GB1193081A - Improvements in or relating to Telephone Answering Machines. - Google Patents

Abstract

1,193,081. Telephone answering machine. L. RUBENSTEIN. 2 June, 1967 [4 March, 1966; 24 March, 1966; 8 June, 1966; 1 May, 1967], Nos. 9701/66, 13008/66, 25472/66 and 20140/67. Heading H4K. [Also in Division G5] In a telephone answering machine a magnetic tape has a number of answering announcements recorded on sections which are spaced lengthwise of the tape and the machine responds to incoming ringing current to drive the tape and playback an announcement to the line and then reverse the connections so as to record a message from the line on the section of the tape between the announcement just replayed and the following announcement section. Fig. 2 shows the electrical circuit of one embodiment in which ringing signal from the line energizes relay 41 and intermittently drives the magnetic tape 1 from a supply spool 5 to a take up spool 3. Coupled to the take-up spool is a commutator drum 113 having conductive sections to interconnect electrical contacts 73, 75, 77 and 79 at points during its rotation. After a predetermined period of ringing current has been received drum 113 has rotated sufficiently to bridge contacts 75 and 76 to operate relay 26 which, over contacts 27 and 29, completes the incoming line loop, and over contacts 28 and 30 completes the supply circuit for drive motor 47 so that the tape 1 is continuously driven. The answering announcement recorded on the first section of the tape is then replayed to the line over the contacts of unoperated relay 11. After the answering announcement has been replayed drum 113 will have rotated so that contact 79 is connected to the supply contact 77 and relay 11 is operated, reversing the connections of the amplifier so that speech from the line is recorded on the following section of the tape 1. At the same time as the relay 11 is operated to put the machine in the record condition contact 73 of the drum switch is connected to supply contact 77 so as to energize oscillator 31 to transmit a tone to the line to indicate the machine is ready to record a message. Shortly before the end of the time allotted the oscillator 31 is again energized to indicate the expiry of the recording time after which the drum rotates to a position where all the contacts 73, 75, 77 and 79 are on the insulating region of the drum surface, which releases relays 11 and 26, interrupting the power supply to the tape drive motor 47 are removing the loop condition from the line in order to release the connection. In an alternative arrangement the drum is replaced by a shaft having camming surfaces arranged to operate slide switches to perform the functions of the relays in the embodiment of Fig. 2. In addition the alternative arrangement provides manually operated switches to enable the answering announcements to be recorded, the recorded messages to be replayed, or the apparatus to be used as a standard tape recorder. Mechanical arrangements.-The drum switch or cam-shaft is preferably coupled to the takeup spool rather than the capstan in order to eliminate lack of synchronism due to tapecapstan slip. The coupling between the spool and the switch mechanism is disengageable to allow independent operation e.g. for the initial setting of the start of the tape to the start of the drum rotation. A scale is provided on the switch shaft to indicate to the user the start position of the switch and the duration of the time allowed for recording the answering announcement.