Automatic voice announcement system

Abstract

To provide a call transfer method for transferring a call from a caller terminal connected to an external voice communication network to a receiver terminal connected to a data communication network, the call transfer method being easy for a corporation requesting high call quality to introduce.SOLUTION: A method for transferring a voice call signal, which is originated from a caller terminal connected to an external voice communication network to a main device connected to the external voice communication network, to a receiver terminal connected to a data communication network provides an automatic voice announcement system that when it is determined that the originated voice call signal is to be transferred to the receiver terminal via the Internet communication network, transmits to the caller terminal a voice announcement showing that the voice call signal is being transferred.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an automated voice announcement system. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a gateway device that realizes a connection between an existing telephone and a mobile terminal using an extension telephone number at low cost. The system in Patent Document 1 includes an IP network 101 to which an outside telephone is connected, a private branch exchange (PBX) 103, and a The system comprises a private branch exchange (PBX) and a gateway device 102 connecting an IP network 101 and a private branch exchange 103. A plurality of analog telephones 104 are connected to the private branch exchange 103 via existing telephone lines, not IP lines. A plurality of mobile terminals 105 are connected to the gateway device 102 via wireless (e.g., wireless LAN) (see, for example, FIG. 1 of Patent Document 1). In the system of Patent Document 1, for example, when an analog telephone 104A makes a call to extension number "1003," the call is transmitted from telephone line ports 111D and 111A in the private branch exchange 103 to telephone line port 206A of the gateway device 102, and then transmitted via wireless LAN to mobile terminal 105A (having extension number "1003") assigned to telephone line port 206A (see, for example, FIG. 1 of Patent Document 1). In this way, the system gateway device 102 of Patent Document 1 enables calls between analog telephones and mobile terminals using extension numbers.

[0003] Furthermore, in Example 2 of Patent Document 1 (FIG. 6 of Patent Document 1, etc.), a connection from an outside telephone connected to the IP network 101 using the extension telephone number of the mobile terminal 105 is also disclosed.

[0004] Patent Document 2 discloses another communication forwarding method. The system of Patent Document 2 includes a voice communication network 2, a data communication network 4, and an automatic answering device 100 connected to them. A caller's telephone 1, a called party's telephone 7, and a forwarding destination telephone 8 are connected to the voice communication network 2. An information device 5 (such as a PC, a landline phone, or a PDA) is connected to the data communication network 4. In the system described in Patent Document 2, when a telephone call is made from the caller's telephone 1 to a predetermined telephone number, the automatic answering device 100 automatically answers the call and forwards the call to the called party's telephone 7. When the person handling the called party's telephone 7 wants to forward the call to another person, the person accesses the automatic answering device 100 via the data communication network 4 through the information device 5 and issues a predetermined forwarding command. As a result, the telephone call being handled by the called party's telephone 7 is forwarded to the forwarding destination telephone 8 (see, for example, FIG. 1 and paragraph 0025 of Patent Document 2).

[0005] Recently, in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19, companies have been promoting teleworking environments. In particular, in urban areas with a high number of infected people, such as Tokyo and Osaka, the rate of teleworking is high, and there are often no employees in the company during the day, so there is a need for a service that forwards calls to a company's main phone number to another phone outside the company.

[0006] In this case, the telephones to which calls will be forwarded will not only be landlines in homes connected to telephone line networks, but also mobile phones and IP phones connected to the Internet communication network, and so-called VoIP technology will be used. However, VoIP technology presents a unique problem: with VoIP, voice is encoded and compressed using various encoding methods, converted into packets, and then transmitted in real time over an IP network. However, because the technology involves encoding, compression, and decompression, there are issues with the voice quality and delays before the voice actually arrives.

[0007] In particular, the aforementioned businesses have very high demands for voice quality when answering calls from clients. While efforts have been made to improve voice quality in call forwarding services using VoIP, they have yet to achieve significant results. Furthermore, while forwarded calls are often received at home, it is undesirable for the caller (i.e., the client) to hear noise in the home environment (such as the sounds of family members or children). As a result, the adoption of call forwarding services by businesses has stagnated. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0008] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-29782 [Patent Document 2] JP 2005-286609 Public Relations Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0009] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a call forwarding method for forwarding a call from a caller terminal connected to an external voice communication network to a recipient terminal connected to a data communication network, which can be easily adopted by companies that require high call quality. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] This problem is solved by an automated voice announcement system in which, in a method for transferring a voice call signal sent from a caller terminal connected to an external voice communication network to a main device connected to the external voice communication network to a recipient terminal connected to a data communication network, when it is determined that the sent voice call signal will be transferred to the recipient terminal via the Internet communication network, a voice announcement indicating that the voice call signal is being transferred is sent to the caller terminal.

[0011] By announcing to the caller that their call is being forwarded through their terminal, the caller's demands for call quality are (subconsciously) lowered. This makes it easier for companies to introduce call forwarding services using VoIP, which provides the same call quality as before.

[0012] In addition, the employee receiving the forwarded call will be more likely to answer the call even in a noisy environment such as at home, because the understanding that the call is being forwarded is secured between the caller and the recipient.

[0013] Advantageously, when making the determination, the Internet communication quality is determined and the voice announcement is sent according to the communication quality, thereby enabling a lower volume voice announcement to be used in a poor quality communication network, thereby easing the load on the communication network.

[0014] The decision making and sending of the voice announcement may be performed by a VoIP router.

[0015] In another implementation, the decision and sending of the audio announcement is made by the recipient terminal.

[0016] The VoIP router used in such an automated voice announcement system includes, depending on the implementation type, a transfer status determining unit, a communication quality determining unit, a voice announcement transmitting unit, and a voice announcement storing unit.

[0017] In another embodiment, a receiver terminal used in an automated voice announcement system includes a reception status determining unit, a communication quality determining unit, a voice announcement transmitting unit, and a voice announcement storing unit. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] Diagram showing the elements that make up the system [Figure 2] Main unit (PBX) internal configuration diagram [Figure 3] Internal diagram of a VoIP router [Figure 4] Internal configuration of the receiver device [Figure 5] Communication connection status diagram DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A call transfer method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

[0020] Fig. 1 shows an overview of a communication system in which an automated voice announcement system according to the present invention is used. The communication system includes an external voice communication network, an internal voice communication network, and a data communication network. A plurality of caller terminals (telephone devices) are connected to the external voice communication network. Only two of these caller terminals are shown in Fig. 1.

[0021] A main unit (also known as a PBX) is installed within the internal voice communication network. The main unit connects the external voice communication network to the internal voice communication network. Multiple internal call terminals and a VoIP router are connected to the main unit. The main unit, multiple internal call terminals, and VoIP router make up the internal voice communication network, and so-called internal calls are realized within this internal voice communication network. Figure 2 shows two internal call terminals and one VoIP router, but the number of each device is not limited to these numbers. Some main units also have a built-in VoIP router.

[0022] A VoIP router connects an internal voice communication network to a data communication network. The data communication network includes multiple recipient devices. The recipient devices can be, for example, smartphones, tablets, mobile phones, or VoIP-only telephones. These recipient devices can be connected to the data communication network via wired or wireless connections. Wireless connections include, for example, wireless LAN networks and Wi-Fi networks provided by mobile communication carriers.

[0023] The internal structure of the main unit (PBX) will be explained based on Figure 2. As shown in Figure 2, the main unit connects an external voice communication network and an internal voice communication network. For this reason, the main unit is provided with connection units (interfaces) for connecting to the external voice communication network and the internal voice communication network, i.e., an external voice communication network connection unit and an internal voice communication network connection unit. The external voice communication network connection unit and the internal voice communication network connection unit are connected by a transfer processing unit. The transfer processing unit has the function of transferring call signals from the external voice communication network transmitted via the external voice communication network connection unit to the internal voice communication network via the internal voice communication network connection unit.

[0024] The transfer processing unit is connected to the transfer status determination unit. The transfer status determination unit is configured to receive a signal regarding the forwarding status from the internal voice communication network via the transfer processing unit / internal voice communication network connection unit. This signal regarding the forwarding status is configured to include a specific signal when the call signal from the external voice communication network is transferred to the data communication network via the VoIP router, that is, when it is transferred via the Internet communication network. This allows the transfer status determination unit in the main device to determine that the call signal from the external voice communication network will be transferred to the recipient terminal via the Internet communication network.

[0025] The forwarding status determination unit in the main device may also be configured to determine that when the call signal from the main device is forwarded to the VoIP router, the call signal from the external voice communication network is forwarded to the recipient terminal via the Internet communication network.

[0026] The transfer status determination unit is connected to the voice announcement transmission unit. The voice announcement transmission unit is connected to a voice announcement storage unit (memory). When it is determined that the call signal from the external voice communication network is to be transferred to the recipient terminal via the Internet communication network, the transfer status determination unit is configured to instruct the voice announcement transmission unit to transmit a voice announcement. Upon receiving the instruction to transmit the voice announcement, the voice announcement transmission unit is configured to transmit the voice announcement (voice message) stored in the voice announcement storage unit to the caller terminal of the caller via the external voice communication network connection unit and the external voice communication network.

[0027] Next, the configuration of a VoIP router will be explained based on Figure 3. As shown in Figure 3, the VoIP router connects an internal voice communication network and a data communication network. For this reason, the VoIP router is provided with connection units (interfaces) for connecting to the internal voice communication network and the data communication network, namely an internal voice communication network connection unit and a data communication network connection unit. These internal voice communication network connection unit and data communication network connection unit are connected to a transfer processing unit. The transfer processing unit is configured to transfer voice call signals sent from the internal voice communication network via the internal voice communication network connection unit to the data communication network via the data communication network connection unit.

[0028] The transfer processing unit is connected to the transfer status determination unit. The transfer status determination unit is configured to receive a signal regarding the forwarding status from the data communication network via the transfer processing unit / data communication network connection unit. This signal regarding the forwarding status is configured to include a specific signal when the call signal from the main unit is forwarded to the data communication network, i.e., when it is forwarded via the Internet communication network. This allows the transfer status determination unit in the VoIP router to determine that the call signal from the main unit will be forwarded to the recipient terminal via the Internet communication network.

[0029] The transfer status determination unit in the VoIP router may be configured to determine that whenever a call is transferred from the VoIP router to the recipient terminal, the call will be transferred to the recipient terminal via the Internet communication network, since the VoIP router is a device for transferring call signals via a data communication network, i.e., the Internet communication network.

[0030] The transfer status determination unit in the VoIP router is connected to the voice announcement transmission unit. The voice announcement transmission unit is connected to the voice announcement storage unit (memory). When it is determined that the call signal from the main unit is to be transferred to the recipient terminal via the Internet communication network, the transfer status determination unit is configured to instruct the voice announcement transmission unit to send a voice announcement. Upon receiving the instruction to send a voice announcement, the voice announcement transmission unit is configured to transmit the voice announcement (voice message) stored in the voice announcement storage unit to the caller's caller terminal via the internal voice communication network connection unit, the internal voice communication network, the main unit, and the external voice communication network.

[0031] The transfer status determination unit can be connected to a communication quality determination unit. This communication quality determination unit is connected to the transfer processing unit and is configured to be able to determine the communication status (communication quality) in the data communication network when a call signal from the internal voice communication network is transferred from the transfer processing unit to the recipient terminal via the data communication network connection unit and the data communication network.

[0032] The communication quality is configured to be able to judge the communication quality, particularly the communication speed, in a data communication network.

[0033] The transfer status determination unit is configured to inquire about the communication quality of the communication when instructing the voice announcement transmission unit to transmit the voice announcement. The communication quality determination unit is configured to return a signal representing the communication quality in the data communication network in response to the inquiry from the transfer status determination unit.

[0034] The transfer status determination unit is configured to change the command to the voice announcement transmission unit depending on the communication quality received from the communication quality determination unit. The voice announcement storage unit can store voice announcements according to the communication quality. These voice announcements have the same content but are stored as multiple voice announcements with different data capacities. Furthermore, when the communication speed is low, the transfer status determination unit can also store a voice announcement indicating this. That is, when the communication quality of the data communication network is low, i.e., when only low-speed communication is possible, the transfer status determination unit commands the voice announcement transmission unit to transmit a voice announcement with a small data capacity and / or a voice announcement indicating that the communication speed is low. Conversely, when the communication quality of the data communication network is high, i.e., when high-speed communication is possible, the transfer status determination unit is configured to command the voice announcement transmission unit to transmit a high-quality voice announcement with an appropriate data capacity.

[0035] Next, the configuration of the inside of the recipient terminal and the application software installed in the recipient terminal will be explained based on Figure 4. As shown in Figure 4, the recipient terminal is configured to receive communication signals transferred through a data communication network, i.e., communication signals originating from a voice call from a caller terminal connected to an external voice communication network.

[0036] For this reason, the receiver terminal and the application software installed in the receiver terminal have a data communication network connection unit and a transfer receiving unit. The data communication network connection unit serves as an interface between the data communication network and the receiver terminal.

[0037] The forwarding reception unit is connected to the reception status determination unit. The reception status determination unit is configured to determine that the communication signal is being forwarded to the recipient terminal via the Internet communication network when the forwarding reception unit receives a call signal from the VoIP router via the data communication network connection unit.

[0038] The reception status determination unit is connected to the voice announcement transmission unit. The voice announcement transmission unit is connected to a voice announcement storage unit (memory). When it is determined that the call signal is to be transferred to the recipient terminal via the Internet communication network, the reception status determination unit is configured to instruct the voice announcement transmission unit to transmit a voice announcement. Upon receiving the instruction to transmit the voice announcement, the voice announcement transmission unit is configured to transmit the voice announcement (voice message) stored in the voice announcement storage unit to the caller terminal of the caller via the data communication network connection unit, the data communication network, the VoIP router, the internal voice communication network, the main unit, and the external voice communication network.

[0039] The transfer status determination unit can be connected to a communication quality determination unit. This communication quality determination unit is connected to the transfer receiving unit and is configured to be able to determine the communication status (communication quality) in the data communication network when a call signal from the data communication network is transferred to a recipient terminal via the data communication network.

[0040] The communication quality is configured to be able to judge the communication quality, particularly the communication speed, in a data communication network.

[0041] The reception status determination unit is configured to inquire about the communication quality of the communication when instructing the voice announcement transmission unit to transmit the voice announcement. The communication quality determination unit is configured to return a signal representing the communication quality in the data communication network in response to the inquiry from the reception status determination unit.

[0042] The reception status determination unit is configured to be able to change the instruction to the voice announcement transmission unit depending on the communication quality received from the communication quality determination unit. The voice announcement storage unit can store voice announcements according to the communication quality. These voice announcements are stored as multiple voice announcements with the same content but different data capacities. In other words, when the communication quality of the data communication network is low, i.e., when only low-speed communication is possible, the reception status determination unit instructs the voice announcement transmission unit to transmit a voice announcement with a small data capacity and / or a voice announcement informing the user that the communication speed is low. Conversely, when the communication quality of the data communication network is high, i.e., when high-speed communication is possible, the transfer status determination unit is configured to instruct the voice announcement transmission unit to transmit a high-quality voice announcement with an appropriate data capacity.

[0043] Finally, based on Figure 5, we will explain the situation in which a call from a caller terminal is transferred to a recipient terminal via a main device (PBX) and a VoIP router, and an announcement is returned to the caller terminal.

[0044] The diagram shows a caller terminal, a main unit (PBX), a VoIP router, and a recipient terminal. The caller terminal and the main unit are connected via an external voice communication network (not shown). The main unit and the VoIP router are connected via an internal voice communication network (not shown). The VoIP router and recipient terminal are connected via a data communication network (not shown), i.e., the Internet communication network.

[0045] When a caller's terminal makes a call to a specific telephone number assigned to the main unit, a call signal is sent (called) to the main unit. The main unit determines the forwarding destination of the call according to its internal settings, and when it determines that the call should be forwarded to the recipient's terminal via the VoIP router, it first sends a call signal to the VoIP router. The VoIP router then sends a call signal to the recipient's terminal according to its internal settings.

[0046] The recipient terminal that receives the call signal returns a response signal to the VoIP router, and negotiation begins between the VoIP router and the recipient terminal. During the negotiation period, the communication quality that can be ensured is determined. This communication quality is used by the recipient terminal or the communication quality judgment unit in the VoIP router.

[0047] When the negotiation is complete, a call path is established. This triggers the announcement sending unit in the recipient's terminal to send a specified announcement signal to the caller's information terminal via the VoIP router and main unit. The announcement signal is sent together with the call response.

[0048] Depending on the embodiment, the announcement signal may be sent by an announcement originator of a VoIP router or by an announcement originator of a main device.

[0049] As a result, an announcement is returned to the caller's terminal to the effect that the call has been transferred, and the caller can continue the conversation on the assumption that the call has been transferred.

[0050] In addition to the configuration required for call forwarding and automated voice announcements described herein, the caller terminal, main unit / PBX, VoIP router, and receiver terminal described herein have the normal configuration and functions of a normal caller terminal, main unit / PBX, VoIP router, and receiver terminal. In other words, the caller terminal and receiver terminal have the normal hardware and software configuration required for a landline or mobile telephone, and have the functions required for making and receiving calls. Similarly, the main unit and VoIP router have the normal hardware and software configuration and functions required for a main unit or VoIP router.

Claims

1. 1. A method for transferring a voice call signal transmitted from a caller terminal connected to an external voice communication network to a main device connected to the external voice communication network to a recipient terminal connected to a data communication network, comprising: An automatic voice announcement system characterized in that when it is determined that a transmitted voice call signal is to be forwarded to a recipient terminal via an Internet communication network, a voice announcement indicating that the voice call signal is being forwarded is sent to the sender terminal.

2. 2. The call forwarding method according to claim 1, wherein the judgment step judges the quality of Internet communication and transmits a voice announcement according to the quality of communication.

3. 3. The automated voice announcement system according to claim 1, wherein the determination and the transmission of the voice announcement are performed by a VoIP router.

4. 3. The automated voice announcement system according to claim 1, wherein the determination and transmission of the voice announcement are performed by the receiver terminal.

5. A VoIP router used in the automated voice announcement system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the VoIP router has a transfer status determination unit, a communication quality determination unit, a voice announcement transmission unit, and a voice announcement storage unit.

6. A receiver terminal used in the automated voice announcement system according to any one of claims 1, 2 and 4, characterized in that the receiver information terminal comprises a reception status determination unit, a communication quality determination unit, a voice announcement transmission unit and a voice announcement storage unit.

Images