Telephone system, main device, program, and busy incoming call control method

Abstract

To provide an incoming call control technology for enabling a user to determine whether to prioritize communication with an on-going communication partner or to prioritize communication with a calling source of a busy incoming call in the case that the calling source of the busy incoming call is a more important partner than the on-going communication partner.SOLUTION: In the case of receiving a new call to calling destinations being busy telephone sets 2-1 to 2-3, if priority of a calling source of the call is higher than priority of an on-going communication partner, a main device 1 transmits a busy-incoming-call notification to the calling destinations of the call. Then, in the case of receiving a communication switch instruction from the calling destination telephone sets 2-1 to 2-3, the main device switches communication in response to the new call, and simultaneously transmits a voice guidance to ask the communication partner of before switching the communication to send a voice message describing succeeding part of suspended communication, and receives and records the voice message from the communication partner of before switching the communication.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a telephone system having a main device and a plurality of telephones housed in the main device, and more particularly to a busy incoming call control technique for a telephone system.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a telephone system that can receive a busy incoming call message without interrupting a call and can call back the originator of the busy incoming call with one touch.

[0003] In this telephone system, when a new call arrives during a call on an extension button telephone (busy incoming call), the button telephone main unit records an audio message in response to this new call, and registers the telephone number of the originator of this new call on the one-touch button of this extension button telephone. Then, after the call on the extension button telephone ends, an audio mail including the recorded audio message is sent to this extension button telephone. Next, when an operation signal of the one-touch button is received from this extension button telephone, a call is made to the recorder of the audio message (the originator of the above-mentioned new call).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] By the way, there are cases where the originator of a busy incoming call is a more important party than the call partner during a call, and it is desired to prioritize the call with the originator of the busy incoming call over the call with this call partner. However, the telephone system described in Patent Document 1 does not assume this case.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its object is to provide a call control technology capable of determining whether a user gives priority to a call with the call partner during a call or a call with the caller of an incoming call during a call when the caller of the incoming call during a call is a more important partner than the call partner during the call.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, the main device registers priorities in advance for each telephone number. When a call destined for the telephone during a call newly arrives, the priority of the call partner of this telephone is compared with the priority of the caller of the newly arrived call. If the priority of the caller of the newly arrived call is higher, a busy incoming call notification is sent to this telephone. And if a call switching instruction is received from this telephone, the call is switched to respond to the newly arrived call, and at the same time, a voice guidance asking about the continuation of the matter is sent to the call partner before the call switching, and a voice message is received from the call partner before the call switching and recorded. After that, when the call between this telephone and the caller of the new call ends and a recording playback instruction is received from this telephone, the voice message of the call partner before the call switching is sent to this telephone.

[0008] For example, the present invention is a telephone system including a main device and a telephone accommodated in the main device, wherein the main device has a priority storage means in which priorities are stored for each telephone number, and when a new call destined for the telephone during the call of the telephone arrives, referring to the priority storage means, if the priority of the caller of the new call is higher than the priority of the call partner during the call, a busy incoming call notification means for sending a busy incoming call notification to the telephone, and when the busy incoming call notification means sends the busy incoming call notification, if a call switching instruction is received from the telephone, a call switching means for switching the call of the telephone to the caller of the new call in response to the new call, When the call switching means switches the call of the telephone, a voice guidance for asking the other party of the call before the call switching about the continuation of the matter is sent, and a voice message recording means for receiving and recording a voice message from the other party of the call before the call switching; When receiving a voice message playback instruction from the telephone, a voice message playback means for playing back the voice message recorded by the voice message recording means and sending it to the telephone; When a new call arrives during a call on the telephone, referring to the priority storage means, if the priority of the originator of the new call is lower than the priority of the call partner during the call, a primary response means for making a primary response to the new call, It has The telephone When receiving the in - call incoming call notification from the main device during a call, an in - call incoming call notification output means for outputting the in - call incoming call notification; When receiving a call switching operation in response to the in - call incoming call notification output by the in - call incoming call notification output means, a call switching instruction transmission means for transmitting the call switching instruction to the main device; When receiving a voice message playback operation during standby, a voice message playback instruction transmission means for transmitting the voice message playback instruction to the main device; A display unit, has And, The voice message recording means, When the primary response means makes a primary response to the new call, it sends a voice guidance asking about the matter to the originator of the new call, receives and records a voice message from the originator of the new call, The primary response means, When a new call arrives during a call on the telephone, even if the priority of the originator of the new call is the same as the priority of the call partner during the call, it makes a primary response to the new call, The in - call arrival notification means, When the primary response means makes a primary response to the new call, if the priority of the originator of the new call is the same as the priority of the call partner during the call, it sends a voice guidance asking about the subject of the matter to the originator of the new call, receives a voice message from the originator of the new call, converts the received voice message into text data, and transmits the in - call arrival notification with the text data to the telephone, The in - call arrival notification output means, When receiving the in - call arrival notification with the text data from the master device during a call, it outputs the in - call arrival notification and displays the text data on the display unit to do.

Advantages of the Invention

[0009] In the present invention, when a call arrives with the telephone in a call as the destination, if the priority of the caller of this call is higher than the priority of the call partner, a busy incoming call notification is sent to this telephone. If a call switching instruction is received from this telephone, the call is switched in response to the newly arrived call, and a voice guidance is sent to the call partner before the call switching, asking for the continuation of the matter, and the voice message from the call partner before the call switching is received and recorded. Therefore, according to the present invention, when the caller of the busy incoming call is a more important partner than the call partner during the call, the user can decide whether to prioritize the call with this call partner or the call with the caller of the busy incoming call. In addition, even when the user of the telephone switches to a call with the caller of the busy incoming call, the user can confirm the continuation of the matter of the call partner before the call switching by playing back the recorded voice message, so there is no need to call the call partner before the call switching again to confirm the continuation of the matter, and the convenience is improved.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

Figure 1

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a telephone system according to the present embodiment.

[0013] As shown in the figure, the telephone system according to the present embodiment includes a main device 1 connected to an external telephone network 3 such as an IP (Internet Protocol) telephone network and a PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network), and an internal telephone network 4 composed of a LAN (Local Area Network), an analog line, etc., and a plurality of telephone sets 2 - 1 to 2 - 3 (hereinafter, also simply referred to as telephone set 2) accommodated in the main device 1 via the internal telephone network 4.

[0014] The main device 1 cooperates with the telephone 2 to establish a communication path between the telephone 2 and the telephone 2, or between the telephone 2 and the external telephone network 3, and relays the call between the telephone 2 and the calling party through this communication path. In addition, the main device 1 registers a priority for each telephone number, and when a call destined for the telephone 2 during a call arrives newly (incoming call during a call), it processes the incoming call during a call based on the priorities of the calling party of the incoming call during a call and the calling party of the telephone 2 during this call respectively.

[0015] FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are sequence diagrams for explaining a first operation example of the incoming call during a call process of the telephone system according to the present embodiment.

[0016] Assume that the main device 1 is relaying the communication path between the telephone 2-1 and the telephone 2-2, and the telephones 2-1 and 2-2 are in a call (S100).

[0017] When a call destined for the telephone 2-1 during a call arrives from the external telephone network 3 (incoming call during a call) at the main device 1 (S101), the main device 1 compares the priority pre-registered and associated with the calling party of this call (referred to as the incoming call during a call party) with the priority pre-registered and associated with the telephone 2-2 which is the calling party of the telephone 2-1 (S102). Here, assume that the priority of the incoming call during a call party is higher than the priority of the calling party.

[0018] In this case, the main device 1 sends an incoming call during a call notification with the telephone number of the incoming call during a call party to the telephone 2-1 (S103). In response to this, the telephone 2-1 outputs a predetermined incoming call during a call tone and displays the telephone number of the incoming call during a call party on a display unit such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) to notify the user that an incoming call is being received from the incoming call during a call party. Thereafter, when the telephone 2-1 receives a call switching operation (response operation) from the user (S104), it sends a call switching instruction to the main device 1 (S105).

[0019] In response to this, the main device 1 switches the connection destination of the communication path of the telephone 2-1 from the call partner to the busy incoming call partner (S106 to S108). That is, the main device 1 temporarily holds the communication path with the telephone 2-2 (S106), sends a response to the busy incoming call partner (S107), and establishes a communication path with the busy incoming call partner. Then, the communication path of the telephone 2-1 and the communication path of the busy incoming call partner are connected and relayed (S108). As a result, a call between the telephone 2-1 and the busy incoming call partner becomes possible.

[0020] Next, the main device 1 releases the temporary hold of the telephone 2-2 and sends a voice guidance to the telephone 2-2 asking for the continuation of the matter (S109). Then, the call recording of the telephone 2-2 is started (S110), and the voice data of the utterance (continuation of the matter) of the user of the telephone 2-2 is recorded in association with the telephone 2-1.

[0021] After that, when the telephone 2-2 receives an end call operation from the user (S111), it sends an end call instruction to the main device 1 (S112). In response to this, the main device 1 releases the communication path of the telephone 2-2 and ends the call, and also ends the call recording of the telephone 2-2 (S113). In addition, a recording notification is sent to the telephone 2-1 (S114).

[0022] Also, when the telephone 2-1 receives an end call operation from the user (S115), it sends an end call instruction to the main device 1 (S116). When the main device 1 receives an end call instruction from the telephone 2-1 or from the call partner of the telephone 2-1 via the external telephone network 3, it releases the communication path between the telephone 2-1 and the call partner of the telephone 2-1 and ends the call (S117).

[0023] After that, when the telephone 2-1 receives a recording playback operation from the user (S118), it sends a recording playback instruction to the main device 1 (S119). In response to this, the main device 1 plays back the voice data (voice data of the continuation of the matter) of the telephone 2-2 recorded in association with the telephone 2-1 and sends it to the telephone 2-1 (S120).

[0024] FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are sequence diagrams for explaining a second operation example of the in-call incoming call process of the telephone system according to the present embodiment.

[0025] It is assumed that the master device 1 is relaying the call path between the telephone 2-1 and the telephone 2-2, and the telephones 2-1 and 2-2 are in a call (S130).

[0026] When a call destined for the telephone 2-1 is received as an in-call incoming call from the telephone 2-3 (S131), the master device 1 compares the priority associated with and pre-registered for the telephone 2-3, which is the in-call incoming call partner, with the priority associated with and pre-registered for the telephone 2-2, which is the call partner of the telephone 2-1 (S132). Here, it is assumed that the priority of the in-call incoming call partner is lower than the priority of the call partner.

[0027] In this case, the master device 1 sends a response to the telephone 2-3, which is the in-call incoming call partner (S133), establishes a call path with the in-call incoming call partner (S134), and sends a voice guidance asking about the matter to the telephone 2-3 (S135). Then, the call recording of the telephone 2-3 is started (S136), and the voice data of the utterance (matter) of the user of the telephone 2-3 is recorded in association with the telephone 2-1.

[0028] Thereafter, when the telephone 2-3 receives an end call operation from the user (S137), it sends an end call instruction to the master device 1 (S138). In response to this, the master device 1 releases the call path of the telephone 2-3 and ends the call, and also ends the call recording of the telephone 2-3 (S139). Further, a recording notification is sent to the telephone 2-1 (S140).

[0029] Next, when the telephone 2-1 receives an end call operation from the user (S141), it sends an end call instruction to the master device 1 (S142). When the master device 1 receives an end call instruction from the telephone 2-1 or from the telephone 2-2, which is the call partner of the telephone 2-1, it releases the call path between the telephones 2-1 and 2-2 and ends the call (S143).

[0030] Thereafter, when the telephone 2-1 receives a recording playback operation from the user (S144), it transmits a recording playback instruction to the main device 1 (S145). In response to this, the main device 1 plays back the voice data of the telephone 2-3 (voice data of the matter) recorded in association with the telephone 2-1 and sends it to the telephone 2-1 (S146).

[0031] FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram for explaining a third operation example of the in-call incoming call process of the telephone system according to the present embodiment.

[0032] It is assumed that the main device 1 relays the call path between the telephone 2-1 and the telephone 2-2, and thus the telephones 2-1 and 2-2 are in a call (S160).

[0033] When a call destined for the telephone 2-1 arrives as an in-call incoming call from the external telephone network 3, the main device 1 compares the priority associated with this in-call incoming call partner and registered in advance with the priority associated with the telephone 2-2, which is the call partner of the telephone 2-1 and registered in advance (S162). Here, it is assumed that the priority of the in-call incoming call partner is the same as the priority of the call partner.

[0034] In this case, the main device 1 sends a response to the in-call incoming call partner (S163), establishes a call path with the in-call incoming call partner (S164), and sends a voice guidance asking for the subject of the matter to the in-call incoming call partner (S165). Then, voice recognition processing is performed on the voice data of the speech (subject of the matter) of the user of the in-call incoming call partner to convert it into text data (S166), and an in-call incoming call notification accompanied by this text data of the subject of the matter and the telephone number of the in-call incoming call partner is sent to the telephone 2-1 (S167). In response to this, the telephone 2-1 outputs a predetermined in-call incoming call tone and displays the telephone number of the in-call incoming call partner together with the text data of the subject of the matter on a display unit such as an LCD, thereby notifying the user that an incoming call is being received from the in-call incoming call partner together with the subject of the matter. Thereafter, the same processing as S104 to S120 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is performed (S168).

[0035] FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram for explaining a fourth operation example of the in - call incoming call process of the telephone system according to the present embodiment.

[0036] It is assumed that the main device 1 is relaying the call paths of the telephone 2 - 1 and the telephone 2 - 2, and the telephones 2 - 1 and 2 - 2 are in a call (S180).

[0037] When the telephone 2 - 1 receives a call - continuation operation from a user who recognizes that the call content with the call partner is important (S181), it transmits a call - continuation instruction to the main device 1 (S182). In response to this, the main device 1 sets a call - continuation flag associated with this telephone 2 - 1 during the call of the telephone 2 - 1 (S183).

[0038] Next, when a call destined for the telephone 2 - 1 incoming while the line is busy arrives from the external telephone network 3 at the main device 1 (S184), since the call - continuation flag is set in the telephone 2 - 1, regardless of the priorities pre - registered and associated with the incoming call partner and the telephone 2 - 2 which is the call partner of the telephone 2 - 1, the call of the telephone 2 - 2 which is the call partner is prioritized. In this case, the same processing as S133 - S146 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is performed (S185).

[0039] Next, the details of the main device 1 and the telephone 2 constituting the telephone system according to the present embodiment will be described.

[0040] First, the details of the main device 1 will be described.

[0041] FIG. 8 is a schematic functional configuration diagram of the main device 1.

[0042] As shown in the figure, the main device 1 includes an internal - line telephone network interface unit 10, an external - line telephone network interface unit 11, a call control unit 12, a relay unit 13, a priority storage unit 14, a voice message recording unit 15, a voice message playback unit 16, a voice recognition unit 17, and a call - continuation flag setting unit 18.

[0043] The internal line telephone network interface unit 10 is an interface for connecting to the internal line telephone network 4, and the external line telephone network interface unit 11 is an interface for connecting to the external line telephone network 3.

[0044] The call control unit 12, by carrying out call control processing in cooperation with the telephone set 2, establishes or releases a call path between this telephone set 2 and the call partner (another telephone set 2 or the external line telephone network 3). Further, the call control unit 12 includes a busy incoming call notification unit 120, a call switching unit 121, and a primary response unit 122.

[0045] The busy incoming call notification unit 120 transmits a busy incoming call notification to the telephone set 2 in a call, which is the destination of the call with a busy incoming call.

[0046] The call switching unit 121 switches the connection destination of the call path established with the telephone set 2 from the call partner during the call to the party with a busy incoming call.

[0047] The primary response unit 122 makes a primary response to the call with a busy incoming call.

[0048] The relay unit 13 relays the call between the telephone set 2 and the call partner (another telephone set 2 or the external line telephone network 3) of this telephone set 2 via the call path established by the call control unit 12.

[0049] In the priority storage unit 14, for each telephone number, the priority of the telephone set (the telephone set 2 connected to the internal line telephone network 4 and the telephone set connected to the external line telephone network 3) to which this telephone number is assigned is stored. Here, in addition to the telephone number, the priority may be stored in the priority storage unit 14 for each number system (internal number system, external number system, etc.), and for a telephone set for which the telephone number is not stored in the priority storage unit 14, the priority may be determined based on the number system of the telephone number.

[0050] When a call with a busy incoming call arrives at the telephone set 2 during a call, the voice message recording unit 15 associates and registers the voice message received from the originator of this call or from the call partner of this telephone set 2 with this telephone set 2.

[0051] The voice message playback unit 16 plays back the voice message recorded by the voice message recording unit 15.

[0052] The voice recognition unit 17 performs voice recognition processing on the voice received from the caller of an incoming call during a call and converts this voice into text data.

[0053] When the call continuation flag setting unit 18 receives a call continuation instruction from the telephone 2 during a call, it sets a call continuation flag associated with this telephone 2 while this call continues.

[0054] Note that the functional configuration of the main device 1 shown in FIG. 8 is realized either hard by an integrated logic IC such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or realized software by a computer such as a DSP (Digital Signal Processor). Alternatively, in a general-purpose computer such as a PC equipped with a CPU, a memory, an auxiliary storage device such as a hard disk and a flash memory, and a communication interface such as a NIC (Network Interface Card), the CPU loads a predetermined program from the auxiliary storage device onto the memory and executes it to be realized as a process.

[0055] FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the incoming call processing during a call of the main device 1.

[0056] This flow starts when, during a call of the telephone 2, a call destined for this telephone 2 arrives as an incoming call during a call via the external telephone network 3 or the internal telephone network 4.

[0057] First, the call control unit 12 refers to the call continuation flag setting unit 18 and determines whether a call continuation flag is set for the telephone 2 which is the destination of the incoming call during a call (S200). If the call continuation flag is set (YES in S200), the call partner priority process described later is performed (S203). On the other hand, if the call continuation flag is not set (NO in S200), the priority memory unit 14 is referred to, and the priority of the call partner of this telephone 2 is compared with the priority of the incoming call partner during a call (S201).

[0058] Here, when the priority of the incoming call partner during a call is higher than the priority of the call partner ( "incoming call partner priority" in S201), the incoming call partner priority process described later is performed (S202). Also, when the priority of the incoming call partner during a call is lower than the priority of the call partner ( "call partner priority" in S201), the call partner priority process described later is performed (S203). Further, when the priority of the incoming call partner during a call is the same as the priority of the call partner ( "both equal" in S201), the priority partner confirmation process described later is performed (S204).

[0059] FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the incoming call partner priority process shown in FIG. 9.

[0060] First, the incoming call notification unit 120 transmits an incoming call notification to the telephone 2 which is the destination of the incoming call during a call via the private telephone network interface unit 10 (S210).

[0061] Next, while the telephone 2 which is the destination of the incoming call notification is in a call (NO in S212), when a call switching instruction is received from this telephone 2 (YES in S211), the call switching unit 121 switches the connection destination of the call path of this telephone 2 from the call partner to the incoming call partner during a call (S213).

[0062] That is, the call switching unit 121 temporarily holds the call path with the call partner, sends a response to the incoming call partner during a call, and establishes a call path with the incoming call partner during a call. Then, the call path of the telephone 2 which is the destination of the incoming call notification and the call path of the incoming call partner during a call are connected and relayed. Thereby, a call between the telephone 2 which is the destination of the incoming call notification and the incoming call partner during a call becomes possible.

[0063] Next, the call switching unit 121 cancels the temporary hold of the temporarily held call partner (referred to as the previous call partner), and instructs the voice message recording unit 15 to start recording a voice message regarding the continuation of the matter of the previous call partner. In response to this, the voice message recording unit 15 sends a voice guidance asking about the continuation of the matter through the relay unit 13 to the call path with the previous call partner (S214). Then, it starts recording the voice message regarding the continuation of the matter sent from the previous call partner (S215).

[0064] Next, when the call with the previous call partner ends (YES in S216), the call control unit 12 instructs the voice message recording unit 15 to end the recording of the voice message regarding the continuation of the matter of the previous call partner. In response to this, the voice message recording unit 15 ends the recording of the voice message regarding the continuation of the matter, associates this voice message with the telephone 2 which is the transmission destination of the in - call incoming call notification, saves it, and sends a recording notification to this telephone 2 (S217).

[0065] Then, when the call between the telephone 2 which is the transmission destination of the in - call incoming call notification and the in - call incoming call partner ends (YES in S218), the call control unit 12 waits for a recording playback instruction to be sent from this telephone 2 (S219). Then, when receiving the recording playback instruction from the telephone 2 (YES in S219), it notifies the voice message playback unit 16 of the telephone 2 which is the transmission source of the recording playback instruction and instructs voice message playback. In response to this, the voice message playback unit 16 plays back the voice message regarding the continuation of the matter associated with the telephone 2 which is the transmission source of the recording playback instruction and saved in the voice message recording unit 15, and sends it to this telephone 2 (S220). Thereby, the user of the telephone 2 which is the call source of the in - call incoming call can quickly check the continuation of the matter of the previous call partner interrupted by call switching after the call ends.

[0066] FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining the call partner priority process shown in FIG. 9.

[0067] First, the primary response unit 122 makes a primary response to the incoming call during a call (S230), and establishes a communication path with the incoming call partner during the call. Then, it instructs the voice message recording unit 15 to start recording a voice message regarding the matter of the incoming call partner during the call. In response to this, the voice message recording unit 15 sends a voice guidance asking about the matter through the relay unit 13 to the communication path with the incoming call partner during the call (S231). And it starts recording the voice message regarding the matter sent from the incoming call partner during the call (S232).

[0068] Next, when the call with the incoming call partner during the call ends (YES in S233), the call control unit 12 instructs the voice message recording unit 15 to end the recording of the voice message regarding the matter of the incoming call partner during the call. In response to this, the voice message recording unit 15 ends the recording of the voice message regarding the matter, associates and saves this voice message with the telephone 2 which is the transmission destination of the incoming call during the call notification, and sends a recording notification to this telephone 2 (S234).

[0069] Then, when the call between the telephone 2 which is the transmission destination of the incoming call during the call and the call partner ends (YES in S235), the call control unit 12 waits for a recording playback instruction to be sent from this telephone 2 (S236). And when it receives a recording playback instruction from the telephone 2 (YES in S236), it notifies the voice message playback unit 16 of the telephone 2 which is the transmission source of the recording playback instruction and instructs voice message playback. In response to this, the voice message playback unit 16 plays back the voice message regarding the matter associated with the telephone 2 which is the transmission source of the recording playback instruction and stored in the voice message recording unit 15, and sends it to this telephone 2 (S237). Thereby, the user of the telephone 2 which is the call source of the incoming call during the call can quickly confirm the matter of the incoming call partner after the call ends.

[0070] FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining the priority partner confirmation process shown in FIG. 9.

[0071] First, the primary response unit 122 makes a primary response to the incoming call during a call (S250) and establishes a communication channel with the incoming call partner during the call. Then, it instructs the speech recognition unit 17 to perform speech recognition on the voice message regarding the subject name (title) of the incoming call partner during the call. In response to this, the speech recognition unit 17 sends a voice guidance asking for the subject name to the communication channel with the incoming call partner during the call via the relay unit 13 (S251). Then, it receives the voice message regarding the subject name from the incoming call partner during the call, performs speech recognition processing on this, and converts it into text data regarding the subject name (S252).

[0072] Then, the incoming call notification unit 120 sends, via the private branch exchange network interface unit 10, an incoming call notification in which the text data regarding the subject name is attached together with the phone number of the incoming call partner during the call to the telephone 2 which is the destination of the incoming call during the call (S253). After that, it performs the processes shown in S211 to S220 of FIG. 10 described above (S254).

[0073] Next, the details of the telephone 2 will be described.

[0074] FIG. 13 is a schematic functional configuration diagram of the telephone 2.

[0075] As shown in the figure, the telephone 2 includes a private branch exchange network interface unit 20, a man-machine interface unit 21, and a telephone function unit 22.

[0076] The private branch exchange network interface unit 20 is an interface for connecting to the private branch exchange network 4.

[0077] The man-machine interface unit 21 is an interface for the user to make a call, and is configured to include a handset (microphone, speaker), various keys including a dial key, and a display unit such as an LCD and an LED (Light Emitting Diode).

[0078] The telephone function unit 22 is for realizing the functions necessary for a telephone, and establishes or releases a call path by performing call control processing in cooperation with the main device 1. Then, it outputs the voice signal (call data) received from the call partner via the established call path from the man-machine interface unit 21, and transmits the voice signal input to the man-machine interface unit 21 to the call partner via this call path.

[0079] Also, the telephone function unit 22 includes a busy incoming call notification output unit 220, a call switching instruction transmission unit 221, and a voice message playback instruction transmission unit 222.

[0080] When the busy incoming call notification output unit 220 receives a busy incoming call notification from the main device 1 during a call, it outputs the busy incoming call notification from the man-machine interface unit 21.

[0081] When the call switching instruction transmission unit 221 receives a call switching operation from the user via the man-machine interface unit 21 in response to the busy incoming call notification output to the man-machine interface unit 21, it transmits a call switching instruction to the main device 1.

[0082] When the voice message playback instruction transmission unit 222 receives a voice message playback operation from the user via the man-machine interface unit 21 while in standby, it transmits a voice message playback instruction to the main device 1.

[0083] When the call continuation instruction transmission unit 223 receives a call continuation operation from the user via the man-machine interface unit 21 during a call, it transmits a call continuation instruction to the main device 1.

[0084] Note that the functional configuration of the telephone 2 shown in FIG. 13 is also realized either hard by an integrated logic IC such as an ASIC or an FPGA, or soft by a computer such as a DSP, in the same manner as the main device 1 shown in FIG. 8. Alternatively, in a general-purpose computer such as a PC, a tablet PC, or a smartphone, which includes a CPU, a memory, an auxiliary storage device such as a hard disk or a flash memory, and a communication interface such as a NIC or a wireless adapter, the CPU may load a predetermined program from the auxiliary storage device onto the memory and execute it to be realized as a process.

[0085] FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the telephone 2.

[0086] During a call (YES in S300), when the in-call incoming call notification output unit 220 receives an in-call incoming call notification from the main device 1 via the internal telephone network interface unit 20 (YES in S301), it performs a predetermined in-call incoming call notification output such as outputting an in-call incoming call notification sound and lighting an LED to notify the in-call incoming call (S302). Thereafter, when the call switching instruction transmission unit 221 receives a call switching operation from the user via the man-machine interface unit 21 within a predetermined time after receiving the in-call incoming call notification (YES in S311), it transmits a call switching instruction to the main device 1 (S312).

[0087] Also, during a call (YES in S300), when the call continuation instruction transmission unit 223 receives a call continuation operation from the user via the man-machine interface unit 21 (YES in S303), it transmits a call continuation instruction to the main device 1 via the internal telephone network interface unit 20 (S304).

[0088] Also, during standby (YES in S305), when the voice message playback instruction transmission unit 222 receives a recording playback operation from the user via the man-machine interface unit 21 (YES in S306), it transmits a recording playback instruction to the main device 1 via the internal telephone network interface unit 20 (S307). Then, the telephone function unit 22 outputs the voice message sent from the main device 1 via the internal telephone network interface unit 20 (S308).

[0089] Also, when the telephone function unit 22 receives a recording notification from the main device 1 via the extension telephone network interface unit 20 (YES in S309), it performs a predetermined recording notification output such as lighting an LED to notify that a voice message has been recorded (S310).

[0090] The above describes one embodiment of the present invention.

[0091] In this embodiment, when a call destined for the telephone 2 during a call receives a busy incoming call, if the priority of the busy incoming call partner is higher than the priority of the call partner during the call, the main device 1 sends a busy incoming call notification to this telephone 2. And if a call switching instruction is received from this telephone 2, it responds to the busy incoming call and switches the call, and at the same time, sends a voice guidance asking for the continuation of the matter to the call partner before the call switching (the previous call partner), receives a voice message from the previous call partner, and records it. Therefore, according to this embodiment, when the busy incoming call partner is more important than the call partner during the call, the user can decide whether to prioritize the call with the call partner or the call with the busy incoming call partner. Also, even when the user of the telephone switches to a call with the busy incoming call partner, the user can confirm the continuation of the matter of the previous call partner by playing back the recorded voice message. For this reason, there is no need to call the previous call partner again to confirm the continuation of the matter, and the convenience is improved.

[0092] Also, in this embodiment, when a call destined for the telephone 2 during a call receives a busy incoming call, if the priority of the busy incoming call partner is lower than the priority of the call partner, the main device 1 makes a primary response to the busy incoming call, sends a voice guidance asking for the matter, receives a voice message from the busy incoming call partner, and records it. Therefore, according to this embodiment, even when the call partner during the call is more important than the busy incoming call partner and the call with the call partner is continued, the user of the telephone can confirm the matter of the busy incoming call partner by playing back the recorded voice message. For this reason, there is no need to call the busy incoming call partner again to confirm the matter, and the convenience is further improved.

[0093] Also, in this embodiment, when a call with the telephone 2 during a call as the destination is received while the line is busy, even if the priority of the incoming call while the line is busy is the same as that of the call partner, the main device 1 makes a primary response to the incoming call while the line is busy and sends out a voice guidance asking for the subject matter, receives a voice message including the subject matter from the incoming call partner while the line is busy, converts the received voice message into text data, and transmits a notification of the incoming call while the line is busy with this text data to the telephone 2. In response to this, the telephone 2 displays the text data of the subject matter and outputs a notification of the incoming call while the line is busy. Therefore, according to this embodiment, when the call partner during a call is a partner of the same importance as the incoming call partner while the line is busy, the user of the telephone 2 can compare the subject matter of the incoming call partner while the line is busy with the content of the call with the call partner and determine which call to prioritize, further improving convenience.

[0094] Also, in this embodiment, when the main device 1 receives a call continuation instruction from the telephone 2 during a call, it sets a call continuation flag associated with the telephone 2 until the call ends. And when a call with the telephone 2 during a call as the destination is received while the line is busy, if the call continuation flag associated with this telephone 2 is set, regardless of the priorities of the incoming call partner while the line is busy and the call partner, the call with the call partner is prioritized. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the user of the telephone 2 can prioritize the call with the call partner during a call with a simple operation, further improving convenience.

[0095] Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist thereof. Further, the present invention is widely applicable to a telephone system having a main device and a plurality of telephones housed in the main device.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0096] 1: Main device 2, 2-1 to 2-3: Telephones 3: External telephone network 4: Internal telephone network 10: Internal telephone network interface unit 11: External telephone network interface unit 12: Call control unit 13: Relay section 14: Priority memory section 15: Voice message recording section 16: Voice message playback section 17: Voice recognition section 18: Call continuation flag setting section 20: Private branch exchange interface section 21: Man-machine interface section 22: Telephone function section 120: Busy incoming call notification section 121: Call switching section 122: Primary response section 220: Busy incoming call notification output section 221: Call switching instruction sending section 222: Voice message playback instruction sending section 223: Call continuation instruction sending section

Claims

1. A telephone system comprising a main device and a telephone accommodated in the main device, The main device is Priority storage means for storing a priority for each telephone number, When a new call destined for the telephone arrives during a call on the telephone, referring to the priority storage means, and if the priority of the originator of the new call is higher than the priority of the call partner during the call, a busy incoming call notification means for transmitting a busy incoming call notification to the telephone, When the busy incoming call notification means transmits the busy incoming call notification, if a call switching instruction is received from the telephone, call switching means for responding to the new call and switching the call on the telephone to the originator of the new call, When the call switching means switches the call on the telephone, voice message recording means for sending a voice guidance asking for the continuation of the matter to the call partner before the call switching and receiving and recording a voice message from the call partner before the call switching, Voice message playback means for playing back the voice message recorded by the voice message recording means and sending it to the telephone when a voice message playback instruction is received from the telephone, When the new call arrives during a call on the telephone, referring to the priority storage means, and if the priority of the originator of the new call is lower than the priority of the call partner during the call, primary response means for making a primary response to the new call, The telephone is Busy incoming call notification output means for outputting the busy incoming call notification when the busy incoming call notification is received from the main device during a call, Call switching instruction transmission means for transmitting the call switching instruction to the main device when a call switching operation is received in response to the busy incoming call notification output by the busy incoming call notification output means, Voice message playback instruction transmission means for transmitting the voice message playback instruction to the main device when a voice message playback operation is received during standby, And a display unit, The voice message recording means is When the primary response means makes a primary response to the new call, it sends a voice guidance asking about the matter to the caller of the new call, receives and records a voice message from the caller of the new call, The primary response means When the new call arrives during a call on the telephone, even if the priority of the caller of the new call is the same as the priority of the call partner during the call, it makes a primary response to the new call, The in - call incoming call notification means When the primary response means makes a primary response to the new call, if the priority of the caller of the new call is the same as the priority of the call partner during the call, it sends a voice guidance asking about the subject of the matter to the caller of the new call, receives a voice message from the caller of the new call, converts the received voice message into text data, and transmits the in - call incoming call notification with the text data to the telephone. The in - call incoming call notification output means When it receives the in - call incoming call notification with the text data from the main device during a call, it outputs the in - call incoming call notification and displays the text data on the display unit A telephone system characterized by the above.

2. The telephone system according to claim 1, wherein The main device When it receives a call continuation instruction from the telephone during a call on the telephone, it further has a call continuation flag setting means for setting a call continuation flag associated with the telephone until the call ends. The in - call incoming call notification means When the new call arrives during a call on the telephone, if the call continuation flag is set associated with the telephone, it does not transmit the in - call incoming call notification to the telephone regardless of the priorities of the caller of the new call and the call partner during the call. The primary response means When a new call arrives during a call on the telephone, if the call continuation flag is set for the telephone, regardless of the priority of the originator of the new call and the call partner during the call, a primary response is made to the new call A telephone system characterized by the above.

3. A main device that houses a telephone, Priority storage means for storing priorities for each telephone number, When a new call destined for the telephone arrives during a call on the telephone, referring to the priority storage means, if the priority of the originator of the new call is higher than the priority of the call partner during the call, a busy incoming call notification means for sending a busy incoming call notification to the telephone, When the busy incoming call notification means sends the busy incoming call notification, if a call switching instruction is received from the telephone, a call switching means for responding to the new call and switching the call on the telephone to the originator of the new call, When the call switching means switches the call on the telephone, a voice message recording means for sending a voice guidance asking for the continuation of the matter to the call partner before the call switching and receiving and recording a voice message from the call partner before the call switching, When a voice message playback instruction is received from the telephone, a voice message playback means for playing back the voice message recorded by the voice message recording means and sending it to the telephone, When a new call arrives during a call on the telephone, referring to the priority storage means, if the priority of the originator of the new call is lower than the priority of the call partner during the call, a primary response means for making a primary response to the new call, The voice message recording means, When the primary response means makes a primary response to the new call, sending a voice guidance asking for the matter to the originator of the new call, receiving and recording a voice message from the originator of the new call, The primary response means, When a new call arrives during a call on the telephone, even if the priority of the caller of the new call is the same as the priority of the call partner during the call, a primary response is made to the new call, The in-call incoming call notification means, When the primary response means makes a primary response to the new call, if the priority of the caller of the new call is the same as the priority of the call partner during the call, a voice guidance asking for the subject matter is sent to the caller of the new call, a voice message is received from the caller of the new call, the received voice message is converted into text data, and the in-call incoming call notification with the text data is transmitted to the telephone. The main device is characterized by this.

4. A program that functions a computer as a main device for housing a telephone, Priority storage means in which priorities are stored for each telephone number, When a new call destined for the telephone arrives during a call on the telephone, referring to the priority storage means, if the priority of the caller of the new call is higher than the priority of the call partner during the call, in-call incoming call notification means for transmitting an in-call incoming call notification to the telephone, When the in-call incoming call notification means transmits the in-call incoming call notification, if a call switching instruction is received from the telephone, call switching means for responding to the new call and switching the call on the telephone to the caller of the new call, When the call switching means switches the call on the telephone, voice message recording means for sending a voice guidance asking for the continuation of the matter to the call partner before the call switching, receiving a voice message from the call partner before the call switching, and recording it, When a voice message playback instruction is received from the telephone, voice message playback means for playing back the voice message recorded by the voice message recording means and sending it to the telephone, and When a new call arrives during a call on the telephone, referring to the priority storage means, if the priority of the originator of the new call is lower than the priority of the call partner during the call, causing the computer to function as a primary response means for making a primary response to the new call, The voice message recording means, When the primary response means makes a primary response to the new call, sending a voice guidance asking about the matter to the originator of the new call, receiving and recording a voice message from the originator of the new call, The primary response means, When a new call arrives during a call on the telephone, even if the priority of the originator of the new call is the same as the priority of the call partner during the call, making a primary response to the new call, The in - call incoming call notification means, When the primary response means makes a primary response to the new call, if the priority of the originator of the new call is the same as the priority of the call partner during the call, sending a voice guidance asking about the subject of the matter to the originator of the new call, receiving a voice message from the originator of the new call, converting the received voice message into text data, and transmitting the in - call incoming call notification with the text data to the telephone. A program characterized by the above.

5. A method for controlling an in - call incoming call in a telephone system including a main device and a telephone accommodated in the main device, The main device, Stores priorities for each telephone number, When a new call destined for the telephone arrives during a call on the telephone, if the priority of the originator of the new call is higher than the priority of the call partner during the call, sending an in - call incoming call notification to the telephone. If a call - switching instruction is received from the telephone in response to the in - call incoming call notification, answering the new call and switching the call on the telephone to the originator of the new call, and sending a voice guidance asking about the continuation of the matter to the call partner before the call - switching, receiving and recording a voice message from the call partner before the call - switching. When a new call arrives during a call on the telephone, if the priority of the caller of the new call is lower than the priority of the call partner during the call, a primary response is made to the new call, and a voice guidance asking about the matter is sent to the caller of the new call, and a voice message is received from the caller of the new call and recorded. When a new call arrives during a call on the telephone, if the priority of the caller of the new call is the same as the priority of the call partner during the call, a primary response is made to the new call, and a voice guidance asking about the subject matter is sent to the caller of the new call, a voice message is received from the caller of the new call, the received voice message is converted into text data, and the in-call incoming call notification with the text data is transmitted to the telephone. When a voice message playback instruction is received from the telephone, the recorded voice message is played back and sent to the telephone. The telephone is When the in-call incoming call notification is received from the master device during a call, the in-call incoming call notification is output, and if the text data is added to the in-call incoming call notification, the text data is displayed. If a call switching operation is received for the in-call incoming call notification, the call switching instruction is transmitted to the master device. When a voice message playback operation is received during standby, the voice message playback instruction is transmitted to the master device. A method for controlling an in-call incoming call, characterized by the above.

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