JP6286887B2 - Presence service method, presence server, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to presence service technology, and more particularly, to technology for confirming the presence of each other between terminals connected to different networks.

  There is a presence service that uses SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) to notify the presence (state) of the other party.

  In the presence service system that provides the presence service using SIP, the terminal transmits a Publish message, which is a SIP message for notifying the presence of the user, to the presence server. In response to this, the presence server updates the presence of the user of the publish message transmission source terminal managed by the presence server based on the received publish message. Further, the terminal transmits a Subscribe message, which is a SIP message for requesting the presence of a desired partner, to the presence server. In response to this, the presence server specifies the presence of the other party specified by this Subscribe message from the presence managed by itself, and sends a Notify message, which is a SIP message for distributing this presence, to the Subscribe. Send to the message source terminal. When the terminal receives the Notify message from the presence server, the terminal displays the presence of the desired partner described in the Notify message.

  By the way, in a presence service system that provides a presence service using SIP, it is assumed that all terminals that use the presence service are SIP terminals that belong to the same SIP network as the presence server. For this reason, a terminal that does not support SIP cannot use the presence service. In order to solve this problem, a presence service system described in Patent Document 1 has been proposed.

  In the presence service system described in Patent Document 1, the presence server belongs to presence information of a SIP terminal belonging to the same SIP network in a different network (for example, an IP network that does not support SIP). The data is converted into a format that can be processed by the terminal, and transmitted to a terminal belonging to this other network. Thereby, the presence of a SIP terminal belonging to the same SIP network as the presence server can be confirmed by a terminal belonging to a network different from the SIP network.

JP 2009-267437 A

  As described above, in the presence service system described in Patent Document 1, the presence of a SIP terminal belonging to the SIP network can be confirmed from a terminal belonging to a network different from the SIP network to which the presence server belongs. it can. However, no consideration is given to confirming the presence of a terminal belonging to a network different from the SIP network from a SIP terminal belonging to the SIP network.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technology that enables mutual confirmation of presence between terminals connected to different networks.

  In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, the presence server transmits and receives presence to a terminal belonging to the same network as itself by using a predetermined message, and belongs to a network different from this network. Presence is transmitted / received to / from the terminal using electronic mail.

For example, the presence service method of the present invention is a presence service method for providing a presence service using a presence server,
The first terminal belonging to the same network as the presence server is:
A notification presence information presence has been described of the terminal of the user, look including the user information of the presence acquisition subject to the source information and destination information of the distribution presence information presence has been described in the presence acquisition subject transmits a presence acquisition request to the presence server using respective predetermined message, receives more said distribution presence information transmitted from the presence server to the addressed to the own terminal to the predetermined message,
The second terminal belonging to a network different from the presence server is
Notification presence information describing the presence of the user of the own terminal, presence acquisition request including distribution destination information of user presence information of the presence acquisition target and distribution presence information describing the presence of the presence acquisition target person , respectively Sending to the presence server using e-mail, and receiving the distribution presence information sent from the presence server to the terminal by e-mail,
The presence server
In accordance with the notification presence information received by the predetermined message or e-mail, update the presence of the user of the transmission source terminal of the notification presence information managed by the own presence server,
In accordance with the presence acquisition request received by the predetermined message or e-mail, the distribution presence information describing the presence of the presence acquisition target specified by the presence acquisition request is generated, and the distribution presence information is If the distribution destination terminal is a terminal belonging to the same network as the presence server, the predetermined message is transmitted to the distribution destination terminal that can be specified by the distribution destination information included in the presence acquisition request, and the distribution is performed. If the destination terminal is a terminal belonging to a network different from the presence server, transmission is performed using electronic mail.

The presence server of the present invention is a presence server that provides a presence service,
Presence storage means for storing the presence of users of the first and second terminals using the presence service;
Message transmitting and receiving means for transmitting and receiving a predetermined message to and from the first terminal;
Mail transmitting / receiving means for transmitting / receiving e-mail to / from the second terminal;
A presence notification for analyzing the predetermined message received from the first terminal via the message transmission / reception means and notifying the presence server of the presence of the user of the first terminal by the predetermined message; Alternatively, message analysis means for determining whether or not there is a presence acquisition request that includes user information of the presence acquisition target and uses the transmission source information as distribution destination information of distribution presence information describing the presence of the presence acquisition target ,
It analyzes the e-mail received from the second terminal via the mail transmitting and receiving means, presence notification for the electronic mail to notify the user of presence of the second terminal to the presence server, or the presence acquires Mail analysis means for determining whether or not the presence acquisition request includes the distribution destination information of the distribution presence information describing the user information of the target person and the presence of the presence acquisition target person ;
When the predetermined message received from the first terminal via the message transmission / reception means is determined by the message analysis means to be the presence notification, or the mail analysis means via the mail transmission / reception means Presence stored in the presence storage unit in association with the user of the predetermined message or the e-mail transmission source terminal when it is determined that the e-mail received from the second terminal is the presence notification Updating presence to the presence described in the presence notification,
When it is determined that the predetermined message received from the first terminal via the message transmission / reception unit is the presence acquisition request by the message analysis unit, or via the mail transmission / reception unit by the mail analysis unit When it is determined that the e-mail received from the second terminal is the presence acquisition request, the distribution presence information describing the presence of the presence acquisition target specified by the presence acquisition request is generated. If the distribution destination terminal is a terminal belonging to the same network as the presence server, the predetermined message can be specified as the distribution destination terminal that can specify the distribution presence information by the distribution destination information included in the presence acquisition request. Is transmitted from the message transmission / reception means using If terminal belonging to another network is Shinsaki terminal and the presence server; and a presence distribution means for transmitting from said mail sending and receiving unit using electronic mail.

  In the present invention, the presence server uses a predetermined message to transmit / receive presence to a terminal belonging to the same network as itself, and an electronic mail to a terminal belonging to a network different from this network. Send and receive presence using. For this reason, according to the present invention, it is possible to check each other's presence between terminals connected to different networks.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a presence service system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing an operation example when the presence of the user of the mail terminal 3 is confirmed by the SIP terminal 2 in the presence service system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing an operation example when the presence of the user of the SIP terminal 2 is confirmed by the mail terminal 3 in the presence service system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic functional configuration diagram of the presence server 1. FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing an example of registered contents in the presence information storage unit 105 of the presence server 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of registered contents in the presence acquisition request storage unit 106 of the presence server 1. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the presence server 1. FIG. 8 is a schematic functional configuration diagram of the mail terminal 3. FIG. 9 is a diagram schematically showing an example of registered contents in the presence information storage unit 306 of the mail terminal 3. FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the mail terminal 3.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a presence service system according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in the figure, the presence service system according to the present embodiment includes a presence server 1, at least one SIP terminal 2, and at least one mail terminal 3. The presence server 1 and the SIP terminal 2 are connected to the LAN 6, and the mail terminal 3 is connected to the WAN 7. The LAN 6 is connected to a WAN 7 which is a different network via a gateway (GW) 4. In FIG. 1, the mail server 5 is connected to the WAN 7, but the mail server 5 may be connected to the LAN 6.

  The presence server 1 provides a presence service to the SIP terminal 2 and the mail terminal 3. The presence server 1 is registered in the mail server 5 as a mail client, and transmits / receives mail to / from the mail terminal 3. The SIP terminal 2 uses the presence service of the presence server 1 using the SIP message. On the other hand, the mail terminal 3 uses the presence service of the presence server 1 using electronic mail.

  FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing an operation example when the presence of the user A of the mail terminal 3 is confirmed by the SIP terminal 2 in the presence service system according to the present embodiment.

  First, when the presence of the user A of the mail terminal 3 is updated due to the communication status, movement, acceptance of various operations, etc. (S100), the mail terminal 3 notifies the presence server 1 of the updated presence. A presence notification mail is created (S101). Specifically, as the presence notification mail, an e-mail is created in which a character string (for example, Publish) indicating presence notification is described in the title, and presence notification including the updated presence is described in the mail body. Then, the destination address of the presence notification mail is set in the presence server 1 and transmitted (S102). This presence notification mail is sent to the presence server 1 via the mail server 5.

  Next, when the presence server 1 receives an e-mail from the mail terminal 3 via the mail server 5, the presence server 1 analyzes the e-mail to determine whether the e-mail relates to a presence service (S103). ). Specifically, based on whether or not a predetermined character string is described in the e-mail title, this e-mail is a presence notification e-mail or a presence acquisition request e-mail for requesting the presence of a desired partner. Judge whether there is. Here, it is determined that this electronic mail is a presence notification mail. The presence server 1 updates the presence of the user A managed by the presence server 1 according to the content of the presence notification described in the mail text of the presence notification mail (S104).

  Thereafter, it is assumed that the presence acquisition request operation of the user A of the mail terminal 3 is performed by the user B of the SIP terminal 2 in the SIP terminal 2. Upon receiving the user A presence acquisition request operation (S105), the SIP terminal 2 creates a Subscribe message, which is a SIP message for a presence acquisition request for requesting the presence server 1 for the presence of the user A (S106). Then, this Subscribe message is transmitted to the presence server 1 (S107).

  Next, when the presence server 1 receives the SIP message from the SIP terminal 2, the presence server 1 analyzes the SIP message and determines whether the SIP message relates to the presence service (S108). Specifically, it is determined whether the SIP message is a Subscribe message or a Publish message for presence notification for notifying the presence server 1 of presence. Here, it is determined that this SIP message is a Subscribe message. The presence server 1 specifies the presence of the user A described as a presence acquisition target in the Subscribe message from the presences managed by the presence server 1 (S109). Then, a Notify message which is a SIP message for presence distribution for distributing the presence of user A to user B is created (S110). Then, this Notify message is transmitted to the SIP terminal 2 (S111).

  Now, when the SIP terminal 2 receives the Notify message from the presence server 1, the SIP terminal 2 displays the presence of the user A described in the Notify message (S112).

  FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing an operation example when the presence of the user B of the SIP terminal 2 is confirmed by the mail terminal 3 in the presence service system according to the present embodiment.

  First, when the presence of the user B of the SIP terminal 2 is updated due to the communication status, movement, acceptance of various operations, etc. (S120), the SIP terminal 2 notifies the presence server 1 of the updated presence. A Publish message, which is a SIP message for, is created (S121). Then, this Publish message is transmitted to the presence server 1 (S122).

  Next, when the presence server 1 receives the SIP message from the SIP terminal 2, the presence server 1 analyzes the SIP message and determines whether the SIP message is related to the presence service (S123). Specifically, it is determined whether the SIP message is a Subscribe message or a Publish message. Here, it is determined that this SIP message is a Publish message. The presence server 1 updates the presence of the user B managed by the presence server 1 according to the description content of the Publish message (S124).

  Thereafter, it is assumed that the presence acquisition request operation of the user B of the SIP terminal 2 is performed by the user A of the mail terminal 3 in the mail terminal 3. Upon receiving the user B presence acquisition request operation (S125), the mail terminal 3 creates a presence acquisition request mail for requesting the presence server 1 for the presence of the user B (S126). Specifically, as a presence acquisition request mail, a character string (for example, Subscribe) indicating a presence acquisition request is described in the title, and user information of the user B who is the presence acquisition target is described in the mail body. Create an email. The destination address of this presence acquisition request mail is set in the presence server 1 and transmitted (S127). This presence acquisition request mail is sent to the presence server 1 via the mail server 5.

  Next, when the presence server 1 receives an electronic mail from the mail terminal 3 via the mail server 5, the presence server 1 analyzes the electronic mail and determines whether the electronic mail is related to the presence service (S128). . Specifically, based on whether a predetermined character string is described in the title of the electronic mail, it is determined whether the electronic mail is a presence notification mail or a presence acquisition request mail. Here, it is determined that this electronic mail is a presence acquisition request mail. The presence server 1 specifies the presence of the user B described as the presence acquisition target in the presence acquisition request mail from the presences managed by the presence server 1 (S129). Then, a presence distribution mail for distributing the presence of the user B to the user A is created (S130). Specifically, as presence distribution mail, a character string (for example, Notify) indicating presence distribution is described in the title, and presence information including the presence of the user B (presence information to be distributed: hereinafter, distribution presence information) Creates an e-mail with the description in the mail body. Then, the destination address of the presence distribution mail is set to the mail terminal 3 and transmitted (S131). This presence delivery mail is sent to the mail terminal 3 via the mail server 5.

  Now, when receiving the presence distribution mail from the presence server 1, the mail terminal 3 displays the presence of the user B according to the distribution presence information described in the mail text of the presence distribution mail (S132).

  Next, details of the presence server 1 and the mail terminal 3 constituting the presence service system according to the present embodiment will be described. The SIP terminal 2 can use an existing SIP terminal corresponding to the presence service using SIP, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.

  First, details of the presence server 1 will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic functional configuration diagram of the presence server 1.

  As shown in the figure, the presence server 1 includes a LAN interface unit 100, a SIP message transmission / reception unit 101, an email transmission / reception unit 102, a SIP message analysis unit 103, an email analysis unit 104, and a presence information storage unit 105. A presence acquisition request storage unit 106, a presence update unit 107, and a presence distribution unit 108.

  The LAN interface unit 100 is an interface for connecting to the LAN 6.

  The SIP message transmission / reception unit 101 transmits / receives a SIP message to / from the SIP terminal 2 via the LAN interface unit 100.

  The e-mail transmission / reception unit 102 transmits / receives e-mail to / from the mail server 5 (mail terminal 3) via the LAN interface unit 100.

  The SIP message analysis unit 103 analyzes the SIP message received by the SIP message transmission / reception unit 101, and determines whether the SIP message is a SIP message related to the presence service, that is, a Subscribe message or a Publish message. If the message is a Subscribe message, the presence acquisition request specified by the Subscribe message is stored in the presence acquisition request storage unit 106. On the other hand, in the case of a Publish message, the presence information notified by the Publish message (presence information to be notified: hereinafter, notification presence information) is passed to the presence update unit 107.

  The e-mail analysis unit 104 analyzes the title of the e-mail received by the e-mail transmission / reception unit 102 and determines whether the e-mail is an e-mail related to the presence service, that is, a presence acquisition request mail or a presence notification mail. If it is a presence acquisition request mail, the presence acquisition request specified by the presence acquisition request mail is stored in the presence acquisition request storage unit 106. On the other hand, if it is a presence notification mail, the presence information notified by the presence notification mail (notification presence information) is passed to the presence update unit 107.

  Presence information storage unit 105 stores the presence information of each user of SIP terminal 2 and mail terminal 3.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing an example of registered contents in the presence information storage unit 105. As shown in the drawing, the presence information storage unit 105 stores a presence information record 1050 for each user of the SIP terminal 2 and the mail terminal 3. The presence information record 1050 includes a field 1051 for registering user information such as an account name, a field 1052 for registering a contact information of the user, a field 1053 for registering an activity state indicating the presence of the user, and a location of the user. And a field 1055 for registering a user's future schedule. Note that the user name, contact information, and activity status are essential information, but the location and schedule are additional information. For this reason, information is always registered in the fields 1051 to 1053, but the fields 1054 and 1055 may be blank (null data).

  The presence acquisition request storage unit 106 stores a presence acquisition request received from the SIP terminal 2 or the mail terminal 3.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of registered contents in the presence acquisition request storage unit 106. As shown in the figure, the presence acquisition request storage unit 106 stores a presence acquisition request record 1060 for each presence acquisition request received from the SIP terminal 2 and the mail terminal 3. The presence acquisition request record 1060 includes a field 1061 for registering user information of a presence acquisition requester (user who sent the presence acquisition request), and a presence acquisition target (user the acquisition requester wants to acquire presence). A field 1062 for registering user information, a field 1063 for registering a presence distribution destination address (address of a terminal that the acquisition requester desires to distribute presence), and a type of presence distribution distribution medium (SIP message or e-mail) )) And a field 1065 for registering the processing state.

  The presence update unit 107 updates the presence information storage unit 105 according to the notification presence information received from the SIP message analysis unit 103 or the e-mail analysis unit 104.

  The presence distribution unit 108 generates distribution presence information including the presence of the acquisition target person in accordance with an unprocessed presence acquisition request stored in the presence acquisition request storage unit 106. Then, according to the type of distribution medium included in the presence acquisition request, a Notify message including distribution presence information is transmitted from the SIP message transmitting / receiving unit 101 to a distribution destination address included in the presence acquisition request, or presence including distribution presence information is included. The distribution mail is transmitted from the electronic mail transmission / reception unit 102.

  The functional configuration of the presence server 1 shown in FIG. 4 may be realized by an integrated logic IC such as ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or DSP (Digital). It may be realized by software by a computer such as Signal Processor. Or, in a general-purpose computer such as a PC (Personal Computer) equipped with an auxiliary storage device such as a CPU, memory, HDD, and DVD-ROM, and a communication interface such as a modem and NIC (Network Interface Card), the CPU executes a predetermined program. It may be realized by loading from an auxiliary storage device onto a memory and executing it.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the presence server 1.

  In the presence server 1, when the e-mail transmission / reception unit 102 receives an e-mail via the LAN interface unit 100 (YES in S <b> 200), the e-mail is sent to the e-mail analysis unit 104. In response to this, the e-mail analysis unit 104 analyzes the title of the e-mail and determines whether the e-mail is a presence acquisition request mail or a presence notification mail (S201).

  When the received electronic mail is a presence acquisition request mail (“presence acquisition request” in S201), the electronic mail analysis unit 104 extracts a presence acquisition request from the mail text of the electronic mail. Specifically, the user information of the requester of presence acquisition is recognized from the supervisor tag by recognizing the supervisor (Watcher) tag, the notifier (Notifier) tag, and the contact (Send to) tag included in the mail text. The user information of the person whose presence is to be acquired is extracted from the notifier tag, and the delivery address of the presence is extracted from the contact tag. Then, the e-mail analysis unit 104 adds a new record 1060 to the presence acquisition request storage unit 106, and registers the extracted presence acquisition request in this record 1060 (S205). Specifically, the presence acquisition requester, the presence acquisition target person, and the presence distribution address are registered in the fields 1061 to 1063 of the added record 1060. In the field 1064, “E-mail” is registered as the distribution medium type if the presence distribution destination address is an e-mail address, and “SIP message” is registered if the IP address is used. In the field 1065, “unprocessed” is registered as the processing state. Then, the process proceeds to S226.

  On the other hand, when the received e-mail is a presence notification mail (“presence notification” in S201), the e-mail analysis unit 104 extracts the notification presence information from the mail text of this e-mail. Specifically, a notifier (Publisher) tag, a contact (Contact) tag, an activity status (Activity) tag, a location (Location) tag, and a schedule (Schedule) tag included in the mail text are recognized, and the notifier Presence notification user information from tags, presence notification contact information from contact tags, and activity status, location representing presence notification presence from activity tags, location tags, and appointment tags , And extract appointments. The activity status is indispensable information for presence, but the location and schedule are additional information. Therefore, only the activity status is described as the presence in the mail text, and the location and schedule may not be described. is there. Then, the email analysis unit 104 passes the extracted notification presence information to the presence update unit 107.

  In response to this, the presence update unit 107 refers to the presence information storage unit 105, and the presence information record 1050 of the presence notification person, that is, the record 1050 in which the user information of the notification person is registered in the field 1051 is the presence information. It is checked whether or not it exists in the storage unit 105 (S202). When the presence information record 1050 of the presence notifier exists in the presence information storage unit 105 (YES in S202), the registered contents in the fields 1052 to 1055 of the record 1050 are stored in the contact information included in the notification presence information, The activity status, location, and schedule are updated (S204). Here, when the location and schedule are not included in the notification presence information, the fields 1054 and 1055 are blank. Then, the presence update unit 107 notifies the user information of the user whose presence has been updated to the presence distribution unit 108, and proceeds to S206.

  If the presence information record 1050 of the presence notification person does not exist in the presence information storage unit 105 (NO in S202), the presence update unit 107 adds a new record 1050 to the presence information storage unit 105, and this record In 1050 fields 1051 to 1055, the user information, contact information, activity status, location, and schedule of the notifier included in the notification presence information are registered (S203). Here, when the location and schedule are not included in the notification presence information, the fields 1054 and 1055 are blank. Then, the presence update unit 107 notifies the presence distribution unit 108 of the user information of the user whose presence is newly registered, and proceeds to S206.

  When the SIP message transmitting / receiving unit 101 receives the SIP message via the LAN interface unit 100 (YES in S220), the SIP message transmitting / receiving unit 101 passes the SIP message to the SIP message analyzing unit 103. In response to this, the SIP message analysis unit 103 analyzes the SIP message and determines whether the SIP message is a Subscribe message for presence acquisition request or a Publish message for presence notification (S221).

  When the received SIP message is a Subscribe message (“Subscribe” in S221), the SIP message analysis unit 103 identifies a presence acquisition request from the Subscribe message. Specifically, the presence acquisition requester and the acquisition target person are extracted from the Subscribe message, and the transmission source address of the Subscribe message is set as the presence distribution destination address. Then, the SIP message analysis unit 103 adds a new record 1060 to the presence acquisition request storage unit 106, and registers the specified presence acquisition request in this record 1060 (S225). Specifically, the presence acquisition requester, the acquisition target person, and the distribution destination address of the presence are registered in the fields 1061 to 1063 of the added record 1060. Further, “SIP message” is registered in the field 1064 as the type of the distribution medium, and “unprocessed” is registered as the processing state in the field 1065. Then, the process proceeds to S226.

  On the other hand, when the received SIP message is a Publish message (“Publish” in S221), the SIP message analysis unit 103 identifies the notification presence information from the SIP message. Specifically, the user information, the contact information, the activity status, the location, and the schedule of the presence notification person are extracted from the Publish message. In addition, although the activity status is indispensable information as presence, since the location and schedule are additional information, only the activity status is described as presence in the Publish message, and the location and schedule may not be described. is there. Then, the SIP message analysis unit 103 passes the specified notification presence information to the presence update unit 107.

  In response to this, the presence update unit 107 refers to the presence information storage unit 105, and the presence information record 1050 of the presence notification person, that is, the record 1050 in which the user information of the notification person is registered in the field 1051 is the presence information. It is checked whether or not it exists in the storage unit 105 (S222). When the presence information record 1050 of the presence notifier exists in the presence information storage unit 105 (YES in S222), the registered contents in the fields 1052 to 1055 of the record 1050 are stored in the contact information included in the notification presence information, The activity status, location, and schedule are updated (S224). Here, when the location and schedule are not included in the notification presence information, the fields 1054 and 1055 are blank. Then, the presence update unit 107 notifies the user information of the user whose presence has been updated to the presence distribution unit 108, and proceeds to S206.

  If the presence information record 1050 of the presence notification person does not exist in the presence information storage unit 105 (NO in S222), the presence update unit 107 adds a new record 1050 to the presence information storage unit 105, and this record In 1050 fields 1051 to 1055, the user information, contact information, activity status, location, and schedule of the notifier included in the notification presence information are registered (S223). Here, when the location and schedule are not included in the notification presence information, the fields 1054 and 1055 are blank. Then, the presence update unit 107 notifies the presence distribution unit 108 of the user information of the user whose presence is newly registered, and proceeds to S206.

  Next, in S206, the presence distribution unit 108 refers to the presence acquisition request storage unit 106, the user information notified from the presence update unit 107 is registered in the field 1062 as a presence acquisition target person, and the processing in the field 1065 is performed. The presence acquisition request record 1060 whose state is “unprocessed” is searched. If the corresponding presence acquisition request record 1060 cannot be retrieved (NO in S206), the process returns to S200.

  On the other hand, if the corresponding presence acquisition request record 1060 can be searched (YES in S206), the presence distribution unit 108 checks the type of distribution medium registered in the field 1064 of the presence acquisition request record 1060 (S207). ). If the type of the distribution medium is an e-mail (“E-mail” in S207), an e-mail having a destination address that is an e-mail address registered in the field 1063 of the record 1060 of this presence acquisition request is sent. Then, it is created as the presence distribution mail of the user notified from the presence update unit 107 (S208). Specifically, first, the presence information 1050 registered in the field 1051 as the user information notified from the presence update unit 107 is searched for distribution presence information from the presence information storage unit 105, and then, by presence distribution mail. A character string indicating the presence is described in the title, and a notifier tag, a contact tag, an activity status tag, a location tag, and a schedule tag are provided in the mail body. Then, an e-mail in which the registered contents of the fields 1051 to 1055 of the searched distribution presence information record 1050 are described in the notifier tag, contact tag, activity status tag, location tag, and schedule tag is created. If the fields 1054 and 1055 of the searched distribution presence information record 1050 are blank, the location tag and the schedule tag may not be provided in the mail body.

  Next, the presence distribution unit 108 passes the presence distribution mail thus created to the electronic mail transmission / reception unit 102. In response to this, the e-mail transmission / reception unit 102 transmits the presence distribution mail from the LAN interface unit 100 (S209). Then, the presence distribution unit 108 refers to the presence acquisition request storage unit 106 and updates the processing status registered in the field 1065 of the searched presence acquisition request record 1060 from “unprocessed” to “processed” ( S210). Thereafter, the process returns to S200.

  If the type of the distribution medium registered in the field 1064 of the searched presence acquisition request record 1060 is a SIP message (“SIP message” in S207), the presence distribution unit 108 stores the presence acquisition request record 1060. A SIP message having the destination address as the IP address registered in the field 1063 as the delivery destination address is created as a Notify message for the presence delivery of the user notified from the presence update unit 107 (S211). Specifically, first, the presence information record 1050 in which the user information notified from the presence update unit 107 is registered in the field 1051 is retrieved from the presence information storage unit 105 as distribution presence information, and then the retrieved distribution A Notify message is created in which user information, contact information, activity status, location, and schedule of the notifier registered in the fields 1051 to 1055 of the presence information record 1050 are described. If the fields 1054 and 1055 of the searched distribution presence information record 1050 are blank, the Notify message may not include the location and schedule.

  Next, the presence distribution unit 108 passes the Notify message created in this way to the SIP message transmission / reception unit 101. In response, the SIP message transmission / reception unit 101 transmits this Notify message from the LAN interface unit 100 (S212). Then, the presence distribution unit 108 refers to the presence acquisition request storage unit 106 and updates the processing status registered in the field 1065 of the searched presence acquisition request record 1060 from “unprocessed” to “processed” ( S213). Thereafter, the process returns to S200.

  Further, in S226, the presence distribution unit 108 identifies the presence acquisition target person registered in the field 1062 of the presence acquisition request record 1060 newly added to the presence acquisition request storage unit 106. Then, the presence information storage unit 105 is referred to, and the presence information record 1050 in which the user information of the acquisition target person is registered in the field 1051 is searched for as notification presence information. If the corresponding presence information record 1050 cannot be retrieved (NO in S226), the process returns to S200.

  On the other hand, if the corresponding presence information record 1050 can be searched (YES in S226), the presence distribution unit 108 is registered in the field 1064 of the presence acquisition request record 1060 newly added to the presence acquisition request storage unit 106. The type of the distribution medium is checked (S227). If the type of the distribution medium is an e-mail (“E-mail” in S227), an e-mail with the e-mail address registered as the distribution destination address in the field 1063 of the presence acquisition request record 1060 as the destination address is sent. Then, it is created as a presence distribution mail of the person whose presence is to be acquired (S228). Specifically, a character string indicating presence distribution mail is described in the title, a notifier tag, a contact tag, an activity tag, a location tag, and a schedule (Schedule) tag is provided in the mail text, and the registered contents of fields 1051 to 1055 of the searched presence information record 1050 are described in the notifier tag, contact tag, activity status tag, location tag, and schedule tag. A customized email If the fields 1054 and 1055 of the searched record 1050 are blank, the location tag and the schedule tag need not be provided in the mail body.

  Next, the presence distribution unit 108 passes the presence distribution mail thus created to the electronic mail transmission / reception unit 102. In response to this, the e-mail transmission / reception unit 102 transmits the presence distribution mail from the LAN interface unit 100 (S229). Then, the presence distribution unit 108 updates the processing status registered in the field 1065 of the presence acquisition request record 1060 newly added to the presence acquisition request storage unit 106 from “unprocessed” to “processed” ( S230). Thereafter, the process returns to S200.

  If the distribution medium type registered in the field 1064 of the record 1060 of the presence acquisition request newly added to the presence acquisition request storage unit 106 is a SIP message (“SIP message” in S227), the presence distribution unit 108 Creates a SIP message having the IP address registered as the delivery destination address in the field 1063 of the presence acquisition request record 1060 as the destination address as a Notify message for the presence delivery of the presence acquisition target person (S231). ). Specifically, a Notify message in which user information, contact information, activity status, location, and schedule of an acquisition target person registered in fields 1051 to 1055 of the presence information record 1050 searched as notification presence information is described. create. When the fields 1054 and 1055 of the presence information record 1050 retrieved as the notification presence information are blank, the Notify message may not include the location and schedule.

  Next, the presence distribution unit 108 passes the Notify message created in this way to the SIP message transmission / reception unit 101. In response, the SIP message transmission / reception unit 101 transmits this Notify message from the LAN interface unit 100 (S232). Then, the presence distribution unit 108 refers to the presence acquisition request storage unit 106 and updates the processing status registered in the field 1065 of the searched presence acquisition request record 1060 from “unprocessed” to “processed” ( S233). Thereafter, the process returns to S200.

  Next, details of the mail terminal 3 will be described.

  FIG. 8 is a schematic functional configuration diagram of the mail terminal 3.

  As illustrated, the mail terminal 3 includes a WAN interface unit 300, a man-machine interface unit 301, an e-mail transmission / reception unit 302, a GPS data reception unit 303, a current location calculation unit 304, a map data storage unit 305, A presence information storage unit 306, a presence management unit 307, a presence acquisition request unit 308, an e-mail analysis unit 309, and a presence output unit 310 are provided.

  The WAN interface unit 300 is an interface for connecting to the WAN 7 using wired or wireless.

  The man-machine interface unit 301 is an interface for displaying information to the user and receiving instructions from the user, and is configured by a liquid crystal panel with a touch sensor, for example.

  The e-mail transmission / reception unit 302 transmits / receives e-mails to / from the mail server 5 (presence server 1) via the WAN interface unit 300.

  The GPS data receiving unit 303 sequentially receives GPS data transmitted from a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite.

  The current location calculation unit 304 periodically calculates the address of the current location based on the latest GPS data received by the GPS data reception unit 303 and the map data stored in the map data storage unit 305.

  The presence information storage unit 306 stores the presence information of the user of the mail terminal 3.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram schematically showing an example of registered contents in the presence information storage unit 306. As shown in the figure, the presence information storage unit 306 stores a presence information record 3060 of the user of the mail terminal 3. The presence information record 3060 includes a field 3061 for registering user information such as an account name, a field 3062 for registering a contact information of the user, a field 3063 for registering an activity state indicating the presence of the user, and a location of the user. And a field 3065 for registering the user's future schedule.

  The presence management unit 307 stores the presence information stored in the presence information storage unit 306 in accordance with the presence update operation received from the user via the man-machine interface unit 301 or whenever the current location calculation unit 304 changes the address of the current location. The information record 3060 is updated. Further, every time the presence information record 3060 stored in the presence information storage unit 306 is updated, a presence notification mail including the registered contents of the record 3060 and having the e-mail address of the presence server 1 as a destination address is created. To do. Then, the presence notification mail is transmitted to the mail server 5 via the electronic mail transmission / reception unit 302 and the WAN interface unit 300.

  The presence acquisition request unit 308, according to the presence acquisition request operation received from the user via the man-machine interface unit 301, user information of the user of the self-mail terminal 3 who is the presence acquisition requester, user information of the presence acquisition target user And a presence acquisition request mail including the contact address (distribution destination address) of the acquisition requester and having the electronic mail address of the presence server 1 as a destination address. Then, the created presence acquisition request mail is transmitted to the mail server 5 via the electronic mail transmission / reception unit 302 and the WAN interface unit 300.

  The e-mail analysis unit 309 analyzes the title of the e-mail received by the e-mail transmission / reception unit 302, and determines whether this e-mail is an e-mail related to the presence service, that is, a presence delivery mail. If it is a presence distribution mail, the contents of the distribution presence information specified by the presence distribution mail are passed to the presence output unit 310.

  The presence output unit 310 displays the contents of the distribution presence information received from the e-mail analysis unit 309 on the man-machine interface unit 301.

  The functional configuration of the mail terminal 3 shown in FIG. 8 may be realized by hardware using an integrated logic IC such as ASIC or FPGA, as in the presence server 1, or may be realized by software using a computer such as DSP. It may be realized. Alternatively, in a general-purpose computer such as a PC having a communication interface such as a modem or NIC, the CPU loads a predetermined program from the auxiliary storage device onto the memory in an auxiliary storage device such as a CPU, memory, HDD, DVD-ROM, etc. It may be realized by executing.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the mail terminal 3.

  In the mail terminal 3, when the email transmission / reception unit 302 receives the email via the WAN interface unit 300 (YES in S 300), the email transmission / reception unit 302 passes the email to the email analysis unit 309. In response, the e-mail analysis unit 309 analyzes the title of the e-mail and determines whether the e-mail is a presence delivery mail (S301). If the received email is a presence delivery email (YES in S301), the email analysis unit 309 extracts delivery presence information from the email text of the email. Specifically, the notifier tag, contact tag, activity status tag, location tag, and schedule tag included in the email text are recognized, and the user information of the notifier is notified from the contact tag via the contact tag. From the activity tag, the notifier's activity status, from the location tag, the notifier's current location, and from the schedule tag are extracted. However, the location tag and the schedule tag may not be provided in the mail text. Then, the email analysis unit 309 outputs the extracted distribution presence information to the presence output unit 310. In response to this, the presence output unit 310 displays the contents of the distribution presence information on the man-machine interface unit 301 (S302).

  Further, when the presence acquisition request unit 308 receives a presence acquisition request operation accompanied by designation of an acquisition target person from the user via the man-machine interface unit 301 (YES in S310), the presence address 1 is set to the e-mail address of the presence server 1. Is created as a presence acquisition request mail for requesting the presence of the acquisition target person designated by this operation (S311). Specifically, a character string indicating that it is a presence acquisition request mail is described in the title, a monitor tag, a notifier tag, and a contact tag are provided in the mail body, and this monitor tag, notifier An email in which the user information of the user of the mail terminal 3 who is the presence acquisition requester, the user information of the person to be acquired of presence, and the email address of the mail terminal 3 are described in the tag and the contact tag create. Then, the presence acquisition request unit 308 transmits the created presence acquisition request mail from the WAN interface unit 300 to the mail server 5 (presence server 1) via the e-mail transmission / reception unit 302 (S312).

  Further, when the presence management unit 307 accepts a presence update operation from the user via the man-machine interface unit 301 (YES in S320), the presence management unit 307 stores the presence of the mail terminal 3 stored in the presence information storage unit 306 in accordance with the content of the operation. The user presence information is updated (S321). Next, the presence management unit 307 creates a presence notification mail for notifying the presence of the user of the mail terminal 3 using the mail address of the presence server 1 as a destination address (S322). Specifically, a character string indicating presence notification mail is described in the title, and a notifier tag, contact tag, activity status tag, location tag, and schedule tag are provided in the mail body. Then, an e-mail is created in which the registered contents of the fields 3061 to 3065 of the record 3060 of the presence information stored in the presence information storage unit 306 are described in the contact tag, activity status tag, location tag, and schedule tag. When the fields 3064 and 3065 of the record 3060 are blank, it is not necessary to provide a location tag and a schedule tag in the mail text. Then, the presence management unit 307 transmits the created presence notification mail from the WAN interface unit 300 to the mail server 5 (presence server 1) via the e-mail transmission / reception unit 302 (S323).

  In addition, the current location calculation unit 304 calculates the coordinates (latitude and longitude) of the current location based on the latest GPS data received by the GPS data reception unit 303 when the location update timing arrives regularly (YES in S330). Then, the address corresponding to the coordinates of the current location is specified from the map data stored in the map data storage unit 305 (S331). Then, the current location calculation unit 304 passes the current location address to the presence management unit 307. In response to this, the presence management unit 307 refers to the field 3064 of the presence information record 3060 stored in the presence information storage unit 306, and the address of the current location changes from the location registered in the field 3064. It is determined whether or not (S332). If the address of the current location has changed from the location (YES in S332), the registered content in the field 3064 is updated to the address of the current location (S333). Then, the presence management unit 307 creates a presence notification mail for notifying the e-mail having the e-mail address of the presence server 1 as the destination address and the updated presence information of the user of the mail terminal 3 (S322). . Specifically, a character string indicating presence notification mail is described in the title, and a notifier tag, contact tag, activity status tag, location tag, and schedule tag are provided in the mail body. In the contact tag, activity status tag, location tag, and schedule tag, an e-mail in which the registered contents of the fields 3061 to 3065 of the updated presence information record 3060 stored in the presence information storage unit 306 is described. create. When the fields 3064 and 3065 of the record 3060 are blank, it is not necessary to provide a location tag and a schedule tag in the mail text. Then, the presence notification mail is transmitted from the WAN interface unit 300 to the mail server 5 (presence server 1) via the electronic mail transmission / reception unit 302 (S323).

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described above.

  In the present embodiment, the presence server 1 transmits / receives presence to / from a SIP terminal 2 belonging to the same LAN (SIP network) 6 by using a SIP message, and uses a network different from the LAN 6. Presence is transmitted / received to / from a mail terminal 3 belonging to a certain WAN 7 using electronic mail. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, mutual presence can be confirmed between the SIP terminal 2 belonging to the SIP network and the mail terminal 3 not belonging to the SIP network.

  In the present embodiment, the presence server 1 analyzes the e-mail received from the mail terminal 3, and based on whether a predetermined character string is described in the title, the e-mail is sent as a presence notification mail or It is determined whether it is a presence acquisition request mail. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, presence information can be received from a terminal belonging to a network other than the SIP network to which the terminal belongs without using a unique protocol.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the presence server 1 sends an e-mail in which a predetermined character string indicating presence distribution mail is described in the title and distribution presence information including the distribution target presence is described in the mail body. Then, it is transmitted to the mail terminal 3 as a presence distribution mail. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, presence information can be transmitted to a terminal belonging to a network other than the SIP network to which the terminal belongs without using a unique protocol.

  In the present embodiment, the mail terminal 3 analyzes the email received from the presence server 1, and based on whether a predetermined character string is described in the title, this email is a presence delivery email. Judging whether there is. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to receive presence information from the presence server 1 without using a SIP message.

  In the present embodiment, the mail terminal 3 has a predetermined character string indicating presence notification mail described in the title, and notification presence information including the presence of the user of the mail terminal 3 is described in the mail text. Is sent to the presence server 1 as a presence notification mail, and a predetermined character string indicating the presence acquisition request mail is described in the title, and the content of the presence acquisition request with the designation of the acquisition target person is the mail. The electronic mail described in the text is transmitted to the presence server 1 as a presence acquisition request mail. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to transmit information on presence to the presence server 1 without using a SIP message.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to said embodiment, Many deformation | transformation are possible within the range of the summary.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the presence server 1 uses the SIP message to send and receive information on presence with a terminal (SIP terminal 2) belonging to the same LAN 6, but the present invention is not limited to this. . What is necessary is just to transmit and receive information on presence with a terminal belonging to the same network as the presence server 1 using a message based on a predetermined protocol.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1: Presence server 2: SIP terminal 3: Mail terminal, Subscribe message 5: Mail server 6: LAN 7: WAN 100: LAN interface part 101: SIP message transmission / reception part 102: E-mail transmission / reception part 103: SIP message analysis unit 104: E-mail analysis unit 105: Presence information storage unit 106: Presence acquisition request storage unit 107: Presence update unit 108: Presence distribution unit 300: WAN interface unit 301: Man-machine interface unit 302: E-mail transmission / reception unit 303: GPS data reception unit 304: Current location calculation unit 305: Map data storage unit 306: Presence information storage unit 307: Presence management unit 308: Presence acquisition request unit, 309: E-mail analysis section, 310: Presence output unit

Claims (5)

A presence service method for providing a presence service using a presence server,
The first terminal belonging to the same network as the presence server is:
A notification presence information presence has been described of the terminal of the user, look including the user information of the presence acquisition subject to the source information and destination information of the distribution presence information presence has been described in the presence acquisition subject transmits a presence acquisition request to the presence server using respective predetermined message, receives more said distribution presence information transmitted from the presence server to the addressed to the own terminal to the predetermined message,
The second terminal belonging to a network different from the presence server is
Notification presence information describing the presence of the user of the own terminal, presence acquisition request including distribution destination information of user presence information of the presence acquisition target and distribution presence information describing the presence of the presence acquisition target person , respectively Sending to the presence server using e-mail, and receiving the distribution presence information sent from the presence server to the terminal by e-mail,
The presence server
In accordance with the notification presence information received by the predetermined message or e-mail, update the presence of the user of the transmission source terminal of the notification presence information managed by the own presence server,
In accordance with the presence acquisition request received by the predetermined message or e-mail, the distribution presence information describing the presence of the presence acquisition target specified by the presence acquisition request is generated, and the distribution presence information is If the distribution destination terminal is a terminal belonging to the same network as the presence server, the predetermined message is transmitted to the distribution destination terminal that can be specified by the distribution destination information included in the presence acquisition request, and the distribution is performed. If the destination terminal is a terminal belonging to a network different from the presence server, the presence service method is characterized in that transmission is performed using electronic mail. A presence server that provides presence services,
Presence storage means for storing the presence of users of the first and second terminals using the presence service;
Message transmitting and receiving means for transmitting and receiving a predetermined message to and from the first terminal;
Mail transmitting / receiving means for transmitting / receiving e-mail to / from the second terminal;
A presence notification for analyzing the predetermined message received from the first terminal via the message transmission / reception means and notifying the presence server of the presence of the user of the first terminal by the predetermined message; Alternatively, message analysis means for determining whether or not there is a presence acquisition request that includes user information of the presence acquisition target and uses the transmission source information as distribution destination information of distribution presence information describing the presence of the presence acquisition target ,
It analyzes the e-mail received from the second terminal via the mail transmitting and receiving means, presence notification for the electronic mail to notify the user of presence of the second terminal to the presence server, or the presence acquires Mail analysis means for determining whether or not the presence acquisition request includes the distribution destination information of the distribution presence information describing the user information of the target person and the presence of the presence acquisition target person ;
When the predetermined message received from the first terminal via the message transmission / reception means is determined by the message analysis means to be the presence notification, or the mail analysis means via the mail transmission / reception means Presence stored in the presence storage unit in association with the user of the predetermined message or the e-mail transmission source terminal when it is determined that the e-mail received from the second terminal is the presence notification Updating presence to the presence described in the presence notification,
When it is determined that the predetermined message received from the first terminal via the message transmission / reception unit is the presence acquisition request by the message analysis unit, or via the mail transmission / reception unit by the mail analysis unit When it is determined that the e-mail received from the second terminal is the presence acquisition request, the distribution presence information describing the presence of the presence acquisition target specified by the presence acquisition request is generated. If the distribution destination terminal is a terminal belonging to the same network as the presence server, the predetermined message can be specified as the distribution destination terminal that can specify the distribution presence information by the distribution destination information included in the presence acquisition request. Is transmitted from the message transmission / reception means using Presence server Shinsaki terminal characterized by having a a presence distribution means for transmitting from said mail transmitting and receiving means by using an electronic mail, if the terminal belongs to another network and the presence server. The presence server according to claim 2,
The mail analysis means
Based on the character string described in the title of the e-mail received by the e-mail transmitting / receiving means, it is determined whether the e-mail is the presence notification or the presence acquisition request. Alternatively, if it is determined that the request is the presence acquisition request, the presence server extracts the presence notification or the content of the presence acquisition request from the mail text of the e-mail. The presence server according to claim 2 or 3,
The presence distribution means includes:
When the distribution destination terminal that can be specified by the distribution destination information included in the presence acquisition request determined by the message analysis unit or the mail analysis unit is a terminal belonging to a network different from the presence server, A predetermined character string indicating presence distribution is described in the title, and the presence stored in the presence storage means in association with the presence acquisition target specified in the presence acquisition request is described in the mail text A presence server, wherein the electronic mail is transmitted as the distribution presence information from the mail transmitting / receiving means to the distribution destination terminal. Computer
Presence storage means for storing the presence of the users of the first and second terminals using the presence service;
Message transmitting and receiving means for transmitting and receiving a predetermined message to and from the first terminal;
Mail transmission / reception means for transmitting / receiving an electronic mail to / from the second terminal;
A presence notification for analyzing the predetermined message received from the first terminal via the message transmission / reception means and notifying the presence server of the presence of the user of the first terminal by the predetermined message; or Message analysis means for determining whether or not a presence acquisition request includes user information of a presence acquisition target person and uses transmission source information as distribution destination information of distribution presence information in which the presence of the presence acquisition target person is described;
It analyzes the e-mail received from the second terminal via the mail transmitting and receiving means, presence notification for the electronic mail to notify the user of presence of the second terminal to the presence server, or the presence acquires Mail analysis means for determining whether or not the request is a presence acquisition request including distribution destination information of distribution presence information describing the user information of the target person and the presence of the presence acquisition target person ;
When the predetermined message received from the first terminal via the message transmission / reception means is determined by the message analysis means to be the presence notification, or the mail analysis means via the mail transmission / reception means Presence stored in the presence storage unit in association with the user of the predetermined message or the e-mail transmission source terminal when it is determined that the e-mail received from the second terminal is the presence notification Presence update means for updating the presence to the presence described in the presence notification, and the predetermined message received from the first terminal by the message analysis means via the message transmission / reception means is the presence acquisition request If it is determined that The presence acquisition target specified in the presence acquisition request when it is determined that the email received from the second terminal via the mail transmission / reception means is the presence acquisition request The distribution presence information described in the presence acquisition request is generated, and the distribution destination terminal is connected to the presence server, and the distribution destination terminal can be identified by the distribution destination information included in the presence acquisition request. If the terminal belongs to the same network, the message is transmitted from the message transmission / reception means using the predetermined message, and if the distribution destination terminal is a terminal belonging to a network different from the presence server, the mail transmission / reception is performed using electronic mail. It functions as a presence distribution means that transmits from the means. Program.

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