JP2007208461A - Telephone control device and telephone terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress deterioration of communication quality to some extent and improve it, even if the number of usable radio communication channels decreases. <P>SOLUTION: A communication state confirming means 15C of a telephone control device 1 confirms the radio communication state in telephone terminals 2 using radio communication channels, and a minimum channel number adjusting means 15D adjusts the minimum number of channels of the telephone terminals 2 depending on the radio communication state. A channel management means 15B notifies a corresponding telephone terminal 2 about the new minimum number of channels after adjustment. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a telephone control technique, and more particularly to a telephone control technique for performing a voice call using a spread spectrum modulation type frequency hopping technique used in a Bluetooth (registered trademark: Bluetooth) communication system.

  A telephone system comprising a telephone control device connected to a communication line and a plurality of telephone terminals accommodated in the telephone control device via an extension transmission line, and an arbitrary telephone terminal is exchanged and connected to the communication line by the telephone control device. Then, there is a configuration in which a telephone terminal (master unit) and a handset (slave unit) are connected by a Bluetooth radio communication system that is a general-purpose radio interface.

In the Bluetooth wireless communication system, a frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) modulation system is used as a modulation system (see Non-Patent Document 1, etc.). This frequency hopping spread spectrum modulation system is a system in which the carrier frequency is changed at fixed intervals, that is, the frequency hopping is performed for transmission.
In general, the power of any bandwidth is low when averaged over a sufficiently long time with respect to the frequency hopping period, so it is difficult to interfere with communication of other systems, and even if there is an interference wave at a specific frequency, It is said that it is resistant to interference from other systems because it hops to a frequency.

  In the Bluetooth wireless communication system, 79 or 23 channels are provided in the 2.4 GHz band at 1 MHz intervals, and the speed is 1600 times / second based on the channel selection order set between the master side and the slave side at the start of communication. Data communication is performed by repeating frequency hopping and transmitting / receiving a desired packet to / from a counterpart wireless device using a selected channel.

Conventionally, as such frequency hopping technology, when a packet transmission / reception error occurs in an arbitrary channel due to radio waves transmitted from other devices, adaptive frequency hopping (AFH: Adaptive Frequency Hopping) disables the channel. A method is used (for example, see Non-Patent Document 2 / Bluetooth 1.2).
According to this adaptive frequency hopping method, since a channel determined to be unusable is excluded from the channel selection order, frequency hopping is no longer performed on the channel, and other channels at the carrier frequency of the channel can be used. Wireless communication interruption due to mutual interference of radio waves and collision of packet transmission / reception in the channel with the same type of telephone terminal can be reduced.

  In the adaptive frequency hopping method, the minimum number of channels is set in advance as the lower limit value of the number of usable Bluetooth channels. Therefore, if the Bluetooth channel in which a packet transmission / reception error has occurred is set to be disabled in sequence, the number of usable Bluetooth channels is reduced accordingly, but after the number of available Bluetooth channels reaches the minimum number of channels, it is optional. Even if a packet transmission / reception error occurs in the Bluetooth channel, the Bluetooth channel is not set to be unusable. This ensures a minimum number of Bluetooth channels.

http://www.bluetooth.org/spec/ http://www.ericsson.com/bluetooth/files/whitepaper_on_afh_final.pdf http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/802/11/

  However, in such a conventional technique, when a packet transmission / reception error occurs in an arbitrary channel due to a radio wave transmitted from another device, the channel cannot be used based on the adaptive frequency hopping method. When a high-load voice call using data packets is performed by a telephone terminal in a situation where the number of usable channels is reduced, the number of usable channels is insufficient, and a desired communication quality cannot be obtained for the voice call. There was a problem.

In general, streaming wireless communication such as voice communication and video communication using data packets requires a large amount of data, so it is necessary to transfer data packets sequentially without interruption. When using a Bluetooth wireless communication system telephone terminal, the frequency of channel use by the telephone terminal greatly increases.
For this reason, in a situation where the number of usable Bluetooth channels is reduced, when such streaming wireless communication is started at any telephone terminal, the frequency of channel use by the telephone terminal increases, and the same wireless area is used. The number of usable Bluetooth channels is insufficient between the telephone terminals used together, and channel collision is likely to occur.

  Therefore, when a telephone terminal (master unit) and a handset (slave unit) are connected by a Bluetooth wireless communication system in a telephone system, there is a high possibility that a plurality of voice calls are performed in the same radio area in parallel. . For this reason, compared to general wireless data communication in which data packets are transmitted and received intermittently, the use frequency of the Bluetooth channel increases for a long period of time, and channel collision is likely to occur. Also, in voice calls, if the wireless communication situation deteriorates and data packets cannot be transferred smoothly, voice interruption occurs, and the user feels the communication quality more significantly.

In addition, since the Bluetooth wireless communication system uses a Bluetooth channel provided in the ISM band, it affects the wireless communication environment in a device using the same ISM band, such as a wireless LAN communication system (see Non-Patent Document 3, etc.). In some cases.
At this time, as a technology for avoiding the deterioration of the wireless communication environment on the Bluetooth wireless telephone terminal side, priority is given to securing a frequency band used by a device other than the Bluetooth wireless communication system, such as a wireless LAN channel used in the wireless LAN communication system. A method of using a frequency band that is not used by these devices as a channel of the Bluetooth wireless communication system is conceivable.

  However, in such a method, the number of usable Bluetooth channels is limited. Therefore, when a voice call is started at any of the telephone terminals, the frequency of use of the Bluetooth channel increases for a long period of time. There is a problem that the wireless communication status of the telephone terminal is further deteriorated and the communication quality is significantly lowered.

  The present invention is intended to solve such problems, and even when the number of usable wireless communication channels is reduced, a telephone control device and a telephone control device capable of suppressing and further improving a reduction in communication quality to some extent The purpose is to provide a telephone terminal.

  In order to achieve such an object, a telephone control device according to the present invention includes a plurality of telephone terminals connected to a handset via a wireless line including a plurality of wireless communication channels having different carrier frequencies, and communication from a communication network. A telephone control device that connects a line and accommodates a telephone terminal via an extension transmission line, and realizes a telephone call with the telephone terminal by exchanging and connecting the telephone terminal and the communication line or between the telephone terminals. The terminal shares the radio communication channel between the telephone terminals, stores channel management information indicating whether each radio communication channel is usable in the telephone terminal, and is set to be usable in the channel management information among the radio communication channels. Wireless communication with the handset of the telephone terminal using a wireless communication channel that is sequentially switched and selected from the available channels If the selected wireless communication channel cannot be used due to radio wave interference, the wireless communication channel is set as an unusable channel in the channel management information and used in a telephone system that keeps the number of usable channels equal to or greater than the minimum number of channels. The telephone control device is configured to store the channel usage status acquired from each telephone terminal via the extension transmission line in the storage unit in association with the telephone terminal, and to determine the minimum number of telephone terminals read from the storage unit. Channel management means that notifies and sets the telephone terminal via the extension transmission path, and communication for confirming the wireless communication status of the telephone terminal that makes a call using the wireless communication channel among the telephone terminals based on the channel usage status The status check means, and the mini of the call terminal according to the wireless communication status confirmed by the communication status check means And a minimum number of channels adjusting means for adjusting the Muchaneru number.

  At this time, the minimum channel number adjusting means may increase the number of minimum channels of the call terminal according to the deterioration of the wireless communication status in the communication status confirmation means.

  In addition, the communication status confirmation means uses the number of usable channels of the call terminal counted from the channel management information of the call terminal stored in the storage unit as the number of call terminals indicating the phone terminal in a call state among the respective phone terminals. The communication status index may be calculated by dividing, and the minimum channel number adjusting means may adjust the minimum channel number of the call terminal according to the value of the communication status index.

  Further, the communication status confirmation means may determine that the radio communication status has deteriorated in response to a predetermined operation input notified from the telephone terminal via the extension transmission path.

  In addition, the telephone terminal according to the present invention stores channel management information indicating availability of each of a plurality of wireless communication channels having different carrier frequencies, and is set to be usable in the channel management information among the wireless communication channels. When wireless communication is performed with the handset using the wireless communication channel that is sequentially switched from the available channel at a predetermined cycle and the selected wireless communication channel cannot be used due to radio wave interference, the wireless communication channel is designated as an unusable channel in the channel management information. A communication status check that sets and confirms the wireless communication status based on the presence or absence of a voice call using a handset connected via a wireless line, with the number of usable channels being equal to or greater than the minimum number of channels And communication according to the wireless communication status confirmed by the communication status confirmation means. And a number of minimum channel adjusting means for adjusting the number of minimum channel terminal.

According to the present invention, the wireless communication status at the telephone terminal using the wireless communication channel is confirmed by the communication status confirmation means of the telephone control device, and the minimum number of the telephone terminal is adjusted by the minimum channel number adjusting means according to the wireless communication status. The number of channels is adjusted, and the new minimum number of channels after adjustment is notified to the telephone terminal and set by the channel management means. Therefore, the number of minimum channels of the telephone terminal according to the wireless communication status of the telephone terminal, that is, The number of channel candidates that can be selected based on the adaptive frequency hopping scheme can be adjusted.
Therefore, when the telephone terminal makes a call, it is possible to reduce voice interruptions and noise that occur when the wireless communication status deteriorates and data packets cannot be transferred smoothly, resulting in a reduction in communication quality perceived by the user. It can be suppressed to some extent and further improved.

According to the present invention, the communication status confirmation means of the telephone terminal confirms the radio communication status at the telephone terminal using the radio communication channel, and the telephone terminal is adjusted by the minimum channel number adjusting means according to the radio communication status. Therefore, the number of minimum channels of the telephone terminal, that is, the number of channel candidates that can be selected based on the adaptive frequency hopping method can be adjusted according to the radio communication status of the telephone terminal.
Therefore, when the telephone terminal makes a call, it is possible to reduce voice interruptions and noise that occur when the wireless communication status deteriorates and data packets cannot be transferred smoothly, resulting in a reduction in communication quality perceived by the user. It can be suppressed to some extent and further improved.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[First Embodiment]
First, a telephone control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the telephone control device and the telephone system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  This telephone system includes a telephone controller 1 connected to a communication line 10 from a communication network (not shown) such as a general button telephone system and a PBX system, and a telephone controller 1 via an extension transmission line 5. A plurality of telephone terminals 2 are accommodated. In the telephone control device 1, any telephone terminal 2 and a communication line 10 or any telephone terminal 2 are connected to each other by exchange connection. Make a call.

  The telephone terminal 2 is connected to the handset 3 through the wireless line 4. At this time, the telephone terminal (master side) 2 is connected to the handset (slave side) 3 via the wireless line 4 based on the adaptive frequency hopping (AFH) method of Bluetooth (registered trademark: Bluetooth) wireless communication method. By performing wireless data communication, the handset 3 is controlled and voice data is exchanged.

  In the present embodiment, each channel management information acquired from each telephone terminal via an extension transmission path by the telephone control device 1 is stored in the storage unit in association with the telephone terminal, and the updated channel management information Is set by notifying the telephone terminal via the extension transmission path, and the wireless communication status of the telephone terminal that makes a call using the wireless communication channel is confirmed among the telephone terminals, and according to the confirmed wireless communication status The number of minimum channels of the call terminal is adjusted.

[Telephone control device]
Next, the configuration of the telephone control device according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the telephone control device 1 is an information processing device such as a computer having a communication function, and includes an external line interface unit (hereinafter referred to as an external line I / F unit) 11, an internal line interface unit (hereinafter referred to as an internal line I / F). (Referred to as F section) 12, a switch section 13, a storage section 14, and a control section 15.

  The external line I / F unit 11 includes a circuit unit for connecting the communication line 10 and has a function of performing line control such as incoming call detection, outgoing call, and telephone call by terminating the communication line 10 based on a predetermined protocol. ing. At this time, the communication network includes a PSTN, ISDN, IP telephone network, PBX extension network, leased line network, etc., and the communication line 10 includes a PSTN line, ISDN line, IP telephone line (Internet), PBX extension, leased line, etc. Consists of.

The extension I / F unit 12 includes a circuit unit that performs data transmission with the telephone terminal 2 via the extension transmission path 5, and has a function of exchanging various data such as control commands and voice data with the telephone terminal 2. is doing.
The switch unit 13 includes a circuit unit that switches a call path between the external line I / F unit 11 and the internal line I / F unit 12, and switches the call path based on an instruction from the control unit 15, thereby enabling a telephone terminal 2 and the communication line 10 are arbitrarily switched and connected.

The storage unit 14 includes a storage device such as a memory and a hard disk, and has a function of storing various processing information and programs 14P used for call control processing and slave unit registration processing in the control unit 15.
The program 14P is written to the storage unit 14 from another device when the telephone control device 1 is manufactured, or is connected to an external device or a recording medium via an input / output interface provided in the telephone control device 1 such as the external line I / F unit 11. To the storage unit 14.

  Main processing information stored in the storage unit 14 includes call control information 14A and channel management information 14B. The call control information 14A includes state information indicating the state of the communication line 10 and the telephone terminal 2, and setting information indicating various setting contents. The call control information 14A is referred to when call control is performed by the control unit 15, and includes the contents of the call control. Will be updated accordingly. The channel management information 14 </ b> B is the channel management information of each telephone terminal 2 acquired via the extension transmission path 5.

  FIG. 3 is a configuration example of channel management information. Here, for each telephone terminal, the channel availability status (permitted / impossible) of each channel number and the number of minimum channels are registered. The channel management information 14B is acquired from each telephone terminal 2 by the control unit 15 via the extension transmission path 5, and stored in the storage unit 14 in association with the telephone terminal. Further, the adjusted minimum channel number is notified to the telephone terminal 2 via the extension transmission line 5 and set by the control unit 15.

  The availability of each channel in the channel management information 14B is the content of the availability status of each Bluetooth channel set in the channel table of the wireless module by wireless communication control based on the adaptive frequency hopping method in the wireless module of the telephone terminal 2 described later. Will be updated accordingly. Further, the minimum channel number notified from the telephone control device 1 to the telephone terminal 2 is reflected in the minimum channel number of the radio module in the telephone terminal 2, and is the lower limit of the number of usable channels that changes based on the adaptive frequency hopping method. Used as a value.

The control unit 15 has a microprocessor such as a CPU and its peripheral circuits, and reads and executes the program 14P in the storage unit 14 to realize various functional means by cooperating the hardware and the program 14P. It is a functional part.
The main functional means realized by the control unit 15 include a call control means 15A, a channel management means 15B, a communication status confirmation means 15C, and a minimum channel number adjustment means 15D.

  The call control means 15A communicates using the communication line 10 by exchanging various data with a communication network (not shown) and a partner telephone (not shown) via the external line I / F unit 11 and the communication line 10. A function for connecting and disconnecting a route, a function for controlling the telephone terminal 2 by exchanging various control commands and operation information with the telephone terminal 2 via the extension I / F unit 12 and the extension transmission path 5, and a switch The telephone terminal 2 and the communication line 10 can be arbitrarily switched and connected by switching the call path between the external line I / F unit 11 and the internal line I / F unit 12 by controlling the unit 13. .

  The channel management means 15B has a function of storing each channel usage status acquired from each telephone terminal 2 via the extension transmission line 5 in the storage unit 14 as channel management information 14B corresponding to the telephone terminal 2, and the number of minimum channels It has a function of notifying the telephone terminal 2 of the minimum number of channels in the channel management information 14B adjusted by the adjusting means 15D via the extension transmission line 5 and setting it.

The communication status confirmation unit 15C has a function of confirming the wireless communication status of the telephone terminal 2 at the call terminal 2A that performs a call using a wireless communication channel. Specifically, among the telephone terminals 2, the number of call terminals indicating the telephone terminals in a call state is the number of usable channels of the call terminals counted from the call terminal channel management information 14B stored in the storage unit 14. The communication status index is calculated by dividing.
The minimum channel number adjusting means 15D has a function of adjusting the minimum channel number of the call terminal 2A based on the wireless communication status at the telephone terminal 2 confirmed by the communication status confirmation means 15C.

[Telephone terminal]
Next, with reference to FIG. 2, the structure of the telephone terminal used with the telephone control apparatus concerning the 1st Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated in detail. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a telephone terminal used in the telephone system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 2, the telephone terminal 2 is a telephone that is accommodated in the telephone control device 1 via an extension transmission line 5 and connected to the handset 3 via a wireless line 4. This telephone terminal (master side) 2 wirelessly communicates with a handset (slave side) 3 via a wireless line 4 based on an adaptive frequency hopping (AFH) method of Bluetooth (registered trademark: Bluetooth) wireless communication method. By performing data communication, control of the handset 3 and voice data are exchanged.

The telephone terminal 2 includes an extension interface unit (hereinafter referred to as an extension I / F unit) 20, a voice processing unit 21, a display unit 22, an operation input unit 23, a storage unit 24, a control unit 25, and a wireless module 26. ing.
The extension I / F unit 20 includes a circuit unit that performs data transmission with the telephone control device 1 via the extension transmission path 5, and functions to exchange various data such as control commands and voice data with the telephone control device 1. have.

  The audio processing unit 21 includes a dedicated signal processing circuit. The audio processing unit 21 includes audio signals input and output by a microphone and a speaker (not shown) provided in the audio processing unit 21 and audio data transmitted and received by the wireless module 26 and an extension. An incoming call based on a function for mutually converting (encoding / decoding) voice data transmitted / received by the I / F unit 20 and various control data received from the telephone control device 1 via the extension I / F unit 20 And a function of outputting various audio signals such as sound.

The display unit 22 includes a display device such as an LCD or an LED, and has a function of performing various visible displays in accordance with instructions from the control unit 25.
The operation input unit 23 includes an operation input device such as an operation key, and has a function of detecting a user operation and outputting the operation to the control unit 25.

The storage unit 24 includes a storage device such as a memory, and has a function of storing various processing information and programs 24P used for processing operations in the control unit 25. The program 24P is read in advance from an external device or a recording medium and stored in the storage unit 24.
Main processing information stored in the storage unit 24 includes channel management information 24A. The channel management information 24A is information indicating whether or not each Bluetooth channel used in the wireless data communication of the telephone terminal 2 can be used and the number of minimum channels.

  FIG. 4 is a configuration example of channel management information. Here, the channel availability status (permitted / not permitted) of each channel number and the number of minimum channels are registered. The usage status of each channel in the channel management information 24A is the availability status of each Bluetooth channel set in a channel table 29A in the wireless module 26 described later by wireless communication control based on the adaptive frequency hopping method in the wireless module 26. Is updated by the control unit 25 accordingly. Further, in response to a request from the telephone control device 1, the minimum number of channels in the channel management information 24 </ b> A is updated by the control unit 25 and reflected on the minimum channel 29 </ b> B in the wireless module 26.

The control unit 25 includes a microprocessor such as a CPU and its peripheral circuits, and reads and executes the program 24P of the storage unit 24, thereby causing the hardware and the program to cooperate with each other to realize various functional units. Have.
The main functional means includes call control means 25A and channel management means 25B.

  The call control means 25A has a function of receiving various control commands from the telephone control device 1 via the extension transmission line 5 and the extension I / F unit 20, and controls the voice processing unit 21 based on these control commands, and the radio module 26. A function for controlling the operation of the handset 3 by transmitting a control command to the handset 3 via the wireless line 4, a function for receiving operation information from the handset 3 via the wireless line 4 and the wireless module 26, and an operation input The function of detecting a user operation from the unit 23 and the function of transmitting the operation information to the telephone control device 1 via the extension I / F unit 20 and the extension transmission path 5 are provided.

  The channel management unit 25B updates the channel management information 24A based on the channel availability status read from the wireless module 26, and the transfer received from the telephone control device 1 via the extension transmission path 5 and the extension I / F unit 20. In response to the request, the function for transmitting the channel management information 24A from the extension I / F unit 20 to the telephone control device 1 via the extension transmission line 5, and the setting request in response to the setting request received from the telephone control device 1. Are stored in the channel management information 24A of the storage unit 24 and the number of minimum channels is reflected in the wireless module 26.

The wireless module 26 is a functional module that provides a wireless interface compliant with the Bluetooth wireless communication system, and a circuit unit and a processing unit that realize individual functions are integrally mounted as one component constituting the telephone terminal 2. Yes.
The wireless module 26 includes a wireless transmission / reception unit 27, a module control unit 28, and a module storage unit 29.

  The wireless transmission / reception unit 27 is a circuit unit that transmits and receives wireless signals in accordance with the Bluetooth wireless communication system, and has a function of performing wireless data communication through the wireless line 4 by transmitting and receiving wireless signals to and from the handset 3. Have. At this time, the radio transmission / reception unit 27 repeats frequency hopping based on an instruction from the module control unit 28 based on an instruction from the module control unit 28 based on an adaptive frequency hopping method, and 79 or 23 channels provided at 1 MHz intervals in the 2.4 GHz band. In addition to performing data communication with the handset 3 using the channel selected in step 1, if a packet transmission / reception error occurs in an arbitrary channel, the number of usable channels is set to sequentially unavailable. Further, when the number of usable channels falls below the minimum number of channels, the number of usable channels is held more than the minimum number of channels by setting one of the unusable channels as usable.

The module storage unit 29 includes a storage device such as a memory, and has a function of storing various processing information used for processing operations in the module control unit 28. Main processing information stored in the module storage unit 29 includes a channel table 29A and a minimum channel number 29B.
The channel table 29A is processing information for managing the availability of each channel that is sequentially selected by the frequency hopping spread spectrum modulation method, and the availability information of the channel is registered in association with each channel number. The minimum number of channels 29B is the number of channels that becomes a lower limit value when the module control unit 28 holds the number of usable channels, and is set by the module control unit 28 in advance.
In addition, the module storage unit 29 may store programs for realizing various functional units by being read and executed by the module control unit 28 in advance.

  The module control unit 28 cooperates with hardware composed of a CPU and its peripheral circuits, a memory (not shown) provided in these CPUs or peripheral circuits, and a program stored in the module storage unit 29 in advance. Functional means for controlling the wireless transmission / reception unit 27 in accordance with the Bluetooth wireless communication system is realized.

As main functional means realized by the module control unit 28, there is a communication control means 28A.
The communication control means 28A negotiates at the time of starting data communication with the handset 3 based on the function of controlling the data transmission / reception unit 27 to control data communication between the handset 3 and the control unit 25 and the adaptive frequency hopping method. A function of sequentially selecting one of the channels based on the channel selection order and instructing the wireless transmission / reception unit 27. At this time, the communication control unit 28A refers to the channel table 29A of the module storage unit 29, and if the next channel selected in accordance with the channel selection order is not usable, the communication control unit 28A skips to the next usable channel and allows the use. Select the channel.

  In addition, the communication control unit 28A has a function of notifying the control unit 25 of the communication status with the handset 3 in the channel selected by the adaptive frequency hopping method during data communication, and a module storage unit according to an instruction from the control unit 25. 29 has a function of updating the minimum channel number 29B of 29 to an arbitrary value and a function of notifying the handset 3 of the channel table 29A of the module storage unit 29 in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 25 and updating it.

[Operation of First Embodiment]
Next, the operation of the telephone control device according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a minimum channel number adjustment process as an operation of the telephone control apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
Here, a case where a voice call using the handset 3 is started in response to the telephone terminal 2 in response to a user operation when an incoming call from the communication line 10 will be described.

When the telephone control device 1 detects an incoming call from a communication network (not shown) via the communication line 10 in the external line I / F unit 11, the control unit 15 uses the call control means 15A to execute the extension I / F unit. An incoming call notification command is transmitted from 12 to the telephone terminal 2 via the extension transmission path 5.
When the control unit 25 of the telephone terminal 2 receives an incoming call notification command via the extension I / F unit 20, the call control unit 25A controls the voice processing unit 21 to send a ringtone from a speaker (not shown). The incoming call is displayed by controlling the LED of the display unit 22 as well as sending it out. Further, the call control means 25A transmits a control command for instructing transmission of a ringtone or display of an incoming call from the wireless module 26 to the handset 3 through the wireless line 4, and displays the incoming call by the handset 3.

Thereafter, when a response operation is performed by the user at the telephone terminal 2, the control unit 25 detects the response operation by the call control means 25 A and transmits the operation information to the extension I / F unit 20 and the extension transmission path 5. To the telephone control device 1.
The control unit 15 of the telephone control device 1 receives operation information indicating a response operation from the telephone terminal 2 via the extension I / F unit 12, and controls the switch unit 13 according to the response operation by the call control unit 15A. Then, the voice path of the communication line 10 in which the incoming call is detected among the voice paths of the external line I / F unit 11 and the voice path of the telephone terminal 2 to which the response operation is notified among the voice paths of the extension I / F unit 12. And connect.

Further, the call control means 15A transmits a call start command for instructing the start of a voice call from the extension I / F unit 12 to the telephone terminal 2 via the extension transmission path 5, and the communication line 10 and the telephone terminal 2 Is stored in the call control information 14 </ b> A of the storage unit 14.
When the control unit 25 of the telephone terminal 2 receives a call start command from the telephone control device 1 via the extension I / F unit 20, the call control unit 15A controls the voice processing unit 21 and the wireless module 26 A control command is transmitted to the handset 3 via the wireless line 4. As a result, the voice processing unit 21 converts the voice data transmitted / received by the wireless module 26 and the voice data transmitted / received by the extension I / F unit 20 to each other, and voice communication with the handset 3 via the wireless line 4 is performed. Be started.

In this way, when a voice call using the wireless line 4 is started in any of the telephone terminals 2, the control unit 15 executes the minimum channel number adjustment process of FIG.
First, the control unit 15 refers to the call control information 14A in the storage unit 14 by the communication status confirmation unit 15C, and acquires the number of telephone terminals 2 that are currently in a call state, that is, the number of call terminals (step 100). At this time, the number of call terminals includes the call terminal 2A where the call is started. Next, the communication status confirmation unit 15C counts the number of usable channels in the call terminal 2A from the channel management information 14B in the storage unit 14, and divides the number of call terminals by the number of usable channels, thereby communicating with the call terminal 2A. A situation index is calculated (step 101). At this time, it is assumed that the channel management information 14B is sequentially acquired from each telephone terminal 2 and updated by the channel management means 15B.

This communication status index is an index indicating how much voice call is borne by one available channel in any telephone terminal 2. In the Bluetooth wireless communication system, among the wireless communication channels set in advance with different carrier frequencies, a wireless channel that does not interfere with radio waves from other devices is shared by the wireless modules to perform wireless communication. .
Here, in streaming wireless communication such as voice communication and video communication using data packets, it is necessary to sequentially transfer the data packets without interruption because of the large amount of data, and such streaming wireless communication is Bluetooth wireless. When the communication method is used, one of the usable channels is always used during the period until the wireless communication is completed, and the channel use frequency greatly increases.

  In the present embodiment, by determining the communication status index of the call terminal 2A, it is determined whether the channel usage frequency has increased due to such streaming wireless communication, that is, the communication status has deteriorated due to voice communication. The communication status in the call terminal 2A is that the number of usable channels decreases as the number of voice calls, that is, the number of call terminals increases. A collision at the time of selection is likely to occur, and noise and sound interruption during a voice call are likely to occur. In addition, the number of usable channels may be reduced due to radio wave interference with devices other than the telephone terminal 2, and noise and sound interruption during voice calls are likely to occur due to similar factors. The call status index increases as the number of call terminals increases, indicating that the communication status deteriorates, and when the number of usable channels decreases, the index value also increases, indicating a deterioration in communication status.

The communication status confirmation means 15C derives the minimum channel number corresponding to the communication status index based on the communication status index of the call terminal 2A thus obtained (step 102). At this time, the communication status confirmation unit 15C may increase the number of minimum channels in accordance with the deterioration of the wireless communication state of the call terminal 2A. As a result, a larger number of usable channels can be secured in the call terminal 2A, and deterioration in the quality of voice calls in the call terminal 2A can be suppressed.
As for the minimum number of channels, the minimum number of channels corresponding to the communication status index may be derived using a function, a judgment formula, a table, or the like indicating the relationship between the communication status index and the minimum channel number. Further, the actual number of minimum channels may be appropriately determined according to the channel usage status in the voice call performed by the telephone terminal 2 and the communication quality required for voice communication.

The channel management unit 15B compares the new minimum channel number of the call terminal 2A obtained in this way with the existing minimum channel number set in the channel management information 14B of the storage unit 14 (step 103).
If they are different (step 103: YES), a new minimum channel number is set in the channel management information 14B of the storage unit 14, and a setting request including the new minimum channel number is sent to the extension I / F unit. 12 and the extension transmission path 5 are notified to the call terminal 2A (step 104), and the series of minimum channel number adjustment processing ends.

Thereafter, in response to the setting request received from the telephone control device 1, the control unit 25 of the call terminal 2A uses the channel management unit 25B to set the new minimum channel number included in the setting request to the channel of the storage unit 24. The management information 24A is saved, and the new minimum channel number is reflected in the minimum channel number 29B of the wireless module 26.
As a result, the lower limit value of the number of usable channels in the wireless module 26 is adjusted, and the number of usable channels is kept equal to or greater than the minimum number of channels based on the adaptive frequency hopping method.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, the communication status confirmation means 15C of the telephone control device 1 confirms the wireless communication status at the telephone terminal 2 using the wireless communication channel, and the number of minimum channels is determined according to this wireless communication status. The adjustment means 15D adjusts the number of minimum channels of the telephone terminal 2, and the channel management means 15B notifies the telephone terminal 2 of the adjusted new minimum number of channels. Accordingly, the number of minimum channels of the telephone terminal 2, that is, the number of channel candidates that can be selected based on the adaptive frequency hopping method can be adjusted.

In a telephone system in which a plurality of telephone terminals are exchanged and connected to a communication line, when a telephone terminal (base unit) and a handset (slave unit) are connected by a Bluetooth wireless communication system, streaming is performed in the same wireless area where the telephone terminals are used. There is a high possibility that voice calls, which are system radio communications, are performed in parallel with the same period.
For this reason, compared to general wireless data communication in which data packets are intermittently transmitted and received, and the data packets can be retransmitted when a transfer error occurs, the use frequency of the Bluetooth channel increases over a long period of time. Collisions are likely to occur. In voice calls, if wireless communication conditions deteriorate and data packets cannot be transmitted / received smoothly, voice interruptions and noise occur, and the user feels communication quality more significantly.

  On the other hand, by applying the present embodiment and increasing the number of minimum channels of the telephone terminal 2 in accordance with the deterioration of the wireless communication situation in the telephone terminal 2 using the wireless communication channel, the wireless module 26 Based on the adaptive frequency hopping method, the number of usable channels of the telephone terminal 2 is maintained to be equal to or more than the minimum number of channels. Thereby, even when a plurality of voice calls are performed simultaneously in the same wireless area, a certain number of usable channels can be secured. Therefore, it is possible to reduce voice interruptions and noises that occur when wireless communication conditions deteriorate and data packets cannot be transferred smoothly, and as a result, it is possible to suppress and further improve the communication quality perceived by the user to some extent. Is also possible.

  Further, in this embodiment, when confirming the wireless communication status at the call terminal 2A using the wireless communication channel, the communication status confirmation means 15C indicates a call terminal indicating a telephone terminal in a call state among the respective telephone terminals 2. The communication status index is calculated by dividing the number by the number of usable channels of the call terminal 2A counted from the channel management information of the call terminal 2A stored in the storage unit 14, and this communication status index is a predetermined determination value. Since the determination is made that the wireless communication status of the call terminal 2A has deteriorated if the value exceeds the above, the radio communication status of the call terminal 2A can be accurately and easily determined by the telephone control device 1 based on the call status of the entire telephone system. Can be determined.

Further, in the present embodiment, when starting a voice call at the call terminal 2A, the minimum channel number adjustment process of FIG. 4 is executed, so when starting a voice call in which the deterioration of communication quality becomes noticeable. Thus, a sufficient number of usable channels can be obtained, and a response can be made in advance when communication quality deteriorates. Further, compared with the case where the minimum channel number adjustment process is always executed, the process execution can be kept to the minimum necessary, and the processing load on the control unit 15 of the telephone control device 1 can be reduced.
Note that the timing for executing the minimum channel number adjustment process is not limited to the start time of the voice call. For example, when the processing capacity of the control unit 15 is sufficient, the voice communication is not performed. It may be always executed.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a telephone control device according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
In the first embodiment, when the communication status confirmation means 15C confirms the radio communication status at the call terminal 2A using the radio communication channel, the number of call terminals is divided by the number of usable channels of the call terminal 2A. The case where it is determined that the wireless communication status is deteriorated based on the obtained communication status index has been described.

The communication quality that the user feels subjectively about the voice call depends on various factors such as individual variations for each user and variations depending on the contents and situations exchanged by the voice call.
In the present embodiment, in response to a user operation at the call terminal 2A, the communication status confirmation unit 15C determines that the wireless communication status is deteriorated, so that the wireless communication status is deteriorated according to the user's intention. It can be judged.

That is, when the control unit 15 of the telephone control device 1 receives operation information indicating a predetermined user operation from the call terminal 2A via the extension transmission line 5, the communication status confirmation unit 15C performs wireless communication with the call terminal 2A. It is determined that the situation has deteriorated, and the minimum channel number adjustment process of FIG. 5 is executed. The user operation at this time may be an operation indicating deterioration or improvement of the wireless communication status, an operation requesting an increase in the number of usable channels, or an operation instructing the start of a voice call. Also good.
Thereby, the number of minimum channels of the call terminal 2A can be adjusted at an arbitrary situation or timing according to the user's intention, and by increasing the number of minimum channels of the call terminal according to the deterioration of the wireless communication situation, Communication quality that the user feels subjectively about voice calls can be improved in real time.

  When the communication status confirmation unit 15C determines that the wireless communication status has deteriorated in response to a user operation from the call terminal 2A, the call status information 15A refers to the call control information 14A in the storage unit 14 and The implementation of the voice call may be confirmed, and it may be determined that the wireless communication status has deteriorated according to the user operation only when the voice call at the call terminal 2A is started or during the call. Thus, unnecessary minimum channel number adjustment processing can be avoided.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the case where it is determined that the wireless communication status is deteriorated when a user operation is detected is described as an example. However, the deterioration determination of the wireless communication status is not limited to this. Alternatively, other determination methods may be used.

For example, the communication status confirmation unit 15C monitors whether or not a voice call is performed at each telephone terminal 2, and determines that the wireless communication status at the telephone terminal 2 is deteriorated in response to the detection of the voice call. It may be. At this time, the presence / absence of the voice call may be acquired from the call control information 14 </ b> A of the storage unit 14.
Thereby, it is possible to automatically increase the number of minimum channels of the telephone terminal 2 almost simultaneously with the start of the voice call, and to suppress a decrease in communication quality due to the voice call.

  Similarly, it may be determined that the wireless communication status at the telephone terminal 2 is improved according to the detection of the end of the voice call. As a result, the number of minimum channels of the telephone terminal 2 can be automatically reduced almost simultaneously with the termination of the voice call, and excessive channel retention after the voice call is terminated can be avoided. The influence on the communication quality can be suppressed.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, with reference to FIG. 6, the telephone terminal concerning the 3rd Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a telephone terminal according to the third exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and the same reference numerals are given to the same or equivalent parts as FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a minimum channel number adjustment process as an operation of the telephone terminal according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

  In the first and second embodiments, the case where the present invention is applied to a telephone system and the number of minimum channels of each telephone terminal 2 is adjusted from the telephone control device 1 has been described. In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which the telephone terminal connected to the above-described telephone system adjusts the number of its own minimum channels.

In the telephone terminal according to the present embodiment (see FIG. 6), a communication status confirmation unit 25C and a minimum channel number adjustment unit 25D are added to the control unit 25 as compared with FIG.
The communication status confirmation unit 25C has a function of confirming the wireless communication status of the telephone terminal 2 that makes a call using a wireless communication channel. Specifically, an inquiry is made to the call control means 25A, or referring to call control information (not shown) in the storage unit 24 indicating the call control contents of the call control means 25A, the voice call at the telephone terminal 2 is made. The presence / absence is confirmed, and when the voice call is being performed, it is determined that the wireless communication state is deteriorated, and when the voice call is not being performed, it is determined that the wireless communication state is being improved.

  The minimum channel number adjusting means 25D has a function of adjusting the minimum channel number of the call terminal 2A based on the wireless communication status at the telephone terminal 2 confirmed by the communication status confirmation means 25C. Specifically, the minimum number of channels is increased when the communication status confirmation unit 25C confirms that the wireless communication status is deteriorated, and the minimum number of channels is decreased when the improvement of the wireless communication status is confirmed.

The control unit 25 periodically executes the above-described minimum channel number adjustment process of FIG.
First, the communication status confirmation means 25C confirms the deterioration / improvement of the radio communication status in accordance with the presence / absence (start or end) of a voice call using the radio line 4 in the telephone terminal 2 (step 110). The number of minimum channels corresponding to the communication status is derived (step 111). At this time, the minimum number of channels when the voice call is being performed and when the voice call is not being performed may be set in advance, and either one may be selected based on the confirmation result of the wireless communication status.

The channel management means 25B compares the new minimum channel number obtained in this way with the existing minimum channel number set in the channel management information 24A of the storage unit 24 (step 112).
If they are different (step 112: YES), the new minimum channel number is set in the channel management information 14B of the storage unit 14, and the new minimum channel number is set to the minimum channel number 29B of the wireless module 26. This is reflected (step 113), and the series of minimum channel number adjustment processing ends.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the communication status confirmation unit 25C of the telephone terminal 2 confirms the wireless communication status at the telephone terminal 2 using the wireless communication channel, and the number of minimum channels is determined according to the wireless communication status. The adjustment means 25D adjusts the number of minimum channels of the telephone terminal 2, and the channel management means 15B sets the new minimum number of channels after adjustment to the wireless module 26. Thus, it is possible to adjust the number of minimum channels of the telephone terminal 2, that is, the number of channel candidates that can be selected based on the adaptive frequency hopping method.

  Thereby, even when a plurality of voice calls are performed simultaneously in the same wireless area as the telephone terminal 2, a certain number of usable channels can be secured. Therefore, it is possible to reduce voice interruptions and noises that occur when wireless communication conditions deteriorate and data packets cannot be transferred smoothly, and as a result, it is possible to suppress and further improve the communication quality perceived by the user to some extent. Is also possible.

In the present embodiment, each telephone terminal 2 connected to the telephone control device 1 that controls the entire telephone system via the extension transmission path 5 is provided with the minimum channel number adjusting function. Compared with the case where the number of minimum channels of each telephone terminal 2 is adjusted centrally in the telephone control device 1 as in the second embodiment, the processing load on the telephone control device 1 can be reduced.
In the present embodiment, the case where the telephone terminal 2 corresponding to the extension telephone of the telephone system is provided with the minimum channel number adjustment function is described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a single telephone (parent / child phone device) composed of a telephone terminal (parent device) directly connected to the communication line 10 from the communication network and a handset (child device) connected to the telephone terminal via the wireless line 4 is used. Can be applied in the same manner as described above, and the same effect can be obtained.

Further, in this embodiment, when confirming the wireless communication status at the telephone terminal 2 using the wireless communication channel, the deterioration / improvement of the wireless communication status is determined based on the presence / absence of a voice call at the telephone terminal 2. Although the case has been described, the deterioration / improvement of the wireless communication status may be determined in accordance with a predetermined user operation detected by the operation input unit 23, as in the second embodiment described above.
Thereby, it is possible to adjust the number of minimum channels of the telephone terminal 2 at an arbitrary situation and timing according to the user's intention, and by increasing the number of minimum channels of the call terminal according to the deterioration of the wireless communication situation, Communication quality that the user feels subjectively about voice calls can be improved in real time.

[Extended embodiment]
In each of the above embodiments, the case where the wireless communication method used by the telephone terminal 2 is the Bluetooth wireless communication method has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an adaptive frequency equivalent to the Bluetooth wireless communication method is used. As long as the wireless communication method uses the hopping method, each embodiment can be applied in the same manner as described above, and the same effect can be obtained.
Moreover, in each embodiment, although the case where each embodiment was individually implemented was demonstrated as an example, it is not limited to this, You may implement combining each embodiment arbitrarily, It is possible to realize a telephone system that has both functions and effects.

  In each embodiment, the case where the streaming wireless communication is a voice call has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the telephone terminal 2 receives video data from a communication network (not shown) via the communication line 10, and the video data is displayed on a display terminal (not shown) instead of the handset 3 connected via the wireless line 4. Even when performing video communication for playback, each embodiment can be applied in the same manner as described above, and even when the number of usable wireless communication channels is reduced, it is possible to suppress degradation in communication quality of video communication to some extent. Further improvement is also possible.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the telephone control apparatus concerning the 1st Embodiment of this invention, and its telephone system. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the telephone terminal used with the telephone control apparatus concerning the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a structural example of the channel management information used with a telephone control apparatus. It is an example of a structure of the channel management information used with a telephone terminal. It is a flowchart which shows the minimum channel number adjustment process of the telephone control apparatus concerning the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the telephone terminal concerning the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the minimum channel number adjustment process of the telephone terminal concerning the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Telephone control apparatus, 10 ... Communication line, 11 ... External line I / F part, 12 ... Extension I / F part, 13 ... Switch part, 14 ... Memory | storage part, 14A ... Call control information, 14B ... Channel management information, 15 ... Control unit, 15A ... Call control means, 15B ... Channel management means, 15C ... Communication status confirmation means, 15D ... Minimum channel number adjusting means, 2 ... Telephone terminal, 2A ... Call terminal, 20 ... Extension I / F part, 21 ... voice processing unit, 22 ... display unit, 23 ... operation input unit, 24 ... storage unit, 24A ... channel management information, 24P ... program, 25 ... control unit, 25A ... call control means, 25B ... channel management means, 25C ... Communication status confirmation means, 25D ... Minimum channel number adjustment means, 26 ... Wireless module, 27 ... Wireless transmission / reception section, 28 ... Module control section, 28A ... Communication control section, 29 ... Module storage section 29A ... channel table, 29B ... minimum number of channels, 3 ... handset, 4 ... radio channel.

Claims (5)

A plurality of telephone terminals connected to the handset via radio lines composed of a plurality of radio communication channels having different carrier frequencies, and connecting the communication lines from the communication network and accommodating the telephone terminals via an extension transmission path; A telephone control device that realizes a telephone call at the telephone terminal by exchanging connection between the telephone terminal and the communication line or between the telephone terminals, and the telephone terminal transmits the wireless communication channel between the telephone terminals. And storing channel management information indicating whether or not each wireless communication channel is usable in the telephone terminal, and from a usable channel set as usable in the channel management information among wireless communication channels at a predetermined cycle. Wireless communication with the handset of the telephone terminal is performed using the wireless communication channel that is sequentially switched and selected. When the communication channel cannot be used due to radio wave interference, the wireless communication channel is set as the unusable channel in the channel management information, and the telephone control used in the telephone system that holds the number of usable channels equal to or more than the minimum number of channels A device,
The function of storing the channel usage status acquired from each telephone terminal via the extension transmission path in the storage unit in association with the telephone terminal, and the extension transmission of the minimum number of channels of the telephone terminal read from the storage unit A channel management means having a function of notifying the telephone terminal via the road and setting;
A communication status confirmation means for confirming a radio communication status at a call terminal performing a call using the radio communication channel among the telephone terminals based on the channel use status;
A telephone control device comprising: minimum channel number adjusting means for adjusting the minimum channel number of the call terminal according to the wireless communication status confirmed by the communication status confirming means. The telephone control device according to claim 1, wherein
The telephone control apparatus characterized in that the minimum channel number adjusting means increases the number of minimum channels of the call terminal in accordance with deterioration of wireless communication status in the communication status confirmation means. The telephone control device according to claim 1, wherein
The communication status confirmation means can use the call terminal obtained by counting the number of call terminals indicating a call terminal in a call state among the respective phone terminals from channel management information of the call terminal stored in the storage unit. Calculate the communication status index by dividing by the number of channels,
The minimum number of channels adjusting means adjusts the number of minimum channels of the call terminal according to the value of the communication status index. The telephone control device according to claim 1, wherein
The telephone control apparatus, wherein the communication status confirmation unit determines that the wireless communication status has deteriorated in response to a predetermined operation input notified from the call terminal via the extension transmission path. Stores channel management information indicating the availability of each of a plurality of wireless communication channels having different carrier frequencies, and sequentially selects and switches from the available channels set as usable in the channel management information among the wireless communication channels at a predetermined cycle. If the selected wireless communication channel cannot be used due to radio wave interference, the wireless communication channel is set as the unusable channel in the channel management information and the usable channel is used. A telephone terminal that maintains the number of
A communication status confirmation means for confirming a wireless communication status based on the presence or absence of a voice call using the handset connected via the wireless line;
A telephone terminal comprising: minimum channel number adjusting means for adjusting the minimum channel number of the call terminal according to the wireless communication status confirmed by the communication status confirming means.

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