SOAP and CORBA as a common communication protocol.

It is a block diagram which shows the schematic structure of the Example in the service system to which the communication system which concerns on this invention is applied. It is a block diagram which shows the schematic structure of RC cooperation AP of FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an address translation AP in FIG. 1. It is a figure which shows an example of the list-up screen of the information obtained by RC cooperation AP and business AP in the Web system of FIG. It is a sequential chart explaining the communication connection in the service system of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

10 Service system
12 Web system
14 SIP system
18 Web client
22 SIP client
26 Web server
28 Business AP
30 RC-linked AP
32 storage
38 RC server
40 Information search function
42 SIP accessor components
44 Link Management Function Department
50 Address conversion AP
52 List display function section
54 User selection function section

Claims (3)

In a communication system that provides information as a service by communicating information with each of clients connected to a system constructed in an environment of different communication protocols, the communication system includes:
Including a first system and a second system;
The first system is an existing application,
Storage means for storing, as second information, communication partner candidates in the client of the second system based on the first information and the first information regarding the communication partner in the second system;
A common application having a common communication protocol for operating the first system and the second system in cooperation, and searching for the first and second information from the storage means;
Further, the client of the first system includes an address conversion application for displaying a list of the first and second information obtained by the cooperative application and selecting one from the displayed list. Communication system. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the cooperative application includes a functional block that searches for the first information as an ambiguous keyword and the second information as a communication address.
The address translation application includes a display function block that divides the first and second information into display areas and displays a list.
And a selection function block for selecting one from the list display.   The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the common communication protocol uses one of SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) and CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture).

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