Telephone and telephone system having temporary transfer and

Abstract

In a telephone system for performing channel control among telephones connected to a plurality of telephone lines, a call during a conversation between first and second telephones is placed on hold by a hold request from, say, the second telephone, and the call is capable of being transferred to a third telephone. It is also possible for the holding first telephone to instruct that the holding state be cancelled during the call transfer processing. When such a hold cancellation input from the first telephone is detected, the second telephone that requested the hold is so notified by an alarm. If the first telephone is subsequently hung up, the holding call is released and the connecting line of the first telephone is opened. When the second telephone cancels the holding state, the holding call is released and communication between the first and second telephones is restored. It is also arranged so that the holding first telephone can cause a message to be outputted from the second telephone that initiated the hold, thereby informing the second telephone of a desire to have the holding state cancelled. Thus, whereas a holding telephone is incapable of cancelling the holding state in the prior art, the foregoing arrangement makes it possible for the holding telephone to instruct cancellation of the holding state and to send a prescribed message to the telephone that initiated the hold.