Key telephone system and maintenance method therefor

• US 20010038688A1
• Filed: 07/18/2001
• Published: 11/08/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Suzuki, Takafumi
• Granted Patent: US 6,668,047 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/156
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/24 Arrangements for testing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2757 by data transmission, e.g. downloading

Abstract

There is described a key telephone system which enables rewriting of the main program of the key telephone system, recovery of the key telephone system from a failure, and maintenance of the key telephone system such as diagnosis in an immediate, flexible, and inexpensive manner, a maintenance method for the key telephone system, and a medium on which is recorded a program for carrying out the maintenance method. A program to be rewritten is downloaded from an external device to a second storage means. After an existing program of a storage means has been saved into the second storage means, the downloaded program stored in the second storage means is transmitted and rewritten into the storage means. Failure information recording means records information regarding at least failures that occur at the time of downloading the program, failures that occur at the time of saving the existing program, and failures that occur at the time of rewriting the downloaded program. In the event of a failure, the key telephone system recovers from a failure by reference to the failure information recorded by the, failure information recording means.

Claims

1. A key telephone system comprising:

first storage means which stores a program;

operation control means which operates and controls the key telephone system through execution of the program stored in the first storage means;

second storage means which stores an alternative program;

downloading means which downloads from an external device the alternative program to be rewritten to the second storage means; and

control means which saves the program stored in the first storage means into the second storage means and which transmits and rewrites the alternative program stored in the second storage into the first storage means.

4. The key telephone system as defined in any one of claims 1 through 3, wherein the second storage means, the downloading means, the control means, the failure information recording means, and the recovery means or the diagnostic means are assembled into a single module and handled, as such.

5. The key telephone system as defined in any one of claims 1 through 3, wherein the result of processing performed by the control means, and the failure information recorded in the failure information recording means or the result of diagnosis performed by the diagnostic means, are communicated to the external device.

6. The key telephone system as defined in any one of claims 1 through 3, wherein the external device is connected to the key telephone system by way of an analog or digital network, so that the key telephone system is remotely controlled.

2. A key telephone system comprising:

first storage means which stores a program;

operation control means which operates and controls the key telephone system through execution of the program stored in the first storage means;

second storage means which stores an alternative program;

downloading means which downloads from an external device a program to be rewritten to the second storage means;

control means which saves the program stored in the storage means into the second storage means and which transmits and rewrites the alternative program stored in the second storage into the first storage means;

failure information recording means which records information regarding at least failures that occur during the downloading of the alternative program by the downloading means and failures that occur during the saving and rewriting of the programs by the control means; and

recovery means which recovers the key telephone system by reference to the failure information recorded in the failure information recording means.

3. A key telephone system comprising:

first storage means which stores a program;

operation control means which operates and controls the key telephone system through execution of the program stored in the first storage means;

second storage means which stores a diagnostic program;

downloading means which downloads from an external device an alternative diagnostic program to be rewritten to the second storage means;

control means which saves a diagnostic program having been stored in a first area of the second storage means into a second area of the second storage means and which transmits and rewrites the alternative diagnostic program stored in the second area into the first area; and

diagnostic means which diagnoses the state of a line connected to the key telephone system according to a diagnostic program stored in the second area the second storage means, through transmission and receipt of a signal.

7. A method of performing maintenance of a key telephone system comprising storage means which stores a program and operation control means which operates and controls the key telephone system through execution of the program stored in the storage means, the key telephone system maintenance method comprising:

a download step for downloading from an external device an alternative program to be rewritten to second storage means;

a saving step for saving the program stored in the storage means into the second storage means; and

a rewriting step for transmitting and rewriting the downloaded program stored in the second storage means into the storage means.

10. The key telephone system maintenance method as defined in any one of claims 7 through 9, wherein the result of processing performed by the control means, and the failure information recorded in the failure information recording means or the result of diagnosis performed by the diagnostic means are communicated to the external device.

11. The key telephone system maintenance method as defined in any one of claims 7 through 9, wherein the external device is connected to the key telephone system by way of an analog or digital network, so that the key telephone system is remotely controlled.

12. A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the key telephone system maintenance method as defined in any one of claims 7 through 9.

8. A method of performing maintenance of a key telephone system including storage means which stores a program and operation control means which operates and controls the key telephone system through execution of the program stored in the storage means, the key telephone system maintenance method comprising:

a download step for downloading from an external device an alternative program to be rewritten to second storage means;

a saving step for saving the program stored in the storage means into the second storage means;

a rewriting step for transmitting and rewriting the alternative program stored in the second storage means into the storage means;

a failure information recording step for recording information regarding at least failures that occur in the download step, the saving step, and the overwriting step, and a recovery step for recovering the key telephone system by reference to the failure information recorded in the failure information recording step.

9. A method of performing maintenance of a key telephone system including storage means which stores a program and operation control means which operates and controls the key telephone system through execution of the program stored in the storage means, the key telephone system maintenance method comprising:

a download step for downloading from an external device an alternative diagnostic program to be rewritten to second storage means;

a saving step for saving an existing program having been stored in the storage means to the second storage means;

a rewriting step for transmitting and rewriting the alternative program stored in the second storage means into the storage means; and

a diagnosing step for diagnosing the state of a line connected to the key telephone system according to a diagnostic program stored in the second storage means, through transmission and receipt of a signal.