GB2154099A - Telephone answering machines - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an automatic telephone answering device with automatic switching means between an automatic answering mode and a 2-way conversation recording mode. When a telephone is put into an off-hook condition for a direct conversation with a calling party while the automatic answering mode is in a standby condition or in operation, such an off-hook condition is detected by a current detector means and the conversation is recorded on a recording tape without any limitation on time. When either party puts his telephone into an on-hook condition during the recording of the conversation, the current detector means or a voice signal detector means is operated to stop the recording operation, and then the device is automatically brought into standby condition for the next call. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Automatic telephone answering and recording device The present invention relates to a telephone answering and recording device with automatic switching means between an automatic answering and recording mode and a 2-way conversations recording mode between calling and called parties.

There are may automatic answering telephone devices capable of recording 2-way conversations.

When recording a conversation on the known devices, a recording pushbutton is depressed to record a signal on the recording tape into an ordinary recording mode for recording the conversation. There is a situation in which a telephone call comes in while a called party is available, and after the automatic answer has been actuated, the person wants to pick up the telephone handset to talk to the calling party. In such a case, it would be convenient for the recording tape to keep on operating for automatically recording the conversation between the parties. It would also be convenient if, when the parties hang up after the conversation is finished, the recording operation of the tape were completed, and the automatic answering telephone device were automatically brought back to a standby condition.For the automatic answering telephone device would not usually be capable of handling the next call unless it were returned automatically to an automatic operation mode after the recorded message has been played back.

With the conventional demands in view, it is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic telephone answering and recording device capable of automatically switching between an automatic answering mode and a 2-way conversation recording mode, without requiring the user to do any tedious switching operation.

According to the present invention, there is provided an automatic telephone answering and recording device comprising first circuit means for detecting an interruption or an abrupt reduction of a current after on-hook (hung up), second circuit means for detecting off-hook condition of a telephone set, means for delivering an answering message recorded on an answering tape to the calling party, means for recording a message from the calling party on a recording tape after the answering message has been delivered, third circuit means for disabling an automatic answering mode in response to the detection by the second circuit means of the off-hook condition of the telephone of the called party in order to establish a conversation between the calling and called parties while the answering tape or the recording tape is being in operation, and for recording the conversation on the recording tape, and means for automatically disabling the third circuit means to stop the recording operation in response to the detection by the first or second circuit means of the on-hook condition of the telephone of the calling or called party while the conversation is being recorded, and for automatically establishing a standby condition for automatically answering a next call.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description when taken in conjuction with the accompanying drawings inwhich a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.

FIG. lisa circuit diagram of an automatic answering and recording telephone device according to the present invention; and FIG. 2 is a flowchart of operation of a programmed CPU in the circuit shown in FIG. 1.

An automatic answering and recording telephone device according to the present invention has transmission line terminals L1, L2 for connection to transmission lines, telephone terminals TEL1,TEL2 for connection to a telephone TEL, a line transformer LT, and a plurality of photocouplers PC1, PC2, PC3 each composed of a light-emitting diode and a phototransistor. The photocoupler PC1 serves to detect a calling signal, and the photocouplers PC2, PC3 are employed to detect an off-hook condition of the telephone TEL. The device also has a key 1 for setting the device into an automatic mode, and a key 2 manually operable for recording a conversation between calling and called parties on a tape TP-2. Though the device has other keys, they have no direct bearing on the present invention and are omitted from illustration.Outputs from the keys 1, 2 are converted by a decoder 3 (MC 14532 in the illustrated embodiment) into binary numbers. A starting position on an answering tape TP-1 is detected by a starting point detecting circuit 4. A conductive foil 5 is attached to the answering tape TP-1 at its starting point. Designated at 6, 7 are recording and playback switching circuits composed of analog switches or the like. In each of these circuits 6, 7, terminals a, care connected when a "1" signal is applied to a terminal d, and terminals b, care connected when a "1" signal is applied to the terminal d. Designated at 8, 9 are amplifiers, CPU a central processing unit such as 8048, IC1 a NAND gate, IC2 an OR gate, IC3 an AND gate, IC4 through IC6 3-state buffers, and IC7 through IC10 driver circuits.Denoted at Y-1 is a relay for a transmission line loop, Y-2 a head switching relay having contacts yl-1, yl-2, y2-1, and TOP1 .SOD and FWD.SD solenoids. When the solenoids TP1 SD and FWD.SD are energized while a motor M is energized, the answering tape TP-1 is fed along.

When the solenoid FWD.SD is energized while the motor M is energized, the recording tape TP-2 is fed along in a normal direction. In the illustrated embodiment, an endless tape is employed as the tape TP-1 for illustrative purpose, but other media may be used providing they have an indexing means.

Operation will be described in a condition in which the device is placed in a standby mode by depressing the key 1 (AUTO) and there is an incoming call. When the key 1 (AUTO) is depressed, an output Q1 of the decoder 3 becomes "1", and an interrupt signal is simultaneously applied from a terminal E to the CPU. The CPU is controlled by the program to enter an output of the decoder 3 through the 3-state buffers IC4--IC6 and input ports P10--P12 into an accumulator in the CPU.

Thereafter, the CPU is controlled by the program to set the output of an output port P15 to "0" for energizing a light-emitting diode LED 4 (AUTO).

After thus confirming and indicating that the device has been set to the AUTO position, output ports P20, P21, P24 are set to "1" to energize the solenoids TP1.SD and FWD.SD and the motor M to feed the answering tape TP-1 for indexing. When the answering tape TP-1 makes one revolution and reaches a starting point, the conductive foil 5 is detected through the starting point detector circuit 4, terminals a, b of the OR gate IC2, and a terminal T1 of the CPU by a program for testing T1, and then the indexing of the answering tape TP-1 is finished by the program. The CPU is further controlled by the program to set an output port P14to "O" to energize a light-emitting diode LED 5 (READY), thus indicating that the device is fully in a standy condition.

When a calling signal arrives at the terminals L1, L2, it is detected through the photocoupler PC1, the NAND gate ICl,the OR gate IC2, and the terminal T1 of the CPU, and the output ports P20, P21, P24, P25 are set to "1".The answering tape TP-1 is then fed along and the relay Y-1 is energised to connect the transmission lines to a loop through the contacts y1-1,y1-2. The relay Y-2 is also turned on to connect a recording and playback head RPK-1 through the contacty2-1. The reproduced answering message is delivered through terminals b, c of the recording and playback switching circuit 6, the amplifier 8, and terminals c, b of the recording and playback switching circuit 7, and thence through the line transformer LT into the transmission lines.After one revolution of the answering tape TP-1, it is stopped and a beep tone generated by the program is issued through an output port P27, and simultaneously the output port P21 is set to "1" to energize the solenoid FWD.SD for thereby feeding the recording tape TP-2 in the normal direction. At the same time, the output ports P26, P1 1 are set to "1" to switch the recording and playback switching circuits 6,7 to a recording mode (in which the terminals a, care connected).The message of the calling party is now delivered through the line transformer LT, the terminals a, c of the recording and playback switching circuit 6, the amplifier 8, the terminals c, a of the recording and playback switching circuit 7, and the break contact y2-1 to a recording and playback head RPH-2, from which the message is recorded on the recording tape TP-2. This recording mode is finished upon elapse of a time determined bythe program or finished bya VOX circuit (not shown), and then the device returns to the standby condition. During the recording mode, the output port P12 can be set to "O" to energize the power amplifier 9 to allow the calling party's message to be monitored through a loudspeaker SP.

Operation of the device will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 2, with respect to a mode in which the handset is removed from its switch or the telephone TEL is in an off-hook condition while the device is in the foregoing operation or the transmission lines are in the loop.

There are two off-hook timings, one during the playback of the answering tape TP-1 and one during the recording on the recording tape TP-2.

When the handset is removed from its switch while either the answering tape TP-1 or the recording tape TP-2 is being fed along, a loop circuit is formed which comprises the telephone TEL, the light-emitting diode LED2 or LED3 dependent on the polarity of the transmission lines, and a resistor R2, parallel to the loop circuit including the primary winding of the line transformer LT, whereupon the light-emitting diode LED2 or LED3 is energized. The phototransistor PT2 or PT3 is then energized to change the terminal b of the AND gate IC3 from "0" to "1". Since the terminal a of the AND gate IC3 has already been at "1" caused by the output port P25, as described above, a signal "1" is applied from the terminal c of the AND gate IC3 through a diode D2 to a terminal D6 of the decoder 3 for thereby set the terminal E to "0".An interrupt signal is applied through an interrupt terminal lNTto the CPU, whereupon the program goes to a step 0 in FIG. 2. In the step 0, the ports P10, P11, P12 are then switched to an input mode. Then, one terminal DB7 of a data bus is temporarily changed from "1" to "0" in a step 1 to energize the 3-state buffers IC4--IC6 for entering the outputs Qo-Q2 via the ports P10--P12 into an accumulator A in the CPU. A step 2 checks whether the outputs from the decoder 3 resuit from an input terminal D6 thereof (output code 06, that is, Q0 = 0, Q1 = 1, Q2 = 1).If the code is "06", then the program goes to a step 3 in which the output port P12 is set to "1" to de-energize the amplifier 9 for inactivating the loudspeaker SP. In a step 4, the output ports P15, P14 are set to "1" to de-energize the light-emitting diodes LED4 (AUTO), LED5 (READY) having an operation mode different from that for conversation recording. Then, a step 5 checks whether the transmission lines are in a loop. This checking test can be effected by the program by setting the output port P25 to "1" and setting a flag (8048 contains a flag F1,for example) when the loop relay Y-1 is energized.If the transmission lines are not in a loop, or if there is an incoming call during another operation mode and the conversation between the parties is to be recorded, then the program enters this routine by manually turning on the key 2 (TEL CONV). If the transmission lines are in the loop, the program goes to a step 7 which ascertains whether the off-hook is effected while the answering tape TP-1 is being fed. If the user removes the handset while the answering tape TP-1 is being fed, the tape TP-1 is required to be indexed. In this case, a flag F0, for example, is set to "1" in a step 8, and the ouptut ports P20, P21 are set to "0" in a step 9 to stop the answering tape TP-1,followed by the program going to a step 10. If the handset is removed not during the running of the answering tape TP-1 but during the running of the recording tape TP-2, then the program skips the steps 8,9 and goes directly to the step 10. In the step 10, the output port P25 is set to "0" to turn off the loop relay Y-1 for the reason that if the line transformer LT were directly connected to the loop while the conversation is being recorded, the voice level would be attenuated two a level lower than a prescribed value.In a step 11, the output ports P21, P24 are set to "1 " to energize the solenoid FWD.SD and the motor M for feeding the recording tape TP-2 in the normal direction, and the output ports P26, P11 are set to "1" to switch the recording and playback circuits 6,7 to the recording mode, as described above. As step 12 determines whether the interrupt terminal INT of the CPU is at "0" or not, for thereby ascertaining if the telephone TEL is in the off-hook condition or not. Since the voice signal from the calling party flows through a path composed of the line L1, a resistor R4, a capacitor C3, the primary winding of the line transformer LT, a capacitor C4, a resistor R5, and the line L2, a signal is induced across a secondary winding of the line transformer LT and recorded on the recording tape TP-2 in the manner described above.The voice signal from the called party is passed through a capacitor C2 and the same path as referred to above before being recorded on the recording tape TP-2.

During the recording, a beep tone is generated from the output port 27 in every 15 seconds under the control of the program in a step 13, and is sent through the line transformer LT to the calling party.

Then, when the handset placed on its switch or in an on-hook condition after the conversation is over, the light-emitting diode LED2 or LED3 which has been energized is de-energized. In some countries, the current in the transmission lines is reduced when the calling party's telephone is in the on-hook condition even if the called party's telephone is in the off-hook condition, with the result that the lightemitting diode LED2 or LED3 is de-energized. Since the output of the phototransistor PT2 or PT3 goes back to "0", the interrupt terminal I NT of the CPU returns to "1 " through IC3 and the decoder 3. The program then goes to a step 14. In the step 14, the output ports P21, P24, P26, P11 are reset to "0" to stop the recording tape TP-2 and release the recording mode.In a step 15, the output port P1 5 is set to "0" to energize the light-emitting diode LED4 (AUTO). A step 16 cheks the flag F0. If the handset is removed from its switch while the answering tape TP-1 is being fed along, the answering tape TP-1 is indexed in steps 17, 18, and the LEDS (READY) is energized in a step 19 to restore the device to the complete standby condition. If no indexing of the answering tape is required, then the program goes from the step 16 directly to a step 19, skipping the steps 17, 18, bringing the device in the complete standby condition.

In the conventional automatic answering device, a certain operation needs to be done by the user if a conversation is to be made between the parties by picking up the handset after the automatic answering device has operated to answer a telephone call. When either party hangs up after the conversation has ended, the tape will not be stopped automatically. If the tape is manually stopped, the device will not be automatically brought back to the standby condition for automatically answering a next call. With the present invention, however, the above problems have been solved by automatically effecting switching between the automatic answering function which is conventionally available and the recording mode in which the conversation between the parties is recorded. Therefore, the present invention is highly advantageous in practical use.

Although a certain preferred embodiment has been shown and described, it should be understood that many changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (4)

1. An automatic telephone answering and recording device associated with a telephone set comprising; (a) first circuit means for detecting an interruption or an abrupt reduction of a current after on-hook (hung up); (b) second circuit means for detecting an off-hock condition of a telephone set; (c) means for delivering an answering message recorded on an answering tape to the calling party; (d) means for recording a message from the calling party on a recording tape after the answering message has been delivered; (e) third circuit means for disabling an automatic answering mode in response to the detection by said second circuit means of the off-hook condition of the telephone set to establish 2-way recording mode while said answering tape or said recording tape is in operation; and (f) means for automatically disabling said third circuit means to stop the recording operation in response to the detection by said first circuit means of the on-hook condition while the conversation is being recorded, and for automatically establishing a standby condition for automatically answering the next call.

2. An automatic telephone answering and recording device according to claim 1, wherein said second circuit means delivers, in every given second, a signal indicative of recording of the conversation between the parties on the recording tape to the calling party.

3. An automatic telephone answering and recording device according to claim 1, wherein said second circuit means automatically de-energizes a loudspeaker device associated with the automatic answering mode when the telephone of the called party is in the off-hook condition.

4. An automatic telephone answering and recording device, substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.