Patent ID: 7072459

Claim:
A method of connecting a telephone with a Web browser to an extension of a private branch exchange, comprising: transferring a list from a specific Web server to said telephone when said telephone requests extension telephone directory service from the specific Web server via the Internet, said list including extension groups and users belonging to said extension groups, and said extension groups and said users being managed by said private branch exchange; causing said Web server to acquire, from said private branch exchange, information about said extension groups and users belonging to said extension groups, numbers of the extension telephones used by the users, and numbers of outside-line telephones direct-dialing-connectable to the extension telephones, and to store the information in an extension telephone directory storage unit, wherein the information stored in said extension telephone directory storage unit contains state information, acquired by said Web server from said private branch exchange, for the number of each extension telephone managed by said private branch exchange, said state information indicating whether a present communication state of the extension telephone associated with the number of the extension telephone is an idle state or a busy state; generating said list from the information stored in said extension telephone directory storage unit, when said telephone accesses said Web server via the Internet; causing said Web server to determine, from the corresponding state information in said extension telephone directory storage unit, whether a user can communicate when the user is selected from said list on said telephone; transmitting the state indicated by said state information, from said Web server to said telephone via the Internet, when said selected user cannot communicate; transmitting data representing a number of an outside-line telephone, from said Web server to said telephone via the Internet, when said selected user can communicate, said outside-line telephone being connectable, by direct dialing, to the telephone used by the selected user; transmitting direct-dialing connection information from said Web server to said private branch exchange when said selected user can communicate, said direct-dialing connection information including the telephone number of said telephone and the number of the extension telephone used by said selected user; and causing the private branch exchange to call the extension telephone of the number transmitted from said Web server to said private branch exchange and to connect the extension telephone to said telephone, when said private branch exchange receives an incoming call from said telephone that has received said outside-line telephone number.