JP4820323B2 - Communication network selection system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to routing processing for connection to a receiving terminal device when there is a possibility of connecting to the receiving terminal device via a communication network different from the communication network of the transmitting terminal device.

In general, a connection process between a transmission-side terminal device and a reception-side terminal device is performed by a process such as that described in Patent Document 1.
For example, assuming that the communication network to which the originating terminal device belongs is different from the communication network to which the terminating terminal device belongs, as shown in FIG. 10, the connection request signal from the originating terminal device 1 is sent to the originating communication device 50. When receiving (such as an exchange on the originating side), the originating side communication device 50 selects the incoming communication network based on an identification ID such as a telephone number, and then in the other network via the gateway 53 of its own network and the other network. A connection request signal is transmitted to the communication device (incoming communication device 51 including an exchange or the like). The receiving communication device 51 that has acquired the connection request signal makes an inquiry to the user management device 52 on the receiving side, so that the in-service state of the receiving terminal device 6, the address of the receiving communication device 51 in the area, the receiving terminal The contract status of the subscriber user of the device 6 is acquired, a connection request signal is transmitted to the receiving terminal device 6 via the receiving communication device 51 in the area, and paging is performed on the receiving terminal device 6 After confirming the actual location, a connection request signal is received at the receiving terminal device 6.

As described above, the inquiry and acquisition processing of the information such as the status of the area of the terminal device 6 on the receiving side is performed not on the communication network on the calling side but on the communication network on the receiving side.
Non-Patent Document 1 also describes that information such as a location status is acquired in the communication network on the receiving side.
JP 2005-8654 A 3GPP TS 23.018 "3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Core Network; Basic call handling; Technical realization (Release 1999)"

If the receiving terminal device 6 cannot receive an incoming call such as a non-service area during the connection process, information to that effect is returned to the calling communication device 50, for example, an answering service that is an additional service of its own network. However, the exchange of signals for connection processing on the other network side described above is wasted.
In addition, there are users using the FOMA service, which is a mobile phone service compliant with IMT2000, and the IP (Internet Protocol) phone service using a wireless LAN. For users who can use two or more such communication networks, in addition to the telephone number (identification ID) used for each service, a common number (representative identification ID) common to the plurality of telephone numbers (identification ID) It is desired to realize a service that can set the service (hereinafter, such a service is referred to as a one-number service).

In this one-number service, when a call is made to the representative identification ID of the receiving terminal device 6, whichever of the FOMA service network and the IP telephone network is set under conditions corresponding to the preset receiving terminal device. A call is received by the receiving terminal device 6 via the communication network. At this time, in the case of following the above conventional connection processing, as a result of performing processing such as location check in the communication network on the receiving side for each communication network, the exchange of signals increases, and the load on the network device is increased. There is a risk that the number of calls may increase or the time for receiving calls may increase. In particular, the tendency becomes stronger when the number of selectable communication networks increases or when incoming calls in each communication network fail.
The present invention has been made paying attention to the above points, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a connection process capable of shortening the connection processing time to the terminal device on the receiving side.

In order to solve the above problems, the invention described in claim 1 of the present invention corresponds to a representative identification ID that can be connected by a plurality of communication networks and that has a preset connection selection order of the plurality of communication networks. A communication network selection system for selecting a communication network to connect to a receiving terminal device when connecting from the calling terminal device to the receiving terminal device with the representative identification ID. ,
Upon receiving a destination selection request from the originating communication device that is a communication device of the communication network to which the originating terminal device has received the connection request from the originating terminal device , the connection selection order and the plurality of communication networks A communication network selection means for determining a communication network based on the location information of the receiving terminal device and notifying the determined communication network to the calling communication device as a destination,
In the communication network selection means, at least the network information other than the communication network to which the originating terminal device belongs has higher priority for the destination selection request in the other network than the communication network to which the originating terminal device belongs. If the communication network to which the originating terminal device belongs has higher priority for the destination selection request than the other network and the location within the communications network to which the originating terminal device belongs cannot be confirmed , After making a call, confirm the location of the receiving terminal device and obtain it.
The originating communication device performs a connection process to a destination communication network notified from the communication network selection means .

Next, the invention described in claim 2 is the configuration described in claim 1 , wherein the location information of the receiving terminal device in the communication network is obtained via the receiving communication device of the corresponding communication network. The location confirmation information is obtained by performing pre-page on the receiving terminal device.

  According to the present invention, even if the communication network of the calling terminal device and the communication network of the receiving terminal device are different, the inquiry processing such as the area check to the user management device can be omitted on the receiving side, This has the effect of reducing the load on the network device and the like and shortening the connection time.

Next, an embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(Constitution)
FIG. 1 is a configuration example for explaining an embodiment according to the present invention.
In this configuration example, two communication networks, ie, a local network (such as an IMT network or an IP telephone service network) and another network (such as a FOMA service network) are assumed. It is assumed that an incoming call can be made by both communication networks.
When the local network transmission side communication device 2 acquires the connection request signal from the transmission side terminal device 1, the local network transmission side communication device 2 inquires the user management device 3 about the destination selection request and transmits the selection result (transfer destination) from the user management device 3. When the notification of the domain or the like is acquired, a connection request signal is transmitted to the receiving communication devices 4 and 5 corresponding to the acquired information.

Upon receiving the connection request signal, the receiving side communication devices 4 and 5 receive the connection request signal and connect to the receiving side terminal device 6 .
In the present embodiment, other network incoming side communication on the other network side that can be connected via the GW 7 to the incoming side communication device 4 on the own network side to which the outgoing side terminal device 1 belongs and to the own network outgoing side communication device 2. An apparatus 5 is illustrated.
Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the user management device 3 includes a network selection processing unit 3A, a pre-paging processing unit 3B, and a user information storage unit 3C. The user information storage unit 3C may be a separate device from the user management device 3.

In the user information storage unit 3C, subscriber information, in particular, the identification ID in each network corresponding to the representative identification ID (representative number, etc.) of the terminal device on the receiving side, and information about which one is preferentially connected Is recorded, and in-zone registration information of each terminal device is stored.
The location registration information of each terminal device is acquired and updated from each terminal device periodically, for example.
When the prepage processing unit 3B receives the prepage processing signal, the prepage processing unit 3B issues a prepage request to the incoming side terminal device 6 to the other network incoming side communication device 5, and acquires the prepaged result.

The network selection processing unit 3A constitutes a communication network selection unit, and is activated when a destination selection request is acquired, and a process as shown in FIG. 3 is performed.
That is, first, in step S10, based on the subscriber information, it is determined whether or not the subscriber of the transmission side terminal device 1 is connectable. Transmit to device 2.
If the subscriber of the originating terminal device 1 is connectable, the process proceeds to step S20, and based on the subscriber information, the subscriber of the terminating terminal device 6 determines whether or not communication is stopped, and the communication If it is determined to be stopped, a connection impossible signal is transmitted to the own network transmission side communication device 2. If the subscriber of the receiving terminal device 6 is not in communication stop, the process proceeds to step S25.

In step S25, based on the subscriber information, it is determined whether or not the acquired identification ID such as a telephone number is a representative identification ID corresponding to one number. If it is determined to be a representative identification ID, the process proceeds to step S30. On the other hand, when it is determined that it is not the representative identification ID, a network corresponding to the identification ID is selected, and the selection result is transmitted to the own network transmission side communication device 2.
In step S30, based on the subscriber information, it is determined whether the subscriber of the receiving terminal device 6 is in a state where it can receive a call to its own network (the communication network to which the transmitting terminal device 1 belongs). Proceeds to step S40. If the subscriber of the receiving side terminal device 6 is not ready to receive calls to the own network, it is determined that the terminal is connected to another network, and the selection result is transmitted to the own network sending side communication device 2.

In step S40, it is determined whether or not the first priority connection destination is the local network based on the subscriber information. If it is determined that the local network is the local network, the process proceeds to step S50. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S60. To do.
In step S50, the receiving terminal device 6 determines whether or not the local network is in the local network. If it is determined that the local network is in the local network, it is determined that the terminal is connected to the local network and the selection result is transmitted to the local network transmission side. Transmit to the communication device 2. If it is not within its own network, the process proceeds to step S70.
Here, in the present embodiment, for the presence check of the own network, the case where the location check is performed with the location registration information registered in the user management information is illustrated, but as with other networks, Pre-paging processing may be performed on the own network to check the location.

In step S70, the pre-paging processing unit 3B is activated to check whether the receiving terminal device 6 is in another network or not, and in step S80, it is determined that the other network is in another network. In this case, it is determined that the connection is to another network, and the selection result is transmitted to the local network transmission side communication device 2. On the other hand, if it is determined that the other network is not located, it is determined that the connection is to the local network, and the selection result is transmitted to the local network transmission side communication device 2.
In step S60, the receiving terminal device 6 determines whether or not the local network is in its own network. If it is determined that the local network is in its own network, the process proceeds to step S90. The connection result is selected, and the selection result is transmitted to the local network transmission side communication device 2.

In step S90, the pre-paging processing unit 3B is activated to check whether or not the receiving terminal device 6 is located in another network, and in step S100, it is determined that the other network is located. In this case, it is determined that the connection is to another network, and the selection result is transmitted to the local network transmission side communication device 2.
On the other hand, if it is determined that the other network is not located, it is determined that the connection is to the local network, and the selection result is transmitted to the local network transmission side communication device 2.

Then, the user management device 3 selects the network to be connected in the above-described processing, assigns the address of the destination communication device, and transmits the selection result to the inquired network transmission side communication device 2. When transmitting the selection result, the user management apparatus 3 refers to the user management information, and acquires the representative identification ID and the identification ID corresponding to the selected connection destination network (identification ID in the destination network). Is determined to be different from each other, the identification ID in the destination network is also transmitted to the local network transmission side communication device 2.
In the figure, the own network GW7 (gateway) indicates a device that performs protocol interworking with another network, and the other network GW7 (gateway) indicates a device that performs protocol interworking with the own network.
Here, the communication device corresponds to, for example, an exchange.

(Operation example)
Next, an operation example in the system configured as described above will be described.
As shown in FIG. 4, when a location registration signal is transmitted from each terminal device to the communication device of the communication network to which the terminal device belongs, the communication device registers the location registration with the corresponding user management device 3. The request is transmitted, and the user management apparatus 3 performs a location registration process.
In the following description, it is assumed that the representative identification ID of the receiving terminal device 6 can be connected to both the network to which the transmitting terminal device 1 belongs and other networks. Further, it is assumed that the transmission-side terminal device 1 makes a call to the reception-side terminal device 6 with the representative identification ID. Further, a description will be given assuming that the representative identification ID of the receiving terminal device 6 and the identification ID of the receiving terminal device 6 on the originating network are the same (different from the identification IDs of other networks).

(1) When the setting of the subscriber user of the receiving terminal device 6 is such that the same network as that of the calling terminal device is preferentially selected, the connection request signal transmitted from the calling terminal device 1 is When the network transmission side communication device 2 acquires, the user management device 3 is inquired of the destination selection.
When the network selection processing unit 3A of the user management apparatus 3 determines that the own network is preferred in step S40 and determines that the own network is located based on the located area registration information in step S50, as shown in FIG. Is transmitted to the local network transmission side communication device 2 as a selection result (including the address of the local network reception side communication device 4).

The local network communication device 2 that has acquired the selection result transmits a connection request signal to the local network communication device 4 based on the selection result.
The local network incoming side communication device 4 paging the incoming side terminal device 6 and then receives a connection request signal to the incoming side terminal device 6. Note that the paging process is not required when the location confirmation is based on the result of the pre-paging process via the local network incoming communication device 4 instead of the area registration information.
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S50 that the own network is not located, processing as shown in FIG. 6 is performed.

  That is, the network selection processing unit 3A performs pre-paging on the receiving terminal device 6 via the other network receiving communication device 5 in step S70, and based on the pre-paging result in step S80. Then, it is determined whether or not the called terminal device 6 is actually located in another network, and if it is confirmed that the called terminal is located in another network, the selection result is that the other network (giving the address of the destination communication device). Is transmitted to the local network transmission side communication device 2. At this time, based on the content of the user management information, it is determined that the acquired representative identification ID is different from the identification ID in the other network (identification ID in the selected destination network). ) Is also transmitted to the local network transmission side communication device 2.

The local network transmission side communication device 2 that has acquired the selection result transmits a connection request signal to the corresponding other network incoming side communication device 5 via the local network GW7 and the other network GW7 based on the selection result signal. When receiving the connection request signal, the other network incoming side communication device 5 omits the transmission of the conventional paging signal and causes the incoming side terminal device 6 to receive the connection request signal for connection.
Here, if it is determined in step S80 that the other network is not located, a selection result signal of the destination local network (additional service activation request is given) is transmitted to the local network transmission side communication device 2.

When the local network transmission side communication device 2 obtains the selection result signal of the destination local network (granting an additional service activation request), a connection request is made to a service processing unit (not shown) when the answering service cannot be connected. Send.
In this way, when the communication network (own network) to which the originating terminal device 1 belongs has priority, if the local network area of the terminating terminal device 6 can be confirmed, the status of the other network is determined. Can be connected without.

In addition, when you are not in your own network, check the other network area (other network incoming is acceptable) for the first time, but after confirming the other network area by performing pre-paging, Since incoming calls from other networks are implemented, the possibility of connection failure is reduced. In addition, when the location registration information is used, if the location registration interval is long, it may not be possible to receive a call if it is determined that the other network is located and the incoming call is processed on the other network. Although assumed, in the present embodiment, it is possible to greatly connect connection processing related to such an incoming call failure. In addition, since the pre-paging process is performed in advance, the paging process for the incoming call can be omitted, so that the incoming time may be shortened.
Further, when the local network is not located in another network, in this embodiment, neither the local network incoming side communication device 4 nor the other network incoming side communication device 5 performs connection processing. Exchanges are reduced, and the incoming time for additional services is also shortened.

(2) When the setting of the subscriber user of the receiving terminal device 6 is a setting that preferentially selects another network different from the own network of the calling terminal device, a connection request signal transmitted from the calling terminal device 1 When the local network transmission side communication device 2 obtains, the user management device 3 is inquired of the destination selection.
When the network selection processing unit 3A of the user management apparatus 3 determines that the local network is not preferred in step S40, and if it is determined that the local network is in the area based on the registered area in step S60, the other network incoming side is determined in step S90. Pre-paging is performed on the receiving terminal device 6 via the communication device 5, and whether or not the receiving terminal device 6 is actually located in another network based on the pre-paging result in step S100. If it is confirmed that the other network is located, as shown in FIG. 7, a signal indicating the result of selection of the incoming other network (giving the address of the destination communication device) is sent to the local network transmission side communication device 2. Send. At this time, based on the content of the user management information, it is determined that the acquired representative identification ID is different from the identification ID in the other network (identification ID in the selected destination network). ) Is also transmitted to the local network transmission side communication device 2.

The local network transmission side communication device 2 that has acquired the selection result transmits a connection request signal to the corresponding other network incoming side communication device 5 via the local network GW7 and the other network GW7 based on the selection result signal. When receiving the connection request signal, the other network incoming side communication device 5 omits the transmission of the conventional paging signal and causes the incoming side terminal device 6 to receive the connection request signal for connection.
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S100 that the other network is not located, since the own network is confirmed in step S60, the incoming call is selected as the own network as shown in FIG. The result (including the address of the local network incoming side communication device 4) is transmitted to the local network transmission side communication device 2.

  The local network communication device 2 that has acquired the selection result transmits a connection request signal to the local network communication device 4 based on the selection result. The local network incoming side communication device 4 paging the incoming side terminal device 6 and then receives a connection request signal to the incoming side terminal device 6. Note that the paging process is not required when the location confirmation is based on the result of the pre-paging process via the local network incoming communication device 4 instead of the area registration information.

Here, if it is determined in step S100 that the other network is not located, the local network is confirmed in step S60, so that the selection result of the destination local network (additional service activation request is given) is selected. The signal is transmitted to the local network transmission side communication device 2.
When the local network transmission side communication device 2 obtains the selection result signal of the destination local network (granting an additional service activation request), a connection request is made to a service processing unit (not shown) when the answering service cannot be connected. Send.
If it is determined in step S60 that the local network is not in the service area, the selection result is transmitted with the destination as the other network, and the connection process to the other network is performed by a normal process.

As described above, when priority is given to a communication network (other network) different from the communication network to which the originating terminal device 1 belongs, pre-paging is performed to check the other network coverage area and actually Since incoming calls from other networks are performed after checking the service area, the possibility of connection failure is reduced. In addition, when the location registration information is used, if the location registration interval is long, it may not be possible to receive a call if it is determined that the other network is located and the incoming call is processed on the other network. Although assumed, in the present embodiment, it is possible to greatly connect connection processing related to such an incoming call failure. In addition, since the pre-paging process is performed in advance, the paging process for the incoming call can be omitted, so that the incoming time may be shortened.
In the present embodiment, when the own network is also not located in another network, connection processing to another network is performed so that processing is performed on the priority network side.
(3) If the transmission is not the representative identification ID, the network selection result corresponding to the identification ID is transmitted to the local network transmission side communication device 2 as not the representative identification ID in step S25.

(effect)
As described above, in the present embodiment, a network that is connected by the calling communication device 2 is appropriately connected in the calling network without unconditionally transmitting a connection request to the possible receiving communication device 4. Since the connection request is transmitted to the receiving communication device 4 after the selection is made, communication communication when the connection cannot be made can be reduced. In particular, since the presence of the service area is also checked to determine the connection side, it is possible to perform a routing process with a high connection possibility.
Further, in the case where confirmation is made by pre-paging without using the location registration information as the location confirmation, it becomes possible to increase the possibility of connection and to perform paging processing when receiving the incoming terminal device 6. It can be omitted.
In addition, in the incoming side communication device 5 of the other network, processing such as an inquiry for checking the location to the user management device 3 can be omitted, so that it is possible to contribute to reducing the load on each device and the load on the network.

(application)
Here, although the case where the user management apparatus 3 common to the local network and the other network is set is illustrated in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this. The user management device 3 of the own network may be different from the user management device 3 of the other network. In this case, the user management device 3 of the own network may make an inquiry to the user management device 3 of the other network to acquire the location information and the like.

(Application examples)
An application example will be described with an example in which connection processing is performed from a mobile communication network compliant with IMT-2000 to an IP telephone service network using a wireless LAN as another network.
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing an example of connection processing from the IMT network to the IP telephone service network. Here, a case where connection processing is performed from the calling-side terminal device 1 toward the receiving-side terminal device 6 will be described. Further, it is assumed that the receiving terminal 6 can receive calls through both the IMT network and the IP telephone service network. Here, the originating side exchange constitutes the originating side communication device 2, and the gateway SIP server and the SIP server constitute the terminating side communication device 4.

  FIG. 9 also shows the originating terminal device 1, the originating exchange (hereinafter referred to as the originating exchange) 21, the in-zone information management server 22 that is the originating user management device, and the terminating user management device 3. Visited information management server 23, Visited information management server 24, which is a user management device for other networks, GW 25 for converting media from circuit switching to packet switching, Gateway SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) server 26, SIP server 27, the receiving terminal device 6 is shown.

  In the figure, when a connection request signal is transmitted from the transmission side terminal device 1, the transmission side switch 21 receives it. The originating side exchange 21 inquires the in-zone information management server 22 about the destination selection for the terminating terminal device 6. Upon receiving this inquiry, the location information management server 22 acquires the location information from the location information management server 23 of the IP telephone service network and the location information management server 24 of other communication networks. At this time, pre-paging processing may be performed to confirm actual location. The area information management server 22 that has acquired the area information determines a transfer destination domain (communication network to be connected) as a selection result based on the acquired information. Then, the located area information management server 22 notifies the originating exchange 21 of the determined transfer destination domain. Here, it is assumed that the forwarding domain is determined as “IP telephone service network”.

  Upon receiving the transfer destination domain notification from the location information management server 22, the originating side exchange 21 transmits a connection request signal to the GW 25. In the GW 25, protocol conversion is performed, and an inquiry about the SIP server 27 is made from the gateway SIP server 26 to the area information management server 23. This inquiry is called incoming translation. This incoming call translation is a process of acquiring a visited state, a visited exchange address, a service contract status, and the like after a connection destination network (IMT network / IP telephone service network) is determined.

Thereafter, a connection request signal is transmitted from the gateway SIP server 26 via the SIP server 27, and an incoming call is made to the receiving terminal device 6 in the IP telephone service network.
In this application example, a case is described where the originating side switch 21 performs a routing process for selecting only a network to be connected based on the area being visited. The address may also be transmitted to the originating exchange. By doing so, the time until the incoming call can be further shortened.
In this application example, since it is assumed that the connectable network is unknown, the process of acquiring the area information from the area information management server 24 of another communication network is performed. If a simple network has been determined, it is only necessary to acquire location information from that network.

It is the schematic which shows the structure of the system which concerns on embodiment based on this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure regarding this invention in the user management apparatus which concerns on embodiment based on this invention. It is a figure which shows the process of a network selection process part. It is a figure explaining located area registration. It is a figure explaining the process in the case of own network priority and own network location. It is a figure explaining the process in the case of own network priority and a non-local area of an own network. It is a figure explaining the process in the case of another network priority and another network location. It is a figure explaining the process in the case of other network priority and other network non-locating area. It is a figure explaining an application example. It is a figure explaining the conventional process.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Originating side terminal apparatus 2 Originating side communication apparatus 3 User management apparatus 3A Network selection processing part 3B Pre-paging processing part 3C User information storage part 4 Incoming side communication apparatus 5 of own network Incoming side communication apparatus 6 of other network Incoming side terminal apparatus

Claims (2)

With respect to the receiving side terminal device corresponding to the representative identification ID that can be connected by a plurality of communication networks and the connection selection order of the plurality of communication networks is set in advance, the calling side terminal device receives the representative identification ID from the receiving side terminal device. A communication network selection system for selecting which communication network to connect to the terminal device on the receiving side when connecting to the terminal device,
Upon receiving a destination selection request from the originating communication device that is a communication device of the communication network to which the originating terminal device has received the connection request from the originating terminal device , the connection selection order and the plurality of communication networks A communication network selection means for determining a communication network based on the location information of the receiving terminal device and notifying the determined communication network to the calling communication device as a destination,
In the communication network selection means, at least the network information other than the communication network to which the originating terminal device belongs has higher priority for the destination selection request in the other network than the communication network to which the originating terminal device belongs. If the communication network to which the originating terminal device belongs has higher priority for the destination selection request than the other network and the location within the communications network to which the originating terminal device belongs cannot be confirmed , After making a call, confirm the location of the receiving terminal device and obtain it.
The communication network selection system, wherein the transmission side communication device performs a connection process to a destination communication network notified from the communication network selection means . The location information of the receiving terminal device in the communication network is the location confirmation information acquired by performing pre-page on the receiving terminal device via the receiving communication device of the corresponding communication network. The communication network selection system according to claim 1 .

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