JPH01180170A - Automatic private branch exchange - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate need for repetition of dialing by detecting absence of extension automatically and recording the message of a caller to a storage device. CONSTITUTION:If a called extension B is absent, a detection means 7 detects the absence of the extension B, a control section 9 stores a message of the caller extension A to the extension B into a storage device 6 and stores tentatively the address of the extension B into the storage device 8. When the extension B comes back, hooks off the handset 3 to check the presence of a message and then hooks on the handset, the control section 9 detects the presence of the extension B, searches the storage device 8, detects the message to the extension B to call the extension B thereby sending the message in the storage device 6.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to an automatic private branch exchange system having an Il function that automatically stores a caller's message when the called party is not present.

(b) Conventional technology When a call is made to an extension subscriber when the subscriber is not present, in general equipment, the caller waits for the called party to respond without hearing a ringback tone, and then abandons the call. However, it is necessary to repeat the call operation again after a while. This places a heavy burden on the caller when making a call, and there are also problems in that the message cannot be transmitted efficiently or reliably.

On the other hand, there is also an automatic private branch exchange system that has a function of automatically forwarding a call to the absent extension to another extension when the subscriber is absent. This is troublesome in operation, as the subscriber must enter the forwarding destination in advance and set the forwarding.

In addition, as an additional function of ordinary telephones, a so-called answering machine function that records the caller's message when the extension subscriber is absent is available, but this also requires the subscriber to set up an answering machine. However, when the subscriber returns to his or her desk, the set must be canceled, which poses a problem of placing a burden on the called party in operating the system.

Additionally, modern devices automatically switch to message recording mode when the called party is busy, allowing the caller to record the message and automatically recording the message after the called party has finished talking. A method of calling a caller and sending a recorded message from the caller has been introduced (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-20506).
(Refer to Publication No. 0), this automatic recording is configured to be possible when the extension is busy, and there is a problem that it cannot be performed when the called party is absent.

(c) Problems to be Solved by the Invention The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic private branch exchange device that can automatically record a caller's message when the extension is not available. It is something to do. It is also an attempt to provide an automatic private branch exchange device that can recall a message when the called party is absent when the called party provides presence information.

(d) Means for Solving the Problems The automatic private branch exchange system of the present invention has a system for communicating between a calling party A and a called party's extension B.
a first information transmission path connecting said caller A and said message storage device; a message storage device for recording messages; an absence detection means for detecting the absence of called party extension B; 2 information transmission path and a control unit that controls the operation of the first and second information transmission paths, executes a call from the calling party A to the called party FIB, and detects the absence. When detecting the absence of the called party's extension B by the means, the control section opens the first information transmission path and connects the second information transmission path, The present invention is characterized in that it is configured to allow storage in a message storage device.

Further, the automatic private branch exchange device of the present invention further includes a presence information receiving means for receiving presence information of the called party extension 111B, and a third part connecting the called party extension B and the message storage device to the above device. an information transmission path, the message storage device has a function of reproducing the message, and the control unit is configured to have a function of controlling operation of the third information transmission path, When the called party extension B provides the presence information, the control unit transmits the message reproduced from the message storage device to the called party through the third information transmission path. This feature is characterized in that it is configured to be provided to H.

(E) Operation Since the device of the present invention is configured as described above, even if the called party's extension B is absent, the caller's message can be automatically recorded in the message storage device. This eliminates the inconvenience of the caller having to repeat the call operation after some time in order to find out if the called party's extension is present. Further, when the called party's extension is present, the called party's extension can easily recall the message addressed to itself in the message storage device.

(f) Example Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an automatic private branch exchange apparatus of the present invention. In Figure 1, there are two cases in which extension subscriber A makes a call to extension subscriber B, and there is no response to the call, and extension subscriber A records a message in the message storage device; Assume a case where a message in a message storage device is recalled. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the flow of operations after extension subscriber A makes a call to extension subscriber B.

In Figure 1, (1) is the telephone of caller extension A, (2
) is the subscriber circuit of calling party extension A, and (3) is the called party extension B.
telephone, (4) is the subscriber circuit of called party's extension B, (5)
(6) is a message storage device, (7) is an absence detection means, (8) is an information storage section, and (9) is a control section that integrates and controls these.

The communication path switch (5>) includes a first information transmission path (5a) that connects calling party extension A and called party extension B, and a first information transmission path (5a) that connects calling party extension A and the message storage device (6). 2 information transmission path (
5b), the called party's extension B, and the message memory device! (6) and a third information transmission path (5c) that connects to

The operation of the message storage device (6) is controlled by a control signal from the control unit (9), and the message storage device (6) has a function of receiving a message from the calling party's extension A through the second information transmission path (5b) and recording it; It has a function of reproducing the message recorded in this manner and transmitting it to the third information transmission path (5c).

The absence detection means (7) detects the absence of the called party's extension B, and in this embodiment, - the calling party's extension A is the called party's internal fiB.
It has a built-in ring time clock that counts, for example, five ring back tones after the start of the call, and after this clock counts the five ring back tones, the controller (9)
detects the absence of called party extension B. This absence detection means (
7) is capable of automatically detecting the absence of the called party's extension B, and does not require any operation on the called party's internal line 11B to detect this absence.

The information storage section (8) temporarily stores the address of the called party's extension B when a message is registered in the message storage device (6), and the storage address is configured so that it can be erased after the registered message is played back. There is.

First, caller A calls caller extension A to call called party B.
dial the called party's internal line mB (Figure 2aL).As a result, the calling party's internal line 111A and the called party's extension B are connected through the first information transmission path (5a) of the communication path switch (5), and If caller B is absent, a ringback tone is sent back to caller A. At the same time, the absence detection means 7
) starts counting this ringback tone.
), when the counted value reaches a preset value, it is determined that called party extension B is absent (FIG. 2c).

When the absence of the called party extension B is detected by the absence detection means (7>), the control section (9)
), the connection between the calling party's extension A and the called party's extension B through the first information transmission path (5a) is cut off, and the second information transmission path (5b
) to connect the calling party's extension A and the message storage device (6) (Fig. 2d). Message memory device! (6) is within the caller! !
Inform A that called party extension B is unavailable and that messages to this called party extension B can be recorded.0 Calling party extension A receives this information, The message contents are registered in the message storage device (Fig. 2 e), and this registration is completed (second
Figure r) Then, the control unit (9) stores the information in the information storage unit (8).
In order to indicate that a message has been registered for the called party's extension B, the address (extension number) of the called party's extension B is stored (FIG. 2g).

Through the above operations, if called party extension B is absent, messages from calling party extension A to called party extension B will be stored in the message storage device (
6). Called party B is present and called party extension B
In order to check whether there is a message for the called party, the telephone (3) in the called party's FIB is first off-hook and then immediately on-hook.The off-footer is detected by the determination means (h in Fig. 2), and the control is performed based on the detection output. The control unit (9) detects the presence of called party extension B (Fig. 2 i). When this presence is detected, the control unit (9) searches the information storage unit (8). j), detect the presence or absence of a message to extension B (
Figure 2k).

If this message exists, the control unit (9) calls the called party's extension B (Fig. 2 2), and then connects the called party's extension mB and the message storage device F (6) to the third information transmission path ( 5c) (Fig. 2mL) Then, the control unit (9) activates the message storage device (6) and transfers the reproduced message from the message storage device (6) to the third information transmission path (5c). (second
Figure nL When the transmission of this message is completed (Figure 2 0), the extension number of only the address of extension B in the information storage unit (8) is deleted (Figure 2 p), and the message storage device (6) is Release the playback mode (Fig. 2q).

Note that calls to called party's extension B are made a predetermined number of times (for example, 5 times).
If telephone (3) of called party extension B goes off-hook before reaching
The information transmission line (5a) is connected, and normal phone calls become possible (Fig. 2 rL; when the call ends, Fig. 2 S),
The telephone (3) of the called party's extension B is taken off-hook. If multiple messages are registered, either send the messages sequentially in the order in which they were registered, or send the message one by one. The configuration may be such that the user can select either one or the other, or the configuration may be configured such that either one is set. It can be easily controlled by Further, it is possible to configure the same message to be sent only once or to send it repeatedly as appropriate. Furthermore, the method for erasing the message is that after the message is sent, it can be erased immediately by simply going off-hook from the called party's extension, or it can be erased by entering a special hood for erasing from the calling party's extension A or the called party's extension B. These can be dealt with by appropriately setting the control section.

Although the above description has been made regarding the case where the calling party is an extension line, the present invention can also be applied to a case where the calling party is connected through a central office line.

Further, when the called party's extension B is busy, the caller's message may be immediately registered in the message storage device without counting the ringing time by the absence detecting means.

(G) Effects of the Invention According to the device of the present invention, when an extension is not available, the absence can be automatically detected and the caller's message can be recorded in the message storage device, so that the caller can It is possible to eliminate the operational inconvenience of having to dial repeatedly to check for the presence of the called party. Further, if necessary, by performing a simple operation on the called party's extension side, it is possible to know whether there is a message to the callee's own extension and to listen to the contents of the message.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an automatic private branch exchange apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the flow of operations after extension subscriber A makes a call to extension subscriber B. (1)...Telephone of calling party's extension A, (2)...Subscriber circuit of calling party's extension A, (3)...Telephone of called party's extension B, (4)... subscriber circuit of called party extension B, (5)
...Call path switch, (6)...Message storage device, (
7)... Absence detection means, (8)... Information storage unit, (
9)...Control unit, (5a) (5b) (5c)...First, second, and third information transmission paths. Applicant Sanyo 11EII Co., Ltd. Agent Patent attorney Takuji Nishino (1 other person) Figure 1 5 Figure 2 (Part 1) Figure 2 (Part 2)

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A first information transmission path connecting calling party A and called party extension B, a message storage device for recording messages, an absence detection means for detecting the absence of called party extension B, and a first information transmission path connecting calling party A and called party extension B; Caller A
and a second information transmission path that connects the message storage device, and a control unit that controls operation of the first and second information transmission paths, from the calling party A to the called party's extension B. executes a call, and when the absence detecting means detects that the called party is absent from extension B, the control unit opens the first information transmission path and connects the second information transmission path; An automatic private branch exchange device characterized in that it is configured to allow a message from the caller A to be stored in the message storage device. (2) The automatic private branch exchange device according to claim (1) is the called party's extension B.
and a third information transmission path connecting the called party's extension B and the message storage device, and the message storage device has a function of reproducing the message. Further, the control unit is configured to have a function of controlling the operation of the third information transmission path, and when the called party extension B provides the presence information, the control unit controls the operation of the third information transmission path. An automatic private branch exchange system characterized in that the automatic private branch exchange system is configured to provide a message reproduced from the message storage device to the called party's extension through an information transmission path.