Communication method and device

Abstract

The invention provides a communication method and device, which can reduce the number of times of interaction between a user and an interactive voice response (IVR) and improve the user experience. The method is applied to a media function (MF) network element, and comprises the following steps: sending first information, the first information indicating a plurality of candidate services, the plurality of services being determined based on interactive voice response (IVR) menu information; receiving second information, wherein the second information indicates a first service in the plurality of services; and according to the first service, determining multiple pieces of option information in the IVR menu information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular, to a communication method and apparatus. Background Art

[0002] An interactive voice response (IVR) system is an automatic telephone system. When a user dials a service number through a terminal device (such as a mobile phone), the IVR system plays a pre-recorded IVR playback file to the user through the terminal device to implement a voice menu navigation function; the user selects different mobile phone keys according to the played information to communicate and interact with the IVR system to complete a specific service function.

[0003] The IVR system usually sets up multiple levels of menus, and guides customers to complete service through the interactive voice corresponding to each level of the menu. In this process, the user needs to continuously select digital keys for interaction. The complex key settings and long voice playback process will increase the time cost for the user to obtain specific information. This poor user experience will cause some users to transfer to a human customer service. The IVR system then needs to complete service processing through the human customer service, resulting in low utilization rate of the IVR system and waste of costs and communication resources. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a communication method and apparatus, which can reduce the number of interactions between a user and an IVR system and improve the user experience.

[0005] In a first aspect, this application provides a communication method applied to a media function (MF) network element, including: sending a first message, where the first message indicates multiple candidate services, and the multiple services are determined based on interactive voice response (IVR) menu information; receiving a second message, where the second message indicates a first service among the multiple services; and determining multiple option information in the IVR menu information according to the first service.

[0006] The above design indicates multiple candidate services to a terminal user through the first message, and converts the services selected by the user of the terminal device into multiple option information corresponding to the IVR menu information. The function of the terminal user obtaining specific service information from the IVR system can be realized with only one interaction, which can improve the user experience and the utilization rate of the IVR system, and reduce the waste of costs and communication resources.

[0007] In a possible design, it further includes: receiving third information from a Data Channel Signaling Control Function (DCSF) network element, where the third information is used to indicate whether to send the multiple option information to the IVR system through a core network element; and sending the multiple option information according to the third information. In this design, the MF can determine whether it is necessary to forward the multiple option information through the core network element based on the trigger of the third information.

[0008] In a possible design, the third information includes the callback address of the DCSF network element, and the third information is used to indicate sending the multiple option information to the IVR system through the core network element; the step of sending the multiple option information according to the third information includes: sending multiple Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) signals to the DCSF network element in sequence according to the callback address of the DCSF network element, where one of the multiple DTMF signals is used to indicate one of the multiple option information. Based on the callback address of the DCSF, information feedback from the MF to the DCSF is realized. Similarly, the DCSF can also feedback information to the DCAS based on the callback address of the DCAS, and then the DCAS forwards the received feedback information to the core network element (such as the IMS AS), so as to realize forwarding the multiple option information determined by the MF to the IVR system through the core network element. Such a design can be understood as adopting an out-of-band signaling transmission method to realize the function of sending multiple option information to the IVR system.

[0009] In a possible design, the third information does not include the callback address of the DCSF network element, and the third information is used to indicate not sending the multiple option information to the IVR system through the core network element; the step of sending the multiple option information according to the third information includes: sending multiple DTMF signals to the IVR system in sequence, where one of the multiple DTMF signals is used to indicate one of the multiple option information. Such a design can be understood as adopting an in-band signaling transmission method to realize the function of sending multiple option information to the IVR system.

[0010] In a possible design, it further includes: receiving Session Description Protocol (SDP) information of the IVR system from a core network element, where the SDP information includes RFC2833 information; the step of sending multiple DTMF signals to the IVR system in sequence includes: sending multiple Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP) packets to the IVR system in sequence according to the RFC2833 information, and each of the multiple RTP packets includes one of the multiple DTMF signals. In this design, in-band signals such as DTMF signals are transmitted by interacting with RTP packets.

[0011] In a possible design, the IVR menu information includes multi-level menu information, where each level of menu information in the multi-level menu information includes multiple candidate information, and one of the multiple option information is a candidate information in a first-level menu of the multi-level menu.

[0012] In a possible design, the multiple DTMF signals include a first DTMF signal and a second DTMF signal. The sequential transmission of the multiple DTMF signals includes: transmitting the first DTMF signal, and after receiving the response information of the IVR system to the first DTMF signal, transmitting the second DTMF signal; or, transmitting the first DTMF signal, and transmitting the second DTMF signal after a first time period when the first DTMF signal has been transmitted. The time-division transmission of the multiple DTMF signals through response or timing conforms to the query feedback logic corresponding to the menu information in the IVR system, which helps to accurately feedback the service information required by the user.

[0013] In a possible design, it further includes: after transmitting the second DTMF signal, receiving the first service-related information from the IVR system; and sending the first service-related information to the terminal device. In such a design, the forwarding of the intermediate response information of the IVR system is omitted, and only the final service-related information is forwarded to the terminal device, which can reduce signaling interaction, directly provide the service information required by the user, and improve the user experience.

[0014] In a possible design, it further includes: receiving the first information and / or the IVR menu information from a Data Channel Signaling Control Function (DCSF) network element.

[0015] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which can be used to execute the method described in the first aspect and any of its possible implementation manners above. The communication device can be a Media Function (MF) network element. The communication device may include corresponding modules, units, or means for implementing the method described in the first aspect and any of its possible implementation manners above. The module, unit, or means can be implemented by hardware, software, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above functions.

[0016] In a possible implementation manner, the communication device may include a baseband device and a radio frequency device.

[0017] In another possible implementation, the communication device may include a processing module (sometimes also referred to as a processing unit) and a transceiver module (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver unit, a communication module, a communication unit, etc.). The transceiver module can implement the sending function and the receiving function. When the transceiver module implements the sending function, it can be referred to as a sending module (sometimes also referred to as a sending unit). When the transceiver module implements the receiving function, it can be referred to as a receiving module (sometimes also referred to as a receiving unit). The sending module and the receiving module can be the same functional module, and this functional module is called the transceiver module, which can implement the sending function and the receiving function; or, the sending module and the receiving module can be different functional modules, and the transceiver module is a general term for these functional modules.

[0018] A transceiver module, configured to send first information, where the first information indicates a plurality of candidate services, and the plurality of services are determined based on interactive voice response (IVR) menu information; and receive second information, where the second information indicates a first service among the plurality of services.

[0019] A processing module, configured to determine a plurality of option information in the IVR menu information according to the first service.

[0020] In a possible design, the transceiver module is further configured to receive third information from a data channel signaling control function (DCSF) network element, where the third information is used to indicate whether to send the plurality of option information to the IVR system through a core network element; and send the plurality of option information according to the third information.

[0021] In a possible design, the third information includes a callback address of the DCSF network element, and the third information is used to indicate to send the plurality of option information to the IVR system through the core network element; the transceiver module is further configured to sequentially send a plurality of dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signals to the DCSF network element according to the callback address of the DCSF network element, and one of the plurality of DTMF signals is used to indicate one of the plurality of option information.

[0022] In a possible design, the third information does not include a callback address of the DCSF network element, and the third information is used to indicate not to send the plurality of option information to the IVR system through the core network element; the transceiver module is further configured to sequentially send a plurality of DTMF signals to the IVR system, and one of the plurality of DTMF signals is used to indicate one of the plurality of option information.

[0023] In a possible design, it further includes: receiving SDP information of an IVR system from a core network element, where the SDP information includes RFC2833 information; a transceiver module, further configured to sequentially send multiple Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP) packets to the IVR system according to the RFC2833 information, and each of the multiple RTP packets includes one DTMF signal among the multiple DTMF signals.

[0024] In a possible design, the IVR menu information includes multi-level menu information, and each level of menu information in the multi-level menu information includes multiple candidate information, and one of the multiple option information is a candidate information in a first-level menu of the multi-level menu.

[0025] In a possible design, the multiple DTMF signals include a first DTMF signal and a second DTMF signal, and the transceiver module is further configured to send the first DTMF signal, and after receiving a response message of the IVR system to the first DTMF signal, send the second DTMF signal; or, send the first DTMF signal, and send the second DTMF signal after a first time period when the first DTMF signal has been sent.

[0026] In a possible design, the transceiver module is further configured to, after sending the second DTMF signal, receive the first service-related information from the IVR system; and send the first service-related information to the terminal device.

[0027] In a possible design, the transceiver module is further configured to receive the first information and / or the IVR menu information from a Data Channel Signaling Control Function (DCSF) network element.

[0028] In a third aspect, the present application further provides a communication device. The communication device may include one or more processors. Optionally, the communication device may further include a memory. Wherein, the memory is used to store one or more computer programs or instructions. The one or more processors are configured to execute the one or more computer programs or instructions stored in the memory, so that the communication device executes the method described in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner thereof.

[0029] In a fourth aspect, the present application further provides a communication device, including: a processor and an interface circuit; the interface circuit is configured to receive a signal from another communication device outside the communication device and transmit it to the processor, or send a signal from the processor to another communication device outside the communication device. The processor is configured to implement the method described in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner thereof through a logic circuit or by executing a computer program or instruction.

[0030] In some possible designs, when the device is a chip system, it can be composed of chips or can include chips and other discrete devices.

[0031] In a fifth aspect, the present application further provides a chip system, where the chip system includes at least one chip and a memory, and the at least one chip is configured to read and execute a program stored in the memory to implement the method described in the first aspect and any possible implementation manners thereof.

[0032] In a sixth aspect, the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, which is used to store a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are run, the method described in the first aspect and any possible implementation manners thereof are implemented.

[0033] In a seventh aspect, the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are run on a computer, the method described in the first aspect and any possible implementation manners thereof are implemented.

[0034] For the technical effects that can be achieved by the second to seventh aspects and any possible implementation manners thereof, reference may be made to the technical effects that can be achieved by the first aspect and any possible implementation manners thereof, and no repeated description will be given. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a wireless communication system;

[0036] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the architecture of another wireless communication system;

[0037] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the process of establishing a communication link;

[0038] Figure 4 It is one of the schematic diagrams of the process of the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0039] Figure 5 It is one of the schematic diagrams of the process of the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0040] Figure 6 It is one of the schematic diagrams of the process of the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0041] Figure 7 It is one of the schematic diagrams of the structure of the communication device in the embodiment of the present application;

[0042] Figure 8 It is one of the schematic diagrams of the structure of the communication device in the embodiment of the present application. Detailed implementation manners

[0043] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0044] At least one (item) involved in the following embodiments of the present application indicates one (item) or more (items). Multiple (items) means two (items) or more than two (items). "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. In addition, it should be understood that although terms such as first and second may be used to describe various objects in the embodiments of the present application, these objects should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish each object from each other.

[0045] The terms "include" and "have" and any variations thereof mentioned in the following descriptions of the embodiments of the present application are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or device that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but may optionally further include other unlisted steps or units, or may optionally further include other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products, or devices. It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to represent examples, illustrations, or explanations. Any method or design solution described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of the present application should not be construed as being more preferred or having more advantages than other methods or design solutions. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present relevant concepts in a specific manner.

[0046] The technology provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), wireless local area network (WLAN), wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system, 4th generation (4G) mobile communication system, such as long term evolution (LTE) system, 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system, such as new radio (NR) system, and future communication systems, etc.

[0047] The present application will present various aspects, embodiments or features around a system that may include multiple devices, components, modules, etc. It should be understood and appreciated that each system may include additional devices, components, modules, etc., and / or may not include all of the devices, components, modules, etc. discussed in conjunction with the figures. In addition, combinations of these schemes may also be used.

[0048] In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplarily" and "such as" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as an "example" in the present application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of the word "example" is intended to present concepts in a concrete way. In the embodiments of the present application, "of", "corresponding, relevant" and "corresponding" can sometimes be used interchangeably. It should be noted that when the distinction is not emphasized, the meanings to be expressed are consistent.

[0049] A network element in a communication system can send a signal to another network element or receive a signal from another network element. The signal may include information or data, etc. The network element may also be referred to as an entity, a network entity, a device, a communication device, a communication module, a node, a communication node, etc. The network element is used as an example for description in the embodiments of the present application. For example, a communication system may include at least one terminal device and at least one network device. The network element that sends the signal may be a network device, and the network element that receives the signal may be a terminal device; or, the network element that sends the signal may be a terminal device, and the network element that receives the signal may be a network device. In addition, it can be understood that if the communication system includes multiple terminal devices, multiple terminal devices can also send signals to each other, that is, the network element that sends the signal and the network element that receives the signal can both be terminal devices.

[0050] Figure 1 The schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system 10 applicable to the embodiment of the present application is exemplarily shown. Figure 1 As shown, Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system 10 used in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, the communication system includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system 10 may also include the Internet 300. The RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (such as Figure 1 110a and 110b in the figure, collectively referred to as 110), and may also include at least one terminal (such as Figure 1 RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay equipment and / or wireless backhaul equipment (Figure 1 (not shown in the figure). The terminal 120 is connected to the RAN node 110 wirelessly, and the RAN node 110 is connected to the core network 200 wirelessly or wiredly. The core network devices in the core network 200 and the RAN nodes 110 in the RAN 100 can be independent different physical devices, or the same physical device integrating the logical functions of the core network devices and the logical functions of the RAN nodes. Terminals can be connected to each other, and RAN nodes can be connected to each other, either wiredly or wirelessly.

[0051] The RAN 100 can be an evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) system, an NR system, and a future radio access system defined in the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP). The RAN 100 can also include two or more different radio access systems mentioned above. The RAN 100 can also be an open RAN (O-RAN).

[0052] The network devices involved in the embodiments of this application can be RAN nodes. A RAN node, also known as a radio access network device, a RAN entity, or an access node, is used to help terminals access the communication system wirelessly. In one application scenario, the RAN node can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB) in the 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next generation base station in a future communication system, or a base station in a future mobile communication system. The RAN node can be a macro base station (such as Figure 1 110a in the figure), a micro base station or an indoor station (such as Figure 1 110b in the figure), or a relay node or a donor node.

[0053] A terminal device can be a device or module that accesses the above communication system and has corresponding communication functions. The terminal device can also be referred to as a user equipment (UE), a terminal, a user device, an access terminal, a user unit, a user station, a mobile station (MS), a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal unit, a terminal station, a terminal device, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user device. Usually, a communication module, circuit, or chip for performing corresponding communication functions is provided in the terminal device. Program instructions for performing corresponding communication functions can also be configured in the terminal device.

[0054] For example, the terminal device in the embodiments of the present application can be a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA) computer, a laptop computer, a tablet (Pad), a drone, a computer with wireless transceiver functions, a machine type communication (MTC) terminal, a virtual reality (VR) terminal, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, an internet of things (IoT) terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home (such as a game console, a smart TV, a smart speaker, a smart refrigerator, and fitness equipment, etc.), a transportation vehicle with wireless communication functions, a communication module, a road side unit (RSU) with terminal functions. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technologies and specific device forms adopted by the terminal device.

[0055] The base station and the terminal can be fixed in position or movable. The base station and the terminal can be deployed on land, including indoor or outdoor, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; and can also be deployed on airplanes, balloons, and artificial satellites. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the application scenarios of the base station and the terminal.

[0056] The roles of the base station and the terminal can be relative. For example, Figure 1The helicopter or drone 120i therein can be configured as a mobile base station. For the terminals 120j accessing the radio access network 100 through 120i, 120i is the base station; but for the base station 110a, 120i is a terminal, that is, the communication between 110a and 120i is through the radio air interface protocol. Of course, the communication between 110a and 120i can also be through the interface protocol between base stations. At this time, relative to 110a, 120i is also a base station. Therefore, both the base station and the terminal can be uniformly referred to as communication devices. Figure 1 110a and 110b therein can be referred to as communication devices with base station functions. Figure 1 120a - 120j therein can be referred to as communication devices with terminal functions.

[0057] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the base station can also be executed by modules (such as chips) in the base station, or by a control subsystem including base station functions. The control subsystem including base station functions here can be a control center in the above application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal can also be executed by modules (such as chips or modems) in the terminal, or by a device including terminal functions.

[0058] The communication between the access network device and the terminal device can follow a certain protocol layer structure. Exemplarily, the protocol layer structure can include a control plane protocol layer structure and a user plane protocol layer structure. For example, the control plane protocol layer structure can include at least one of the following: radio resource control (RRC) layer, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, radio link control (RLC) layer, media / medium access control (MAC) layer, or physical (PHY) layer, etc. For example, the user plane protocol layer structure can include at least one of the following: service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, PDCP layer, RLC layer, MAC layer, or physical layer, etc.

[0059] The terminal device communicates with the network elements in the core network through the access network device, such as Figure 2It is shown that the core network involved in the embodiments of the present application is an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) core network. The Internet includes an interactive voice response (IVR) system, which can be applied to scenarios of voice interaction.

[0060] Among them, the network elements and network element functions in the IMS core network can be understood with reference to the following content. The proxy-call session control function (P-CSCF) network element is the entry node for the UE to access the IMS core network, and is mainly responsible for forwarding the session initiation protocol (SIP) signaling between the IMS UE and the home network. The interrogating-call session control function (I-CSCF) is the unified entry point from the IMS UE to the home network, and is responsible for allocating or querying the serving-call session control function (S-CSCF) network element that serves the UE. The S-CSCF network element is responsible for the registration, authentication, session, routing, and service triggering of the IMS UE. The IMS application server (IMS AS) provides the IMS basic services and supplementary services for the UE.

[0061] The Gm interface is a 3GPP SIP interface. The Gm interface is located between the terminal device and the IMS core network. Gm is mainly used for the registration of IMS users and session control. For example, based on the Gm interface, the terminal device can access the IMS core network through the P-CSCF. The Mw interface is a 3GPP SIP interface. The Mw interface is located between the P-CSCF and the S-CSCF, and between the S-CSCF and the I-CSCF. The Mw interface is mainly used for message communication and proxy forwarding between the P-CSCF and the S-CSCF, and between the S-CSCF and the I-CSCF in the IMS registration and session process. The ISC interface is a 3GPP SIP interface. The ISC interface is located between the S-CSCF and the IMS AS. The S-CSCF makes a service trigger judgment based on the obtained IMS subscription trigger criteria and the SIP service request from the mid- and back-end devices, and directs the session to a specific AS server to complete the processing of value-added service logic. Interface 3 can be understood as an enterprise standard interface, located between the DCSF and the IMS AS. Interface 3 is used for the call event subscription notification control interface, for call time subscription, notification, control capabilities, and heartbeat detection capabilities. Interface 5 is an enterprise standard interface, located between the DCSF and the MF, and is used as a media resource usage interface to provide media operation capabilities. Interface 9 is an enterprise standard interface, located between the DCSF and the DCAS, and is used for call event subscription / notification / control, service control, multi-party control, user data interaction, service association, data channel (DC) association, session detection, etc. Interface 17 is an enterprise standard interface, located between the MF and the DCA, and is used for interactive data forwarding.

[0062] The IVR system is an automatic telephone system. When a user dials a service number through a terminal device (such as a mobile phone), the IVR system plays a pre-recorded IVR playback file to the user through the terminal device to implement the voice menu navigation function; the user selects different mobile phone keys according to the played information to communicate with the IVR system to complete specific service functions. A communication link is established between the terminal device and the IVR system through the IMS core network.

[0063] Among them, the IVR system usually sets up multi-level menus, and through the interactive voice corresponding to each level of the menu, guides customers to complete business services. In this process, users need to continuously select numeric keys for interaction. For example, assume that the IVR system corresponds to two levels of menus. The first-level menu includes 3 alternative messages, namely (0) Check phone bill; (1) Check data usage; (2) Broadband service handling; (3) Manual service. The second-level menu is associated with the alternative messages. For example, the second-level menu corresponding to "Check phone bill" is: (1) Check this month's phone bill; (2) Check last month's phone bill. The second-level menu corresponding to "Check data usage" is: (1) Check this month's data usage; (2) Check last month's data usage. The second-level menu corresponding to "Broadband service handling" is: (1) New broadband installation; (2) Broadband repair. When the user first selects the numeric key 0, it means selecting "Check phone bill" in the first-level menu. Then the IVR system continues to broadcast the second-level menu corresponding to "Check phone bill"; when the user second selects the numeric key 2, it means selecting "Check last month's phone bill" in the second-level menu. Then the IVR system broadcasts the relevant information of the last month's phone bill to the user. Such a design requires multiple interactions. The complex key setting and long voice playback process will increase the time cost for users to obtain specific information. Such a poor user experience will cause some users to transfer to the manual customer service. Then the IVR system needs to complete the business processing through the manual customer service, resulting in low utilization rate of the IVR system and waste of costs and communication resources.

[0064] Based on this, the embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which introduces a new call system between the IMS core network and the IVR system that can convert the user's voice into option information recognizable by the IVR system. For example, convert the user's one-time voice into option information corresponding to multi-level menus. The option information can be understood as the selected alternative message among multiple alternative messages. Such a design can reduce the number of interactions, improve the user experience; and improve the utilization rate of the IVR system, reduce costs and waste of communication resources.

[0065] Such as Figure 2As shown, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication architecture, which includes a terminal device, an IMS core network, the aforementioned new call system, and an IVR system. Among them, the network elements and network element functions in the new call system can be understood with reference to the following content: The data channel signaling function (DCSF) network element is used to unify the session control function network element and implement functions such as session access and connection control. The data channel application server (DCAS) provides application services based on the data channel (DC). The media function (MF) network element is used to implement media processing capabilities such as media negotiation and media forwarding, for example, to identify user intentions and proxy the interaction between the user and the IVR system.

[0066] Figure 3 It shows the communication link establishment process of the terminal device (UE), the IMS core network, and the new call system. This process mainly includes the following steps.

[0067] S301, the user calls the IVR system through the UE.

[0068] S302, the UE sends an initial request message to the IMS AS.

[0069] This initial request message can be an INVITE message, and the initial request message includes the session description protocol (SDP) information of the UE. For example, the SDP information includes the IP address, port, and codec format type of the UE.

[0070] S303, after receiving the initial request message, the IMF AS sends a call event notification to the DCSF.

[0071] Among them, the type of this call event notification is "start", and the call event notification includes the SDP information of the UE.

[0072] S304, the DCSF sends a call event notification to the DCAS.

[0073] Among them, the type of this call event notification is "start", and the call event notification includes the SDP information of the UE.

[0074] Optionally, the DCSF can decide to send a call event notification to one or more DCASs.

[0075] S305, the DCAS sends a call control event to the DCSF.

[0076] Specifically, after receiving a call event notification, DCAS can determine whether to allow the call initiated by the UE side to continue through identity authentication or other means, and when it is determined that the call is allowed to continue, send a call control event to DCSF. Among them, the type of this call control event is continue (call continuation). Optionally, DCAS can also include an anchoring indication in the call control event, and this anchoring indication is used to indicate anchoring the user media stream to the MF, such as instructing DCSF to send the UE-side packets to the MF.

[0077] S306, DCSF sends a call control event of type continue (call continuation) to the IMF AS.

[0078] Among them, the type of this call control event is continue (call continuation). Optionally, DCSF can also include an anchoring indication in the call control event, and this anchoring indication is used to indicate anchoring the user media stream to the MF, such as instructing the IMF AS to anchor the audio stream of the current call on the UE side to the MF.

[0079] S307, after receiving the anchoring indication from DCSF, the IMS AS sends a create media resource request message to the MF.

[0080] Among them, the create media resource request message includes the SDP information of the UE.

[0081] S308, the MF creates a media resource locally and sends a response message indicating the creation of the media resource to DCSF.

[0082] Among them, the response message includes the first SDP information of the MF, and the first SDP information includes the IP address of the MF used for communication between the MF and the UE, the MF port used for communication between the MF and the UE, and the codec format type.

[0083] S309, after receiving the create media resource response message from the MF, the IMS AS sends an initial request message to the IVR system according to the continue indication in the call event control request.

[0084] S310, the IVR system sends a response message to the IMS AS.

[0085] The response message can be a response status code 200, and the SDP information of the IVR system is included in the response message. For example, the SDP information includes the IP address, port, and codec format type of the IVR system. Optionally, the codec format type can include RFC2833. When the SDP information of the IVR system includes RFC2833 information, it indicates that direct message interaction between the MF and the IVR system through packets is supported; when the SDP information of the IVR system does not include RFC2833 information, it indicates that the information interaction between the MF and the IVR system needs to be forwarded by the IMS AS.

[0086] Among them, an example of the format in which the SDP information includes RFC2833 information is as follows: The SDP information is audio SDP, the payload type (PT) value corresponding to the voice is 108, the codec type is adaptive multi-rate (AMR), and the PT value corresponding to the dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signal is 97.

[0087]

[0088] S311, the IMF AS sends a request to update media resources to the MF.

[0089] Among them, the SDP information of the IVR system is included in the request to update media resources.

[0090] S312, after receiving the request to update media resources, the MF creates media resources locally.

[0091] S313, the MF sends a response to update media resources to the IMS AS.

[0092] The response to update media resources includes the second SDP information of the MF. For example, the second SDP information includes the IP address of the MF used for communication between the MF and the IVR system, the MF port used for communication between the MF and the IVR system, and the codec format type.

[0093] S314, the IMF AS sends a call event notification to the DCSF.

[0094] The type of the call event notification is answer, and the SDP information of the IVR system is included in the call event notification.

[0095] S315, the DCSF sends a call event notification to the DCAS.

[0096] The type of the call event notification is answer, and the SDP information of the IVR system is included in the call event notification.

[0097] Figure 4 A communication method provided by an embodiment of this application mainly includes the following steps:

[0098] S401, the MF sends a first piece of information to the UE.

[0099] Among them, the first piece of information indicates multiple candidate services, and the multiple services are determined based on the IVR menu information. For example, the IVR menu information corresponds to a two-level menu. The first-level menu includes 3 alternative pieces of information, namely (0) Check phone bill; (1) Check data usage; (2) Broadband service application; (3) Manual service. The second-level menu is associated with the alternative information. For example, the second-level menu corresponding to "Check phone bill" is: (1) Check this month's phone bill; (2) Check last month's phone bill. The second-level menu corresponding to "Check data usage" is: (1) Check this month's data usage; (2) Check last month's data usage. The second-level menu corresponding to "Broadband service application" is: (1) New broadband installation; (2) Broadband repair. Multiple services determined based on the IVR menu information are, for example, check this month's or last month's phone bill; check this month's or last month's data usage; install a new broadband or broadband repair.

[0100] The first piece of information may be audio information carrying the descriptions of the foregoing multiple services (for example, the first piece of information may be called voice notification information). For example, corresponding to the example of the IVR menu information, the broadcast content of the audio information sent by the MF to the UE may include "Welcome to call the XXX system. You can check this month's or last month's phone bill, this month's or last month's data usage, install a new broadband or broadband repair, or transfer to manual service. Please state the service you want to handle."

[0101] In a possible design, the local configuration of the MF includes audio information matching at least one piece of IVR menu information. The MF can select an audio information from the local configuration and send it to the UE under the indication of the DCSF network element. For example, the DCSF network element indicates an index of an audio information to the MF. Another example is that the DCSF network element sends the IVR menu information to the MF, and the MF determines the matching audio information according to the IVR menu information.

[0102] S402, the UE sends a second piece of information to the MF, and the second piece of information indicates the first service among the multiple services.

[0103] Combined with the example described in S401, for example, after the UE receives the foregoing first piece of information and broadcasts it to the user, and the user states the service they hope to handle according to the first piece of information, such as "Check this month's phone bill", then the first service indicated by the UE to send the second piece of information to the MF is "Check this month's phone bill".

[0104] S403, the MF determines multiple option information in the IVR menu information according to the first service.

[0105] Among them, the IVR menu information includes multi-level menu information. Each level of menu information in the multi-level menu information includes multiple candidate information. One of the multiple option information is a candidate information in the first-level menu of the multi-level menu. It can be understood that the multiple option information corresponds to the multi-level menu information one by one, and one option information can also be used to determine the next-level menu information of the menu information corresponding to this option information.

[0106] For example, corresponding to the description in S401, if the MF recognizes through the intent recognition function that the service the user needs to handle is to query the current month's phone bill, then the MF analyzes, according to the IVR menu information, that the option information for querying the current month's phone bill corresponds to two-level menu option information in the IVR menu information. For example, the option information for the first-level menu information is: "(0) Check phone bill"; the second-level menu corresponding to "Check phone bill" is: (1) Query this month's phone bill; (2) Query last month's phone bill; the option information for the second-level menu information is "(1) Query this month's phone bill".

[0107] Furthermore, the MF can also send multiple option information to the IVR system.

[0108] In a possible design, the MF sequentially sends multiple DTMF signals through a core network element (IMS AS). One of the multiple DTMF signals is used to indicate one of the multiple option information. In another possible design, the MF can directly send multiple DTMF signals to the IVR system according to the RFC2833 information included in the SDP information of the IVR system, where each DTMF signal is respectively carried in an RTP packet for transmission.

[0109] Taking the multiple DTMF signals including the first DTMF signal and the second DTMF signal as an example below, the above two sending methods are described in detail.

[0110] Method 1:

[0111] Figure 5 Schematically shows a method flow for the MF to send DTMF signals through out-of-band signals, that is, through core network elements. The communication link establishment process of the UE, the IMS core network, and the new call system can be referred to Figure 3 for illustration, where the SDP of the IVR system information does not include RFC2833 information. The method includes the following steps.

[0112] S501, DCAS sends the fourth information to DCSF.

[0113] The fourth information includes the index of the voice notification information and / or the IVR menu information. Among them, the voice notification information is associated with the IVR menu information. The fourth information may be included in the agent service request message, or the fourth information is the agent service request message.

[0114] In addition, when DCAS determines that there is no RFC2833 information in the SDP of the IVR system, it may decide to send the DTMF signal in an out-of-band signaling manner (that is, through the core network element). In this case, DCAS also carries the callback address of DCAS (DTMFCallBackUrl-DCAS) in the fourth information, and this callback address of DCAS is used to indicate that the next-hop communication node for the DCSF to feedback the response information is DCAS.

[0115] S502, DCSF sends the third information to the MF.

[0116] Among them, the third information includes the callback address of the DCSF network element (DTMFCallBackUrl-DCAS), the index of the voice notification information and / or the IVR menu information. Among them, this callback address of the DCSF network element is used to indicate that the next-hop communication node for the MF to feedback the response information is the DCSF network element. The third information is used to instruct the MF to send the multiple option information to the IVR system through the core network element.

[0117] Optionally, the third information may also be included in the IVR service request message, or the third information is the IVR service request message.

[0118] S503, the MF sends an IVR service control response to the DCSF, and the DCSF sends an IVR service control response to the DCAS.

[0119] S504, the DCAS sends a call event control request to the DCSF, and the DCSF sends a call event control request to the IMS AS.

[0120] Among them, the type of the call event control request is continue, indicating that the call process continues.

[0121] S505, the IMS AS sends a call event control response to the UE.

[0122] For example, the call event control response may be a response status code 200, indicating that the IMS AS has confirmed. In addition, the SDP information of the MF may also be included in the call event control response.

[0123] S506, the UE sends an acknowledgment information (acknowledgment, ACK) to the IMF AS, and the IMF AS sends an ACK to the IVR system.

[0124] S507, The IVR system plays a guidance menu voice to the user, and the guidance menu voice corresponds to the IVR menu information.

[0125] For example, the IVR menu information corresponds to a two-level menu. The first-level menu includes 3 alternative messages, which are (0) Check phone bill; (1) Check data usage; (2) Broadband service application; (3) Manual service. The second-level menu is associated with the alternative messages. For example, the second-level menu corresponding to "Check phone bill" is: (1) Check this month's phone bill; (2) Check last month's phone bill. The second-level menu corresponding to "Check data usage" is: (1) Check this month's data usage; (2) Check last month's data usage. The second-level menu corresponding to "Broadband service application" is: (1) New broadband installation; (2) Broadband repair. Then the guidance menu voice played by the IVR system to the user may be: "Welcome to call the XXX system. To check the phone bill, please dial 0. To check the data usage, please dial 1. To apply for broadband service, please dial 2. To reach the manual service, please dial 9".

[0126] S508, The MF intercepts the guidance menu voice sent by the IVR system, and queries the local configuration information according to the voice notification index sent by the DCSF before to determine the new voice notification information. For example, the content of the voice notification information may be "Welcome to call the XXX system. You can check this month's or last month's phone bill, this month's or last month's data usage, install a new broadband or apply for broadband repair, or transfer to the manual service. Please tell us the service you want to apply for".

[0127] S509, The MF sends a first message to the UE. The first message corresponds to the aforementioned new voice notification information, and the first message indicates multiple candidate services.

[0128] S510, The UE sends a second message to the MF. The second message indicates the first service among the multiple services.

[0129] For example, the user selects the service "Check this month's phone bill" that they hope to apply for according to the voice notification information, and inputs it to the UE in the form of a voice command. The first service indicated by the second message sent by the UE to the MF is "Check this month's phone bill".

[0130] S511, The MF determines multiple option messages in the IVR menu information according to the first service.

[0131] This step can be understood with reference to S403, and this application embodiment will not elaborate on it. Taking the first service as "Check this month's phone bill" as an example, the MF can also determine to send 2 DTMF signals to the IVR system in sequence, which are 0 and 1 respectively. Among them, "0" indicates the option message "(0) Check phone bill" in the first-level menu; "1" indicates the option message "(1) Check this month's phone bill" in the second-level menu.

[0132] S512. The MF sends a DTMF signal reporting request message to the DCSF according to the callback address of the DCSF. The DTMF signal reporting request message includes the DTMF signal 0.

[0133] An example of the format of the DTMF signal reporting request message can be understood with reference to the following content:

[0134] POST{DTMFCallBackUrl-DCSF}

[0135] Content-Type:application / json;charset=UTF-8

[0136] Content-Length:XXX

[0137] {

[0138] "result":"SUCCESS",

[0139] "Number":"0"

[0140] }

[0141] S513. The DCSF forwards the DTMF signal reporting message to the DCAS according to the callback address of the DCAS.

[0142] S514. After receiving the DTMF signal reporting message, the DCAS sends a call control event message to the DCSF.

[0143] This call control event message is used to request the sending of the DTMF number 0.

[0144] S515. After receiving the DTMF signal reporting message, the DCSF sends a call control event message to the IMS AS.

[0145] This call control event message is used to request the sending of the DTMF signal 0.

[0146] S516. After receiving the call control event message, the IMF AS sends the DTMF signal 0 to the IVR system.

[0147] For example, the IMF AS sends the DTMF signal 0 through a SIP INFO message.

[0148] Among them, an example of the format of the SIP INFO message can be understood with reference to the following content:

[0149] INFO{IVR customer service system}SIP / 2.0

[0150] Via:XXX

[0151] From: {IMS AS}; tag=xxx

[0152] To: {IVR Customer Service System}; tag=xxx

[0153] Call-ID: XXX

[0154] CSeq: XXX INFO

[0155] Content-Length: XX

[0156] Content-Type: application / dtmf-relay

[0157] Signal = 0

[0158] Duration = 1600

[0159] S517, the IVR system sends a response status code 200 to the IMS AS.

[0160] Furthermore, the MF sends the next DTMF signal 1 to the IVR system, which can be implemented by referring to two methods: S517 - S518 or S519.

[0161] S518, the IVR system sends response information for the DTMF signal 0 to the MF.

[0162] For example, the IVR system plays the menu information corresponding to the DTMF signal 0 sent by the MF and sends a corresponding audio message to the MF. The content of the audio message is: (1) Query this month's phone bill; (2) Query last month's phone bill.

[0163] Correspondingly, when the MF receives the audio message from the IVR system and recognizes the content, if it determines that it is the menu information corresponding to the DTMF signal 0, it intercepts it and does not forward the audio message to the UE. Instead, it continues to execute S518:

[0164] S519, the MF sends the DTMF signal 1 to the DCSF.

[0165] S520, after the first time period when the MF sends the DTMF signal 0 to the DCSF, it continues to send the DTMF signal 1 to the DCSF.

[0166] Among them, the first time period can be defined by a timer. For example, the timer defines the first time period as 1s. Through the timer implementation, the MF intercepts the audio message sent by the IVR system before the timer times out, and until the timer times out, the MF sends the DTMF signal 1 to the DCSF.

[0167] S521, The DCSF sends the DTMF signal 1 to the DCAS, the DCAS sends the DTMF signal 1 to the IMS AS, and the IMS AS sends the DTMF signal 1 to the IVR system.

[0168] S522, After receiving the DTMF signal 1, the IVR system plays the audio message corresponding to the DTMF signal 1.

[0169] For example, the option information corresponding to the DTMF signal 1 is "query this month's phone bill", that is, the first service is to query this month's phone bill, then the audio message corresponding to the DTMF signal 1 can be understood as the information related to the aforementioned first service, such as "this month's phone bill is 56 yuan".

[0170] S523, The MF forwards the audio message corresponding to the DTMF signal 1 to the UE.

[0171] It can be understood that the MF receives the audio message from the IVR system, identifies the content therein. If it is the content corresponding to the DTMF signal 1, that is, the content corresponding to the last DTMF signal, then it forwards the corresponding audio message to the UE.

[0172] In addition, optionally, after the above process ends, if the user selects to hang up, the call process is released, such as releasing the communication links of the UE, the IMS core network, and the new call system.

[0173] Figure 6 Schematically shows a method flow for the MF to send DTMF signals through in-band signals. The process of establishing the communication links of the UE, the IMS core network, and the new call system can be referred to Figure 3 Schematically shows that the SDP of the IVR system information includes RFC2833 information. The method includes the following steps.

[0174] S601, The DCAS sends the fourth information to the DCSF.

[0175] The fourth information includes the index of the voice notification information and / or the IVR menu information. Among them, the voice notification information is associated with the IVR menu information. The fourth information can be included in the agent service request message, or the fourth information is the agent service request message.

[0176] In addition, if the DCAS determines that there is RFC2833 information in the SDP of the IVR system, it can decide to send DTMF signals using in-band signals (that is, without the need for core network elements to forward). In this case, the DCAS does not carry the callback address of the DCAS (DTMFCallBackUrl-DCAS) in the fourth information.

[0177] S602, The DCSF sends the third information to the MF.

[0178] Among them, the third information includes the index of the voice notification information and / or the IVR menu information, and does not include the callback address of DCSF (DTMFCallBackUrl - DCAS). The third information is used to instruct the MF to directly send the multiple option information to the IVR system.

[0179] Optionally, the third information can also be included in the IVR service request message, or the third information is the IVR service request message.

[0180] S603, the MF sends an IVR service control response to the DCSF, and the DCSF sends an IVR service control response to the DCAS.

[0181] S604, the DCAS sends a call event control request to the DCSF, and the DCSF sends a call event control request to the IMS AS.

[0182] Among them, the type of the call event control request is continue, indicating that the call process continues.

[0183] S605, the IMS AS sends a call event control response to the UE.

[0184] For example, the call event control response can be the response status code 200, indicating that the IMS AS has confirmed. In addition, the SDP information of the MF can also be included in the call event control response.

[0185] S606, the UE sends an acknowledgement message ACK to the IMF AS, and the IMF AS sends an ACK to the IVR system.

[0186] S607, the IVR system plays a guiding menu voice to the user, and the guiding menu voice corresponds to the IVR menu information.

[0187] For example, the IVR menu information corresponds to a two - level menu. The first - level menu includes 3 alternative information, which are (0) Check phone bill; (1) Check data usage; (2) Broadband service handling; (3) Manual service. The second - level menu is associated with the alternative information. For example, the second - level menu corresponding to "Check phone bill" is: (1) Query this month's phone bill; (2) Query last month's phone bill. The second - level menu corresponding to "Check data usage" is: (1) Query this month's data usage; (2) Query last month's data usage. The second - level menu corresponding to "Broadband service handling" is: (1) New broadband installation; (2) Broadband repair. Then the guiding menu voice played by the IVR system to the user may be: "Welcome to call the XXX system. To check the phone bill, please dial 0. To check the data usage, please dial 1. To handle the broadband service, please dial 2. To get manual service, please dial 9".

[0188] S608, the MF intercepts the guiding menu voice sent by the IVR system, queries the local configuration information according to the voice notification index sent by the DCSF previously, and determines the new voice notification information. For example, the content of the voice notification information may be "Welcome to call the XXX system. You can inquire about the phone bill of this month or last month, the traffic of this month or last month, install a new broadband or report a broadband repair, or transfer to the operator service. Please state the service you want to handle."

[0189] S609, the MF sends the first information to the UE, and the first information corresponds to the aforementioned new voice notification information, and the first information indicates multiple candidate services.

[0190] S610, the UE sends the second information to the MF, and the second information indicates the first service among the multiple services.

[0191] For example, the user selects the service "inquire about the phone bill of this month" that he hopes to handle according to the voice notification information, and inputs it to the UE in the form of a voice command. The first service indicated by the second information sent by the UE to the MF is "inquire about the phone bill of this month".

[0192] S611, the MF determines multiple option information in the IVR menu information according to the first service.

[0193] This step can be understood with reference to S403, and the embodiments of the present application will not elaborate on this. Taking the first service as "inquire about the phone bill of this month" as an example, the MF can also determine to send 2 DTMF signals to the IVR system in sequence, which are 0 and 1 respectively. Among them, "0" indicates the option information "(0) inquire about the phone bill" in the first-level menu; "1" indicates the option information "(1) inquire about the phone bill of this month" in the second-level menu.

[0194] S612, the MF sends an RTP packet carrying the DTMF signal 0 to the IVR system according to the RFC2833 information.

[0195] Specifically, if the MF determines that the DCSF does not indicate the callback address of the DCSF, and the SDP information of the IVR system sent by the IMS AS includes the RFC2833 information, then an RTP packet carrying the DTMF signal 0 can be constructed according to the RFC2833 information.

[0196] An example of the format of an RTP packet is as follows:

[0197]

[0198] S613, after the MF receives the response information of the IVR system for the DTMF signal 0 or the timer times out, the MF sends an RTP packet carrying the DTMF signal 1 to the IVR system.

[0199] This step can be understood with reference to the descriptions in S517 - S518 or S519, and the embodiments of this application will not elaborate on it here.

[0200] S614. After the IVR system receives DTMF signal 1, it plays the audio message corresponding to DTMF signal 1.

[0201] For example, if the option information corresponding to DTMF signal 1 is "query this month's phone bill", that is, the first service is to query this month's phone bill, then the audio message corresponding to DTMF signal 1 can be understood as the information related to the aforementioned first service, such as "This month's phone bill is 56 yuan".

[0202] S615. The MF forwards the audio message corresponding to DTMF signal 1 to the UE.

[0203] It can be understood that when the MF receives the audio message from the IVR system and recognizes the content therein, if it is the content corresponding to DTMF signal 1, that is, the content corresponding to the last DTMF signal, it forwards the corresponding audio message to the UE.

[0204] In addition, optionally, after the above process ends, if the user chooses to hang up, the call process is released, such as releasing the communication links of the UE, the IMS core network, and the new call system.

[0205] Based on the same concept, refer to Figure 7 , embodiments of this application provide a communication device 700, which includes a processing module 701 and a communication module 702. The communication device 700 can be a network element involved in the above - mentioned method embodiments, such as a UE, an IMS AS, a DCSF, a DCAS, or an MF, etc., or can be applied to the network elements involved in the above - mentioned method embodiments or used in combination with the network elements involved in the above - mentioned method embodiments, and can implement the communication methods executed by the network elements involved in the above - mentioned method embodiments.

[0206] Among them, the communication module can also be called a transceiver module, a transceiver, a transceiver machine, or a transceiver device, etc. The processing module can also be called a processor, a processing board, a processing unit, or a processing device, etc. Optionally, the communication module is used to execute the sending operation and receiving operation on the first device side or the second device side in the above - mentioned method. The devices in the communication module used to implement the receiving function can be regarded as a receiving unit, and the devices in the communication module used to implement the sending function can be regarded as a sending unit, that is, the communication module includes a receiving unit and a sending unit.

[0207] Taking the application of this communication device 700 to the MF as an example, the processing module 701 can be used to implement Figures 4 to 6 the processing function of the MF described in the embodiments shown in Figures 4 to 6 and the communication module 702 can be used to implement

[0208] In addition, it should be noted that the foregoing communication module and / or processing module can be implemented by a virtual module. For example, the processing module can be implemented by a software functional unit or a virtual device, and the communication module can be implemented by a software function or a virtual device. Alternatively, the processing module or the communication module can also be implemented by a physical device. For example, if the communication device is implemented by a chip / chip circuit, the communication module can be an input / output circuit and / or a communication interface, which performs input operations (corresponding to the foregoing receiving operations) and output operations (corresponding to the foregoing sending operations); the processing module is an integrated processor, a microprocessor, or an integrated circuit.

[0209] The division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative, and is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. In addition, in each embodiment of the embodiments of the present application, each functional module can be integrated in a processor, can also exist physically alone, or two or more modules can be integrated in one module. The above integrated module can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional module.

[0210] Based on the same technical concept, the embodiments of the present application also provide a communication device 800. For example, the communication device 800 can be a chip or a chip system. Optionally, in the embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of chips, or can include chips and other discrete devices.

[0211] The communication device 800 can be used to implement the functions of any network element in the communication system described in the foregoing embodiments. The communication device 800 can include at least one processor 810, and the processor 810 is coupled to the memory. Optionally, the memory can be located within the communication device, the memory can be integrated with the processor, or the memory can be located outside the communication device. For example, the communication device 800 can also include at least one memory 820. The memory 820 stores the necessary computer programs, computer programs or instructions and / or data in any of the foregoing embodiments; the processor 810 may execute the computer programs stored in the memory 820 to complete the methods in any of the foregoing embodiments.

[0212] The communication device 800 may further include a communication interface 830. The communication device 800 can interact with other devices through the communication interface 830. Exemplarily, the communication interface 830 can be a transceiver, a circuit, a bus, a module, a pin, or other types of communication interfaces. When the communication device 800 is a chip-like device or a circuit, the communication interface 830 in the communication device 800 can also be an input / output circuit, which can input information (or receive information) and output information (or send information). The processor is an integrated processor, a microprocessor, an integrated circuit, or a logic circuit. The processor can determine the output information according to the input information.

[0213] In the embodiments of the present application, the coupling is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units, or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical, or other forms, and is used for information interaction between devices, units, or modules. The processor 810 may cooperate with the memory 820 and the communication interface 830. In the embodiments of the present application, the specific connection medium between the processor 810, the memory 820, and the communication interface 830 is not limited.

[0214] Optionally, referring to Figure 8 , the processor 810, the memory 820, and the communication interface 830 are interconnected with each other through a bus 840. The bus 840 can be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus, an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, or the like. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For the sake of simplicity of representation, Figure 8 only a thick line is shown in

[0215] In the embodiments of the present application, the processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field-programmable gate array, or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, and can implement or execute the various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the method disclosed in combination with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware processor, or executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor.

[0216] In an embodiment of the present application, the memory may be a non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), etc., or may also be a volatile memory, such as a random-access memory (RAM). The memory is any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory in the embodiment of the present application may also be a circuit or any other device capable of implementing a storage function, for storing program instructions and / or data.

[0217] In a possible implementation manner, the communication device 800 may be applied to the network element involved in the above method embodiment. Specifically, the communication device 800 may be the network element involved in the above method embodiment, or may also be a device capable of supporting the network element involved in the above method embodiment, and implements the functions of the network element in any of the above-mentioned embodiments. The memory 820 stores the computer program (or instructions) and / or data for implementing the functions of the network element in any of the above embodiments. The processor 88 may execute the computer program stored in the memory 820 to complete the method executed by the network element in any of the above embodiments. The technical effects that can be obtained by the communication device may refer to the above method examples and will not be elaborated here.

[0218] The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a second device, a first device, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from a website, a computer, a server, or a data center to another website, a computer, a server, or a data center in a wired manner (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or a wireless manner (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer, or a data storage device such as a server or a data center that includes one or more integrated available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium, etc.

[0219] In the embodiments of the present application, on the premise of no logical contradiction, the embodiments can refer to each other. For example, the methods and / or terms between method embodiments can refer to each other. For example, the functions and / or terms between device embodiments can refer to each other. For example, the functions and / or terms between device embodiments and method embodiments can refer to each other.

[0220] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the embodiments of the present application without departing from the scope of the embodiments of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the embodiments of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the embodiments of the present application and their equivalent technologies, the embodiments of the present application are also intended to include these changes and modifications.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: Applicable to media function MF network elements, including: Sending first information, where the first information indicates a plurality of candidate services, where the plurality of services are determined based on interactive voice response (IVR) menu information; receiving second information, where the second information indicates a first service among the plurality of services; According to the first service, multiple option information in the IVR menu information is determined.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Also includes: receiving third information from a data channel signaling control function DCSF network element, wherein the third information is used to indicate whether to send the plurality of option information to the IVR system through the core network network element; The plurality of option information are sent according to the third information.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The third information includes a callback address of the DCSF network element, and the third information is used to indicate that the multiple option information is sent to the IVR system through the core network element; The sending the plurality of option information according to the third information includes: According to the callback address of the DCSF network element, a plurality of dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signals are sequentially sent to the DCSF network element, wherein one DTMF signal among the plurality of DTMF signals is used to indicate one of the plurality of option information.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The third information does not include the callback address of the DCSF network element, and the third information is used to indicate that the multiple option information is not sent to the IVR system through the core network element; The sending the plurality of option information according to the third information includes: A plurality of dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signals are sequentially sent to the IVR system, wherein one DTMF signal among the plurality of DTMF signals is used to indicate one of the plurality of option information.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that Also includes: Receiving SDP information from an IVR system of a core network element, wherein the SDP information includes RFC2833 information; The sending of multiple dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signals to the IVR system in sequence includes: According to the RFC2833 information, a plurality of real-time transport protocol RTP messages are sequentially sent to the IVR system, wherein each of the plurality of RTP messages includes a DTMF signal in the plurality of DTMF signals.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The IVR menu information includes multi-level menu information, each level of menu information in the multi-level menu information includes multiple candidate information, and one option information in the multiple option information is a candidate information in a first-level menu in the multi-level menu.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The multiple DTMF signals include a first DTMF signal and a second DTMF signal, and the sequentially sending the multiple DTMF signals includes: sending the first DTMF signal, and after receiving response information from the IVR system to the first DTMF signal, sending the second DTMF signal; or, The first DTMF signal is sent, and the second DTMF signal is sent after a first time period in which the first DTMF signal has been sent.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that Also includes: After sending the second DTMF signal, receiving information related to the first service from the IVR system; Sending information related to the first service to the terminal device.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that Also includes: The first information and / or the IVR menu information is received from a data channel signaling control function DCSF network element.

10. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processor, the processor is coupled to a memory, and the processor is used to call computer program instructions stored in the memory to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. The device according to claim 10, characterized in that Also included is the memory.

12. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores instructions, and when the instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is enabled to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

13. A computer program product, characterized in that The method comprises computer-executable instructions, and when the computer-executable instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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