JP4347873B2 - Status notification method and status notification system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a technique for facilitating communication between users using a mobile communication terminal such as a mobile phone.
In the present invention, a mobile communication system is a system that includes a mobile communication terminal and a mobile communication network and provides communication services between mobile communication terminals.

The mobile communication terminal refers to a portable information terminal such as a mobile phone or a PHS (Personal Handyphone System).
A mobile communication network refers to a communication network that relays signals transmitted and received between mobile communication terminals. The mobile communication network usually includes a base station to which the mobile communication terminal is connected, a mobile communication switch to which the base station is connected, and a management device that accumulates and manages the communication state of the mobile communication terminal in the state DB. Consists of including.

  In recent years, the development of mobile communication systems that provide communication services between mobile communication terminals such as mobile phones and PHS (hereinafter simply referred to as mobile terminals) has been rapidly progressing. This mobile communication system identifies a plurality of areas and supports communication between mobile terminals in each area. The communication state of each mobile terminal is managed by the management device. The mobile terminal can be connected to a base station provided for each area. When the mobile terminal moves to a different area, the mobile terminal notifies the management apparatus of the new area via the base station in the destination area.

  With the spread of the mobile communication system, it is now possible to make a call to a party to be contacted anytime and anywhere. On the other hand, there is a problem that the receiver side is called regardless of the state, and the caller side does not know whether or not it is possible to call the other party. In order to solve this problem, the user can turn off the mobile terminal when he / she does not want to receive a call. However, if you turn off the power, you will not be able to receive urgent or important contacts. In addition, even if the user knows that the other party who made the call has turned off the power, the user does not know when the call is ready.

  In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-191458, when the communication state of the other party who made the call is “busy” or “out of service area or powered off”, the calling party is notified that the other party can talk. A mobile phone system for notification is disclosed. Similarly, JP-A-11-27741, JP-A-8-168072, JP-A-8-79387, and JP-A-7-336761 indicate that the mobile communication system has returned from a call-disabled state. A technique for notifying a caller and, in some cases, connecting to a line is disclosed.

  However, the mobile phone system described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-191458 provides the base station of the mobile phone system with a function of detecting or notifying the communication state of the called terminal. In this case, it is necessary to introduce the function to all the base stations of the mobile phone system that are actually operating, which is difficult to realize. In addition, since the base station periodically calls the called terminal, a lot of useless calls are generated. Furthermore, it can be said that the mobile phone system only applies a so-called camp-on service to the mobile communication system in which the caller requests the other party to make a return call when the call is restored. Similarly, the techniques described in JP-A-11-27741, JP-A-8-168072, JP-A-8-79387, and JP-A-7-336761 also camp on mobile communications as described above. It is only an on-service application.

  However, mobile terminals have already been closely linked to business places and personal lives as a means of communication, and new needs have arisen, that is, the need to communicate in consideration of the state of the communication partner and privacy. For example, when making a call, you want to consider etiquette, such as refraining from calls with less important requirements because the other party seems busy. Also, when I receive a call, I am busy now, so I want to communicate according to my circumstances, such as receiving only urgent requirements. However, a mobile communication system that provides communication in consideration of the user's condition and privacy has not been realized yet.

  An object of this invention is to provide the communication system which implement | achieves a communication service in consideration of a user state and privacy by notifying a required other party of various information.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the first invention of the present application provides a state notification management apparatus used in a mobile communication system capable of communicating between mobile communication terminals via a mobile communication network. This apparatus includes the following means.
Along with a change in the communication state of the mobile communication terminal, the communication state of the mobile communication terminal notified from the mobile communication network is received, and the received communication state of the mobile communication terminal is associated with the identification information of the mobile communication terminal And a detecting means for storing in the first storage unit,
The user status information indicating the status of the user of the mobile communication terminal set by the mobile communication terminal is received from the mobile communication terminal, and the received user status information status of the mobile communication terminal and the mobile communication User status receiving means for associating with terminal identification information and storing in the second storage unit;
Sending means for sending the received communication status of the mobile communication terminal and user status information of the user of the received mobile communication terminal to another mobile communication terminal via the mobile communication network.

For example, the user status setting means receives user status information such as “Urgent use only”, “Overnight”, “Anytime”. The received user status information is stored in the second storage unit together with the address of the mobile communication terminal. The sending means sends new user status information and communication status to other mobile terminals.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the user of the mobile communication terminal uses the mobile terminal to identify identification information of another mobile communication terminal corresponding to another user who desires to refer to the communication state and user state information. Status notification further comprising reference setting means for receiving the reference destination identification information indicating the identification information of the other mobile communication terminal received from the communication terminal and storing the identification information of the mobile communication terminal in the third storage unit in association with each other Provide a management device. In this apparatus, the sending means is configured such that the other mobile communication terminal serves as a mobile communication terminal to which the received communication status of the mobile communication terminal and the user status information of the user of the received user communication terminal are notified. The identification information of the mobile communication terminal stored in association with the reference destination identification information is extracted.
The third invention of the present application is the status notification management according to the first invention, wherein the detecting means and the user status receiving means receive a communication status or user information information relating to the mobile communication terminal stored in the third storage unit. Providing equipment.

  If the present invention is used, the user using the mobile terminal knows the state of the communication partner in advance, and can make a call in consideration of the state of the partner. In addition, since the user can selectively notify the communication partner of his / her state, he / she can protect his / her privacy.

Next, the status notification system of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to an embodiment.
<First embodiment>
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a status notification system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The mobile communication system of FIG. 1 is configured by adding a notification unit 2 (transmission unit) and a monitoring unit 3 (detection unit) connected to a mobile communication network in addition to a normal mobile communication system.

  The mobile communication system includes a mobile communication network 1 and a plurality of mobile terminals 11. The mobile communication network 1 includes a base station 12, a mobile communication switch 13, a DB management unit 14, and a status DB 15. The base station 12 transmits and receives signals by connecting to the mobile terminal 11 in a predetermined area. The mobile communication switch 13 transmits and receives data to and from a plurality of base stations, other mobile communication switches, a fixed telephone line network, and the like. Further, the mobile communication switch 13 notifies the DB management unit 14 of a change in communication state based on a call request from the mobile terminal. The DB management unit 14 records the communication state of the mobile terminal in the state DB 15 in response to the notification from the mobile communication exchange. The communication state to be recorded is “no communication”, “busy”, “out of service area or power off”, “where”.

(1) Configuration of Notification Unit 2 FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the notification unit 2. The notification unit 2 includes a communication interface (I / F) 21, a processing unit 22, a table management unit 23, a storage unit 24, a storage unit 25, and a transmission unit 26.
First, data stored in the storage unit 24 will be described. The storage unit 24 stores a correspondence table, a qualification table, and a status table. FIG. 3 is a conceptual explanatory diagram of the correspondence table. In the correspondence table, the observer address of the observer, the target address of the observation target, and the notification condition are stored in association with each other. Each item is set by an “observer” as described later. An observer is a user who receives a notification about the state of another user who is an observation target. The observation target is a user who is notified of a new state by the observer. As the “observer address” and “target address”, a communication address that identifies each mobile communication terminal in the mobile communication network is used. In this embodiment, a telephone number is used as the communication address. The “notification condition” describes a condition for notifying the observer of the state of the observation target when the observation target is in any state. For example, if the “notification condition” is “all”, a new state is notified to the observer whenever the state of the observation target changes. If the “notification condition” is “callable”, the observer is notified when the communication state of the observation target becomes “callable”. For example, when the mobile terminal to be observed enters the “in-range”, or when the call is terminated during the call and the state becomes “no communication”.

  FIG. 4 is a conceptual explanatory diagram of the qualification table. In the qualification table, a target address, an observer address, a notification condition, and an action are stored in association with each other. Each item is set according to an observation target, as will be described later. The “target address” and “observer address” are the same as those in the correspondence table. However, in the “notification condition”, a condition for allowing the observation target user to permit the observer to notify or a condition for not permitting the notification are set.

  “Operation” describes whether or not the state of the observation target can be notified to the observer when the state of the observation target matches the “notification condition”. For example, consider a case where the “notification condition” is “callable” and the “operation” is “permitted”. In this case, it is permitted to notify the observer that the state of the observation target is “callable”. In other words, it is permitted to register a “notification request” described later in the correspondence table. When the “notification condition” is “all” and the “operation” is “non-permitted”, the state of the observation target is not notified to the observer at all. In other words, registration of a “notification request” to be described later in the correspondence table is not permitted.

In addition, only the notification conditions permitted in the qualification table may be registered, and all cases where the notification condition is not registered may be set as “non-permitted”. Only notification requests from explicitly permitted parties are registered in the correspondence table. It is preferable from the viewpoint of protecting privacy.
FIG. 5 is a conceptual explanatory diagram of the state table. In the status table, the user name, the communication address, the status 1 and the status 2 are stored in association with each other. In the present embodiment example, the communication state of the user notified from the monitoring unit 3 is set in “state 1”. That is, “no communication”, “busy”, “range”, “out of range or power off”, and the like. “State 2” describes the user's own state of each mobile terminal. For example, “Overnight”, “Anytime”, “Emergency only”. The “state 2” can be notified by the user himself / herself from the mobile terminal to the notification unit 2, for example. It is also possible to transmit the user status automatically detected using an existing user status detection system or the like to the notification unit 2. In the present embodiment, the user's own state is notified from each mobile terminal to the notification unit 2 by a predetermined form of own state notification.

A case where a plurality of communication addresses are registered for one user is also conceivable. In this case, when the user's own status is notified, the “status 2” of the corresponding communication address may be collectively updated using the user name as a key. Even though the users are the same, it is possible to avoid the contradiction that the user's own state is different for each mobile terminal.
The communication I / F 21 transmits / receives data to / from the mobile communication network. That is, the communication I / F 21 sends the received data to the processing unit 22. The communication I / F 21 sends data received from the sending unit 26 to the mobile communication network 1.

  The processing unit 22 performs processing according to the received data. When the processing unit 22 receives a status notification about any user from the monitoring unit 3, the processing unit 22 determines a notification destination based on the correspondence table and creates a notification message in which the user status is described. The processing unit 22 performs the same processing when receiving a self-state notification from the mobile terminal. The processing unit 22 determines whether the notification destination can receive the notification message based on the state table. If the notification destination cannot be received, the processing unit 22 sends the notification destination and the notification message to the storage unit 25.

Further, the processing unit 22 instructs the table management unit 23 to update the state table based on the state notification from the monitoring unit 3 or the own state notification from the mobile terminal. The status notification and the self status notification will be described later.
Further, when receiving a notification request or notification cancellation request described later from the mobile terminal, the processing unit 22 instructs the table management unit 23 to update the correspondence table based on the qualification table. When updating the correspondence table, the processing unit 22 notifies the monitoring unit 3 of the updated content. Further, when receiving a qualification registration request to be described later, the processing unit 22 instructs the table management unit 23 to update the qualification table.

  The table management unit 23 updates the correspondence table, the qualification table, and the status table in accordance with instructions from the processing unit 22. The storage unit 25 temporarily stores the notification message when the notification destination of the notification message is in a state where the message cannot be received. The storage unit 25 sends the stored notification message to the sending unit 26 in accordance with an instruction from the processing unit 22. The sending unit 26 sends a notification message sent from the processing unit 22 or the storage unit 25 to a designated notification destination.

(2) Configuration of Monitoring Unit 3 FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the monitoring unit 3. In the present embodiment example, the monitoring unit 3 is incorporated in the DB management unit 14. The DB management unit 14 has a DBMS (Database Management System) and manages the state DB 15 that holds the communication state of the mobile terminal. The DB management unit 14 performs transmission / reception of a communication state via a communication interface (I / F).

The monitoring unit 3 includes a monitoring table 31, a detection unit 32, and a change notification unit 33.
FIG. 7 is a conceptual explanatory diagram of the monitoring table 31. The monitoring table 31 stores a target address and a notification condition in association with each other. The monitoring table 31 is updated according to the update notification of the correspondence table received from the notification unit 2 by the detection unit 32. Therefore, the observation target, the target address, and the notification condition stored in the monitoring table 31 match each item of the correspondence table.

  The detection unit 32 is incorporated in the DBMS and can detect a write command to the state DB. When detecting the command, the detection unit 32 determines whether to notify the notification unit 2 of a new communication state based on the monitoring table 31. That is, the detection unit 32 determines whether or not the user whose communication state has changed is an observation target and whether or not the new communication state matches the notification condition. When it is determined that notification is to be made, the detection unit 32 sends out a new communication state and observation target to the change notification unit 33. The change notification unit 33 creates a state notification in a predetermined format in which the communication state and the observation target are described, and sends the state notification to the notification unit 2.

(3) Configuration of mobile terminal (3-1) Configuration Next, the mobile terminal will be described. A mobile terminal generally includes a storage unit, a storage management unit, a communication control unit, a communication unit, and a user I / F unit (not shown). The storage unit stores the received text message, phone book, own terminal information, and the like. In the telephone directory, a communication partner and a communication address are usually stored in association with each other. The storage management unit writes and reads information to and from the storage unit. The communication control unit performs processing according to an external signal or a user operation. The communication unit transmits and receives signals to and from the mobile communication network. The user I / F unit receives an operation from the user and notifies the user of information by voice or display.

  In this embodiment, in addition to the name and phone number of the communication partner, the user status is also stored in the phone book information. FIG. 8 is a conceptual explanatory diagram of a telephone directory that holds a user state. In the telephone book, a name, a telephone number, a registration flag, state 1 and state 2 are held in association with each other. The “registration flag” indicates whether or not the communication partner status is notified. If the “registration flag” is “ON”, a predetermined state of the communication partner is notified to the mobile terminal. If it is “OFF”, the status of the communication partner is not notified. “State 1” corresponds to state 1 in the state table, and describes the communication state of the mobile terminal notified to the notification unit 2. “State 2” corresponds to state 2 in the state table, and the notification unit 2 describes its own state notified by each mobile terminal.

  FIG. 9 is a display example of the user status in the mobile terminal having the telephone directory. In FIG. 9, it is displayed that “Fujitsu Taro” is in the area and wants to call at night. Further, it is shown that “Fujitsu Hanako” is currently “in a call” and can be called anytime. In FIG. 9, “state 2” is displayed as an image, but it can also be displayed as a text message. Note that the mobile terminal shown in FIG. 9 has selection buttons 101 and 102 and a confirmation button 103.

(3-2) Screen Example Next, an operation for selecting a communication partner and requesting or canceling the notification of the user state in the mobile terminal will be described with reference to the screen example of FIG. Normally, a mobile terminal can select a predetermined operation such as mail or phone book editing from the main menu. In this embodiment, in addition to normal operations, “notification request / cancellation”, “qualification registration”, and “self-status notification” are displayed on the main menu.

(3-2-1) Notification Request / Release Screen Example When “Notification Request / Release” is selected in the main menu of FIG. 10A, a “partner selection window” shown in FIG. 10B is displayed. In this window, ON / OFF of the registration flag is displayed for the communication partner. In the figure, it is displayed that the registration flag is already on for “Taro”. When one of the communication partners is selected, a “notification condition window” shown in FIG. 10C is displayed.

  The notification condition window accepts selection of any notification condition of “all”, “communication state”, or “user state”. When “all” is selected, notification of a new state is set for all state changes that occur in the communication partner. When “communication state” is selected, for example, a pull-down menu is displayed, and the communication state desired to be notified can be selected. In the pull-down menu, communication states such as “all”, “range”, “out of range or power off”, “busy”, “call available” are displayed. When “user status” is selected, for example, a pull-down menu is displayed, and the user status to be notified can be selected. In the pull-down menu, user statuses such as “all”, “overnight”, “anytime”, “only for emergency” are displayed. A plurality of selections may be accepted in the pull-down menu. FIG. 10 shows a case where “all” is selected as the notification condition.

  When the notification condition is set, the process returns to the “partner selection window” again (FIG. 10D). Here, the registration flag is on for the newly selected “Hanako”. If other communication partners desire state notification, other communication partners and notification conditions are selected as described above. Also, when changing the notification condition for a communication partner whose registration flag is already turned on, the communication partner and the notification condition are selected in the same manner as described above.

For example, when confirmation of the notification request is instructed by continuously pressing the confirmation button twice, the notification request is transmitted to the notification unit 2. Thereafter, the display returns to the main menu (FIG. 10 (e)). When the notification unit 2 does not accept the transmitted notification registration, a predetermined message shown in FIG. The cancellation of the notification request can also be set as described above.
(3-2-2) Screen Example for Qualification Registration Next, an operation for setting the qualification table of the notification unit 2 from the mobile terminal will be described using a screen example. FIG. 11 is an example of a screen showing setting of a qualification table. When “qualification registration” is selected in the main menu (FIG. 11A), the “partner selection window” in FIG. 11B is displayed. When a communication partner is selected, a “qualification setting window” shown in FIG. 11C is displayed. This window accepts the selection of whether or not to inform the selected communication partner. When any one is selected, a “condition setting window” shown in FIG. 11D is displayed.

  The “condition setting window” accepts a setting of a state in which notification is permitted or not permitted. The state can be selected from “all”, “communication state”, and “self state”. Each state is the same as “all”, “communication state”, and “user state” in the notification condition window of FIG. When “communication status” or “self status” is selected, a pull-down menu or the like is displayed as in the notification condition window, and a detailed status can be selected. FIG. 11 shows a setting for “permitting” to notify the selected communication partner of the state of “callable”. In this setting, notification of own status is not permitted.

Next, a “setting confirmation window” shown in FIG. When “OK” is selected, a qualification registration request is transmitted to the notification unit 2 and a setting completion display is performed (FIG. 11F). If “Correction” is selected, for example, the “qualification setting window” shown in FIG. 11C is displayed, and settings can be redone.
(3-2-3) Screen Example of Self Status Notification FIG. 12 is a screen example when the mobile device notifies the notification unit 2 of the self status. When “notification of own state” is selected in the main menu (FIG. 12A), a “state selection window” shown in FIG. 12B is displayed. In the “state selection window”, state choices such as “over night”, “available anytime”, and “urgent use only” are displayed together with images. When one of the states is selected, for example, when a confirmation button is pressed, a self-state notification is transmitted to the notification unit 2.

[Process flow]
Next, the flow of processing performed in the status notification system according to the present embodiment will be described.
(1) Processing Performed by Notification Unit 2 FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing performed by the notification unit 2.

In step S201, the communication I / F waits for signal reception. When receiving the signal, the communication I / F sends the received signal to the processing unit 22.
In step S202, the processing unit 22 performs a process according to the received signal. First, the processing unit 22 determines whether or not the received signal is a status notification from the monitoring unit 3 or a self status notification from the mobile terminal. If "Yes" is determined, the process proceeds to step S204. If "No" is determined, the process proceeds to step S212 described later.

In step S203, the processing unit 22 writes the communication state of the mobile terminal or the user's own state based on the received state notification or own state notification.
In step S <b> 204, when the received notification is a status notification, the processing unit 22 determines whether the notification indicates that the signal can be received. For example, it is a notification that the communication state is “range” or “no communication”. If “Yes”, the process proceeds to step S205. If the received notification is a self status notification or another status notification, the process proceeds to step S207 described later.

In step S <b> 205, the processing unit 22 notifies the storage unit 25 of the mobile terminal that can be received. The storage unit 25 determines whether notification messages addressed to the notified mobile terminal are accumulated. If accumulated, the process proceeds to step S206. If not, the process proceeds to step S207 described later.
In step S <b> 206, the storage unit 25 sends the accumulated notification message to the mobile terminal via the sending unit 26. That is, a new user state is notified to a mobile terminal that has not been notified of a notification message because it is in a state where reception is impossible. Note that, when a plurality of notification messages related to the same other mobile terminal are accumulated for the same mobile terminal, the storage unit 25 transmits only the latest notification message and deletes the other notification message. May be.

  In step S207, the processing unit 22 determines a notification destination to be notified of the new user status based on the correspondence table. First, the processing unit 22 instructs the table management unit 23 to read the observer's address and notification conditions. The table management unit 23 reads the address and notification condition of the observer who has designated the user whose state has changed as an observation target, and notifies the processing unit 22 of the address. The processing unit 22 determines, from among the notified observers, an observer whose new user state matches the notification condition as a notification destination.

  In step S208, the processing unit 22 determines whether or not the notification destination determined in step S207 can receive the notification message based on the state table. First, the processing unit 22 notifies the table management unit 23 of reading of the state table. The table management unit 23 reads the determined state of the notification destination mobile terminal and sends it to the processing unit 22. When the notification destination is receivable, the processing unit 22 creates a notification message in a predetermined format for the notification destination and sends it to the sending unit 26 together with the notification destination address. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S209. If the notification destination cannot be received, the process proceeds to step S210 described later.

In step S209, the sending unit 26 transmits a notification message to the notification destination address.
In step S <b> 210, the processing unit 22 sends a notification destination and a notification message to the storage unit 25. The storage unit 25 stores the received notification message and the notification destination in association with each other.
In step S211, the processing unit 22 determines whether a notification message has been transmitted or stored for all notification destinations. If “No”, the process proceeds to step S208, and the process according to the state of the notification destination is repeated as described above. If “Yes”, the process returns to step S201 to repeat the above process.

  If it is determined that the signal received in step S202 is not a status notification or a self status notification, the process proceeds to step S212. In step S212, the processing unit 22 determines whether the received signal is a notification request or a notification cancellation request from any mobile terminal. If "Yes" is determined, the process proceeds to step S213. If "No" is determined, the process proceeds to step S217 described later.

  In step S213, the processing unit 22 determines whether to permit the received notification request or notification cancellation request based on the qualification table. That is, when the processing unit 22 receives the notification request, the processing unit 22 extracts the observation target and the observer and notifies the table management unit 23. The table management unit 23 reads out notification conditions and operations for the notified observer from the qualification table and notifies the processing unit 22 of them. The processing unit 22 determines whether or not to permit the notification request based on the notification condition of the notification request and the read notification condition and operation. If it is determined to be permitted, the process proceeds to step S214. If it is determined not to permit, the process proceeds to step S216. In addition, if a notification cancellation request is received, it is determined to permit.

In step S214, the processing unit 22 determines notification conditions to be set in the correspondence table. This determination is made based on the notification condition described in the notification request and the notification condition and operation of the qualification table. Next, the processing unit 22 notifies the table observer 23 of the determined observer, observation target, and notification condition. The table management unit 23 writes the notification content in the correspondence table.
In step S <b> 215, the processing unit 22 creates an update notification in a predetermined format in which the observation target and the notification condition are described, and transmits the update notification to the monitoring unit 3 via the transmission unit 26. The monitoring unit 3 updates the monitoring table based on the update notification. Thereafter, the process returns to step S212 and the above-described processing is repeated.

If it is determined in step S213 that the notification request is not permitted, the process proceeds to step S216. In step S216, the processing unit 22 creates a response message indicating that the transmitted notification request cannot be permitted, and transmits the response message to the notification requesting mobile terminal. In the mobile terminal that has received the response message, the screen illustrated in FIG. 10 (g) is displayed.
If it is determined in step S212 that the received signal is neither a notification request nor a notification cancellation request, the process proceeds to step S217. In step S217, the processing unit 22 determines whether or not the received signal is a qualification registration request. If "Yes" is determined, the process proceeds to step S218. If "No" is determined, the process proceeds to step S221 described later.

In step S218, the processing unit 22 determines whether to permit the received qualification registration request based on the target address. Specifically, if the target address matches the communication address of the request source, it is determined to permit. If it is determined to permit, the process proceeds to step S219. If it is determined not to permit, the process proceeds to step S220 described later.
In step S219, the processing unit 22 extracts the contents of predetermined items from the received qualification registration request and sends them to the table management unit 23. The table management unit 23 writes the notified contents in the qualification table.

In step S220, for example, the processing unit 22 creates a message indicating that the qualification registration request cannot be permitted, and transmits the message to the requesting mobile terminal. Thereafter, the process returns to step S201.
If it is determined that the signal received in step S217 is not a qualification registration request, the process proceeds to step S221. In step S221, the processing unit 22 performs other processing such as predetermined error processing, and returns to step S201.
(2) Processing Performed by Monitoring Unit 3 FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the flow of monitoring processing performed by the monitoring unit 3. The following processing is started with the activation of the DB management unit 14.

First, in step S301, the detection unit 32 waits for a write command for the state DB to be generated, and proceeds to step S302 when a write command is generated.
In step S <b> 302, the detection unit 32 determines whether to notify the notification unit 2 of the communication state newly written in the state DB based on the monitoring table 31. That is, it is determined whether or not the mobile terminal in which the communication state has changed is the observation target, and whether or not the generated change matches the notification condition. If “Yes” is determined, the process proceeds to step S303. If "No" is determined, the process returns to step S301.

In step S <b> 303, the detection unit 32 notifies the change notification unit 33 of the new communication state and mobile terminal. The change notification unit 33 creates a status notification in a predetermined format and sends it to the notification unit 2. Thereafter, the process returns to step S301.
The monitoring unit 3 also performs an update process for the monitoring table 31 in addition to the monitoring process. In other words, when receiving the update notification from the notification unit 2, the detection unit 32 updates the monitoring table 31. When an update notification based on the notification request is received, processing for adding the target address and notification condition is performed. When an update notification based on the notification cancellation request is received, the corresponding entry is deleted from the monitoring table 31.

(3) Processing Performed by Mobile Terminal FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a flow of notification request / cancellation processing performed by the mobile terminal. When “notification request / cancellation” is selected in the main menu, the following processing is started. The display process of the main menu is the same as the process in a normal mobile phone and the description thereof is omitted.

In step S401, the user I / F unit reads the phone book and displays it on the display. At this time, whether or not the registration flag of each communication partner is “ON” is also displayed.
In step S402, the user I / F unit sends the selected communication partner and notification condition to the communication control unit. That is, the user I / F unit receives selection of an observation target and a notification condition as shown in FIG. The communication control unit waits for the user to finish the setting, and when the setting is completed, the communication control unit proceeds to step S403. That is, the communication control unit determines that the setting is completed by pressing the confirmation button twice in succession.

In step S403, the communication control unit creates a notification request or notification cancellation request in which the set contents are described, and transmits the notification request to the notification unit 2 via the communication unit.
In step S404, the communication control unit waits for a response to the transmitted notification request or the like, and when receiving the response, proceeds to step S405.
In step S405, the communication control unit performs processing according to the received response. When the setting such as the notification request is successful, the process proceeds to step S406. When the setting fails, the process proceeds to step S497 described later.

In step S406, the communication control unit instructs the storage management unit to update the phone book. When the notification request is successful, the storage management unit rewrites the notification flag of the corresponding communication partner to “ON”. Conversely, when the communication request cancellation is successful, the notification flag is rewritten to “OFF”.
In step S407, the user is notified that the setting of the notification request or notification cancellation request has failed (FIG. 10 (g)).

<Other embodiment examples>
(A) In the embodiment, the monitoring unit 3 is configured integrally with the DB management unit 14. However, the monitoring unit 3 is not necessarily configured integrally with the DB management unit 14 as long as the change in the state DB can be monitored. Moreover, the notification part 2 should just be able to receive the status notification from the monitoring part 3, and can transmit a notification message to a mobile terminal, and does not necessarily need to be on a mobile communication network.

  (B) In the embodiment, the monitoring unit 3 is configured by incorporating the detection unit 32 in the DBMS. However, a configuration in which the detection unit 32 is provided outside the DBMS is also possible. In this case, the detection unit 32 refers to the update history of the state DB held by the DBMS at predetermined time intervals and compares it with the previous update history. As a result of the comparison, if it is determined that a change has occurred in the state DB, the detection unit 32 determines whether to notify the notification unit 2 of a new communication state based on the monitoring table 31.

  (C) When the notification request or qualification registration is set in the correspondence table or qualification table, it is also preferable that the valid time can be set. The notification unit determines whether or not there is an entry whose valid time has passed every predetermined time interval, and deletes the corresponding entry from the table. Eliminates the hassle of canceling notification requests and qualification registrations. In addition, it is possible to prevent an increase in the network load due to the release of a notification request or the like.

  (D) A configuration in which a plurality of notification units 2 are provided for the monitoring unit 3 is also conceivable. For example, there may be a case where a provider providing a mobile communication network provides a service for notifying a user state to a mobile terminal connected to a different mobile communication network. In this case, the monitoring unit 3 is provided with a notification unit corresponding to each mobile communication network. In the monitoring table of the monitoring unit 3, the identification information of the notification unit is registered in association with the target address. When the state change that matches the notification condition occurs in the target address, the monitoring unit 3 notifies the state change that has occurred to the notification unit associated with the target address.

(E) FIG. 16 is an overall configuration diagram according to another embodiment of the status notification system of the present invention. In the status notification system of this embodiment, a mobile communication network 1 and a computer network 5 such as the Internet are connected via a gateway device 4.
A monitoring unit 3 is provided in the mobile communication network 1. An information terminal 51 having a user state detection device (not shown) is connected on the Internet 5. The user status detection device operates on the information terminal, detects the user status based on the screen saver activation status, the input frequency to the application, the user schedule, the user position detected by infrared rays, etc., and outputs the detection result to the outside. It can be sent out.

  A collection server 41 and a notification unit 2 are connected to the gateway device 4. The collection server 41 collects the user status from the information terminal 51 via the Internet 5 and stores it in the entire status DB 42. For example, the user status is “at present”, “meeting”, “out of seat”, “busy”, “during business trip”, or the like. Further, the collection server 41 receives the status notification from the monitoring unit 3 and the own status notification from the mobile terminal instead of the notification unit 2, and accumulates the user status on the mobile communication network 1 in the all status DB. That is, the collection server 41 centrally manages the state collected on the Internet and the state collected on the mobile communication network for one user.

The notification unit 2 has the same configuration as that in the first embodiment. However, the entire state DB 42 managed by the collection server is used instead of the state table. In addition, the notification unit 2 monitors the state change of the entire state DB 42, and when a change occurs in the entire state DB 42, transmits a notification message to the mobile terminal 11 based on the correspondence table.
In the correspondence table and the qualification table, other addresses such as an IP address can be used in addition to the telephone number of the mobile terminal as the address of the observer or observation target. As described above, the notification unit 2 determines a notification destination of the change that has occurred based on the correspondence table. In this case, the user state notified to the mobile terminal can be the most appropriate notification destination address corresponding to the user state. For example, when the communication state to be observed is “out of service area or power off”, it is conceivable to notify the user's e-mail address or the telephone number of the business trip destination in place of the communication state. Moreover, the user's own state detected by the user state detection device on the information terminal can be notified to the mobile terminal. For example, “meeting”, “seating away”, and the like.

  Conversely, the notification unit can send the communication state on the mobile communication network 1 and the user's own state to the information terminal 51 based on the correspondence table. By associating user information managed by a user status detecting device or address book system operating on the information terminal 51 with user information on the mobile communication network, the user status on the mobile communication network 1 on the application Can be referred to.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, settings such as a notification request, a notification cancellation request, and a qualification registration request can be performed at an information terminal on the Internet, and the operation of each setting is facilitated.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a status notification system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a notification unit 2; The conceptual explanatory view of a correspondence table. Conceptual illustration of a qualification table. The conceptual explanatory drawing of a state table. FIG. 3 is a block explanatory diagram showing a functional configuration of the monitoring unit 3. FIG. 3 is a conceptual explanatory diagram of a monitoring table 31. The conceptual explanatory drawing of the telephone directory which holds a user state. Explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display of the user state in a mobile terminal. Example screen for requesting user status notification or canceling the request. (A), (e) An example of a main menu. (B), (d) An example of a partner selection window. (C) An example of a notification condition window. (F) Message display example. Example screen showing qualification table settings. (A) Main menu. (B) An example of a partner selection window. (C) An example of a qualification setting window. (D) An example of a condition setting window. (E) An example of a setting confirmation window. (F) Display example of setting completion. An example of a notification screen for own status. (A) Main menu. (B) An example of a state selection window. The flowchart which shows the flow of the process which the notification part 2 performs. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of monitoring processing performed by the monitoring unit 3; The flowchart which shows the flow of the notification request / cancellation process which a mobile terminal performs. The whole block diagram of the status notification system which concerns on the other embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1; mobile communication network 2; notification unit 2
3; Monitoring unit 3

Claims (3)

A state notification management device used in a mobile communication system capable of communicating between mobile communication terminals via a mobile communication network,
As the communication state of the mobile communication terminal changes, the communication state of the mobile communication terminal notified from the mobile communication network is received, and the received communication state of the mobile communication terminal is associated with the identification information of the mobile communication terminal Detecting means for storing in the first storage unit;
User status information indicating the status of the user of the mobile communication terminal set by the mobile communication terminal is received from the mobile communication terminal, and the received user status information status of the mobile communication terminal and the mobile communication terminal User status receiving means for storing the identification information in association with each other in the second storage unit,
Sending means for sending the received communication status of the mobile communication terminal and user status information of the user of the received mobile communication terminal to another mobile communication terminal via the mobile communication network;
Status notification management device. The mobile communication terminal user receives the identification information of the other mobile communication terminal corresponding to the other user who wants to refer to the communication status and the user status information from the mobile communication terminal, and the received other mobile communication A reference setting unit that stores the reference destination identification information indicating the identification information of the terminal and the identification information of the mobile communication terminal in association with each other;
The sending means is configured such that the other mobile communication terminal identifies the reference destination as the mobile communication terminal that is the notification destination of the received communication state of the mobile communication terminal and the user state information of the user of the received user communication terminal. The status notification management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein identification information of the mobile communication terminal stored in association with information is extracted.   The status notification management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the detection unit and the user status reception unit receive a communication status or user information information regarding the mobile communication terminal stored in the third storage unit.