JPS6124854B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an answering machine that records response messages and business matters on a single magnetic tape.

Conventionally, so-called answering machines that record incoming calls while you are away generally first send a message to the caller that the answering machine will record the answering machine when a call arrives. I try to record the message after each meeting. In conventional devices of this type, two tapes are used: one dedicated to reproducing the response message and the other dedicated to recording the message. For this purpose, two sets of tape drive mechanisms such as capstans and pinch rollers are provided, and the user also needs to prepare two tapes. Therefore, the structure is complicated and uneconomical, and there are also problems in terms of space factor and handling.

The present invention is intended to solve the above problems,
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The present invention is designed to record a response message and a message on a single tape, and FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the recording method. In the following explanation, the response message will be referred to as OGM (outgoing message).
It is called.

First, a tape 1 shown in FIG. 1A is prepared. This tape 1 is provided with a leader tape 2. Incidentally, this tape 1 may be a recorded one. Next, the tape 1 is loaded into the answering machine, and after being rewound in the reverse direction to the tape top a, it is rapidly forwarded in the forward direction to point c, as shown in FIG. 1B. For regular cassette tapes,
Since the length of the leader tape 2 (the length of points a to b) is approximately 60 seconds at forward (FWD: normal running) speed, the above-mentioned fast forwarding is performed to sufficiently cover this length. In this case, by performing fast forwarding and erasing from slightly before point b, the previously recorded signal between point b and point c is erased, and a no-signal portion 3 is formed during this time. .
Next, as shown in FIG. 1C, recording of OGM4 is performed from point c. At this time, for example, along with OGM4
A 30Hz cue signal is recorded. Recording of this OGM4 and queue signal is performed within, for example, 30 seconds. After the recording is finished, forward erasing is performed for, for example, 3 seconds to form a no-signal portion ₅₁ up to point d.

Tape 1, on which OGM 4 has been recorded, is rewound to point c and waits for an incoming call. When the first call arrives in this standby state, OGM4 is first played (PB) as shown in Figure 1D, and then after the no signal portion ₅₁ , the caller's Case 6
₁ is recorded up to point e. For this recording, 30
A Hz queue signal is recorded along with the message. After recording ends, tape 1 continues to be erased forward for about 10 seconds and is stopped at point f. As a result, a no-signal portion ₅₂ is formed with a length T ₁ . Thereafter, the screen is rewound to point c and is again in the incoming call standby state. When a second call arrives, OGM4 is first generated as shown in FIG. 1E. After the playback ends, it is fast-forwarded to point e. At this time, the tape 1 actually travels a distance equivalent to about 3 seconds from point e in terms of forward speed and stops at point g. As a result, the length T ₁ of the non-signal portion ₅₂ is shortened to T ₂ . Next, the second message ₆₂ is recorded from point g to point h along with the cue signal. Thereafter, the tape 1 runs for about 10 seconds while being erased offward, and is stopped at point i. This results in a no-signal portion 5 ₃ of length T ₁
is formed. Thereafter, the film is rewound to point c.

Next, when the third call arrives, the OGM will be sent in the same way.
4 is played back, and further fast-forwarded to point h, and from the point past point h, the third message ₆₃ is recorded together with the cue signal. After recording ends, it is erased for 10 seconds and then rewound to point c. From then on, the same operation is repeated every time a call is received, and as a result, tape 1 contains OGM 4 and each message 6 _{1 to 6} as shown in Figure 1 F.
6n, no-signal portions 5 ₁ to 5n of approximately equal length T ₂ (length of approximately 3 seconds at forward speed) are formed, and the last no-signal portion 5 _o+1 is equal to the length of T _1. It is formed. In this embodiment, recording of the business is performed for 30 seconds at a time, and after 30 seconds, the recording is stopped and forward deletion is performed. I also try to record 20 messages on each tape.

Next, the actual operating procedure and operation of the answering machine will be explained in the order described with reference to FIGS. 1A to 1F.

First, when the response recording button is pressed to record OGM 4, tape 1 is rewound to point a and then stopped once. This stopping is performed by detecting that the reel shaft has stopped rotating. Once stopped, fast-forward erasing is performed for about 60 seconds and then stopped at point c. The OGM4 is now in recording standby mode, and the standby lamp lights up. Next, press the above response recording button again to enter recording mode, and the user can use the microphone to record OGM4.
Record. This recording will take place within 30 seconds; if it exceeds 30 seconds, an alarm will sound and the device will automatically shut off. After the OGM recording ends, a no-signal portion ₅₁ is formed and the recording stops. Next, when you press the answering mode button, OGM4 is played back after being rewound to point c. This causes OGM4 to be checked. After the playback ends, it is rewound again to point c,
The device enters the incoming call standby state and the incoming call standby lamp lights up.

When a telephone call is received in this state, it is detected that the bell has rang twice, the telephone line is closed, and then OGM4 is played. This playback content is transmitted to the caller via the line. After the playback ends, the oscillator emits a signal tone for about 3 seconds while the vehicle travels through the no-signal portion ₅₁ , and the signal tone is transmitted to the caller. After the signal tone stops, the caller's message ₆₁ is recorded. After recording ends, the line will be disconnected. Along with this, no signal part 5
₂ is formed, it is rewound to point c. When a second call is received, the line is closed and OGM4 is played. Next, fast forward from point g to task 6 ₂
is recorded. Note that a signal sound is emitted from the end of OGM4 playback until it is temporarily stopped at point g.
After recording is complete, after the no-signal portion ₅₃ is formed, c
Rewind to the point.

As described above, each time recording of a message is completed, OGM4
Rewinding is performed to the top c point, and when a call is received, the previous recorded business is skipped and fast-forwarded. In this case, to cue point c and cue the recording start point, touch the head to tape 1 during rewinding or fast forwarding, detect the cue signal recorded with OGM 4 and each message, and count the number of times the cue signal is detected. This is done by comparing it with the number of previous recordings stored in advance. For this reason, there is a no-signal portion 5 ₁ to 5 n between OGM 4 and each condition 6 ₁ to 6 n.
is formed with length T ₂ . This T ₂ is selected to be long enough to allow the cue signals of each recorded portion to be sufficiently identified during detection. Further, since the non-signal portions ₅₁ to 5n are formed by the erasing head, there is no need to use an unrecorded tape. Furthermore, since the no-signal portion 3 is formed before the OGM 4, the OGM 4 can be reliably recorded while avoiding the leader tape 2, and there is no need to use an unrecorded tape.

Next, an embodiment of an apparatus for performing the above-described operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

In this device, all of the above operations are performed by a micro CPU.
This is done automatically based on instructions from the computer. FIG. 2 shows a peripheral circuit system which is operated by giving instructions to the CPU 10 or by instructions from the CPU 10, and FIG. 3 shows an input/output circuit, a recording/reproducing circuit, etc. connected to the telephone set.

In Figure 3, when recording OGM4,
The OGM signal obtained from the microphone 11 is applied to the recording/reproducing head 15 through a microphone amplifier 12, a recording amplifier 13, and an equalizer 14, thereby being recorded on the tape 1. At the same time, a cue signal from the cue signal oscillator 16 is applied to the recording head 15 and recorded. Further, the OGM signal is applied to the speaker 19 through the volume resistor 17 and the main amplifier 18 and is monitored.
In addition, if you use earphones, use earphone jack 2.
0 is used. Also, the bias oscillator 21 is operated to apply a bias current to the recording/reproducing head 15 and to apply an erase current to the erase head 38.

On the other hand, a disconnector 24 is connected to the telephone terminals 22a, 22b and the office line terminals 23a, 23b, and a line transformer 25 is connected to the disconnector 24 via a relay 26. Also, terminal 23
A detection circuit 27 for detecting whether the handset is picked up or put down is connected to b. When there is an incoming call, a bell signal is input to the terminals 22a and 22b, and this signal is detected by the tone detection circuit 28 from the transformer 25. When the detection signal when the bell rings twice is applied to the CPU 10, the relay 26 is closed and the closure is performed. Then, when the OGM is played back together with the queue signal, this playback signal is transmitted to the head 15.
from the high-pass filter 3 through the preamplifier 29.
0, the queue signal is removed, and is applied from the equalizer 31 to the speaker via the amplifier 18, and from the line output circuit 32 to the transformer 2.
5 and is further transmitted to the caller over the line. Further, the above reproduced signal is transmitted to the queue signal detection circuit 33.
This circuit 33 outputs, for example, a queue detection signal that falls from a high level to a low level.
Added to CPU10. When the OGM reproduction ends and the queue detection signal rises to a high level, an alarm sound from the alarm oscillator 34 is applied to the transformer 25 via the alarm muting circuit 35 and transmitted to the caller. When the alarm sound continues for about 3 seconds, recording of the message is started, and the message signal from the caller is applied from the transformer 25 to the line input circuit 36, and is further applied to the head 15 through the recording amplifier 13 and equalizer 14, where it is sent to the tape 1. is recorded along with the queue signal. In this case, if the task exceeds 30 seconds, an alarm will sound and the system will automatically shut off. The CPU 10 stores the number of times recording is performed. Furthermore, when fast-forwarding to the start point of the next recording, the number of times the cue signal portion is detected is detected, and the number of times of the cue signal is compared with the stored number of times to locate the start point of the recording. Further, the non-signal portions 3, ₅₁ to 5n are formed by operating the erase head 38 at predetermined timings. It should be noted that each circuit in FIG. 3 is operated at a predetermined timing and when necessary according to the operating order already described for FIGS.
Controlled by CPU 10. For this purpose, a predetermined circuit as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG.
A control signal is applied from the CPU 10, and an instruction signal is applied to the CPU 10 from a predetermined circuit.

In FIG. 2, +B power is applied to the CPU 10 when the tape cassette accidental erasure prevention claw detection switch 40 and the cutter 24 are closed. When rewinding the tape 1 to the tape top point a, the reel shaft rotation detection circuit 42 detects that the reel shaft 41 has stopped rotating. CPU1
In addition to instructions from the predetermined circuit shown in FIG. 3, 0 also receives instructions based on the operation of the mode setting switch. CPU
10 also includes a plunger drive circuit 43, a capstan motor drive circuit 44, and a reel motor drive circuit 4.
5, relay drive circuit 46, display drive circuit 47,
LED (light emitting diode) drive circuit 48, 49,
50 operations. As a result, the forward plunger 51, the queue signal plunger 5
2. Capstan motor 53, reel motor 5
4, relay 26, recording count display circuit 55, operation display LED 56, standby display LED 57,
The OGM standby display LED 58 and the like are operated at predetermined timings. Further, the CPU 10 is reset by the reset circuit 59 when the power is turned on.

In the embodiment described above, one message recording is always performed.
It is set to 30 seconds. That is, even if the task actually lasts for example 20 seconds, the recording mode is maintained for 10 seconds thereafter. Further, in the embodiment, since the business is recorded 20 times, the total recording time is 30×20=600 seconds. Therefore, if the time for one recording of a business is always constant, it is uneconomical if the business is completed in a short time.

Therefore, in the second embodiment of the present invention, one recording is limited to 30 seconds, and the recording mode is canceled as soon as the task is completed. If you do this,
You can record more than 20 messages within the 600 seconds of recording time. In the case of this embodiment, a function for detecting a busy tone emitted when the caller hangs up the telephone receiver is added to the tone detection circuit 28 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. CPU1 detects this busy tone.
0, the recording mode is canceled, and then erasing is performed to form a no-signal portion.

FIG. 4 shows a circuit added to carry out the operation of the second embodiment described above, and the detection circuit 28 detects a bell and detects the busy tone.
The timer setting circuit 60 is set to a maximum recording time of 30 seconds for one message. Also, the timer setting circuit 6
1, the total recordable time is set to 600 seconds. When recording of the message is started, the timer circuit 62 detects the elapsed time. When this elapsed time exceeds 30 seconds, an instruction is sent from the timer setting circuit 60 to the CPU 10, an alarm is issued, and recording is automatically canceled. When the recording of the business ends within 30 seconds, the busy tone is detected and the recording is canceled, and the elapsed time detected by the timer circuit 62 is added to the addition circuit 6.
Added to 3. On the other hand, the timer memory 64 has
The total recording time up to the previous time is stored, and this total time is added to the adding circuit 63 and added to the above-mentioned total time. This added value is stored in timer memory 64. The comparison circuit 65 compares the stored elapsed time with the 600 seconds set by the timer setting circuit 61 every time a busy tone is detected, that is, every time recording of the business ends, and when the elapsed time matches 600 seconds. Or output a match signal when approaching 600 seconds. Based on this matching signal, the answering machine recording mode is canceled.

Next, we will discuss TELREC mode.

TELREC mode is a mode in which, unlike the above-mentioned answering machine recording, when a call is received, the content of the conversation between the caller and the user is recorded without playing the OGM. In this case, TELREC will be sent as in the example described above.
If you press the button, recording will start immediately when there is an incoming call, so OGM4 will be erased. To prevent this, whenever the TELREC button is pressed, the program should always fast-forward for a certain period of time (for example, 30 seconds in forward mode), then stop, and wait for an incoming call. By doing this, in addition to preventing accidental erasure of the OGM, even if the answering machine is equipped with a tape recording of contents unrelated to the call other than the OGM and the business, the contents are protected for a certain period of time. be able to. If you also protect recorded messages, you can use the TELREC button to receive an additional 600 yen.
All you have to do is fast-forward the length by seconds.

Next, we will discuss the case of remote control.

It is known that this type of answering machine can be remotely controlled from outside via a telephone line to perform fast forwarding, rewinding, playback, etc. In this case, the user sends a remote control signal to fast-forward or rewind, find the desired part of the recording of the business that came in while he was away, and play that part. Since the recorded events are often of short duration, it is very difficult to find the desired part by fast forwarding or rewinding.

In such a case, the present invention makes it possible to reliably locate the target portion by using the cue signal recorded together with the message. That is, the cue signal is detected when fast forwarding or rewinding is performed by the remote control signal, and the cue signal is stopped when the no-signal portion is interrupted. Then play it, listen to the content, and if it doesn't look right, fast forward or rewind again, and then stop when the cue signal is interrupted. By detecting the queue signal in this way and making sure to stop it for each task, the target portion can be reliably found.

As described above, the present invention has a leader tape, and the message from the telephone caller is recorded on the magnetic tape having a response message recorded after the leader tape in the non-signal portion formed after the response message. Then, a no-signal portion is formed and recorded sequentially and between each message, and a no-signal portion (first
This is to form the no-signal portion 3 in the figure. Therefore, it is only necessary to provide one tape drive system, and the user only needs to prepare one tape, making it more economical and easier to handle than conventional manufacturing of this type. Furthermore, since a no-signal portion is formed at the beginning of the response message, even if a pre-recorded tape is used, the beginning of the response message can be reliably located.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1A to 1F are diagrams showing an example of recording signals on a magnetic tape, FIGS. 2 and 3 are circuit diagrams showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention. It is a circuit diagram. In addition, in the symbols used in the drawings, 1...
...Magnetic tape, 2...Leader tape, 3...No signal portion, 4...Response message, 6 ₁ to 6n...
...Requirements, 10...Microcomputer, 11...
...Microphone, 15...Recording/playback head, 38...
Erase head, 53...Capstan motor, 54
...It is a reel motor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. The request from the caller is recorded on a magnetic tape having a leader tape and a response message is recorded after the leader tape, sequentially following the no-signal portion formed after the response message, and for each message. The answering machine is configured to form and record a no-signal part between messages, and is equipped with a means for recording the response message, and when the recording means is operated, the magnetic tape is moved to the beginning of the leader tape. After the tape is fed in the reverse direction, the tape is fed in the forward direction only for a predetermined section including the leader tape, and the erase head is operated, and after the end of the forward feed, the recording standby state for the response message is established.
An answering machine, wherein a no-signal portion is formed between the leader tape and the response message.