JPH11234436A - Communication terminal and communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily enable further addition or execution of a function even when that function is not originally provided and especially to designate the ringer tone of a call incoming side terminal from a call originating side terminal. SOLUTION: A personal handy phone system(PHS) terminal PS1 (call originating side terminal) originates a call which designating the ringer tone in the case of reporting an incoming call at the call incoming side terminal as the party of communication. When there is call origination from the PHS terminal PS1 (call originating side terminal), a service center 3 acquires tone scale data corresponding to the designation information set to the sub-address of call setting from a data base 4. Then, a PHS terminal PS2 (call incoming side terminal) as a party terminal is called and the acquired tone scale data are transmitted. When there is the incoming call, on the other side, the PHS terminal PS2 receives the tone scale data transmitted from the service center 3 and by sounding these tone scale data, call incoming is reported.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication terminal for transmitting and receiving various kinds of information and voice communication between a calling terminal and a receiving terminal connected via a communication network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a communication terminal (for example, a portable telephone, a PHS terminal: Perso) which is carried by a user and mutually communicates voice and data with other terminals including a general home telephone.
nal Handy Phone System Terminal, pager, PDA: Pers
onal Digital Assistant etc.) are known. The communication terminal is connected to a communication line and communicates wirelessly with a base station (public base station, private base station, etc.) to make a voice call with a similar terminal or another terminal connected to the communication line. Send and receive data.

[0003] In such a communication terminal, the ring pattern and frequency of the ring tone are uniform, so that the same ring tone sounds even when the terminal model is different. Therefore, in recent years, there have been provided ones in which a plurality of different ring tones are stored in a terminal and a ring tone to be ringed when an incoming call is received from the plurality of ring tones or a type in which the ring tone is switched by a caller number.

[0004] Some communication terminals have a function of transmitting and receiving character information. If communication by voice is impossible depending on the situation, or if a simple communication is to be made, a predetermined number of communication terminals are required. Is transmitted, and the receiving terminal displays the received message on the display unit.

[0005]

As described above, in the prior art, when the same ringing tone sounds, when the ringing tone sounds, it is determined whether the terminal of one's own terminal or the terminal of another person receives. There is a problem that the terminal must be taken out and the incoming call must be checked without knowing, and the incoming call check is troublesome. In addition, when selecting a ringtone or switching the incoming call based on the caller ID, a plurality of ringtones must be stored in the terminal side, and there are limits to the types of ringtones due to memory capacity limitations. There is a problem. In addition, it is necessary to select a ringtone or assign a caller number to each caller, which causes a problem that the operation becomes complicated.

Further, as described above, when character information is transmitted / received, and when a calling terminal and a called terminal are registered with different carriers, the character codes and protocols are different between the carriers. Due to the difference, character information cannot be transmitted and received. Also, as a matter of course, there is a problem that character information cannot be received by a terminal that does not have a function of receiving and displaying character information.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a communication terminal and a communication system capable of designating a ring tone of a receiving terminal from a calling terminal and distinguishing it from an incoming call of another person. It is another object of the present invention to provide a communication terminal and a communication system that can easily add a function that is not originally provided and realize the function.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a communication terminal according to the first aspect of the present invention monitors the entire communication network and transmits a call via a management station which provides various services to the communication terminal. In a communication terminal that performs outgoing / incoming, line connection and information transfer between the receiving side and the receiving side, information specified by the calling side terminal is downloaded from the management station,
It operates according to the information.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment, the information is:
For example, as described in claim 2, incoming information indicating a notification form when an incoming call is received may be used.

In a preferred embodiment, the incoming call information may include at least a frequency of a sound to be sounded and a sounding time.

In a preferred embodiment, the information is:
For example, the program may be a program describing the operation procedure of the terminal.

In order to achieve the above object, a communication system according to a fifth aspect of the present invention monitors an entire communication network and receives a call from a calling terminal via a management station which provides various services to the communication terminal. In a communication system for sending and receiving calls to and from a terminal on the side, connecting lines, and transmitting and receiving information, the management station includes: a storage unit for storing various information; Transmitting means for transmitting information specified at the time of a call to a receiving terminal, wherein the transmitting terminal has information to be downloaded to the receiving terminal among information stored in storage means of the management station. Designation means for designating the information, and calling means for making a call by adding the designation information by the designation means to transmission information to be transmitted at the time of normal calling, wherein the receiving side terminal comprises: Sent from Receiving means for receiving information, characterized by comprising a control means for controlling its operation according to the received information by the receiving means.

In a preferred aspect, the management station stores a plurality of pieces of incoming information indicating a notification mode when a receiving terminal receives a call in the storage means, for example, as set forth in claim 6. The terminal may notify the incoming call by the control unit according to the incoming call information received by the receiving unit.

In a preferred embodiment, the receiving side terminal controls at least a frequency of a sound and a ringing time according to the incoming call information by the control means. It may be.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment, the management station stores a plurality of programs in which an operation procedure of a receiving terminal is described in the storage means. When the receiving means receives the program from the management station, the control means may start the program and operate according to the started program.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention
An embodiment applied to an HS system will be described with reference to the drawings.

A. Configuration of First Embodiment A-1. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a communication system such as a PHS terminal according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the figure,
Reference numeral 1 denotes a communication network, which is a normal analog telephone network (PSTN network) or a digital network (for example, an ISDN network) spread throughout the country. The communication network 1
Includes a plurality of public base stations 2a, 2 installed at predetermined intervals.
b, 2c are connected.

Each of the public base stations 2a to 2c is installed in an unspecified place indoors and outdoors, and has a service area (radio wave reachable range: communication range) having a radius of several hundred meters centered on itself. The PHS terminals PS1 to PS3 existing in the service area are connected to the communication line network 1 by wirelessly communicating with the PHS terminals PS1, PS2 and PS3. PHS terminals PS1 to PS3 described above
Is carried by the user and issues a line connection request to the public base stations 2a to 2c by radio to communicate with other PHS terminals and home telephones.

Each of the PHS terminals PS1 to PS3 is a terminal carried by a user and driven by a battery, and has the same functions as a normal telephone, such as a liquid crystal display unit and dial keys. The PHS terminals PS1 to PS3 receive CS-IDs (or area information) broadcast from the public base stations 2a to 2c of the service area located at that time when the service area changes due to movement or when the power is turned on. ,
If it is different from the CS-ID stored therein, it sends a location registration request signal to the public base stations 2a to 2c in the service area where it is located.

The service center 3 stores location registration information, authentication information, and billing information in a database 4, controls a telephone line network 4 to manage communication between terminals, and stores various types of data such as voice mail in the database 3. Accumulate data, P
In response to requests from the HS terminals PS1 to PS3, various services for providing the voice mail and data to the user are provided. In particular, in the present embodiment, the database 4 corresponds to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, the rankings of hit songs according to the recent music hit chart are “1”, “2”,..., And musical scale data (frequency and sound duration data along the musical score) ND1,
ND2,... Are stored. The hit song, as appropriate
Updated to the latest one.

The originating terminal designates the above-mentioned music as a ringing tone ringing at the receiving terminal at the time of originating a call. In the service center, when there is a call request, when calling the called terminal, the scale data NDi (i = 1, 1) of the specified music is called.
, 2, 3,...) Are set in the sub-address of the call setting and transmitted.

A-2. Operation of First Embodiment Next, the operation of the communication system according to the first embodiment will be described. In the following description, the operation of each unit involved in a call is the same as the operation of a normal terminal, and a description thereof will be omitted. Here, FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the calling terminal, FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the service center, and FIG. In the following description, the PHS terminal PS1 shown in FIG.
The HS terminal PS2 or PS3 is a receiving terminal.

First, an originating terminal (PHS terminal PS1)
Is to enter the telephone number of the other party in step S10,
Select the other party from the phone book registered in advance. next,
In step S12, the tune (order of music) to be sounded as a ring tone on the receiving side terminal (PHS terminal PS2) is designated (hereinafter, this is referred to as designation information). In step S14, the calling terminal determines whether the call button has been pressed,
When the call button is pressed, in step S16, the above-mentioned designation information is set in the sub address of the call setting, and a call is made.
Then, in step S18, it is determined whether or not there is a response, and the process waits until there is a response.

On the other hand, in the service center 3, step S
At 30, it is determined whether or not there is a call request, and if there is a call from the calling terminal (PHS terminal PS1),
In step S32, the designated information set in the sub address of the call setting is obtained. In step S34, the scale data stored in the database 4 is searched according to the specified information, and the corresponding scale data is obtained. Then, in step S36, the called terminal (PHS terminal PS2), which is the partner terminal, is called according to the called number (telephone number) for identifying the partner terminal set in the call setting.
Next, in step S38, after transmitting the scale data acquired in step S36 to the receiving terminal (PHS terminal PS2), it is determined in step S40 whether or not there is a response (off-hook) from the receiving terminal. Wait for a response.

On the other hand, the receiving terminal (PHS terminal PS)
In 2), it is determined in step S50 whether or not there is an incoming call. If there is an incoming call, the process proceeds to step S52, where the scale data transmitted from the service center 3 is received and stored in a predetermined memory. Then, in step S54, the received scale data is sounded to notify that the call has arrived. Then, in step S56, it is determined whether or not the user has gone off-hook, and until the user goes off-hook, the tone data continues to be sounded in step S54. As a result, at the receiving terminal (PHS terminal PS2), the music specified by the calling terminal (PHS terminal PS1) rings as a ring tone. In this way, the ring tone of the receiving terminal can be specified from the calling terminal and the melody sounds with a hit song, so that it can be distinguished from the incoming call of another person. Also,
Since the music stored in the database 4 of the service center 3 is appropriately updated to the latest one, the ring tone can be changed semipermanently.

When the receiving terminal goes off-hook, the service center 3 connects the line in step S42, the calling terminal performs the call processing in step S20, and the receiving terminal performs the call processing in step S58, and the calling terminal executes the call processing in step S58. Calls can be made between the terminal and the called terminal.

In the above-described first embodiment, when there is a call request, the service center 3 calls the scale data NDi of the specified music when calling the called terminal.
(I = 1, 2, 3,...) Is set in the sub address of the call setting and transmitted. However, the present invention is not limited to this. (A terminal) and store it, and from the service center 3 to the receiving side terminal, only the order of the music designated by the calling side terminal may be transmitted. The receiving side terminal sets the scale data NDi (i
= 1, 2, 3, ...) as a ringtone.

In the above-described first embodiment, a hit tune is used as a ring tone. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a fixed melody (plural) or tone (plural) may be used. If the same melody is always designated from the sender terminal, the user of the receiver terminal can identify the sender by the ring tone. Further, in the first embodiment, the ring tone is used.
The present invention is not limited to this, and the incoming call notification method (vibration, display) and the type of the notification method (for example, vibration frequency, vibration interval, display character, display cycle, etc.) may be changed.

B. Second embodiment B-1. Configuration of Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The communication system according to the second embodiment is the same as the above-described first embodiment (FIG. 1), and will not be described. The second embodiment provides a communication terminal capable of transmitting and receiving various types of information regardless of the difference between carriers and the presence or absence of functions. The difference from the first embodiment is that a service center is provided. 3 stores a function program for enabling transmission / reception of information to be transmitted / received between the transmitting terminal and the receiving terminal. FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration example of the database 4 of the service center 3. In the figure, for example, when character information is transmitted and received in the database 4 of the service center 3, the transmitting side terminal and the receiving side terminal are registered with different communication carriers or the receiving side terminal receives the character information ( When there is no function (including display), a function program PROG for converting character codes between telecommunications carriers and realizing a communication protocol.
1, PROG2,... Are stored.

B-2. Next, an operation of the communication system according to the above-described second embodiment will be described. In the following description, the operation of each unit involved in a call is the same as the operation of a normal terminal, and a description thereof will be omitted. Here, FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the calling terminal, FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the service center, and FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the receiving terminal. In the following description, the PHS terminal PS1 shown in FIG.
The HS terminal PS2 or PS3 is a receiving terminal.

First, an originating terminal (PHS terminal PS1)
Enter the telephone number of the other party in step S60,
Select the other party from the phone book registered in advance. next,
In step S62, a short message to be transmitted to the called terminal (PHS terminal PS2) is input. Next, in step S64, it is determined whether the call button has been pressed,
When the call button is pressed, the short message is set in the sub address of the call setting in step S66, and a call is made.

On the other hand, in the service center 3, step S
At 70, it is determined whether or not there is a call request, and if there is a call from the calling terminal (PHS terminal PS1),
Proceeding to step S72, the message type (communication carrier) set in the sub address of the call setting is determined, and in step S74, the function program PROGi (i = 1, 2,...) Corresponding to the message type is stored in the database 4. To get from. Then, in step S76, the called number (telephone number) for identifying the other terminal set in the call setting.
According to the terminating terminal (PHS terminal PS)
Call 2). Next, at step S78, step S
74, the function program PROGi (i = 1,
2,...) Are transmitted to the receiving terminal (PHS terminal PS2), and in step S80, it is determined whether or not there is a response (off-hook) from the receiving terminal, and the process stands by until there is a response.

On the other hand, the receiving terminal (PHS terminal PS)
In 2), it is determined in step S90 whether or not an incoming call has been received. If there is an incoming call, the process proceeds to step S92, where the function program transmitted from the service center 3 is received and stored in a predetermined memory. Then, step S94
Then, a ringer is sounded to notify that a call has been received. Then, in a step S96, it is determined whether or not the user has gone off-hook.
Continue ringing the ringer at 94.

Then, the receiving terminal (PHS terminal PS2)
In step S82, the service center 3 transmits a short message. On the other hand, in step S98, the called terminal activates the received function program, receives the short message transmitted from the service center 3, performs processing such as character code conversion, and displays the short message on the display unit. Display a message. Therefore, a short message can be transmitted and received even if the transmitting and receiving terminals use different communication carriers or the receiving terminal does not originally have a short message transmitting / receiving function.

In the above-described second embodiment, it is not determined whether or not the receiving terminal has a function relating to information to be transmitted / received. An inquiry may be made as to whether there is a required function. If there is a function required for the receiving terminal, it is not necessary to transmit the function program. Even when the receiving terminal has a function program, the version of the function program may be old. Therefore, the version may be queried, and if the function program is old, the latest one may be transmitted. Further, in the above-described second embodiment, the function program related to the character information has been described. However, as long as it is a program for performing a service that can be provided by the service center 3, the program is not a function program related to the character information. Is also good. Further, in the second embodiment, the present invention is applied to a method in which a short message is received after a line is connected, but may be applied to a method in which a short message is received and displayed before a line is connected.

[0036]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the receiving terminal downloads the information specified by the transmitting terminal from the management station and operates according to the information. With the notification mode of, the ringtone of the receiving terminal can be specified from the calling terminal,
If the program can be distinguished from the incoming call of another person, even if the function is not originally provided, it is possible to easily add the function later and realize the function.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the incoming information indicates the notification form when the information is received, the ring tone of the incoming terminal can be designated from the calling terminal. This has the advantage that it can be distinguished from incoming calls of others.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the information is at least the frequency of the sound to be sounded and the sounding time, the ring tone of the called terminal can be designated from the calling terminal. In addition, there is an advantage that it is possible to distinguish the incoming call from another person.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the information is a program describing the operation procedure of the terminal, even if the function is not originally provided, it can be easily added later, and The advantage is that the function can be realized.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the originating terminal specifies, from the information stored in the storing means of the management station, the information to be downloaded to the receiving terminal by the specifying means at the time of calling. After the designation, when a call is made by the calling means by adding the specified content to the transmission information to be transmitted at the time of normal calling, the management station determines, among the various information of the storage means, the information specified at the time of the calling of the calling terminal. The information is transmitted to the receiving side terminal by the transmitting unit, and the receiving side terminal receives the information transmitted from the management station by the receiving unit, and then, by the control unit, performs its own operation in accordance with the received information. Since the control is performed, if the information is in the form of notification when a call arrives, the caller terminal can specify the ringtone of the receiver terminal, and can be distinguished from another person's call.
With a program, there is an advantage that even if the function is not originally provided, it can be easily added later and the function can be realized.

According to the invention of claim 6, a plurality of incoming call information indicating the notification mode when the receiving terminal has received an incoming call is stored in the storage means of the management station, Means for notifying the incoming call according to the incoming information received by the receiving means, so that the calling terminal can specify the ringtone of the receiving terminal and distinguish it from the incoming call of another person. Is obtained.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the control means of the receiving side terminal controls at least the frequency and duration of the sound to be sounded in accordance with the incoming call information. The advantage is obtained that the ring tone of the called terminal can be designated from the side terminal and distinguished from the incoming call of another person.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of programs describing the operation procedure of the receiving terminal are stored in the storage means of the management station, and the receiving terminal is operated by the receiving means. Upon receiving the program from the management station, the control unit starts the program and operates according to the started program.Thus, even if the function is not originally provided, it can be easily added later, and the The advantage is that the function can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration example (scale data) of a database 4 of a service center 3;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of a calling terminal.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the service center.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the receiving terminal.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration example (functional program) of a database 4 of the service center 3.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the calling terminal.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the service center.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the called terminal.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Communication line network 2a-2c Public base station 3 Service center 4 Database PS1-PS3 PHS terminal

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A communication terminal which monitors the entire communication line network and performs transmission / reception, line connection and information transmission / reception between a calling side and a called side via a management station which provides various services to the communication terminal. A communication terminal that downloads information specified by the originating terminal from the management station and operates according to the information. 2. The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein said information is incoming call information indicating a notification mode when an incoming call is received. 3. The communication terminal according to claim 2, wherein the incoming call information comprises at least a frequency of a sound to be sounded and a sounding time. 4. The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the information is a program describing an operation procedure of the terminal. 5. An outgoing / incoming call, line connection, and information transfer between a calling terminal and a called terminal via a management station that monitors the entire communication network and provides various services to the communication terminal. In the communication system, the management station includes: a storage unit that stores various types of information; and a transmission unit that transmits information specified at the time of calling the calling terminal to the receiving terminal, among various types of information of the storage unit. The transmitting side terminal includes a specifying unit that specifies information to be downloaded to the receiving side terminal out of information stored in the storing unit of the management station, and a specifying unit that transmits the specifying information by the specifying unit in a normal transmission mode. Calling means for making a call in addition to transmission information to be transmitted at the time of calling, wherein the receiving side terminal receives information transmitted from the transmitting means of the management station, and receives the information by the receiving means. According to the information And a control means for controlling its own operation. 6. The management station stores, in the storage unit, a plurality of pieces of incoming information indicating a notification mode when a receiving-side terminal has received a call, and the receiving-side terminal receives the information by a receiving unit by the control unit. 6. The communication system according to claim 5, wherein an incoming call is notified according to the incoming call information. 7. The communication system according to claim 6, wherein the receiving side terminal controls at least a frequency of a sound to be sounded and a sounding time according to the incoming call information by the control means. 8. The management station stores a plurality of programs describing an operation procedure of a receiving terminal in the storage means, and the receiving terminal receives the program from the management station by the receiving means, 6. The communication system according to claim 5, wherein the control unit activates the program and operates according to the activated program.