KR20030036969A - A call service method using e-mail address and a recording medium recorded the same method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for servicing an internet call using an e-mail address, and a recording medium on which the method is recorded. The present invention automatically detects whether or not a pilot mail is received for a set mail account at set intervals, and every time a pilot mail is received. A service server that can be connected to a plurality of client information terminals equipped with an application program for catching its own IP address and sending it as an auto-reply message, wherein an e-mail address and a password are received from an arbitrary caller information terminal to check whether a registered member is present. Making a step; Receiving an e-mail address and call request information of a call counterpart from a registered caller information terminal; Sending pilot mail to an e-mail address of a received call counterpart; Receiving an auto-reply message from the information terminal of the called party receiving the pilot mail and detecting the IP of the called party information terminal included therein; And establishing an internet communication connection between the caller and the call counterpart information terminal.

Description

Method of performing call using e-mail address and recording medium recording the method {A CALL SERVICE METHOD USING E-MAIL ADDRESS AND A RECORDING MEDIUM RECORDED THE SAME METHOD}

The present invention relates to a communication network based on VoIP, and more particularly, to a method for making an Internet call using an e-mail address and a recording medium on which the method is recorded.

Internet phone refers to real-time voice conversations between PC users over the Internet, and the demand for them is increasing due to low communication rates, and depending on the means of communication, PC-to-PC, PC-to-phone, and phone-to-phone Divided into ways. Such Internet phones are becoming more and more distinctive from Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) as the phone-to-phone method becomes possible. Therefore, the Internet phone is included as an application technology or an application within a large category of VoIP.

The emergence of VoIP technology was the construction of a telephone system using e-mail addresses. In such a system, the e-mail address of the called party is registered in the server in advance and then matched with the IP of the called party's terminal. A call line can be formed between the called party.

1 schematically illustrates a method of performing an internet communication service using an e-mail address. Referring to FIG. 1, when a caller provides a caller's e-mail address (③) to a service server and requests a call, the service server searches for an IP address matched to the e-mail address of the logged-in caller to make a call with the caller. In this case, in order to make a normal call, the other party must be a member subscribed to the service server, and the caller must know the unique ID of the member subscribed to the service server.

In addition, the peer-to-peer messenger program, which is widely used in recent years, enables a communication connection between a current member and a subscriber. However, this also has a disadvantage that the other party to be called must download a specific messenger program used by the party attempting to make a call, and know the unique ID of the other party who downloaded the particular messenger program beforehand.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method and method for recording an internet call in which a call counterpart can actively check the location of a call counterpart in a VoIP-based communication network without having to subscribe to a specific service server. In providing.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method for enabling internet communication with a counterpart by inputting an e-mail address of the counterpart without using the ID of the call counterpart and a recording medium on which the method is recorded.

1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a method of making an internet call using an e-mail address.

2 is a configuration diagram of a call service providing system using an e-mail address according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a call execution using an e-mail address according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention can connect to a plurality of client information terminals provided with an application program for automatically retrieving pilot mail for a set mail account at set intervals and transmitting an auto-reply message every time pilot mail is received. In the call performing method of the service server,

Receiving an e-mail address and call request information of a call counterpart from any caller information terminal;

Sending pilot mail to an e-mail address of a received call counterpart;

Receiving an auto-reply message from the information terminal of the called party receiving the pilot mail and detecting the IP of the called party information terminal included therein;

And establishing an internet communication connection between the caller and the call counterpart information terminal using the detected IP address.

With this configuration feature, the present invention actively checks the location of the call counterpart designated by the caller, thereby enabling a call through the Internet between the two parties.

In addition, the present invention is configured to generate a message requesting the deletion of the IP address at the end of the application program, the service server deletes the registered IP address when receiving the message, as a result of receiving the pilot mail in the PC room Even if that is the case, the third party can then answer the call.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method for automatically conducting Internet mail with a client information terminal installed with an application program for automatically retrieving pilot mail from a set period and sending an auto-reply message every time the pilot mail is received. In the method for

Receiving a call request command together with an e-mail address of a call counterpart;

Transmitting pilot mail to a mail server that is accessible when a call request command is input;

Receiving through the mail server an auto-reply message sent from a designated call counterpart information terminal;

Detecting the IP of the called party information terminal from the received auto reply message;

And setting up an internet communication connection between a caller and a call counterpart information terminal using the detected IP.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description of the present invention, when it is determined that a detailed description of a related known function or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

First, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system for providing a call service using an e-mail address according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a call using the e-mail address according to an embodiment of the present invention. will be.

First, referring to FIG. 2, in order to use a communication service according to the present invention, a customer visits a web site of a service provider using a web browser installed on his client information terminal 100. Web server 200 is a server for this purpose, the web server 200 is provided with a guide to the service, various related information and additional services. The web page provided by the web server 200 supports downloading of a client program required to use the service according to the present invention. This client program is a program executable on a client computer of a user (a concept including a talker and a receiver), and a main aspect of the present invention can be implemented through this program. Preferably, the program is implemented by a down-link tag inserted as part of the web page source code so that it can be installed on the client information terminal 100 of the user without the user feeling or with minimal approval information. Since such down-link tags are already known, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The web browser of the client computer of the user recognizes the downlink tag and stores the storage space identified by the download URL, for example, a specific directory of the web server 200 or a specific directory of a separate server existing on the Internet. Access to download and install the executable program identified by the downlink tag. The web browser ignores this download tag if the program is already installed in the client information terminal 100. In the embodiment of the present invention, the client program is divided into a caller-side application program and a caller-side application program. The receiver side application includes an application for automatically confirming receipt of pilot mail. The called party's application program automatically searches the mail account set by the computer user for each setting cycle, and catches the IP address of the information terminal that is currently being used every time the pilot mail is received and sends it to the auto reply message. Includes and transmits to the service server 300 to be described later. Meanwhile, the caller-side application program receives at least the other party's e-mail address (in case of the membership system, adds the caller's ID and password) and transmits to the service server 300. Since the sender's e-mail address and password can be stored in the caller's side application program, the user can conveniently use the Internet communication by only inputting the e-mail address of the caller. The e-mail address is stored in the address book of a commercial program such as Microsoft's Outlook, which, when combined, makes it easier to enter the other party's e-mail address.

The service server 300 receives the e-mail address and password from the client information terminal 100, which is the talker, searches the member database 400, and checks whether or not the registered member is registered. By sending the pilot mail to obtain the IP address of the information terminal where the current call party is located, it plays a role of supporting the call over the Internet between the caller and the caller designated by the caller.

The pilot mail is an e-mail sent to confirm the current location of the call counterpart designated by the caller. In an embodiment of the present invention, the reception of the pilot mail is confirmed by an application program installed on the information terminal of the call counterpart designated by the caller. . In this case, when the reception of the pilot mail is confirmed, the IP address of the information terminal in which the talker designated by the talker is located is transmitted to the service server 300 by an application program downloaded to the talker-side information terminal.

A mail may be added to the pilot mail to induce a download of the caller-side application program or the client program, and sent to the e-mail address of the call counterpart.

The member database 400 may be shared by the gatekeeper 500. That is, IPs, e-mail addresses, and information for providing additional services for a large number of members are accumulated in the database 400 and can smoothly support communication with each other. The gatekeeper 500 converts an e-mail address of a call counterpart into an IP address, which is a mechanical address, by referring to an address conversion table. The other party's IP address is obtained by extracting and registering the IP addresses included in the auto reply message automatically sent by the receiver side information terminal 600 upon receipt of the pilot mail. In FIG. 2, the web server 200, the member database 400, the service server 300, and the gatekeeper 500 are separately shown, but all of them are provided with an e-mail server (not shown). It can also be integrated into the configuration.

Hereinafter, a call service providing method using an e-mail address according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

First, when the service server 300 receives the caller's e-mail address and password from the caller's information terminal 100 connected to the web server 200 (step 700), the service server 300 proceeds to step 710 to check whether the caller is a registered member. do. If the result of the test is not a registered member, member registration is induced. If the registered member proceeds to step 720, the caller information terminal 100 of the registered member receives the call partner's e-mail address and call request information. If the registered e-mail address of the called party is checked and registered, the gatekeeper 500 establishes an internet communication connection between the caller and the called party using the converted IP address using the gatekeeper 500 (step 770). If there is an e-mail address registered in this way, the pilot mail has already been sent to obtain the caller's IP address, and there has been no request to delete the obtained IP address.

If there is no e-mail address registered in step 730, the service server 300 proceeds to step 740 and sends a pilot mail to the e-mail address of the call counterpart. In this case, if the receiver side application program is installed in the information terminal 600 of the call counterpart designated by the caller, the service server 300 receives an auto-reply message including an IP address from the call counterpart (step 750). In more detail about the receiver-side application program, first, the receiver downloads the application program according to the embodiment of the present invention through the above-described web server 200 to provide its location to the service server 300. Should be installed. In this case, when the called party, the called party, executes the application to set a plurality of mail accounts and a search period (3 seconds) to which the subscriber subscribes, the application periodically checks whether or not to receive pilot mail for the set mail account. It will automatically search. Accordingly, the receiver information terminal 600 checks the reception of the pilot mail sent by the service server 300, and if the pilot mail is received, catches its IP address and includes it in the auto reply message. By transmitting to the service server 300, the service server 300 is able to determine the location of the call counterpart designated by the talker.

As described above, when receiving the auto-reply message from the call counterpart's information terminal 600, the service server 300 proceeds to step 760 to detect the IP address from the auto-reply message, and detects the IP address and the e-mail of the call counterpart. The address is matched and registered in the gatekeeper 500 (step 770). In operation 780, the service server 300 establishes an internet communication connection between the caller and the call counterpart, thereby making a call through the Internet between the caller and the call counterpart designated by the caller.

On the other hand, if the request for deleting the address of the registered IP from the information terminal 600 of the call counterpart in step 790, the service server 300 proceeds to step 800 and requests the gatekeeper 500 to delete the registered IP address. The deletion request of the registered IP address occurs when the application terminal 600 of the call counterpart, which is the called party, terminates the application program and is transmitted to the service server 300. The reason for doing this is to consider the case where the caller designated by the caller leaves the PC room after receiving the pilot mail in the PC room. If the caller requests a call connection to the registered IP address even after leaving the PC room, a normal call cannot be made because the third party becomes a call designator. Therefore, when terminating the receiver side application program, it is desirable to request automatic deletion of the registered IP address from the application program.

As described above, the present invention sets up a connection for Internet communication with an IP address obtained by transmitting a pilot message for location confirmation to an e-mail address of a caller designated by the caller, thereby registering and logging in to the caller's service server. A normal call can be made without.

Hereinafter, as another embodiment of the present invention, a process in which a call is made through the Internet network between a caller and a call counterpart designated by the caller without intervention of a service server will be described. This can be easily implemented by the talker-side client program and the talker-side client program, and such an application program can be downloaded through a CD-ROM or a service provider server and installed in its own terminal.

First, when a caller enters an e-mail address of a caller and makes a call request, the pilot mail is transmitted to the talker mail server by a client program installed in the talker's terminal, and the talker mail server analyzes the sent e-mail address. Send pilot mail to your mail server. In this case, assuming that the called party has set up a plurality of mail accounts and a retrieval period (3 seconds) to which the called party has executed the called party's client program, the program periodically generates a pilot for the set mail account. It automatically searches for mails. Accordingly, the client program of the called party's information terminal checks whether the sender's mail server receives the pilot mail. If the pilot mail is received, the client's IP address is caught and included in the auto reply message. By sending to the talker mail server, the sender eventually receives an auto-reply message containing the talker's IP address via the talker's mail server and the talker's mail server.

As described above, when receiving an auto-reply message through the sender's mail server, the sender's client program detects an IP address from the auto-reply message and sets up an internet communication connection between the caller and the called party using the detected IP address. Between the caller and the caller designated by the caller will be able to make a normal call over the Internet.

As described above, the present invention has the advantage of simplifying the use of the Internet phone call, since it is possible to actively check the location of the call counterpart without logging in the call counterpart, thereby making it easier to use the Internet phone call. It has the advantage of being able to respond quickly to phone calls.

On the other hand, the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, which are merely exemplary, and those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible therefrom. For example, after executing an application for receiving pilot mail, if the call server of the wired / wireless terminal capable of making a telephone call is provided to the service server, the service server calls the wired / wireless terminal provided by the called party when receiving the caller's e-mail address. You can use the number to connect the caller and the caller by web-to-phone method. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention should be defined only by the appended claims.

Claims (8)

Call service that can be executed in a service server that can be connected to a plurality of client information terminals equipped with an application program for automatically retrieving pilot mail from a set mail account for each set mail account and sending an auto-reply message every time pilot mail is received. In Receiving an e-mail address and call request information of a call counterpart from any caller information terminal; Sending pilot mail to an e-mail address of a received call counterpart; Receiving an auto-reply message from the information terminal of the called party receiving the pilot mail and detecting the IP of the called party information terminal included therein; And establishing an internet communication connection between the caller and the call counterpart information terminal by using the detected IP. The method of claim 1, further comprising adding a mail for inducing a download of an application program to the pilot mail and transmitting the mail to the email address of the call counterpart. The method of claim 1 or 2, further comprising registering the detected IP with an e-mail address of the received call counterpart. The method of claim 3, further comprising deleting the registered IP and the e-mail address of the call counterpart when the request for deleting the registered IP is requested from the call counterpart information terminal. The method according to claim 4, wherein the registration IP deletion request is generated when the application program is terminated and transmitted to the service server. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon program data for implementing the method of claim 1. Claims [1] A method for automatically conducting an internet call with a client information terminal having an application program for automatically retrieving pilot mail for a set mail account at set intervals and for sending an auto-reply message each time pilot mail is received. Receiving a call request command together with an e-mail address of a call counterpart; Transmitting pilot mail to a mail server that is accessible when a call request command is input; Receiving through the mail server an auto-reply message sent from a designated call counterpart information terminal; Detecting the IP of the called party information terminal from the received auto reply message; And establishing an internet communication connection between a caller and a call counterpart information terminal using the detected IP. 2. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon program data for implementing the method of claim 7.