JP5956962B2 - Communication system and communication method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a session control server, a communication system, and a communication method for controlling an outgoing call sent from a terminal identified by a telephone number based on a subscriber class.

  With the recent development of information communication, IP telephone terminals have become widespread. This IP telephone terminal is connected to another IP telephone terminal via a subscriber service edge, a session control server, a relay session control server, and the like. At this time, a SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) message is transmitted and received in the communication system.

  The session control server determines whether to connect the call based on the subscriber class assigned to each terminal. The session control server preferentially connects calls from high subscriber class terminals. This subscriber class is divided into three classes: a priority telephone class UR1, a public telephone class UR, and a general subscriber class GN. The disaster priority telephone class UR1 is a subscriber class with the highest priority, and is assigned to a terminal that should be given the highest priority in the event of a disaster, such as a police station or a fire department. The public telephone class UR is a subscriber class having the second highest priority after the disaster priority telephone class UR1, and is assigned to a public telephone. The general subscriber class GN is assigned to a terminal to which the public telephone class UR and the disaster priority telephone class UR1 are not assigned, such as a general household telephone.

  In general, when a catastrophic disaster occurs, many calls are made to telephone terminals in the affected area in order to confirm the status and safety of the residents in the affected area. As a result, congestion occurs in the affected area, making it difficult to connect calls. In order to avoid this, there is a method of restricting connection to the congestion range (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  In addition, calls destined for telephone terminals in the disaster area are concentrated on the session control server that accommodates the telephone terminals in the disaster area. As a result, the load on the session control server in the stricken area increases, and a regulation for restricting the outgoing call in the session control server in the stricken area may be activated. In addition, the session control server may regulate the transfer of the SIP message related to the outgoing call to another session control server for various reasons such as an increase in the load on the session control server.

  In such a case, a terminal to which the general subscriber class GN is assigned becomes difficult to make a call. On the other hand, it is possible to raise the priority of the subscriber class in units of subscribers by setting a VLAN in advance or issuing a service order by a prior contract or the like.

JP 2010-268198 A

  However, although it is possible to change the subscriber class on a per-subscriber basis, there has been no method for enabling outgoing calls on a per-call basis. Even if a subscriber wishes priority control only for a predetermined call, for example, when outgoing calls are restricted due to a sudden disaster that occurs suddenly, the session control server should give priority to outgoing calls on a call-by-call basis. I could not.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a communication system and a communication method capable of preferentially controlling outgoing calls on a call basis.

  In order to solve the above problems, a first feature of the present invention relates to a session control server that controls a call of a terminal identified by a telephone number based on a subscriber class corresponding to the telephone number. A session control server according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a storage device that stores subscriber class data in which a telephone number of a terminal and a subscriber class assigned to the telephone number are associated with each other, When the call request including the telephone number of the calling terminal and the receiving terminal is received, the subscriber class of the calling terminal is extracted from the subscriber class data, and based on the subscriber class obtained by raising the extracted subscriber class And session control means for determining whether or not to forward the outgoing request to the receiving terminal.

  Further, the session control means may determine whether or not to forward the call request when the call terminal can be charged.

  A second feature of the present invention includes a session control server for controlling a call of a terminal identified by a telephone number based on a subscriber class corresponding to the telephone number, and an application server connected to the session control server. The present invention relates to a communication system. In the communication system according to the second aspect of the present invention, the session control server includes a storage device for storing subscriber class data in which a telephone number of a terminal is associated with a subscriber class assigned to the telephone number; When a call request including a predetermined number and the telephone numbers of the calling terminal and the called terminal is received, the telephone number of the calling terminal is transmitted to the application server, and an instruction to raise the subscriber class of the calling terminal from the application server Is received, the subscriber class of the calling terminal is extracted from the subscriber class data, and it is determined whether or not to transfer the call request to the receiving terminal based on the subscriber class obtained by raising the extracted subscriber class. Session control means is provided. When the application server receives the telephone number of the calling terminal from the session control server, the application server determines whether or not charging is possible based on the telephone number of the calling terminal. Send instructions.

  A third feature of the present invention relates to a communication method for controlling a call of a terminal identified by a telephone number based on a subscriber class corresponding to the telephone number. In the communication method according to the third aspect of the present invention, when the session control server receives a call request including a predetermined number and the phone numbers of the caller terminal and the callee terminal from the caller terminal, the phone number of the terminal, A step of extracting the subscriber class of the calling terminal from the subscriber class data associated with the subscriber class assigned to the telephone number, and the session control server based on the subscriber class with the extracted subscriber class raised Determining whether or not to transfer the outgoing request to the receiving terminal.

  The step of determining whether or not to transfer the call request to the receiving terminal may be executed when the calling terminal can be charged.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the communication system and communication method which can carry out priority control of transmission by a call unit can be provided.

It is a figure explaining the system configuration | structure of the communication system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the subscriber class which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the subscriber class of each terminal which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram explaining the communication method which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining an example of the header of a SIP message concerning an embodiment of the invention. It is a figure explaining the hardware constitutions and functional block of the session control server which concern on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining an example of data structure and data of subscriber class data concerning an embodiment of the invention. It is a flowchart explaining the process of the session control server which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description of the drawings, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals.

(Communications system)
A communication system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The communication system 100 includes session control servers 1, 4, subscriber service edges 2 a, 2 b, 5, terminals 3 a, 3 b, 3 c, 3 d, 6, a relay session control server 7 and an application server 8. In the embodiment for carrying out the invention, the subscriber service edges 2a and 2b may be simply referred to as the subscriber service edge 2 unless they are particularly distinguished. When the terminals 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d are not particularly distinguished, they may be simply referred to as the terminal 3.

  The first terminal 3a is an IP network terminal, for example, an IP telephone. Each terminal is assigned a telephone number. Each terminal makes or receives a call based on the telephone number. The same applies to the second terminal 3b, the third terminal 3c, the fourth terminal 3d, and the fifth terminal 6.

  The first subscriber service edge 2a accommodates terminals 3a, 3b and 3c. The first subscriber service edge 2a transmits and receives packets to and from these terminals. The same applies to the second subscriber service edge 2b and the third subscriber service edge 5. The subscriber service edge may be referred to as SSE (Subscriber Service Edge).

  The relay session control server 7 transfers the packet between the first session control server and the second session control server 4. The relay session control server may be referred to as an ISC (Intermediate Session Control server).

  The first session control server 1 is connected to the relay session control server 7 and the application server 8 and accommodates the subscriber service edges 2a and 2b. The first session control server 1 controls the call of the terminal identified by the telephone number based on the subscriber class corresponding to the telephone number. The same applies to the second session control server 4. The session control server may be referred to as an SSC (Subscriber Session Control server).

  The first session control server 1 assigns a subscriber class to the terminal 3 to be accommodated. The first session control server 1 preferentially sends and receives calls from terminals to which a high subscriber class is assigned.

  With reference to FIG. 2, the subscriber class used in the embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the embodiment of the present invention, there are three subscriber classes: disaster priority telephone class UR1, public telephone class UR and general subscriber class GN. The first session control server 1 performs control so that the higher the priority of the subscriber class assigned to the calling terminal, the easier it is to receive a call to the receiving terminal.

  The application server 8 is connected to a plurality of session control servers of the first session control server 1 and the second session control server 4. In order to charge the subscriber, the application server 8 holds data in which the subscriber's telephone number is associated with the charge amount for the subscriber. When charging is performed in the first session control server 1 and the second session control server 4, the communication system 100 may not include the application server 8.

  In the communication system 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention, when a transmission terminal performs a specific transmission, the subscriber class of the transmission terminal is temporarily raised and priority control is performed until the specific transmission ends. Here, “specific transmission” means that the transmission terminal transmits a specific number added at the time of transmission. The specific number is, for example, a number set in the header of the SIP message when the subscriber operates when making a call, and is determined in advance.

  There are several methods for adding a specific number. For example, the calling terminal may make a specific call by inputting a number obtained by concatenating the telephone number of the receiving terminal to the specific number when the subscriber makes a call. In this case, the specific number is, for example, a 4-digit number starting with “00”, and is a prefix number added to the head of the telephone number of the receiving terminal. The specific number may be added at a predetermined position such as after the telephone number of the receiving terminal. In this case, a specific number is assigned to the To column of the header of the SIP message. As yet another method, the calling terminal may give a specific number to the header and send a SIP message by inputting a specific call instruction such as a subscriber pressing a predetermined button when making a call. .

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the subscriber can set whether or not to add a specific number for each call. Therefore, the subscriber adds a specific number only for a call to be transmitted with a higher priority, You can make incoming calls easier.

  With reference to FIG. 3, a subscriber class assigned to a terminal will be described. The subscriber class of the first terminal 3a and the fourth terminal 3d is a general subscriber class GN. The subscriber class of the second terminal 3b is the disaster priority telephone class UR1. The subscriber class of the third terminal 3c is a public telephone class UR. At this time, the priority is as follows: second terminal 3b> third terminal 3c> first terminal 3a = fourth terminal 3d.

  On the other hand, when the first terminal 3a makes a specific call, the subscriber class of the first terminal 3a increases to “UR” in the embodiment of the present invention. At this time, the priority is as follows: second terminal 3b> first terminal 3a = third terminal 3c> fourth terminal 3d. Accordingly, when the first terminal 3a makes a specific call, the first session control server 1 makes a specific call from the first terminal 3a as compared with the fourth terminal 3d of the same subscriber class. By preferentially transferring, it is possible to control the incoming terminal to easily receive the incoming call.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, a case where the subscriber class is raised to “UR” for a specific transmitting terminal will be described, but the present invention is not limited to this. It is only necessary to be able to change to a subscriber class higher than the subscriber class “GR” of the calling terminal when not making a specific call, and may be changed to “UR1” or may be changed to a new subscriber class “X”. . The new subscriber class “X” is a subscriber class different from “GR”, “UR”, and “UR1”, and has a higher priority than the subscriber class “GR” of the general terminal.

(Communication method)
With reference to FIG. 4, a communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the transmission terminals are the first terminal 3a and the fourth terminal 3d, and their subscriber class is “GN”. The receiving terminal is the fifth terminal 6. While the first terminal 3a attempts to make a call to the receiving terminal with a specific call, the fourth terminal 3d tries to make a call to the receiving terminal with a normal call. Also, due to the occurrence of a disaster or the like, the first session control server 1 has a high load, and transmission is restricted.

  When the subscriber of the first terminal 3a makes a specific call to the subscriber of the fifth terminal 6, the first terminal 3a transmits an Initial-INVITE message to the fifth terminal 6 in step S1. To do. In the header of the Initial-INVITE message, the item “To” is set based on the number obtained by concatenating the specific number and the telephone number of the fifth terminal 6 as shown in FIG. Further, the item “From” is set based on the telephone number of the first terminal 3a as shown in FIG.

  The first session control server 1 receives the Initial-INVITE message transmitted from the first terminal 3a in step S1. On the other hand, in step S2, the first session control server 1 returns 100Trying to the first terminal 3a.

  The first session control server 1 refers to the To column of the received Initial-INVITE message and determines whether or not a specific number is set. Here, the header of the message transmitted by the first terminal 3a includes a specific number as shown in FIG. The first session control server 1 refers to the “From” column, and acquires the telephone number of the first terminal 3a that is the calling terminal. In step S3, the first session control server 1 transmits the telephone number of the first terminal 3a to the application server 8 and inquires whether or not the subscriber class of the first terminal 3a can be raised.

  In step S4, when receiving an inquiry from the first session control server 1, the application server 8 specifies a subscriber based on the telephone number of the first terminal 3a, and makes a specific call to the specific subscriber. Determine whether or not to allow. For example, the application server 8 determines whether or not the subscriber of the first terminal 3a can charge for a specific call. When permitting a specific subscriber to make a specific call, in step S5, the application server 8 transmits to the first session control server 1 an instruction to raise the subscriber class for the call of the specific subscriber.

  When the first session control server 1 receives the subscriber class raising instruction from the application server in step S5, in step S6, the first session control server 1 determines the subscriber class “GN” of the first terminal 3a. To “UR”. Further, the first session control server 1 tries to make a call to the fifth terminal 6 based on the raised subscriber class “UR”. Here, when the first session control server 1 restricts outgoing calls, outgoing calls from the first terminal 3 a having a higher subscriber class are easily transferred to the relay session control server 7. In this case, the first session control server 1 specifies the raised subscriber class “UR” and transmits it to the Initial-INVITE message relay session control server 7 in step S7.

  When receiving the Initial-INVITE message, the relay session control server 7 transfers the Initial-INVITE message to the second session control server 4 that accommodates the destination fifth terminal 6 in Step S8. In step S <b> 9, the second session control server 4 transfers the Initial-INVITE message to the fifth terminal 6.

  Upon receiving the Initial-INVITE message in step S9, the fifth terminal 6 calls the user. The fifth terminal 6 transmits a 180 Ringing message to the second session control server 4 in step S10 until the user responds. In step S <b> 11, the second session control server 4 transfers the 180 Ringing message to the relay session control server 7. In step S <b> 12, the relay session control server 7 transfers the 180 Ringing message to the first session control server 1. In step S13, the first session control server 1 transfers the 180 Ringing message to the first terminal 3a.

  When the user responds by picking up the handset or the like, the fifth terminal 6 transmits 200 OK to the second session control server 4 in step S14. This 200 OK is transmitted from the second session control server 4 to the first session control server 1 via the relay session control server 7 in steps S14 to S16.

  In step S17, the first session control server 1 transmits the received 200OK to the first terminal 3a, and in step S18, notifies the application server 8 that a session with a specific subscriber has been established. . When the session with the specific subscriber is established, in step S19, the application server 8 performs a process for charging the specific subscriber for the specific call.

  On the other hand, with reference to step S21 thru | or step S22, the case where the 4th terminal 3d makes a normal transmission to the 5th terminal 6, specifically, without giving a specific number is demonstrated.

  When the subscriber of the first terminal 3a normally makes a call to the subscriber of the fifth terminal 6, the fourth terminal 3d transmits an Initial-INVITE message to the fifth terminal 6 in step S21. To do. In the header of this Initial-INVITE message, the telephone number of the fifth terminal 6 is set in the item “To” of the destination, and no specific number is set.

  The first session control server 1 receives the Initial-INVITE message transmitted from the fourth terminal 3d in step S21.

  The first session control server 1 refers to the To column of the received Initial-INVITE message and determines whether or not a specific number is set. Here, since the header of the message transmitted by the first terminal 3a does not include a specific number, the transmission to the fifth terminal 6 is attempted based on the subscriber class “GN” of the fourth terminal 3d. Here, when the first session control server 1 regulates outgoing calls, outgoing calls from the fourth terminal 3d having a low subscriber class may not be transmitted to the relay session control server 7. In this case, the first session control server 1 transmits a 503 ServiceUnavailable message to the fourth terminal 3d in step S22.

  As described above, in the communication method according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to control the ease of connection of a session on a call-by-call basis by raising the subscriber class for a specific call. In addition, it is possible to charge for a specific call to a subscriber who has made a specific call.

(Session control server)
With reference to FIG. 6, the 1st session control server 1 which concerns on embodiment is demonstrated. In FIG. 6, the first session control server 1 will be described, but the same applies to the second session control server 4. The session control server 1 according to the embodiment controls a call of a terminal identified by a telephone number based on a subscriber class corresponding to the telephone number.

  The session control server 1 is a general computer including a storage device 10, a central processing control device 20, a communication control device 30, and the like. The functions shown in FIG. 6 are realized in a general computer by executing a program for executing predetermined processing. The communication control device 30 is an interface for connecting the session control server 1 to be communicable with other devices.

  The storage device 10 stores subscriber class data 11. The subscriber class data 11 is data in which the telephone number of the terminal is associated with the subscriber class assigned to the telephone number as shown in FIG. The session control server 1 holds, as subscriber class data 11, at least a subscriber class related to a terminal accommodated by itself.

  The central processing control device 20 includes session control means 21.

  The session control means 21 controls the call of the terminal identified by the telephone number based on the subscriber class corresponding to the telephone number. When receiving a call request (Initial-INVITE message) including the telephone numbers of the calling terminal and the called terminal from the calling terminal, the session control means 21 extracts the subscriber class of the calling terminal from the subscriber class data 11. . The session control means 21 determines whether or not to transfer the call request to the receiving terminal based on the extracted subscriber class. Whether or not to transfer the call request to the receiving terminal may be determined in consideration of the load of the session control server 1 and the like. When not transferring, the session control means 21 transmits a SIP message to that effect to the calling terminal, and when transferring, the session control means 21 transfers the SIP message received from the calling toward the receiving terminal. In addition, various processes related to SIP messages between terminals are controlled.

  The session control unit 21 includes a specific transmission control unit 22. The specific call control means 22 raises the subscriber class extracted from the subscriber class data 11 when the call request includes a predetermined number. The specific call control means 22 refers to the To column of the SIP message received from the calling terminal, and determines whether or not a specific number is set in the To column. When the specific number is set and the subscriber class extracted from the subscriber class data 11 is “GN”, the specific call control means 22 changes the subscriber class of this call terminal to “UR”. At this time, the specific call control means 22 may update the subscriber class of the subscriber class data 11 from “GN” to “UR”. The session control means 21 determines whether or not to forward the call request based on the subscriber class raised by the specific call control means 22.

  Here, the session control means 21 determines which of the plurality of outgoing requests transmitted to the session control server 1 is to be transferred. When the outgoing call restriction is not made, the session control means 21 can transfer all the outgoing outgoing calls that have been inputted. On the other hand, when the call restriction is made, the session control means 21 preferentially sends a call with a higher subscriber class. The session control means 21 can control a call whose subscriber class is raised to “UR” by the specific call control means 22 more easily than a call whose subscriber class is “GN”.

  The specific call control means 22 further controls charging related to the specific call. When the specific call control means 22 receives the call request including the specific number, the specific call control means 22 determines whether or not it is possible to charge for the calling terminal, and if it can be charged, the session control means 21 is based on the subscriber class with the subscriber class raised. To determine whether to forward the outgoing request. After that, the specific call control means 22 receives 200 OK and charges the caller terminal when a session is established between the caller terminal and the callee terminal.

  Further, the application server 8 that can be connected to the session control server 1 may perform processing related to charging. In this case, when receiving a call request including the specific number, the specific call control means 22 transmits the telephone number of the call terminal to the application server 8. The specific transmission control unit 22 increases the subscriber class extracted from the subscriber class data 11 when receiving an instruction to raise the subscriber class of the transmission terminal from the application server 8. The session control means 21 determines whether or not to forward the outgoing request based on the raised subscriber class. The specific call control means 22 receives 200 OK for this call request, and notifies the application server 8 when a session is established between the call terminal and the call receiving terminal. Thereby, the application server 8 can charge for specific transmission at the timing when the session is established.

  The specific call control means 22 restores the subscriber class after the session related to the specific call is released when the subscriber class of the subscriber class data 11 is updated for the call terminal that has made the specific call.

  With reference to FIG. 8, the session control process regarding the transmission by the session control means 21 is demonstrated. When receiving the SIP message, the session control means 21 determines whether or not a specific number is set in the SIP message in step S101.

  If the specific number is not set, normal outgoing call processing is performed in step S102. Specifically, the session control means 21 acquires the subscriber class of the calling terminal from the subscriber class data 11, and transfers this SIP message according to the acquired subscriber class and the load of the session control server 1, etc. Decide whether or not to do. Thereafter, each process such as session establishment and session release is performed.

  On the other hand, if a specific number is set, the process proceeds to step S103. In step S103, the session control means 21 acquires the subscriber class of the calling terminal. In step S104, the session control means 21 determines whether or not the calling terminal can be charged. If charging is not possible, the session control means 21 returns an error message or the like to end the outgoing call control. The session control means 21 may determine whether the application server 8 can be charged by transmitting the telephone number of the calling terminal to the application server 8, and may receive the result.

  If charging is possible at the calling terminal, in step S105, the session control means 21 acquires the subscriber class of the calling terminal from the subscriber class data 11, raises the acquired subscriber class, and updates the subscriber class data 11. . The subscriber class updated here is updated to the original subscriber class at the timing when the incoming call is not received at the receiving terminal or when the session is released after the incoming call.

  Thereafter, in step S106, a calling process is performed. The session control means 21 determines whether or not to transfer the SIP message based on the subscriber class. Here, since the subscriber class of the calling terminal is updated in step S105, this SIP message is easily transferred to the receiving terminal.

  If the SIP message is not transferred to the receiving terminal, or if the session between the calling terminal and the receiving terminal is not established in step S107, the process proceeds to step S110. In step S110, the session control means 21 updates the subscriber class of the calling terminal updated in step S105 by returning it to the subscriber class before the update.

  On the other hand, when the SIP message is transferred to the receiving terminal and the session between the calling terminal and the receiving terminal is established in step S107, the process proceeds to step S108. In step S108, the session control means 21 charges for the specific transmission of the calling terminal. The session control means 21 may request the application server 8 to charge.

  Thereafter, in step S109, the session control unit 21 waits for the session between the transmitting terminal and the receiving terminal to be released. When the session is released, in step S110, the session control means 21 updates the subscriber class of the calling terminal updated in step S105 by returning it to the subscriber class before the update.

  In the communication system 100 according to the embodiment of the present application, when the caller sets a specific number for a specific call and performs specific transmission, the session control server 1 can preferentially transmit the specific call. it can.

(Other embodiments)
As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described. However, it should not be understood that the descriptions and drawings constituting a part of this disclosure limit the present invention. From this disclosure, various alternative embodiments, examples, and operational techniques will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

  For example, the communication system described in the embodiment of the present invention may include a device other than the device shown in FIG. In some cases, one device physically implements the functions of a plurality of devices.

  It goes without saying that the present invention includes various embodiments not described herein. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention is defined only by the invention specifying matters according to the scope of claims reasonable from the above description.

1, 4 Session control server 2, 5 Subscriber service edge 3, 6 Terminal 7 Relay session control server 8 Application server 10 Storage device 11 Subscriber class data 20 Central processing control device 21 Session control means 22 Specific call control means 30 Communication control Apparatus 100 communication system

Claims (2)

A communication system comprising a session control server for controlling a call of a terminal identified by a telephone number based on a subscriber class corresponding to the telephone number, and an application server connected to the session control server,
The session control server
A storage device for storing subscriber class data in which a telephone number of a terminal is associated with a subscriber class assigned to the telephone number;
When a call request including a predetermined number and the phone numbers of the caller terminal and the callee terminal is received from the caller terminal, the phone number of the caller terminal is transmitted to the application server. When receiving the pull-up instruction, the subscriber class of the calling terminal is extracted from the subscriber class data, and the call request is transferred to the receiving terminal based on the subscriber class obtained by raising the extracted subscriber class. A session control means for determining whether or not,
The application server is
When the telephone number of the calling terminal is received from the session control server, it is determined whether or not billing is possible based on the telephone number of the calling terminal. The communication system characterized by transmitting.   A communication method used in a communication system including a session control server that controls a call of a terminal identified by a telephone number based on a subscriber class corresponding to the telephone number and an application server connected to the session control server. And
  When the session control server receives a call request including a predetermined number, the phone number of the caller terminal and the callee terminal from the caller terminal, transmitting the phone number of the caller terminal to the application server;
  When the application server receives the telephone number of the calling terminal from the session control server, the application server determines whether or not billing is possible based on the telephone number of the calling terminal. Sending a pull-up instruction to the server;
  When the session control server receives an instruction to raise the subscriber class of the calling terminal from the application server, from the subscriber class data in which the telephone number of the terminal is associated with the subscriber class assigned to the telephone number, A step of extracting a subscriber class of the calling terminal and determining whether or not to transfer the call request to the receiving terminal based on a subscriber class obtained by raising the extracted subscriber class
  A communication method comprising:

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