JP2008042477A - Telephone system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent, without troubling a called-party side, the situation where communication between a called party and a calling party is deteriorated when utilizing a service for using the same telephone number for a first communication terminal to which a specific function is set, and a second communication terminal to which the relevant specific function is not set. <P>SOLUTION: When a mobile phone 5 and a DCM 4 are available with the same number and the DCM 4 to which a video phone function is not set is brought into an active state where a call can be terminated, the mobile phone 5 to which the relevant video phone function is set is brought into an inactive state where a call can not be terminated. When call termination due to the video phone function is requested from a calling-party side to the mobile phone 5 switched into the inactive state in such a situation, a control center 2 notifies the calling party of guidance information indicating that the video phone function is invalidated. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention is configured such that a plurality of communication terminals use the same telephone number, and when one of the communication terminals is switched to an active state capable of responding to a call request from a partner call destination The other is related to a telephone system which is set in an inactive state in which it cannot respond.

Currently, mobile phones having a videophone function (for example, “FOMA (registered trademark)” manufactured by NTT DoCoMo, Inc.) are provided. On the other hand, in recent years, a switch phone (registered trademark) service that allows a plurality of communication terminals, for example, a mobile phone and an in-vehicle communication module to be used with the same telephone number has been considered. For example, when one of the mobile phone and the in-vehicle communication module is in an active state capable of responding to a call request from a counterpart call destination, the other is in an inactive state incapable of responding. In this case, assuming that the videophone function is set only for the mobile phone and the function is not set for the in-vehicle communication module, the period in which the mobile phone is in an inactive state (the in-vehicle communication module is active) In addition, when a call request is made by the videophone function from the other party's call destination, the videophone function does not work. For this reason, there is a problem in that the caller may have a suspicious feeling or an uncomfortable feeling, which may adversely affect communication between the two parties. Conventionally, as a means related to the videophone function, when there is an incoming call through a telephone line while receiving a videophone call on a mobile phone, a message is displayed on the videophone screen (Patent Document 1). In the in-vehicle videophone device, there is provided means for stopping transmission of a TV image to a communication partner when the host vehicle is in a running state.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-23357 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-32589

  Each of the above conventional means cannot cope with the above-described problems that occur when using the switchphone service. For this reason, when using the switchphone service, when a call request is made by the videophone function from the other party's callee during the period when the mobile phone is inactive as described above, It is necessary to take measures such as notifying the calling party that the videophone function cannot be used one by one, and the operation for the notification becomes troublesome.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to use the same telephone number for a first communication terminal in which a specific function is set and a second communication terminal in which the specific function is not set. Providing a telephone system that has the effect of preventing the situation where communication between the caller and the caller deteriorates when using the service, without bothering the caller. There is to do.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the first communication terminal and the second communication terminal can be used with the same number, and the second communication terminal for which the specific function has not been set is When the active state capable of responding to the call request is set, the first communication terminal in which the specific function is set is set to an inactive state incapable of responding. In such a state, when there is a call request related to the specific function from the partner call destination to the first communication terminal switched to the inactive state, the information providing means Guidance information indicating that the specific function is disabled is notified to the callee.

  In short, when there is a call request related to a specific function set in the first communication terminal during a period in which the first communication terminal is in an inactive state (a second communication terminal is in an active state), the specific function However, in such a case, guidance information for notifying that the specific function is disabled is notified to the calling party. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the caller from having a suspicious feeling or an uncomfortable feeling that the specific function does not work, resulting in an adverse effect on the communication between the caller and the callee. There is no danger of it. Further, since the notification of the guidance information is automatically performed without requiring an operation on the called party side, there is no possibility that the operation for the notification becomes troublesome.

  According to the means of claim 2, every time the second communication terminal is switched to the active state, the difference in function set in the second communication terminal and the first communication terminal by the function difference extraction means is detected. After being extracted, the information providing means refers to the extraction result and reports the guidance information. That is, since the guidance information is based on the latest information related to the functional difference between the first and second communication terminals, the reliability of the guidance information is improved.

(First embodiment)
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration example of a telephone system according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, a vehicle 1 includes a DCM (Data Communication Module) for performing communication with a network management center (hereinafter abbreviated as management center: corresponding to information providing means) 2 through a mobile phone communication network 3. Data communication module) 4 is mounted as the second communication terminal and function difference extracting means in the present invention. The DCM 4 is a variety of contents realized based on communication with the management center 2 (emergency call service such as G-BOOK (registered trademark) service, road assist service, car search service, Remote maintenance service) can be used based on a predetermined content usage contract.

  The DCM 4 performs a communication operation via the mobile phone communication network 3 with a so-called switch phone function (phone number) that uses the same phone number as the mobile phone 5 (corresponding to the first communication terminal) possessed by the user (vehicle driver). And a voice call using the mobile phone communication network 3 can be performed by a hands-free call unit provided separately. As a result, the user can use the mobile phone 5 during normal walking and the like, and can use the voice call function by the DCM 4 when boarding the vehicle. In this case, a videophone function (corresponding to a specific function) is set in the mobile phone 5, but such a videophone function is not set in the DCM 4.

  On the management center 2 side, a customer database is constructed in which the telephone number of the mobile phone 5 and the ID code of the DCM 4 for which the content use contract is established are associated with each other. The correspondence relationship between the DCM 4 and the mobile phone 5 can be extracted based on the stored information. Further, the telephone number of the corresponding mobile phone 5 is registered in advance in the DCM 4 as telephone number information.

Here, the switchphone function has the following four patterns (1) to (4).
(1) The user possesses only one telephone number corresponding to the mobile phone 5 and registers the telephone number in a plurality of wireless communication terminals (in the present embodiment, only DCM 4). A pattern in which only one of the mobile phone 5 and the wireless communication terminal (hereinafter the same) is in the active state and only the communication terminal in the active state can communicate. However, this active / inactive setting and cancellation (switching of the switchphone function) is performed on the management center 2 side based on communication with the mobile phone 5 and the wireless communication terminal.

  (2) The user has only one telephone number corresponding to the mobile phone 5 and sets / cancels active / inactive in the same manner as in (1). The active / inactive setting and canceling state is performed from the communication terminal side in the active state to the management center 2 by performing near field communication (for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark), wireless LAN) between the wireless communication terminal and the wireless communication terminal. The pattern to report.

  (3) The user has a plurality of telephone numbers corresponding to the cellular phone 5 and a plurality of wireless communication terminals (in the present embodiment, only DCM 4), and one telephone number A to be set (usually a cellular phone) 5 is registered in a wireless communication terminal (DCM 4 in this embodiment), and the wireless communication terminal functions as a mobile phone 5 having a telephone number A. However, such telephone number switching setting (switch phone function switching) is performed on the management center 2 side based on communication with the mobile phone 5 and the wireless communication terminal.

  (4) The user has a plurality of telephone numbers corresponding to the mobile phone 5 and a plurality of wireless communication terminals, and performs the same telephone number switching setting as in (3). And a short-range wireless communication between the wireless communication terminals (for example, Bluetooth, wireless LAN), and a pattern in which such a telephone number switching state is reported to the management center 2 from the communication terminal side to which the telephone number is switched .

  In FIG. 2, the electrical configuration of the DCM 4 is shown by a combination of functional blocks. In FIG. 2, a transmission / reception antenna 6 is provided for communication operation via the mobile phone communication network 4 and is connected to an antenna port of the duplexer 7. The receiving port of the duplexer 7 is connected to a receiving unit 8 that performs signal amplification of a received wave by the transmission / reception antenna 6, and the amplified signal by the receiving unit 8 is demodulated by the demodulating unit 9 to the baseband processing unit 10. It is designed to be entered. The transmission port of the duplexer 7 is connected to a transmission unit 12 that amplifies the modulation signal input from the baseband processing unit 10 through the modulation unit 11.

  The arithmetic processing unit 13 that exchanges signals with the baseband processing unit 10 is for performing various arithmetic processes necessary for communication operation and operation control of each unit. Vehicle interface unit 14 having an input function of information (power-off information (for example, ACC off information), vehicle speed information, etc.), a storage unit for storing and holding various information such as a telephone number and a calculation result in calculation processing unit 15. A GPS receiver 16 having a receiving antenna 16a is connected. The arithmetic processing unit 13 is constituted by a microcomputer, and includes a telephone number switching unit 17 and a function comparison unit 18 which are processing function parts of the software.

  The telephone number switching unit 17 is for realizing the above-described switchphone function, and the function comparison unit 18 is for extracting a functional difference between the DCM 4 and the mobile phone 5. The level of the amplified output by the transmission unit 12 can be controlled by a transmission power control device 19 provided to receive a command from the arithmetic processing unit 13 through the baseband processing unit 10.

  The sequence diagram of FIG. 3 shows the flow of information among the vehicle 1, the management center 2, the DCM 4, and the mobile phone 5 when the switchphone function according to the pattern (1) described above is adopted. In FIG. 3, communication between the management center 2, the DCM 4, and the mobile phone 5 is performed via the mobile phone communication network 3.

  In FIG. 3, when the user activates the switch phone function of registering the telephone number of the mobile phone 5 in the DCM 4, an inactive signal that is a line switching request is sent from the mobile phone 5 to the management center 2. Send. Then, the management center 2 extracts the DCM 4 corresponding to the mobile phone 5 based on the stored information in the customer database, and transmits a line switching command to the DCM 4.

  The DCM 4 that has received this line switching command switches the previously registered telephone number information (corresponding to the telephone number of the mobile phone 5) to an active state (a state in which a telephone call and data communication are possible with the telephone number). At the same time, the presence / absence of a function set in the mobile phone 5 but not set in the mobile phone 5 is confirmed, and a line change completion response including function difference information corresponding to the confirmation result is transmitted to the management center 2. Here, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the videophone function is set in the mobile phone 5 but the videophone function is not set in the DCM 4. Therefore, the function difference information includes information indicating that there is no videophone function. In this embodiment, the telephone number information related to the corresponding mobile phone 5 is registered in advance on the DCM 4 side. However, the telephone number information related to the mobile phone 5 corresponding to the DCM 4 is registered from the management center 2. A configuration for transferring to the DCM 4 is also possible, and according to such a configuration, registration of the telephone number information as described above becomes unnecessary.

  Upon receiving the line change completion response, the management center 2 stores the function difference information included in the completion response in a state associated with the telephone number of the mobile phone 5 and transmits a line switch completion signal to the mobile phone 5. . The mobile phone 5 that has received such a line switching completion signal is in an inactive mode (however, the calling function is valid) in which its incoming call function (function to respond to a call request from the other party's call destination) is disabled. In the current state).

  Thereafter, when power-off information from the vehicle 1 is given to the DCM 4, the DCM 4 transmits an inactive signal that is a line switching request to the management center 2. Then, in the management center 2, the mobile phone 5 corresponding to the DCM 4 is extracted based on the stored information in the customer database, and a line switching command is transmitted to the mobile phone 5.

  The mobile phone 5 that has received this line switching command returns to the active mode that can respond to the call request from the other callee by canceling the invalidation state of the incoming call function, and thereafter the line change completion response Is transmitted to the management center 2.

  Upon receiving the line change completion response, the management center 2 initializes (erases) the function difference information in the stored state and transmits a line switch completion signal to the DCM 4. The DCM 4 receiving such a line switching completion signal switches to an inactive state incapable of responding to a call request from the other call destination by invalidating the previously registered telephone number information. It becomes like this.

  The switch phone function works according to the sequence as described above. In this case, in the management center 2 side, the DCM 4 is active and the mobile phone 5 is inactive when the functional difference information is stored. If the function difference information is not stored, it can be determined that the DCM 4 is in an inactive state and the mobile phone 5 is in an active state. In the example of FIG. 3, there is a period in which both the DCM 4 and the mobile phone 5 are in an active state for only a short time, but if there is an incoming call during this period, the DCM 4 and the mobile phone 5 What is necessary is just to comprise so that one side may be in an incoming call state preferentially. In relation to this, the mobile phone 5 is configured to switch to the inactive mode in response to receiving the line switching completion signal from the management center 2, but the line switching request (inactive signal) is sent to the management center 2. It is good also as a structure which switches to inactive mode immediately after performing the operation | movement which transmits. However, in such a configuration, there is a short period during which both the DCM 4 and the mobile phone 5 are in a call-disabled state.

  Accordingly, in the management center 2, as shown in the sequence diagram of FIG. 4, a call request from the other party's call destination (this includes the destination telephone number information, the function to be executed (in this embodiment, If there is an execution function request signal indicating a videophone function), whether or not DCM4 is in an active state (in other words, the videophone function of the called party (DCM4 or mobile phone 5) is valid) Is determined by referring to the function difference information stored in a state associated with the telephone number of the mobile phone 5, and when it is determined “NO” (when the mobile phone 5 is in the active state) ) Makes a call request with a videophone function to the called party (mobile phone 5). On the other hand, when “YES” is determined, that is, when a call request is made by the videophone function to the cellular phone 5 deactivated by the switchphone function, On the other hand, the mobile phone communication network 3 is notified of guidance information indicating that the videophone function of the called party is invalidated. At the same time, a call request with only voice without a videophone function is made to the called party (DCM 4).

  Note that the guidance information notified in this case can be text information displayed on the mobile phone Y on the caller side as shown in FIG. 5, for example. ) "Or graphic information including a predetermined character (animation, self-portrait, etc.). Further, text information or graphic information indicating that the vehicle is on board may be used as the guidance information.

  In short, according to the above-described embodiment, the so-called switch phone service in which the DCM 4 and the mobile phone 5 are used with the same number can be used. When the mobile phone 5 in which the videophone function is set is in an inactive state in which it is not possible to respond to the call request, In such a state, when there is a call request by the videophone function from the other party call destination to the mobile phone 5 that has been switched to the inactive state (actually, for the DCM 4 in the active state) In the case of a call request), the management center 2 notifies the other callee (caller) of guidance information that the videophone function on the called side is disabled. To come.

  In other words, even if there is a call request related to the videophone function set in the mobile phone 5 during a period in which the mobile phone 5 is inactive (DCM 4 is active), the videophone function is In such a case, guidance information for notifying that the videophone function is disabled is notified to the calling party. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the caller from having a suspicious or uncomfortable situation when the videophone function does not work, resulting in an adverse effect on communication between the caller and the callee. The fear of affecting Further, since the notification of the guidance information is automatically performed without requiring an operation on the called party side, there is no possibility that the operation for the notification becomes troublesome.

  Actually, the functional difference between the DCM 4 and the mobile phone 5 is not limited to the presence or absence of the videophone function as described in the above embodiment, but in this embodiment, every time the DCM 4 is switched to the active state. In addition, in the DCM 4, the difference between the function set in itself and the function set in the mobile phone is extracted, and the management center 2 refers to such an extraction result and executes the notification of the guidance information It has a configuration. Thereby, since the guidance information is based on the latest information related to the functional difference between the DCM 4 and the mobile phone 5, the reliability of the guidance information is improved.

(Second Embodiment)
FIGS. 6 and 7 show a second embodiment of the present invention that exhibits the same effect as the first embodiment, and only the parts different from the first embodiment will be described below.

  That is, in the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, when the car navigation device 20 is mounted on the vehicle 1, the car navigation device 20 and the DCM 4 are connected by the in-vehicle LAN, and the mobile phone 5 And the car navigation device 20 are configured to execute communication by short-range wireless communication (Bluetooth, wireless LAN, etc.). In this case, it can be considered that the car navigation device 20 functions as a master of the master / slave system, and the DCM 4 and the mobile phone function as slaves.

  In the sequence diagram of FIG. 7, the flow of information among the vehicle 1, the management center 2, the DCM 4, the mobile phone 5, and the car navigation device 20 among the contents related to the switchphone function is shown. In FIG. 7, communication between the management center 2 and the DCM 4 and the mobile phone 5 is performed via the mobile phone communication network 3, and communication between the DCM 4 and the car navigation device 20 is performed via the in-vehicle LAN. 5 and the car navigation device 20 are performed by short-range wireless communication.

  In FIG. 7, when there is a connection request from the mobile phone 5 to the car navigation device 20, the car navigation device 20 transfers the phone information (phone number and function information) related to the mobile phone 5 to the DCM 4. The car navigation device 20 transmits a line switching request to both the mobile phone 5 and the DCM 4.

  In this case, the cellular phone 5 that has received the line switching request transmits a telephone number use stop request to the management center 2, and the DCM 4 that has received the line switching request uses the telephone number indicated by the telephone number information as its own. By registering as a telephone number and switching the telephone number to an active state (a state in which communication and data communication are possible with the telephone number), the cellular phone can be referred to by referring to the function information in the telephone number information. 5 confirms the presence or absence of a function that is set in itself but is not set in itself, and transmits a line change completion signal including function difference information according to the confirmation result to the management center 2. Here, as in the first embodiment, when it is assumed that the mobile phone 5 is set with the videophone function but the DCM4 is not set with the videophone function, the function difference information is as follows. , Information indicating that there is no videophone function is included.

  In the management center 2 that has received the telephone number use stop request and the line change completion signal, the information indicating that the DCM 4 is in the active state and the function difference information included in the completion signal are associated with the telephone number of the mobile phone 5. The line change completion signal is transmitted to the mobile phone 5 and the line change completion signal is transmitted to the DCM 4. The mobile phone 5 that has received such a line switching completion signal is in an inactive mode (however, the calling function is valid) in which its incoming call function (function to respond to a call request from the other party's call destination) is disabled. In the current state). The DCM 4 that has received the line change completion signal transfers the line change completion signal to the car navigation apparatus 20. The car navigation device 20 that has received this line change completion signal executes a line change completion display for notifying that the telephone line has been switched to the DCM 4 side.

  Thereafter, when power-off information from the vehicle 1 is given to the car navigation device 20, the car navigation device 20 makes a connection request for short-range wireless communication to the mobile phone 5 and starts communication. A line switching request is transmitted after establishment of the communication link, and a line switching request is also transmitted to the DCM 4. In this case, the mobile phone 5 that has received the line switching request transmits a telephone number use start request to the management center 2, and the DCM 4 that has received the line switching request sends the line switching request to the management center 2. Forward.

  In the management center 2 that has received the telephone number use start request and the line switching request, the function difference information in the storage state is initialized (this initialization stores information indicating that the mobile phone 5 is in the active state). A switching confirmation command is transmitted to the DCM 4 and a line switching completion signal is transmitted to the mobile phone 5. Then, the mobile phone 5 that has received the line switching completion signal returns to the active mode that can respond to the call request from the other callee by canceling the invalidation state of the incoming call function. In addition, the DCM 4 that has received the switching confirmation command transfers the switching confirmation command to the car navigation device 20 and invalidates the registered telephone number so as not to respond to the call request from the other party's call destination. Switch to possible inactive state. Furthermore, the car navigation apparatus 20 that has received the switching confirmation command executes a line change completion display for notifying that the telephone line has been switched to the mobile phone 5 side.

(Third embodiment)
8 and 9 show a third embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, only portions different from the second embodiment will be described.
In other words, this embodiment is intended for a telephone system in which the videophone function is also set in the DCM 4. In this case, the videophone function of the DCM 4 is disabled when the vehicle 1 is traveling at a specified speed (for example, 6 km / h) or more, whereas the mobile phone 5 has no such limitation. In this respect, a functional difference exists between the DCM 4 and the mobile phone 5.

  In FIG. 8 in which the system configuration on the vehicle 1 side is shown as a combination of functional blocks, the DCM 4 and the car navigation device 20 communicate with each other via the in-vehicle LAN 21, and the in-vehicle LAN 21 includes a car for a videophone. An indoor camera 22 and a vehicle speed sensor 23 are also connected. Further, the car navigation device 20 and the mobile phone 5 are provided with a short-range wireless communication function for performing communication between each other. Note that the monitor for the videophone uses the display device 20a for the car navigation device 20. Further, in this example, the DCM 4 can be operated (including a call request) from an operation panel (not shown) provided on the rear seat of the vehicle 1.

  The flowchart of FIG. 9 shows the main part of the response control routine in a state in which the DCM 4 is activated (a state in which the video phone function of the DCM 4 can work) of the control contents by the DCM 4. This response control routine shows the contents of control when a call request is received from the other call destination. First, the call request is sent to a specific call such as an emergency call service center that has concluded a content use contract. It is determined whether a videophone request is received from the person (step S1).

  If the call request is a videophone request from a specific caller, the videophone is activated unconditionally (step S2), and it is then determined whether or not a videophone function stop request has been made (step S2). Step S3). If there is a stop request, the response control routine is terminated after executing step S4 for disconnecting the telephone line, but if there is no stop request, the process returns to step S1.

  If the call request is not from the specific caller (step S1: NO), it is determined whether the call request is a videophone request from the rear seat of the vehicle 1 (step S5). If the call request is a videophone request from the rear seat, the process proceeds to the determination step S3 after executing the step S2 for unconditionally activating the videophone.

  If the call request is not from the rear seat (step S5: NO), it is determined whether or not the setting of the hands-free call function of the DCM 4 is on (step S6). When the setting of the hands-free call function is off, for example, a message indicating that the call is impossible is transmitted to the other party's call destination without sending the captured image by the in-vehicle camera 22 to the other party's call destination. After executing Step S7, the process proceeds to Step S3.

  When the setting of the hands-free call function is ON, it is determined whether or not the vehicle speed indicated by the signal from the vehicle speed sensor 23 is 6 km / h or less (step S8), and the vehicle speed is 6 km / h or less. In this case, after executing step S9 for sending an image (corresponding to guidance information) indicating that the vehicle is in operation to the other party, the process proceeds to step S3. The image indicating that the vehicle is in operation is stored in advance in the DCM 4 or the car navigation device 20, but the above-mentioned “Chara-den” set in the mobile phone 5 can be used. good.

On the other hand, when the vehicle speed is less than 6 km / h (step S8: NO), the process proceeds to step 3 after executing step S10 for starting the videophone.
According to the present embodiment configured as described above, during the period when the DCM 4 is switched to the active state, that is, during the period when the vehicle 1 is traveling at a speed of 6 km / h or more and the videophone function is limited, that effect. Since the guidance information indicating the above is notified to the other party's call destination, the same effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. For example, the following modifications or expansions are possible.
Although the function difference extracting means is configured to be realized by the DCM 4, this function may be realized by the management center 2 side (first and second embodiments) or the car navigation device 20 side (second embodiment). good.
As an example of the first communication terminal and the second communication terminal, the mobile phone 5 and the DCM 4 are cited, respectively, but not limited thereto, a fixed phone, a game terminal having a wireless communication function, a PDA, etc. may be used. .

1 is a block diagram of a telephone system showing a first embodiment of the present invention. Functional block diagram showing the electrical configuration of DCM Sequence diagram for action explanation Sequence diagram for explaining an operation example in the management center Diagram showing an example of guidance information FIG. 1 equivalent view showing a second embodiment of the present invention. 3 equivalent figure Functional block diagram of the vehicle side system showing a third embodiment of the present invention Flow chart showing control contents by DCM

Explanation of symbols

2 is a network management center (information providing means), 3 is a mobile phone communication network, 4 is DCM (second communication terminal, function difference extraction means), and 5 is a mobile phone (first communication terminal).

Claims (2)

The first communication terminal in which the specific function is set and the second communication terminal in which the specific function is not set are configured to use the same telephone number, and one of these communication terminals is called from the other party's call destination In a telephone system where when the other is switched to an active state capable of responding to a call request, the other is switched to an inactive state incapable of answering,
When there is a call request related to the specific function from the counterpart call destination to the first communication terminal in the inactive state, the specific function is disabled for the counterpart call destination A telephone system comprising information providing means for reporting guidance information indicating that the user is present. Comprising a function difference extracting means for extracting a difference between functions set in the second communication terminal and the first communication terminal when the second communication terminal is switched to an active state;
2. The telephone system according to claim 1, wherein the information providing unit executes the notification of the guidance information with reference to an extraction result by the function difference extracting unit.

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