JP2007081575A - Ip telephone service center device, program, and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide alternative service without negating a call completely even outside an area providing 050 number calls. <P>SOLUTION: An IP telephone service center device for providing an IP telephone terminal with IP telephone service in an IP telephone network, comprises a terminal registration means that receives registration information containing an IP address and terminal identification information from the IP telephone terminal for storing in a storage; a service determining means for determining whether the IP telephone terminal is present in an area for providing prescribed service by using an IP address contained in the registration information received from the IP telephone terminal, and determining alternative service that replaces the prescribed service, when it is determined that the IP telephone terminal is not present in the area for providing the prescribed service; and an alternative service execution means for executing alternative service determined by the service determining means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an IP telephone technology, and more particularly to a technique for controlling the content provided by an IP telephone service based on area information where an IP telephone terminal exists.

  Currently, IP phones using VoIP technology are widely used. A mobile IP mobile phone using a wireless LAN has also appeared. Under such circumstances, a telephone number dedicated to IP telephone service starting with “050” is assigned to a service provider that satisfies a certain end-to-end call quality.

In the case of a mobile IP phone, a call can be made when the IP phone terminal is under an AP (access point). However, since a “050” number is assigned to each operator under the condition that a certain end-to-end call quality is satisfied, the network of the operator who has not acquired “050” or a general LAN Under the control, it is assumed that outgoing / incoming calls with the number “050” cannot be used. That is, if the AP is connected to the IP telephone network of the business operator who has acquired “050”, the IP telephone terminal under the AP can use the outgoing / incoming service using the “050” number. It is conceivable that an outgoing / incoming service using the “050” number cannot be used by APs connected to other IP networks.
JP 2004-222156 A

  Giving the “050” number improves the convenience of the user, but due to the limitations described above, the area and access line that the user given the “050” number can talk to is limited. There's a problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides a technique capable of providing an alternative service without completely refusing a call even outside the 050 number provision area. Objective.

An object of the present invention is to provide an IP telephone service center apparatus for providing an IP telephone service to an IP telephone terminal in an IP telephone network, receiving registration information including an IP address and terminal identification information from the IP telephone terminal, and storing it Using the terminal registration means stored in the apparatus and the IP address included in the registration information received from the IP telephone terminal, it is determined whether or not the IP telephone terminal exists in a predetermined service providing area. When it is determined that the telephone terminal does not exist in the predetermined service providing area, service determining means for determining an alternative service to replace the predetermined service, and an alternative for executing the alternative service determined by the service determining means This can be solved by an IP telephone service center apparatus characterized by comprising service execution means.
The service determination means may be configured to obtain a domain name from the IP address and determine whether the IP telephone terminal exists in the predetermined service providing area using the domain name.

  In the case where the IP telephone terminal is outside the predetermined service providing area and the IP telephone service center apparatus receives a call setting request for the IP telephone terminal from another telephone terminal, the alternative service execution means Notifies the other telephone terminal that the IP telephone terminal is out of the predetermined service providing area, accumulates voice transmitted from the other telephone terminal, and stores the accumulated voice. A function of executing a voice message service provided to the IP telephone terminal can be provided.

  As the predetermined service, a telephone number starting from a predetermined number for identifying the IP telephone terminal is assigned to the IP telephone terminal, and the outgoing and incoming calls of the IP telephone are permitted using the telephone number. You can use the service.

  The IP telephone service center apparatus uses the registration information stored in the storage device when the service determining means determines that the IP telephone terminal exists in the predetermined service providing area. Call control means for executing call connection processing corresponding to outgoing and incoming calls using numbers may be further provided.

  The present invention is also an IP telephone service center apparatus for providing IP telephone service to an IP telephone terminal in an IP telephone network, receiving registration information including an IP address and terminal identification information from the IP telephone terminal, Using the terminal registration means stored in the storage device and the IP address included in the registration information received from the IP telephone terminal, determine whether the IP telephone terminal exists in a predetermined service providing area; An IP telephone service comprising: means for rejecting provision of the predetermined service to the IP telephone terminal when it is determined that the IP telephone terminal does not exist in the provision area of the predetermined service It can also be configured as a center device.

  According to the present invention, using an IP address included in registration information received from an IP telephone terminal, it is determined whether or not the IP telephone terminal exists in a predetermined service providing area. If it is determined that the service does not exist in the service providing area, an alternative service that replaces the predetermined service is determined, and the alternative service is executed instead of the predetermined service. Therefore, when the predetermined service is the 050 number service, even if the IP telephone terminal is outside the 050 number service providing area, the alternative service can be used without completely refusing communication. That is, even if provision of the 050 number service to a user outside the 050 number service providing area is rejected, another alternative service can be used.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(System overview)
FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a system in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, an IP telephone network 1 that is permitted to use a 050 number and an IP network 2 that is not permitted to use a 050 number are connected. The IP telephone network 1 is connected to an IP telephone service center apparatus 3 that executes processing according to the present invention. The IP telephone service center device 3 may include a function of a call control server for providing the IP telephone service, or may be a device different from the call control server.

  In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the IP telephone terminal is a mobile wireless terminal such as a small PC, PDA, or IP mobile phone, and an AP connected to the IP telephone network 1 or IP network 2 via an access line. It is assumed that communication is performed under (access point). In the example of FIG. 1, the IP telephone terminal A is under the AP 11 of the IP telephone network 1, the IP telephone terminal B is under the AP 12 of the IP telephone network 1, and the IP telephone terminal C is under the AP 21 of the IP network 2. Each AP has a function of assigning an IP address corresponding to an area to an IP telephone terminal. The network area where the IP telephone terminal exists can be determined from the network address part of the IP address. Further, it is assumed that each IP telephone terminal is assigned a 050 number.

  An outline of an example of the operation in this system will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, the operation when the IP telephone terminal A is under the control of the AP 11 connected to the IP telephone network 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  In order to use the IP telephone service, the IP telephone terminal A transmits a registration request including the IP address assigned in the area of the AP 11 and the identification information (ID etc.) of the IP telephone terminal A to the IP telephone service center apparatus ( Step S1). The IP telephone service center apparatus 3 registers the IP telephone terminal A by recording information included in the registration request in a database.

  This identification information can uniquely identify the IP telephone terminal A, and the IP telephone network 1 has a database in which the identification information and the telephone number are associated with each other. An incoming call of 050 number to an existing IP telephone terminal A is possible.

  Here, the IP telephone service center apparatus 3 identifies the network area where the IP telephone terminal A exists from the IP address included in the received registration request, and determines whether or not the area is a service-provided area for 050 number. judge. In the case of FIG. 2, since the service area is the 050 number service provisionable area, the IP telephone service center device 3 returns a response to the IP telephone terminal A to permit the service using the 050 number for the IP telephone terminal A (step S2 ). Thereafter, the IP telephone terminal A can make / receive a telephone call using the 050 number with another IP telephone terminal B or a general subscriber telephone (step S3).

  Next, a case where the IP telephone terminal A moves under the AP 21 of the IP network 2 where the IP telephone service using the 050 number is not permitted will be described with reference to FIG.

  As in the case of FIG. 2, IP telephone terminal A transmits a registration request to IP telephone service center apparatus 3 (step S11). The IP telephone service center device 3 determines that the IP telephone terminal A is not in the 050 number service provision area based on the IP address of the IP telephone terminal A included in the registration request. In this case, the IP telephone service center device 3 performs a setting to reject normal outgoing / incoming calls using the 050 number by adding information indicating that the IP telephone terminal A is out of the area to the registration information. When an incoming call of 050 number is received from IP telephone terminal A, the voice from the caller is stored as a voice message. Then, IP phone terminal A is notified that it is out of the area where 050 number service can be provided and that a voice message service is performed when an incoming call is received (step S12). It is also possible not to use alternative means.

  Thereafter, for example, when there is a call setting request from the IP telephone terminal B to the 050 number of the IP telephone terminal A, the IP telephone service center apparatus 3 stores the voice from the IP telephone terminal B in the voice message storage unit (step S13). ). In response to a request from IP telephone terminal A (step S14), the accumulated voice is provided to IP telephone terminal A (step S15).

(Functional configuration of IP telephone service center apparatus 3)
An example of the functional configuration of the IP telephone service center apparatus 3 for realizing the above operation is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the IP telephone service center apparatus 3 includes a network communication unit 31, a terminal registration unit 32, a service determination unit 33, a call control unit 34, an alternative service execution unit 35, and a storage unit 36.

The network communication unit 31 has a function for performing data communication via the IP network. The terminal registration unit 32 has a function of receiving a registration request from an IP telephone terminal and storing the IP address and identification information in a database in the storage unit 36 in association with each other. The terminal registration unit 32 has a function of passing processing to the service determination unit 33 during terminal registration.
The service determination unit 33 refers to the database stored in the storage unit 36 based on the IP address received from the IP phone terminal at the time of registration of the IP phone terminal, so that the network area where the IP phone terminal that transmitted the registration request exists Has a function of determining whether or not the service area is a service-provided area of 050 number and determining an alternative service corresponding to the IP telephone terminal when it is out of the area.

  The call control unit 34 has a function of performing signal processing necessary for IP telephone such as connection and disconnection of a call, and has a function of executing signaling based on, for example, SIP. In addition, a function for determining whether or not to execute an alternative service in response to a call setting request from a terminal is also provided.

  The alternative service execution unit 35 has a function of executing an alternative service when the IP telephone terminal is outside the 050 number service providing area.

  The storage unit 36 has a terminal registration database in which registration information of IP telephone terminals is recorded, a provisionable area database in which 050 number service can be provided, and an IP telephone terminal that can provide a 050 number service for each IP telephone terminal. It includes an alternative service database that records alternative services provided when they are outside the area.

  The IP telephone service center device is a general computer including a CPU, a storage device such as a memory and a hard disk, a communication interface, an input / output device, and the like. This is realized by being executed in step (b).

(Operation of IP telephone service center apparatus 3)
The operation of the IP telephone service center apparatus 3 having the functional configuration as described above will be described below.

  First, with reference to FIG. 5, an operation when a certain IP telephone terminal X makes a registration request and then the IP telephone terminal makes a call setting request (outgoing) will be described.

  First, IP telephone terminal X transmits a registration request to IP telephone service center apparatus 3 (step S21). The registration request includes the IP address of IP telephone terminal X and identification information. The terminal registration unit 32 of the IP telephone service center apparatus 3 stores the information included in the received registration request in the terminal registration database in the storage unit 36 (step S22).

  FIG. 6 shows an example of the contents of the terminal registration database. As shown in FIG. 6, in the terminal registration database, the identification information of the IP telephone terminal and the IP address of the IP telephone terminal are recorded in association with each other. In addition, the contents of the inside / outside area and the alternative service are recorded, which are determined in the subsequent processing.

  Returning to FIG. 5, the terminal registration unit 32 transfers the processing to the service determination unit 33 by passing the IP address of the IP telephone terminal X to the service determination unit 33 in response to receiving the registration request. The service determination unit 33 compares the information in the available area database in the storage unit 36 with the network address part of the IP address of the IP phone terminal X, so that the IP phone terminal X exists in the 050 number service available area. It is determined whether or not (step S23).

  FIG. 7 shows an example of the contents of the available area database. As shown in FIG. 7, the network address corresponding to the area where the 050 number service can be provided is recorded. The service determination unit 33 searches the database of FIG. 7 using the network address part of the IP address of the IP telephone terminal X, determines that it is within the area when it hits, and is outside the area when it does not hit. Is determined.

  In addition, instead of using an address as shown in FIG. 7, the 050 number service available area may be represented by a network domain. In this case, the domain name is reversely looked up from the IP address of the IP telephone terminal X, and the domain name is checked against the database to determine whether the area is inside or outside the area.

  In step 23 of FIG. 5, if it is within the 050 number service provision area, the fact that IP phone terminal X is within the area is recorded in the terminal registration database, and registration including a message that 050 number service provision is possible A reception message is transmitted to IP telephone terminal X (step 24).

  If it is outside the area in step 23, the service determination unit 33 searches the alternative service database based on the received identification information of the IP telephone terminal X, determines the alternative service of the IP telephone terminal X, and records it in the terminal registration database. (Step S25). Then, IP phone terminal X is notified of a message including information notifying that it is out of the area and the type of alternative service (step S26). FIG. 8 shows an example of the contents of the alternative service database. As shown in FIG. 8, in the alternative service database, the identification information of the IP telephone terminal and the contents of the alternative service are recorded in association with each other. In addition, when the alternative service is not set, it is also possible to notify only that it is out of the area. This notification means that the provision of the 050 number has been refused.

  In FIG. 5, thereafter, the IP telephone terminal X transmits a call setting request including the telephone number of the called party and its own identification information to the IP telephone service center apparatus 3 (step S27). The IP telephone service center device 3 searches the terminal registration database using the identification information of the IP telephone terminal X to determine whether or not the IP telephone terminal X is in the area (step S28). The call is permitted and the normal call connection processing operation is performed (step S29).

  If it is outside the area in step S28, processing according to the alternative service recorded in the terminal registration database is performed (step S30). For example, the IP telephone terminal X is notified that it is out of the area, and the mail address of the communication partner is notified. If there is no alternative service, it notifies that it is out of the area and refuses the call.

  As an example of the above alternative service, the following can be considered. If there is a call from an IP phone terminal outside the area, (1) notify the caller terminal that it is out of the area and reject all calls, (2) notify that it is out of the area, (3) If the other party is an IP phone, notify the other party's identification information (ID) to the calling terminal and allow communication using the identification information. (4) Reject the voice call. It is conceivable to notify the other party's e-mail address and allow e-mail communication.

  When there is an incoming call from another telephone terminal to an IP telephone terminal outside the area, (1) Voice message service is provided to the caller. (2) When the caller is an IP phone, identification information of the callee To allow IP calls using the identification information, (3) Reject voice from the caller, and notify the destination e-mail address.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the IP telephone service center apparatus 3 when a certain telephone terminal makes a call to the IP telephone terminal Y (050 number) will be described with reference to FIG. In this case, the above voice message service is used as an alternative means.

  First, the call control unit 34 accepts a call setting request to the IP telephone terminal Y. The call control unit 34 searches the terminal registration database using the identification information of the destination IP telephone terminal Y included in the call setting request, and determines whether the destination IP telephone terminal Y is in the 050 number service available area or not. It is determined whether it is outside (step S41).

  If it is determined in step S41 that the area is within the area, normal call connection processing is performed (step S42), and a voice call is performed between the transmitting terminal and the receiving terminal.

  If it is determined in step S41 that the user is outside the area, the process is transferred to the alternative service execution unit 35. The alternative service execution unit 35 determines from the terminal registration database that the alternative service is the “voice message service” (step S43). Then, since the receiving terminal is outside the 050 number service providing area, the alternative service execution unit 35 notifies the calling terminal of a message requesting that the contact content be left as a voice message (step S44).

  While the caller is speaking the content of the contact, the alternative service execution unit 35 stores the voice message in the voice message storage unit (step S45). The voice message storage unit may be in the IP telephone service center device 3 or in an external device. Then, when the caller finishes talking, the IP phone terminal Y is called to notify by voice that the voice message from the specific caller has been accumulated (step S46). This notification can also be made by e-mail. Then, in response to a request from the IP telephone terminal Y, the IP telephone service center apparatus provides the stored voice message to the IP telephone terminal Y (step S47).

  In the above embodiment, the 050 number service is taken as an example, but the same service can be provided not only with the 050 number but also with the 0AJ number. The IP telephone terminal is not limited to the wireless type, and may be an IP telephone terminal connected to the IP telephone network using a predetermined wired access line.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and applications can be made within the scope of the claims.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the system in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of operation | movement in a system. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of operation | movement in a system. 3 is a functional configuration diagram of an IP telephone service center apparatus 3. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the IP telephone service center apparatus 3. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the content of a terminal registration database. It is a figure which shows the example of the content of the area database which can be provided. It is a figure which shows the example of the content of an alternative service database. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the IP telephone service center apparatus 3. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 IP telephone network 2 IP network 3 IP telephone service center apparatus A, B, C IP telephone terminal 31 Network communication part 32 Terminal registration part 33 Service determination part 34 Call control part 35 Alternative service execution part 36 Memory | storage part

Claims (8)

An IP telephone service center apparatus for providing an IP telephone service to an IP telephone terminal in an IP telephone network,
Terminal registration means for receiving registration information including an IP address and terminal identification information from an IP telephone terminal, and storing it in a storage device;
Using the IP address included in the registration information received from the IP telephone terminal, it is determined whether the IP telephone terminal exists in a predetermined service providing area, and the IP telephone terminal provides the predetermined service. Service determining means for determining an alternative service to replace the predetermined service when it is determined that the area does not exist;
An IP telephone service center apparatus comprising: an alternative service execution unit that executes the alternative service determined by the service determination unit.   2. The IP telephone according to claim 1, wherein the service determining unit obtains a domain name from the IP address, and determines whether the IP telephone terminal exists in the predetermined service providing area using the domain name. Service center equipment. When the IP telephone terminal is outside the predetermined service providing area and the IP telephone service center apparatus receives a call setting request for the IP telephone terminal from another telephone terminal,
The alternative service execution means notifies the other telephone terminal that the IP telephone terminal is outside the predetermined service providing area, accumulates the voice transmitted from the other telephone terminal, 2. The IP telephone service center apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a function of executing a voice message service for providing the stored voice to the IP telephone terminal.   The predetermined service is a service that allocates a telephone number starting from a predetermined number for identifying an IP telephone terminal to an IP telephone terminal, and allows outgoing and incoming IP telephone calls using the telephone number. The IP telephone service center apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   When it is determined by the service determining means that the IP telephone terminal is present in the predetermined service providing area, the registration information stored in the storage device is used to make and receive calls using the telephone number. 5. The IP telephone service center apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising call control means for executing call connection processing in response. A program for causing a computer to realize a function as an IP telephone service center device for providing an IP telephone service to an IP telephone terminal in an IP telephone network,
Terminal registration means for receiving registration information including an IP address and terminal identification information from an IP telephone terminal and storing it in a storage device;
Using the IP address included in the registration information received from the IP telephone terminal, it is determined whether the IP telephone terminal exists in a predetermined service providing area, and the IP telephone terminal provides the predetermined service. Service determining means for determining an alternative service to replace the predetermined service when it is determined that the area does not exist;
Alternative service execution means for executing the alternative service determined by the service determination means;
Program to function as. A method executed by an IP telephone service center device for providing an IP telephone service to an IP telephone terminal in an IP telephone network,
A terminal registration step in which terminal registration means receives registration information including an IP address and terminal identification information from the IP telephone terminal, and stores it in a storage device;
The service determining means determines whether or not the IP telephone terminal exists in a predetermined service providing area using the IP address included in the registration information received from the IP telephone terminal, and the IP telephone terminal A service determining step for determining an alternative service to replace the predetermined service when it is determined that the predetermined service does not exist in the service providing area;
An alternative service execution step in which the alternative service execution means executes the alternative service determined in the service determination step;
A method characterized by comprising: An IP telephone service center apparatus for providing an IP telephone service to an IP telephone terminal in an IP telephone network,
Terminal registration means for receiving registration information including an IP address and terminal identification information from an IP telephone terminal, and storing it in a storage device;
Using the IP address included in the registration information received from the IP telephone terminal, it is determined whether the IP telephone terminal exists in a predetermined service providing area, and the IP telephone terminal provides the predetermined service. Means for refusing to provide the predetermined service to the IP telephone terminal when it is determined that it does not exist in the area;
An IP telephone service center apparatus comprising:

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