JPS63224449A - Alternate response system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make a dedicated operator at an acceptance board unnecessary and to offer a unified response job at the time of receiving a call from the outside at a small office, etc., by providing a switching trunk, an audio response device, etc., on a telephone set. CONSTITUTION:When an incoming call is received at an incoming telephone set 2, an audio response control circuit 41 operates the T relay of the switching trunk and switches a subscriber line to a telephone set line 40 by operating a photocoupler Qo and detecting a call signal for several times, and also, sends the call signal representing the fact that a call is the one in alternate response is sent to the incoming telephone set 2. Entering into a call state, the audio response control circuit 41 sends a response guidance recorded in advance via the telephone set circuit 40. When a response detecting signal is received from the switching trunk 3 after the response guidance being sent out, the T relay of the switching trunk 3 is recovered, and the subscriber line 5 is switched to the incoming telephone set 2, then, the call state is set.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a telephone response system, and more particularly to a proxy response system that allows a voice response device to respond on behalf of a subscriber.

[Prior Art] Conventional telephone answering is either done by a full-time operator assigned to a reception desk installed within the company, or, if no reception desk is installed, answered by each individual. (all manual). Particularly in cases where a reception desk is not provided, an unspecified number of people may respond, and the content of the responses may vary from person to person.

[Problems to be solved] Answering the telephone at small businesses that are not equipped with the conventional reception desks mentioned above is extremely troublesome for office workers who have many individual tasks to do, and it is difficult to answer the telephone. The fact that the content of the information differs from person to person has the disadvantage of being unfavorable to the company's image.

[Means for Solving Problems] The present invention, which solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, is a proxy response system installed in telephones of the general telephone network, which sends a response signal and response guidance to a calling telephone, and a voice response device that notifies an incoming telephone that it is answering;
a line switching means for switching the line from connection to the incoming telephone to connection to the voice response device and from connection to the voice response device to connection to the incoming telephone; and a ringing signal detection means for emitting a signal to switch the connection from the incoming telephone to the voice response device, and the voice response device detects when the incoming telephone becomes ready for a call after a certain period of time has elapsed. The present invention is characterized in that it includes a control circuit that issues a signal to the printed line switching means to switch the connection from the voice response device to the incoming telephone.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the voice response device described above includes a cassette type recording/playback device. Of course, other types of recording/playback devices, such as tape or disk, may also be used. Also, recording/
A so-called answering machine can also be used as the playback device.

[Example] Next, the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention, showing only the parts necessary for explanation. In FIG. 1, 1 is a subscriber exchange, 2 is a terminating telephone, 3 is a switching trunk, 4 is a voice response device, and 5 is a subscriber line.

When a call is made from an unspecified number of telephone subscribers (calling telephones) (not shown) to a called party (terminating telephone 2),
As is well known, when a communication circuit between the originating telephone and the terminating telephone 2 is set up, the subscriber exchange 1 sends a ringing signal to the terminating telephone 2 to notify it of the incoming call.

The bell of the incoming telephone 2 rings in response to the ringing signal, and the switching trunk 3 monitors the ringing signal.
Detect this call signal. The switching trunk 3 then switches the subscriber line 5 to the line to the voice response device 4, and further switches the calling signal generator in the switching trunk 3 to the receiving telephone 2.

When the voice response device 4 puts the subscriber line in a loop state (off-hook state) and sends a response signal to the subscriber exchange 1,
As is well known, a call is established between the calling telephone and the voice response device 4. When the call state is entered, the voice response device 4 transmits a response guidance recorded in advance such as, for example, "This is QO Company. Please wait for a moment as I will connect you to the person in charge." When the switching trunk 3 detects a response from the incoming telephone 2 at the end of sending the guidance, the switching on the switching trunk 3 is restored, and the subscriber
! It5 and the incoming telephone set 2 are connected and a call is made.

This operation will be explained in more detail with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 shows the switching trunk 3 and voice response device 4 shown in FIG. 1 in more detail.

In FIG. 2, 30 is a detailed circuit of the switching trunk 3, 40 is a telephone circuit of the voice response device 4, and 41 is a voice response control circuit of the voice response device 4.

When the receiving telephone 2 receives a call, the local exchange 1 sends a 16H2 calling signal as is well known. The ringing signal rings the bell of the incoming telephone 2, and the alternating current flows through the R-QO-C of the switching trunk 3, thereby operating the QO optical coupling element (photocoupler) and sending a signal to the voice response control circuit 41. Send. When a ringing signal is detected several times (for example, three times), the voice response control circuit 41 operates the T relay of the switching trunk, switches the subscriber line to the telephone circuit 40, and sends an IR signal to the line to the receiving telephone 2. A call signal (for example, a discontinuous tone of 16H2) indicating that the call is being answered by a proxy is sent from the caller.

The telephone circuit 40 operates the DC loop circuit (off-hook state) and sends a response DC signal to the subscriber exchange 1, thereby establishing a communication state with the calling telephone as is known in the art. When entering the call state, the voice response control circuit 41 sends out prerecorded response guidance via the telephone circuit 40. While the response guidance is being sent, the switching trunk 3 is connected to the receiving telephone 2.
The response (whether it is off-hook or not) is sent by the E relay, which is a relay for direct current contact and AC non-return.
Monitor the R-e contact along the route of the contact-lead line 22,
When the call is answered (off-hook), a DC loop is created on the receiving telephone side, so the monitoring relay E operates, switches the IR, and sends a signal to the voice response control circuit 41.

After sending out the response guidance, the voice response control circuit 41 receives a response detection signal from the switching trunk 3 indicating a response from the receiving telephone 2, restores the T relay of the switching trunk 3, and switches the subscriber line 5 to the receiving telephone 2. , and is in a call state.

[Effects of the invention] As explained above, by providing a telephone with a switching trunk and a voice response device, when receiving a call from outside at a small business office, etc.
It is possible to provide a unified response service without requiring a full-time operator at the reception desk, and it also enables a certain level of corporate PR, which is expected to save labor and improve the company's image.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows the detailed circuit of FIG. 1. 1: Subscriber exchange 2: Incoming telephone 3: Switched trunk 4: Voice response device 5: Subscriber line 30: Detailed circuit of switching trunk 3 40: Telephone circuit 41: Voice response control circuit

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A proxy response system installed in telephones on the general telephone network, which includes a voice response device that sends a response signal and response guidance to the calling telephone and notifies the receiving telephone that the telephone is responding; a line switching means for switching the line from connection to the telephone to connection to the voice response device and from connection to the voice response device to connection to the incoming telephone; and a ringing signal detection means for emitting a signal to switch the connection from the telephone to the voice response device, and the voice response device detects when the receiving telephone becomes ready for a call after a certain period of time has elapsed. , a proxy response system comprising: a control circuit that issues a signal to the line switching means to switch from connection to a voice response device to connection to an incoming telephone; (2) The proxy response system according to claim 1, wherein the voice response device includes a cassette-type recording/playback device.