Telephone control unit

Abstract

This system prevents unintended incoming calls from callers who are unaware of the change in the phone number associated with the user of a telephone terminal. [Solution] This is a telephone control device to which multiple telephone terminals are connected. When the telephone number associated with a user of a telephone terminal is changed, it includes a storage means that stores the previous telephone number associated with the user and information on the date and time the telephone number was changed, a determination means that, when an incoming call is received, determines whether the date and time the call was received falls within a predetermined range from the date and time the telephone number was changed, as stored in the storage means, and a processing means that, if the determination means determines that the date and time the call was received falls within a predetermined range from the date and time the telephone number was changed, executes a predetermined process for the incoming call before performing a sequence based on the incoming call.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a telephone control device to which a plurality of telephone terminals are connected subordinate thereto.

Background Art

[0002] In offices such as companies and organizations, a business phone system (button phone system) is constructed and used, in which a plurality of telephone terminals are connected (accommodated) subordinate to a telephone control device to which one or more outside lines are connected, so that outside line calls and internal line calls can be made through these telephone terminals. And in the business phone system, so-called individual incoming call functions such as a dial-in function and a direct-in-dial function have been realized conventionally (see, for example, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2019-129377)).

[0003] The dial-in function is to contract in advance for a service provided by a telephone company. By having more number contracts than the number of subscriber contract lines used by the incoming call side's telephone control device, an incoming call to a specific telephone number is directly connected to a predetermined telephone terminal. Further, the direct-in-dial function is such that in a telephone control device, it automatically answers an incoming call to an outside line telephone number, receives an internal line number (internal telephone number) transmitted from the calling side's telephone terminal, and causes an individual incoming call to the internal line telephone terminal corresponding to that internal line number.

[0004] In the business phone system, by these functions, it is possible to directly call the intended call partner without going through the trouble of calling the representative telephone number and having the call transferred to the intended destination.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

[0006] Incidentally, in companies and organizations, it is common for employees and staff to change their work location within the office due to organizational restructuring or reassignment. In such cases, the individual phone number associated with the relocated employee or staff member often changes. There are various reasons why the individual phone number associated with a relocated employee or staff member may change.

[0007] For example, one factor is that telephone terminals assigned a specific individual incoming call number are not moved, and therefore, when an employee or staff member moves, the telephone terminal assigned to that employee or staff member changes. Another factor is that in companies or organizations, if individual incoming call numbers are assigned to each organization or group, even if telephone terminals are moved when employees or staff members move, the individual incoming call number assigned to the telephone terminal moved in accordance with the employee or staff member's movement changes accordingly.

[0008] When an employee or staff member moves and their individual phone number associated with them changes, it can lead to unintended calls being made to recipients by third parties, such as business partners, who are unaware of the change. In such cases, the employee or staff member receiving the call must find the employee's or staff member's new department or location and transfer the call to the intended recipient, which is a very time-consuming process.

[0009] The purpose of this invention is to provide a telephone control device that can solve the above-mentioned problems. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] To solve the above problems, the invention of claim 1 is: In a telephone control device to which multiple telephone terminals are connected, When the telephone number associated with the user of the aforementioned telephone terminal is changed, a storage means is provided to store the telephone number associated with the user before the change, and information on the date and time the telephone number was changed. When an incoming call is received, if the telephone number designated as the recipient is the same as the previous telephone number associated with the user, a determination means determines whether the date and time the call was received falls within a predetermined period from the date and time the telephone number was changed, which is stored in the storage means. If the determination means determines that the date and time the incoming call was received falls within a predetermined period from the date and time the telephone number was changed, the processing means executes a predetermined process for the incoming call before performing a sequence based on the incoming call. The present invention provides a telephone control device characterized by comprising the following features.

[0011] In the telephone control device according to claim 1 of the above configuration, when an incoming call is received, the determination means determines whether the date and time the call was received falls within a predetermined period from the date and time the telephone number held in the holding means was changed, if the telephone number to which the call is intended is the same as the previous telephone number associated with the user.

[0012] Then, if the telephone control device's processing means determines, using the determination means, that the date and time of the incoming call falls within a predetermined period from the date and time of the telephone number change, it performs a predetermined process for the incoming call before performing a sequence based on the incoming call.

[0013] As a prescribed process, in the invention of claim 3, the process of notifying the caller of the incoming call via voice guidance that there is a possibility that at least the telephone number of the recipient may have changed is performed.

[0014] Furthermore, as a predetermined process, the invention of claim 5 involves forwarding the received incoming call to the telephone terminal with the changed telephone number. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] According to this invention, when the discrimination means determines that the date and time of receiving an incoming call is within a predetermined period from the date and time of changing the telephone number, before performing the sequence based on the incoming call, by executing a predetermined process on the incoming call, it is possible to prevent an incoming call not intended by the caller.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0016] [Figure 1] It is a block diagram for explaining a configuration example of a telephone system including a main device of an embodiment of a telephone control device according to this invention. [Figure 2] It is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the main device of an embodiment of a telephone control device according to this invention. [Figure 3] It is a diagram showing an example of a number list stored in the storage holding unit of the main device of an embodiment of a telephone control device according to this invention. [Figure 4] It is a diagram showing an example of user information stored in the storage holding unit of the main device of an embodiment of a telephone control device according to this invention. [Figure 5] It is a diagram showing a flowchart for explaining an operation example of setting change of user information in the main device of an embodiment of a telephone control device according to this invention. [Figure 6] It is a diagram showing a part of a flowchart for explaining an operation example of incoming and outgoing calls in the main device of an embodiment of a telephone control device according to this invention. [Figure 7] It is a diagram showing a part of a flowchart for explaining an operation example of incoming and outgoing calls in the main device of an embodiment of a telephone control device according to this invention. [Figure 8] It is a diagram showing a part of a flowchart for explaining an operation example of incoming and outgoing calls in the main device of an embodiment of a telephone control device according to this invention. [Figure 9] It is a diagram showing a part of a flowchart for explaining an operation example of incoming and outgoing calls in the main device of an embodiment of a telephone control device according to this invention.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0017] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the telephone control device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings together with a telephone system including the embodiment of the telephone control device as a component.

[0018] [Example of Hardware Configuration of Telephone System] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a telephone system 100 in this embodiment. The telephone system 100 in this example is configured by connecting a plurality of telephone terminals (extension telephone terminals) 3 to a main device 1 constituting an embodiment of the telephone control device through a LAN (Local Area Network) 2 in this example. In this example, a voice automatic answering device 4 is further connected to the LAN 2. The main device 1 is also connected to a communication network (telephone network) 6 through one or more telephone lines 5. A plurality of partner telephone terminals 7 are connected to the communication network 6.

[0019] In the telephone system 100 of this embodiment, one or more telephone lines 5 are contracted, and in this example, different individual incoming call numbers (hereinafter referred to as external line numbers) are assigned to all of the plurality of telephone terminals 3 under the main device 1 by contracting a dial-in service. In this example, different external line numbers are set for each of the plurality of telephone terminals 3. Also, different extension numbers (extension telephone numbers) are assigned to each of the plurality of telephone terminals 3 in the same manner as in a normal telephone system.

[0020] In this embodiment, it is assumed that the plurality of telephone terminals 3 are operated so as not to move to the place where they are installed, and the telephone numbers assigned to each of the plurality of telephone terminals 3 are not changed. However, the external line numbers and extension numbers associated with the users of the telephone terminals 3 are changed due to the transfer of the users' departments or the like.

[0021] Furthermore, the telephone terminal 3 may be configured to be moved when a user changes departments. In that case, if a set of external line numbers is predetermined for each department, the external and internal line numbers of the telephone terminal 3 should be changed to the telephone numbers assigned to the new department when the user moves to a new department.

[0022] The multiple telephone terminals 3 and the main unit 1 may be connected by wire or by wireless connection. Specifically, when the multiple telephone terminals 3 and the main unit 1 are connected by wire, the telephone terminals 3 are configured as wired terminals and LAN2 is configured as a wired LAN. When connected wirelessly, the telephone terminals 3 are configured as wireless terminals and LAN2 is configured as a wireless LAN.

[0023] The main unit 1 controls calls for internal calls between multiple telephone terminals 3 under its control, and controls calls between telephone terminals 3 and external counterpart telephone terminals 7. In this embodiment, as will be detailed later, when the external line number associated with a user changes due to the user moving to a telephone terminal 3, the main unit 1 is equipped with a processing function that prevents unintended incoming calls from the caller who made the call using the counterpart telephone terminal 7, as will be detailed later, when an incoming call is made to the external line number that was previously associated with the user.

[0024] In this embodiment, the automated voice response device 4 sends pre-stored voice guidance messages based on control instructions from the main unit 1. If the sent voice guidance message includes an inquiry message prompting a response from the recipient, the device also has a function to determine the response from the recipient and send the determination result to the main unit 1. Note that the automated voice response device 4 can also be configured to be installed within the main unit 1, rather than being installed separately from the main unit 1.

[0025] [Example configuration of main unit 1] The main unit 1, which constitutes an embodiment of the telephone control device, has the configuration shown in Figure 2. Specifically, the main unit 1 is configured such that the following are connected to the control unit 11, which is configured as a computer, via the system bus 10: an external line interface 12, an internal line interface 13, a call control unit 14, an incoming call monitoring unit 15, a number change response processing unit 16, a clock unit 17, and a memory and storage unit 18.

[0026] The external interface 12 is connected to the communication network 6, and the internal interface 13 is connected to LAN2.

[0027] The call control unit 14 controls outgoing and incoming external calls via the communication network 6, as well as outgoing and incoming internal calls between telephone terminals 3 via the LAN 2. The incoming call monitoring unit 15 monitors incoming calls and detects whether the received incoming call is an incoming call to the external line number associated with the user before the change, within a predetermined period after the change of the external line number associated with the user. If the incoming call monitoring unit 15 detects that the received incoming call is an incoming call to the external line number associated with the user before the change, within a predetermined period after the change of the external line number associated with the user, it notifies the number change response processing unit 16 of the detection result.

[0028] The number change processing unit 16 performs the following processing to prevent unintended incoming calls from the caller, in accordance with the detection results from the incoming call monitoring unit 15.

[0029] The clock unit 17 outputs date and time information in the format of year, month, day, hour, minute, and second. The incoming call monitoring unit 15 obtains the date and time information of an incoming call from the clock unit 17 and uses it for the monitoring and detection described above.

[0030] In this embodiment, the memory storage unit 18 includes a number list storage unit 181 and a user information storage unit 182. The memory storage unit 18 includes a memory (not shown), and in this embodiment, the number list and user information are stored in separate storage areas within the memory.

[0031] As shown in Figure 3, the number list holding unit 181 stores and holds number lists consisting of an outgoing and incoming number list and a changed number list. In this embodiment, the outgoing and incoming number list consists of a combination of the caller's number and the recipient's external line number. When an outgoing call occurs from telephone terminal 3 on telephone terminal 7 and an incoming call occurs on telephone terminal 3, the number list holding unit 181 detects a combination of the caller's number and the recipient's external line number that is not stored in the outgoing and incoming number list and adds that combination to the outgoing and incoming number list.

[0032] In this embodiment, the caller ID list stores combinations of the caller ID and the recipient's external line number without distinguishing between outgoing and incoming calls. Alternatively, the caller ID list may be configured to store combinations of the caller ID and the recipient's external line number while distinguishing between outgoing and incoming calls.

[0033] Furthermore, the changed number list consists of a combination of the previous external line number and the date and time of the change when the external line number associated with a user is changed. The number list holding unit 181 stores in the changed number list the previous external line number and the date and time of the change in association with the user information holding unit 182 when the external line number associated with a user is changed by the administrator of the telephone system 100 due to a change in the user's department, etc. The update date and time information is obtained from the clock unit 17.

[0034] As shown in Figure 4, the user information storage unit 182, in this example, stores and stores user information consisting of the name, email address, extension number, external number, and previous external number of the user of each telephone terminal 3. This user information is set by the administrator of the telephone system 100 for each user of multiple telephone terminals 3, and is also changed when a user moves to a different department. The user information storage unit 182 stores the user information in its storage area according to the settings and changes made by the administrator.

[0035] Furthermore, the functional processing of the call control unit 14, incoming call monitoring unit 15, number change handling unit 16, and memory retention unit 18 (excluding memory) in the main unit 1 shown in Figure 2 can be configured as software functions executed by a program on the computer constituting the control unit 11.

[0036] Furthermore, the memory unit 18 may be configured to be connected to the LAN 2 as a separate device from the main unit 1. Additionally, only the memory portion of the memory unit 18 may be configured to be connected to the LAN 2 separately from the main unit 1.

[0037] [Example of operation of main unit 1] The operation of the main unit 1 as an embodiment of the telephone control device of this invention will be explained with reference to the flowcharts in Figures 5 to 9. In the following explanation, each step in each flowchart will be described assuming that the computer constituting the control unit 11 is configured as a software function that executes the functional processing of the call control unit 14, incoming call monitoring unit 15, number change response processing unit 16, and storage and retention unit 18 (excluding memory) by program. Therefore, in the following explanation, the control unit 11 is the entity that executes each step.

[0038] <Action taken when user information settings are changed> Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of operation when the administrator of the telephone system 100 in this embodiment changes the user information of the main unit 1.

[0039] The control unit 11 of the main unit 1 monitors whether or not it has received a change in user information settings from the administrator (step S101), and if it determines that it has not received the change, it continues in step S101.

[0040] In step S101, when the control unit 11 determines that it has received a change in user information settings from the administrator, it determines whether the setting change is a change in the external line number associated with the user (step S102). In step S102, when it determines that it is not a change in the external line number, the control unit 11 updates the user information with information other than the changed external line (step S103), and then returns the process to step S101.

[0041] Then, in step S102, if it is determined that the external line number has been changed, the control unit 11 updates the external line number in the user information to the changed external line number, and also stores the external line number before the change in the user information (step S104).

[0042] Furthermore, the control unit 11 obtains the date and time of the change of the external line number from the clock unit 17 (step S105), associates the external line number before the change with the obtained change date and time, and adds and stores it in the change number list (step S106). After step S106, the control unit 11 returns to step S101 and repeats the processing from step S101 onwards.

[0043] The processing in step S104 is the processing of the user information holding unit 182 described above, and the processing in steps S105 and S106 is the processing of the number list holding unit 181.

[0044] <Operation of main unit 1 during incoming and outgoing calls> Figures 6 to 9 are flowcharts illustrating examples of operation during call initiation and reception of the main unit 1.

[0045] The control unit of the main unit 1 determines whether or not an outgoing call has been detected (step S111 in Figure 6). If it determines that no outgoing call has been detected, it then determines whether or not an incoming call has been detected (step S112). If it determines in step S112 that no incoming call has been detected, the control unit 11 returns to step S111.

[0046] In step S111, when it is determined that an outgoing call has been detected, the control unit 11 checks the combination of the outgoing caller's number and the incoming external line number of the recipient against the outgoing call number list held in the number list holding unit 181 (step S113), and determines whether or not the combination of the outgoing caller's number and the incoming external line number is not found in the outgoing call number list (step S114).

[0047] Then, in step S114, if the control unit 11 determines that the combination of the originating caller's number and the incoming external line number is not in the call number list, it adds the combination of the originating caller's number and the incoming external line number to the call number list (step S115).

[0048] Next, the control unit 11 executes the outgoing sequence (step S116), and then determines whether or not the communication has ended (step S117). If the control unit 11 determines in step S117 that the communication has not ended, it continues the communication (call) based on the outgoing call. If it determines that the communication has ended, it returns to step S111 and repeats the process from step S111 onward.

[0049] Furthermore, if in step S114 the control unit 11 determines that the combination of the outgoing caller's number and the incoming external line number already exists in the incoming / outgoing number list, the control unit 11 skips step S115 and proceeds to step S116, executes the outgoing call sequence, and performs the processing from step S116 onward.

[0050] Then, when it is determined in step S112 that an incoming call has been detected, the control unit 11 checks the combination of the caller's number and the incoming external line number against the call number list held in the number list holding unit 181 (step S121 in Figure 7), and determines whether or not the combination of the caller's number and the incoming external line number is not found in the call number list (step S122).

[0051] Then, in step S122, if the control unit 11 determines that the combination of the incoming caller's number and the incoming recipient's external line number is not in the incoming / outgoing number list, it adds the combination of the incoming caller's number and the incoming recipient's external line number to the incoming / outgoing number list (step S123).

[0052] Next, the control unit 11 executes the incoming call sequence (step S124), and then determines whether or not the communication has ended (step S125). If the control unit 11 determines in step S125 that the communication has not ended, it continues the communication (call) based on the incoming call. If it determines that the communication has ended, it returns to step S111 and repeats the process from step S111 onwards.

[0053] In step S122, if the control unit 11 determines that the combination of the incoming caller's number and the incoming external line number already exists in the incoming / outgoing number list, it checks the changed number list to determine whether the incoming external line number is the previous external line number of the changed external line number (step S131 in Figure 8). In step S131, if the control unit 11 determines that the incoming external line number is not the previous external line number of the changed external line number, it proceeds to step S124 in Figure 7, executes the incoming call sequence, and performs the processing from step S124 onward.

[0054] Then, in step S131, if the control unit 11 determines that the incoming external line number is the same as the external line number before the change, the control unit 11 obtains the date and time of the change of the external line number from the changed number list and determines whether the received call was made within a predetermined period from the date and time of the change (step S132). In this example, the predetermined period is set by the administrator, for example, one month.

[0055] In step S132, if the control unit 11 determines that the received incoming call is not within a predetermined period from the change date and time, but rather that more than the predetermined period has elapsed, the control unit 11 proceeds to step S124 in Figure 7, executes the incoming call sequence, and performs the processing from step S124 onward.

[0056] Then, in step S132, if the control unit 11 determines that the received incoming call is within a predetermined period from the change date and time, the control unit 11 sends a control instruction to the voice automatic response device 4 to send a predetermined voice guidance, and transmits the received voice guidance to the caller of the incoming call (step S133).

[0057] In this embodiment, the automated voice response device 4 sends a voice guidance message notifying the user that the incoming call number may have changed, for example, "The incoming call number may have changed," followed by a voice guidance message offering options for how to receive the call, for example, "Press '1' to receive the call as is, '2' to forward the call to the changed incoming call number, or '3' to cancel the call."

[0058] After transmitting this voice guidance, the control unit 11 waits for and receives the selection result of the options from the incoming caller (step S134), and determines whether the received selection result is "1" Allow the call to proceed (step S135).

[0059] Then, in step S135, if the control unit 11 determines that the selected option received is "1" to allow the call to be received, it proceeds with receiving the call to the specified destination. However, at that time, it displays a message indicating that the call may be intended for someone who previously used the external line number, and adds an instruction to ring with a predetermined ringtone that is different from the normal ringtone (step S136). This difference in ringtone allows the user who receives the incoming call notification to anticipate that the call may be intended for someone who was previously associated with the external line number.

[0060] In this embodiment, the telephone terminal 3 of the telephone system 100 stores a message in its memory indicating that the incoming call may be for someone who previously used the external line number, and has a function to display the stored message on the display screen when instructed by the main unit 1. The telephone terminal 3 also has a function to ring with a different ringtone than the normal ringtone when instructed by the main unit 1.

[0061] After step S136, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the communication has ended (step S137). If it determines that the communication has not ended, it continues the communication (call) based on the incoming call. If it determines that the communication has ended, it returns to step S111 and repeats the processing from step S111 onwards.

[0062] In step S135, if the control unit 11 determines that the selected option received is not "1" to allow the call to be received as is, then it determines whether the selected option received is "2" to request that the call be forwarded to the changed external number of the receiving destination (step S141 in Figure 9).

[0063] In step S141, if the control unit 11 determines that the selection result of the received option is not "2" I wish to transfer the call to the changed destination external number, then the control unit 11 determines whether the selection result of the received option is "3" Cancel the incoming call (step S142).

[0064] In step S142, if the control unit 11 determines that the selected option received is "3" Cancel the incoming call, it executes a process to cancel the received incoming call (step S143), then returns to step S133, and repeats the process from step S133 onward.

[0065] In step S141, if the selection result of the received option is determined to be "2. I wish to forward the call to the changed external line number", the control unit 11 checks the user information in the user information holding unit 182 to search for users who have the incoming call's external line number as the pre-change external line number (step S144), and obtains the external line number (changed external line number) associated with the search result user (step S145).

[0066] Then, the control unit 11 executes a sequence to forward the received incoming call to the acquired external line number (the changed external line number) (step S146). In this step S146, even for the forwarded incoming call, the control unit 11 may also send an instruction to the telephone terminal 3 to display a message such as "This is an incoming call forwarded to the previous external line number" on the telephone terminal 3, and to ring with a different ringtone than the normal ringtone (a different ringtone than the one used for the original incoming call as described above).

[0067] After step S146, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the communication has ended (step S147). If it determines that the communication has not ended, it continues the communication (call) based on the incoming call. If it determines that the communication has ended, it returns to step S111 and repeats the processing from step S111 onwards.

[0068] [Effects of the Embodiment] According to the main unit 1 in the telephone system 100 of the above embodiment, even if the telephone number of the telephone terminal 3 associated with a user changes due to a change in the user's department or other reasons, incoming calls from unknown numbers to the person who inherited the previous telephone number can be suppressed. In addition, by forwarding incoming calls to the new telephone number, the number of call transfers can be reduced, which leads to increased efficiency.

[0069] [Modified versions of the above embodiments] In the above embodiment, the above processing was performed for a predetermined period after the user's associated telephone number was changed, but only if the caller's number and the recipient's external line number for the received call were stored in the incoming and outgoing call number list. This was based on the assumption that someone who had previously called the same destination might call again without knowing about the number change, and that in the case of an incoming call with a combination of caller's number and recipient's external line number not found in the incoming and outgoing call list, it was assumed that the caller would only call after learning about the changed number.

[0070] However, even if the combination of the incoming caller's number and the recipient's external line number is not found in the incoming / outgoing number list, considering that a caller might have obtained the old phone number from someone else, it is certainly permissible to perform the aforementioned processing for a predetermined period after the phone number associated with the user has been changed, even in such cases.

[0071] In the above embodiment, an inquiry voice guidance was sent to the caller, and when the caller instructed the transfer, the incoming call was transferred to the changed external number. However, the system may also be configured to transfer the incoming call to the changed external number without sending an inquiry voice guidance (but providing a voice guidance informing the caller of the number change), or without providing any voice guidance at all, including the voice guidance informing the caller of the number change. The system may also be configured to allow users to set whether or not to provide voice guidance.

[0072] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the system is configured to always send voice guidance to the caller of an incoming call during a predetermined period after the phone number associated with the user has been changed. However, even within the predetermined period after the phone number associated with the user has been changed, the system may determine whether or not voice guidance is necessary by referring to whether or not there have been incoming calls to the changed external number before and after the phone number was changed, and the number of such calls (the number of calls can be set).

[0073] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the above-described process is always executed for a predetermined period after the telephone number associated with the user is changed. However, the length of the predetermined period may be changed by monitoring incoming calls during the period after the change date and time. For example, if an incoming call from the same caller with the destination being the previous external line number is detected a predetermined number of times, for example, three times, after the change date and time, the predetermined period may be reset to "0", and the processes in steps S131 and S132 described above may not be performed thereafter. Alternatively, instead of resetting the predetermined period to "0", the information of the previous external line number and the change date and time may be deleted from the changed number list.

[0074] Furthermore, if, in step S131, it is determined that the incoming external line number is the same as the previous external line number of the changed external line number, and in step S132, it is determined that the received call was made within a predetermined period from the date and time of the change, then, in addition to the voice guidance in step S133, the changed external line number may be notified to the caller by voice (synthesized voice). Alternatively, this notification of the changed external line number to the caller may be done separately by email instead of by voice.

[0075] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, user information is set or changed by an administrator accessing the main unit 1. However, if, for example, a telephone directory is maintained within the company or group, the system may be configured so that when the telephone directory is updated, the user information is also automatically updated in conjunction with the update of the telephone directory.

[0076] [Other variations] In the above-described embodiment, we explained the case of incoming external calls when the external line number of the telephone terminal 3 associated with the user is changed. However, this invention can be applied similarly to incoming internal calls.

[0077] In other words, if the extension number associated with a user is changed by the administrator in the user information, the previous extension number and the date and time of the change are stored in the changed extension number list. If an internal call is made to the previous extension within a predetermined period from the date and time of the change, the same change number processing as described above can be performed for the caller.

[0078] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the external line number used as the individual incoming call number was assumed to be an external line number contracted for the dial-in service, but it may also be a number used in the direct in-dial function. Alternatively, it may be a number used when individual incoming calls are made to the telephone terminal 3 using a subaddress. In short, this invention is applicable to any number that enables individual incoming calls to the telephone terminal 3 from an external telephone system. [Explanation of symbols]

[0079] 1...Main unit, 2...LAN, 3...Telephone terminal, 4...Automatic voice response system, 5...Telephone line, 6...Communication network, 7...Caller telephone terminal, 11...Control unit, 15...Incoming call monitoring unit, 16...Number change handling processing unit, 18...Storage and retention unit

Claims

1. In a telephone control device to which multiple telephone terminals are connected, When the telephone number associated with the user of the aforementioned telephone terminal is changed, a storage means is provided to store the telephone number associated with the user before the change, and information on the date and time the telephone number was changed. When an incoming call is received, if the telephone number designated as the recipient is the same as the previous telephone number associated with the user, a determination means determines whether the date and time the call was received falls within a predetermined period from the date and time the telephone number was changed, which is stored in the storage means. If the determination means determines that the date and time the incoming call was received falls within a predetermined period from the date and time the telephone number was changed, the processing means executes a predetermined process for the incoming call before performing a sequence based on the incoming call. A telephone control device characterized by comprising the following:

2. The holding means maintains a list of caller and recipient telephone number combinations created based on incoming and outgoing calls for each of the plurality of telephone terminals. The determination means performs the determination if the same combination of caller and recipient telephone numbers for the incoming call exists in the list of caller and recipient telephone numbers held in the holding means. The telephone control device according to feature 1.

3. The predetermined processing in the processing means is the process of notifying the caller of the incoming call, via voice guidance, that there is a possibility that at least the telephone number of the recipient may have changed. A telephone control device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The voice guidance includes asking the caller whether they wish to continue the call or be forwarded to the changed phone number. The telephone control device according to claim 3.

5. The aforementioned holding means holds the changed telephone number associated with the user, The predetermined process is the process of forwarding the incoming call to the telephone terminal with the changed telephone number. A telephone control device according to claim 1 or 2.

6. The aforementioned holding means holds the changed telephone number associated with the user, The system includes means for notifying the caller of the incoming call of the changed telephone number. A telephone control device according to claim 1 or 2.

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