JP2000278726A - Key telephone system and telephone system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to select a telecommunication common carrier line at the time of calling and to realize a more accurate least cost routing(LCR) function by accumulating a calling rate in each telephone communication common carrier in each telephone set at the end of calling and preparing a rate information table in each telephone set by reflecting each calling information to the table. SOLUTION: A rate information table taking the habits of a user of each telephone set into consideration is prepared in each of plural common carriers by using calling information such as the telephone number of a called party, calling time, a calling day of a week, and speaking time in each of plural stored telephone sets. When a certain line is selected on the basis of the rate experience table at the time of calling, an enterprise line capable of minimizing a calling rate can be always selected in each telephone set. Plural rate experience tables are prepared in accordance with differences of distances from respective called parties. A calling rate is always added to the rate experience table after the end of each call. It is also available to prepare a rate experience table in each previously set optional period and update it.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a key telephone apparatus having a function of automatically selecting a line for which a call charge is predicted to be the lowest from among lines provided by a plurality of telephone carriers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, when a user makes a telephone call through a telephone line, an arbitrary line can be selected from a plurality of lines provided by a plurality of telephone communication operators (hereinafter simply referred to as operators). In this case, each of the plurality of operators provides the user with a call rate system different from other operators to promote the use of the own line. A call can be made by selecting the lowest carrier line.

[0003] However, the call charge system is not simple. For example, it is often the case that the line carrier for which the call charge is lowest differs according to the distance to the call partner who wants to make a call and the call time. For this reason, in order for a user to select one operator who is considered to have the lowest call fee from among multiple operators, he / she must remember all the fee structures of the multiple operators. , Very troublesome.
Further, in order to use the lines for most of the plurality of operators, at the time of calling, each of the destination telephone numbers set and provided by the current Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, You need to enter a different multi-digit number for each operator.

Conventionally, in order to automatically select a line of a carrier having the lowest call charge at the time of making a call without requiring the user to perform such a troublesome procedure, a conventional LCR is used.
A function called (Least Cost Routing; a function of automatically selecting a lowest-cost line) is provided in the telephone device.

[0005] The conventional LCR method is based on the number of times that a call can be made per unit (call unit time), which differs for each carrier, depending on the numbering plan, the day of the week for making a call, and the time zone for making a call.
This is a method of determining the line of a business that will have the lowest call charge. In order to make this determination, in the conventional LCR method, the data table of the unit time of a call when the unit charge per call is the same or the unit time of the call is the same for each day of the week when the call is made and for each time period when the call is made. The data table (hereinafter referred to as a map) of the unit charges in the case of the above is stored in a memory, and at the time of transmission, the operator with the lowest fee is selected by referring to all the maps for each operator. I have.

In the conventional LCR system, a call charge per unit (unit charge) is the same, and a call unit time is different.
Alternatively, it is assumed that a charge system is used in which the unit call time is the same and the unit charge is different. That is, the conventional LC
The R method is an effective method when either the unit charge or the call unit time is the same.

[0007]

By the way, in recent years, various services have been provided by telecommunications carriers, and a service of a charge system in which both the amount of one call and the unit time of call are different between the respective carriers is also provided. It is becoming. In the case of such a fee-based service, the conventional LCR system described above may not be able to correctly select the lowest-charge carrier.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining an example of this. In this example, if the unit time and unit charge in a local call are set at 10 yen for 5 minutes for A company and 9 yen for 3 minutes for B company, It shows the relationship between time and call charges. FIG. 8 shows a case where the horizontal axis indicates the call time and the vertical axis indicates the call charge.

FIG. 9 is a table read from FIG. 8 and showing the relationship between the call time and the operator with the lower call charge. As you can see from this table, the carriers that offer lower call rates differ depending on the length of the call time, so when making a call, which carrier has the lower
It is very difficult to unambiguously determine only the information on the unit call time and unit charge for each carrier as in the conventional LCR method.

[0010] In view of the above, the present invention, as described above, is compatible with a charge system in which the call unit time and the unit charge are different, and the call charge is reduced depending on the call time. It is an object of the present invention to provide a key telephone apparatus in which a business with the lowest call rate can be selected when making a call.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a key telephone apparatus capable of accommodating one or more telephone lines with respect to a main apparatus.
It can accommodate multiple telephones and has a function to automatically select the lowest-priced line from among the lines of multiple telephone carriers that have different call charges according to the call time and the distance to the other party. A key telephone device, wherein the main device is a telephone number for each call of each telephone,
Based on call information such as call time, call day, call time,
A means for calculating a call charge when each of the lines of the plurality of telephone carriers is used; a means for calculating a call charge for each of the plurality of telephone carriers; Call charges for the telephones that made the calls, for each of the telephone carriers, and based on the accumulated call charges, a charge record table that relates the call information, For each of them, a charge record table generating means for generating, and when a call operation is performed from any of the plurality of telephones, the call operation is performed based on the call information about the call operation, and the telephone With reference to the above-mentioned charge record table, selecting a line of a telephone communication carrier whose call charge is predicted to be the lowest charge, and a dial transmission executing means for performing a dial transmission operation,
It is characterized by having.

Further, in the key telephone apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the main apparatus can accommodate one to a plurality of telephone lines and a plurality of telephones. A button telephone device having a function of automatically selecting a lowest-price line from a plurality of telephone communication carrier lines having different call charges depending on a distance to a call partner, and the like, wherein the main device is provided for each time. After the call, call destination phone number, information about the call time, call day, call information such as call time, and the identifier of the telephone that ended the call,
Transmission record data storing means for storing the transmission record data and a predetermined period of the transmission record data stored in the transmission record data storage means are transmitted to the charge statistics center using one of the telephone lines. Means and a call charge calculated based on the transmission record data assuming that each of the plurality of telephone communication carrier lines is used for each call, is integrated for each of the telephone communication operators, and the integrated call The data of the fee record table generated based on the fee is received from the charge statistics center, and the received charge record table based on the received data of the charge record table is stored in the plurality of stored data. Means for storing a call corresponding to each of the plurality of telephones, and, when a call operation is performed from any of the plurality of telephones, the call information on the call operation is based on the means. Means for performing a dialing operation by selecting the line of a telephone carrier that is expected to have the lowest call rate with reference to the charge record table for the telephone on which the calling operation has been performed. It is characterized by having.

[0013]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when a telephone call based on a call from each of the telephones accommodated in the key telephone apparatus is terminated, the telephone charge calculating means for each business operator determines whether the telephone call can be made. A call charge when a call is made using each line of a plurality of telephone carriers is calculated. Then, the calculated call charges for each telephone carrier are accumulated for each telephone, a charge record table for each telephone is created, and stored in the memory of the main device. This fee record table is created as reflecting call information such as a destination telephone number, a call time, a call day and a call time for each telephone housed in the key telephone device.

Thus, for each of a plurality of telephone carriers,
The charge performance table accumulated as call charges for past calls reflects the habits of users of the telephones accommodated in the key telephone device. For example, whether the user of a certain telephone is a simple telephone type or a long telephone type is reflected. In addition, depending on the user's day and time period, there are many brief and short calls on certain days of the week, and relatively long calls on other days and times. Habits are also reflected. This user's habit appears in the accumulated charge for each business operator in the charge record table stored corresponding to the telephone.

[0015] In other words, in the case of a carrier having a charge system in which the charge per call is low, but the call unit time is short, the integrated call charge for completing the call in a short time is lower than that of other carriers. Relatively cheaper. Conversely, in the case of a carrier with a high rate per call but a long call unit time, the accumulated call charge for long-time calls is relatively higher than that of other carriers. Become cheap.

Therefore, by referring to the fee record table stored corresponding to each telephone, the selection of the carrier line in consideration of the length of the call time as the habit of the user of each telephone can be determined. It can be performed when making a call from the telephone, and more accurate LCR than the conventional method described above.
Functions can be realized.

In this case, it is conceivable to provide the above-described function in each telephone instead of the main unit. In this case, it is necessary to store a map for each business operator in each telephone, Waste increases. On the other hand, in the present invention, the map only needs to store one common map, so that there is no waste of memory.

Also, in the invention of claim 4, unlike the first embodiment, the main apparatus does not have a map, a means for calculating a communication charge per company, and a means for generating a charge record table. The fee calculation means and the fee record table generating means are provided in the fee statistics center.

Therefore, the key telephone apparatus transmits the call information on the call based on the calling from each of the telephones accommodated in the key telephone apparatus for an arbitrary period to the charge statistics center via the telephone line. Then, the charge statistics center creates a charge record table for each telephone in the same manner as the main device of claim 1 and sends it back to the key telephone device.

In the key telephone apparatus, a charge record table for each telephone sent from the charge statistics center is stored in a memory, and it is predicted that the next time a call is made from each telephone, the telephone charge will be the lowest charge. Select the line of the telephone carrier to perform dialing operation.

In the case of the fourth aspect of the present invention, the key telephone device does not need to store a map,
Means for calculating a call charge for each operator and generating a charge record table for each call is not required, so that the configuration of the key telephone device is simplified and an increase in cost can be prevented.

[0022]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a first embodiment of a key telephone apparatus according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, a double line is a line through which control information and other data information are transmitted.

The key telephone apparatus according to the first embodiment includes a telephone 1, a telephone interface 2, an office line interface 3, a PB signal and audible transceiver 4, a communication path switch 5, and A control unit 6 and a charge statistics / business selection unit 7 are provided. The portion other than the telephone 1 is the main device of the key telephone device.

FIG. 1 shows a state in which only one telephone 1 is connected for the sake of simplicity, but a plurality of telephones 1 are usually accommodated in a main unit, and In such a case, the telephone interface units 2 are provided for the number of telephones that can be accommodated. When each telephone 1 is connected to the main unit via the telephone interface unit 2, the accommodation information is registered in the main control unit 6 through the telephone interface unit 2 and stored in the memory 62 of the main control unit 6. The accommodation information includes an extension number serving as an identifier of each telephone, and is usually distinguished from other telephones 1 by this extension number.

Further, by providing a plurality of office line interface units 3, the office line 8 accommodated by the main unit of the key telephone apparatus can be provided for a plurality of lines.

The telephone interface unit 2 comprises a telephone interface control CPU 21 and a telephone control circuit 22. Although not shown, the telephone control circuit 22 includes a loop detection unit and a dial detection unit.

The line interface unit 3 comprises a line interface control CPU 31 and a line control circuit 32. Although not shown, the line control circuit 32 includes a loop forming unit, a dial sending unit, a reverse detecting unit, and the like.

PB signal and audible sound transceiver unit 4
Comprises a PB / CPT control CPU 41 and a PB signal and audible sound transceiver 42. The PB signal and audible sound transceiver 42 receives the PB signal from the telephone 1 and sends the PB signal to the central office 8 side, and audible sound such as a dial tone for prompting the telephone 1 to proceed with the operation. Is provided.

The communication path switch 5 controls the connection between the telephone interface unit 2, the central office interface unit 3, and the PB signal and audible sound transceiver unit 4 by the main control unit 6.
Switching by control from.

The main control section 6 comprises a main control CPU 61, a memory 62, and a clock circuit 63. The main control section 6 controls the entire main device, and controls, for example, outgoing processing and incoming processing from each telephone 1. The clock circuit 63
It is used when the CPU 61 detects the outgoing time (time) and the outgoing day of the week when the outgoing operation is performed on the telephone 1, and the end time of the call when the call is ended.

The charge statistics / entrepreneur selection section 7 includes a statistics / selection control CPU 71 and a storage section 72. Storage unit 72
Includes a plurality of data storage units 10, 11, 12, and 13. The first data storage unit 10 stores a telephone number (destination telephone number) of a destination to be dialed at the time of dialing, a dialing time, and a dialing day. This is stored for each of the telephones 1 accommodated in the main device. The second data storage unit 11 is for setting data, and stores, for example, a telephone number of the own station.

Further, the third data storage section 12 stores a charge record table to be described later. In this example, a plurality of fee record tables are generated for each of the telephones 1 accommodated in the main device according to the distance from the own telephone number and the destination telephone number to the detected destination. Is stored. Further, the fourth data storage unit 13 stores the above-described map of each business operator.

The charge record table for each telephone 1 stored in the third data storage section 12 is based on call information such as a destination telephone number, a call time, a call day, and a call time zone in an arbitrary period. The lowest charge line according to the habit of the user of each telephone 1 is shown by an integrated call charge. That is,
The charge performance table shows which carrier's line is the lowest charge when the user of each telephone 1 makes a call under the same call information conditions. is there.

More specifically, for each telephone 1, after each call, the call is calculated if the call is made using each of the lines of a plurality of carriers, and the calculation results of each are calculated. Is accumulated in accordance with the call information to create a charge record table. This takes into account the call time and reflects the habit of the user of the telephone 1 regarding the call information.

The charge record table can be created for each call destination telephone number which is one of the call information. In the case of this embodiment, however, a charge destination table determined from the call destination telephone number and the own telephone number is used. Create a charge record for each distance between.

FIG. 2 shows an example of this fee record table. This is one of a plurality of charge performance tables provided for each of the telephones T1 of the plurality of telephones 1 accommodated in the main device. As shown in FIG. 2, in this charge record table, the integrated value of the call charge for each business operator after each call of the telephone set T1 is written for each day of the week and time zone. In FIG. 2, for simplicity, specific accumulated charges are described only on Mondays, but it goes without saying that the accumulated charges are actually written in all the columns.

In the charge record table of FIG. 2, for example,
Company A has a high call rate per call but a long call unit time, and Company B has a low call charge per call but a short call unit time. In the case of the time period, if the carrier B has a lower accumulated call charge, the tendency of the user of the telephone T1 is that during the daytime on Monday, there are many calls with a short talk time. are doing. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the user of the telephone set T1 makes the next call during the noon time on Monday, the line of the company B is determined to be the lowest-priced line and selected.

Further, in FIG. 2, in the nighttime period on Monday, the company A has a lower accumulated call charge,
This means that the tendency of the user of the telephone T1 is that many calls are long on Monday night. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the user of the telephone T1 makes a next call during the Monday night, the line of the company A is determined to be the lowest-priced line and selected.

In FIG. 2, the time zone is only divided into day and night, but it is needless to say that the time zone can be further subdivided. This subdivision is to reflect the user's habits more finely in the actual fee, so it is not necessary to correspond to the difference in the fee for each time zone in the operator's fee system, but it is possible to do so Of course.

Next, the operation of the main unit at the time of transmission in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the telephone 1 performs an off-hook operation of an outside line and dial information is input, the telephone interface unit 2 of the main unit transmits the office line transmission information and the dial information by the off-hook operation of the outside line to a telephone control circuit. 22 and transfers it to the main control CPU 61 of the main control unit 6 by the telephone interface control CPU 21 (step S101). At this time, the main control unit 6 determines which extension number the external line is transmitted from the telephone 1.
The main control CPU 61 of the identification.

The main control CPU 61 reads the time and day of the week when the office line transmission information and dial information are received from the clock circuit 63 as the transmission time, and receives the received destination telephone number and the extension number as the telephone identifier together with the charge. The data is transferred to the statistics / business selection section 7 (step 102). At this time, the main control CPU 61 transfers a command for capturing a line to the line interface unit 3.

Control CPU 7 of Charge Statistics / Business Selector 7
The first data storage unit 1 of the memory 72 stores the received extension number and destination telephone number, the time at which the destination telephone number was received, the transmission time including the day of the week, and the transmission day of the week.
0 (step S103).

The control CP of the line interface unit 3
U31 uses the station line control circuit 32 to capture an empty station line 8 (step S104).

Next, the control C of the charge statistics / entrepreneur selecting section 7
The PU 71 calculates the distance to the destination from the own telephone number stored in the second data storage unit 11 of the memory 72 and the received destination telephone number (step S10).
5). And it corresponds to the calculated distance,
The charge performance table for the telephone indicated by the extension number is searched from the plurality of charge performance tables in the third data storage unit 12 of the memory 72 (step S106). Then, from the retrieved charge record table, the operator having the lowest charge for the corresponding call day and call time zone is selected and transferred to the main control CPU 61 of the main control unit 6 (step S10).
7).

Next, the main control CPU memory 61 adds the access number of the business selected by the charge statistics / business selection unit 7 to the destination telephone number already stored,
When the office line is a DP line, the office line interface 3
In the case of the PB line, it is transferred to the PB / audible sound transceiver unit 4 (step S108). When Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation is selected as the operator, it is not necessary to add an access number for each operator.

In the case of the DP line, the control CPU 31 of the office line interface unit 3 dials out the acquired office line 8. In the case of a PB line, the main control C
The PU 61 connects the office line interface unit 3 with the PB signal and the audible sound transceiver 4 by the communication path switch 5, and outputs the office line 8 from the PB signal and the audible sound transceiver 4.
(Step S109).

After the dial is transmitted, the main control CPU 61
Controls the office line interface unit 3 and the telephone interface unit 2 by the communication path switch 5 to establish a telephone call between the office line 8 and the telephone 1 (step S110).

Thus, the operation at the time of transmission is completed. In addition,
In the example of FIG. 3, the local line acquisition is performed in step S104.
As long as it is before step S108, such as between step S108 and step S108, it may be performed at any time.

Each time the call based on this call is terminated, an integration process is performed on the charge record table for the telephone whose call has been terminated, as described below. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining an operation in which a call state is set following the above-described calling operation, and an integration process is performed on the fee record table after the call is ended.

As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG.
At 201, it is determined whether or not any of the telephones 1 has performed an outgoing call operation by an off-hook operation of an outside line. If no outgoing call operation is detected, the process proceeds to another processing routine. When the transmission operation is detected in step S201, the process proceeds to step S202, and the transmission processing routine described with reference to FIG. 3 is executed. Then, after that, when a call is in progress (step S203), step S203 is performed.
At 204, the call is monitored.

When the disconnection information of the telephone is received by the telephone control circuit 22 or the disconnection of the other party is detected by the line control circuit 32, the fact is transferred to the main control CPU 61 to confirm the end of the call. Then, the process proceeds to step S205, where the main control CPU 61 reads the time at the end of the call from the clock circuit 63, and reads the read time information (call end time) from the charge statistics / enterprise selecting unit 7.
Transfer to

The statistics / selection control CPU 71 has a memory 72
Based on the destination telephone number / time / day of the week stored in the first data storage unit 10, the time during the call (call time) in step S203 is calculated (step S206).

Next, in step S202, the statistics / selection control CPU 71 stores a map of each business operator corresponding to the distance calculated in the transmission routine of FIG.
From the fourth data storage unit 13 to calculate the call charge for each carrier, and add the call charge to the corresponding place in the charge record table for the telephone set of the extension number stored in the first data storage unit 10. (Integral).

That is, in the next step S207, after performing initialization processing for integrating processing into the charge record table for all of a plurality of businesses that can select and use a line,
Proceeding to step S208, the map of the first operator of the plurality of operators is stored in the fourth data storage unit 1 of the memory 72.
From 3, the search is performed according to the transmission time of the ended call, the day of the week, and the distance to the other party.

Then, in the next step S209,
A call time per call is retrieved from the retrieved map of the business operator, and in the next step S210, a call charge for the case where the terminated call is made using the business operator's line is calculated. Then, the calculated call charge is stored in the third data storage unit 12 of the memory 72 and corresponds to the charge result table for the distance to the corresponding destination in the charge result table for the telephone. The total is added to the location of the business (step S211).

Then, the process returns to step S208 via steps S212 and S213, and by repeating this step S208 and subsequent steps, the above-described integration processing of the charge record table for all of the plurality of businesses is performed. Done. For all of the multiple businesses,
This processing routine ends when the above-described accumulation processing on the fee record table is completed.

As described above, according to the key telephone apparatus of this embodiment, the destination telephone number, the transmission time, the transmission day,
Using call information such as call time, a charge record table is created for a plurality of operators, taking into account the user's habits of each telephone 1, and a line is selected when making a call based on the charge record table. It can be expected that, for each of the telephones 1, a carrier line with the lowest call charge is always selected.

In the above description of the embodiment, a plurality of charge record tables are provided depending on the difference in distance from the destination.
Although prepared, a charge record table may be created for each destination telephone number if a large-capacity memory is available.

Further, in the above description of the embodiment, the call charges are always added to the charge record table after each call, but the charge record table is created for every predetermined period. The charge performance table may be updated.

For example, the predetermined period of time is
While using the charge table for the last voluntary period,
After each call, the call charges for each carrier are added to the charge record table to be used next time. Then, when the arbitrary period has elapsed, the fee record table is changed from the previous one to the next one.

As described above, when the charge record table is updated for a limited period, there is an effect that the charge record table can be obtained in accordance with a change in the usage status of the user of each telephone.

It is also possible to provide a function of resetting the charge record table when the user of the telephone 1 changes.

[Second Embodiment] In the first embodiment, the charge statistics / entrepreneur selecting unit 7 of the main unit stores a map of each operator in the fourth storage unit 13 of the memory 72. Since it is held, when the charge system of the business operator is added or changed, the content of the map in the fourth storage unit 13 of the memory 72 is rewritten in the key telephone apparatus in response to the addition or change. It needs to have functions.

Therefore, even if the problem of how to execute the rewriting of the map information and the problem is solved and the rewriting of the map information becomes possible, the frequent charge system of the business operator can be used. In the case where the key telephone device is added or changed, the load on the key telephone device becomes heavy.

The second embodiment solves the above problem. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the second embodiment. The difference from the block diagram of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Configuration.

That is, in the charge statistics / entrepreneur selecting section 7 of the second embodiment, the memory 72 does not have the fourth storage section 13 for storing the map information for each of the enterprises.
Instead, there is provided a fifth storage unit 14 for storing outgoing call record data including the information of the outgoing call history.

The map information for each service provider is provided in an external charge statistics center, for example, a personal computer, which can be connected via the local line 8, so that the map information of each service provider can be easily updated on an up-to-date basis. I have to. Further, this external charge statistics center is provided with a function of creating the above-mentioned charge record table. Therefore, the charge statistics / entrepreneur selection unit 7 of the second embodiment does not have a function of creating a charge record table. The charge statistics center is provided in common for a plurality of key telephone devices.

The key telephone apparatus has a function of forming a data communication path with the charge statistics center and performing data communication.

That is, a modem 73 is provided in the charge statistics / enterprise selecting section 7 and the fifth storage section 1 for an arbitrary period is provided.
A request for creating a charge record including the call record data of No. 4 is sent to the charge statistics center via the modem 73.

The charge statistics center creates a charge record table based on the received call record data and returns it to the key telephone apparatus. The key telephone apparatus receives the charge record table, stores it in the third storage unit 12 of the charge statistic / business selection unit 7, and uses it for selecting the optimum business operator at the time of calling as shown in FIG. I do. The transmission procedure of the second embodiment is exactly the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

As described above, the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the procedure for creating a charge record after the end of a call. Hereinafter, the procedure of creating the fee record table in the case of the second embodiment will be further described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In FIG. 7, steps S301 to S305 until the main control CPU 61 detects the end of a call after making a call, reads the end time of the call at that time, and transfers it to the charge statistics / entrepreneur selection section 7 are as follows: Step S in FIG.
This is exactly the same as 201 to step S205.

In the second embodiment, the charge statistics / enterprise selection unit 7 stores the received call end time and the first data storage unit 10 of the memory 72 in the next step S306. Extension number and destination phone number
The fifth storage unit 1 stores time and day of the week as transmission record data.
4 is stored.

Next, the process proceeds to step S307, where the fifth storage unit 14 stores a predetermined arbitrary period of time, for example, 3
It is determined whether or not months of transmission record data have been stored. When it is determined that the transmission record data for the arbitrary period has not been accumulated yet, the processing routine is terminated. If it is determined that the transmission record data for the arbitrary period has been stored, the process proceeds to step S308.

In step S 308, the charge statistic / entrepreneur selecting unit 7 sends a request for creating a charge record table including the outgoing record data for the arbitrary period and the own telephone number in the second storage unit 11 of the memory 72. , Via the modem 73 to the charge statistics center via the office line 8. After the transfer, the transmission record data in the fifth storage unit 14 is deleted to prepare for storing the transmission record data for the next arbitrary period.

As described above, the charge statistics center has a map for each business operator, and stores the information of this map, the accumulated information of the received call record data, and the own telephone number of the key telephone device. By using the key telephone apparatus identified by the own station telephone number, a charge performance table is created for each telephone housed in the key telephone.

That is, in the same manner as described above, for each telephone, the call time and distance are calculated for each outgoing call, and the call charge for each business operator is calculated. Then, from the calculated call charges for each business operator, data of a charge record table for each telephone is created and sent to the key telephone apparatus that has requested creation. The data of the charge record table may be data of the charge record table itself,
It may be data for creating a fee record table.

Further, instead of the fee record table in which the amount of money is described as shown in FIG. 2, a charge record table including data of the priority order of the low-price business may be used. For example, the fee record table may be such that Company A ranks first on Monday afternoon, Company B ranks second, Company B ranks first on Monday night, and Company A ranks second. In addition, a fee record table may be used which indicates only the business that has the lowest fee in each time zone of each day of the week.

In the key telephone apparatus, the data of the charge record table from the charge statistics center is received in step S309, and the data is stored in the memory 7 in the next step S310.
2 in the third storage unit 12. Thus, the processing routine of the second embodiment is completed.

As described above, in the second embodiment, the key telephone device does not need to store the map information for each business operator, so that the capacity of the memory 72 can be reduced. In addition, since there is no need to update the map information, no software or hardware is required. In addition, since software for creating a fee record table is not required, the burden is reduced accordingly.

In the second embodiment described above, the charge statistics table creates a charge record table for each arbitrary period, but the charge record table reflects all past call record data. Can also be created. In this case, for example, the charge statistics center stores the past charge record table for each key telephone device, or the charge record including the previous charge record table for the button telephone device is included in the charge record table creation request. The charge is sent to the statistics center, and the charges statistics center may add the call charges based on the newly received transmission record data for an arbitrary period to the past charge record table.

In the above-described second embodiment, only the case where the charge statistics center creates the charge record table has been described. However, based on transmission record data from the button telephone device, Charge management such as calculation of a call charge for each telephone 1 can also be performed. In that case, the transmission record data may include information on the business operator used at the time of transmission.

In the above description of the first and second embodiments, a charge record table is created for each telephone of the key telephone apparatus, and when a call is made from each telephone, the corresponding telephone telephone is used. Although the optimal telephone carrier line is selected by referring to the charge record table, when a plurality of telephones accommodated in the key telephone device are used in groups, the charge record table is set for each group. When a call is made from a telephone in a group and the call is made from a telephone in the group, the optimal line carrier can be selected by referring to the charge record table for the group. Further, a charge record table common to all telephones of the key telephone apparatus may be created, and the call record table may be referred to when making a call from all telephones.

In such a case, for example, when the grouping is set for each section of the company, or when the key telephone device is installed in a specific section of the company, the destination of the call is made. Is a customer specific to each group or the key telephone device, it can be expected that the tendency according to the customer is reflected in the fee record table.

[0086]

As described above, according to the present invention, when making a call from each telephone of the key telephone apparatus,
Even if the call rate per call and the length of the call unit time are different from each other, and even if the lowest call rate is not uniquely determined by the length of the call time, each telephone With regard to, a line of a business operator who can expect the lowest charge can be selected at the time of calling.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of a key telephone apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a fee record table according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an operation at the time of transmission according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a part of a flowchart for explaining an operation of a call charge accumulation process in a charge record table at the time of outgoing call and after the call is ended according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a part of a flowchart for explaining an operation of a call charge accumulation process in a charge record table at the time of calling and after the call is ended according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a key telephone apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining an operation of a call charge accumulation process in a charge record table at the time of outgoing call and after the end of the call according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a relationship between a call time and a call charge.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a relationship between a call time and a service provider with the lowest call charge.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Telephone 2 Telephone interface unit 3 Local line interface unit 4 Transceiver unit for PB signal and audible sound 5 Communication line switch 6 Main control unit 7 Charge statistics / business selection unit 8 Local line 72 Memory

Claims (8)

[Claims] A main unit can accommodate one to a plurality of telephone lines and a plurality of telephones, and a call fee is charged according to a call time, a distance to a call partner, and the like. A key telephone device having a function of automatically selecting a lowest-priced line from lines of a plurality of different telephone carriers, wherein the main device comprises: Based on call information such as time, calling day, calling time, etc., the per-enterprise call charge calculating means for calculating a call charge when each of the plurality of telephone communication carrier lines is used, and the per-enterprise call The call charges for each of the plurality of telephone carriers calculated by the charge calculating means are integrated for each of the telephone carriers that made the call, for each of the telephone carriers, and the call information is calculated based on the integrated call charges. Related to actual charges Table, for each of the plurality of telephones, a charge record table generating means to generate, when there is a call operation from any of the plurality of telephones, based on the call information about the call operation, A dial transmission executing means for performing a dial transmission operation by selecting the line of a telephone carrier whose telephone call charge is predicted to be the lowest, with reference to the charge record table for the telephone on which the call operation has been performed; A key telephone device comprising: 2. The key telephone apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the charge record table is prepared for each of the plurality of telephones according to a distance from the other party. 3. The charge record table used by the dial transmission executing means uses the same period for a predetermined length, and when the predetermined period has elapsed, 2. The key telephone device according to claim 1, wherein the telephone call during the period is updated to an integrated value for each telephone communication carrier. 4. The main unit is capable of accommodating one to a plurality of telephone lines and accommodating a plurality of telephones, and a call charge is set according to a call time and a distance from a call partner. A key telephone apparatus having a function of automatically selecting a lowest-priced line from a plurality of lines of a plurality of different telephone carriers, wherein the main apparatus includes information on a destination telephone number and a call time after each call. , Call day, call information such as call time, and the identifier of the telephone that ended the call, as call record data,
Transmission record data storage means to be stored, For a predetermined period of the transmission record data stored in the transmission record data storage means, using one of the telephone lines,
Means for transmitting to a charge statistics center, based on the outgoing call record data, a call charge calculated assuming use of each of the lines of the plurality of telephone carriers for each call, for each of the telephone carriers. Accumulated, data of the fee record table generated based on the accumulated call charge is received from the charge statistics center, and the charge record table based on the received data of the charge record table is received. Means for storing corresponding to each of the plurality of accommodated telephones, and when a call operation is performed from any of the plurality of telephones, based on the call information about the call operation, Referring to the charge record table for the telephone on which the call operation was performed, select the line of the telephone communication carrier whose call charge is expected to be the lowest charge, and perform the dial call operation. Cormorant key telephone system comprising a means, a. 5. The key telephone apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the charge record table is prepared for each of the plurality of telephones according to a distance from the other party. 6. A key telephone apparatus capable of accommodating one to a plurality of telephone lines and accommodating a plurality of telephones with respect to the main apparatus, and connected to the key telephone apparatus via the telephone lines. The button telephone device, after each call, the destination telephone number, information about the call time, the call day, the call information such as the call time, and the identifier of the telephone that ended the call, As outgoing record data,
Transmission record data storing means for storing, and means for transmitting a predetermined period of the transmission record data stored in the transmission record data storage means to a charge statistics center using one of the telephone lines, The charge statistics center includes: a receiving unit that receives the transmitted call record data; a call charge for each telephone based on the call record data received by the receiving unit; And a means for statistically managing call charges for each telephone. 7. A main unit is capable of accommodating one to a plurality of telephone lines and accommodating a plurality of telephones, and has a call charge depending on a call time, a distance to a call partner, and the like. A button telephone device having a function of automatically selecting a lowest-price line from lines of a plurality of different telephone carriers, and a charge statistics center connected through the button telephone device and the telephone line; The telephone device, after each call, call destination telephone number, information about the call time, call day, call information such as call time, and the identifier of the telephone that ended the call, as call record data,
Transmission record data storing means for storing, and means for transmitting a predetermined period of the transmission record data stored in the transmission record data storage means to a charge statistics center using one of the telephone lines, The toll statistics center includes: a receiving unit that receives the outgoing call record data; and, based on the outgoing call record data received by the receiving unit, when each of the plurality of telephone communication carrier lines is used for each call. A charge for calculating a call charge, accumulating the calculated call charge for each telephone carrier, and generating data of a charge record table for each telephone identified by the identifier based on the accumulated call charge. Performance table data generation means; and means for transmitting the fee performance table generated by the fee performance table data generation means to the key telephone device through the telephone line, The button telephone device stores the charge performance table based on data obtained from the charge statistics center in correspondence with each of the telephones identified by the identifier, and a call operation is performed from any of the plurality of telephones. When there is, based on the call information about the outgoing operation, the outgoing operation is performed, with reference to the charge performance table for the telephone,
A telephone system comprising selecting a line of a telephone carrier whose telephone charge is expected to be the lowest, and performing a dialing operation. 8. The telephone according to claim 7, wherein said charge record table data generating means of said charge statistics center generates data of said charge record table based on transmission record data of said arbitrary period. system.