JP3955509B2 - Communication terminal device and communication system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a communication system that selectively uses an IP communication network and a telephone communication network, and a communication terminal device used in the communication system.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, there has been known a communication system as shown in FIG. 3 that selectively uses a quality-guaranteed communication network such as a telephone network and a non-quality-guaranteed communication network such as an IP communication network.
In FIG. 3, 100 and 200 are extension single telephones (hereinafter referred to as extension telephones) as information terminals, 300 is an IP communication network (hereinafter IP network), 400 is a telephone communication network (hereinafter telephone network), and 500 is an IP network. This is a communication terminal device that switches between the telephone 300 and the telephone network 400 and switches the internal decoder when the IP network 300 is used, and is connected to the extension telephones 100 and 200 respectively.
[0003]
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of communication terminal apparatus 300.
In FIG. 4, 1 is a line interface that can be selectively connected to the IP network 300 or the telephone network 400, 2 is connected to the line interface 1, and is an IP network terminating unit that terminates IP communication, and 3 is connected to the line interface 1. , A telephone network terminator for terminating communication by telephone, 4 and 5 are decoders for decompressing the compressed voice data received from the IP network terminator 2 and sending it as analog data to the line switching processor 10, and 6 and 7 are extension telephones. This is an encoder that digitizes analog voice data from 200 (or extension telephone 100, the same applies hereinafter), compresses it, and sends it to the IP network terminating unit 2.
[0004]
Reference numeral 12 denotes an extension telephone interface that can be connected to the extension telephone 200, 11 is connected to the extension telephone interface 12, and an extension telephone termination section that terminates the extension telephone is connected to the extension telephone termination section 3 and the telephone network termination section 11. Alternatively, the extension telephone terminator 3 is connected to the IP network terminator 2 via one of the encoders 4 and 5 and one of the decoders 6 and 7 to each line (IP network 300, telephone network 400). This is a line switching processing unit for performing the connection process. 8 is an IP network call control processing unit that is connected to the line switching processing unit 10 and performs connection disconnection processing via the IP network terminating unit 2 and switching processing of the encoders 4, 5, and decoders 6 and 7, and 9 is a line switching processing unit. 10 is a telephone network call control processing unit that is connected to 10 and sends a connection / disconnection signal to the telephone network termination unit 3.
[0005]
According to the above configuration, when a call is made using the extension telephones 100 and 200, the telephone network is connected to the communication network (IP network 300 or telephone network 400) to be used according to the user setting at the start of connection, and the IP network 300 is connected. In the case of connection, it is possible to select an appropriate one of the encoders 4 and 5 and an appropriate one of the decoders 6 and 7 and perform connection processing.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the conventional communication system described above, when a call is made preferentially using a low-priced IP network, there is a problem that voice is interrupted due to a decrease in communication quality during the call.
[0007]
The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and uses a low-priced IP network preferentially while switching the telephone network or IP network and its decoder and encoder according to the communication quality at that time. By doing so, it aims at maintaining communication quality.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a communication terminal apparatus according to the present invention is connected to an IP communication network and a telephone communication network selectively or simultaneously, and is connected to the line connection means to receive a received voice signal. An IP communication processing means for processing communication by the IP communication network, and a communication via the telephone communication network. Switching between the telephone communication processing means for processing the IP communication processing means and the telephone communication processing means, or switching a decoder for processing the received audio signal to another decoder of the plurality of decoders, or Either the encoder that processes the transmission audio signal is switched to another encoder of the plurality of encoders, or one of the processes is performed during communication of the audio signal Switching means, terminal connection means for connecting the IP communication processing means or telephone communication processing means switched by the switching means and the information terminal, and control means for controlling the switching means according to communication quality, The control unit controls the switching unit to select one of the decoders according to communication quality, and the switching unit is configured to respectively use the decoder used before switching and the decoder used after switching. The received audio signal received in step 1 is transmitted to the terminal connection means at the same time as switching.
Further, the present invention is characterized in that the control means of the communication terminal apparatus described above includes an operation means operated based on a user's judgment.
Further, according to the present invention, the switching means of the communication terminal apparatus is normally switched to the IP communication processing means side, and the control means monitors the communication quality by the IP communication processing means, and is below a predetermined value. The switching means is switched when the communication quality becomes the following.
In addition, the present invention is characterized in that there is provided notification means for notifying a communication partner that the switching means of the communication terminal apparatus has selected one of the decoders.
According to the present invention, when the communication terminal apparatus receives a notification indicating that one of the decoders has been selected from a communication partner, the switching means switches one of the plurality of encoders in response to the notification. The transmission voice signal transmitted from the terminal connection means is transmitted to the encoder used before switching and the encoder used after switching simultaneously when switching.
[0009]
The communication system according to the present invention includes a first communication terminal device configured as described above, a first information terminal connected to the first communication terminal device, a second communication terminal device, and the second communication. It comprises a second information terminal connected to the terminal device, and an IP communication network and a telephone communication network connected between the first communication terminal device and the second communication terminal device.
[0010]
[Action]
Therefore, according to the present invention, when the communication quality is deteriorated, the IP communication network can be switched to the telephone communication network in which the communication quality is guaranteed by switching from the IP communication processing means to the telephone communication processing means.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, first and second embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
Each embodiment uses a quality-guaranteed telephone network, a non-quality-guaranteed IP network, and a decoder by switching between them according to the call quality at that time, thereby preferentially using the IP network and improving the call quality. It is intended to be maintained.
[0012]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of the communication terminal apparatus 500 used in the communication system of FIG. 3 according to the present invention. Omitted.
In the present embodiment, as shown in the figure, an operation unit 13 and a switching signal sending unit 14 are added to the conventional configuration of FIG. The communication terminal device 500 in FIG. 1 is shown with the extension telephone 200 connected thereto, but the communication terminal device 500 having the same configuration is also connected to the extension telephone 100 side in FIG. .
Hereinafter, a procedure for manually switching to the optimum decoder when the user feels a decrease in communication quality in the above configuration will be described.
[0013]
(1) The extension telephone termination unit 11 terminates the communication of the extension telephone 200 connected to the extension telephone interface 12, and sends connection destination (communication terminal device 500 communication terminal device 500) information and connection request to the line switching processing unit 10. Send.
(2) The line switching processing unit 10 determines which communication network and decoder to use for transmission in accordance with the connection destination information and the connection request received from the extension telephone termination unit 11, and the IP network call control processing unit 8 The connection destination information and the connection request are transmitted to the server. Here, the IP network 300 is preferentially used.
(3) The IP network call control processing unit 8 is connected to the connection destination communication terminal device 500 indicated by the connection destination information received from the line switching processing unit 10 via the communication network connected to the line interface 1. I do. The line interface 1 is configured so that the IP network 300 and the telephone network 400 can be selectively or simultaneously connected.
[0014]
(4) After the connection by the IP network call control processing unit 8 is established, an analog voice signal from the extension telephone 200 is transmitted to the encoder 4 via the extension telephone termination unit 11 and the line switching processing unit 10.
(5) The encoder 4 converts the received analog audio signal into a digital audio signal, compresses it, and transmits it to the connection destination through the IP network termination unit 2 and the line interface 1 through the IP network 300.
(6) The voice data transmitted from the connection destination is subjected to decompression processing and analog conversion processing by the decoder 6 via the line interface 1, and the line switching processing unit 10, extension telephone termination unit 11, and extension telephone interface 12 are connected. To the extension telephone 200.
[0015]
(7) When the user senses that the communication quality has deteriorated during a call, the operation unit 13 is operated to instruct the decoder to be changed.
(8) In response to the instruction, the switching signal sending unit 14 transmits a decoder switching signal to the line switching processing unit 10.
(9) The line switching processing unit 10 uses the connection destination information held in advance for the IP network call control processing unit 8 in order to establish a new connection based on the received decoder switching signal. Decoder information indicating that the decoder has been changed to the decoder 7 and a connection request are transmitted.
[0016]
(10) The IP network call control processing unit 8 performs a connection process for a connection destination designated via the IP network terminating unit 2 and the line interface 1 and establishes communication via the line interface 1. The decoder information is notified to the connection destination, and the communication terminal device 500 switches and changes the encoder based on the decoder information.
(11) After the connection with the connection destination is established, the line switching processing unit 10 simultaneously transmits the reception voice signal from the decoders 6 and 7 for a moment and transmits the transmission voice signal from the extension telephone termination unit 11 to the encoders 4 and 5. Simultaneously send for a moment. This is performed to prevent the sound from being interrupted when the decoder and encoder are switched. When the decoder information is received from the connection destination, the IP network call control processing unit 8 performs processing for switching and changing the encoder to the line switching processing unit 10.
[0017]
The above describes the case where the communication quality is maintained by switching the decoder in the use of the IP network 300. However, if the communication quality is still low after switching the decoder, the operation unit 13 is operated again to switch the IP network. A switch from using 300 to using a quality-guaranteed telephone network 400 can be instructed. In that case, under the control of the IP network call control processing unit 8 based on the above instruction, the extension telephone 200, the extension telephone interface 12, the extension telephone termination unit 11, the line switching processing unit 10, the telephone network call control termination unit 3 and the line The telephone network 40 can be connected via the interface 1.
The operation unit 13 can be operated on either the extension telephone 100 side or the extension telephone 20 side.
[0018]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a communication terminal apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The parts corresponding to those in FIG.
In the present embodiment, a quality monitoring unit 15 is added to the conventional configuration of FIG. 4 as shown. The quality monitoring unit 15 constantly monitors packets arriving at the decoders 6 and 7 and sends a decoder switching signal according to the arrival interval and loss state of the packets to the line switching processing unit 9. The procedure for automatically switching to the optimum decoder when the quality monitoring unit 15 detects a decrease in communication quality in the above configuration will be described below.
[0019]
The procedures (1) to (6) are performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment described above.
(7) When the quality monitoring unit 15 detects a decrease in communication quality during a call, a quality deterioration signal is transmitted to the line switching processing unit 10.
(8) In order to establish a new connection based on the received quality degradation signal, the line switching processing unit 10 stores the connection destination information held in advance for the IP network call control processing unit 8 and the new information to be used. The decoder information and connection request are transmitted.
[0020]
(9) The IP network call control processing unit 8 performs a connection process for a specified connection destination via the IP network terminating unit 2 and the line interface 1. In addition, the decoder information is transmitted to the connection destination, and the communication terminal apparatus 500 of the connection destination switches and changes the encoder based on the received decoder information.
(10) After the connection with the communication partner is established, the line switching processing unit 10 transmits the reception data from the decoders 6 and 7 to the extension telephone terminator 11 at the same time instantly and receives from the extension telephone terminator 11 Data is simultaneously transmitted to the encoders 4 and 5 for a moment to perform switching processing. Further, when decoder information is received from the connection destination, processing for switching and changing the encoder is performed accordingly.
[0021]
The above describes the case where the quality monitoring unit 15 switches the decoder when the communication quality falls below a predetermined threshold. However, a lower threshold is provided, and the communication quality falls below the threshold. In this case, the telephone network call control processing unit 9 may be instructed to switch to the telephone network 400. Further, during a call using the telephone network 400, the quality monitoring unit 15 may perform monitoring at a constant cycle, and when the communication quality exceeds a predetermined threshold value, it may be switched to the IP network 300 again and used.
[0022]
In each of the embodiments described above, the case where a telephone call is made using the extension telephones 100 and 200 has been described. However, an information terminal such as a personal computer may be used instead of the extension telephone.
[0023]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, when communication quality deteriorates during communication between an information terminal such as an extension telephone connected to a communication terminal device and a partner via an IP communication network, it is more appropriate. Since it is possible to switch to a communication network or a decoder, the communication quality can always be maintained at a certain level or higher.
As a result, the telephone service on an inexpensive IP network is normally used, and when the quality deteriorates, the service on the IP network maintains the maximum quality. By switching to the telephone service, it is possible to provide the service with the lowest price and a certain level of quality.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a communication terminal apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a communication terminal apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a communication system to which the present invention can be applied.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a conventional communication terminal device used in a communication system.
[Explanation of symbols]
1: line interface, 2: IP network termination unit, 3: telephone network termination unit, 4, 5: encoder, 6, 7: decoder, 8: IP network call control processing unit, 9: telephone network call control processing unit, 10 : Line switching processing unit, 11: extension telephone terminating unit, 12: extension telephone interface, 13: operation unit, 14: switching signal sending unit, 15: quality monitoring unit

Claims (6)

Circuit connection means capable of selectively or simultaneously connecting to the IP communication network and the telephone communication network;
IP communication processing means connected to the line connection means, having a plurality of decoders for processing a received voice signal and a plurality of encoders for processing a transmission voice signal, and processing communication by the IP communication network;
Telephone communication processing means connected to the line connection means for processing communication by the telephone communication network;
Switching the IP communication processing means and the telephone communication processing means , or switching a decoder that processes the received audio signal to another decoder of the plurality of decoders, or an encoder that processes the transmission audio signal Switching means for switching to another encoder of the plurality of encoders, or performing any processing during communication of the audio signal ;
Terminal connection means for connecting the IP communication processing means or telephone communication processing means switched by the switching means and the information terminal;
Control means for controlling the switching means according to communication quality,
The control means controls the switching means to select one of the decoders according to communication quality;
The switching means transmits a reception audio signal received by each of the decoder used before switching and the decoder used after switching to the terminal connection means simultaneously at the time of switching . The communication terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit includes an operation unit operated based on a user's judgment. The switching means is normally switched to the IP communication processing means side, and the control means monitors the communication quality by the IP communication processing means, and when the communication quality falls below a predetermined level, the switching means The communication terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the communication terminal device is switched. The communication terminal apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising notification means for notifying a communication partner that the switching means has selected one of the decoders. When a notification indicating that one of the decoders has been selected is received from a communication partner, the switching unit selects one of the plurality of encoders in response to the notification, and the transmission transmitted from the terminal connection unit 5. The communication terminal device according to claim 1 , wherein an audio signal is transmitted simultaneously to each of the encoder used before switching and the encoder used after switching at the time of switching . The first communication terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , a first information terminal connected to the first communication terminal device, a second communication terminal device, and the second communication terminal device A communication system comprising a second information terminal connected to the communication terminal device, and an IP communication network and a telephone communication network connected between the first communication terminal device and the second communication terminal device.

Images