JP2012039439A - Communication switching method and communication switching device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem of being only able to respond with a low-function communication terminal even when a high-function communication terminal is available for response.SOLUTION: In the case where a communication terminal 2A is being used for a call when an incoming call is received from an IP telephone network 100 and the communication terminal 2A has higher communication capability than communication terminals 2B,... which are in standby state, an IP telephone router 1 proposes switching of the communication in progress to another communication terminal 2B,..., switches the communication from the terminal 2A to the communication terminal 2B,..., and the new call is answered from the communication terminal 2A. In this way, the invention solves the problem of being only able to respond with other low-function communication terminal even when a high-function communication terminal is available for response because the high-function communication terminal is in use when multiple communications are performed.

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for switching communication terminals that are making a call.

  In recent years, various devices in the home network have been connected to the telephone network through IP telephone routers. In addition, as the amount of data that can be communicated increases as a result of broadbandization, various types of communication such as videophone and digital data transfer can be performed using the IP telephone network in addition to voice calls.

  If it becomes more widespread that various types of communication are performed on the IP telephone network in the future, the number of cases where a plurality of communications are simultaneously received increases. As a conventional technique, there is a technique for performing communication by distributing a plurality of calls to a plurality of subordinate terminals using an IP telephone router.

  Further, as a technique related to the present invention, Patent Document 1 describes a technique of connecting a plurality of ISDN terminals, holding, and transferring an extension.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-140171

  However, with the conventional technology, it is possible to distribute a plurality of incoming calls to a plurality of terminals, but there is a situation where only a low-function communication can be realized even though a high-function response is possible in the home. . For example, when there are a TV phone and an analog phone in the home, if the incoming voice call is answered by the TV phone, if the incoming video phone is received during the communication, the answer is an answer by the analog phone. Occurred.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and although there is a high-function communication terminal capable of responding, the communication terminal is in use, and therefore can respond only with a low-function communication terminal. The purpose is to solve the problem.

  In the communication switching method according to the first aspect of the present invention, when there is an incoming call, the communication state of the connected communication terminal is referred to a management table storing the communication state and communication capability. Determining whether there is a communication terminal having a communication capability higher than that of the communication terminal whose communication state is in standby, and if there is a communication terminal having communication capability higher than that of the communication terminal in standby , Switching the communication to the standby communication terminal and transmitting a proposal to respond to the incoming call by the communicating communication terminal; and when receiving a response to accept the proposal, And switching to a standby communication terminal to receive the incoming call to the communicating communication terminal, and updating the communication state of the management table.

  The communication switching device according to the second aspect of the present invention includes a management table storing a communication state and communication capability of a communication terminal, and a communication terminal whose communication state is in communication with reference to the management table when there is an incoming call A determination means for determining whether there is a communication terminal having a communication capability higher than that of a communication terminal whose communication state is in standby, and a communication terminal having communication capability higher than that of a communication terminal in standby If there is a proposal means for switching the communication to the waiting communication terminal and sending a proposal to respond to the incoming call by the communicating communication terminal, and a response to accept the proposal, Switching means for switching the communication to the standby communication terminal and causing the incoming communication terminal to receive the incoming call, and management means for updating the communication state of the management table.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, since there is a high-function communication terminal which can respond, since the communication terminal is in use, the problem which can respond only with a low-function communication terminal can be solved.

It is explanatory drawing explaining the outline of this invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the communication switching system in this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of a management table. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process when there exists an incoming call. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process which switches the communication in a telephone call. It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of another communication switching system in this Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  In the prior art, a TV phone and an analog phone are connected to an IP phone router, and when a video phone call is newly received while making a call in response to a voice call on the TV phone, Since I cannot make a videophone call, I cannot answer the videophone call. In the present invention, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, the IP telephone router proposes to switch a voice telephone currently being talked to a TV telephone or an analog telephone to an analog telephone, and to switch the voice telephone to an analog telephone. Thus, a newly received TV phone can be answered by the TV phone.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the communication switching system in the present embodiment. The communication switching system shown in the figure includes an IP telephone router 1 and a plurality of communication terminals 2A, 2B,. The IP telephone router 1 is connected to an IP telephone network 100 such as NGN (Next Generation Network) and the Internet, and is also connected to a home network in the user's home. The IP telephone router 1 performs call control to operate a plurality of communication terminals 2A, 2B,... Connected to the home network as communication terminals that can communicate with the IP telephone network 100 side.

  The IP telephone router 1 shown in FIG. 2 includes a call control unit 11, a media transfer unit 12, a terminal registration unit 13, and a state management unit 14.

  The call control unit 11 performs call control between the IP telephone network 100 and a plurality of communication terminals 2A, 2B,... Controls incoming calls and outgoing calls from the communication terminals 2A, 2B,.

  The media transfer unit 12 transfers media data such as audio data and video data transmitted / received between the IP telephone network 100 and the communication terminals 2A, 2B,.

  The terminal registration unit 13 receives information from the communication terminals 2A, 2B,... And transmits information on the communication terminals 2A, 2B,.

  The state management unit 14 maintains a management table 141 that stores the current communication state and communication capability of the communication terminals 2A, 2B,... Connected to the IP telephone router 1, and receives an incoming call from the IP telephone network 100 side. Sometimes, referring to the management table 141, the communication terminal 2A, 2B,...

  FIG. 3 shows an example of the management table 141. As shown in the figure, the management table 141 stores the communication state and communication capability of the communication terminals 2A, 2B,... Connected to the IP telephone router 1. The communication state includes standby, in use, and unconnected. As communication capability, communication capability such as a communication method that can be used for audio, video, and digital data transmission is stored.

  On the other hand, the communication terminal 2A includes a call control unit 21, a media communication unit 22, a capability registration unit 23, a proposal receiving unit 24, a switching unit 25, and a user interface 26.

  The call control unit 21 performs call control with the IP telephone network 100 via the IP telephone router 1.

  The media communication unit 22 transmits and receives media data transferred from the IP telephone router 1. The received media data is decoded and output from a speaker or a display device included in the communication terminal 2A. Also, audio and video acquired by the microphone and camera of the communication terminal 2A are encoded and transmitted to the IP telephone network 100 via the IP telephone router 1.

  The capability registration unit 23 notifies the IP telephone router 1 of the communication capability of the communication terminal 2A itself such as the capability of communication that can be terminated.

  The proposal receiving unit 24 receives the switching proposal from the state management unit 14 of the IP telephone router 1.

  The switching unit 25 transmits / receives a communication switching command to / from the IP telephone router 1.

  The user interface 26 communicates with the user, such as presenting a switching proposal to the user and inputting an instruction from the user.

  Next, a flow of processing for switching communication during a call to another terminal will be described.

  4 and 5 are flowcharts showing a flow of processing for switching communication during a call to another terminal when an incoming call is received.

  When there is an incoming call, the IP telephone router 1 refers to the management table 141 and determines whether or not there is a communication terminal having a communication capability equal to or higher than that of the standby communication terminal among the communication terminals in communication (step). S101). If there is a communication terminal having a communication capability higher than that of the communication terminal having the highest communication capability among the standby communication terminals, the process proceeds to symbol A in FIG. If the communication capability of the communication terminal in communication is lower than that of the communication terminal in standby, or if there is no communication terminal in communication, the process proceeds to step S201, and a normal call control response is made. When an incoming call is received, the communication type of the incoming call is checked, and if there is nothing that can respond to the waiting communication terminal and there is something that can respond to the communication terminal that is in a call, the process proceeds to symbol A in FIG. It may be a thing.

  In a normal call control response, the IP telephone router 1 notifies the standby communication terminal of an incoming call (step S102), receives a response from the communication terminal, and transmits a response to the IP telephone network 100 (step S103). ).

  Then, the IP telephone router 1 updates the communication state of the management table 141 of the incoming communication terminal (step S104), starts the transfer of the media to the communication terminal, and connects the IP telephone network 100 and the communication terminal. Communication is established (step S105).

  When the end of the communication terminal is detected, the communication state of the management table 141 of the communication terminal is updated (step S106).

  Next, moving to FIG. 5, the call switching process will be described.

  If there is a communication terminal having a communication capability higher than that of the standby communication terminal, it is determined whether or not there is a switching destination of the communication currently in communication (step S110). If there is no switching destination of communication during the current call, the process proceeds to B in FIG. 4 and a normal call control response is made. For example, when the communication terminal 2A is performing videophone communication and there is another incoming call, and there is no standby communication terminal capable of videophone communication other than the communication terminal 2A, the switching process is not performed. A normal call control response is performed.

  If there is a switching destination of communication during a call, it is proposed to switch the communication during a call to another communication terminal and respond to a new incoming call by the communication terminal during the call (step S111). A proposal signal for switching the communication during the call to another communication terminal is transmitted not only to the communication terminal 2A during the call but also to the communication terminal 2B during the standby. For example, when the communication terminal 2A is in a call and the communication terminal 2B is in a standby state, the communication during the call is switched to another communication terminal and a new incoming call is communicated to the communication terminal 2A during the call. The terminal 2A transmits a proposal signal asking the user whether to respond, and for the communication terminal 2B that is on standby, the communication terminal 2A is switched to the communication terminal 2B and a new incoming call is sent to the communication terminal 2A. Send a suggestion signal that asks the user whether to respond. Of course, the proposal signal may be transmitted only to the communication terminal 2A in a call, or the proposal may be transmitted only to the communication terminal 2B in standby. If the communication terminal includes a display device, the proposal is displayed on the display device, and a response to the proposal is input using a touch panel or the like. When the communication terminal only outputs voice, the proposal is output by voice and a response to the proposal is input by push tone.

  The IP telephone router 1 receives a response signal to the proposal and determines whether or not the proposal has been accepted (step S112). If the proposal is not accepted, the process proceeds to B in FIG. 4 and performs a normal call control response. The case where the response signal for the proposal cannot be received even after a predetermined time has elapsed or the case where the proposal is not accepted may be used.

  When the proposal is accepted, a switching destination of communication during a call is selected (step S113). The switching destination is specified by the user, but when the switching destination can be determined and predicted, such as when there is only one switching destination communication terminal, the communication terminal is selected without allowing the user to specify it. When the user operates the communication terminal 2B on standby and accepts the proposal, the communication terminal 2B operated by the user may be selected as the switching destination communication terminal.

  The selected switching destination is transmitted to the IP telephone router 1 by the switching unit 25 of the communication terminal 2A. The IP telephone router 1 switches to the communication terminal 2B, which is the switching destination that has selected the communication during the call (step S114), and makes the new communication respond with the communication terminal 2A that was originally in the call (step S115).

  Then, the process proceeds to C in FIG. 4 to update the management table 141 and start transfer of new communication media.

  In this embodiment, the call is answered after switching the communication. However, the call may be answered before the proposal on the assumption that the communication is switched. The call may be answered with a minimum communication, and if necessary, the communication type may be added later.

  Further, an analog telephone interface 15 for connecting the analog telephone 2C may be provided as in the IP telephone router 1 shown in FIG. Also in this case, the communication state and communication capability of the analog telephone 2C are stored in the management table 141, and the analog telephone 2C is also a communication switching destination.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when there is an incoming call from the IP telephone network 100 side, there is a communication terminal 2A that is in a call and communication is performed more than the communication terminals 2B,. When the communication capability of the terminal 2A is high, the IP telephone router 1 proposes switching the communication during a call to another communication terminal 2B,..., And the communication during the call is changed from the communication terminal 2A to another communication terminal 2B,. .., And responding to a new incoming call with the communication terminal 2A, when performing a plurality of communications, the communication terminal is in use even though there is a high-function communication terminal that can respond. Therefore, it is possible to solve the problem that only another low-function communication terminal can respond.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... IP telephone router 11 ... Call control part 12 ... Media transfer part 13 ... Terminal registration part 14 ... State management part 141 ... Management table 15 ... Analog telephone interface 2A, 2B ... Communication terminal 21 ... Call control part 22 ... Media communication part DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 23 ... Capability registration part 24 ... Proposal reception part 25 ... Switching part 26 ... User interface 2C ... Analog telephone 100 ... IP telephone network

Claims (4)

When there is an incoming call, refer to the management table that stores the communication status and communication capability of the connected communication terminal, and from the communication terminal whose communication status is waiting among the communication terminals whose communication status is communicating Determining whether there is a communication terminal having a high communication capability,
When there is a communicating terminal having higher communication capability than the waiting communication terminal, the communication is switched to the waiting communication terminal and a proposal to respond to the incoming call by the communicating communication terminal is transmitted. And steps to
When receiving a response to accept the proposal, switching the communication to the standby communication terminal, and causing the incoming communication to terminate the incoming call;
Updating the communication state of the management table;
A communication switching method characterized by comprising:   The communication switching method according to claim 1, wherein the step of transmitting the proposal transmits the proposal to the communicating communication terminal and the standby communication terminal. A management table storing the communication status and communication capability of the communication terminal;
Whether there is a communication terminal having a communication capability higher than that of a communication terminal whose communication state is waiting among communication terminals whose communication state is communicating with reference to the management table when there is an incoming call Determination means for determining;
When there is a communicating terminal having higher communication capability than the waiting communication terminal, the communication is switched to the waiting communication terminal and a proposal to respond to the incoming call by the communicating communication terminal is transmitted. Suggestion means to
When a response to accept the proposal is received, the communication is switched to the standby communication terminal, and switching means for causing the incoming communication to be received by the communicating communication terminal,
Management means for updating the communication state of the management table;
A communication switching device comprising:   4. The communication switching device according to claim 3, wherein the proposal means transmits the proposal to the communicating communication terminal and the standby communication terminal.

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