JP5070603B2 - Button telephone apparatus and echo control method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a button telephone system having a VoIP interface and an analog interface, and more particularly to a button telephone system that cancels an echo in accordance with each analog telephone.

  When a button telephone apparatus that exchanges a plurality of circuits is provided with a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) interface, a method of removing echoes generated in a hybrid circuit of an analog telephone interface becomes a problem. Specifically, since there is a delay in the IP network, if the voice arriving from the other party through the IP network is reflected by a hybrid circuit or an analog telephone, it returns to the other party through the IP network and is heard as an echo by the other party. End up. For this reason, techniques for removing echoes have been developed.

In addition, when the button telephone device accommodates multiple types of analog telephones, the amount of echo generated by the analog telephones is different. Therefore, in order to operate the echo canceller properly, the parameters of the echo canceller must be set appropriately for each call. Must be set to
For example, in Patent Document 1, gain information indicating gain added corresponding to a public line accommodated in a private branch exchange that constitutes an IP telephone system connected to a gateway device having an echo canceller is used to cancel echo of the echo canceller. The technique used is disclosed.

JP 2006-33261 A

  However, the VoIP interface used in the related button telephone apparatus such as the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 does not set parameters for echo cancellation for each analog telephone and is fixed. For this reason, even though an analog telephone can optimally cancel echoes, another analog telephone has a problem that echo cancellation is not sufficient.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a button telephone device and a method for removing echoes appropriately corresponding to different types of analog telephones.

  One aspect of the key telephone apparatus according to the present invention is a key telephone apparatus having a relay unit that accommodates a plurality of analog telephones and relays a call using an Internet line, and each analog telephone is connected via the relay unit. An echo amount measuring means for measuring an echo amount generated when a call is made using the Internet line, a control means for calculating a parameter for specifying an echo amount to be canceled according to the echo amount, and each analog telephone Correspondingly, storage means for holding the parameters and echo cancellation means for canceling echoes using the parameters according to an arbitrary analog telephone are provided.

  An aspect of the echo control method according to the present invention is an echo control method for a button telephone device that accommodates a plurality of analog telephones and relays a call using an Internet line, wherein each analog telephone uses the Internet line. Measures the amount of echo generated when making a phone call, calculates a parameter for specifying the amount of echo to be canceled according to the amount of echo, and stores the parameter in storage means in association with each analog telephone. The echo is canceled using the parameter corresponding to an arbitrary analog telephone.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to remove an echo appropriately corresponding to different types of analog telephones.

It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the key telephone apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the button telephone apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. For clarity of explanation, the following description and drawings are omitted and simplified as appropriate. In the drawings, components having the same configuration or function and corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

In the following embodiments, it is assumed that a device having the following functions is applied to a button telephone device.
(1) The button telephone device 100 includes a VoIP interface and an analog interface.
(2) The button telephone device operates in two modes, specifically, an echo measurement mode and a normal operation mode.
Echo measurement mode: The echo amount measurement unit measures the echo generated at the analog interface for each port, and records the echo amount or a parameter calculated based on the echo amount in the storage device.
Normal operation mode: When talking on the VoIP interface and the analog interface, echo cancellation is performed using the amount of echo recorded in the storage device as a parameter or using the parameter.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a key telephone apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In FIG. 1, components related to the implementation of the key telephone according to the first embodiment are shown, and descriptions of other components are omitted. The button telephone apparatus 100 is connected to analog telephones 1-1 to 1-n (n is an integer of n> 0) and an IP (Internet Protocol) relay network (Internet line) 2. The button telephone device 100 includes a control unit (CPU: Central Processing Unit) 3, a storage device 4, an echo canceller 5, an IP packet conversion unit 6, a switch unit 7, an echo amount measurement unit 8, a hybrid circuit 9, and an analog interface unit 11- 1-11-n. In the configuration of FIG. 1, the analog interface unit 11 is connected to an analog line (analog telephone 1), and the IP packet conversion unit 6 is an interface connected to the IP relay network 2 side. Therefore, the IP packet conversion unit 6 realizes the role of the VoIP interface.

  In the following description, when it is not necessary to distinguish each of the plurality of analog telephones 1-1 to 1-n or the plurality of analog interface units 11-1 to 11-n, they are referred to as the analog telephone 1 or the analog interface unit 11 as appropriate. The IP packet conversion unit 6, the switch unit 7, and the analog interface units 11-1 to 11-n accommodate a plurality of analog telephones 1-1 to 1-n and relay calls using the IP relay network 2. The relay means 101 is configured.

First, each component will be described with reference to FIG.
The control unit 3 controls the entire relay unit 101. The control unit 3 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit). In the present embodiment, the control unit 3 calculates parameters used by the echo canceller 5 based on the echo amount. The parameter calculation process can be realized using software (program), hardware, or a combination thereof.
The storage device 4 is a storage area and stores data necessary when the control unit 3 or the relay unit 101 executes processing. In the present embodiment, parameters used by the echo canceller 5 are stored. The parameter specifies the amount of echo that the echo canceller 8 cancels. The storage device 4 includes a storage area (volatile storage device) for temporary storage and a storage area (nonvolatile storage device) for continuous storage.

The echo canceller 5 cancels the echo using the parameter.
The IP packet conversion unit 6 converts a packet transferred from the IP relay network 2 into voice (analog data). Here, it plays the role of a VoIP interface.
The switch unit 7 selects the analog interface unit 11 connected to the IP packet conversion unit 6.
The echo amount measuring unit 8 measures the amount of echo generated in the hybrid circuit 9 and the analog telephone 1 in the echo measurement mode.
The hybrid circuit 9 connects the analog telephone 1 and the switch unit 7.
The IP relay network 2 is a network that relays to the Internet line.
The analog interface unit 11 is connected to the analog telephone 1.

The operation of the embodiment according to the present invention will be described below.
In the echo measurement mode, the echo amount measurement unit 8 measures the amount of echo generated in the hybrid circuit 9 and the analog telephone 1 and notifies the control unit 3 of the echo amount. At this time, the echo amount measurement unit 8 measures the echo amount for each analog interface unit 11. The control unit 3 calculates parameters used when the echo canceller 5 cancels the echo from the echo amount. Then, the control unit 3 stores the parameters of the echo canceller 5 in the storage device 4 for each analog interface unit 11.

  In the normal operation mode, when making a call between the IP relay network 2 and the analog telephone 1, the control unit 3 first causes the switch unit 7 to make a call between the analog telephone 1 and the IP packet conversion unit 6. At this time, the control unit 3 notifies the echo canceller 5 of the parameters stored in the storage device 4. The echo canceller 5 performs echo cancellation according to the notified parameter.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the echo removal parameter can be set for each analog interface unit 11, that is, for each analog telephone 1. Specifically, the echo amount is measured for each analog telephone 1, and the parameters used by the echo canceller 5 are calculated according to the measurement result. As a result, the parameters can be finely changed / set according to each analog telephone 1. Therefore, echoes can be removed using parameters appropriate for the type of analog telephone 1. This makes it possible to suppress the generation of echo as much as possible.

(Embodiment 2)
In FIG. 1, the configuration example in which the echo amount measurement unit 8 is installed for each analog interface unit 11 has been described. However, the echo amount measurement unit 8 may be installed in the IP packet conversion unit 6. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the key telephone apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  In the configuration of FIG. 2, an example is shown in which an echo amount measurement unit 8 is arranged in the echo canceller 5 of the IP packet conversion unit 6. In the relay unit 201, the echo amount measurement unit 8 measures the echo amount when each analog telephone 1 is connected to the IP packet conversion unit 6 via the switch unit 7. Since other operations are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

  In the present embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, the number of echo quantity measuring units 8 can be reduced, so that the manufacturing cost of the button telephone device can be reduced compared to the configuration of FIG.

(Embodiment 3)
In each of the above embodiments, the case of using parameters according to each analog telephone has been described. In the third embodiment, a case in which a function using a common parameter for a plurality of analog telephones is also described. For example, when the system is started, a call can be started using common parameters, and then a call can be performed using parameters corresponding to each analog telephone. As a result, when it takes time to set parameters when the system is started, priority is given to starting a call using the common parameters, and then the parameters corresponding to each analog telephone are set. This makes it possible to operate the system flexibly according to the demand for calls. For example, it is effective when a call is started quickly by using common parameters, such as when the system is started up at a time when calls are busy. Further, the present embodiment can be applied to each of the above embodiments.

  In the present embodiment, the storage device 4 further holds common parameters that are commonly applied to a plurality of analog telephones and mode information. The mode information designates an individual mode using parameters corresponding to each analog telephone and a common mode using parameters common to a plurality of analog telephones.

  The control unit 3 stores a parameter corresponding to any one analog telephone in the storage device 4 as a common parameter. Also, designation of either the individual mode or the common mode is accepted, and the mode information held by the storage device 4 is updated. The designation of mode information is input from the outside (such as a system administrator). Further, the common mode may be designated as a default value when the system is started up.

  The echo canceller 5 selects either a parameter corresponding to each analog telephone 1 or a common parameter based on the mode information. The echo canceller 5 may be notified of the mode information from the control unit 3 or may be read from the storage device 4.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment shown above. Within the scope of the present invention, it is possible to change, add, or convert each element of the above-described embodiment to a content that can be easily considered by those skilled in the art.

1-1 to 1-n Analog telephone 1
2 IP relay network 3 Control unit 4 Storage device 5 Echo canceller 6 IP packet conversion unit 7 Switch unit 8 Echo quantity measurement unit 9 Hybrid circuit 11-1 to 11-n Analog interface unit 100, 200 Button telephone apparatus 101, 201 Relay means

Claims (4)

A button telephone device having a relay means for accommodating a plurality of analog telephones and relaying a call using an Internet line,
Echo amount measuring means for measuring the amount of echo generated when each analog telephone makes a call using the Internet line via the relay means;
Control means for calculating a parameter for specifying an echo amount to be canceled according to the echo amount;
Storage means for holding the parameters in association with each analog telephone;
Echo canceling means for canceling echo using the parameters according to any analog telephone, and
The storage means
Common parameters applied in common to the plurality of analog telephones;
Mode information for designating any one of an individual mode using a parameter corresponding to each analog telephone and a common mode using the common parameter for the plurality of analog telephones; and
The control means stores the parameter according to an arbitrary analog telephone in the storage means as the common parameter, accepts designation of the mode information, updates the mode information held by the storage means,
The echo canceling unit is a button telephone device that selects either the parameter corresponding to each analog telephone or the common parameter based on the mode information . The echo measuring means is provided in association with each analog telephone, key telephone system according to claim 1, wherein the measuring the echo of correspondence are analog telephones. The relay means has one echo amount measuring means, and is connected to the Internet line for each of the plurality of analog telephones,
The echo measuring means, key telephone system according to claim 1, wherein the measuring the echo of each analog telephone. An echo control method for a button telephone device that accommodates a plurality of analog telephones and relays a call using an Internet line,
Measure the amount of echo generated when each analog telephone makes a call using the Internet line,
In accordance with the amount of echo, calculate a parameter that specifies the amount of echo to cancel,
Corresponding to each analog telephone, the parameter is held in the storage means,
The parameter corresponding to an arbitrary analog telephone is held in the storage means as a common parameter that is commonly applied to the plurality of analog telephones,
Accepting designation of mode information for designating either an individual mode using a parameter corresponding to each analog telephone or a common mode using the common parameter for the plurality of analog telephones;
Holding the received mode information in the storage means;
Based on the mode information, select either the parameter according to each analog telephone and the common parameter,
An echo control method for canceling an echo using one of the selected parameter and the common parameter .

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