WO1982004491A1

WO1982004491A1 - A method for implementing a calling process bound to a person

Info

Publication number: WO1982004491A1
Application number: PCT/FI1982/000024
Authority: WO
Inventors: Oy Saehkoelikkeiden
Original assignee: Cederqvist Ulf; Alhonen Taisto
Priority date: 1981-06-12
Filing date: 1982-06-11
Publication date: 1982-12-23
Also published as: SE8303439D0; GB2118804A; SE8303439L; DE3248806C2; IT1148596B; DK37183A; EP0093718A1; DE3248806T1; GB2118804B; FI66696B; FI811839A0; FI66696C; SE430439B; JPS58500924A; DK37183D0; GB8314028D0; NO830219L; IT8248624A0; IT8235875V0; NL8220201A

Abstract

Method of implementing a calling process bound to a person in the internal communication of a factory, office or any other corresponding organization, in which a communication system capable of duplex signalling and comprising terminals each provided with a fixed cable, such as an internal telephone system, is used. The method of the invention comprises the following steps: persons belonging to said organization are located on the basis of data communication between fixed means connected to said communication system and indicators carried by said persons and capable of wireless data transmission with said means, data concerning the located person are transmitted to the central unit of the communication system in each particular case only through one of the means connected to the communication system the location of which means is known, and a file of the location of the persons is maintained in the central unit for directing calls directed to them to the terminal closest to said persons in the communication system, for person paging, working time control, control of movements and for transmitting messages, for example, about the absence of a person to a person trying to reach him.

Description

A method for implementing a calling process bound to a person

The invention relates to a method for implemen- ting a calling process bound to a person in the inter¬ nal communication of a factory, an office or any other corresponding organization, in which a communication system capable of duplex signalling and comprising ter¬ minals each provided with a fixed cable, such as an internal telephone system is used.

In offices, as well as in other premises, a number of different systems are presently in use with the object of maintaining communication between diffe¬ rent persons or of controlling the movements of people. These systems include:

- a telephone

- an internal telephone

- a person paging device

- a working time control system - a passage control system.

On the basis of investigations made as well as in practice it is easy to note that the central problem^' within organizations is how to reach persons, and none of the above-mentioned communication systems can alone solve the communication problem in an organization (it has, a.o. , been proved that organizations which already have a 100 % telephone system inspite of that are consi¬ dering to acquire both internal telephones, working time control devices and person paging devices. In addition, it has been recognized that the solutions in use or otherwise coπ___only known are all independent systems, inspite of the fact that systems of different types, such as, for exanple, a telephone and person paging devices, often are interconnected for co- operation.

Recent research has proved that the unability to reach persons is not due to technical deficits in exis¬ ting systems but to the fact that the persons are at their so-called own work place for only about 50 % of the total working time. In addition, it has been found that very efficient locating systems for persons, such as, for example, person paging systems, are unable to guaranteee a person peace at work. It has indeed been proved that communication which is becoming technically more and more efficient intensifies the psychological factors related to a person's working efficiency, such as, for example, the need for peace at work. The lack of versatility of the known comm nicati_.on means is illus¬ trated by the fact that although a system is able to locate a person when he wants to be within reach, the system, when said person wants to work in peace, is un¬ able to return to the paging person a message why the person cannot be reached which information would be valuable to the paging person.

The object of the present invention is to provide a method for implementing a calling process bound to a person whereby a communication system based on said process is able to handle the operations of all above- mentioned systems by means of one assembly.

By means of the method according to the invention the location of a person in the premises in question is automatically located whereby any telephone calls to said person are automatically directed to him. The central idea of the invention is that while in tradition¬ al systems, such as, for example, in a telephone by means of selecting a telephone number a specific telephone set is called in the vicinity of which a person is assumed to be, the person himself is called in the method accor¬ ding to the invention.

The method according to the invention can be implemented by combining a number of technical solutions known per se from known systems so as to form a system unity which operates in a unique manner and by means of which a plurality of different systems can be replaced.

Said method according to the invention is charac¬ terized in that

- persons belonging to said organization are located on the basis of data communication between means fixedly connected to said communication system and indi¬ cators carried by said persons and capable of wireless data transmission with said means,

- data concerning the located person are trans- mitted to the central unit of the communication system in each particular case only through one of the means connected to the communication system the location of which means is known, and

- a file of the location of the persons is main- tained in the central unit to be used for directing calls directed to them to the terminal closest to said per¬ sons in the communication system, for paging, working time control, control of passage and for transmitting messages, for example, about the absence of a person to a person trying to reach him.

Thus, when contacting a person according to the invention, said person is called by using a number, code or name representing the identity of the person, where¬ by the call is directed to the terminal closest to him in the communication system on the basis of the file maintained by the central unit.

The method according to the invention can be carried into effect by a communication system comprising individual terminals which are positioned in different spaces and which permit a duplex simultaneous speech communication and data communication, equipment for operative control of these terminals, for example, a central, person-identic indicators carried by the persons and identifiers integrated in the terminals- The method is based on the use of a communication system corresponding to a traditional internal telephone system and having a central unit or a decentralized arrangement implementing the functions of the central unit and terminals connected directly thereto by cables and of indicators carried by the persons. By means of the terminals and the central unit ordinary talking connections can be produced within the system or messa¬ ges can be transmitted by means of a display device possibly included in the terminal. As an example of such an internal telephone system may be mentioned the inter¬ nal telephone system, type SLO 1000, of Sahkδliikkeiden oy-

The essential feature in such a communication system is that bidirectional speech and data transmission can take place between the terminals and the central unit also during a prevailing talking connection, that no separate additional cable is required for this purpose, and that the construction of the system permits automa¬ tically the identification of the calling party, i.e. that in the communication between the terminals and the central an identification is made as to from which ter- minal each connection or message originates whereby, of course, also the location of the indicators connected to the communication system is known.

In addition, to this communication system are connected means capable of wireless data transmission with the portable indicators. According to the invention said means - identifiers - are moreover positioned so that only one of them at a time is capable of identify¬ ing the indicator carried by a person. In practice, this is carried out by integrating said means in the terminals of the communication system.

The portable indicator is a compact, battery- or accumulator-driven device including a short-carrying transmitter and receiver for which a fixed or freely variable unique identification code has been programmed in the system. The identifiers connected to the communi¬ cation system and preferably to the terminals thereof may inquire independently whether one or several indica¬ tors are located in their immediate vicinity. If such indicators are present, this inquiry causes the indica¬ tor to transmit, by using a reply procedure agreed on, its identification code to the receiver of the terminal. These further transmit to the central unit an informa¬ tion as to which indicators are located close to them, in other words, in fact an information of the location where a person can be reached. In a limited space, suit- able means for carrying out wireless data transmission comprise, for example, similar means that are used in wireless remote control of television sets.

Although the probably mostpreferred embodiment of the method according to the invention is to carry out the identification of person by means of data communica¬ tion between the means integrated in the terminals of the communication system and the portable indicators, it may in some cases be advantageous to carry out the iden¬ tification of a person on the basis of an inquiry made by a centralized transmitter integrated in the central unit of the communication system and of the reply sent by the indicators to the identifiers integrated in the terminals of the communication system. The centralized transmitter can also transmit to the searched person a message of the attempt to contact him although his location does not permit the immediate opening of a talking connection. Also the opposite procedure can be used where the terminals make the inquiry and the reply is sent directly to the central unit if these steps are synchronized with each other in time.

The central idea cf the invention - a calling process bound to person - means that, when using the method according to the invention, a certain person need not be tracked through the telephone number but the call can be connected directly to him irrespective of his location. A speech path between paging person and a

OMPI_ terminal close to the paged person can be opened automa¬ tically. Because, when applying the method, a connection is not taken to any telephone number but directly to.a person, the telephone numbers can be replaced, for exa p- le, by alphanumeric personal identifications which are used when calling the person in question. Of course this implies that the terminals are provided with an alpha¬ numeric keyboard. If the terminal further comprises a display (e.g., an alphanumeric or numeric display with 4 to 8 marks), the information obtained by means of the method according to the invention about the location and status of persons (the indicator can be set for statuses of different types, for example, the person wants to be out of reach (occupied condition) ) can be returned to the user of the system and he can be provided with in¬ formation as to why a person cannot be reached. Because both person paging and, for example, the control of floating working time are integrated by means of the method, also the feedback data concerning these func- tions (e.g., sick leave, summer vacation, etc.) can be displayed to the user.

By means of the method according to the invention the importance of characteristics known from telephones and internal telephones, such as of call transfer, leav- ing of messages, secreterial connections, etc., is reduced.

The system differs from person paging devices in the following respects: The instructions concerning re¬ porting to be sent to the portable indicators need not be selective, whereby commonly used, but awkward tuned cir¬ cuits are not needed because each indicator has a fixed identification code of its own the transmission of which to an identifier in the close vicinity leads to the location of persons. Thus, the indicator is capable of bidirectional data communication and contains electronic components required for logical deductive capability and permitting simultaneous operation of several indicators around the same identifier.

The essential difference between a person paging receiver and a portable indicator is that the location of a person and the indication of his status take place fully automatically without any steps carried out by the person in question.

. From the known locating methods capable of bi¬ directional data communication and based on the utiliza- tion of radio frequencies, ultrasound or infrared signals or combinations thereof the method according to the in¬ vention differs in that essential respect that the sys¬ tem component required for locating a person is not a separate system as in the other known solutions. Thus, no separate transmitter/receiver devices, separate cables, radio or carrier wave apparatuses are needed.

Because all indicators in the system according to the invention operateatsame carrier frequency and inter¬ ference between simultaneous transmissions is avoided by ^' means of the short carrying distance requirement and the logical data communication procedure between the identi¬ fiers, a code message sent by the indicator may, in addition to the identification code of the indicator, also contain other information illustrating the status of the person in question, such as, for example, that the person wants to be out of reach. An information is trans¬ mitted to the paging person that the person is within the organization but does not want to be disturbed. This additional advantage achieved by means of the method also distinguishes the system operating according to the method from the known one- or bidirectional person paging systems.

A central feature in the method according to the invention is also that, because of the short carrying distance requirement a simple method, such as, for examp- le, an infrared, ultrasonic or any other corresponding transmission method can be used as data transmission method between the indicators and the identifiers.

When using a centralized transmitter, radiowaves or inductive coupling, as in present wireless person paging devices, can be utilized in the data transmission bet- ween said transmitter and the indicators.

Because the person identifier is not intended to be used for the transmission or reception of speech, the central problem in bidirectional speech-person pag¬ ing receivers, power consumption, will be avoided. Talking connection is established between two terminals, only the position of the person in the system is trans¬ mitted from the indicator to the communication system.

In order to prevent an undue increase of the data flow resulting from a possible independent inquiry circle of the transmitter-receiver devices, the principle of an intelligent network known from the remote drive technics can be utilized between the terminals and the central, which means that only an information of changes is transmitted to the central. The occurring delay then follows the probability function and depends on the number of changes. This means that the data terminal equipment includes storage means which remember which indicators during the preceding inquiry circle were located close to the terminal and that, when comparing the new circle to the recorded data, the changes are noted and further transmitted to the central.

The essential feature in this respect is that, regardless of an increasing need for signalling, the relatively slow data transmission method known from the internal telephone system can be utilized which method has been applied in said internal telephone system SLO 1000 and which also constructionally can be realized at low cost.

An essential feature in the method according to the invention is also the fact that the utilization of computer-type components forming the structural elements of the transmitter-receiver devices and the central permits the exploitation of the control methods for distributed data files known from computer technics. This means that both the central and the identifiers located in the speech terminals maintain an integral or partial picture of the location and status data of the indicators. The above-mentioned methods all contri¬ bute to the fact that the internal data communication in the system in practice remains within controllable limits.

With the aid of above-mentioned method it can be formed a wholeness which permits the implementation of a functional system also in rather large applications without the technical limits or deficits of known solu- tions with respect to the information transmission capacity.

Thus, the method according to the invention comprises transmission of location information of two types and independent of each other; an independent inquiry made by the transmitter-receiver device about • the status of its surrounding and the transmission of the changes in the status data to the central. On the basis of the data transmitted to the central an address file is maintained by means of which calls in the system can be directed to the desired personsirrespective of their location. A file of this type can be easily im¬ plemented, for example, in connection with a central for a time shared computer-controlled internal tele¬ phone system similar to SLO 1000. As referred to in the preceding, the method can also be used by monitoring the presence of indicators in the storage stand and by using the information ob¬ tained for controlling the working time.

By placing a separate identifier at doors intend- ed for limited entrance, the doors can be automatically closed or opened as a person approaches the door. By

OMH means of the method also separate working time control devices and in many applications separate passage con¬ trol devices can be replaced.

Thus, the method according to the invention in- tegrates the additional devices required by each appli¬ cation, such as, for example, devices required for registering the working time, an internal telephone, person paging devices, working time control devices, passage control devices and presence-absence control devices. In its basic form, the invention is directed to the internal communication of an organization but the invention also covers data communication taking place from the outside to the organization or out of the organization. Thus, a system operating according to the method of the invention also replacesthe traditional telephone.

Claims

Claims:

1. A method of implementing a calling process bound to a person in the internal communication of a factory, office or any other corresponding organization, in which a communication system capable of duplex signal¬ ling and comprising terminals each provided with a fixed cable, such as an internal telephone system, is used, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that - persons belonging to said organization are located on the basis of data communication between fixed means connected to said communication system and indica¬ tors carried by said persons and capable of wireless data transmission with said means, - data concerning the located person are trans¬ mitted to the central unit of the communication system in each particular case only through one of the means connected to the communication system the location of which means is known, and - a file of the location of the persons is main¬ tained in the central unit for directing calls directed to them to the terminal closest to said persons in the communication system, for person paging, working time control, control of movements and for transmitting messa- ges, for example, about the absence of a person to a person trying to reach him.

2. A method according to claim 1, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i z e d in that, when contacting a person, said person is called by using a number, code or name repre- senting the identity of the person, whereby the call is directed to the terminal closest to him in the communi¬ cation system on the basis of the file maintained by the central unit.

3. A method according to claim 1, c h a r a c - t e r i z e d in that by means of data communication between the indicator carried by a person and means integrated in the communication system an information is transmitted to a person trying to reach said person about the location of said person and his desire to be within reach.

4. A method according to claim 1, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i z e d in that a person is identified by means of an inquiry and reply procedure based on duplex data communication between the indicator and said means and taking place on the initiative of the means connected to the communication system.

5. A method according to claim 4, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i z e d in that a person is identified by means of an inquiry and reply procedure between a means inte¬ grated in any of the terminals of the communication system and the indicator.

6. A method according to claim 4, c h a r a c ¬ t er i z e d -in that a person is identified by means of an inquiry made by a means integrated in the central of the communication system and a reply of the indicator taking place through a means integrated in any of the terminals of the communication system.

7. A method according to claim 4, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i z e d in that a person is identified by means of an inquiry made by a means integrated in any of the terminals of the communication system and a reply of the indicator taking place through a means integrated in the central of the system synchronized therewith.

8. A method according to claim 4 or 5, c h a r ¬ a c t e r i z e d in that by positioning means connected to the communication system in the vicinity of doors an information about the location and identity of a person is used for opening said doors.

9. A method according to claim 1, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i z e d in that only changes occurred in the location data of persons are transmitted to the central unit of the system.

10. A method according to claim 1, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i z e d in that a shortcarrying data transmission method, such as an infrared- or^' ultrasonic^' method, is used as wireless data transmission method.

11. A method according to claim 1 or 2, c h a r ¬ a c t e r i z e d in that the terminals of the communi¬ cation system are provided with an alphanumeric keyboard and a display device.

OMH