JP7530037B2 - Telephone Equipment - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a telephone device that provides a convenient function for both the caller and the recipient, for example, when a wrong number is dialed.

When making a phone call, sometimes you make a wrong number. Sometimes you realize you have made a wrong number when the other party answers, but often you realize it before they answer. In this case, if you make the call before you hear the ringback tone from the handset, it is no problem to hang up the phone by going on-hook, since the other party has not yet heard the ringback tone. However, even if you realize you have made a wrong number, you may feel uncomfortable going on-hook to hang up after hearing the ringback tone, since the other party will already be hearing the ringback tone. What's more, these days, unless you make a call withheld, your phone number may be recorded on the other party's record, making this all the more difficult.

On the other hand, even if you are aware that you have made a wrong call and know that you need to apologize to the other party, it is not good for your mental health to continue waiting for the other party to answer. For this reason, as disclosed in Patent Document 1 described below, it is possible to leave a message indicating that it was a wrong call if the other party does not answer. The invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 is an invention related to an IP telephone terminal that can transmit a message even if the called party's telephone terminal or telephone system does not support an answering machine function.

Patent No. 5110307

The invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 leaves a message when the called party does not have an answering machine and does not answer, but is not applicable to cases where the called party answers immediately and a wrong number has been called. In other words, when a call is made, the caller realizes that they have called the wrong number, the ringback tone has already been heard, and the called party has not answered, it is desirable to be able to hang up the call by going on-hook without being rude to the called party.

In view of the above, the object of this invention is to enable a user to hang up a call without being rude to the other party and without incurring telephone charges if the user realizes that he or she has dialed the wrong number before the other party answers.

In order to solve the above problems, the telephone device of the present invention as set forth in claim 1 comprises:
a call processing means for sending call information to a telephone network to call a destination in response to an instruction from a user, thereby making a call to the destination;
a timer means for measuring a time from when the call processing means transmits the call information to when the call processing means receives an on-hook operation;
a determination means for determining whether or not the time measured by the timing means is within a predetermined time;
a message providing means for transmitting a message to the telephone network indicating that the call was a wrong number and providing the message to the telephone terminal of the called party when the determining means determines that the time measured by the timing means is within the predetermined time and the called party does not answer the call;
and canceling means for canceling a series of connection processes for connecting a telephone line triggered by the sending of the outgoing message after the message has been sent through the message providing means.

According to the telephone device of the invention described in claim 1, the call processing means sends out call information to the telephone network to make a call, and the timer means measures the time from when the call information is sent to the telephone network to when the on-hook operation is performed. If the discrimination means determines that the time measured by the timer means is within a predetermined time and the called party does not respond, the message providing means sends a message to the telephone network indicating that it is a wrong call and provides it to the called party's telephone terminal. After this, the cancellation means cancels the series of connection processes for connecting the call line triggered by the sending of the call information, and the call is disconnected.

According to this invention, if the time from sending the outgoing call information to going on-hook is within a specified time, a message is sent to the other party to inform them that it is a wrong number, and the call is disconnected. This means that even if you disconnect the call before the other party answers, it is not rude, as the other party can be provided with a message to the effect that it is a wrong number. Moreover, since the call can be released without reserving a call line, no call charges are incurred.

1 is a diagram for explaining a configuration example of a business phone system according to an embodiment; 2 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration example of a SIP server which is a telephone control device according to the embodiment; FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an example of data stored in an address management DB of a SIP server; 1 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration example of an IP telephone terminal according to an embodiment; 5 is a timing chart for explaining a process performed in the business phone system according to the embodiment when a wrong call is made. 10 is a timing chart for explaining another process performed in the business phone system according to the embodiment when a wrong call is received. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a process performed by the SIP server according to the embodiment when a wrong call is received. 8 is a flowchart continuing from FIG. 7 .

One embodiment of the device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the embodiment described below, the telephone device of the present invention will be described as an example applied to a SIP server as a telephone control device used in a business phone system (key telephone system) installed in, for example, a company office.

[Example of business phone system configuration]
Fig. 1 is a diagram for explaining an example of the configuration of a business phone system according to this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, a business phone system is configured by connecting a plurality of IP telephone terminals 3(1), 3(2), 3(3), ... to a SIP server 1 via a LAN (Local Area Network) 2. The SIP server 1 is also connected to a wide area network 4. In this embodiment, the wide area network 4 is mainly an IP telephone network, but also includes a public switched telephone network and a mobile phone network.

The SIP server 1 is an application of the telephone device according to the present invention, and performs call control for the IP telephone terminals connected to it (subordinate to it). Note that call control refers to a series of controls for making and disconnecting telephone calls, such as making and receiving calls, connecting a telephone line (telephone line) to enable a call, and disconnecting a connected telephone line. Each of the IP telephone terminals 3(1), 3(2), 3(3), ... realizes the function of making calls through the telephone line connected to the destination telephone terminal.

That is, each of the IP telephone terminals 3(1), 3(2), 3(3), ... can make external calls to IP telephone terminal 5 and mobile phone terminals (not shown) connected to wide area network 4 via SIP server 1. Also, each of the IP telephone terminals 3(1), 3(2), 3(3), ... can make internal calls to other IP telephone terminals connected to LAN 2 via SIP server 1. Note that IP telephone terminal 5 as an external telephone may be connected to wide area network 4 by itself, or may be connected to wide area network 4 as a telephone terminal of another business phone system.

In the business phone system of this embodiment, a new function related to wrong numbers that was not available in the past is available. Wrong numbers can be divided into two cases. In the first case, when you make a call, the other party answers the phone without you realizing that you have called the wrong number, and it is only when the other party answers that you realize that you have called the wrong number. In this case, you can directly apologize to the other party for calling the wrong number.

The other is when you make a call, realize immediately that you have dialed the wrong number, and immediately go on-hook before the other party answers. In this case, the line is not connected, so you are unable to apologize to the other party directly, which is rude to the other party. The business phone system of this embodiment allows you to respond in the least rude way possible to the other party, even in the latter case.

Specifically, in response to a request from subordinate IP telephone terminals 3(1), 3(2), 3(3), ..., SIP server 1 measures the time from when it sends out call information, including the telephone number of the other party, to wide area network 4 to call the other party, until the call goes on-hook. This measurement of time is stopped if the other party answers. This is because it is possible to apologize directly through the connected telephone line. However, if the other party does not answer and the measured time is within a specified time (within a predetermined fixed time), for example, within 3 seconds, there is a high probability that a wrong number has been dialed. For this reason, SIP server 1 automatically sends a message to the other party indicating that it was a wrong number, then cancels the series of connection processes and releases the call from the caller (releases the connection with the caller).

As a result, even if you realize you have made a wrong call immediately after making a call and immediately go on-hook, a message informing the other party that it is a wrong call is sent, so it is not rude to the other party. Furthermore, since a call line is not reserved (connected), no call charges are incurred. Thus, in this embodiment, a wrong call refers to a situation where you realize you have made a wrong call before the other party answers and go on-hook within a certain time of sending the call information, so the call line is not connected and you are unable to apologize directly.

The following describes an example of the configuration of the SIP server 1 and IP telephone terminals 3(1), 3(2), 3(3), ... of the business phone system of this embodiment. Note that since each of the IP telephone terminals 3(1), 3(2), 3(3), ... has the same configuration, they will be collectively referred to as IP telephone terminal 3 unless there is a particular need to distinguish between them.

[Example of SIP server 1 configuration]
2 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration example of the SIP server 1 that functions as a telephone control device in the business phone system of the embodiment. The connection end 101T constitutes a connection end to the wide area network 4. The communication I/F (Interface) 101 is a part that performs communication processing through the wide area network 4. That is, the communication I/F 101 converts a signal addressed to the device itself that is transmitted via the wide area network 4 into a signal in a format that can be processed by the device itself and imports this. The communication I/F 101 also converts a signal to be transmitted from the device itself to a target destination into a signal in a transmission format and sends this to the wide area network 4 to transmit it to the destination.

The control unit 102 is a microprocessor equipped with a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), non-volatile memory, etc. (not shown), and controls each part of the SIP server 1. The control unit 102 can also perform decomposition and generation processing of various data such as control data and voice data that are packetized and transmitted.

The storage device 103 is a device unit consisting of a recording medium, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or solid state drive (SSD), and its driver, and records, modifies, deletes, reads, etc., various types of data. In addition to storing and holding necessary data and programs, the storage device 103 is also used as a working area for temporarily storing intermediate data generated in various processes.

The address management DB 104 is created in a recording device such as a HDD or SSD, and stores and holds address information and other management information for the IP telephone terminals 3 accommodated in the device. Figure 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of stored data in the address management DB 104 of the SIP server 1. As shown in Figure 3, the address management DB 104 stores and holds the following information for each IP telephone terminal 3 accommodated in the SIP server 1: "extension number," "IP (Internet Protocol) address," "port number," "number of errors," and "other."

The "extension number" is an internal telephone number assigned to all IP telephone terminals 3 accommodated in the SIP server 1. An IP address is information that is assigned to devices that can connect to the Internet, for example by a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server, and can uniquely identify each device that can connect to the Internet. In this embodiment, an IP address is assigned to each IP telephone terminal 3 accommodated in the SIP server 1.

"Port number" is the port number used by each IP telephone terminal 3. "Number of mistakes" is the number of times when, when making a call, the time from sending the outgoing information to calling the other party to going on-hook is within a specified time, for example within 3 seconds, and the other party does not answer. In other words, "number of mistakes" is the number of times when, when making a call through IP telephone terminal 3, the other party does not answer, and the time from sending the outgoing information to calling the other party to going on-hook is within a specified time, making it highly likely that it is a wrong call. Here, the reason we say "when there is a high probability" is that even if you do not actually call the wrong party, if for some reason you go on-hook yourself before the other party answers, it would be rude to the other party, and so this case is also included in the wrong call.

As shown in Figure 3, the "Number of Wrong Calls" column has storage areas (31 storage areas from the 1st to the 31st) for the number of wrong calls for each day of a 31-day period (one month). The number of wrong calls for each day for the last 31 days, including the current day, is stored in these areas. This makes it possible to grasp the number of wrong calls for a given period of time, ranging from the 1st to the 31st, such as the number of wrong calls yesterday, the number of wrong calls yesterday and today, and the number of wrong calls for the last 7 days.

As "other", it is possible to add various necessary information, such as the MAC address (Media Access Control address) and URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the IP telephone terminal 3. Using the data stored in the address management DB 104, the SIP server 1 can grasp each of the IP telephone terminals 3 accommodated in the SIP server 1.

The connection end 105T constitutes the connection end to the LAN 2. The LAN I/F (Interface) 105 enables communication between the SIP server 1 and each of the IP telephone terminals 3 accommodated in the SIP server 1 via the LAN 2. Therefore, signals from the SIP server 1 to the IP telephone terminals 3 are converted by the LAN I/F 105 into signals in a format for transmission and transmitted to the IP telephone terminals 3. In addition, signals from the IP telephone terminals 3 are converted by the LAN I/F 105 into signals in a format that can be processed by the terminal itself and then taken in.

Under the control of the control unit 102, the call control unit 106 uses the management information of the address management DB 104 to perform call control such as outgoing calls, incoming calls, responses, and disconnections for the subordinate IP telephone terminals 3. As shown in FIG. 2, the call control unit 106 is equipped with an outgoing call control unit 1061 and an incoming call control unit 1062. When an outgoing call (outgoing call request) is received from the subordinate IP telephone terminal 3, the outgoing call control unit 1061 functions to send outgoing call information to the specified destination to call the destination, and when the destination responds, it connects the telephone line to enable the call. In addition, when the outgoing call control unit 1061 is configured to perform connection processing of the telephone line in response to the outgoing call request, if the call is on-hook, it also performs processing to cancel the connection processing (cancellation processing).

When an incoming call addressed to the device itself (a call notification from the other party) is accepted, the incoming call control unit 1062 functions to notify the subordinate IP telephone terminal 3 of the incoming call. This causes the IP telephone terminal 3 to emit a ring tone, notifying the occurrence of the incoming call. When an operation to answer the incoming call is performed on the IP telephone terminal 3 (off-hook operation), the incoming call control unit 1062 detects this, answers the call, and connects a call line to the subordinate IP telephone terminal 3 that has been off-hooked, enabling the call.

In the SIP server 1 of this embodiment, the processes of putting a connected call line on hold, transferring a call, and releasing a call are processed under the control of the control unit 102 in response to a request from the subordinate IP telephone terminal 3. Even when a proxy response function is used after an incoming call notification, the processes are also processed under the control of the control unit 102 in response to a request from the subordinate IP telephone terminal 3. In addition, the control unit 102 also controls the turning on and off of the LED (Light Emitting Diode) equipped on the subordinate IP telephone terminal 3 and the display on the display.

The timer circuit 107 measures the time from when a call request is received from a subordinate IP telephone terminal 3 and the call information is sent to the wide area network 4 to call the other party, to when an on-hook signal is sent from the IP telephone terminal 3 that originated the call request. In other words, the start point is the time when a call request is received from a subordinate IP telephone terminal 3 and the call information formed by the functioning of the call control unit 1061 is sent to the wide area network 4 to call the other party. The end point is the time when an on-hook operation is performed on the IP telephone terminal 3 that originated the call and an on-hook signal is sent to the SIP server 1. The timer circuit 107 measures the time from the start point to the end point, and notifies the wrong call discrimination unit 108 of the measurement result.

The timer circuit 107 stops measuring (clocking) the time when the called party responds and sends a response message, which is received via the connection end 101T and the communication I/F 101. The timer circuit 107 measures the time from when the call information is sent to call the party to when the party does not respond and an on-hook operation is performed on the subordinate IP telephone terminal 3, in order to detect cases where there is a high probability of a wrong call being made. Therefore, when the called party responds, the measured time has no meaning and is not notified to the wrong call discrimination unit 108.

The wrong call determination unit 108 determines whether the time measured by the timer circuit 107 is within a predetermined time, for example within 3 seconds, and if it determines that it is within the predetermined time, provides the determination result to the apology message providing unit 109. The apology message providing unit 109 functions when it receives a determination result from the wrong call determination unit 108 indicating that the time measured by the timer circuit 107 is within the predetermined time. In this case, the apology message providing unit 109 forms a message indicating that it was a wrong call (an apology message apologizing for the wrong call), such as "I made a mistake. I'm sorry," and sends this to the other party via the communication I/F 101 and the connection end 101T. The apology message is displayed on the display unit of the other party's telephone terminal and provided to the other party's user.

In this way, by using the functions of the timer circuit 107, the wrong call discrimination unit 108, and the apology message provision unit 109, if a call is made and the call goes on-hook before the other party answers and within a specified time from the sending of the outgoing call information, there is a high probability that it is a wrong call. In this case, an apology message can be sent to the other party as described above. After this apology message is sent, the call control unit 1061 controls to cancel (cancel) the connection process of the call line so that the call line is not connected. As a result, no call charges are incurred.

When the apology message providing unit 109 provides an apology message, the wrong call counting unit 110 counts up the "number of mistakes" for the source IP telephone terminal 3 in the address management DB 104. As described above, the "number of mistakes" column in the address management DB 104 has 31 storage areas, and the wrong call counting unit 110 counts up the count value in the storage area for the corresponding day in the "number of mistakes" column.

Of course, the wrong call counting unit 110 can also be configured to function in the same way as the apology message providing unit 109. That is, the wrong call counting unit 110 can be configured to count up the "number of mistakes" in the address management DB 104 when the wrong call discrimination unit 108 determines that the time is within a predetermined period of time.

When the wrong call frequency determination unit 111 receives a call request from a subordinate IP telephone terminal 3, it references the "number of wrong calls" for that IP telephone terminal 3 in the address management DB 104 and determines whether the number of wrong calls in a specified period is a specified number or more. In this embodiment, the wrong call frequency determination unit 111 determines whether the number of wrong calls for the source IP telephone terminal 3 in the last seven days, for example, is five or more, and if so, notifies the warning provision unit 112.

The warning providing unit 112 functions when the wrong call frequency determining unit 111 notifies the calling IP telephone terminal 3 that the number of mistakes in a specified period is equal to or greater than a specified number. Specifically, as described above, the warning providing unit 112 functions when the calling IP telephone terminal 3 notifies the calling IP telephone terminal 3 that the number of mistakes in the last seven days is equal to or greater than five.

The warning providing unit 112 causes the control unit 102 to temporarily stop the outgoing call processing of the outgoing call control unit 1061. After this, the warning providing unit 112 provides a warning message to the calling IP telephone terminal 3 via the LAN I/F 105 and the connection end 105T, and prompts the calling IP telephone terminal 3 to input a confirmation as to whether or not to continue the outgoing call processing. The warning message might be, for example, "There have been an increasing number of wrong calls. Is the recipient's telephone number correct? If so, please press *."

The alert providing unit 112 can also provide the other party's telephone number to the calling IP telephone terminal 3 so that the telephone number can be confirmed. In addition, if the calling IP telephone terminal 3 is configured to make a call using stored data in the telephone book memory of the SIP server 1, the alert providing unit 112 can also provide the other party's name (title) so that the other party's name can be confirmed. Of course, it is also possible to notify the other party of both the telephone number and name and output them.

In this embodiment, after the warning message is sent, it is assumed that an operation signal indicating that "*" has been operated is sent from the originating IP telephone terminal 3. In this case, the warning providing unit 112 controls the outgoing call control unit 1061 via the control unit 102 to continue the temporarily stopped outgoing call processing, and sends out the outgoing call information to call the other party. On the other hand, after the warning message is sent, it is assumed that an on-hook signal is sent from the originating IP telephone terminal 3. In this case, the warning providing unit 112 controls the outgoing call control unit 1061 via the control unit 102 to end the temporarily stopped outgoing call processing, and waits for the arrival of the next outgoing call request from the subordinate IP telephone terminal 3.

In this way, by using the functions of the wrong call counting unit 110, wrong call frequency determination unit 111, and warning provision unit 112, when a call is made using an IP telephone terminal 3 that frequently makes wrong calls, a warning can be issued to prevent the user from making a wrong call. In the case of a business phone system formed in a company office, the IP telephone terminals 3 are often placed in fixed locations, and the users are relatively fixed, so it is possible to warn users who make a lot of wrong calls and prevent them from making wrong calls.

[Example of configuration of IP telephone terminal 3]
4 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration example of the IP telephone terminal 3 accommodated in the SIP server 1 of the embodiment. The control unit 310 is a microprocessor (not shown) equipped with a CPU, ROM, RAM, non-volatile memory, etc., and controls each part of the IP telephone terminal 3. The control unit 310 also performs decomposition processing and generation processing of various data such as control data and voice data that are packetized and transmitted/received.

The connection end 301T constitutes the connection end to the LAN2. The LAN I/F 301 realizes the connection to the SIP server 1 through the LAN2. That is, the LAN I/F 301 converts signals sent to the terminal itself into signals in a format that the terminal itself can process, and imports the signals into the terminal itself. The LAN I/F 301 also converts signals to be sent from the terminal itself into signals for transmission, and transmits these signals. The IP telephone terminal 3 in this embodiment is connected to the SIP server 1 by wire through the connection end 301T and the LAN I/F 301.

The handset 302 is equipped with a speaker (receiver) and a microphone (transmitter). In addition, the IP telephone terminal 3 is configured so that when the handset 302 is placed in a fixed position on the housing of the IP telephone terminal 3, it is in an on-hook state, and when it is removed from the fixed position on the housing of the IP telephone terminal 3, it is in an off-hook state. For this reason, the IP telephone terminal 3 is configured so that the control unit 310 can grasp these hook states.

Codec 303 receives voice data that has been decomposed into packets by control unit 310, compresses and expands it to convert it into an analog voice signal, and supplies it to the speaker of handset 302 in the off-hook state. This causes the voice from the other party to be emitted from the speaker of handset 302. Codec 303 also converts an analog voice signal picked up by the microphone of off-hook handset 302 into a digital signal, compresses this data, and supplies it to control unit 310. Control unit 310 packetizes the voice data from codec 303 and transmits it to the other party via LAN I/F 301 and connection end 301T.

The operation input unit 304 receives operation input from the user and provides the received information to the control unit 310. The operation input unit 304 is provided with a numeric keypad and multiple function keys. In addition, so-called line keys that can be set to an outside line key, an internal line key, a park hold key, etc. may also be provided.

The LED (Light Emitting Diode) unit 305 is composed of a number of LEDs provided corresponding to, for example, function keys and a numeric keypad, and is controlled by the control unit 310 to light, blink, and turn off. For example, an LED corresponding to a line key to which an outside line key or an internal line key is set is associated with the line key and controlled to blink when the call line is put on hold. Also, an LED corresponding to a line key to which a park hold key is set is associated with the line key and controlled to light when the call line is put on hold. Note that the contents of the control described here are merely examples, and the lighting, blinking, and turning off can be controlled in various ways.

The ringer 306, under the control of the control unit 310, emits a ringtone when a call is received. The ringer 306 can also emit, for example, a warning sound in the event of an erroneous operation, or a voice message, under the control of the control unit 310. The display 307 has a display controller, and, under the control of the control unit 310, performs processing to display various information on the display screen of the display 307, which is provided, for example, on the upper right corner of the front of the IP telephone terminal 3, as shown in FIG. 1. The displayed information includes various information such as the entered telephone number of the other party, the telephone number of the caller, a guidance message, a warning message, and the above-mentioned attention message.

As shown in Figure 1, an IP telephone terminal 3 configured in this way is accommodated in a SIP server 1, and is capable of making and receiving external calls, making and receiving internal calls via the SIP server 1.

[Business Phone System Operation]
The following describes the process carried out in the business phone system of this embodiment when a wrong number is dialed from the IP telephone terminal 3. As described above, in this embodiment, a wrong number refers to a case where a user realizes that a wrong number has been dialed before the other party answers and goes on-hook within a predetermined time after sending the call information.

<Basic processing>
Fig. 5 is a timing chart for explaining the process performed in the business phone system of the embodiment when a wrong number is dialed. As shown in the upper left corner of Fig. 5, when a call is made to an IP telephone terminal 3 accommodated in the SIP server 1 (step S1), the IP telephone terminal 3 forms a call request and transmits it to the SIP server 1 via the LAN 2 (step S2). When the SIP server 1 receives the call request from the IP telephone terminal 3, it forms an "INVITE" request (session establishment request) and transmits it to the wide area network 4 to call the other party (step S3). The "INVITE" request corresponds to the call information transmitted from the SIP server 1.

Then, the SIP server 1 starts a timing process (a process of measuring time) (step S4). The wide area network 4 also provides a response code "100Trying" indicating that a session establishment request is being made, which is provided to the IP telephone terminal 3 that made the call request via the SIP server 1 (step S5). Meanwhile, in this embodiment, when the external IP telephone terminal 5 that is the destination (the other end of the call) receives the "INVITE" request, it starts ringing (step S6) and sends the response code "180Ringing" indicating that the call is being called (step S7). The response code "180Ringing" is provided to the IP telephone terminal 3 that made the call via the wide area network 4 and the SIP server 1.

In this case, it is assumed that the user of the IP telephone terminal 3 that originated the call realizes that they have dialed the wrong number and performs an on-hook operation (step S8). When the IP telephone terminal 3 receives the on-hook operation, it creates an on-hook notification and notifies the SIP server 1 via the LAN 2 (step S9). When the SIP server 1 receives the on-hook notification from the IP telephone terminal 3 that originated the call, it ends the time measurement process (timing process) that was started in step S4 and confirms the measured time (step S10).

Then, the SIP server 1 determines whether the measured time determined in step S10 (the time from sending the INVITE request to receiving the on-hook notification) is within a predetermined time (e.g., within 3 seconds) (step S11). In the determination process of step S11, it is determined that the measured time determined is within the predetermined time. In this case, the current call request is highly likely to have been a wrong call. For this reason, the SIP server 1 forms an apology message, for example, "Sorry about the mistake. I'm sorry," and sends this to the other party via an "INFO" request, which is an information notification request within the session (step S12). This causes the apology message to be sent to the other party (the called party) and provided to the user of the other party.

Furthermore, the SIP server 1 adds 1 to the number of wrong calls K(n) and updates the "Number of wrong calls" column of the current caller's IP telephone terminal 3 in the address management DB 104 (step S13). Here, the letter n in K(n) is an integer between 1 and 31, and is information (subscript) that indicates the corresponding number storage area in the "Number of wrong calls" column in the address management DB 104.

Then, the SIP server 1 sends a "CANCEL" request, which is a request to cancel the establishment of the session, to the IP telephone terminal 5, which is the destination of the current call, via the wide area network 4 (step S14). The SIP server 1 then releases the call from the originating IP telephone terminal 3 (step S15). This enables the originating IP telephone terminal 3 to make a new call. Note that even if the "answering operation" is performed, as shown by the dotted line rectangle in Figure 5, the call line will not be connected because the originating IP telephone terminal 3 is on-hook.

In addition, if the caller's IP telephone terminal 3 is the other party who made a call after going on-hook and the user of the IP telephone terminal 5 responds, the technology disclosed in JP 2015-46653 A can also be used. That is, if the caller's IP telephone terminal 3 is the other party who made a call after going on-hook and the user of the IP telephone terminal 5 responds, a response message is provided to the SIP server 1. Therefore, the SIP server 1 can call the caller's IP telephone terminal 3, connect the telephone line, and make a call. However, in this case, even if the other party responds and the caller goes on-hook immediately, since the apology message has already been sent, it is possible to send a "CANCEL" request and cancel the connection process without connecting the telephone line.

In addition, in the judgment process of step S11, it is determined that the confirmed measurement time is not within the predetermined time, that is, the confirmed measurement time is longer than the predetermined time. In this case, it is considered that the call was not a wrong call, and the other party was not available or could not answer the phone for some reason, so a normal cancellation process (processing to cancel the connection process) is performed without sending an apology message. In this case, since it is not a wrong call, but a case where the user wishes to talk to the other party who made the call, the technology disclosed in the above-mentioned JP2015-46653A may be used. In other words, if the IP telephone terminal 3 of the caller is the other party who made the call after going on-hook and the user of the IP telephone terminal 5 performs a response operation, the IP telephone terminal 3 of the caller immediately after going on-hook may be called, the call line may be connected, and the call may be made.

<Processing with wrong number warning>
5, the SIP server 1 counts the number of wrong calls and updates the number in the "number of wrong calls" field in the address management DB 104. Therefore, by using the "number of wrong calls," when a call request is made from an IP telephone terminal 3 with a large number of "number of wrong calls," the user is alerted through the IP telephone terminal 3, thereby preventing the occurrence of wrong calls.

Figure 6 is a timing chart for explaining other processing performed in the business phone system of the embodiment when a wrong call is made. As in the case explained with reference to Figure 5, when a call is made to an IP telephone terminal 3 accommodated in the SIP server 1 (step S1), the IP telephone terminal 3 creates a call request and sends it to the SIP server 1 via the LAN 2 (step S2). When the SIP server 1 receives a call request from the IP telephone terminal 3, it references the "Number of wrong calls" column of the source IP telephone terminal 3 in the address management DB 104 and determines whether or not there are many wrong calls in a specified period of time (step S21). In this embodiment, in the determination processing of step S21, it determines, for example, whether or not there have been five or more wrong calls in the last seven days.

Let us assume that in the judgment process of step S21, it is judged that the number of mistakes in the last seven days is five or more (many mistakes). In this case, the SIP server 1 forms a warning message and sends it to the calling IP telephone terminal 3 by an "INFO" request, which is an information notification request within the session (step S22). As mentioned above, this warning message will be something like "There have been many wrong calls. Is the other party's telephone number correct? If so, please press "*"." It warns the user and requests confirmation input via the IP telephone terminal 3.

Therefore, the originating IP telephone terminal 3 accepts a confirmation input (operation input) from the user in response to an instruction from the SIP server 1 (step S23). If the user of the IP telephone terminal 3 determines that the destination is correct, he or she presses the "*" key, and if the destination is incorrect, he or she performs an on-hook operation. Regardless of which operation is performed, a signal indicating that operation (operation notification) is sent from the originating IP telephone terminal 3 to the SIP server 1 (step S24).

The SIP server 1 checks the operation notification from the originating IP telephone terminal 3 and determines whether the "*" key has been operated to instruct continuation (step S25). If it is determined in the determination process of step S25 that the "*" key has not been operated (continuation has not been instructed) (if "N"), the SIP server 1 releases the call from the originating IP telephone terminal 3 (step S26). This enables the originating IP telephone terminal 3 to make a new call.

In addition, if it is determined in the determination process of step S25 that the "*" key has been operated to instruct continuation (if "Y"), the process of connecting the telephone line from step S3 onwards shown in FIG. 5 continues as shown in FIG. 6. Similarly, even if it is determined in the determination process of step S21 that the number of mistakes in the last seven days is less than five (not many mistakes), the process of connecting the telephone line from step S3 onwards shown in FIG. 5 continues as shown in FIG. 6.

In this way, the SIP server 1 counts the number of wrong calls and updates the number in the "Number of wrong calls" column of the address management DB 104. Therefore, by using this, when a call request arrives from an IP telephone terminal 3 that makes a lot of wrong calls, it is possible to issue a warning and reduce wrong calls.

[Summary of Processing of SIP Server 1]
Next, we will summarize the processing performed by the SIP server 1 of this embodiment, which has the configuration explained using Figure 2 and plays a major role in realizing the processing in the business phone system explained using Figures 5 and 6. Figures 7 and 8 are flow charts for explaining the processing performed by the SIP server of the embodiment when a wrong number is called.

The process shown in Figures 7 and 8 is executed by the control unit 102 when a call request arrives from a subordinate IP telephone terminal 3 connected via the LAN 2. The control unit 102 first controls the wrong call frequency determination unit 111 to refer to the "number of mistakes" of the calling IP telephone terminal 3 in the address management DB 104 (step S101) and determine whether the number of mistakes is large or not (step S102). In this embodiment, as described above, the process determines whether the number of mistakes in the last seven days is five or more, for example.

If, in the determination process of step S102, the wrong call frequency determination unit 111 determines that the number of wrong calls in the last seven days is five or more (many wrong calls), it notifies the warning provision unit 112 of this. When the warning provision unit 112 receives a determination result indicating that there are many wrong calls from the wrong call frequency determination unit 111, it provides a warning message to the IP telephone terminal 3 that is the source of the call and requests confirmation input (step S103).

Then, the control unit 102 receives an operation notification from the originating IP telephone terminal 3 transmitted through the LAN 2 (step S104), and determines whether an operation notification instructing the continuation of the call line connection process by making a call has been received (step S105). In the determination process of step S105, it is determined that an operation notification instructing the continuation of the call line connection process by making a call has not been received. In this case, the control unit 102 performs a process to release the call from the originating IP telephone terminal 3 (step S106), and ends the process shown in Figs. 7 and 8.

If, in the determination process of step S102, the wrong call frequency determination unit 111 determines that the number of wrong calls in the last seven days is not five or more (there are not many wrong calls), the process proceeds to step S107. Also, if, in the determination process of step S105, it determines that an operation notification has been received instructing the user to make a call and continue the connection process of the call line, the process proceeds to step S107. In this case, the control unit 102 controls the outgoing call control unit 1061 to form and send an INVITE request (outgoing call information) to call the other party (step S107).

After this, the control unit 102 controls the timer circuit 107 to start measuring the time since the INVITE request was sent (step S108). Next, the control unit 102 receives a notification that an on-hook operation has been performed from the calling IP telephone terminal 3 (step S109), and determines whether or not the notification that an on-hook operation has been performed has been received (step S110). In the determination process of step S110, it is assumed that the notification that an on-hook operation has been performed has not been received. In this case, the control unit 102 determines whether or not the response success code (200 OK), which is transmitted when a response operation (off-hook operation) is performed at the called party, has been received through the connection end 101T and the communication I/F 101 (step S111).

When it is determined in the determination process of step S111 that the response success code has not been received, the control unit 102 repeats the process from step S109. Also, it is assumed that it is determined in the determination process of step S110 that the response success code has been received. In this case, the control unit 102 controls the timer circuit 107 to end the measurement of time, and controls the outgoing control unit 1061 to execute a call process to connect a call line between the IP telephone terminal 3 of the call origin and the destination to make a call (step S112). When the call ends, the connected call line is released and the series of call processes ends. In this way, when the call process of step S112 ends, the control unit 102 ends the process shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8.

Let us also assume that in the determination process of step S110, it is determined that a notification that an on-hook operation has been performed has been received. In this case, the control unit 102 controls the timer circuit 107 to end the measurement of time that started in step S108, and confirm the measured time (step S113). Thereafter, the control unit 102 proceeds to the process shown in FIG. 8. The control unit 102 controls the wrong call determination unit 108 to determine whether the time measured by the timer circuit 107 from the transmission of the INVITE request to the on-hook operation is within a predetermined time (e.g., within 3 seconds) (step S114).

In the determination process of step S114, it is determined that the measured time is within a predetermined time. In this case, under the control of the control unit 102, the apology message providing unit 109 forms a message indicating that it is a wrong call (apology message) according to the determination result of the wrong call determination unit 108, and transmits it to the called party by INFO request (step S115). After this, the control unit 102 controls the outgoing call control unit 1061 to form a CANCEL request and transmit it to the called party via the wide area network 4, and cancel the connection process of the telephone line (step S116). Finally, the control unit 102 performs a process to release the call from the IP telephone terminal 3 of the caller (a process to release the connection with the caller) (step S117), and ends the process shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8.

Let us also assume that in the determination process of step S114, it is determined that the measured time is not within the predetermined time. In this case, the control unit 102 determines whether or not a response success code has been sent from the called party (step S118). Let us assume that in the determination process of step S118, it is determined that a response success code has not been sent. In this case, the control unit 102 executes the process from step S116, cancels the connection process of the telephone line (step S116), releases the call from the originating IP telephone terminal 3 (step S117), and ends the process of Figs. 7 and 8.

Also, assume that it is determined in the determination process of step S118 that a response success code has been sent. In this case, the control unit 102 performs a process of attempting to connect the telephone line (step S119). In step S119, the control unit 102 first controls the outgoing call control unit 1061 to secure a connection (speech path) with the caller for a certain period of time. Next, the control unit 102 notifies the caller that the called party has responded by calling the caller's IP telephone terminal 3, for example, and when the caller's IP telephone terminal 3 responds, it connects a speech path (speech line) to the other party who made the call that has already been answered. After this, the control unit 102 determines in step S119 whether the speech line has been connected (step S120).

Let us assume that in the determination process of step S120, it is determined that the telephone line has not been connected. In this case, the control unit 102 executes the process from step S116, cancels the telephone line connection process (step S116), releases the call from the originating IP telephone terminal 3 (step S117), and ends the process of Figs. 7 and 8. Also, let us assume that in the determination process of step S120, it is determined that the telephone line has been connected. In this case, the control unit 102 controls the outgoing call control unit 1061 to execute call processing to connect the telephone line between the originating IP telephone terminal 3 and the destination to make a call (step S121), and when the call processing is completed, ends the process shown in Figs. 7 and 8.

In this way, the SIP server 1 of this embodiment provides a new function for wrong calls that was not available in the past, which is to provide an apology message to the other party even after the call is on-hook if there is a high probability that the call is a wrong call. In addition, when a call is made from an IP telephone terminal 3 that is thought to make many wrong calls, a warning is issued before the process for connecting the call line is started, and a function to prevent wrong calls is also realized.

In the business phone system of this embodiment, the SIP server 1 accommodates multiple IP telephone terminals 3, so the SIP server 1 is able to carry out the processes shown in Figures 7 and 8 for each IP telephone terminal 3 accommodated in the server itself. Also, in the above embodiment, an example was explained in which an IP telephone terminal 3 makes a call to an outside IP telephone terminal 5, but this is not limited to outside calls. It is of course also possible to send an apology message in the same way when an internal call is made and there is a high probability that it is a wrong number.

[Effects of the embodiment]
The SIP server 1 of the above-described embodiment can detect cases where a call is made from a subordinate IP telephone terminal 3, the caller's IP telephone terminal 3 goes on-hook without the recipient answering, and there is a high probability that the call is a wrong call. If there is a high probability that the call is a wrong call, an apology message can be automatically created and notified to the recipient (called party) even after the caller's IP telephone terminal 3 goes on-hook.

This allows an apology message to be displayed on the display of the recipient's telephone terminal, and for example, even if the recipient's user is about to answer the call but the call is cut off, the apology message can prevent the recipient's user from feeling uncomfortable. This also helps reduce the guilt felt by the caller who made the wrong call for having hung up without apologizing.

It is also possible to identify IP telephone terminals 3 that have a high number of wrong calls. As a result, when a call is made from an IP telephone terminal 3 that has a high number of wrong calls, the user of the IP telephone terminal 3 can be alerted and prompted to check whether the called party is correct, and if confirmation input that there is no mistake is received, the call line connection process can be performed. This makes it possible to reduce the occurrence of wrong calls.

[Modification]
In the above-described embodiment, if the time from when the INVITE request (calling information) is sent until the caller goes on-hook without the called party responding is within, for example, three seconds, it is determined that the call is a wrong call. However, this time of three seconds is just an example. For example, it can be any appropriate time, such as within five seconds or six seconds. In this case, a standardized predetermined time for the business phone system can be set in a non-volatile memory (not shown) in the control unit 102 of the SIP server 1 as the predetermined time that serves as the criterion for determining whether or not the call is a wrong call. It is also possible to configure, for example, in the address management DB 104 or the like, to set a predetermined time that serves as the criterion for determining whether or not the call is a wrong call for each IP telephone terminal 3 connected to the SIP server 1.

In the above-described embodiment, an apology message is sent if the time from when an INVITE request (calling information) is sent until the caller goes on-hook without the called party responding is within, for example, three seconds. Conversely, it is also possible to send a message if the time from when an INVITE request (calling information) is sent until the caller goes on-hook without the called party responding is greater than a predetermined time, for example, greater than ten seconds. In this case, it is also possible to send a message such as, "This is XX. I will call you back later," or "Please call XX."

<Application to telephone terminals>
In the above embodiment, the telephone terminal according to the present invention is applied to the SIP server 1, but the present invention is not limited to this. The telephone device of the present invention can be applied to the IP telephone terminal itself. By providing the IP telephone terminal with the timer circuit 107, wrong call determination unit 108, and apology message provision unit 109 that the SIP server 1 shown in Fig. 2 has, the function of sending an apology message when the probability of a wrong call is high can be realized. Also, by providing the IP telephone terminal with the wrong call count unit 110, wrong call frequency determination unit 111, warning provision unit 112, and a memory unit for holding the count value that the SIP server 1 shown in Fig. 2 has, the warning function at the time of outgoing call can be realized.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, an example was described in which an IP telephone is used that allows calls to be made mainly through an IP telephone network, but this is not limited to this. This invention can be applied when using a telephone function that can send messages, similar to the "INFO" request (method) in an IP telephone.

Although the above description focuses on the case where a text message such as an apology message is sent from the caller to the callee, it is also possible to configure the system to send a voice message instead. It is also possible to configure the system to provide multiple messages for the caller to send to the callee, and to select an appropriate message from the multiple messages and send it.

For example, in addition to "Apologies for the mistake," various messages such as "This is a wrong number. Sorry," and "I will call you back once I'm ready" can be prepared and used appropriately. In this case, for example, the apology message providing unit 109 functions to provide a number of apology messages prepared in the storage device 103 to the IP telephone terminal 3 that is the caller, and display them on the display 307 to allow the user of the IP telephone terminal 3 to select one.

In the above embodiment, when a call request arrives from an IP telephone terminal 3 that receives many wrong calls, a warning is issued and confirmation input is requested. In this case, confirmation input is requested by operating the "*" key, but this is not limited to this. It is possible to request various types of input, such as input of a specific numeric key.

[others]
As can be seen from the above description of the embodiment, the storage functions of the call processing means and cancellation means in the claims are realized by the call control unit 1061 of the SIP server 1 in the embodiment in cooperation with the control unit 102. Also, the functions of the timekeeping means, discrimination means and message providing means in the claims are realized by the timer circuit 107, wrong call discrimination unit 108 and apology message providing unit 109 of the SIP server 1 in the embodiment.

The functions of the counting means, storage means, number determination means, and warning provision means in the claims are realized by the wrong call counting unit 110, wrong call frequency determination unit 111, and warning provision unit 112 of the SIP server 1 in the embodiment. The function of the reception means in the claims is realized by the connection end 105T and LAN I/F 105 of the SIP server 1 in the embodiment in cooperation with the control unit 102.

The method described using the flowcharts in Figures 7 and 8 is a message delivery method executed by the telephone device of the present invention. The telephone device of the present invention can be realized by creating a program that executes the processes shown in Figures 7 and 8, and loading this into a telephone control device such as a SIP server or a telephone device such as a telephone terminal and making it executable.

Furthermore, the functions of the timer circuit 107, wrong call determination unit 108, and apology message provision unit 109 provided in the SIP server 1 as a telephone control device can be realized as functions of the control unit 102 by a program executed in the control unit 102 of the SIP server 1. Similarly, the functions of the wrong call count unit 110, wrong call frequency determination unit 111, and warning provision unit 112 of the SIP server 1 can be realized as functions of the control unit 102 by a program executed in the control unit 102 of the SIP server 1.

1...SIP server, 101T...connection end, 101...communication I/F, 102...control unit, 103...storage device, 104...address management DB, 105...LAN I/F, 105T...connection end, 106...call control unit, 1061...call control unit, 1062...received call control unit, 107...timer circuit, 108...wrong call discrimination unit, 109...apology message provision unit, 110...wrong call count unit, 111...wrong call frequency determination unit, 112...warning provision unit, 2...LAN, 3, 3(1), 3(2), 3(3)...IP telephone terminal, 301T...connection end, 301...LAN I/F, 302...handset, 303...codec, 304...operation input unit, 305...LED unit, 306...ringer, 307...display, 4...wide area network, 5...IP telephone terminal (outside line)

Claims (6)

a call processing means for sending call information to a telephone network to call a destination in response to an instruction from a user, thereby making a call to the destination;
a timer means for measuring a time from when the call processing means transmits the call information to when the call processing means receives an on-hook operation;
a determination means for determining whether or not the time measured by the timing means is within a predetermined time;
a message providing means for transmitting a message to the telephone network indicating that the call was a wrong number and providing the message to the telephone terminal of the called party when the determining means determines that the time measured by the timing means is within the predetermined time and the called party does not answer the call;
and canceling means for canceling a series of connection processes for connecting a telephone line triggered by the sending of the outgoing message after the message has been sent through the message providing means. 2. The telephone device of claim 1,
The telephone device is characterized in that the cancellation means cancels the series of connection processes without securing a call line if a response is received from the telephone terminal of the other party before the series of connection processes are canceled. 3. A telephone device according to claim 1 or 2,
The telephone control device is configured to accommodate one or more telephone terminals and perform call control for each of the telephone terminals,
the call processing means, the timekeeping means, the message providing means, and the cancellation means function for each of one or more of the telephone terminals;
said call processing means, when receiving a call request from said telephone terminal, forms said call information and sends it to said telephone network;
The telephone device is characterized in that the timing means measures the time from when the call information is sent through the call processing means to when information indicating that the telephone terminal has been put on hook is received from the telephone terminal that sent the call request. 4. A telephone device according to claim 3,
a counting means for counting the number of times a call is determined to be a wrong call for each of the one or more telephone terminals;
a storage means for storing the number of times counted by the counting means for each of the one or more telephone terminals;
a number determining means for, when the call request is received, referring to the number of times stored in the storage means for the telephone terminal that is the source of the call request , determining whether or not the number of wrong calls in a predetermined period is greater than a predetermined number;
and an attention-call providing means for providing an attention-call message to a telephone terminal that is a source of the outgoing call request when the number-of-times determining means determines that the number of times is greater than the predetermined number. 5. A telephone device according to claim 4,
a receiving means for receiving instruction information for instructing a continuation of a series of connection processes for connecting a telephone line from the telephone terminal of the destination after providing the attention calling message through the attention calling providing means,
The telephone device, wherein the call processing means, when receiving the instruction information through the reception means, transmits the call information to the telephone network. A telephone device according to claim 4 or claim 5,
The telephone device, wherein the attention message provided by the attention providing means includes one or both of a telephone number and a name of the other party to be called.

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