Computer-telephone integrated system, switching control...

Telephonic communications – Special services – Conferencing

Reexamination Certificate

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Details

C379S201020, C379S220010, C379S242000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06707899

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to computer-telephone integrated systems, and more particularly to a computer-telephone integrated system in which a telephone switching service request part makes a switching control request with respect to a switch engine which has a function of switching via a service request process/call information notifying means, and the switching engine makes a call process. The present invention also relates to a switching control apparatus adapted to the computer-telephone integrated system, and to a computer-readable storage medium which stores a program for causing a computer to realize the functions of the switching control apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, computers such as personal computers employ a call connection control system which makes a switching control request with respect to a switch engine having a switching function, by use of an Application Programmatic Interface (API), and makes a call process of a telephone switching by the switch engine. A Telephony Services Application Programmatic Interface (TSAPI) is a typical example of the API.
The TSAPI uses a call model of the telephone switching shown in FIG.
1
. When making a connection by the telephone switching, a device
33
and a switching system (not shown) are connected by a connection
31
, and the switching system and a device
34
are connected by a connection
32
. A call
30
is completed by connecting the two connections
31
and
32
by the switching system, so as to enable a service.
FIG. 1
shows the call model in this state where the service is possible.
According to this call model shown in
FIG. 1
, one call
30
requires the two connections
31
and
32
. In other words, the call is based on two connections, and two connections are necessary in order to complete one call. When representing a state where only one device participates, such as when making a call out, a dummy device and a dummy connection are required. Hence, when a call control is carried out in this call model, call information is managed by the connections
31
and
32
which are identified by a combination of a device identifier and a call identifier and describe the relationships of the devices
33
and
34
and the call
30
. The TSAPI uses the above described call model to carry out the call control and the call management.
FIG. 2
is a diagram for explaining connection states of the TSAPI. The connection states of the TSAPI include a null state, a connected state, an initiated state, an alerting state, a fail state, a hold state and a queued state.
The null state refers to a state where the call and the device are not connected, physically or logically.
The connected state refers to a state where the call and the device are connected both physically and logically. In a case where the device makes originates a call, the connected state refers to a state where a transmission procedure with respect to a destination is completed. On the other hand, in a case where the device makes a call reception, the connected state refers to a state where a response is returned with respect to the calling.
The initiated state refers to a state where the switching system urges a user to carry out the procedure necessary for the call origination.
The alerting state refers to a state where the call is calling the device, and includes three modes, namely, a ringing mode, an offered mode and an entering distribution mode. The ringing mode refers to a mode in which a normal device is being called. This normal device excludes offered devices such as a device which transfers the call, and distribution devices such as a key number telephone which distributes the call. The offered mode refers to a mode in which the call is received by an offered device and an instruction such as where the call is to be transferred is waited with respect to the received call. The entering distribution mode refers to a mode in which the call is received by a distribution device.
The fail state refers to a state where a normal state transition of the connection failed for some reason.
The hold state refers to a state where the call and the device are logically connected, but are not physically connected.
The queued state refers to a state where the occurrence of some kind of a state change or an action is waited.
FIG. 3
is a diagram showing state transitions among the connection states of the TSAPI shown in FIG.
2
.
Next, a description will be given of the hold state of the call model shown in
FIG. 1
, by referring to FIG.
4
. In
FIG. 4
, it is assumed for the sake of convenience that a service is being provided between a device D
1
and a device D
2
, and a device is on hold. In this case, the devices D
1
and D
2
are in the connected state, and the call and the devices D
1
and D
2
are both physically and logically connected.
On the other hand, since the device D
3
is on hold, the call has acquired a line, but a communication circuit of the device D
3
is disconnected from the line. Hence, the call exists with respect to the device D
3
, and the call and the device D
3
are logically connected. However, because the communication circuit of the device D
3
is disconnected from the line, the device D
3
is physically disconnected from the device D
1
, and no service can be provided between the devices D
1
and D
3
. In this case, although the device D
3
on hold is physically disconnected from the device D
1
, the device D
3
by itself cannot exist in the call model because the call exists with respect to the device D
3
.
According to the conventional call information management, the call and the device are connected, and it is impossible to manage only the device by disconnecting the device, as may be seen from the hold state described above. In addition, since the call is based on two connections, and two connections are necessary in order to complete one call as described above, it is impossible for only one device to exist in the call model. As a result, there is a problem in that it is impossible to request from the application a control in units of devices, such as controlling the call reception or the call origination of a trunk.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a novel and useful computer-telephone integrated system, switching control apparatus and computer-readable storage medium, in which the problem described above is eliminated.
Another and more specific object of the present invention is to provide a computer-telephone integrated system, a switching control apparatus and a computer-readable storage medium which enable control in units of devices, by making a path connection state independent when a Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) application, which is a telephone switching service request part, when controlling a call of a switch engine.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a computer-telephone integrated system comprising a switch engine carrying out a switching control, devices coupled to the switch engine, a service request part requesting a telephone switching service with respect to the switch engine, and service request process/call information notifying means providing an interface function between the switch engine and the service request part, where the service request process/call information notifying means processes a switching service request from the service request part to the switch engine, and notifies call information related to the devices and the switch engine from the switching engine to the service request part, and the call information includes information related to states of the devices and information related to a connection of a path between the switch engine and the devices. According to the computer-telephone integrated system of the present invention, the call information management by the service request process/call information notifying means is made using the two kinds of information. Hence, it is possible to ca

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