JPH06177985A - Telephone conference system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a telephone conference system in which useless communication cost is saved and the connection of a telephone set of a conference member is executed in a short time efficiently when there is a member not taking part in the conference. CONSTITUTION:In a telephone conference system where plural telephone sets 11 each having two communication channels or over and a 3-party speech circuit 14 are connected in a chain through one speech link via a communication network for making the telephone conference, each telephone set 11 is provided with a means 22 detecting the intention of the member to take part in the conference and a means 23 sending selectively a reply signal and an incoming call reject signal at the arrival of a call depending on the presence of the participation intention. Thus, when a member has no intention to take part in the conference with respect to the conference connection, the member rejects taking part in the conference.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a teleconference system for connecting a telephone device having multiple points to hold a conference.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional telephone conference system, for example, a system shown in FIG. 2 has been proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-253757. In this telephone conference system, telephone devices 2-1 to 2-N each having two channels and a three-way communication circuit 1 are installed at conference members, and each telephone device 2 is installed.
A telephone conference is realized by connecting between -1 to 2-N via the communication network 3 with one call link.

According to such a telephone conference system, since the telephone devices 2-1 to 2-N are connected by a single call link, a large number of lines are connected to the telephone devices 2-1 to 2-N. Need not be pulled in, and each telephone device 2-1 to 2-
If Ns are connected in ascending order, the possibility of long-distance connection is reduced, and there is an advantage that an economical telephone conference can be performed.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned telephone conference system, the telephone devices of all the conference members are always connected regardless of the members' willingness to participate in the conference. When there is a member who does not intend to participate in the conference, there is a problem that connection is wasted and a call charge is incurred even if the member is not attending the conference.

An object of the present invention is, in the above-mentioned telephone conference system, when there is a member who does not participate in the conference, the telephone device of the conference member can be connected efficiently and in a short time, and wasteful communication cost can be reduced. It is intended to provide a conference system.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a plurality of telephone devices having two or more communication channels and a three-way communication circuit are linked by a single communication link via a communication network. In a teleconference system for performing a teleconference by connecting to each other in a manner similar to the above, each of the telephone devices is provided with means for detecting a member's willingness to participate in the conference, and a response signal and an incoming call rejection signal at the time of incoming depending on the presence or absence of the willingness to participate. A means for selectively transmitting the information is provided so that the participation in the conference is refused when the member does not have the intention to participate in the conference connection.

[0007]

In the present invention, when the telephone device does not participate in the conference and the incoming call rejection signal is generated for the conference connection, the telephone device is not connected and the conference connection is immediately made to the next telephone device. . Therefore, the conference connection can be efficiently performed in a short time, and it is possible to prevent the telephone charges not applied to the telephone devices that do not participate in the conference.

[0008]

1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a telephone device used in the telephone conference system of the present invention. The telephone device 11 includes a transmitter 12, a receiver 13, and a three-way communication circuit 1.
4, line connection terminal 15, driver / receiver 16, layer 1/2 control unit 17 and layer 3 for realizing layers 1 to 3 of user / network interface conditions required for connection to a communication network
The control unit 18, the operation buttons 19, the display device 20 in various states, the guidance sound notification unit 21 for generating various guidance sounds, the participation intention detection unit 22, and the operation of each unit are controlled, and depending on the presence or absence of the participation intention. It has a control unit 23 having means for selectively sending a response signal and an incoming call rejection signal when an incoming call arrives.

That is, the telephone device 11 adds a participation intention detecting means 22 to a publicly known telephone device corresponding to an ISDN line having a three-way communication circuit, and responds to an incoming call depending on the presence or absence of participation intention in the control unit 23. A means for selectively transmitting the signal and the incoming call refusal signal is provided. The participation intention detecting means 22 detects the intention of a conference member who uses the telephone device 11 to participate in the conference. Can be configured by a memory that stores

In this embodiment, the above-mentioned telephone devices 11 are installed at desired conference members, respectively, and the telephone conference is conducted by connecting the telephone devices with one telephone call link in the same manner as in FIG. In the process of connecting the conference, the control unit 23 reads the information output from the participation intention detecting unit 22 or the information stored in the memory to determine the intention to participate in the conference, and in the case of the conference participation, Layer 3 control unit 18, Layer 1
/ 2 The control unit 17, the driver / receiver 16 and the line connection terminal 15 are used to send out a signal for accepting an incoming call, and in the case of non-participation in the conference, a signal for rejecting an incoming call is sent out to connect the telephone device 11 to the conference. Try not to.

In this way, the members who have no intention of participating can make a telephone conference without being connected, and the members who have the intention of participating can make a conference call, so that the telephone device 11 can be efficiently connected in a short time. It is possible to reduce unnecessary communication costs.

The two communication channels described in the above embodiments may be two information channels of the ISDN basic interface or two analog channels.

[0013]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the conference is not attended, a disconnection signal is generated for the conference connection so that the telephone device is not connected. Therefore, useless communication cost is reduced. In addition, the telephone devices participating in the conference can be efficiently connected in a short time.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a telephone device used in a telephone conference system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of an example of a telephone conference system to which the present invention can be applied.

[Explanation of symbols] 3 Communication network 11 Telephone device 12 Transmitting means 13 Receiving means 14 Three-way communication circuit 15 Line connection terminal 16 Driver / receiver 17 Layer 1/2 control section 18 Layer 3 control section 19 Operation button 20 Display device 21 Guidance sound notification means 22 Participation intention detection means 23 Control unit

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Nobuyuki Takahashi 1-1-6 Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Nihon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A teleconferencing system for conducting a teleconferencing by connecting a plurality of telephone devices having two or more communication channels and a three-way call circuit in a chain form through a communication network with a single call link. Each telephone device is provided with means for detecting a member's willingness to participate in the conference, and means for selectively sending a response signal and an incoming call rejection signal at the time of an incoming call depending on the presence or absence of the willingness to participate. Conference call system.