JPH0730657A - Preferential connecting method for communication line - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To preferentially connect a line to a user, who eagerly desires the connection of the line, while increasing charges by setting the connection request frequency of a call with a prescribed ratio corresponding to the charges selected by a caller and controlling call connection based on the connection request frequency. CONSTITUTION:Assuming that the plural subscriber numbers of callees are provided corresponding to the plural charges of charging system concerning preferential connection, the user can select any desired reception number by selecting the subscriber number of the callee corresponding to the charges, dialing that number and originating a call. When the call is received, a ring back tone device 105 stores it in a memory. This memory constitutes the queue in the order of receiving the respective calls for each reception number. When the user originates the call, it is connected to an incoming line 101 and connected through a converter 102 to the ring back tone device 105. In this case, the ring back tone device 105 controls call connection based on the connection request frequency with prescribed method.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a service for callers in a communication line, and more particularly to a method of prioritizing connection of lines such as telephones.

In a communication network, efforts are being made to an advanced IN (intelligent network) for the purpose of flexibly responding to various services, customizing services, and shortening service development man-hours. It can be used as one component of IN.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a system that does not discount the daytime charge when calls are concentrated in a certain time zone, but discounts the nighttime charge when calls are discrete. However, daytime charges are set uniformly, and even if it is necessary to contact a specific called party during a specific time of day, the normal charges are evenly charged for all calls. The call is not prioritized for connection. Therefore, in the case of ticket reservation in which calls are concentrated at a specific time, the user who makes the call connection request repeatedly makes a call until the calls are evenly connected. When calling is repeated many times, the operation of dialing the same subscriber number is omitted by using a redial operation which is an operation on hardware. In addition, if calls are made continuously at short intervals due to redial operations, etc., the exchange may impose connection restrictions on the subscriber line, and the user may be a public telephone of a public network other than the subscriber network. To make a call.

Conventional telephone line connections are usually made as follows. The caller's call is attempted to connect to the called party via the destination exchange. If the called party's line is busy, a busy tone is returned to the calling party and no connection is made. When the busy tone is returned, the caller terminates the call, makes a call again, dials, and tries to reconnect. If the called party's line is available, the call is placed, a ringback tone is returned to the calling party, and if the called party answers the call, the line is connected. When there are a plurality of calls, the connection is tried in the order of arrival of the calls, but the line connection is not always realized in the order of arrival. If the callee's line is in use even for the first-arrival call, line connection will not be performed, while for the second-arrival call, if the callee's line is attempted to connect at a time when it is available, The call succeeds.

[0005]

However, in the case of a connection for accepting reservations for tickets, a large number of calls are generated at the same time, and no matter how many users call, the phone is not connected to the reservation center. When a ticket is inevitable, the user continuously calls and dials using the redial function of the telephone terminal. Further, when congestion is severe and connection restrictions are imposed at the exchange, public telephones and the like are considered not to be subject to connection restrictions, and users try to connect from these phones. However, when there are a large number of calls, there is a problem that a ticket cannot be purchased unless connection is attempted for a long time.

[0006] It is an object of the present invention to provide a priority connection method for a communication line, which raises a charge for a user who wants to connect the line by line connection, but preferentially connects the line. To do.

[0007]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the present invention. The present invention provides a caller with at least two different charge types for the same service in a connection service when a caller makes a call connection request to a called party in a communication line (step 1), The caller selects one charge from the provided charge system (step 2), sets the call connection request frequency at a predetermined ratio corresponding to the charge selected by the caller (step 3), The call connection is controlled based on the connection request frequency (step 4).

[0008]

The present invention provides at least two different charge types as a charge system for priority connection. Instead of connecting by prioritizing over other calls, the charge is higher, and the priority is lower but the charge is lower. As a result, when the user selects one having a higher connection priority than the low charge, a service for calling the called party with high frequency is provided. Therefore, the call of the calling party who has selected the high-priced system is preferentially connected to the called party.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a telephone connection will be described as an example. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a system configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. The incoming line 101, the exchange 102, the exchange 103,
Reception telephone 104 and ring back tone device 1
And 05.

In the above configuration, it is assumed that a plurality of called party subscriber numbers are provided corresponding to a plurality of types of charges in the charge system for priority connection. Therefore, the user can select a desired reception number by selecting, dialing and calling the subscriber number of the called party corresponding to the charge.

When the ring back tone device 105 receives a call, it stores it in the memory. This memory forms a queue in the order of reception of each call for each reception number.

When the user makes a call, the user is connected to the incoming line 101, and the ring back tone device 1 is connected via the exchange 102.
05 is connected. Ringback tone device 105 controls the call in the manner shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the memory of the ringback tone device 105 of one embodiment of the present invention.
In the figure, from the incoming line 101 to the ring back tone device 105
2 shows a memory (hereinafter referred to as waiting Q) for additionally storing the calls of the users connected to each of the reception numbers in the order in which the calls arrive.

In this embodiment, the call reception number is set to 11111.
We prepare 1, 222222, and 333333 in three ways, and wait Q201 and wait Q20 corresponding to each reception number.
2, waiting Q203 is provided.

The charge (per minute of call) corresponding to each reception number is, for example, 10 yen for the reception number 111111, 20 yen for the reception number 222222, and 4 for the reception number 333333.
It is set to 0 yen and managed as a charge index.

On the other hand, the size of the waiting Q is, for example, one waiting Q201 and two waiting Q202 in this embodiment.
And the waiting Q203 is four. This is the wait Q
This means that 201 can hold only one call, and waiting Q203 can hold four calls. For example, in waiting Q203, when four calls are set up, the first
Unless the second call is dropped, it is treated as busy.

In the present embodiment, the charging index and the size of the waiting Q corresponding to each reception number are proportional. That is, waiting Q201 corresponds to 10 yen, waiting Q202 corresponds to 20 yen, and waiting Q203 corresponds to 40 yen. Therefore, the charging index is 40
Waiting for a circle Q203 means that the most connection request frequency is set.

FIG. 4 shows a call queue registration operation according to an embodiment of the present invention. The flow of control for registering a user's call in the waiting Q in this embodiment using a different subscriber number for each reception number will be described below with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, the user dials the subscriber number corresponding to the type of charge to make a call connection request, so the type of charge desired by the user depends on the reception number corresponding to the dialed subscriber number. Can be identified.

Step 10) When a number other than the reception number of the priority connection service is received, the priority connection process is terminated.

Step 20) The receipt number is "11111"
If 1 ", the process proceeds to the waiting Q registration process.

Step 30) The receipt number is "22222"
If it is 2 ", the process proceeds to the waiting Q registration process.

Step 40) The receipt number is "33333.
If it is 3 ", the process proceeds to the waiting Q registration process.

Step 50) A call is added to the waiting Q for each reception number.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the details of the registration processing for the waiting Q201 corresponding to the reception number "111111".

Step 52) Check whether there is a free area in the waiting Q201. If there is no free area, the process proceeds to step 60.

Step 54) When there is an empty area in the waiting Q201, the call from the user is connected to the ring back tone device.

Step 56) Wait for call from user Q2
Add to the end of 01.

Step 58) Reception number "111111"
The charge of the level equivalent to is set as the charge index. The charge index 211 for the receipt number "111111" is 1
It is 10 yen per minute.

Step 60) Since there is no free area in the waiting Q201, a busy tone connection is made to the user's call.

The charge of the priority connection service is charged by the product of the charge index and the call duration of the call from the user, for example.

The above steps 52 to 60 are
This is an example relating to the reception number "111111", but the reception number "222222" and the reception number "33333".
Even for 3 ", wait Q201 and wait Q20 respectively
It is apparent that the same operation is performed by replacing the charging index 211 with the charging index 212 and the charging index 213 in 2 and waiting Q203, respectively.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the connection operation from the waiting Q to the exchange 103 according to the embodiment of the present invention. With reference to this flowchart, an embodiment of control of call generation frequency according to a charge according to the present invention will be described. The counter 3 used in FIG. 6 is a counter for counting the number of waiting calls stored in the waiting Q203 connected to the exchange. The upper limit value of the counter 3 is set to 4. Counter 2
And counter 1 similarly wait Q202 and wait Q2
The counters correspond to 01, and the upper limit values are set to 2 and 1, respectively. Until the counter value reaches the upper limit value, it is possible to continuously connect the call to the exchange 103. In this embodiment, the upper limit value of the counter is set in proportion to the charge, that is, the charging index, but the ratio between the upper limit value of the counter and the charging index is not limited to the proportional relationship.

The processing sequence of waiting Q is waiting Q202 and waiting Q201 in order from the waiting Q203 having the highest priority.

Step 70) If there is no call in the waiting Q203, the process proceeds to step 80.

Step 72) When there is a call in the waiting Q203, the value of the counter 3 is compared with the upper limit value 4 of the counter. If the upper limit has been reached, the process proceeds to step 78.

Step 74) Since the value of the counter 3 is less than the upper limit value, the call in the waiting Q203 is connected to the exchange 103.

Step 76) The counter 3 is incremented and the process proceeds to step 70.

Step 78) Since the counter 3 has reached the upper limit value 4, the counter 3 is reset, one processing of the waiting Q203 is ended, and the waiting Q20 having the next priority is set.
Go to 2.

Step 80) If there is no call in the waiting Q202, the process proceeds to step 90.

Step 82) When there is a call in the waiting Q202, the value of the counter 2 is compared with the upper limit value 2 of the counter. If the upper limit has been reached, the process proceeds to step 88.

Step 84) Since the value of the counter 2 is less than the upper limit value, the call in the waiting Q202 is connected to the exchange 103.

Step 86) The counter 2 is incremented and the routine proceeds to step 80.

Step 88) Since the counter 2 has reached the upper limit value 2, the counter 2 is reset, one processing of the waiting Q202 is ended, and the waiting Q20 having the next priority is set.
Go to 1.

Step 90) If there is no call in the waiting Q201, the process ends.

Step 92) When there is a call in the waiting Q201, the value of the counter 1 is compared with the counter upper limit value 1. When the upper limit value is reached, the process proceeds to step 98.

Step 94) Since the value of the counter 1 is less than the upper limit value, the call in the waiting Q201 is connected to the exchange 103.

Step 96) The counter 1 is incremented and the process proceeds to step 90.

Step 98) Since the counter 1 has reached the upper limit value 1, the counter 1 is reset, the one-time process of the waiting Q201 is ended, and the process is ended.

The series of processing from step 70 to step 98 is repeatedly executed during the priority connection service.

Further, in the present embodiment, the counter 1, the counter 2, and the counter 3 are reset only when the counter value matches the upper limit value, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and for example, It is also possible to perform the reset immediately before or after step 70, step 80 and step 90.

As described in the above flow chart, the priority of connecting the call of waiting Q to the exchange 103 is controlled by the size of the upper limit of the counter of waiting Q. That is,
Since the upper limit value of the counter is Q203>Q202> Q201, the process of waiting Q203 is first performed, and waiting Q20
When there is a call in 3, the call in the waiting Q203 can be connected to the exchange 103 continuously until the counter 3 reaches 4. In the waiting Q202, the exchange 10
The number of consecutive connections to the switch 3 is 2, and in the waiting Q201, the number of consecutive connections to the exchange 103 is one. The connection request frequency is determined by the size of these consecutive connections, and becomes the priority of the priority connection.

Furthermore, by associating the upper limit value of the number of consecutive connections with each charge, in the present embodiment, the charging index, the priority connection is realized with the connection request frequency determined corresponding to the charge.

As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, the user dials the reception number corresponding to the desired fee and connects the line to set the connection request frequency. You are not limited to examples, for example:
In addition to the user dialing the called party's subscriber number to make a call, the user also has an end-to-end dialogue with the user to select the desired type from the fee system for priority connection. It is also possible to set the connection request frequency by dialing. This can be realized by carrying out the end-to-end dialogue at the beginning of the registration process to the waiting Q.

In the above embodiment, the call connection of the telephone has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this example, and can be applied to facsimile communication used in a line network.

[0055]

According to the present invention, the user can use the priority connection.
By connecting once, for example, continuous calls for connecting to a line which is difficult to connect due to a large number of calls are possible.

Further, according to the present invention, a user who wants to connect to the line by all means pays a high fee and can connect with a higher probability than other users, and for a user who is busy and cannot continue the line connection procedure. An effective line connection service can be realized.

Further, according to the present invention, a user who desires a low charge can receive the same service at a low cost by setting the connection request frequency low.

Further, according to the present invention, in the telephone communication, the priority connection system utilizing the existing exchange equipment can be realized, and a new device for carrying out the present method is not required. Cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a principle configuration diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a memory diagram of a ringback tone device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a registration process in a waiting Q according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a detailed flowchart of a registration process for waiting Q201 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a connection operation to a line according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of reference numerals] 101 incoming line 102, 103 exchange 104 telephone for reception 105 ring back tone device 201, 202, 203 waiting Q 211, 212, 213 charging index

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a connection service when a caller requests a callee from a caller in a communication line, at least two different types of charges are provided to the caller for the same service, and the caller is provided. The caller selects one charge from the provided charge system, sets the call connection request frequency at a predetermined rate corresponding to the charge selected by the caller, and calls based on the connection request frequency. A priority connection method of a communication line characterized by controlling connection.