JP7428969B2 - telephone control device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a telephone control device that is applied to, for example, a business phone system built in a company, etc., and allows a so-called park hold function to function more effectively.

The commonly used functions of telephone terminals include a hold function and a park hold function. The hold function can be used as follows. For example, telephone terminal A of a business telephone system installed in an office answers an incoming outside call, but the user of telephone terminal A is unable to answer the requirements and the call is handed over to the user of telephone terminal B. I want to (want to turn). In this case, the user of telephone terminal A operates the "hold key" of telephone terminal A that he or she is using to place the outside line connected to the other party who has called on hold. Thereafter, the user dials the extension number of telephone terminal B and makes an extension call to telephone terminal B.

In response to this, when the user of telephone terminal B responds to the call by operating telephone terminal B off-hook, an extension telephone line is connected between telephone terminals A and B. In this case, the user of telephone terminal A presses the "outside line key 1" to inform the user of telephone terminal B that he wants him to answer the outside line. If the user of telephone terminal B approves, the user of telephone terminal A puts telephone terminal A on-hook and disconnects the extension line with telephone terminal B. When the user of telephone terminal B presses the "external line key 1", the outside line that was on hold is connected to telephone terminal B, and the outside line that is calling is connected to the telephone terminal B. You will be able to make calls to and from the other party. In this way, by using the hold function, in this example, an operation such as pressing the "external line key 1" on telephone terminal B to take over the call is added, but if the outside line is the intended call line, It can be transferred to the other party.

As described above, the normal hold function puts the connected call line on hold in the case of an outside line telephone, and clearly indicates the hold state using the corresponding outside line key. Therefore, when a call line that is on hold is to be taken over, the outside line key corresponding to the call line that is on hold is pressed. In other words, since the call line is put on hold in association with the outside line key, the call line can be taken over by operating the outside line key. On the other hand, in the case of the park hold function, the connected call line is associated with the "park hold key" prepared (set) on the phone terminal and put on hold, and the "park hold key" is used. To enable a held call line to be taken over by pressing a button.

In this way, the hold function and the park hold function have different "operation keys" that are associated with call lines placed on hold. In addition, in the case of the park hold function, there is an advantage that a telephone terminal equipped with a "park hold key" can take over the call line that has been placed on park hold. Depending on how the telephone system is configured, for example, a sales department or a manufacturing department may not respond to incoming calls to a representative telephone number. In this case, an outside line key corresponding to the representative telephone number is not provided on the telephone terminals of the sales department or manufacturing department. Therefore, although the hold function does not allow incoming calls to the representative phone number to be handed over to the telephone terminals of the sales department or manufacturing department, the park hold function makes it possible to take over the calls.

Since the park hold function is an easy-to-use function that can be used simply by setting a "park hold key" to each telephone terminal, various inventions related to the park hold function have been made. For example, Patent Document 1, which will be described later, discloses an invention related to a telephone system and the like that identifies and displays park reservations to be handled on a telephone terminal of a handling destination. Further, Patent Document 2, which will be described later, discloses an invention relating to a telephone control device etc. that enables the use of a park hold function even in a large-scale key telephone system constructed by connecting branches, for example. .

In the above description, the terms "outside line key", "park hold key", and "operation key" refer to a press operation receiving means provided in the telephone terminal that accepts press operations from the user. These may also be referred to as "outside line buttons," "park hold buttons," or "operation buttons." In this specification, the press operation receiving means that accepts press operations from the user is referred to as "○○ key."

JP2019-96980A Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2016-82494

As mentioned above, if a common "park hold key" is assigned to each phone terminal, park hold will be placed on hold in association with the "park hold key" no matter which phone terminal is used. You can take over the existing call line. However, conversely, if a common "park hold key" is not assigned to a telephone terminal, the park hold function cannot be used. For example, in the case of a business phone system built in an office such as a company, the assignment of "park hold keys" to the telephone terminals of each department may be changed in consideration of the usability of the telephone terminals in each department. In this case, the park hold function cannot be used between departments that do not have a common park hold key set.

For example, assume that a telephone terminal installed in the engineering department can answer incoming calls to external line 1 (phone number for the engineering department) prepared for the engineering department, and that the park hold key 1 is set. . Also, assume that the telephone terminal installed in the sales department is capable of answering incoming calls to external line 2 (sales department phone number) prepared for the sales department, and that the park hold key 2 is set. . In this case, I answered the incoming call to the technical department's telephone number (external line 1) using the technical department's telephone terminal and responded to technical inquiries about the product, but I had to contact sales for the price of the product. Suppose you don't understand.

In this example, the engineering department and the sales department have different external lines that can be answered, so there is no common "external line button" and the normal hold function cannot be used. Additionally, there is no common "park hold key" between the engineering department and sales department, and the park hold function cannot be used. In such cases, depending on the functionality of the telephone system that has been constructed, you may need to use the forwarding function, or in the worst case scenario, ask the inquirer to call back to the sales department, or contact the sales department. It becomes necessary to request the department to call the inquirer back.

In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to make it possible to easily transfer (hand over) calls by utilizing the park hold function even between telephone terminals with different assignments of park hold buttons.

In order to solve the above problem, a telephone control device according to the invention according to claim 1 includes:
Terminal information storage means for storing terminal information in which a user identification name and information indicating a park hold key set to a predetermined operation key are associated with each other for each of the plurality of telephone terminals housed in the own device;
When a telephone line is connected between the telephone terminal of the other party and the telephone terminal which is the telephone terminal housed in the telephone terminal and serves as the telephone terminal, voice recognition of the telephone voice transmitted and received through the telephone line is performed. voice recognition processing means that recognizes the user identification name of the person to whom the transaction is made;
Based on the user identification name recognized by the voice recognition processing means, the terminal information in the terminal information storage means is referred to, and the telephone terminal that is the telephone terminal housed in the telephone terminal and that is the telephone terminal to be handled is an extraction means for extracting terminal information;
When a predetermined hold operation is received through the pick-up phone terminal, based on the terminal information extracted by the extracting means, the park hold key is associated with the park hold key assigned to the pick-up phone terminal. The present invention is characterized by comprising: hold processing execution means for placing the telephone line on hold.

According to the telephone control device of the invention as set forth in claim 1, the terminal information storage means stores a user identification name and a park hold key set as a predetermined operation key for each of the plurality of telephone terminals housed in the own device. Terminal information associated with information indicating the terminal information is stored. When a telephone line is connected between the telephone terminal of the other party and the telephone terminal that is housed in the telephone terminal and serves as the telephone terminal for telephone calls, the voice recognition processing means transmits and receives data through the telephone line. The user identification name of the user to whom the call is to be made is recognized by voice recognition of the voice of the call.

The extraction means refers to the terminal information in the terminal information storage means based on the user identification name recognized by the voice recognition processing means, and selects the telephone terminal which is the telephone terminal housed in the telephone terminal and which is the telephone terminal to be handled. The terminal information of the terminal is extracted. When a predetermined hold operation is received through the receiving telephone terminal, the holding processing execution means associates the call with the park hold key assigned to the receiving telephone terminal based on the terminal information extracted by the extracting means. The line is placed on hold.

According to the present invention, it is possible to voice-recognize the voice of the call, specify the destination, and place the call line on hold in association with the park hold key set on the telephone terminal of the destination. Therefore, even if the park hold keys set on the receiving telephone terminal and the telephone terminal of the destination are different, it is possible to make a call using the park hold function.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a configuration example of a business phone system configured using an embodiment of a telephone control device of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration example of a telephone control device according to an embodiment. There is a diagram for explaining an example of data stored in a terminal information DB (Data Base) of a telephone control device according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration example of a telephone terminal according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the appearance of a telephone terminal according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram for explaining processing performed in the telephone system according to the embodiment. 7 is a sequence diagram following FIG. 6. FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining processing when an extended park hold function is executed by the telephone control device according to the embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a telephone control device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the embodiments described below, a case will be explained in which a so-called business phone system (key telephone system) is constructed, for example, in a company's office using a telephone control device according to the present invention. That is, in the embodiments described below, the telephone control device is called a main device, a SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) server, or the like.

The main device refers to a small exchange that performs the function of connecting internal and external lines and between internal lines. Additionally, a SIP server refers to a device that creates, changes, and disconnects sessions (communication paths) necessary for exchanging audio, video, and text messages between two or more parties in accordance with SIP. . That is, in this embodiment, the telephone control device accommodates a plurality of telephone terminals and controls connection, change, and disconnection of communication between an extension and an outside line, and between an extension and an extension, and controls the connection, change, and disconnection of communication between an extension and an outside line, and between extensions and extensions in the telephone system. It corresponds to a higher-level device of a telephone terminal.

[Telephone system configuration example]
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an example of the configuration of a business phone system configured using an embodiment of the telephone control device of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the telephone control device 1 accommodates (connects) six telephone terminals 2(1) to 2(6) that function as extension telephone terminals. Two telephone terminals 2(1) to 2(6) belong to different groups. That is, telephone terminals 2(1) and 2(2) are in group A, telephone terminals 2(3) and 2(4) are in group B, and telephone terminals 2(5) and 2(6) are in group C. It is assumed that it is located at .

In this embodiment, groups A, B, and C correspond to departments (sections) of the company, with group A being the engineering department, group B being the general affairs department, and group C being the sales department. In this business phone system, as will be described in detail later, outside lines 1 and 2 are prepared for the technical department, and the outside lines 1 and 2 are made available through telephone terminals 2(1) and 2(2). Therefore, the telephone terminals 2(1) and 2(2) are provided with an outside line key 1 corresponding to the outside line 1 and an outside line key 2 corresponding to the outside line 2.

Similarly, outside lines 3 and 4 are prepared for the general affairs department, and these lines are made available through telephone terminals 2(1) and 2(2). Therefore, the telephone terminals 2(3) and 2(4) are provided with an outside line key 3 corresponding to the outside line 3 and an outside line key 4 corresponding to the outside line 4. Further, outside lines 5 and 6 are prepared for the sales department, and the outside lines 5 and 6 are made available through telephone terminals 2 (5) and 2 (6). Therefore, the telephone terminals 2 (5) and 2 (6) are provided with an outside line key 5 corresponding to the outside line 5 and an outside line key 6 corresponding to the outside line 6.

Each of the telephone terminals 2(1) to 2(6) housed in the telephone control device 1 communicates with an outside line telephone terminal 4, etc. connected to the telephone network 3 through the telephone control device 1 and the telephone network 3. , you can receive and make outside calls. Further, it is possible to receive and make extension calls to and from each of the telephone terminals 2(1) to 2(6) via the telephone control device 1. Although FIG. 1 only shows the outside line telephone terminal 4 to simplify the explanation, the telephone network 3 includes business phone systems established by various companies and telephone terminals installed in each home. It is connected. Furthermore, it is of course possible to connect more extension telephone terminals to the telephone control device 1 as well.

Further, in the business phone system shown in FIG. 1, the park hold key 1 is set in the telephone terminals 2(1) and 2(2) of group A. Furthermore, a park hold key 1 and a park hold key 2 are set in the telephone terminals 2 (3) and 2 (4) of group B. Furthermore, the park hold key 2 is set in the telephone terminals 2 (5) and 2 (6) of group C. Therefore, within group A, the park reservation function can be used using the park reservation key 1. In group B, the park hold function can be used using park hold key 1 and park hold key 2. In group C, the park hold function can be used using the park hold key 2.

In addition, telephone terminals 2(1), 2(2) of group A and telephone terminals 2(3), 2(4) of group B mutually use park hold key 1 set in common. You can use the hold function. That is, between group A and group B, the telephone line can be put on hold in association with the park hold key 1, and a call can be relayed. Similarly, telephone terminals 2 (3), 2 (4) of group B and telephone terminals 2 (5), 2 (6) of group C mutually park using the park hold key 2 set in common. You can use the hold function. That is, between group B and group C, the telephone line can be put on hold in association with the park hold key 2, and a call can be relayed.

However, since there is no commonly set park hold key between telephone terminals 2(1), 2(2) of group A and telephone terminals 2(5), 2(6) of group C, With Group C, the park hold function cannot be used. Therefore, the telephone control device 1 of this embodiment has telephone terminals 2(1), 2(2) of group A and telephone terminals 2(5), 2(2) of group C, for which a common park hold key is not set. 6), it is possible to use the park hold function. Of course, in this case, no major configuration changes are made to the telephone terminals 2(1), 2(2) of group A and the telephone terminals 2(5), 2(6) of group C, respectively.

Below, an example of the configuration of the telephone control device 1 and an example of the configuration of the telephone terminals 2(1) to 2(6) of the business phone system of this embodiment will be explained. Note that each of the telephone terminals 2(1) to 2(6) has a similar configuration, so in the following, telephone terminals 2(1) to 2(6) will be referred to as telephone terminals 2(1) to 2( 6) will be collectively referred to as telephone terminal 2.

[Configuration example of telephone control device 1]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration example of the telephone control device 1 according to the embodiment, and in this embodiment, the telephone control device 1 is equipped with a SIP server function. The connection end 101T constitutes a connection end to the telephone network 3. Note that the telephone network 3 means a wide area network including a public switched telephone network, the Internet, a mobile phone network, and the like. A communication I/F (Interface) 101 is a part that performs communication processing through the telephone network 3. That is, the communication I/F 101 converts a signal addressed to the device transmitted via the telephone network 3 into a signal in a format that can be processed by the device itself, and captures the converted signal. Further, the communication I/F 101 converts a signal to be transmitted from the own device to a target destination into a signal in a format for transmission, sends it to the telephone network 3, and transmits it to the destination.

Although not shown, the control unit 102 is a microprocessor equipped with a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a non-volatile memory, etc., and controls each part of the telephone control device 1. . The control unit 102 is also capable of disassembling/generating various data such as control data and audio data that are transmitted and received in packet form. The storage device 103 is a device unit consisting of a recording medium and its driver, such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive), and records, changes, deletes, reads, etc. various data. . The storage device 103 stores and holds necessary data and programs, and is also used as a work area to temporarily store intermediate data generated in various processes.

The terminal information DB 104 is created in a recording device such as an HDD or an SSD, and manages terminal information about the telephone terminal 2 housed in the own device. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of data stored in the terminal information DB 104 of the telephone control device 1. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal information DB 104 stores "terminal number", "extension number", "user identification name", and "key assignment" for each telephone terminal 2 accommodated in the telephone control device 1. Retained.

The "terminal number" is unique identification information assigned to each telephone terminal 2, and in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. Compatible. The “extension number” is an extension telephone number assigned to each of all the telephone terminals 2 housed in the telephone control device 1. The "user identification name" is a name for identifying the user who uses each telephone terminal 2, and simply the name of the user is used. Note that if the names are the same, it is difficult to tell them apart from each other if the names are the same, so it is desirable to use the name in combination with other names such as the department name, group name, job title, etc. That is, the user identification name may include input fields for various information such as the department name, group name, job title, and name. Further, although the full name (first and last name) is used here, it is also possible to simply use only the last name.

“Key assignment” is information indicating what kind of function is assigned to the line key (flexible key) provided in each telephone terminal 2. That is, the line key means an operation key to which an executable function can be assigned through a setting operation. The telephone terminal 2 of this embodiment is equipped with six line keys, and what function is assigned to each line key can be determined by the key assignment of each terminal information stored in the terminal information DB 104. This allows you to understand the information using columns. Note that the number of line keys provided on the telephone terminal is not limited to six, and it is of course possible to provide more line keys on the telephone terminal, for example, 18 line keys. .

In the example of data stored in the terminal information DB 104 shown in FIG. 3, telephone terminal 2 (1) identified by terminal number "1" has extension number "10" and user identification name "aaa". This is registered. Furthermore, the key assignments of the telephone terminal 2 (1) identified by the terminal number "1" are as follows: Line key 1 (LK1) has an outside line 1, Line key 2 (LK2) has an outside line 2, and the line key (LK2) has an outside line 1. LK5) shows that the park reservation key 1 (Park 1) is set.

Similarly, the telephone terminal 2 (2) specified by the terminal number "2" is registered as having the extension number "11" and the user identification name "bbb". Furthermore, the key assignments of the telephone terminal 2 (3) specified by the terminal number "2" are as follows: Line key 1 (LK1) has an outside line 1, Line key 2 (LK2) has an outside line 2, and the line key (LK1) has an outside line 1. LK5) shows that the park reservation key 1 (Park 1) is set.

Further, the telephone terminal 2 (3) specified by the terminal number "3" is registered to have an extension number "20" and a user identification name "ccc". Furthermore, the key assignments of the telephone terminal 2 (3) identified by the terminal number "3" are that line key 1 (LK1) is set to outside line 3, and line key 2 (LK2) is set to outside line 4. . In addition, the line key (LK5) of the key assignment of the telephone terminal 2 (3) is set to park hold key 1 (park 1), and the line key (LK6) is set to park hold key 2 (park 2). ing.

Similarly, the telephone terminal 2 (4) specified by the terminal number "4" is registered as having the extension number "21" and the user identification name "ddd". Furthermore, the key assignments of the telephone terminal 2 (4) identified by the terminal number "4" are that line key 1 (LK1) is set to outside line 3, and line key 2 (LK2) is set to outside line 4. . In addition, the line key (LK5) of the key assignment of the telephone terminal 2 (4) is set to park hold key 1 (park 1), and the line key (LK6) is set to park hold key 2 (park 2). ing.

Further, the telephone terminal 2 (5) specified by the terminal number "5" is registered to have an extension number "30" and a user identification name "eee". Furthermore, the key assignments of the telephone terminal 2 (5) identified by the terminal number "5" are that line key 1 (LK1) is set to outside line 5, and line key 2 (LK2) is set to outside line 6. . Further, the park hold key 2 (Park 2) is set to the line key (LK5) assigned to the telephone terminal 2 (5).

Similarly, the telephone terminal 2 (6) specified by the terminal number "6" is registered as having the extension number "31" and the user identification name "fff". Furthermore, the key assignments of the telephone terminal 2 (6) identified by the terminal number "6" are that line key 1 (LK1) is set to outside line 5, and line key 2 (LK2) is set to outside line 6. . Furthermore, the park hold key 2 (Park 2) is set to the line key (LK5) assigned to the telephone terminal 2 (4).

In this way, according to the data stored in the terminal information DB 104, for each of the telephone terminals 2(1) to 2(6), in addition to the terminal number and extension number, who is the main user and what is on the line key? It is possible to understand whether a function is set (assigned).

In addition to this, the terminal information DB 104 also stores and manages information such as "IP (Internet Protocol) address" and "port number" for each telephone terminal 2. That is, the terminal information DB 104 also has a function as an address management information DB. In addition to this, it is also possible to store and manage various necessary information such as a MAC address (Media Access Control address) and a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) in the terminal information DB 104. However, in this embodiment, in order to simplify the explanation, a description of these pieces of information will be omitted.

The connection end 105T constitutes a connection end to a LAN (Local Area Network) to which the telephone control device 1 is connected. A LAN I/F (Interface) 105 enables communication between the telephone control device 1 and each of the telephone terminals 2 accommodated in the telephone control device 1 via the LAN. Therefore, a signal from the telephone control device 1 to the telephone terminal 2 is converted into a signal in a transmission format at the LANI/F 105 and transmitted to the telephone terminal 2. Further, the signal from the telephone terminal 2 is converted into a signal in a format that can be processed by the terminal itself at the LANI/F 105, and is taken in therein.

In this manner, this embodiment will be described assuming that the telephone terminal 2 is connected to the telephone control device 1 via a LAN (so-called IP connection). However, it is not limited to this. Of course, the telephone control device 1 and the telephone terminal 2 can be connected by various connection methods such as a star connection or a bus connection.

The call control unit 106 uses the management information of the terminal information DB 104 under the control of the control unit 102 to perform call control such as calling, receiving, answering, and disconnecting the telephone terminal 2 under its control. The call control unit 106 includes an origination control unit 1061 and an incoming call control unit 1062, as shown in FIG. When the call control unit 106 receives a call (call request) from the telephone terminal 2 under its control, the call control unit 1061 functions to call the designated party, and when the party answers, disconnects the call line. Connect and enable calls.

Further, when the call control unit 106 receives an incoming call addressed to itself (call notification from the other party), the call control unit 1062 functions to notify the subordinate telephone terminal 2 of the incoming call. As a result, the telephone terminal 2 emits a ringing tone and is notified of the occurrence of an incoming call. When an operation to respond to an incoming call (off-hook operation) is performed on the telephone terminal 2, the incoming call control unit 1062 detects this, responds to the incoming call, and initiates a call between the telephone terminal 2 under which the off-hook operation was performed. Connect the line and make calls possible.

In the telephone control device 1 of this embodiment, the process of putting a connected call line on hold, transferring it, or releasing it is carried out under the control of the control unit 102 in response to a request from a subordinate telephone terminal 2. Processed below. Further, even when the proxy response function is used after notification of an incoming call, processing is performed under the control of the control unit 102 in response to a request from the subordinate telephone terminal 2. In addition, the control unit 102 also performs lighting/extinguishing control of LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) included in the telephone terminals 2 under its control, display control on the display, and the like. Therefore, the control unit 102 receives the notification from the call control unit 106 and appropriately grasps the connection, holding, and release status of the call line.

The voice recognition processing unit 111, the agent candidate extraction unit 112, the agent candidate notification unit 113, the hold processing execution unit 114, and the hold state notification unit 115 are the main components that realize the extended park hold function in the business phone system of this embodiment. Becomes a department. Under the control of the control unit 102, the voice recognition processing unit 111 recognizes the voice of the call transmitted and received through the call line when any of the telephone terminals 2 under its control connects the call line and becomes ready for a call. A process is performed to recognize the user identification name of the destination.

Here, the connection of the call line is defined as when one of the telephone terminals 2 connects the call line by receiving or making an outside call, and when the call line is connected by receiving or making an extension call. There is. Note that when considering the telephone control device 1 as a reference, when a telephone line is connected through an external line, the telephone terminal 2 to which the telephone line is connected becomes the receiving side of the external telephone line, and when a telephone line is connected through an extension line, both parties There is a possibility that the telephone terminal 2 becomes the telephone terminal for an extension telephone. Taking this into consideration, the voice recognition processing unit 111 of this embodiment performs voice recognition on the telephone terminal 2 to which the telephone line is connected, by separately recognizing the voice to be received and the voice to be transmitted, and identifying the user. Performs voice recognition of the name.

Specifically, the user identification name is ``aaa'' included in the call voice from the caller, ``This is Mr. aaa from the engineering department, please.'' or ``Sales,'' included in the call voice from the destination. It corresponds to "fff" in the case "It replaces fff in the section." Thus, in this embodiment, the user identification name is the surname or name of the user who uses the telephone terminals 2(1) to 2(6).

In the above example, it can be determined from the phrase "Please." that "aaa" is the user identification name of the destination candidate when the telephone terminal 2 that is the destination is the destination. In addition, in the above example, from the phrase "instead of.", "fff" is a candidate for the agency when the telephone terminal 2 that sent the phrase becomes the receiving dimension, regardless of the destination or origin of the call. It can be identified by the user identification name.

Assume that the hold key is operated on the telephone terminal 2 serving as the receiving device. In this case, the agent candidate extraction unit 112 refers to the terminal information stored in the terminal information DB 104 based on the user identification name voice recognized by the voice recognition processing unit 111, and determines whether the user identification name matches. The terminal information of the destination is extracted as the terminal information of the agency candidate. When a plurality of terminal information is extracted in the agency candidate extraction unit 112, the agency candidate notification unit 113 assigns, for example, a sequence number for selection to the telephone terminal 2 serving as the agency. At least the user identification name of the agency candidate is notified to encourage selection.

That is, if there are multiple users whose names match the user identification name voice recognized by the voice recognition processing unit 111 (if there are users with the same last name and the same name), the agency candidate extraction unit 112 selects multiple users. Terminal information is extracted. In such a case, the agent candidate notification unit 113 notifies the phone terminal 2 of at least the user identification name of each of the plurality of extracted terminal information, and selects one of them. encourage you to do so. Note that although at least the user identification name is used, if information such as the name of the department to which the user belongs, the name of the group to which he belongs, and the title of his position are managed, these may also be notified together.

Further, if the agency candidate extraction unit 112 is able to extract information on only one terminal, the control unit 102 specifies the telephone terminal 2 specified by the terminal information as the agency. In addition, after notifying the agent candidate to the telephone terminal 2 serving as the agent through the agent candidate notification unit 113, the telephone terminal 2 serving as the agent receives an instruction to select the agent candidate (the information attached to the user identification name). Suppose that a sequence number (such as a sequence number) is sent. In this case, the control unit 102 specifies the telephone terminal 2 specified by the terminal information having the user identification name specified by the selection instruction as the customer.

As described above, the hold processing execution unit 114 determines whether a common outside line key, extension key, or common park hold key is specified based on the terminal information of the telephone terminal 2 that is the transfer destination specified by the control unit 102. Check if it exists. In this case, if the call line is connected through an outside line, whether there is a common outside line key or a common park hold key, and if the call line is connected through an extension line, whether there is a common extension key or park hold key exists. If there is an external line key, extension key, or park hold key that can be used in common, the call line will be put on hold by being associated with that operation key, the extension call will be made to the transfer destination, and the call line will be transferred. Make it. In this case, the control unit 102 blinks the LED corresponding to the operation key (line key) associated with the call line of the subordinate telephone terminal to notify the user of the telephone terminal 2 that the telephone terminal 2 is on hold.

However, suppose that there is no external line key, internal line key, or park hold key that can be used in common. In this case, the hold processing execution unit 114 associates the connected park hold key with an unused (vacant) park hold key set in the telephone terminal 2 that is the transfer destination. Put the current call line on hold. In this case, the hold status notification unit 115 performs a process of notifying the receiving telephone terminal 2 which park hold key is associated with the call line that has been placed on hold by the hold processing execution unit 114. Thereby, the receiving telephone terminal 2 can make an extension call to the receiving telephone terminal 2, specify the notified park hold key, connect the telephone line, and request to take over the call.

In this way, the telephone control device 1 of this embodiment allows the park hold function to be used even between subordinate telephone terminals 2 for which a common park hold key is not set. In other words, an extended park reservation function is realized.

[Configuration example of telephone terminal 2]
FIG. 4 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration example of the telephone terminal 2 accommodated in the telephone control device 1 of the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the appearance of the telephone terminal 2 according to the embodiment. Although not shown, the control unit 210 is a microprocessor including a CPU, ROM, RAM, nonvolatile memory, etc., and controls each part of the telephone terminal 2. The control unit 210 also performs decomposition/generation processing of various data such as control data and audio data that are transmitted and received in packets.

The connection end 201T constitutes a connection end to the local network. The LANI/F 201 realizes connection with the telephone control device 1 through the local network. That is, the LANI/F 201 converts a signal sent to its own device into a signal in a format that can be processed by its own device, and imports the signal into its own device. Furthermore, the LANI/F 201 converts a signal transmitted from its own device into a signal for transmission, and performs a process of transmitting the signal. The telephone terminal 2 of this embodiment is connected by wire to the telephone control device 1 through the connection end 201T and the LAN I/F 201.

Handset 202 includes a speaker (receiver) and a microphone (transmitter). Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the telephone terminal 2 is in an on-hook state when the handset 202 is placed in a fixed position on the casing of the telephone terminal 2, and is in an off-hook state when it is picked up from the fixed position in the casing of the telephone terminal 2. It is designed to be. For this reason, the telephone terminal 2 is equipped with a configuration that allows the control unit 210 to grasp these hook states.

The codec 203 receives audio data depacketized by the control unit 210, compresses and expands it, converts it into an analog audio signal, and supplies it to the speaker of the handset 202 in an off-hook state. As a result, the voice from the other party is emitted from the speaker of the handset 202. Further, the codec 203 converts an analog audio signal picked up by the microphone of the off-hook handset 202 into a digital signal, compresses the data, and supplies the digital signal to the control unit 210 . The control unit 210 packetizes the audio data from the codec 203 and transmits it to the destination via the LANI/F 201 and the connection end 201T.

The operation input unit 204 receives operation input from the user and provides the received information to the control unit 210. As shown in FIG. 5, the operation input unit 204 is provided with a numeric keypad and a plurality of function keys, as well as a so-called line key that allows settings such as an outside line key, an extension key, and a park hold key. There is. In the telephone terminal 2 of this embodiment, four function keys are provided on the right side of the numeric keypad shown as round keys, one of which is a hold key HK as shown in FIG. . Further, the telephone terminal 2 of this embodiment is provided with six line keys LK1 to LK6, as shown in FIG.

As explained using FIG. 3, in this embodiment, outside line 1 and outside line 2 are assigned to line keys LK1 and LK2 of telephone terminals 2(1) and 2(2), and line keys Park hold key 1 is assigned to LK5. In addition, telephone terminals 2 (3), 2 (
), line keys LK1 and LK2 are assigned to outside line 3 and outside line 4, and line keys LK5 and LK6 are assigned to park hold key 1 and park hold key 2. Furthermore, line keys LK1 and LK2 of telephone terminals 2 (5) and 2 (6) are assigned to outside line 5 and outside line 6, and line key LK5 is assigned to park hold key 2.

In the telephone terminal 2 of this embodiment, the LED unit 205 is provided with LEDs 51 to 56 corresponding to each line key LK1 to LK6, as shown in FIG. , the lights are turned off. For example, an LED corresponding to a line key to which an outside line key or an extension key is set is controlled to blink in association with the line key when the call line is put on hold. Further, the LED corresponding to the line key to which the park hold key is set is controlled to be lit in association with the line key when the call line is placed on hold. Note that the content of the control described here is just an example, and the control of lighting, blinking, and turning off the light can be performed in various ways.

The sound emitting unit (ringer) 206 emits a ringtone under the control of the control unit 210 when a call arrives. In addition, under the control of the control unit 210, the sound emitting unit 206 can also emit a warning sound in case of an erroneous operation, a voice message, etc., for example. The display 207 includes a display controller, and under the control of the control unit 210, as shown in FIG. I do. The displayed information includes various information such as the entered telephone number of the other party, the telephone number of the caller, a guidance message, a warning message, and a list of user identification names of the above-mentioned destination candidates.

The telephone terminal 2 having such a configuration is housed in the telephone control device 1 and receives an outside call, makes an outside call, receives an extension call, and makes an extension call via the telephone control device 1. It is now possible to do so.

[Business phone system operation]
In the business phone system of this embodiment in which the telephone control device 1 accommodates the telephone terminals 2(1) to 2(6) and is configured as shown in FIG. 1, the extended park hold function is used to The process when making a telephone call will be explained. Here, an example will be explained in which a telephone terminal 2 (1) receives an external telephone call from the external telephone terminal 4 to the technical department through the external telephone line 1, and forwards the call to Mr. fff of the sales department.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are sequence diagrams for explaining the processing when using the extended park reservation function performed in the business phone system of this embodiment. In this embodiment, it is assumed that a user of an external telephone terminal 4 connected to a telephone network 3 makes a call to the technical department of the company through an external line 1 by using the telephone number assigned to the technical department. (Step S1). The call is received by the telephone control device 1 of the business phone system, and the telephone control device 1 issues a ringing instruction to the subordinate telephone terminals 2(1) and 2(2) to notify them of the incoming call (step S2). . In response, the telephone terminals 2(1) and 2(2) perform a ringing process and emit a ringtone to notify the user of the incoming call (step S3). Note that in FIGS. 6 and 7, the description of the telephone terminal 2 (2) is omitted to simplify the explanation.

In response to this, the telephone terminal 2 (1) receives a response operation from the user (step S4), and transmits a response notification to the telephone control device 1 (step S5). transmits a response notification to the outside line telephone terminal 4 of the caller (step S6). As a result, a telephone line is connected between the outside line telephone terminal 4 of the caller and the telephone terminal 2(1) of the business phone system of the destination, and a telephone conversation is enabled (step S7).

In this case, upon connection of the telephone line, the control unit 102 controls the voice recognition processing unit 111, performs voice recognition of the voice transmitted and received through the connected telephone line, and recognizes the user identification name of the agent. is recognized and notified to the control unit 102 (step S8). In this example, it is assumed that as a result of voice recognition, the call voice "Mr. fff, are you here?" can be recognized, and the phrase "Mr. fff" can be recognized as the user identification name of the transfer destination.

Thereafter, when the hold key HK is pressed on the telephone terminal 2(1), which is the receiving device (step S9), a hold request is transmitted from the telephone terminal 2(1) to the telephone control device 1 (step S9). S10). In the telephone control device 1 that has received the hold request, the control unit 102 controls the agency candidate extraction unit 112 to extract data stored in the terminal information DB 104 based on the user identification name "fff" recognized in step S8. Reference is made to extract terminal information of the agency (step S11). Here, it is assumed that only one terminal information of the telephone terminal 2 (6) having "fff" as the user identification name can be extracted as the terminal information of the agency.

Next, proceeding to the process shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 102 of the telephone control device 1 establishes a connection based on the terminal information of the telephone terminal 2 (1) of the telephone terminal 2(1) that has transmitted the hold request and the extracted terminal information. Identify the operation key that corresponds to the current call line. In other words, in this example, if the outside line 1 to which the call line is connected can also be used on the telephone terminal 2 (6), transfer using the outside line key is possible, so the call line cannot be put on hold. Bye. However, in telephone terminal 2 (6), as mentioned above, the available outside line keys are outside line 5 and outside line 6, and there is no matching outside line key or park hold key, so it is not possible to release the hold at the transfer destination. . In other words, a call line that is on hold cannot be taken over.

Therefore, the control unit 102 controls the hold processing execution unit 114 to set the connected call line in association with the park hold key 2 that can be used on the telephone terminal 2 (6) of the extension 31 that is the destination. It is placed on hold (step S12). In this case, under the control of the control unit 102, the LED 56 of the line key LK6 to which the park hold key 2 of the telephone terminals 2(3) and 2(4) to which the park hold key 2 is assigned is lit. Further, under the control of the control unit 102, the LED 55 of the line key LK5 to which the park hold key 2 of the telephone terminals 2(5) and 2(6) is assigned is lit. Furthermore, the control unit 102 transmits a hold tone to the outside line telephone terminal 4 of the caller through the call line that is put on hold (step S13).

On the other hand, the user of the telephone terminal 2 (1) of the Tori dimension responds to the question "Mr. fff, are you here?" which is a voice transmitted through the telephone line connected in step S7, and the addressee is "fff". Recognize that you are Mr. Therefore, through the telephone terminal 2 (1), the extension number "31" assigned to the telephone terminal 2 (6) used by Mr. "fff" is dialed to make an extension call (step S14).

In response, the telephone control device 1 transmits a ringing instruction to the telephone terminal 2 (6) (step S15) to notify the telephone terminal 2 (6) of the incoming call. The telephone terminal 2 (6) that has received the ringing instruction performs a ringing process, emits a ringtone, and notifies the user of the incoming call (step S16). In response, when the telephone terminal 2 (6) receives a response operation from the user (step S17), the telephone terminal 2 (6) transmits a response notification to the telephone control device 1 (step S18).

The telephone control device 1 also sends a response notification to the telephone terminal 2 (1) that is the originator of the extension (step S19), and the telephone call between the telephone terminal 2 (1) and the telephone terminal 2 (6) is terminated. The line is connected (step S20) to enable communication. Here, the user of telephone terminal 2 (1) presses the park hold key to inform the user of telephone terminal 2 (6) that he/she wishes to take over the call from external telephone terminal 4. , performs an on-hook operation to disconnect the telephone line connected in step S20 (step S21). Although not described in step S21, a call line disconnection request is sent from the telephone terminal 2 (1) to the telephone control device 1, and a disconnection notification is sent from the telephone control device 1 to the telephone terminal 2 (6). Then, the connected telephone line is disconnected in step S20.

After this, when the telephone terminal 2 (6) of the agency receives the operation input of the park hold key 2 (line key LK5) from the user (step S22), it indicates that the park hold key 2 has been pressed. The notification is sent to the telephone control device 1 (step S23). In response to this, the telephone control device 1 connects the telephone line connected to the outside line telephone terminal 4, which is put on hold in association with the park hold key 2, with the telephone terminal 2 (6). (Step S24), a call is enabled between the outside line telephone terminal 4 and the telephone terminal 2 (6). After this, when the call ends, if the outside line telephone terminal 4 or the telephone terminal 2 (6) performs an on-hook operation, the telephone line connected between the outside line telephone terminal 4 and the telephone terminal 2 (6) will be released. become.

In this way, in the business phone system of this embodiment, it is possible to put a call line on hold in association with the park hold key 2, which is not available because it is not set in the telephone terminal 2(1). Thereby, the call line that is on hold can be transferred to the telephone terminal 2 (6) for which the park hold key 2 can be used.

In addition, in this embodiment, since only the park hold key 2 can be used in the telephone terminal 2 (6), it is difficult to determine which park hold key is supported from the telephone control device 1 to the telephone terminal 2 (1) on the receiving side. and did not notify me whether the call line was put on hold. However, there are cases where a single telephone terminal is configured to use a plurality of park hold keys. For this reason, the telephone control device 1 notifies the telephone terminal of the dispatcher which park hold key is associated with the call line that has been placed on hold, and the dispatcher informs the telephone terminal of the park hold key to be used. It is also possible to specify a key.

In addition, if multiple distributor candidates can be extracted, the list of distributor candidates is notified to the phone terminal 2 of the dimension, the selection input of the target distributor candidate is accepted, and the selected distributor candidate is selected. You can also specify it as a distributor.

[Summary of processes performed by telephone control device 1 during telephone intermediary]
FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the processing when the extended park hold function is executed by the telephone control device 1. The process shown in FIG. 8 is a state in which an incoming call or an outgoing call occurs, one of the telephone terminals 2(1) to 2(6) under the telephone control device 1 connects a telephone line, and a telephone call can actually be made. This is a process executed by the control unit 102 when the following occurs.

When the process shown in FIG. 8 is executed, the control unit 102 first controls the voice recognition processing unit 111 to start voice recognition of the call voice transmitted and received through the connected call line (step S101), and A process for specifying a user identification name is performed (step S102). The control unit 102 determines whether or not the hold key has been operated on the telephone terminal 2 connected to the telephone line (step S103), and when determining that it has not been operated, determines whether or not the on-hook key has been operated. (Step S109).

In the determination process of step S109, when it is determined that the off-hook key is not operated, the process from step S102 is repeated. When it is determined in the determination process of step S109 that the on-hook key has been operated, a predetermined termination process such as releasing the connected telephone line is performed (step S110), and the process shown in FIG. 8 is terminated.

Assume that in the determination processing in step S103, it is determined that the hold key has been operated. In this case, the control unit 102 controls the vendor candidate extraction unit 112, refers to the data stored in the terminal information DB 104 based on the user identification name of the vendor candidate identified through voice recognition in step S102, and transfers the information. The terminal information of the previous candidate is extracted (step S104). Next, in step S104, the control unit 102 determines whether information on a plurality of terminals to be handled has been extracted (step S105).

Assume that in the determination process of step S105, it is determined that a plurality of pieces of terminal information have been extracted. In this case, the control unit 102 controls the agency candidate notification unit 113 to provide the telephone terminal 2 serving as the agency with at least a list of user identification names in the terminal information, and input selection of the agency. Then, the terminal information of the agent is specified (step S106). In addition, in the determination process of step S105, when it is determined that multiple pieces of terminal information are not extracted, that is, only one terminal information is extracted, the one terminal information is specified as the destination terminal information. do.

Next, the control unit 102 controls the hold processing execution unit 114 to associate the currently connected call line with which operation key based on the terminal information of the telephone terminal 2 of the telephone terminal 2 and the terminal information of the terminal. It is determined whether to put it in a hold state (hold mode), and the state changes to a hold state (step S107). That is, in step S107, if there is an external line key, extension key, or park hold key that can be used in common, the call line is put on hold in association with this key. However, if there is no external line key, extension key, or park hold key that can be used in common, the connected call line will be put on hold in association with the park hold key that can be used on the telephone terminal 2 of the destination. do.

Thereafter, a hold tone is transmitted to the other party of the call through the call line placed on hold (step S108), and the process shown in FIG. 8 is ended. Note that a plurality of park hold keys may be set on the telephone terminal of the destination. In such a case, the control unit 102 of the telephone control device 1 controls the hold state notification unit 115 and at least associates it with which park hold key to inform the intermediary that the connected call line has been put on hold. It is also possible to notify the original telephone terminal.

After the process shown in FIG. 8, as explained using FIG. 7, the user of the telephone terminal at the transfer point and the user of the telephone terminal at the transfer destination make a call and request that the telephone be taken over. Let's do it. In response, the user of the telephone terminal at the transfer destination agrees to take over the call and operates the operation key associated with the call line, so that the call line that was placed on hold is transferred to the transfer destination. phone terminal, and calls can be made.

[Effects of embodiment]
In the business phone system of the embodiment described above, even if a commonly usable park hold key is not set, the connected phone is associated with the park hold key set on the destination telephone terminal. A call line can be placed on hold. Thereby, the telephone terminal that is the handover destination can take over the currently connected call line and make a call using the park hold key set in the telephone terminal itself. That is, even if there is no park reservation key that can be used in common, the park reservation function can be used. In other words, an extended park reservation function can be realized.

[Modified example]
In the embodiment described above, when the call line is put on hold through the hold processing execution unit 114, the hold state notification unit 115 sends information indicating the park hold key associated with the call line to the telephone number of the pick-up side. A notification is now sent to the device. However, it is not limited to this. The hold status notification unit 115 transmits, for example, the user identification name of the handler and information indicating the park hold key associated with the telephone line to the telephone terminal of the handler based on the terminal information of the handler. It is also possible to notify.

Further, the hold state notification unit 115 notifies the telephone terminal of the telephone terminal of the telephone terminal of the telephone terminal of the telephone terminal of the telephone terminal, based on the telephone terminal information of the telephone terminal. You can also do that. In this case, there is no need for the user of the receiving telephone terminal 2 to check the extension number of the receiving telephone terminal. Of course, the hold status notification unit 115 sends information indicating the park hold key associated with the user identification name, extension number, and call line to the phone terminal of the handler based on the telephone terminal information of the handler. It is also possible to notify.

Further, in the embodiment described above, the telephone control device 1 is provided with the voice recognition processing section 111, but the present invention is not limited to this. The voice recognition processing unit is provided in each of the telephone terminals 2(1) to 2(6), and notifies the telephone control device 1 of the user identification name of the agency extracted by voice recognition, and selects the candidate agency. It is also possible to configure the system to extract the following. In this case, the voice data is transmitted and received in packet form, and the voice data is preferably packetized and depacketized in the telephone terminals 2(1) to 2(6). It becomes the composition.

In addition, regarding voice recognition of call voices sent and received through a telephone line, the call voice is transmitted to a predetermined server device connected to a wide area network, and the result is recognized by the server device. It can also be configured to receive and use the information. In other words, processing that can be performed in a so-called cloud system can be distributed as in a cloud system.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where a business phone system is constructed by the telephone control device 1 and the telephone terminals 2(1) to 2(6) has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. This invention can be applied to a business phone system configured on a larger scale, and can also be applied to a business phone system on a smaller scale.

Furthermore, for example, in the case of ``Mr. ○○ or Mr. □□ from the sales department, please.'', multiple user identification names may be recognized by voice recognition. In such a case, a list containing a plurality of voice-recognized user identification names is provided to the telephone terminal 2, and the operator selects and inputs the user identification name of the destination from the list. You can also make it so that it appears. The voice recognition pattern is not limited to the one described above, and various patterns can be predetermined to recognize the user identification name of the agency.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, when the "hold key" is operated, the terminal information DB 104 is referred to and the agency is specified based on the voice-recognized user identification name. It is not limited to. For example, assume that it is well known that calls cannot be made between departments using the outside line key, extension key, or park hold key. In this case, if it is necessary to relay calls across departments, a special operation key such as an "extension key" is provided, for example. When this "extension key" is operated, the terminal information is specified based on the voice-recognized user identification name, the call line associated with the park hold key, which cannot be used at the delivery level, is put on hold and the call is relayed. You can also do it like this.

[others]
As can be seen from the above description of the embodiment, the function of the terminal information storage means in the claims is realized by the terminal information DB 104 of the telephone control device 1 of the embodiment. Furthermore, the functions of the voice recognition processing means, extraction means, and hold processing execution means in the claims are the voice recognition processing unit 111, agent candidate extraction unit 112, and hold processing execution unit 114 of the telephone control device 1 of the embodiment. It has been realized. Further, the functions of the candidate notification means, reception means, and hold status notification unit in the claims are the agency candidate notification unit 113, the LANI/F 105, the control unit 102, and the hold status notification unit 115 of the telephone control device 1 of the embodiment. has been realized.

1...Telephone control device, 101T...Connection end, 101...Communication I/F, 102...Control unit, 103...Storage device, 104...Terminal information DB, 105...LANI/F, 105T...Connection end, 106...Call control unit , 1061... Call control unit, 1062... Call reception control unit, 111... Voice recognition processing unit, 112... Agency candidate extraction unit, 113... Agency identification unit, 114... Hold processing execution unit, 115... Hold status notification unit, 2 , 2(1) to 2(6)...telephone terminal, 3...telephone network, 4...external telephone terminal

Claims (4)

Terminal information storage means for storing terminal information in which a user identification name and information indicating a park hold key set to a predetermined operation key are associated with each other for each of the plurality of telephone terminals housed in the own device;
When a telephone line is connected between the telephone terminal of the other party and the telephone terminal which is the telephone terminal housed in the telephone terminal and serves as the telephone terminal, voice recognition of the telephone voice transmitted and received through the telephone line is performed. voice recognition processing means that recognizes the user identification name of the person to whom the transaction is made;
When a predetermined hold operation is received through the telephone terminal, the terminal information in the terminal information storage means is referred to based on the user identification name recognized by the voice recognition processing means, and the terminal information is stored in the own device. Extracting means for extracting terminal information of an agency telephone terminal which is the telephone terminal that has been transferred and is an agency destination;
and a hold processing execution unit that places the call line on hold based on the terminal information extracted by the extracting unit, in association with a park hold key assigned to the destination telephone terminal. Telephone control device. The telephone control device according to claim 1,
Candidate notification means for notifying the receiving telephone terminal of at least a user identification name of each of the plurality of terminal information when the plurality of pieces of terminal information are extracted by the extraction means;
and reception means for receiving selection information of the user identification name transmitted from the agency telephone terminal after notification by the candidate notification means;
The hold processing execution means associates the terminal information with the park hold key assigned to the destination telephone terminal based on the terminal information having the user identification name corresponding to the selection information received through the reception means, A telephone control device that puts the telephone line on hold. The telephone control device according to claim 1 or 2,
A holding state notifying means is provided for notifying the receiving telephone terminal of information indicating the park holding key associated with the calling line when the telephone line is put on hold through the holding processing execution means. A telephone control device characterized by: The telephone control device according to claim 1 or claim 2,
When the call line is put on hold through the hold processing execution means, the call line is associated with one or both of the user identification name of the terminal information and the extension number included in the terminal information. A telephone control device comprising a hold state notification means for notifying the receiving telephone terminal of information indicating the park hold key.

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