JPH06104986A - Communication system provided with extension call function - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To accurately grasp the presence or absence of a called party of an extension call destination by using a display means of each communication terminal equipment to display the content of the presence or absence state of the user of other communication terminal equipments. CONSTITUTION:Each user of each telephone set D (D1, D2,...) operated an absence presence setting key 73 of a telephone set used by the own user to set its own presence or absence state. The presence or absence data are added to data of an extension number specific to each of the telephone sets D1, D2,... and the resulting data are sent to a controller C and the data of a content of the presence or absence state set by each telephone set are sent from the controller C to each telephone set. Furthermore, a presence or absence confirmation display light 8 provided to a key 72 is lighted or goes off by each of the telephone sets D1, D2,... receiving the data in response to the data.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication system having an extension calling function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a communication system of this type,
For example, there has been developed and proposed a configuration in which a plurality of telephones are connected to each other via a single controller so that the plurality of telephones can call each other internally. Thus, each of the conventional systems has only the function of calling another telephone with a buzzer sound or the like and switching between the extension telephone call and the external telephone call with the telephone, and becomes a call destination. The reality is that there was no means for determining whether or not there was a user of another telephone.

[0003]

In the above conventional system, when calling another telephone, whether the called party is present or absent does not actually call the telephone and wait for the response. As long as it is not known. Therefore, in the past, there are many cases in which the absentee's telephone is wastefully called while the user of the called party is absent, without knowing it.
There was a problem in smooth communication processing. In addition, such a problem occurs not only in the case of an extension call using a telephone, but also in the case of an extension call between an intercom master unit used for an intercom call and its intercom slave unit. .

The present invention has been proposed in view of the above points, and it is possible to accurately grasp the presence / absence of a called party as an extension callee, and frequently perform unnecessary call operations when the called party is absent. The purpose is to facilitate communication processing by eliminating the need to do so.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A communication system having an extension calling function according to the present invention as set forth in claim 1 proposed for achieving the above object, is an extension calling between a plurality of communication terminals. In the communication system configured so as to enable the communication terminals, the plurality of communication terminals are provided with display means for displaying the presence / absence status of users of other communication terminals that are extension call destinations, and individual communication terminals. The presence / absence setting switch for inputting and setting the presence / absence status of the user is provided, and the data set by the presence / absence setting switch is transmitted to other communication terminals, and each communication terminal By the display means of, the presence / absence of users of other communication terminals
It is configured to display the content of the absence status.

As the display means according to claim 1,
As described in claim 2, turning on / off according to the contents of data of presence / absence of the user, which is provided inside the translucent key top of the extension call key and is output from the communication terminal corresponding to the extension call destination. An indicator light configured to switch between is applicable.

As a communication terminal of the communication system having the extension calling function according to the present invention, a telephone is applied as described in claim 3. As another aspect,
As described in claim 4, the intercom master unit for making an intercom call with the intercom slave unit installed at the entrance, and the intercom slave unit connected to the intercom master unit are applied.

[0008]

In the communication system having the extension calling function according to the present invention as set forth in claim 1, the user of each communication terminal sets the presence / absence setting switch of his / her own communication terminal. When the user operates it to set and enter whether he / she is present or absent, the data is transmitted to another communication terminal. Then, in other communication terminals, whether the user of the communication terminal is present or absent is displayed on the display means. Therefore, since it is possible to clearly understand whether or not there is a user of each communication terminal by looking at such display means, it is possible to eliminate the waste of making an extension telephone call to an absent person. .

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external view of an overall configuration showing an embodiment of a communication system S having an extension calling function according to the present invention,
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the telephone D that constitutes the communication system S. The communication system S shown in FIG. 1 includes a controller C connected to a general public telephone line L and a plurality of telephones D (D1, D1 connected to the controller C via a signal line L1 and a call line L2.
D2 ...) And. As means for connecting the controller C and the plurality of telephones D,
It is also possible to use a multiple signal transmission line instead of the signal line L1 and the communication line L2.

Each telephone D1, D2, ... Has a unique extension number (corresponding to an address code) in order to distinguish them.
However, the basic hardware configurations are the same. The telephone D is connected to the signal line L1 as shown in FIG.
A call transmission circuit including a signal transmission processing unit 1 for performing a transmission process of a control signal transmitted and received via a telephone, and a handset 2 including a microphone and a speaker (not shown) for performing a telephone call via a telephone line L2. 3 is configured to be connected to and controlled by a signal processing unit 4 including a CPU and the like. In addition to the communication circuit 3 and the like described above, the signal processing unit 4 of the telephone D detects a polarity reversal detection circuit 5 that detects a polarity reversal of the communication line L2, and a talk that detects a busy tone transmitted from the telephone exchange. Middle tone detection circuit 6, key operation unit 7,
The absence confirmation display lamp 8, the sound signal generation circuit 9 including the speaker SP, the system memory 11, and the like are also connected.

Of the above, the key operation unit 7 includes a ten-key pad 70 for dialing a call and a hold key 71 for holding a call, and an extension call key 72 for making an extension call to another telephone. It also has presence / absence setting keys 73 and the like. The presence / absence setting key 73 is a key switch for setting whether the user of the telephone D is present / absent, and by repeatedly pressing the key, the presence / absence is switched to either one side. Can be selected. As shown in FIG. 1, the presence / absence setting key 73 is provided with a light-emitting LED 10 inside a translucent key top. The light-emitting LED 10 lights up when "present" is selected. , "Absence" is selected, the light is turned off.

The extension calling key 72 is formed as a plurality of push-type keys, and the extension numbers to be called are provided in the vicinity thereof (extension numbers 1 to 9 in FIG. 1).
Instead of the extension number, or together with the extension number, the name, title, or the like of the person who is the user of the telephone to be called may be displayed. This extension call key 72, like the presence / absence setting key 73 described above,
The material of the key tops is made of transparent or translucent synthetic resin or the like having a light-transmitting property, and the presence / absence confirmation indicator lamp 8 is provided inside each key top. A light emitting LED or the like is also applied as a specific example of the presence / absence confirmation indicator lamp 8.

The signal processing unit 4 receives the control signal from the signal transmission processing unit 1 for turning on / off the call circuit 3, the extension calling when the extension calling key 72 is operated, or the extension calling. Has a control function of each part for executing general telephone call and extension call control, such as activating the sound signal generating circuit 9 to generate a ringing sound from the speaker SP when there is a call. It also has a function. That is, when the presence / absence setting key 73 is operated, the signal processing unit 4 adds data according to the setting content to the data of the unique extension number given in advance each time the presence / absence setting key 73 is operated, The signal transmission processing unit 1 is controlled so as to be transmitted. On the contrary, when the signal transmission processing unit 1 receives data regarding the presence / absence of another telephone D, the presence / absence confirmation indicator lamp 8 is controlled to be turned on / off correspondingly. Specifically, for example, when the data indicating that the telephone D2 having the extension number 2 is "present" is received, the presence / absence confirmation indicator lamp 8 at a position corresponding to the extension calling key 72 for calling the extension number 2 is displayed. Is turned on, but when the data that the telephone D2 is "absent" is received thereafter, the presence / absence confirmation indicator lamp 8 is controlled to be turned off.

The controller C not only executes line connection to each telephone D, but also performs transmission processing of various control signals transmitted / received via the signal line L1, and is executed between the telephones D. The transmission and reception of the control signal according to the above are executed via the controller C.

In the communication system S having the above configuration, the telephone D
Each of the plurality of users (D1, D2 ...) Operates the presence / absence setting key 73 of the telephone used by the user to set the presence / absence status of the user. This presence / absence data is sent to the controller C in a state of being added to the data of the extension number peculiar to each telephone D1, D2 ..., After that, from the controller C to each telephone D1, D2.
The data of the contents of the presence / absence status set by each of the telephones D1, D2 ... Is transmitted. Further, in each of the telephones D1, D2, ... Having received such data, the presence / absence confirmation indicator lamp 8 provided inside the extension calling key 72 is turned on or off according to the data. Specifically, for example, when the telephone number D2 of extension number 2 is "absent" and the telephone number D3 of extension number 3 is "present", the telephone number D1 is set.
In, the presence / absence confirmation indicator lamp 8 corresponding to the extension number 2 of the extension call key 72 is turned off, and the presence / absence confirmation indicator lamp 8 corresponding to the extension number 3 is turned on.

Therefore, if the user of the telephone D1 sees the lighting state of the presence / absence confirmation indicator lamp 8 provided inside the extension calling key 72 of the telephone D1, the other telephone D
2. It is possible to easily confirm the presence / absence status of the D3 user. As a result, it is possible to appropriately prevent the user from inadvertently making an extension call to the absent telephone D2. In addition, such presence / absence confirmation indicator light 8
According to this, since the presence / absence status of the users of the plurality of telephones D can be constantly checked, it is possible to use this as an entry / exit indicator in a company or the like.

In the above embodiment, the communication system S constituted by using a plurality of telephones D has been described as an example (corresponding to claim 3), but the present invention is not limited to this. Figure 3
It is an external view which shows an example of the communication system Sa which concerns on this invention described in Claim 4. The communication system Sa has an intercom slave 21a having the same basic configuration as the intercom master 21 having an intercom communication function with the intercom slave 20 installed at the entrance of the house. Is connected to the multiple signal transmission line L3 or the signal line via a communication line. Each operation panel of the intercom master device 21 and the intercom slave device 21a is provided with an presence / absence setting key 73A for setting presence / absence of each user of the intercom master device 21 and the intercom slave device 21a. ing. In addition, the presence / absence confirmation indicator lamp 8A is also provided inside the translucent key top of the extension calling key 72A for performing extension calling between the intercom master unit 21 and the intercom slave unit 21a. The presence / absence status set by the presence / absence setting key 73A of the intercom master device 21 and the intercom slave device 21a, which are respectively provided, indicates the presence / absence confirmation indicator lamp 8A of the intercom master device 21 and each intercom master device 21a. Is displayed by turning on or off.

Also in the communication system Sa as described above, as in the embodiment shown in FIG.
1 or an intercom slave 21a, it is possible to accurately determine whether the called party is present or absent when making an extension call between the two and the intercom slave 21a, and useless extension for the person who is absent. You can avoid the call. It goes without saying that the intercom master device 21 and the intercom slave device 21a shown in FIG. 3 described above also have a telephone function capable of performing not only an extension call or an intercom call with the intercom slave 20, but also an outside call. Absent.

In both of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the presence / absence confirmation indicator lamp 8 (8A) is incorporated inside the translucent key top of the extension calling key 72 (72A) ( The present invention described in claim 1 does not necessarily have to do so. For example, the extension call key 72
To the position near the outside of (72A), call the extension key 72
Corresponding to (72A), presence / absence confirmation indicator light 8 (8
A) may be arranged. As another means, instead of using the indicator light such as the presence / absence confirmation indicator lamp 8 (8A), the telephone D is provided with a display such as a liquid crystal display, and this display is used by a user of another telephone. It does not matter if the presence / absence status of is displayed by characters, symbols, or the like.

Among the above-mentioned embodiments, the busy tone detection circuit 6 of the telephone D shown in FIG. 2 is a specific signal of 400 Hz band which is intermittently transmitted from the telephone exchange side of the central office. That is, the predetermined tonal signal transmitted from the telephone exchange side is detected when the call destination is busy or after a lapse of a short time after the other party goes on-hook after the call ends. In the telephone D provided with the busy tone detection circuit 6 as described above, the handset 2 is used after the call to the outside line is completed.
It is possible to prevent the vehicle from being properly returned and being left off-hook. That is, telephone D
As for the configuration, first, when a call is made to the telephone D from an external telephone and an incoming call is received, or when an incoming call is made to the other party after a call to the outside and the polarity inversion detection circuit 5 detects polarity inversion. When the predetermined busy sound is detected by the busy sound detection circuit 6 after the data indicating that is stored in the RAM of the system memory 11 and the predetermined data is stored in the RAM, a sound is generated. The signal generation circuit 9 may be operated so that a desired buzzer sound is generated from the speaker SP. With such a configuration, a buzzer sound is not generated as a busy tone when an external telephone is called, an outside line call is actually made, and only when the handset 2 is not properly returned after the call ends. Since the buzzer sound is generated, the user who hears the buzzer sound can recognize that the handset 2 is not properly restored.
Steps 100 to 106 of the flowchart shown in FIG.
Shows the above-mentioned series of operation procedures.

[0021]

As can be understood from the above description, according to the communication system having the extension calling function according to the present invention as set forth in claims 1 to 4, the presence / absence of the user of the extension calling destination
A special effect is obtained in that the absence can be accurately grasped, the waste of frequently performing unnecessary calling operations when the called party is absent can be eliminated, and communication processing can be facilitated. Particularly, according to the present invention as set forth in claim 2,
As a means to display the presence / absence of the extension callee,
Since the indicator light provided inside the extension call key is applied, the installation space of the indicator light is not bulky, the operation panel of the communication terminal can be simplified, and the indicator light inside the extension call key By turning on or off, it is possible to obtain an advantage that the presence / absence of a user of another communication terminal to be called can be easily confirmed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall external view showing an example of a communication system having an extension calling function according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a telephone applied to the communication system shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an overall external view showing another example of a communication system having an extension calling function according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a series of operation procedures for detecting and notifying an inappropriate return of the handset by the telephone shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 signal transmission processing unit 2 handset 3 communication circuit 4 signal processing unit 7 key operation unit 8,8A presence / absence confirmation indicator light 9 sound signal generation circuit 70 numeric keypad 71 hold key 72,72A extension call key 73,73A presence / absence Setting key D (D1, D2 ...) Telephone C controller SP Speaker S, Sa Communication system with extension calling function

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A communication system configured to enable extension calling between a plurality of communication terminals, wherein the plurality of communication terminals include a user of another communication terminal to be an extension call destination. A display means for displaying the absence status and a presence / absence setting switch for inputting and setting the presence / absence status of the user for each communication terminal are provided, and the presence / absence setting switch is set. The extension is characterized in that the data is transmitted to other communication terminals and the contents of the presence / absence status of the users of the other communication terminals are displayed by the display means of each communication terminal. Communication system with calling function. 2. The display device according to claim 1, wherein said display means is an indicator light provided inside a translucent key top of an extension call key, and this indicator light corresponds to an extension call destination. A communication system having an extension calling function, which is set to be turned on and off depending on the content of data of the presence / absence of a user output from the. 3. A communication system according to claim 1, wherein the communication terminal is a telephone and has an extension calling function. 4. The intercom base unit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the communication terminal is connected to the intercom base unit for making an intercom call with an intercom subunit installed at a front door. Intercom A communication system with an extension calling function that is a slave unit.