JP2008182318A - Communication terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication terminal capable of making an originating person more securely recognize that a unit price of speech communication charge has been changed. <P>SOLUTION: The communication terminal which is provided with charge data indicative of a unit price of speech communication charge for communication with a communication terminal discriminated with a telephone number as the telephone number is dialed has a receiving unit which receives the charge data, a charging data storage unit which stores the charge data while making it correspond to an origination-destination telephone number, a warning means, and a control unit which compares the reception charge data received by the receiving unit with the stored charge data stored in the charging data storage unit for the origination-destination telephone number having been dialed when the telephone number is dialed and places the warning means in operation when they do not match each other. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication terminal that warns when charge data indicating a unit price of a call charge has been changed from before.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a call charge that occurs when using a communication terminal is generally charged based on a unit price of a call charge (call charge per unit time).

  The unit price of call charges is set so that calls with communication terminals that are subscribed to different carriers are higher than calls with communication terminals that are subscribed to the same carrier (operator that provides telecommunication services). May have been.

  When using a communication terminal with the above fee structure, the caller who is the user of the communication terminal does not know the unit price of the call charge set for the communication terminal of the communication destination before the call. This can cause a problem that a higher call charge may be imposed than expected. Therefore, a system for solving such a problem has been proposed, and is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-295471.

  A communication terminal used in the system disclosed in Patent Document 1 is an IP (Internet Protocol) telephone. In the system of Patent Document 1, an IP phone, a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) server, and a billing server are connected via a network.

  The VoIP server includes an exchange control unit, a charging control unit, and a voice response unit. On the other hand, the billing server includes a billing information management unit and a billing information database. The charge information database stores call charge information per unit time set for each carrier. Note that a communication terminal capable of making a call with an IP phone includes, for example, a mobile phone.

  In the system of Patent Document 1, when a mobile phone number is transmitted from an IP phone, caller information including the IP phone number and destination information including the mobile phone number are input to the VoIP server, Each is extracted by the exchange control unit. Of these, the destination information is sent from the exchange control unit to the billing server via the billing control unit.

  Subsequently, the billing information management unit of the billing server searches the billing information database for call charge information per unit time corresponding to the destination information. Then, the billing information management unit sends the specified call charge information to the VoIP server.

  The VoIP charging control unit outputs the call charge information specified by the charging information management unit to the voice response unit. When the voice response unit generates voice data based on the call charge information, the voice response unit transmits the voice data to the IP phone and outputs a notification signal indicating the transmission to the exchange control unit.

  When receiving the voice data, the IP phone outputs voice based on the voice data. When the exchange control unit receives the notification signal, the exchange control unit starts connection processing between the IP phone and the mobile phone. When a predetermined operation is performed on the mobile phone, a call can be made, and a call charge is generated for the IP phone.

  When the call ends, the exchange control unit notifies the charging control unit to that effect. Then, the billing control unit creates connection information indicating the caller and the call time and sends it to the billing server. Then, the billing information management unit calculates a call charge based on the connection information, and performs an addition process on the accumulated call charge data of the caller IP telephone subscriber stored in the charge information database.

Thus, in the system of Patent Document 1, when a telephone number is transmitted from an IP phone, voice data indicating the unit price of a call charge for a call with a communication terminal identified by the telephone number is generated in the server. Further, the voice data is transmitted to the communication terminal via the network. Since the caller can confirm the unit price of the call charge before the call using the voice output from the IP phone, it is possible to prevent unexpectedly high call charge.
JP 2006-295471 A

  In mobile phones that are often set so that calls with different carriers have a higher unit price for call charges than the same carrier, MNP (Mobile Number Portability) that can change the subscriber of a carrier with the same phone number. ) Service has begun. By providing this service, there is a problem that if the caller makes a long-term call without knowing that the mobile phone of the communication destination has been changed to a carrier different from that of the caller, the caller will be charged unexpectedly high call charges Can happen.

  In the system disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the voice notification indicating the unit price of the call charge corresponding to the call destination telephone number is performed, it is considered that the above-described problem is addressed. However, the unit price of the call charge notified by voice is only that set when the telephone number is transmitted. Therefore, in a call with a communication terminal that has received voice notification in the past, if the unit price of the call charge is higher than before, it is difficult for the caller to recognize the change. As a result, if the caller makes a long call while misunderstanding that the unit price of the call charge is the same as before, the caller may be charged an unexpectedly high call charge.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and provides a communication terminal that can make a caller more surely recognize that there has been a change in the unit price of a call charge. Objective.

In order to achieve the above object, the communication terminal of the present invention provides:
A communication terminal that receives provision of charge data indicating a unit price of a call charge for a call with a communication terminal identified by the telephone number as the telephone number is transmitted,
A receiving unit for receiving the fee data;
A billing data storage unit for storing charge data corresponding to the destination telephone number;
Warning means,
When calling a telephone number, the received charge data received at the receiving unit is compared with the stored charge data stored in the billing data storage unit for the destination telephone number that made the call. If not, a control unit for operating the warning means,
Have

Further, the warning means includes a speaker,
If the received fee data does not match the stored fee data, the control unit may cause the speaker to output a warning sound indicating that fact.

Further, the warning means includes a display unit,
When the received fee data and the stored fee data do not match, the control unit may cause the display unit to display to that effect.

  Further, the control terminal, when operating the warning means, causes the charging data storage unit to store the received fee data in place of the stored fee data.

An operation unit that receives an operation input for operating the communication terminal;
A destination data storage unit for storing a telephone number by the operation input,
When the control unit confirms that the destination telephone number is not stored in the destination data storage unit, the control unit may not store the charge data in the billing data storage unit.

  In the present invention, the billing data storage unit stores charge data indicating the unit price of the call charge in association with the destination telephone number. Then, the received fee data received when the telephone number is transmitted is compared with the stored fee data already stored in the billing data storage unit corresponding to the telephone number. Operate.

  According to the present invention, when the received fee data does not match the fee data stored in the billing data storage unit for the destination telephone number, the warning means is started. Therefore, in a call with a communication terminal that has transmitted a telephone number in the past, the user of the communication terminal of the present invention can surely recognize that the unit price of the call charge has been changed.

  The configuration of the communication terminal of this embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the communication terminal 1 according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the communication terminal 1 of the present embodiment includes a receiving unit 2 that receives charge data indicating a unit price of a call charge, a destination data storage unit 3 that stores destination data including a telephone number, A billing data storage unit 4 that stores fee data corresponding to a destination telephone number, a display unit 5 that displays fee data and destination data, and a caller who is a user of the communication terminal 1 operates the communication terminal 1. An operation unit 6 for outputting the sound, a speaker 7 for outputting sound, and a control unit 8 for controlling the operation of the communication terminal 1.

  Note that the communication terminal 1 is a mobile communication terminal, for example, a mobile phone. The fee data provided to the communication terminal 1 is transmitted from the base station when the telephone number is transmitted.

  The receiving unit 2 receives fee data transmitted from the base station and outputs it to the control unit 8.

  The destination data storage unit 3 includes, for example, a memory, and stores destination data in which a name, a telephone number, a mail address, and the like are associated with each other and stored in the memory. Further, the stored destination data is output to the display unit 5 based on an instruction from the control unit 8. It is assumed that the destination data is input from the control unit 8 to the destination data storage unit 3 based on the operation of the operation unit 6.

  The billing data storage unit 4 includes, for example, a memory, and stores fee data and a destination telephone number input from the control unit 8 in the memory. Further, fee data is output to the display unit 5 based on an instruction from the control unit 8.

  The display unit 5 performs display based on the control of the control unit 8. When communication is performed, when destination data is input from the destination data storage unit 3, the display unit 5 is based on the destination data. , Display the name, phone number, email address, etc. shown in the data. When the charge data is input from the billing data storage unit 4, the unit price of the call charge is displayed based on the charge data.

  The operation unit 6 receives an operation input for operating the communication terminal 1. When an operation input is received, a notification indicating the input content is sent to the control unit 8.

  The speaker 7 outputs sound based on the control of the control unit 8.

  The control unit 8 controls the operation of each unit of the communication terminal 1. The control operation by the control unit 8 when performing communication is as follows.

  As a result of making a call for a predetermined telephone number (destination telephone number), when charge data (reception charge data) for the telephone number is input from the reception unit 2, the telephone number is stored in the transmission destination data storage unit 3. Check if it is done.

  If it is confirmed that the destination telephone number is stored in the destination data storage unit 3, then the control unit 8 determines whether the charge data corresponding to the destination telephone number is stored in the billing data storage unit 4. Confirm whether or not.

  On the other hand, when it is confirmed that the destination telephone number is not stored in the destination data storage unit 3, the control unit 8 does not output the reception fee data to the billing data storage unit 4. As a result, the charge data storage unit 4 is not required to have a large capacity memory because the number of charge data to be stored is limited.

  When it is confirmed that the charge data corresponding to the destination telephone number has already been stored in the charge data storage unit 4, the control unit 8 compares the stored charge data with the received charge data, and receives the received charge. Determine if the data has changed from the stored fee data. When it is determined that the charge data has been changed, the control unit 8 causes the speaker 7 to output a warning sound indicating that effect. The reception fee data is output to the accounting data storage unit 4.

  On the other hand, when it is confirmed that the charge data corresponding to the call destination telephone number is not stored in the charge data storage unit 4, the control unit 8 outputs the received charge data and the call destination telephone number to the charge data storage unit 4. .

  Next, the operation of the communication terminal 1 of this embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the communication terminal 1 of the present embodiment.

  When a telephone number is transmitted from the communication terminal 1, fee data corresponding to the destination telephone number is transmitted from the base station to the communication terminal 1 (step S1). The receiving unit 2 receives the fee data and outputs it to the control unit 8 (step S2).

  Then, the control unit 8 checks whether or not the destination telephone number is stored in the destination data storage unit 3 (step S3). If it is confirmed that the destination telephone number is stored in the destination data storage unit 3, then the control unit 8 determines whether the charge data corresponding to the destination telephone number is stored in the billing data storage unit 4. It is confirmed whether or not (step S4). When it is confirmed that the charge data is already stored in the charge data storage unit 4, the stored charge data is read (step S5). Then, the received fee data input from the receiving unit 2 is compared with the stored fee data to determine whether the received fee data has been changed from the stored fee data (step S6).

  When it is determined that the received fee data has been changed from the stored fee data, the control unit 8 causes the speaker 7 to output a warning sound indicating that fact and outputs the received fee data to the billing information storage unit (step) S7). Then, the billing data storage unit 4 stores the reception fee data corresponding to the destination telephone number (step S8). At this time, the fee data is updated.

  Thereafter, connection processing with the communication terminal of the transmission destination is performed, and when a predetermined operation is performed on the communication terminal of the transmission destination, the call is started (step S9). And if operation which cancels | releases connection is performed in the communication terminal 1 or the communication terminal of a transmission destination, a telephone call will be complete | finished (step S10).

  If the control unit 8 confirms that the destination telephone number is not stored in the destination data storage unit 3 in step S3 or that the charge data has not been changed in step S6, the control unit 8 Shifts to connection processing with a communication terminal.

  When the control unit 8 confirms in step S4 that the charge data corresponding to the destination telephone number is not stored in the charge data storage unit 4, the control unit 8 proceeds to the operation in step S8 and stores the charge data storage. The unit 4 stores the reception fee data in association with the destination telephone number. At this time, new fee data is stored in the billing data storage unit 4.

  In the present embodiment, charge data indicating the unit price of the call charge is stored in the billing data storage unit 4 in association with the destination telephone number. Then, the received charge data received when the telephone number is transmitted is compared with the stored charge data stored in the charging data storage unit 4 corresponding to the telephone number, and the received charge data is changed from the stored charge data. If it is confirmed, a warning sound indicating that is output.

  The user of the communication terminal 1 can surely recognize the change when the unit price of the call charge has been changed from before in a call with a communication terminal that has transmitted a telephone number in the past.

  Note that the means for warning that the unit price of the call charge has been changed is not limited to the warning sound, and is performed by, for example, display by the display unit 5 or vibration by a vibrator provided in a conventional mobile phone. You may decide. In this case, it is possible to provide a warning means corresponding to a caller who feels an audible warning sound.

  Further, the control unit 8 may cause the warning means to issue a warning that can be identified by the caller according to the comparison result between the received charge data and the stored charge data. For example, the speaker 7 outputs a first warning sound when the received charge data is higher than the stored charge data and the second warning sound is output when the call charge data is cheaper.

  When the first warning sound is output, the caller can recognize that the unit price of the call charge is higher than before, so it is possible to prevent an increase in the call charge. On the other hand, when the second warning sound is output, the caller can recognize that the unit price of the call charge is cheaper than before, so the call can be made longer than before with the same call charge. It becomes.

  When the operation input indicating the display of the unit price of the call charge is performed on the operation unit 6, the control unit 8 may output the specified charge data from the billing data storage unit 4 to the display unit 5. In this case, the caller can check the unit price of the call charge even in a place where the communication terminal 1 cannot communicate (a place where the communication terminal 1 cannot connect to the network).

  The billing data storage unit 4 may store a plurality of fee data for one telephone number. In this case, when a plurality of unit prices for call charges are set by dividing into time zones, the billing data storage unit 4 can store the unit prices for the respective call charges. Further, if the control unit 8 reads out stored fee data corresponding to the transmission of the telephone number from the billing data storage unit 4, the received fee data and the stored fee data are accurately compared.

It is a block diagram which shows one structural example of the communication terminal of this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure of the communication terminal 1 of this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

2 receiving unit 3 destination data storage unit 4 billing data storage unit 5 display unit 6 operation unit 7 speaker 8 control unit

Claims (5)

A communication terminal that receives provision of charge data indicating a unit price of a call charge for a call with a communication terminal identified by the telephone number as the telephone number is transmitted,
A receiving unit for receiving the fee data;
A billing data storage unit for storing charge data corresponding to the destination telephone number;
Warning means,
When calling a telephone number, the received charge data received at the receiving unit is compared with the stored charge data stored in the billing data storage unit for the destination telephone number that made the call. If not, a control unit for operating the warning means,
A communication terminal comprising: The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein
The warning means includes a speaker,
When the received fee data and the stored fee data do not match, the control unit causes the speaker to output a warning sound indicating that fact. The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein
The warning means includes a display unit,
If the received fee data and the stored fee data do not match, the control unit causes the display unit to display to that effect. In the communication terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The control unit, when operating the warning means, causes the charging data storage unit to store the received fee data in place of the stored fee data. In the communication terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
An operation unit for receiving an operation input for operating the communication terminal;
A destination data storage unit for storing a telephone number by the operation input,
When the control unit confirms that the destination telephone number is not stored in the destination data storage unit, the control unit does not store the charge data in the billing data storage unit.

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