JP6314550B2 - Communication apparatus and IP telephone system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to data communication technology, and more particularly to a communication apparatus and an IP telephone system.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional emergency call system includes a plurality of emergency call devices installed at a plurality of bases such as a user's house (general household). In addition, a dedicated receiving device that is installed in the emergency call center and is a dedicated device that receives emergency call information from the emergency call device via an analog network (analog line) is provided. The emergency call device has an emergency button, a consultation button, a speaker and a microphone for making a hands-free call with the center operator after the call. In addition, when the user presses the emergency button in the event of an emergency, it has a function of automatically reporting emergency call information to the center using a telephone number stored in advance.

  The emergency call information includes a terminal identification number, a telephone number, an address, a name, an occurrence event, and the like. In addition, as a reporting method, both “data report” that reports emergency call information only in the form of data and “voice report” that reports emergency call information as a voice message and then shifts to a hands-free conversation. There is “data + voice notification” in which notifications are executed sequentially in the same call.

  The dedicated receiving device on the center side has a function of receiving data notification from the emergency notification device and transferring emergency notification information to the center processing device (PC or the like). It also has a function of receiving a voice report from the emergency call device and transferring a voice message to an external telephone. Further, between the emergency call device and the dedicated reception device, data communication such as a notification start request, completion notification, and various remote controls during a hands-free conversation is executed.

  Here, since the conventional emergency call device and dedicated reception device are based on connection via an analog network, the information exchanged by the data report is an analog signal such as a modem signal or a DTMF signal (in other words, “deemed voice”). Send and receive after converting to. Therefore, voice and data information other than voice cannot be transmitted / received at the same time, and there is a problem that it takes a long time to shift to a hands-free conversation at the time of “data + voice report”. In addition, there has been a problem that remote control (for example, information transmission instruction and volume adjustment) by the DTMF signal during a hands-free conversation and its response cannot be normally transmitted due to a collision with the voice signal of the conversation.

  In conventional analog networks, only voice and analog-modulated data (deemed voice) can be used. However, in recent years, telephone networks (IP telephone services) using VOIP technology and SIP have become widespread, and the IP telephone network uses voice communication and data communication, and uses different communication sessions for the same call using the telephone number as a key. Can be done at the same time.

  For example, according to Non-Patent Document 1, there is provided a service capable of data communication using a telephone number as a key, using a high-security and bandwidth-guaranteed telephone network (carrier IP network) instead of the Internet. In this case, the call charge is charged on a metered basis per unit time for data communication in addition to the voice call charge. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-228867 is a technique for communicating both a telephone terminal and a data input terminal with a communication apparatus via a relay apparatus, and data associated with a call of a voice communication session established between the telephone terminal and the communication apparatus. A technique for establishing a communication session between a data input terminal and a communication device is described.

JP2013-62588A

“Hikari Denwa (telephone service) basic service data connect”, [searched on January 31, 2014], Internet <http://flets-w.com/hikaridenwa/service/dataconnect/>

  However, in the conventional technique, it is necessary to establish a data communication session as a session different from the voice communication session regardless of the amount of data to be transmitted. Therefore, data communication may be difficult when the network to be used has a bandwidth limitation. Further, it cannot be used in an IP telephone network that does not allow data communication (for example, media type m = application) within the same call as a voice call. In reality, data communication services using a telephone network as described in Non-Patent Document 1 are limited to some communication carriers. In addition to the voice usage fee, a usage fee based on a metering system is charged. Even when the amount of data communication is small (for example, it is generally small in an emergency call system, about several hundred bytes to several kilobytes per call), there is a concern that convenience may be lowered if a usage fee is separately generated.

  The present invention has been made on the basis of the above-mentioned problem recognition of the present inventor, and its main purpose is to provide a technique for improving convenience in coexistence of voice communication and data communication.

In order to solve the above-described problem, a communication device according to an aspect of the present invention includes a session control unit that establishes a voice communication session with a counterpart device connected via an IP network, and a voice that stores transmission data in voice communication. Via a single voice communication session, a voice packet generator that generates packets, a packet that stores transmission data in data communication, and a data packet generator that generates data packets that can be distinguished from voice packets A packet control unit that transmits both voice packets and data packets to the opposite device , wherein the voice packet generation unit generates a pseudo noise packet when silence is detected, and the packet control unit detects the pseudo noise packet. when, that sends the data packet instead of the pseudo-noise packet.

Another aspect of the present invention is an IP telephone system. The IP telephone system includes a first communication device and a second communication device connected via an IP network. The first communication device stores a session control unit that establishes a voice communication session with the second communication device, a voice packet generation unit that generates a voice packet storing transmission data in voice communication, and transmission data in data communication A data packet generation unit that generates a data packet that is configured to be distinguishable from a voice packet, and a packet transmission unit that transmits both the voice packet and the data packet to the second communication device via one voice communication session And including. The voice packet generation unit generates a pseudo noise packet when silence is detected, and the packet control unit transmits the data packet instead of the pseudo noise packet when detecting the pseudo noise packet. When the second communication device identifies a packet received through one voice communication session as a voice packet, the second communication device executes a process for voice communication on the packet, while identifying the received packet as a data packet. In this case, a process for data communication is executed for the packet.

  It should be noted that any combination of the above-described constituent elements and the expression of the present invention converted between a program, a recording medium storing the program, etc. are also effective as an aspect of the present invention.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the convenience in coexistence of audio | voice communication and data communication can be improved.

It is a figure which shows an emergency call system typically. It is a figure which shows the structure of the conventional emergency call system. It is a figure which shows typically transmission of the audio | voice and data in the system of FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the emergency call system of embodiment. It is a figure which shows typically transmission of the audio | voice and data in the system of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the VOIP communication apparatus of FIG. 4 in detail. It is a figure which shows a data packet insertion process typically. It is a flowchart which shows a data packet insertion process. It is a figure which shows a data packet extraction process typically. It is a flowchart which shows a data packet extraction process. It is a figure which shows typically the data packet insertion process in a modification. It is a flowchart which shows the data packet insertion process in a modification.

  FIG. 2 shows a configuration of a conventional emergency call system. FIG. 3 schematically shows voice and data transmission in the system of FIG. The system shown in FIG. 2 uses an IP telephone network. The first VOIP communication device is installed in the user's house in addition to the emergency call device, and the second VOIP communication device is installed in the emergency call center in addition to the dedicated reception device. is set up. Then, a SIP session is established between the first VOIP communication device and the second VOIP communication device.

  Here, it is considered that the emergency call device receives remote control (for example, an instruction to send emergency call information) from the dedicated receiving device and transmits data other than the call voice along with the call voice of the user. The data other than the call voice can be said to be data for data communication other than voice communication, and is, for example, a text message of emergency call information in FIG. Hereinafter, it is also referred to as “non-voice data” for convenience. In practice, however, the data for data communication includes audio binary data (for example, music data).

  The modem / DTMF control of the emergency call device converts non-voice data into an analog signal (deemed voice) such as a modem signal or a DTMF signal, as in the case of using an analog network. The first VOIP communication apparatus stores voice data obtained by encoding an analog signal of voice regarded as call voice in an RTP packet (hereinafter referred to as “voice packet”), and transmits the voice data to the second VOIP communication apparatus. The second VOIP communication device decodes the voice signal from the received voice packet and passes it to the dedicated receiving device. The change-over switch of the dedicated receiver specifies the signal type according to the frequency of the audio signal, outputs the call audio signal to the telephone, and outputs the deemed audio signal to the modem / DTMF control. The modem / DTMF control generates original non-voice data from the deemed voice signal, and the CPU outputs the non-voice data to the PC via the LAN control.

  Therefore, the system of FIG. 2 has the same problem as when using the analog network. For example, it is difficult to simultaneously transmit and receive voice and data other than voice, and signal collision may occur. Further, as described above, the techniques described in Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 1 cannot be said to have high convenience and usability in both voice communication and data communication.

  In light of these problems, an emergency call system that transmits and receives both a voice communication packet and a data communication packet configured to be distinguishable from the packet through one SIP session is proposed below. In other words, in the emergency call system according to the embodiment, information for data communication other than information for voice communication is carried on one voice call session established on the IP network. As a result, the convenience and usability of both voice communication and data communication are improved.

  FIG. 4 shows a configuration of the emergency call system 100 according to the embodiment. The emergency call system 100 includes an emergency call device 10 and a first VOIP communication device 14a installed at a user's house, and a dedicated reception device 12 and a second VOIP communication device 14b installed at an emergency call center. Hereinafter, the first VOIP communication device 14a and the second VOIP communication device 14b are collectively referred to as “VOIP communication device 14”.

  The first VOIP communication device 14a and the second VOIP communication device 14b are relays to the IP telephone network 16, and perform voice communication between the VOIP communication devices when establishing a communication line between the emergency call device 10 and the dedicated reception device 12. A SIP session is established. Between the emergency call device 10 and the first VOIP communication device 14a and between the dedicated reception device 12 and the second VOIP communication device 14b, an analog telephone interface (analog I / F) for voice communication and communication of data other than voice signals An interface (data communication I / F) is provided (hereinafter simply referred to as “data communication”). Thereby, data communication and voice communication can be established simultaneously without any trouble.

  FIG. 4 is also a block diagram showing functional blocks of each device constituting the emergency call system 100. Each block shown in the block diagram of the present specification can be realized in hardware by an element such as a CPU and memory of a computer, a mechanical device, and an electronic circuit, and in software by a computer program or the like. . Here, functional blocks realized by the cooperation are illustrated. Therefore, those skilled in the art will understand that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by a combination of hardware and software.

  The emergency call device 10 includes a CPU 30, a DTMF control unit 31, a voice synthesis control unit 32, a hands-free control unit 33, a speaker 34, a microphone 35, a changeover switch 36, an NCU (network control unit) 37, and a data communication control unit 38. . Hereinafter, description of known functions in the emergency call apparatus will be omitted as appropriate.

  The DTMF control unit 31 controls modulation processing and demodulation processing relating to modem signals and DTMF signals (so-called deemed audio signals). The voice synthesis control unit 32 controls output of a voice signal indicating a fixed message stored in advance. The hands-free control unit 33 controls a hands-free call, and controls voice output to the speaker 34 and voice acquisition from the microphone 35. The changeover switch 36 passes the analog voice signal output from the DTMF control unit 31, the voice synthesis control unit 32, and the hands-free control unit 33 to the NCU 37. In addition, the analog audio signal output from the NCU 37 is transferred to the DTMF control unit 31 or the hands-free control unit 33 according to the frequency or the like. The NCU 37 transmits / receives an analog voice signal to / from the first VOIP communication device 14a via the analog I / F.

  The data communication control unit 38 controls data communication with the dedicated receiving device 12 via the VOIP communication device 14. Specifically, the data communication control unit 38 receives non-voice data for data communication transmitted from the first VOIP communication device 14a by serial communication via a data communication I / F (in the embodiment, a serial bus). Then, the non-voice data is passed to the CPU 30. Further, the non-voice data passed from the CPU 30 is transmitted to the first VOIP communication device 14a by serial communication via the data communication I / F.

  As described above, the emergency notification device 10 according to the embodiment includes the data communication control unit 38, and various text data and binary data for data communication with the dedicated receiving device 12 are provided separately from the analog I / F. Data is transmitted / received via the data communication I / F. Data for data communication includes, for example, emergency call information shown in FIG. 1 to be sent to the dedicated receiving device 12 when an emergency event occurs, command information such as start requests and notifications of various reports, various remote controls during a hands-free conversation, etc. Control information.

  Prior to data communication, the CPU 30 needs to execute line call processing with an analog I / F and open a call line, which is the same as a conventional emergency call device. In addition, once call control is completed, data communication and voice communication can be executed in parallel, and there is no restriction on the timing of both controls. The data communication I / F is not particularly limited, and various interfaces such as RS232C, USB, PLC, xDSL can be used. The same applies to the dedicated receiver 12.

  The dedicated receiving device 12 includes a CPU 40, a LAN control unit 41, a modem / DTMF control unit 42, a power supply / RING unit 43, a changeover switch 44, an NCU 45, and a data communication control unit 46. Description of known functions in the dedicated receiving device (report receiving device) will be omitted as appropriate.

  The LAN control unit 41 is a LAN interface that controls LAN communication with the PC 20. The modem / DTMF control unit 42 controls modulation processing and demodulation processing related to the modem signal and the DTMF signal. The changeover switch 44 passes the analog voice signal output from the modem / DTMF control unit 42 and the telephone set 22 to the NCU 45. Also, the analog audio signal output from the NCU 45 is transferred to the modem / DTMF control unit 42 or the telephone set 22 according to the frequency or the like. The NCU 45 transmits / receives an analog voice signal to / from the second VOIP communication device 14b via the analog I / F.

  The data communication control unit 46 controls data communication with the emergency call device 10 via the VOIP communication device 14. Specifically, the data communication control unit 46 converts the non-voice data for data communication passed from the CPU 40 into the second VOIP communication device 14b by serial communication via the data communication I / F (serial bus in the embodiment). Send to. Further, the non-voice data transmitted from the second VOIP communication device 14b is received by serial communication via the data communication I / F, and the non-voice data is transferred to the CPU 30.

  As described above, the dedicated receiving device 12 of the embodiment includes the data communication control unit 46, and various text data and binary data for data communication with the emergency call device 10 are provided separately from the analog I / F. Data is transmitted / received via the data communication I / F. The data for data communication includes emergency call information received from the emergency call device 10, command information such as various notification start requests and completion notifications, and control information such as various remote controls during a hands-free conversation. Note that the call line opening process with the emergency call device 10 is the same as the conventional dedicated receiving device.

  The VOIP communication apparatus 14 includes a SIP control unit 50, a voice packet conversion unit 51, a data packet conversion unit 52, and a packet control unit 53. Description of known functions in the VOIP communication apparatus will be omitted as appropriate.

  The SIP control unit 50 establishes a SIP session with the opposite VOIP communication apparatus. “Audio” is designated as the media type (m) of the SIP session. The voice packet conversion unit 51 generates an RTP packet for voice communication, that is, a voice packet, from the analog voice signal received by the analog I / F. In addition, the audio data stored in the payload of the audio packet output from the packet control unit 53 is decoded to generate an analog audio signal.

  The data packet converter 52 generates an RTP packet for data communication (hereinafter referred to as “data packet”) from the non-voice data (data signal) received by the data communication I / F. Further, non-voice data (data signal) is generated from the data packet output from the packet control unit 53. The packet control unit 53 inserts the data packet into the audio packet stream (audio media stream). Also, data packets are extracted from the audio media stream.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, data packets can be shared in the audio streaming by RTP. There is no need to convert the data into deemed speech, and since the interface between the speech and the data is separated, it is possible to prevent a collision between the two signals. In addition, simultaneous transmission and reception of voice and data are realized without hindering voice communication.

  The voice packet conversion unit 51 includes a voice activity detection (VAD) function that determines the presence or absence of a voice signal during encoding. Further, it may include a noise generation (CNG: Comfort Noise Generation) function that outputs pseudo background noise when there is no sound, and a discontinuous transmission (DTX) function that does not output any packet when there is no sound. Further, it may include a function (CNG) for artificially generating background noise during silence during decoding. These techniques are described in (ITU-T) G. 711, G.G. 726 etc. are standardized as silence compression technology. As will be described later, the voice packet conversion unit 51 of the embodiment includes a VAD function and a CNG function.

  The packet control unit 53 monitors the voice packet compressed with silence by the voice packet conversion unit 51, and when detecting silence, inserts a data packet and sends it to the network. In addition, a data packet is extracted from the RTP packets received from the network, and passed to the data packet conversion unit 52. As a result, the data packet is carried on the audio stream without affecting the audio signal. In general, it is said that the ratio of silent time when a person talks is 40% to 50%. Thus, for example, G. Of the 64 Kbps band guaranteed by 711, about 20 to 30 Kbps can be used as a band for data communication.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing in detail the VOIP communication apparatus 14 of FIG. The VOIP communication device 14 further includes a WAN-I / F 54 that is an interface for transmitting and receiving RTP packets to and from the IP telephone network 16. The voice packet conversion unit 51 includes an analog telephone I / F 60, a voice packet generation unit 62, and a voice signal conversion unit 64. The data packet conversion unit 52 includes a data communication I / F 66, a data packet generation unit 68, and a serial data conversion unit 70. The packet control unit 53 includes a packet transmission / reception unit 72, a data packet buffer 74, a data packet insertion unit 76, and a data packet extraction unit 78.

  The analog telephone I / F 60 receives an analog voice signal from an external device via an analog interface, and sends the analog voice signal to the external device. The external device here is the emergency call device 10 or the dedicated receiving device 12. The voice packet generator 62 encodes the analog voice signal, generates a voice communication RTP packet (voice packet) storing the encoded voice data, and outputs the voice packet to the packet controller 53. The source port number and destination port number defined in the SIP session established by the SIP control unit 50 are set in the UDP port number of the voice packet. In addition, a predetermined value indicating a voice packet is set in the payload type of the RTP header.

  As described above, the voice packet generator 62 has a known VAD function and CNG function. That is, when the voice packet generation unit 62 detects that an analog voice signal is not received and outputs a voice packet to the packet control unit 53 (data packet insertion unit 76), A predetermined voice packet (hereinafter referred to as a “CNG packet”) indicating a background noise is generated and output to the data packet insertion unit 76.

  The audio signal conversion unit 64 decodes the audio data stored in the payload of the audio packet output from the data packet extraction unit 78 and converts it into an analog audio signal. The audio signal converter 64 outputs an analog audio signal from the analog telephone I / F 60 to an external device.

  The data communication I / F 66 receives non-voice data for data communication from an external device via the data communication interface, and sends the non-voice data to the external device. The data packet generator 68 generates an RTP packet (data packet) for data communication storing non-voice data, and outputs the data packet to the packet controller 53. Similarly to the voice packet, the source port number and the destination port number defined in the SIP session established by the SIP control unit 50 are set in the UDP port number of the data packet. On the other hand, the payload type of the RTP header is set to a value different from the voice packet and a predetermined value indicating that the packet is a data packet.

  The serial data conversion unit 70 can be said to be a data signal conversion unit corresponding to the audio signal conversion unit 64. That is, the serial data conversion unit 70 extracts non-voice data from the payload of the data packet output from the data packet extraction unit 78. Then, the acquired non-voice data is output from the data communication I / F 66 to the external device.

  The packet transmission / reception unit 72 transmits the RTP packet (voice packet, data packet, CNG packet) output from the data packet insertion unit 76 to the IP telephone network via the WAN-I / F 54. Further, the RTP packet supplied from the IP telephone network is received via the WAN-I / F 54, and the received packet is transferred to the data packet extraction unit 78. The UDP port number of this RTP packet is set with the source port number and the destination port number defined in the SIP session established by the SIP control unit 50. The data packet buffer 74 temporarily stores the data packet output from the data packet generation unit 68.

  FIG. 7 schematically shows the data packet insertion process. The data packet insertion unit 76 inserts a data packet stored in the data packet buffer 74 and waiting for transmission into the audio packet stream output from the audio packet generation unit 62. The priority of the packet output from the data packet insertion unit 76 to the packet transmission / reception unit 72 is voice packet> data packet> CNG packet.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing data packet insertion processing. The data packet insertion unit 76 receives a voice packet from the voice packet generation unit 62, and when the received packet is a CNG packet and an untransmitted data packet is stored in the data packet buffer 74, the data packet insertion unit 76 replaces the CNG packet. The data packet is inserted into the voice packet sequence. If the received packet is not a CNG packet or if a data packet waiting for transmission is not stored in the data packet buffer 74 even if it is a CNG packet, the received packet is output to the packet transmitting / receiving unit 72 as it is.

  Whether or not the received packet is a CNG packet may be determined by a known method. For example, it may be determined whether or not a header or payload value is a predetermined value indicating a CNG packet. When replacing the CNG packet with a data packet, the data packet insertion unit 76 copies the sequence number and time stamp stored in the RTP header of the CNG packet as they are into the data packet. As described above, a predetermined value different from that of the voice packet is set in the payload type of the RTP header of the data packet.

  FIG. 9 schematically shows the data packet extraction process. The data packet extraction unit 78 extracts a data packet from the stream of RTP packets output from the packet transmission / reception unit 72 (specifically, a sequence of voice packets, data packets, and CNG packets) to the serial data conversion unit 70. Output. At the same time, the data packet is replaced with a CNG packet. The voice packet and CNG packet output from the packet transmitting / receiving unit 72 are output to the voice signal converting unit 64 as they are.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing data packet extraction processing. The data packet extracting unit 78 receives an RTP packet from the packet transmitting / receiving unit 72, and determines that the received packet is a data packet when the payload type value of the received packet is a predetermined value indicating a data packet. The data packet extraction unit 78 extracts a data packet from the stream of RTP packets, outputs the data packet to the serial data conversion unit 70, and replaces the data packet with a CNG packet. At that time, the sequence number and the time stamp stored in the RTP header of the data packet are directly copied to the CNG packet.

The operation of the emergency call system 100 having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG.
When the user (person to be watched over) presses the emergency button of the emergency call device 10, the emergency call device 10 sends a call (emergency call) to the dedicated receiving device 12. The first VOIP communication device 14a establishes a SIP session with the second VOIP communication device 14b which is the opposite device, and a call line between the emergency call device 10 and the dedicated reception device 12 is established. The emergency call device 10 shifts to the hands-free conversation mode, and the center operator uses the telephone 22 to start a conversation with the user. Here, it is assumed that a remote control command for instructing retransmission of emergency call information is input to the PC 20 while the operator at the center is talking to the user.

  The CPU 40 of the dedicated receiving device 12 passes a remote control command to the data communication control unit 46, and the data communication control unit 46 outputs a data signal indicating the remote control command from the data communication I / F to the second VOIP communication device 14b. In parallel, the dedicated receiving device 12 outputs a voice signal spoken by the operator to the telephone 22 from the analog I / F to the second VOIP communication device 14b.

  The data packet conversion unit 52 of the second VOIP communication device 14b generates a data packet in which the remote control command is stored in the payload. The packet control unit 53 transmits the voice packet output from the voice packet conversion unit 51 to the first VOIP communication device 14a via the SIP session. Further, the CNG packet output from the voice packet conversion unit 51 is replaced with a data packet, and the data packet is transmitted to the first VOIP communication device 14a through the same SIP session. The voice packet and the data packet are set to different payload type values so that they can be distinguished while using the same SIP session (the same UDP port number).

  The packet control unit 53 of the first VOIP communication device 14a receives the RTP packet via the SIP session with the second VOIP communication device 14b. The first VOIP communication device 14a identifies the voice packet and the data packet based on the payload type value of the received RTP packet, executes the voice communication process for the former, and executes the data communication process for the latter. .

  Specifically, the packet control unit 53 of the first VOIP communication device 14a extracts a data packet from the received RTP packet, outputs the extracted data packet to the data packet conversion unit 52, and replaces it with a CNG packet. The packet control unit 53 outputs the voice packet (including the CNG packet) to the voice packet conversion unit 51. The data packet conversion unit 52 extracts data indicating the remote control command from the data packet, and serially transmits the data to the emergency notification device 10 from the data communication I / F. The voice packet conversion unit 51 decodes the analog voice signal from the voice packet (including the CNG packet), and outputs it from the analog I / F to the emergency call device 10.

  The changeover switch 36 of the emergency call device 10 passes the analog voice signal received by the analog I / F to the hands-free control unit 33, and the hands-free control unit 33 reproduces and outputs the operator's voice through the speaker 34. In parallel, the data communication control unit 38 passes data indicating the remote control command received through the data communication I / F to the CPU 30. As a response to the remote control command, the CPU 30 acquires emergency notification information held in a predetermined storage area and outputs it to the data communication control unit 38. The data communication control unit 38 serially transmits emergency call information to the first VOIP communication device 14a via the data communication I / F. Even when the emergency call information is transmitted, the conversation between the operator and the user continues, and the voice signal input by the user to the microphone 35 is transmitted from the analog I / F of the emergency call device 10 to the first VOIP communication device 14a. .

  The voice packet conversion unit 51 of the first VOIP communication device 14 a generates a voice packet from the analog voice signal received by the analog I / F and outputs the voice packet to the packet control unit 53. When the reception state of the analog voice signal indicates a silence state, the voice packet conversion unit 51 outputs a CNG packet as a voice packet. In parallel, the data packet conversion unit 52 generates a data packet from the data of the emergency call information received by the data communication I / F and outputs the data packet to the packet control unit 53. The packet controller 53 detects the CNG packet in the voice packet sequence output from the voice packet converter 51 and replaces the CNG packet with a data packet. The voice packet and the data packet are set to different payload type values so that they can be distinguished while using the same SIP session (the same UDP port number).

  The packet control unit 53 of the second VOIP communication device 14b receives the RTP packet via the SIP session with the first VOIP communication device 14a. Similar to the first VOIP communication device 14a, the second VOIP communication device 14b identifies the packet type based on the payload type value of the received RTP packet, and executes different processing depending on the packet type.

  Specifically, the packet controller 53 of the second VOIP communication device 14b extracts a data packet from the received RTP packet, outputs the extracted data packet to the data packet converter 52, and replaces it with a CNG packet. The packet control unit 53 outputs the voice packet (including the CNG packet) to the voice packet conversion unit 51. The packet control unit 53 extracts data indicating emergency call information from the data packet, and serially transmits the data from the data communication I / F to the dedicated receiving device 12. The voice packet converter 51 decodes the analog voice signal from the voice packet (including the CNG packet), and outputs the analog voice signal from the analog I / F to the dedicated receiving device 12.

  The change-over switch 44 of the dedicated receiver 12 outputs an analog voice signal received by the analog I / F to the telephone set 22, and the telephone set 22 reproduces and outputs the user's voice from the speaker. The data communication control unit 46 passes the data indicating the emergency call information received through the data communication I / F to the CPU 40. As a response to the remote control command, the CPU 40 transmits data indicating emergency call information to the PC 20 via the LAN control unit 41. The PC 20 displays emergency call information on a predetermined display. Here, an example of remote control from the dedicated receiving device 12 to the emergency notification device 10 has been shown. However, in the case of the notification method “data + voice notification”, the emergency notification device 10 is in parallel with the conversation between the user and the operator. Notification of emergency call information to the dedicated receiving device 12 may be automatically executed.

  As described above, according to the emergency call system 100 of the embodiment, the packet for data communication is transmitted and received using the SIP session for voice communication. As a result, data communication can be realized even in a network with limited bandwidth or in an IP telephone network that does not allow data communication (media type m: application) within the same call as voice call, and is convenient for both voice call and data communication. Can be improved. The technology for effectively achieving both voice communication and data communication described in the embodiment is not limited to the emergency call system, but various systems (IP telephone system, etc.) that should simultaneously achieve voice communication and data communication. It is applicable to the whole and has the same effect.

  Also, since voice and data reports can be made simultaneously, it is possible to shorten the time required to shift to a hands-free conversation during an emergency call “data + voice report”. In addition, by transmitting data packets when there is no sound, delay of voice communication can be prevented and use in a network with bandwidth limitation can be promoted. For example, it is suitable when the VOIP communication device 14 is a repeater with a bandwidth-guaranteed IP network.

  In Patent Document 1 described above, text data and binary data that cannot be input by a telephone terminal can be input using a data input terminal. However, an IP-based HTTP communication is performed using a LAN interface between the data input terminal and the relay device. Is used. Therefore, it is difficult to realize an analog terminal (in other words, a non-IP terminal) that does not have a LAN interface and does not have an IP function, such as a general emergency call device. However, the emergency call device 10 and the first VOIP communication device 14a according to the embodiment do not need to have a LAN interface, and even an analog terminal having no LAN interface is a highly convenient emergency call using the IP telephone network. A system can be realized.

  The present invention has been described based on the embodiments. It is understood by those skilled in the art that these embodiments are exemplifications, and that various modifications are possible depending on combinations of the respective constituent elements and processing processes, and such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention. By the way.

  In the above embodiment, the voice packet generation unit 62 has a known VAD function and CNG function. However, as a modification, the voice packet generation unit 62 may have a DTX function instead of the CNG function. That is, when the voice packet generation unit 62 detects that an analog voice signal is not received and outputs a voice packet to the packet control unit 53 (data packet insertion unit 76), Generation and output to the data packet insertion unit 76 may be stopped.

  FIG. 11 schematically shows data packet insertion processing in the modification. When the data packet insertion unit 76 detects that there is no voice packet output from the voice packet generation unit 62, in other words, stops outputting voice packets from the voice packet generation unit 62, the data packet insertion unit 76 stores it in the data packet buffer 74. Then, a data packet waiting for transmission is inserted. In the example of FIG. 11, the time stamp increases by 100 for each packet. Therefore, the data packet insertion unit 76 receives the voice packet from the voice packet generation unit 62 when the next voice packet has not been received until a predetermined time elapses when the sampling clock increases by 100 from the reception of the previous voice packet. The data packet insertion process may be executed by determining that the output has stopped.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing data packet insertion processing in the modification. When the data packet insertion unit 76 inserts a data packet into the blank portion of the voice packet in the voice media stream, the data packet insertion unit 76 sets the RTP header sequence number and type stamp of the data packet to the value of the RTP packet immediately before the insertion point. Set the value added based on the original. In the example of FIG. 11, a value obtained by adding 1 to the value of the previous RTP packet is set as the sequence number, and a value obtained by adding 100 to the value of the previous RTP packet is set as the time stamp. Further, the number of inserted data packets is counted and added to the sequence number of the voice packet after the data packet is inserted. Thereby, the consistency of the sequence number in the RTP packet sequence in the audio media stream can be maintained.

  The data packet extraction process in this modification is as shown in FIGS. That is, when the data packet extraction unit 78 detects a data packet in the audio media stream, the data packet extraction unit 78 transfers the data packet to the serial data conversion unit 70 and replaces the data packet with a CNG packet. At that time, the sequence number and the type stamp are copied to the CNG packet as they are. This modification also has the same effect as the embodiment.

  In place of the replacement with the CNG packet, the data packet may be simply deleted from the audio media stream to restore the blank portion of the audio packet in the audio media stream. In this case, the data packet extraction unit 78 may maintain the sequence number consistency by counting the number of deleted data packets and subtracting it from the sequence number of the voice packet after the data packet is deleted.

  In the above embodiment, the emergency notification device 10 and the first VOIP communication device 14a have been described as separate devices. However, the emergency notification device 10 and the first VOIP communication device 14a may be integrated. May include the function of the first VOIP communication device 14a. Similarly, the dedicated reception device 12 and the second VOIP communication device 14b may be integrated, and the dedicated reception device 12 may include the function of the second VOIP communication device 14b. The communication device described in the claims includes the emergency notification device 10 including the function of the first VOIP communication device 14a and the dedicated receiving device 12 including the function of the second VOIP communication device 14b. In addition, not only devices related to emergency calls but also all telephones having a VOIP communication function.

  It should also be understood by those skilled in the art that the functions to be fulfilled by the constituent elements described in the claims are realized by the individual constituent elements shown in the embodiments and the modification examples or by their cooperation.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Emergency call apparatus, 12 Dedicated receiver, 14 VOIP communication apparatus, 38 Data communication control part, 46 Data communication control part, 51 Voice packet conversion part, 52 Data packet conversion part, 53 Packet control part, 62 Voice packet generation part, 64 voice signal converter, 68 data packet generator, 70 serial data converter, 76 data packet inserter, 78 data packet extractor, 100 emergency call system.

Claims (3)

A session control unit for establishing a voice communication session with an opposite apparatus connected via an IP network;
A voice packet generation unit that generates a voice packet storing transmission data in voice communication;
A packet that stores transmission data in data communication, and a data packet generation unit that generates a data packet configured to be distinguishable from the voice packet;
A packet controller that transmits both the voice packet and the data packet to the opposite device via one voice communication session;
Equipped with a,
The voice packet generation unit generates a pseudo noise packet when silence is detected,
The packet control unit, said when detecting a pseudo-noise packet, the communication device characterized that you send the data packet in place of the pseudo-noise packet. The said packet control part transmits the said data packet via the said one voice communication session, when a silence state is detected based on the packet produced | generated by the said voice packet production | generation part. communication equipment according to. A first communication device and a second communication device connected via an IP network;
The first communication device is
A session control unit for establishing a voice communication session with the second communication device;
A voice packet generation unit that generates a voice packet storing transmission data in voice communication;
A packet that stores transmission data in data communication, and a data packet generation unit that generates a data packet configured to be distinguishable from the voice packet;
A packet transmission unit that transmits both voice and data packets to the second communication device via a single voice communication session, the containing Mutotomoni,
The voice packet generation unit generates a pseudo noise packet when silence is detected,
When the packet control unit detects the pseudo noise packet, the packet control unit transmits the data packet instead of the pseudo noise packet,
When the second communication device identifies a packet received via the one voice communication session as a voice packet, the second communication device performs a voice communication process on the packet, while the received packet is a data packet. An IP telephone system that executes a data communication process on the packet when the packet is identified.

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