Abstract:
An available communication unit extracting section which when user status information concerning the status of first user and second user is provided from an external unit during communication between a communication unit used by a first user and a communication unit used by a second user, extracts an available communication unit which is available for communication between the first user and the second user from preliminarily prepared candidates based on user status information; and a communication unit selecting section for selecting the available communication unit as a communication unit suitable for communication between the first user and the second user.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present invention contains subject matter related to Japanese Patent Application JP 2007-061675 filed in the Japan Patent Office on Mar. 12, 2007, the entire contents of which being incorporated herein by reference. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to a communication unit selecting apparatus, communication unit selecting system, exchange unit and communication unit selecting program and can be applied to, for example, reexamination of a communication unit during communication between communication units. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    In recent years, a service in which a fixed-line phone and a mobile phone are integrated such as fixed mobile convergence (FMC) has appeared, so that the mobile phone and the fixed-line phone can be used separately under a single telephone number corresponding to a situation. For example, such a service of, when a call is made to a specified single number corresponding to a call transfer server, transferring that call to any one of soft phone, mobile phone and fixed-line phone or all of them has become available. In this case, if presence information of a receiver is controlled in the received call transfer server, for example, control corresponding to a situation can be performed, such as transferring that call to a mobile phone if he or she is out. 
         [0006]    For the reason, systems using presence information which publicizes his or her own status such as during a meeting or away from office or home has been proposed in message system described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-271531, presence service communication system described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-186775 and status communication system described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-274440. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    However, the respective systems described in the above patent documents do not correspond to a change in the status during communication and after communication is established, providing a support using presence information has not been accomplished. 
         [0008]    Recently, due to prevalence of Internet phone, a style in which he or she not only informs other people of a message but also talks on the phone for a long time while working another thing has been prevailing. In this case, there is such a difference in his or her behavior during a call between the mobile phone and the Internet phone, that if a headset is connected to a personal computer through a wire, he or she cannot make a call unless he or she stays near the personal computer. Additionally, he or she cannot move during a call when the headset is connected to the personal computer and therefore, it is difficult to do other work at the same time. Thus, sometimes the mobile phone which allows he or she to move during a call is effective depending on his or her situation. Because communication charge of the Internet is cheaper, some people prefer to use the Internet phone rather than the mobile phone. Therefore, although the mobile phone is more convenient when he or she is moving, he or she might prefer to use the Internet phone after he or she arrives at home while talking because the Internet phone is cheaper. As a result, system is required to cope with the situation appropriately by analyzing a situation between persons talking to each other. 
         [0009]    Accordingly, a communication unit selecting apparatus, communication unit selecting system, exchange unit and communication unit selecting program capable of selecting an appropriate communication unit corresponding to the status of user even during communication have been demanded. 
         [0010]    According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a communication unit selecting apparatus comprising: (1) an available communication unit extracting means which when user status information concerning the status of first user and second user is provided from outside during communication between a first communication unit used by the first user and a second communication unit used by the second user, extracts an available communication unit which is usable for communication between the first user and the second user from preliminarily prepared candidates based on the user status information; and (2) a communication unit selecting means for selecting the extracted available communication unit as a communication unit suitable for communication between the first user and the second user. 
         [0011]    Furthermore, according to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a communication unit selecting system comprising: (1) the communication unit selecting apparatus of the first embodiment further including a communication unit recommending means for recommending a communication unit selected by the communication unit selecting means to at least one of the first user and the second user; and (2) a recommended unit notifying means which when other communication unit suitable for communication between the first user and the second user is recommended by the communication unit selecting apparatus, notifies the recommended other communication unit to user of the communication unit. 
         [0012]    Furthermore, according to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an exchange unit including the communication unit selecting apparatus according to the first embodiment of the invention. 
         [0013]    Furthermore, according to a another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided (0) a communication unit selecting program for selecting a communication unit for use in communication between the first user and the second user, the communication unit selecting program making a computer function as (1) an available communication unit extracting means which when user status information concerning the status of first user and second user is provided from outside during communication between a first communication unit used by the first user and a second communication unit used by the second user, extracts an available communication unit which is usable for communication between the first user and the second user from preliminarily prepared candidates based on the user status information; and (2) a communication unit selecting means for selecting the extracted available communication unit as a communication unit suitable for communication between the first user and the second user. 
         [0014]    According to the embodiments of the present invention described above, an appropriate communication unit can be selected corresponding to the status of user even when communication is being done. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0015]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing the entire configuration of a communication unit selecting system according to a first embodiment; 
           [0016]      FIG. 2  is an explanation diagram showing the system configuration for call transfer in communication based on a conventional FMC; 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of information to be stored in a permission information storage portion according to the first embodiment; 
           [0018]      FIG. 4  is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of information stored in a communication information temporary storage portion according to the first embodiment; 
           [0019]      FIG. 5  is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of information stored in a terminal information storage portion according to the first embodiment; 
           [0020]      FIG. 6  is a flowchart showing an operation of updating information in the communication information temporary storage portion by the communication unit selecting apparatus of the first embodiment; 
           [0021]      FIG. 7  is a flowchart showing an operation of selecting an optimum communication unit and recommending a user by the communication unit selecting apparatus of the first embodiment; 
           [0022]      FIG. 8  is an explanatory diagram for explaining the content of information stored in the permission information storage portion of the communication unit selecting apparatus used by user B according to the first embodiment; 
           [0023]      FIG. 9  is an explanatory diagram for explaining the content of information stored in the terminal information storage portion of the communication unit selecting apparatus used by user B according to the first embodiment; 
           [0024]      FIG. 10  is an explanatory diagram showing the content of information stored in the communication information temporary storage portion of the communication unit selecting apparatus used by user A before communication is started, according to the first embodiment; 
           [0025]      FIG. 11  is an explanatory diagram showing the content of information stored in the communication information temporary storage portion of the communication unit selecting apparatus used by user B before communication is started, according to the first embodiment; 
           [0026]      FIG. 12  is an explanatory diagram showing the content of information stored in the communication information temporary storage portion of the communication unit selecting apparatus used by user A just after communication is started according to the first embodiment; 
           [0027]      FIG. 13  is an explanatory diagram showing the content of information stored in the communication information temporary storage portion of the communication unit selecting apparatus used by user B just after communication is started according to the first embodiment; 
           [0028]      FIG. 14  is an explanatory diagram showing the content of information stored in the communication information temporary storage portion of the communication unit selecting apparatus used by user A after user A arrived at home according to the first embodiment; 
           [0029]      FIG. 15  is an explanatory diagram showing the content of information stored in the communication information temporary storage portion of the communication unit selecting apparatus used by user B after user A arrived at home according to the first embodiment; 
           [0030]      FIG. 16  is a block diagram showing the entire configuration of the communication unit selecting system according to a second embodiment; and 
           [0031]      FIG. 17  is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of information stored in a behavior storage portion according to the second embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0032]    Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the appended drawings. Note that, in this specification and the appended drawings, structural elements that have substantially the same function and configuration are denoted with the same reference numerals, and repeated explanation of these structural elements is omitted. 
       (A) First Embodiment 
       [0033]    Hereinafter, a communication unit selecting apparatus, communication unit selecting system and communication unit selecting program of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 
       (A-1) Configuration of the First Embodiment 
       [0034]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing the entire configuration of a communication means selecting system of this embodiment. 
         [0035]    The communication unit selecting system  1  includes a plurality of communication unit selecting apparatus  10  ( 10 - 1 ,  10 - 2 , . . . ), a plurality of communication units  20  ( 20 - 1 ,  20 - 2 ,  20 - 3 ,  20 - 4 , . . . ) and network  30 . 
         [0036]    The communication unit  20  ( 20 - 1 ,  20 - 2 ,  20 - 3 ,  20 - 4 , . . . ) is a communication unit used by a user of the communication unit selecting apparatus  10  ( 10 - 1 ,  10 - 2 , . . . ). The communication unit  20  is accommodated in any of the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 . For example, all the communication units used by a single user may be accommodated in a single communication unit selecting apparatus  10 . 
         [0037]    The communication unit  20  is a terminal capable of audio communication, including, for example, a mobile phone, fixed-line phone, and soft phone on personal computer. The communication unit  20  has a sending/receiving portion  20   a , a usage status detecting portion  20   b  and an I/O portion  20   c . The communication unit  20  has other configuration necessary for audio communication, such as a microphone, speaker and interface for connecting to telephone line. 
         [0038]    The sending/receiving portion  20   a  is an interface with the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 , which exchanges data with the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 . Communication between the sending/receiving portion  20   a  and the sending/receiving portion  10   a  is not restricted to Internet or LAN but may be by infrared ray communication or peer-to-peer communication and is not restricted to any particular one. 
         [0039]    The I/O portion  20   c  is an interface for user to input or output information. For example, if the communication unit  20  is a soft phone installed in the personal computer, an input device such as a keyboard and an output device such as a display unit fall under this. The I/O portion  20   c  gives information to the usage status detecting portion  20   b  if the I/O portion  20   c  is being used by user. For example, if the communication unit  20  is a soft phone, user gives information about whether or not input is being carried out using the input device such as a keyboard to the usage status detecting portion  20   b.    
         [0040]    The usage status detecting portion  20   b  detects a usage status of a given unit and sends the information to the communication unit selecting apparatus  10  through the sending/receiving portion  20   a . For example, if the given unit is a mobile telephone terminal capable of acquiring position information through global positioning system (GPS), the usage status detecting portion  20   b  may acquire latitude/longitude information and give it to the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 . If the given unit is communicating with other communication unit  20 , the usage status detecting portion  20   b  may acquire identification information about telephone number and the like from a mating communication unit  20  and give it to the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 . If the given unit is a soft phone, the usage status detecting portion  20   b  may acquire information about whether or not input is being carried out by user using an input device such as a keyboard from the I/O portion  20   c  and if the input is executed, determine that the given unit is being used by user and then give the information to the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 . 
         [0041]    The communication unit selecting apparatus  10  ( 10 - 1 ,  10 - 2 , . . . ) accommodates a plurality of the communication units  20  and selects plural communication units  20  optimum for communication corresponding to a status of communication and notifies user. The communication unit selecting apparatus  10  is constructed by installing a communication unit selecting program of the embodiment into an information processing unit such as a personal computer. 
         [0042]    The communication unit selecting unit  10  ( 10 - 1 ,  10 - 2 , . . . ) includes the sending/receiving portions  10   a  ( 10   a - 1 ,  10   a - 2 , . . . ), communication information estimating portions  10   b  ( 10   b - 1 ,  10   b - 2 , . . . ), status analyzing portions  10   c  ( 10   c - 1 ,  10   c - 2 , . . . ), recommendation determining portions  10   d  ( 10   d - 1 ,  10   d - 2 , . . . ), permission information storage portions  10   e  ( 10   e - 1 ,  10   e - 2 , . . . ), communication information temporary storage portions  10   f  ( 10   f - 1 ,  10   f - 2 , . . . ) and terminal information storage portions  10   g  ( 10   g - 1 ,  10   g - 2 , . . . ). 
         [0043]    The permission information storage portion  10   e  stores information for determining whether or not the communication unit  20  should be recommended depending on which a mating party is. That is, the permission information storage portion  10   e  stores a telephone number of a mating party like a telephone book together with information about whether or not information should be publicized depending on each mating party. 
         [0044]      FIG. 3  is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of information to be stored in the permission information storage portion  10   e . The permission information storage portion  10   e  includes information about a mating party  301 , a server address  302 , a PC  303 , a fixed-line phone  304 , a mobile phone  305  and publication permission  306 . The mating party  301  is information for distinguishing a mating party and stores information about name or the like. The server address  302  stores identification information of the communication unit selecting apparatus  10  used by the mating party, for example, IP address or the like. If the mating party uses a soft phone on a personal computer as a communication unit  20 , the PC  303  stores identification information of that soft phone, for example, ID information of the soft phone. The fixed-line phone  304 , if the mating party uses the fixed-line phone, stores information about that telephone number. Likewise, the mobile phone  305  stores a telephone number or the like as the identification information. The publication permission  306  stores information about whether or not information about communication information should be publicized to a corresponding mating party. For example, when information is publicized to the corresponding mating party, “OK” is stored and when no information is publicized, “NG” is stored. 
         [0045]    For example, in case where the mating party  301  is “user B” in  FIG. 3 , the server address  302  is “172.13.21.12”, the PC  303  is “abcde”, the fixed-line phone  304  is “0010-1111-1111”, the mobile phone  305  is “090-3333-3333” and the publication permission  306  is “OK”. Although the PC  303 , the fixed-line phone  304 , and the mobile phone  305  are stored in the permission information storage portion  10   e  as the kind of the communication unit  20  used by the mating party, this embodiment is not restricted to these but information about other kind of the terminal such as personal handy-phone system (PHS) may be stored. If the mating party uses plural communication units  20  of the same kind, information about all the communication units  20  used by the mating party may be stored and the kind and quantity of the communication units  20  are not limited to any particular ones. 
         [0046]      FIG. 4  is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of information stored in the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f . The communication information temporary storage portion  10   f  includes information about terminal response  401 , position information  402 , on-communication terminal  403 , position estimation result  404  and mating party  405 . 
         [0047]    The terminal response  401  stores information about which communication unit  20  is operated by user of the given unit, for example, if user of the given unit is operating the mobile phone, information about “mobile phone” is stored. If the user of the given unit is not operating any communication unit  20 , information “NONE” may be stored in the terminal response  401 . The position information  402  stores information about a current position of the user of the given unit, and for example, latitude/longitude information may be stored like “35N51′ 14″ 139E38′ 16″ (35°51′ 14″ in north latitude, 139°38′ 16″ in east longitude). The on-communication terminal  403  stores information about which communication unit  20  is being used when the user of the given unit is talking. For example, if the user of the given unit is talking through the mobile phone, information “mobile phone” is stored. The position estimation result  404  stores an estimation result of a position of the user of the given unit. For example, information “away from home”, “at home” may be stored. The mating party  405  stores identification information of the mating party, for example, with whom the user of the given unit is talking. 
         [0048]      FIG. 5  is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of information stored in the terminal information storage portion  10   g . The terminal information storage portion  10   g  stores information about the communication unit  20  for use by the user of the given unit, priority order upon communication and a moving range upon using of the communication unit  20 . The terminal information storage portion  10   g  includes terminal name  501 , priority order  502 , installation position  503 , and moving range  504 . The terminal name  501  stores identification information of the communication unit  20 . The priority order  502  stores the priority order of the communication unit  20  corresponding to the terminal name  501 . For example, the communication unit  20  having the highest priority order may be supplied with information “1”, and terminals having following priority order may be supplied with information such as “2”, “3”, “4” . . . . 
         [0049]    The moving range  504  stores information about a range in which the corresponding communication unit  20  can move. For example, any one of “away from home”, “at home”, “unspecified” and position information expressed by detailing the indoor condition beginning with “at home: “or a combination thereof may be used. For example, if the information stored in the moving range  504  is “at home: entrance”, it is permitted to express that the corresponding communication unit  20  can be used only at the entrance at home. If the information stored in the moving range  504  is “at home”, it is permitted to express that the corresponding communication unit  20  is available at every place at home. The installation position  503  stores information showing a position where the communication unit  20  corresponding to the terminal name  501  is installed. For example, if a PC as the communication unit  20  is installed in a PC room at home, information “at home: PC room” may be stored at the installation position  503  in which the terminal name  501  is “PC”. 
         [0050]    Regarding information in which the terminal name is “PC” as shown in  FIG. 5 , if the installation position  503  is “at home: PC room” and the moving range  504  is “at home”, it indicates that the soft phone of the PC which is the communication unit  20  exists in the PC room and is available at every place at home. This is an example that the soft phone of the PC can be used with a headset connected by radio. If the headset is connected to the PC by wire, the installation position  503  is replaced with information such as “at home: PC room” because the moving range is limited. Further, as for information in which the terminal name  501  is “fixed-line phone” in  FIG. 5 , the installation position  503  is “at home: entrance” and the moving range  504  is “at home: entrance”. Consequently, in this case, it indicates that the fixed-line phone is available only at the entrance indoor. On the other hand, as for information in which the terminal name  501  is “mobile phone”, the installation position  503  is “unspecified” and the moving range  504  is “away from home, at home”. Thus, in this case, it indicates that the mobile phone is available regardless of whether at home or away from home. 
         [0051]    The sending/receiving portion  10   a  is an interface with other unit and communicates with other communication unit selecting apparatus  10  or the communication unit  20  through the network  30 . 
         [0052]    The communication information estimating portion  10   b  estimates a communication status of user of the given unit and stores the estimated information in the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f  based on the information provided from the communication unit  20  through the sending/receiving portion  10   a . For example, if position information of the communication unit  20  is provided by the communication unit  20 , that information may be stored in the position information  402  of the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f . If information saying that the communication unit  20  is being used by user of the given unit is provided from the communication unit  20 , information of the communication unit  20  corresponding to the terminal response  401  may be stored. If identification information such as a telephone number is provided from the communication unit  20  which user of the given unit uses for communication, values of the mating party  405  and the on-communication terminal  403  may be updated by specifying a mating party from correspondence relation among the provided identification information, identification information (PC  303 , fixed-line phone  304 , mobile phone  305 ) stored in the permission information storage portion  10   e  and information of the mating party  301 . 
         [0053]    If communication in the communication unit  20  is ended, the communication information estimating portion  10   b  may update information about the on-communication terminal  403  and the mating party  405  in the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f  to a clear status (for example, initializing by memorizing a value of X or the like). As for detection of termination of communication in the communication unit  20 , for example, when the usage status detecting portion  20   b  in the communication unit  20  detects an end of communication and that information is provided through the sending/receiving portion  20   a  and the sending/receiving portion  10   a , it may be determined that communication in the communication unit  20  is ended. 
         [0054]    The communication information estimating portion  10   b  estimates a current position of user of the given unit and updates information of the position estimation result  404  in the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f . For example, the communication information estimating portion  10   b  may register the latitude/longitude information of his or her home preliminarily and if the current position coincides with it, determine that he or she is “at home” and otherwise, determine that he or she is “away from home”. If the current position of user of the given unit is “at home”, the communication information estimating portion  10   b  may estimate a current position in home further and update information of the position estimation result  404  in the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f . As another estimation method, it is permissible to specify the communication unit  20  which is operated by user of the given unit based on information of the terminal response  401  in the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f , then specify an installation position of the specified communication unit  20  from the installation position  503  of the terminal information storage portion  10   g  and estimate that the installation position is a current position of user of the given unit. 
         [0055]    The status analyzing portion  10   c  analyzes communication status of user of the given unit based on information acquired form the communication unit selecting apparatus  10  used by a mating party of the user of the given unit or information stored in the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f.    
         [0056]    The status analyzing portion  10   c  extracts a communication unit  20  which user of a given unit can use currently (hereinafter, referred to as available communication unit). The communication unit  20  which exists at a current position of user of the given unit may be used as the available communication unit and the communication unit  20  in which a current position of user of a given unit indicated by the position estimation result  404  stored in the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f  and information of the moving range  504  stored in the terminal information storage portion  10   g - 1  coincide each other may be extracted as the available communication unit. Further, the status analyzing portion  10   c  provides information of the extracted available communication unit to the communication unit selecting apparatus  10  of the mating party through the sending/receiving portion  10   a  and the network  30 . 
         [0057]    The status analyzing portion  10   c  may compare the available communication unit in the given unit with information of the available communication unit in the communication unit selecting apparatus of the mating party when the user of the given unit is talking and extract the communication unit  20  of a coincident kind and give that information to the recommendation determining portion  10   d . For example, if the available communication unit in the given unit is “PC” or “mobile phone” and the available communication unit which is a mating party is “PC”, only the “PC” is extracted as the coincident communication unit  20 . 
         [0058]    The recommendation determining portion  10   d  selects a communication unit  20  optimum for communication based on an analysis result given by the status analyzing portion  10   c  and recommends it to the user of the given unit. As for a method of selecting the optimum communication unit  20 , for example, the recommendation determining portion  10   d  may select a communication unit  20  having the highest priority, that is, a communication unit  20  having the smallest value in the priority order  502  in the terminal information storage portion  10   g  as an optimum communication unit from the available communication units given by the status analyzing portion  10   c . For example, if information of the available communication terminal given by the status analyzing portion  10   c  is “PC” and “mobile phone”, and as for information stored in the terminal information storage portion  10   g , as shown in  FIG. 5 , the priority order  502  of the “PC” as the terminal name  501  is “1” and the priority order  502  of the “mobile phone” as the terminal name  501  is “2”, the priority of the “PC” is higher than the “mobile phone” and then the “PC” is selected as a communication unit  20  optimum for communication. 
         [0059]    As for a method for the recommendation determining portion  10   d  to recommend the communication unit  20  optimum for communication to the user of a given unit, if the user of the given unit uses soft phone as the communication unit  20 , it may be notified to the communication unit  20  (terminal of soft phone) using information transmitting means such as mail, voice and when call is made to a selected communication unit  20  (terminal of soft phone), if user of the given unit picks up a receiver, communication with the communication unit  20  of a mating party may be automatically established. As long as user of the given unit can communicate with a mating party using the communication unit  20  selected by the recommendation determining portion  10   d , any method may be adopted. 
       (A-2) Operation of the First Embodiment 
       [0060]    Next, the operation of communication unit selection in the communication unit selecting system of the first embodiment constructed as described above will be described. 
       (A-2-1) Operation for Information Update in the Communication Information Temporary Storage Portion 
       [0061]      FIG. 6  is a flow chart showing an operation of communication unit  20 &#39;s detecting the usage status of a given unit and providing that information to the communication unit selecting apparatus so as to update information of the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f . Here, user A is user of the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 1 , and assumed to use a mobile phone having position detecting means by GPS as the communication unit  20 - 1 . User A is assumed to be away from home. 
         [0062]    First, step S 100  will be described. In this step S 100 , whether or not the given unit has any position detecting means is determined with the usage status detecting portion  20   b - 1  of the communication unit  20 - 1 . 
         [0063]    If in step S 100 , it is determined that the communication unit  20 - 1  has the position information detecting means, the procedure proceeds to step S 110 . In step  110 , the position information is detected by the position information detecting means. Here, because the communication unit  20 - 1  has the position detecting means based on the GPS, it is assumed that detection of the position information is carried out by that means and consequently information saying “35N51′ 14″, 139E38′ 16″” (35°51′ 14″ in north latitude, 139°38′ 16″ in east longitude) has been detected. On the other hand, if it is determined that the communication unit  20 - 1  has no position information detecting means as a result of the determination in step S 100 , the procedure proceeds to step S 120 . 
         [0064]    Next, step S 120  will be described. In this step S 120 , whether or not the given unit has any input means such as a keyboard and mouse as the I/O portion  20   c - 1  is determined by the usage status detecting portion  20   b - 1  of the communication unit  20   c - 1 . 
         [0065]    If it is determined that the communication unit  20 - 1  has an input means as a result of the determination in step S 120 , the procedure proceeds to step S 130 . In step S 130 , information about whether or not input operation is carried out by the input means is detected. Here, because the communication unit  20 - 1  is a mobile phone, for example, if it has an input means like push buttons, it is determined that it has the input means and then it is assumed that information about whether or not the input operation is carried out by the means is detected and that it is detected that no input operation has been carried out. On the other hand, if it is determined that the communication unit  20 - 1  has no input means as a result of the determination in step S 120 , the procedure proceeds to step S 140 . 
         [0066]    Next, step S 140  will be described. In this step S 140 , information detected in the above steps S 110 -S 130  is provided to the communication information estimating portion  10   b - 1  from the usage status detecting portion  20   b - 1  through the sending/receiving portion  20   a - 1  and the sending/receiving portion  10   a - 1  of the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 1 . Then, when the information is provided from the communication unit  20 - 1 , information in the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f - 1  is updated by the communication information estimating portion  10   b - 1 . Here, as for information stored in the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f - 1 , the position information  402  is updated by the communication information estimating portion  10   b - 1  based on information detected in the above step S 110  to “35N51′14″, 139E38′ 16″ (35 51′ 14″ in north latitude, 139°38′ 16″ in east longitude) and the terminal response  401  is updated to “NONE” based on information detected by the above step S 130 . 
         [0067]    The operations of steps S 100 -S 140  shown in  FIG. 6  are carried out by the communication unit  20  ( 20 - 1 ,  20 - 2 ,  20 - 3 ,  20 - 4 , . . . ) and the communication unit selecting apparatus  10  ( 10 - 1 ,  10 - 2 , . . . ) at every predetermined time interval. 
       (A-2-2) Operation of Selecting a Communication Unit 
       [0068]      FIG. 7  is a flow chart showing an operation of communication unit selecting apparatus  10 &#39;s selecting an optimum communication unit  20  and recommending it to user. In the meantime, the communication unit  20  and the communication unit selecting apparatus  10  on a sending side and the communication unit  20  and the communication unit selecting apparatus  10  on a receiving side are carried out in the same way until the procedure is branched at step S 260 . 
         [0069]    Here, user A is user of the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 1  and user A uses the communication unit  20 - 1  and the communication unit  20 - 2  as the communication unit  20 . The communication unit  20 - 1  is a mobile phone and the communication unit  20 - 2  is a soft phone. On the other hand, user B is user of the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 2  and user B uses the communication unit  20 - 3  and the communication unit  20 - 4  as the communication unit  20 . The communication unit  20 - 3  is a mobile phone and the communication unit  20 - 4  is a soft phone. User A of the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 1  uses the communication unit  20 - 1  (mobile phone) to make a call to the communication unit  20 - 3  (mobile phone) of user B using the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 2 . 
         [0070]    It is assumed that information of mating party  301 : “user B”, server address  302 : “172.13.21.12”, PC 303 : “abcde”, fixed-line phone  304 : “010-1111-1111”, mobile phone  305 : “090-3333-3333”, publication permission  306 : “OK” is stored in the permission information storage portion  10   e - 1  of the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 1  used by user A as shown in  FIG. 3 . Further, it is assumed that information of (terminal name  501 : “PC”, priority order  502 : “1”, installation position  503 : “at home: PC room”, moving range  504 : “at home”) and (terminal name  501 : “mobile phone”, priority order  502 : “3”, installation position  503 : “unspecified”, moving range  504 : “away from home, at home”) in the terminal information storage portion  10   g - 1  as shown in  FIG. 5 . It is assumed that as shown in  FIG. 10 , information of terminal name  401 : “none”, position information  402 : “35N51′ 04″, 139E38′ 00″”, on-communication terminal  403 : “X (cleared status)”, position estimation result  404 : “X (cleared status)”, mating party  405 : “X(cleared status)” in the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f - 1  prior to start of communication. 
         [0071]    It is assumed that information of mating party  301 : “user A”, server address  302 : “172.13.21.10”, PC  303 : “klmno”, fixed-line phone  304 : “010-3333-3333”, mobile phone  305 : “090-5555-5555” and publication permission  306 : “OK” in the permission information storage portion  10   e - 2  of the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 2  used by user B as shown in  FIG. 8 . Further, it is assumed that information of (terminal name  501 :“PC”, priority order  502 : “1”, installation position  503 : “at home: PC room”, moving range  504 : “at home: PC room”) and (terminal name  501 : “mobile phone”, priority order  502 : “2”, installation position  503 : “unspecified”, moving range  504 : “away from home, at home”) in the terminal information storage portion  10   g - 1  as shown in  FIG. 9 . It is assumed that as shown in  FIG. 11 , information of terminal response  401 : “PC”, position information  402 : “35N52′ 14″, 139E38′ 59″”, on-communication terminal  403 : “X (cleared status)”, position estimation result  404 : “X(cleared status)”, mating party  405 : “X(cleared status)” in the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f - 2  prior to start of communication. 
         [0072]    First, step S 200  will be described. In this step S 200 , after communication is established between the communication unit  20 - 1  (user A) and the communication unit  20 - 3  (user B), a telephone number is detected as identification information of a sending destination (communication unit  20 - 3 ) by the usage status detecting portion  20   b - 1  on the sending party side (communication unit  20 - 1 ). That information is provided (sent) to the communication information estimating portion  10   b - 1  through the sending/receiving portion  20   a - 1  and the sending/receiving portion  10   a - 1  of the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 1 . On the communication unit  20 - 3  on the receiving side also, a telephone number is detected as identification information of a sender(communication unit  20 - 1 ) by the usage status detecting portion  20   b - 3  and that information is given to the communication information estimating portion  10   b - 2  through the sending/receiving portion  20   a - 3  and the sending/receiving portion  10   a - 2 . 
         [0073]    Next, step S 210  will be described. When information of telephone number of a sending destination (communication unit  20 - 3 ) is given, a mating party (sending destination) is specified by the communication information estimating portion  10   b - 1  and information of the mating party  405  and the on-communication terminal  403  of the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f - 2  is updated. On the other hand, if no mating party can be specified, it is specified as a unknown mating party and the processing is terminated. On the communication information estimating portion  10   b - 2  of the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 2  also, a mating party (sender) is specified based on information given by the communication unit  20 - 3  and the on-communication terminal  403  and the mating party  405  of the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f - 2  is updated. 
         [0074]    Because information stored in the permission information storage portion  10   e - 1  in the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 1  is as shown in  FIG. 3 , if a telephone number of a mating party (sending destination) given by the communication unit  20 - 1  is “090-3333-3333”, the mating party (sending destination) of the communication unit  20 - 1  is determined to be “user B” so that as shown in  FIG. 12 , the mating party  405  is updated to the value “user B”. Further, because the communication unit  20 - 1  is a mobile phone, the on-communication terminal  403  is updated to the value “mobile phone” as shown in  FIG. 12  by the communication information estimating portion  10   b - 1 . On the other hand, because information stored in the permission information storage portion  10   e - 2  in the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 2  is as shown in  FIG. 8 , if the telephone number of a mating party (sender) given by the communication unit  20 - 2  is “090-5555-5555”, the mating party (sender) of the communication unit  20 - 2  can be determined to be “user A”, so that as shown in  FIG. 13 , the mating party  405  is updated to the value “user A”. Further, because the communication unit  20 - 2  is a mobile phone, the on-communication terminal  403  is updated to the value “mobile phone” by the communication information estimating portion  10   b - 2 . 
         [0075]    Next, step S 220  will be described. In this step S 220 , information of the publication permission  306  of the permission information storage portion  10   e - 1  is referred to in the communication information estimating portion  10   b - 1  so as to determine whether or not it is possible to acquire a status of the mating party (user B) of the communication unit  20 - 1 . If information of the publication permission  306  of a corresponding mating party  301  is “OK”, it is determined that the status of the mating party (user B) can be acquired and the procedure proceeds to next step S 225 . If the information is “NG”, it is determined that the status of the mating party (user B) cannot be acquired and the processing is terminated. In the communication information estimating portion  10   b - 2  of the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 2  also, whether or not the status of the mating party (user A) of the communication unit  20 - 3  can be acquired is determined. 
         [0076]    In the information stored in the permission information storage portion  10   e - 1  of the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 1 , the publication permission  306  of the mating party (user B) is “OK” as shown in  FIG. 3 . Thus, it is determined that the status of the mating party (user B) can be acquired in the communication information estimating portion  10   b - 1  and then the procedure proceeds to next step S 225 . Further, it is determined that the status of the mating party (user A) can be acquired in the communication information estimating portion  10   b - 2  of the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 2  and the procedure proceeds to next step S 225 . 
         [0077]    Next, step S 225  will be described. In this step S 225 , in the communication information estimating portion  10   b  ( 10   b - 1 ,  10   b - 2 ), the values of the on-communication terminal  403  and the mating party  405  of the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f  ( 10   f - 1 ,  10   f - 2 ) are referred to and if those values are cleared, it is determined that communication is terminated and the processing is terminated. If they are not cleared, the procedure proceeds to next step S 230 . 
         [0078]    Information stored in the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f - 1  is as shown in  FIG. 12  such that the on-communication terminal  403  and the mating party  405  are not cleared. Information stored in the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f - 2  is not cleared as shown in  FIG. 13 . Consequently, the communication unit selecting apparatuss  10 - 1 ,  10 - 2  proceeds to next step S 230 . 
         [0079]    Next, step S 230  will be described. In this step S 230 , which a current position of user of the given unit is at home or away from home is determined by the communication information estimating portion  10   b  ( 10   b - 1 ,  10   b - 2 ) and information of the position estimation result  404  of the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f  ( 10   f - 1 ,  10   f - 2 ) is updated and then, the procedure proceeds to next step S 240 . 
         [0080]    If it is assumed that the current position of user A is determined to be away from home based on information of the position information  402  of the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f - 1  in the communication information estimating portion  10   b - 1 , information of the position estimation result  404  is updated to “away from home” as shown in  FIG. 12 . On the other hand, if it is assumed that the current position of user B is determined to be “at home” in the communication information estimating portion  10   b - 2 , information of the position estimation result  404  is updated to “at home”. 
         [0081]    Next, step S 240  will be described. In this step S 240 , if it is determined that the current position of user of the given unit is “at home” in step S 230 , where at home the user exists is estimated by the communication information estimating portion  10   b  ( 10   b - 1 ,  10   b - 2 ) is estimated and then information of the position estimation result  404  of the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f  is updated. A signal saying that the operation of communication information estimation is completed is given to the recommendation determining portion  10   d  ( 10   d - 1 ,  10   d - 2 ) and the procedure proceeds to next step S 250 . If it is determined that the current position of user of the given unit is “away from home” in step S 230 , nothing is done at step S 240  and the procedure proceeds to next step S 250 . 
         [0082]    Because in the above step S 230 , it is determined that the current position of the user of the given unit is “at home” by the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 2  used by the user B alone, the aforementioned updating is performed by only the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 2 . If information of the terminal response  401  stored in the communication information estimating portion  10   b - 2  is “PC” as shown in  FIG. 13 , it is determined that user B of the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 2  is operating the PC in the communication information estimating portion  10   b - 2 . The installation position  503  of the PC stored in the terminal information storage portion  10   g - 1  of the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 2  is “at home: PC room” as shown in  FIG. 9 . Thus, it is determined that the current position of user B of the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 2  is PC room at home by the communication information estimating portion  10   b - 2 , the information of the position estimation result  404  of the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f - 2  is updated from “at home” to “at home: PC room” as shown in  FIG. 13 . 
         [0083]    Next, step S 250  will be described. In this step S 250 , if a signal saying that the operation of the communication information estimation is completed, an available communication unit is extracted by the status analyzing portion  10   c  ( 10   c - 1 ,  10   c - 2 ). 
         [0084]    Information of the position estimation result  404  stored in the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f - 1  of the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 1  used by user A is “away from home” as shown in  FIG. 12  and the communication unit  20  in which information of the moving range  504  stored in the terminal information storage portion  10   g - 1  is “away from home” is only “mobile phone” as shown in  FIG. 5  and thus, the “mobile phone” is extracted as an available communication unit” by the status analyzing portion  10   c - 1 . After that, if user A gets home and information of the position estimation result  404  of the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f - 1  is updated to “at home” as shown in  FIG. 14 , the “PC” and “mobile phone” are extracted as available communication units” by the status analyzing portion  10   c - 1  because the communication unit  20  in which information of the moving range  504  stored in the terminal information storage portion  10   g - 1  is “at home” is “PC” and “mobile phone” as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
         [0085]    Information of the position estimation result  404  stored in the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f - 2  of the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 2  used by user B is “at home: PC room” as shown in  FIG. 13  and the communication unit  20  in which information of the moving range  504  stored in the terminal information storage portion  10   g - 2  is “at home: PC room” is “PC” and “mobile phone” as shown in  FIG. 9 . Consequently, the “PC” and “mobile phone” are extracted as available communication units by the status analyzing portion  10   c - 2 . In processings up to step S 250 , the same operations are carried out in the communication unit  20  and communication unit selecting apparatus  10  on sender side, and the communication unit  20  and the communication unit selecting apparatus  10  on receiving side. 
         [0086]    Next, step S 260  will be described. In this step S 260 , which a given unit exists on sender side or on receiving side is determined by the status analyzing portion  10   c  ( 10   c - 1 ,  10   c - 2 ) and if it is determined to exist on the sender side, the procedure is started from step S 270  described later and if it is determined to exist on the receiving side, the procedure is started from step S 265  described later. Here, as described above, the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 1  acts as the sender side while the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 2  acts as the receiving side. 
         [0087]    Next, step S 270  will be described. If it is determined that the given unit is a unit on the sender side by the status analyzing portion  10   c - 1  as a determination of step S 260 , information of the permission information storage portion  10   e - 1  is referred by the status analyzing portion  10   c  so as to acquire information of the server address  302  of user B who is a mating party. Then, the status analyzing portion  10   c - 1  communicates with the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 2  on the receiving side through the sending/receiving portion  10   a - 1  and the network  30  so as to request for information about the priority of an available communication unit in the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 2  and the communication unit  20  (priority order  502  of the terminal information storage portion  10   g - 2 ). Then, information about the priority of an available communication unit in the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 2  on the receiving side and the communication unit  20  (priority order  502  of the terminal information storage portion  10   g - 2 ) is acquired by response processing to step S 270  in S 265  (described later) in the receiving side (communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 2 ). 
         [0088]    Next, step S 280  will be described. In this step S 280 , when information of an available communication unit is given by the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 2 , the available communication unit in the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 2  is compared with the available communication unit in the given unit (communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 1 ) extracted in step S 250  by the status analyzing portion  10   c - 1  so as to determine whether or not any communication unit  20  coincident in terms of the kind exists. If it is determined that no communication unit  20  coincident in terms of the kind exists, the procedure proceeds to step S 310 , and the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 1  is started from step S 225  after it stands by in a specified time. On the other hand, if it is determined that a communication unit  20  coincident in terms of the kind exists, information acquired from the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 2  is given from the status analyzing portion  10   c - 1  to the recommendation determining portion  10   d - 1  and the procedure proceeds to next step S 290 . 
         [0089]    Because the available communication units under the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 1 ,  10 - 2  are “PC” and “mobile phone” and a result that the available communication units are coincident is reached, the procedure proceeds to step S 290 . 
         [0090]    Next, step S 290  will be described. In this step S 290 , if information acquired from the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 2  is given, whether or not a communication unit  20  having a higher priority than the communication unit  20  used currently for communication of the communication units  20  coincident with that under the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 2  exists on both the sender side (communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 1 ) and the receiving side (communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 2 ) as an available communication unit and the kinds of the corresponding communication units are coincident is determined by the recommendation determining portion  10   d - 1 . If it is determined that the corresponding communication units  20  exists as a result of the determination in the recommendation determining portion  10   d - 1 , the procedure proceeds to next step S 300 . On the other hand, if it is determined that no corresponding communication unit  20  exists, the procedure proceeds to step S 310  and after standing by for a specified time (S 310 ), the procedure is started from step S 225 . 
         [0091]    In the information stored in the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f - 1 , as shown in  FIG. 14 , the communication unit  20  (on-communication terminal  403 ) used currently by user A for communication with user B is “mobile phone”. Further, because the “PC” and “mobile phone” are extracted as the available communication unit here and the information of the terminal information storage portion  10   g - 1  is as shown in  FIG. 5 , the available communication unit having a higher priority than the “mobile phone” used currently for communication is “PC” alone. In the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 2  also, the same determination is made by the recommendation determining portion  10   d - 1  based on information acquired from the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 2 , so that it is determined that the available communication unit having a higher priority than the “mobile phone” used currently for communication is “PC” alone. Thus the corresponding communication units  20  on both the sender side (communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 1 ) and the receiving side (communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 2 ) are coincident as “PC” and the procedure proceeds to next step. 
         [0092]    Next, step S 300  will be described. In this step S 300 , the communication unit  20  (PC) extracted in step S 290  is recommended to user A as a communication unit optimum for communication with user B by a predetermined recommending means possessed by the recommendation determining portion  10   d - 1 . As its specific example, for example, this is executed when the recommendation determining portion  10   d - 1  on the sender side sends a signal having such a meaning (for example, mail or predetermined special sound) to the communication unit  20  used for communication currently by a receiver. 
         [0093]    In step S 310 , the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 1  stands by for a specified time and repeats the same procedure from step S 225 . 
         [0094]    Next, step S 265  will be described. If it is determined that the given unit is a unit on the receiving side by the communication information estimating portion  10   b - 2  of the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 2  based on a determination of the step S 260 , the procedure is held until the sender side (communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 1 ) requests for information of the available communication unit on step S 270 . Then, as a response (answer) to the request from the sender side (communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 1 ), information about the available communication unit under the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 2  and the priority of that communication unit  20  (priority order  502  of the terminal information storage portion  10   g - 2 ) is given and the procedure returns to step S 225 . 
       (A-3) Effect of First Embodiment 
       [0095]    According to the first embodiment, even on communication, an optimum communication unit  20  can be recommended by considering a behavior range upon using each communication unit corresponding to changes in the position information  402  of the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f  which changes during a communication, that is, the current location of user of the communication unit selecting apparatus  10  so as to secure an effective communication with the mating party even in a long hour communication. 
       (B) Second Embodiment 
       [0096]    Hereinafter, the communication unit selecting apparatus, communication unit selecting system and communication unit selecting program of the second embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. 
       (B-1) Configuration of the Second Embodiment 
       [0097]      FIG. 16  is a block diagram showing the entire configuration of the communication means selecting system of this embodiment and like and corresponding reference numerals are attached to the same as and corresponding portions to  FIG. 1  mentioned above. 
         [0098]    The communication unit selecting system  2  includes a plurality of the communication unit selecting apparatus  11  ( 11 - 1 ,  11 - 2 , . . . ), a plurality of the communication units  20  ( 20 - 1 ,  20 - 2 ,  20 - 3 ,  20 - 4 , . . . ) and the network  30 . Hereinafter, a difference in configuration between the communication unit selecting system  1  of the first embodiment and the communication unit selecting system  2  of the second embodiment will be described. 
         [0099]    In the communication unit selecting apparatus  11  of the second embodiment, a behavior storage portion  11   h  is added to the communication unit selecting apparatus  10  of the first embodiment and the status analyzing portion  10   c  is replaced with a status analyzing portion  11   c.    
         [0100]      FIG. 17  is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of information stored in the behavior storage portion  11   h . The behavior storage portion  11   h  stores a behavior schedule of user of a given unit and possesses information about behavior  1701 , place restriction  1702  and termination status  1703 . 
         [0101]    The behavior  1701  stores names of the behavior schedule such as “cook”, “meal” and “Internet” as shown in  FIG. 17 . The place restriction  1702  stores information of place restriction corresponding to the behavior  1701 . The information to be stored in the place restriction  1702  may be of the same style as the position estimation result  404  of the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f , and for example, information such as “at home: dining room”, “at home: living room” and “at home: PC room” is stored as shown in  FIG. 17 . 
         [0102]    The termination status  1703  stores information about whether or not the corresponding behavior is terminated and for example, if the corresponding behavior  1701  is terminated, it may be stored as “terminated” and otherwise, it may be stored as “not terminated” as shown in  FIG. 17 . 
         [0103]    Although the status analyzing portion  10   c  of the first embodiment extracts a communication unit  20  which can be used currently by user of a given unit as the available communication unit by referring to information of the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f  and the terminal information storage portion  10   g , the status analyzing portion  11   c  of the second embodiment is different from the status analyzing portion  11   c  in that it extracts the communication unit  20  which can be used by the user of the given unit in the future as well as now as the available communication unit based on information of the behavior storage portion  11   h.    
         [0104]    As an extraction method of the available communication unit in the status analyzing portion  11   c , it is permissible to erase a communication unit  20  which is affected by a current behavior of the user of the given unit from the available communication units based on information of the behavior storage portion  11   h.    
         [0105]    For example, it is assumed that information of the position estimation result  404  of the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f - 2  in the communication unit selecting apparatus  11 - 2  used by user B is “at home: PC room” as shown in  FIG. 15  and the communication unit  20  currently available in “at home: PC room” based on the information of the terminal information storage portion  10   g - 2  is “PC” and “mobile phone”. Further, according to the information stored in the terminal information storage portion  10   g - 2 , it is assumed that as shown in  FIG. 9 , the moving range  504  of the terminal name  501  “PC” is “at home: PC room” and the PC cannot be used anywhere except the PC room. If it is assumed that the information shown in  FIG. 17  is stored in the behavior storage portion  11   h - 2 , the behavior  1701  when the termination status  1703  is “not completed” includes “meal” and “Internet” and the place restriction  1702  of the “meal” falls under “at home: living” and because the PC cannot be used anywhere except the PC room, the “PC” is erased from the available communication unit and then the available communication terminal extracted by the status analyzing portion  11   c - 2  is “mobile phone” only. 
         [0106]    If the termination status  1703  when the behavior  1701  is “meal” is updated to “terminated” in the behavior storage portion  11   h - 2  with a passage of time, the extraction of the available communication unit is carried out as follows. In this case, the behavior  1701  when the termination status  1703  is “not completed” is “Internet” only in the behavior storage portion  11   h - 2 , the place restriction  1702  of the “Internet” is “at home: PC room” as shown in  FIG. 17 . Because the information stored in the terminal information storage portion  10   g - 2  is as shown in  FIG. 9 , it can be determined that the communication unit  20  available in the “at home: PC room” is “PC” and “mobile phone” and neither the “PC” nor “mobile phone” is erased from the available communication unit. 
         [0107]    The status analyzing portion  11   c  updates information of the behavior storage portion  11   h . For example, it is permissible to store a behavior termination time of the behavior  1701  in the behavior storage portion  11   h  and determine which behavior is terminated depending on a current time so as to update the termination status  1703 . Further, it is permissible to dispose an infrared ray sensor in a house and monitor the behavior of user to determine which behavior is terminated and update the information of the termination status  1703 . The information of the behavior storage portion  11   h  may be updated manually by user. 
       (B-2) Operation of the Second Embodiment 
       [0108]    The operation of the communication unit  20  in the communication unit selecting system  2  can be represented with substantially the same flow chart as  FIG. 7  mentioned above. Although not shown, in step S 255  between step S 250  and step S 260  in  FIG. 7 , the communication unit  20  which is affected by a future behavior of user of the given unit is erased from the available communication units in the status analyzing portion  11   c  and other operations is the same as the first embodiment. In step S 255 , the status analyzing portion  11   c  erases the communication unit  20  which is affected by a future behavior of user of the given unit form the available communication units extracted in step S 250  based on the information of the behavior storage portion  11   h  and the communication units  20  after the erase are handled as available communication units in subsequent steps. 
       (B-3) Effect of the Second Embodiment 
       [0109]    Although the first embodiment enables an optimum communication unit to be recommended corresponding to a current status of user of the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 , a future schedule of the user is not taken into account. Thus, even if user is scheduled to make a behavior which limits a work place for meal or the like after he or she gets home, a recommendation of changing the communication unit  20  by mistake may be made. If the user is scheduled to go out even after he or she gets home temporarily, when he or she talks with a mobile phone, it is not necessary to change this status. Because the communication unit selecting system  1  of the second embodiment manages the future schedule of the user of the given unit by providing with the behavior storage portion  11   h , the optimum communication unit  20  can be selected and recommended by taking into account the future schedule of the user. 
       (C) Other Embodiments 
       [0110]    The present invention is not restricted to the above-described embodiments but modified embodiments exemplified below may be picked up. 
         [0000]    (C-1) Although in the first embodiment, only when the available communication unit on the sender side (communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 1 ) and the available communication unit on the receiving side (communication unit selecting apparatus  10 - 2 ) are coincident in terms of the kind, the optimum communication unit  20  is selected and recommended to user, the optimum communication unit  20  may be selected even if the kinds are not coincident. For example, because a call can be made from a mobile phone to a fixed-line phone, the available communication units do not always need to coincide with each other on the sender side and on the receiving side. At this time, a combination which costs lowest for communication cost may be selected as the optimum communication unit  20 .
 
(C-2) According to the first embodiment, the communication information estimating portion  10   b  obtains the position estimation result  404  of the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f  based on the latitude/longitude information stored in the position information  402 . If the communication unit  20  cannot communicate, the current location of user of the given unit may be estimated to be “away from home”. For example in case where the communication unit  20  is a mobile phone, even when it cannot communicate with the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 , it can be estimated to be “away from home” even if the position information of that user cannot be acquired.
 
(C-3) Although in each of the above-described embodiments, the sender side and receiving side have different communication unit selecting apparatus  10 , they may be replaced with a single one.
 
(C-4) Although in each of the above-described embodiments, the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 ,  11  is constructed by installing the communication unit selecting program of the above-described embodiments in an information processing unit such as a personal computer, it is permissible to install the communication unit selecting program of the above-described embodiments in an exchange unit having a program executing configuration such as CPU and use this exchange unit instead. The exchange unit includes for example, an exchange unit for mobile phone network and PBX.
 
(C-5) Although in the first embodiment, the communication information estimating portion  10   b  estimates a location of user in home based on information such as keyboard operation of the communication unit  20 , it is permissible to dispose infrared ray sensors or cameras every where in a house and estimate the location of user based on information acquired therefrom. The estimation method is not limited to any particular one.
 
(C-6) Although in the first embodiment, if the position estimation result  404  in the communication information temporary storage portion  10   f  is “away from home”, no further detailed estimation about the location is made, it is permissible to register the latitude/longitude of a particular place and estimate where the user exists away from home by comparing it with information of the position information  402  to select the communication unit  20  based on that information. Because the same mobile phones might have different communicable ranges depending on the kinds, the optimum communication unit  20  can be selected in such a case also.
 
(C-7) Although in the first embodiment, the communication unit  20  has only a single communication means, it may have a plurality of the communication means and the communication unit selecting apparatus  10  may recommend an optimum communication unit  20  by specifying its communication means as well. For example, in case of a mobile phone terminal having a communication means by wireless LAN, which communication by telephone network or communication by wireless LAN is optimum is also selected and recommended.
 
(C-8) Although in each of the above-described embodiments, the communication unit selecting apparatus  1 ,  2  selects and recommends the optimum communication unit  20  for only audio communication, the present invention is not restricted to the audio communication but any type of communication means such as chat of keeping communication through character input or TV telephone may be used as long as communication is enabled between mating users.
 
(C-9) Although according to the second embodiment, the behavior storage portion  11   h  is provided on both the communication unit selecting apparatus  11  on the sender side and receiving side and an available communication unit is extracted by the status analyzing portion  11   c  based on that information, it is permissible to use the communication unit  11  on only one of the sender side and receiving side and replace the other one with the communication unit selecting apparatus  10  of the first embodiment.
 
(C-10) Although in each of the above-described embodiments, the communication unit selecting apparatus  10 ,  11  specifies a communication unit  20  having the highest priority from available communication units and recommend it to user, a plurality of the communication units may be recommended. For example, it is permissible to recommend all the available communication units or recommend the communication units up to the third highest priority. Further, it is permissible to notify information about all the available communication units and information about the communication unit  20  having the highest priority.
 
         [0111]    It should be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications, combinations and sub-combinations and alterations may occur depending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they are within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.