JP7158572B2 - Incoming controller - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to an incoming call control device that performs incoming call control for a plurality of terminals including a parent device and a child device.

Conventionally, eUICC (Embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Card) is known as a technology related to mobile communication. and is built into the terminal. By downloading new subscriber information to the terminal, storing it in the eUICC, and activating it (activating it), it is possible to change the mobile communication network (communications carrier, carrier) to be used. It becomes possible. In the eUICC, which is hardware, a software portion in which subscriber information is rewritten is called an eSIM (Embedded Subscriber Identity Module), and a terminal incorporating the eUICC is also called an eSIM-equipped terminal.

On the other hand, a terminal contracted by the user (for example, a smartphone) is used as a parent device, and a child device (for example, an accessory device such as glasses, a wristwatch, or a car) pre-associated with the parent device allows the user to use voice communication, data communication, etc. One Number Service (registered trademark) is known.

Given the current situation described above, the use of one-number services on eSIM-equipped terminals will increase in the future, and a single user will be able to use multiple terminals (main device and one or more child devices (various It is assumed that cases for holding accessory terminals)) will increase. Conventionally, among a plurality of terminals owned by a user, a technique for controlling a terminal receiving an incoming call has been partly studied (see Patent Document 1 below).

JP 2012-120022 A

However, the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 does not assume a parent-child relationship between terminals, and there is still room for improvement in usage scenarios that assume a parent-child relationship between terminals, which is related to the one-number service described above. For example, it is enough for a user to leave the parent device at home and carry only the client device out of multiple available terminals (the parent device and one or more child devices). can be considered. In this case, when the user receives an incoming call, not only the child device carried by the user but also the master device at home will ring. At this time, if someone other than the user responds to the parent device first, the user may not be able to respond using the child device.

Therefore, the present disclosure has been made in order to solve the above problems, and an object of the present disclosure is to appropriately control which terminal among a plurality of terminals including a parent device and a child device is to receive an incoming call. and

An incoming call control device according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes an acquisition unit that acquires status information and preset setting information of a plurality of terminals including a parent device and one or more child devices pre-associated with the parent device. and a control unit that controls a destination of an incoming call to a user of the terminal based on the acquired status information and the setting information of the plurality of terminals.

In the incoming call control device according to one aspect of the present disclosure, the acquisition unit obtains status information (for example, location information, a child device described later) of a plurality of terminals including a master device and one or more slave devices pre-associated with the master device. active information, etc.) and preset setting information (e.g., priority, etc.), and the control unit determines the destination of the incoming call to the user based on the obtained status information and setting information of the plurality of terminals to control. In this way, by controlling the destination based on both the status information of a plurality of terminals including the master and slaves and the setting information set in advance, the status of a plurality of terminals can be controlled while validating the user settings. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately control which terminal among a plurality of terminals including the main unit and the slave unit is to receive the call.

Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present disclosure, it is possible to appropriately control which terminal is to receive a call among a plurality of terminals including a parent device and a child device.

1 is a functional block configuration diagram of an incoming call control device according to an embodiment of the invention; FIG. 4 is a table showing an example of terminal status information; It is a table showing an example of setting information. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an example of processing executed by an incoming call control device; 3 is a diagram illustrating an example hardware configuration of an incoming call control device; FIG.

An embodiment according to the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[Regarding the configuration of the incoming call control device]
As shown in FIG. 1, an incoming call control device 10 according to this embodiment includes an acquisition unit 11 and a control unit 12, and is configured by, for example, a server provided within a network. Acquisition unit 11 acquires status information, which will be described later, regarding a plurality of terminals including parent device 20 and one or more child devices 30 (here, child devices 30A and 30B as an example) pre-associated with parent device 20 within the network. , and preset setting information, which will be described later, is obtained from the subscriber information server 40 in the network. The control unit 12 controls the destination of the incoming call to the user based on the acquired status information and setting information. The contents of the control will be described later with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

The child device 30A in this embodiment is, for example, an eSIM-equipped terminal in which the eUICC 31 is embedded. is available. Note that including an eSIM-equipped terminal in the master device 20 and one or more slave devices 30 is not essential in the present disclosure.

The status information about the plurality of terminals described above includes at least location information indicating the location of each terminal and handset active information about the active state in which the handset is operable or in operation, and the handset active information is , active time information indicating the time when each child device most recently switched to the active state, and active count information indicating the number of times each child device switched to the active state within a predetermined period (for example, within the past 24 hours). As an example, as shown in FIG. 2, status information about a plurality of terminals includes a telephone number corresponding to a base unit and identification information (A, B, . . . ) of one or more child units associated with the base unit. , and further includes the aforementioned active time information, the aforementioned active count information, and movement detection time and GPS position information (latitude and longitude), which will be described later, as position information. Of the above, the active time information and the active count information are obtained from an external device 50 such as a server that manages terminal conditions within the network. The movement detection time as location information corresponds to the detection time when the location registration area of each child device has changed (that is, the detection time when each child device has moved across the location registration area), and the location registration server It is acquired from the external device 50 such as. Also, the GPS position information may be acquired from the parent device and each child device.

As shown in FIG. 3, the setting information includes, for example, priority information preset for each piece of information included in the situation information, and parent device ringing information regarding whether or not to ring the parent device. . In the example of FIG. 3, the parent device ringing information is "1", which means that the parent device does not ring. ” is set to have a higher priority.

The setting information as described above can be changed by a user's operation from the parent device 20, as indicated by the dashed line in FIG. That is, the user can freely change the setting information according to the situation at that time.

[Regarding processing executed by the incoming call control device]
Processing executed in the incoming call control device will be described below with reference to FIG. Prior to the process of FIG. 4, the acquisition unit 11 has already acquired the setting information and the status information about the plurality of terminals, and the control unit 12 can refer to the acquired setting information and status information. That is, the processing of FIG. 4 is executed by the control unit 12 while referring to the setting information and the status information.

As shown in FIG. 4, first, the parent device ringing information in the setting information is referred to, and it is determined whether or not to ring the parent device (step S1). Here, if the master unit is to be sounded, the processing of steps S2 to S7 is executed, and if the master unit is not to be sounded, the processing of steps S8 to S13 is executed. They will be described in order below.

In step S2, the priority information in the setting information is referred to, and it is determined what the highest priority is. Here, if the "location information" has the highest priority, the process proceeds to step S3, where the GPS location information of the parent and each child is referred to as "position information", and the location of the parent and each child is , the child device whose position is closest to the position of the parent device is specified, and the child device (the child device closest to the parent device) is controlled to ring together with the parent device.

Further, if the "active time information" has the highest priority in step S2, the process proceeds to step S4, where the active time information of each child device is referred to, the child device with the latest active time is specified, and the child device is identified. (child device with the latest active time) is controlled to ring together with the parent device.

Further, if the "active count information" has the highest priority in step S2, the process proceeds to step S5, where the active count information of each child device is referred to, the child device with the highest number of active times is identified, and the child device ( child device with the highest number of active times) is controlled to sound together with the parent device.

After the incoming call control in steps S3, S4, and S5 as described above, if there is a response within a predetermined time (if YES in step S6), the process ends. On the other hand, if there is no response within a predetermined period of time (NO in step S6), the child device with the next order is specified (step S7), and then the process returns to step S2 to repeat the processes of steps S2 to S7. For example, in the case where "location information" is given the highest priority, and in step S3 control is performed to ring the child device whose position is closest to the parent device together with the parent device, the "next child device" is selected in step S7. The child device that is second closest to the parent device is specified, and then the process proceeds from step S2 to step S3, and control is performed to make the child device that is second closest to the parent device sound together with the parent device. When the "active time information" has the highest priority, and when the "active count information" has the highest priority, control is performed to make the next-ranked child device sound together with the parent device.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1 that the master unit is not to be sounded, the process advances to step S8 to refer to the priority order information in the setting information and determine what the highest priority order is. Here, if the "positional information" has the highest priority, the process proceeds to step S9, the movement detection time of each handset is referred to as the "positional information", and the handset with the latest movement detection time is specified, Control is performed so that only the corresponding child device (the child device with the latest movement detection time) sounds.

Further, if the "active time information" has the highest priority in step S8, the process proceeds to step S10, where the active time information of each child device is referred to, the child device with the latest active time is specified, and the child device is identified. It is controlled so that only (the child device with the latest active time) sounds.

Further, if the "active count information" has the highest priority in step S8, the process proceeds to step S11, the active count information of each child device is referred to, the child device with the highest number of active times is specified, and the child device ( is controlled so that only the child device with the highest number of active times sounds.

After the incoming call control in steps S9, S10, and S11 as described above, if there is a response within a predetermined period of time (if YES in step S12), the process ends. On the other hand, if there is no response within a predetermined period of time (NO in step S12), the child device with the next order is specified (step S13), and then the process returns to step S8 to repeat the processes of steps S8 to S13. For example, in a case where "location information" is given the highest priority and control is performed to sound only the child device with the latest movement detection time in step S9, in step S13, the movement detection time After that, the process proceeds from step S8 to step S9, and control is performed so that only the child device with the second latest movement detection time is sounded. When the "active time information" has the highest priority, and when the "active count information" has the highest priority, control is performed to make the next-ranked child device sound together with the parent device.

It should be noted that the location information, active time information, and active count information of each child device, which are used as basic information for determination in the processing of FIG. 4, can change from moment to moment. Information may be used as a basis for decisions. In addition, in the processing of FIG. 4, there may be a case where it is not possible to narrow down to one child device because, for example, there are a plurality of child devices with the highest number of active times. In such a case, any method may be used to narrow down to one child device.

According to the embodiments of the invention described above, user settings are validated by controlling incoming destinations based on both status information of a plurality of terminals including a parent device and a child device and preset setting information. At the same time, it is possible to control the destination according to the status of a plurality of terminals, and it is possible to appropriately control which terminal among the plurality of terminals including the main unit and the slave unit is to receive the call.

Specifically, the control unit controls the destination of the incoming call to the user based on the situation information based on the priority information (here, the position information of each terminal and the slave unit active information). While following the set priority, it is possible to control the destination according to the situation information (here, the location information of each terminal and the child device active information). It is possible to appropriately control which terminal is called.

Here, as the child device active information, active time information indicating the time at which each child device most recently switched to the active state, and active count information indicating the number of times each child device switched to the active state within a predetermined period. By using this, the control unit can perform detailed destination control based on any of the location information, active time information, and active count information of each terminal according to the priority.

For example, when the position information of each terminal has the highest priority, the control unit controls to ring the child device with the latest movement detection time as the position information as the destination. As a result, it is possible to give priority to a child device that is most likely to be used as a child device that has just been detected to move, and to ring the child device as the destination of the call, thereby performing appropriate control of the destination of the call. can. Also, when the active time information has the highest priority, the slave unit with the latest active time is controlled to ring as the incoming call destination. As a result, it is possible to give priority to a child device that has just been activated and is most likely to be used as a child device, ring the child device as the destination, and perform appropriate control of the destination. can. Furthermore, when the number of active times information has the highest priority, the slave unit with the highest number of active times is controlled to ring as the destination. A child device with a large number of active times is assumed to be a child device that is often turned on and off, that is, a child device that is turned on each time it is used, so it is not used as a child device. It is possible to give priority to the child device most likely to be expected, ring the child device as an incoming call destination, and appropriately control the incoming call destination.

The setting information may further include master device ringing information regarding whether or not to ring the master device, and the control unit may further control the destination based on the master device ringing information. For example, when the parent device ringing information indicates that the parent device should be ringed, the control unit, when the location information of each terminal has the highest priority, selects the child device whose position is closest to the position of the parent device together with the parent device. It may be controlled to sound first. In this case, it is possible to preferentially ring the child device closest to the parent device as the destination of the call together with the parent device, and to perform appropriate control of the destination of the call.

In addition, the following variations are conceivable in this embodiment.

For example, a variation is considered in which, from candidates for selecting a child device to ring, a child device whose remaining battery level (for example, the ratio of remaining battery power to a fully charged state) is less than a predetermined reference value (for example, 10%) is excluded. be done. Each child device detects its own battery level at regular intervals, and when the remaining battery level drops below a specified reference value and when the remaining battery level recovers to a specified reference value or more, a notification within the network notification to the incoming call control device. As a result, it is possible to preliminarily exclude a child device that may run out of battery power when it rings, from candidate destinations, thereby preventing inconveniences such as malfunction.

Also, a variation is conceivable in which only the slave device worn by the user is made a candidate for the slave device to be ringed. Each child device may determine whether or not the user is wearing it at predetermined time intervals, and notify the incoming call control device in the network at the timing when the user puts it on and when it is taken off. As a result, the child device not worn by the user (unused child device) can be excluded from the candidates for the destination of the call, thereby preventing inconvenience such as ringing of the child device not worn by the user. It should be noted that conventional technology may be used to determine whether or not the user is wearing the child device. For example, it may be determined whether or not the user is wearing it based on a biological response (for example, the user's pulse rate) or the user's body temperature that can be detected by the slave device.

In addition, regarding the location information of the child device, if the child device is equipped with a Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication function, when the parent device can detect the presence of the child device through Bluetooth communication, the child device will Since it can be determined that the handset is located in the vicinity, "near the base" may be notified to the incoming call control device in the network as the location information of the handset. In this way, existing communication functions can be used to easily detect the position of the child device. Note that BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) can also be used in the same way as the above Bluetooth.

In addition, in the case of using a rental car as a child device, for example, if the child device (rental car) is housed in the parking space of a rental car store, it can be used as a child device even if it is located near the parent device. It's hard to imagine. Therefore, the parking space of the rental car store may be predetermined as a prohibited area, and when the slave is located in the prohibited area, the slave may be excluded from the candidate destinations.

It should be noted that the block diagrams used in the description of the above embodiments show blocks in units of functions. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. Also, the method of implementing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be implemented using one device that is physically or logically coupled, or directly or indirectly using two or more devices that are physically or logically separated (e.g. , wired, wireless, etc.) and may be implemented using these multiple devices. A functional block may be implemented by combining software in the one device or the plurality of devices.

Functions include judging, determining, determining, calculating, calculating, processing, deriving, investigating, searching, checking, receiving, transmitting, outputting, accessing, resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, assuming, expecting, assuming, Broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocating, mapping, assigning, etc. can't For example, the functional block responsible for transmission is called a transmitting unit or transmitter. In either case, as described above, the implementation method is not particularly limited.

For example, the incoming call control device 10 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure may function as a computer that performs the processing of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the incoming call control device 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The incoming call control device 10 described above may be physically configured as a computer device including a processor 1001, a memory 1002, a storage 1003, a communication device 1004, an input device 1005, an output device 1006, a bus 1007, and the like.

Note that in the following description, the term "apparatus" can be read as a circuit, device, unit, or the like. The hardware configuration of the incoming call control device 10 may be configured to include one or more of the devices shown in FIG. 5, or may be configured without some of the devices.

Each function of the incoming call control device 10 is performed by causing the processor 1001 and the memory 1002 to load predetermined software (programs) into hardware such as the processor 1001 and the memory 1002. The processor 1001 performs calculations, controls communication by the communication device 1004, and controls the memory. It is realized by controlling at least one of data reading and writing in 1002 and storage 1003 .

The processor 1001, for example, operates an operating system to control the entire computer. The processor 1001 may be configured by a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control device, an arithmetic device, registers, and the like.

The processor 1001 also reads programs (program codes), software modules, data, etc. from at least one of the storage 1003 and the communication device 1004 to the memory 1002, and executes various processes according to these. As the program, a program that causes a computer to execute at least part of the operations described in the above embodiments is used. For example, the acquisition unit 11 and the control unit 12 in the incoming call control device 10 may be implemented by a control program stored in the memory 1002 and running on the processor 1001, and other functional blocks may be implemented similarly. Although it has been explained that the above-described various processes are executed by one processor 1001, they may be executed simultaneously or sequentially by two or more processors 1001. FIG. Processor 1001 may be implemented by one or more chips. Note that the program may be transmitted from a network via an electric communication line.

The memory 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium, and is composed of at least one of, for example, ROM (Read Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), and RAM (Random Access Memory). may be The memory 1002 may also be called a register, cache, main memory (main storage device), or the like.

The storage 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium, for example, an optical disc such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disc, a magneto-optical disc (for example, a compact disc, a digital versatile disc, a Blu-ray disk), smart card, flash memory (eg, card, stick, key drive), floppy disk, magnetic strip, and/or the like. Storage 1003 may also be called an auxiliary storage device. The storage medium described above may be, for example, a database, server, or other suitable medium including at least one of memory 1002 and storage 1003 .

The communication device 1004 is hardware (transmitting/receiving device) for communicating between computers via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network, and is also called a network device, a network controller, a network card, a communication module, or the like. The communication device 1004 includes a high-frequency switch, a duplexer, a filter, a frequency synthesizer, and the like, for example, in order to realize at least one of frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD). may consist of

The input device 1005 is an input device (for example, keyboard, mouse, microphone, switch, button, sensor, etc.) that receives input from the outside. The output device 1006 is an output device (eg, display, speaker, LED lamp, etc.) that outputs to the outside. Note that the input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be integrated (for example, a touch panel).

Devices such as the processor 1001 and the memory 1002 are connected by a bus 1007 for communicating information. The bus 1007 may be configured using a single bus, or may be configured using different buses between devices.

The incoming call control device 10 includes hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), and an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). , and part or all of each functional block may be implemented by the hardware. For example, processor 1001 may be implemented using at least one of these pieces of hardware.

Each aspect/embodiment described in the present disclosure includes LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE-A (LTE-Advanced), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4G (4th generation mobile communication system), 5G (5th generation mobile communication system), FRA (Future Radio Access), NR (new Radio), W-CDMA (registered trademark), GSM (registered trademark), CDMA2000, UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark) )), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX®), IEEE 802.20, UWB (Ultra-WideBand), Bluetooth®, and other suitable systems and extended It may be applied to at least one of the next generation systems. Also, a plurality of systems may be applied in combination (for example, a combination of at least one of LTE and LTE-A and 5G, etc.).

The processing procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc. of each aspect/embodiment described in this disclosure may be rearranged as long as there is no contradiction. For example, the methods described in this disclosure present elements of the various steps using a sample order, and are not limited to the specific order presented.

Input/output information and the like may be stored in a specific location (for example, memory), or may be managed using a management table. Input/output information and the like can be overwritten, updated, or appended. The output information and the like may be deleted. The entered information and the like may be transmitted to another device.

The determination may be made by a value represented by one bit (0 or 1), by a true/false value (Boolean: true or false), or by numerical comparison (for example, a predetermined value).

Each aspect/embodiment described in the present disclosure may be used alone, may be used in combination, or may be used by switching according to execution. In addition, the notification of predetermined information (for example, notification of “being X”) is not limited to being performed explicitly, but may be performed implicitly (for example, not notifying the predetermined information). good too.

Although the present disclosure has been described in detail above, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described in this disclosure. The present disclosure can be practiced with modifications and variations without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims. Accordingly, the description of the present disclosure is for illustrative purposes and is not meant to be limiting in any way.

Software, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language or otherwise, includes instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, and software modules. , applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, and the like.

Software, instructions, information, etc. may also be sent and received over a transmission medium. For example, the software uses wired technology (coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), etc.) and/or wireless technology (infrared, microwave, etc.) to create websites, Wired and/or wireless technologies are included within the definition of transmission medium when sent from a server or other remote source.

Information, signals, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may refer to voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or photons, or any of these. may be represented by a combination of

In addition, the information, parameters, etc. described in the present disclosure may be expressed using absolute values, may be expressed using relative values from a predetermined value, or may be expressed using other corresponding information. may be represented.

The names used for the parameters described above are not limiting names in any way. Further, the formulas, etc., using these parameters may differ from those expressly disclosed in this disclosure.

As used in this disclosure, the terms "determining" and "determining" may encompass a wide variety of actions. "Judgement", "determining" are, for example, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, searching, inquiring (eg, lookup in a table, database, or other data structure), ascertaining as "judged" or "determined", and the like. Also, "judgment" and "determination" are used for receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., transmitting information), input, output, access (accessing) (for example, accessing data in memory) may include deeming that a "judgment" or "decision" has been made. In addition, "judgment" and "decision" are considered to be "judgment" and "decision" by resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc. can contain. In other words, "judgment" and "decision" may include considering that some action is "judgment" and "decision". Also, "judgment (decision)" may be read as "assuming", "expecting", "considering", or the like.

As used in this disclosure, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based only on," unless expressly specified otherwise. In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based only on" and "based at least on."

In this disclosure, where articles have been added by translation, such as a, an, and the in English, the disclosure may include the plural nouns following these articles.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Incoming call control apparatus 11... Acquisition part 12... Control part 20... Base unit 30, 30A, 30B... Handset, 31... eUICC, 40... Subscriber information server, 50... External device, 1001... Processor, 1002... memory, 1003... storage, 1004... communication device, 1005... input device, 1006... output device, 1007... bus.

Claims (1)

an acquisition unit that acquires status information and preset setting information of a plurality of terminals including a parent device and one or more child devices pre-associated with the parent device;
a control unit that controls a destination of an incoming call to a user of the terminal based on the acquired status information and the setting information of the plurality of terminals;
with
the status information of the plurality of terminals includes at least position information indicating the position of each terminal and handset active information regarding an active state in which the handset is operable or in operation;
The setting information includes priority information preset for each information included in the situation information,
The control unit controls a destination of an incoming call to the user based on the position information of each terminal based on the priority order information and the slave unit active information,
The child device active information includes active time information indicating the time when each child device most recently switched to the active state and active count information indicating the number of times each child device switched to the active state within a predetermined period,
According to the priority indicated by the priority information, the control unit determines, based on any one of the location information of each terminal, the active time information, and the active count information, a destination of an incoming call to the user. to control the
The setting information further includes parent device ringing information regarding whether or not to ring the parent device,
The control unit further controls the destination based on the parent phone ringing information, and when the parent phone ringing information indicates ringing the parent phone, when the location information of each terminal has the highest priority, the location is the parent phone. Control the child device closest to the position of the device so that it rings as an incoming call destination along with the parent device.
Incoming controller.

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