JP3085281B2 - Communication terminal device and communication terminal customizing method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication terminal such as a telephone or a facsimile apparatus having a telephone directory based on digital data, and a telephone directory and a service menu incorporated in the communication terminal in a format which is easy for the user to use. The present invention relates to a communication terminal customizing method to be optimized.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a customization method for optimizing a communication terminal device such as a telephone or a facsimile device in a format that is easy for a user to use, for example, a frequently used destination telephone number is registered in a telephone directory attached as a telephone function. There is a way to do that. The telephone directory realizes a function of, when making a call, scrolling the individual of the other party on a small screen and making a call to the telephone number of the selected line. As an input format at the time of registering the other party's telephone number, a format is mainly used in which a numeric keypad is defined for inputting alphabets and kana, and each character is entered one by one in conjunction with the screen.

[0003] Even when the screen is large, at the time of registration, for example, a simple keyboard displayed on the screen for inputting alphabets and kana is pressed to sequentially input the name and telephone number of the other party. That is, a registrant generally inputs the information manually based on information such as a description and a telephone directory (booklet).
Therefore, it is troublesome to register all desired destination telephone numbers by the user's own hand.

[0004] Since many users feel difficulty in the registration work, registration of the destination telephone number is often performed by maintenance personnel. Also, pass the input data to the service center,
Non-volatile RAM of the terminal device by downloading the telephone directory data created by the service center based on the input data
There is also a way to write to.

[0005] In a facsimile apparatus or a data terminal apparatus having a display such as an LCD, a service function other than the telephone directory includes, for example, a function of displaying a menu of operation procedures on the display. In order to optimize the menu display for the convenience of the user, it is necessary to replace the ROM or the nonvolatile RAM storing the processing programs and data. Since it is difficult for the user to perform these replacements, the replacement of the ROM or the nonvolatile RAM is generally performed by maintenance personnel.

[0006]

Since the conventional communication terminal device is configured as described above, it is difficult to customize the communication terminal device by the user himself. Therefore, customization is requested to a maintenance person or a service center, and many users find such a request troublesome. Also, such requests are generally costly. As a result, there is a problem that various convenient functions available in the communication terminal device are not utilized, and the user cannot enjoy the convenient functions of the communication terminal device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a communication terminal device and a communication terminal customizing method that can easily optimize the communication terminal device by a user's own hand in a format that is easy for the user to use.

[0008]

A communication terminal device according to the present invention comprises: a URL receiving means for receiving a URL of a local service server notified from a registration / central server for performing user registration; and a service transferred from the local service server. A menu receiving means for receiving a menu, selecting the received service menu according to a user selection, and storing each service menu in a menu format. The menu creating means is configured to provide a check box corresponding to each service menu to the user and select a service menu according to the check result of the check box. The communication terminal device may further include storage means for storing the telephone number of the sign-up access point for linking with the registration / central server.

In the communication terminal customizing method according to the present invention, the personal information of the user including the installation location information of the communication terminal device is registered and sent to the central server, and the registration and the URL of the regional service server selected by the central server are registered and registered. Receives from the central server, relinks to the regional service server, receives the service menu transferred from the regional service server, sorts the service menu received from the regional service server according to the user selection, and selects each service menu. It is configured to save in menu format. The registration / central server selects a regional service server based on the installation location information received from the communication terminal device. The registration / central server may also select an adjacent area service server based on the installation location information.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. A communication terminal device according to the present invention includes a means for easily performing a customization desired by a user while utilizing contents scattered on the Internet. Therefore, the communication terminal customizing method according to the present invention is based on the expectation that the Internet will become widespread and a function of accessing the Internet will be added to telephone terminals and television receivers. This is a method of customizing a communication terminal by using a communication terminal.

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of a system to which a communication terminal device (hereinafter, simply referred to as a terminal) 100 according to the present invention is connected. This system includes:
A registration / central server 200 that can be accessed via the Internet 20 and performs regional registration and service registration of the terminal 100, a regional server 300 that provides regional information, a service server 400 that provides various services, and the terminal 10.
Access network 10 such as a public telephone network when signing up
, And a regional access point 310 accessed via the access network 10 for the terminal 100 to connect to the Internet 20.

When the user purchases the terminal 100 and performs initial registration, the user connects to the sign-up access point 210. The access point 210 for sign-up
After the line is connected, 200 is automatically linked to a registration / central server that performs user registration, service selection, and management of the billing method. Then, registration of the personal information and registration / transmission of the login ID from the central server 200 are performed by the sign-up means normally used.

When connected to the terminal 100, the registration / central server 200 performs various initial registration operations based on input information from the terminal 100. The initial registration operation includes operations such as selection of a service that the user wants to receive, registration of a telephone directory and a region name that the user wants to receive the regional information service, registration of a method for paying a fee when receiving a paid service, and the like. The registration / central server 200 is also used when changing the service that the user wants to receive.
, Changes, additions, and deletions of registered service contents are performed.

At the time of initial registration, regional server 300 selects a telephone directory data candidate and transmits it to terminal 100. Further, the service menu is transmitted to terminal 100. Thereafter, in response to the request of the terminal 100, the local service is
0 is provided.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the terminal 100. In the example shown in FIG. 2, a display 102 for displaying a destination telephone number, a menu, and the like, a menu memory 103 for storing customized menu data transferred from the regional server 300 and an input device 105 such as a numeric keypad are provided. I / O to capture input from
A port 104, a control unit 101 for performing control in accordance with a command input from an input device 105, a communication control unit 106 for performing communication control and line control including Internet communication control, and a speech circuit connected to a handset (not shown) .

Next, the operation will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the procedure of user registration and service registration from the time of initial registration to the time of operation. As shown in FIG. 3, at the time of registering the telephone directory and the service, the terminal device 100 performs the sign-up access point 210 for the terminal registration.
To access. Toll-free access is used for the access. The toll free number is written in the internal memory when the terminal 1 is shipped, for example. When purchasing terminal 100,
The user first enters the sign-up access point 21.
0 and make various registrations. First, the registration / central server 20 based on the device number or the like input to the terminal 100
At 0, terminal registration is performed.

Next, the user is required to input a name and an address. Here, a postal code or an area code can be input instead of the address. When the registration / central server 200 transfers personal information such as name / address or name / area code or postal code from the terminal 100,
Register those personal information.

Further, based on the personal information, a service which the user is supposed to receive is selected, and a region name which the user is supposed to receive the telephone directory service and the local information service is specified. Registration / central server 20
0, a regional server 300 and a service server 400 that provide various regional data and service data are registered. The registration / central server 200 calculates the URLs of the regional server 300 and the service server 400 existing in the area based on the address, the area code or the postal code. Then, the URLs of the regional server 300 and the service server 400 existing in the region are transmitted to the terminal 100. Here, in order to give the user a range of choices,
A plurality of URLs including the URL of the regional server 300 and the service server 400 in the adjacent region are transmitted. Further, the registration / central server 200 transfers software for the terminal 100 to connect to the regional server 300 and the service server 400 and download telephone number information and a service menu to the terminal 100.

The terminal 100 sequentially establishes a link with the server using the received URL (link change). Then, a request for registration of the terminal 100 is made to each regional server 300 or the service server 400, and a request for sending out a necessary menu is made. In response to the registration request, the regional server 300 or the service server 400 sends information indicating the registration to the terminal 100.

Further, the service menu is transmitted to the terminal 100 in response to the transmission request. Specifically, terminal 1
00 and the software on the side of the regional server 300 or the service server 400 cooperate with each other, and in response to a download request by transmitting a selection code on the terminal side, necessary data from the server side is stored in the menu memory 1 of the terminal 100.
03. The capturing process is performed by the communication control unit 10.
6 by HTTP protocol processing and HTML data processing.

When the user's service selection operation is completed,
The service name selected by the user is registered / central server 200
And is registered in the user data of the registration / central server 200. Also, the local server 300 serving as a service source
Alternatively, a method of paying a fee for receiving a paid service to the service server 400 is registered. When the above operations are completed, the registration / central server 200 checks the final service menu and sends the login ID to the terminal device 100. The login ID may be basically common to all services in consideration of user's ease of use, but may be a different ID for each service according to user selection.

When the above registration work is completed, the terminal 100
The communication control unit 106 disconnects the connection with the sign-up access point 210. Since the access point 210 for sign-up is connected to the toll-free number, no communication fee is charged in the registration work.

Thereafter, the user enters the service server 400
When a service is provided from the local server 300 or when making a telephone call, an operation is performed in accordance with the customized menu display of the terminal 100. When an operation of receiving service from the service server 400 or the regional server 300 is performed, the terminal 100
And sends the registered URL to the terminal 100 to connect to the service server 400 or the regional server 300.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a more specific information flow in the initial registration. As described above, the initial registration is performed from the connection to the registration / central server 200 (communication center) via the sign-up access point 210. When the connection is completed, the registration / central server 200 transmits the input form to the terminal 100. The input form is
This is for the user to enter personal information and the like. When the communication control unit 106 of the terminal 100 receives the input form, the control unit 101 displays the input form on the display 10.
2 is displayed. The user inputs the name / address or the name / area code or zip code from the input device 105 according to the input form.

The terminal device 100 transmits the input name / address or name / area code or postal code to the registration / central server 200. Registration / central server 200
Receives the input data, returns the content to the terminal 100, and reconfirms the user. And registration / central server 2
00 indicates the URL of the regional server 300 or the service server 400 having the telephone directory database 302
Send to 0. The terminal 100 establishes a link with the regional server 300 or the service server 400 based on the transferred URL, downloads and displays telephone number information and the like. When the display 102 is a touch panel, the user can use the touch panel to select displayed telephone number information.

Further, the registration / central server 200 transmits to the terminal 100 the URL of the service server 400 which provides the individual service assumed to be required by the user. The terminal 100 establishes a link with the service server 400 based on the transferred URL, downloads and displays a service menu. When the display 102 is a touch panel, the user can select displayed services by using the touch panel.

The telephone number information selected as described above is stored in the internal memory of the terminal 100 as a telephone directory. Further, the selected service is stored in a memory in the device of the terminal 100 in the form of a service menu. Next, the registration / central server 200 receives a notification from the terminal 100 that the above-described registration processing has been completed, and transmits a selection menu such as a fee payment to the terminal 100. The terminal 100
A selection menu is displayed on the display 102. When the user inputs the payment method, credit card number, payment account number, etc., the terminal 100 registers the information.
Transmit to central server 200. Registration / central server 200
Receives the input, issues an access code / ID (login ID) to the terminal.

Next, telephone directory registration and individual service registration performed during the registration operation will be described in more detail. As described above, the connection to the regional server 300 or the service server 400 is performed by the regional server 300 or the service server 40 notified from the registration / central server 200.
Based on the URL of 0, the terminal 100 sequentially links to the corresponding regional server 300 or service server 400. When the user wants to create a desired telephone directory, the local server 3 having the designated URL
00, the terminal 100 is connected, and the telephone number information in the area is taken in.

The telephone number information transferred from the local server 300 is input to the control unit 101 of the terminal 100 via the communication control unit 106. The control unit 101 displays the telephone number information on the display 102. The user determines the necessity of the information based on the information displayed on the display 102, and determines items to be described in the telephone directory. If the telephone directory database 302 of one regional server 300 alone cannot cover the user's request, the terminal 10
0, the control unit 101 displays each URL of the adjacent regional server notified from the registration / central server 200 on the display 1.
02 is displayed. Then, it connects to a desired regional server according to the user's selection, and downloads telephone number information from the regional server. As described above, in the telephone directory creation operation, the software of the terminal 100 and the software on the server side operate in conjunction with each other, and the user customizes by repeatedly selecting and downloading desired telephone number information interactively.

Similarly, for the individual service registration, the service menu transferred from the service server 400 is displayed on the display 102 of the terminal 100. The user determines the necessity of the information based on the information displayed on the display 102 and determines a selection item. 1
Menu 3 of two service servers 400
If 01 alone cannot cover the user's request,
The control unit 101 of the terminal 100
Of each other service server 400 notified by
L is displayed on the display 102. Then, it connects to a desired service server according to the user's selection, and downloads a service menu from the service server.

As described above, in the individual service registration work in the terminal 100, the software of the terminal 100 and the software on the server side operate in conjunction with each other, and the user repeatedly selects and downloads a desired individual service interactively. Perform customization. As a result of the customization, the menu memory 103 of the terminal 100 stores a user-specific service menu including each service name required by the user.

FIG. 5 shows the menu memory 1 of the terminal 100.
It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of the service menu created in 03, and the display item in a service menu, and the relationship with the server related to it. For example, the basic menu 50
0 includes items of services 501 to 503, a telephone directory 504, and a menu addition / billing 510.

The services 501 to 503 are items indicating the corresponding service. The URL of the service server 400 corresponding to the service is also stored in the menu memory 103 in association with the service name. Phonebook 504 contains
Along with the telephone directory created in the memory of the terminal 100, each U of the local telephone server 320 that provides the local telephone service is provided.
The RL is also stored.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of the telephone directory. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the telephone directory includes a local telephone directory portion and a personal telephone directory portion. The area phone book part is
This is a portion created by downloading telephone number information from the regional server 300. When the local telephone directory is created, each telephone number information is classified and registered as shown in FIG. That is, they are classified by the area code 602 or the postal code 603 as the area ID 601. FIG. 6 shows an example of classification by area code 602. For example, the telephone number information having the same area code as the area code of the terminal 100 is classified as that of the corresponding area 604, and the telephone number information having the area code adjacent to the area code of the terminal 100 is stored in the adjacent area 605. Are classified as In addition,
Adjacent area 605 may be user defined rather than defined by area code or zip code. In that case, a menu operation for region definition is prepared. For example, the classification may be based on the user's preference.

The telephone number information of the corresponding area 604 and the telephone number information of the adjacent area 605 are classified according to the attribute of the telephone number, that is, the service to be provided, for each area. Such classification is performed by using information accompanying each telephone number information when downloading the telephone number information.
Note that a plurality of telephone numbers can be registered in each category such as community medicine and local government.

The personal telephone directory includes, for example, family, relatives,
It comprises a friend registration 610 and a caller ID storage 613. The part of family / relative / friend registration 610 is registered by individual manual registration 611 of the user according to the guide displayed on display 102.

The portion of caller ID storage 613 is a portion created by automatically registering the number when the user makes a manual call, that is, a call by full dial input. The telephone number of the caller ID storage 613 is created by the control unit 101 executing automatic registration after the call is completed. Alternatively, after the end of the call, the control unit 101 may temporarily store the telephone number together with a part of the call, and then register by a user operation. In that case, a part of the stored call is used for confirmation at the time of registration by a user operation.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a registration process focusing on telephone directory creation. The registration / central server 200 specifies the local server 300 that performs the telephone directory service in the area where the terminal 100 is installed, based on the address zip code or area code sent from the terminal 100, and the local server 3
00 is transmitted to the terminal 100. The terminal 100
The link is re-established to the regional server 300 using the received URL, and a request for registration of the terminal 100 is made to each regional server 300. Then, a request for transmitting necessary telephone number information is made. FIG. 7 shows an example in which “Taro Yamada” is requested.

The user of the terminal 100
The telephone directory information illustrated in FIG. 7 can be created by selecting each telephone number information sent from the company.
As described above, each telephone number is classified and registered in the telephone directory. Further, when registering the telephone number, the processing method at the time of calling may be registered as caller number processing. For example, the transfer (1) shown in FIG.
Indicates normal call processing, and transfer (2) indicates that a call is stored in the personal voice mailbox when the user is not present. Further, if a URL or an E-mail address corresponding to the telephone number exists in the information, these are also registered.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display 102 when a service menu is registered. When the URL is transferred from the regional server 300 to the terminal 100, the control unit 101 displays information (service name) associated with the URL and the like. Then, unnecessary buttons corresponding to each service name are displayed. The control unit 1
The program for displaying the menu screen 01 shown in FIG. 8 has been transferred from the registration / central server 200 in advance. The user selects the URL or the service by clicking the required button or the unnecessary button (selection by touch or key operation on the touch panel).

Also, explanation buttons corresponding to the respective service names are displayed. When the user clicks the explain button,
The communication control unit 106 of the terminal 100 requests the regional server 300 for explanation information. The regional server 300 sends the explanation information to the terminal 100 in the form of voice or image in response to the request. The terminal 100 outputs the explanation information by voice or displays it on a screen.

When the user's selection process (selection of unnecessary) is completed, the control unit 101 registers only the required URL in the service menu. At this time, telephone numbers are registered for each service name.

Next, a method of using the telephone directory created as described above will be described. First, a menu having the configuration shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the display. When the user clicks an item of the service 501 to 503, the terminal 1
00 is the communication control unit 106 of the local access point 310
And a link is made to the service servers 401 to 403 that provide the clicked service. Then, the user operates the service server 40 via the terminal 100.
1 to 403 services can be received.

When the user clicks on the item "phone book 504", a screen for selecting a local phone book, a personal phone book, and a phone book update is displayed. When the user clicks on the local telephone directory, a list of service names in the local telephone directory is displayed. Here, an explanation button may be displayed on the screen. When a certain service name is clicked, control unit 101 of terminal 100 instructs communication control unit 106 to make a call to a telephone number registered corresponding to the service name. The communication control unit 106
Call processing is performed with the telephone number.

When the user wants to obtain detailed information on a hospital, restaurant or the like described in the telephone directory, the user may click on the displayed explanation button. Then
The communication control unit 106 sets a link to the regional server 300 and requests explanatory information from the regional server 300. The regional server 300 sends the explanation information to the terminal 100 in the form of voice or image in response to the request. The terminal 100 outputs the explanation information by voice or displays it on a screen. Thereafter, when the service name is clicked, the control unit 101 of the terminal 100 instructs the communication control unit 106 to make a call to a telephone number registered corresponding to the service name. Communication control unit 1
06 disconnects the link with the regional server 300 and then performs a calling process with the indicated telephone number. Note that the terminal 100
When a plurality of lines are accommodated in the area server 300
The call processing can be performed without disconnecting the link with.

When the personal telephone directory is clicked, the telephone number information of the personal telephone directory is displayed on the display 102 in a menu format. When the user clicks the telephone number information displayed on the display 102, the terminal 10
The control unit 101 of 0 instructs the communication control unit 106 to make a call to the telephone number. The communication control unit 106 performs a calling process using the telephone number.

When "Update Phone Book" is clicked, it is connected to the registration / central server 200 in the same manner as when creating the phone book, and the user can update the phone book in the same manner as when creating the phone book.

The telephone directory 504 also stores the respective URLs of the local telephone server 320 that provides the local telephone service, so that the user can check the latest telephone directory data or check the location or the way to go. The information can be obtained from the local telephone server 320 by linking to the telephone server 320. Also, various related information can be obtained. Further, it is also possible to specify a telephone number included in the local telephone server 320 or another Web site linked to the local telephone server 320 to make a call via the local telephone server 320.

When the menu addition / charging 510 is clicked, the terminal 100 causes the registration / central server 20 to add a service menu and add or change a payment method.
Link with 0. In addition, the user can access a server in another area via the area server 300.

[0050]

According to the present invention, the communication terminal apparatus is provided with a URL receiving means for receiving the URL of the local service server notified from the registration / central server for user registration, and a service menu received from the local service server. A menu creation means for selecting and saving each service menu in a menu format according to the user's selection is provided, so that the user can include the telephone number menu by a simple selection operation without any specialized knowledge. There is an effect that a menu format of the service menu can be created. Therefore, the user can easily construct an environment in which the convenience function of the communication terminal device can be enjoyed. Furthermore, since the utilization rate of various regional service servers is increased, the server side is also effectively used. Further, since various data are provided via a line, it is not necessary to exchange ROMs or replace software when changing or adding data.

In the communication terminal customizing method, the personal information of the user including the installation location information of the communication terminal is transmitted to the registration / central server, and the URL of the regional service server selected by the registration / central server is registered / centralized. Received from the server, relink the local service server,
Since the service menu transferred from the regional service server is received, the service menu received from the regional service server is selected according to the user's selection, and each service menu is stored in a menu format. Each service menu can be automatically collected from the local service server without user intervention, and can be provided to the user as an option without user intervention. Therefore, the user can customize the menu format of the service menu including the telephone number menu by a simple selection operation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of a system to which a communication terminal device according to the present invention is connected.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a communication terminal device.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure of user registration and service registration from the time of registration to the time of operation.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a more specific information flow in initial registration.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a service menu created in a menu memory and a relationship between display items in the service menu and servers related thereto.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a telephone directory.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a registration process focusing on telephone directory creation.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen displayed when registering a service menu.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 access network 20 Internet 100 communication terminal device 200 registration / central server 210 sign-up access point 300 regional server 301 service menu 302 telephone directory database 400 service server

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-8-116380 (JP, A) JP-A-7-297924 (JP, A) JP-A-3-137674 (JP, A) JP-A-3-208456 (JP) JP-A-4-192751 (JP, A) JP-A-7-15496 (JP, A) JP-A-8-336182 (JP, A) JP-A-9-8917 (JP, A) 9-69892 (JP, A) JP-A-9-200346 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04M 11/00-11/10 G06F 13/00 354 H04M 1 / 26-1/57

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A communication terminal device having a telephone directory function, wherein: a URL receiving means for receiving a URL of a local service server notified from a registration / central server for performing user registration; and a service menu transferred from the local service server. And a menu creation unit for receiving the service menu, selecting the received service menu according to a user selection, and saving each service menu in a menu format. 2. The communication terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the menu creating means provides a check box corresponding to each service menu to the user, and selects a service menu according to a check result of the check box. 3. The communication terminal device according to claim 1, further comprising storage means for storing a telephone number of an access point for sign-up for linking with a registration / central server. 4. A communication terminal customizing method for customizing a communication terminal device having a telephone directory function, wherein personal information of a user including the installation location information of the communication terminal device is transmitted to a registration / central server, and selected by the registration / central server. Receiving the URL of the registered local service server from the registration / central server, relinking the local service server, receiving the service menu transferred from the local service server, and receiving the service menu received from the local service server. A communication terminal customizing method characterized by selecting and saving each service menu in a menu format according to user selection. 5. The communication terminal customizing method according to claim 4, wherein the registration / central server selects a regional service server based on the installation location information received from the communication terminal device. 6. The communication terminal customizing method according to claim 5, wherein the registration / central server also selects an adjacent area service server based on the installation location information.