JP2008153747A - Session managing server device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable terminals of group communication by PoC other than the terminal of an originator of the group communication which has left the group to continue the group communication even after the terminal of the originator leaves the group due to out of zone or by spontaneous operation. <P>SOLUTION: A PoC group communication system is constituted using a session managing server device 5 used to attain PoC group communication among a plurality of communication terminals. The session managing server device 5 detects the reason why a communication terminal initiating the PoC group communication, i.e. a master terminal is disconnected, and stops the end of the PoC group communication when the detected reason for the disconnection matches contents of a previously registered communication continuation reason. Control is thus carried out to continue the group communication even after the master terminal of the group communication by PoC leaves the group. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a session management server device, and more particularly to a session management server device used for a PoC (Push-to-Talk over Cellular) communication service.

  A PoC communication service has been implemented in which mobile communication terminals such as mobile phones (hereinafter referred to as communication terminals) can be used like transceivers, and communication within a group by a plurality of people can be achieved by simply touching a button. Yes. This PoC communication is a means of quick communication between one-to-one or between groups. In PoC communication, a communication terminal can be used like a transceiver. The operation for starting a conversation is a simple operation of pressing a specific button instead of pressing a dial button.

In order to perform PoC communication, it is assumed that a communication path has been formed, and the right to speak is acquired by RTP (Real Time Protocol) after the Registration message and INVITE message by SIP (Session Initiation Protocol). In PoC group communication, only a user who has acquired the right to speak can speak.
In addition, a communication terminal performing PoC group communication can leave the group communication. In this case, PoC group communication can be continued by another communication terminal that has not left.

However, when a communication terminal (so-called parent terminal) that triggers the start of PoC group communication leaves, group communication cannot be continued and ends. For example, the group communication ends when the parent terminal goes out of service as well as when the parent terminal performs an operation to leave independently.
In such a case, there is a desire to continue the PoC group communication by a communication terminal other than the revoked parent terminal, but it cannot be performed. In order to continue the PoC group communication, a communication terminal other than the left parent terminal becomes a new parent terminal, and PoC group communication needs to be newly started by operating the terminal. However, this is not the continuation of the PoC group communication, but a completely different PoC group communication is newly started, and there is a problem that the operation becomes complicated. In addition, when PoC group communication is newly started, a registration message or an INVITE message is transmitted from a plurality of terminals unless the terminal to be used as a parent terminal is determined in advance.

By the way, as a group communication system, there exists a thing of patent document 1, for example. In Patent Document 1, “continuation” is set in advance as a communication continuation policy so that group communication can be continued even in a situation where communication is disconnected. Then, when the communication status of a terminal that starts group communication, that is, an initiator deteriorates, communication is continued by setting another terminal as an initiator.
JP-A-2005-311527

However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 is premised on ad-hoc wireless communication and cannot be applied to PoC group communication by SIP.
The present invention was made to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and the purpose of the present invention is even after the terminal of the group communication sender by PoC has left the group due to out-of-service reasons or spontaneous operation. Another object of the present invention is to provide a session management server device that can realize continuation of group communication by other terminals.

  A session management server apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention is a session management server apparatus used for realizing PoC group communication by a plurality of communication terminals, and relates to a communication terminal that has triggered the start of PoC group communication. The disconnect reason detecting means for detecting the occurrence of the disconnect reason (for example, corresponding to step S12 in FIG. 2) and the disconnect reason detected by the disconnect reason detecting means coincide with the contents of the communication continuation reason registered in advance. In this case, communication termination inhibiting means (for example, corresponding to step S15 in FIG. 2) for controlling to terminate the PoC group communication is included. If comprised in this way, even after the terminal of the sender of the group communication by PoC leaves a group, continuation of group communication is realizable.

  In the session management server device according to claim 2 of the present invention, when a disconnection reason is detected by the disconnection reason detection unit in claim 1, the PoC group communication is triggered by the PoC group communication. It is deleted from the group list of group communication (for example, corresponding to the process of step S14 in FIG. 2). If comprised in this way, group communication can be continued by terminals other than the communication terminal used as the opportunity of the start of group communication by PoC.

  The session management server device according to claim 3 of the present invention provides the PoC group communication according to claim 1, when the disconnection reason detected by the disconnection reason detection means does not match the contents of the communication continuation reason registered in advance. Is controlled to end (for example, corresponding to the process of step S16 in FIG. 2). When a disconnection reason other than a pre-registered reason occurs, the PoC group communication can be terminated in the same manner as a general operation.

  According to the present invention, when the occurrence of a disconnection reason for a communication terminal that has triggered the start of PoC group communication is detected, and the detected disconnection reason matches the contents of a pre-registered communication continuation reason, Since the control is performed so as to suppress the end of the PoC group communication, there is an effect that the group communication can be continued even after the terminal of the sender of the group communication by PoC leaves the group.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings referred to in the following description, the same parts as those in the other drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals.
(System configuration example)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a PoC group communication system using a session management server device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, a PoC group communication system is a wireless base for forming a wireless area in which wireless communication can be performed between communication terminals 1a, 1b, and 1c used by users who perform PoC group communication and communication terminals. Stations 2a, 2b and 2c, switching devices 3a, 3b and 3c provided corresponding to the respective radio base stations, SIP server devices 4a, 4b and 4c provided corresponding to the respective switching devices, and session management The server apparatus 5 includes a subscriber information management server apparatus (Home Subscriber Server) 6 that manages information about each subscriber.

Each SIP server device has a SIP registration function, a SIP transfer (PoC call control) function, and a SIP application distribution function in order to realize PoC group communication.
The session management server device 5 has a PoC call control function 51 and an MRFP (Multimedia Resource Function Processor) control function 52, and functions as an MRFC (Multimedia Resource Function Controller).

The PoC call control function 51 receives a SIP request transferred from the originating communication terminal via the SIP server device as a user agent server (UAS), and performs SIP as a user agent client (UAC) to the terminating communication terminal. This is a function for sending a request. This is called B2BUA (Back-to-Back User Agent) processing having a function of connecting UAS and UAC.
The MRFP control function 52 is a function that detects, for each communication terminal, whether the communication area is in the communication area or out of service area.
In addition to this, the session management server device 5 has a SIP termination function for terminating SIP, a packet replication control function for duplicating packets, a speech right charging control function for charging in response to acquisition of a speech right, and the like. Yes.

(Operation example of session management server device)
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the session management server device according to the present invention. In the figure, first, a communication continuation reason registered in advance in the subscriber information management server device is acquired (step S11). This pre-registered communication continuation reason is a reason for continuing PoC group communication even if it occurs for a communication terminal (hereinafter referred to as a parent terminal) that triggered the start of PoC group communication. .

Next, it is determined whether a disconnection event has occurred for the parent terminal (step S12). It will be in a standby state until a disconnection event occurs. Acquisition of the communication continuation reason registered in the subscriber information management server device is periodically performed (step S12 → S11...).
When a disconnection reason occurs for the parent terminal, it is determined whether the reason matches the communication continuation reason acquired from the subscriber information management server device (step S13). As a result of this determination, if it does not coincide with the communication continuation reason, the PoC session is released as usual, and the PoC group communication is terminated (steps S13 → S16). As a result, the process ends (step S17).

On the other hand, if the result of determination in step S13 matches the reason for communication continuation, the parent terminal is deleted from the PoC group communication list (step S13 → S14). Then, PoC group communication by another communication terminal that is performing PoC group communication is continuously performed (step S15). That is, in principle, when a disconnection event occurs in the parent terminal, the PoC group communication ends. However, in the present invention, control is performed so as to suppress the end of the PoC group communication. Thereby, continuation of group communication can be realized even after the parent terminal leaves the group.
The parent terminal that has left the group can rejoin the group communication by performing a necessary operation. However, it must be located within the communication area such as returning from the out-of-service state.

(Acquisition of reasons for continued communication)
FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation for acquiring the reason for communication continuation by the session management server device according to the present invention. In the figure, the session management server device 5 sends a communication continuation reason inquiry to obtain the communication continuation reason registered in the subscriber information management server device 6 (step S101). Receiving this inquiry, the subscriber information management server device 6 sends the communication continuation reason registered in the own device as a communication continuation reason response (step S102). Receiving this response, the session management server device 5 stores the content of the reason for the communication continuation in its own device. The registration of the reason for communication continuation to the subscriber information management server device 6 is performed when the PoC group communication is transmitted, or is performed in advance at the time of contract.

(Operation of the entire system)
Next, the operation of the PoC group communication system will be described with reference to FIG. Referring to the figure, in a state in which PoC group communication is performed by communication terminal 1a as a parent terminal and other communication terminals 1b and 1c (step S200), a disconnection cause generated at the caller, that is, at the parent terminal is a session. When the management server device 5 detects (step S201), it is compared with the communication continuation reason pre-registered in the subscriber information management server device 6 (step S202). Thereby, it is determined whether or not to release the PoC session, that is, whether or not to continue the PoC group communication.
As a result of the determination, when the PoC session is not released and the PoC group communication is continued, the PoC session, that is, the PoC group communication is continuously performed only by other communication terminals except for the parent terminal (steps S203 and S204).

  On the other hand, when the PoC session is released and the PoC group communication is terminated, the disconnection process is performed in any order on the communication terminals other than the parent terminal. In this example, in order to perform a disconnection process for the communication terminal 1b, a disconnection request is transmitted from the session management server apparatus 5 to the SIP server apparatus 4a (step S205b), and the SIP server apparatus 4a that receives this request transmits to the SIP server apparatus 4b. A disconnection request is transmitted toward (step S206b). Further, a disconnection request is transmitted from the SIP server device 4b to the communication terminal 1b (step S207b). Receiving this, the communication terminal 1b returns a disconnection response (step S208b), and the SIP server device 4b receiving this transmits the disconnection response to the SIP server device 4a (step S209b). Receiving this, the SIP server device 4a transmits a disconnection response to the session management server device 5 (step S210b). As described above, the disconnection process is performed for the communication terminal 1b.

  Further, in order to perform the disconnection process for the communication terminal 1c, a disconnection request is transmitted from the session management server device 5 to the SIP server device 4a (step S205c), and the SIP server device 4a that has received the request sends it to the SIP server device 4c. A disconnection request is transmitted (step S206c). Further, a disconnection request is transmitted from the SIP server device 4c to the communication terminal 1c (step S207c). Receiving this, the communication terminal 1c returns a disconnection response (step S208c), and the SIP server device 4c receiving this transmits a disconnection response to the SIP server device 4a (step S209c). Receiving this, the SIP server device 4a transmits a disconnection response to the session management server device 5 (step S210c). As described above, the disconnection process is performed on the communication terminal 1c.

(Disconnection reason detection process)
Here, an example of the cutting reason detection process will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, when a spontaneous disconnection operation is performed by the caller at the parent terminal, that is, the communication terminal 1a (step S301), a disconnection request is transmitted from the communication terminal 1a to the SIP server device 4a (step S302). . Further, a disconnection request is transmitted from the SIP server device 4a that has received this disconnection request, the PoC call control function 51 of the session management server device 5 receives it (step S303), and disconnection processing is performed for the communication terminal 1a (step S303). S304).
Thereafter, a disconnection response is transmitted from the session management server device 5 to the SIP server device 4a (step S305). Furthermore, a disconnection response is transmitted from the SIP server device 4a that has received this disconnection response (step S306), and the communication terminal 1a receives this. Thus, the cutting process ends.

  Further, when the disconnection reason is detected by monitoring of the session management server device 5, it is as follows. That is, when a health check request is transmitted from the MRFP control function 52 of the session management server device 5 (S401) and a response to this is returned from the communication terminal 1a (S402), the communication terminal 1a is located within the communication area. Can be judged. On the other hand, when the communication terminal 1a moves out of the communication area (S403), even if a health check request is transmitted from the MRFP control function 52 (S401 '), no response is returned from the communication terminal 1a. When the transmission of the health check request exceeds a predetermined retry time (S404), a timeout notification is sent from the MRFP control function 52 to the PoC call control function 51 (S405). Receiving this notification, the PoC call control function 51 returns a timeout notification response to the MRFP control function 52 (S406), and the communication terminal 1a is disconnected (step S407). Thus, the cutting process ends. The retry time is, for example, 10 minutes.

Further, when a disconnection reason is detected in the radio base station, it is as follows. That is, when the communication terminal 1a moves out of the communication area (S501), the radio base station 2a detects it (S502). Then, the radio base station 2a transmits an out-of-service notification to the exchange device 3a (S503). Receiving this, the exchange device 3a transmits a release notification to the SIP server device 4a (S504). The SIP server device 4a returns a release response to the exchange device 3a (S505), and then transmits a disconnection request to the PoC call control function 51 (S506). Receiving this, the PoC call control function 51 disconnects the communication terminal 1a (S507), and then transmits a disconnection response to the SIP server device 4a (S508). Thus, the cutting process ends.
The case of entering the out-of-service state has been described above, but disconnection processing is similarly performed when congestion occurs in the communication area where the parent terminal is located.

(Summary)
According to this system, the occurrence of a disconnection reason for the communication terminal that is the trigger for starting PoC group communication, that is, the parent terminal, is detected, and the detected disconnection reason matches the content of the communication continuation reason registered in advance. In this case, control is performed so as to suppress the end of PoC group communication. For this reason, continuation of group communication can be realized even after the parent terminal leaves the group.

  The present invention can be used for PoC communication services.

It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the PoC group communication system using the session management server apparatus by embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation example of the session management server apparatus by this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the acquisition operation example of the communication continuation reason by the session management server apparatus by this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the operation example of the PoC group communication system of FIG. It is a sequence diagram which shows the detection process example of a cutting reason.

Explanation of symbols

1a, 1b, 1c Communication terminals 2a, 2b, 2c Wireless base stations 3a, 3b, 3c Switching devices 4a, 4b, 4c SIP server device 5 Session management server device 6 Subscriber information management server device 51 PoC call control function 52 MRFP control function

Claims (3)

  A session management server device used for realizing PoC group communication by a plurality of communication terminals, the disconnection reason detecting means for detecting the occurrence of a disconnection reason for the communication terminal triggered by the start of the PoC group communication; Including a communication termination suppression unit that controls to terminate the PoC group communication when the disconnection reason detected by the disconnection reason detection unit coincides with the contents of the communication continuation reason registered in advance. A session management server device.   The communication terminal that triggered the start of the PoC group communication is deleted from the group list of the PoC group communication when the disconnection reason is detected by the disconnection reason detection unit. Session management server device.   2. The session according to claim 1, wherein the PoC group communication is controlled to be terminated when the disconnection reason detected by the disconnection reason detection unit does not coincide with the contents of the communication continuation reason registered in advance. Management server device.

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