TELEPHONY SYSTEM

• US 20090185553A1
• Filed: 08/27/2008
• Published: 07/23/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Kodaka, Hiroshi
• Granted Patent: US 8,837,461 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1046 Call controllers; Call servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1073 Registration or de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/38 Displays
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/18 wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42348 Location-based services which utilize the location information of a target
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0045 involving hybrid, i.e. a mixture of public and private, or multi-vendor systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

In IP telephony systems, it has become impossible to detect the location of installation of a telephone terminal from the telephone number, since an IP telephone terminal can be installed in an arbitrary location. Also, even if one observes the calling party number presentation at the time of an incoming call, it has become impossible to grasp from where the calling party is placing the outgoing call. It is possible that, within an IP telephony system, a terminal location detection means is configured and the installation location of a telephone terminal is detected simultaneously with the registration of the telephone terminal. In addition, the problem can be solved by configuring, in an IP telephony server, a device of reporting location information about the correspondent to the telephone terminal and by configuring, in the telephone terminal, a device of displaying the received positional information.

Claims

1. A call connection device connected with a plurality of telephone terminals via a network, comprising:

a call connection part for carrying out call connection processing between said plurality of telephone terminals;

a terminal registration part registering the IP addresses of said telephone terminals; and

a terminal location detection part detecting the installation locations of said telephone terminals.

2. The call connection device according to claim 1, comprising:

a summary relay device table storage part connected with said telephone terminals and a summary communication interface table storage part administering a plurality of communication interfaces having said relay devices for connecting with said telephone terminals; and

wherein;

said terminal location detection part consults said summary relay device table storage part and said summary communication interface table storage part; and

detects the locations of said telephone terminals.

3. A call connection device connected with a plurality of telephone terminals via a network, comprising:

a call connection part for carrying out call connection processing between said plurality of telephone terminals;

a terminal registration part registering the IP addresses of said telephone terminals; and

a terminal location detection part detecting the installation locations of said telephone terminals; and

wherein;

said terminal location detection part comprises a summary relay device table storage part connected with said telephone terminals and a summary communication interface table storage part administering a plurality of communication interfaces having said relay devices for connecting with said telephone terminals;

said call connection part acquires, each time one of said telephone terminals gets connected with one of said communication interfaces, the IP address of said telephone terminal via said terminal registration part; and

said terminal location detection part consults said summary relay device table storage part and said summary communication interface table storage part and utilizes the IP address of said telephone terminal to examine with which communication interface of which relay device said connected telephone terminal is connected.

4. The call connection device according to claim 3, wherein said summary relay device table storage part stores an identifier capable of uniquely identifying said relay device and the IP address correspondence of said relay device.

5. The call connection device according to claim 4, wherein said summary communication interface table storage part stores an identifier capable of uniquely identifying said relay device, an identifier capable of uniquely identifying said communication interface, and the positional information correspondence corresponding to said communication interface.

6. The call connection device according to claim 5, wherein said terminal location detection part:

requests, with respect to the relay device corresponding to an identifier stored in said summary relay device table storage part, the MAC address of said telephone terminal as a search key of the IP address of said telephone terminal;

if receiving the MAC address of said telephone terminal from said relay device connected with said telephone terminal, requests, with respect to said relay device having returned the MAC address of said telephone terminal, the identifier of said communication interface with which said telephone terminal is connected, taking the MAC address of said telephone terminal to be a search key; and

,

if receiving the identifier of said communication interface connected with said telephone terminal, consults said summary communication interface table storage part and acquires said received positional information corresponding to said communication interface with which said telephone terminal is connected.

7. A call connection device connected with a plurality of telephone terminals via a network and supplying, to said telephone terminals, positional information about the telephone terminals of their respective telephone conversation correspondents, comprising:

a telephone terminal management part storing the identity information and positional information correspondences of said telephone terminals; and

a call connection part which, if receiving a call connection request from a telephone terminal on the outgoing call side, extracts positional information about said outgoing call side telephone terminal from said telephone terminal management part, using identity information about the outgoing call side telephone terminal included in said call connection request;

adds it to said call connection request;

transfers said call connection request to said reception side terminal;

extracts positional information about said incoming call side telephone terminal from said telephone terminal management part, from the identity information about the incoming call side telephone terminal included in said call connection request; and

transmits the reply with respect to said call connection request, in which said positional information is added, to said outgoing call side telephone terminal.

8. The call connection device according to claim 7, comprising:

a floor plan storage part in which the floor plans of the building in which said telephone terminal is used are stored; and

a floor plan transmission part which, if there is received a request, from said incoming call side telephone terminal having received said call connection request or said outgoing call side telephone terminal having received said reply message, for a floor plan corresponding to the positional information about the telephone terminals of the respective telephone conversation correspondents, respectively returns, to said outgoing call side telephone terminal or said incoming call side telephone terminal, the floor plans corresponding to the positional information about said telephone terminals respectively engaged in said telephone conversation.

9. A plurality of telephone terminals, respectively comprising:

a call connection part carrying out call connection processing with a call connection device carrying out the processing of the identifier of, and positional information about, said telephone terminal and receiving a message including positional information about the telephone terminal of the telephone conversation correspondent from said call connection device during said call connection processing; and

a location display part displaying said received positional information about the telephone terminal of the telephone conversation correspondent.

10. The telephone terminal according to claim 9, wherein, in the case of making a call connection with the telephone terminal of a telephone conversation correspondent:

a call connection request is transmitted to said call connection device by means of said call connection part;

a reply with respect to said call connection request including positional information about the telephone terminal of said telephone conversation correspondent is received by means of said call connection part; and

said received positional information about the terminal of the telephone conversation correspondent is displayed by means of said local display part.

11. The telephone terminal according to claim 9, wherein, in the case of receiving a call connection request from the telephone terminal of a telephone conversation correspondent:

a transfer of the call connection request, including positional information about the telephone terminal of said telephone conversation correspondent, is received from said call connection device by means of said call connection part; and

said received positional information about the terminal of the telephone conversation correspondent is displayed by means of said location display part.

12. The telephone terminal according to claim 9, wherein said location display part requests, with respect to said call connection device, a floor plan corresponding to said received positional information about the telephone terminal of the telephone conversation correspondent.

13. The telephone terminal according to claim 11, wherein:

the seat corresponding to the received positional information of the telephone terminal of the telephone conversation correspondent is included in said floor plan; and

said location display part changes the color of the seat corresponding to said received positional information about the telephone terminal of the telephone conversation correspondent and displays said floor plan.

14. A telephone system in which a plurality of telephone terminals and a call connection device carrying out the call connection processing of said telephone terminals are connected via a network, wherein:

said telephone terminals respectively comprise a call connection part carrying out call connection processing with said call connection device and receive a message including positional information about the telephone terminal of the telephone conversation correspondent from said call connection device during said call connection processing; and

a location display part displaying said received positional information about the telephone terminal of the telephone conversation correspondent; and

said call connection device comprises;

a call connection part for carrying out call connection processing between said plurality of telephone terminals;

a terminal registration part registering the IP addresses of said telephone terminals;

a telephone terminal management storage part storing information pertaining to said telephone terminals by means of said terminal registration part; and

a terminal location detection part detecting the installation locations of said telephone terminals if the IP addresses of the telephone terminals are registered in the call connection device.