JP2010021692A - Translation system using telephone - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve security of a translation system, using speech communication among 3 persons by telephone. <P>SOLUTION: A user places a telephone call to a system. A system control unit 11 acquires the number of a prepaid card from the user. After referring to a prepaid card database 2 and carrying out authentication of the user, the system control unit 11 acquires a desired translation language from the user. The system control unit 11 selects a desired interpreter from an interpreter database 2 using an interpreter management unit 3. The user inputs a telephone number of a person to speak. The system control unit 11 writes in the telephone number of the person to speak in a trigger table 8. A line management unit 7 makes a telephone call to a telephone number written in the trigger table 8 using a vacant line. If speech communication between 3 parsons is established, the user and the person to speak, talk each other through the interpreter. A period of the speech, an interpreter charge, and the like, are recorded in the interpreter management unit 3, a system operation state management unit 9, and a business information management unit 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an interpretation system using a telephone call between three parties.

  Conventionally, various interpretation systems using telephones are known as shown in Patent Document 1 to Patent Document 2.

FIG. 3 shows an example of such a conventional technique.
In this prior art, when the user calls the interpreter and the interpreter answers, the user tells the interpreter the telephone number of the interlocutor. The interpreter places the call with the user on hold and calls the interlocutor based on the telephone number from the user. When there is a response from the interlocutor, the interpreter cancels the call holding state with the user and establishes a three-way call. As a result, the user and the conversation person can have a conversation with the interpreter. After the interpretation (conversation) is completed, the process is completed by sequentially disconnecting the three-party call.
JP-A-2002-041844 JP 2006-229385 A JP2003-069720A

  However, even if the above-described conventional technology is effective when the interpreter to be used by the user is determined, the user wants an interpreter with a free schedule from among a plurality of interpreters. Could not be assigned according to the language.

  In addition, a system has been proposed in which a user can receive an introduction of an interpreter according to his / her wishes by calling the center where the interpreter is registered. However, even in that case, the user had to call the interpreter again and then establish a three-way call with the interlocutor.

  In particular, in a system in which an interpreter calls a conversation person at the request of the user, the interpreter can know not only the conversation contents with the conversation person but also the contact telephone number of the conversation person. From the point of view, there was a problem with its safety.

  The present invention has been proposed in order to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, and its purpose is to automatically implement from introduction of an interpreter to establishment of a three-way call. In addition, it is an object of the present invention to provide a highly safe interpreting system in which the interpreter does not know the telephone number of the user or the talker.

  In order to achieve the above object, the interpreting system using the telephone of the present invention includes an interpreter database in which interpreter information including an interpreter language and a schedule is recorded, an interpreter management unit, an issued prepaid card and a balance thereof. It has a prepaid card database to be recorded, a user management unit, a plurality of telephone lines and a line management unit, and a system control unit for controlling them.

  In the interpreting system of the present invention having such a configuration, the system control unit acquires prepaid card information from the user, refers to the prepaid card database, authenticates the user, and requests interpretation. Get the language. The interpreter management unit selects an interpreter based on the language acquired by the system control unit and information on the interpreter recorded in the interpreter database. The system control unit outputs the telephone number of the interpreter selected by the interpreter management unit to the line management unit.

  Based on the acquired interpreter's phone number, the line management unit selects a free line from the telephone lines owned by the system and keeps the line between the system and the user connected to the interpreter. Make a phone call. After the connection with the system interpreter is established, the system control unit authenticates the interpreter. After the interpreter is authenticated, the system controller obtains the telephone number of the conversation person from the user and manages this line. To the output.

  The line management unit selects a free line from the telephone lines owned by the system based on the acquired telephone number of the conversation person while the line between the system and the user and the interpreter is connected. Make a phone call. The system control unit causes the three-way call between the user, the interpreter, and the conversation person to be performed after the line connection between the system and the conversation person is established by the line management part.

  According to the present invention, the user only tells the system the telephone number of the interlocutor, and the interpreter does not call the interlocutor. In addition, only the system manages the interpreter's telephone number and name, and it is not communicated to the user or the conversation person. Therefore, it is possible to provide a highly safe three-party interpreting system without worrying about information leaks of users, dialogue persons, and interpreters.

[1. Configuration of Embodiment]
Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a system main body of the present invention.

  The system main body 1 includes an interpreter database 2 and an interpreter management unit 3, a prepaid card database 4 and a user management unit 5, a plurality of telephone lines 6 (for example, 28 lines) and a line management unit. 7. It has a connection trigger table 8 for line connection. In addition, a system operation status management unit 9 for recording and browsing the system operation status, a sales information management unit 10 for managing and browsing sales and wages, and a system control for controlling the units 2 to 10 Part 11.

  The interpreter database 2 stores management data such as interpreter ID, name, translatable language, acceptable schedule, wage per interpreting time, correspondence history (interpretation history), and payment status. The interpreter management unit 3 controls the writing and reading of data to and from the interpreter database 2 and exchanges these data with the line management unit 7 and the trigger table 8.

  The prepaid card database 4 stores the ID, issued date, expiration date, balance, etc. of the issued prepaid card. The user management unit 5 manages the writing and reading of data to and from the prepaid card database 4, and exchanges these data with the line management unit 7 and the trigger table 8. Further, based on the issuance and usage history of the prepaid card, the user information for using the prepaid card is managed.

  The line management unit 7 selects a predetermined telephone line from among a plurality of telephone lines 6 by referring to the trigger table 8, and selects a system and a user, a system and an interpreter, a system and a conversation person, Connection and disconnection processing such as inter-call is performed.

  The trigger table 8 is used to give a destination telephone number to any of a plurality of telephone lines 6 used by the system. That is, when a situation occurs in which the system control unit 11 makes a call, the destination telephone number is written in the trigger table 8. Using the writing of the telephone number as a trigger, the line management unit 7 selects one telephone line from the free lines and makes a call to the telephone number written in the trigger table 8. When the telephone connection is established, the line management unit 7 deletes the destination telephone number from the trigger table 8 and waits for the next destination telephone number to be written in the trigger table 8.

  The system operating status management unit 9 is for recording / browsing a log of the operating status of the system. It also has a function to warn of the occurrence of system abnormality.

  The sales information management unit 10 obtains sales and wage data of a plurality of interpreters from the interpreter management unit 3, and calculates the sales and wages of the entire system by accumulating these data, or uses the line from the line usage status. Manage and view data related to revenue for the entire system, such as calculating fees.

  The system control unit 11 automatically responds to the guidance of the user and interpreter, confirms the user ID and interpreter ID using a tone signal (DTMF: Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency), and calls the conversation person using the tone signal. Acquisition of the number, writing of the talker's telephone number into the trigger table 8, management of the call time and charge calculation, calculation of the interpreter's wage, creation of the use history, interpreter management part 3 and user management part of these results 5. Write to the sales information management unit 10. In addition, all or part of the written data can be operated from the Web management screen.

  In this embodiment, a recording device 12 that can be connected by a telephone line is provided. When the system control unit 11 transmits a telephone number for connecting a recording device, which is transmitted by a user, an interpreter, a talker, or the system control unit itself, to the system by a tone signal, the recording device 12 performs the line management. The unit 7 connects the line of the recording device 12 to the line that is connected to the system by using the telephone line designated from the free lines.

[Operation of the embodiment]
The operation of the present embodiment having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG.

1. Connecting to the system A user calls the system. The system selects a free line from the lines owned by itself and establishes a connection between the user and the system. That is, when the user places a call to the system, the system control unit 11 selects a free line from the telephone line 6 and connects the line between the system and the user.

  When the telephone is connected, a two-party call between the user and the system is established, and the system control unit 11 sends a guidance for inquiring the user of a prepaid card number by an automatic response. In response to this, the user presses the push button of the telephone and inputs the prepaid card number by the tone signal.

  The system control unit 11 refers to the prepaid card database 4 and checks the remaining number and the expiration date based on the card number. In the case of a prepaid card whose remaining number is 0 or whose expiration date has passed, a guidance indicating that the card cannot be used is sent to the user.

  If the validity of the card is confirmed, the system control unit 11 presents the user with a menu for selecting a language for which interpretation is desired. For example: China, 2. Korea, 3. As in the United States, etc., guidance is given to the user by associating numbers with languages. In response to this, the user inputs a number corresponding to the desired language and selects the language.

2. Calling the interpreter When the language is selected by the user, the system control unit 11 calls the interpreter of the designated language. That is, for each of a plurality of registered interpreters, the name, free text, telephone number, ID, interpretable language, interpretable schedule, wage per hour, interpretation history, etc. are recorded in the interpreter database 2. . Therefore, when the system control unit 11 informs the interpreter management unit 3 of the language selected by the user, the interpreter management unit 3 refers to the interpreter database 2 and interpreters whose language and schedule match. Is selected.

  When a plurality of interpreters are applicable, the order is determined by the system control unit 11. In other words, the interpreter who worked most recently sets up a rotation in the following order. This uses the well-known ACD function (Automatic Call Distributor (ACD)). In this case, the assignment of work to an interpreter is to postpone the interpreter who worked most recently as described above. In addition to what is based on the order, it is possible to use the preference, skill, presence / absence of nomination from the user, and the like.

  When the interpreter is determined as described above, the system control unit 11 obtains the interpreter's telephone number from the database and makes a call to the interpreter. That is, when the interpreter is determined, the system control unit 11 passes the determined interpreter's telephone number to the trigger table 8, and the line control unit 7 that has been monitoring the trigger table 8 selects a free line in the telephone line 6. Select and call the phone number written in the trigger table 8.

  For example, if the line management unit 7 constantly checks all 23 lines and there is a call request from the system control unit 11 to the interpreter, any free line other than the line from which the user has received a call In response to this, the destination telephone number acquired from the trigger table 8 is given to call the interpreter. In this case, the system and the user are still connected as they are via a telephone line that the user places on the system.

  When the interpreter answers the phone, the system control unit 11 has the interpreter's ID (for example, a three-digit number) input from the interpreter's phone by a tone signal. When the ID of the interpreter is input and matches the ID recorded by the system control unit 11, the interpreter is determined as the interpreter for the user. Since the interpreter's schedule is known in advance, it is confirmed that the interpretation work has been accepted by entering the ID. If the interpreter suddenly refuses work, it may be determined to enter a refusal ID.

  When the interpreter's ID is input, the system control unit 11 connects the user's line and the interpreter's line. This establishes a call between the user and the interpreter. The interpreter management unit 3 records in the interpreter database 2 information necessary to determine the interpreter's wage later, such as the recording of the interpretation start time (date and time), the user ID, and the telephone number of the talker.

3. Establishing a three-way call with a dialogue person When a call between a user and an interpreter is established, the system control unit 11 sends a guidance to the user to input the telephone number of the dialogue person. In response to this, the user notifies the system control unit 11 of the telephone number of the conversation person using a tone signal (pressing the # button). The system control unit 11 enters a telephone number standby routine at the time when the tone signal is detected, receives the telephone number input, and when # is pressed again, Become. That is, when “# + telephone number + #” is pressed, it indicates that the input of the telephone number is completed.

  When the system controller 11 acquires the telephone number of the conversation person, the system controller 11 outputs it to the trigger table 8. In this case, the trigger line 8 records the parent line number (the number of the line that first connected the user and the system), the interpreter's telephone number, the conversation person's telephone number, and the date and time of writing these telephone numbers. . The line management unit 7 uses the writing process of the telephone number by the system control unit 11 to the trigger table 8 as a trigger to check the state of the free line, select a predetermined free line, and call the conversation person.

  When the connection between the system and the conversation person is established, the system control unit 11 connects the line between the system and the conversation person to the line between the user and the interpreter who has established the two-way call. And establish a three-way call. Thereby, the user and the conversation person can have a conversation via the interpreter. Further, the line management unit 7 deletes data related to the line from the trigger table 8 when the line connection is completed.

  When the three-party call is established, the system control unit 11 starts counting the interpretation fee. The counted interpreter fee is sent to the user management unit 5 where it is compared with the balance of the prepaid card used by the user every fixed time (for example, 5 seconds). Is deducted from the balance. If the interpreter fee exceeds the balance of the prepaid card during the call, the user management unit 5 notifies the system control unit 11 of this. The system control unit 11 outputs a guidance that interrupts a three-party call, thereby informing the user, interpreter, and dialogue person, and then disconnects each line. In this case, a warning sound or guidance can be played one minute before cutting.

  After the call with the interpreter between the user and the conversation person within the prepaid card balance is completed, the call can be disconnected from any of the three parties. For the disconnected line, the line management unit 7 records it as a free line and makes it stand by for the next connection.

  When the system control unit 11 detects that the user hangs up, the telephone charge between the user, the interpreter or the interlocutor and the system based on the call time between the user and the interpreter at that time, The interpreter fee is calculated and recorded in the interpreter management unit and the system operation status management unit 9. As a result, the operating status management unit 9 and the sales information management unit 10 can browse sales and wage records, the operating status of the system, and the like.

4). Recording function In this embodiment, by assigning an empty line to a recording device, a conversation can be recorded in the same manner as a four-way call (user, interpreter, dialoguer, and recording device). That is, when a recording telephone number is sent to the system by a tone signal from any of a user, an interpreter, and a conversation person, the system control unit 11 writes the recording telephone number in the trigger table 8 and receives it. The line management unit 7 searches for a free line and uses the free line to connect the recording device 12 to a line of a user who is already connected to start recording.

  In this case, as described above, who can send the recording telephone number to the system as a tone signal, basically, the system user can send the recording tone signal immediately after selecting the language. The user and the recording line are connected, and then the connection is established, such as an interpreter and a talker.

  Further, after the system control unit 11 itself connects to the user, the recording can be automatically started by writing the telephone number for recording in the trigger table 8. In that case, for users whose information to be recorded is recorded on the prepaid card by a contract with the user, recording may be performed constantly, or all users regardless of the type of user. You may record about.

[Effect of the embodiment]
According to the present embodiment having the above-described configuration, the system automatically allocates interpreters in a language desired by the user from a plurality of interpreters registered in the system in advance and makes a call. , There is no hassle for the user to select an interpreter or make a phone call.

  In particular, when the user inputs the phone number of the interlocutor into the system, a three-way call with the interlocutor is established without using the interpreter. The number is never informed. For this reason, the information of the user and the talker is not leaked to the interpreter, and conversely, the information of the interpreter is not transmitted to the user and the talker.

  In addition, since the system has multiple telephone lines and the conversation lines are called using the free line of the system while the line between the user and the interpreter is connected, the user inputs telephone numbers one after another. By doing so, it is possible to make more conversation parties participate in the call, and there is an advantage not limited to a three-party call.

  In addition, since the recording device is connected to the user's call using a free line, it is not necessary to use a special system for recording, and the recording device should be treated in the same way as one of the interlocutors. Can be realized.

The block diagram which shows embodiment of the interpreting system of this invention. The block diagram which shows the connection order of the telephone in the system of FIG. The block diagram which shows the connection order of the telephone in a prior art.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... System main body 2 ... Interpreter database 3 ... Interpreter management part 4 ... Prepaid card database 5 ... User management part 6 ... Telephone line 7 ... Line management part 8 ... Trigger table 9 ... System operation condition management part 10 ... Sales information Manager 11 ... System controller 12 ... Recording device

Claims (5)

Interpreter database and interpreter management section that records interpreter information including interpreter language and schedule, prepaid card database and user management section that records issued prepaid cards and their balance, multiple telephone lines and line management section, And an interpreting system having a system control unit for controlling them,
The system control unit acquires prepaid card information from a user, authenticates the user with reference to the prepaid card database, acquires a language for which interpretation is desired,
The interpreter manager selects an interpreter based on the language acquired by the system controller and information about the interpreter recorded in the interpreter database.
The system control unit outputs the telephone number of the interpreter selected by the interpreter management unit to the line management unit,
Based on the acquired interpreter's phone number, the line management unit selects a free line from the telephone lines owned by the system and keeps the line between the system and the user connected to the interpreter. Make a phone call
After the connection with the system interpreter is established, the system control unit authenticates the interpreter. After the interpreter is authenticated, the system control unit obtains the telephone number of the conversation person from the user, Output to the management department,
The line management unit selects a free line from the telephone lines owned by the system based on the acquired telephone number of the conversation person while the line between the system and the user and the interpreter is connected. Call the person,
The system controller is configured to cause a three-way call between a user, an interpreter, and a talker after a line connection between the system and the talker is established by the line manager. Interpreter system used.   2. The system control unit calculates start time, end time, and interpretation fee of an interpreter and outputs them to an interpreter management unit, and the interpreter management unit records them in an interpreter database. Interpretation system using the telephone described in 1.   The system control unit calculates the interpretation fee and outputs it to the user management unit, and the user management unit manages the balance available for the user based on the balance of the user's prepaid card and the interpretation fee. An interpreting system using a telephone according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that:   The system control unit has a trigger table, and when the telephone number is written in the trigger table as a trigger, the line management unit selects a free line from a plurality of telephone lines owned by the system, and the free line 4. The interpreting system using a telephone according to claim 1, wherein the telephone number written in the trigger table is called by using a telephone.   When a recording device that can be connected by a telephone line is provided, and the system control unit transmits to the system by a tone signal a telephone number for recording device connection that is transmitted by a user, an interpreter, a talker, or the system control unit itself. 5. The line of the recording apparatus is connected to a line that is connected to the system by a user or the like using a telephone line designated by the line management unit from among the free lines. An interpretation system using the telephone set forth in any one of the above.

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