JP3918853B2 - Call system, terminal device, server, and call method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a call system, a terminal device, a server, and a call method suitable for use in an Internet telephone that transmits and receives audio data using the Internet, which is a global computer network.

  The Internet is a computer network that connects computer networks existing in companies, universities, and the like through wide-area lines, and is spread all over the world. Various services using the Internet, such as an e-mail service, a file transfer service, and an information search service, have been actively performed.

  FIG. 9 shows an overview of the Internet. 9, NET101, NET102, NET103,... Are computer networks. Each of the computer networks NET101, NET102, NET103,... Has a plurality of terminals T, T, T,. The terminals T, T, T,... Of each computer network NET101, NET102, NET103,... Are connected by a LAN (Local Area Network). As a form of LAN, Ethernet, token ring, or the like is used.

  The computer networks NET101, NET102, NET103,... Are connected to each other via routers R101, R102, R103,. The routers R101, R102, R103,... Perform a routing process for delivering data on the computer network to the computer network according to the destination.

  As described above, the computer networks NET101, NET102, NET103,... Are connected via the routers R101, R102, R103,. Such a computer network is called the Internet. The Internet makes it possible to transfer data between computer networks NET1, NET2, NET3,.

In the Internet, IP (Internet Protocol) is used as a network layer protocol.
) Is used. In IP, an IP address is assigned to each terminal, and a destination to which data is transferred is identified by the IP address. The IP address is made up of a collection of four numbers that can be represented by 8 bits in binary, and is expressed as, for example, “43.3.25.246”.

  As the Internet spreads, IP address shortages are feared. Therefore, when there are a large number of terminals registered on a network and a small number of terminals that are actually connected, in order to save IP addresses, a server for assigning IP addresses on the network is provided. An empty IP address may be assigned only when the terminal is connected. In this way, it is not necessary to prepare IP addresses for the number of terminals, and a limited number of IP addresses can be used effectively.

  In the Internet, TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) and UDP (User Datagram Protocol) are used as transport layer protocols. TCP performs communication after making a so-called connection-type communication connection, and has a function of performing packet order control, retransmission, flow control, and congestion control. UDP is a connectionless protocol and is used in place of TCP when real-time performance is required. For example, in digital voice communication or the like, even if a part of a packet is dropped, the retransmission is not requested and the voice is transmitted without interruption. In the case of such voice communication, UDP is used.

  In this way, the Internet basically uses the TCP / IP protocol. That is, an IP address is assigned to a terminal of a computer network, and this IP address is used for terminal identification. Then, the packet is transferred by TCP or UDP.

  However, personal computers are not necessarily connected by a LAN and may not have an IP address. Therefore, when an individual participates in the Internet, a company called an Internet service provider is used. When an Internet service provider is used, a personal computer is connected to a computer network using a telephone line, for example, PPP (Point to Point Protocol) or SLIP (Serial Line IP), and can participate in the Internet.

  That is, FIG. 10 is an example of an Internet service provider. The Internet service provider computer network NET 151 includes a server S 151 and a router R 151. The server S151 is connected to the public telephone line network TEL151 via modems M151, M152, M153,.

  Terminals T151, T152, T153,... Are terminals of individuals who participate in the Internet individually. Terminals T151, T152, T153,... Are connected to a public telephone line network TEL151 via a modem (not shown). As personal terminals T151, T152, T153,..., Personal computers having serial ports can be used.

  When participating in the Internet using an Internet service provider, a contract is usually made in advance between the user and the company of the Internet service provider. When a contract is made between the user and the Internet service provider, an account name and password are sent to the user.

  When participating in the Internet from personal terminals T151, T152, T153,..., The user dials the Internet service provider and calls the computer network NET151 of the Internet service provider. When the server S151 receives the call, the server S151 requests input of an account name and a password, and authenticates whether a contract is concluded with the Internet service provider. When it is verified that the entered account name and password are correct and a contract is made with the Internet service provider, the server S151 searches for a free IP address, and if there is a free IP address. , This IP address is assigned to terminals T151, T152, T153,... As temporary IP addresses. As a result, temporary IP addresses are assigned to the terminals T151, T152, T153,...

  In the above example, PPP connection is made using a telephone line, but ISDN (Integrated Service Digital Network) may be used. The ISDN 64 is composed of 3 channels in total, two B channels of 64 kbps and one D channel of 16 kbps in one line. When ISDN is used, it can be used as a 64-kbps line by flowing an IP packet on the B channel.

  Development of an Internet telephone that uses the Internet to make a call with the other party is underway. Since the Internet is basically free of charge, Internet telephones that use the Internet to make calls can be made only with charges generated by contracts with Internet service providers, telephone charges to Internet service providers, and ISDN usage charges. It is possible to make long distance calls and international calls at a very low price.

  However, the biggest problem with Internet telephony is that it is not possible to call a terminal of a user who is participating in the Internet by PPP connection or the like.

  That is, as described above, on the Internet, an IP address is used to designate a communication destination. A terminal of a user who has contracted with an Internet service provider and participated in the Internet by PPP is temporarily assigned an IP address only when a connection is requested, and is not always connected. For this reason, even if the other party who normally makes PPP connection using the Internet service provider is not currently connected by PPP, even if he / she tries to make a call using the terminal of the user participating in the Internet by PPP as the other party, The other party cannot call.

  Note that a LAN terminal existing in a company, a university, or the like is basically assigned an IP address and is always in operation, and therefore can be called using the IP address. However, even in such a LAN terminal, in order to save the IP address, a server for assigning an IP address is provided on the network, and an available IP address is assigned only when the terminal is actually connected. (DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)). Even if a LAN terminal exists in a company, a university, or the like, if the destination is a terminal to which an IP address is temporarily assigned in this way, the IP address is not uniquely determined. Cannot be called.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is an Internet telephone for making a call using the Internet, which is a computer network, and can make a call by calling the other party connected by PPP, and is included in different networks. An object of the present invention is to provide a call system, a terminal device, a server, and a call method that allow terminals to communicate with each other.

In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention is a call system connected to a network using an Internet protocol,
A database showing the correspondence between the terminal identification name of each terminal and the telephone number assigned to each terminal is provided on the network,
The servers included in the network are
Means for obtaining a telephone number of the second terminal from the database in response to a connection request sent from the first terminal to the second terminal;
Means for calling the first terminal using the telephone number of the first terminal;
Means for calling the second terminal using the telephone number of the second terminal,
The call system is characterized in that a first terminal and a second terminal are connected to each other via a server by responding to a call.

The present invention is a terminal device in a call system connected to a network using the Internet protocol,
Connected to the network, and means for specifying a destination terminal device registered in a database on the network,
Means for receiving a call by a telephone number from a server on the network for connection with a specified destination terminal via a telephone line network ;
With
By responding to a call, a terminal device is characterized in that a call connection is established via a server with a connection destination terminal that has responded to a call by a telephone number from a server via a telephone line network .

The present invention is a server for calls connected to a network using the Internet protocol,
A database showing the correspondence between the terminal identification name of each terminal and the telephone number assigned to each terminal is provided on the network,
Means for receiving a connection request transmitted from the first terminal to the second terminal;
Means for obtaining the telephone number of the second terminal from the database in response to the connection request;
Means for calling the first terminal using the telephone number of the first terminal;
And a means for calling the second terminal using the telephone number of the second terminal.

The present invention is a calling method connected to a network using an Internet protocol,
A database showing the correspondence between the terminal identification name of each terminal and the telephone number assigned to each terminal is provided on the network,
Obtaining a telephone number of the second terminal from the database in response to a connection request to the second terminal transmitted from the first terminal to a server included in the network;
The server calling the first terminal using the telephone number of the first terminal;
The server calling the second terminal using the telephone number of the second terminal,
The call method is characterized in that the first terminal and the second terminal are connected to each other through a server by responding to the call.

  According to this invention, it is possible to make a call between terminals between different networks. A call destination is designated by a domain representing a network including the terminal and a terminal account.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of an Internet telephone system to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, a computer network NET1 is, for example, a computer network of an Internet service provider. The computer network NET1 has a server S1 and a router R1.

  The server S1 is connected to the public telephone network TEL1 via modems M1, M2, M3,. Currently, data can be transmitted at 28.8 Kbps by a high-speed modem using the public telephone line network TEL1.

  The computer network NET1 is connected to another computer network constituting the Internet via the router R1. The router R1 performs a routing process for delivering data on the computer network to another computer network depending on the destination.

  The terminals T1, T2, T3,... Are, for example, terminals of individuals who participate in the Internet individually. As the terminals T1, T2, T3,..., A personal computer installed with an Internet telephone program is used, and a dedicated Internet telephone can be used. As will be described later, the dedicated Internet telephone is a terminal dedicated to the Internet telephone that can easily make a call using the Internet.

  The server S1 has a database DB1. As shown in FIG. 2, the database DB1 includes “terminal name”, “terminal Japanese name”, “notation name on the Internet”, “connection type”, “phone number for PPP”, “user name”, Etc. are recorded. The database DB1 is constructed, for example, using information obtained from contract contents when a contract is made between an Internet service provider and a user. In the database DB1, when the connection format is PPP, information on the telephone number for PPP of the person who has contracted with the Internet service provider through PPP connection is included.

  In this example, the server S1 and the terminals T1, T2, T3,... Are PPP-connected via a public telephone line network, but may be connected using a digital network such as ISDN.

  Next, call control in a call system to which the present invention is applied will be described. For example, in FIG. 1, it is assumed that the terminal T1 calls the terminal T2 to make a call. In the Internet, the other party is specified using an IP address. In this case, the other party's terminal T2 is not connected to the computer network NET1 because it is a terminal connected by PPP. For this reason, when the other party is not connected by PPP, the other party's terminal T2 cannot be called using the IP address. Therefore, the database DB1 is used.

  That is, FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the procedure at that time. First, the calling terminal T1 is dialed to the Internet service provider NET1, and the Internet service provider NET1 is called. When the server S1 of the internet service provider NET1 receives the call, it requests the terminal T1 to input an account name and a password, and makes an authentication request as to whether or not a contract is concluded with the internet service provider. The user of the calling terminal T1 inputs the account name and password in response to this authentication request. If it is verified that the entered account name and password are correct and a contract is made with the Internet service provider, the server S1 assigns a temporary IP address to the terminal T1. Thereby, PPP connection with the terminal T1 is started (step ST1).

  Next, the terminal T1 designates the address (for example, the terminal T2) of the other party who wants to talk (step ST2).

  When the address of the other party is designated, the server S1 searches for information on the terminal T2 using the database DB1. From the information in the database DB1, the telephone number for PPP connection of the terminal T2 is known (step ST3).

  The server S1 determines an IP address for designating the partner terminal T2 in the server, prepares for PPP connection, and notifies the calling terminal T1 of the IP address of the partner terminal (step ST4).

  Then, the server S1 dials the telephone number of the terminal T2 retrieved from the database DB1, and calls the terminal T2. When the connection of the telephone line with the counterpart terminal T2 is confirmed, the server S1 performs authentication and assigns an IP address to the counterpart terminal (step ST5).

  Thereby, PPP connection is started (step ST6). Then, voice data is transmitted and received between the terminal T1 and the terminal T2, and a call is performed (step ST7). Note that the audio data is transmitted after being compressed. When transmitting and receiving audio data, UDP is used as a transport layer protocol.

  When the call is finished, all connections such as PPP connection and telephone line connection between the terminal T1 and the server S1, and PPP connection and telephone line connection between the terminal T2 and the server S1 are terminated (step ST8).

  In the above example, the IP address of the terminal T2 is determined before completing the call of the terminal T2, but the IP address of the terminal T2 is determined after the call of the terminal T2 is completed. May be. At this time, the determined IP address may be communicated to the calling terminal T1 as necessary. When the server determines the IP address of the partner terminal, the communication side with the partner terminal can be prepared in advance by contacting the calling party with the IP address. Can be smoothly started.

  As described above, when the database DB1 having the information of the telephone number for PPP connection is provided and the other party of the call is a PPP connected terminal (for example, T2), the other party is based on the telephone number information of the database DB1. Is called. Then, the partner terminal T2 is connected to the server S1 by PPP. As a result, even when the other party of the call is a PPP-connected terminal, the other party can be called to make a call.

  The server S1 is called from the calling terminal T1 to complete the PPP connection between the calling terminal T1 and the server S1, and the server S1 calls the other terminal T2 to call the other terminal T2 and the server. When the PPP connection is completed with S1, a call can be made. However, if authentication is troublesome, these processes may take several minutes. During this time, the user must wait until the actual connection with the other party can be established with the line connected, and a long waiting time is required.

  Therefore, at the start of the call, the calling terminal T1 is connected to the server S1, the IP address is notified to the terminal T1, the connection between the server S1 and the terminal T1 is once disconnected, and the connection to the partner terminal T2 is made. It is conceivable to go offline until the processing proceeds to some extent. At this time, an IP address to be allocated to the calling terminal T1 is reserved, and when the connection process between the server S1 and the partner terminal T2 proceeds to the PPP connection phase, the server S1 calls the calling terminal T1. And reconnecting to the terminal T1 using the reserved IP address. In this way, it is less likely that the caller side wastes time for call connection.

  In addition to the above functions, if the other party does not answer, if the server has a function to inform the caller of that fact, it is necessary for the user to wait indefinitely even if the connection cannot be made. It is lost and convenient.

  A function that keeps the PPP connection between the calling terminal and the server until the other terminal is connected, and the user on the calling side can wait for the completion of the connection while doing other work during that time It is also possible to have This is particularly effective when the terminal is a multitasking personal computer or workstation. In the case of having such a function, it is conceivable to notify the calling side of the notification of the completion of connection by ringing a bell or displaying on the display when the connection of the counterpart terminal is completed.

  By the way, in such an Internet telephone, it is important how to specify the destination of the call. In general telephones, the other party of a call is specified by a telephone number consisting only of numbers, but it is difficult to remember the designation with a numeric string. On the Internet, data is transferred by specifying an IP address, but the IP address is also composed of four pieces of three-digit numbers, so that it is understandable for general users to use for calling other parties. Hateful. In addition, since the IP address is not determined in connection by PPP, the destination cannot be specified by the IP address.

Therefore, it is conceivable to use a mail address composed of an account name and a domain name to call the other party on the Internet telephone. mail address is,
“Username@domain1.domain2.…”
It is a form like this. Here, “username” is a user account name, and “domain1.domain2...” Is a domain name (organization name) to which the user belongs. Domain names can be combined with “.”, And multiple domain names can be combined. “@” Is a character representing a delimiter between an account name and a domain name.

  Such an e-mail address is easier to understand than an IP address, but the e-mail address does not designate a terminal, but designates an individual, and is considered inconvenient for an Internet telephone used for making a phone call to the terminal. It is done.

  Therefore, when an appropriate name is assigned to a terminal and an access is made from one terminal to another terminal, it is conceivable to access using this terminal name. Terminal names should be unique to each terminal, and those in the same domain should not be duplicated. Since the name of the terminal can be registered in the server together with user information such as a connection destination telephone number, it is possible to connect to the Internet telephone using this. In this way, even when making a PPP connection between the server and the partner terminal, the connection can be made from only the terminal name regardless of the IP address.

As a general notation on the Internet of the device name, as described in the email address, combine the domain name and device name with "."
“Machine.domain1.domain2.…”
This can also be used to specify a telephone terminal for an Internet telephone. However, if it is used for specifying an Internet terminal as it is, the number of characters in the terminal name is limited, so that it is not always easy to understand.

  Therefore, in this example, an easy-to-understand name is given priority to the Internet telephone terminal name without giving a restriction on the number of characters.

That is, as shown in FIG. 2, in the present invention, a database DB1 is provided. The list of the database DB1 includes “terminal name”, “terminal Japanese name”, “notation name on the Internet”, and the like. In this database DB1, there is a list of “connection type” indicating whether the connection is PPP connection or LAN connection. For PPP connection, there is a list of telephone numbers for connection. Accordingly, if a notation method that is easy for the user to use is selected from “terminal name”, “terminal Japanese name”, “notation name on the Internet”, etc., the other party can be specified. That is, for example, as a name for designating an Internet terminal, a terminal name close to the actual name of the user, for example,
“H_WATANABE”
The destination can be specified with. In addition, the Japanese name, for example,
`` Hide Watanabe ''
But you can specify the other party.

  The list in FIG. 2 shows only information necessary for Internet telephone, but it is necessary to register the user registration number, address, authentication password for connecting to the server, etc. as a database list. is there. In addition, it is convenient to write the IP address designated by the server in this list at the time of PPP connection.

  In the above-described example, the case where a call is made between terminals in the same computer network has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to a case where a call is made with a terminal in another computer network. FIG. 4 shows an example in which a telephone call is made between terminals between different computer networks.

  In FIG. 4, a computer network NET11 is, for example, a computer network of an Internet service provider. The computer network NET11 has a server S11 and a router R11. The server S11 is connected to the public telephone line network TEL11 via modems M11, M12, M13,. The server S11 has a database DB11. The database DB11 stores information including telephone numbers of terminals connected to the computer network NET11 by PPP. The computer network NET11 is connected to another computer network constituting the Internet via the router R11. The router R11 performs a routing process for delivering data on the network to the network according to the destination. Terminals T11, T12, T13,... Are, for example, terminals of individuals who participate in the Internet.

  The computer network NET21 is, for example, a computer network of another Internet service provider. The computer network NET21 has a server S21 and a router R21. The server S21 is connected to the public telephone line network TEL21 via modems M21, M22, M23,. The server S21 has a database DB21. The database DB21 stores information including the telephone numbers of terminals connected to the computer network NET21 by PPP. The computer network NET21 is connected to another computer network constituting the Internet via the router R21. The router R21 performs routing processing for delivering data on the network to the network according to the destination. The terminals T21, T22, T23,... Are, for example, terminals of individuals who participate in the Internet individually.

  For example, assume that a call is made from the terminal T11 of the computer network NET11 to the terminal T21 of the computer network NET21. In this case, processing as shown in FIG. 5 is performed.

  First, the terminal T11 on the calling side is dialed to the network NET11 of the Internet service provider, and the server S11 of the computer network NET11 is called.

  When the server S11 receives the call, the server S11 requests input of an account name and a password, and makes an authentication request as to whether or not a contract is concluded with the Internet service provider.

  The user of the calling terminal T11 inputs the account name and password in response to this authentication request. When it is verified that the entered account name and password are correct and a contract is concluded with the Internet service provider, the server S11 assigns a temporary IP address to the terminal T11. Thereby, the PPP connection of the terminal T11 is started.

  Next, a call request is sent from the terminal T11 to the server S11, and a call response is returned from the server S11 to the terminal T11. If a call response is returned, the address of the other party (for example, terminal T21) to be called is designated.

  When the destination address is specified, the server S11 including the calling terminal sends a call request to the terminal T21 to the server S21 of the computer network (for example, the computer network NET21) including the other party. When the server S21 receives a call request to the terminal T21, the server S21 returns a call response to the server S11. When the server S11 of the network NET11 including the calling side terminal receives a call response, the server S11 sends the address of the called party and also sends the calling side information.

  The server S21 of the computer network NET21 including the other party searches for information on the terminal T21 using the database DB21. From the information in the database DB21, the telephone number for PPP connection of the terminal T21 is known. The server S21 of the computer network NET21 dials the telephone number of the terminal T21 retrieved from the database DB21 and calls the terminal T21.

  When receiving the call from the server S21, the partner terminal T21 returns a call response to the server S21. When the server S21 receives the call response, the server S21 makes a PPP connection request. When the server T21 receives the PPP connection request, the server T21 informs that the PPP connection is established.

  Then, the server S21 requests input of an account name and password and performs authentication. The user at the other end inputs the account name and password according to this authentication. If it is confirmed that the entered account name and password are correct and a contract is made with the Internet service provider, an IP address is assigned to the terminal T21. Thereby, the PPP connection of the terminal T21 is started.

  When the PPP connection is started, a call request is sent from the server S21 to the terminal T21, and a call response is returned from the terminal T21 to the server S21. Then, a call connection completion is sent from the server S21 of the computer network NET21 to the server S11 of the computer network NET11, and a call completion is sent from the server S11 to the terminal T11. Then, voice data is transmitted and received between the terminal T11 and the terminal T21, and a call is performed.

  When the call is completed and, for example, a disconnection request is issued from the calling terminal T11, the disconnection request is sent to the partner terminal T21. Upon receiving the disconnection request, the terminal T21 returns a disconnection response to the terminal T11 and disconnects all connections.

  In the above example, the databases DB11 and DB12 are provided in the servers S11 and S12 of the computer networks NET11 and NET12, respectively. However, a server that provides information such as the telephone number of each terminal is provided on the Internet. You may make it provide.

  As described above, when a call can be made between terminals between different computer networks, the server designation method becomes a problem. In the Internet, since each network can be distinguished by a domain name, a server for a call can also use this to assign one domain name to one server.

  Since the other party's terminal can be considered as belonging to a LAN having a domain name of the server, it is assumed that the user terminal itself connected to this server by PPP connection belongs to the domain as well (domain name + terminal name). ) Can also be used to identify the terminal.

Therefore, even in the case of PPP connection, as described above, the terminal notation method including the domain name is used on the Internet.
“Machine.domain1.domain2.…”
It is also possible to make a call using the call destination designation method. When such a designation is made on the calling side, the server checks the IP address of the server to which the other party should be connected from the domain name, starts communication between servers based on the IP address, and is necessary for call processing Exchange information. After this, connection processing with the callee terminal is performed at the partner server. However, as mentioned above, domain names are not always easy to understand.

Therefore, it is conceivable that the domain name is also easy to understand without being restricted by the number of characters, as in the terminal name assignment method. For example, in order to access a terminal called “hnave (H. WATANABE's terminal abbreviation on the Internet)” in Shinagawa, Tokyo,
H_Watabebe. Shi. Tokyo
Such as (terminal name + district name) is allowed as a call domain name. Then, a list for converting a formal domain name and a call domain name is provided, and when there is an input of such a call notation on the net, it is converted into a formal notation method. As a result, it is possible to specify the other party with an easy-to-understand notation such as (terminal name + district name).

  As described above, in the Internet telephone system to which the present invention is applied, a dedicated Internet telephone can be used as a terminal.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of an Internet telephone. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 1 denotes a telephone body. A display operation unit 2 is provided on the upper surface of the telephone body 1. As shown in FIG. 7, the display operation unit 2 has a structure in which a touch panel 4 is laminated on a display panel 3. Icons indicating numeric keys, operation keys, and the like are displayed on the display operation unit 2, and necessary input can be performed by pressing the touch panel 4 on the icons. In addition to icons indicating keys and the like, the display operation unit 2 displays help for operation guidance and setting status. Further, various information is displayed on the display operation unit 2. A handset 5 is connected to the telephone body 1. The telephone body 1 is connected to a public telephone line.

  FIG. 8 shows the internal configuration of the Internet telephone. In FIG. 8, 11 is a CPU. A ROM 12, an EPROM 13, and a RAM 14 are connected to the CPU 11. Further, an input is given to the CPU 11 from the touch panel 4, and an output of the CPU 11 is displayed on the display panel 3.

  The CPU 11 performs dial connection processing, IP data transfer processing, and audio signal compression / decompression processing. That is, when the address of the other party is input from the touch panel 4, the CPU 11 controls the NCU 14 to dial the telephone number of the internet service provider's computer network and perform telephone connection processing. When the telephone connection is completed, connection processing by PPP is performed. In addition, there is a case where a PPP connection is requested by receiving an incoming call from a computer network of an Internet service provider. Also in this case, the CPU 11 performs a telephone connection process, and when the telephone connection is completed, performs a connection process by PPP. During a call, the audio signal to be transmitted / received is compressed / decompressed and communication processing by IP is performed.

  The audio signal from the microphone of the handset 5 is digitized by the A / D and D / A converter 18. This digital audio signal is sent to the CPU 11 and subjected to compression processing. The compressed audio signal is supplied to an NCU (Node Control Unit) 16 via a modem 15.

  The compressed audio signal sent via the telephone line is sent to the CPU 11 via the NCU 16 and the modem 15. The CPU 11 performs audio signal expansion processing. The expanded digital audio signal is sent to the A / D and D / A converter 18 and converted into an analog signal. Then, it is supplied to the speaker of the handset 5.

  This Internet telephone can be used as a normal telephone. In the case of functioning as a normal telephone, the handset 5 and the NCU 14 are connected via the speech net 17 and a call is made with an analog voice signal via the telephone line.

  Usually, in order to use an Internet telephone by PPP connection, a personal computer is prepared, a microphone and a speaker are connected to the personal computer, and software for connecting to the Internet must be incorporated. However, it is not easy for a user who is not familiar with a computer to prepare a personal computer and connect it to the Internet. In addition, using the Internet telephone by making a PPP connection with a computer results in poor operability and high cost.

  The above-described Internet telephone does not need to incorporate software for connecting to the Internet, and can be easily connected to the Internet to perform voice communication. Moreover, the handset 5 is provided similarly to a normal telephone, and it can be operated similarly to a normal telephone. Therefore, even a user unfamiliar with a computer can easily use the Internet telephone. In particular, in the above-described Internet telephone, the display operation unit 2 having a structure in which the touch panel 4 is laminated on the display panel 3 is provided, so that the operability is good.

  In the above example, PPP has been described, but the present invention is not limited to the case of PPP connection. The present invention can be similarly applied to SLIP and the like. For example, when connected directly to the Internet via Ethernet, the other party's IP address may be checked from the database of the server and then connected.

It is a block diagram used for description of an example of the internet telephone system to which this invention was applied. It is a basic diagram used for description of an example of the internet telephone system to which this invention was applied. It is a flowchart used for description of an example of the internet telephone system to which this invention was applied. It is a block diagram used for description of the other example of the internet telephone system to which this invention was applied. It is a flowchart used for description of the other example of the internet telephone system to which this invention was applied. It is a perspective view of an example of the telephone set used for the internet telephone system to which this invention was applied. It is sectional drawing used for description of an example of the telephone set used for the internet telephone system to which this invention was applied. It is a block diagram of an example of the telephone used for the internet telephone system to which this invention was applied. It is a block diagram used for description of the Internet. It is a block diagram used for description of PPP connection.

Explanation of symbols

S1, S11, S21 Server DB1, DB11, DB12 Database T1, T2, ..., T11, T12, ..., T21, T22, ... Terminal

Claims (6)

A call system connected to a network using an Internet protocol,
A database showing the correspondence between the terminal identification name of each terminal and the telephone number assigned to each terminal is provided on the network,
The servers included in the network are:
Means for obtaining a telephone number of the second terminal from the database in response to a connection request transmitted from the first terminal to the second terminal;
Means for calling the first terminal using the telephone number of the first terminal;
Means for calling the second terminal using the telephone number of the second terminal,
The call system, wherein the first terminal and the second terminal are connected to each other via the server by responding to a call.   The call system according to claim 1, wherein the server holds the database. The database is maintained by other servers included in the network,
The call system according to claim 1, wherein the server acquires the telephone number of the second terminal from the other server. A terminal device in a call system connected to a network using an Internet protocol,
Connected to said network, and means for specifying a destination terminal device registered in a database on the network,
Means for receiving a call by telephone number from a server on the network for connection with the designated connection destination terminal via a telephone line network ;
With
A terminal device characterized in that, by responding to the call, a call connection is established via the server with the connection destination terminal responding to the call by the telephone number from the server via the telephone line network . A server for calls connected to a network using the Internet protocol,
A database showing the correspondence between the terminal identification name of each terminal and the telephone number assigned to each terminal is provided on the network,
Means for receiving a connection request transmitted from the first terminal to the second terminal;
Means for obtaining the telephone number of the second terminal from the database in response to the connection request;
Means for calling the first terminal using the telephone number of the first terminal;
Means for calling the second terminal using the telephone number of the second terminal. A call method connected to a network using an Internet protocol,
A database showing the correspondence between the terminal identification name of each terminal and the telephone number assigned to each terminal is provided on the network,
Obtaining a telephone number of the second terminal from the database in response to a connection request to the second terminal transmitted from the first terminal to a server included in the network;
The server calling the first terminal using the telephone number of the first terminal;
The server calling the second terminal using the telephone number of the second terminal,
A call method characterized in that the first terminal and the second terminal are connected to each other via the server by responding to a call.

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