KR101419268B1 - Packet service system and apparatus for presenting conference call service, and conference call service method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a packet service system and an additional service control device for providing a conference call service for providing an environment in which three or more users can talk with each other as a SIP-based VoIP supplementary service, and a method for providing a conference call service, Receiving a message related to establishment of a conference call, invitation to a conference call, and termination of a conference call from a plurality of terminals through an additional service controller of the service system and transmitting a media session for the conference call with the plurality of terminals according to the received message And notifies the plurality of terminals of participation or termination of a conference call for the corresponding terminal.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a packet service system and an additional service controller for providing a conference call service, and a method for providing a conference call service,

More particularly, the present invention relates to an additional service related to a voice over IP (VoIP) call service based on a SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) The present invention relates to a packet service system and an additional service controller for providing a conference call service providing an environment in which a conference call service is provided.

IP Multimedia Subsystems (IMS), which was originally developed for the Internet Protocol (IP) multimedia service of the 3G mobile communication network, is now becoming a core technology for providing new services in the next generation communication environment based on All IP.

The need for service control over IMS in packet networks can be found in the convergence of service quality, billing, and different services. Although we can provide all multimedia services through existing Internet connections, this is limited to best-effort services that do their best but do not guarantee quality. For example, streaming data is transmitted in a streaming format, but does not guarantee its quality for delay by the network. However, in the case of the IMS network, the quality of the session can be guaranteed by performing resource allocation for the session. That is, the IMS network performs packet switching.

The IMS network also enables proper billing of sessions. It is possible to provide an appropriate charging method according to the type and quality of the service, the characteristics of the user, and the policy of the network provider and the service provider, not simply the billing based on the flat rate or the packet amount. In addition, the IMS network can easily create a new service through an open interface protocol and provide an environment for creating a new service by combining with an existing service.

The above-mentioned point is the characteristic of the IMS network which provides the control and billing capability for the service to both the network operator and the service provider and provides the user with means to perform all his / her services in his / . This is why IMS defined for mobile communication is becoming a basic control platform in the wired / wireless integrated environment based on All IP.

When an IMS network, which is a packet switching based packet network, is introduced, a VoIP (mobile voice over IP) service can be provided to users through a packet based voice call service. Such a packet based voice call service is almost in the commercialization stage.

However, since only a packet-based voice call service has been provided yet, various supplementary services have not been provided yet. Therefore, in connection with a packet-based voice call, various supplementary services provided in the existing circuit network are used I can not.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a variety of supplementary services provided through a conventional circuit network to a user who is provided with VoIP-based call service through a packet network, and more particularly, to a conference call service A packet service system and an additional service controller, and a method of providing a conference call service.

The present invention provides a multimedia resource controller for connecting or disconnecting a media session for a conference call to a plurality of terminals participating in a conference call; An additional service controller for controlling connection and release of a media session between the multimedia resource controller and the terminal by receiving a message related to establishment of a service for a conference call of a terminal, invitation of a participant and termination of a conference call; And a session controller for delivering a message related to any one of establishment of a service for a conference call between the supplementary service controller, the terminal and the multimedia resource controller, invitation of the participant and termination of the conference call. System.

In the packet service system for providing a conference call service according to the present invention, after a media session is disconnected or released between a multimedia resource controller and a terminal, .

In addition, another aspect of the present invention is to provide a communication module for transmitting and receiving a message relating to establishment of a service for a conference call, invitation of a participant, and termination of a conference call; And a service establishment request message for a conference call of the terminal is received, the terminal checks whether the terminal is subscribed to the conference call service. If the terminal is subscribed to the service, the session establishment request message is transmitted to the multimedia resource controller And a control module for connecting a media session between the multimedia resource controller and the terminal. The present invention provides an additional service controller for providing a conference call service.

The control module requests the home subscriber device of the packet service system to receive a service profile, which is a list of supplementary services subscribed by the user, And confirms whether or not the user has joined the service.

The additional service controller for providing a conference call service of the present invention is characterized in that when receiving a participant invitation request message from a terminal participating in a conference call, the control module generates a session connection request message for another invited terminal, And generates a conference call invitation message including session setting information of the multimedia resource controller transmitted from the multimedia resource controller in response to the generated conference call invitation message, and transmits the conference call invitation message to another terminal.

The control module transmits the conference call termination request message to the multimedia resource controller and transmits the conference call termination request message to the multimedia resource controller and the multimedia resource controller. When the control module receives the conference call termination request message from the terminal participating in the conference call, The media session is disconnected.

In the supplementary service controller for providing the conference call service of the present invention, the control module notifies the terminal of the conference information including participation or exit of the conference call according to connection or release of the media session between the multimedia resource controller and the specific terminal .

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for establishing a conference call comprising: receiving a conference call establishment request message from a terminal and connecting a media session for conference call between the terminal and the multimedia resource controller; A conference call invitation step of receiving a conference call invitation request message for another terminal from a terminal participating in a conference call and connecting a media session for conference call between the invited other terminal and the multimedia resource controller; And a conference call termination step of receiving a conference call termination request message from a terminal participating in the conference call and releasing a media session connection between the terminal and the multimedia resource controller, do.

In the method for providing a conference call service according to the present invention, the step of establishing a conference call comprises: receiving a conference call establishment request message from the terminal; Confirming whether or not the terminal is subscribed to the conference call service; Generating a session connection request message for a conference call including session setting information for the terminal and transmitting the session connection request message to the multimedia resource controller when the session connection service is subscribed; Receiving a session connection request acceptance message including session establishment information of a multimedia resource controller from a multimedia resource controller and transmitting the message to a terminal; And receiving an acknowledgment message for a session connection request acceptance message from the terminal and transmitting the acknowledgment message to the multimedia resource controller.

In the method of providing a conference call service according to the present invention, the step of establishing a conference call comprises: receiving an event notification reservation request message requesting an event notification reservation for a conference call from the terminal; Transmitting an acceptance message to an event notification schedule request to a terminal; Registering an event notification reservation associated with the conference call service, and transmitting a notification message to the terminal indicating that the request is registered; And receiving an acknowledgment message for the notification message from the terminal.

In the method for providing a conference call service according to the present invention, the step of inviting a conference call includes: receiving a conference call invitation request message from another terminal participating in the conference call; Generating a session connection request message for the other terminal and transmitting the generated session connection request message to the multimedia resource controller; Receiving a session connection request accept message including session setting information of a multimedia resource controller from a multimedia resource controller; Generating a conference call invitation message including session setting information of the multimedia resource controller and transmitting the conference call invite message to another terminal; Receiving a conference call acceptance accept message including session setting information of another terminal from another terminal; Setting a session connection with reference to the session setting information of the other terminal, and transmitting an acknowledgment message to the multimedia resource controller together with the session setting information of the other terminal with respect to the session connection request acceptance message.

In the method of providing a conference call service according to the present invention, in a conference call invitation step, after transmitting a response message to accept a session connection request to a multimedia resource controller, a notification message informing that another terminal participates in a conference call is transmitted to the terminal The method may further include transmitting.

In the method for providing a conference call service according to the present invention, the step of ending a conference call comprises: receiving a conference call termination request message from a terminal participating in a conference call and transmitting the message to a multimedia resource controller; Receiving a conference call termination request acceptance message from the multimedia resource controller and transmitting the message to the terminal; And transmitting a notification message to the terminal indicating that the conference call has been terminated.

In the method for providing a conference call service according to the present invention, the service opening request message for conference call is an INVITE message of SIP, the invitation request message is a REFER message of SIP, and the conference call end request message is a BYE message of SIP .

According to the present invention, in providing a VoIP call service to a terminal through a packet network, it is possible to provide a conference call service in which three or more users can simultaneously talk as an additional service.

In addition, the present invention provides a conference call service through a packet network, in which a user opens a conference call and then invites two or more other users to participate in the conference call, thereby enabling simultaneous communication among three or more users, Each user participating in the conference call can terminate the conference call, and while the conference call is in progress, each user can be notified of the participation status of each of the other participants, thereby enabling more flexible conference call progress. .

In addition, the present invention provides a conferencing service provided through an existing circuit network through a packet network, thereby providing a user with a consistent additional service through a packet network as well as a circuit network. As a result, Can have excellent effect.

1 is a diagram for explaining a configuration of a communication system for providing a conference call service according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an additional service controller for providing a conference call service according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing a conference call service of an additional service controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a detailed message flow diagram in a packet service system for explaining a procedure for establishing a conference call according to a method for providing a conference call service of the present invention.
5 is a detailed message flow diagram in a packet service system for explaining a conference call invitation process according to a method for providing a conference call service of the present invention.
6 is a detailed message flow diagram in a packet service system for explaining a conference call termination process according to a method of providing a conference call service of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description and the accompanying drawings, detailed description of well-known functions or constructions that may obscure the subject matter of the present invention will be omitted. It should be noted that the same constituent elements are denoted by the same reference numerals as possible throughout the drawings.

1 is a diagram for explaining a communication system for providing a conference call service according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a packet service system 100, a circuit service system 200, an access service system 300, and a plurality of terminals 400.

The packet service system 100 is a core system that provides a communication service based on a packet switched (Packet Switched) scheme based on an Internet Protocol (IP). The packet service system 100 can basically provide a voice call service to the terminal 400. [ In the embodiment of the present invention, a terminal requesting establishment of a conference call or inviting a conference call is called a calling terminal 401, and a terminal participating in a conference call is called a calling terminal 402 do.

The packet service system 100 can allocate a transmission resource for a call between the calling terminal 401 and the called terminal 402 when the calling terminal 401 requests a call connection with the called terminal 402. [ According to the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), transmission resource allocation is performed through a session connection between the calling terminal 401 and the called terminal 402. When the session is connected, the calling terminal 401 and the called terminal 402 can exchange voice packets through the connected session, which can be performed according to the VoIP method.

In addition, the packet service system 100 can provide additional services, and in particular, can provide a conference call service that provides simultaneous calls of three or more users according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The terminal 400 may access the packet service system 100 through the access service system 300 and the access service system 300 may allow the terminal 400 to access the packet service system 100 through the terminal 400 itself And performs a role of connecting the terminal 400 and the packet service system 100. The packet service system 100 may support all sorts of the access service system 300. For example, the access service system 300 can use a fixed access method such as DSL (digital subscriber line), cable modem, Ethernet, and the like. In this case, the access service system 300 is connected to the packet service system 100 through a modem, a router, a gateway or the like connected to the terminal 400 by wire, To provide a wired connection service. Also, the access service system 300 may use a mobile access method such as W-CDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, GPRS, and the like. The access service system 300 includes a base station, a base station controller, a gateway, and the like. The access service system 300 provides a wireless section service between the access service system 300 and the terminal 400, To connect to the packet service system 100. The access service system 300 may use a wireless access method such as a WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network), a Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity), or a WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access). In this case, the access service system 300 may include an access point and an access router. Accordingly, the access service system 300 can provide the wireless terminal service to the terminal 400, and allow the terminal 400 to access the packet service system 100. Therefore, the terminal 400 capable of using the access service system 300 described above can access the packet service system 100 through the corresponding access service system 300.

Particularly, in the embodiment of the present invention, the packet service system 100 is assumed to be IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystems). The packet service system 100 is composed of a plurality of entities. A plurality of entities may be implemented as one apparatus, and each of the entities may be implemented as an independent apparatus.

Entities of the packet service system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a Telephony Application Server (TAS) 110, a Call Session Control Function (CSCF) 120, a Home Subscriber Server 130, and a media device 160. In particular, the media device 160 includes a Multimedia Resource Function Controller (MRFC) 140 and a Multimedia Resource Function Processor (MRFP) 150. Other entities are omitted from the description to clarify the gist of the invention.

The supplementary service controller 110 provides a conference call service between a plurality of terminals 400 in response to a conference call service request. Here, the conference call service means a service in which calls are simultaneously made between three or more users. The supplementary service controller 110 receives a conference call establishment request message from the session controller 120, which can be an INVITE message according to the SIP. Then, the supplementary service controller 110 confirms whether the calling terminal 401 which has transmitted the conference open request message has subscribed to the conference call service. If the subscriber is subscribed to the conference call service, the supplementary service controller 110 interlocks with the multimedia resource controller 140 And establishes a media session between the calling terminal 401 and the multimedia resource controller 140. Here, the supplementary service controller 110 can confirm whether each user subscribes to the conference call service through the service profile provided in the home subscriber unit 130 of the packet service system 100. More specifically, the supplementary service controller 110 can request the home subscriber device 130 to receive and store the service profile, and then confirm the stored service profile. A service profile includes a list of supplementary services to which a user subscribes, and each item in the list represents a service. Here, the service includes a basic service and an additional service. The supplementary service controller 110 provides the corresponding supplementary service (conference call service) when the corresponding item in the service profile, specifically the conference call service, is activated. Also, the supplementary service controller 110 can not provide the conference call service to the calling terminal 401 when the conference call service item is disabled in the service profile.

In addition, the supplementary service controller 110 receives a conference call invitation request message from the calling terminal 410 through the session controller 120 to invite a plurality of other users to participate in the conference call. Here, the conference call invitation request message includes the identification information (for example, telephone number) of a plurality of the called terminals 402 to be invited, and for example, a REFER message of SIP can be used. The supplementary service controller 110 interworks with the multimedia resource controller 140 to connect media sessions between the multiple requesting terminals 402 and the multimedia resource controller 140. Thus, a media session is connected between a plurality of terminals 400, so that three or more simultaneous calls are made. In addition, the supplementary service controller 110 receives the conference call termination request message from the terminal 400 participating in the conference call through the session controller 120 during the conference call progress, Releases conference call resources allocated to subscribers.

The session controller 120 establishes a session between each entity of the packet service system 100 and the terminal 400 and receives and processes the SIP message transmitted from the terminal 400. [ The session controller 120 forwards the SIP message to each of the entities 110 to 170 in the packet service system 100 to provide the service as requested by the terminal 400 so that the session is completed. The session controller 120 may include I (Interrogating) - CSCF, S (Service) - CSCF, and P (Proxy) - CSCF.

The session controller 120 basically supports connection and termination of sessions for voice communication according to a packet exchange method between the calling terminal 401 and the called terminal 402. In addition, in the present invention, a message exchange for a conference call can be relayed. In one embodiment of the present invention, a message for a conference call may use a message according to SIP, i.e., a SIP message.

The SIP message used in the embodiment of the present invention will be described as follows.

The INVITE message is a method for requesting a session connection between a device and a device. Here, the apparatus includes each entity of the terminal 400 and the packet service system 100. In the present invention, the INVITE message includes a conference call establishment request message transmitted from the terminal 400 to the session controller 120, a media session establishment request message between the session controller 120, the supplementary service controller 110 and the multimedia resource controller 140 As shown in FIG. Also, for the session connection, the INVITE message specifies the Request-URI of the session connection. In the present invention, when a session connection request for a conference call is made, a conference URI (for example, a conference-factory URI) may be set and used instead of the telephone number of the counterpart terminal as the Request-URI.

The ACK message is a method used as a response indicating that the device that received the specific SIP message finally confirmed the specific SIP message. In the present invention, an ACK message is used as a final acknowledgment message for a message related to a conference call.

A 2xx series message (where xx is a natural number) is used to indicate acceptance of a request in response to a specific SIP message. In particular, a 200 OK message is used to indicate acceptance, acknowledgment of acknowledgment, acknowledgment, etc. for a particular message. In the present invention, the 200 OK message can be used as an acceptance message for a request related to a conference call. Also, the 200 OK message can be used as a response message of a registration request message (SUBSCRIBE) of a conference call event, a conference call event registration, a request for participant invitation, or a notification message (NOTIFY) for session cancellation.

The BYE message is a method used to end various sessions. In the present invention, the BYE message is used as a conference call termination request message.

In the present invention, the SUBSCRIBE message is used by the calling terminal 401 to request a conference call event notification reservation.

The NOTIFY message is a message for notifying the requested information or status. In the present invention, a message for notifying information on conference information related to a conference call, invitation to conference call more specifically generated, participation of conference call, .

The home subscriber device 130 stores user information. In particular, the home subscriber device 130 stores the subscription information of the user related to the session control, that is, the location information of the user, the security information for authentication and permission of the user, and the service profile, which is a list of supplementary services subscribed by the user . The home subscriber device 130 provides such user information according to the request of the entities performing session control.

The media device 160 includes a multimedia resource controller 140 and a multimedia resource processor 150. The media device 160 handles session connection and transmission of multimedia resources related to multimedia resources. In the present invention, the media device 160, in particular, the multimedia resource controller 140 may request a media session with a plurality of terminals 400 participating in a conference call service according to a request of the supplementary service controller 110 And controls simultaneous calls between a plurality of terminals 400 through a connected media session.

Next, the configuration of the circuit service system 200 will be described. The circuit service system 200 includes a home location register (HLR) 210, an intranet gateway (IGW) 220, and an additional service device 230.

The home location register 210 basically manages the users in the circuit service system 200. That is, the home location register 210 may perform functions such as user authentication and location registration. In particular, the home location register 210 may manage the services to which the user subscribes. This service includes basic services and additional services. Herein, the basic service may exemplify a voice call, and the supplementary service may include a conference call service according to the present invention. In order to manage the service to which the user subscribes, the home location register 210 may store a service profile, which is a list of services to which the user subscribes. Each item in this list represents a service. If the item is activated, the corresponding service can be provided. If it is inactivated, the corresponding service can not be provided. The above-mentioned service includes a basic service and an additional service. The intranet gateway 220 is a gateway between the additional service controller 110 of the packet service system 100 and the home location register 210 and the additional service device 230 of the circuit service system 200. That is, the intranet gateway 220 connects the additional service controller 110 with the home location register 210 and the additional service device 230.

The additional service device 230 provides an additional service to the terminals subscribed to the call service through the circuit service system 200. In particular, the present invention provides a conference call service for a terminal that is provided with a call service through the circuit service system 200.

The supplementary service controller 110 of the packet service system 100 according to the present invention is interworked with the home location register 210 through the intranet gateway 220 and the supplementary service controller 110 and the home location register 210 are connected to the MAP Can be mutually communicated. The supplementary service controller 110 may receive and store the required service profile from the home location register 210. [ If the service profile received and stored from the home location register 210 is changed, the additional service controller 110 can deliver it to the home location register 210. In addition, the home location register 210 may transmit the changed service profile to the additional service controller 110 when the service profile stored therein is changed. Accordingly, the service profiles stored in the additional service controller 110 and the home location register 210 can be kept equal to each other.

The additional service controller 110 is connected to the additional service device 230 of the circuit service system 200 through the intranet gateway 220. The additional service controller 110 and the additional service device 230 are connected to each other via the intranet gateway 220, Communicate with each other.

The terminal 400 is a terminal of a user who subscribes to a VoIP supplementary service through a packet network and accesses the packet service system 100 through the access service system 300 to request a conference call service, Lt; / RTI > Here, as described above, the terminal 400 includes a calling terminal 401 requesting a call connection and a called terminal 402 a call connection target.

Next, a configuration of an additional service controller 100 for providing a conference call service according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. 2 is a diagram for explaining a configuration of an additional service controller 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2, the supplementary service controller 110 includes a communication module 10, a storage module 20, and a control module 30. [

The communication module 10 is for transmitting and receiving data with other entities in the packet service system 100 and with the configurations of the circuit service system 200. For this purpose, the communication module 10 may have a function of processing data with a protocol suitable for the object to be communicated. The supplementary services controller 110 may communicate with other entities basically within the packet service system 100 according to the SIP. Accordingly, the communication module 10 can process the data to be transmitted and received according to the SIP when communicating with other entities of the packet service system 100. That is, the communication module 10 transmits and receives the SIP message. In addition, the supplementary services controller 110 can communicate with the home subscriber device 130 according to the DIAMETER protocol for data security. Accordingly, when the communication module 10 communicates with the home subscriber device 130 of the packet service system 100, data to be transmitted and received can be processed according to the DIAMETER protocol. The supplementary service controller 110 can communicate with the intranet gateway 220 according to the MAP. Accordingly, when the communication module 10 communicates with the intranet gateway 220, the supplementary service controller 110 can process data to be transmitted / have.

The storage module 20 may store data for the conference call service. For example, the storage module 20 may store a service profile including whether or not to activate the conference call service received from the home subscriber device 130. In addition, the storage module 20 may temporarily or permanently store various messages transmitted and received.

The control module 30 controls the overall operation for the conference call service of the supplementary service controller 110 and can generate various messages required for the conference call service. The control module 30 may extract necessary information from the message received through the communication module 10 or may include information necessary for the message and transmit the information through the communication module 10. More specifically, upon receipt of the conference call establishment request message through the communication module 10, the control module 30 confirms whether the calling terminal 401 is subscribed to the conference call service. That is, the control module 30 inquires the service profile from the home subscriber device 130 through the communication module 10, inquires the service profile pre-stored in the storage module 20, Check whether you are a member. To this end, the control module 30 extracts the originating terminal identification information from the conference call establishment request message, and then generates an inquiry request message to the home location register 210 or the home subscriber unit 130. The control module 30 can confirm whether or not the calling terminal 401 joins the conference call service through a response message to the inquiry request message. In case of subscribing to the conference call service, the control module 30 controls the media session connection of the calling terminal 401 in conjunction with the multimedia resource controller 140. The control module 30 receives the conference call termination request message from the calling terminal 401 and the called terminal 402 and performs session termination together with the multimedia resource controller 140 during the conference call.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing a conference call service of an additional service controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, a method for providing a conference call service according to the present invention includes steps of opening a conference call (S105 to S115), inviting a conference call (S120 to S140), and ending a conference call (S145 to S155) do.

More specifically, in the conference call establishment step (S105 to S115), the supplementary service controller 110 receives the conference call establishment request message of the calling terminal 401 (S105) (S110). If the subscriber is subscribed to the conference call service, the media session with the calling terminal 401 is linked with the multimedia resource controller 140 (S115). The multimedia resource controller 140 generates a session connection request message for a conference call including session establishment information for the calling terminal 401 and transmits the session connection request message to the multimedia resource controller 140, And then transmits the acknowledgment message to the originating terminal 401 to the multimedia resource controller 140 by receiving a confirmation message of the session connection request acceptance message from the originating terminal 401 Lt; / RTI > The steps of establishing a conference call will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

The supplementary service controller 110 transmits the call information to the plurality of other terminals, for example, the calling terminal 402 from the terminal participating in the conference call, for example, the calling terminal 401 in the conference call invitation step (S120 to S140) The conference call invitation request message is received (S120). The multimedia resource controller 140 generates a session connection request message for the invited destination terminal 402 and transmits the session connection request message to the multimedia resource controller 125. The multimedia resource controller 140 transmits a session connection request accept message including session setting information of the multimedia resource controller Generates a conference call invitation message including session setting information of the received multimedia resource controller, and transmits the conference call invitation message to the called terminal 402 to proceed with session connection to the called terminal 402 (S125) . If the calling terminal 402 accepts the conference call invitation, that is, if the session connection is accepted (S130), the session of the called terminal 402 is set and the multimedia resource controller 140 sets the session of the called terminal 402 (S135) by transmitting a confirmation message to the session connection request acceptance message together with the session establishment information of the receiving terminal 402 (step S135).

Thereafter, a conference call is performed between a plurality of terminals to which a media session is connected (S140).

In addition, the supplementary service controller 110 performs a conference call termination step 145 to 155. Upon receiving a conference call termination request message from a terminal participating in the conference call, for example, the calling terminal 401 (S145) The connection with the resource controller 140 is canceled by the calling terminal 401 (S150). This message is transmitted to the multimedia resource controller 140 by the supplementary service controller 110 and is received from the multimedia resource controller 140 and transmitted to the calling terminal 401 . ≪ / RTI > In addition, after the media session connection is released, the supplementary service controller 110 notifies the calling terminal 401 that the conference call is ended (S155).

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a procedure for establishing a conference call in the packet service system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 illustrates a procedure for establishing a conference call. FIG. 6 shows a procedure for terminating the conference call.

In the following embodiments, a terminal requesting a conference call service is referred to as a calling terminal 401, a terminal participating in an invitation to an established conference call service is referred to as a called terminal 402, and the calling terminal 401 The session controller and the supplementary service controller of the connected packet service system are referred to as the originating session controller 121 and the originating supplementary service controller 111 respectively and the session controller of the packet service system to which the terminating terminal 402 is connected, (122).

4, when a user desiring to establish a conference call service selects a conference call service from a corresponding terminal, that is, the calling terminal 401, the calling terminal 401 transmits a call connection service to the calling terminal 401 A conference call establishment request message is transmitted to the session controller 121 (S205). Here, the conference call establishment request message can be implemented as an SIP INVITE message. At this time, the identification information (Request_URI) of the session connection partner in the INVITE message is recorded as a conference-factory URI for conference call. Therefore, the calling session controller 121 can determine whether the session is a conference call request message or a session connection request for a general voice call by checking the Request-URI in the received INVITE message.

The source-side session controller 121 confirms whether the message is a conference call establishment request message through Request-URI confirmation, and if the message is a conference call establishment request message, the source side session controller 121 delivers the message to the service controller 111 at step S210.

Upon receiving the conference call establishment request message, the calling side service controller 111 first confirms whether the calling terminal 401 requesting the conference call is subscribed to the conference call service (S215). This is because the originating supplementary service controller 111 extracts the identification information of the calling terminal 401 in the conference call establishment request message and then inquires the service profile of the corresponding calling terminal 401 with the identification information of the extracted calling terminal 401, Or not is activated. Here, the service profile of the corresponding user may be stored in the calling side service controller 111, or the calling side service controller 111 may request the home subscriber device 130 to obtain the service profile.

The originating supplementary service controller 111 sets the session establishment information (UEA SDP) of the calling terminal 401 and then transmits the session establishment information (UEA SDP) of the calling terminal 401 to the multimedia resource controller 140 (INVITE) for the conference call including the session setup information (UEA SDP) of the calling terminal 401 (S220, S225).

The multimedia resource controller 140 allocates the multimedia resource for the conference call with reference to the session establishment information (UEA SDP) of the calling terminal included in the session connection request message for the conference call, The source side session controller 121 transmits the session connection request accept message including the session setting information (MRF SDP) to the source side service controller 111 (S230, S235). Here, the session connection request acceptance message may be implemented as a 200 OK message of the SIP.

The source-side additional service controller 111 transmits the received session connection request acceptance message (200 OK) to the calling terminal 401 through the calling-side session controller 121 (S240, S245).

Accordingly, the session connection request acceptance message of the multimedia resource controller 140 is transmitted to the calling terminal 401.

Upon receiving the session connection request acceptance message normally, the calling terminal 401 transmits an acknowledgment message indicating that the session connection request acceptance message has been received (S250). The confirmation message may be implemented as an ACK message, which is a response message of SIP.

The acknowledgment message ACK is transmitted to the originating service controller 111 through the originating session terminal 121 and is transmitted from the originating supplementary service controller 111 through the origination session terminal 121 to the multimedia resource controller (S250 to S265).

When a confirmation message of the calling terminal 401 is transmitted to the multimedia resource controller 140, a media session for a conference call is connected between the calling terminal 401 and the multimedia resource controller 140 (S270).

When the media session for the conference call is successfully connected, a conference call room representing a virtual channel space in which the simultaneous call is made is generated, and the calling terminal 401 participates in the conference call.

In addition, the user of the calling terminal 401 having established the conference call can be notified of information related to the conference call.

To this end, the calling terminal 401 transmits an event notification reservation request message requesting an event notification reservation for a conference call, according to a user's request (S275). The event notification reservation request message may be implemented with a SUBSCRIBE message of SIP.

The event notification reservation request message is transmitted to the originating service controller 111 through the originating session controller 121 (S280).

The originating supplementary service controller 111 first transmits an acceptance message for the event notification reservation request to the calling terminal 401 through the originating session controller 121 (S285). Here, the acceptance message for the event notification reservation request may be implemented as a 200 OK message of the SIP.

In addition, after the originating supplementary service controller 111 registers the notification reservation for events related to the established conference call (e.g., conference call participation and termination, etc.), the originating side service controller 111 transmits a notification And notifies the terminal 401 (S290). Here, the notification message for the event notification reservation may be implemented as a NOTIFY message of the SIP.

Thereafter, when the connection of the media session or the disconnect of the media session of the terminal is completed, the source-side service controller 111 informs the calling terminal 401 of participation and termination of the conference call of the corresponding user.

In addition, when the conference call service is established as described above, a media session connection with a plurality of destination terminals 402 to be used for a conference call should be further performed.

5 is a message flow diagram illustrating a procedure for inviting a plurality of other users to a conference call for participating in a conference call of a plurality of users. Here, the conference call invitation may be made from any one of the terminals participating in the conference call. The caller terminal 401 having the conference call service requests the invitation of the conference call but it is also possible that a plurality of incoming calls participating in the conference call by invitation of the calling terminal 401 as well as the calling terminal 401 It is also possible to invite another participant from one of the terminals 402, and this case can also be performed in the same manner as described below.

Referring to FIG. 5, the calling terminal 401 transmits a conference call invitation request message to a plurality of the called terminals 402 according to a user's request (S305). The conference call invitation request message includes identification information (e.g., telephone number) for a plurality of the called terminals 402 to be invited. The conference call invitation request message can be implemented through the REFER message of the SIP, and the identification information for the plurality of the called terminals 402 to be invited is set in the Refer-To header of the REFER message.

The conference invitation request message transmitted from the calling terminal 401 is transmitted to the calling side service controller 111 through the calling side session controller 121 (S310).

Upon receiving the conference call invitation request message, the source-side supplementary service controller 111 confirms whether a corresponding conference call is established using the calling terminal identification information of the received conference call invitation request message (S315) If the conference call is established, the conference call invitation request acceptance message is transmitted to the calling terminal 401 through the calling session controller 121 (S320). Here, the conference call invitation request acceptance message may be implemented as a 202 Accepted message in the SIP response message.

In addition, the source-side additional service controller 111 notifies the calling terminal 401 that the conference call invitation has been made (S325). Here, the notification of the conference call invitation request can be delivered using the SIP NOTIFY message.

Then, the calling side service controller 111 invites a conference call through a session connection request for the conference call to the terminal of the requested participant, that is, the called terminal 402.

Specifically, the calling side service controller 111 extracts the identification information of the called terminal 402 to be invited in the conference call invitation request message, and allocates the conference call resource for the called terminal 402, The multimedia resource controller 140 transmits a session connection request message (INVITE) for conference call to the called terminal 402 through the calling session controller 121 at step S335. At this time, the session connection request message does not include session establishment information (SDP).

Upon receiving the session connection request message for the conference call that does not include the session setting information, the multimedia resource controller 140 allocates the media resource with reference to the media allocation information for the conference call, And transmits the acceptance message for the session connection request together with the setting information (MRF SDP) to the calling side service controller 111 through the calling side session controller 121 (S340). Here, the acceptance message for the session connection request is implemented as a 200 OK message used as a response message in SIP, and includes the session establishment information (MRF SDP) of the multimedia resource controller 140 in the 200 OK message.

The originating supplementary service controller 111 generates a conference call invitation message including the received session establishment information (MRF SDP) of the multimedia resource controller 140 and transmits the conference call invitation message to the called terminal 402 via the incoming session controller 122. [ (S345). Here, the conference call invitation message may include the session establishment information (MRF SDF) of the multimedia resource controller 140 in the SIP INVITE message used for session connection.

Upon receiving the conference call invitation message, the called terminal 402 confirms the session setup information (MRF SDP) of the multimedia resource controller 140 in the received message, sets its own session setup information (UEB SDP) , And transmits the set session setup information (UEB SDP) with the conference call invitation acceptance message informing the acceptance of the conference call invitation. Here, the conference call acceptance accept message may be implemented as a 200 OK message of the SIP, which is transmitted to the originating service controller 111 via the originating session controller 122 and the originating session controller 121 (S350 ).

The originating supplementary service controller 111 confirming acceptance of the conference call invitation transmits an invitation acceptance confirmation message to the terminating terminal 402 via the originating session controller 121 and the terminating session controller 122 (S355 ). Here, the acknowledgment message of the invitation acceptance is transmitted using the ACK message of the SIP.

In addition, the calling side service controller 111 establishes a session connection with reference to the session setup information (UEB SDP) of the called terminal 402 transmitted together with the received conference call acceptance message, and the multimedia resource controller 140 To the multimedia resource controller 140, a final confirmation message for the session connection request confirmation message (200 OK) for the called terminal 402 received in step S340 in step S360. Here, the confirmation message is implemented as an ACK message of SIP and includes session setup information (UEB SDP) of the called terminal received from the called terminal 402. [

Accordingly, a media session is established between the multimedia resource controller 140 and the called terminal 402 (S365), and the user of the called terminal 402 can participate in the conference call.

In addition, the calling side service controller 111 notifies the calling terminal 401 via the calling side session controller 121 that the called terminal 402 is participating in the conference call (S370). Here, the notification of the participation of the conference call can be made through the NOTIFY message of the SIP.

Then, the calling terminal 401 informs the calling side service controller 111 of the acknowledgment of the notification message through the calling side session controller 121 (S375). The acknowledgment may be communicated via the 200 OK message of the SIP.

Here, the steps (S370 to S375) may be performed simultaneously for all the terminals participating in the conference call, so that all the users participating in the conference call can know the position of a new participant.

Thereafter, a conference call can be performed between the calling terminal 401 and the plurality of the called terminals 402 through which the media session is connected through the multimedia resource controller 140. Here, the conference call means that three or more users talk with each other at the same time.

The above-described steps (S305 to S375) are repeated for other terminals, and a plurality of users participate in the conference call.

Next, a process of terminating the ongoing conference call will be described.

6 is a message flow diagram illustrating a process of terminating a conference call by a terminal among a plurality of terminals participating in a conference call. Hereinafter, a process of terminating the conference call of the calling terminal 401 will be described. However, the following process can be applied to the calling terminal 401 as well as to a plurality of other terminals participating in the conference call in the same manner.

Referring to FIG. 6, the calling terminal 401 transmits a conference call termination request message according to a request of a user desiring to end the conference call. The conference call termination request message may be implemented as a BYE message of SIP. The conference call termination request message of the calling terminal 401 is transmitted to the calling side service controller 111 through the calling side session controller 121 connected to the calling terminal 401 in operation S405.

Upon receiving the conference call termination request message, the source-side supplementary service controller 111 confirms the corresponding conference call service in step S410 and transmits the conference call termination request message to the multimedia resource controller 140 in step S415.

The multimedia resource controller 140 checks the calling terminal 401 in the received conference call termination request message to release the media session connection to the calling terminal 401 and transmits a response indicating that the conference call termination request is accepted And the response message is transmitted to the calling terminal 401 through the calling side service controller 111 and the calling side session controller 121 in operation S420. Here, the response message indicating that the conference call end request has been accepted may be implemented as a 200 OK message of the SIP.

In addition, the originating supplementary service controller 111 receiving the response message from the multimedia resource controller 140 notifies the originating session controller 121 of a notification message informing that the user of the originating terminal 401 has exited the conference call (S425), and the calling terminal 401 transmits an acknowledgment message for the notification message to the calling side service controller 111 through the calling side session controller 121 (S430 ). Here, the notification message is implemented with the NOTIFY message of the SIP, and the acknowledgment message therefor can be implemented with the SIP's 200 OK message.

Here, steps S425 to S430 may be performed not only for the calling terminal 401 but also for all terminals participating in the current conference call, so that all the participants participating in the conference call can know the leaving of the specific participant .

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, It will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Furthermore, although specific terms are used in this specification and the drawings, they are used in a generic sense only to facilitate the description of the invention and to facilitate understanding of the invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

According to the present invention, in providing a VoIP call service to a terminal through a packet network, it is possible to provide a conference call service in which three or more users can simultaneously talk as an additional service.

In addition, the present invention provides a VoIP-based conference call service through a packet network, in which a user opens a conference call room and invites two or more other users to participate in the conference call, thereby enabling simultaneous communication between three or more users In addition, each user participating in the conference call can terminate the conference call. Also, while the conference call is in progress, each user can be notified of the participation status of each of the other participants. There is an excellent effect that is possible.

In addition, the present invention provides a conferencing service provided through a conventional circuit network through a packet network, thereby providing a consistent supplementary service to a user, and as a result, there is an excellent effect of improving user convenience.

10: communication module 20: storage module
30: Control module
100: packet service system 110: supplementary service controller
120: Session Controller 130: Home Subscriber Device
140: Multimedia resource controller 150: Multimedia resource processor
160: Multimedia device
200: circuit service system 210: home location register
220: Intranet gateway 230: Additional service device
300: Access Service System
400: Terminal 401: Originating terminal
402:

Claims (14)

A multimedia resource controller for connecting or disconnecting a media session for a conference call with a plurality of terminals participating in a conference call; And
Upon receipt of the participant invitation request message from the terminal participating in the conference call, a session connection request message for the invited other terminal is generated and transmitted to the multimedia resource controller, and the multimedia resource controller And an additional service controller for generating a conference call invitation message including session setting information of the multimedia resource controller and transmitting the conference call invitation message to the other terminal so that a media session is connected between the multimedia resource controller and another terminal. Packet service system. The system according to claim 1, wherein the additional service controller
Wherein after the media session is disconnected or released between the multimedia resource controller and the terminal, the terminal notifies the terminal of participation or release of the conference call according to connection or release of the media session. system. A communication module for sending and receiving a message related to any one of establishment of a service for a conference call, invitation of a participant and termination of a conference call; And
Upon receipt of the participant invitation request message from the terminal participating in the conference call, the invitation message generation unit generates a session connection request message for the invited other terminal and transmits the session connection request message to the multimedia resource controller, And a control module for generating a conference call invitation message including session setting information and transmitting the conference call invitation message to the other terminal so that a media session is connected between the multimedia resource controller and another terminal. Additional Services Controller. 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the control module
Wherein the service provider requests the home subscriber device to receive a service profile, which is a list of supplementary services subscribed by the user, and inquires the service profile to confirm whether to join the conference call service. . 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the control module
When receiving the service establishment request message for the conference call of the terminal, confirms whether the terminal is subscribed to the conference call service, and when the terminal is subscribed to the service, transmits a session connection request message to the multimedia To the resource controller, so that a media session is established between the multimedia resource controller and the terminal. 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the control module
When receiving the conference call termination request message from the terminal participating in the conference call, transmits the conference termination request message to the multimedia resource controller to release the media session connection between the multimedia resource controller and the terminal. Additional service controller for provisioning. 7. The system of claim 5 or 6, wherein the control module
Wherein the multimedia resource controller notifies the terminal of the conference information including participation or exit of the conference call with respect to the conference call according to connection or release of the media session between the multimedia resource controller and the terminal. Service controller. A conference call establishment step of receiving a conference call establishment request message from the terminal and connecting a media session for a conference call between the terminal and the multimedia resource controller; And
And transmits the session connection request message to the multimedia resource controller in response to the session connection request message from the multimedia resource controller in response to the session invitation request message from the terminal participating in the conference call, The multimedia resource controller generates a conference call invitation message including session setting information of the multimedia resource controller and transmits the generated conference call invitation message to the other terminal so that a media session is established between the multimedia resource controller and another terminal The method comprising the steps of: (a) receiving a call service request from a service provider; 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the step
Receiving a conference call establishment request message from the terminal;
Confirming whether or not the terminal is subscribed to a conference call service;
Generating a session connection request message for a conference call including session establishment information for the terminal and transmitting the session connection request message to the multimedia resource controller when the terminal is subscribed to the conference call service;
Receiving a session connection request acceptance message including session establishment information of the multimedia resource controller from the multimedia resource controller and transmitting the session connection request acceptance message to the terminal; And
Receiving an acknowledgment message for a session connection request acceptance message from the terminal, and transmitting the acknowledgment message to the multimedia resource controller. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the step
Receiving an event notification reservation request message requesting an event notification reservation for a conference call from the terminal;
Transmitting an acceptance message for the event notification reservation request to the terminal;
Registering an event notification reservation related to a conference call service, and transmitting a notification message to the terminal indicating that the request is registered; And
Further comprising the step of receiving an acknowledgment message for the notification message from the terminal. 9. The method of claim 8,
Receiving a conference call invitation request message for another terminal from a terminal participating in the conference call;
Generating a session connection request message for the other terminal and transmitting the generated session connection request message to the multimedia resource controller;
Receiving a session connection request acceptance message including session establishment information of the multimedia resource controller from the multimedia resource controller;
Generating a conference call invite message including session setting information of the multimedia resource controller and transmitting the conference call invite message to the other terminal;
Receiving a conference call acceptance message including session setting information of another terminal from the other terminal; And
Setting up a session connection with reference to the session setting information of the other terminal and transmitting an acknowledgment message for the session connection request acceptance message together with the session setting information of the other terminal to the multimedia resource controller Wherein the additional service controller is configured to provide the conference call service. 12. The method of claim 11,
Further comprising the step of transmitting to the terminal a notification message indicating that the other terminal participated in the conference call after transmitting a response message to the multimedia resource controller in response to the acceptance of the session connection request, A method for providing a conference call service. 9. The method of claim 8,
And a conference call termination step of receiving a conference call termination request message from a terminal participating in the conference call and releasing a connection of a media session between the terminal and the multimedia resource controller, Delivery method. 14. The method of claim 13,
The conference call end step
Receiving a conference call end request message from a terminal participating in a conference call and transmitting the received conference call end request message to the multimedia resource controller;
Receiving a conference call termination request acceptance message from the multimedia resource controller and transmitting the message to the terminal; And
And transmitting a notification message informing that the conference call is terminated to the terminal.

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