JP7686023B2 - Transfer method, transfer device, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to telephone communication technology, and in particular to technology for automatically transferring calls.

There is a known technology that automatically transfers a call made to a specific destination (e.g., a customer inquiry call) to a specific terminal device (e.g., the telephone number of a person in charge) (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

"Resolve the issue of call forwarding with automatic call forwarding! RING x LINK", [online], July 4, 2022, NTT Technocross Corporation, [searched November 8, 2022], Internet <https://www.ntt-tx.co.jp/products/ring-x-link/>

However, with conventional technology, the terminal device that is most suitable for call forwarding is not always selected.

In the present invention, a specific terminal device destination to which a call made to a specific destination is to be transferred is selected from among multiple terminal device destinations, and processing is performed to transfer the call to the selected specific terminal device destination. In this case, the specific terminal device destination is selected based on at least one of the low transfer cost for transferring the call to the transfer destination and the high line quality when the call is received at the transfer destination and a conversation is made.

This allows you to select the appropriate terminal device to which the call is to be forwarded.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a telephone communication system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the terminal device according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the transfer device according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of management information according to the embodiment. 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating examples of configurations of main number management information and department number management information according to an embodiment; FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the responsibility number management information according to the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the transfer control information according to the embodiment. 8A and 8B are diagrams illustrating an example of the configuration of selected element priority information according to the embodiment. 9A and 9B are diagrams illustrating an example of a configuration of transfer cost priority information and a configuration of line quality priority information according to an embodiment; 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating examples of task status priority information and skill-in-charge priority information according to an embodiment; 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating examples of configurations of customer information and call information according to an embodiment; FIG. 12 is a flow diagram for explaining an example of a selection step according to the embodiment. FIG. 13 is a flow diagram for explaining an example of step S1022 in FIG. 14A and 14B are diagrams illustrating the configuration of a display screen according to the embodiment. 15A and 15B are diagrams illustrating the configuration of a display screen according to the embodiment. 16A and 16B are diagrams illustrating the configuration of a display screen according to the embodiment. 17A and 17B are diagrams illustrating the configuration of a display screen according to an embodiment. 18A and 18B are diagrams illustrating the configuration of a display screen according to the embodiment. 19A and 19B are diagrams illustrating the configuration of a display screen according to an embodiment.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[First embodiment]
In the first embodiment, the destination of a specific terminal device to which a call made to a specific destination is to be transferred is selected from among multiple terminal device destinations, and a process is performed to transfer the call to the destination of the selected specific terminal device. In this case, the destination of the specific terminal device to which the call is to be transferred is selected based on at least one of the following: a low transfer fee for transferring the call to the transfer destination, or a high line quality when the call is received at the transfer destination and a conversation is made. In this embodiment, a case will be described in which a customer (caller, call originator) calls (makes a call to) a main number (specific destination) of a company, and the call is transferred to a terminal device of a specific department or a terminal device of a person in charge. Here, the main number refers to one telephone number that is determined as a representative of two or more telephone numbers (external lines) for an organization such as a company or department. In addition, the person in charge refers to a person who is engaged in a task that requires answering the phone calls of customers to the main number, and examples of such a person include a sales person, a person in charge of product inquiries, and a technical person in charge of dealing with malfunctions. However, these do not limit the present invention, and the embodiments to which the present invention is applied are not limited to the following embodiments.

<Telephone communication system 1>
1, the telephone communication system 1 of the present embodiment includes terminal devices 110-1, ..., 110-M, terminal devices 120-1, ..., 120-N, representative devices 130-1, ..., 130-K, and a transfer device 140, which are communicatively connected to each other via a communication network 150. Here, M is an integer of 1 or more, N is an integer of 2 or more, and K is an integer of 1 or more. The communication network 150 of the present embodiment includes a public line network such as a single or multiple telephone line networks operated by a single or multiple line operators, and may further include a local wireless line network (for example, Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or local 5G, etc.) or a local wired line network.

<Terminal Devices 110-1, ..., 110-M>
The terminal devices 110-1, ..., 110-M in this embodiment are terminal devices used by customers. Hereinafter, each of the terminal devices 110-1, ..., 110-M will be expressed as a terminal device 110-m, where m = 1, ..., M. The terminal devices 110-1, ..., 110-M will be collectively referred to as a terminal device 110. The terminal device 110 in this example is, for example, a smartphone with a telephone function, a tablet terminal device, a wearable device, a PC (personal computer), a landline phone, etc.

<Terminal Devices 120-1, ..., 120-N>
The terminal devices 120-1, ..., 120-N in this embodiment are terminal devices used by the person in charge. The terminal devices 120-1, ..., 120-N may be terminal devices installed in the department to which the person in charge belongs, or may be terminal devices owned or possessed by the person in charge. The terminal devices 120-1, ..., 120-N in this embodiment include both of these terminal devices. However, this does not limit the present invention. In addition, the telephone number of the terminal device installed in the department may also serve as the main number. In the following, each of the terminal devices 120-1, ..., 120-N is expressed as terminal device 120-n. However, n = 1, ..., N is satisfied. In addition, the terminal devices 120-1, ..., 120-N are collectively expressed as terminal device 120. 2, the terminal device 120-n of this embodiment has a communication processing unit 121-n, a display processing unit 122-n, an incoming call processing unit 123-n, a touch panel unit 124-n, and an update information providing unit 125-n. The terminal device 120 is, for example, a smartphone with a telephone function, a tablet terminal device, a wearable device, a PC, a landline phone, etc.

<Representative devices 130-1,..., 130-K>
Representative devices 130-1, ..., 130-K are terminal devices to which a representative number is assigned. In the following, each of representative devices 130-1, ..., 130-K is expressed as representative device 130-k, where k = 1, ..., K. Furthermore, representative devices 130-1, ..., 130-K are collectively referred to as representative device 130. In this example, representative device 130 is, for example, a smartphone with a telephone function, a tablet terminal device, a wearable device, a PC, a landline phone, etc.

<Transfer Device 140>
When a call is made from the terminal device 110 to a main number (specific destination), the transfer device 140 selects the destination of a specific terminal device 120-n ₁ (n ₁ ∈{1, ..., N}) to which the call is to be transferred from the destinations of the multiple terminal devices 120-1, ..., 120-N, and performs processing to transfer the call to the telephone number of the selected terminal device 120-n ₁ (the destination of the selected specific terminal device). As illustrated in FIG. 3, the transfer device 140 of this embodiment has a transfer processing unit 141, a selection unit 142, a storage unit 143, and an update unit 144. The transfer device 140 of this example is, for example, a device configured by loading a predetermined program into a computer. The transfer device 140 may be an on-premise type device or a cloud type device.

<Pre-processing>
In this embodiment, in the pre-processing, the management information 1431, the transfer control information 1432, the customer information 1433, and the call information 1434 are set in the storage unit 143 of the transfer device 140 (FIG. 3). Here, the contents of the management information 1431, the transfer control information 1432, and the customer information 1433 are stored at the pre-processing stage. On the other hand, the contents of the call information 1434 are stored at a subsequent processing stage. At least a part of the management information 1431, the transfer control information 1432, or the customer information 1433 may be updated in response to subsequent processing.

<Management information 1431>
The management information 1431 of this embodiment includes attribute information required to select the destination of a specific terminal device 120, which is the transfer destination of a call made to the representative terminal 130 or the terminal device 120 (specific destination), from the destinations of the multiple terminal devices 120-1, ..., 120-N. This attribute information represents the attributes of the representative terminal 130 and the terminal device 120, and includes information for identifying at least one of the low transfer cost for transferring a call to the transfer destination and the high line quality when a call is received at the transfer destination and a conversation is made. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the management information 1431 of this embodiment has main number management information 1431a, department number management information 1431b, and responsible number management information 1431c.

The representative number management information 1431a of this embodiment includes attribute information of the representative device 130. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5A, the representative number management information 1431a of this embodiment is information in which an identifier representing each representative device 130-k (e.g., "representative number 1"), a telephone number (e.g., "0311111111") (specific destination) of each representative device 130-k, and a line operator (e.g., "A") of a line used by each representative device 130-k (e.g., a line for the representative device 130-k to receive calls, make calls, and transfer calls). Here, the telephone number of each representative device 130-k and the line operator of the line used by each representative device 130-k are information for identifying at least one of the low transfer cost for transferring a call to the transfer destination and the high line quality when a call is received and made at the transfer destination. For example, the cost of transferring a call within the lines of the same line operator or between lines of affiliated line operators is often lower than the cost of transferring a call between lines of non-affiliated line operators. For example, the cost of transferring a call within the lines of the same line operator or between lines of affiliated line operators may be free. Therefore, the information on the line operator and the telephone number that can identify it can be said to be information for determining the low cost of transferring a call to the transfer destination. Also, for example, the line quality when transferring a call within the lines of the same line operator or between lines of affiliated line operators may be higher than the line quality when transferring a call between lines of non-affiliated line operators. Therefore, the information on the line operator and the telephone number that can identify it may be information for determining the high line quality when a call is received at the transfer destination and a conversation is made.

In this embodiment, the department number management information 1431b includes attribute information of the terminal device 120 installed in the department to which the person in charge belongs. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5B, the department number management information 1431b of this embodiment is information in which an identifier (e.g., “head office fixed (extension 1)”) representing the terminal device 120 installed in the department to which the person in charge belongs, a telephone number (e.g., “0333333333”) (specific destination or forwarding destination) of the terminal device 120 installed in the department, a line operator (e.g., “A”) of a line used by the terminal device 120 installed in the department (e.g., a line for the terminal device 120 installed in the department to receive calls, make calls, and forward calls), a communication environment (e.g., “mobile phone”, “landline phone”, “IP phone (dedicated Wi-Fi)”, “IP phone (public Wi-Fi)”, etc.) of the terminal device 120 installed in the department, a type of person in charge of the department (e.g., “sales (VIP)”, “billing”, etc.), and a response status (e.g., “on standby”, “serving customer b”, etc.) of the terminal device 120 installed in the department are associated with each other. For example, the initial value of the response status is "on hold". However, as described below, when each terminal device 120-n receives a call, the update information providing unit 125-n performs an update process, and the update unit 144 of the transfer device 140 (FIG. 3) performs an update process accordingly, thereby updating the "response status" of the responsible number management information 1431c (FIG. 5B) to "customer a in service", etc. After that, when the call ends, the update information providing unit 125-n performs an update process, and the update unit 144 of the transfer device 140 (FIG. 3) performs an update process accordingly, thereby updating the "response status" of the responsible number management information 1431c (FIG. 5B) to "on hold". In addition, for the reasons described above, the identifier representing the destination or transfer destination of the terminal device 120 in this example and the line operator of the line used by the terminal device 120 are also information for identifying at least one of the low transfer cost for transferring a call to the transfer destination and the high line quality when a call is received at the transfer destination and a conversation is made.

The responsible number management information 1431c of this embodiment includes attribute information of the terminal device 120 possessed or owned by the person in charge. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the responsible number management information 1431c of this embodiment includes an identifier (e.g., "responsible person α-1") representing the terminal device 120 possessed or owned by the person in charge (for example, "person in charge α-1"), the telephone number (e.g., "090...") (destination) of the terminal device 120 possessed or owned by the person in charge, the line operator (e.g., "E") of the line used by the terminal device 120 possessed or owned by the person in charge (for example, the line for the terminal device 120 installed in the department to receive calls, make calls, and transfer calls), and the terminal device 120 possessed or owned by the person in charge. This is information that corresponds to the communication environment of the device 120 (e.g., "mobile phone", "landline phone", "IP phone (dedicated Wi-Fi)", "IP phone (public Wi-Fi)", etc.), the type of work of the person in charge (e.g., "sales (VIP)", "breakdown", etc.), the work skill that represents the work ability of the person in charge (e.g., "highly experienced", "some experience", "beginner", etc.), the work status of the person in charge (e.g., "on business", "on business (on the move)", "off business", etc.), and the response status of the terminal device 120 owned or possessed by the person in charge (e.g., "serving customer A", "on standby", etc.). For example, the initial value of the work status of the person in charge is "off business", and the initial value of the response status is "on standby". However, as described below, the update information providing unit 125-n of each terminal device 120-n (FIG. 2) performs an update process, and the update unit 144 of the transfer device 140 (FIG. 3) performs an update process in response to this, so that the "business status" of the duty number management information 1431c (FIG. 6) is updated to "business in progress" or "business in progress (on the move)". The update process may be performed by the update information providing unit 125-n based on the location of the terminal device 120-n, or may be performed based on input processing from the outside. In addition, when each terminal device 120-n receives a call, the update information providing unit 125-n performs an update process, and the update unit 144 of the transfer device 140 (FIG. 3) performs an update process in response to this, so that the "response status" of the responsibility number management information 1431c (FIG. 6) is updated to "response to customer a", etc. After that, when the call ends, the update information providing unit 125-n performs an update process, and the update unit 144 of the transfer device 140 (FIG. 3) performs an update process accordingly, and the "response status" of the responsible number management information 1431c (FIG. 6) is updated to "waiting". Also, for the reasons described above, the telephone number (destination) of the terminal device 120 in this example and the line operator of the line used by the terminal device 120 are information for specifying at least one of the low transfer cost for transferring a call to the transfer destination and the high line quality when a call is received at the transfer destination and a conversation is made. Note that the line quality may also depend on the communication environment of the terminal device 120 (for example, "mobile phone", "landline phone", "IP phone (dedicated Wi-Fi)", "IP phone (public Wi-Fi)", etc.). Therefore, the communication environment of the terminal device 120 in this example can be said to be information for specifying the high line quality.

<Transfer Control Information 1432>
The transfer control information 1432 of this embodiment includes priority information required to select the destination of a specific terminal device 120-n ₁ , which is the transfer destination of a call made to the representative terminal 130 or the terminal device 120 (specific destination), from the destinations of the multiple terminal devices 120-1, ..., 120-N. For example, as illustrated in Fig. 7, the transfer control information 1432 of this embodiment includes selection element priority information 1432a, transfer cost priority information 1432b, line quality priority information 1432c, business status priority information 1432d, and responsible skill priority information 1432e. The transfer control information 1432 may include other information.

The selection element priority information 1432a in this embodiment is information that indicates the priority (priority) of multiple selection elements to be considered when selecting a call transfer destination (destination of a specific terminal device 120). The selection element priority information 1432a in this embodiment is information that indicates, for example, whether to select a destination of a specific terminal device 120 by prioritizing low transfer costs over high line quality (cost priority mode), or whether to select a destination of a specific terminal device 120 by prioritizing high line quality over low transfer costs (quality priority mode). For example, as illustrated in Figures 8A and 8B, the selection element priority information 1432a in this embodiment is information that corresponds selection elements such as transfer costs for transferring a call to a transfer destination, line quality when a call is received at the transfer destination and a conversation is made, the work status of the person in charge, the customer rank indicating the rank of the customer who made the call, and the person in charge skill indicating the work experience and ability of the person in charge, and the selection element priority (such as "1" and "2") that is the priority of each of the selection elements. The smaller the selection element priority number, the higher the priority. The selection element priority information 1432a in FIG. 8A is an example of a cost-first mode, and indicates that a destination of a specific terminal device 120 is selected by prioritizing low transfer costs (selection element priority "1") over high line quality (selection element priority "2"). The selection element priority information 1432a in FIG. 8B is an example of a quality-first mode, and indicates that a destination of a specific terminal device 120 is selected by prioritizing high line quality (selection element priority "1") over low transfer costs (selection element priority "2").

The transfer cost priority information 1432b of this embodiment represents the criteria for selecting a call transfer destination based on the transfer cost, and includes a transfer priority, which is the priority of a combination (transfer mode) of the line operator of the transfer source line (e.g., "A", "C", "D", etc.) and the line operator of the transfer destination line (e.g., "A", "B", "C"). The higher the transfer priority, the lower the transfer cost from the transfer source to the transfer destination. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 9A, the transfer cost priority information 1432b of this embodiment is information in which the transfer mode (e.g., "A→A" representing a transfer from a transfer source using the line of line operator A to a transfer destination using the line of line operator A, "C→D, D→C" representing a transfer from a transfer source using the line of line operator C to a transfer destination using the line of line operator D, etc.) is associated with a transfer rate (0 yen, 100 yen/time, etc.) representing the transfer cost in each of the transfer modes, and a transfer priority (e.g., "1", "2", etc.). The smaller the value of this transfer priority, the higher the priority.

The line quality priority information 1432c of this embodiment represents the criteria for selecting a call transfer destination based on line quality, and includes, for example, a transfer priority, which is the priority of a pair of a transfer type and a communication environment of the terminal device 120 of the transfer destination. The higher the transfer priority, the higher the line quality when a call is received at the transfer destination and a conversation is made. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 9B, the line quality priority information 1432c of this embodiment is information in which the transfer type (for example, "-" indicating that there is no restriction on the transfer type, "A→A" indicating a transfer from a transfer source using the line of line operator A to a transfer destination using the line of line operator A, "C→D" indicating a transfer from a transfer source using the line of line operator C to a transfer destination using the line of line operator D, etc.), the communication environment of the terminal device 120 (for example, "fixed line", "mobile phone", "IP phone (dedicated Wi-Fi)", etc.), line quality (for example, "1", "2", etc.), and transfer priority (for example, "1", "2", etc.) are associated. The smaller the line quality number, the higher the line quality, and the smaller the transfer priority number, the higher the priority.

The task status priority information 1432d of this embodiment represents the criteria for selecting a specific terminal device 120 destination to which a call is to be transferred based on the task status, and includes the priority of the task status of the person in charge (transfer priority). The higher the transfer priority, the more suitable the terminal device 120 of the person in charge is as a transfer destination. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 10A, the task status priority information 1432d of this embodiment is information that associates the task status of the person in charge (e.g., "on task," "on task (traveling)," "off task," etc.) with the transfer priority (e.g., "1," "2," etc.). The smaller the transfer priority number, the higher the priority.

The assigned skill priority information 1432e of this embodiment represents the criteria for selecting a call transfer destination based on the assigned skill, and includes the priority of the assigned skill (transfer priority). The higher the transfer priority, the more suitable the terminal device 120 of the person in charge is as a transfer destination. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 10B, the assigned skill priority information 1432e of this embodiment is information that associates assigned skills (e.g., "highly experienced," "somewhat experienced," "beginner," etc.) with transfer priorities (e.g., "1," "2," etc.). The smaller the transfer priority number, the higher the priority.

<Customer information 1433>
The customer information 1433 of this embodiment includes customer information. For example, as illustrated in Fig. 11A, the customer information 1433 of this embodiment is information in which a customer name (e.g., "a", "b", etc.), a customer telephone number (e.g., "090...", "046...", etc.), and a customer rank (e.g., "VIP", "Registered member", etc.) are associated with each other. The customer information 1433 is set, for example, based on a customer list.

<Call information 1434>
The call information 1434 of this embodiment includes a call record with a customer. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 11B, the call information 1434 of this embodiment is information in which the customer name of the calling customer (e.g., "a", "b", etc.) is associated with the transfer destination to which the call was transferred (e.g., "responsible α-2", "responsible β-2", etc.), the call start date and time (e.g., "2022 11 07 13:00", etc.), and a transfer necessity flag (e.g., "required", "not required", etc.) indicating whether or not re-transfer was required at the transfer destination as described below. The initial value of the call information 1434 is null. However, when each terminal device 120-n receives a call or transfers again as described below, the update information providing unit 125-n performs an update process, and the update unit 144 of the transfer device 140 (FIG. 3) performs an update process accordingly, thereby updating the call information 1434.

<Processing>
Next, the processing of this embodiment will be described.
<Step S101>
A customer uses any of the terminal devices 110-m (FIG. 1) to call (make a telephone call) any of the representative devices 130 or any of the terminal devices 120 (specific destinations) installed in a department to which any of the personnel belongs via the communication network 150. That is, a call is made from the terminal device 110-m to any of the representative devices 130 or terminal devices 120. The call connection request is sent to the transfer device 140 via the communication network 150. The call connection request of this embodiment includes, for example, information for identifying the line carrier of the line used by the called representative device 130 or terminal device 120 (transfer source). For example, the call connection request may include information representing the line carrier (e.g., "A") of the line used by the called representative device 130 or terminal device 120 (transfer source), or may include information representing the telephone number (e.g., "0311111111" or the like) of the called representative device 130 or terminal device 120. The call connection request may also include information for identifying the calling customer or the terminal device 110-m. For example, the call connection request may include information indicating the customer name (e.g., "a") or the telephone number of the terminal device 110-m (e.g., "090...").

<Step S102 (selection step)>
The call connection request is input to the transfer processing unit 141 of the transfer device 140 (FIG. 3) and sent to the selection unit 142. The selection unit 142 uses the call connection request and the information stored in the storage unit 143 (FIGS. 3, 4 to 11B) to select the telephone number (destination) of a specific terminal device 120-n ₁ , which is the transfer destination of the call, from among the telephone numbers (destinations) of the multiple terminal devices 120-1, ..., 120-N. At this time, the selection unit 142 selects the telephone number (destination) of the terminal device 120-n ₁ , which is the transfer destination, based on at least one of the low transfer cost for transferring the call to the transfer destination and the high line quality when the call is received at the transfer destination and a conversation is made. The selection unit 142 may select the destination of a specific terminal device by prioritizing low transfer cost over high line quality, or may select the destination of a specific terminal device by prioritizing high line quality over low transfer cost. A specific example of this process will be described later.

<Step S103 (Transfer Processing Step)>
The selection unit 142 sends to the transfer processing unit 141 transfer processing information for transferring a call to the telephone number of the terminal device 120-n _1, which is the transfer destination. The transfer processing information of this embodiment includes information for identifying the destination of the terminal device 120-n _1. The information for identifying the destination of the terminal device 120-n ₁ may be the telephone number of the terminal device 120-n ₁ , or may be information linked to this telephone number. In addition, the transfer processing information of this embodiment includes at least one of information corresponding to the transfer cost for transferring a call to the terminal device 120-n ₁ (transfer destination) or information corresponding to the line quality when a call is received at the terminal device 120-n ₁ (transfer destination) and a conversation is made. The information corresponding to the transfer cost may be information representing the transfer cost (for example, a transfer rate of 0 yen or 100 yen/time, etc.), information for identifying the transfer cost (for example, a transfer form such as "A→A" or "C→D"), or other information (for example, a pair of the telephone numbers of the transfer source and the transfer destination). The information corresponding to the line quality may be information indicating the line quality (for example, "1", "2", etc.), or information for specifying the line quality (for example, a transfer form such as "A → A" or "C → D" or a communication environment such as "mobile phone", "landline phone", "IP phone (dedicated Wi-Fi)", "IP phone (public Wi-Fi)", etc.), or other information. Furthermore, the transfer processing information may include customer information regarding the calling customer and the call history of the customer. The customer information may be information indicating the customer name (for example, "a", etc.), information indicating the telephone number of the terminal device 110-m (for example, "090...", etc.), information indicating the customer rank (for example, "VIP", "product purchased", "membership registered", etc.), or other information. The call history may be information indicating whether or not there was a history of a call with the calling customer in the past, information indicating the call start date and time, information indicating whether or not a re-transfer was required in a past call, or other information. The transfer processing unit 141 to which the transfer processing information has been sent performs processing for transferring the call to the telephone number (destination) of the specific terminal device 120-n ₁ selected in step S102. This processing may be processing in which the transfer processing unit 141 directly transfers a call connection request including the transfer processing information to the terminal device 120-n ₁ , or processing in which the transfer processing unit 141 requests an external device (not shown) such as a PBX (private branch exchange) to transfer the call connection request. By this processing, a call made to the representative device 130 or the terminal device 120 (specific destination) is transferred to the terminal device 120-n ₁ .

<Step S104>
The transferred call connection request is input to the communication processing unit 121-n ₁ of the terminal device 120-n ₁ (FIG. 2). The communication processing unit 121-n ₁ sends transfer processing information of the call connection request to the display processing unit 122-n _1. The display processing unit 122-n ₁ of this embodiment generates display information for displaying the display screen 1240-n ₁ related to the call connection request on the touch panel unit 124-n ₁ (display unit). The display screen 1240-n ₁ includes, for example, a transfer information area that represents at least one of information corresponding to a transfer fee for transferring a call from the representative device 130 or the terminal device ₁₂₀ (specific destination) to the terminal device 120-n ₁ , or information corresponding to the line quality when a call is received at the terminal device 120-n ₁ and a conversation is made, and an operation area that accepts an input for selecting whether or not to receive a call at the terminal device 120-n 1 (to answer a call). The display screen 1240- _n1 may further include a call information area including customer information on the calling customer, the call history of that customer, etc. The generated display information is sent to the touch panel unit 124- _n1 .

<Step S105>
The touch panel unit 124-n displays the display screen 1240-n ₁ based on the sent display information. The display screen 1240-n ₁ illustrated in FIG. 14A and FIG. 14B includes a transfer information area 1241-n ₁ , a call information area 1242-n ₁ , and an operation area 1243-n _1. The transfer information area 1241-n ₁ illustrated in FIG. 14A includes information corresponding to the transfer cost, such as "transfer rate: 0 yen", "line carrier A (transfer source)", and "line carrier A (transfer destination)". On the other hand, the transfer information area 1241-n ₁ illustrated in FIG. 14B includes information corresponding to the line quality, such as "line quality: 1", "line carrier A (transfer source)", and "line carrier A (transfer destination)". The call information area 1242-n ₁ illustrated in FIG. 14A and FIG. 14B both include customer information and call history, such as "customer information VIP" and "memo: past calls". The operation area 1243- _n1 illustrated in FIG. 14A and FIG. 14B is a button area displaying "Receive OK" for receiving an input for selecting whether or not to receive a call at the terminal device 120- _n1 .

When an input operation (e.g., tap) is performed in the operation area 1243-n ₁ , the terminal device 120-n ₁ is selected to receive a call. For example, when an input operation is performed in the operation area 1243-n ₁ , information that an input operation has been performed in the operation area 1243-n ₁ is sent to the incoming call processing unit 123-n _1. The incoming call processing unit 123-n ₁ gives the communication processing unit 121-n ₁ an instruction to receive a call in response to the call connection request. As a result, the communication processing unit 121-n ₁ responds to receive the call, and the terminal device 110-m and the terminal device 120-n ₁ are connected. At this time, the communication processing unit 121-n ₁ sends information for identifying the destination of the terminal device 120-n ₁ (e.g., the telephone number of the terminal device 120-n ₁ ) and customer information included in the transfer processing information of the call connection request to the update information providing unit-n ₁ . Based on this, the update information providing unit-n ₁ generates update information indicating that the person in charge (e.g., person in charge α-1) using the terminal device 120-n ₁ is currently serving a customer (e.g., customer a). The update information is sent to the transfer device 140 via the communication network 150 and input to the update unit 144 of the transfer device 140. Based on the update information, the update unit 144 updates the response status of the department number management information 1431b (FIG. 5B) or the person in charge number management information 1431c (FIG. 6) stored in the storage unit 143 (e.g., "serving customer a", etc.). After that, when the call is ended, the update information providing unit 125-n ₁ of the terminal device 120-n ₁ (FIG. 2) performs an update process, and the update unit 144 of the transfer device 140 (FIG. 3) performs an update process accordingly, so that the "response status" of the department number management information 1431b (FIG. 5B) or the person in charge number management information 1431c (FIG. 6) is updated to "on standby", and the customer name, telephone number, and call start date and time of the call are stored in the "customer name", "transfer destination", "telephone number", and "call start date and time" of the call information 1434 (FIG. 11B), respectively. Also, when the operation area 1243-n ₁ to which the call was initially transferred receives a call, the update unit 144 of the transfer device 140 (FIG. 3) stores the fact that transfer was not required ("not required") in the "transfer flag" of the call information 1434 (FIG. 11B). On the other hand, if the call is re-transferred as described below, the update unit 144 stores in the "transfer flag" of the call information 1434 a value indicating that the call was required for transfer ("required").

On the other hand, if no input operation is performed in the operation area 1243-n ₁ , the terminal device 120-n ₁ does not receive the call. For example, if no input operation is performed in the operation area 1243-n ₁ for a predetermined period of time, the terminal device 120-n ₁ is considered to have selected not to receive the call. In this case, the process may be returned to step S102, and another terminal device 120-n ₁ may be selected to re-transfer the call. At this time, the update unit 144 of the transfer device 140 (FIG. 3) stores the fact that transfer was necessary ("Needed") in the "transfer flag" of the call information 1434 (FIG. 11B) (steps S102 to S105). However, at the time of re-transfer, in step S102, the telephone number of the new terminal device 120-n ₁ is selected, excluding the terminal device 120 that has already been transferred. Alternatively, if terminal device 120-n ₁ chooses not to accept the call, a voice message may be sent to terminal device 110-m without re-forwarding, or a voice message may be sent to terminal device 110-m when the call is not accepted even after one or more re-forwarding attempts.

<Specific example of step S102>
A specific example of step S102 will be described with reference to FIG.
First, the selection unit 142 of the transfer device 140 (FIG. 3) initializes an index i to 1. Here, the index i represents the selection element priority of the selection element priority information 1432a (FIGS. 7, 8A, and 8B) (step S1021). The selection unit 142 searches for the telephone number (destination) of the specific terminal device 120-n ₁ that is the transfer destination based on the selection elements of the selection element priority i (e.g., transfer cost, line quality, etc.). A specific example of this process will be described later (step S1022).

Here, if a transfer destination that can be handled for the selected element of the selected element priority i is not extracted (step S1023), the selection unit 142 judges whether the index i is the maximum value _imax . The maximum value _imax is the maximum value of the selected element priority i (step S1024). Here, if the index i is not the maximum value _imax , the selection unit 142 sets i+1 as a new i (step S1025) and returns to the process of step S1022. That is, the selection unit 142 performs a search by lowering the selected element priority by one.

On the other hand, if the index i is the maximum value _imax (step S1024), the selection unit 142 concludes that there is no available forwarding destination and ends the process (step S1027). If a available forwarding destination is extracted for the selection element of the selection element priority level i in step S1023 (step S1023), the selection unit 142 concludes the process of step S102 with the extracted telephone number of the specific terminal device 120-n ₁ as the forwarding destination (step S1026).

<Specific example of step S1022>
A specific example of step S1022 in FIG. 12 will be shown with reference to FIG.
First, the selection unit 142 initializes an index j, which indicates a transfer priority level, to 1 (Step S1022a).

The selection unit 142 searches for a transfer destination corresponding to transfer priority j for the selected element with selected element priority i (step S1022b). A specific example of this process is shown below.

First, the selection unit 142 refers to the selection element priority information 1432a (FIGS. 8A and 8B) and selects a selection element corresponding to index i (selection element priority i). For example, in the case of the selection element priority information 1432a in FIG. 8A (cost-priority mode), the selection unit 142 selects "transfer cost" as the selection element when i=1, and selects "line quality" as the selection element when i=2. For example, in the case of the selection element priority information 1432a in FIG. 8B (quality-priority mode), the selection unit 142 selects "line quality" as the selection element when i=1, and selects "transfer cost" as the selection element when i=2 (step S1022ba).

Next, the selection unit 142 refers to the transfer cost priority information 1432b, the line quality priority information 1432c, the business status priority information 1432d, or the responsible skill priority information 1432e, etc. (Figures 9A to 10B) corresponding to the selected selection element, and extracts the transfer destination conditions corresponding to the transfer priority j.
For example, when the selected selection element is “transfer cost”, the selection unit 142 refers to the transfer cost priority information 1432b ( FIG. 9A ), extracts the transfer form corresponding to the transfer priority j (for example, when j=1, the transfer forms “A→A” and “C→D, D→C”), and sets this as the condition for the transfer destination.
For example, when the selected selection element is "line quality," the selection unit 142 refers to the line quality priority information 1432c (FIG. 9B), extracts a pair of transfer type and communication environment corresponding to the transfer priority j (for example, when j=1, a pair of transfer type "-" and communication environment "fixed line"), and sets this as a condition for the transfer destination.
For example, when the selected selection element is “business status”, the selection unit 142 refers to the business status priority information 1432d ( FIG. 10A ), extracts the business status corresponding to the transfer priority j (for example, when j=1, the business status is “in business”), and sets this as the condition for the transfer destination.
For example, if the selected selection element is “responsible skill,” the selection unit 142 refers to the responsible skill priority information 1432e ( FIG. 10B ), extracts the responsible skill corresponding to the transfer priority j (for example, when j=1, the responsible skill is “high experience”), and sets this as a condition for the transfer destination (step S1022bb).

Next, the selection unit 142 refers to at least one of the main number management information 1431a, department number management information 1431b, and responsible number management information 1431c (Figures 5A, 5B, and 6) in the management information 1431, and extracts the telephone number of the terminal device 120-n ₁ that matches the conditions selected in step S1022bb and is a compatible forwarding destination.

For example, when the condition of the forwarding destination is a "forwarding type" (e.g., "A→A" and "C→D, D→C"), the selection unit 142 uses the call connection request, the main number management information 1431a, the department number management information 1431b, and the responsible number management information 1431c (FIGS. 5A to 6) to extract, as the forwarding destination, the telephone number of the terminal device 120-n ₁ having a forwarding type (e.g., "A→A" or "C→D, D→C") that matches the condition of the forwarding destination and whose response status is "on hold."

For example, when the condition of the forwarding destination is a combination of "forwarding type" and "communication environment" (e.g., a combination of forwarding type "-" and communication environment "fixed line"), the selection unit 142 uses the call connection request, the main number management information 1431a, the department number management information 1431b, and the responsible number management information 1431c (Figures 5A to 6) to extract the telephone number of the terminal device 120-n 1, which has a forwarding type and communication environment (e.g., forwarding type "-" and communication environment "fixed line") that match the condition of the forwarding destination and has a response status of "on standby _" , as the forwarding destination.

For example, when the condition of the forwarding destination is "business status" (e.g., "working"), the selection unit 142 uses the responsible number management information 1431c (FIG. 6) to extract, as the forwarding destination, the telephone number of the terminal device 120-n ₁ whose business status (e.g., "working") matches the condition of the forwarding destination and whose response status is "on standby."

For example, when the condition of the transfer destination is "responsible skill" (e.g., "large experience"), the selection unit 142 uses the responsible number management information 1431c (FIG. 6) to extract the telephone number of the terminal device 120-n ₁ that is used by a responsible person with responsible skill (e.g., "large experience") that matches the condition of the transfer destination and has a response status of "on standby" as the transfer destination (step S1022bc).

Here, if no transfer destination is extracted in step S1022b (step S1022c), the selection unit 142 judges whether the index j is the maximum value j _{max (i)} . The maximum value j _{max (i)} is the maximum value of the transfer priority j for the selected element of the selected element priority i (step S1022d). Here, if the index j is not the maximum value j _{max (i)} , the selection unit 142 sets j+1 as a new j (step S1022e) and returns to the processing of step S1022b. That is, the selection unit 142 performs a search by lowering the transfer priority by one. On the other hand, if the index j is the maximum value j _{max (i)} , the selection unit 142 concludes the processing of step S1022 as there is no transfer destination that can be accommodated (step S1022g). On the other hand, if a forwarding destination is extracted in step S1022b (step S1022c), the selection unit 142 determines the telephone number of the extracted terminal device 120-n ₁ as the forwarding destination corresponding to forwarding system j (step S1022f), and ends the processing of step S1022.

<Features of this embodiment>
In this embodiment, the telephone number (destination of a specific terminal device) of the terminal device 120-n ₁ , which is the transfer destination of a call made to the telephone number (specific destination) of the representative device 130 or the terminal device 120, is selected from the telephone numbers (destinations of terminal devices) of the multiple terminal devices 120-1, ..., 120-N, and a process is performed to transfer the call to the telephone number (destination of a specific terminal device) of the selected terminal device 120-n _1. At this time, the telephone number (destination of a specific terminal device) of the terminal device 120-n ₁ , which is the transfer destination, is selected based on at least one of the low transfer cost for transferring the call to the transfer destination or the high line quality when the call is received at the transfer destination and a conversation is made. This allows the transfer destination of the call to be selected taking into consideration at least one of the transfer cost or the line quality.

At this time, the destination terminal device (the telephone number of the terminal device 120-n ₁ ) may be selected by prioritizing low transfer costs over high line quality. This can reduce the transfer costs. Alternatively, the destination terminal device (the telephone number of the terminal device 120-n ₁ ) may be selected by prioritizing high line quality over low transfer costs. This can improve customer satisfaction.

In this embodiment, when a call made to the telephone number (specific destination) of the representative device 130 or the terminal device 120 is transferred to the terminal device 120-n ₁ , a transfer information area 1241-n ₁ that represents at least one of information corresponding to the transfer fee for transferring a call from a specific destination to the terminal device 120-n ₁ , or information corresponding to the line quality when the call is received at the terminal device 120-n ₁ and a conversation is made, and an operation area 1243-n ₁ that accepts an input for selecting whether or not to receive a call at the terminal device 120-n ₁ are displayed on the touch panel unit 124-n (display unit), and a process for receiving a call is performed when receiving a call at the terminal device 120-n ₁ is selected. This allows the person in charge to know the transfer fee and line quality before receiving the call, and to determine whether or not to receive the call based on that. For example, the person in charge can select to receive the call himself if the transfer fee is low or the line quality is good, but not to receive the call if it is not.

[Second embodiment]
The second embodiment is a modified example of the first embodiment. In the second embodiment, a cost-priority mode in which a destination (destination of a specific terminal device) is selected by prioritizing low transfer costs over high line quality, and a quality-priority mode in which a destination is selected by prioritizing high line quality over low transfer costs are switched between. When switched to the cost-priority mode, a destination is selected by prioritizing low transfer costs over high line quality, and when switched to the quality-priority mode, a destination is selected by prioritizing high line quality over low transfer costs. The following mainly describes the differences from the first embodiment, and the same reference numbers are used to simplify the description of the matters already described.

<Telephone Communication System 2>
1, the telephone communication system 2 of the present embodiment includes terminal devices 110-1, ..., 110-M, terminal devices 120-1, ..., 120-N, representative devices 130-1, ..., 130-K, and a forwarding device 240, which are communicatively connected to each other via a communication network 150. The telephone communication system 2 differs from the telephone communication system 1 in that the forwarding device 140 is replaced with the forwarding device 240.

<Transfer Device 240>
When a call is made from the terminal device 110 to a main number (specific destination), the transfer device 240 selects the destination of a specific terminal device 120-n ₁ (n ₁ ∈{1, ..., N}) to which the call is to be transferred from the destinations of the multiple terminal devices 120-1, ..., 120-N, and performs processing to transfer the call to the telephone number of the selected terminal device 120-n ₁ (the destination of the selected specific terminal device). As illustrated in FIG. 3, the transfer device 240 of this embodiment has a transfer processing unit 141, a selection unit 142, a storage unit 143, an update unit 144, and a switching unit 245. The transfer device 240 of this example is, for example, a device configured by loading a predetermined program into a computer. The transfer device 240 may be an on-premise type device or a cloud type device.

<Pre-processing>
The difference from the pre-processing of the first embodiment is that the transfer control information 1432 is replaced with the transfer control information 2432. The transfer control information 2432 of this embodiment includes priority information required to select the destination of a specific terminal device 120-n ₁ , which is the transfer destination of a call made to the representative terminal 130 or the terminal device 120 (specific destination), from the destinations of the multiple terminal devices 120-1, ..., 120-N. However, the transfer control information 2432 can be switched between a cost priority mode in which a transfer destination (the destination of a specific terminal device) is selected by prioritizing low transfer costs over high line quality, and a quality priority mode in which a transfer destination is selected by prioritizing high line quality over low transfer costs. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the transfer control information 2432 of this embodiment has selection element priority information 2432a, transfer cost priority information 1432b, line quality priority information 1432c, business situation priority information 1432d, and in-charge skill priority information 1432e. The transfer control information 2432 may include other information. The selection element priority information 2432a of this embodiment is information that indicates the priority (priority) of a plurality of selection elements to be considered when selecting a call transfer destination (destination of a specific terminal device 120). However, the selection element priority information 2432a of this embodiment includes information when selecting a destination of a specific terminal device 120 by prioritizing low transfer costs over high line quality (in the case of cost priority mode), and information when selecting a destination of a specific terminal device 120 by prioritizing high line quality over low transfer costs (in the case of quality priority mode). For example, the selection element priority information 2432a includes the selection element priority information 1432a of the cost priority mode as exemplified in FIG. 8A, and the selection element priority information 1432a of the quality priority mode as exemplified in FIG. 8B. The rest is the same as the pre-processing of the first embodiment.

<Processing>
Next, the processing of this embodiment will be described.
<Step S201>
Step S201 is the same as step S101 in the first embodiment, except that the transfer device 140 is replaced with the transfer device 240.

<Step S202 (selection step)>
The call connection request is input to the transfer processing unit 141 of the transfer device 240 (FIG. 3) and sent to the selection unit 142. The selection unit 142 uses the call connection request and information stored in the storage unit 143 (FIGS. 3, 4 to 11B) to select the telephone number (destination) of a specific terminal device 120-n ₁ to which the call is to be transferred from among the telephone numbers (destinations) of the multiple terminal devices 120-1, ..., 120-N. However, in this embodiment, the switching unit 245 switches between a cost priority mode in which the telephone number (destination) of the terminal device 120-n ₁ is selected by prioritizing low transfer costs over high line quality, and a quality priority mode in which the telephone number (destination) of the terminal device 120-n ₁ is selected by prioritizing high line quality over low transfer costs.

For example, the switching unit 245 may switch between the cost-priority mode and the quality-priority mode based on the attributes of the customer (subject) who made a call to the representative terminal 130 or the terminal device 120 (specific destination). In other words, low transfer costs are advantageous to the operator of the transfer device 240. On the other hand, high line quality is advantageous to the customer. Therefore, for example, in order to acquire new customers, the quality-priority mode may be selected when the customer is a new customer, and the cost-priority mode may be selected in other cases. For example, the quality-priority mode may be selected when the customer is a VIP, and the cost-priority mode may be selected in other cases. For example, a call connection request (including information for identifying the calling customer or the terminal device 110-m) is input to the switching unit 245, and the switching unit 245 may identify the attributes of the customer using the call connection request and the customer information 1433 stored in the storage unit 143, and switch between the cost-priority mode and the quality-priority mode according to the attributes.

For example, the switching unit 245 may switch between the cost-priority mode and the quality-priority mode based on the location of the customer (subject) who made the call to the representative terminal 130 or the terminal device 120 (specific destination). That is, the communication environment may differ depending on the location of the customer who made the call. For example, the communication environment when the customer makes a call from a mobile phone may be worse than the communication environment when the customer makes a call from a landline. In such a case, the quality-priority mode may be selected, and the cost-priority mode may be selected in other cases. Also, even when making a call with the same mobile phone, the sound quality when the customer makes a call in an area where a high-speed communication network can be used (e.g., a 5G communication coverage area) may be higher than the sound quality when the customer makes a call in an area where a high-speed communication network cannot be used (e.g., a 4G communication coverage area). Therefore, the quality-priority mode may be selected when the customer makes a call in an area where a high-speed communication network cannot be used, and the cost-priority mode may be selected when the customer makes a call in an area where a high-speed communication network can be used. For example, a call connection request (including information about the location of terminal device 110-m) may be input to the switching unit 245, and the switching unit 245 may switch between the cost-priority mode and the quality-priority mode in response to the information about the location of terminal device 110-m.

For example, the switching unit 245 may switch between the cost-priority mode and the quality-priority mode based on the time when the call was made to the representative terminal 130 or the terminal device 120 (specific destination). For example, in areas where the number of people making mobile phone calls varies depending on the time of day, the sound quality during times when there are many people making mobile phone calls may be lower than the sound quality during times when there are few people making calls. Therefore, the quality-priority mode may be selected when a call is made during times when there are many people making mobile phone calls, and the cost-priority mode may be selected when a call is made during other times. For example, the switching unit 245 may switch between the cost-priority mode and the quality-priority mode depending on the current time.

For example, the switching unit 245 may switch between the cost-priority mode and the quality-priority mode depending on the degree of dissatisfaction inferred from the call status of the customer (subject) who called the representative terminal 130 or the terminal device 120 (specific destination). For example, a customer who makes a large number of calls per unit time is likely to be making the call because he or she is dissatisfied with telephone service, products, etc. Therefore, for example, the quality-priority mode may be selected when a call is made from a customer whose number of calls per unit time exceeds a threshold (when the customer's dissatisfaction level is inferred to be high), and the cost-priority mode may be selected in other cases. Alternatively, the quality-priority mode may be selected when a call is made from a customer whose number of calls per unit time from a specified period before to the present exceeds a threshold (when the customer's dissatisfaction level is inferred to be high), and the cost-priority mode may be selected in other cases. For example, a call connection request (including information for identifying the calling customer and terminal device 110-m) is input to the switching unit 245, and the switching unit 245 uses the call connection request and the call information stored in the memory unit 143 (FIG. 5B) to calculate the number of calls per unit time for the customer represented by this call connection request, and may switch between the cost-priority mode and the quality-priority mode accordingly.

Information that the switching unit 245 has switched to the cost-priority mode or information that the switching unit 245 has switched to the quality-priority mode is sent to the selection unit 142. When the selection unit 142 has switched to the cost-priority mode, the selection unit 142 prioritizes low transfer costs over high line quality to select the telephone number (destination) of the terminal device 120-n ₁ (specific terminal device), and when the selection unit 142 has switched to the quality-priority mode, the selection unit 142 prioritizes high line quality over low transfer costs to select the telephone number (destination) of the terminal device 120-n ₁ (specific terminal device). For example, the selection unit 142 uses the selection element priority information 1432a of FIG. 8A in the case of the cost-priority mode, and uses the selection element priority information 1432a of FIG. 8B in the case of the quality-priority mode. The rest is the same as step S102 in the first embodiment.

<Steps S103 (transfer processing step), S104, S105>
This is the same as the first embodiment.

<Features of this embodiment>
In this embodiment, a cost priority mode in which a destination of a specific terminal device is selected by prioritizing low transfer costs over high line quality, and a quality priority mode in which a destination of a specific terminal device is selected by prioritizing high line quality over low transfer costs are switched between. When switched to the cost priority mode, a telephone number (destination of a specific terminal device) of the terminal device 120-n ₁ is selected by prioritizing low transfer costs over high line quality, and when switched to the quality priority mode, a telephone number (destination of a specific terminal device) of the terminal device 120-n ₁ is selected by prioritizing high line quality over low transfer costs. For example, the cost priority mode and the quality priority mode are switched between according to at least one of the attributes of the customer (subject) who made a call to the representative terminal 130 or the terminal device 120 (specific destination), the location of the customer (subject), the time when the call was made to the specific destination, or the degree of dissatisfaction inferred from the calling situation of the customer (subject). This allows the search criteria for the transfer destination to be changed according to the situation, and optimizes customer satisfaction and transfer cost reduction.

[Third embodiment]
The third embodiment is a modification of the first and second embodiments. In the third embodiment, the terminal device to which the call has been transferred accepts an input for selecting whether to receive the call and whether to re-transfer the call to another terminal device, and when re-transferring the call to another terminal device is selected, a process for re-transferring the call is performed. The following mainly describes the differences from the first and second embodiments, and the same reference numbers are used to simplify the description of the matters already described.

<Telephone Communication System 3>
1, the telephone communication system 3 of this embodiment has terminal devices 110-1, ..., 110-M, terminal devices 320-1, ..., 320-N, representative devices 130-1, ..., 130-K, and a forwarding device 140 or 240, which are communicatively connected to each other via a communication network 150. The telephone communication system 3 differs from the telephone communication systems 1 and 2 in that the terminal devices 120-1, ..., 120-N are replaced with terminal devices 320-1, ..., 320-N.

<Terminal Devices 320-1, ..., 320-N>
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the terminal device 320-n of this embodiment has a communication processing unit 121-n, a display processing unit 322-n, an incoming call processing unit 123-n, a touch panel unit 324-n, an update information providing unit 125-n, and a re-transfer processing unit 326-n. Hereinafter, each of the terminal devices 320-1, ..., 320-N will be expressed as a terminal device 320-n. However, n=1, ..., N is satisfied. In addition, the terminal devices 320-1, ..., 320-N will be collectively expressed as a terminal device 320. The terminal device 320 is, for example, a smartphone with a telephone function, a tablet terminal device, a wearable device, a PC, a landline phone, etc.

<Pre-processing>
This is the same as the first or second embodiment.

<Processing>
Next, the processing of this embodiment will be described.
First, the processes of steps S101 and S102 in the first embodiment or steps S201 and S202 in the second embodiment are performed, and then the process of step S103 is performed.

<Step S304>
The call connection request transferred by the process of step S103 is input to the communication processing unit 121-n ₁ of the terminal device 320-n ₁ (FIG. 2) (n ₁ ∈{1, ..., N}). The communication processing unit 121-n ₁ sends transfer processing information of the call connection request to the display processing unit 322-n _1. The display processing unit 322-n ₁ of this embodiment generates display information for displaying the display screen 3240-n ₁ related to the call connection request on the touch panel unit 324-n ₁ (display unit). The display screen 3240-n ₁ of this embodiment includes, for example, a transfer information area that indicates at _{least one} of information corresponding to a transfer fee for transferring a call from the representative device 130 or the terminal device 320 (specific destination) to the terminal device 320-n ₁ , or information corresponding to the line quality when a call is received at the terminal device 320-n ₁ and a conversation is made, and an operation area that accepts inputs for selecting whether to receive a call at the terminal device 320-n 1 (whether to take a call) and whether to re-transfer the call to another terminal device 320. The operation area of the display screen 3240-n ₁ may further be an area that accepts inputs for selecting which terminal device 320 (re-transfer destination) to re-transfer the call to. For example, the operation area may be an area that accepts inputs for selecting another terminal device 320 (re-transfer destination) to re-transfer the call to from candidates for the re-transfer destination. The display screen 3240-n ₁ may further include a re-transfer information area showing at least one of information corresponding to a transfer fee for re-transferring a call to another terminal device 320 (re-transfer destination) and information corresponding to a line quality when a call is received at the other terminal device 320 (re-transfer destination) and a conversation is made. The display screen 3240-n ₁ may include a call information area showing customer information on the calling customer and the call history of the customer. The generated display information is sent to the touch panel unit 324-n ₁ .

<Step S305>
The touch panel unit 324-n displays a display screen 3240- _n1 based on the sent display information. An example of the display screen 3240- _n1 is shown below.

The display screen 3240-n ₁ illustrated in Fig. 15A includes a transfer information area 1241-n ₁ , a call information area 1242-n ₁ , and operation areas 1243-n ₁ and 3244-n _1. The difference from the display screen 1240-n ₁ illustrated in Fig. 14A is that the display screen 3240-n ₁ illustrated in Fig. 15A further displays an operation area 3244-n _1. The operation area 3244-n ₁ in this example is a button area displayed as "Transfer" that accepts an input for selecting whether to retransfer the call to another terminal device 320.

When an input operation (e.g., tap) is performed in the operation area 1243-n ₁ , the terminal device 120-n ₁ is selected to receive the call. This process is the same as that in the first embodiment. On the other hand, when an input operation (e.g., tap) is performed in the operation area 3244-n ₁ , the terminal device 320-n ₁ is not received, and a process for re-transferring the call to another terminal device 320-n ₁ is executed. For example, the process may be returned to step S102, and the other terminal device 320-n ₁ may be selected to re-transfer the call (steps S102 to S104, S105). However, when re-transferring the call, in step S102, the telephone number of the new terminal device 320-n ₁ is selected, excluding the terminal device 120 that has already been transferred.

When an input operation is performed in the operation area 3244-n ₁ , operation areas 3245-n ₁ and 3245-n 1 that accept an input for selecting which terminal device 320 (redirection destination) to redirect the call to may be displayed. In the example of FIG. 15B, an operation area 3245-n ₁ that is a button area displaying "Send Possible Y" and an operation area 3246-n ₁ that is a button area displaying "Send Possible Z _" are displayed. In this example, when an input operation is performed in the operation area 3245-n ₁ , a process for redirecting the call to a specific redirection destination (another terminal device 320-n ₁ ) represented by Y is performed, and the call is redirected to this redirection destination. On the other hand, when an input operation is performed in the operation area 3246-n ₁ , a process for redirecting the call to a specific redirection destination (another terminal device 320-n ₁ ) represented by Z is performed, and the call is redirected to this redirection destination. At this time, the update unit 144 of the transfer device 140 (FIG. 3) stores the information indicating that transfer was necessary ("Needed") in the "transfer flag" of the call information 1434 (FIG. 11B).

16A and 16B, instead of the forwarding information area 1241-n ₁ , a forwarding information area 3241-n ₁ in which visual information such as color and pattern, as well as text, changes depending on the forwarding cost (forwarding rate) may be displayed. For example, when the forwarding cost is 0 yen, the forwarding information area 3241-n ₁ may be displayed in a normal color (for example, light blue), and when the forwarding cost is charged _, the forwarding information area 3241-n ₁ may be displayed in a different color (for example, red). This allows the person in charge to recognize at a glance whether the forwarding cost is high and to immediately decide whether to accept the call or to forward it again.

17A and 17B, instead of the forwarding information area 1241-n ₁ , a forwarding information area 3241-n ₁ in which visual information such as color and pattern changes in addition to characters according to the line quality may be displayed. For example, when the line quality is 1 (when the line quality is good), the forwarding information area 3241-n ₁ may be displayed in a normal color (e.g. _, light blue), and when the line quality is 4 (when the line quality is poor), the forwarding information area 3241-n ₁ may be displayed in a color different from the normal color (e.g., red). This allows the person in charge to recognize at a glance whether the line quality is high when a call is received, and to immediately determine whether to accept the call or to re-transfer the call.

Also, as in the display screen 3240-n ₁ illustrated in FIG. 18A and FIG. 18B, a re-transfer information area 3247-n ₁ representing information corresponding to a transfer fee for re-transferring a call to a re-transfer destination may be further displayed. As illustrated in FIG. 18A, in this example, re-transfer is not started by only performing an input operation once in the operation area 3245-n ₁ , and this input operation changes visual information such as the color and pattern of the operation area 3245-n ₁ , and the transfer fee (for example, "transfer rate: 0 yen") for re-transferring a call to a specific re-transfer destination (another terminal device 320-n ₁ ) represented by Y is displayed in the re-transfer information area 3247-n _1. When an input operation is further performed in the operation area 3245-n ₁ in this state, a process for re-transferring the call to a specific re-transfer destination (another terminal device 320-n ₁ ) represented by Y is performed, and the call is re-transferred to this re-transfer destination. As illustrated in FIG. 18B, in this example, a single input operation in the operation area 3246-n ₁ does not initiate re-transfer, and this input operation changes visual information such as the color and pattern of the operation area 3246-n ₁ , and the re-transfer information area 3247-n ₁ displays the transfer fee (for example, "transfer rate: 120 yen/time") for re-transferring the call to a specific re-transfer destination (another terminal device 320-n ₁ ) represented by Z. When an input operation is further performed in the operation area 3246-n ₁ in this state, a process for re-transferring the call to a specific re-transfer destination (another terminal device 320-n ₁ ) represented by Z is performed, and the call is re-transferred to this re-transfer destination. Note that visual information such as the color and pattern of the re-transfer information area 3247-n ₁ may change depending on the transfer fee. For example, when the transfer fee is 0 yen, the re-transfer information area 3247-n ₁ may be displayed in a normal color (e.g., light blue), and when the transfer fee is charged, the re-transfer information area 3247-n ₁ may be displayed in a different color from the normal color (e.g., red). This allows the person in charge to recognize at a glance whether the transfer fee is high or not, and to immediately determine whether to re-transfer the call.

Also, as in the display screen 3240-n ₁ illustrated in FIG. 19A and FIG. 19B, a re-transfer information area 3247-n ₁ may be further displayed, which indicates information corresponding to the line quality when a call is received at the re-transfer destination and a conversation is made. As illustrated in FIG. 19A, in this example, re-transfer is not started by only one input operation in the operation area 3245-n ₁ , and this input operation changes visual information such as the color and pattern of the operation area 3245-n ₁ , and the re-transfer information area 3247-n ₁ displays the line quality (for example, "line quality: 1") when a call is received at a specific re-transfer destination (another terminal device 320-n ₁ ) represented by Y and a conversation is made. When an input operation is further performed in the operation area 3245-n ₁ in this state, a process for re-transferring the call to the specific re-transfer destination (another terminal device 320-n ₁ ) represented by Y is performed, and the call is re-transferred to this re-transfer destination. 19B, in this example, re-transfer is not started by only performing an input operation once in the operation area 3246-n ₁ , and this input operation changes visual information such as the color and pattern of the operation area 3246-n ₁ , and the re-transfer information area 3247-n ₁ displays the line quality (e.g., "line quality: 3") when a call is received and a conversation is made at a specific re-transfer destination (another terminal device 320-n ₁ ) represented by Z. When an input operation is further performed in the operation area 3246-n ₁ in this state, a process for re-transferring the call to the specific re-transfer destination (another terminal device 320-n ₁ ) represented by Z is performed, and the call is re-transferred to this re-transfer destination. For example, when the line quality is 1 (when the line quality is good), the re-forwarding information area 3247- _n1 may be displayed in a normal color (e.g., light blue), and when the line quality is 3 (when the line quality is poor), the re-forwarding information area 3247- _n1 may be displayed in a color different from the normal color (e.g., red). This allows the person in charge to recognize at a glance whether the line quality at the re-forwarding destination is high, and to immediately determine whether to re-forward the call.

Other information may be added to the display screen 3240-n _1. For example, the display screen 3240-n ₁ may display both information corresponding to the transfer fee for transferring a call from a specific destination to the terminal device 320-n ₁ and information corresponding to the line quality when the terminal device 320-n ₁ receives a call and conducts a conversation. For example, the display screen 3240-n ₁ may display both information corresponding to the transfer fee for re-transferring a call to a re-transfer destination and information corresponding to the line quality when the call is received at the re-transfer destination and conducts a conversation.

<Features of this embodiment>
In this embodiment, a display screen 3240-n ₁ including an operation area 3246-n 1 for receiving an input for selecting whether or not to re-transfer the call to another terminal device is displayed on the touch panel unit 324-n ₁ (display unit) of _the terminal device 320-n ₁ to which the call is to be transferred. Then, when re-transferring the call to another terminal device is selected by input operation in the operation area 3246-n ₁ , a process for re-transferring the call is performed. This allows the re-transfer of the call to be performed immediately.

In this embodiment, the touch panel unit 324-n 1 (display unit) displays operation areas 3245-n ₁ and 3246-n 1 for receiving input for selecting whether or not to re-transfer the call to the re-transfer destination, and a re-transfer information area 3247-n ₁ for displaying at least one of information corresponding to the transfer cost for re-transferring the call to the re-transfer destination and information corresponding to the _line quality when the call is received at the re-transfer destination and a conversation is made. When the re-transfer of the call to a specific re-transfer destination is selected by input operation of _{the operation areas 3245-n 1 and} 3246-n ₁ , a process for re-transferring the call to this specific re-transfer destination is performed, and the call is re-transferred to this re-transfer destination. This allows the determination of whether or not to re-transfer the call to the re-transfer destination, taking into consideration the transfer cost and line quality when the call is re-transferred to the re-transfer destination.

[Hardware and Programs]
Each device in each embodiment is configured by a general-purpose or dedicated computer having a processor (hardware processor) such as a CPU (central processing unit) and memories such as a RAM (random-access memory) and a ROM (read-only memory) executing a predetermined program. That is, each device in each embodiment may have, for example, a processing circuit configured to implement each unit that each device has. This computer may have one processor and memory, or may have multiple processors and memories. This program may be installed in the computer, or may be recorded in a ROM or the like in advance. In addition, some or all of the processing units may be configured using electronic circuits that realize processing functions independently, rather than electronic circuits that realize functional configurations by reading programs like a CPU. In addition, an electronic circuit that configures one device may include multiple CPUs.

The above-mentioned program can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. An example of a computer-readable recording medium is a non-transitory recording medium. Examples of such recording media include a magnetic recording device, an optical disk, a magneto-optical recording medium, and a semiconductor memory.

These programs are distributed, for example, by selling, transferring, or lending portable recording media such as DVDs and CD-ROMs on which the programs are recorded. Furthermore, the programs may be distributed by storing the programs in a server computer or a storage device on the cloud and transferring the programs to other computers via a network. As described above, a computer that executes such a program, for example, first stores the program recorded on the portable recording medium or the transferred program in its own storage device. Then, when executing the process, the computer reads the program stored in its own storage device and executes the process according to the read program. In addition, as another execution form of the program, the computer may read the program directly from the portable recording medium and execute the process according to the program, or, further, each time a program is transferred to the computer, the computer may execute the process according to the received program. In addition, the above-mentioned process may be executed by a so-called ASP (Application Service Provider) type service that does not transfer the program to the computer and realizes the processing function only by issuing an execution instruction and obtaining the results. In this embodiment, the program includes information used for processing by a computer that is equivalent to a program (such as data that is not a direct command to a computer but has properties that dictate computer processing).

Additionally, at least a portion of the processing of any of the devices may be implemented using other hardware.

[Other Modifications]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, different transfer control information 1432, 2432 may be set depending on the organization to which the person in charge belongs.

In addition, as long as the transfer destination is selected based on at least one of the low transfer cost for transferring the call to the transfer destination or the high line quality when the call is received at the transfer destination and a conversation is made, there is no limitation on the selection method. For example, the transfer destination may be selected based only on the transfer cost, or only on the line quality, or based on the transfer cost and the line quality. In addition, the transfer destination may be selected by comprehensively evaluating multiple selection factors including the transfer cost and the line quality. For example, the transfer destination may be selected based on a total score of selection factors including a score representing the low transfer cost and a score representing the high line quality. For example, the transfer destination may be selected in descending order of the total score of the score representing the low transfer cost (e.g., the lower the transfer cost, the higher the score) and the score representing the high line quality (e.g., the higher the score, the higher the line quality), or the transfer destination whose total score exceeds a threshold may be selected. For example, the transfer destination may be selected based on a weighted sum of the score representing the low transfer cost and the score representing the high line quality. For example, the transfer destination may be selected in descending order of the weighted sum, or the transfer destination whose weighted sum exceeds a threshold may be selected. In this case, the weight may be changed depending on the customer. For example, if the customer is a new customer or a VIP, the weight of the score representing high line quality may be greater than the score representing low transfer cost, and otherwise the weight of the score representing high line quality may be less than the score representing low transfer cost. In addition, the management information 1431, the transfer control information 1432, 2432, the customer information 1433, and the call information 1434 may not be stored in the storage unit 143 of the transfer device 140, 240, but may be stored in other devices that can be connected to the communication network 150. In addition, these pieces of information may be distributed and arranged in multiple devices. In other words, the management information 1431, the transfer control information 1432, 2432, the customer information 1433, and the call information 1434 may be stored anywhere as long as they can be accessed by the selection unit 142, the switching unit 245, and the update unit 144.

In the embodiment, the transfer information area, operation area, call information area, and retransfer information area are displayed on a touch panel unit of the terminal device. However, the transfer information area, operation area, call information area, and retransfer information area may be displayed on a display (display unit) outside the retransfer information area.

The various processes described above may not only be executed in chronological order as described, but may also be executed in parallel or individually depending on the processing capacity of the device executing the processes or as necessary. Needless to say, other modifications may be made as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the invention as described in the claims.

1 to 3 Telephone communication system 110, 120, 320 Terminal device 140, 240 Transfer device 122, 322 Display processing unit 124, 324 Touch panel unit 142 Selection unit 245 Switching unit 326 Re-transfer processing unit 1240, 3240 Display screen 1241, 3241 Transfer information area 1242 Call information area 1243, 3244, 3245, 3246 Operation area 3247 Re-transfer information area

Claims (6)

A transfer method by a transfer device, comprising:
A selection step of selecting a destination of a terminal device of a specific department or person to which a call made to a specific destination is to be transferred from among destinations of terminal devices of a plurality of departments or people ;
a transfer processing step for performing processing for transferring the call to the destination of the specific terminal device selected in the selection step;
a switching step of switching between a cost priority mode in which a destination of the terminal device of the specific department or person in charge is selected by prioritizing low transfer costs for transferring the call to the transfer destination over high line quality when the call is received at the transfer destination and a conversation is made, and a quality priority mode in which a destination of the terminal device of the specific department or person in charge is selected by prioritizing high line quality over low transfer costs;
having
The selection step is a step of selecting the destination of the terminal device of the specific department or person in charge by prioritizing the low transfer cost over the high line quality when switched to the cost priority mode, and selecting the destination of the terminal device of the specific department or person in charge by prioritizing the high line quality over the low transfer cost when switched to the quality priority mode . The transfer method of claim 1 ,
A transfer method, wherein the switching step is a step of switching between the cost-priority mode and the quality-priority mode depending on at least one of the location of the entity that made the call to the specific destination, the time the call was made to the specific destination, or the number of calls made by the entity per unit time. A transfer method by a transfer device, comprising:
a selection step of selecting, from among a plurality of terminal device destinations, a specific terminal device destination to which a call originated to the specific destination is to be forwarded;
a transfer processing step for performing processing for transferring the call to the destination of the specific terminal device selected in the selection step;
a switching step of switching between a cost priority mode in which the destination of the specific terminal device is selected by prioritizing low transfer costs for transferring the call to the transfer destination over high line quality when the call is received at the transfer destination and a quality priority mode in which the destination of the specific terminal device is selected by prioritizing high line quality over low transfer costs, depending on at least one of the location of the entity that has made a call to the specific destination, the time the call was made to the specific destination, or the number of calls made by the entity per unit time;
having
The selection step is a step of selecting the destination of the specific terminal device by prioritizing the low transfer cost over the high line quality when switched to the cost priority mode, and selecting the destination of the specific terminal device by prioritizing the high line quality over the low transfer cost when switched to the quality priority mode. a selection unit for selecting a destination of a terminal device of a specific department or person to which a call made to a specific destination is to be transferred from among destinations of terminal devices of a plurality of departments or persons ;
a transfer processing unit that performs processing for transferring the call to the destination of the specific terminal device selected by the selection unit;
a switching unit for switching between a cost priority mode in which a destination of the terminal device of the specific department or person in charge is selected by prioritizing low transfer costs for transferring the call to the transfer destination over high line quality when the call is received at the transfer destination and a conversation is made, and a quality priority mode in which a destination of the terminal device of the specific department or person in charge is selected by prioritizing high line quality over low transfer costs;
having
The selection unit selects the destination of the terminal device of the specific department or person in charge by prioritizing the low transfer cost over the high line quality when switched to the cost priority mode, and selects the destination of the terminal device of the specific department or person in charge by prioritizing the high line quality over the low transfer cost when switched to the quality priority mode . a selection unit that selects, from among a plurality of terminal device destinations, a specific terminal device destination to which a call originated to a specific destination is to be transferred;
a transfer processing unit that performs processing for transferring the call to the destination of the specific terminal device selected by the selection unit;
a switching unit that switches between a cost priority mode in which the destination of the specific terminal device is selected by prioritizing low transfer costs for transferring the call to the transfer destination over high line quality when the call is received at the transfer destination and a quality priority mode in which the destination of the specific terminal device is selected by prioritizing high line quality over low transfer costs, depending on at least one of the location of the entity that has made a call to the specific destination, the time the call was made to the specific destination, or the number of calls made by the entity per unit time;
having
The selection unit selects the destination of the specific terminal device by prioritizing the low transfer cost over the high line quality when switched to the cost priority mode, and selects the destination of the specific terminal device by prioritizing the high line quality over the low transfer cost when switched to the quality priority mode . A program for causing a computer to execute the transfer method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 .

Images