JP2013255165A - Communication device, emergency report system, and communication method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To satisfy the required communication quality at low costs even when a receiver and a center terminal exist at separated areas in the operation requiring high immediacy.SOLUTION: A communication device includes: quality assurance value setting means 31 setting a quality assurance value of communication; communication quality measurement means 32 measuring the communication quality of each WAN line 5; communication line selection means 33 selecting the WAN line 5 to be used in the communication on the basis of the quality assurance value set by the quality assurance value setting means 31 and the communication quality of each WAN line 5 measured by the communication quality measurement means 32; and communication control means 34 which performs the communication using the WAN line 5 selected by the communication line selection means 33.

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication device, an emergency call system, and a communication method to which a best effort type communication line is connected.

In recent years, the use of a WAN (Wide Area Network) line connection service called a best-efford type has been widely adopted by companies. Of these, high-grade WAN lines are of high quality in most usage hours and are much cheaper than band-guaranteed lines. Therefore, by using such a line as a communication environment between a plurality of bases in the company, the company can greatly reduce the cost of the communication line.
Against this background, when transferring voice data with satisfactory quality over a line where voice transmission quality control is not possible in the past, end-to-end communication is realized by installing a gateway and using the call forward method. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2007-5843 A

  However, in a best effort type WAN line such as Patent Document 1, a line provider (Internet Service Provider or the like) does not guarantee the communication quality, so the communication speed may become very slow in some cases. In such a case, generally, a response is made such that a reconnection is attempted after a while, but such a response is difficult in an operation that requires immediacy. Therefore, when there is an area where the receiver that receives the notification and the center terminal (client PC, IP phone, etc.) operated by the operator, etc. exist in an operation that requires high immediacy such as an emergency call service, the best effort There was a problem that the required communication quality could not be satisfied with the type of WAN line.

That is, in an emergency call service that receives a report from an elderly person or the like, an operator (referred to as a counselor) or a nurse needs to be able to receive a report 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The center terminal operated by an operator or the like needs to be connected by a high-quality (high communication speed, low delay, etc.) communication line. However, there is a risk that a high-quality communication line cannot be used if they are connected to each other by a single best-effort WAN line when they exist in remote areas.
In order to avoid this risk, it is necessary to use a bandwidth-guaranteed WAN line, but the monthly line usage fee is very expensive (for a bandwidth-guaranteed line of about 1 Mbps, about 300,000 yen per month ) It was not possible to adopt it, and a configuration in which the receiver and the center terminal were installed in different areas was not feasible.

  This invention was made to solve the above problems, and even in the case where the receiver and the center terminal exist in an area apart from each other in a business that requires high immediacy, the cost is low. An object of the present invention is to provide a communication device, an emergency call system, and a communication method that can satisfy the required communication quality.

  A communication device according to the present invention is a communication device to which a plurality of best effort communication lines are connected, and includes a quality assurance value setting means for setting a quality assurance value of communication, and communication quality of each best effort communication line. Based on the communication quality measurement means to be measured, the quality assurance value set by the quality assurance value setting means, and the communication quality of each best effort communication line measured by the communication quality measurement means, the best effort communication line used for communication And a communication control means for performing communication using the best effort type communication line selected by the communication line selection means.

  The communication method according to the present invention is a communication method by a communication device to which a plurality of best effort communication lines are connected, and includes a quality assurance value setting step for setting a communication quality assurance value, and each best effort communication. The best effort used for communication based on the communication quality measurement step for measuring the communication quality of the line, the quality assurance value set in the quality assurance value setting step, and the communication quality of each best effort communication line measured in the communication quality measurement step A communication line selection step for selecting a communication line, and a communication control step for performing communication using the best effort communication line selected in the communication line selection step.

  According to the present invention, since it is configured as described above, even if the receiver and the center terminal exist in a remote area in a business that requires high immediacy, the necessary communication quality can be reduced at low cost. Can be satisfied.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the emergency call system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the communication apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the communication apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the communication quality of each WAN line in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the communication apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the communication apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows operation | movement of the emergency call system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the communication quality order | rank of each WAN line in Embodiment 2 of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an emergency call system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, the emergency call system includes a receiver 1 installed in a plurality of areas (for example, Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, Kansai, etc.) and a center terminal 2 that performs communication between each receiver 1. It is composed of. A plurality of best effort communication lines (WAN lines) 5 are connected between the receiver 1 and the center terminal 2 via communication devices (generally routers, firewalls, etc.) 3, 4. . A PBX 6 having a PBX (Private Branch eXchange) function for performing circuit switching is provided between the receiver 1 and the communication device 3. Furthermore, a public switched telephone network 7 that is used by a user (such as an elderly person) and reports to the receiver 1 is connected to the receiver 1.

Next, the configuration of the communication devices 3 and 4 will be described with reference to FIG. In the following, only the configuration of the communication device 3 will be described, but the communication device 4 is configured in the same manner.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the communication device 3 includes a quality assurance value setting unit 31, a communication quality measurement unit 32, a communication line selection unit 33, and a communication control unit 34.

  The quality assurance value setting means 31 is for presetting the quality assurance value of the WAN line 5 required in communication. Here, the quality assurance value setting means 31 sets, for example, a communication speed and a delay time as the quality assurance value.

  The communication quality measuring means 32 measures the communication quality of each connected WAN line 5 according to a predetermined period or as necessary. Here, the communication quality measuring means 32 measures, for example, a communication speed and a delay time as communication quality using commands and tools such as ftp and ping. The communication quality measuring unit 32 records the communication quality measured for each WAN line 5.

  The communication line selection unit 33 selects the WAN line 5 used for communication based on the quality assurance value set by the quality assurance value setting unit 31 and the communication quality of each WAN line 5 measured by the communication quality measurement unit 32. Is.

  The communication control means 34 communicates between the receiver 1 and the center terminal 2 using the WAN line 5 selected by the communication line selection means 33.

  Next, operations of the communication devices 3 and 4 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. In the following, only the operation of the communication device 3 will be described, but the same applies to the communication device 4. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, it is assumed that three WAN lines A to C are connected between an area where the receiver 1 is installed and an area where the center terminal 2 is installed. Then, the quality assurance value setting means 31 assumes that the quality assurance value is set such that the communication speed is 10 Mbps or more and the delay time is 100 ms or less (quality assurance value setting step).

  In the operation of the communication device 3, as shown in FIG. 3, first, the communication quality measuring unit 32 first determines the communication quality (communication speed and the communication speed of each of the connected WAN lines A to C according to a predetermined period or as necessary. (Delay time) is measured (step ST31, communication quality measurement step). Thereby, for example, the communication quality of each of the WAN lines A to C as shown in FIG. 4 can be obtained.

Next, the communication line selection unit 33 uses the WAN line used for communication based on the quality assurance value set by the quality assurance value setting unit 31 and the communication quality of each of the WAN lines A to C measured by the communication quality measurement unit 32. 5 is selected (step ST32, communication line selection step).
Here, when the communication quality is confirmed in order from the top in the example shown in FIG. 4, WAN line A does not satisfy the quality assurance value (communication speed: 10 Mbps or more, delay time: 100 ms or less), but WAN line B has quality assurance. The value is met. Therefore, the communication line selection unit 33 selects the WAN line B as the communication path.

  Next, the communication control means 34 performs communication between the receiver 1 and the center terminal 2 using the WAN line B selected by the communication line selection means 33 (step ST33, communication control step).

In this way, the WAN line 5 whose communication quality has not deteriorated is searched for, and the WAN line 5 that is found first is selected as the communication path. Here, if the probability that communication quality deteriorates in a single WAN line 5 is p (generally 0.001 to 0.0001), the probability that all n WAN lines 5 deteriorate is ^pn . The risk of communication quality degradation can be reduced to a level that can be ignored compared to the failure rate of other devices.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the communication quality of each connected WAN line 5 is measured, and the WAN line 5 that satisfies a preset quality assurance value is searched and selected as a communication path. Since it is configured, even if a communication line without quality assurance is used, the service can be provided and operated at a lower cost than the quality assurance type, and a minimum quality assurance can be ensured. Therefore, even if the receiver 1 and the center terminal 2 exist in a remote area in a business that requires high immediacy, the required communication quality can be satisfied at a low cost.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
In the emergency call service, when an operator on the center terminal 2 side uses an IP phone, SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) or H.264 is used between the PBX machine 6 and the IP phone. Two types of communication occur: call control using a communication protocol such as H.323 and transfer of voice data using a communication protocol such as RTP (Real-time Transport Protocol). Here, the call control is required to have high reliability although the amount of data is not large. On the other hand, in the transfer of audio data, there is a possibility that some data loss is allowed although the amount of data is large. Therefore, call control communication is generally prioritized. Hereinafter, a method for appropriately selecting the WAN line 5 when the PBX 6 and the IP telephone communicate with each other in consideration of such characteristics will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of the communication device 3 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The configuration of the communication device 3 according to the second embodiment shown in FIG. 5 is obtained by adding a communication quality rank calculating means 35 to the communication device 3 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. Other configurations are the same, and the same reference numerals are given and description thereof is omitted. The communication device 4 is configured similarly.

The communication quality rank calculation means 35 calculates the communication quality rank of each WAN line 5 based on the communication quality of each WAN line 5 measured by the communication quality measurement means 32.
The communication line selection means 33 replaces the communication quality of each WAN line 5 measured by the communication quality measurement means 32 with the communication protocol used for communication and the communication quality rank calculation means 35 of each WAN line 5 calculated. Use communication quality ranking.

  Next, operations of the communication devices 3 and 4 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. In the following, only the operation of the communication device 3 will be described, but the same applies to the communication device 4. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, it is assumed that three WAN lines A to C are connected between the area where the receiver 1 is installed and the area where the center terminal 2 is installed. Then, the quality assurance value setting means 31 assumes that the quality assurance value is set such that the communication speed is 10 Mbps or more and the delay time is 100 ms or less (quality assurance value setting step).

  In the operation of the communication device 3, as shown in FIG. 6, first, the communication quality measuring means 32 first determines the communication quality (communication speed and (Delay time) is measured (step ST61, communication quality measurement step).

  Next, the communication quality rank calculation means 35 calculates the communication quality rank of each WAN line A to C based on the communication quality of each WAN line A to C measured by the communication quality measurement means 32 (step ST62, communication Quality ranking calculation step). Thereby, for example, the communication quality ranking as shown in FIG. 8 can be obtained.

  Next, the communication line selection unit 33 sets the communication protocol used for communication, the quality assurance value set by the quality assurance value setting unit 31, and the communication quality ranks of the WAN lines A to C calculated by the communication quality rank calculation unit 35. Based on this, the WAN line 5 used for communication is selected (step ST63, communication line selection step).

Here, the communication line selection means 33 receives a report from the user, and receives SIP or H.264. When performing call control using a communication protocol such as H.323, a circuit with a short delay time and a high communication speed is selected. Also, when performing voice data transfer using a communication protocol such as RTP, a plurality of lines satisfying the quality assurance value are selected and used alternately.
In the case of the example shown in FIG. 8, when performing call control, the WAN line C having the best communication quality is used (in FIG. 8, it is determined that the communication quality is higher when the delay time is shorter, and the rank is determined. Set). Further, when transferring voice data, WAN lines B and C satisfying the quality assurance value are selected, and data transfer is performed alternately. When transferring audio data, load distribution is performed so as not to cause a bias (for example, selection is made randomly based on a random number table or the like, or selection is made sequentially using a round robin method, etc.).

  Next, the communication control means 34 performs communication between the receiver 1 and the center terminal 2 using the WAN line 5 selected by the communication line selection means 33 (step ST64, communication control step).

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, since the WAN line 5 is selected based on the difference in communication protocol used in communication, in addition to the effects in the first embodiment, the IP address The reliability of telephone call control can be improved and the load of voice data transfer can be distributed. Users who are talking (the person who made the report, the operator, the nurse, etc.) feel the voice quality deterioration. The possibility can be reduced.

  In addition, by periodically measuring the communication quality of each WAN line 5 and analyzing the measurement results in time series, it is possible to grasp the deterioration of communication quality over time, the deterioration at a specific time, etc. (The line usage of other companies using the same WAN line 5 increased, the night batch was executed, etc.). Then, by reflecting the information on the operation of the application software, for example, processing such as automatically adjusting the time of batch processing once a day can be realized.

  In the first and second embodiments, the emergency call system provided with the communication devices 3 and 4 of the present invention has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other operations that require a high degree of immediacy. The same applies to the system used.

  Further, within the scope of the present invention, the invention of the present application can be freely combined with each embodiment, modified with any component in each embodiment, or omitted with any component in each embodiment. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Receiver 2 Center terminal 3, 4 Communication equipment 5 WAN line 6 PBX machine 7 Public switched telephone network 31 Quality assurance value setting means 32 Communication quality measurement means 33 Communication line selection means 34 Communication control means 35 Communication quality rank calculation means

Claims (4)

A communication device to which a plurality of best effort communication lines are connected,
Quality assurance value setting means for setting communication quality assurance values;
Communication quality measuring means for measuring the communication quality of each best effort communication line;
Communication line selection for selecting a best effort type communication line to be used for communication based on the quality assurance value set by the quality assurance value setting means and the communication quality of each best effort type communication line measured by the communication quality measuring means Means,
Communication equipment comprising: communication control means for performing communication using a best effort type communication line selected by the communication line selection means. Based on the communication quality of each best effort type communication line measured by the communication quality measuring means, the communication quality ranking calculating means for calculating the communication quality ranking is provided,
The communication line selection means uses the communication protocol used for communication and the communication quality rank calculated by the communication quality rank calculation means instead of the communication quality of each best effort type communication line measured by the communication quality measurement means. The communication device according to claim 1. An emergency call system comprising the communication device according to claim 1. A communication method using a communication device to which a plurality of best effort communication lines are connected,
A quality assurance value setting step for setting a communication quality assurance value;
A communication quality measuring step for measuring the communication quality of each of the best effort communication lines;
A communication line selection step for selecting a best effort communication line used for communication based on the quality assurance value set in the quality assurance value setting step and the communication quality of each best effort communication line measured in the communication quality measurement step; ,
A communication control step of performing communication using the best effort type communication line selected in the communication line selection step.

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