JP3202768B2 - Billing method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a billing system for a private branch exchange, and more particularly to a billing system for a private branch exchange accommodating a line for which a billing fee is determined without being limited by the number of calls.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, since a charge is made in accordance with a call time for one call, a private branch exchange measures the time during which the extension telephone calls when an extension telephone calls an outside line. The charge is calculated according to the call time. Then, when the call is completed, the charge is added to the storage device corresponding to the extension telephone with which the call was made to calculate the usage charge.

[0003] In recent years, however, the services of telephone offices have been diversified, and line usage fees have been reduced as shown in FIG.
May be set as shown.

[0004] In FIG. 11, the horizontal axis indicates a call time, and the vertical axis indicates a charge per line with respect to the call time. That is, the call charge is determined only by the call time regardless of the number of times the line is used. In FIG.
An example is shown in which the usage fee for up to 10 hours is 5,000 yen, the usage fee for over 10 hours and up to 15 hours is 8,000 yen, and the usage fee for over 50 hours is 30,000 yen. .

[0005] FIG. 12 shows an example in which the line usage fee per month is set to a constant rate regardless of the call time and the number of calls. FIG. 12 shows an example in which a fixed fee of 50,000 yen per line is set.

[0006]

As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, a private branch exchange accommodates a line for which a call charge cannot be calculated for each call regardless of the number of times the line is used. In the private branch exchange, there is a problem that the usage fee of the line cannot be properly allocated to the extension.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and in a private branch exchange accommodating a line for which a charging fee is determined without being limited by the number of calls, the usage fee of the line is properly divided for the extension telephone. It is an object of the present invention to provide a billing method that can be allocated by the user.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there are provided a plurality of extension telephones, a dedicated line for which a charging fee is determined without being limited by the number of calls, and a charging fee which is determined for each call.
In the case of a call using the general line,
Is a charge according to the use time of each call of the extension telephone.
In the charging method of the telephone exchange performing the processing, the extension
The line used by the talker for the call is the dedicated line or
Identification means for identifying a general line;
The use time of the dedicated line is accumulated to obtain the dedicated line accumulated use time.
First storage means for storing and using the dedicated line cumulatively
Determining the usage fee information of the dedicated line based on the interval
The usage fee determination time information and the usage fee determination time information
Secondly, the telephone charge information of the dedicated line is stored in association with the second line.
Storage means, and the dedicated telephone for each of the plurality of extension telephones.
Accumulates the time spent talking on the service line, and the time used for each extension
Third storage means for storing as
Usage fee stored in the second storage means according to the usage time
Call charge information of the leased line derived from the judgment time information
Divided by the dedicated line cumulative usage time
Calculate the unit charge indicating the cost of
Multiply gold by the usage time for each extension, and
Extension charge calculating means for calculating the dedicated line call charge,
Characterized by comprising a.

[0009]

By storing the usage time of the extension telephone using the line, calculating the charge for the extension telephone in proportion to the usage time, and dividing the charging fee to the extension telephone according to the calculation result. A call charge according to the usage time of each extension telephone is allocated to each extension telephone.

[0010] Thus, in a private branch exchange accommodating a line for which a charging fee is determined without being limited by the number of calls, the usage fee of the line can be properly divided and allocated to the extension telephone.

[0011]

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

FIG. 1 is a relay system diagram showing a configuration of a private branch exchange (PBX) of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the private branch exchange is provided with a communication path switch (SW) 1 and extension telephones (T1, T2,... Tn) are extension telephones (T1, T1).
2,... Tn) are accommodated in the communication path switch 1 via an extension circuit (LIN) 2 for controlling the communication path. Central office trunk (C
The OT) 3-1 is connected to the communication path switch 1 and controls connection with the upper-level station (A) (switched network), and the office trunk (COT) 3-2 is connected to the communication path switch 1 and (B) Connection control with (dedicated line) is performed. Note that the upper station (A) is a station that charges a call (charges according to the call time for one call), and the upper station (B), as shown in FIG. It shows a station that determines a call charge only based on the call time regardless of the number of times the line is used.

The control system bus 7 has a communication path switch 1, a central processing unit (CC) 4, a storage unit (MEM) 5,
And a maintenance terminal (CS) 9 are connected.

The central processing unit 4 controls the entire telephone exchange, and performs call connection processing, various communication services, and billing processing. The storage device 5 stores various files including a program for the central processing unit 4 to control the entire telephone exchange, station data, and files for storing billing information.

The maintenance terminal 9 is for inputting information for controlling the state of the telephone exchange when setting, changing, or causing a failure in the office data of the telephone exchange, and for outputting billing information. , And the central processing unit reads the data via the control system bus 7.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are diagrams showing files provided in the storage device 5 and necessary for performing the accounting method of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows an office line file (TU) provided corresponding to the office trunk 3-2, and FIG. 3 shows an office file (SU) provided corresponding to the extension telephones (T1, T2,..., Tn). It is.

In FIG. 2, a station line file includes a station line number area 201 for storing a station line number, a tabulation date / time area 202 for managing the date and time of tabulation, and a use time area for judging a station line use time. 205, a charge area 204 for storing call charges for use time, and a use time area 2
And a use time determination area 203 for determining a charge area 204 based on the service area 05. These areas are registered from the maintenance terminal 9 as station data except for the use time area 205. The station line file is
It is provided corresponding to each of the office trunks 3-2, and here, the number of office trunks is m.

Referring to FIG. 3, an extension file includes an extension area 301 for storing an extension number, an office line use time area 302 for storing the use time for each office line, and an extension call corresponding to the use time for each office line. Call charge area 3 for storing charges
03. The extension file is provided corresponding to each of the extension telephones (T1, T2,..., Tn).
02 and the call charge area 303 include the office line trunk 3-2.
It is provided corresponding to.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are flowcharts for explaining the operation of the present invention. Hereinafter, the operation of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

First, when a user turns on an extension telephone (for example, extension telephone T1) and performs an operation of sending out a destination dial, the central controller 4 receives the information via the extension circuit 2 and receives the information. Analyze the signal. As a result, if the call is for an office line, the office line trunk 3-1 or 3-2 is captured based on the dial signal (step 401). Next, when a response from the other party is detected (step 402), the line number stored in the line file corresponding to the captured line trunk (FIG. 2, 20).
According to 1), regardless of the number of times the line is used, the line charges that are determined only by the call time and the call charges (station lines with a fixed charge for a fixed time)
(Step 403).

As a result of this determination, when it is determined that the line trunk 3-1 is connected to a line which performs normal charging (charging is performed according to the talk time for one call). Then, a normal billing process is performed (step 404). Here, the normal billing process means that billing is performed according to the talk time for one call, and at the end of the talk, the result of the billing is stored in a predetermined file corresponding to the extension telephone T1 that originated the call. Processing is performed.

On the other hand, when it is recognized that the telephone line is connected to the local line trunk 3-2 connected to the fixed line office line at a fixed time, the end of the call is detected (step 405).
The line trunk 3 that captured the call time (call seconds)
-Time area of the line file corresponding to -2 (Fig. 2,
205) (step 406). Next, the talk time is added to the office line use time area (302 in FIG. 3) corresponding to the captured office line trunk in the extension file corresponding to the extension telephone (T1) with which the call was made (T1). Step 407). As described above, when a call is sent to a fixed line office at a fixed time, the call time is added to the office line file and the extension file.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for calculating a call charge. First, it is determined whether it is the date and time when the call charges are totaled (step 501). Here, if it is the date and time when the call charges are totaled, the use time area of the line file (FIG. 2, 20)
The use time determination area corresponding to 5) (FIGS. 2, 20)
3) is extracted and its use time determination area (FIG. 2, 20)
The toll area (204 in FIG. 2) corresponding to 3) is extracted, and the usage fee of the office line is read (step 502). next,
Use the usage fee for the station line in the usage time area (204 in Fig. 2).
(Step 504). Next, each extension telephone (T
1, T2,..., Tn), the usage time of the local line is extracted from the corresponding local line usage time area (302 in FIG. 3) of the extension file, and the extracted usage time is multiplied by the unit price per second. (Step 504), the result is stored in the corresponding call charge area (303 in FIG. 3) of the extension file (Step 505), and the charging process ends. This processing is performed for each of the line trunks 3-2, and the results are stored in the corresponding call charge area (303 in FIG. 3) of the extension file.

As described above, billing processing is performed when a call is made to a fixed-rate office line for a fixed time, and the call charge finally output is based on the call charge area (FIG. 3,
Obviously, the total is the sum of all the charges in step 303) and the area (not shown) in which the charges for transmission to general office lines are registered.

The above description has been given of the case where the central control unit of the private branch exchange performs the charging process. Next, the charging process is performed by another device (charging device) different from the central control device.
Will be described.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a relay system of the private branch exchange when the charging process is performed by a device (charging device) different from the central control device.

In FIG. 6, the difference from the configuration shown in FIG.
IF) 6 is connected, and the billing device 8 transmits and receives information to and from the central control device 4 via the billing interface device 6.

The billing device 8 includes an interface unit 8-2.
A control unit (CPU) 8-1 connected to the interface unit 8-2 and controlling the entire billing device;
A storage unit (MM) 8-3 which is connected to the storage unit and stores various files for billing and an operation program of the control unit;
1, an input unit (CS) 8-4 for inputting data setting and the like to a file in the storage unit 8-4.

The storage section 8-3 stores a station line file shown in FIG. 2 and an extension file shown in FIG.

FIGS. 9 and 10 are diagrams showing the contents of the billing information received by the billing device 8 from the central control device 6 via the control system bus 7 and the billing interface device 6. In FIG. 9, billing information includes a call time 901, a call start time 902, a dial number 903, and a calling extension number 9.
04, a calling station line number 905, a destination type 906 indicating the type of line of the destination, and a call end time 907.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the contents of another example of the billing information. The call time 1001 and the call start time 1 are shown.
002, dial number 1003, and extension number 10
04, the calling line number 1005, and the call end time 100
7 is included.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation relating to charging of the central control device 4 in the configuration shown in FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the charging device 8.

The operation of the accounting process will be described below with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

First, when a user turns on an extension telephone (for example, extension telephone T1) and performs an operation of sending out a destination dial, the central controller 4 receives the information via the extension circuit 2 and receives the information. Analyze the signal. As a result, if the call is for an office line, the office line trunk 3-1 or 3-2 is captured based on the dial signal (step 701). Next, when a response from the other party is detected (step 702), the communication time is measured (step 703). Next, the end of the call is detected (step 70).
4) The accounting information is edited (step 705). This billing information is for generating billing information having the contents shown in FIG. 9 or FIG. 10, and includes a call time, a call start time, a dial number, a calling extension number, a calling line number, and a call ending time. It is composed of a combination or a combination of this and a destination type. Then, the edited billing information is transmitted to the billing device 8 via the control system bus 7 and the billing interface device 6.

On the other hand, in the billing apparatus 8, when the control unit 8-1 receives the billing information via the interface unit 8-2 (step 801), the transmission destination is set to a fixed fee for a fixed time based on the received billing information. (Step 802). When the charging information to be received is as shown in FIG. 9 and includes the destination type 906, the determination is made based on the destination type 906. Also,
If the charging information to be received is as shown in FIG. 10 and does not include the destination type, the local line transmission number 1005 is extracted, and the destination type is determined accordingly. This can be easily realized by providing a file for discriminating the destination type based on the station line transmission number 1005 in the storage unit 8-3 in advance.

As a result of this discrimination (step 802), if it is recognized that the destination is a station line that performs normal charging (charging is performed according to the talk time for one call), normal charging processing is performed. Is performed (step 803).

On the other hand, if it is recognized that the call is to be made to a fixed-rate office line at a fixed time, the call time is extracted from the received billing information, and the call time is assigned to the calling office line number (office line trunk 3-2). Is added to the use time area (205 in FIG. 2) of the station line file corresponding to the number (step 80).
4). Next, the call time is added to the office line use time area (302 in FIG. 3) corresponding to the office line trunk captured in the extension file corresponding to the calling extension number (step 805). , And the process ends. As described above, when a call is sent to a fixed line office at a fixed time, the call time is added to the office line file and the extension file.

The processing for calculating the call charge is performed by the charging device 8 processing based on the flowchart shown in FIG. This processing is the same as that described above, and a description thereof will be omitted.

As described above, even when a charging device is installed separately from the central control device, the charging process can be performed similarly.

In the above description, the case where a fixed fee is charged for a fixed time according to the type of the office line is described. However, when a call is made to a specific place (a specific destination area), In the case of a specific dial (specific dial), there is also a service in which a fixed fee is charged at a fixed time in the same manner.

Next, a description will be given of a billing process in the case of a billing method in which a fixed fee is charged for a fixed time by a specific dial.

The office line file corresponding to the office trunk shown in FIG. 2 is changed to a specific dial file corresponding to each specific dial, and the office line use time area 302 of the extension file corresponding to each extension telephone shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 5, FIG.
In the flowchart shown in FIG. 8, the location described as the office line file is replaced with the specific dial file. It is apparent that the present invention can be applied to a billing method in which a fixed fee is charged for a certain period of time by a specific dial by performing the same operation as described above with the office line file changed to a specific dial file. It is.

Further, as shown in FIG. 12, the billing process when a call is made to a line or a specific dial destination having a constant call charge regardless of the call time is performed in the charge area 204 in the office line file shown in FIG. If one is prepared, there is no need to have the use time determination area 203. By storing a fixed amount of call charge in the charge area, similarly, the use charge of the line is divided properly for the extension telephones. Can be allocated.

[0044]

According to the present invention, in a private branch exchange accommodating a line for which a charging fee is determined without being limited by the number of calls (a line for charging a fixed fee for a fixed time), the usage fee of the line is set to an extension. The telephone can be divided and assigned properly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a relay system of a private branch exchange according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a station line file.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of an extension file.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a relay system diagram of a private branch exchange according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing contents of billing information transmitted from the central control device to the billing device.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the contents of charging information of another embodiment transmitted from the central control device to the charging device.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a correspondence relationship between a call time and a call charge.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing another example of a correspondence relationship between a call time and a call charge.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Communication line switch, T1-Tn ... Extension telephone, 2 ... Extension circuit, 3-1, 3-2 ... Office trunk, 4 ... Central processing unit, 5 ... Storage device, 7 ... Control bus, 9 ... Maintenance Terminal.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of extension telephones, a dedicated line for which a billing fee is determined without being limited by the number of calls,
The general line for which the charging fee is determined is accommodated ,
In the case of a call using a line, for each call of the extension telephone
Billing method for telephone exchanges that performs billing according to the usage time of the telephone
In the formula , the line used for the call by the extension telephone is the dedicated line or
Means for identifying the general line and a dedicated line for accumulating the use time of the dedicated line used for the call.
First storage means for storing as the line cumulative use time, and, based on the leased line cumulative use time,
Usage fee determination time information for determining usage fee information;
Call on the dedicated line according to the usage fee determination time information
A second storage unit for storing fee information, and using the dedicated line for each of the plurality of extension telephones.
Accumulates talk time and stores it as time used for each extension
The third storage means, and the second storage means according to the dedicated line cumulative use time.
The specialty derived from the stored usage fee determination time information
Call charge information of the dedicated line by the dedicated line accumulated usage time.
Divide and calculate the unit charge indicating the charge per unit time
And multiplies the unit fee by the extension time for each extension.
Calculating the dedicated line call charge for each extension telephone.
Telephone having a charge calculating means for each extension
Exchange billing method.