JPH0351344B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Field of the Invention The present invention provides a system for transmitting a message to a subscriber terminal, such as a facsimile terminal, located closest to the individual to whom the message is to be sent, using the telephone number of a telephone set corresponding to that individual. This relates to an exchange control system that enables transmission using

PRIOR ART AND PROBLEMS Many companies, offices, etc. install telephones for personal use, which allows calls from outside to be made using personal telephone numbers. However, subscriber terminals such as facsimile terminals, telex terminals, and various data terminals are generally installed on a floor-by-floor, department-by-division, and other unit basis due to cost and space considerations. Therefore, when sending a message to a certain individual using a subscriber terminal, the telephone inquired about the number of the nearest subscriber terminal, and the message was sent using that subscriber terminal number. As described above, message transmission by facsimile or the like has the disadvantage that inquiries are required to select subscriber terminals that are installed in small numbers.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to provide control so that even if a message is sent using a telephone number corresponding to an individual, the call can be received at the subscriber terminal closest to the individual.

Structure of the Invention The present invention provides an exchange control method for transmitting a message from a sending subscriber terminal to a receiving subscriber terminal via a store and forward device, in which a telephone number and a subscriber terminal number are sent to the store and forward device. A registration means for registering in correspondence is provided, an exchange connection is established with the storage and forwarding device by a call from a sending subscriber terminal, a destination telephone number and a message are sent from the sending subscriber terminal, and a message is sent to the destination telephone number. The number is converted into a subscriber terminal number by the registration means, the subscriber terminal is connected to the storage and forwarding device under exchange control based on the subscriber terminal number, and messages stored in the storage and forwarding device are transferred to the subscriber. The message is sent to the terminal, and the sending subscriber terminal can send messages without being aware of the receiving subscriber terminal number. Examples will be described in detail below.

Embodiment of the Invention FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, in which telephones with telephone numbers 3291 to 3297, terminal numbers 3200,
The case where 3300 subscriber terminals are installed is shown. Note that it is a type of telephone subscriber terminal.
Facsimile terminals, telex terminals, various data terminals, etc. are referred to as subscriber terminals to distinguish them, and numbers assigned to telephones are referred to as telephone numbers, and numbers assigned to subscriber terminals are referred to as subscriber terminal numbers or terminal numbers. do. In Figure 1, telephone numbers
Telephones 3291, 3293, and 3294 are located near the subscriber terminal with terminal number 3200, and telephone numbers 3292 and 3295 are placed near the subscriber terminal with terminal number 3200.
~3297 telephone is located near the subscriber terminal with terminal number 3300. These relationships are registered in advance in the storage and forwarding device.

When a message is to be sent from a sending subscriber terminal to a certain individual, a call is made to the storage and forwarding device, and the message and the telephone number of the telephone set corresponding to the individual are sent out. The storage and forwarding device converts a telephone number into a terminal number, performs exchange control using this terminal number, and transmits a message to a receiving subscriber's terminal. For example, when a telephone number 3293 and a message are sent from an external sending subscriber terminal, the storage and forwarding device converts the telephone number 3293 into the terminal number 3200 of a pre-registered subscriber terminal located near the telephone. do. The exchange is controlled by this terminal number 3200, and a message is sent to the subscriber terminal having this terminal number 3200. In other words, there is no need for the sending subscriber terminal to be aware of which subscriber terminal is closest to the telephone with telephone number 3293, and it can be sent to the desired subscriber terminal by simply setting telephone number 3293 as the destination telephone number. A message will be sent.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of main parts of an embodiment of the present invention, in which 1 is a network of exchanges, 2 is a central control unit, 3 is a storage/forwarding device, 4 is a control device, 5 is a storage device, and 6 is a registration device. 7 is a telephone, and 8 and 9 are subscriber terminals such as facsimile terminals.

Assuming that the telephone 7 and the subscriber terminal 8 are located close to each other, and the subscriber terminal 9 is located in a remote location, the telephone number of the telephone 7 and the terminal number of the subscriber terminal are made to correspond, and the store-and-forward operation is performed. Registration device 6 of device 3
It should be registered in the. This registration operation is
It can be registered by inputting it through an input means (not shown) such as a typewriter of the storage and forwarding device 3, or it can be registered by the same method such as speed dial registration from a subscriber terminal. If the arrangement of telephones and subscriber terminals is shown in FIG. 1, the registered contents of the registration device 6 will be as shown in FIG. 3, for example. In addition,
TEL indicates a telephone number, FAX indicates a terminal number.

When a message is to be sent from a subscriber terminal 9 to an individual to whom a telephone 7 is installed, a call is made to the storage and forwarding device 3, and the central control device 2 then controls the network 1 to form a path shown by a dotted line. Then, the sending subscriber terminal 9 and the storage/forwarding device 3 are connected.
In this connection state, dial the destination phone number and
Next, a message transmission such as a facsimile transmission is performed. The control device 4 of the storage and forwarding device 3 transfers the telephone number to the registration device 6 and controls the transfer of the message to the storage device 5, and the registration device 6 converts the telephone number into a terminal number and sends it back to the control device 4. do. The messages transferred to the storage device 5 are temporarily stored under the control of the control device 4. Note that upon completion of message transmission, the path of network 1 shown by the dotted line is restored.

The control device 4, which has received the terminal number converted by the registration device 6, sends the terminal number to the exchange. The central control device 2 of the exchange connects the receiving subscriber terminal 8 and the storage/forwarding device 3 by forming a path shown by a chain line based on the terminal number. As a result, the message is read from the storage device 5 of the storage/forwarding device 3 and transmitted to the receiving subscriber terminal 8, and upon completion of the transmission, the path of the network 1 shown by the chain line is restored.
Therefore, even if the sending subscriber terminal 9 only knows the telephone number for an individual and does not know the terminal number of the nearest subscriber terminal, it can send a message using that telephone number as the destination telephone number. As a result, the message is sent to the desired subscriber terminal.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the above-mentioned operation, in which the sending subscriber terminal places a call to the store-and-forward device, dials the telephone number of the called party, and sends a message. The store-and-forward device converts the called party's telephone number into a terminal number, calls the receiving subscriber's terminal using this terminal number, and sends out the stored message by connecting with the receiving subscriber's terminal. Therefore, by registering a telephone number and a terminal number in correspondence in advance, a call can be received at the subscriber terminal located closest to the destination telephone number.

In the embodiment described above, if the subscriber terminal with the terminal number corresponding to the destination telephone number is busy, the control device 4 of the storage and forwarding device 3 may control re-calling, etc. , in case of emergency, a message can be sent using the terminal number of the second nearest subscriber terminal. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the first terminal number FAX ₁ and the second terminal number correspond to the telephone number TEL.
FAX ₂ is registered, the destination phone number is converted to the first terminal number FAX ₁ , and when a call is made to that subscriber terminal, if the subscriber terminal is detected as busy, the second terminal number is You can convert the terminal number to FAX ₂ and make a call to that subscriber terminal. For example, when sending a message to an individual with a telephone number TEL 3297 installed, the registration device 6 of the storage and forwarding device 3 converts the telephone number 3297 into a terminal number 3300 and subscribes to this terminal number. When a call is made to a subscriber terminal, if it is detected that this subscriber terminal is busy (this can be easily detected by detecting the busy tone), it is converted to the second terminal number 3200. Therefore, if a call is made to the subscriber terminal with this terminal number,
Messages can be sent without waiting until the subscriber terminal with terminal number 3300 becomes vacant.

Effects of the Invention As explained above, the present invention provides the storage and forwarding device 3 with a registration means such as the registration device 6 for registering telephone numbers and subscriber terminal numbers in association with each other, and performs an exchange connection with the store and forward device 3, sends a destination telephone number and a message from the sending subscriber terminal, converts this destination telephone number into a subscriber terminal number by the registration means, and registers the subscriber terminal. The system connects the subscriber terminal and the storage/forwarding device 3 through exchange control based on the subscriber terminal number, and sends messages stored in the storage/forwarding device 3 to the subscriber terminal. There is no need for the sending subscriber terminal to be aware of which is the best way to send the message, and the message can be sent to the desired subscriber terminal by simply dialing the destination phone number to which the message should be sent. When the number of personal terminals installed is smaller than the number of personal telephones, there is an advantage that messages can be sent efficiently and easily.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a block diagram of main parts of an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram of registered contents, Fig. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of registered contents in another embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a network, 2 is a central control device, 3 is a storage/forwarding device, 4 is a control device, 5 is a storage device, 6 is a registration device, 7 is a telephone, and 8 and 9 are subscriber terminals.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In an exchange control system in which a message from a sending subscriber terminal is transmitted to a receiving subscriber terminal via a store and forward device, registration is performed in which a telephone number and a subscriber terminal number are registered in correspondence with the store and forward device. means for establishing an exchange connection with the store-and-forwarding device by making a call from a sending subscriber terminal, transmitting a destination telephone number and a message from the sending subscriber terminal, and transmitting the destination telephone number by the registration means. converting it into a subscriber terminal number, connecting the subscriber terminal to the storage and forwarding device through exchange control using the subscriber terminal number, and transmitting the message stored in the storage and forwarding device to the subscriber terminal. Features an exchange control method.