Mobile phone terminal, server, and group call system

• US 8,565,749 B2
• Filed: 04/26/2007
• Issued: 10/22/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Inventors: Satake, Masaomi
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Hai V
• Application Number:
  US12/298,718
• Publication Number:
  US 20100016007A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,371 Days
• Field of Search: 455/518, 455/422.1
• US Class Current: 455/422.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4061 Push-to services, e.g. push-to-talk or push-to-video
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/10 Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-On-Call services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/45 for Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-to-Talk over cellular [PoC] services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/186 Processing of subscriber group data

Abstract

A mobile station 10 includes: an SMS information acquisition unit 21 configured to acquire an SMS (registration request) through line switching NW 300, the SMS including group call identification information that identifies a group call; a memory 19 configured to store the group call identification information included in the SMS (registration request) as a received call history; and a halfway participation processor 25b configured to accept calling operation for the group call associated with the group call identification information stored as the received call history, to acquire from the storage unit the group call identification information associated with the group call for which the calling operation has been accepted, and to generate an INVITE (halfway participation) including the acquired group call identification information.

Claims

1. A mobile phone terminal connectable with a group call system that performs a group call in which a phone call among a plurality of mobile phone terminals is performed, the mobile phone terminal comprising:

a receiver that receives, through a line switching network, an address registration request message including group call identification information identifying the group call and requesting address registration in a server provided in a packet switching network;

a storage unit that stores the group call identification information included in the address registration request message received through the line switching network, as a received call history; and

a processor that accepts calling operation for the group call corresponding to the group call identification information stored as the received call history, wherein

the processor acquires from the storage unit the group call identification information associated with the group call for which the calling operation has been accepted,

the processor transmits halfway participation calling information including the acquired group call identification information, and

the mobile phone terminal joining the group call halfway does not correspond to an initial formation of the group call.

2. The mobile phone terminal according to claim 1, wherein the group call identification information is a list of terminal identification information that identifies a mobile phone terminal specified as a member of the group call by the mobile phone terminal of a calling source of the group call.

3. The mobile phone terminal according to claim 1, wherein the group call identification information is a list of a telephone number of the mobile phone terminal specified as the member of the group call by the calling source of the group call.

4. The mobile phone terminal according to claim 1, wherein the group call identification information is a group ID uniquely assigned to the group call by the server.

5. A server provided in a packet switching network and that manages a group call in which a phone call among a plurality of mobile phone terminals is performed, the server comprising:

a new calling information receiver that receives new calling information that requests start of the group call;

a management unit that manages the group call on the basis of group call identification information that identifies the group call associated with the new calling information received in the new calling information receiver;

an instructing unit that instructs to include the group call identification information in an address registration request message to be transmitted to a calling destination mobile phone terminal of the group call through a line switching network, the calling destination mobile phone terminal of the group call associated with the new calling information received in the new calling information receiver;

a halfway participation calling information receiver that receives halfway participation calling information including the group call identification information; and

a halfway participation processor that determines whether or not an on-going group call exists in a plurality of group calls managed in the management unit, the on-going group call associated with the group call identification information included in the halfway participation calling information received in the halfway participation calling information receiver; and

that permits the mobile phone terminal that has transmitted the halfway participation calling information to participate in the on-going group call when the on-going group call associated with the group call identification information exists,

wherein the mobile phone terminal joining the group call halfway does not correspond to an initial formation of the group call.

6. The server according to claim 5, wherein the group call identification information is a list of terminal identification information that identifies a mobile phone terminal specified as a member of the group call by a mobile phone terminal of a calling source of the group call.

7. The server according to claim 5, wherein the group call identification information is a list of a telephone number of the mobile phone terminal specified as the member of the group call by the calling source of the group call.

8. The server according to claim 5, wherein the group call identification information is a group ID that uniquely identifies the group call.

9. A mobile phone terminal connectable with a group call system that performs a group call in which a phone call among a plurality of mobile phone terminals is performed, the mobile phone terminal comprising:

a receiver that receives new received call information requesting participation in the group call and including the group ID that uniquely identifies the group call;

a storage unit that associates the group call corresponding to the new received call information received in the receiver, with the group ID included in the new received call information;

and that stores the group call and the group ID as a received call history;

a processor that accepts calling operation for the group call stored as the received call history, wherein

the processor acquires from the storage unit the group ID associated with the group call for which the calling operation has been accepted,

the processor transmits halfway participation calling information including the acquired group ID,

the processor prohibits transmission of the halfway participation calling information associated with the group call after receiving a notice of a completion of the group call associated with the halfway participation calling information, when receiving the notice as a result of transmitting the halfway participation calling information, and

the mobile phone terminal joining the group call halfway does not correspond to an initial formation of the group call.

10. The mobile phone terminal according to claim 9, wherein

the storage unit stores a plurality of pieces of terminal identification information in association with the group ID, the pieces of terminal identification information respectively identifying a plurality of mobile phone terminals specified as a member of the group call stored as the received call history, and

the mobile phone terminal further comprises a new calling information transmitter that transmits new calling information that requests start of a new group call when the re-calling prohibition unit prohibits transmission of the halfway participation calling information, the new calling information including the plurality of pieces of terminal identification information stored in the storage unit in association with the group ID.

11. The mobile phone terminal according to claim 10, further comprising a selector that selects the terminal identification information from the plurality of pieces of terminal identification information stored in the storage unit in association with the group ID, wherein

the new calling information transmitter transmits the new calling information including the terminal identification information selected by the selector.

12. A group call system configured of a plurality of mobile phone terminals and a server that manages a group call in which a phone call among the mobile phone terminals is performed, wherein

the server comprises:

a new calling information receiver that receives new calling information that requests start of the group call;

a management unit that assigns a group ID that uniquely specifies the group call associated with the new calling information received in the new calling information receiver, and that manages the group call on the basis of the group ID; and

a transmitter that transmits the group ID assigned to the group call and new received call information that requests participation in the group call, to the mobile phone terminal of a calling destination of the group call associated with the new calling information received in the new calling information receiver,

the mobile phone terminal comprises;

a storage unit that stores the group call as a received call history in association with the group ID included in the new received call information, the group call associated with the new received call information received from the server; and

a processor that accepts calling operation for the group call stored as the received call history, wherein the processor acquires from the storage unit the group ID associated with the group call for which the calling operation has been accepted, and the processor transmits halfway participation calling information including the acquired group ID to the server, and

the server further comprises

a halfway participation processor that determines whether or not an on-going group call associated with the group ID included in the halfway participation calling information received from the mobile phone terminal exists in the plurality of group calls managed in the management unit, and that permits the mobile phone terminal that has transmitted the halfway participation calling information to participate in the group call when the on-going group call associated with the group ID exists,

wherein the mobile phone terminal joining the group call halfway does not correspond to an initial formation of the group call.

13. A mobile phone terminal connectable with a group call system that performs a group call in which a phone call among a plurality of mobile phone terminals is performed, the mobile phone terminal comprising:

a receiver that receives new received call information requesting participation in the group call and including a group ID that uniquely identifies the group call;

a storage unit that associates the group call corresponding to the new received call information received from a server, with the group ID included in the new received call information;

and that stores the group call and the group ID as a received call history; and

a processor that accepts calling operation for the group call stored as the received call history, wherein

the processor acquires from the storage unit the group ID associated with the group call for which the calling operation has been accepted,

the processor transmits halfway participation calling information including the acquired group ID, and

the mobile phone terminal joining the group call halfway does not correspond to an initial formation of the group call.

14. A server configured to manage a group call in which a phone call among a plurality of mobile phone terminals is performed, the server comprising:

a new calling information receiver that receives new calling information that requests start of the group call;

a management unit that assigns a group ID that uniquely identifies the group call associated with the new calling information received in the new calling information receiver, and that manages the group call on the basis of the group ID;

a transmitter that transmits the group ID assigned to the group call to the mobile phone terminal of a calling destination of the group call associated with the new calling information received in the new calling information receiver, in addition to new received call information that requests participation in the group call;

a halfway participation calling information receiver that receives halfway participation calling information including the group ID; and

a halfway participation processor that determines whether or not an on-going group call associated with the group ID included in the halfway participation calling information received in the halfway participation calling information receiver exists in the plurality of group calls managed in the management unit, and that permits the mobile phone terminal that has transmitted the halfway participation calling information to participate in the on-going group call when the on-going group call associated with the group ID exists,

wherein the mobile phone terminal joining the group call halfway does not correspond to an initial formation of the group call.

15. A server that manages a group call in which a phone call among a plurality of mobile phone terminals is performed, the server comprising:

a new calling information receiver that receives new calling information that requests start of the group call;

a management unit that manages whether or not a mobile phone terminal specified as a calling destination of the group call corresponding to the new calling information received in the new calling information receiver participates in the group call; and

an informing unit that monitors a group call protocol application that executes the group call;

and that informs the mobile phone terminal specified as the calling destination of the group call and not participating in the group call, about a change of the group call protocol application, when the group call protocol application that executes the group call is changed,

wherein the mobile phone terminal joining the group call halfway does not correspond to an initial formation of the group call.

16. A mobile phone terminal connectable with a group call system that performs a group call in which a phone call among a plurality of mobile phone terminals is performed, the mobile phone terminal comprising:

a receiver that receives new received call information that requests participation in the group call, the new received call information including group identification information that identifies the group call;

a storage unit that stores the group call corresponding to the new received call information received in the receiver, as a received call history, while associating the group call with the group identification information included in the new received call information and with application identification information identifying a group call protocol application that executes the group call;

a received call history updating unit that updates the application identification information stored as the received call history on the basis of a notice of change of the group call protocol application when receiving the notice of change of the group call protocol application that executes the group call; and

a processor that accepts calling operation for the group call stored as the received call history, wherein

the processor acquires from the storage unit the application identification information and the group identification information associated with the group call for which the calling operation has been accepted,

the processor transmits halfway participation calling information that includes the acquired group identification information and requests halfway participation in the group call with the group call protocol application associated with the acquired application identification information, and

the mobile phone terminal joining the group call halfway does not correspond to an initial formation of the group call.