JP7566565B2 - Emergency call device - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to an emergency call device that makes emergency calls to emergency call receiving organizations such as police agencies, fire departments, and the Japan Coast Guard.

For example, there is known an emergency notification device that makes an emergency call to a designated emergency call receiving agency such as a fire department when an emergency such as a fire occurs. When the caller presses a call button, the emergency notification device calls the emergency call receiving agency, connects the call line, and automatically reports the occurrence of the emergency using a pre-prepared voice message. The emergency call receiving agency then calls back to a dedicated call telephone (hereinafter referred to as a dedicated telephone) connected to the emergency notification device. In response to this, the caller can pick up the handset of the dedicated telephone, which rings, and go off-hook to connect the call line between the dedicated telephone and the emergency call receiving agency, allowing the call to be made.

If the emergency call device is connected to a fixed telephone network (PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network)), the call line between the emergency call receiving agency and the emergency call device is put on hold after an emergency call is made. Therefore, when the emergency call receiving agency calls back, a call signal (hereinafter referred to as an IR signal) is sent from the fixed telephone network as a call-back signal (hereinafter referred to as a return call), and the dedicated telephone rings. In response, by picking up the handset of the dedicated telephone, it becomes possible to talk to a person at the emergency call receiving agency.

However, in recent years, it has become possible to use IP (Internet Protocol) networks instead of fixed-line telephone networks, and it is planned to transition all fixed-line telephone networks to IP networks in the near future. An IP network refers to a network that is interconnected using the Internet Protocol Suite technology (TCP/IP). When emergency call devices connected to an IP network are operated, the line hold function after an emergency call is no longer available, and a method is adopted in which the call line is connected and a conversation with the caller is made by calling back (calling back) to a dedicated telephone.

In this case, when an emergency call is made from an emergency call device connected to an IP network via a subscriber telephone line that has a contract for a service that notifies the caller's number when a call is received, the dedicated telephone cannot receive a callback from the emergency call receiving agency. The service that notifies the caller's number when a call is received is called Number Display (registered trademark) and is provided by telephone companies, and is referred to as the caller number notification service in this specification.

Let's say that an emergency call is made from an emergency call device connected to an IP network through a subscriber telephone line that has a contract for the caller ID service, and the emergency call receiving agency calls back the caller. In this case, the IP network sends out a data receiving terminal activation signal (hereafter referred to as a CAR signal) to activate the caller ID service-compatible function of the called telephone terminal. Next, if there is a response from the called telephone terminal, the IP network sends out the caller ID as a modem signal to notify the called telephone terminal of the caller ID and display it, and then an IR signal is sent to call the called telephone terminal. Note that if there is no response from the called telephone terminal within six seconds after the CAR signal is sent, the IP network automatically sends out an IR signal.

Needless to say, the dedicated telephone does not support the caller ID service because it is intended to enable emergency calls. For this reason, in response to a callback from an emergency call receiving agency, the dedicated telephone rings with the CAR signal that arrives first, and the dedicated telephone goes off-hook in response. In this case, the caller ID arrives immediately after, and the telephone cannot respond to the IR signal that arrives after that, so a call line cannot be connected between the emergency call receiving agency and the dedicated telephone. The applicant of the present application has previously filed an invention to solve this problem, and the application has already been published as Patent Document 1, which will be described later.

Patent Document 1 discloses an invention in which a dedicated telephone does not ring when a CAR signal arrives, but rings when an IR signal arrives, thereby connecting a telephone line to an emergency call receiving agency and enabling a call. Note that a CAR signal is a signal that has one cycle per second, with a 0.5 second on and 0.5 second off signal in succession. Also, an IR signal is a signal that has one cycle per three seconds, with a 1 second on and 2 seconds off signal in succession. Also, a modem signal is a signal in which a data signal is carrier modulated into an AC waveform within the voice band.

JP 2018-50170 A

The invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 is an effective method that enables a call line to be connected between an emergency call receiving agency and a dedicated telephone even when an emergency call is made from an emergency call device connected to a subscriber telephone line that has a caller ID service contract. However, it has become clear that there are further issues to be resolved regarding emergency call devices that are connected to an IP network via a subscriber telephone line that has a caller ID service contract. Specifically, this concerns how to deal with the situation when the dedicated telephone terminal is in an off-hook state.

When a dedicated telephone is connected to the fixed telephone network (PSTN), even if you pick up the handset of the dedicated telephone and wait for a call back, there is no particular problem because the caller ID service is not functioning, and you can make a call because it responds to the IR signal. However, when a dedicated telephone is connected to an IP network and you have a contract for the caller ID service, the caller ID service will operate and respond to the CAR signal. In this case, you will not be able to respond to the IR signal in response to the call back signal from the emergency call receiving agency, and you will not be able to connect a call line to the emergency call receiving agency, so you will not be able to make a call.

In view of the above, the object of this invention is to enable a telephone line to be connected in response to a return call from an emergency call receiving agency to make a call even if the telephone connected to an emergency call device that makes emergency calls via an IP network is in an off-hook state.

In order to solve the above problems, the emergency call device of the present invention as set forth in claim 1 comprises:
An emergency call device that makes an emergency call to a predetermined emergency call receiving agency through an IP (Internet Protocol) network,
a signal type discrimination means for discriminating a type of a received signal after an emergency call is made;
a line connection control means for controlling the connection of a telephone line between the emergency call receiving agency and a telephone connected to the device itself in accordance with the type of the received signal determined by the signal type determination means ;
a response/disconnection control means for controlling to send a response/disconnection signal to the IP network according to the type of the received signal determined by the signal type determination means;
Equipped with
said response/disconnection control means transmits a response signal when the type of said received signal is an information receiving terminal activation signal, and transmits a disconnection signal when the type of said received signal is a modem signal;
The line connection control means controls so as to connect a telephone line between the emergency call receiving agency and the telephone connected to the own device when the type of the received signal determined by the signal type determination means is a call signal.
It is characterized by:

According to this invention, even if a telephone connected to an emergency call device that makes emergency calls through an IP network is off-hook, it is possible to connect a call line in response to a return call from an emergency call receiving agency and make a call. This makes it possible to further improve the reliability of the emergency call device.

1 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration example of an emergency notification device according to a first embodiment; 2 is a block diagram for explaining the operation of the emergency notification device according to the first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram for explaining the operation of the emergency notification device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a block diagram for explaining the operation of the emergency notification device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram for explaining the operation of the emergency notification device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an emergency notification device according to a third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a block diagram for explaining the operation of the emergency notification device according to the third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram for explaining the operation of the emergency notification device according to the third embodiment.

The following describes an embodiment of an emergency call device according to the present invention with reference to the drawings. The emergency call device according to the embodiment described below is capable of responding to a return call from an emergency call receiving agency and enabling a call even if the dedicated telephone connected to the device is off-hook. Three embodiments of the emergency call device according to the present invention are described below.

In addition, the emergency call receiving organization to which the emergency call is made is generally a police organization, the Japan Coast Guard, a fire department, etc., but it is of course possible for any call destination, such as a security company, to be the emergency call receiving organization. In the embodiment described below, for the sake of simplicity, the emergency call device reports the occurrence of a fire, and the emergency call receiving organization is a fire department, as an example.

[First embodiment]
Fig. 1 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration example of an emergency call device according to a first embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the emergency call device 1 can make an emergency call by connecting a telephone line to an emergency call receiving agency 5 through an IP network 4. The IP network 4 means a network interconnected using TCP/IP, and includes all of the facilities related to communication on the telephone company side. In this specification, an analog line conversion device 6 is connected to the IP network 4, and the emergency call device 1 is connected to the IP network 4 via the analog line conversion device 6. Therefore, the emergency call device 1 and the analog line conversion device 6 are connected by an analog line.

The emergency call device 1 of the first embodiment is connected to a dedicated telephone 2 and a general telephone 3. The dedicated telephone 2 and the general telephone 3 function as telephones dedicated to emergency calls in order to respond to callbacks from emergency call receiving agencies. However, the general telephone 3 is also connected to a main device such as a SIP server (not shown), and is normally connected to an IP network through the main device, making it possible to make calls to desired recipients and answer incoming calls.

The general telephone 3 is compatible with the caller ID service and is connected to the IP network 4 through a subscriber telephone line that has a contract for the caller ID service. This allows the caller ID to be notified when a call is received and to be displayed on a display unit such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) that the device itself has. Note that the emergency call device 1 to which the general telephone 3 is connected is also connected to the IP network 4 through a subscriber telephone line that has a contract for the caller ID service.

As shown in FIG. 1, the emergency notification device 1 includes a line control unit 101, a telephone control unit 102, a CPU unit 103, and a notification button 104. The line control unit 101 controls the connection of the line through the IP network 4, and includes a signal type discrimination unit 1011, an answer/disconnection control unit 1012, and a notification control unit 1013. The telephone control unit 102 controls the connection between the line connected to the emergency notification device 1 and the dedicated telephone 2 or general telephone 3, and includes a hook state detection unit 1021 and a line connection control unit 1022.

The CPU 103 is a main control unit that controls each part of the emergency notification device 1, and is configured with a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), non-volatile memory, etc., although not shown. The notification button 104 is a button switch that is pressed by the caller. When the notification button 104 is pressed, a predetermined electrical signal is supplied to the CPU unit 103, and the CPU unit 103 is notified that the notification button has been operated.

When the report button 104 is pressed, the CPU unit 103 instructs the line control unit 101 to make an emergency report. In response, the report control unit 1013 functions and makes an emergency report to the emergency report receiving agency 5, which is a fire department in this embodiment. After the emergency report is made, the signal type discrimination unit 1011 discriminates the type of signal (type of received signal) sent to the device itself through the IP network 4 in response to a callback from the emergency report receiving agency 5.

As mentioned above, the emergency call device 1 is connected to the IP network 4 through a subscriber telephone line that has a contract for a caller ID service. Therefore, when the emergency call receiving agency 5 calls back the emergency call device 1 (sends a return call) in response to an emergency call from the emergency call device 1, the IP network 4 (telephone company side) first sends a CAR signal to the emergency call device 1. In response to this, a modem signal notifying the caller ID is sent, and then an IR signal is sent. Furthermore, if there is no response within six seconds of sending the CAR signal, the IP network 4 sends an IR signal.

For this reason, the signal type discrimination unit 1011 determines whether the received signal is a CAR signal or an IR signal, and notifies each relevant unit of this. The response/disconnection control unit 1012 controls the return of a response to the IP network 4 and the disconnection of the connected line, depending on the result of the discrimination by the signal type discrimination unit 1011 and the control signal from the notification control unit 1013.

The hook state detection unit 1021 detects the hook state (on-hook or off-hook) of each of the dedicated telephone 2 and the general telephone 3 connected to the device itself, and notifies the line connection control unit 1022 of the detection result. The line connection control unit 1022 controls the connection of the line for communication connected to the IP network 4 to the dedicated telephone 2 and the general telephone 3 based on the discrimination result from the signal type discrimination unit 1011 and the detection result from the hook state detection unit 1021.

In addition, when the line connection control unit 1022 connects a telephone line to the emergency call receiving agency 5 and the dedicated telephone 2 or the general telephone 3 is not off-hook, it rings the dedicated telephone 2 or the general telephone 3 to notify the caller of the incoming call. After this, the line connection control unit 1022 waits for the caller to go off-hook and then performs processing to connect the telephone line. In other words, the line connection control unit 1022 performs processing to connect a telephone line to the emergency call receiving agency 5, taking into account the hook state of the dedicated telephone 2 or the general telephone 3.

In the emergency call device 1 having the configuration described using FIG. 1, if a CAR signal is received in response to a callback from the emergency call receiving agency 5 after an emergency call is made, the device will not respond. However, if an IR signal is received, a communication line is connected between the dedicated telephone 2 and the general telephone 3, whichever is off-hook. When neither the dedicated telephone 2 nor the general telephone 3 is off-hook, the telephone rings as in the conventional manner to notify the occurrence of an incoming call, and a communication line is connected between the telephone that is off-hook.

Figure 2 is a block diagram for explaining the operation of the emergency notification device 1 of the first embodiment. In Figure 2, the line connection control unit 1022 is shown as having a connection circuit 221 and a call control unit 222 to easily show its functions, but it is not intended to have only the functions realized by these circuit units. The line connection control unit 1022 can perform various processes for line connection control, such as switching the connected telephone, controlling the ringing of the telephone, and sending a response signal, and this is also true in the second and third embodiments.

When the report button 104 of the emergency call device 1 is pressed, the report control unit 1013 functions in response to a control signal from the CPU unit 103. The report control unit 1013 connects the telephone line and makes a call to the emergency call receiving agency 5, and activates the response/disconnection control unit 1012 to detect a response from the emergency call receiving agency 5. Then, the disconnection control unit 1012 functions to send a disconnection signal and disconnect the connected telephone line. After this, the IP network 4 executes the caller ID service by sending a return call in response to the callback from the emergency call receiving agency 5. That is, the IP network 4 first sends a CAR signal to the emergency call device 1, and if there is a response to this, notifies the caller ID by a modem signal, and if an end signal (disconnection signal) is sent, sends an IR signal. Also, if there is no response within 6 seconds after sending the CAR signal, the IP network 4 sends an IR signal.

Therefore, after an emergency call is made, the signal type discrimination unit 1011 receives a signal sent to the device itself, discriminates the type of the received signal, and notifies the line connection control unit 1022 of the discrimination result. If the discrimination result from the signal type discrimination unit 1011 indicates the arrival of a CAR signal, the line connection control unit 1022 does nothing and maintains the state in which the telephone line is not connected. However, if the discrimination result from the signal type discrimination unit 1011 indicates the arrival of an IR signal, the line connection control unit 1022 controls the connection of the telephone line taking into account the discrimination result from the hook state detection unit 1021 of the hook state of the dedicated telephone 2 and the general telephone 3.

For example, suppose that the discrimination result from the signal type discrimination unit 1011 indicates that it is an IR signal, and the detection result from the hook state detection unit 1021 indicates that the dedicated telephone 2 is off-hook and the general telephone 3 is on-hook. In this case, as shown in FIG. 2, the line connection control unit 1022 connects the input terminal N and the connection terminal a in the connection circuit 221, disconnects the input terminal N and the connection terminal b, connects the dedicated telephone 2 in the off-hook state to a line with the IP network 4, and returns a response signal to the IP network 4. As a result, a call line is connected between the dedicated telephone 2 and the emergency call receiving agency 5 through the IP network 4, making it possible to make a call back.

Conversely, suppose that the discrimination result from the signal type discrimination unit 1011 indicates that it is an IR signal, and the detection result from the hook state detection unit 1021 indicates that the dedicated telephone 2 is on-hook and the general telephone 3 is off-hook. In this case, the line connection control unit 1022 disconnects the input terminal N from the connection terminal a in the connection circuit 221, connects the input terminal N to the connection terminal b, and connects the general telephone 3, which is off-hook, to the line with the IP network 4, and returns a response signal. As a result, a call line is connected between the general telephone 3 and the emergency call receiving agency 5 through the IP network 4, making it possible to make a call back.

Also, suppose that the discrimination result from the signal type discrimination unit 1011 indicates that it is an IR signal, and the detection result from the hook state detection unit 1021 indicates that both the dedicated telephone 2 and the general telephone 3 are off-hook. In this case, the line connection control unit 1022 connects the input terminal N and the connection terminal a in the connection circuit 221, and also connects the input terminal N and the connection terminal b, connects the communication lines of both the dedicated telephone 2 and the general telephone 3, which are off-hook, to the line to the IP network 4, and returns a response signal. As a result, communication lines are connected between the dedicated telephone 2 and the emergency call receiving agency 5, and between the general telephone 3 and the emergency call receiving agency 5 through the IP network 4, enabling a three-way call back and forth. It is also possible to determine priorities between the dedicated telephone 2 and the general telephone 3, and control the communication line to be connected to the telephone with the higher priority when both telephones are off-hook.

Also, assume that the discrimination result from the signal type discrimination unit 1011 indicates that it is an IR signal, and the detection result from the hook state detection unit 1021 indicates that both the dedicated telephone 2 and the general telephone 3 are on-hook. In this case, the call control unit 222 functions to notify both the dedicated telephone 2 and the general telephone 3 of the incoming call and cause them to ring. After this, an off-hook operation is performed on the dedicated telephone 2 or the general telephone 3, which is detected by the hook state detection unit 1021 and notified to the line connection control unit 1022. In this case, the connection circuit 221 connects the input terminal N to the connection terminal of the telephone that was off-hook, returns a response signal, and connects a call line between the telephone that was off-hook and the emergency call receiving agency 5, enabling a call back.

Figure 3 is a sequence diagram for explaining the operation of the emergency call device 1 of the first embodiment. When the call button 104 is pressed by the caller, the call control unit 1013 functions under control of the CPU unit 103, and performs an emergency call dial to the emergency call number 119 (step S1). In response, the IP network 4 calls the emergency call receiving agency 5, which is a fire department (step S2). In response, when a person in charge of the emergency call receiving agency 5 responds through a predetermined so-called command desk, a response signal is sent from the emergency call receiving agency 5 (step S3), which is transmitted to the emergency call device 1 through the IP network 4 (step S4). Note that the response signals sent in steps S3 and S4 may not be sent depending on the line used.

As a result, a telephone line is connected between the emergency call device 1 and the emergency call receiving agency 5 through the IP network 4. The call control unit 1013 of the emergency call device 1 automatically transmits a prepared call message (voice message) to the emergency call receiving agency 5 (step S5). The call message includes a voice message indicating the content of the emergency, such as "There's a fire. There's a fire," as well as an address and telephone number, transmitted as voice information. When the transmission of the entire call message is completed, the call control unit 1013 controls the response/disconnection control unit 1012 to transmit a disconnection signal (step S6). The disconnection signal is transmitted to the emergency call receiving agency 5 through the IP network 4 (step S7). As a result, the call line connected between the emergency call device 1 and the emergency call receiving agency 5 is released.

In this way, an emergency call is made, and the caller picks up the handset of the dedicated telephone 2 (off-hook state) as shown in Figure 3, and waits for a person at the emergency call receiving agency 5 to respond. In this state, the emergency call receiving agency 5 is waiting for a call back, and the telephone line is in a disconnected state. Note that in Figure 3, the general telephone 3 in the on-hook state has been omitted for simplicity.

The emergency call receiving agency 5 that received the emergency call sends a callback signal by performing a callback operation (reverse call operation) from a specified command console (step S11). The IP network 4 knows that the emergency call device 1, which is the callback destination, is connected to a subscriber telephone line that has a caller ID service contract. Therefore, the IP network 4 sends a CAR signal to the emergency call device 1 (step S12).

After an emergency call is made, the signal type discrimination unit 1011 of the line control unit 101 of the emergency call device 1 discriminates the type of the received signal, and the discrimination result is notified to the line connection control unit 1022 of the telephone control unit 102. However, nothing is done to the CAR signal. Therefore, even if the emergency call device 1 receives a CAR signal addressed to itself, it will not send a response signal in response to this, as shown in Figure 3. Therefore, if a response signal is not sent until 6 seconds have passed since the CAR signal was sent, the IP network 4 sends an IR signal to the emergency call device 1 (step S13).

The signal type discrimination unit 1011, which has received the IR signal, notifies the line connection control unit 1022 that it has determined that the received signal is an IR signal. The line connection control unit 1022 controls the connection circuit 221 to connect the input terminal N and the connection terminal a, and connects a line for communication between the dedicated telephone 2 in the off-hook state and the IP network 4 (step S14). Furthermore, the line connection control unit 1022 sends a response signal to the IP network 4 through this connected line (step S15). As a result, a call line is connected through the IP network 4 between the emergency call receiving agency 5 of the back call source and the dedicated telephone 2 in the off-hook state connected to the emergency call device 1 of the emergency call source, and a back call becomes possible (step S16).

In this way, the emergency notification device 1 of the first embodiment does not respond to the CAR signal, but waits for the arrival of an IR signal to automatically connect a telephone line to an off-hook telephone, enabling a call back. Therefore, if there is a telephone in an off-hook state, the telephone line is automatically connected to the off-hook telephone, enabling a call back, without performing a process such as calling the telephone and making it ring.

Note that the above description takes as an example a case where the dedicated telephone 2 is off-hook and the general telephone 3 is on-hook. However, when the dedicated telephone 2 is on-hook and the general telephone 3 is off-hook, a call line can be connected between the general telephone 3 and the emergency call receiving agency 5 in a similar manner, and a call can be made in return. Therefore, even if the caller has the dedicated telephone 2 or the general telephone 3 off-hook and is waiting for a call in return, the call line can be connected and a call can be made in return with a person at the emergency call receiving agency 5 to explain the situation, for example. This enables the emergency call receiving agency 5 to take appropriate action quickly.

[Second embodiment]
In the case of the emergency notification device 1 of the first embodiment, it is configured so that it does not respond even if a CAR signal arrives, but only connects a line with the IP network 4 and returns a response signal when an IR signal arrives. As described above, the IP network 4 is configured so that an IR signal is sent if there is no response within 6 seconds after the sending of the CAR signal. Therefore, in the case of the emergency notification device 1 of the first embodiment, as shown in Fig. 3, it takes more than 6 seconds from the sending of the return call (step S11) until the return call conversation (step S16) becomes possible.

The second embodiment of the emergency call device 1A therefore enables a more rapid call back. The second embodiment of the emergency call device 1A also has the same configuration as the first embodiment of the emergency call device 1 described with reference to FIG. 1. That is, the second embodiment of the emergency call device 1A also has a call line that can be connected to the emergency call receiving agency 5 via an IP network 4, and is connected to a dedicated telephone 2 and a general telephone 3 that supports the caller ID service. Therefore, the emergency call device 1A is also connected to the IP network 4 via a subscriber telephone line that has a contract for the caller ID service.

However, the configuration of the line control unit 101A, which will be described later, is different from that of the line control unit 101 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a block diagram for explaining the operation of the emergency notification device 1A of the second embodiment. Also, as can be seen by comparing FIG. 4 with FIG. 2, in the emergency notification device 1A of the second embodiment, the determination result from the signal type determination unit 1011 is also supplied to the answer/disconnection control unit 1012A in the line control unit 101A. The answer/disconnection control unit 1012 controls answering/disconnecting depending on the determination result from the signal type determination unit 1011. Apart from the configuration of the answer/disconnection control unit 1012, this second emergency notification device 1A is configured in the same way as the emergency notification device 1 of the first embodiment.

The response/disconnection control unit 1012A provided in the emergency notification device 1A of the second embodiment controls the output of response signals and disconnection signals according to the result of the discrimination from the signal type discrimination unit 1011, thereby enabling a rapid connection of the telephone line. That is, when the result of the discrimination from the signal type discrimination unit 1011 is a CAR signal, the response/disconnection control unit 1012A immediately sends a response signal to the IP network 4 to prompt the IP network 4 to provide the caller number. As a result, the caller number is notified from the IP network 4 by a modem signal.

When the result of the determination from the signal type determination unit 1011 is the caller number, the response/disconnection control unit 1012A immediately sends a disconnection signal to the IP network 4 to notify the IP network 4 that it has received the caller number and prompts it to send an IR signal. In response, the IP network 4 sends an IR signal. Subsequent processing is performed in the same manner as in the case of the emergency call device 1 of the first embodiment described above. That is, if there is a telephone connected to the emergency call device 1A that is in an off-hook state, a call line is connected between the off-hook telephone and the emergency call receiving agency 5 to establish a reverse call.

Figure 5 is a sequence diagram for explaining the operation of the emergency call device 1A of the second embodiment. When the caller presses the call button 104, the call control unit 1013 executes the emergency call process in response to control from the CPU unit 103. This emergency call process is the same as the process from step S1 to step S7 shown in Figure 3. After making an emergency call, the caller picks up the handset of the dedicated telephone 2 (off-hook state) as shown in Figure 5 and waits for the person in charge at the emergency call receiving agency 5 to respond. In this state, the device is in a so-called back call waiting state from the emergency call receiving agency 5, and the telephone line is in a disconnected state. Note that in Figure 5, the general telephone 3 in an on-hook state is omitted for the sake of simplicity.

The emergency call receiving agency 5 that received the emergency call sends a callback signal by performing a callback operation (reverse call operation) from a specified command console (step S21). In response, the IP network 4 knows that the emergency call device that is the callback destination is connected to a subscriber telephone line that has a caller ID service contract, so it sends a CAR signal to the emergency call device 1A (step S22).

After an emergency call is made, the signal type discrimination unit 1011 of the line control unit 101A of the emergency call device discriminates the type of the received signal, and the discrimination result is notified to the response/disconnection control unit 1012A and the line connection control unit 1022 of the telephone control unit 102. The line connection control unit 1022 does not perform any action on the CAR signal. On the other hand, when the response/disconnection control unit 1012A is notified by the signal type discrimination unit 1011 that a CAR signal has arrived, it immediately sends a response signal to the IP network 4 and prompts the user to provide the caller number (step S23).

In response, the IP network 4 transmits the caller number to the emergency notification device 1A (step S24). When the response/disconnection control unit 1012A receives notification from the signal type discrimination unit 1011 that the caller number has arrived, it immediately transmits a disconnection signal to the IP network 4, prompting the transmission of an IR signal (step S25). In response, the IP network 4 transmits an IR signal to the emergency notification device 1A (step S26). In this way, by returning a response signal in response to the arrival of a CAR signal and returning a disconnection signal in response to the arrival of the caller number, it is possible to encourage the IP network 4 to transmit an IR signal promptly.

As a result, the IP network 4, which has received the disconnection signal from the emergency notification device 1A, immediately transmits an IR signal to the emergency notification device 1 (step S26). The response/disconnection control unit 1012A does not perform any processing even when it is notified by the signal type discrimination unit 1011 that the received signal is a caller number. However, the telephone control unit 102 will function in response to the arrival of the IR signal. In other words, let us assume that the discrimination result from the signal type discrimination unit 1011 indicates that the received signal is an IR signal. In this case, the line connection control unit 1022 of the telephone control unit 102 controls the connection of the call line, taking into account the discrimination result from the hook state detection unit 1021 of the hook state of the dedicated telephone 2 and the general telephone 3.

In this case, the line connection control unit 1022 connects the input terminal N and the connection terminal a of the connection circuit 221, and connects a line for communication between the IP network 4 and the dedicated telephone 2 in the on-hook state (step S27). Furthermore, the line connection control unit 1022 sends a response signal to the IP network 4 through this connected line (step S28). As a result, a call line is connected through the IP network 4 between the emergency call receiving agency 5 of the reverse call source and the emergency call device 1A of the emergency call source, and a reverse call becomes possible (step S29).

In this way, the emergency notification device 1A of the second embodiment quickly ends the procedure for the caller number notification service by sending a response signal in response to the arrival of a CAR signal and sending a disconnection signal in response to the arrival of a caller number. This speeds up the sending of the IR signal from the IP network 4, and when an IR signal arrives, it is possible to automatically connect a call line with an off-hook telephone and enable a call back. Therefore, when a telephone is in an off-hook state, it is possible to quickly automatically connect a call line with the off-hook telephone and enable a call back, without having to perform processing such as calling the telephone and making it ring.

Here, an example is described in which the dedicated telephone 2 is off-hook and the general telephone 3 is on-hook. However, when the dedicated telephone 2 is on-hook and the general telephone 3 is off-hook, it is possible to connect a telephone line between the general telephone 3 and the emergency call receiving agency 5 and make a call back in the same way. Therefore, even if the caller has the dedicated telephone 2 or the general telephone 3 off-hook and is waiting for a call back, the call line can be connected to make a call back with the person in charge at the emergency call receiving agency 5 and explain the situation. This allows the emergency call receiving agency 5 to take appropriate action quickly. In other words, the process after the IR signal arrives is the same as that of the emergency call device 1 of the first embodiment described above.

[Third embodiment]
In the case of the emergency notification device 1A of the second embodiment described above, the procedure of the caller ID notification service is quickly terminated, so that the IR signal arrives early, the telephone line is automatically connected to the off-hook telephone, and the call back call can be started quickly. However, even if the caller ID is notified, it is not used. Therefore, in the case of the emergency notification device 1B of the third embodiment, the procedure of the caller ID notification service is quickly terminated as in the case of the second embodiment, but the notified caller ID is also used, so that the user's convenience can be improved.

That is, the emergency call device 1B of the third embodiment displays the emergency call number of the emergency call receiving agency, which is notified as the caller number from the IP network 4, on the display unit of the general telephone 3 that is connected to the device and in an on-hook state corresponding to the caller number notification service. This makes it possible for the user to recognize that the call is from the emergency call receiving agency 5 and respond when using the general telephone 3 to respond to a call back from the emergency call receiving agency 5.

Figure 6 is a block diagram for explaining an example of the configuration of the emergency call device 1B of the third embodiment. Also, Figure 7 is a block diagram for explaining the operation of the emergency call device 1B of the third embodiment. As shown in Figure 6, the emergency call device 1B of the third embodiment can also connect a telephone line to the emergency call receiving agency 5 through an IP network 4. Also, a dedicated telephone 2 and a general telephone 3 compatible with the caller ID service are connected to the emergency call device 1B of the third embodiment. Therefore, the emergency call device 1B is also connected to the IP network 4 through a subscriber telephone line that has a contract for the caller ID service.

As can be seen by comparing FIG. 6 with FIG. 1 and FIG. 7 with FIG. 2, the basic configuration of the emergency notification device 1B of the third embodiment is also similar to that of the emergency notification device 1 of the first embodiment. However, in the case of the emergency notification device 1B of the third embodiment, the function of the line connection control unit 1022B of the telephone control unit 102B is different from that of the line connection control unit 1022 of the first and second embodiments.

In the third embodiment of the emergency notification device 1B, after an emergency call, the line connection control unit 1022B is notified by the signal type discrimination unit 1011 that a CAR signal has been received, and by the hook state detection unit 1021 that the general telephone 3 is on-hook. In this way, when the CAR signal is received and the general telephone 3 is on-hook, the line connection control unit 1022B connects a line between the IP network 4 and the emergency notification device 1B, and connects the input terminal N and the connection terminal b in the connection circuit 221.

As a result, the general telephone 3 receives the CAR signal, goes off-hook, and the line is connected between the IP network 4 and the general telephone 3. Therefore, the IP network 4 notifies the general telephone 3 connected to the emergency call device 1B of the caller number, which in this embodiment is the emergency call number 119 of the emergency call receiving agency 5. In response, the general telephone 3 displays the caller number provided (notified) by the IP network 4 on its own display.

When the general telephone 3 has completed receiving the modem signal notifying the caller's telephone number, etc., it places itself on-hook. This causes a disconnection signal to be sent to the IP network 4, and the line connected between the IP network 4 and the general telephone 3 is released. In the case of the emergency notification device 1B of this third embodiment, the hook state of the general telephone 3 is detected by the hook state detection unit 1021, which is notified to the line connection control unit 1022B. This causes the line connection control unit 1022B to also release the connection between the input terminal N and the connection terminal b in the connection circuit 221.

As described above, when the disconnection signal is sent to the IP network 4, the series of processes related to the caller ID service is completed, and the IP network 4 transmits an IR signal to the emergency call device 1B to connect the telephone line to the emergency call receiving agency 5. When the IR signal is received by the emergency call device 1B, the signal type discrimination unit 1011 determines that the received signal is an IR signal, and notifies the line connection control unit 1022B. In this case, based on the detection result from the hook state detection unit 1021, the line connection control unit 1022B connects the line between the IP network 4 and the dedicated telephone 2 and the general telephone 3 that are connected to the device and are in the off-hook state.

That is, the line connection control unit 1022B switches the connection circuit 221 to the telephone that is off-hook. After this, the line connection control unit 1022B sends a response signal to the IP network 4, which then connects a call line between the emergency call receiving agency 5 of the caller (reverse call origin) and the telephone connected to the emergency call device 1B, enabling a call. In this way, the caller ID service function is utilized to enable the emergency call number of the emergency call receiving agency 5 of the reverse call origin to be displayed on the display unit of the general telephone 3. Furthermore, a call line can be connected between the telephone that is off-hook and the emergency call receiving agency 5, enabling a call.

If there is no off-hook telephone, the call control unit 222 functions to ring the dedicated telephone 2 and the general telephone 3 to notify the occurrence of an incoming call (in this example, a callback from the emergency call receiving agency 5). After this, the off-hook telephone is connected to the line connecting it to the IP network 4, and a response signal is sent, causing the IP network 4 to function and connect a call line between the emergency call receiving agency 5 and the telephone connected to the emergency call device 1B, enabling a call back.

Figure 8 is a sequence diagram for explaining the operation of the emergency call device 1B of the third embodiment. When the caller presses the call button 104, the call control unit 1013 executes the emergency call process in response to control from the CPU unit 103. This emergency call process is the same as the process from step S1 to step S7 shown in Figure 3. After making the emergency call, the caller picks up the handset of the dedicated telephone 2 (off-hook state) as shown in Figure 8, and waits for the person in charge at the emergency call receiving agency 5 to respond. In this state, the device is waiting for a return call from the emergency call receiving agency 5, and the telephone line is not connected. It is assumed that the general telephone 3 is on-hook as shown in Figure 8.

When the emergency call receiving agency 5 receives the emergency call, it sends out a callback signal by performing a callback operation from a specified command console (step S31). The IP network 4 knows that the emergency call device 1B, which is the other end of the callback, is connected to a subscriber telephone line that has a caller ID service contract. Therefore, the IP network 4 sends a CAR signal to the emergency call device 1B (step S32). When the emergency call device 1B receives the CAR signal, the signal type discrimination unit 1011 determines that a CAR signal has been received, and notifies the line connection control unit 1022B.

When the line connection control unit 1022B is notified of the arrival of the CAR signal, it controls to connect a line for communication between the general telephone 3 and the IP network 4 when the general telephone 3 that supports the caller ID service is in an on-hook state (step S33). That is, when the line connection control unit 1022B is notified of the arrival of the CAR signal, it connects the input terminal N of the connection circuit 221 to the connection terminal b if the general telephone 3 is in an on-hook state based on the detection result from the hook state detection unit 1021. As a result, the CAR signal is supplied to the general telephone 3 (step S34), the general telephone 3 goes off-hook, and a line for communication is connected between the general telephone 3 and the IP network 4.

In addition, in the emergency notification device 1B, for example, the non-volatile memory of the CPU unit 103 keeps track of what telephone is connected to which telephone connection terminal. Therefore, it also keeps track of whether the general telephone 3 connected to the device itself is compatible with the caller ID service.

When the general telephone 3 goes off-hook, a response signal is sent to the IP network 4 via the line connection control unit 1022B (step S35). In response, the IP network 4 transmits the emergency call number of the emergency call receiving agency 5 as the caller number to the general telephone 3 (step S36). The general telephone 3 receives the caller number from the IP network 4 and displays it on its own display.

Then, the general telephone 3 goes on-hook and sends a disconnection signal to the IP network 4 (step S37), and the line connected between the general telephone 3 and the IP network 4 is released. The IP network 4 also recognizes that the processing related to the caller ID service has ended, and an IR signal is sent from the IP network 4 (step S38). When the emergency notification device 1B receives the IR signal, the signal type discrimination unit 1011 determines that the received signal is an IR signal, and notifies the line connection control unit 1022B.

In this example, based on the detection result from the hook state detection unit 1021, the line connection control unit 1022B connects the input terminal N and the connection terminal a of the connection circuit 221 so as to connect the dedicated telephone 2 in the off-hook state to the line with the IP network 4 (step S39). After this, a response signal is sent to the IP network 4 via the line connection control unit 1022B (step S40). In response to this, the IP network 4 connects a call line between the dedicated telephone 2 in the off-hook state and the emergency call receiving agency 5 of the reverse call source, enabling the reverse call (step S41).

When the general telephone 3 is off-hook, a call line is connected between the general telephone 3 and the emergency call receiving agency 5, and a call can be made. In this case, the emergency call number of the emergency call receiving agency 5 is displayed on the display of the general telephone 3, so the caller can recognize that the other party is the emergency call receiving agency 5 and can participate in the call. In addition, if the general telephone 3 is off-hook from the beginning, the caller number is not notified, and the general telephone 3 is automatically connected to the call from the emergency call receiving agency 5 as the call line connection destination, as in the second embodiment, so that a call can be made.

In this way, in the case of the emergency call device 1B of the third embodiment, the procedure for the caller ID notification service is quickly completed, and the caller ID obtained in the process can be displayed on the general telephone and provided to the user. As a result, even if the general telephone 3 is used to answer the emergency call, the caller can recognize that the other party is an emergency call receiving agency and can make the call. Also, in the case of the emergency call device 1B of the third embodiment, if there is an off-hook telephone after the emergency call, the call line can be connected between the off-hook telephone and the emergency call receiving agency 5 without ringing, and a return call can be quickly started.

In the third embodiment, the case where the dedicated telephone 2 is off-hook and the general telephone 3 is on-hook has been described as an example. However, if the general telephone 3 is on-hook, it is possible to connect a line between the general telephone 3 and the IP network 4 regardless of the hook state of the dedicated telephone 2, and to receive and display the caller number via the caller number notification service.

[Effects of the embodiment]
The emergency call devices 1, 1A, and 1B of the above-mentioned embodiments can connect a telephone line between the off-hook telephone and the emergency call receiving agency and enable a call back if any telephone connected to the device is off-hook after an emergency call is made. Therefore, even if the caller presses the call button, picks up the handset, and waits for a response from the emergency call receiving agency, the call line can be connected to make a call back.

In the case of the emergency call device 1A of the second embodiment, the procedure for the caller ID call service can be quickly terminated and a call line can be connected between the off-hook telephone and the emergency call receiving agency 5, enabling a call back.

In addition, in the case of the emergency call device of the third embodiment, the procedure for the caller number reporting service can be quickly completed, and the emergency call number of the emergency call receiving agency provided as the caller number can be provided to the user via the general telephone. Therefore, when using a general telephone to make a call to an emergency call receiving agency, the call can be made after recognizing that the other party is an emergency call receiving agency. Furthermore, if there is a telephone that is off-hook, a call line can be connected between that off-hook telephone and the emergency call receiving agency 5, enabling a reverse call.

[Modification]
In the above-described embodiment, the emergency notification devices 1, 1A, and 1B have been described as making an emergency notification when the notification button is pressed, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in the case of an emergency notification device that reports the occurrence of a fire, the device may be configured to make a notification when a fire is detected by a heat sensor or a smoke sensor. Also, the device may be configured to make a notification when a suspicious person's intrusion is detected by a human presence sensor that detects the intrusion of a suspicious person. In this way, the emergency notification device may of course make an emergency notification when an emergency occurrence is detected by various sensors, not just when the notification button is pressed.

In the above embodiment, the dedicated telephone 2 and the general telephone 3 are described as being connected to the emergency notification device. In this case, the emergency notification device may of course be capable of connecting multiple dedicated telephones or multiple general telephones. In this case, it is sufficient to be able to detect the hook state of each telephone and to be able to switch the connection to the line for each telephone. In addition, when applied to the emergency notification device 1B of the third embodiment, it is sufficient to be able to allow the line connection control unit 1022B to control the connection between the general telephone that supports the caller ID service and the IP network 4.

In the above embodiment, the IP network and the emergency notification devices 1, 1A, 1B are connected to a line, and the response signal and disconnection signal are sent by the line connection control units 1022, 1022B of the telephone control units 102, 102B. However, this is not limited to the above. For example, it is also possible to configure the line connection control units 1022, 1022B of the emergency notification devices 1, 1A, 1B to control the response/disconnection control units 1012, 1012A of the line control units 101, 101A to send the response signal and disconnection signal to the IP network 4.

In the above-described embodiment, the emergency notification devices 1, 1A, and 1B are connected to a dedicated telephone 2 and a general telephone 3, which are managed by the non-volatile memory of the CPU unit 103, and both the dedicated telephone 2 and the general telephone 3 are capable of call-back communication. However, this is not limited to the above.

For example, a dedicated telephone can be set as the primary telephone and a general telephone as the secondary telephone, and the secondary telephone can be set not to be used for reverse calls. In this case, the correspondence is basically the same as that between the emergency notification device 1 of the first embodiment and the emergency notification device 1A of the second embodiment.

The secondary telephone can also be set to be used for back calls. In this case, the response is basically the same as that of the emergency notification device 1B in the third embodiment. However, in order to avoid the problem of back calls being impossible when the secondary telephone is off-hook, the call line can be automatically connected to the telephone in the off-hook state, just as in the case of a setting where the secondary telephone is not used.

Furthermore, the functions of each of the line control units 101, 101A and telephone control units 102, 102N can be realized as functions of the CPU unit 103 by a program executed by the CPU of the CPU unit 103. That is, the functions of each of the signal type discrimination unit 1011, answer/disconnection control units 1012, 1012A, and report control unit 1013 can also be realized by software. Similarly, the functions of each of the hook state detection unit 1021 and line connection control units 1022, 1022B can also be realized by software.

[others]
As can be seen from the above description of the embodiment, the function of the signal type discrimination means in the claims is realized by the signal type discrimination unit 1011 of the emergency notification devices 1, 1A, and 1B in the embodiment. Also, the function of the line connection control means in the claims is realized mainly by the line connection control units 1022 and 1022B of the emergency notification devices 1, 1A, and 1B in the embodiment. Also, the function of the response/connection control means in the claims is realized mainly by the response/disconnection control unit 1012A in the second embodiment. Also, the function of the hook state detection means in the claims is realized by the hook state detection unit 1021 of the emergency notification devices 1, 1A, and 1B in the embodiment.

1, 1A, 1B... Emergency call device, 101, 101A... Line control unit, 1011... Signal type discrimination unit, 1012, 1012A... Answer/disconnection control unit, 1013... Call control unit, 102, 102B... Telephone control unit, 1021... Hook state detection unit, 1022, 1022B... Line connection control unit, 221... Connection circuit, 222... Call control unit, 103... CPU unit, 104... Call button, 2... Dedicated telephone, 3 General telephone, 4... IP network, 5... Emergency call receiving agency, 6... Analog line conversion device

Claims (4)

An emergency call device that makes an emergency call to a predetermined emergency call receiving agency through an IP (Internet Protocol) network,
a signal type discrimination means for discriminating a type of a received signal after an emergency call is made;
a line connection control means for controlling the connection of a telephone line between the emergency call receiving agency and a telephone connected to the device itself in accordance with the type of the received signal determined by the signal type determination means ;
a response/disconnection control means for controlling to send a response/disconnection signal to the IP network according to the type of the received signal determined by the signal type determination means;
Equipped with
said response/disconnection control means transmits a response signal when the type of said received signal is an information receiving terminal activation signal, and transmits a disconnection signal when the type of said received signal is a modem signal;
The emergency call device is characterized in that the line connection control means controls so as to connect a telephone line between the emergency call receiving agency and the telephone connected to the device itself when the type of the received signal determined by the signal type determination means is a call signal. 2. The emergency call device according to claim 1 ,
a hook state detection means for detecting a hook state of the telephone;
The line connection control means controls so as to connect a telephone line between the telephone set determined to be in an off-hook state by the hook state detection means and the emergency call receiving agency. An emergency call device that makes an emergency call to a predetermined emergency call receiving agency through an IP (Internet Protocol) network,
a signal type discrimination means for discriminating a type of a received signal after an emergency call is made;
a line connection control means for controlling the connection of a telephone line between the emergency call receiving agency and a telephone connected to the device itself in accordance with the type of the received signal determined by the signal type determination means ;
a hook state detection means for detecting a hook state of the telephone;
Equipped with
The telephone connected to the device includes a general telephone equipped with a function corresponding to the caller ID service,
said line connection control means, when the type of the received signal determined by said signal type determination means is an information receiving terminal start-up signal and the detection result of said hook state detection means is that said general telephone is on-hook, connects a line between said IP network and said general telephone and sends a response signal, when said general telephone has finished receiving a modem signal from said IP network, sends a disconnection signal to release the line connected to said IP network, and when the type of the received signal determined by said signal type determination means is a call signal, controls to connect a communication line between said emergency call receiving agency and any of said telephones connected to said device. The emergency call device according to claim 3 ,
The line connection control means controls so as to connect a telephone line between the telephone set determined to be in an off-hook state by the hook state detection means and the emergency call receiving agency.

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