JPWO2018185803A1 - Communications system - Google Patents

Abstract

Each of the plurality of notification devices (110) receives the combined data including notification data indicating predetermined information to be notified to the call center system (150) and link data for identifying the notification data as IP line (101). And the link data is converted into a signal that can be transmitted via the telephone line (102), and the signal is converted to the call center side via the telephone line (102). The call center side system (150) stores the combined data transmitted via the IP line 101 and is specified by the signal transmitted via the telephone line (102). Select the composite data including the link data and pre-determined by the report data included in the selected composite data To display the information.

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication system, and in particular, a plurality of reporting devices and a call center side system are capable of data communication, a first line capable of data communication, and voice communication, and a second line different from the first line. It relates to the communication system connected to.

  The elevator emergency call system is constructed to notify the call center from the intercom in the elevator and request rescue when a passenger is trapped due to an elevator failure or the like. In such an emergency call, in addition to voice calls between the caller in the elevator and the call center operator, report data indicating the elevator model number or failure status is transmitted to the call center, and information necessary for the operator give.

  In recent years, for voice calls for emergency calls, IP lines are often used due to the progress of VoIP (Voice over IP) technology for transmitting voice signals in IP (Internet Protocol) packets. However, in VoIP, when IP line traffic increases, voice call quality may deteriorate due to an increase in packet transmission delay and transmission delay fluctuation, an increase in packet loss rate, and the like. Therefore, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique of using VoIP and voice call using a voice dedicated line together in order to maintain good call quality.

  In the technique described in Patent Document 1, when the communication quality of the IP network deteriorates, stable communication quality is ensured by switching the communication to a voice-only public telephone line used for backup.

JP 2000-354071 A

As described above, in the elevator emergency call system, in addition to the voice call, communication of report data indicating the elevator model number or failure state is also required.
For this reason, when performing a voice call using a voice dedicated line, it is conceivable to communicate report data using a voice band modem. The voice band modem includes, for example, an ITU-T recommendation V.10 defined by ITU-T (International Telecommunication Union Telecommunition Standardization Sector). 21, a 300 bps FSK (Frequency Shift Keying) modem and the like.

However, when the dedicated voice line to be used is a cellular phone line instead of an analog telephone line, the signal to be transmitted is transmitted with a low bit rate encoding. This low bit rate encoding method is a method specialized for voice. Therefore, the voice band modem signal cannot be transmitted.
Further, even communication using a cellular phone line can be transmitted if it is a tone signal such as a DTMF (Dual Tone Multi Frequency) signal, and therefore data transmission by the tone signal is possible. For example, in the case of a DTMF signal, codes (corresponding to 4-bit information) from 0 to 16 per digit can be transmitted. However, it takes at least about 0.1 seconds to transmit a one-digit code. Therefore, there is a problem that a large amount of information cannot be transmitted.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides a communication system capable of transmitting notification data even when voice communication is performed using a voice line. Objective.

  In a communication system according to one aspect of the present invention, a plurality of reporting devices and a call center side system are capable of performing a first line capable of data communication and voice communication, and are different from the first line. A communication system connected to a line, wherein each of the plurality of notification devices identifies a notification data generation unit that generates notification data indicating predetermined information to be notified to the call center side system, and the notification data A link data generating unit for generating link data for generating data, a data combining unit for generating combined data including the notification data and the link data, and the combined data via the first line on the call center side A first transmitter for transmitting to the system, a signal converter for converting the link data into a signal that can be transmitted on the second line, and the signal A second transmission unit configured to transmit to the call center side system via the second line, the call center side system including a display unit for displaying information and a first reception for receiving the combined data. A storage unit that stores the composite data received by the first receiving unit, a second receiving unit that receives the signal, and the signal received by the second receiving unit, A specifying unit for specifying link data, and the combined data including the link data specified by the specifying unit are selected from the storage unit, and are indicated by the notification data included in the selected combined data A notification data processing unit for displaying the predetermined information on the display unit.

  According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a communication system capable of transmitting report data even when voice communication is performed using a voice line.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of a communication system according to Embodiments 1 and 2. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the alerting | reporting apparatus in Embodiment 1 together with an intercom, an IP line, and a telephone line. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing a hardware configuration of a notification device in Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of a call center side system in Embodiment 1. FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically showing an additional configuration example of the call center side system in Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing a hardware configuration of a center device in the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the notification device in the first embodiment. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the center device in the first embodiment. 6 is a first flowchart showing processing for incoming from a telephone line in the first embodiment. 6 is a second flowchart showing processing for incoming from a telephone line in the first embodiment. 5 is a first flowchart showing processing for incoming from an IP line in the first embodiment. 9 is a second flowchart showing processing for incoming from an IP line in the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of a call center side system in a second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a block diagram schematically showing an additional configuration example of a call center side system in the second embodiment.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of a communication system 100 according to the first embodiment.
The communication system 100 includes a plurality of notification devices 110-1, 110-2,..., 110-n, and a call center side system 150.
Here, n is an integer of 2 or more.
In addition, when there is no need to particularly distinguish each of the notification devices 110-1, 110-2,.

The reporting device 110 and the call center side system 150 are connected to the IP line 101 that is the first line and the telephone line 102 that is the second line.
The IP line 101 is a line capable of data communication. For example, the IP line 101 is a communication network that transmits IP packets. Specifically, the IP line 101 is the Internet.
The telephone line 102 is a line capable of voice communication. For example, the telephone line 102 is a public analog telephone line or a digital telephone line that transmits voice signals. Specifically, the telephone line 102 is a public switched telephone network or a mobile communication network. The telephone line 102 is a line different from the IP line 101, and the telephone line 102 cannot perform data communication using IP packets.

When the reporter makes an emergency call, the notification device 110 calls the call center side system 150. When the call center side system 150 responds to the call, call voice is transmitted and received between the notification device 110 and the call center side system 150. In addition, notification data is transmitted from the notification device 110 to the call center side system 150.
At this time, if the communication quality of the IP line 101 is good, both the call voice and the notification data are transmitted via the IP line 101. Conversely, when the communication quality of the IP line 101 is poor, the call voice is transmitted via the telephone line 102 and only the notification data is transmitted via the IP line 101.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the notification device 110 together with the interphone 130, the IP line 101, and the telephone line 102 connected to the notification device 110.
The notification device 110 includes a detection unit 111, a notification control unit 112, a notification data generation unit 113, a link data generation unit 114, a data synthesis unit 115, a DTMF conversion unit 116, an IP line interface unit (hereinafter referred to as an IP line interface unit). 117, a telephone line I / F unit 118, a conversion unit 119, an output side switch unit 120, and an input side switch unit 121.

  The intercom 130 includes an emergency call button 131 for the passenger (user) to report the occurrence of an emergency, a microphone 132 for the passenger to input voice, and a speaker 133 for outputting voice to the passenger. Is provided.

The detection unit 111 detects that the emergency call button 131 of the intercom 130 has been pressed.
The notification control unit 112 performs communication control with the call center side system 150 and operation control in the notification device 110.
For example, when the quality of the IP line 101 is good, the notification control unit 112 sends a voice call from the IP line 101 to the call center system 150 via the IP line I / F unit 117. In addition, when the quality of the IP line 101 is not good, the report control unit 112 transmits a voice call from the telephone line 102 to the call center side system 150 via the telephone line I / F unit 118.

The report data generation unit 113 generates report data indicating predetermined information to be notified to the call center system 150.
The link data generation unit 114 generates link data for identifying the report data in order to link the report data and the voice call. Here, the link data indicates identification information for identifying the reporting device 110.
The data combining unit 115 generates combined data including link data and report data by combining link data and report data.
The DTMF converter 116 is a signal converter that converts link data into a signal that can be transmitted through the telephone line 102. For example, the DTMF converter 116 converts link data into a DTMF signal that is a tone signal.

The IP line I / F unit 117 transmits and receives IP packets to and from the IP line 101. For example, the IP line I / F unit 117 functions as a first transmission unit that transmits an IP packet storing the combined data to the call center side system 150 via the IP line 101.
The telephone line I / F unit 118 exchanges voice signals and call connection signals with the telephone line 102. For example, the telephone line I / F unit 118 functions as a second transmission unit that transmits a DTMF signal converted from link data to the call center side system 150 via the telephone line 102.
The conversion unit 119 converts an analog signal into a digital signal and a digital signal into an analog signal.

The output side switch unit 120 is a switch unit for selecting a signal output from the notification device 110.
The input side switch unit 121 is a switch unit for selecting a signal to be input to the notification device 110.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing a hardware configuration of the notification device 110.
The report control unit 112, the report data generation unit 113, the link data generation unit 114, the data synthesis unit 115, the DTMF conversion unit 116, the output side switch unit 120, and the input side switch unit 121 execute a program stored in the memory 10. Implemented by the processor 11. This is merely an example, and a hardware configuration using a dedicated processing circuit other than this may be used.

  The conversion unit 119 is realized by an A / D and D / A conversion LSI (Large Scale Integration) 12. This is an example, and for example, a system LSI in which the processor 11 is integrated with the conversion LSI 12 may be used.

  The detection unit 111 is realized by a switch open / close detection LSI 13 that performs electrical conversion so that the button pressing state of the emergency call button 131 can be referred to from a specific port of the processor 11. This is an example, and for example, a system LSI in which the processor 11 is integrated with the switch open / close detection LSI 13 may be used.

  The IP line I / F unit 117 is realized by a network interface (hereinafter referred to as a network I / F) 14. The network I / F 14 transmits the IP packet output from the processor 11 on the network frame to the IP line 101, and passes the IP packet received from the IP line 101 to the processor 11.

  The telephone line I / F unit 118 is realized by a SLIC (Subscriber Line Interface Circuit) LSI 15. This is merely an example, and a hardware configuration using a processing circuit realized by a transistor, an operational amplifier, a resistor, a capacitor, or the like may be used.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the call center side system 150.
The call center side system 150 includes a VoIP gateway 151, information display terminals 152A and 152B, IP telephone terminals 153A and 153B, and a center device 160.
The call center side system 150 is configured to be able to process incoming calls from two reporting devices 110 at the same time. For this reason, in FIG. 4, two information display terminals 152A and 152B and two IP telephone terminals 153A and 153B are provided.
In addition, when it is not necessary to particularly distinguish each of the information display terminals 152A and 152B, it is referred to as an information display terminal 152. When it is not necessary to particularly distinguish each of the IP telephone terminals 153A and 153B, the IP telephone terminal It is called 153.

The VoIP gateway 151 performs protocol conversion between the telephone line 102 and a communication network corresponding to IP.
For example, the VoIP gateway 151 includes a telephone line I / F corresponding to a public analog telephone line or a digital telephone line and a communication I / F corresponding to a communication network corresponding to IP.
Further, the VoIP gateway 151 has an RTP packet transmission / reception function used as a VoIP-based voice signal and a call control function corresponding to a SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) used as a VoIP-based call control protocol. Specifically, the VoIP gateway 151 performs mutual conversion between a voice signal and a call control signal transmitted to and received from the telephone line 102 and a VoIP-based voice signal and a call control signal.

The information display terminal 152 is a terminal that receives an IP packet in which notification data is stored and displays predetermined information indicated by the received notification data on a display. In other words, the information display terminal 152 functions as a display unit for displaying information. For example, a personal computer is used as the information display terminal 152.
The IP telephone terminal 153 is a telephone terminal compatible with VoIP, and performs telephone communication by transmitting and receiving IP packets. As the IP telephone terminal 153, for example, a general device having an RTP packet transmission / reception function and a call control function corresponding to SIP is used.

The center device 160 includes an IP line I / F unit 161, a device control unit 162, a received data holding unit 163, DTMF decoding units 164A and 164B, notification data selection units 165A and 165B, a voice packet transfer unit 166A, 166B. The center device 160 further includes a communication I / F unit 167 as shown in FIG.
In addition, when there is no need to distinguish each of the DTMF decoding units 164A and 164B, it is called a DTMF decoding unit 164. When there is no need to particularly distinguish each of the report data selection units 165A and 165B, the notification data The selection unit 165 is referred to as a voice packet transfer unit 166 when it is not necessary to distinguish each of the voice packet transfer units 166A and 166B.
Here, in FIG. 4, two DTMF decoding units 164, two notification data selection units 165, and two voice packet transfer units 166 are provided so that incoming calls from two reporting devices 110 can be processed simultaneously. However, by changing the number of the DTMF decoding unit 164, the notification data selection unit 165, and the voice packet transfer unit 166, the number of corresponding notification devices 110 in the call center side system 150 can be changed.

The IP line I / F unit 161 communicates with the IP line 101. For example, the IP line I / F unit 161 transmits and receives IP packets to and from the IP line 101. Here, the IP line I / F unit 161 functions as a first receiving unit that receives the combined data.
The device control unit 162 controls the entire processing in the center device 160. For example, the device control unit 162 performs communication control of incoming calls from the IP line 101 side or the telephone line 102 side and control of the entire device. Specifically, the apparatus control unit 162 receives an incoming voice call via the IP line 101 or the telephone line 102.

The reception data holding unit 163 is a storage unit that stores composite data and notification data received from the notification device 110.
The DTMF decoding unit 164 is a specifying unit that specifies link data from the DTMF signal by decoding the DTMF signal.
The report data selection unit 165 selects the combination data including the link data decoded by the DTMF decoding unit 164 from the combination data stored in the reception data holding unit 163, and is included in the selected combination data. This is a report data processing unit that causes the information display terminal 152 to display predetermined information indicated by the report data.
The voice packet transfer unit 166 is a voice processing unit that transfers voice packets.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the VoIP gateway 151, the information display terminals 152A and 152B, and the IP telephone terminals 153A and 153B are connected to the communication I / F unit 167 of the center device 160. Thereby, the VoIP gateway 151, the information display terminals 152A and 152B, and the IP telephone terminals 153A and 153B can communicate with the device control unit 162, the notification data selection units 165A and 165B, and the voice packet transfer units 166A and 166B. . Note that the communication I / F unit 167 functions as a second receiving unit that receives a DTMF signal stored in an IP packet and transmitted from the VoIP gateway 151.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram schematically showing a hardware configuration of the center device 160.
The device control unit 162, the DTMF decoding unit 164, the notification data selection unit 165, and the voice packet transfer unit 166 are realized by the processor 21 that executes a program stored in the memory 20.
The reception data holding unit 163 is realized by the processor 21 using the memory 20.

The IP line I / F unit 161 is realized by the network interface 22. For example, the network interface 22 transmits the IP packet output from the processor 21 on the network frame to the IP line 101, and passes the IP packet received from the IP line 101 to the processor 21.
The communication I / F unit 167 is realized by the network I / F 23. For example, the processor 21 transmits / receives data to / from the VoIP gateway 151, the information display terminal 152, and the IP telephone terminal 153 using IP packets, and the transmission / reception of these data is performed via the network I / F 23.
Note that the hardware configuration of the center device 160 shown in FIG. 6 is an example, and the center device 160 may be realized by a personal computer, for example.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the notification device 110.
First, the notification control unit 112 monitors whether or not the emergency notification button 131 of the intercom 130 has been pressed via the detection unit 111 (S10). When the caller presses the emergency call button 131 to request help from the call center (Yes in S10), the process proceeds to step S11.

  In step S11, the notification control unit 112 determines whether or not the quality of the IP line 101 is good. If the quality of the IP line 101 is not good (No in S11), the process proceeds to step S12. If the quality of the IP line 101 is good (Yes in S11), the process proceeds to step S23.

It should be noted that as a criterion for determining whether or not the quality of the IP line 101 is good, it is assumed that the quality of the IP line 101 is preset for each reporting device 110. For example, when the notification device 110 is installed, IP packets are communicated with the call center system 150 using a personal computer or the like, and the settings are made based on the transmission delay, transmission delay fluctuation, or packet loss rate of the IP packet. Done.
The notification control unit 112 periodically determines the quality of the IP line 101 by communicating IP packets with the call center system 150 via the IP line I / F unit 117. Also good.

In step S 12, the notification control unit 112 controls the telephone line I / F unit 118 to make a voice call to the call center system 150 via the telephone line 102. The operation required for making a call via a telephone line is the same as the operation that a general analog telephone makes when making a call.
Thereafter, the notification control unit 112 waits for a response from the call center side system 150 (S13). If there is a response (Yes in S13), the process proceeds to step S14.

In step S14, notification control unit 112 determines whether or not the response is incoming. If the response is not incoming call acceptance (No in S14), the process proceeds to step S15. If the response is incoming call acceptance (Yes in S14), the process proceeds to step S16.
If the polarity of the potential of the telephone line 102 is reversed as a response to the call, the call center system 150 has accepted the incoming call. On the other hand, when a busy tone is input from the telephone line 102 as a response, the call center system 150 rejects the incoming call. The telephone line I / F unit 118 detects these and notifies the notification control unit 112 of them.

In step S15, the notification control unit 112 waits for a predetermined time, and the process returns to step S12.
On the other hand, in step S16, the notification control unit 112 instructs the link data generation unit 114 and the notification data generation unit 113 to generate data, and the link data generation unit 114 generates link data.
Here, the link data is data for identifying the report data, and in the first embodiment, identification information for identifying the report device 110 is used as the link data. As the identification information for identifying the reporting device 110, a unique number is predetermined for each reporting device 110. For example, when 1000 reporting devices 110 exist, the link data is a 4-digit decimal number. Link data indicating any of “0001” to “1000” is assigned to each reporting device, such as “0001” for the link data of the first reporting device and “0002” for the second reporting device. .

Further, the report data generation unit 113 generates report data (S17).
The notification data indicates predetermined information including information such as the elevator model number, failure state, or installation location.

Next, the data synthesizing unit 115 generates synthesized data in which the link data generated by the link data generating unit 114 is added to the report data generated by the report data generating unit 113 (S18).
The generated composite data is converted into an IP packet by the IP line I / F unit 117 and transmitted to the call center system 150 via the IP line 101 (S19).

Further, the link data generated by the link data generation unit 114 is converted into a DTMF signal by the DTMF conversion unit 116, and this DTMF signal is transmitted from the telephone line I / F unit 118 to the telephone line via the output side switch unit 120. 102 (S20).
Here, the DTMF signal is a combination of four types of high group frequency tones and four types of low group frequency tones, a number from “0” to “9”, “A”, “B”, “C”. Any one of 16 kinds of numbers and characters consisting of six characters “,” “D,” “*,” and “#” can be represented by a single digit signal. Since the link data is a 4-digit decimal number, the DTMF conversion unit 116 generates a 4-digit DTMF signal by assigning each digit to one digit of the DTMF signal.

  Thereafter, the notification control unit 112 connects the output side switch unit 120 to the conversion unit 119 side and the input side switch unit 121 to the telephone line I / F unit 118 side (S21). Therefore, the audio analog signal input from the microphone 132 of the interphone 130 is converted into a digital signal by the conversion unit 119 and then transmitted to the telephone line 102 via the telephone line I / F unit 118. Also, the audio signal input from the telephone line 102 via the telephone line I / F unit 118 is converted into an analog signal by the conversion unit 119 and then output from the speaker 133 of the intercom 130. This operation is continued until the call ends.

  Then, the notification control unit 112 determines whether or not the call is finished (S22), and when the call is finished (Yes in S22), the process returns to step S10. For example, when the call center side system 150 ends the call, in the notification device 110 that is in a call state with the call center side system 150, the polarity of the telephone line 102 whose polarity is reversed is reversed or a busy sound is heard from the telephone line 102. Entered. Further, after the call center side system 150 ends the call, if the notification device 110 that is in a call state with the call center side system 150 is left in a non-call state as it is for a long time, a howler sound is transmitted from the telephone line 102 to the notification device 110. Entered. When the telephone line I / F unit 118 detects any of these, it notifies the notification control unit 112 of the detected content.

If the quality of the IP line 101 is good in step S11 (Yes in S11), the process proceeds to step S23.
In step S23, the notification control unit 112 transmits an IP packet storing the SIP message to the IP line 101 via the IP line I / F unit 117 in accordance with SIP which is a protocol for making and receiving calls by IP. A voice call is transmitted to the call center side system 150.
Thereafter, the notification control unit 112 waits for a response from the call center side system 150 (S24). If there is a response (Yes in S24), the process proceeds to step S25.

In step S25, the notification control unit 112 determines whether or not the response is incoming. If the response is not incoming call acceptance (No in S25), the process proceeds to step S26. If the response is incoming call acceptance (Yes in S25), the process proceeds to step S27.
When a response message “100 Trying” is received as an outgoing response, the call center system 150 has accepted the incoming call. For example, a response message indicating an error such as “486 Busy Here” is received. In this case, the call center system 150 rejects the incoming call.

In step S26, the notification control unit 112 waits for a predetermined time, and the process returns to step S23.
On the other hand, in step S27, the notification control unit 112 instructs the notification data generation unit 113 to generate data, and the notification data generation unit 113 generates notification data. This notification data is the same as the data generated when calling from the telephone line 102 to the call center system 150 in step S17.

The generated notification data is IP packetized by the IP line I / F unit 117 and transmitted to the call center side system 150 via the IP line 101 (S28).
Thereafter, the output side switch unit 120 is connected to the conversion unit 119 side, and the input side switch unit 121 is connected to the IP line I / F unit 117 side (S29). Therefore, the audio analog signal input from the microphone 132 of the interphone 130 is converted into a digital signal by the conversion unit 119 and then transmitted to the IP line 101 via the IP line I / F unit 117. The audio signal input from the IP line 101 via the IP line I / F unit 117 is converted into an analog signal by the conversion unit 119 and then output from the speaker 133 of the interphone 130. This operation is continued until the call ends.

  Then, the notification control unit 112 determines whether or not the call is finished (S30), and when the call is finished (Yes in S30), the process returns to step S10. For example, when the call center side system 150 ends the call, the SIP message requesting the end is received from the IP line 101.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the center device 160.
First, when there is an incoming voice call from the reporting device 110, the device control unit 162 determines whether the incoming call is from the IP line 101 (S40).
When the reporting device 110 sends a call to the call center system 150 via the IP line 101, the center device 160 receives an incoming call from the IP line 101. As described above, since the IP packet storing the SIP message is received from the notification device 110, the device control unit 162 decodes the SIP message so that the incoming voice call is from the IP line 101. Determine whether or not. If the incoming call is not from the IP line 101 (No in S40), the process proceeds to step S41. If the incoming call is from the IP line 101 (Yes in S40), the process proceeds to step S45.

In step S41, the device control unit 162 determines whether the incoming voice call from the reporting device 110 is an incoming call from the VoIP gateway 151 (S41).
When the notification device 110 sends a call to the call center system 150 via the telephone line 102, the VoIP gateway 151 recognizes the incoming call, converts it into a SIP message, and sends it to the center device 160. That is, the center device 160 receives an incoming call from the VoIP gateway 151. For this reason, step S41 determines whether or not the incoming voice call is via the telephone line 102. The device control unit 162 decodes the SIP message and determines whether this is an incoming call from the telephone line 102. If the incoming call is from the VoIP gateway 151 (Yes in S41), the process proceeds to step S42. If the incoming call is not from the VoIP gateway 151 (No in S41), the process proceeds to step S48.

In step S42, apparatus control unit 162 determines whether there is an idle IP telephone terminal 153 that is not used for a call. If there is no available IP telephone terminal 153 (No in S42), the process proceeds to step S43. If there is an available IP telephone terminal 153 (Yes in S42), the process proceeds to step S44.
In step S43, the device control unit 162 rejects the incoming call. The rejection of the incoming call is realized by returning a response message indicating the incoming call rejection to the VoIP gateway 151 via the communication I / F unit 167 in accordance with SIP. Then, the process proceeds to processing step S48.
On the other hand, in step S44, apparatus control unit 162 accepts the incoming call and assigns IP phone terminal 153 in the idle state to the call. Then, the process proceeds to step S48.

If there is an incoming call from the IP line 101 in step S40 (Yes in S40), the process proceeds to step S45.
In step S45, apparatus control unit 162 determines whether there is an idle IP telephone terminal 153 that is not used for a call. If there is no available IP telephone terminal 153 (No in S45), the process proceeds to step S46. If there is an available IP telephone terminal 153 (Yes in S45), the process proceeds to step S47.
In step S46, the device control unit 162 rejects the incoming call. The rejection of the incoming call is realized by returning a response message indicating the rejection of the incoming call via the IP line I / F unit 161 via the IP line 101 to the notifying device 110 of the caller in accordance with SIP. Then, the process proceeds to processing step S48.
On the other hand, in step S47, apparatus control unit 162 accepts the incoming call and assigns IP phone terminal 153 in the idle state to the call. Then, the process proceeds to step S48.

  In step S48, apparatus control unit 162 determines whether or not IP telephone terminal 153 is assigned to the call in step S44 or S47. If IP phone terminal 153 is assigned to the call (Yes in S48), the process proceeds to step S49. If IP phone terminal 153 is not assigned to the call (No in S48), the process proceeds to step S40. Return to.

  In step S49, the apparatus control unit 162 determines whether the incoming call is from the telephone line 102 or not. If the incoming call is from the telephone line 102 (Yes in S49), the process proceeds to step S50. If the incoming call is not from the telephone line 102 (No in S49), the process proceeds to step S51.

In step S <b> 50, the device control unit 162 performs processing for incoming calls from the telephone line 102. This process will be described with reference to FIGS.
On the other hand, in step S51, the apparatus control unit 162 performs processing for incoming calls from the IP line 101. This process will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 are flowcharts showing processing for incoming calls from the telephone line 102.
9 and 10, description will be made assuming that IP telephone terminal 153A is assigned to a call.
First, the device control unit 162 determines whether or not the voice packet transfer unit 166A is transferring voice packets (S60). If the voice packet transfer unit 166A is transferring a voice packet (Yes in S60), the process proceeds to step S72 of FIG. 10, and if the voice packet transfer unit 166A is not transferring a voice packet (No in S60). The process proceeds to step S61. Immediately after the IP telephone terminal 153A is assigned to the call, the voice packet transfer unit 166A does not transfer the voice packet but shifts to the voice packet transfer when a condition described later is satisfied.

  In step S61, apparatus control unit 162 determines whether or not IP telephone terminal 153A is being called. If the IP telephone terminal 153A is being called (Yes in S61), the process proceeds to step S62. If the IP telephone terminal 153A is not being called (No in S61), the process proceeds to step S64. Immediately after the IP telephone terminal 153A is assigned to the call, the IP telephone terminal 153A is not being called, and if a condition described later is satisfied, the IP telephone terminal 153A is called.

In step S62, apparatus control unit 162 determines whether IP telephone terminal 153A has answered the call. If IP telephone terminal 153A responds to the call (Yes in S62), the process proceeds to step S63. If IP telephone terminal 153A does not respond to the call (No in S62), the process proceeds to step S60. Return.
In step S63, the apparatus control unit 162 shifts the state of the voice packet transfer unit 166A to the voice packet transferring state. Then, the process returns to step S60.

  On the other hand, in step S <b> 64, when the device control unit 162 receives the composite data from the notification device 110 via the IP line I / F unit 161 from the IP line 101, the device control unit 162 stores this in the reception data holding unit 163. Whether or not the IP packet received from the IP line 101 is composite data can be determined by the destination port number in the IP packet. For example, a UDP packet having a destination port number of 50000 is determined in advance as combined data or report data. Therefore, when the received IP packet is a UDP packet and the destination port number is 50000, the apparatus control unit 162 stores the payload data of the UDP packet in the received data holding unit 163 as synthesized data or report data.

Next, the DTMF decoding unit 164A decodes the voice signal output from the VoIP gateway 151 (S65).
Then, the device control unit 162 determines whether or not the DTMF decoding unit 164A has detected a 4-digit DTMF signal (S66). If a 4-digit DTMF signal is detected (Yes in S66), the process proceeds to step S67. If a 4-digit DTMF signal is not detected (No in S66), the process proceeds to step S69. .

  In step S67, the device control unit 162 gives link data composed of four-digit numerical values detected by the DTMF decoding unit 164A to the report data selection unit 165A. The report data selection unit 165A It is determined whether or not composite data including matching link data is stored in the received data holding unit 163. If such composite data is stored (Yes in S67), the process proceeds to step S68. If such composite data is not stored (No in S67), the process proceeds to step S70. move on.

  In step S68, the report data selection unit 165A transmits the report data included in such combined data to the information display terminal 152A via the communication I / F unit 167. Information display terminal 152A displays predetermined information based on the received report data. Then, the process proceeds to step S71.

On the other hand, when the 4-digit DTMF signal is not detected in step S66 (No in S66), the process proceeds to step S69.
In step S69, apparatus control unit 162 determines whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the incoming call. If the predetermined time has elapsed since the incoming call (Yes in S69), the process proceeds to step S70. If the predetermined time has not elapsed since the incoming call (No in S69), the process proceeds to step S70. Return to S60.
Note that the predetermined time is, for example, 5 seconds. This time is a waiting time until the reporting device 110 completes transmission of link data by the DTMF signal. If the length per digit of the DTMF signal is about 100 milliseconds and the time between digits is also about 100 milliseconds, the time required to transmit the four digits of the DTMF signal is about 700 milliseconds. In addition, considering the time until the notification device 110 recognizes an incoming call and starts transmission of the DTMF signal, the waiting time is appropriately several seconds to 10 seconds.

  In step S <b> 70, notification data selection unit 165 </ b> A transmits display data for displaying that the incoming call is from a device other than notification device 110 to information display terminal 152 </ b> A via communication I / F unit 167. Based on the received display data, the information display terminal 152A displays that the incoming call is from a device other than the reporting device 110. Then, the process proceeds to step S71.

  As a result of the above processing, the notification data selection unit 165A determines in advance after receiving the incoming voice call that the composite data including the link data specified by the DTMF decoding unit 164A is stored in the reception data holding unit 163. If the information can be confirmed within the specified period, predetermined information indicated by the report data can be displayed on the information display terminal 152A.

In step S71, apparatus control unit 162 shifts the state of voice packet transfer unit 166A to during calling of IP telephone terminal 153A. Then, the process returns to step S60.
When the IP telephone terminal 153A is being called, the voice packet transfer unit 166A performs call control with the IP telephone terminal 153A. It is assumed that SIP is used for call control that is control for starting and ending communication between the center apparatus 160 and the IP telephone terminal 153. Therefore, voice packet transfer unit 166A calls IP phone terminal 153A, and transmits, via communication I / F unit 167, an IP packet containing a request message indicating outgoing call to IP phone terminal 153A via SIP. .

On the other hand, in step S60, when voice packet transfer unit 166A is transferring voice packets (Yes in S60), the process proceeds to step S72 in FIG.
In step S72, the voice packet transfer unit 166A receives the voice packet transmitted from the VoIP gateway 151 via the communication I / F unit 167, transfers it to the IP telephone terminal 153A, and at the same time, the communication I / F unit 167. The voice packet transmitted from the IP telephone terminal 153A is received via the VoIP gateway 151 and transferred to the VoIP gateway 151.

  Then, the device control unit 162 determines whether or not composite data has been received from the IP line 101 via the IP line I / F unit 161 (S73). If the composite data has been received (Yes in S73), the process proceeds to step S74. If the composite data has not been received (No in S73), the process proceeds to step S76.

  In step S74, the notification data selection unit 165A includes a link composed of 4-digit numerical values detected by the DTMF decoding unit 164 before the link data included in the received composite data is being transferred. It is determined whether the data matches (S74). If they match (Yes in S74), the process proceeds to step S75. If they do not match (No in S74), the process proceeds to step S76.

  In step S75, report data selection unit 165A transmits the report data included in the composite data received in step S73 to information display terminal 152A via communication I / F unit 167. Information display terminal 152A displays predetermined information based on the received report data. Then, the process proceeds to step S76.

In step S76, voice packet transfer unit 166A determines whether the call has ended. If the call is terminated (Yes in S76), the process proceeds to step S77. If the call is not terminated (No in S76), the process returns to step S72.
For example, when a handset is placed at IP telephone terminal 153A, IP telephone terminal 153A transmits an IP packet storing a request message indicating the end of the call in accordance with SIP. When voice packet transfer unit 166A receives this via communication I / F unit 167, voice packet transfer unit 166A determines that the call has ended.

In step S77, the voice packet transfer unit 166A notifies the VoIP gateway 151 of the end of the call via the communication I / F unit 167, returns the IP telephone terminal 153A to the idle state, and ends the flow.
Note that the call termination notification to the VoIP gateway 151 is made by transmitting an IP packet storing a request message indicating the call termination to the VoIP gateway 151 in accordance with SIP. Upon receiving this request message, the VoIP gateway 151 disconnects the telephone line 102 call.

11 and 12 are flowcharts showing processing for incoming calls from the IP line 101. FIG.
11 and 12, the description will be made assuming that IP phone terminal 153A is assigned to a call.
First, it is determined whether or not the voice packet is being transferred (S80), whether or not the IP telephone terminal 153A is being called (S81), whether or not the call is answered (S82), and the transition to the voice packet transferring state (S82). S83) is the same as the corresponding processing (S60 to S63) for incoming calls from the telephone line 102 shown in FIG.
However, if the voice packet transfer unit 166A is transferring voice packets (Yes in S80), the process proceeds to step S90 in FIG.
If IP phone terminal 153A is not being called (No in S81), the process proceeds to step S84.

  In step S <b> 84, upon receiving notification data from the notification device 110 from the IP line 101 via the IP line I / F unit 161, the device control unit 162 stores this in the reception data holding unit 163. Here, whether or not the IP packet received from the IP line 101 is notification data is determined based on the destination port number in the IP packet, as shown in FIG. This is the same as step S64 in the process.

  Then, the notification data selection unit 165A determines whether or not the transmission source IP address of the stored notification data matches the IP address of the notification device 110 of the transmission source (S85). If they match (Yes in S85), the process proceeds to step S86, and if they do not match (No in S85), the process proceeds to step S87.

  In step S86, notification data selection unit 165A transmits the stored notification data to information display terminal 152A via communication I / F unit 167. Information display terminal 152A displays predetermined information based on the received report data. Then, the process proceeds to step S89.

  On the other hand, in step S87, apparatus control unit 162 determines whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the incoming call. If a predetermined time has elapsed from the incoming call (Yes in S87), the process proceeds to step S88. If a predetermined time has not elapsed since the incoming call (No in S87), the process proceeds to a step. Return to S80. This predetermined time is also the same as step S69 in the process for incoming from the telephone line 102 shown in FIG.

  In step S88, the notification data selection unit 165A transmits display data for displaying that the incoming call is from other than the notification device 110 to the information display terminal 152A via the communication I / F unit 167. Based on the received display data, the information display terminal 152A displays that the incoming call is from a device other than the reporting device 110. Then, the process proceeds to step S89.

  In step S89, apparatus control unit 162 shifts the state of voice packet transfer unit 166A to during calling of IP telephone terminal 153A. Then, the process returns to step S80.

On the other hand, if the voice packet transfer unit 166A is transferring voice packets in step S80 (Yes in S80), the process proceeds to step S90 in FIG.
In step S 90, the voice packet transfer unit 166 A receives the voice packet received from the IP line 101 via the IP line I / F unit 161 and transmitted from the notification device 110 as the call source via the communication I / F unit 167. The voice packet received from the IP phone terminal 153A via the communication I / F unit 167 is transferred from the IP line 101 via the IP line I / F unit 161 and transferred to the IP phone terminal 153A. 110.

  Then, the device control unit 162 determines whether notification data has been received from the IP line 101 via the IP line I / F unit 161 (S91). If the report data has been received (Yes in S91), the process proceeds to step S92. If the report data has not been received (No in S91), the process proceeds to step S94.

  In step S92, the notification data selection unit 165A determines whether or not the received notification data is that of the notification device 110 that is the transmission source. For example, this determination is made based on whether or not the transmission source IP address of the received notification data matches the IP address of the notification device 110 of the transmission source. If the received notification data is from the source notification device 110 (Yes in S92), the process proceeds to step S93. If they do not match (No in S92), the process proceeds to step S94. move on.

  In step S93, the report data selection unit 165A transmits the report data received in step S91 to the information display terminal 152A via the communication I / F unit 167. Information display terminal 152A displays predetermined information based on the received report data. Then, the process proceeds to step S94.

In step S94, voice packet transfer unit 166A determines whether the call has ended. If the call has ended (Yes in S94), the process proceeds to step S95. If the call has not ended (No in S94), the process returns to step S90.
For example, when a handset is placed at IP telephone terminal 153A, IP telephone terminal 153A transmits an IP packet storing a request message indicating the end of the call in accordance with SIP. When voice packet transfer unit 166A receives this via communication I / F unit 167, voice packet transfer unit 166A determines that the call has ended.

In step S95, the voice packet transfer unit 166A notifies the caller device 110 of the end of the call via the IP line I / F unit 161, returns the IP telephone terminal 153A to the idle state, and ends the flow. .
Note that the call end notification device 110 is notified of the end of the call by transmitting an IP packet storing a request message indicating the end of the call to the call source notification device 110 in accordance with SIP. In response to the request message, the calling notification device 110 disconnects the call on the IP line 101.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, when the notification device 110 notifies the call center, when the telephone line 102 is used for a call, the notification data is transmitted through the IP line 101 and transmitted from the telephone line 102. Since the report data can be identified by the link data, the communication system 100 capable of transmitting the report data can be provided even when a voice call using a voice dedicated line is performed.

  According to the call center side system 150 shown in FIG. 4, it is possible to simultaneously process notifications from two notification devices 110, but M DTMF decoding units 164, M notification data selection By providing the unit 165, the M voice packet transfer units 166, the M information display terminals 152, and the M IP telephone terminals 153, it is possible to simultaneously process notifications from M locations. Here, M is an integer of 1 or more.

In the first embodiment, link data is converted into a DTMF signal in order to transmit the link data through the telephone line 102. However, the link data may be converted into another signal that can be transmitted through the telephone line 102.
For example, different numbers may be indicated depending on the frequency of the tone, so that the link data may be converted into a single frequency tone signal. Specifically, the numeral “0” is 400 Hz, the numeral “1” is 500 Hz, the numeral “2” is 600 Hz, the numeral “3” is 700 Hz, the numeral “4” is 800 Hz, and the numeral “5”. Is converted to a tone signal of 900 Hz, the number “6” is 1000 Hz, the number “7” is 1100 Hz, the number “8” is 1200 Hz, and the number “9” is 1300 Hz. Can send numbers.

  In the first embodiment, the telephone line 102 is an analog telephone line, but may be a mobile telephone line.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system 200 according to the second embodiment includes a notification device 110 and a call center side system 250.
The notification device 110 in the second embodiment is configured in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of the call center side system 250 according to the second embodiment.
The call center side system 250 includes a VoIP gateway 151, an information display terminal 152, IP telephone terminals 253A, 253B, 253C, and 253D, and a center device 260.
The VoIP gateway 151 and the information display terminal 152 in the second embodiment are configured in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

Similarly to the first embodiment, the call center side system 250 in the second embodiment is configured to process incoming calls from two notification devices 110 at the same time, but has four IP telephone terminals 253A, 253B, and 253C. H.253D is provided.
Note that IP telephone terminals 253A, 253B, 253C, and 253D are referred to as IP telephone terminals 253 when it is not necessary to distinguish between them.

  The IP telephone terminal 253 is a telephone terminal compatible with VoIP, and performs telephone communication by transmitting and receiving IP packets. As the IP telephone terminal 253, for example, a general device having an RTP packet transmission / reception function and a call control function corresponding to SIP is used.

The center device 260 includes an IP line I / F unit 161, a device control unit 162, a received data holding unit 163, a DTMF decoding unit 164, a notification data selection unit 165, and voice packet transfer units 266A and 266B. . Further, the center apparatus 260 further includes a communication I / F unit 167 as shown in FIG.
The center device 260 in the second embodiment is configured in the same manner as the center device 160 in the first embodiment except for the voice packet transfer units 266A and 266B.
Note that the voice packet transfer units 266A and 266B are referred to as voice packet transfer units 266 when it is not necessary to distinguish between them.

The voice packet transfer unit 266 is a voice processing unit that transfers voice packets.
Here, voice packet transfer unit 266A according to the second embodiment receives received data holding unit 163 that includes combined data including link data that matches the link data decoded from the received signal on telephone line 102 when receiving from telephone line 102. In other words, if there is report data to be output to the information display terminal 152A, the IP telephone terminal 253A is called, and if not, the IP telephone terminal 253C is called.
Also in the case of an incoming call from the IP line 101, the voice packet transfer unit 266A calls the IP telephone terminal 253A when there is report data to be displayed on the information display terminal 152A, and calls the IP telephone terminal 253C otherwise. Call.

Similarly, the voice packet transfer unit 266B, when the combined data including link data matching the link data decoded from the received signal in the telephone line 102 is stored in the received data holding unit 163, the IP telephone terminal 253B If not, IP phone terminal 253D is called.
Also in the case of an incoming call from the IP line 101, the voice packet transfer unit 266B calls the IP telephone terminal 253B if there is report data to be displayed on the information display terminal 152B, and calls the IP telephone terminal 253D otherwise. Call.

  When the voice packet transfer unit 266 operates as described above, in the case of an incoming call from the notification device 110, one of the IP telephone terminals 253A and 253B is called and an incoming call from a general telephone not from the notification device 110 In this case, one of the IP telephone terminals 253C and 253D is called. For this reason, the operator of the call center side system 250 can know, without checking the information display terminal 152, whether the notification is from the notification device 110 or the general telephone call by the called IP telephone terminal 253. it can.

  In the first and second embodiments described above, communication using the telephone line 102 and the IP line 101 is performed when the quality of the IP line 101 is not good. However, in the first and second embodiments, It is not limited to such an example. For example, even when the quality of the IP line 101 is good, communication using the telephone line 102 and the IP line 101 may be performed.

  100, 200 communication system, 101 IP line, 102 telephone line, 110 notification device, 111 detection unit, 112 notification control unit, 113 notification data generation unit, 114 link data generation unit, 115 data composition unit, 116 DTMF conversion unit, 117 IP line I / F unit, 118 telephone line I / F unit, 119 conversion unit, 120 output side switch unit, 121 input side switch unit, 150, 250 call center side system, 151 VoIP gateway, 152 information display terminal, 153,253 IP telephone terminal, 160, 260 center device, 161 IP line I / F unit, 162 device control unit, 163 received data holding unit, 164 DTMF decoding unit, 165 report data selection unit, 166, 266 voice packet transfer unit, 67 communication I / F unit.

Claims (6)

A plurality of reporting devices and a call center side system are a communication system connected to a first line capable of data communication and a second line capable of voice communication and different from the first line,
Each of the plurality of reporting devices is
A report data generating unit that generates report data indicating predetermined information to be reported to the call center side system;
A link data generation unit for generating link data for identifying the report data;
A data synthesizer for generating synthesized data including the report data and the link data;
A first transmitter that transmits the combined data to the call center system via the first line;
A signal converter that converts the link data into a signal that can be transmitted on the second line;
A second transmitter that transmits the signal to the call center side system via the second line;
The call center system is
A display for displaying information;
A first receiver for receiving the combined data;
A storage unit for storing the composite data received by the first reception unit;
A second receiver for receiving the signal;
A specifying unit for specifying the link data from the signal received by the second receiving unit;
The combined data including the link data specified by the specifying unit is selected from the storage unit, and the predetermined information indicated by the notification data included in the selected combined data is displayed. A communication data processing unit to be displayed on the communication unit. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the link data indicates identification information of each of the plurality of reporting devices. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the signal conversion unit converts the link data into a tone signal. Each of the plurality of notification devices further includes a notification control unit that transmits a voice call from the second line to the call center system via the second transmission unit,
The call center side system further includes a device control unit that accepts an incoming voice call,
The notification data processing unit confirms that the combined data including the link data specified by the specifying unit is stored in the storage unit within a predetermined period after receiving the incoming voice call. If the confirmation information can be confirmed, causing the display unit to display the predetermined information indicated by the notification data included in the selected composite data;
The communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The call center system is
Multiple phone terminals,
The voice call is included in the plurality of telephone terminals when the report data processing unit can confirm that the combined data including the link data specified by the specifying unit is stored in the storage unit. And when the notification data processing unit cannot confirm that the combined data including the link data specified by the specifying unit is stored in the storage unit, The communication system according to claim 4, further comprising: a voice processing unit that assigns a voice call to another telephone terminal included in the plurality of telephone terminals. The first line is the Internet;
The communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the second line is a public switched telephone network or a mobile communication network.

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