JP2791618B2 - Dial data search method for public telephones - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a dial data search system for a public telephone in which a dial table is provided internally and autonomous billing is performed by referring to dial table data at the time of dial input.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a billing process for storing a call charge in a public telephone is performed by a station multi-charging method in which a call charge is stored for each billing signal coming from an exchange and an internal timer in the public telephone. There is a self-multi charging method (timer multi charging method) called autonomous charging for charging. In the central office multi-charging system, the charging process is executed at the timing of receiving the charging signal sent from the exchange, so that the public telephone can execute the charging process regardless of the dial number dialed by the user. On the other hand, some exchanges do not output a billing signal. In such a case, a self-multiple billing system must be adopted. Therefore, in this case, it is necessary for the public telephone to perform processing for identifying the dial number dialed by the user and determining the corresponding call charge and call time. That is, the public telephone needs data capable of obtaining the type of call corresponding to the dial number dialed by the user and the reference number of the charge table for a toll call. Data obtained from the dial number dialed by the user to obtain the type of call and the reference number of the charge table is called a dial table. A conventional dial table is configured as shown in FIG. That is, (a) of the figure shows a free number table such as 100 or 104, and (b) of the figure shows a local number table and (c) shows a toll number table. In FIG. 5, 6
Numeral 0 denotes a dial number part storing a dial number to be referred to, and numeral 61 denotes a tariff reference number part storing a number referencing the tariff. When the user dials, every data entry of the dial number is performed to search for all data in the dial table in order to detect whether or not there is a number that matches this dial number. When the search for each digit required to determine the call charge is completed, a charge table corresponding to the dial number is obtained, and the call charge is calculated.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned conventional public telephone, when a user dials, one of the dial numbers is used.
Every time a digit is entered, all data in the dial table is searched to detect whether there is a number that matches the dial number. For this reason, there is a problem that it takes a long time to perform the other processes and the efficiency is poor. Further, in order to make it easy to refer to the input dial data for each digit, the area of the dial number section 60 for storing the reference dial number is secured by the maximum number of digits in accordance with the maximum number of dial numbers. If the number of digits to be dialed until the call type or the call charge is determined is indefinite, there is a problem that the memory efficiency deteriorates.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve such a problem, the present invention divides a dial table into a plurality of memory blocks and stores dial data to be referred to in the memory blocks. Department and
When the input dial data and the dial data stored in the dial data section do not match, a first pointer section for storing the address of the next memory block, and the input dial data and the dial data stored in the dial data section. A second pointer portion for storing an address of a memory block for referring to dial data to be inputted next when the data matches, and the content of the second pointer portion indicates that dial data reference is unnecessary. And a charge table reference number portion for storing an access number to a charge table indicating a call charge in the case of a call.

[0005]

When the input dial data does not match the data in the dial data section, the dial data is stored in the first dial data.
Is compared with the data in the memory block indicated by the address of the pointer section. When the input dial data and the data in the dial data section match, the next operated and input dial data is compared with the data in the memory block indicated by the address of the second pointer section, and the second dial data is compared with the data in the second pointer section. If the contents of the pointer indicate that reference to the dial data is unnecessary, a charge table according to the number in the charge table reference number section is accessed, and a call charge is obtained.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention.
1 shows an outline of a public telephone. In the figure, 1
Is an incoming line, 2 is an incoming call detection circuit that detects an incoming signal arriving at the office line 1, 3 is a buzzer that sounds by the incoming signal, 4 is a charging signal receiving circuit that receives a charging signal coming from the office line 1, and 5 is D for receiving the DTMF signal coming from the line 1
A TMF signal receiving circuit, 6 is a diode bridge, and 7 is a power supply circuit for supplying the office power supplied from the office line 1 to each part of the public telephone at the time of off-hook. 8 is a communication circuit,
9 is a handset, 10 is a signal generator for generating a dial signal, etc., 11 is a keyboard such as a dial key, 12 is a display, 13 and 14 are input / output circuits, 15 is a bus, and 16 is sorting of inserted coins. A coin sorting unit for storing and storing, 17 is a hook switch, 18 is a start circuit which is activated by turning on a hook switch by off-hook and drives a GS relay,
19 is a CPU, 20 is a ROM for storing dial table data, programs, etc. for charging by the self-multi-charging method when a charging signal does not arrive, 21 is an address to be described later for storing an address for searching the dial table. RA having an area such as a part PNT and a dial buffer DL for storing input dial data, which will be described later.
M.

When such a public telephone is off-hook, the start circuit 18 is activated by turning on the hook switch 17 and the GS relay is driven. As a result, the contact gs1 is closed, the loop of the office line 1 is closed, and the office station is closed. Power is supplied to each unit through the power supply circuit 7 and the contact g
When s2 is closed, power is supplied to the CPU 19, and the CPU 19 starts processing. When a coin is inserted, dial dial transmission is enabled. When a dial key on the keyboard 11 is operated and the other party's number is dialed, the CPU 19 inputs the dial number and generates a dial signal from the signal generator 10 to generate the line 1 Send to As a result,
When the other party is called and the other party answers this call, a billing signal arrives, the inserted coins are stored, and a call with the other party is started. Thereafter, when the call is continued, the inserted coins are stored by the periodically arriving billing signal, and when there are no more coins to be stored, the loop of the office line 1 is forcibly opened.

If the exchange connected to the public telephone does not send out a billing signal, the exchange 1
Since the billing signal does not arrive at, a call charge is calculated with reference to the input dial data by referring to a dial table stored in the ROM 20, and coins are stored based on the calculated call charge. When an incoming call is received, the buzzer 3 sounds via the incoming call detection circuit 2, and the incoming call is started by responding to the incoming call by going off-hook and closing the contact gs 1. In the case of this incoming call, no coin is stored.

Next, FIG. 2 shows an RO in such a public telephone.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a dial table stored in M20. One memory block of the dial table has a memory capacity of 7 bytes for one digit of the input dial number. That is, a 1-byte dial data unit 50 storing dial data to be referred to, a 1-byte call type unit 51 indicating a call type such as a toll number, a local number and a free number, and a unit time A 1-byte charge table reference number section 52 in which a call rate per call is stored and an access number to a charge table (not shown) is stored, and dial data and dial data section 5 inputted.
0, a first pointer unit 53 having a 2-byte structure storing a pointer indicating the address of the next memory block when the data does not match the data stored in the first dial unit. And a second pointer unit 54 having a two-byte structure for storing a pointer indicating the address of a memory block for referring to dial data to be inputted next when the data stored in memory 50 matches. Have been.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a process of obtaining a call charge from input dial data using such a memory block. These are the area code "03", "042
An example of access to a dial table composed of "7" and "045" is shown, and an example of an access operation in the case where "0", "4", and "5" are actually dialed sequentially is shown. That is, when the first digit dial “0” is depressed after off-hook, the head address of the memory block is set in the address part PNT for accessing the memory block. The dial data section 50 of the memory block is accessed by the set address. In the dial data part 50, "0"("A" H)
Is stored, it matches the input dial data. In this case, the second pointer unit 54
Is set in the address part PNT,
Wait for the input of the next second digit dial.

When the next dial "4" is pressed, the dial data section 50 of the memory block is accessed according to the address set in the address section PNT. In this case, since "3" is stored in the dial data section 50, the dial data does not match the input dial data, and the dial data in the memory block indicating the same digit in accordance with the address stored in the first pointer section 53 The unit 50 is accessed. Since the dial data "4" is stored therein, it matches the input dial data. In this case, the address stored in the second pointer section 54 in the memory block is the address. The unit PNT is set and waits for the input of the next third digit dial.

Subsequently, when "5" is pressed as the third digit dial, the dial data section 50 of the memory block is accessed according to the address set in the address section PNT. In this case, since "2" is stored in the dial data section 50, the dial data section 50 does not match the input dial data, and the first pointer section 5
The dial data section 50 of the memory block indicating the same digit is accessed in accordance with the address stored in the number 3. Since the dial data "5" is stored therein, it matches the input dial data. In this case, the memory block is used to obtain the reference address of the next dial number to be input. The address stored in the second pointer section 54 of the memory block is set to the address section PNT, but zero (“0” H) is stored in the second pointer section 54 in this memory block. Then, the reference operation of the dial data is completed, and the charge table based on the call type of the call type section 51 and the number of the charge table reference number section 53 in the memory block is accessed, and the call per unit time is obtained from the accessed charge table. Fees are required. Then, when the other party's response is detected after all dials are transmitted, the calculated call charge is stored for each unit time. If the input dial data does not match the data stored in the dial data section 50, the next memory block is accessed by the address stored in the first pointer section 53,
If the content of the first pointer section 53 is zero ("0" H), the loop of the office line 1 is released as a nonexistent telephone number is dialed (invalid dial).

Next, FIG. 4 shows the CPU in the public telephone.
19 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the control unit 19. When the user goes off-hook, the head address of the memory block is set in the address portion PNT to detect a match between the dial number of the first digit pressed subsequently and the dial data stored in the dial table (step 100). ). Then, when the dial of the first digit is pressed, step 1 is executed.
01 is "Y", and the input dial data is set in the dial buffer DL (step 10).
2). Subsequently, at step 103, it is determined whether the contents of the dial data section 50 in the memory block designated by the address of the address section PNT match the contents of the dial buffer DL.

In this case, if they do not match, the process proceeds to step 104, where it is determined whether or not the content of the first pointer unit 53 for selecting the next memory block is zero. If the content of the first pointer section 53 is zero, the pressed dial is processed as an invalid dial as described above, and as a result, the line 1 is released. If the contents of the first pointer section 53 are not zero, the contents of the first pointer section 53 are stored in the address section PN.
It is set to T (step 105), and the coincidence between the contents of the dial data section 50 and the contents of the dial buffer DL in the memory block of the same digit designated by this address is determined again (step 103). Thus, the processing between steps 103 to 105 is repeatedly executed until the two dial data match.

The number of times of execution is 10 at maximum because the dial number is from "0"("A" H) to "9". The processing time is greatly reduced as compared with the processing of searching all the dial data in the table and comparing and comparing the dial data.

Thus, steps 103 to 105
If the contents of the dial data section 50 in the memory block match the contents of the dial buffer DL as a result of the repetitive execution of the process between the steps, and it is determined “Y” in step 103,
In step 106, it is determined whether or not the pointer to the next digit, that is, the content of the second pointer portion 54 is zero. If the content is not zero, that is, the dial data to be pressed next is referred to the dial table. Is required, the address stored in the second pointer section 54 is set in the address section PNT (step 107), and the process proceeds to step 101 to wait for the next dial data to arrive.

The dial data thus input is compared and collated with the data stored in the dial data unit 50 sequentially from the first digit, and as a result, when collation is performed for a predetermined number of digits, the second pointer unit 54 Since the data "zero" which does not need to refer to the dial data inputted thereafter is stored, the determination in step 106 is "Y". Then, in this case, as the effective dial, call type data is obtained from the call type unit 51 in the corresponding memory block, and a number in the charge table reference number unit 53 is obtained (step 108). A call charge per unit time is obtained from the table, and when the other party's response is detected after transmission of all dials, an autonomous charging process for storing the calculated call charge per unit time is executed.

As described above, the present invention can particularly improve the memory efficiency when the number of digits to be dialed up to the calculation of the call charge is variable. That is, in the present embodiment, a memory block of 7 bytes is used for each digit of the dial, and at first glance it seems that the memory efficiency is low. However, for example, if the area code is 3 such as "0427", "0425", or "0423". Since "042" is a common number among the three dial numbers, the memory block can be composed of six blocks, and a total of only 7 (bytes) x 6 (blocks) = 42 bytes is required. Up to 16 per dialed number
Byte dial data is required, and a storage area for the charge table reference number is required at least one byte for each dial number. Therefore, 17 (bytes) .times.3 = 51 bytes, which is more memory efficient than the conventional example. improves. In addition,
In the present embodiment, the communication charge per unit time is calculated. However, the communication time per unit charge can be calculated by rewriting the charge table.

[0019]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the input dial data does not match the data in the dial data portion, the dial data is replaced with the data in the memory block indicated by the address of the first pointer portion. When the input dial data and the data in the dial data section match, the dial data to be operated and input next is compared with the data in the memory block indicated by the address of the second pointer section. In addition, if the contents of the second pointer section indicate that it is not necessary to refer to the dial data, a call table according to the number of the charge table reference number section is accessed to obtain a call charge. The search time is shortened, and the dial table can be configured with a small memory.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a dial data search method for a public telephone according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a dial table in the public telephone.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a process of calculating a call charge in the public telephone.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of the public telephone.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a dial table of a conventional public telephone.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Local line 7 Power supply circuit 9 Handset 10 Signal generator 11 Keyboard 12 Display 16 Coin sorting unit 17 Hook switch 18 Start circuit 19 CPU 20 ROM 21 RAM

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A dial data search method for a public telephone, wherein dial data is input and the input dial data is compared with dial data in a dial table stored therein to calculate a call charge. The table is divided into a plurality of memory blocks, and in the memory block, a dial data portion storing dial data to be referred to, and the input dial data and the dial data stored in the dial data portion are stored. A first pointer section for storing an address of a memory block to be referred to when there is a mismatch, and a next pointer when the input dial data matches the data stored in the dial data section. Memory block address for referencing dial data A second pointer portion for storing less, the second
And a charge table reference number section for storing an access number to a charge table indicating the call charge when the content of the pointer section indicates that the reference of the dial data is unnecessary. Search method.