Communication system, communication terminal, communication method, and non-transitory computer-readable medium

Communication system, communication terminal, communication method, and non-transitory computer-readable medium

0001The present disclosure relates to communication systems, communication terminals, communication methods, and non-transitory computer-readable media.

00022. Description of the Related Art A group call technology is known that enables voice communication between communication terminals of a plurality of users belonging to a specific group, thereby allowing users in the group to communicate with each other. A group call is started when a calling terminal transmits a group call start request to other terminals in the group, and the other terminals respond to the start request. However, if the terminal to which the call request is sent is out of communication range, the terminal cannot participate in the group call. It is desirable that such a terminal joins an already started group call halfway when returning from outside the communication range to within the communication range.

0003As a related technology, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a group call system that allows mobile communication terminals that have not participated in a group call to participate in the group call later. The system disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a plurality of mobile communication terminals and a group call control server that provides a group call function between the plurality of mobile communication terminals. A halfway participating terminal that participates in the group call midway without responding to the participation request from the originating terminal receives a group call participation request signal from the group call control server and registers the incoming history information from the originating terminal in the incoming history table. . The halfway participation terminal transmits a halfway participation request signal including the group ID to the group call control server when the user selects the incoming call history information registered at the time of non-response and presses the group call start request button. The group call control server performs a predetermined process, and makes the late joining terminal participate in the group corresponding to the received group ID.

0004In addition, as another related technique, Patent Document 2 discloses a communication system that enables a mobile station (unanswered mobile station), which cannot answer a call because it is out of network coverage, to participate in a group call midway. disclose. A communication system disclosed in Patent Document 2 includes a base station, a group call server, and an SMS server. The group call server receives an INVITE (participating in progress) message from the originating mobile station to allow the non-answered mobile station to participate in the group call halfway, and continues this message until the non-answered mobile station moves into range and performs registration processing. Hold. When the non-response mobile station performs the registration process, the group call server transmits the held INVITE (half-way participation) to the non-response mobile station. The unanswered mobile station sends 180 Ringing and 200 OK to the originating mobile station via the group call server. When an ACK is sent from the originating mobile station to the group call server, halfway participation in the group call of the unanswered mobile station is completed.

<p num="0005"><patcit num="1"><text>Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-067083</text></patcit><patcit num="2"><text>JP-A-2008-005169</text></patcit></p>

<p num="0006"> For example, while the communication terminal is out of communication range, participation requests may be made from a plurality of group communications. In such a case, the communication terminal receives incoming call history information regarding a plurality of group communications after moving from outside the communication range to within the communication range. The user confirms a plurality of pieces of incoming call history information displayed on the communication terminal and considers which group communication to join halfway. The communication terminal accepts a selection of group communication to join in the middle from the user, and requests the server that controls the group communication to participate in the middle. In particular, when there are a large number of incoming call histories, the user has trouble confirming and selecting a plurality of pieces of incoming call history information. Patent document 1 and patent document 2 do not consider such a problem.</p><p num="0007"> In view of the above problems, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a communication system, a communication terminal, a communication method, and a non-temporary computer-readable medium that allow easy selection of group communication to participate in midway.</p>

<p num="0008"> A communication system according to the present disclosure includes: a communication terminal; and a server that controls group communication between the plurality of communication terminals, wherein the communication terminal is a group communication that has already started among the plurality of communication terminals. acquisition means for acquiring information about the group communication that is in an unanswered state due to no response at the start of the group communication; and at least one group communication that is a candidate for participation based on the acquired information and transmitting means for transmitting a request to join the selected group communication to the server, wherein the server comprises the selected group communication. It has participation acceptance means for accepting participation of the communication terminal to.</p><p num="0009"> A communication terminal according to the present disclosure is a group communication that has already started between a plurality of communication terminals and acquires information about the group communication that is in a non-response state due to no response at the start. , based on the acquired information, selecting means for selecting any one of the group communications from among at least one of the group communications that are candidates for participation; and requesting participation in the selected group communication, transmitting means for transmitting to a server that controls the group communication among the plurality of communication terminals;</p><p num="0010"> A communication method according to the present disclosure acquires information about a group communication that has already started between a plurality of communication terminals and is in a non-response state due to no response at the start of the group communication, any one of the group communications is selected from among at least one of the group communications that are candidates for participation based on the information obtained, and a request for participation in the selected group communication is sent between the plurality of communication terminals. to a server that controls said group communication.</p><p num="0011"> A non-temporary computer-readable medium storing a communication program according to the present disclosure is a group communication that has already started between a plurality of communication terminals, and is in a non-response state due to no response at the start an acquisition process of acquiring information about the group communication; a selection process of selecting one of the group communications from at least one group communication that is a candidate for participation based on the acquired information; and a selection. a transmission process of transmitting the received request to participate in the group communication to a server controlling the group communication among the plurality of communication terminals.</p>

<p num="0012"> According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a communication system, a communication terminal, a communication method, and a non-temporary computer-readable medium that allow easy selection of group communication to participate in midway.</p>

0013<figref num="1">1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a communication system according to Embodiment 1; FIG.</figref><figref num="2">FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of a communication system according to a second embodiment; FIG.</figref><figref num="3">2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a communication terminal according to Embodiment 2; FIG.</figref><figref num="4">FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display screen of a communication terminal according to Embodiment 2;</figref><figref num="5">FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a server according to Embodiment 2;</figref><figref num="6">FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing processing when a communication terminal returns from being out of service area to within service area in Embodiment 2;</figref><figref num="7">FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing processing when the communication terminal terminates another communication in Embodiment 2;</figref><figref num="8">FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration example of a communication terminal or the like according to the second embodiment;</figref>

0014&lt;Embodiment 1&gt; An embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a communication system 1 according to this embodiment. The communication system 1 includes a communication terminal 10 and a server 20 that controls group communication among the plurality of communication terminals 10. FIG.

0015Communication terminal 10 includes acquisition section 11 , selection section 12 , and transmission section 13 . Acquisition unit 11 acquires information about group communication that has already started among a plurality of communication terminals 10 and is in a non-response state due to no response at the start. Based on the information obtained by the obtaining unit 11, the selecting unit 12 selects one group communication from among at least one group communication that is a candidate for participation. The transmitting unit 13 transmits to the server 20 a request to participate in the selected group communication. The server 20 has a participation acceptance unit 21 . The participation accepting unit 21 accepts participation of the communication terminal 10 in the selected group communication.

0016In the communication system 1 according to the present embodiment, the group communication that has already started in the acquisition unit 11 of the communication terminal 10 and is in a non-response state because the communication terminal 10 did not respond at the start Get information about Selecting unit 12 of communication terminal 10 selects one group communication from at least one group communication that is a candidate for communication terminal 10 to participate in, based on the acquired information. The transmission unit 13 of the communication terminal 10 transmits to the server 20 a request to participate in the selected group communication. In response, the participation accepting unit 21 of the server 20 accepts the participation of the communication terminal 10 in the selected group communication. As described above, in the communication system 1 according to the present embodiment, the communication terminal 10 selects one of at least one group communication that is a candidate to join, based on the information about the group communication in the non-response state. Select group communication. Therefore, according to the communication system 1 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to easily select a group communication to participate in midway.

0017&lt;Embodiment 2&gt; Next, an outline of a communication system 1000 according to Embodiment 2 will be described with reference to FIG. Embodiment 2 is a specific example of Embodiment 1 described above. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an overview of the communication system 1000 according to this embodiment.

0018A communication system 1000 includes a plurality of communication terminals 100a to 100e, a server 200, and a base station 300. FIG. The number of base stations 300 included in communication system 1000 is not limited to one. Also, the number of communication terminals 100 included in communication system 1000 is not limited to five. Communication terminals 100a to 100e and base station 300 are connected to server 200 via network N. FIG. Network N is a wired or wireless communication line. Network N may be, for example, the Internet, an LTE (Long Term Evolution) network, a 5G (5th Generation) network, or the like.

0019Communication terminals 100a to 100e are communication terminals capable of using a group communication function provided by server 200. FIG. By installing a predetermined application, for example, the communication terminals 100a to 100e can perform group communication provided by the server 200 via the application. The communication terminals 100a to 100e may be communication terminals such as mobile phones, smart phones, tablet terminals, PHS, or landline phones, for example. In the following description, the communication terminals 100a to 100e may be simply referred to as the communication terminal 100 in some cases. Also, the aforementioned base station 300 is not essential when the communication terminal 100 is a fixed telephone, and the communication terminal 100 may be connected to the network N via an exchange, a repeater, or the like.

0020Here, communication terminals 100a to 100e belong to the same group in the group communication function provided by server 200. FIG. Note that the communication terminals 100a to 100e are not limited to group communication, and can also communicate individually. Also, the communication terminals 100a to 100e may belong to different groups.

0021The server 200 provides a function of group communication among a plurality of communication terminals 100 and controls group communication among the communication terminals 100. FIG. Group communication provided by server 200 may include, for example, group calls between communication terminals 100a to 100e, web conferences, and chat functions. In these group communications, communication data transmitted and received between communication terminals 100 may include audio data, image data, video data, text data, and the like.

0022In this embodiment, a case where the server 200 controls group calls of the communication terminals 100a to 100e will be described as an example. The server 200 is configured by, for example, a SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) server or the like, and executes SIP sequence processing when communicating between the communication terminals 100 . Not limited to this, the communication between the communication terminals 100 may use a communication protocol other than SIP.

0023When server 200 receives a request to start a group call from one of communication terminals 100 belonging to a group, server 200 calls communication terminals 100 belonging to the group. The server 200 newly issues a session ID for identifying the group call for which the start request has been accepted, and manages the group call. In addition, hereinafter, the process from the start to the end of a group call may be referred to as a session.

0024Here, among the communication terminals 100a to 100e, the communication terminal 100a sends a group call start request to the server 200, the communication terminals 100b to 100d respond to the start request, and the communication terminal 100e does not respond to the start request. and

0025Server 200 starts a group call between communication terminals 100a-100d. Server 200 transmits an incoming call notification indicating that there is a request to participate in the group call to communication terminal 100e that did not respond to the call. When the communication terminal 100e that can respond transmits a participation request to the server 200, the server 200 accepts the request and controls the communication terminal 100e to join the group call that has already started.

0026For example, when the communication terminal 100e cannot respond because it is out of the communication range, when it moves into the communication range, it notifies the server 200 that it has returned to the communication range and receives an incoming call notification. Communication terminal 100e decides to participate in the group call based on the content of the incoming call notification, and transmits to server 200 a request for halfway participation in the group call.

0027Further, when the communication terminal 100e is in the communication range but cannot respond because it was performing other communication, it receives an incoming call notification from the server 200 while performing other communication, and receives the incoming call notification, which will be described later. Stored in the storage unit 190 . Other communication may be, for example, a call with another communication terminal, a web conference, or a chat. This may also include the case where the communication terminal 100e runs an application that restricts calls from the server 200 and communication with other communication terminals. The communication terminal 100e decides to participate in the group call based on the content of the incoming call notification when the other communication ends or when the state in which the other communication is restricted ends, and sends a midway participation request to the group. to the server 200.

0028Further, even if the power of the communication terminal 100e was not turned on at the start of the group communication, or even if the user did not notice the incoming call because it was in the mute state, the communication terminal 100e was engaged in other communication and could not respond. Perform the same processing as in the case.

0029Next, the configuration of communication terminal 100 will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of communication terminal 100. As shown in FIG. The communication terminal 100 corresponds to the communication terminal 10 of the first embodiment. Communication terminals 100a to 100e each have the configuration of communication terminal 100 shown in FIG. Communication terminal 100 includes acquisition section 110 , selection section 120 , communication section 130 , input/output section 140 and storage section 190 .

0030The acquisition unit 110 corresponds to the acquisition unit 11 of the first embodiment. Acquisition section 110 acquires information about group communication that has already started among a plurality of communication terminals 100 and is in a non-response state due to no response at the time of start.

0031Information related to group communication may be information specifying unanswered group communication in which communication terminal 100 has been called. Acquisition unit 110 receives information about unanswered group communication from server 200 , associates it with session ID 1931 that identifies the group communication, and stores it in storage unit 190 as call history information 193 . Session ID 1931 corresponds to session ID 2931 described later.

0032As shown in the figure, the call history information 193 may be associated with a session ID 1931, a target group ID 1932, a caller terminal ID 1933, and a call date and time 1934, for example. The target group ID 1932 is identification information that identifies the target group that is the target of the session. The target group ID 1932 corresponds to the target group ID 2932 described later. The caller terminal ID 1933 is identification information for identifying the caller terminal. The caller terminal ID 1933 corresponds to the caller terminal ID 2933 described later. The call date and time 1934 is information indicating the date and time when the communication terminal 100 was called. The call history information 193 is not limited to this, and may include various types of information related to group communication in an unanswered state due to the communication terminal 100 not responding at the start.

0033Here, communication terminal 100e, which is in an unanswered state because it did not respond at the start of a group call that has already started between communication terminals 100a to 100d, acquires the above information from server 200 in acquisition unit 110. get. Note that the acquisition unit 110 may acquire these pieces of information not from the server 200 but from any of the other communication terminals 100a to 100d in the group.

0034In addition, the acquisition unit 110 may acquire a plurality of pieces of information regarding unanswered group communications. For example, when there is a call from a plurality of group calls while communication terminal 100e is out of the communication range, acquisition section 110 acquires information on these group calls. Acquisition unit 110 identifies a plurality of called group calls by session ID 1931 and stores them as call history information 193, respectively.

0035The selector 120 corresponds to the selector 12 of the first embodiment. Based on the call history information 193 acquired by the acquisition unit 110, the selection unit 120 selects one group communication to participate from at least one group communication that is a candidate for participation. The selection unit 120 may cause the input/output unit 140 to display information about the selected group communication to notify the user. By doing so, the user can grasp the group communication requesting the midway participation.

0036Further, when a plurality of pieces of call history information 193 are acquired by acquisition unit 110, selection unit 120 selects at least one group communication candidate to join based on the acquired plurality of pieces of call history information 193. , select one of the group communications you want to participate in.

0037For example, the selection unit 120 selects one group communication from among at least one group communication that is a candidate for participation based on the start date and time information of the group communication included in the plurality of acquired call history information 193. do. Here, the group communication start date/time information may be included in the call history information 193 acquired by the acquisition unit 110 . Alternatively, the call date and time 1934 when the call for group communication is made may be regarded as the start date and time of group communication. For example, the selection unit 120 may select group communication with the earliest start date and time of group communication, or may select group communication with the latest start date and time of group communication. Further, the selection unit 120 may target group communication within a predetermined time (for example, two hours) from the start date and time of the group communication, and select from among them. Alternatively, the selection unit 120 may acquire the end date and time of the group communication from the server 200 and exclude and select the group communication that has ended.

0038Moreover, the selection unit 120 may determine the group communication to participate in based on the priority of the group communication. The priority of group communication may be set by the communication terminal 100e, or may be obtained by setting on the other communication terminal 100 side. When setting on the communication terminal 100e side, the selection unit 120 may set the priority by referring to the belonging group information 192 stored in the storage unit 190, for example. For example, when there is a call from a group whose group attribute 1922 is business and a group whose hobby, the selection unit 120 sets a higher priority to the business group than to the hobby group. you can Alternatively, the selection unit 120 may set the priority according to the caller, the number of terminals participating in the group communication, the number of calls, or the like.

0039When the priority is set on the other communication terminal 100 side, for example, the priority, importance, or urgency in each group communication may be set at the start of the group call and transmitted to the server 200. . Acquisition unit 110 may acquire these by including them in call history information 193, and selection unit 120 may determine a group communication to participate in based on this information.

0040In this manner, the selection unit 120 can select a group communication to participate in, without waiting for the user's operation, according to the start date/time information of the group communication, the priority of the group communication, and the like. Therefore, for example, by setting in advance such that the group communication with the earliest start date and time of the group communication is selected, the last received group communication can be automatically selected and called.

0041Communication unit 130 communicates with other communication terminal 100 and server 200 . The communication unit 130 receives from the server 200 a missed call notification including information about group communication in an unanswered state. When communication terminal 100 moves from outside the communication range and returns to the communication range, communication unit 130 notifies server 200 that communication terminal 100 has returned to the communication range. Communication unit 130 receives the missed call notification transmitted from server 200 in response thereto. Further, when communication terminal 100 is in the communication range but is in a state of no response due to other communication, communication unit 130 receives a request from server 200 while other communication is being performed. Receive missed call notifications.

0042Also, the communication unit 130 corresponds to the transmission unit 13 of the first embodiment. Communication unit 130 transmits a participation request to the group communication selected by selection unit 120 to server 200 . For example, assume that acquisition unit 110 acquires only one piece of call history information 193, and selection unit 120 selects group communication corresponding to that information. The communication unit 130 automatically transmits a participation request to the group communication to the server 200 . Alternatively, when the user inputs to the input/output unit 140 to participate in the group communication, the communication unit 130 transmits a participation request to the group communication to the server 200 .

0043It is also assumed that a plurality of pieces of call history information 193 are acquired by acquisition unit 110 . The communication unit 130 transmits to the server 200 a participation request for one of the group communications selected from the plurality of group communications by the selection unit 120 . Further, the communication unit 130 may transmit to the server 200 a request to participate in group communication selected by the user in the input/output unit 140 (selection reception unit). By doing so, the user can check a plurality of group communications that are candidates for participation, select a desired group communication from among them, and make a halfway participation request.

0044When communication terminal 100 moves from outside the communication range to within the communication range, or when communication terminal 100 performing another communication terminates the other communication, communication unit 130 requests participation in the selected group communication. to the server 200.

0045When communication terminal 100 makes a group communication start request as a calling terminal, communication unit 130 transmits a start request including group ID 1921 to server 200 .

0046The input/output unit 140 has functions of a display unit for displaying information about group communication and a selection reception unit for receiving selection of group communication to participate from the user. The input/output unit 140 may be, for example, a touch panel capable of receiving a user's touch operation.

0047The input/output unit 140 (display unit) displays the information of the caller when information is acquired from another communication terminal 100 or the server 200 or when an incoming call is received. For example, when there is an incoming call from the communication terminal 100a to the communication terminal 100e, the input/output unit 140 of the communication terminal 100e notifies the communication terminal 100e of an incoming call from the communication terminal 100a through an application running on the communication terminal 100e, a pop-up, a notification, or the like. Display by Here, a speaker and a vibrator (both not shown) provided in the communication terminal 100e may be operated together. The input/output unit 140 may refer to the contact information 191 and display the caller's name or the like from the caller's phone number or the like.

0048Input/output unit 140 also displays call history information 193 corresponding to at least one group communication that is a candidate for participation. Further, when there are a plurality of candidate group communications, the input/output unit 140 displays the plurality of call history information 193 in a predetermined order. The predetermined order may be, for example, an order based on the start date/time (call date/time), end date/time, number of calls, priority, importance, or urgency of the group call, as described above. By doing so, the user can easily select the group communication to participate in.

0049FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the display screen 141 displayed on the input/output unit 140. As shown in FIG. Here, input/output unit 140 displays call history information 193 in chronological order of call date and time 1934 (see FIG. 3). As shown in the figure, the input/output unit 140 may display the session ID 1931, the target group ID 1932, the caller's name, the call date and time 1934, and the like on the display screen 141. FIG. In addition, the input/output unit 140 may display a display area 141a (for example, an "important" icon) indicating priority or the like.

0050Instead of displaying the call history information 193 corresponding to all group communications for which participation requests have been made, a part thereof may be displayed on the input/output unit 140. FIG. For example, when there are five incoming calls, the call history information 193 of three of them may be displayed according to the priority or the like. In that case, the remaining call history information 193 may be displayed according to the user's touch operation. Touch operations may include various operations such as tapping, swiping, dragging, or flicking.

0051The input/output unit 140 (selection accepting unit) accepts from the user a selection of group communication to participate in from among the plurality of group communications corresponding to the plurality of displayed call history information 193 . The input/output unit 140 may display an operation display area 141b for receiving selections from the user. The user can operate the communication terminal 100 by touching the operation display area 141b. In the example shown in FIG. 4, "participate" buttons corresponding to each of a plurality of group communications are displayed as the operation display area 141b. The user can request participation in the group communication by touching the "participate" button corresponding to the group communication to participate in.

0052Returning to FIG. 3, the explanation continues. The storage unit 190 is an example of a storage device such as a hard disk or flash memory. Storage unit 190 stores contact information 191 , belonging group information 192 , and call history information 193 .

0053The contact information 191 is information for managing the contact information of the user. Contact information 191 may be information in which contact ID 1911, user name 1912, and contact 1913 are associated, for example. The contact ID 1911 is information identifying the contact. Username 1912 is the name of the user corresponding to the contact. Contact 1913 may be the user's phone number or the like. The user of the communication terminal 100 registers such information in the storage unit 190 in advance, so that the user can confirm the telephone number and user name of the calling terminal using the input/output unit 140 when receiving an incoming call. The contact information 191 is not limited to this, and may include a user's image or the like.

0054The belonging group information 192 is information for managing the belonging group to which the communication terminal 100 belongs. The belonging group information 192 may be, for example, information in which the group ID 1921 and the attribute 1922 are associated. Group ID 1921 is information for identifying a group. Group ID 1921 corresponds to group ID 2921 described later. The attribute 1922 is information indicating group attributes. The attribute 1922 may be information indicating a classification according to the relationship with the constituent members of the group, such as "work", "family" or "hobbies". Also, the attribute 1922 may be set in more detail according to the degree of importance, such as "work (normal)" and "work (important project)". The attribute 1922 may be arbitrarily set according to the user's operation.

0055Call history information 193 is information for managing the history of calls made to communication terminal 100 . The call history information 193 may be information in which, for example, a session ID 1931, a target group ID 1932, a caller terminal ID 1933, and a call date and time 1934 are associated with each other. Call history information 193 may be obtained from session information included in the incoming call notification received from server 200 .

0056The session ID 1931 is information for identifying a group communication session. A session ID 1931 is newly issued by the server 200 when group communication is started. The target group ID 1932 is the group ID of the group to participate in the session. Multiple group IDs may be associated with one session.

0057The caller terminal ID 1933 is information for identifying the caller terminal. For example, the originating terminal may be the communication terminal 100a that has issued the session initiation request. Not limited to this, for example, when a terminal other than the communication terminal 100a calls during group communication, the caller terminal ID 1933 may be information identifying the calling terminal. The call date and time 1934 is information indicating the date and time when the communication terminal 100 was called to the session.

0058Next, the configuration of server 200 will be described. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of server 200. As shown in FIG. The server 200 corresponds to the server 20 of the first embodiment. The server 200 includes a participation reception unit 210, a determination unit 220, a communication unit 230, a session management unit 240, and a storage unit 290.

0059The participation acceptance unit 210 corresponds to the participation acceptance unit 21 of the first embodiment. Participation acceptance unit 210 accepts participation of communication terminal 100 in group communication selected in input/output unit 140 of communication terminal 100 . If the determination unit 220 determines that the group communication has already ended, the participation reception unit 210 may discard the participation request and suppress the start of new group communication based on the participation request. By doing so, it is possible to perform the process of allowing the communication terminal 100 to participate only in the ongoing group communication without performing the process of joining in the middle of the group communication that has already ended. . In addition, it is possible to prevent a new group communication from being started unintentionally by the user.

0060When the communication unit 230 receives a midway participation request to the group communication from the communication terminal 100, the determination unit 220 determines whether or not the group communication is continuing based on the session ID 2931 included in the midway participation request. do. The determination unit 220 refers to the session information 293 corresponding to the session ID 2931 and checks whether the end date and time 2936 of group communication is stored. The determination unit 220 determines that the group communication is not continuing when the end date and time 2936 is stored, and determines that the group communication is continuing otherwise. Without being limited to this, the determination unit 220 may make a determination by referring to continuous state information indicating whether or not group communication is continuing, for example. For example, if a status such as ongoing or finished is stored in association with the session ID 2931, the determination unit 220 may refer to this for determination. Determination section 220 outputs the determination result to participation reception section 210 . If the group communication is not continuing, the determination unit 220 may cause the input/output unit 140 to display that effect.

0061The communication unit 230 performs mutual communication with the communication terminals 100a to 100e. For example, the communication unit 230 receives a request to start a group call from the caller communication terminal 100a, and calls the communication terminals 100b to 100e belonging to the group. Further, the communication unit 230 receives a notification that the communication terminal 100e, which exists outside the communication range, has moved into the communication range, and transmits a missed call notification. Also, the communication unit 230 receives a midway participation request from the communication terminal 100e.

0062The session management unit 240 manages group communication sessions. When the communication unit 230 receives a group communication start request, the session management unit 240 newly issues a session ID 2931 . The start request contains the group ID 1921 of the target group for group communication. The session management unit 240 refers to the group information 292 and acquires the terminal IDs 2922 of the terminals belonging to the target group. The session management unit 240 refers to the terminal information 291 and controls the communication unit 230 to make a call based on the contact information 2913 of the terminal of the target group.

0063The session management unit 240 stores the session ID 2931 and the information about the session in the storage unit 290 in association with each other. The session management unit 240 associates, for example, the session ID 2931 , the target group ID 2932 , and the calling terminal ID 2933 and stores them in the storage unit 290 as session information 293 . The target group ID 2932 is information for identifying a group to participate in the session, and is included in the group communication start request. The caller terminal ID 2933 is information for identifying the caller terminal that has issued the session start request. Here, the caller terminal ID 2933 may be information for identifying the communication terminal 100a.

0064Also, if there is a communication terminal 100 that does not respond to the call, session management section 240 associates that fact with session ID 2931 and stores it in session information 293 . For example, the session management unit 240 associates a non-response terminal ID 2934 that identifies a terminal of the communication terminal 100e that does not respond to the call with the session ID 2931 and stores it. By doing so, the session management unit 240 can manage the information of the communication terminal 100 that has not responded because it did not respond when the session started.

0065The session management unit 240 associates the session start date and time and end date and time with the session ID 2931 and stores them in the session information 293 as a start date and time 2935 and an end date and time 2936, respectively. The session management unit 240 may acquire the session start date and time and end date and time from the communication terminal 100 . Also, the session management unit 240 may receive from the communication terminal 100 that the group communication has started and ended, and store the continuous state information of the group communication. The continuation state may be, for example, "started", "ongoing", "finished", and the like.

0066The storage unit 290 is an example of a storage device such as a hard disk or flash memory. Storage unit 290 stores terminal information 291 , group information 292 , and session information 293 . The terminal information 291 is information for managing a plurality of communication terminals 100. FIG. The terminal information 291 may be information in which a terminal ID 2911, a user name 2912, and a contact information 2913 are associated with each other, for example. A terminal ID 2911 is information for identifying a terminal. Username 2912 is, for example, the name of the user who uses the terminal. The user name 2912 is not limited to this, and may be information that identifies the user (eg, user ID, etc.). The contact information 2913 may be the telephone number of each terminal or the like.

0067The group information 292 is information for managing groups. Group information 292 may be information in which group ID 2921 and terminal ID 2922 are associated, for example. Group ID 2921 is information for identifying a group. The terminal ID 2922 is information for identifying terminals belonging to the group. The terminal ID2922 corresponds to the terminal ID2911. Since multiple terminals can belong to a group, multiple terminal IDs 2922 may be associated with one group ID 2921 . The group information 292 is not limited to this, and may include attributes and the like, similar to the belonging group information 192 in the communication terminal 100. FIG.

0068The session information 293 is information for managing sessions. The session information 293 may be, for example, information in which a session ID 2931, target group ID 2932, originating terminal ID 2933, non-response terminal ID 2934, start date and time 2935, and end date and time 2936 are associated with each other.

0069The session ID 2931 is information for identifying a group communication session. The target group ID 2932 is information that identifies a group to participate in the session. Multiple target group IDs 2932 may be associated with one session ID 2931 . The caller terminal ID 2933 is information for identifying the terminal that has issued the session initiation request. The non-response terminal ID 2934 is information for identifying a terminal that has not responded to the session initiation request. The start date and time 2935 is information indicating the start date and time of the session. The end date and time 2936 is information indicating the end date and time of the session.

0070Next, processing performed by the communication system 1000 will be described using the sequence diagrams shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. As in the above description, here, in the group of communication terminals 100a to 100e, communication terminal 100a requests the start of group communication, communication terminals 100b to 100d respond, and communication terminal 100e does not respond at the start of group communication. shall be in the state of

0071FIG. 6 shows the processing when the communication terminal 100e is out of the communication range and becomes unresponsive, and then moves into the communication range and becomes able to join the group communication halfway. Also, FIG. 7 shows processing when the communication terminal 100e has been in a non-response state because it was performing another communication, and then it has become possible to join the group communication halfway because the other communication has ended. there is 6 and 7, descriptions of communication terminals 100c and 100d that operate in the same manner as communication terminal 100b are omitted.

0072First, using the sequence diagram shown in FIG. 6, the processing of the communication system 1000 when the communication terminal 100e moves from outside the communication range to within the communication range will be described. First, the communication terminal 100a transmits a group communication start request to the server 200 in the communication unit 130 (see FIG. 3) (S101). The transmitted start request contains a group ID that identifies the group. Server 200 newly issues a session ID in session management unit 240 (see FIG. 5), associates it with the group ID, and stores it in storage unit 290 as session information 293 . The server 200 uses the communication unit 230 to call the communication terminals 100b to 100e belonging to the group. The server 200 notifies the communication terminals 100b to 100d that responded of the incoming call, and the communication terminals 100b to 100d receive it (S102).

0073Here, communication terminal 100e does not respond to the call from server 200 because it exists outside the communication range. Therefore, the communication from the server 200 times out before the incoming call notification from the server 200 to the communication terminal 100e is received (S103). The server 200 stores, in the session management unit 240, the fact that there is no response from the communication terminal 100e in association with the session ID (S104). Group communication is performed between the communication terminals 100a to 100d (S105).

0074The communication terminal 100e moves out of the communication range and returns to the communication range (S106). The communication terminal 100e, in the communication unit 130, transmits to the server 200 that it has returned to the communication range (S107). The communication unit 230 of the server 200 transmits to the communication terminal 100e a missed call notification indicating that the communication terminal 100e has been requested to participate in the group communication (S108). The missed call notification may include session information including session ID, target group ID, calling terminal ID, call date and time, or group communication start date and time. Note that the missed call notification may be transmitted by the communication terminals 100a to 100d.

0075Communication terminal 100e selects a group communication to participate in in selecting section 120 (S109). Selecting section 120 selects one group communication to participate from among at least one group communication that is a candidate for participation, based on the session information included in the missed call notification. Here, the selection unit 120 selects the group communication for which the start request is issued from the communication terminal 100a as the group communication to participate. If calls are made from a plurality of group communications, the selection unit 120 selects group communications based on the start date and time and priority of the group communications. Without being limited to this, the input/output unit 140 may display a display screen as described with reference to FIG. 4 and accept a selection of group communication to participate from the user. Note that the input/output unit 140 may display information about the selected group communication to notify the user.

0076The communication unit 130 transmits a midway participation request to the selected group communication to the server 200 (S110). The communication unit 130 may transmit the late participation request in response to the user pressing a predetermined button on the input/output unit 140, or may automatically transmit the late participation request without depending on the user's operation. . For example, if selection unit 120 is preset to select the group communication that arrived last, communication unit 130 automatically calls the group communication that arrived last, regardless of the user's operation. you can The halfway participation request includes the session ID of the group communication to participate in.

0077The server 200 receives the midway participation request from the communication terminal 100e, and the determination unit 220 determines whether or not the group communication is continuing (S111). The determination unit 220 acquires the session ID included in the midway participation request, and refers to the session information 293 of the group communication corresponding to the acquired session ID. If the end date and time 2936 of the group communication is stored, the determination unit 220 determines that the group communication has ended, and otherwise determines that the group communication continues. The determination unit 220 may refer to the continuous state information to determine whether or not group communication is continuing.

0078If the determination unit 220 determines that the group communication has ended (NO in S111), the server 200 causes the participation reception unit 210 to discard the participation request and start a new group communication based on the participation request. is suppressed (S112). The input/output unit 140 may display, for example, "Group communication has already ended." Alternatively, the determination unit 220 may make the determination before step S108. In this case, the selection unit 120 may select the group communication to participate in from the continuing group communication and cause the input/output unit 140 to display it. By doing so, the user can grasp the group communication to participate in, excluding the group communication that has already ended.

0079If the determining unit 220 determines that the group communication is continuing (YES in S111), the participation accepting unit 210 of the server 200 accepts participation of the communication terminal 100e in the selected group communication (S113). Communication terminal 100e participates in the group communication midway, and group communication is performed between communication terminals 100a to 100e (S114). The session management unit 240 stores in the session information 293 that the communication terminal 100e has participated in the group communication. Note that the session management unit 240 may receive the start and end of group communication from the communication terminal 100a or the like, and store the start date and time and the end date and time of the group communication in the session information 293. FIG. The session management unit 240 may store information indicating that the group communication has ended in the session information 293, and update the continuous state information of the group communication.

0080Next, with reference to the sequence diagram shown in FIG. 7, processing when the communication terminal 100e that was performing another communication is allowed to participate in the group communication midway because the other communication has ended will be described. .

0081First, communication terminal 100a transmits a group communication start request to server 200 in communication unit 130 (see FIG. 3) (S201). The transmitted start request contains a group ID that identifies the group. Server 200 newly issues a session ID in session management unit 240 (see FIG. 5), associates it with the group ID, and stores it in storage unit 290 as session information 293 . The server 200 uses the communication unit 230 to call the communication terminals 100b to 100e belonging to the group. The server 200 notifies the communication terminals 100b to 100d that responded of the incoming call, and the communication terminals 100b to 100d receive it (S202).

0082Communication terminal 100e receives the incoming call notification from server 200 in communication unit 130 (S203). However, communication terminal 100e does not respond to the call from server 200 because it is engaged in other communication. Communication terminal 100e acquires the session information included in the incoming call notification in acquisition section 110, and stores it in storage section 190 as call history information 193 (S204). The session information may include session ID, target group ID, calling terminal ID, call date and time, or group communication start date and time. Group communication is performed between the communication terminals 100a to 100d (S205).

0083The communication terminal 100e terminates other communication (S206). Communication terminal 100e selects a group communication to participate in in selecting section 120 (S207). Since step S207 is the same as step S109 shown in FIG. 6, its detailed description is omitted.

0084The communication unit 130 transmits a midway participation request to the selected group communication to the server 200 (S208). The communication unit 130 may transmit the late participation request in response to the user pressing a predetermined button on the input/output unit 140, or may automatically transmit the late participation request without depending on the user's operation. . As in step S110 shown in FIG. 6, the communication unit 130 may automatically call, for example, the last incoming group communication. The halfway participation request includes the session ID of the group communication to participate in.

0085Server 200 receives the midway participation request from communication terminal 100e, and determination unit 220 determines whether or not the group communication is continuing (S209). The determination method is the same as in step S111 shown in FIG. 6, so detailed description thereof will be omitted. If the determination unit 220 determines that the group communication has ended (NO in S209), the server 200 causes the participation reception unit 210 to discard the participation request and start a new group communication based on the participation request. is suppressed (S210). Note that the determination unit 220 may monitor the continuation state of group communication corresponding to the incoming call notification transmitted in step S203. When the group communication for which the incoming call notification has been sent has ended, the determination unit 220 may send a message to that effect to the communication terminal 100e and cause the input/output unit 140 to display it. By doing so, the user can grasp the group communication to participate in, excluding the group communication that has already ended.

0086If the determination unit 220 determines that the group communication is continuing (YES in S209), the server 200 receives the participation of the communication terminal 100e in the selected group communication in the participation reception unit 210 (S211). Communication terminal 100e participates in the group communication midway, and group communication is performed between communication terminals 100a to 100e (S212). The session management unit 240 stores in the session information 293 that the communication terminal 100e has participated in the group communication. Note that the session management unit 240 may receive the start and end of group communication from the communication terminal 100a or the like, and store the start date and time and the end date and time of the group communication in the session information 293. FIG. The session management unit 240 may store information indicating that the group communication has ended in the session information 293, and update the continuous state information of the group communication.

0087As described above, in the communication system 1000 according to the present embodiment, the communication terminal 100e that did not respond to the call at the start of the group communication acquires information on the group communication from the server 200. FIG. Selecting section 120 of communication terminal 100e selects one group communication from among at least one group communication that is a candidate for midway participation based on the acquired information. When a plurality of pieces of information about group communication are acquired, selection unit 120 selects one group communication based on the plurality of pieces of information, according to the start date and time of group communication, priority, and the like. In addition, the input/output unit 140 of the communication terminal 100e displays a plurality of group communications in a predetermined order according to the date and time of the call, the priority of the group communications, and the like, and accepts selection from the user. By doing so, the user can easily select the group communication to participate in.

0088Since the communication terminal 100e can make a halfway participation request as described above both when it moves from outside the communication range to within the communication range, and when it is in another communication but the communication ends. Participation in the group communication can be performed more reliably.

0089&lt;Hardware configuration example&gt; Each functional configuration unit of the communication terminal 100 and the server 200 may be implemented by hardware (eg, a hardwired electronic circuit, etc.) that implements each functional configuration unit. and software (for example, a combination of an electronic circuit and a program that controls it). A case where each functional configuration unit of the communication terminal 100 and the like is realized by a combination of hardware and software will be further described below.

0090FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of a computer 900 that implements the communication terminal 100 and the like. Computer 900 may be a dedicated computer designed to implement communication terminal 100 or the like, or may be a general-purpose computer. Computer 900 may be a portable computer such as a smart phone or a tablet terminal.

0091For example, by installing a predetermined application on the computer 900, the computer 900 implements each function of the communication terminal 100 and the like. The applications are programs for realizing the functional components of the communication terminal 100 and the like.

0092Computer 900 has a bus 902 , processor 904 , memory 906 , storage device 908 , input/output interface 910 and network interface 912 . Bus 902 is a data transmission path for processor 904, memory 906, storage device 908, input/output interface 910, and network interface 912 to transmit and receive data to and from each other. However, the method of connecting processors 904 and the like to each other is not limited to bus connection.

0093The processor 904 is various processors such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array). The memory 906 is a main memory implemented using a RAM (Random Access Memory) or the like. The storage device 908 is an auxiliary storage device implemented using a hard disk, SSD (Solid State Drive), memory card, ROM (Read Only Memory), or the like.

0094The input/output interface 910 is an interface for connecting the computer 900 and input/output devices. For example, the input/output interface 910 is connected to an input device such as a keyboard and an output device such as a display device.

0095A network interface 912 is an interface for connecting the computer 900 to a network. This network may be a LAN (Local Area Network) or a WAN (Wide Area Network).

0096The storage device 908 stores a program that implements each functional component of the communication terminal 100 (program that implements the application described above). The processor 904 reads this program into the memory 906 and executes it, thereby realizing each functional component of the communication terminal 100 and the like.

0097Each of the processors executes one or more programs that contain instructions that cause the computer to perform algorithms. This program can be stored and provided to the computer using various types of non-transitory computer readable media. Non-transitory computer-readable media include various types of tangible storage media. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include magnetic recording media (e.g., floppy disks, magnetic tapes, hard disk drives), magneto-optical recording media (e.g., magneto-optical discs), CDs (compact discs), or DVDs (digital versatile media). disc), semiconductor memory (eg, mask ROM, PROM (Programmable ROM), EPROM (Erasable PROM), flash ROM, RAM). Programs may also be stored on various types of transitory computer readable media. medium) to the computer. Examples of transitory computer-readable media include electrical signals, optical signals, and electromagnetic waves. Transitory computer-readable media can deliver the program to the computer via wired channels, such as wires and optical fibers, or wireless channels.

0098It should be noted that the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure.

0099Some or all of the above-described embodiments can also be described in the following supplementary remarks, but are not limited to the following. (Additional remark 1) A communication terminal; acquisition means for acquiring information about the group communication that is in an unanswered state due to a lack of response at times; and transmitting means for transmitting a request to participate in the selected group communication to the server, wherein the server transmits the communication to the selected group communication. A communication system having participation accepting means for accepting participation of a terminal. (Appendix 2) The transmission means selects the selected group when the communication terminal enters the communication range from outside the communication range, or when the communication terminal that was performing another communication ends the other communication. 1. The communication system according to appendix 1, wherein a request to participate in communication is transmitted to the server. (Appendix 3) The acquisition means acquires a plurality of pieces of information, 3. The communication system according to appendix 1 or 2, wherein the selection means selects one of the group communications from among at least one of the group communications that are candidates for participation, based on the acquired plurality of information. (Appendix 4) The selection means selects any one of the groups from among at least one of the group communications that are candidates for participation, based on the start date and time information of the group communications included in the plurality of pieces of acquired information. Select communication A communication system as described in Appendix 3. (Appendix 5) The communication terminal comprises display means for displaying the information corresponding to at least one group communication that is a candidate for participation; selection receiving means for receiving a selection of group communication from the user, and said display means displays a plurality of said information when there are a plurality of said information corresponding to at least one said group communication as a candidate for participation. displaying in a predetermined order, wherein the selection accepting means accepts from the user a selection of the group communication to participate from a plurality of the information relating to at least one of the displayed group communications that are candidates for participation; 5. The communication system according to any one of attachments 1 to 4, wherein the transmitting means transmits a request to participate in the group communication selected by the selection receiving means to the server. (Supplementary Note 6) The server further has determination means for determining whether or not the selected group communication is continuing, and the participation accepting means determines that the selected group communication has already ended. 6. The communication system according to any one of appendices 1 to 5, wherein when the determination is made, the participation request is discarded and the start of new group communication based on the participation request is suppressed. (Appendix 7) Acquisition means for acquiring information about group communication that has already started between a plurality of communication terminals and is in a non-response state due to no response at the time of start; selection means for selecting any one of the group communications from among at least one of the group communications that are candidates for participation based on the information; a transmission means for transmitting to a server that controls the group communication between terminals. (Appendix 8) The transmission means participates in the selected group communication when the communication terminal enters the communication range from outside the communication range, or when the communication terminal that was performing another communication ends the other communication. The communication terminal according to appendix 7, which transmits a request to the server. (Appendix 9) Acquiring information about group communication that has already started between a plurality of communication terminals and is in a non-response state due to no response at the time of start, and any one of the group communications is selected from among at least one of the group communications that are candidates for joining, and a request for participation in the selected group communication is sent to the group communications among the plurality of communication terminals based on the to the server that controls the communication method. (Appendix 10) Acquisition processing for acquiring information about group communication that has already started between a plurality of communication terminals and is in a non-response state due to no response at the time of start; a selection process of selecting one of the group communications from among at least one of the group communications that are candidates for participation, based on the information; A non-temporary computer-readable communication program that causes a computer to execute a transmission process of transmitting a request to participate in the selected group communication to a server that controls the group communication between the plurality of communication terminals. medium.

01001 communication system 10 communication terminal 11 Acquisition unit 12 Selector 13 Transmitter 20 servers 21 Participation reception desk 100, 100a~100e Communication terminal 110 Acquisition unit 120 Selector 130 Communications 140 Input/output section 141 display screen 141a display area 141b Operation display area 190 Memory 191 Contact information 1911 Contact ID 1912 username 1913 contacts 192 Affiliation group information 1921 Group ID 1922 attributes 193 Call history information 1931 session ID 1932 Target Group ID 1933 Calling Terminal ID 1934 Called date and time 200 servers 210 Registration Office 220 decision unit 230 Communications 240 session manager 290 Memory 291 Terminal information 2911 Terminal ID 2912 Username 2913 contact 292 Group Information 2921 Group ID 2922 Terminal ID 293 session information 2931 Session ID 2932 Target Group ID 2933 Calling Terminal ID 2934 Unanswered Terminal ID 2935 start date and time 2936 End date and time 300 base stations 900 Computer 902 Bus 904 processor 906 memory 908 storage device 910 input/output interface 912 network interface 1000 communication system network