Automatic call coverage for unattended pbx stations

Abstract

An automatic call coverage feature arrangement for unattended PBX stations including attendant consoles. When an incoming call is received at an unattended station, a control processor monitors the number of ring cycles at the called station. The control processor automatically diverts the incoming call to a prescribed coverage station or facility following a prescribed number of ring cycles. Concurrently, the control processor activates an indicator to indicate that the feature is active. Thereafter, the control processor automatically diverts all subsequently received incoming calls from the unattended PBX station to the coverage station or facility. This feature does not require manual activation by a subscriber or an attendant, but is automatically activated in response to a first unanswered incoming call. This allows remote activation of the feature by a subscriber or attendant since all that is required to activate this feature is a first unanswered incoming call to the called station. Thereafter, all subsequent incoming calls are routed to the prescribed covering station or facility until such time as the feature is deactivated.