JPH06232975A - Private branch exchange - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Object] An object of the present invention is to allow a person to be held to hang up the call and wait for the release of the hold when the hold is made during a call. According to the present invention, when the extension telephone set 5-1 presses the hold key to put the line on hold, the central control unit 2 puts the call on hold and stores the telephone number of the extension telephone set 5-1 in the storage unit 3. To do. After that, when the telephone on the held person side presses the call partner information storage key and then hangs up the telephone, the central control device 2 which has learned this writes the telephone number of the held telephone in the storage device 3 and then the holding line. Disconnection process. When the extension telephone 5-1 presses the hold key to release the hold, the central control unit 2 which knows this holds the call on the holdee side telephone indicated by the call partner information stored in the storage unit 3. Make an incoming call. or,
When the hold key of the holdee's telephone is pressed, the hold telephone 5-1 of the telephone number stored in the storage device 3 is held.
The call is automatically sent to.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a private branch exchange having a function of temporarily holding a call in progress, and more particularly to processing of a holding line.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the development of telephone services using private branch exchanges, a call is temporarily held during a call with a local line (general public line) or an extension, and a call is made to another place during the call. Is able to. When a call is put on hold during such a call, the held party must wait for the other party to release the hold while listening to the hold tone before being able to enter the call again. Therefore, during this hold period, the holdee does not know when the hold will be released, so he has to wait while holding the handset, and there is the inconvenience that he cannot do other work during this period. . Furthermore, while the call is on hold, only the listening tone is heard and the line is connected even though the call is not actually being made, but the charge is applied, resulting in unnecessary communication costs. There was also.

[0003]

When the conventional private branch exchange provides the call holding service for the call as described above, the held party (holdee) does not know when the hold is released. Therefore, it is necessary to wait for the hold to be released while listening to the hold sound, and there is a drawback that other work cannot be performed during this period. In addition, there is also a drawback that unnecessary communication costs are incurred because the user is charged while the actual call is not made while the call is on hold.

Therefore, the present invention eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks, and when a call is put on hold during a call, the person to be put on hold has a private branch exchange capable of waiting for the release of the hold while disconnecting the line and leaving the receiver. It is intended to be provided.

[0005]

According to the present invention, when a hold key pressing information is received from a telephone during a call, in a private branch exchange that performs a service for putting the call line into a hold state, the hold key is pushed down from the telephone during the call. When receiving the information, the first storage means for storing the other party's information for identifying the telephone on the side where the line is held, and the information on pressing the predetermined key from the held phone while the telephone line is on hold A second storage means for storing information on a caller who specifies the telephone holding the line, and a hold key of the telephone holding the line after the holding line is disconnected by the held phone is pressed to release a hold request. When done, the holding line is disconnected by the first calling means for making a call to the telephone specified by the call partner information stored in the first storage means and the held telephone. And a second calling means for making a call to the telephone specified by the calling party information stored in the second storage means when there is a call request from the held telephone. .

[0006]

In the private branch exchange of the present invention, the first storage means receives information on pressing of the hold key from the telephone in communication,
As a result, the communication partner information for identifying the telephone set on the line holding side is stored. The second storage means stores callee information for identifying the telephone holding the line when receiving information of pressing a predetermined key from the held telephone while the telephone line is on hold. The first calling means is the other party stored in the first storage means when the hold key of the telephone holding the line is pressed and the hold release request is made after the hold line is disconnected by the held telephone. Make a call to the phone identified by the information. The second calling means is a telephone specified by the callee information stored in the second storage means when a call is requested from the held telephone after the hold telephone disconnects the holding line. to call. As a result, the person to be held can place the handset and wait for the release of the hold line.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a private branch exchange of the present invention. Reference numeral 1 denotes contact / separation between the line circuits 6-1 to 6-n and the line circuits 6-1 to 6-n and the trunk circuit 9-1.
Switch circuit for connecting and disconnecting between ~ 9-m to form a communication path, 2 is a central control unit for controlling various services such as the switch circuit 1 and holding service, and 3 is necessary for the central control unit 2 to operate. A storage device for storing various programs and data, and 4 is a bus line through which control data is transmitted when the central control device 2 controls the switch circuit 1, the line circuit 6, the trunk circuit 7, the MF receiver 7, etc. 1-5-
n is an extension telephone, 6-1 to 6-n are extension telephones 5-1 to 5-1
Line circuits for controlling 5-n, 7-1 to 7-m are station lines S
A trunk circuit for making and receiving calls to L1 to SLm,
Reference numeral 8 denotes a holding sound generator provided inside the switch circuit 1.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. The central control unit 2 exchanges the private branch exchange while exchanging necessary control data with the storage unit 3, the switch circuit 1, the line circuits 6-1 to 6-n and the trunk circuits 7-1 to 7-m. Controls the operation as a whole. The switch circuit 1 is controlled by the central control unit 2 so that the extension telephones 5-1 to 5-
An operation of forming a call path between n or the extension telephones 5-1 to 5-n and a public line network (not shown) or disconnecting the formed call path is performed.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an electronic key telephone used as the extension telephone 5 described above. The electronic key telephone 10 includes a handset 101, a hook mechanism 102 on which the handset 101 is placed, a dial key pad 103 for inputting dial operation information, a function key button 104 for performing various services, and the like. The service function keys include a call holding function key 141, a call partner information storage key 142, an extension key 143 associated with an extension number, and the like. Further, by providing a plurality of extension keys 143 in one electronic key telephone 10, one electronic key telephone 10 can have a plurality of extension numbers. When the user makes a call, instead of lifting the handset 101, the extension key 143 is pressed to perform on-hook dialing. When a call arrives, the call arrives at the extension key 143 corresponding to the extension number dialed by the caller.
A light emitting element (LED) provided corresponding to the extension key 143 emits light so that it is possible to identify which extension key has arrived. However, it is assumed that one extension number is assigned to the extension telephones 5-1 to 5-n shown in FIG. 1 for convenience of explanation.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an area provided in the storage device 3 shown in FIG. 1 for storing the held person information when the line during a call is put on hold. DN1 to DNn represent areas for writing caller information, which are provided corresponding to extension numbers.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. For example, when a trunk circuit 7-1 receives an incoming call from a public line network (not shown), the trunk circuit 7-1 informs the central controller 2 of the destination of the call. When the destination is the extension telephone set 5-1, the central control unit 2 uses the line circuit 6
-1 to issue a call signal transmission command to the line circuit 6
-1 sends a call signal to the extension telephone 5-1.
As a result, when the user of the extension telephone 5-1 responds,
The central control unit 2 inputs this response signal through the line circuit 6-1 and immediately controls the switch circuit 1 to connect the line circuit 6-1 and the trunk circuit 7-1. After that, the extension telephone set 5-1 enters into a call with the outside party.

When a user of the extension telephone set 5-1 wants to put a hold on the line currently being called in order to make another call while the user is talking in this manner, the user is shown in FIG. The call holding function key 141 is pressed in step 401 shown in FIG. When the call holding function key 141 is pressed, the line holding request is sent to the central control unit 2 via the line circuit 6-1.
At 02, the callee information including the telephone number of the current callee corresponding to the extension number of the extension telephone set 5-1 is written in the area of the storage device 3 shown in FIG. In this step 403, the central controller 2
Controls the switch circuit 1 via the bus line 4 to connect the hold tone generator 8 to the time slot of the other party of the call, and controls the line circuit 6-1 to extend the extension telephone 5-1.
So that a new call can be made. Note that the user may simply put the extension telephone 5-1 in the off-hook state after performing the hold. Step 4 above
When the call is put on hold at 03, the held phone receives the hold tone generated from the hold tone generator 11 and can know that the call is put on hold.

Here, the communication partner information written in the area of the storage device 3 shown in FIG. 3 will be described. When a telephone call is made after the extension telephone that has performed the hold operation makes a station line call, the dial information dialed at the time of the call is stored as the call partner information. In addition, if the extension that has performed the hold operation receives an incoming call from an office line and makes a call, IS
The calling number and the calling sub address notified from the DN network are stored as the communication partner information. Further, when the other party is the other party, the extension number of the other party managed inside the private branch exchange is stored as the other party information. Such call partner information is stored in a predetermined area of the storage device 3 by the central controller 2 when a call is formed. Therefore, in the case of writing the calling party information in the area shown in FIG. 3 of the storage device 3 in step 402 described above, the calling party information of the extension telephone that has performed the hold operation is read from a predetermined area of the storage device 3. , Will be used.

After that, when new telephone number information is input to the extension telephone 5-1 from the dial key pad 103 shown in FIG. 2 to make a call, the central controller 2 controls, for example, the trunk circuit 7-m. , When the called party responds by making a call corresponding to the dial information obtained from the line circuit 6-1, the switch circuit 1 is controlled to connect the line circuit 6-1 and the trunk circuit 7-m. To do. As a result, the user of the extension telephone set 5-1 enters a new call, but during this time, the first incoming call is on hold. However, after that, when the holding line is disconnected by the held party, the central control unit 2 performs a disconnection process accompanying this in step 404 shown in FIG. 4 and ends the process.

On the other hand, the operation on the held telephone side described above,
The operation of the private branch exchange of this example accompanying this will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, as described above, when the called party is put on hold by the other party, the held telephone receives a holding tone in step 501. Here, if the user wants to hang up the call and wait for this hold, the person to be held proceeds to step 502 and presses the other party information storage key 142 of his own telephone as shown in FIG. When the telephone to be held is an extension, the pressing information of the calling party information storage key 142 is notified from the line circuit 6 shown in FIG. 1 to the central control unit 2 via the bus line 4. The central controller 2 uses the caller information storage key 142
Upon recognizing the pressing of the button, the caller information such as the telephone number information of the extension telephone 5-1 which has performed the hold operation in step 503 is read from a predetermined area of the storage circuit 3 and shown in FIG. Write in the area that corresponds to the extension. However,
When the held telephone is an outside line, the calling party information is written in the storage area of the other party's private branch exchange in the same area as in FIG. afterwards,
When the telephone to be held puts the handset 101 at step 504, the central control unit 2 which knows this through the bus line 4 controls the switch circuit 1 to disconnect the hold line communication path from the hold sound generator 8. , Disconnect the line. When the held telephone is accommodated in the same private branch exchange as the held telephone, step 401 → step 402 shown in FIG.
→ It is also possible to omit the step 502 of FIG. 5, which is the operation on the held person side, by sequentially performing the processing of step 503 of FIG.

The operation of calling the hold extension or the held extension extension call partner with the call partner information stored in the storage area as shown in FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. It should be noted here that once the callee information is stored in the storage area shown in FIG. 3, when the held telephone is an extension, the holding extension and the held extension are completely symmetrical, so the operation of the holding extension is performed. Is completely equivalent even if it is replaced with the operation of the extension to be held, and will be described here as the operation of the extension to be held. First, when the extension telephone that has put a call on hold pushes the call hold detection key 141 shown in FIG. 2 in step 601 of FIG. 6 to release the hold, the central control unit 2 sends this to the line circuit 6-1 and the bus line. Receive via 4
As a result, the central control unit 2 searches the storage area shown in FIG. 3 in the storage unit 3, reads the area corresponding to the extension number of the extension telephone 5-1 in step 602, and in step 603, the other party Whether or not the information is in the area is determined, and if not, the process proceeds to step 605, where the central control unit 2 sends a dial tone to the extension telephone 5-1 through the line circuit 6-1. , The process shifts to a normal calling process such as preparation for dialing, and the process ends.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 603 that there is callee information, the central controller 2 determines in step 60.
In step 2, the telephone number of the telephone to be held is given to the vacant trunk circuit 7 from the read party information, the call is made to the person to be held, and the processing is terminated. Here, if the held telephone is an extension telephone housed in the same private branch exchange, the extension telephone number is read as the read caller information, and therefore the central control device 2 has the extension telephone number having this extension telephone number. For example, a call signal is sent from the line circuit 6-n to the extension telephone 5-n to send the extension telephone 5-n.
The call from the extension telephone 5-1 is received. On the other hand, when the held telephone is an outside telephone via the office line, the telephone number information of this telephone is read as the call party information, so that the central control unit 2 reads the telephone number from the vacant trunk circuit 7. A process of calling first and calling the held telephone is performed.

As described above, when the private branch exchange using the held telephone is different from the private branch exchange which accommodates the hold telephone and these private branch exchanges are connected via the ISDN central office line, the processing of step 604 is executed. As a result, an incoming call is made to the private branch exchange using the held telephone via the ISDN office line. At the time of this incoming call, the central control unit of the other private branch exchange performs the step 701 shown in FIG.
In step 702, the caller number received via the ISDN office line is read, and the extension number corresponding to the area of the storage area corresponding to FIG. 3 in which the read caller number information is written is searched for, As a result, it is determined in step 703 whether or not the extension number has been searched. If not, the process proceeds to step 705 to perform a normal incoming call process. On the other hand, if there is the extension number, the process proceeds to step 704, the call from the ISDN office line is made to arrive at the extension telephone corresponding to the extension number, and the process ends.

According to the present embodiment, the caller of the telephone on the held side, which is put on hold during a call, wants to hold this hold with the handset, and presses the callee information storage key 142 of his own telephone. You can hang up the phone and wait.
After that, when the hold party presses the call hold function key 141 to release the hold, the holdee can immediately receive the call from the holdee and resume the call. You can do other work because you are free during the hold period. Also, if the call from the holdee does not arrive after waiting for an appropriate time, the hold release key 141 on the holdee's telephone is simply pressed to make a call to the holdee's telephone and call the other party. When is answered, the call can be resumed, so that the call with the holding party can be easily resumed even after disconnecting the call. When the telephone to be held is an extension telephone accommodated in the same private branch exchange, when the telephone is hung up after pressing the other party information storage key 142 while the telephone is on hold, the telephone holding function is held. The LED corresponding to the key 141 can be turned on to display the pending status.

[0020]

As described above, according to the private branch exchange of the present invention, when a call is put on hold during a call, the person to be held can disconnect the line and leave the receiver and wait for the hold to be released. it can.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a private branch exchange of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the extension telephone set shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a held person information storage area secured in the storage device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process of holding a line during a call in the private branch exchange shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing on the held telephone side on the side where the line is held.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation when the extension telephone that has held the line releases the hold.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a calling process from the held telephone to the holding telephone.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Switch circuit 2 ... Central control device 3 ... Storage device 4 ... Bus line 5-1 to 5-n ... Extension telephone 6-1 to 6-n ...
Line circuit 7-1 to 7-m ... Trunk circuit 8 ... Music on hold generator

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. When a hold key press information is received from a telephone during a call, a private branch exchange that performs a service to put the call line in a hold state receives the hold key press information from the telephone during the call, First storage means for storing caller information for identifying the telephone on the side of holding the line, and the telephone holding the line when receiving information of pressing a predetermined key from the held phone while the call line is on hold Second storage means for storing caller information for identifying
When the hold key of the telephone holding the line is pressed and the hold release request is made after the hold telephone disconnects the hold line The telephone specified by the callee information stored in the first storage means By the first calling means for making a call to the telephone and the callee information stored in the second storage means when a call is requested from the held telephone after the hold telephone disconnects the holding line. A private branch exchange comprising: a second calling means for making a call to a specified telephone.