JPH09163019A - Automatic line switching device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate useless charging time and to execute the data communication processing which is optimum according to a terminal state by providing a line automatic switching device between a line wire and an extension and connecting the line wire and the extension by switching them. SOLUTION: A line automatic switching device 1 is composed of an incoming control part 2, a switch control part 3, a switching part 4, an on/off hook detection part 5, a time monitoring part 6, a response signal transmission part 7 and a terminal state monitoring part 9, etc. When the line automatic switching device 1 is called by a line wire, a bell ringing signal is transmitted to an extension. When an off-hook is performed, the line wire is connected with the extension and a speech is performed. When an on-hook is performed, the line wire is disconnected. The bell ringing signal is transmitted, and when an off-hook is not performed even if fixed time passes, the off hook is performed. Communication is started when a response exists after a response signal is transmitted to the line wire. The on-hook is performed after communication is terminated and the line wire is disconnected, and when the response does not exist even if fixed time passes, the off-hook is performed and the line wire is disconnected.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic line switching device for automatically switching between an outside line and an extension line.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 7 (b), the line switching device has a structure shown in FIG. When the center does not respond, ring the bell of the telephone to notify the user, make a call when the user picks up the handset of the telephone and goes off-hook, and end the call. When the handset was taken down, the outside line was disconnected by hooking on the other hand, while the outside line was disconnected when the user did not pick up the handset of the telephone even after a lapse of a predetermined time. For this reason, there is a charge for the time from when the call is made from the outside line and when the line is off-hook to when the handset is on-hook to disconnect the outside line, or until the outside line is forcibly disconnected after a predetermined time has elapsed. Hereinafter, FIG. 7 will be briefly described.

FIG. 7 shows an explanatory diagram of the prior art. FIG. 7A shows a block diagram of a conventional technique. In FIG. 7A, the center 21 is connected to the line switching device 2 via a public line.
2 are connected to provide various services.

The line switching device 22 switches and connects an extension telephone set 27, a communication terminal 28, and the like to an outside line (public line), and includes an incoming call control unit 23, a response signal sending unit 24, and a switching unit. The control unit 25 and the switching unit 26 are included.

The incoming call control unit 23 controls incoming calls from outside lines. The response signal transmission unit 24 transmits a response signal, for example, a response signal to the center 21.

The switching control unit 25 controls the switching unit 26 when an incoming call is received from an outside line to control the telephone 27 and the communication terminal 28.
It is connected to the outside line by switching to the applicable one. The switching unit 26 switches the external line to an arbitrary internal line and connects it.

The telephone 27 is a telephone connected to an extension line. The communication terminal 28 is a terminal connected to an extension for exchanging data with the center 21 and performing various business processes.

FIG. 7B shows the conventional charging. The billing in the upper row starts billing when an incoming call is received from an outside line, sends a response signal to the above-mentioned center, rings the telephone of the extension telephone 27 when there is no response, and makes a call when off-hook. , Charges the time until the line is disconnected and the outside line is disconnected after the call ends. As described above, in the past, the charge was made from the time when the call arrived from the outside line until the time when the outside line was disconnected by going on-hook.

In the lower billing, the billing is started when an incoming call is received from an external line, and when the response signal is transmitted to the above-mentioned center and there is no response, the bell of the telephone 27 of the extension is ringed but is not off-hook. Will charge for the time until the outside line is forcibly disconnected after a certain period of time. As described above, in the past, after the call from the outside line, even after a certain period of time, the off line is not hooked and the outside line is disconnected.

[0010]

As described above, in FIG. 7 of the related art, the time from when the line is switched from the outside line to the line switching device to start charging, when the handset is lowered to on-hook to disconnect the outside line, Alternatively, when the handset is not picked up, the fee is charged until the outside line is disconnected after a certain period of time, so that the fee may be charged even when the telephone is not actually called, or the center 2 may be charged.
There is a problem that the telephone 27 cannot be preferentially called during communication between the communication terminal 1 and the communication terminal 28.

In order to solve these problems, the present invention solves these problems by off-hooking a telephone when a call arrives from an outside line, making a telephone call, and notifying the other party (for example, a center) of the terminal status to appropriate data communication and data communication. When the telephone is off-hook while it is interrupted, it automatically switches to the telephone and makes a telephone call, eliminating unnecessary charging time, performing optimal data communication processing according to the terminal status, and the external line The purpose is to interrupt a telephone call at any time even during communication.

[0012]

Means for solving the problem will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, an automatic line switching device 1 is provided between an external line and an internal line to perform various controls such as switching between the external line and the internal line for connection.

Next, the operation will be described. When the automatic line switching device 1 is called from an outside line, a bell ringing signal is sent to the extension line to connect the outside line to the extension line to make a call when it is off-hook, and disconnects the outside line to ring the bell when it is on-hook. When a signal is sent and it does not go off-hook after a certain period of time, it goes off-hook to send a response signal to the outside line, then starts communication when there is a response, and on-hook after the communication ends to disconnect the outside line. When there is no response after a certain period of time, it goes off hook and disconnects the outside line.

When the automatic line switching apparatus 1 is called from an outside line, a bell ringing signal is sent to the extension line, and if the line is not off hook after a certain period of time, it goes off hook and then the state of the terminal connected to the extension line. Detected, power supply O
When it is found to be FF, the terminal state (power off) is sent to the outside line, then the outside line is disconnected, and when it is found to be in operation, the terminal state (operating) is sent to the outside line, then wait for a certain period of time and retry a predetermined number of times. On-hook to disconnect the external line when a certain number of retries are completed, or when it is found to be inactive, send the terminal state (inactive) to the external line, connect to the external line for communication, and terminate communication I try to cut the outside line by hooking on.

Further, while the line automatic switching apparatus 1 is called from an outside line and goes off-hook to connect to an extension terminal, communication is performed,
When the off-hook of the telephone of another extension is detected, the outside line during communication is disconnected and interrupted, the call from the relevant telephone is sent to the outside line to connect and make a call, and the outside line interrupted at the end of the call The call is re-established and the external line and the interrupted internal line are reconnected to restart communication.

Therefore, when an incoming call is received from an outside line, the telephone device goes off-hook to make a telephone call, the terminal state is notified to the other party (for example, the center) for proper data communication, or the telephone device goes off-hook during data communication. When it is interrupted, it automatically switches to a telephone and makes a telephone call, thereby eliminating wasteful billing time, performing optimal data communication processing according to the terminal status, and external line data communication It is possible to interrupt and make a telephone call at any time even during the period.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment and operation of the present invention will be sequentially described in detail with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows a system configuration diagram of the present invention.
In FIG. 1, an automatic line switching device 1 connects an external line and an internal line, and includes an incoming call control unit 2, a switching control unit 3,
Switching unit 4, on / off hook detection unit 5, time monitoring unit 6,
The response signal sending unit 7 and the terminal status monitoring unit 9 are included.

The incoming call control unit 2 receives an incoming call from an outside line. The switching control unit 3 sends a switching control signal to the switching unit 4 to switch between an external line and an internal line for connection.

The switching unit 4 switches the external line and any of the internal lines to connect them. The on / off hook detecting section 5 detects an on-hook or an off-hook of an outside line or an extension line.

The time monitoring unit 6 monitors time. The response signal sending unit 7 sends a response signal to the outside line. The terminal status monitoring unit 9 monitors the communication terminals 12 and 13 and detects the status (power OFF, operating, and dormant).

The telephone 11 is a telephone connected to an extension line. The communication terminals 12 and 13 are terminals connected to extension lines, respectively, and here transmit / receive data to / from the center 14 to perform various business processes.

The center 14 provides various services via an outside line. The public line 15 is a public line that connects the center 14 and the automatic line switching device 1.

Next, the operation of the configuration of FIG. 1 will be described in detail in the order shown in the flowchart of FIG. In FIG. 2, a call occurs at S1. This is a call from the outside line to the automatic line switching apparatus 1.

In step S2, a telephone is connected. This is connected to the extension of the predetermined number connected to the telephone 11 via the incoming call control unit 2 and the switching unit 4 of FIG. At S3, the bell rings. This sends a bell ringing signal to the extension connected in S2 (for example, sends a ringing signal of the outside line to the extension as it is) and rings the bell of the telephone.

In S4, t is monitored. In S3, a bell ringing signal is sent to the extension to ring the bell of the telephone 11, and then a timer is activated to monitor the time. When the telephone is off-hook during time monitoring (when the handset of the telephone is lifted), telephone communication processing is performed in S5 to S10.
On the other hand, if the user is not off-hook even after the lapse of t hours, it is determined that the user who lifts the telephone is out of the office. Therefore, the data communication process is performed in S11 to S15.

In S5, since it is found that the telephone receiver is lifted off-hook in S4, an external line connection (connecting the lifted extension of the receiver with an external line) is performed. S6 is
Make a phone call.

In step S7, the on-hook state is detected (the handset is dropped). In S8, the outside line is cut. In step S9, after connecting to the outside line in step S5, it is determined whether or not the voice mail and the silence of the fax are detected. If yes,
Since it was found that there was no sound for a predetermined time, on-hook is performed in S7 and the outside line is cut in S8. On the other hand, in the case of NO, since sound has been detected, communication is performed in S10.

Off hook of S1 to S4, S5
Through S10, when a call is made from an outside line, the extension is connected to the telephone of the extension to ring the bell, and when the handset is lifted off-hook, the extension is connected to the outside line to make a telephone call, answering machine or It becomes possible to communicate when the FAX detects a sound. At this time, the charge is the time from the external line connection of S5 to the telephone call of S6 to the on-hook of S7, or the external line connection of S5 to the on-hook of S7 through the communication of S10 when no sound is detected in S9. It is the time until the on-hook of S7 when no sound is detected in S9 after connecting to the outside line in S5 and YES in S9, and it is possible to eliminate wasteful billing only by the time actually used.

In S11, it is determined that the off-hook is not performed even after the lapse of the time t of S4, so the outside line is off-hook.
S12 transmits a response signal. In S11, the outside line is hooked off to connect with the other party, for example, the center 14, and a response signal is transmitted.

In step S13, t monitoring is performed. If there is a response signal, communication is performed between the center and the terminal in S14, and S
When the communication ends at 15, the outside line is hooked to disconnect and end. On the other hand, if there is no response signal even after the lapse of t time in S13, the response from the center or the other party is t.
Since it is not received even after a lapse of time, the outside line is hooked off and disconnected in S15, and the process ends.

By the above steps S1 to S15, when a call is made from the outside line, the telephone is connected to the extension line to ring the bell, and when the handset is not lifted up and off-hooked, the outside line is off-hooked to respond. A communication terminal 12, 1 which transmits a signal and is connected to the other party (for example, a center) and an extension when a response signal is received within a certain time.
It becomes possible to perform data communication with 3) and to disconnect the outside line by on-hooking when the response signal is not received within a fixed time. At this time, it is possible to eliminate wasteful charging only by the time actually used from the off-hook of S11 to the on-hook of S15.

FIG. 3 shows an operation explanatory diagram (FIG. 2) of the present invention. This is the state in each case of the flowchart of FIG. The upper row sends a bell ringing signal to the extension to ring the telephone's bell when a call from the outside line occurs, and when the telephone is off-hook (when the handset of the telephone is lifted), the telephones of the outside and extension lines Connect to the device to start billing and make a call, and at the end of the call, hang up the handset to disconnect the outside line (billing). In addition, since the fax and the answering machine are off-hook when the extension bell is rung and on-hook when no sound is detected for a certain period of time, the time until this certain period of time is charged.
At this time, when the sound is detected before the elapse of a certain time in S9 of FIG. 2, the time of communication with the other party (for example, the center 14) (the communication time of S10) is added, You will be charged for the time to go on-hook.

The lower stage sends a bell ringing signal to the extension to ring the bell of the telephone when a call is made from an outside line, and when the telephone is not off-hook after a certain period of time (S4 in FIG. 2). After the elapse of time t), the outside line is hooked off and a billing start and response signal is transmitted to the outside line partner (for example, the center 14). Then, when there is no response from the center 14, the outside line is disconnected after a certain period of time has passed, and the billing up to this point is performed. When communicating with the center 14, this communication time is added, and the time until the external line is disconnected is charged.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart (part 2) for explaining the operation of the present invention. This is to prevent the useless charges from being generated by detecting the state of the terminal connected to the extension (power supply OFF, operating, and dormant) and transmitting it as a state signal to the center 14.

In FIG. 4, S21 to S25 are the same as S1 to S5 in FIG. S26
Indicates the status of the terminal connected to the extension (power off, operating,
(During sleep) is detected. In S21 to S25, the bell ringing signal was sent to the telephone of the internal line to ring the bell when there was a call from the outside line, but it was found that the call did not go off hook even after the elapse of t hours. S25
After off-hooking the outside line with, the state of the terminal of the extension line (power supply O
FF, operating, dormant) is detected. When the power of the communication terminal connected to the extension is OFF, the process proceeds to S27. If it is in operation, the process proceeds to S29. If it is not in operation, the process proceeds to S34.

In S27, since it is detected that the power of the terminal is OFF in S26, a status signal (power OFF) is transmitted to the other party (center 14) via the outside line. S28 goes on-hook and disconnects the outside line.

If the power supply to the terminal is detected to be OFF in S27 and S28, the terminal status (power supply OF
After sending F) to the center 14 to notify it, the outside line can be immediately disconnected, and the required charge can be reduced.

In S29, since it is detected in S26 that the terminal is in operation, a status signal (in operation) is transmitted to the other party (center 14) via the outside line. S30 waits for a fixed time.

At step S31, a retry is made. This retries the detection of the status of the terminal connected to the extension. S32
Determines whether the retry is within a predetermined number of times. If YES, the process returns to S26. In the case of NO, the outside line is cut off by hooking in S33.

When the terminal is detected to be in operation by the above S29 to S33, the terminal state (in operation) is transmitted to the center 14 to inform the center 14, wait for a fixed time, and retry is repeated for a predetermined number of times. When it crosses, you can cut on the outside line and cut the outside line, reducing the charge to the minimum required.

In S34, since it is detected in S26 that the terminal is idle, a status signal (inactive) is transmitted to the other party (center 14) via the outside line. In step S35, communication is performed between the center and the terminal.

In step S36, the outside wire is cut off by hooking on. If the terminal is detected to be in the dormant state by the above S34 to S36, the terminal status (dormant) is set to the center 1
4 to notify the user, then communicate, and after the communication is completed, the on-hook is performed to disconnect the outside line, and the required charge can be reduced.

FIG. 5 shows an operation explanatory diagram (FIG. 4) of the present invention. In FIG. 5, when a call is made from an outside line, a bell ringing signal is sent to the extension line to ring the bell of the connected telephone, but since it was not off-hook after a certain period of time, it goes off-hook (FIG. 4). From S21 to S2
5). Then, the power of the terminal is turned off, the terminal is operated, or the terminal is stopped.

When the power of the terminal is turned off, a status signal (power off) is transmitted to the center 14 via the outside line,
On-hook to disconnect the outside line. In this case, as shown in the figure, the charge is made from the time of off-hook in S25 of FIG. 4 to the time of on-hook to disconnect the outside line.

When the terminal is in operation, the status signal (in operation) is transmitted to the center 14 via the outside line, and when a predetermined time has elapsed, the terminal is in operation even if the retry is repeated a predetermined number of times. On-hook and disconnect the outside line.
When it is no longer in operation, data communication is performed, and after the data communication is completed, on-hook and disconnect the outside line. In this case, as shown in the figure, the charge is made from the time of off-hook in S25 of FIG. 4 to the time of on-hook to disconnect the outside line.

When the terminal is in the dormant state, a status signal (during the dormant state) is transmitted to the center 14 via the outside line to perform data communication, and after the data communication is completed, the on line is disconnected to disconnect the outside line. As shown in the figure, the charge in this case is S in FIG.
You will be charged for the time from off-hook at 25 to on-hook to disconnect the outside line.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart (No. 3) for explaining the operation of the present invention. This is the priority function of the telephone connected to the extension, and the off-hook from the telephone of the other extension is detected during the data communication between the center and the terminal in S14 of FIG. 2 described above. At this time, the data communication is interrupted, an external line is connected to the telephone to make a call, and the original data communication is restarted after the call is completed.

In FIG. 6, S41 is in communication with the center. In S42, the handset detects off-hook. If there is off-hook, the process proceeds to S43. If there is no off-hook, the process ends.

In S43, the center and the terminal are on-hook and the external line is disconnected (data communication is interrupted). S4
4 connects the telephone and the outside line.

In S45, a call is made. S46 goes off-hook. In S47, a telephone call is made. This is because the extension telephone set and the telephone set of the called party are connected to each other, and a telephone call is made between them.

In S48, the hook is turned on and the outside line is disconnected. In S49, the center is called. This is because the telephone call ends in S48, the receiver of the telephone is lowered, on-hook, and the outside line is disconnected, so that the center is called.

S50 is restarted between the center and the terminal. In S49, the call is made to the center for connection, and the data transmission between the center and the communication terminal via the external line and the internal line is restarted from the portion where the data transmission was interrupted.

As described above, during data communication between the center and the communication terminal via the outside line and the extension line, when the off-hook is detected by lifting the handset of the telephone of another extension line, the center line is used by using the outside line. When data communication is being carried out between the communication terminal and another extension communication terminal, the data communication is interrupted to disconnect the external line, and the call from the telephone is sent to this external line to connect and make a telephone call. . After the end of the telephone call, the center is called again to connect the center to the communication terminal via the external line and the internal line to restart the data communication from the interrupted portion. As a result, the telephone connected to the extension line can call the outside line at any time to make a telephone call with the other party.

[0055]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When a telephone call is made by off-hooking the telephone when called from an outside line, when the terminal status is notified to the other party (for example, the center) for proper data communication, or when the telephone is off-hook during data communication Since it adopts a configuration that interrupts and automatically switches to a telephone call and makes a telephone call, it is possible to eliminate unnecessary billing time, perform optimal data communication processing according to the terminal status, and use an external line for data Even during communication, it is possible to interrupt and make a telephone call at any time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart (part 1) for explaining the operation of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory diagram (FIG. 2) of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart (part 2) for explaining the operation of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory diagram (FIG. 4) of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart (part 3) for explaining the operation of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional technique.

[Explanation of Codes] 1: Automatic line switching device 2: Incoming call control unit 3: Switching control unit 4: Switching unit 5: On / off hook detection unit 6: Time monitoring unit 7: Response signal transmission unit 9: Terminal state monitoring unit 11 : Telephone 12, 13: Communication terminal 14: Center 15: Public line

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An automatic line switching device for automatically switching between an outside line and an inside line, when a call is made from the outside line, a bell ringing signal is sent to the inside line and the outside line is connected to the inside line to make a call when off hooked. , Means for disconnecting the outside line when it is on-hook, and off-hook when the bell ringing signal is sent out and it is not off-hook after a certain period of time, and a response signal is sent to the outside line It has means for starting communication with the connected terminal, disconnecting the outside line by on-hook after the communication ends, and disconnecting the outside line by on-hook when there is no response after a certain period of time. Automatic line switching device characterized by 2. An automatic line switching device for automatically switching between an extension line and an extension line, when a call is made from the outside line, a bell ringing signal is sent to the extension line, and if the off-hook is not made even after a lapse of a certain time, the extension line is disconnected. The status of the terminal connected to the terminal is detected, and when it is determined that the power is off, the terminal status (power of OF
F) is sent to the outside line, the outside line is disconnected, and when it is determined that the line is in operation, the terminal state (in operation) is sent to the outside line and after waiting for a certain period of time and retrying a predetermined number of times, the line is on-hook and the outside line Disconnection, or when it is determined that the terminal is out of service, the terminal state (suspended) is sent to the outside line, then the outside line is connected for communication, and when the communication is completed, a means for on-hook to disconnect the outside line is provided. Characteristic automatic line switching device. 3. An automatic line switching device for automatically switching between an external line and an internal line, when an off-hook of a telephone set of another internal line is detected during an off-hook call from an external line to connect to an internal line terminal. In addition, disconnecting the external line during communication to interrupt it, sending the call from the telephone to the external line to connect and make a call, disconnect the external line when the call ends and on-hook, and then call again An automatic line switching device comprising means for reconnecting an external line and an interrupted internal line to restart communication.