JP7630849B2 - How to process business using a telephone terminal - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for performing the smallest unit of business processing between bases for everyday telephone transactions (such as hotel reservations) using telephone terminals as a means of information communication, utilizing the specificity of telephone numbers to prevent hacking.

The ticket management server and program disclosed in Patent Document 1 (JP Patent Publication No. 2022-130559) aim to provide a highly convenient ticket management server and program. This ticket management server includes a control unit, a database that stores a ticket ID that identifies a ticket and a user phone number in association with each other, and a communication unit that can communicate with the user's user terminal via a network. The control unit determines whether or not a specific ticket issuing phone number that can be received by the communication unit has received an incoming call from the user phone number associated with the ticket ID of the ticket, and causes the ticket issuing device to issue a ticket when a determination condition is met, including the fact that the ticket issuing phone number has received a call from the user phone number associated with the ticket ID of the ticket.

The pension consultation system disclosed in Patent Document 2 (JP Patent Publication 2005-25704 A) uses optical fiber to make individual specific data from a pension calculation table based on assumed reserve funds and years, which is based on general pension trial data, viewable in the consultation room of a financial institution or the like, and allows advice from a specialist instructor. A dedicated optical fiber line is connected between the pension consultation room of a financial institution or the like and the pension specialist department, and the necessary information entered in a specified application form is sent to the pension specialist department by fax over a regular telephone line or by videophone using the optical fiber. Only materials suitable for the applicant listed on the application form are selected from the data file of the pension specialist department, and these materials are sent as image signals via the optical fiber network to the pension consultation room, providing the applicant with materials for the case that have been specified, and the pension specialist department can provide accurate materials related to the case in a dialogue format between the applicant and a specialist instructor from the pension specialist department while watching the television screen in the pension consultation room.

Patent Document 3 (JP Patent Publication 2003-256324) discloses a document information viewing system, a document information viewing method, and a document information viewing program. This system or program uses a local facsimile device to transmit information obtained by any means at any place to a host computer for facsimile reception, and a web data processing means automatically generates a web page including fax image data 16 obtained from the received fax document, and uploads it to a web server 8. A notification means sends an email including the network address (URL) of the uploaded web data to the viewing destination.

JP 2022-130559 A JP 2005-25704 A JP 2003-256324 A

The Internet has developed as an equal network where computers can share information with each other. Remote login, which is used in program development, etc., alters the programs and software on the server and operates the programs remotely. Currently, there is a lot of software for maintaining and managing the Internet that runs constantly and provides services, and some of these services are being misused for hacking. As the Internet has become more widespread, it has become difficult to identify users from their IP addresses, and hacking is carried out through Internet lines from all over the world. In addition, the socket libraries used for information communication on the Internet function as part of the OS, and the APIs are also widely open to the public. In other words, the Internet can be said to be an environment in which hacking is possible.

For this reason, when creating a network information system, the network creator must take into consideration hacking countermeasures when configuring, maintaining, managing, operating, and troubleshooting the network, which poses the challenge of requiring a lot of effort and personnel with specialized knowledge.

Furthermore, in the current client-server data processing system, which requests and provides services, one server provides many services, so when many locations request a variety of services, access to the server becomes concentrated, resulting in a heavy load. Also, when a server provides many services, the databases become more diverse and it becomes necessary to manage the locations that use the services, which can easily make the system complicated. In client-server data processing, the database is updated by the server, and the client only acts as an information terminal that refers to and updates the server's database, such as for inquiries and information input. In order for the client to function as a server, it needs to obtain a global IP address and be managed as a server, so it will never function as a server, and the only way to expand functionality is to increase the number of services on the server.

The present invention therefore provides a method for using telephone terminals as a means of information communication, taking advantage of the specificity of telephone numbers to prevent hacking, and performing the smallest unit of business processing between bases for everyday telephone transactions (such as hotel reservations).

The present invention uses nodes consisting of information terminals and telephone terminals as components of a network, uses telephone terminals as a means of data communication between nodes, performs client-server type data processing as work between nodes, and, in client-server type data processing, not only requests and execution of services, but also the provision and response to the results of execution are performed as the smallest unit of work.

The nodes, which are components of the network, are composed of information terminals and telephone terminals, and work as one node in cooperation with the telephone terminals and information terminals. The information terminals are preferably personal computers (e.g., Bluetooth-compatible models) that have the function of exchanging data between terminals, and the telephone terminals are preferably mobile phones (e.g., Bluetooth-compatible models) that use packet-switched data communication and have the function of exchanging data between terminals.

Furthermore, the telephone terminal is equipped with a telephone management unit, and the information terminal is equipped with a service management unit, a request management unit, a provision program for providing a service, a response program for responding to service responses, a connection list describing telephone numbers for which telephone connections are permitted, and a usage table describing available services for telephone numbers. Furthermore, the provision program is created by the person in charge of the node himself and performs the process of providing the service as a server process, and the response program is created by the person in charge of the node himself and performs the process of responding to the response data of the service as a server process. Furthermore, the connection list is set for the node by the person in charge of the node himself, and the usage table is set for the node by the person in charge of the node himself.

The telephone management unit also exchanges data between information terminals as a cooperative operation, making calls, hooking up, notifying the incoming telephone number, monitoring and notifying the telephone status (connected, connected, etc.), converting data received from the information terminal into packets and sending them to the telephone line, and converting packets received from the telephone line into data and sending them to the information terminal. The request management unit exchanges telephone connection requests and data with the telephone management unit, and performs client-server type data processing through inter-process communication within the corresponding program (server process) and the local host. Furthermore, the service management unit exchanges data with the telephone management unit, uses the connection list to determine whether the incoming telephone number can be connected, and uses the usage table to determine whether the incoming telephone number can be used, and performs client-server type data processing through inter-process communication within the providing program (server process) and the local host.

Furthermore, regarding the telephone connection between nodes, the telephone connection between nodes is made from the service request node to the service providing node. As the processing of the request node, the request management unit sends a telephone connection request to the telephone management unit. The telephone management unit receives the telephone connection request and makes a telephone call to the service providing node. As the above-mentioned telephone connection request, for example, a statement such as "bind: telephone number" may be sent, and thereafter, the telephone management unit exchanges data with the request management unit. As the processing of the providing node, when the telephone management unit detects an incoming call, it requests the service management unit to make a connection determination for the caller's telephone number, and the service management unit receives the request for connection determination and uses the above-mentioned connection list to make a connection determination and sends the determination result to the telephone management unit. Furthermore, the telephone management unit makes a telephone connection based on the connection determination result, and when the connection determination is "possible", it holds the caller's telephone number and sends a statement such as "bind?: telephone number" as a request for connection determination. Thereafter, the telephone management unit exchanges data with the service management unit.

In the process of the request node mentioned above, if the connection status changes to "connected", the telephone management unit sends "connection" to the request management unit, and if the status does not change after a certain period of time has passed, it stops the connection and sends "failure" to the request management unit. In this way, the nodes connected to the service providing node are limited, preventing hacking by an unspecified number of third parties.

When a telephone call is connected, a data communication path is created between the request management unit, telephone management unit, telephone line, and the telephone management unit and service management unit of the providing node in the requesting node. Basically, once the telephone line is connected, incoming calls are ignored until the telephone line is disconnected. Data between nodes is always exchanged between the request management unit of the requesting node and the service management unit of the providing node, so data that the request management unit of the requesting node sends to the telephone management unit is sent to the service management unit of the providing node, and data received from the telephone management unit of the requesting node becomes data received from the service management unit of the providing node. Inter-process communication can be performed between the request management unit of the requesting node and the service management unit of the providing node, so client-server type data processing can be performed with the request management unit as the client process and the service management unit as the server process.

Regarding service execution:
The process of the provider node is to perform inter-process communication between the provider program and the service management unit so that the provider program can be executed independently, and to perform client-server type data processing in the local host in which the provider program is configured as the server process and the service management unit is configured as the client process. When using a socket, a port number is determined, and if you want to change it, you can specify a unique port number when starting the provider program, and specify the port number of the provider program when starting the service management unit. Since the provider program can be executed independently, the person in charge of the node can freely create only the service processing that is required. When the service management unit receives the request data, it checks using the usage table whether the telephone number it holds can use the requested service. If the usage judgment is "no," it sets "unavailable" as the execution result, and if the usage is "available," it sends the telephone number and the request data to the provider program (provider process) and receives the execution result. In this way, the use of the service is limited to the request node (originating telephone number), so it is possible to prevent abuse (hacking) of the service by an unspecified number of third parties.

Regarding service execution results:
For request node processing, inter-process communication is performed between the corresponding program and the request management unit so that the corresponding program can be executed independently, and client-server type data processing is performed within the local host with the corresponding program as the server process and the request management unit as the client process. When using sockets, the port number is determined in advance, and if you want to change it, you specify a unique port number when starting the corresponding program, and when starting the request management unit, you specify the port number of the corresponding program. Since the corresponding program can be executed independently, the parties involved in the node can freely create only the response processing they need. When the request management unit receives response data, it sends the request service and response data to the corresponding program (response process) and receives the response result.

Regarding the end of work:
When the request management section receives the response result, it sends a "disconnection request" for the telephone line to the telephone management section, and when the telephone management section receives the "disconnection request," it disconnects the telephone line, completing one job.

As described above, according to the present invention, by using telephone terminals for information communication between bases, it is possible to prevent hacking from the Internet;
In addition, since the specificity of the telephone number (the base can be identified from the telephone number) is utilized to limit the bases that use the service, it is possible to prevent hacking by an unspecified number of third parties;
Furthermore, since the services available to each location are limited, it is possible to prevent the services from being misused by an unspecified number of third parties for hacking;
By simply using the telephone network, network maintenance, management, and troubleshooting can be omitted, since the telephone company will handle the maintenance, management, and troubleshooting of the network;
The uniqueness of phone numbers is used to prevent hacking, so security measures can be largely omitted;
Since telephone terminals are used as a means of information and communication, a base can be easily created by simply connecting an information terminal and a telephone terminal;
Since work between bases is done using client-server data processing, the bases function as servers, and the network system functions can be easily expanded as needed simply by adding services.
Since each base functions as a server, the database can be distributed to reduce the concentration of load on a specific server.
Since any node can be a server, it is easy to create a tree-type network;
There is no need to design the entire network system, and development can be done by focusing only on the work between bases, which significantly reduces development costs and time; and
Working between bases brings about such effects as the ability to develop the necessary functions independently, when necessary, allowing the system to expand dynamically.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a node according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the interactions between nodes in one embodiment of the method according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flow chart of the determination method according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram between processes according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the collection of work information as an example of work involving service request and execution, and provision and response of the execution results. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a request for payroll calculation as an example of a job involving a service request, its execution, and the provision and response of the execution results. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing confirmation of personal information as an example of a job involving a service request, execution, provision of the execution result, and a corresponding action.

The present invention is a method that uses nodes consisting of information terminals and telephone terminals as components of a network, uses telephone terminals as a means of information communication between the nodes, performs client-server type data processing as work between the nodes, and, in the client-server type data processing, not only requests and execution of services, but also the provision and response to the results of the execution are performed as the smallest unit of work.

Below, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figure 2.

A node is a telephone terminal and an information terminal that work together to perform a single function. Hereafter, when a telephone terminal and an information terminal function as a single node, they will be referred to as a node.

[Basic configuration of a node]
The node includes a telephone management section, a service management section, a request management section, a service providing program, a corresponding program for responding to service responses, a connection list describing telephone numbers for which telephone connections are permitted, and a usage table describing available services for telephone numbers.

The telephone management section of the telephone terminal exchanges data with the information terminal, making calls, hooking up, notifying the number of the incoming call, monitoring and notifying the telephone status (connected, connected, etc.), converting data received from the information terminal into packets and sending them to the telephone line, and converting packets received from the telephone line into data and sending it to the information terminal.

The service management section of the information terminal exchanges data with the telephone management section of the telephone terminal, determines whether the incoming telephone number can be connected and whether the service for the incoming telephone number can be used, and performs client-server data processing using inter-process communication between the providing program (server process) and the local host.

The request management section of the information terminal sends telephone connection requests and exchanges data with the telephone management section of the telephone terminal, and performs client-server data processing using inter-process communication between the corresponding program (server process) and the local host.

The corresponding program for the information terminal is created by the person in charge of the node himself, and performs the corresponding processing in response to the service response as a server process.

The corresponding program for the information terminal is created by the person in charge of the node himself, and performs the corresponding processing corresponding to the response data of the service as a server process.

By connecting nodes 200 and 300 by telephone, a data communication path is created that passes through request management unit 203, telephone management unit 201, telephone line, telephone management unit 301, and service management unit 302, and client-server type data processing is performed between request management unit 203 and service management unit 302. The telephone management unit on the client side exchanges data with the request management unit, and the telephone management unit on the server side exchanges data with the service management unit. Since one node has a request management unit that acts as a client and a service management unit that acts as a server, one node can be both a client and a server.

[Prevention of hacking]
FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing a method of determining whether or not a telephone connection is established and a method of determining whether or not a service is used.

The telephone connection determination method 100 and the service usage determination method 200 make their determinations using a connection row determination 300, a usage row determination 400, a hit determination 500, a request determination 600, a connection list (Table 1), a usage table (Table 2), and a data file with a telephone number as the primary key. The data file uses the data file with the DB name in the row information of the personal row in the usage table.

The connection row determination 300 checks whether the relevant telephone number is in the connection list (S310), and if it is, it returns "true", otherwise it returns "false".

The usage decision 400 checks whether the telephone number in question is in the usage table (S410), and if it is, it returns "true", otherwise it returns "false".

The hit decision 500 opens the data file with the DB name in the row information of the personal row in the usage table (S510), checks whether the relevant phone number is found in the data file (S520), and returns "true" if there is a hit, or "false" if there is no hit.

The request judgment 600 performs a line usage judgment for the relevant telephone number (S610), and if the line usage judgment (S610) is "false", it returns "false". When the judgment is complete and the line usage judgment (S610) is "true", it checks whether the requested service is present in the line information for the relevant line (S620). If the requested service is present, it returns "true", otherwise it returns "false".

The telephone connection determination method 100 checks whether there is a "personal" in the rows of the connection list and usage table (S110). If there is a "personal", "OK" is returned and the determination ends, and if there is no "personal", it checks whether there is a "new" in the rows of the connection list and usage table (S120). If there is a "new", "OK" is returned and the determination ends, and if there is no "new", a connection row determination (S130) is performed for the relevant telephone number. If the connection row determination (S130) is "true", "OK" is returned, and if the connection row determination (S130) is "false", "no" is returned.

The service usage determination method 200 uses a data file with the DB name in the row information of the personal row in the usage table as the data file, and checks whether the requested service is "personal" (S210). If the requested service is other than "personal", it checks whether the requested service is "new" (S230), and if the requested service is "personal", it performs a hit determination (S220) for the relevant telephone number (personal telephone number).

If the hit determination (S220) is "true", "OK" is returned, and the determination ends. If the hit determination (S220) is "false", it is checked whether the requested service is "new" (S230).

If the requested service is "new", "OK" is returned and the judgment is completed, and if the requested service is other than "new", a request judgment (S240) is performed on the corresponding telephone number.

If the request determination (S240) is "true", "OK" is returned; if the request determination (S240) is "false", "No" is returned.

[Telephone connections between nodes]
The telephone number of the node is entered in the node column of the request management screen 207, and the telephone number is passed to the request management unit 203. The request management unit 203 sends a telephone connection request to the telephone management unit 201. For example, a statement such as "bind: telephone number" can be sent. Thereafter, the telephone management unit 201 exchanges data with the request management unit 203. Upon receiving the telephone connection request, the telephone management unit 201 makes a telephone call to the telephone management unit 301.

When the telephone management unit 301 detects an incoming call, it sends the caller's telephone number to the service management unit 302 and requests a connection determination. For example, it can send a statement such as "bind?: telephone number". The telephone management unit 301 receives the determination result and connects the call based on the determination result. If the determination result is "OK", the telephone management unit 301 retains the caller's telephone number. Thereafter, the telephone management unit 301 exchanges data with the service management unit 302.

When the connection status changes to "connected", the telephone management unit 201 sends a "connection" to the request management unit 203. If the status does not change to "connected" after a certain period of time has passed, the telephone management unit 201 stops the connection and sends a "failure" to the request management unit 203. When the request management unit 203 receives the connection determination result, it notifies the user through the request management screen 207. (See Figure 4)

[Start of work between nodes]
When node 200 confirms the telephone connection, the job starts, and when it confirms the connection failure, the job ends. When the telephone connection between nodes is made, a data communication path is established between request management unit 203, telephone management unit 201, telephone line, telephone management unit 301, and service management unit 302. Thereafter, client-server data processing is performed with request management unit 203 acting as a client process and service management unit 302 acting as a server process. If necessary, the data exchange between request management unit 203 and service management unit 302 at both ends of the data communication path will be explained.

[Service Request and Execution]
Request data is created on the request management screen 207 and passed to the request management section 203, which then sends the request data to the service management section 302 via the data communication path. When the service management section 302 receives the request data, it performs a service usage judgment to see if the requested service can be used with the telephone number it holds. If the judgment is "no," the execution result is "unavailable," and if the service can be used, it sends the held telephone number and request data to the providing program and receives the execution result. At this time, client-server data processing is performed within the local host, with the providing program 310 acting as the server process and the service management section 302 acting as the client process (see Figure 4).

[Provision of execution results and response]
The service management unit 302 transmits the execution result as response data to the request management unit 203 via the data communication path.

When the request management unit 203 receives the response data, it sends the requested service and the response data to the corresponding program 220 and receives the response result. (See Figure 4)

[End of work]
When the request management section 203 receives the response result, it sends a "disconnection request" for the telephone line to the telephone management section 301. When the telephone management section 201 receives the "disconnection request", it disconnects the telephone line, and one job is completed (see FIG. 4).

The network system shown in Figure 5 is composed of four nodes: branch A (node A), branch B (node B), branch C (node C), and head office (node X), and the head office collects work information from each branch office.

First, perform the "collection of work information" task for branch A, then perform the "collection of work information" task for branches B and C in the same way.

To start the "collect work information" task, node X at the head office makes a telephone connection request to node A at branch office A.

Node A receives the telephone connection request, confirms that the connection is possible, and connects the telephone.

After confirming the telephone connection, node X sends request data (31) to node A as a service request to collect work information.

To execute the service, node A receives the request data, confirms that the availability of the "collection" service is "available," and executes the "collection" service (reads the "route").

To provide the execution result, node A sends the contents of the roster to node X as response data (32).

As a response to this result, when node X receives response data (32), it updates the work information DB for all employees based on the contents of the response data as a response process for the response data, and ends the task of "collecting work information" for branch A.

In the same way, Branch B and Branch C will carry out the "collection of work information" task and then end the "collection of work information" task.

In this way, information that is distributed across various locations can be easily collected. For example, information from municipalities can be collected by the prefecture, and other locations can make effective use of it. A tree-type network system can be easily realized.

The network system shown in Figure 6 is composed of four nodes: branch A (node A), branch B (node B), branch C (node C), and head office (node X), and branch A (node A) requests payroll calculations from the head office (node X).

To start the "payroll calculation request" task, branch office A (node A) requests a telephone connection to head office (node X).

Node X receives the telephone connection request, confirms that the connection is "available," and connects the telephone.

After confirming the telephone connection, node A sends request data (41) to node X as a service request for payroll calculation.

To execute the service, node X receives the request data, confirms that the "salary" service is available, and executes the "salary" service (calculate the salary).

To provide the execution result, node X sends the result of the payroll calculation for branch A to node A as response data (42).

When node A receives the response data (42), it processes the response data by printing out a pay slip for branch A based on the contents of the response data, and then ends the "payroll calculation request" task.

In the same way, branch B and branch C also perform the "payroll calculation request" task and then complete the "payroll calculation request" task. In this way, a distributed DB system can be easily realized.

The network system shown in Figure 7 is composed of two nodes, employee A1 (node A1) and the head office (node X), and employee A1 (node A1) confirms personal information with the head office (node X).

Employee nodes are dynamically created by using the employee's mobile phone number or other telephone number as the primary key (employee code) of the work information database.

To start the "verify personal information" task, employee A1 (node A1) makes a telephone connection request to the head office (node X).

Node X receives the telephone connection request, confirms that the connection is possible, and connects the telephone call. In this case, the connection is possible because the caller's telephone number (the employee's telephone number) is found in the work information DB, so the connection is possible.

As a service request, node A1 confirms the telephone connection and then sends request data (51) to node X as confirmation of personal information.

To execute the service, node X receives the request data (51), confirms that the "individual" service usage judgment is "yes", and executes the "individual" service (tallying up work hours for the specified period). In this case, the usage continuation judgment is made by associating the service name with the telephone number, which is the primary key of the work information DB, and since the requested service (telephone number) is found, the usage judgment is returned as "yes".

To provide the execution result, node X sends the total working hours to node A as response data (52).

As a result, when node A receives the response data (52), since there is no processing required for the response data, it displays the response data on the screen and ends the "verify personal information" task.

In this way, the characteristics of a phone number can be utilized, making it possible to identify a user even if the user ID and password are omitted.

31 Request data for "collection" service 32 Response data for "collection" service 41 Request data for "salary" service 42 Response data for "salary" service 51 Request data for "personal" service 52 Response data for "personal" service 200 Service request node 201 Telephone management section of request node 203 Request management section of request node 207 Request management screen of request node 220 Corresponding program of request node 300 Service provision node 301 Telephone management section of provision node 302 Service management section of provision node 310 Provision program of provision node

Claims (1)

A business processing method for transmitting and receiving data between a first node and a second node via a telephone line, comprising:
a connection step of performing a truth/false determination in the second node based on a telephone number associated with the first node, and forming a communication path between the first node and the second node via the telephone line when the truth/false determination is true;
a request step of transmitting business processing request data from the first node to the second node via the telephone line after the communication path is established in the connection step;
an execution step of receiving the business process request data transmitted in the request step at the second node and executing business process corresponding to the business process request data at the second node;
a response step of transmitting response data formed by the business process executed by the execution step from the second node to the first node via the telephone line;
a result processing step of receiving the response data transmitted in the response step at the first node and executing result processing based on the response data;
Equipped with
A business processing method characterized in that each of a plurality of nodes connectable to the telephone line becomes both the first node and the second node for each connection step, thereby forming a data processing network with the request step after the connection step through the execution step, the response step , and the result processing step as the smallest unit.

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