JP2007329853A - System for regulating transmission corresponding to user attributes and network unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To flexibly perform regulation control suitable for each user in a transmission regulation system for regulating transmission so as to prevent the restriction of a wireless communication band caused by communication performed over a long period of time by a user performing excessive utilization (a communication data amount and the number of times of communication) in packet communication. <P>SOLUTION: In the packet communication in a communication terminal 1, to the mobile equipment of a user who has performed the data communication of at least a fixed amount or at least the fixed number of times within the fixed time, connection is regulated flexibly in a regulation profile different at each user state determined by a network unit 2. Also, by setting an emergency flag or the like during the transmission regulation in the communication terminal 1, the network unit 2 can temporarily permit the transmission from the communication terminal by setting a special condition. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an outgoing call restriction system and a network device that restrict use of packet communication at a communication terminal.

  In packet communication, Patent Document 1 discloses a transmission restriction system for preventing a user who uses excessively (communication data amount and communication frequency) from constraining a wireless communication band by performing communication over a long period of time. Based on a unique restriction value set in advance by a network (NW) device for a user's mobile device that has made a certain amount of data communication or more than a certain number of times in a packet communication at a mobile station, It describes the mechanism for

In this system, the NW device notifies the user's mobile device that is subject to restriction of information that can identify the in-mobile application, and restricts only the notified application. In addition, the restriction can be canceled by a signal from the NW device during the restriction of outgoing calls in the mobile device.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration and operation of the conventional transmission restriction system.
This system includes a communication terminal 10 used by a user A and a network device 20 that receives a request.

And the transmission control method in the conventional communication terminal 10 is based on the following procedures.
(1) HTTP req1, HTTP req2, etc. are transmitted as requests from the communication terminal 10 to the network device 20 to establish a connection (step S51).
(2) At the time of packet communication with the communication terminal 10, the network device 20 through which the communication terminal 10 passes counts the amount of communication data and the number of communications (number of HTTP requests) (step S52).
(3) When the amount of communication data or the number of communications exceeds a threshold value within a certain time (step S53), the communication is disconnected and a restriction timer is activated in the network device 20 (step S54).

(4) Next, the restriction activation is notified to the communication terminal 1 by SMS notification (step S56).
(5) When “remaining restricted time” and “restricted application type” are notified, the communication terminal 1 prohibits the transmission for the remaining restricted time or the notified application (step S57).
(6) If there is a call from the application subject to transmission restriction of the communication terminal 10 within the restriction time, the network device 20 cannot connect, and the “remaining restriction time” or “restriction object” is transmitted to the mobile device 10 by the outgoing NG signal. “Application type” is notified (step S58).

Patent Document 1 describes a method of displaying a restriction screen that displays network restriction information to the user only when necessary, and Patent Document 2 describes that the user's detailed personal information is kept secret while the user is kept secret. Describes a method for managing network communications in order to improve the reliability of information on the network provided by.
JP 2001-313699 A JP 2002-373308 A

  However, the inventions described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 described above only realize restriction with unique restriction control for all users, and flexible restriction suitable for each user (for users). Appropriate thresholds, cancellation of emergency regulations due to user convenience) could not be applied. In such a case, there are the following problems.

(1) Even for a light user who is usually low traffic, even if a large-capacity content such as a movie or music happens to be downloaded in the monitoring target time zone, it is set uniformly. Since it becomes a restriction restriction object for every monitoring time zone, restriction control will be implemented. As a result, not only is the restriction imposed on overuse users who originally want to be restricted, but as a side effect, even if it is restricted, there is a problem that light users with little effect of reducing the load on the network are restricted. is there.

(2) In order to solve the above problem, in the current transmission restriction system, there is only a means for relaxing the restriction value. However, if the regulation value is relaxed, on the other hand, overuse users that originally wanted to be regulated are less likely to be regulated, so it is not possible to avoid the tightness of the network. The problem of inviting an event that deteriorates responsiveness occurs.

(3) If the communication terminal is restricted due to overuse control and transmission is restricted for a certain period of time, in the current transmission restriction system, all users are uniformly restricted from the network device during a disaster or the like. In addition to this, there is a problem that there is no means for canceling the restriction, and there is no means for allowing communication when it is desired to communicate according to individual circumstances such as in an emergency.

(4) In addition, with the advancement of functions required for the mobile Internet, the capacity of content has been increased, the load on the network side has increased due to the improvement of the communication speed in the wireless section, and the flat-rate service Due to changes in the environment surrounding the communication environment, such as the spread of the Internet, it is inevitable that the trend of increasing traffic will become more prominent. In that case, there arises a problem that the necessity of restricting the excessive use of a specific user also increases from the viewpoint of securing the network and ensuring serviceability.

As a result, uniform over-use control that regulates all current users in a predetermined time zone, threshold, and regulation time has the above problems (1) to (4). It is assumed that sufficient control cannot be performed.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems and backgrounds. In packet communication, a user who makes excessive use (communication data amount and number of communication times) performs communication over a long period of time so that a wireless communication band can be obtained. It is an object of the present invention to provide a user attribute corresponding transmission restriction system and a network device that can perform restriction control suitable for each user more flexibly in a transmission restriction system that restricts transmission to prevent tightness.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the user attribute corresponding outgoing call restriction system according to claim 1, when a communication terminal performs packet communication via a network device, performs data communication of a certain amount or a certain number of times within a certain time. In a user attribute corresponding transmission restriction system that includes a restriction unit for restricting connection to a communication terminal of a user who has performed, and that restricts transmission of the communication terminal,
In order to perform the call restriction, the network device includes a restriction profile for each user indicating attribute information for each user, and performs call restriction based on the restriction profile.
According to this configuration, there is an effect that it is possible to flexibly perform restriction control with a restriction profile that differs for each user state from the user attribute information of the user, information at the time of connection, and the like in the network device. .

In addition, the user attribute-corresponding call restriction system according to claim 2 is the user attribute-corresponding call restriction system according to claim 1, wherein the network device performs restriction for each user from the restriction profile for each user. It is characterized by comprising a regulation threshold value calculation means for calculating a threshold value.
According to this configuration, it is possible to obtain an effect that transmission restriction can be performed instantaneously by setting a rank for restriction in points and calculating a threshold value for restriction for each user based on the total points.

Moreover, the user attribute corresponding | compatible transmission control system of Claim 3 is a user attribute corresponding | compatible transmission control system of Claim 1, The attribute information for every said user is the user status information which shows the said user's present condition, It consists of user characteristic information indicating unique information inherent to the user.
According to this configuration, the user status information indicating the current status of the user includes the identification information of the mobile device, the application being used, the current location information, etc. By including the number of years of contract, average packet traffic, fee payment status, etc. as user characteristic information indicating the information, it is possible to obtain an effect that it is possible to perform outgoing call regulation corresponding to user attributes.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a user attribute corresponding transmission restriction system according to the first aspect, wherein the user's communication terminal cancels the restriction for canceling the restriction even if the transmission restriction is in progress. Means for notifying the network device of information, and the network device that has received the deregulation information comprises deregulation means for temporarily permitting transmission from the communication terminal by setting a special condition. It is characterized by.
According to this configuration, by including an emergency flag or the like as restriction release information in the user status information, the network device that has received the notification has special conditions (non-restricted time, additional charge, usage function restriction, etc.). By setting, it is possible to obtain an effect that transmission from the communication terminal can be temporarily permitted.

The network device according to claim 5 is connected to a communication terminal of a user who has performed a certain amount of data communication or a certain number of times within a certain time when the communication terminal performs packet communication via the network device. In a network device comprising a regulation means for regulating, and regulating outgoing communications of the communication terminal,
In order to perform the transmission restriction, a transmission restriction unit that includes a restriction profile for each user indicating attribute information for each user, and that performs transmission restriction based on the restriction profile;
Even if the communication terminal is under outgoing call restriction, restriction release means for temporarily allowing outgoing calls from the communication terminal by setting special conditions;
It is characterized by having.

According to this configuration, similarly to the first aspect, the network device can flexibly perform the restriction control with the restriction profile that is different for each user state from the user attribute information of the user and the information at the time of connection. The effect of becoming.
As described above, the user attribute-corresponding transmission restriction system of the present invention performs flexible restriction control with a restriction profile that differs for each user state from the user attribute information of the user, information at the time of connection, and the like in the network device. In addition, when it is desired to communicate in the circumstances of each user such as in an emergency, it is possible to temporarily cancel it under special conditions upon request from the user.

As described above, according to the configuration of the present invention, not only the restriction by unique restriction control is realized for all users, but also the flexible restriction suitable for each user (suitable for the user). It is possible to apply a threshold, cancellation of emergency regulation due to user convenience).
As a result, even for light users who normally have low traffic, even if a large-capacity content such as video or music happens to be downloaded during the monitoring time zone, Since the restriction information profile is generated in consideration of the trend and the like, it is possible not to be restricted by temporary mass communication. On the other hand, it is possible to generate a stricter regulation profile for users who are constantly overused, reduce the allowable communication amount, and efficiently reduce the load on the network.

  In addition, if the communication terminal is restricted due to overuse control and transmission is restricted for a certain period of time, in the current transmission restriction system, in addition to releasing the restriction uniformly for all users from the network device, such as at the time of a disaster, There is no means to cancel the restriction, and there is no means to allow communication when it is desired to communicate in the circumstances of each user such as in an emergency, but user notification information (emergency flag etc.) is set by user request, and the network side By setting special conditions in, it is possible to permit temporarily.

Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, a user attribute-corresponding transmission restriction system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an overall configuration of a user attribute corresponding transmission restriction system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
This system is composed of a communication terminal (terminal used by the user A) 1 and a network device 2, and the network device 2 is composed of a relay function unit 3 and a user characteristic learning function unit 4 according to user characteristics. It is a user attribute corresponding transmission restriction system that enables the restriction control.

The function of each part will be described below.
The communication terminal 1 is a terminal used by the user A and connects to the network device 2.
The relay function unit 3 in the network device 2 accepts a connection from the communication terminal 1, and similarly requests the user learning function unit 4 in the network device 2 to obtain a user's restriction profile.
The user learning function unit 4 in the network device 2 generates a restriction profile derived from the user attribute information based on the identification ID of the communication terminal 1 and returns it to the relay function unit 3.
After receiving the restriction profile from the user learning function part 4, the relay function part 3 in the network device 2 calculates a fluid restriction threshold, starts restriction monitoring, and implements restriction when the restriction threshold is reached. The call is disconnected from the communication terminal 1.

Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 1, the transmission control method by this system is demonstrated.
(1) The communication terminal 1 stores, as user status information, mobile device identification information for identifying a mobile device, available application types, location information indicating the current location, and the like. Then, the user A connects to the network device 2 from the communication terminal 1.
(2) The relay function unit 3 of the network device 2 that has received the connection from the communication terminal 1 inquires the user property learning function unit 4 in the network device 2 for the characteristic information of the user A.

(3) The relay function unit 3 in the network device 2 includes the user characteristic information including the contract age, the average packet communication fee, the fee payment status and the like derived from the user attribute information from the identification ID of the communication terminal 1 and the communication terminal. Based on the user status information from 1, a restriction profile for restricting user communication is acquired, and a restriction value for actual restriction is calculated. Further, based on the information at the time of connection, a final restriction profile is generated and returned to the relay function unit 3.

(4) The relay function unit 3 in the network device 2 starts regulation monitoring and regulation control based on the regulation profile from the user characteristic learning function unit 4.
(5) The relay function unit 3 in the network device 2 disconnects the communication and activates a restriction timer in the network device 2 when the amount of communication data or the number of times of communication exceeds a threshold value within a certain time. The subsequent operation is the same as in normal operation.
(6) When the communication terminal 1 is disconnected from the network device 2, the transmission is restricted for a certain period of time.

  The above-described user status information includes the identification information of the mobile device, the type of application being used, and the location information of the user. The user characteristic information includes the number of years of contract, average packet traffic, and payment status. Yes, information including user state information and user characteristic information is referred to as user attribute information, and a restriction threshold calculated based on this is referred to as a restriction profile.

Next, with reference to FIG. 1, the procedure of the transmission control method of the present invention will be specifically described.
First, in step S11, mobile device identification information, a use application, location information, and other user status information (such as an emergency flag) are set as user status information from the communication terminal 1, and a request is transmitted to the network device 2. . This request is preferably an HTTP request. In this example, two HTTP requests, HTTPreq1 and HTTPreq2, are transmitted.
Next, in step S12, when the request from the communication terminal 1 is packet communication from the restriction target application, the relay function unit 3 monitors the number of communication and the communication data amount.

  Next, in step S13, the user characteristic learning function unit 4 calculates a restriction profile from the user attribute information for each user identification ID. The user attribute information includes “user characteristic information” for each user identification ID held on the network side and “user status information” in which information at the time of connection is set. The user characteristic information includes, for example, the contract year, the average packet communication amount (traffic history), the fee payment status, etc., as shown in FIG. The user status information includes an access destination (the authorized service increases the upper limit threshold value), a transmission place (in the case of a low traffic area, the upper limit threshold value is increased), and the like. In calculating the regulation profile from each information element, as shown in FIG. 2, points are calculated for each user, and as shown in FIG. Decide whether to increase or decrease. The relay function unit 2 that has received the calculated restriction profile starts restriction control using the calculated restriction profile.

Next, in step S14, when the number of communications or the amount of communication data exceeds the threshold value, the communication with the communication terminal 1 is disconnected and the restriction timer is started. For example, “User A is being regulated, regulation timer 28 minutes”, and the like.
Next, in step S15, the outgoing call restriction is notified by SMS.
Next, in step S <b> 16, the transmission at the communication terminal 1 is restricted only for the communication with the restriction target application notified from the network device 2.

Next, the above-described user attribute information will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.
FIG. 2 is an example of user attribute information used by the user characteristic learning function unit 3 to calculate a restriction profile for each user identification ID. For example, user A's profile is that the contract year is 5 years, the traffic volume is general, there is no penalty restriction so far, the main usage place is company (in Tokyo), and large content is rarely used, As a profile of user B, the contract year is 6 months, the amount of traffic such as game ringtones is large, the charge delinquency is twice in the past, the main use place is home (suburb), and large-capacity content is used complicatedly.
As described above, the user attribute information includes information such as user characteristic information and user state information.
The user characteristic information includes the number of contract years, the daily average packet amount, the fee payment status, the communication time per call, the past number of violations, and the number of points if a point purchase system is adopted.

Here, the user characteristic information of the user A and the user B will be compared below.
In the example, the contract year of the user A is higher as the user has a longer age. In this example, the user A has a contract year of 5 years and the user B is still 6 months. Is +5.
The average daily packet amount is higher for users with a smaller average packet amount, and the threshold for chronically high traffic users is lower. In this example, the average daily packet amount for user A is a general traffic amount. On the other hand, since user B has a large amount of traffic such as games and ringtones, it is +10 for user A and −30 for user B.

The fee payment status becomes a negative point for users who have a past record of delinquency, and becomes a negative point as the communication time per call becomes longer, and becomes a negative point as the number of past violations increases. In addition, when the point purchase system is adopted, the threshold value can be set higher by 10 points per XX yen per month.
On the other hand, with regard to user status information, the higher the point is, the higher the area is in the traffic-free area, or the higher the point that the application uses large-capacity content. Set). In this example, the area is set to -5 for user A, +5 for user B, +10 for user A, and 0 for user B.
As a result, the total point is +40 for user A and -45 for user B, but a regulation threshold is set based on these total points. In addition, various changes can be made.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a restriction threshold value of a restriction profile derived from user attribute information derived from attribute information.
In this example, the user characteristic learning function unit 3 determines a restriction profile after calculating points from user attribute information. For example, in the case of point +50, the threshold value is set to A × 1.5 and 50% higher, in the case of point 0, it is left as A, and in the case of point −50, the threshold value is set as A × 0.5. ing.

Next, with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, a temporary outgoing call restriction release method by user control will be described.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a method for canceling call restriction for each connection destination.
The method for canceling the call restriction for each connection destination is as follows.
(1) First, in step S21, the communication terminal 1 under call restriction sets the emergency flag to ON at the time of outgoing connection. When the communication terminal 1 that is being regulated by overuse control wants to communicate during the regulation, it sends a request to the network device 2. Then, the emergency flag is set to ON by a user operation on the communication terminal 1, and the network device 2 is connected. The emergency flag is stored in advance in the communication terminal 1 as user state information.

(2) Next, in step S22, when the request is packet communication from the application to be regulated, the number of communications and the amount of communication data are monitored and the presence / absence of an emergency flag for deregulation is confirmed. Then, the relay function unit 3 of the network device 2 that has received the connection in which the emergency flag ON is set from the communication terminal 1 sets the fact, and the user restriction profile is set to the user characteristic learning server 4 in the network device 2. Request acquisition.

(3) Next, in step S <b> 23, the user characteristic learning function unit 4 of the network device 2 acquires the restriction profile derived from the user attribute information from the identification ID of the communication terminal 1. Then, it is determined whether or not connection is possible under the corresponding conditions. The network device 2 recognizes that the user state of the request is set. Examples of the user state include an emergency flag and a location location. When recognizing that the user state is set, when requesting the restriction profile to the user characteristic learning function unit 4, a notification to that effect is given.
(4) Next, in step S24, the information is returned to the relay function unit 4 including the pre-defined permission conditions when the restriction flag is ON. At that time, in the user status information notification to be transmitted, “target”, “target”, “non-target”, etc. are notified as the presence / absence of restrictions on the position information areas A, B, and C, respectively. Then, as the restriction release condition when the emergency flag is ON or OFF, “additional charge”, “restricted function” are notified when ON, “no restriction release”, etc. when OFF. In this way, when user notification information (location location etc.) is set, refer to the restriction presence / absence information for each location location managed on the network side, determine whether to release the restriction, If it is a non-target area, the relay function unit 3 is notified to cancel the restriction.

(5) Next, in step S25, the user characteristic learning function unit 4 recognizes that the corresponding communication terminal 1 is under outgoing call restriction, but the user state (emergency flag ON, etc.) is set in the request. Therefore, the relay function unit 3 is transmitted to the effect that the restriction is released based on the restriction release condition that has been contracted in advance. As the restriction release conditions, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, a special high fee is set, the connection destination is limited to a free site, or only mail transmission / reception is allowed. In this way, the relay function unit 3 in the network device 2 permits communication of the communication terminal 1 based on the returned permission condition.
(6) Then, in step S26, the communication terminal 1 is allowed to communicate even though the outgoing call is being restricted. Therefore, the communication terminal 1 can temporarily communicate, and the communication terminal 1 continues communication under special conditions. To do.

FIG. 5 is a table showing an example of the restriction release element in the above-described user state information.
In this example, as the user status information in the user attribute information, an access destination, location information, an emergency flag, an alternative, and the like are given as examples.
Access destinations are restricted from accessing sites that do not generate packet amounts. For example, the air DL, the imadoco search server, and the like are access destinations that should be prioritized.
As the location information, a premium area (inside a corporate contract area or the like) is set, and communication in this area is not regulated.
The emergency flag is not subject to regulation based on the emergency flag set under certain conditions.
As an alternative, someone such as the user's family is subject to regulation instead.

As described above, according to this embodiment, in packet communication, a user who uses excessively (communication data amount and number of communication times) can more flexibly limit the wireless communication band by performing communication over a long period of time. It can be prevented by using the regulation control suitable for the above.
As mentioned above, although the user attribute corresponding | compatible transmission control system and the transmission control cancellation | release system for every user of this invention were demonstrated based on embodiment, this invention is not limited to this embodiment, and deviates from the meaning of this invention. Various modifications are possible without any problems.

It is the schematic which shows the whole structure and operation | movement of a user attribute corresponding | compatible transmission control system which concern on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the user attribute information used in order that a user characteristic learning function part may calculate a regulation profile for every user identification ID. It is an example when a user characteristic learning function part determines a regulation profile after calculating a point from user attribute information. It is the schematic which shows the whole structure and operation | movement of restriction release of the user attribute corresponding | compatible transmission control system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the user status information utilized for the cancellation | release of control of the user attribute corresponding | compatible transmission control system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the structure and operation | movement of the conventional transmission control system.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Mobile device, 2 ... Network apparatus, 3 ... Relay function part, 4 ... User characteristic learning function part, 10, Communication terminal (conventional), 20 ... Network apparatus

Claims (5)

When the communication terminal performs packet communication via the network device, the network device includes a restriction unit for restricting connection to the communication terminal of the user who has performed data communication for a certain amount or a certain number of times within a certain time. In the user attribute corresponding transmission restriction system that restricts transmission of the communication terminal,
The network device includes a restriction profile for each user indicating attribute information for each user in order to perform the call restriction, and performs call restriction based on the restriction profile. system.   2. The user attribute corresponding transmission restriction system according to claim 1, wherein the network device includes a restriction threshold value calculation means for calculating a threshold value for restriction for each user from a restriction profile for each user. User attribute correspondence outgoing call regulation system.   The user attribute corresponding transmission restriction system according to claim 1, wherein the attribute information for each user includes user status information indicating a current status of the user and user characteristic information indicating unique information inherent to the user. A transmission control system for user attributes, characterized by comprising:   2. The user attribute corresponding transmission restriction system according to claim 1, wherein the communication terminal of the user includes means for notifying the network device of restriction release information for releasing the restriction even when the call restriction is being performed, and The network device that has received restriction release information includes a restriction release unit that temporarily permits outgoing calls from the communication terminal by setting a special condition. When a communication terminal performs packet communication, the communication terminal is provided with a restricting means for restricting connection to a communication terminal of a user who has performed data communication for a certain amount or a certain number of times within a certain time, and restricts the transmission of the communication terminal. In network equipment,
In order to perform the transmission restriction, a transmission restriction unit that includes a restriction profile for each user indicating attribute information for each user, and that performs transmission restriction based on the restriction profile;
Even if the communication terminal is under outgoing call restriction, restriction release means for temporarily allowing outgoing calls from the communication terminal by setting special conditions;
A network apparatus comprising:

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