JP5587122B2 - Contact support system, contact support device, application server, and contact support method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention provides, for example, a contact support system, a contact support device, an application server, and a contact for sequentially sending a first caller's message between a plurality of terminal devices belonging to a defined group such as an emergency contact network. It relates to support methods.

In general, when a message of the same content is to be transmitted to all members of a defined group, such as a class communication network or an emergency communication network in the event of a disaster, there is a strong demand that the communication must be ensured. There is. Various techniques for meeting such demands have been proposed.
One proposal is as follows. In other words, the names of the members of the group and their telephone numbers are registered in the personal information management table, and the names of the other parties to be called for each of the names and their telephone numbers registered in the personal information management table are registered. Specify multiple names on the designation screen and specify the order.

The names of the counterparts designated in this way and their order are stored in the calling order management table. Then, each telephone number stored in the calling order management table is extracted from the personal information management table in accordance with the order specified in correspondence with the name of the other party, and calling is sequentially performed on each extracted telephone number. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
In the technique of Patent Document 1, since a message is sequentially transmitted from any one member (terminal device) to all members, the burden on the member serving as a sender becomes unilaterally heavy, and such a burden Due to the uneven distribution, it may take a long time to contact all members from the transmission source, so it is difficult to adopt as a class communication network.

For this reason, in the class communication network, etc., a list of telephone numbers to be contacted is prepared in advance, and each member refers to this telephone number list and sequentially communicates matters to other members. Is common. However, in this method of sequentially sending the first sender's messages in a predetermined order, the more contacts, the more mistakes. For example, there may be a problem that the same contact item is duplicated and transmitted to the same contact, or that the contact item is not transmitted to some contacts.
And the method of coping with such a problem is also proposed conventionally (for example, refer patent document 2).

  The technique disclosed in Patent Document 2 includes a database that stores a plurality of contact data including a telephone number of a destination and a contact order when a contact item is transmitted, and a contact data transmission unit that transmits the contact data. Set up a management server. On the other hand, in the information communication terminal, the call control means for making a call to the telephone number selected through the contact selection means among the contacts received from the management server and the voice during the call when connected to the other party There is provided a call record creation means for creating voice data by digital conversion, transmitting the voice data to the management server and storing it in the database.

  According to Patent Document 2, with the above-described configuration, a user can refer to a call record stored in a management server and can reliably transmit a communication item to all necessary contacts without omission and duplication. ing. Furthermore, when a contact is presented in accordance with a predetermined contact order and the telephone is controlled to automatically call the telephone number of the contact selected by the user, it is possible to make a reliable call without making a mistake in the contact Has been.

In addition, as in the above-mentioned Patent Document 2, a system is adopted in which messages of the first caller are sequentially sent in a predetermined order, and a telephone line is automatically set according to a user operation according to a contact route stored in a database. A contact automatic search and transmission system has been proposed in which a correct contact route is constructed and operability is improved by connecting (see, for example, Patent Document 3).
In the technique of Patent Document 3, the telephone number of the caller (caller number) and the selected event (No. 1 for fire, No. 2 for accident, No. 3 for earthquake) correspond to the event from the contact route database. A contact route is selected, and automatically sent to a contact person in the next order from the contact route according to the user's operation. In this way, the call is sequentially sent to the next contact, and when the last contact is reached, the route currently stored in the route storage means is deleted, the line is disconnected, and the process ends.

Furthermore, a series of communication partner information by telephone is associated and registered in the storage means, and automatic transmission is made to the next call partner corresponding to the previous call partner by referring to the registered communication partner information. Has also proposed a technique for facilitating transmission (see, for example, Patent Document 4).
In the technique of Patent Document 4, when a call is received from the other party, the storage unit is searched and the next contact party is displayed on the display unit. At the time of outgoing call to the displayed partner, the line state monitoring means monitors the line state, and thereafter, the outgoing call is executed in a predetermined procedure. That is, when the end of the conversation with the person to be contacted or when the other party is busy or cannot answer the phone, the next contact information is further displayed. When the end of the conversation with the person to be contacted or when the other party is busy or cannot answer the phone, the next contact information is further displayed. In addition, if the line status monitoring means does not respond for the reason that the other party that made the automatic call is in communication, the telephone number remaining in the storage means is displayed again, so there is an advantage that more flexible communication can be performed. Has been.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-126481 JP 2008-187382 A JP 2007-36606 A JP-A-5-260156

However, in the method of Patent Document 1 described above, as described above, the burden on the member serving as the transmission source is unilaterally heavy and is not suitable for a class communication network or the like.
Further, in the technique of Patent Document 2, it is necessary for a member of the transmission source to select specific contact data from among the contact data displayed by the contact data transmission unit of the management server. The fear of this is not yet fully wiped out.
Furthermore, even in the technique of Patent Document 3, when the caller answers the call after the call, the caller notifies the emergency contact, and when the call is completed, both parties call on the phone to disconnect the line once and then send the next message. At that time, the next caller will send out the emergency contact details in a chain of human actions such as pushing the same emergency contact number that is predetermined from the telephone, and there is still a possibility of handling complexity and erroneous operation Will not be wiped out.

Further, in the technique of Patent Document 4, when the person to be contacted is busy or does not answer the phone, the next person is displayed, or when the contact of one route is completed, the next partner of another route is displayed. Although it is said that more flexible contact network communication is realized, for example, there is no way to reach the communication target without omission.
The present invention has been made in view of the situation as described above, and by sequentially sending messages to all members of a defined group, the burden of all the members at the time of contact can be leveled, and It is an object of the present invention to provide a contact support system, a contact support device, an application server, and a contact support method capable of providing a contact support service that can reliably reach a contact.

(1) In the case where a member of a group including a plurality of predetermined members sends out matters to be communicated by sequential calling, the telephone number of each contact in the sequential sending is automatically selected and the selected phone number is selected. A contact support system capable of providing a contact support service that causes a call to a terminal device,
Maintains member information under the control of its own device, including information on the contact completion status indicating whether or not the communication of the telephone number and the priority of the contact to the members of the group and the scheduled communication items have been completed. Then, based on an operation for using the contact support service from one member, the next contact is determined with reference to the member information, and a call is made to the contact by the determination. And when the contact to the contact by the call could not be performed to meet the predetermined requirements, the priority of the contact originally defined by the member information is changed, A contact support device that applies the changed priority to re-determine the next contact and generates a call to the re-determined contact ;
An application server,
Equipped with a,
When the application server detects that the call due to the call has been disconnected, the application support device issues a request to the terminal device on the call side of the call to prompt the input of the contact completion status. For
The contact support device receives an input to affirm that transmission of the scheduled contact item has been completed for the display made to the calling terminal device based on the request issued by the application server. If it is notified, the information related to the contact completion status is updated to a state indicating contact completion .

In the contact support system of (1) above, the telephone number of each contact in the sequential sending is automatically selected in the case of sending the notification items by calling sequentially between the members in the group including a plurality of predetermined members. It is possible to provide a contact support service that causes a call to the terminal device of the selected telephone number.
The contact support device provided in the contact support system relates to the contact completion status indicating whether or not the communication of the contact telephone number and the contact priority to the members of the group and the scheduled communication items have been completed. Member information including information is held under the control of the device itself.

Then, the contact support device determines the next contact address with reference to the member information based on an operation for using the contact support service from one member, and contacts by the determination Make a call to the destination.
In addition, when the contact to the contact by the call cannot be performed so as to satisfy the predetermined requirement, the priority of the contact originally defined by the member information is changed, and the changed priority is changed. The next contact is re-determined by applying the degree, and a call is made to the re-determined contact.
Further, when the application server included in the contact support system of (1) detects that the call due to the call is disconnected, the application server displays a display prompting the input of the contact completion status. A request to be made to the terminal device is issued to the contact support device. The contact support device receives an input to affirm that transmission of the scheduled contact item has been completed for the display made to the calling terminal device based on the request issued by the application server. If the contact information is received, the information related to the contact completion status is updated to a state indicating the contact completion.

(2) When the next contact is changed by the re-determination, the contact support apparatus controls contact change notification for notifying the member who is the original contact source of the change. (1) The communication support system according to (1).
In the contact support system of (2) above, particularly in the contact support system of (1), when the next contact address is changed by the re-determination, the contact support device notifies that the change has been made. The contact change notification control for notifying the member who is the transmission source is executed.

(3) When the application server recognizes that all the members of the group have been contacted based on the member information , the application server notifies that all the members have been contacted to the corresponding terminal device. contact support system characterized by the Hassu Turkey signals for causing the notification (1).
In the contact support system of (3) above, when the contact support system of (1) recognizes that all members of the group have been contacted based on the member information, the application server is that Hassu a signal for causing the notification to the effect that communication to all members to the appropriate terminal equipment has been completed.

(4) In the case where a member of a group including a plurality of predetermined members sends out matters to be communicated by successive calls, the telephone number of each contact in the sequential sending is automatically selected and the selected phone number is selected. A contact support device applied as a component of a contact support system capable of providing a contact support service that causes a call to a terminal device,
Maintains member information under the control of its own device, including information on the contact completion status indicating whether or not the communication of the telephone number and the priority of the contact to the members of the group and the scheduled communication items have been completed. An information holding unit to
Based on the operation for using the contact support service from one member, the member information is referred to, the next contact is determined, and a call is made to the contact by the determination. Configured to change the priority of the contact originally defined by the member information, and the contact to the contact by the call could not be performed to meet the predetermined requirements, A contact support control unit that applies the changed priority to redetermine the next contact and causes a call to the redetermined contact;
Equipped with a,
Based on the fact that the predetermined application server that has detected that the call by the call has been disconnected has issued a request to cause the terminal device on the caller side of the call to perform a display prompting the input of the contact completion status, Causing the calling terminal device to perform the display;
The contact support apparatus updates information related to the contact completion status to a state indicating contact completion when an input is made to affirm that transmission of the scheduled contact item is completed for the display .

The contact support device of (4) above automatically selects the telephone number of each contact in the sequential notification when the members in the group including a plurality of predetermined members transmit the notification items by sequential calls. The present invention is applied as a component of a contact support system capable of providing a contact support service that causes a call to the terminal device of the selected telephone number.
The information holding unit automatically obtains member information including information related to the contact completion status indicating whether or not the communication of the contact telephone number and the contact priority to the members of the group and the scheduled communication item has been completed. Holds under device control.

Further, the contact support control unit determines the next contact address with reference to the member information based on an operation for using the contact support service from the member of the group, and based on the determination It was originally defined by the member information when it was configured to cause a call to the contact and the contact to the contact by the call could not be performed to meet the predetermined requirements The priority of contact is changed, the changed priority is applied, the next contact is redetermined, and a call is made to the redetermined contact.
Further, based on the fact that the predetermined application server that has detected that the call by the call has been disconnected has issued a request for the terminal device on the caller side of the call to perform a display prompting the input of the contact completion status And causing the terminal device on the calling side to perform the display,
When an input is made to affirm that the transmission of the scheduled contact item for the display is completed, the information related to the contact completion status is updated to a state indicating contact completion.

(5) When the next contact is changed by the re-determination, the contact support control unit notifies the member who is the original contact sender that the change has been made. (4) Contact support apparatus characterized by performing control.
In the contact support device of (5) above, particularly in the contact support device of (4), when the next contact address is changed by the re-determination, the contact support control unit indicates that the change has been made. The contact change notification control for notifying the member who is the contact source is executed.

(6) The communication support control unit resets all the information related to the communication completion status in the information holding unit to a state where communication has not been completed, based on a predetermined operation on the terminal device by one member. (4) The contact support apparatus characterized by these.
In the contact support device of (6) above, particularly in the contact support device of (4), the contact support control unit is configured to contact the information holding unit based on a predetermined operation of the one member to the terminal device. All the information related to the completion status is reset to the state where communication has not been completed.

(7) the contact support control unit, when communication to all communication絡先information contact completion status in the information holding portion is expected is that it has been completed is the fact at the initial contact source and executes the control for notifying the members through a predetermined application server (4) contact support device.
The contact supporting device of the above (7), in particular, the contact support control unit, contact is completed for all communication絡先to the information of the communication completion status in the information holding portion is scheduled in contact support device (4) when it that is executes control for notifying this fact to the members which initially contact the source through a predetermined application server.

(8) In the case where a member of a group including a plurality of predetermined members sends out matters to be communicated by sequential calls, the telephone number of each contact in the sequential sending is automatically selected and the selected phone number is selected. As a component of a contact support system capable of providing a contact support service that causes a call to a terminal device, contact determination that reflects information on the completion status of contact and contact that controls the call to the contact based on the determination An application server that is applied together with a support device,
Wherein when contact support contact all communication絡先to the information of the communication completion status indicating whether or not to complete the transmission of communication matter was scheduled is expected in the device is that it has been completed, the report this fact the original run the control for notifying the members is the source,
When the contact completion status information in the contact support device indicates that contact with all scheduled contacts has not been completed, it is detected that the call has been disconnected after the call has been established. particular basis, the application server, characterized by originating a request to perform a display for prompting the input of the contact completion status to the calling terminal device vent talk to the contact support device.
The application server (8), when contacting to the contact support contact information of contact completion status is expected in the device all is that the characters are completed, the the fact that initially the contact source the run the control of the order to notify the members,
When the contact completion status information in the contact support device indicates that contact with all scheduled contacts has not been completed, it is detected that the call has been disconnected after the call has been established. in particular, based, for emitting a request to perform a display for prompting the input of the contact completion status to the calling terminal device vent talk to the contact support device.

(9) In the case where a member of a group including a plurality of predetermined members sends out matters to be communicated by sequential calling, the telephone number of each contact in the sequential sending is automatically selected and the selected phone number is selected. A contact support method capable of providing a contact support service that causes a call to a terminal device,
Holds member information including information related to the contact completion status indicating whether or not the communication of the telephone number for communication to the members of the group and the priority of the contact and the scheduled communication items have been completed ,
Based on an operation for using the contact support service from one member, the member information is referred to, the next contact is determined, and a call to the contact based on the determination is started. ,
If contact to the contact by the call could not be performed to meet the predetermined requirements, change the priority of the contact originally defined by the member information;
Apply the changed priority to re-determine the next contact, activate a call to the re-determined contact ,
When it is detected that the call by the call has been disconnected, a request is made to cause the terminal device on the caller side of the call to perform a display prompting the input of the contact completion status,
When an input is made to affirm that transmission of the scheduled communication item has been completed with respect to the display made to the calling-side terminal device based on the request, information related to the contact completion status is displayed. contact support method according to claim that you update to the state indicating the contact is complete.

In the contact support method of (9) above, the telephone number of each contact is automatically selected in the sequential notification when the members in the group including a plurality of predetermined members transmit the communication items by sequential calls. It is possible to provide a contact support service that causes a call to the terminal device of the selected telephone number.
Based on an operation for using the contact support service from one member, the next member contact is determined with reference to the stored member information, and a call is made to the contact based on the determination Start up.
Then, when the contact to the contact by the activated call cannot be executed so as to satisfy the predetermined requirement, the priority of the contact originally defined by the member information is changed.
When the priority of the contact is changed in this way, the changed priority is applied to re-determine the next contact, and a call to the re-determined contact is activated.
Further, when it is detected that the call by the call has been disconnected, a request is made to cause the terminal device on the caller side of the call to perform a display for prompting the input of the contact completion status, and based on the request, When an input is made to affirm that transmission of the scheduled communication item has been completed with respect to the display displayed on the calling-side terminal device, the information related to the communication completion status is set to a state indicating the completion of the communication. Update.

  Contact support system, contact support apparatus, and application that can alleviate the burden of all members by sending messages to all members of the defined group in sequence, and can ensure communication. A server and a contact support method are realized.

It is a conceptual diagram showing the contact assistance system as one embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence chart showing the component of the communication assistance system of FIG. 1, and its operation | movement. It is a figure which illustrates the information of the database which HSS of FIG. 1 holds and manages. It is a figure which illustrates the pop-up display in UE applied to implementation of this invention. It is a sequence chart which illustrates the operation | movement which complete | finishes the telephone call using the contact assistance service by the contact assistance system of FIG. It is a flowchart showing operation | movement of the communication assistance system of FIG. It is a sequence chart showing the operation | movement when communication reaches all the members of a group. It is a sequence chart showing operation | movement in case all the check marks "re" showing the completion of contact in a database are canceled based on operation from a subscriber. It is a flowchart explaining the required information registration procedure at the time of utilization of the contact assistance service by the contact assistance system of this invention.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be clarified by describing embodiments of the present invention in detail with reference to the drawings.
(Overview of system configuration)
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a contact support system as one embodiment of the present invention.
This contact support system is configured as a mobile communication network 100 including a plurality of nodes as described below.
In this mobile communication network 100, a plurality of nodes of the same type are installed depending on the type of the node, and when one (one group) of the plurality functions as a caller node, the other (the other) Group) can function as the terminating node.

The following nodes are installed in the mobile communication network (contact support system) 100 of FIG.
That is, the mobile communication network 100 constituting the communication support system of FIG. 1 includes two CS-GWs (Circuit Switching-Gateway) 131, 132, two S-CSCFs (Serving-Call Session Control Function) 141, 142, two ASs (Application Servers) 151 and 152, an HSS (Home Subscriber Server) 160, and an MRF (Multimedia Resource Function) 170.

In the description with reference to FIG. 1, the number of installed nodes is basically the minimum necessary number for convenience of description. However, in the actual mobile communication network 100, the same kind of nodes are not included. Many more can be installed.
CS-GW (Circuit Switching-Gateway) 131, 132 is a node having a function of mediating the connection between the 3G-CS wireless network and the IP network. In the 3GPP system, authentication and confidentiality control are performed. The system functions to perform location registration control.

  S-CSCF (Serving-Call Session Control Function) 141 and 142, as SIP registration servers, have a function of holding subscriber information downloaded from an HSS (described later) and current location information of a terminal device. When session control is performed and an AS (to be described later) service process is activated as required, and the calling communication party designates the other party by a telephone number, it functions to perform routing according to this designation.

The AS (Application Servers) 151 and 152 function to perform service control including determination as to whether or not the service user has concluded a regular use contract related to the service.
An HSS (Home Subscriber Server) 160 functions to hold and manage subscriber information, manage service profiles subscribed to by each subscriber, manage authentication information, and manage availability of each service.

  The HSS 160 of this example constitutes a contact support apparatus as an embodiment of the present invention. Then, the HSS 160 includes an information holding unit 161 for holding member information including information relating to a contact telephone number, a contact priority, and a contact completion status to members of the group, and the member The information is configured to include a contact support control unit 162 that performs necessary renewal according to conditions and manages the information, and executes necessary determination processes as described later with reference to this information.

The management function in the contact support control unit 162 includes the following functions described in detail later. That is, there are an incoming side (contact order) priority change function, a database check function, a database representative switching function, and a database check column reset function.
An MRF (Multimedia Resource Function) 170 functions to perform image coding conversion, speech synthesis, and the like. In the system according to one embodiment of the present invention, the system functions also as an RBT (Ring Back Tone) signal supply source.

In FIG. 1, the above-mentioned nodes are connected with each other as shown in this diagram.
In FIG. 1, UE (User Equipment) 111 which is one terminal device is connected to a BS (Base Station) 121 via a wireless transmission line as is well known, and this BS 121 is connected to the above-described CS-GW 131. Similarly, UE 112 which is the other terminal device is connected to BS 122 via a wireless transmission path as is well known, and this BS 122 is connected to the above-described CS-GW 132.

(Communication support system components and their operations)
FIG. 2 is a sequence chart showing components and operations of the communication support system of FIG.
In FIG. 2, when a corresponding node functions as a node on the transmission side, “calling” is written at the end of the notation of the node. Similarly, when functioning as a node on the receiving side, (End) is written at the end of the notation of the node. In the description whether it functions as a node on the transmission side or a node on the reception side, it is expressed without the notation of these suffixes. In FIG. 2, the BSs 121 and 122 that relay communication are not shown. In addition, the UE on the receiving side is described as having three targets.

Here, codes of 112-1, 112-2, and 112-3 are assigned to the three UEs on the called side. The telephone number of UE 112-1 is 0X0-1111-1111, the telephone number of UE 112-2 is 0X0-2222-2222, and the telephone number of UE 112-3 is 0X0-3333-3333.
When a dedicated telephone number for using the contact support service provided by the contact support system is input at the calling UE, a request for the contact support service is transmitted from the UE 111 via the CS-GW (calling) 131, and the S-CSCF ( (Departure) 141 (S201, S202).

  Then, based on the transmission in S202, predetermined routing is performed between the S-CSCF (source) 141 and the AS (source) 151 (S203, S204), and the S-CSCF (source) 141 to the AS (source) 151 Via H., the HSS 160 is requested to specify and notify the telephone number of the individual who is the other party to contact the next contact person using the above-described contact support service from among the predetermined numbers ( S205).

  Upon receiving the request in S205, the HSS 160 determines whether or not the transmission source of the request is a regular subscriber related to this contact support service. Search for a contact phone number. Then, the contact telephone number (0X0-1111-1111) that has not been contacted and has the highest contact priority is determined as the next contact (S206). Then, the contact telephone number of the determination result is paid out to the S-CSCF (departure) 141 (S207). In addition, when it has reached a state in which there is no contact (incoming party) that has not yet been contacted, the story ends here, which will be described in detail later with reference to FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram exemplifying information that the HSS 160 holds in its information holding unit 161 (FIG. 1) in the form of a database. As described above, the information held in the information holding unit 161 is managed by the contact support control unit 162 by performing necessary renewal according to the conditions.
The contact support control unit 162 also executes the determination in S206 described above. Then, in the determination of S206, the information shown in FIG.

When it is determined in S206 that there is no registration related to the regular contract, the call is disconnected at this stage.
When it is determined in S206 that the source of the contact support service is an authorized subscriber, the S-CSCF (source) 141 then issues the call to the UE specified by the contact telephone number issued in S207. In order to make a call, the S-CSCF (destination) 142 is connected (S208). Further, predetermined routing is performed between the S-CSCF (arrival) 142 and the AS (arrival) 152 (S209, S210), and the telephone number from the S-CSCF (arrival) 142 to the CS-GW (arrival) 132 is reached. A connection request to the UE 112-1 is issued (S211).

In response to this connection request, the CS-GW (arrival) 132 issues paging to the UE 112-1 (S212).
On the other hand, the HSS 160 transmits a callee determination notification to the UE 111 via the AS (calling) 151, the CS-GW (calling) 131, and the like (S213, S214, S215).
The UE 111 that has received the recipient determination notification executes reception processing (S216) and displays a pop-up recipient determination notification on its own terminal screen (S217).

The original contact originator who is a user of the UE 111 can recognize the recipient who is the contact automatically selected on the system side by the display of the recipient determination notification.
When the display of S217 is performed, the UE 111 responds to the HSS 160 that the display is performed via the CS-GW (calling) 131, the AS (calling) 151, and the like (S218, S219, S220).

Thereafter, the call connection control is executed by a general existing procedure (S221).
When an RBT (Ring Back Tone) start request from the AS (arrival) 152 is issued to the MRF 170 via the S-CSCF (arrival) 142 (S222, S223), the RBT is supplied from the MRF 170 to the UE 111. (S224).
The duration of the RBT is managed by the call timer of the AS 152 (S225).

Then, it is detected that the session could not be established in a manner that satisfies the predetermined requirement that the time set in the timer expires and a call with the other party is started within the predetermined time (ie, timeout) The RBT stop request is issued from the AS (arrival) 152 to the MRF 170 via the S-CSCF (arrival) 142 (S226, S227).
When the AS (arrival) 152 detects a timeout, the AS (arrival) 152 responds to the S-CSCF (originating) 141 via the S-CSCF (arrival) 142 that there is no response (S228, S229).

The S-CSCF (source) 141 that has received the response of S229 cannot establish a call with the other party within a predetermined time (that is, a session cannot be established in a form that satisfies the predetermined requirements). ) Is transmitted (S230).
The HSS 160 that received the transmission of S230 checks again the contact completion status regarding the group of the contact target person in order to change the order of the contact in the database under its management described above with reference to FIG. The next contact is re-determined (S231).

As a result of the re-determination by the check in S231, the HSS 160 is directed to the destination UE 112-2 (phone number: 0X0-2222-2222) determined to be the next contact in the current situation. Then, a connection request is issued to the S-CSCF (destination) 142 through the S-CSCF (destination) 141 (S232 → S233).
The S-CSCF (arrival) 142 that has received the connection request in S233 performs predetermined routing with the AS (arrival) 152 (S234, S235), and the S-CSCF (arrival) 142 to CS-GW (arrival). A connection request to the UE 112-2 of the previous telephone number (0X0-2222-2222) is issued to 132 (S236).

In response to this connection request, the CS-GW (arrival) 132 issues paging to the UE 112-2 (S237).
Then, the paging response from the UE 112-2 is transmitted to the S-CSCF (arrival) 142 via the CS-GW (arrival) 132 (S238, S239).
On the other hand, the HSS 160 obtains the information of the destination UE 112-2 (phone number: 0X0-2222-2222) selected as the next contact (next callee) as a result of the determination in S231 as AS ( (Calling) 151 and CS-GW (calling) 131 and the like are transmitted to UE 111 as a callee determination notification (S240, S241, S242).

Receiving the recipient determination notification, the UE 111 executes reception processing (S243) and displays a pop-up recipient change notification on its own terminal screen (S244).
In the contact support system of the present embodiment, as described above, the callee who is the original contact may be automatically changed, but the original caller who is the user of the UE 111 receives this incoming call. By displaying the notification of the change of the party, it is possible to reliably recognize that the called party as the original contact address has been changed as shown.
When the display of S244 is performed, the UE 111 responds to the HSS 160 that the display has been performed via the CS-GW (calling) 131, the AS (calling) 151, and the like (S245, S246, S247).
Thereafter, the call processing is executed by a general existing procedure (S248).

(Management of contact determination, change, etc.)
Next, referring to FIG. 3, in a contact support apparatus (implemented as the above-described HSS 160) which is one element of the contact support system (mobile network) 100 and is also an embodiment of the present invention. The management of contact determination and change will be further described.
As described above, FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating information of the database managed by the HSS 160. In particular, FIG. 3A is referred to when performing the determination and management in the above-described S206 and S231, and as necessary. It is a figure showing the information of the database made into the object which renews the content.

One defined group assumed here is, for example, a group of class communication network, and for convenience of explanation, it is assumed that there are four members of this group. Dedicated telephone numbers are assigned to the UEs (UEs 111, 112-1, 112-2, and 112-3 in FIG. 2) of each user who is a member of these. These telephone numbers are described as “in-group numbers” in the left column of FIG.
In addition, the check mark “re” in the “check list” field of FIG. 3A indicates the corresponding field when a call is established between the members of the group of the corresponding telephone number and a predetermined report is completed. It is written in.
Therefore, it is determined that the notification (contact) by the contact support service has not been completed for the telephone number in which this check mark is not filled.

The number in the “priority” column defines the priority of incoming call selection (next contact selection) when no check mark is entered in any telephone number.
That is, as described above, when using this contact support service to sequentially send a predetermined message with the UE having the telephone number 0X0-0000-0000 as the original caller, any telephone number is checked. Is not filled in, the contact partner is selected in the order of the numbers in the “priority” column.
On the other hand, if any phone number has already been marked with a check mark, the UE with the higher “priority” is the next contact for the phone number that has not been filled with the remaining check mark. Will be selected.

(Pop-up display in UE)
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a pop-up display in the UE applied to the implementation of the present invention.
FIG. 4A is a diagram exemplifying a pop-up display on the display of the originating UE at the time of activation of the contact support service by the contact support system described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. When a dedicated telephone number for using the contact support service is input in the UE, a pop-up display as illustrated is performed in the UE.
FIG. 4B shows a case where the communication support service is activated and the caller side based on the notification from the communication support system side when the next contact address (UE of the called party) is determined by the determination on the communication support system side. It is a figure which illustrates the pop-up display displayed on the display of UE of. The example of FIG.4 (b) is a display example in S244 demonstrated with reference to FIG. 2, ie, a display example when a contact address is changed into UE112-2 (phone number: 0X0-2222-2222). is there.

(Operation when the contact support service is terminated)
Next, with reference to FIG. 5, the operation when the contact support service by the contact support system of the present invention is terminated will be described.
FIG. 5 is a sequence chart illustrating an operation including a pop-up display process at the UE on the caller side when the call using the contact support service by the contact support system described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 is terminated. .
When a call end operation (denoted as “disconnect” in the figure) is performed by pressing the call end button or the like on the calling side UE 111, CS-GW (calling) 131, S-CSCF (calling) 141, AS (calling) 151 Session release commands are transmitted in this order and release is executed (S501, S502, S503), and in response, AS (originating) 151, S-CSCF (originating) 141, CS-GW (originating) 131 in this order. A session release completion notification is transmitted (S504, S505, S506).

When a session release command is transmitted from the AS (source) 151 to the S-CSCF (end) 142 and AS (end) 152 via the S-CSCF (source) 141 and the release is executed (S507, In response to this, a session release completion notice is transmitted in the order of AS (arrival) 152, S-CSCF (arrival) 142, and AS (originating) 151 (S510, S511, S512).
Upon receipt of the notification in S512, the AS (caller) 151 detects the release of the session (S513), and a pop-up request for performing a confirmation pop-up display to the effect that the contact by the contact support service has been completed to the HSS 160 Is issued (S514).

The HSS 160 that has received the request of S514 issues a response to the AS (calling) 151 to the effect (S515), and contacts the UE 111 via the AS (calling) 151 and the CS-GW (calling) 131. Is notified (S516, S517, S518).
The UE 111 receives and recognizes the notification of S518 (S519), and performs a pop-up display for confirming whether or not the contact with the members of the scheduled group is completed (S520).
When the user of the UE 111 (original caller of the contact) operates a confirmation response of contact completion (or incomplete) in response to this confirmation pop-up display, this confirmation response is sent to the CS-GW (outgoing) 131. , Is transmitted to HSS 160 via AS (departure) 151 (S521, S522, S523).
In response to the confirmation response in S523, the HSS 160 updates the stored information in the above-described database in consideration of the completion of new communication (S524).

FIG. 3B is a diagram exemplifying a state in which the database holding information in the HSS 160 is updated in the case of S524 in FIG.
As understood from FIG. 3B, as in the latter half of the sequence chart of FIG. 2 (after S225), the session changed to the UE 112-2 of the telephone number (0X0-2222-2222) is established. In response to the completion of the contact with the user (recipient) of UE 112-2, a check mark “re” is added to the “check list” column of the corresponding telephone number (0X0-2222-2222).

  After updating the stored information in the database in S524, the HSS 160 confirms the “check list” and recognizes that the “check list” corresponding to all contacts has a check mark “re”. From the fixed text guidance stored in the SMS (Short Message Service) storage server 180, for example, a message such as “Everyone has been contacted” is displayed on the UE 111 (the terminal device of the original sender of the contact). Display control is executed as much as possible (S525).

  On the other hand, the AS (arrival) 152 receives the release command (S509), and goes to the UE 112-2 (phone number: 0X0-2222-2222) via the S-CSCF (arrival) 142 and the CS-GW (arrival) 132. When the session release command is transmitted and the release is executed (S526, S527, S528), the UE 112-2, the CS-GW (arrival) 132, and the S-CSCF (arrival) 142 are sequentially processed accordingly. Release completion notification is transmitted (S529, S530, S531).

  In the operation described above with reference to the sequence chart of FIG. 5, it is assumed that a call end operation is performed by pressing the call end button or the like on the UE 111 on the transmission side, and the session is disconnected based on this operation. It was. However, the occurrence of session disconnection in actual communication (call) is not limited to the above-described operation based on the intention of the user of the UE 111 on the transmission side.

  That is, one of the UEs (for example, the incoming side) moves out of the service area during the call, and the call disconnection detection timer of the other UE (the outgoing side) that remains in the service area expires. In this case, session disconnection occurs in the same way. In this case, a “call disconnection request (Disconnect in the figure)” is notified from the UE to the CS-GW (outgoing) based on the detection output of the expiration of the timing period.

  Therefore, even when a session is disconnected due to leaving the service area regardless of the user's intention of the UE, after the occurrence of the “call disconnect request (Disconnect in the figure)”, the sequence chart described above with reference to FIG. Pop-up display can be performed by the same steps as in S501 to S520. For this reason, the user can surely recognize that the session has been disconnected based on the pop-up display, and can take an appropriate action.

(Operation of the entire contact support system)
Next, the operation of the entire communication support system of FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the communication support system of FIG. In this flowchart, which element in FIG. 1 is the main subject of processing in each step is shown on the left shoulder of the block representing the processing content.
When the originating UE 111 receives an operation for inputting a dedicated telephone number for using the above-described contact support service (S601), the content of the database associated with the phone number dedicated to the contact support service is stored in the HSS 160. Confirmed (S602).

The contents of the database confirmed in S602 are the data as described above with reference to FIG. 3, and from this data, the members to which the check mark “re” indicating completion of contact is not attached (depending on the contact support service). It is determined whether there is a member of a group to be contacted (S603).
When it is determined that there is a member who has not yet been contacted (S603: Yes), the HSS 160 selects a member having a relatively high priority of selection as a contact (incoming party) among those members as the next contact. And instructing the member to connect (S604).

Next, the HSS 160 instructs the originating UE 111 to display information representing the called party who has been determined to be the next contact (S605).
On the other hand, in AS (arrival) 152, it is monitored whether there is a response from the contact (incoming party) side within a predetermined time (S606), and when there is a response within the predetermined time (S606: Yes), the corresponding UE A call is started between them (S607).
Waiting for the end of the call (S608: No), and when finished (S608: Yes), the AS 152 issues a pop-up display request for confirming the completion of the contact (S609), and receives this to confirm the completion of the contact to the UE 111 Is displayed (S610).

The pop-up display in S610 asks whether or not the initially scheduled message has been transmitted. If the input to the UE 111 from the user for this display is affirmative (press the 1 button) (S611). : Yes), the HSS 160 attaches a check mark “re” to the effect that the corresponding communication is completed in the “check list” column in the database (S612).
As a result of executing the processing of S612, it is determined whether or not the “check list” column in the database has all been marked with “re” (S613). When it is determined that the state with “L” has not been reached (S613: No), the end of the talk is reached.

On the other hand, if it is determined in S603 that there is no member who has not yet been contacted (S603: No), a notification that voice contact has been made is sent from the AS 151 to the UE 111 of the caller (S614). ). Note that the notification by the voice guidance in S614 can be performed such that the MRF 170 supplies a voice signal to the UE 111 based on a transmission instruction to the MRF 170. Then, when the notification by the voice guidance is completed, the talk ends.
In S606, when there is no response from the contact (recipient) side within a predetermined time (S606: No), the HSS 160 executes a process for lowering the priority of the contact (recipient). Up (S615), the process returns to S603.

In addition, when the input to the UE 111 from the user with respect to the pop-up display asking whether or not the originally scheduled communication item has been transmitted in the previous S611 is negative (2 button is pressed) (S611: No) The HSS 160 does not add a check mark “re” to the “check list” column in the database (S616), and ends the story.
If it is determined in the previous S613 that the “check list” column in the database has all been marked with “re” (S613: Yes), the initial transmission of this communication from the HSS 160 For example, a message such as “contact has been completed for all members” is transmitted to the “representative” who is the person by SMS (Short Message Service), and the end of the conversation is reached.

(Pop-up display operation when contact to all members is completed)
Next, with reference to FIG. 7, an operation in which a pop-up display is performed when contact with all members of the group is completed will be described.
FIG. 7 shows an operation in the case where there is no member without the check mark “re” indicating completion of contact, and all members of the group to be contacted by the contact support service are contacted. It is a sequence chart.
When the specific telephone number (0X0-0000-0000) described above is input at the UE 111 on the calling side, the request for the contact support service is sent from the UE 111 via the CS-GW (calling) 131 and the S-CSCF (calling) 141. (S701, S702).

Then, based on the transmission in S702, predetermined routing is performed between the S-CSCF (sending) 141 and the AS (sending) 151 (S703, S704), and the S-CSCF (sending) 141 to the AS (sending) 151. Then, the HSS 160 is requested to issue a dedicated telephone number for contacting the next person to be contacted using the contact support service (S705).
Upon receiving the request in S705, the HSS 160 determines whether or not the request source is a regular subscriber related to this contact support service. A contact telephone number for completion is searched (S706).

FIG. 3C is a diagram illustrating the state of the database that is the search target in S706.
As a result of the search in S706, there is no member without the check mark “re” indicating completion of contact, and all members of the group to be contacted by the contact support service have already been contacted. When it becomes clear, a response to the effect that all of the contacts have been completed is sent to the S-CSCF (sender) (S707).

Further, predetermined routing is performed between the S-CSCF (calling) 141 and the AS (calling) 151 (S708, S709), and the voice guidance that all the members have been contacted from the S-CSCF (calling) 141 to the MRF 170. Is issued (S710).
Upon receiving the voice guidance request, the MRF 170 transmits to the UE 111 a signal for executing the utterance “I was able to talk to all the members in the group” corresponding to this request (S711).
Thereafter, existing call control is performed.

(Release operation of all check marks)
Next, with reference to FIG. 8, an operation for canceling all check marks indicating completion of communication in the database will be described.
FIG. 8 is a sequence chart showing an operation in the case where all the check marks “re” indicating contact completion in the database are canceled based on an operation from the subscriber.
All of the “check list” columns in the database held by the HSS 160 based on the customer-controlled check list release signal after execution of the existing call control (S801) or at an appropriate time during execution The check mark “” is deleted, and the communication is reset to the incomplete contact state (S802).

FIG. 3D shows the state of stored information in the database when the process of S802 is executed.
In FIG. 3D, “O” is added to the place of the telephone number 0X0-0000-0000 in the “representative” column (the above-mentioned initial sender of the contact). This is managed as a person having the telephone number 0X0-0000-0000 having the authority of the reset operation to delete all the check marks “Re” in the “Check List” column as described above. Means. Incidentally, the setting or change of the “representative” is permitted as a setting operation regarding the HSS 160.
Then, after the execution of the process of S802, the existing call control (S803) is continued again.
The checklist cancellation operation by customer control as described above can be performed at any time. For example, after the contact with all the members of the group is completed or when the use of the contact support service is started. Any time can be an opportunity to perform this operation.

(Registration procedure for required information on contact support services)
Next, with reference to FIG. 9, a procedure for registering required information regarding the contact support service will be described.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining a registration procedure of necessary information to be performed in advance for the contact support system prior to the use of the contact support service by the contact support system of the present invention.
This registration procedure is performed by inputting data to the HSS described above using the personal computer 190.

That is, an input operation corresponding to a GUI (Graphical User Interface) or the like on the personal computer 190 is accepted (S901), and a class communication network group, for example, as one defined group accepted in this way. A dedicated telephone number for each member is issued (S902).
Then, corresponding member registration is executed in the database as described above with reference to FIG. 3 held by the HSS 160 (S903).
In the sequential member registration operation, it is checked whether or not additional member registration is necessary (S904), and as long as necessary (S904: Yes), registration is performed repeatedly and no additional necessity is required (S904). : No), registration is completed.

100 ………………………………………… Mobile communication networks 111, 112 …………………………… UE
112-1, 112-2, 112-3 ... UE
121,122 …………………………… BS
131,132 …………………………… CS-GW
141,142 ……………………………… S-CSCF
151,152 ... AS
160 ……………………………………… HSS
161 ………………………………………… Information holding unit 162 ………………………………………… Contact support control unit 170 ………………………… …………… MRF
180 ... …………………………………… SMS storage server 190 ………………………………………… Personal computer

Claims (9)

In the case where a member of a group including a plurality of predetermined members sends out matters to be communicated by sequential calling, the telephone number of each contact in the sequential sending is automatically selected and the terminal device of the selected phone number is selected. A contact support system capable of providing a contact support service that generates a call of
Maintains member information under the control of its own device, including information on the contact completion status indicating whether or not the communication of the telephone number and the priority of the contact to the members of the group and the scheduled communication items have been completed. Then, based on an operation for using the contact support service from one member, the next contact is determined with reference to the member information, and a call is made to the contact by the determination. And when the contact to the contact by the call could not be performed to meet the predetermined requirements, the priority of the contact originally defined by the member information is changed, A contact support device that applies the changed priority to re-determine the next contact and generates a call to the re-determined contact ;
An application server,
Equipped with a,
When the application server detects that the call due to the call has been disconnected, the application support device issues a request to the terminal device on the call side of the call to prompt the input of the contact completion status. For
The contact support device receives an input to affirm that transmission of the scheduled contact item has been completed for the display made to the calling terminal device based on the request issued by the application server. In the case where the contact information is received, the information related to the contact completion status is updated to a state indicating the contact completion .   When the next contact is changed by the re-determination, the contact support device executes contact change notification control for notifying the member who is the original contact source that the change has been made. The communication support system according to claim 1, wherein: When the application server recognizes that the contact to all the members of the group has been completed based on the member information , the application server notifies the corresponding terminal device that the contact to all the members has been completed. contact support system according to claim 1, wherein the benzalkonium that Hassu signals for causing. In the case where a member of a group including a plurality of predetermined members sends out matters to be communicated by sequential calling, the telephone number of each contact in the sequential sending is automatically selected and the terminal device of the selected phone number is selected. A contact support device applied as a component of a contact support system capable of providing a contact support service that causes a call
Maintains member information under the control of its own device, including information on the contact completion status indicating whether or not the communication of the telephone number and the priority of the contact to the members of the group and the scheduled communication items have been completed. An information holding unit to
Based on the operation for using the contact support service from one member, the member information is referred to, the next contact is determined, and a call is made to the contact by the determination. Configured to change the priority of the contact originally defined by the member information, and the contact to the contact by the call could not be performed to meet the predetermined requirements, A contact support control unit that applies the changed priority to redetermine the next contact and causes a call to the redetermined contact;
Equipped with a,
Based on the fact that the predetermined application server that has detected that the call by the call has been disconnected has issued a request to cause the terminal device on the caller side of the call to perform a display prompting the input of the contact completion status, Causing the calling terminal device to perform the display;
The contact support apparatus updates information related to the contact completion status to a state indicating contact completion when an input is made to affirm that transmission of the scheduled contact item is completed for the display .   When the next contact is changed by the re-determination, the contact support control unit executes contact change notification control for notifying the member who is the original contact source of the change. The communication support apparatus according to claim 4, wherein   The contact support control unit is configured to reset all information related to the contact completion status in the information holding unit to an incomplete contact state based on a predetermined operation on the terminal device by one of the members. The communication support device according to claim 4. The contact support control unit, when communication to communication絡先all information contact completion status is expected in the information holding unit is that it has been completed, the members of this fact is the initial contact source contact support device according to claim 4, characterized in that to perform the control for notifying through a predetermined application server. In the case where a member of a group including a plurality of predetermined members sends out matters to be communicated by sequential calling, the telephone number of each contact in the sequential sending is automatically selected and the terminal device of the selected phone number is selected. As a constituent element of a contact support system capable of providing a contact support service that causes a call to be made, together with a contact support device that controls the determination of a contact reflecting the information of the contact completion status and the call to the contact by the determination Applicable application server,
Wherein when contact support contact all communication絡先to the information of the communication completion status indicating whether or not to complete the transmission of communication matter was scheduled is expected in the device is that it has been completed, the report this fact the original run the control for notifying the members is the source,
When the contact completion status information in the contact support device indicates that contact with all scheduled contacts has not been completed, it is detected that the call has been disconnected after the call has been established. particular basis, the application server, characterized by originating a request to perform a display for prompting the input of the contact completion status to the calling terminal device vent talk to the contact support device. In the case where a member of a group including a plurality of predetermined members sends out matters to be communicated by sequential calling, the telephone number of each contact in the sequential sending is automatically selected and the terminal device of the selected phone number is selected. A contact support method capable of providing a contact support service that generates a call of
Holds member information including information related to the contact completion status indicating whether or not the communication of the telephone number for communication to the members of the group and the priority of the contact and the scheduled communication items have been completed ,
Based on an operation for using the contact support service from one member, the member information is referred to, the next contact is determined, and a call to the contact based on the determination is started. ,
If contact to the contact by the call could not be performed to meet the predetermined requirements, change the priority of the contact originally defined by the member information;
Apply the changed priority to re-determine the next contact, activate a call to the re-determined contact ,
When it is detected that the call by the call has been disconnected, a request is made to cause the terminal device on the caller side of the call to perform a display prompting the input of the contact completion status,
When an input is made to affirm that transmission of the scheduled communication item has been completed with respect to the display made to the calling-side terminal device based on the request, information related to the contact completion status is displayed. A contact support method characterized by updating to a state indicating completion of contact.

Images