JP2000184022A - Key telephone set and key telephone system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow even a person difficult to recognize visible display to easily select and depress a line key corresponding to a line to be used. SOLUTION: A main device 1 pulls in plural lines, detects the change of the state of the lines and transmits a vibration pattern corresponding to the changed state. A key telephone set 5 receives the vibration pattern from the main device 1 and a line key 8 associated to the line whose state changes is vibrated by the vibration pattern. The state of the line associated with the touched line key 8 can be identified by a touch when the line key 8 is touched.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a key telephone and a key telephone system, and more particularly, to a key telephone and a key telephone system capable of identifying a line state.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a key telephone and a key telephone system of this kind are capable of performing an operation according to the state of a change when the state of the line changes due to an event such as "incoming" or "hold". Is used to

A conventional key telephone and key telephone system can generally handle a plurality of lines, and a button corresponding to each line (hereinafter referred to as a line button) is provided on the key telephone. Therefore, states such as “hold” and “incoming” may occur simultaneously on a plurality of lines. At this time, the operator identifies which line state has changed in what manner by the visual indication of the color or blinking cycle of the LED installed on each line button, and selects the line button corresponding to the line to be used. You are performing operations such as pressing. As an example of the visible display of the LED, for example, when the line state is “call”, it is constantly lit in red, and when it is “hold”, it is slowly blinking in green (period 0.5
Seconds), fast blinking red in “incoming” (period 0.25)
Second), and is “off” when “empty”. Then, for example, when the operator interrupts the call and sets the line being used to “hold”, the LED installed on the line button corresponding to this line becomes a visible display meaning “hold”,
When "incoming call" occurs on another line at the same time, the LED installed on the line button corresponding to this other line
Is a visual display meaning "incoming call", and the respective LEDs installed on the respective line buttons corresponding to the respective lines on the telephone display different visual displays at the same time. Thereafter, when the operator resumes the call by selecting and pressing the line button having the visible display meaning "hold", the LED of the line button becomes the visible display meaning "call".

[0004]

In the above-mentioned conventional key telephone and key telephone system, the line buttons corresponding to the respective lines are provided on the key telephone, and the operator operates the LED provided on each line button. When using a line because the user has identified the line status and how it has changed by the visual indication of the color and blinking cycle of the line, and selected and pressed the line button corresponding to the line to be used. It is necessary to identify the state of each line by the visual display of the LED installed on the line button, and to select and press the line button corresponding to the line to be used. People in difficult situations (for example, those who can't keep their eyes on the PC screen, visually impaired, etc.) can identify the visible indications of the LEDs. There is no reason, can not be an operation such as pressing select the line button corresponding to the line to be used, there is a problem in that struggle when using the line.
Also, for example, when a person working on a personal computer selects a line button of "Incoming" and talks, even if he sees the visible display, his eyes are away from the personal computer screen and his thinking is interrupted. Therefore, there is a problem that work efficiency is deteriorated.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to eliminate such a conventional drawback, so that a person in a situation where it is difficult to confirm a visible display can select a line button corresponding to a line to be used without any difficulty and press it. To provide a key telephone and a key telephone system that allow a person who does not want to check the visual display to perform operations such as selecting and pressing a line button corresponding to the line to be used without checking the visual display. is there.

[0006]

A key telephone according to the present invention has a plurality of line buttons respectively associated with a plurality of lines, and the line telephone is associated with the touched line buttons by a tactile sensation when the line buttons are touched. The state of the line thus determined can be identified.

The line button of the key telephone of the present invention vibrates by a vibration pattern corresponding to the state of the line associated with the line button.

The key telephone system of the present invention includes a data section for storing a vibration pattern corresponding to a line state, a plurality of lines being drawn, detecting a change in the state of these lines, and responding to the changed state. A main device comprising: a main control unit that reads the vibration pattern from the data unit and sends information indicating the line in which the state has changed and the vibration pattern; and a plurality of lines associated with the plurality of lines. The line button and the information indicating the line whose state has changed from the main device and the vibration pattern are received, and the line button associated with the line indicated by the information indicating the line is represented by the vibration pattern. A telephone main control unit for instructing vibration, and a button vibration for vibrating the line button with the vibration pattern in response to the instruction from the telephone main control unit. It comprises a plurality of key telephone comprising a control unit, and a is configured.

[0009]

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

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the key telephone system of the present invention.

In this embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a data section 3 for storing a vibration pattern 11 corresponding to the state of a line, a plurality of lines are pulled in, a change in the state of these lines is detected, and the state of the changed state is detected. The main device 1 having the main control unit 2 for reading out the vibration pattern 11 and the information indicating the line whose state has changed and reading the vibration pattern 11 corresponding to The plurality of line buttons 8, the information indicating the line whose state has changed from the main device 1 and the vibration pattern 11 are received, and the line button 8 associated with the line indicated by the information indicating the line is vibrated by the vibration pattern 11. Telephone main controller 6 to instruct
And a button vibration control unit 7 that receives an instruction from the telephone main control unit 6 and vibrates the line button 8 with the vibration pattern 11.

The vibration pattern 11 changes the vibration intensity and the vibration cycle depending on the state of the line. Also,
The vibration pattern 11 is non-vibrating when the state of the line is “empty” indicating that this line is not used.

FIG. 1 also shows a telephone interface unit 4 for connecting the main unit 1 to a telephone.

Next, the operation of the key telephone system according to the present embodiment will be described in detail.

In FIG. 1, the lines are all "empty" as an initial state. Further, the vibration pattern 11 corresponding to the state of the line is stored in the data section 3. These vibration patterns 11 are, for example, a weak vibration having a cycle of 0.5 seconds when the state of the line is “talking”, a strong vibration having a cycle of 0.5 seconds when “hold”, and a cycle when the state is “incoming”. 0.25
There is no vibration when the vibration is weak for a second, and when it is “empty”. These vibration patterns 11 do not need to be fixed to the above-mentioned patterns and may be changed. The vibration pattern 11 may be determined so as not to overlap the above-mentioned pattern in a state other than the above-mentioned state.

The main unit 1 uses the main control unit 2 to determine which line is associated with the line button 8 on the plurality of key telephones 5 on the key telephones 5. It is managed for each ID. Then, the main control unit 2 pulls in a plurality of lines, detects a change in the state of these lines, reads a vibration pattern 11 corresponding to the changed state from the data unit 3, and associates the vibration pattern 11 with the line in which this state has changed. The key telephones 5 having the line buttons 8 are examined, and information indicating a line whose state has changed (hereinafter, referred to as a line ID 10) and the vibration pattern 1 are provided to these key telephones 5.
1 through the telephone interface unit 4.

A plurality of key telephones 5 connected to the main unit 1
Have a plurality of line buttons 8 associated with a plurality of lines, respectively.
The key telephone 5 which has transmitted the line pattern 10 and the vibration pattern 11 receives the line ID 10 and the vibration pattern 11 by the telephone main controller 6, and vibrates the line button 8 associated with the line indicated by the line ID 10 by the vibration pattern 11. To do so. The button vibration control unit 7 vibrates the line button 8 instructed in response to the instruction of the telephone main control unit 6 with the instructed vibration pattern 11 (of course, does not vibrate when the vibration pattern 11 is non-vibrating). The operator senses the vibration pattern 11 by touching the line button 8, identifies the state of the line corresponding to the touched line button 8, and selects and presses the line button 8 corresponding to the line to be used. Do the operation.

[0018]

As described above, according to the key telephone and the key telephone system of the present invention, the main unit
A plurality of lines are pulled in, a change in the state of these lines is detected, a vibration pattern corresponding to the changed state is transmitted, and a vibration pattern is received from the main device by the key telephone, and the line associated with the line whose state has changed is received. Since the button vibrates with this vibration pattern, the tactile sensation when the line button is touched allows the state of the line associated with the touched line button to be identified, making it difficult to confirm the visual display People who are in difficult situations can select and press the line button corresponding to the line to be used without difficulty, and even those who do not want to check the visible display can respond to the line used without checking the visible display An operation such as selecting and pressing a line button to be performed can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a key telephone system of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main apparatus 2 Main control part 3 Data part 4 Telephone interface part 5 Button telephone 6 Telephone main control part 7 Button vibration control part 8 Line button 10 Line ID 11 Vibration pattern

Claims (12)

[Claims] A plurality of line buttons respectively associated with a plurality of lines, wherein a state of the line associated with the touched line button can be identified by a tactile sensation when the user touches the line button. Key telephone. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the line button vibrates according to a vibration pattern corresponding to a state of the line associated with the line button.
The described key telephone. 3. The key telephone according to claim 2, wherein the vibration pattern changes the intensity of the vibration depending on the state of the line. 4. The key telephone set according to claim 2, wherein the vibration pattern changes a cycle of vibration depending on a state of the line. 5. The key telephone according to claim 2, wherein the vibration pattern is non-vibrating when the state of the line is “empty” indicating that the line is not used. 6. A main unit that draws in a plurality of lines, detects a change in the state of these lines, and sends out a vibration pattern corresponding to the changed state, and a plurality of line buttons associated with the plurality of lines. And a plurality of button telephones that receive the vibration pattern and vibrate the line button associated with the line whose state has changed by the vibration pattern. . 7. A data unit for storing a vibration pattern corresponding to the state of a line, detecting a change in the state of the line, and storing the vibration pattern corresponding to the changed state in the main unit. The key telephone system according to claim 6, further comprising: a main control unit that reads the data from the data unit and transmits the read data. 8. The key telephone receives the plurality of line buttons associated with the plurality of lines and the vibration pattern from the main device, and vibrates the line button associated with the line whose state has changed. A telephone main control unit that instructs to vibrate with a pattern, and a button vibration control unit that receives an instruction from the telephone main control unit and vibrates the line button with the vibration pattern. The key telephone system according to 6 or 7. 9. A data section for storing a vibration pattern corresponding to a state of a line, a plurality of lines being drawn, detecting a change in the state of these lines, and storing the vibration pattern corresponding to the changed state in the data. A main control unit that reads information from the unit and sends the vibration pattern and information indicating the line in which the state has changed; a plurality of line buttons associated with the plurality of lines; A telephone that receives information indicating the line whose state has changed from the main device and the vibration pattern, and instructs the line button associated with the line indicated by the information indicating the line to vibrate with the vibration pattern. A main control unit; and a button vibration control unit that receives an instruction from the telephone main control unit and vibrates the line button with the vibration pattern. A key telephone system comprising: a key telephone; 10. The key telephone system according to claim 6, wherein the vibration pattern changes the intensity of vibration depending on the state of the line. 11. The key telephone system according to claim 6, wherein the vibration pattern changes a period of vibration depending on a state of the line. 12. The vibration pattern according to claim 6, wherein the vibration pattern is non-vibrating when the state of the line is “empty” indicating that the line is not used.
10. The key telephone system according to 8 or 9.