Key telephone apparatus with call distribution function

Details Key telephone apparatus with call distribution function Key telephone apparatus with call distribution function

2000-11-01

2002-10-01

Tieu, Binh (Department: 2643)

Telephonic communications

Multi-line or key substation system with selective switching...

C379S164000, C379S165000, C379S265020, C379S265030, C379S265060

Reexamination Certificate

active

06459781

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement in a key telephone apparatus comprising an ACD (Automatic Call Distribution) function.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is well known, in recent years, digital key telephone apparatuses with an ACD function have become popular. In the ACD function, a plurality of extension terminals constitute a single ACD group, and incoming calls from a network corresponding to the ACD group are equally distributed to the plurality of extension terminals in the ACD group. With this ACD function, a digital key telephone apparatus can prevent incoming calls from being concentrated on a specific extension terminal, and can efficiently process incoming calls.
In this case, one representative number is normally assigned to a single ACD group. For this reason, the calling party dials this representative number to call a target extension terminal in the ACD group.
In such a digital key telephone apparatus with the ACD function, a supervisor is set in advance in the ACD group, and monitors, e.g., the processing conditions of incoming calls to the extension terminals in the ACD group. Based on the monitor result, the supervisor assists an incoming call processing job to be executed by, e.g., an agent of the ACD group, and manages the operating condition of the digital key telephone apparatus.
However, conventional monitor means, which is used by the supervisor to monitor the ACD group, is realized by connecting an information management apparatus comprising, e.g., a personal computer to the main unit of the digital key telephone apparatus via a special-purpose connection unit. The supervisor acquires and totalizes information required for monitoring from the main unit of the digital key telephone apparatus by operating the information management apparatus, and manages the ACD function on the basis of the totalized result.
For this reason, in the conventional digital key telephone apparatus with the monitor means of the ACD function, since the information management apparatus and its special-purpose connection unit must be separately equipped, the system size and cost increase. In addition, a special-purpose program, control data, and the like must be input to the information management apparatus prior to its use, and a complicated operation procedure is required to start its operation. For this reason, since the supervisor is required of skills and expert knowledge, the load on the supervisor becomes heavy.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above situation, and has as its object to provide a key telephone apparatus with an automatic call distribution function, which can realize a simple and compact arrangement, can reduce cost, and can greatly reduce the load on a supervisor by simplifying its operation, since it does not require any information management apparatus and its connection unit.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a key telephone apparatus which comprises a plurality of extension terminals each having a display, and a key telephone main unit which accommodates the plurality of extension terminals via extensions and is connected to a network via an office line, and has an automatic call distribution function of forming a group of the plurality of extension terminals, and selectively distributing an incoming call received from the network to the plurality of extension terminals belonging to the group to receive the incoming call,
the key telephone main unit comprising:
processing condition management means for monitoring a processing condition of the incoming call by the automatic call distribution function, and storing data indicating the processing condition; and
display control means for receiving a predetermined processing condition display request output from one of the plurality of extension terminals, generating display data for displaying the data indicating the processing condition stored in the processing condition management means, and supplying the display data to the extension terminal as the display request source to be displayed on the display of the extension terminal.


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