JPS6346042A - Automatic answering telephone set - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To read out the contents of recording at a high speed, and to easily retrieve a voice message, etc., by constituting the titled telephone set so that a communication data is converted to a digital data, and this digital data is stored in an attachable and detachable memory cassette. CONSTITUTION:The titled telephone set is provided with a central processing part (CPU) 1 for taking charge of a control of the whole of this telephone set, a read-only memory (ROM) 2, a random access memory (RAM) 3, and an attachable and detachable nonvolatile memory cassette being an external storage device, and such a memory cassette 4 is provided with a connecting connector part 4a to be connected to the CPU 1. In this regard, this set is provided with a converter 5, etc. for converting an analog data to a digital data, and converting a digital data from a compressing/expanding device 6, to an analog data. According to this constitution, when a message from a calling party is received by turning a connected public telephone line, a communication data from the line can be recorded in the memory cassette which has been installed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an answering machine that records messages from callers.

[Prior Art] A conventional answering machine is equipped with an audio magnetic tape recorder, and a message from a caller is recorded on the audio magnetic tape recorder and then played back to confirm the message.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] For this reason, messages are recorded serially, and random access cannot be performed, and reading processing takes a long time, making it troublesome to check the recorded contents later. , users had to repeatedly press the fast-forward and repeat buttons to locate the desired message.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention has been made for the purpose of solving the above-mentioned problems, and in order to achieve the purpose, a receiving means for receiving communication data from a line, The apparatus includes a converting means for converting communication data received by the receiving means into digital data, and a storage control means for storing the digital data from the converting means in an attached removable memory cassette.

[Operations] With the above configuration, when a message from a caller is received through a connected public telephone line, the communication data from the line can be recorded in the attached memory cassette.

[Embodiment] Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment according to the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a block diagram for executing the control procedure shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. A central processing unit (hereinafter referred to as rcPtlJ) that controls the entire system, 2 is a read-only memory (ROM), 3 is a random access memory (RAM), and 4 is a removable nonvolatile memory that is an external storage device. It is a cassette,
The nonvolatile memory cassette 4 includes a connector section 4a for connection to the CPUI. 5 is line L1. The analog data sent from L2 via the matsive transformer 12 is converted into digital data, and the digital data from the compression/expansion device 6 is converted into analog data, and the analog data is converted under the control of the CPU 1. A converter is output from the speaker 13, 6 is a compression/expansion device that compresses digitized audio data and expands the compressed digital data, and 7 is a line L1. A called detection circuit detects an incoming call from L2, 8 is an answering mode switch that switches whether or not to activate this device, 9 is a line connection, and a non-volatile device that records voice data etc. from L2. 10 is an external interface unit for connecting this device to an external device (for example, a computer device 50); 11 is a line connection control unit under the control of the called detection circuit 7; ,, a relay contact for generating a DC loop in L2, 13 a speaker for acoustically outputting the analog signal from the converter 5, 1
4 is line Ll.

A switching circuit for connecting L2 to the telephone 30, 15 a connector section for attaching the nonvolatile memory cassette 4,
30 is a telephone, and 40 is a memory cassette device.

FIG. 2 shows an external view of this embodiment having the above configuration.

The same components as in FIG. 1 are given the same numbers.

In the figure, reference numeral 20 denotes an audio data processing device having the configuration shown in FIG. 1, on which a telephone 30 is installed. 4
Reference numeral 0 designates a memory cassette device into which a nonvolatile memory cassette 4 shown in FIG.
There are 5.

A memory cassette is inserted through the cassette insertion slot 16 and held therein.

Details of the playback switch 9 are shown in FIG.

In the figure, 9a is the "end playback" switch, and 9b is the "start playback" switch.
Switch 9C instructs to search for the next data file.
9d is a "previous data" switch that instructs to search for the previous data file.

The operation of the wood flow side having the above configuration will be explained below with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 4 and 5.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the recording operation of audio data sent via the lines L1 and L2, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the reproduction operation of the audio data recorded under the control shown in FIG.

When the device is powered on, step S1 shown in FIG.
The called detection circuit 7 monitors the called from the line L2. If there is no call, the CPU checks in step S2 whether or not the "start playback" switch 9b of the playback switches 9 has been pressed, and if it has not been pressed, the process returns to step S1.

Here, when there is a call from the caller, the called detection circuit 8 checks whether or not the answering mode is set, and if it is not in the answering mode, the switching circuit 14 is switched directly to the telephone 30 side. Leave it connected and do nothing.

Therefore, as shown in step S4, the telephone 30 continues to ring, and when the caller goes on-hook or picks up the handset of the telephone 30 in step S5 (off-hook), the telephone 30 becomes ready to talk, and in step S6 Make the call as shown. Then, when the call ends, in step S7, the user hangs up the phone (goes on-hook) and ends the call.

During this time, the call operation is the same as using a normal telephone.

On the other hand, when the answering mode selector switch 8 is in the answering mode, the process advances to step S10, and the called detection circuit 7 controls the switching circuit 14 to connect the telephone 30 and the line L1. Disconnect L2. Subsequently, in step S11, the relay contact 11 is closed, a DC loop is generated in the line L2, and a response is made. As a result, the call is enabled, and the analog voice information sent from the calling side is then input to the converter 5 via the transformer 12. The converter 5 converts the received analog audio information into digital information and sends it to the compression/expansion device 6 in step S12. In step 313, the compression/expansion device 6 compresses the digitized data from the converter 5 using a known method and sends it to the CPU 1 in predetermined units. cpul writes this compressed data to the nonvolatile memory cassette 4 in step S14. Then, in the following step S15, it is checked whether the calling party goes on-hook and releases the line, and if the line is released, step S1
Return to step 2 and record the audio continuously.

On the other hand, if the line is opened, the process advances to step S16, where the relay contact 11 is opened, the DC loop is opened, and the line L1 is opened.
．． L2 is restored and the switching circuit 14 is switched to the telephone 30 side. Subsequently, in step S17, a file number is assigned and registered to the audio information written into the nonvolatile memory cassette 4. Then, the process ends and returns to step S1.

Here, in the above explanation, when there is a call from the line L2, the received data is only recorded in the nonvolatile memory cassette 4, but instead of this, the called detection circuit 7
When a call is detected, the CPU waits for a DC loop to be generated, reads predetermined audio information from the non-volatile memory cassette 4, decompresses it in the compression/decompression device 6, and sends it to the converter 5. The converter 5 may control the decompressed digital data to be converted into analog data and sent to the lines LX and L2. This allows the caller to be informed that the answering machine is available and the recording start timing. In that case, this process is executed between step Sit and step S12.

Next, a process for checking the recorded contents of the non-volatile memory cassette ¥4 when the operator returns will be explained with reference to FIG.

In this case, the "start playback" switch 9b of the playback switch 9 is pressed. Then, the process advances from step S2 to step S20 shown in FIG. 5, where the CPU locates the first data file among the digital audio data files recorded in the nonvolatile memory cassette 4. and,
In the next step S21, the audio data of the file located at the beginning is read from the non-volatile memory cassette 4, and in step S22, the read audio data is sent to the compression/decompression device 6, and decompression processing is performed on the compressed data. let The compression/expansion device 6 transfers the decompressed audio data to the converter 5.

The converter 5 converts this expanded digital audio data into analog audio data, and outputs the sound from the speaker 13 according to instructions from the CPU. Then, step S25
Then, it is checked whether the output of the data file of the non-volatile memory cassette 4 has been completed, and if the output of the data file has not been completed, the process advances to step 326, and whether the "primary data" switch 9c has been pressed or input is checked. Find out. When the "next data" switch 9c is input, this is an instruction to interrupt playback of the file currently being output and read the next data file. Make a delivery.

This data file cueing process is only a data file search, and the memory cassette 4 can be accessed instantaneously at random, making it possible to perform the process at very high speed. When the cue processing for the next data file is completed, the process advances to step S21, and the data file is read out and played back.

If the "next data" switch 9C has not been pressed, the process advances to step S30, and the "previous data" switch 9d is pressed.
Check to see if it has been entered. If the "previous data" switch 9d has been input, the process advances to step S31, where processing is performed to locate the data file recorded immediately before the data file currently being output on the nonvolatile memory cassette 4, and step Proceed to S21. As a result, the previous data file will be read from now on.

On the other hand, if the "previous data" switch 9d is not input in step S30, the process advances to step S32, and it is checked whether the "reproduction end" switch 9a is input.

``When the playback end J switch 9a is input, the current reading process is ended and the process returns to step S1.

Here, if the "end playback j switch 9a is not operated manually, the process returns to step S21 and continues reading and playing the current data file."

In addition, in the above explanation, "
Although it is equipped with a switch for instructing playback of "next data" and "previous data," focusing on the random access function of the nonvolatile memory cassette 4, it is equipped with a numeric keypad, etc., so that it is possible to specify and input the data file number. Random access searching of desired data files may be possible.

As explained above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to quickly respond to calls from the line (public communication line), and by storing response messages in the non-volatile memory cassette 4, a wide variety of messages can be sent. Can be retained.

Furthermore, by recording the message transmitted from the caller in the nonvolatile memory cassette 4, it is possible to read it out at random, and it is also easy to search for a desired message.

In addition, the non-volatile memory cassette 4 is not built-in and fixed,
By making it removable, it became possible to store large amounts of audio data by replacing the memory cassettes one after another.

Furthermore, by using a non-volatile memory cassette, high-speed searching and random access are possible, and since it is removable, the recording capacity can be greatly increased.

Furthermore, analog audio data can be converted into digital data and recorded, making it possible to easily connect to other computer devices and transfer audio data. Therefore, various types of data processing are possible, and not only voice messages but also information processing data can be transferred and recorded.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to record voice messages etc. sent from a line in a non-volatile memory cassette, and the recorded contents can also be read out at high speed. , voice messages, etc. can be easily searched.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is an external view of the embodiment, Fig. 3 is a detailed diagram of the regeneration switch of the embodiment, and Figs. 4 and 5 are the embodiments of the present invention. 3 is an example control flowchart. In the figure, 1...CPU, 2...ROM, 3...RA
M. 4... Nonvolatile memory cassette, 4a, 15... Connector part, 5... Converter, 6... Compression/expansion device, 7... Called detection circuit, 8... Answering mode changeover switch , 9... Playback switch, 9a... "Playback end J switch, 9b..."Playback start" switch, 9c
...Primary data" switch, 9d..."Previous data"
Switch, 10... External interface, 11...
Relay contact, 13...Speaker, 3o...Telephone,
4o: Memory cassette device, 50: Computer device. Patent applicant: Canon Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) An answering machine capable of recording a message from a caller, a receiving means for receiving communication data from a line, and a converting means for converting the communication data received by the receiving means into digital data; An answering machine comprising a storage control means for storing digital data from the conversion means in an attached removable memory cassette, and capable of recording communication data from a line in the attached memory cassette. Device. (2) The answering machine according to claim 1, wherein the memory cassette is a non-volatile IC memory bag.