JPH0846693A - Transferring equipment for incoming call during communication - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To connect an incoming call during communication to a desired terminal equipment by the intention of a call waiting user by deciding a terminal equipment or an equipment to which the incoming call is to be connected according to a reply signal sent from a called terminal equipment. CONSTITUTION:The transfer equipment is provided with an incoming call detection means detecting a call to a terminal equipment busy with other terminal equipment, a busy state incoming tone transmitter 13 informing the arrival of an incoming call to a concerned terminal equipment to the user of the terminal equipment and a reply signal detection means detecting the reply signal sent from the terminal equipment, and also with a voice storage reply device 14 deciding a terminal equipment or an equipment to which the incoming call is to be connected depending on the content of the reply signal and a connection means connecting the incoming call to the decided terminal equipment or the equipment. Then the terminal equipment or the equipment to which the incoming call is to be connected is decided according to the reply signal sent from a called terminal equipment 1. Thus, diversified coping to select the voice storage reply device 14, a talkie equipment 15 or other specific terminal equipment is attained according to the intention of a call waiting user.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a call waiting service device in an exchange such as a telephone, and in particular, it is possible to transfer an incoming call to an arbitrary terminal or device according to an instruction from the terminal that receives the incoming call. The present invention relates to a call transfer device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional call waiting service in an exchange such as a telephone, when a call waiting user receives a call during communication, a ring tone is returned to the incoming call and the call waiting user returns the call. Notify that there is an incoming call with a signal tone or the like. Then, when the user responds by hooking, the incoming call is connected to the user, and a hold tone is sent to the partner terminal with which the user has been communicating. Then, when the user hooks again, the connection between the incoming call and the first partner terminal is switched,
The user is connected to the first partner terminal and a hold tone is sent to the incoming call. If the user does not respond, the incoming call notification tone and the ringer tone continue to be sent to the user and the caller, respectively, until the switch activates the disconnection process due to the response waiting timeout.

[0003]

In the conventional call waiting service as described above, the user must either answer the incoming call without fail or wait patiently until the exchange performs the timeout process. There was a point. Also, if the user does not answer, the ringer is returned to the caller, so it is unknown to the caller whether the user is absent or not answering, and the call is repeated and the call is not completed. There was also the problem of increased calls. The object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art,
Another object of the present invention is to provide an in-communication incoming call transfer device capable of connecting an in-communicating incoming call to a desired terminal according to a user's intention.

[0004]

According to the present invention, an incoming call detection for detecting an incoming call to a terminal which is in communication with another terminal in a device for processing an incoming call during communication in an exchange which accommodates a plurality of terminals or trunk lines. Means, notifying means for notifying the terminal user that there is an incoming call to the terminal, response signal detecting means for detecting a response signal sent from the terminal, and the incoming call should be connected according to the content of the response signal. It is characterized by comprising a response signal analyzing means for determining a terminal or a device and a connecting means for connecting an incoming call to the determined terminal or a device.

[0005]

According to the present invention, the terminal or device to which the incoming call is to be connected is determined according to the response signal sent from the called terminal by the above-mentioned configuration. apparatus,
Various actions such as selecting a talkie device or another specific terminal are possible.

[0006]

1 is a block diagram showing the structure of an exchange to which the present invention is applied. A terminal 1 such as a telephone is accommodated in an exchange 3 via a subscriber line 2. In the exchange 3, there is a speech path switch 21 that switches a digital signal by combining, for example, a time switch and a space switch,
The communication path switch 21 accommodates terminals, relay lines, various signal devices, and the like. The subscriber line interface device 11 is an interface circuit with a subscriber line to which a terminal is connected, includes a codec, a power feeding circuit, a call signal transmission circuit, and a DC signal detection circuit, and is off-hook /
On-hook or hooking detection is performed.
Then, the detected signal information is notified to the CPU 17. The dial signal receiving device 10 includes a subscriber line interface device 11 and a communication path switch 21 when the terminal 1 makes a call, for example.
Dial signal sent from the terminal, connected by
That is, the connection destination selection signal is received and detected, and the CPU 17 is notified. Further, in the method of the present invention described later, a transfer destination selection signal by a dial signal transmitted from the called terminal is received.

[0007] In the call waiting service, the on-hold sound notifying device 12 is connected to the original communication partner when the connection is switched to the third party who has arrived during communication, and sends out the on-hold sound. It is a signal transmission device. The communication ringtone sending device 13 is a device for notifying the call waiting user of an incoming call from a third party during communication by using a special signal sound or a voice announcement signal. Therefore, the in-communication ringing tone transmitting device 13 may be interrupt-connected to the in-communication connection to transmit the signal, or the connection may be switched to the in-communicating ringing tone transmitting device 13 only for a short time for transmitting the signal, or The voice signal being communicated is drawn into the ring tone transmitting device 13 during communication, and the ring tone is added to the voice signal, combined, and transmitted. (In the following description, a method of transmitting a signal tone by interrupt connection will be described.) The voice accumulation / response device 14 is like the exchange 3 or an answering machine or a voice mail device installed outside. , Any caller designates a user on the voice storage response device and records a voice signal, and the designated user calls the voice storage response device or is called from the voice storage response device and recorded. I listen to the messages that are present. The talkie device 15 is a device capable of selecting and transmitting one of the pre-registered arbitrary announcements under the control of the CPU, and for example, "calling usage" is given to the third party who received the call. The person is currently in communication with another person and cannot answer this call. "

The ringing tone transmitting device 16 is a device for transmitting a normal ringing tone, a special ringing tone or an announcement signal by voice to the calling party while calling the called party, and call waiting during communication. When a third party receives an incoming call to the user, the third party is connected to the ring back tone sending device 16 until the user makes a response or the response waiting time is exceeded,
A ringing tone is sent to the person. The CPU 17 controls the entire exchange 3, and the memory 18 stores a control program for the exchange and various registration data. The I / O interface 19 connects an input / output device such as the data terminal 4 to the C
By connecting to the PU 17 and operating the data terminal 4, the registration data in the memory 18 is written or modified. The bus 20 connects each device in the exchange 3.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing changes in connection of the call waiting service in the present invention. Figure 2
(A) shows a state in which the subscriber terminal UA30 and the partner terminal UB31 that have registered the call waiting service are connected by the speech path switch 21 and are in communication. In FIG. 2, the same devices as those in FIG. 1 are given the same numbers. FIG. 2B shows a case where the terminal UC32 receives the terminal UA30 in the state of FIG. 2A, and the terminal UA30 is registered in the call waiting service and is in communication. First, the receiving terminal UC32 is the ringing tone sending device Y16.
Connected to. Then, the incoming call tone sending device S13 during communication is interrupt-connected to the received terminal UA30,
The ring tone is transmitted during communication.

FIG. 2C shows the connection when the terminal UA30 responds by hooking. Hooking is detected by the subscriber line interface device K11,
The CPU 17 is notified. The terminal UA30 is connected to the dial signal receiving device D10, and the other terminal UB31 is connected.
Is connected to the hold sound sending device H12. Figure 2 (d) shows
2C shows the connection when the terminal UA 30 dials "1" in the state of FIG. 2C (normal switching request). When the dial signal receiving device D10 detects and receives the dial signal, the dial signal receiving device D10 notifies the CPU 17 of the information, and the CPU 17 connects the terminal UA30 and the terminal UC32 by the processing described later.

FIG. 2 (e) shows the terminal U in the state of FIG. 2 (c).
It shows the connection when A30 dials "a number other than 1". In this case, if the number or symbol dialed is "2", for example, the voice accumulation response device 1
4, "3" is connected to the talkie device 15, and "4" is connected to the specific terminal UD33 registered in advance by the user of the terminal UA30. Further, in the case of "*", the terminal is connected to the specific terminal UE34 according to the telephone number that is continuously input. And the terminal UA30
Is connected to the original partner terminal UB31. Figure 2 (f)
2 shows the connection when the terminal UA30 performs hooking again in the state of FIG. 2D, and the terminal UA3
0 is connected to the original partner terminal UB31, and the called terminal UC
32 is connected to the hold sound sending device H12. After this,
Each time the terminal UA30 performs hooking, the state of FIG. 2 (f) and the state of FIG. 2 (d) are switched alternately.

3, 4 and 5 are flow charts showing the call waiting service processing according to the present invention in the CPU 17 of the exchange 3. In step S1 of FIG. 3, it is assumed that the terminal UC receives an incoming call to the terminal UA while the terminal UA that has registered the call waiting service and the partner terminal UB are communicating. In step S2, the terminal UC is connected to the ring back tone output device 16 and the ring back tone is transmitted to the terminal UC. In step S3, the in-communication ringing tone sending device 13 is interrupt-connected to the connection between the terminals UA and UB, and the in-communication ringing tone is sent to the terminal UA.

In step S4, the subscriber line interface device 11 waits until hooking is detected. If hooking is not detected after a predetermined time, it is considered that the terminal UA has no intention of responding, and the connection between the terminal UC and the incoming call tone transmission device 13 during communication is disconnected and the process is terminated. In step S5, the incoming call tone transmission device 13 during communication is opened, and in step S6, the partner terminal UB and the hold tone transmission device 12 are connected to transmit the hold tone to the terminal UB. In step S7, the terminal UA and the dial signal receiving device 10 are connected, and the dial tone is sent from the dial signal receiving device 10. In step S8, the dial signal receiving apparatus 10 waits until one digit of the dial signal is received. If the dial signal is not detected even after the lapse of a predetermined time, the process proceeds to step S10.

In step S9, the terminal UA and the dial signal receiving device 10 are separated from each other, the received dial signal is analyzed, and the process proceeds to a processing step corresponding to the type of numeral or symbol. If the analysis result is "other", the process proceeds to step S10, the terminals UA and UB are connected, and the process returns to step S3. If the result is "other", the process may return to step S8 as shown by the dotted line in FIG. When the dialed number is "1", that is, when the user of the terminal UA desires the same processing as the conventional one, the process proceeds to step S11 and step S1.
In 1, the terminal UC is disconnected from the ring back tone sending device 16 and the terminals UA and UC are connected. Now terminal U
C can make a call with the terminal UA that was in communication.

The subsequent processing is the same as the conventional one. In step S12, it is determined whether or not hooking is detected, and if the result is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S13 and the communication with the original partner terminal UB is being performed. Exchange the connection with the terminating terminal UC. That is, if the terminal UA is currently communicating with the terminal UC, the terminal UC is connected to the hold sound transmitting device 12, and instead, the terminal UB is connected to the terminal UA. Step S1
In 4, it is determined whether or not the call has ended, and if negative, the process returns to step S12, but if positive, the process ends. Note that when the terminal UA is disconnected, all connections are disconnected, but when only one of the terminals UB and UC is disconnected, the remaining terminals and UA are connected.

If the dial signal analysis result in step S9 of FIG. 3 is "2", step S2 of FIG.
The process shifts to 0, and the terminal UA and the terminal UB are connected. In step S21, the information necessary for connecting the voice accumulation response device registered in advance corresponding to the terminal UA is read out. In step S22, the terminal UC is disconnected from the ring back tone sending device 16 and is connected to the voice accumulation response device 14 registered corresponding to the terminal UA. Terminal UC
According to the message from the voice accumulation response device 14, the user records a message or the like if necessary. When the dial signal analysis result in step S9 is "3", the process proceeds to step S23, and the terminal UA and the terminal UB are connected. In step S24, the information necessary for connecting the talkie device registered in advance corresponding to the terminal UA is read out. In step S25, the terminal UC is disconnected from the ring back tone sending device 16 and connected to the talkie device 15 registered corresponding to the terminal UA. Then, an announcement is sent to the user of the terminal UC, for example, "the called user is currently communicating with another person and cannot answer this telephone."

If the dial signal analysis result in step S9 is "4", the process proceeds to step S26.
The terminal UA and the terminal UB are connected. In step S27, the information necessary for connecting the terminal UD registered in advance corresponding to the terminal UA is read. The terminal UD may be, for example, another terminal in the same room or an answering machine. In step S28, the terminal UC is connected to the terminal UD registered corresponding to the terminal UA. The information of the voice accumulation response device 14, the talkie device 15, and the terminal UD registered corresponding to the terminal UA is written from the data terminal 4 to the memory 18 of the exchange when the service is registered, for example.

When the dial signal analysis result in step S9 is "*", the process proceeds to step S30 in FIG. 5, and the terminal UA is connected to the dial signal receiving device 10. In step S31, the telephone number is received by the dial signal, and the necessary number of digits is received, or the time is over. If the time is over here, the process proceeds to step S10. Step S
In 32, it is determined whether or not the received telephone number information is correct by checking the number of digits and the area code. If the result is negative, the process proceeds to step S10 in FIG. In that case, the process proceeds to steps S33 and S34. In step S33, the terminal UC is connected to the terminal UE having the telephone number received in step S31. Then, in step S34, the terminal UA and the terminal UB are connected.

Through the above processing, the call waiting user transfers a call received during communication to a predetermined terminal or various devices, or an arbitrary terminal designated by dialing a number on the spot. It becomes possible to do. In FIG. 3, step S4
By omitting the hooking detection processing and the like in 7 to 7, and in step S7, the dialed signal receiving device interrupts the connection during communication (does not send a dial tone), so that the called terminal UA simply dials and receives the incoming call. Call forwarding can also be performed.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the main part of the processing of the second embodiment. Although the transfer destination is selected by dialing in the first embodiment, the transfer destination can be selected only by hooking in the second embodiment. In the second embodiment,
The processing up to step S5 is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Then, from step S5 to step S of FIG.
In step 40, the counter that counts the number of hookings is cleared and the timer that monitors the time-out is started.
In step S41, it is determined whether or not hooking is detected in the subscriber line interface device 11. If the result is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S42 and the hooking counter is incremented by one. The timer may be reset and restarted here. In step S43, it is determined whether or not the timer has timed out. If the result is negative, the process returns to step S41, but if the result is positive, the process proceeds to step S44.

In step S44, the process proceeds to the corresponding processing step depending on the value of the hooking counter. When the counter value is "0", that is, when the hooking is performed only once at the first time, the process proceeds to step S45, the terminal UB and the hold sound transmitting device 12 are connected, and thereafter, FIG.
Then, the process proceeds to step S11. The operation and connection switching in this case are the same as in the conventional case. If the counter value is "1" in step S44, the process proceeds to step S21 in FIG. In the second embodiment, since the terminals UA and UB remain connected even during hooking,
The process of step S20 is unnecessary. Step S
If the counter value at 44 is "2",
When the counter value is "3", the process proceeds to step S27 in FIG. When the counter value is "4 or more" in step S44, the process proceeds to step S3 in FIG. In the second embodiment, by the above-described processing, the incoming call can be transferred to another terminal or various devices only by the hooking operation, and the connection with the communicating terminal is not interrupted.

Although the embodiments have been described above, the present invention may be modified as follows. In the first embodiment, instead of sending the dial tone from the dial signal receiving device, the talkie device may announce the operation explanation. In addition, the determined transfer destination is voiced by the called terminal (UA) and the called terminal (UC).
One or both of them may be notified. First
In the above embodiment, an example in which the transfer destination is selected by a one-digit dial signal has been shown, but the number of digits of the dial signal for selection is arbitrary. In addition, in the first and second embodiments, a plurality of types of talkie announcement contents may be prepared, and one of different announcements may be selected and transmitted according to the number of dials or hooking. Although the example of inputting the transfer destination terminal number designated by the user from the data terminal has been disclosed, the transfer destination terminal number may be directly registered in the memory 18 of the exchange 3 from the terminal UA by using a special number or the like.

If the exchange recognizes the telephone number of the called terminal (UC) being communicated and notifies the called terminal (UA) using a display device, a talkie device, etc., the user of the terminal UA can Since it is highly possible to recognize who the other party is, it is possible to accurately determine whether to respond or which terminal or device should be transferred. As a terminal, not only an ordinary telephone but also a mobile telephone can be implemented. Since this method interrupts the incoming call notification sound during communication, it may affect the image and data communication such as the occurrence of an error, but the terminal may detect the incoming call notification sound, dial or hooking means, and If these monitoring control means and error recovery means are further provided, they can be applied to interrupt communication of image communication and data communication. In the embodiments of the present invention, the "sound" and "voice" described are "signal" and "voice signal".
The present invention replaces “transmission information” with “signal sound” as “signal” and replaces “talkie device” with “signal response device”.
It is also applicable to multimedia communication including video (moving images). The service of the present invention may be carried out only for subscribers who have registered the service in advance, or may be carried out unconditionally for all subscribers.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, the terminal or device to which the incoming call is connected (transferred) is determined according to the response signal sent from the called terminal. According to the above, there is an effect that various measures such as selection of a voice accumulation response device, a talkie device, or another specific terminal can be performed. Further, even when the called subscriber does not respond directly, the called subscriber may be able to indirectly send and receive information, so that more advanced services can be provided. Therefore,
This also has the effect of improving the call completion rate for incoming subscribers and reducing re-calls.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an exchange to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a change in connection during service according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an incoming call processing 1 during communication according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an incoming call processing 2 during communication according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an incoming call processing 3 during communication according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a main part of processing according to a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Terminal, 2 ... Subscriber line, 3 ... Exchange, 4 ... Data terminal, 10 ... Dial signal receiving device, 11 ... Subscriber line interface device, 12 ... Hold tone sending device, 13 ... Communication ring tone sending device, 14 ... Voice storage response device, 15 ... Talkie device, 16 ... Ring tone sending device, 17 ... CP
U, 18 ... memory, 19 ... I / O interface, 2
0 ... bus, 21 ... call path switch

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Masahiro Takeuchi, 6 Rokubancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan Mobile Communications Limited (72) Inventor, Shinji Goto 6-Rokubancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Japan, Mobile Communications Within the corporation

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. In an apparatus for processing an incoming call during communication in an exchange that accommodates a plurality of terminals or trunks, an incoming call detecting means for detecting an incoming call to a terminal in communication with another terminal, and an incoming call to the terminal. Notifying means for notifying the user of the existence, response signal detecting means for detecting the response signal sent from the terminal, and response signal for determining the terminal or device to which the incoming call is connected, depending on the content of the response signal An in-communication incoming call transfer device comprising an analyzing means and a connecting means for connecting the incoming call to a determined terminal or device. 2. The transfer device for an incoming call during communication according to claim 1, wherein the response signal detecting means includes a hooking signal detecting means. 3. The response signal analyzing means includes a timer means for measuring a predetermined time, a number measuring means for measuring the number of times of hooking, and the number measuring means until the timer means completes measuring the predetermined time. 3. The forwarding device for an in-communication incoming call according to claim 2, further comprising a connection destination determining means for determining a terminal or a device to be connected in accordance with the value measured by the above. 4. The device for transferring an incoming call during communication according to claim 1, wherein the response signal detecting means includes a dial signal receiving means. 5. The response signal analyzing means includes a connection destination determining means for determining a terminal or a device to be connected in accordance with the information received by the dial signal receiving means. The device for transferring an incoming call during communication as described in 1. 6. The response signal analyzing means further includes a connection destination determining means for determining a terminal to be connected based on the transfer destination terminal number received by the dial signal receiving means. 5. The device for transferring an incoming call during communication according to item 5. 7. The terminal or device to which the incoming call is to be connected is a called terminal and a voice accumulation response device, a talkie device, or a specific terminal, which is registered in advance corresponding to the called terminal. 2. The apparatus for transferring an in-communication call according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is at least one of specific terminals designated by a dial signal from a terminal that has received an incoming call. 8. The device for transferring an incoming call during communication according to claim 1, wherein said notifying means sends out one of a special signal, a signal sound and an announcement signal by voice. 9. Further, the call is connected to the terminal being communicated until the connection destination of the call is determined, and a special signal, a signal tone and a voice announcement are given to the calling terminal of the call. 2. The device for transferring an incoming call during communication according to claim 1, further comprising a ringing tone or ringing signal transmitting means for transmitting any one of the signals.