JP2006238230A - Communication connection system and communication connection method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To install a single access point throughout the country, without increasing the communication cost to be borne by users in dial-up connection to the Internet. <P>SOLUTION: A communication connection system includes an information terminal 1 that performs dial-up connection; a telephone station 2 that interconverts audio data and IP data and transmits/receives the IP data to/from the destination called; a plurality of terminal adapters 42 each for interconverting IP data and audio data; an exchange unit 41 for establishing a communication path specified by an identifier of the calling source and the identifier of the called destination, by connecting an idle terminal adapter 42 with the telephone station 2 by transmitting/receiving IP data; and a RAS 43 for performing remote access processing, using a protocol corresponding to audio data outputted from the terminal adapter 42, interconverting audio data and IP data transmitted/received by the remote access processing and connecting to the Internet via the IP data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

The present invention relates to a communication connection system and a communication connection method.

  In recent years, with the spread of information terminals such as personal computers and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistance), users can access communication networks such as the Internet via the public telephone network through dial-up connections from information terminals while changing their position. However, opportunities to use services on the network are increasing.

In general, when using a communication network service via a public telephone network, data communication is performed by dial-up connection to one access point among a plurality of access points installed nationwide. At this time, in order to reduce the communication cost of dial-up connection, the user selects and connects the closest access point to the current position of the information terminal (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2004-56379 A

  However, in the technology for installing a plurality of access points nationwide as described above, the user must know a telephone number for dial-up connection to the nearest access point. For this reason, for example, when the user's position changes due to travel or a business trip, the user checks the telephone number of the access point installed in the area each time and then dials up the information terminal being used. There is a problem that the setting needs to be changed again.

  On the other hand, the provider side that provides the Internet service has to install a large number of access points throughout the country, and there is a problem that the equipment cost and the operation / management cost become enormous. Thus, when the number of access points is reduced to reduce the cost, there arises a problem that the distance from the user's position to the access point becomes long and the communication cost borne by the user becomes high.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above problem, and it is possible to install a single access point nationwide on the provider side without increasing the communication cost borne by the user in dial-up connection. It is an object of the present invention to provide a communication connection system and a communication connection method that can be used.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a communication connection system and method for connecting to the Internet from an information terminal used by a user through an access point, which specifies a source identifier and a destination identifier. The dial-up unit that performs dial-up connection via voice data, and the voice data and IP data are mutually converted, and the converted IP data is converted using the source and destination identifiers specified by the dial-up unit. Connect the IP connection section that transmits and receives to / from the destination, multiple terminal adapters that perform interconversion between IP data and voice data, and connect the available terminal adapter and IP connection section by transmitting and receiving IP data, The voice data output from the terminal adapter and the switching unit that establishes the communication path specified by the original identifier and the destination identifier A remote access process is performed according to a protocol according to the present invention, and an access processing unit that mutually converts voice data and IP data transmitted / received by the remote access process and connects to the Internet via the IP data is provided. To do.

  In the present invention, first, on the information terminal side, the source identifier and the destination identifier are specified, and dial-up connection is performed via the voice data, and the voice data and the IP data are mutually converted, Using the source and destination identifiers, the converted IP data is transmitted to and received from the access point that is the destination.

  Next, at the access point, an available terminal adapter is selected from among a plurality of terminal adapters that perform mutual conversion between IP data and voice data, and the selected terminal adapter and information terminal are exchanged by transmitting and receiving IP data. Connect and establish a communication path specified by the identifier of the source and the identifier of the destination.

  At this time, in a plurality of terminal adapters, a common telephone number is acquired as an identifier of the destination, and the acquired identifier of the destination is exchanged as an identifier unique to the vacant terminal adapter. To establish communication.

  After that, remote access processing is performed according to the protocol according to the voice data output from the terminal adapter, and voice data and IP data transmitted and received by this remote access processing are further converted to each other and transferred to the Internet via IP data. Connecting.

  According to the present invention as described above, a plurality of user terminals can be connected to the Internet by a single telephone number because they are connected to the Internet through a plurality of terminal adapters that are representatively assembled and exchanged and connected by an exchange unit. . As a result, if the user knows only a single phone number, the user can access the Internet regardless of the location, and there is no need to change the dial-up setting of the information terminal accompanying movement.

  In addition, since the nearest telephone office is connected to the access point via a so-called IP phone, communication is possible with a uniform communication charge regardless of the distance from the user's location to the access point. On the other hand, the service provider only needs to have one access point nationwide, which can reduce costs such as equipment costs.

  As described above, according to the present invention, in dial-up connection to the Internet, it is possible to install a single access point nationwide without changing the communication cost depending on the distance to the access point. it can.

  Next, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(overall structure)
Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a service to which the communication connection system according to the present embodiment is applied.

  As shown in the figure, in this embodiment, a single access point is installed in Japan, dial-up connection is made to this access point 4 from any region of Japan, and the Internet 3 is connected through the access point 4. Connecting.

  This access point 4 is provided with a representative function so that multiple users can access it simultaneously. A single number (for example, “050-XXX-XXX”) allows multiple users scattered throughout the country to It is accessible.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the communication connection system according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in the figure, an information terminal 1 such as a personal computer or a PDA used by a user is connected to the Internet 3 via a nearest telephone station 2.

  In the information terminal 1, the terminal device is an arithmetic processing device including a CPU, and can be realized by a general-purpose computer such as a personal computer or a dedicated device specialized in function, and includes a mobile phone. In addition, this information terminal 1 has a built-in terminal device (or externally connected) for connecting to an IP network such as a modem, for example, and converts between digital data and audio signals when connecting to a telephone line. And functions as a dial-up unit for dial-up connection to the telephone station 2 by voice data.

  The telephone station 2 is a relay station that supports so-called IP telephones. It mutually converts voice data and IP data, and uses high-speed, large-capacity trunk lines (DSLAM (Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer) and communication equipment such as routers ( Data communication to the Internet 3 is possible. Through this telephone station 2, voice data from the information terminal 1 is sent as IP packet data to the Internet 3, and IP packet data from the Internet 3 is sent as voice data to the information terminal 1 side.

  The Internet 3 is a distributed communication system constructed by connecting various communication lines (public lines such as telephone lines, ISDN lines, ADSL lines, private lines, wireless communication networks) using the communication protocol TCP / IP. Network (IP network).

  On this Internet 3, a call agent server 31 as an IP connection unit that transmits and receives IP data converted by the telephone station 2 to and from the access point using the identifiers of the source and destination specified by the information terminal 1. Is arranged. The call agent server 31 has table data that associates IP addresses with MAC addresses and telephone numbers that identify each terminal. The call agent server 31 refers to each IP address based on the telephone number of the caller and callee, and makes a call. Enables transmission and reception of IP packets between source and destination, and establishes data communication between each other.

  By dialing up “050-XXX-XXX” from the information terminal 1 by the call agent server 31, it is connected to the access point 4, and data communication between it and the information terminal 1 becomes possible.

  The access point 4 disposed on the Internet 3 includes a switching unit 41, a plurality of terminal adapters (TA) 42 for IP telephones, a remote access server (RAS) 43, and HUBs 44 and 45. .

  The exchange unit 41 connects the vacant terminal adapter 42 and the telephone station 2 by transmitting and receiving IP data, and identifies the source identifier (phone number, MAC address, IP address) and destination identifier (phone number or MAC address). This is a device that establishes a communication path specified by the address, IP address), and has a representative set function that communicates simultaneously with multiple users using the common phone number “050-XXX-XXX” for the access point 4 Yes.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the representative combination function searches for a caller identifier acquisition unit 41a that acquires a caller's telephone number and the like and notifies the communication establishment unit 41e, and a free terminal adapter 42. An empty TA search unit 41c, a TA allocation unit 41b that allocates a line to an empty terminal adapter, a TA identifier acquisition unit 41d that acquires an identifier (IP address, etc.) of the allocated terminal adapter and notifies the communication establishment unit 41e A communication establishment unit 41e that establishes data communication using the identifiers of the transmission source and the transmission destination.

  Then, in such an exchange unit 41, when there is an access from the information terminal 1, the source identifier acquisition unit 41a acquires the identifier of the information terminal 1, and the free TA search unit 41c and the TA allocation unit 41b Search for an available terminal adapter and assign a line from information terminal 1.

  Then, the assigned IP address of the terminal adapter is acquired by the TA identifier acquisition unit 41d, and at the communication establishment unit 41e, a common telephone number “050-XXX-XXX” (or this telephone number is assigned to the plurality of terminal adapters 42). The associated IP address) ”is exchanged for a terminal adapter specific IP address, and data communication is established using the exchanged IP address.

  The HUB 45 is a device for branching the line from the switching unit 41 to each terminal adapter 42, and the IP packet is routed based on the IP address unique to each terminal adapter given to each IP packet in the switching unit 41. It becomes.

  The terminal adapter 42 is a signal conversion device that performs mutual conversion between IP data and audio data. The terminal adapter 42 converts IP data received from the telephone station 2 into audio data, outputs the audio data to the RAS 43, and converts the audio data received from the RAS 43 into Convert to IP data and send to telephone station 2. Each terminal adapter is assigned a unique IP address and communicates with a communication source (information terminal 1) allocated by the exchange unit 41.

  The RAS 43 is a server that is connected to the TA 42 through an analog signal (voice data), performs mutual conversion between voice data and IP data, and then connects to a remote computer. Specifically, remote access processing is performed according to a protocol corresponding to voice data output from the terminal adapter 42, and voice data transmitted and received by the remote access processing and IP data are mutually converted, and the IP data is transmitted. Connect to Internet 3.

  The HUB 44 is a device that collects lines from each RAS 43. In the present embodiment, it is connected to the Internet 3 via this HUB 44. An authentication server (RADIUS) 5 is connected to the HUB 44. This authentication server 5 is an authentication system for dial-up connection. Specifically, the user's information terminal 1 that is remotely dial-up connected to the RAS 43 transmits the user name and password to the access server using LCP or CHAP in PPP, and the RAS 43 that receives this transmits it. This user user name and password are transmitted to the RADIUS server using the RADIUS protocol, and if the user is authenticated, the connection is permitted.

(Communication connection method)
By operating the communication connection system having the above configuration, the communication connection method of the present invention can be implemented. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the communication connection system according to the present embodiment.

  First, the information terminal 1 used by the user dials up “050-XXX-XXX” (S101). At this time, the information terminal 1 performs mutual conversion between digital data and a voice signal when connecting to the telephone line, and starts communication with the telephone station 2 using the voice data.

  Telephone office 2 receives the dial-up from information terminal 1 and makes an inquiry to call agent server 31 using the telephone number of the caller and the telephone number “050-XXX-XXX” of the callee (access point 4). I do. The call agent server 31 refers to the table data, detects the IP address from the telephone number that identifies each terminal, and notifies the telephone station 2 of the IP address. With this notification, the telephone station 2 acquires the IP addresses of the information terminal 1 and the access point 4 (S102a). Thereafter, the voice data and the IP data are mutually converted (A ← → D conversion), and data communication is started to the access point 4 through the Internet 3 by a communication device such as a DSLAM or a router (S102b).

  In the access point 4, first, the exchange unit 41 acquires the identifier of the information terminal 1 in the transmission source identifier acquisition unit 41a, and searches for a free terminal adapter by the free TA search unit 41c and the TA allocation unit 41b ( S103a), the line from the information terminal 1 is allocated to the vacant terminal adapter (S103b).

  At this time, the assigned IP address of the terminal adapter is acquired by the TA identifier acquisition unit 41d, and at the communication establishment unit 41e, a common telephone number “050-XXX-XXX” (or this telephone number) is assigned to the plurality of terminal adapters 42. ) ”Is exchanged for the IP address of the terminal adapter, and data communication is established using the exchanged IP address.

  Next, the terminal adapter 42 performs mutual conversion (D ← → A conversion) between IP data and audio data (D ← → A conversion), converts the received IP data into audio data, outputs it to the RAS 43, and receives the audio received from the RAS 43. The data is converted to IP data and sent to the central office 2.

  Then, remote access is performed to RAS 43 (S105). When connecting to the Internet 3 with this RAS 43, the RAS 43 transmits the user user name and password obtained from the user's information terminal 1 to the authentication server 5 using the RADIUS protocol and authenticates as a user user. The connection is permitted (S106).

  If this permission is granted, the RAS43 starts to send and receive data to and from the TA42 through analog signals (voice data), and after performing mutual conversion between voice data and IP data (A ← → D conversion) Connect to Internet 3 via IP data.

(Action / Effect)
According to the communication connection system and method according to the present embodiment described above, a plurality of user terminals are connected by a single telephone number to connect to the Internet 3 through a plurality of terminal adapters 42 that are representatively assembled and exchanged. Internet connection is possible. As a result, if the user knows only a single phone number, the user can access the phone number regardless of the location, and there is no need to change the dial-up setting of the information terminal when the location is moved.

  Also, voice data is communicated from the user to the nearest central office 2, and the central office 2 to the access point 4 are connected by IP packets, so it is uniform regardless of the distance from the user's location to the access point. Communication is possible with communication charges (call charges to the nearest telephone station 2). On the other hand, the service provider need only have one access point in the country, and can reduce costs such as equipment costs.

  As a result, according to the present embodiment, in the dial-up connection to the Internet, it is possible to eliminate the fluctuation of the communication cost depending on the distance to the access point, and to make a single access nationwide without burdening the user. Points can be set up.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of the service to which the communication connection system which concerns on embodiment is applied. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the communication connection system which concerns on embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the exchange part which concerns on embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows operation | movement of the communication connection system which concerns on embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1… Information terminal
2 ... Telephone station
3 ... Internet
4 ... Access point
5: Authentication server
31 ... Call agent server
41… Replacement part
41a: Source identifier acquisition unit
41b… TA allocation part
41c… Available TA search part
41d ... TA identifier acquisition unit
41e… Communication establishment unit
42 ... Terminal adapter
43 ... RAS
44,45… HUB

Claims (2)

A communication connection system for connecting to the Internet through an access point from an information terminal used by a user,
On the information terminal side, a dial-up unit that identifies a sender identifier and a destination identifier and performs dial-up connection via voice data;
The voice data and the IP data are interconverted, using the identifier of the source and destination specified by the dial-up unit, an IP connection unit for transmitting and receiving the converted IP data to the destination,
In the access point, a plurality of terminal adapters that perform mutual conversion between IP data and voice data,
The vacant terminal adapter and the IP connection unit are connected by transmission / reception of IP data, and an exchange unit that establishes a communication path specified by the source identifier and the destination identifier,
The remote access processing is performed by a protocol corresponding to the voice data output from the terminal adapter, and the voice data and IP data transmitted / received by the remote access processing are mutually converted and connected to the Internet via the IP data. An access processing unit,
The exchange unit obtains a telephone number common to the plurality of terminal adapters as an identifier of the destination, exchanges the obtained destination identifier with an identifier unique to the vacant terminal adapter, and exchanges A communication connection system comprising a representative combination function for establishing communication using the identified identifier. A communication connection method for connecting to the Internet from an information terminal used by a user through an access point,
On the information terminal side, identifying the identifier of the source and the identifier of the destination, performing dial-up connection via voice data (1),
Step (2) for mutually converting the voice data and IP data, and transmitting and receiving the converted IP data to and from the access point using the source and destination identifiers specified in step (1). When,
In the access point, a free terminal adapter is selected from a plurality of terminal adapters that perform mutual conversion between IP data and voice data, and transmission and reception of IP data is performed between the selected terminal adapter and the information terminal. And establishing a communication path specified by the source identifier and the destination identifier (3),
Remote access processing is performed by a protocol corresponding to the voice data output from the terminal adapter, and voice data and IP data transmitted / received by the remote access processing are mutually converted and connected to the Internet via IP data. Step (4)
In the step (3), a telephone number common to the plurality of terminal adapters is acquired as the identifier of the destination, and the acquired destination identifier is replaced with an identifier unique to the vacant terminal adapter. A communication connection method comprising establishing communication using the exchanged identifier.

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