RU2524842C2 - Call control device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: radio engineering, communication.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to a call control method and device. The call control method comprises steps of: receiving, by a call control device, a session request transmitted by a calling party, where the session request includes an identification label of the called party; and if a connection error occurs between the call control device and the serving call session control function (S-CSCF), verifying, in accordance with the identification label of the called party, if the called party is a user associated with the call control device, and if so, immediately transmitting the session request to the called party for call connection.

EFFECT: faster routing.

8 cl, 8 dwg

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of data transmission technologies, in particular to a device and method for managing a call.

State of the art

The IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is a subsystem in which the core network added in Edition 5 (R5) of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), which is based on the Session Initiation Protocol , SIP), is an open system close to data networks, voice, Internet Protocol (IP), and provides rich multimedia services and applications through the network architecture and all IP services. The IMS network defines three guiding objects, a proxy call session control function (P-CSCF) object: an Interrogating CSCF (I-CSCF) request service object, and a service call control function object (Serving CSCF, S-CSCF).

The S-CSCF has the status of core management in the IMS core network, is responsible for authentication during registration and session management of the UE, performs basic session routing functions aimed at the IMS user of the calling party and the called side, and initiates the routing of value-added services for AS and interaction when managing the service in accordance with the IMS initiation time rules signed by the user, subject to the conditions being met.

The I-CSCF is an IMS gateway node and provides the functions of allocating a serving node for a user in a local domain, routing request, and hiding topology among IMS domains.

The P-CSCF is a point in the IMS connecting to the user and provides the function of an intermediary object (Proxy), namely receiving a service request (INVITE) and performing data transfer, but cannot change the URI request field in an INVITE message; and the P-CSCF may also provide the function of a user agent (UA), namely, interrupting and independently generating a SIP session in an abnormal situation.

In addition, given the scenario in which fixed legacy networks appear in IMS in the prior art, it has been proposed to replace the P-CSCF with an Access Gateway Control Function (AGCF) controller and an Access Gateway (AG) to achieve convergence of the legacy network and IMS networks. The AGCF manages the AG, provides gateway administration, and at the same time interconnects with the service (S-CSCF) via the SIP protocol and provides services for the user through the IMS core network (IMS Core). The existing call control process is that the AGCF or P-CSCF directs the user's call to the S-CSCF, and the S-CSCF performs the call control, resulting in problems that the pressure on the network element of the core network will be large and signaling routing time will be excessive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention provide a call control device and method that can maintain signaling routing intervals and reduce pressure on a network element in a core network.

The call control method provided in an embodiment of the present invention includes:

receiving, by the call control device, a session request transmitted by the calling party, where the session request includes an identification mark of the called party; and

if an error occurs during the connection between the call control device and the serving object, the S-CSCF call session management functions check in accordance with the identification mark of the called party whether the called party is a user belonging to the call control device and if so, directly transmit the session request the called party to connect the call.

The call control method provided in an embodiment of the present invention includes:

receive, by the call control device, a session request transmitted by the calling party, where the session request includes a caller ID and a caller ID; and

check with the call control device and in accordance with the calling party identification mark and the called party identification mark whether the calling party and the called party belong to members of the same cluster service group, and if so, directly transmit the session request to the called party for connection call.

A call control device provided in an embodiment of the present invention includes:

a session request receiving module configured to receive a session request transmitted by the calling party, where the session request includes an identification mark of the called party; and

a call connection module, configured to check whether the called party is the user belonging to the device, in accordance with the identification mark of the called party, when an error occurs in the transmission channel between the call control device and the S-CSCF, and if so, direct transmission of the request to session to the called party to connect the call.

A call control device provided in an embodiment of the present invention includes:

a session request receiving unit, configured to receive a session request transmitted by the calling party, where the session request includes a calling party identification tag and a called party identification tag; and

a call connection unit configured to check, in accordance with the identification mark of the calling party and the identification mark of the called party, whether the calling party and the called party belong to members of the same cluster service group, and if so, directly transmit the session request to the called party for call connections.

In one embodiment of the present invention, when an error occurs in the transmission channel between the call control device and the S-CSCF, the call control device directly transmits signaling for call control. In another embodiment of the present invention, when the calling party and the called party belong to members of the same cluster service group, the call control device directly routes the signaling to control the call. Using embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the lead time and reduce pressure on the network element of the core network.

Brief Description of the Drawings

To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in accordance with the embodiments of the present invention, the attached drawings are briefly presented below to describe the embodiments. Obviously, the attached drawings in the following description represent some embodiments of the present invention, and a person skilled in the art can, without creative efforts, derive other drawings based on the attached drawings.

1 is a flowchart of a call control method in accordance with Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

2 is a flowchart of a call control method in accordance with Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a call control method in accordance with Embodiment 3 of the present invention;

4 is a flowchart of a call control method in accordance with Embodiment 4 of the present invention;

5 is a flowchart of a call control method in accordance with Embodiment 5 of the present invention;

6 is a structural diagram of a call control device in accordance with Embodiment 6 of the present invention;

7 shows a block diagram of a call control device in accordance with Embodiment 7 of the present invention; and

on Fig shows a structural diagram of a call control device in accordance with option 8 of the implementation of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The technical solutions of the present invention are clearly described below with reference to the attached drawings. Obviously, the embodiments that will be described below are only part, and not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments obtained without creative efforts by a person skilled in the art based on embodiments of the present invention should fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a call control method and a call control device. Details are described below.

In Embodiment 1, a call control method, a flowchart that is shown in FIG. 1, includes the following steps:

A1: the call control device receives a session request transmitted by the calling party, where the session request includes an identification mark of the called party.

A2: If an error occurs in the transmission channel between the call control device and the S-CSCF, check in accordance with the identification mark of the called party whether the called party is a user belonging to the call control device, and if so, directly transmit the session request to the called party for call connections.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the verification by the call control device whether the called party is a user belonging to the device can be implemented by checking whether the identity of the called party is in the list of local users. If the called party is not a user belonging to the call control device, the call control device may return to the calling party a response containing a failed connection.

During a specific embodiment, the call control device may include a P-CSCF or AGCF.

Errors that occur in a transmission channel with an S-CSCF include an S-CSCF error or disconnection of a transmission channel between a P-CSCF or AGCF and an S-CSCF and the like.

In Embodiment 1 of the present invention, when an error occurs in the transmission channel between the call control device and the S-CSCF, the call control device directly transmits signaling for call control and makes a call between local users, which to some extent support communication between local users when an error occurs, and improves the ability to process, aimed at eliminating the error, and data transmission in emergency conditions on the network. At the same time, in an embodiment of the present invention, the call control device directly establishes a session that can reduce the lead time and relieve pressure on the core network element.

The solutions of the present invention are described below with reference to a P-CSCF or AGCF as a call control device, respectively.

In Embodiment 2, a call control method, the flowchart of which is shown in FIG. 2, includes the following steps:

B1: The P-CSCF receives a session request transmitted by the calling party, where the session request includes an identification mark of the called party.

B2: If an error occurs in the transmission channel between the P-CSCF and S-CSCF, the P-CSCF checks in accordance with the identification mark of the called party whether the called party is a user belonging to the P-CSCF and, if so, transmits the session request directly the called party to connect the call.

In this embodiment, the P-CSCF may check, in accordance with the identity of the called party, whether the called party is a user belonging to the P-CSCF, and may perform this check in various ways, for example, by checking whether the identity of the called party is in the local user list . If the identification label is in the list, this means that the called party is a local user, and if the identification label is not in this list, it means that the called party is not a user administered by the P-CSCF. It can be understood that during the network registration process or in the process of updating the user's location information, the P-CSCF can store the user identification tag using the P-CSCF proxy. It can also be understood that the user identification tag may be the user's IP address, and the P-CSCF may also determine, in accordance with the user's IP address segment, whether the called party is a user administered by the P-CSCF.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the P-CSCF may detect a transmission channel between the P-CSCF and the S-CSCF. Various existing methods can be considered as detection methods, for example, by applying a “request-response” mechanism, or by applying a synchronous clock mechanism or transmitting a “data packet - response to a ping command”. Special approaches can also be taken as a specific approach to the response. For example, when an error occurs one or more times when exchanging data with the CS-CSCF, it is believed that the transmission channel contains an error, and when the error is corrected, the above error detection approaches that will not be repeated here can be adopted.

This embodiment may further include that: if the called party is not a user belonging to the P-CSCF, the P-CSCF returns a calling party connection error response to notify the calling party of the connection error.

In Embodiment 2 of the present invention, when an error occurs in the transmission channel between the P-CSCF and the S-CSCF, the P-CSCF directly transmits signaling for call control, and makes a call between local users who to some extent communicate between local users when an error occurs, and improve processing capabilities aimed at overcoming errors and data transmission in emergency conditions on the network. At the same time, in an embodiment of the present invention, the P-CSCF directly establishes a session that can reduce routing time and reduce pressure on the core network I-CSCF / S-CSCF.

In Embodiment 3, a call control method, the flowchart of which is shown in FIG. 3, includes the following steps:

C1: AGCF receives a session request transmitted by the calling party, where the session request includes an identification mark of the called party.

C2: If an error occurs in the transmission channel between the AGCF and the S-CSCF, the AGCF checks in accordance with the identification mark of the called party whether the called party is a user belonging to the AGCF and, if so, sends a session request directly to the called party to connect the call.

In this embodiment, the AGCF may check, in accordance with the identity of the called party, whether the called party is a user belonging to the AGCF, and may check in various ways, for example, to verify that the identity of the called party is in the list of local users. If the identification tag is in the list, this means that the called party is a local user, and if the identification tag is not in the list, it means that the called party is not a user administered in accordance with the AGCF. It should be understood that during registration on the network or in the process of updating the user's location, the AGCF can save the user identification tag using the AGCF proxy. It should be understood that the user identification tag may be the user's IP address, and that the AGCF may also determine, in accordance with the segment of the user's IP address, whether the called party is a user that is administered using the AGCF.

In an embodiment of the present invention, an AGCF may detect a connection between an AGCF and an S-CSCF. Various existing methods can be used as a detection method, for example, using a request-response mechanism, or using a synchronous clock mechanism, or transmitting a “data packet-response to a ping command”. Special approaches can also be used as a specific response approach. For example, when a failure occurs one or more times when transmitting data from the C-CSCF, it is assumed that the transmission channel is faulty. When the malfunction is resolved, the aforementioned malfunction detection method may be applied, which will not be described here again.

In Embodiment 3 of the present invention, when an error occurs in the transmission channel between the AGCF and the S-CSCF, the AGCF directly transmits signaling for call control and makes a call between local users, who to some extent support communications between local users when a malfunction occurs, and improves the ability to process data transmission aimed at eliminating errors and data transmission in emergency network conditions. At this time, in an embodiment of the present invention, the AGCF directly establishes a session that can reduce the routing time and can ease pressure on the network element of the core network.

In Embodiment 4, a call control method, the flowchart of which is shown in FIG. 4, includes the following steps:

D1: The AGCF receives a session request transmitted from the AG where the calling party is located.

In this embodiment, the session request transmitted by the calling party is transmitted to the Access Gateway (AG). The access gateway performs encapsulation in accordance with the H.248 session request protocol and transmits the encapsulated session request to the AGCF.

D2: If an error occurs in the transmission channel between the AGCF and the S-CSCF, the AGCF checks in accordance with the identification mark of the called party whether the called party is a user belonging to the AGCF; if so, continues to perform step D3, and if not, continues to perform step D4.

D3: AGCF can find, in accordance with the identification label of the called party, the AG used in the called party, and then transmit the session request to the called party through the found AG.

In particular, the mapping relationship between the user identification tag and the AG can be stored in the AGCF. The AG serving the user can be found according to the user identification of the called party.

In particular, the AGCF transmits the received session establishment invitation, which is encapsulated through the H.248 protocol, to the found AG, and the AG sends the session establishment invitation to the called party.

In actual processing, the user of the calling party and the user of the called party may be users served by the same AG, or may be users served by different AGs. If users are served by the same AG, the AGCF no longer searches for the AG serving the user according to the user identification of the called party.

D4: Return a connection error response to the caller. The returned connection error response is transmitted to the caller through the AG where the caller is located. In particular, the AGCF generates a connection error response message in accordance with the H.248 protocol, and transmits this message to the calling party AG, and the calling party AG redirects the connection error response to the calling party.

In Embodiment 4 of the present invention, when an error occurs in the transmission channel between the AGCF and the S-CSCF, the AGCF directly routes the signaling to manage calls, and implements a call between local users, which to some extent support communication between local users when an error occurs, and improves the network’s processing capabilities for error correction and emergency data transmission. At the same time, in an embodiment of the present invention, the AGCF directly establishes a session that can reduce routing time and relieve pressure on the network element of the core network.

In Embodiment 5, a call control method, the flowchart of which is shown in FIG. 5, includes the following steps:

E1: the call control device receives a session request transmitted by the calling party, where the session request includes a calling party identification tag and a called party identification tag.

E2: the call control device checks whether the calling party and the called party belong to members of the same cluster service group; if yes, continues to perform step E3, and if not, continues to perform E4.

In this embodiment, the call control device may be a P-CSCF or AGCF, and if the call control device is an AGCF, the transmission and signaling format conversion is performed through the AG belonging to the AGCF at the request of a calling party session that receives the call control device.

In this embodiment, the cluster service may be a short number service or other similar services. The characteristic of cluster services is that real-time billing is not required. For example, for users subscribed to the same cluster, the cost of transferring data between users is calculated monthly. Therefore, there is no need to initiate a service in the core network for billing management.

E3: Send a session request to the directly called party to connect the call.

E4: Send the call request to the S-CSCF.

In this embodiment, for the special service to which the calling party users and the called party users are subscribed, if real-time billing management is not required, the connection to the called party can be made using P-CSCF or AGCF, thereby simplifying call process, the number of control alarms is reduced, and the load on the core network is reduced.

In Embodiment 6, a call control device, the flowchart of which is shown in FIG. 6, includes:

a session request receiving unit 510 adapted to receive a session request transmitted by the calling party, where the session request includes an identification mark of the called party; and

a call connection unit 520, configured to check whether the called party is a user belonging to the call control device in accordance with the identification mark of the called party that was received by the session request receiving unit 510 when an error occurs in the transmission channel between the call control device and The S-CSCF, and if so, directly transmits the session request to the called party to connect the call.

A call control device provided in an embodiment of the present invention can be integrated into an existing P-CSCF or AGCF to implement a local user call control function.

In Embodiment 7, a call control device, the flowchart of which is shown in FIG. 7, includes:

a session request receiving unit 610 configured to receive a session request transmitted by the calling party, where the session request includes an identification mark of the called party; and

a call connection unit 620, configured to check whether the called party is a user belonging to the call control device according to the identification mark of the called party, which was received by the session request receiving unit 610 when an error occurs in the transmission channel between the call control device and The S-CSCF, and if so, directly transmits the session request to the called party for the call connection.

The call connection module 620 may include:

a test module 621, configured to check whether the called party is a user belonging to the call control device in accordance with the identification mark of the called party, which was received by the session establishment request receiving module; and

connection module 622, configured to, when the result of the verification of the verification module 621 is that the user is a user belonging to the call control device, obtain the AG where the called party is located in accordance with the identification mark of the called party, and send an invitation to establish a session called party via AG.

A call control device provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention may be integrated in an existing AGCF to implement local user call control.

In the call control device provided in Embodiment 6 and Embodiment 7 of the present invention, when an error occurs in the transmission channel between the call control device and the S-CSCF, the AGCF directly routes the signaling for call control and implements a call between local users, who to some extent support the exchange of data between local users when an error occurs, and improve the network processing capabilities aimed at eliminating the error and ensuring exchange data in emergency situations in the network. At the same time, in an embodiment of the present invention, the call control device directly establishes a session, which can reduce the routing time and relieve pressure on the network element of the core network.

In Embodiment 8, a call control device, a block diagram of which is shown in FIG. 8, includes:

a session request receiving unit 710, configured to receive a session request transmitted by the calling party, where the session request includes a calling party identification tag and a called party identification tag; and

a call connection unit 720, configured to check, in accordance with the identification mark of the calling party and the identification mark of the called party, whether the calling party and the called party belong to members of the same cluster service group, and if so, directly sends a session request to the called party for Establish a call connection.

The call control device provided in Embodiment 8 of the present invention may include a P-CSCF or AGCF. For a special service to which the calling party user and the called party user are subscribed, if real-time billing control is not required, the connection to the called party can be performed using P-CSCF or AGCF to simplify the call process and reduce the number of control alarms and reduce the load on the core network.

The call control method and call control device provided in the embodiments of the present invention are described in detail above, where:

when an error occurs in the transmission channel between the call control device and the S-CSCF, the call control device directly routes the signaling for call control and implements a call between local users, which to some extent supports the exchange of data between local users when an error occurs, and improves network capabilities on processing aimed at eliminating the error, and data exchange in emergency conditions on the network. At the same time, in an embodiment of the present invention, the call control device directly establishes a session, which can reduce the routing time and relieve pressure on the network element of the core network.

For the special service to which the calling party user and the called party user are subscribed, if real-time billing control is not required, a connection to the called party can be made by P-CSCF or AGCF to simplify the calling process, reduce the number of control alarms and reduce the load to the core network.

For a person skilled in the art it should be clear that all or part of the steps of the methods or devices in accordance with the options for implementation can be implemented using a program that transmits instructions to the appropriate hardware. The program may be stored on a computer-readable recording medium. The recording medium may include ROM, RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

Specific cases are used to illustrate the principles and methods of implementing the present invention. The descriptions of the embodiments are intended only to provide an understanding of the method and main ideas of the present invention. At the same time, those skilled in the art can make modifications to specific embodiments and ranges of application in accordance with the teachings of the present invention. In conclusion, the contents of the description should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

Claims (8)

1. A call control method, in which the method comprises the steps of:
receiving, by the call control device, a session request transmitted by the calling party, where the session request includes an identification mark of the called party; and
if an error occurs during the connection between the call control device and the serving object, the S-CSCF call session management functions check in accordance with the identification mark of the called party whether the called party is a user belonging to the call control device, and
if so, directly transmit the session request to the called party to connect the call. 2. The method according to claim 1, in which the process of checking the call control device and in accordance with the identification mark of the called party, whether the called party is a user belonging to the call control device, comprises:
check the call control device whether the identification label of the called party is contained in the list of local users. 3. The method according to claim 1, in which, if the called party is not a user belonging to the call control device, the connection rejection response is returned to the calling party. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, in which the call control device is a P-CSCF, the P-CSCF stores the user identification tags using the P-CSCF intermediary object during registration in the network or in the process of updating the user's location. 5. The method according to claims 1 to 3, in which the call control device is an AGCF, and the process of direct transmission of the AGCF request for a session to the called party contains:
search using AGCF, the access gateway of the AG, where the called party is located in accordance with the identification mark of the called party, and send an invitation to the session to the called party through the AG. 6. A call control device, wherein the call control device comprises:
a session request receiving module configured to receive a session request transmitted by the calling party, where the session request includes an identification mark of the called party; and
a call connection unit configured to check whether the called party is the user belonging to the device according to the identification mark of the called party when an error occurs in the transmission channel between the call control device and the serving object of the S-CSCF call session management function, and if the called the party is a user belonging to the device, directly transmitting the session request to the called party to connect the call. 7. The call control device according to claim 6, in which the call connection module comprises:
a verification module configured to verify whether the called party is a user belonging to the call control device in accordance with the identification mark of the called party that has been received by the session establishment request receiving module; and
a connection module, configured to, when the result of the verification of the verification module is that the user is a user belonging to the call control device, receive the AG where the called party is located in accordance with the identification mark of the called party, and transmit a session establishment invitation to the called party through AG. 8. The call control device according to claim 6, in which the call control device comprises a mediation object call session control function object (P-CSCF) or an access gateway controller (AGCF).

Images