JP2000101755A - Private branch telephone system and calling method of private branch telephone system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce communication cost at the time of calling a outside line telephone and further to efficiently utilize a LAN when the LAN where a private line is used between plural offices scattered at respective places is constructed. SOLUTION: This private branch telephone system is a LAN telephone system that connects between a Tokyo office A and an Osaka office B with a private line, and a controller PC 15 selects the line adapter 20 of the Osaka office B whose area code is '06', for instance, when the area code of an outside line telephone number called from a communication terminal (PS 14 or extension terminal 12) of the Tokyo office A is '06' and controls the communication of the system so that a call out can be performed from the line adapter 20.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a private telephone system in which a private line LAN is constructed between a plurality of offices and factories distributed in various places, and a calling method for the private telephone system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, private branch exchanges (hereinafter referred to as PBXs) have been individually arranged in offices and factories distributed in various places.
) And the introduction of key telephones.

In recent years, a so-called LAN (Local Ar
ea Network: a short-range network), with the appearance of a telephone system on it. As described above, a dedicated line is used between a plurality of offices and factories distributed around the country.
N and WAN (Wide Area Network)
, It becomes possible to unify these dispersed offices and factories and operate them with one system.
That is, for example, in a company that has offices in Tokyo and Osaka, it is possible to reduce the communication cost by constructing a LAN with a dedicated line between these offices in Tokyo and Osaka and incorporating it in the local telephone system. It has become. Note that a dedicated line is a line provided by a telecommunications carrier and exclusively connects a specific communication section required by a user.

[0004]

In the case where, for example, an outside line is called from offices or factories dispersed in various places, the calling office or the like becomes the originator as before. ing. That is, for example, even in the case where a private telephone system is constructed between the Tokyo and Osaka offices as described above, for example, when calling from the Tokyo office to another company in Osaka Prefecture, for example, The outside office calls the other company directly from the Tokyo office. Therefore, when making such long-distance outside line calls, there is a problem that telephone charges (communication costs) increase.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has been made in consideration of the communication cost for making an external telephone call when a LAN using a dedicated line is constructed between a plurality of offices dispersed in various places. It is an object of the present invention to provide a private telephone system and a method for calling the private telephone system, which can reduce the number of calls and can effectively utilize the LAN.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A private telephone system according to the present invention has at least two components.
A local communication network distributed at each of the above points, a public line connection means provided in each local communication network and provided with a telephone number for public line connection, and provided in the local communication network and at least A local communication network connected by a dedicated line, and a public line connection telephone number called from a communication terminal in the local communication network. Based on the public line connection telephone number assigned to the public line connection means in each local communication network, based on the public line connection telephone number which is the lowest communication charge when connecting to the public line. It has communication control means for selecting the line connection means.

Here, the communication control means includes a correspondence table between the public line connection telephone numbers in a plurality of regions and the public line connection telephone numbers assigned to the public line connection means in each local communication network. The selection is performed using the correspondence table of the telephone numbers. Further, the communication control means includes a correspondence table of distances between the point where the public line connection means exists in each local communication network and a plurality of areas, and performs the selection using the correspondence table of the distances.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a calling method for a private telephone system according to the present invention provides a private telephone which connects local communication networks distributed at least at two or more points by a dedicated line. A calling method of the system, which is a telephone number for public line connection called from a communication terminal in a local communication network, and a telephone number for public line connection given to public line connection means in each local communication network. Based on the above, a public line connection means in the local communication network to which a public line connection telephone number that gives the lowest communication fee when connecting to the public line is added is selected.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As an embodiment to which the private telephone system and the calling method of the private telephone system of the present invention are applied, for example, LANs of a plurality of offices distributed in various places such as Tokyo and Osaka are connected by a dedicated line. A connected LAN telephone system will be described as an example.

In the example of FIG. 1, among the plurality of offices, an office A in Tokyo and an office B in Osaka are exemplified.
The LANs of the Tokyo and Osaka offices are both connected by dedicated lines. Tokyo office A LAN
Within, CS (cell station: base station) 11 and PS (pe
An rsonal station (slave unit) 14 can perform wireless communication, and a CS 11 and an extension terminal 12, a line adapter 10 for external line connection, a router 13 connected to a dedicated line, and the like are connected to each other. Similarly, in the LAN of the office B in Osaka, wireless communication is possible between the CS 21 and the PS 214, and the CS 21 and the extension terminal 22, the line adapter 20 for external line connection, the router 23 connected to the dedicated line, etc. It is connected. In each office, only a part of the plurality of CSs and PSs and extension terminals is shown. In the example of FIG. 1, the line adapters 11 and 21 are connected to an existing public telephone line (for example, a line of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT)).

In the present embodiment, a LAN telephone system such as a so-called "intermeser" is introduced into the environment shown in FIG. 1, and the whole system is provided in one controller PC (for example, in an office A in Tokyo). The controller PC 15 controls the line adapter 11 in the office A in Tokyo and the line adapter 21 in the office B in Osaka.

That is, for example, from the office A in Tokyo,
An example in which an outside line is called to another company located in the area where the area code of Osaka prefecture is “06” will be described.
When the telephone number of the call destination from the extension terminal 14 or the extension terminal 12 is checked, and the area code of the telephone number of the call destination is, for example, “06” (call to the area where the area code is “06”) In the case of calling), the line adapter 20 of the office B in Osaka is selected via the routers 13 and 23 and the dedicated line, and the line adapter 20 of the office B in Osaka is connected to another company of the call destination. Control to make (call) a call. Conversely, a case where an outside line is called from the office B in Osaka to another company located in the area where the area code of Tokyo is "03" will be described as an example.
Checks the telephone number of the call destination from the PS4 or the extension terminal 22 in the office B in Osaka, and if the area code of the telephone number of the call destination is, for example, "03" In the case where a call is made to the area where the station number is “03”), the line adapter 10 of the office A in Tokyo is selected via the routers 23 and 13 and the dedicated line, and the line adapter 10 of the office A in Tokyo is selected , So as to make a call (call) to another company of the call destination. In the example of FIG. 1,
Although only the offices in Tokyo and Osaka are taken as an example, the offices connected to the dedicated line are not limited to the offices in Tokyo and Osaka, but may be a number of other offices. When making a call, the controller PC 15 performs the same control as described above.

As described above, the controller PC 15
Checks the telephone number of the call destination from each terminal in each office in the telephone system, and changes the area code of the telephone number of the call destination to the area code (R) of the area where each office is located. (03) for office A in Tokyo and “06” for office B in Osaka), and when the telephone number of the call destination corresponds to the area code of any of those areas , The call is controlled via the line adapter of the local office.

In order to do this, the controller PC 15 has, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, a table indicating the correspondence between the location of each office in the telephone system and the area code of the area. That is, the area code table shown in FIG. 2 indicates that the offices in the telephone system include office A in Tokyo, office B in Osaka,
When there is an office C in Sapporo, an office D in Yokohama, etc., these offices and their area codes “0”
3, "06", "011", "045", etc. are described. The controller PC 15 performs the above-described control with reference to the area code table as shown in FIG. It is needless to say that the table of FIG. 2 is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this example.

On the other hand, for example, the destination of a call from each office as an outside line telephone may naturally be other than the location of each office. That is, it is naturally possible to make an outside line call to an area other than the area described in the area code table of FIG.

In such a case, the controller PC 15
For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the location of each office, the area code of the area, the distance from each office, and the call charge per unit call time (or unit call) when making an outside line call to each area. Referring to the distance table, which is a correspondence table of (call time per charge), it is determined which of the offices calls the caller who has the lowest call cost and uses the result according to the result of the determination. Select a line adapter.

That is, the distance table shown in FIG. 3 is a table for the office A in Tokyo, for example, among the offices in the telephone system, and is the area code "03" of the area where the office A is located. "
And the area code "1" of each area other than the area code "03"
43 "," 045 ", ...," 052 ", ...
Each area with an area code other than "03" and the "03"
XX (Km), XX (Km), ...
, XXX (Km),... And fees YY (yen), YY (yen),.
Similarly, for example, as a table for the office B in Osaka, the area code "06" of the area where the office B is located and the area code "06" are shown as a table for the office B in Osaka. Area code "078", "07
5 ”,...,“ 052 ”,.
XX (Km), XX (Km), ..., XXX (K) between each area of area code other than
m), ..., and the fee YY corresponding to each of those distances
(Circle), YY (circle), ..., YYY (circle), ... are shown.

Referring to the distance table shown in FIG. 3, the controller PC 15 performs control such that a call is originated from the office line adapter having the lowest call charge as described above. The distance table in FIG. 3 is an example, and it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to this example. Further, the table in FIG. 3 shows, for example, the correspondence between the distance and the charge in Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation. However, the correspondence between the distance and the charge when another communication company is used may be used. It is also possible to select the one with the lowest communication fee among the companies. Further, in the present embodiment, an example has been given in which the controller PC 15 is provided with the area code table of FIG. 2 and the distance table of FIG. 3 as separate tables. Controller PC
It is also possible to prepare for 15.

The flow of the control operation in the controller PC 15 for selecting a line adapter using each table as described above can be represented, for example, as a flowchart as shown in FIG. It is needless to say that the control flow shown in this flowchart is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this example.

In FIG. 4, the controller PC15 is
First, as step S1, L configuring the telephone system
It is determined whether a telephone number has been input from each terminal in the AN. If it is determined in step S1 that a telephone number has been input from the terminal, the process proceeds to step S2.
When it is determined that there is no input, the determination processing of step S1 is repeated.

If it is determined in step S1 that a telephone number has been input from the terminal, the controller PC 15 fetches the input telephone number in step S2.

Next, the controller PC 15 refers to, for example, the area code table shown in FIG. 2 as step S3, and further, in the next step S4, stores the telephone number of the call destination in the area code table. It is determined whether there is an office corresponding to the area code. This step S4
When it is determined that there is an office corresponding to the area code of the telephone number of the call destination, the process proceeds to step S5 and thereafter, and there is no office corresponding to the area code of the telephone number of the call destination. If it is determined, the process proceeds to step S7 and subsequent steps.

If it is determined in step S4 that there is an office corresponding to the area code of the telephone number of the call destination, the controller PC 15 specifies the line adapter of the office corresponding to the area code in step S5.

Next, the controller PC 15 makes a call to the call destination using the specified line adapter in step S6.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S4 that there is no office corresponding to the area code of the telephone number of the call destination,
The controller PC 15 refers to the distance table as shown in FIG. 3 as step S7, and then proceeds to step S8
And selects the office closest to the area code of the telephone number of the call destination in the distance table.

Next, in step S9, the controller PC 15 specifies a line adapter in the selected office. After that, the controller PC 15 proceeds to the process of step S6, and makes a call to the call destination using the specified line adapter.

As is apparent from the above description, the telephone system according to the present embodiment, when making an outside line call from an office in which a LAN is constructed using a dedicated line, the toll number of the called telephone number Based on the station number and the area code of each office, the office where communication fee is lowest or the nearest office is calculated, and the call is transmitted to the public telephone line network via the line adapter of the office. As a result, the dedicated line can be used effectively, and the call charge of the outside line telephone can be reduced.

Now, when a user is a subscriber to the Internet today, when a call is made, the provider contracted by the user attempts to establish an Internet connection with the provider closest to the call destination. There is a known service in which a provider closest to the call destination attempts to connect to the call destination via a public line so as to reduce the communication fee. In addition, it is necessary to have a contract with a predetermined provider, and a large-scale global communication network called the Internet is required.

On the other hand, the telephone system according to the present embodiment connects to the public line of the call destination via, for example, a dedicated line connecting the branches of the company, so that a contract with the provider is unnecessary. In addition, it can be realized with a small-scale communication network, and can be realized at a much lower cost than when the Internet is used.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment described as an example, and various changes can be made in accordance with the design and the like without departing from the technical idea of the present invention. Of course, it is.

[0032]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a private telephone system according to the present invention, wherein a public line connection telephone number called from a communication terminal in a local communication network and a public line connection means in each local communication network are provided. Having a communication control means for selecting a public line connection means to which a public line connection telephone number which is a minimum communication charge when connecting to the public line is provided based on the public line connection telephone number given to the public line. Thus, for example, when a LAN using a dedicated line is constructed between a plurality of offices distributed in various places, communication costs for making an external call can be reduced, and the LAN can be effectively used. Is possible.

A private telephone system according to a second aspect of the present invention provides a public line connection telephone number assigned to a public line connection means in each of a plurality of local communication networks. By providing a correspondence table with numbers and making the selection using the correspondence table of the telephone numbers, selection for reducing communication costs is facilitated.

A private telephone system according to a third aspect of the present invention includes a correspondence table of distances between a point where a public line connection means is present in each local communication network and a plurality of areas. By making the above selection using the correspondence table, it becomes easy to select the public line connection means with the lowest communication fee.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a calling method for a private telephone system according to the present invention, wherein a public line connection telephone number called from a communication terminal in a local communication network and a public line in each local communication network are provided. A public line connection means in the local communication network to which a public line connection telephone number which is the lowest communication fee when connecting to a public line is provided based on the public line connection telephone number given to the connection means. Is selected, for example, when a LAN using a dedicated line is constructed between a plurality of offices distributed in various places, it is possible to reduce the communication cost when making an external telephone call, It can be used effectively.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system configuration example of a telephone system according to an embodiment to which the present invention is applied;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an area code table;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a distance table.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of a line adapter selecting operation in the controller PC at the time of outgoing line transmission.

[Explanation of symbols]

10, 20 ... line adapter, 11, 21 ... CS (base station), 12, 22 ... extension terminal, 13, 12 ... router, 1
4, 24 PS (slave unit), 15 Controller PC

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A local communication network distributed at least at each of two or more points and connected to each other by a dedicated line, and a public provided in each of the local communication networks and provided with a telephone number for public line connection. In a private telephone system provided with line connection means and a communication terminal provided in the local communication network and capable of calling at least a public line, a public line connection called from a communication terminal in the local communication network is provided. Based on the public telephone connection number and the public telephone connection telephone number assigned to the public telephone connection means in each of the local communication networks, the public telephone connection telephone number that is the lowest communication charge when connecting to the public telephone line is A private telephone system comprising communication control means for selecting the assigned public line connection means. 2. The communication control means includes a correspondence table between public line connection telephone numbers in a plurality of areas and public line connection telephone numbers assigned to the public line connection means in each local communication network. 2. The private telephone system according to claim 1, wherein the selection is performed using a correspondence table of the telephone numbers. 3. The communication control means includes: a distance between a point in the local communication network where the public line connection means exists and a plurality of regions; a call charge per unit call time; or a call per unit call charge. The private telephone system according to claim 1, further comprising a time correspondence table, wherein the selection is performed using the correspondence table. 4. A calling method for a private telephone system in which local communication networks distributed in at least two or more points are connected by a dedicated line, wherein a call is originated from a communication terminal in the local communication network. Based on the telephone number for public line connection and the telephone number for public line connection given to the public line connection means in each local communication network. A public line connection means in the local communication network to which a local telephone number is assigned.