JP2013126080A - Standby power reduction method in telephone system, telephone system, telephone set and standby power reduction program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce standby power of a telephone unit without requiring manual turn-off of power by a user.SOLUTION: A telephone unit connected with an apparatus having a communication function over a network includes a control section having at least a function of power supply control, a telephone function section having at least a function as a telephone, and a power supply for the telephone function provided separately from a power supply for the control section. The control section inquires the apparatus whether or not the apparatus is operating, and when it determines that a positive response is not returned for the inquiry, the control section controls the power supply to interrupt power supply to the telephone function section.

Description

  The present invention relates to reduction of standby power of a telephone.

  At present, building a network in an office is generally performed. Then, a terminal such as a personal computer or a telephone is connected to this network.

  Also, it is common to use an IP (Internet Protocol) telephone as a telephone. It is also common to connect an IP telephone set included in the network to an exchange to realize communication with the outside via a public network and an answering machine function.

  An example of a network having such a configuration is described in Patent Document 1, for example. Patent Document 1 describes that an IP multifunction telephone and a personal computer are linked. Specifically, when an e-mail addressed to a personal computer arrives, an incoming mail is notified to the user by blinking the incoming call lamp of the IP multi-function telephone or ringing the IP multi-function telephone. Is described.

JP 2003-046665 A

  As described above, systems using telephones such as IP telephones have become common. However, in a general system, no consideration has been given to the standby power supply of the telephone.

  In other words, in a general system, the telephone is kept on even at night or when it is absent, and power is always consumed by the internal control IC.

  Further, not only the internal control IC is operating, but even when there is no incoming call, if there is an incoming call, a ringing tone sounds and power is further consumed. These standby powers cannot be determined generally, but generally 3 Wh was consumed as standby power.

  For example, the technology described in Patent Document 1 also considers whether the power of the personal computer is ON or OFF, but the IP multifunction telephone itself is always operating, and the standby power of the IP multifunction telephone is Has not been reduced at all.

  In order to suppress the standby power consumption, it may be possible to manually turn off the telephone when leaving the office. However, since the power supply LINE and the power cable are on the back side of the telephone, it is difficult to perform an ON / OFF switching operation on a daily basis. Furthermore, if the power of the IP multi-function telephone in Patent Document 1 is turned off, the functions of the IP multi-function telephone cannot be used at all, and the meaning of linking with a personal computer is lost.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a standby power reduction method, a telephone system, a telephone, and a standby power reduction program in a telephone system, which can reduce standby power of a telephone without a user manually turning off the power. With the goal.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a telephone connected to a device having a communication function via a network, the control part having at least a power control function, and the telephone function part having at least a function as a telephone. And a power supply for the telephone function unit provided separately from the power supply for the control unit, and the control unit inquires of the device whether or not the device is operating. And a power supply to the telephone function unit is interrupted by controlling the power supply when it is determined that a positive response to the inquiry is not returned. Provided.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a telephone system including a device having a communication function and a telephone connected to the device via a network, wherein the device is operated from the telephone. If the device itself is operating, a positive response is returned to the inquiring phone, and the phone is provided by the first aspect of the present invention. A telephone system is provided.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a standby power reduction method performed by a telephone connected to a device having a communication function via a network, and the device is inquired as to whether it is operating. If a positive response to the inquiry is not returned, the power supply is controlled to interrupt the supply of power to the telephone function unit that mainly realizes the function as a telephone. A standby power reduction method is provided.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a standby power reduction program for causing a computer to function as a telephone connected to a device having a communication function via a network, the control having at least a power control function. A telephone function unit having at least a function as a telephone, and a power source for the telephone function unit provided separately from the power source for the control unit, the control unit for the device , Inquiring whether or not the device is operating, and when it is determined that a positive response to the inquiry has not been returned, by controlling the power supply to the telephone function unit There is provided a standby power reduction program which is characterized by functioning as a telephone characterized by interrupting the supply of power.

  According to the present invention, the standby power of the telephone can be reduced without the user manually turning off the power.

It is a figure showing the basic composition of the whole embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure showing the basic composition of the management system in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure showing the basic composition of the IP telephone in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a sequence diagram showing the operation | movement in embodiment of this invention.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the entire IP desk phone system according to the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1, the present embodiment includes an IP phone 10-1, an IP phone 10-2 to an IP phone 10-N, an OA device 20-1, an OA device 20-2 to an OA device 20-M, a management system 30, A first network 40-1 and a second network 40-2 are included.

  This embodiment is generally intended to reduce the standby power of an IP telephone in a management system that accommodates the IP telephone, and the control is performed in conjunction with the power ON / OFF of a personal OA device in the normal operation of the IP telephone. / Switches standby operation.

  In the following description, when calling without specifying any of IP telephone 10-1 and IP telephone 10-2 to IP telephone 10-N, only “IP telephone 10” is described. Similarly, in the following description, when referring to the OA device 20-1 and any one of the OA devices 20-2 to 20-M without specifying them, only “OA device 20” is described.

  The telephone management system 30 and each OA device 20 can communicate with each other via the first network 40-1. Further, each IP telephone 10 can confirm whether or not the OA device 20 corresponding to itself is operating.

  Note that the number of IP telephones 10 and the number of OA devices 20 are not particularly limited, and can be any number. In this description, it is assumed that the IP telephone 10 and the OA device 20 correspond to each other in a one-to-one relationship. For example, it is assumed that the IP phone 10-1 and the OA device 20-1 are compatible, and the IP phone 10-2 and the OA device 20-2 are compatible. However, this relationship can be changed, and a many-to-one relationship may be used. For example, two units of the OA device 20-1 and the OA device 20-2 may correspond to the IP telephone 10-1. In addition, two units of the IP telephone 10-1 and the IP telephone 10-2 may correspond to the OA device 20-1.

  Here, each IP telephone 10 is a telephone 10 that performs communication conforming to IP (Internet Protocol). Each IP telephone 10 performs voice communication with a telephone connected to an external public network via the first network 40-1 and the management system 30. It is also possible to perform voice communication between the IP telephones 10.

  Each IP telephone 10 communicates with one of the OA devices 20 corresponding to the IP telephone 10 via the second network 40-2. Communication may be realized by any method, but it is necessary to realize at least the following two exchanges.

  The first exchange to be realized is that each IP telephone 10 makes a connection check inquiry to the corresponding OA device 20.

  The other of the exchanges to be realized is that the OA device 20 that has received the connection check inquiry returns a positive response to the corresponding IP telephone 10. Note that an affirmative response is generally called Ack (Acknowledgement), and therefore, in the description of this embodiment, an affirmative response is also called Ack. Further, it is assumed that Ack is transmitted when the OA device 20 is powered on, that is, during normal operation, and not transmitted when the power is off. Note that these exchanges can be realized, for example, by performing communication between each IP telephone 10 and the OA device 20 by ping, which is a tool compliant with ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol).

  Each OA device 20 may be realized by an arbitrary computer, for example, a personal computer used by a user.

  The OA device 20 is switched to a normal operation state or a power OFF state by turning on or off the power. The OA device 20 is turned on when the user starts using (for example, when leaving the office) and is in a normal operation state, and when the user ends use (for example, when leaving the office), the power is turned off and the power is turned off.

  In the present embodiment, the OA device 20 and the IP telephone 10 are associated with each other as described above. Then, it is assumed that a single user uses the associated OA device 20 and IP phone 10 respectively. In other words, the IP telephone 10-1 and the OA device 20-1 are installed on the desk of a certain user, and this certain user uses the IP telephone 10-1 and the OA device 20-1. In this case, the IP telephone 10-1 and the OA device 20-1 are associated with each other.

  Next, the management system 30 will be described with reference to FIG. Referring to FIG. 2, the management system 30 includes an exchange 31 and an answering machine 32.

  The exchange 31 is realized by a device called IP-PBX (Internet Protocol Private Branch exchange) or a server incorporating software. An extension telephone network is constructed by the exchange 31. Further, the exchange 31 also performs relaying between the normal public telephone network (external network) and the extension network using IP telephones.

  The answering machine 32 is a device for realizing a function as a so-called answering machine. The answering machine 32 is also realized by incorporating software into a dedicated device or a general-purpose device.

  The answering machine 32 can cooperate with the exchange 31 to realize the answering machine function of responding to each IP telephone 10 on behalf of each IP telephone 10 for communication. That is, the exchange 31 transfers communication addressed to the IP telephone 10 from another telephone to the answering machine 32 according to the setting. Then, the answering machine 32 sends back an answering message to other telephones or records voices from other telephones. Depending on the setting, the answering machine 32 may request the exchange 31 to transfer communication addressed to a certain IP telephone 10 to another IP telephone 10.

  In general, the mode is switched to the answering machine mode according to an active instruction from the IP telephone 10. Also, the answering machine mode is canceled in response to an active instruction from the IP telephone 10.

  The first network 40-1 and the second network 40-2 are components for realizing a LAN (Local Area Network), and include devices such as routers and hubs. Moreover, although the 1st network 40-1 and the 2nd network 40-2 may be implement | achieved by wired connection, the one part or all part may be implement | achieved by wireless connection.

  Next, the internal configuration of the IP telephone 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the inside of the IP telephone 10-1. In this example, the IP telephone 10-1 will be described as an example, but the other IP telephones 10 are assumed to have the same configuration.

  Referring to FIG. 3, IP telephone 10-1 includes a PHY (Physical Layer) circuit block 110 and a central control circuit block 120. In the IP telephone 10-1 of the present embodiment, the PHY circuit block 110 and the central control circuit block 120 that communicate via a LAN are designed with different power sources.

  The PHY circuit block 110 has the power control function of the central control circuit block 120. In addition, the PHY circuit block 110 is designed to be able to register information on the monitored OA device 20.

  The PHY circuit block 110 checks whether the OA device 20 corresponding to the IP telephone 10 is operating normally on the LAN, and if the OA device 20 corresponding to the IP telephone 10 stops operating normally on the LAN. The central control circuit block 120 is designed to be in a standby state by turning off the power.

  Conversely, if it is found that the target OA device is operating normally on the LAN in the standby state, the central control circuit block 120 is powered on and the IP telephone 10 is shifted to the normal operation mode.

  As a result, the power consumption during standby is only the PHY circuit block 110, so that the power can be significantly reduced.

  Here, the PHY circuit block 110 includes a PHY control device 101 and a first power supply 112.

  The PHY control device 111 receives LAN communication data via the first network 40-1 and transfers it to the central control device 121. In addition, the PHY control device 111 sends out the LAN communication data input from the central control device 121 via the first network 40-1.

  Further, the PHY control device 101 stores an OA device 20 corresponding to the IP telephone 10-1. Then, it is confirmed whether or not the corresponding OA device 20 is operating normally. If the Ack is not returned from the OA device 20 in response to this confirmation, the PHY control device 111 notifies the management system 30 that the mode is shifted to the power saving mode. In addition, when the Ack is returned from the management system 30 to the notification of the transition to the power saving mode, the second power supply 122 is turned off. Furthermore, the PHY control device 111 turns on the second power supply 122 when Ack is returned from the OA device 20 when the second power supply 122 is in the OFF state. Note that the PHY control device 111 operates by receiving power from the first power supply 112. Further, the PHY control device 111 is not supplied with power from the second power source 122.

  In addition, the first power source 112 is a power source separate from the second power source 122, and even if the second power source 122 is turned off, the first power source 112 is not turned off. Conversely, even if the first power supply 112 is turned off, the second power supply 122 is not turned off.

  As described above, the first power source 112 and the second power source 122 are separate power sources. This “separate” can be realized by, for example, providing the first power source 112 and the second power source 122 physically independently. That is, the first power source 112 and the second power source 122 are separately provided by designing the first power source 112 and the second power source 122 to receive power from different external power sources through different paths. be able to. In this case, since the IP telephone 10 requires power supply circuits corresponding to the two power supplies of the first power supply 112 and the second power supply 122, there are two power supply circuits.

  On the other hand, for the convenience of circuit design, the same power supply circuit may be used in common. That is, the first power supply 112 and the second power supply 122 are realized by connecting one external power supply to one power supply circuit in the IP telephone 10 and providing a terminal in the power supply circuit to branch the power supply. It may be. In this case, a control switch for controlling the power source branched to the second power source 122 is provided. Then, the PHY control device 111 switches the second power source 122 to the ON or OFF state by switching the control switch.

  It suffices if the ON / OFF of the second power supply 122 can be controlled independently of the ON / OFF of the first power supply 112. However, if the power supply of the entire apparatus is turned off when the first power supply 112 is turned off, the second power supply 122 may be turned off if the first power supply 112 is turned off. Good.

  The PHY circuit block 110 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by a combination of hardware and software. In this case, the PHY circuit block 110 is realized by a small CPU and a storage device that stores software.

  The central control circuit block 120 includes a central control device 121, a second power source 122, a display device 123, an audio device 124, and operation buttons 125.

  The central control device 121 implements an IP telephone using hardware resources such as a display device 123, an audio device 124, and operation buttons 125.

  For example, the central control device 121 causes the display device 123 to display the time, the incoming telephone number, and the like. In addition, the central control device 121 uses the audio device 124 to notify that there is an incoming call or to realize voice communication with other telephones. Further, the central control device 121 realizes a telephone call or the like according to an operation from the user received by the operation button 125.

  Note that the IP telephone implementation method and hardware resources such as the display device 123, the audio device 124, and the operation buttons 125 are not the gist of the present embodiment and are well known to those skilled in the art, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted. .

  Here, each device included in the central control circuit block 120 operates with power supplied from the second power source 122. Further, the central control circuit block 120 is not supplied with power from the first power supply 121. In addition, each device included in the central control circuit block 120 automatically starts to operate without requiring any operation from the user when the second power supply 122 is turned on.

  Next, referring to the sequence diagram of FIG. 4, the state transition diagram of this embodiment is summarized.

  In this example, it is assumed that the OA device 20-1 corresponds to the IP telephone 10-1.

  First, the IP telephone 10-1 transmits a connection check, which is an inquiry as to whether or not the OA device 20-1 is operating, to the OA device 20-1 (step S51).

  The OA device 20-1 is operating normally. Therefore, the OA device 20-1 returns Ack in response to the inquiry in step S51 (step S52).

  Thereafter, the IP telephone 10-1 performs a connection check at regular time intervals (step S53). The OA device 20-1 also returns Ack according to the connection check (step S54).

  Here, it is assumed that the power of the OA device 20-1 is turned off. In this case, the connection check of the IP telephone 10-1 is continued (steps S55 and S56), but the OA device 20-1 is not powered and therefore does not send back Ack.

  As described above, when there is no response from the corresponding OA device 20-1, the IP telephone 10-1 issues a power saving mode transition notification to the management system 30 (step S57). The exchange 31 of the management system 30 transfers the received power saving mode transition notification to the answering machine 32. The answering machine 32 that has received the transfer returns an Ack to the IP telephone 10-1 via the exchange 31 and shifts to an answering machine mode in which the IP telephone 10-1 is handled as a proxy (step S58). . As a result, the answering machine 32 responds on behalf of the communication addressed to the IP telephone 10-1.

  Thereafter, the IP telephone 10-1 continues to transmit a connection check while the power of the OA device is OFF (steps S59 to S61). However, since the OA device 20-1 is powered off, Ack is not returned.

  Thereafter, the power of the OA device 20-1 is turned on, and the OA device 20-1 starts normal operation. Therefore, the OA device 20-1 returns Ack in response to the connection check in step S62 (step S63).

  When Ack is returned from the OA device 20-1 as in step S63, the IP telephone 10-1 transmits a normal mode transition notification to the management system 30 (step S64). In addition, the IP telephone 10-1 restarts the power supply to the central control circuit block 120 by controlling the second power supply 122. As a result, the operation of the central control circuit block 120 including the central controller 121 is resumed.

  The answering machine 32 that has received the normal mode transition notification via the exchange 31 returns an Ack to the IP telephone 10-1 via the exchange 31 and cancels the answering machine mode (step S65). Transition to the state.

  The IP telephone 10-1 that has received Ack in step S65 continues to operate. Then, a connection check is transmitted to the OA device 20-1 (step S66). If the OA device 20-1 is also operating normally, Ack is returned (step S67).

  The embodiment of the present invention described above has many effects as described below.

  The first effect is that power consumption in the standby state of the IP telephone 10 can be reduced.

  The reason is that the time period when the IP telephone 10 is not used is determined by monitoring the power supply state of the OA device 20, and the power can be turned off during this unused time period.

  The second effect is that the telephone system can recognize absence and presence without a special device or button setting.

  This is because the IP telephone 10 is provided with a regular monitoring function.

  The third effect is that the function can be used for absence management in the management system and the answering machine function can be easily used.

  This is because the state monitoring information is shared with the management system.

  Moreover, although the above-described embodiment is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the scope of the present invention is not limited only to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Implementation in the form is possible.

  For example, the following modifications can be considered.

  The interval at which the IP telephone set 10-1 transmits the connection check may not be constant but may be indefinite. For example, if the Ack is not returned in one direction even though the connection check is performed many times, the OA device 20- It is considered that the user 1 is home. Therefore, there is no point in frequently performing the connection check until going to work again, so the connection check interval may be lengthened.

  On the other hand, if the Ack for the connection check is returned correctly every time, the connection check interval may be lengthened.

  In this description, the IP telephone 10-1 transmits a connection check in step S55, and transmits a connection check again even though there is no Ack for the connection check (step S56). This is for surely confirming that the OA device 20-1 is turned off. In order to further increase the certainty, it is only necessary to increase the number of times the connection check is transmitted again even though there is no Ack. In the present embodiment, the connection check is transmitted again once even though there is no Ack, so the power saving mode transition notification is transmitted when the Ack for step S56 cannot be confirmed (step S57). Note that the power saving mode transition notification may be transmitted only when the Ack cannot be confirmed even once (step S57).

  The answering machine 32 may return Ack when receiving the normal mode transition notification in step S64, and release the answering machine mode with a predetermined time lag after the reply. This is to take into account that the central control circuit block 120 of the IP telephone 10-1 takes time to restart the operation.

  In addition, as described above, there may be a case where the IP telephone 10 and the OA device 20 correspond in a many-to-one relationship. A specific example of the many-to-one relationship is a case where a single user uses two personal computers. In this case, even if one of the personal computers is turned off, a situation is possible in which business is performed by the other personal computer. Therefore, when both the personal computers and not the personal computers are turned off, the IP telephone 10-1 transmits a power saving mode transition notification.

  The above telephone system and telephone can be realized by hardware, software, or a combination thereof. The standby power reduction method performed by the telephone system and the telephone can also be realized by hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Here, “realized by software” means realized by a computer reading and executing a program.

  The program may be stored using various types of non-transitory computer readable media and supplied to the computer. Non-transitory computer readable media include various types of tangible storage media. Examples of non-transitory computer readable media include magnetic recording media (for example, flexible disks, magnetic tapes, hard disk drives), magneto-optical recording media (for example, magneto-optical disks), CD-ROMs (Read Only Memory), CD- R, CD-R / W, semiconductor memory (for example, mask ROM, PROM (Programmable ROM), EPROM (Erasable PROM), flash ROM, RAM (random access memory)). The program may also be supplied to the computer by various types of transitory computer readable media. Examples of transitory computer readable media include electrical signals, optical signals, and electromagnetic waves. The temporary computer-readable medium can supply the program to the computer via a wired communication path such as an electric wire and an optical fiber, or a wireless communication path.

  A part or all of the above-described embodiment can be described as in the following supplementary notes, but is not limited thereto.

(Appendix 1) A telephone connected to a device having a communication function via a network,
A control unit having at least a power control function;
A telephone function unit having at least a function as a telephone; and
A power source for the telephone function unit provided separately from the power source for the control unit;
With
When the control unit makes an inquiry to the device as to whether or not the device is operating and determines that a positive response to the inquiry has not been returned, the power supply is turned on. A telephone set characterized in that supply of power to the telephone function unit is interrupted by control.

(Appendix 2) The telephone set according to appendix 1,
The power supply control unit controls the power supply when a positive response to the inquiry is returned from the device when the supply of power to the telephone function unit is interrupted. To resume the supply of power to the telephone function unit,
The telephone function unit starts to operate when the supply of power is started.

(Supplementary note 3) The telephone set according to supplementary note 1 or 2,
In response to the request, it is further connected via a network with an answering machine that supports answering for communication to the requesting telephone,
When a positive response to the inquiry is not returned, the control unit requests the answering machine to respond to the answering machine for communication addressed to the telephone, and responds to the request. The telephone is characterized in that the interruption of the supply of power to the telephone function unit is suspended until all positive responses are returned from the answering machine.

(Appendix 4) The telephone set according to appendix 3,
When a positive response to the inquiry is returned from the device, the control unit requests the answering machine to cancel the answering machine correspondence with respect to the telephone, and responds to the request. The telephone is characterized in that the supply of power to the telephone function unit is resumed after a positive response to the answering machine is returned from the answering machine.

(Appendix 5) The telephone set according to any one of appendices 1 to 4,
The telephone function unit includes hardware for realizing a function as a telephone.

(Appendix 6) A telephone system including a device having a communication function and a telephone connected to the device via a network,
When the device receives an inquiry as to whether or not it is operating from the telephone, if the device itself is operating, it returns a positive response to the inquiring telephone,
The telephone system according to any one of appendices 1 to 5, wherein the telephone is the telephone system according to any one of appendices 1 to 5.

(Supplementary note 7) The telephone system according to supplementary note 6,
In addition, including an answering machine,
When there is a request from the telephone to respond to the answering machine for the communication addressed to the telephone, the answering machine issues an acknowledgment to the telephone and starts the response. A telephone system characterized in that if there is a request to end correspondence with an answering machine for communication addressed to a telephone, an acknowledgment is made to the telephone and the telephone is terminated.

(Supplementary Note 8) A standby power reduction method performed by a telephone connected to a device having a communication function via a network,
The device is inquired as to whether or not it is operating, and when a positive response to the inquiry is not returned, the function as a telephone is mainly realized by controlling the power supply. A method for reducing standby power, characterized in that supply of power to a telephone function unit is interrupted.

(Supplementary note 9) A standby power reduction program for causing a computer to function as a telephone connected to a device having a communication function via a network,
The computer,
A control unit having at least a power control function;
A telephone function unit having at least a function as a telephone; and
A power source for the telephone function unit provided separately from the power source for the control unit;
With
When the control unit makes an inquiry to the device as to whether or not the device is operating and determines that a positive response to the inquiry has not been returned, the power supply is turned on. A standby power reduction program for causing a telephone to function by interrupting supply of power to the telephone function unit by controlling.

10-1, 10-2 to 10-N IP telephones 20-1, 20-2 to 20-MOA equipment 30 Management system 31 Switchboard 32 Answering machine 40-1 First network 40-2 Second network 110 PHY circuit block 111 PHY control device 112 First power supply 120 Central control circuit block 121 Central control device 122 Second power supply 123 Display device 124 Sound device 125 Operation button

Claims (9)

A telephone connected to a device having a communication function via a network,
A control unit having at least a power control function;
A telephone function unit having at least a function as a telephone; and
A power source for the telephone function unit provided separately from the power source for the control unit;
With
When the control unit makes an inquiry to the device as to whether or not the device is operating and determines that a positive response to the inquiry has not been returned, the power supply is turned on. A telephone set characterized in that supply of power to the telephone function unit is interrupted by control. The telephone set according to claim 1, wherein
The power supply control unit controls the power supply when a positive response to the inquiry is returned from the device when the supply of power to the telephone function unit is interrupted. To resume the supply of power to the telephone function unit,
The telephone function unit starts to operate when the supply of power is started. The telephone set according to claim 1 or 2,
In response to the request, it is further connected via a network with an answering machine that supports answering for communication to the requesting telephone,
When a positive response to the inquiry is not returned, the control unit requests the answering machine to respond to the answering machine for communication addressed to the telephone, and responds to the request. The telephone is characterized in that the interruption of the supply of power to the telephone function unit is suspended until all positive responses are returned from the answering machine. The telephone set according to claim 3,
When a positive response to the inquiry is returned from the device, the control unit requests the answering machine to cancel the answering machine correspondence with respect to the telephone, and responds to the request. The telephone is characterized in that the supply of power to the telephone function unit is resumed after a positive response to the answering machine is returned from the answering machine. The telephone set according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The telephone function unit includes hardware for realizing a function as a telephone. A telephone system including a device having a communication function and a telephone connected to the device via a network,
When the device receives an inquiry as to whether or not it is operating from the telephone, if the device itself is operating, it returns a positive response to the inquiring telephone,
6. The telephone system according to claim 1, wherein the telephone is the telephone set according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The telephone system according to claim 6, wherein
In addition, including an answering machine,
When there is a request from the telephone to respond to the answering machine for the communication addressed to the telephone, the answering machine issues an acknowledgment to the telephone and starts the response. A telephone system characterized in that if there is a request to end correspondence with an answering machine for communication addressed to a telephone, an acknowledgment is made to the telephone and the telephone is terminated. A standby power reduction method performed by a telephone connected via a network with a device having a communication function,
The device is inquired as to whether or not it is operating, and when a positive response to the inquiry is not returned, the function as a telephone is mainly realized by controlling the power supply. A method for reducing standby power, characterized in that supply of power to a telephone function unit is interrupted. A standby power reduction program for causing a computer to function as a telephone connected to a device having a communication function via a network,
The computer,
A control unit having at least a power control function;
A telephone function unit having at least a function as a telephone; and
A power source for the telephone function unit provided separately from the power source for the control unit;
With
When the control unit makes an inquiry to the device as to whether or not the device is operating and determines that a positive response to the inquiry has not been returned, the power supply is turned on. A standby power reduction program for causing a telephone to function by interrupting supply of power to the telephone function unit by controlling.

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