GB2343082A

GB2343082A - A telephone with user programmable ringing tone

Info

Publication number: GB2343082A
Application number: GB9823094A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Andrew Mark Whitney
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-10-22
Filing date: 1998-10-22
Publication date: 2000-04-26
Also published as: GB9823094D0

Abstract

A telephone apparatus having a selectable ringing tone is disclosed comprising a programmable memory, and a microphone or other audio input means adapted to input a selected audio signal to said memory. The memory is accessed on receipt of an incoming call, and the selected audio signal is generated. The apparatus may be adapted to provide a ringing tone unique to a call from a predetermined telephone and may be arranged to send sounds to other users.

Description

DISTINCTIVE TELEPHONE RINGER The invention relates to a telephone ringer, being a distinctive ringing tone, i. e. the noise that telephones make to alert the user to the fact that someone has dialled the number of that telephone. The term phone will be used herein to refer to telephones, facsimile machines (faxes) or any communications device.

Telephones have a ringer, as defined, which is usually an audible ringing tone of some description. This was acceptable when there was only one telephone per household.

However, the growth of use of personalised communications (such as faxes, multiple lines, mobile phones and pagers) has meant that it is often impossible to tell which telephone is ringing. Thus, in a crowded place, for example on a station platform, the noise of a ringing telephone is usually accompanied by a frenzy of activity as anyone owning a mobile telephone and within earshot attempts to verify whether it is their phone ringing. The results are confusion, missed telephone calls and unnecessary stress among others.

Some telephone companies offer a very limited range of ringing tone options, but these have proven completely inadequate in the face of the rapid growth of cellular communications.

The limited number of ringing options merely creates confusion among slightly reduced subgroups. Similarly, other companies have offered a means to type in notes and create one's own tune, but this option often exceeds the ability of the phone owner. What is needed is a ringing tone which can be individually personalised, even unique.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple, easy to use device that allows an infinite number of acceptable, useful ringing tones, and to provide a method of producing a personalised ringing tone.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a telephone ringer having a preselected ringing tone comprising programmable memory means, microphone or other audio means adapted to input a preselected audio signal to said memory means, and means to access said memory means on receipt of an incoming telephone call, and means to broadcast said audio signal.

Preferably a plurality of memory means are provided, each programmable individually to receive and store a predetermined sound.

In this case, means may be provided to select access to one of said memory means.

Said selection may be in response to a signal from means to discriminate the source of an incoming call.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of producing a ringing tone for a'phone as defined herein, comprising the steps of providing a programmable memory circuit, connecting said circuit to an audio source, storing a predetermined sound from said audio source in said circuit, providing means to access said memory circuit on receipt of an incoming call, and providing means to broadcast said predetermined sound at least once.

Preferably the sound is broadcast repeatedly at spaced intervals of time.

The system allows the owner/user of the'phone or communications device to record any sound or input any prerecorded soundbite and have it repeated as the ringing tone when the phone or communications device is contacted. A small"sampling"chip, that is a small memory device which is both cheap to manufacture and already exists in other applications is provided and connected to the audio input. The device could be actuated in a number of ways, including simply holding down one of the keys on the phone while the microphone thereof is in the vicinity of the sound. The sound is then captured by the chip and, when integrated into the functionality of the communications device, can be reproduced every time a call is incoming to announce that call.

The length and quality of the sound will be determined by the storage capacity of the chip inserted, but examples of use could include the voice of a person or their child calling, some part of a favourite musical tune or spoken words or even the noise of a passing racing car or the like. Whatever is the sound, it is determined by the owner of the phone The sound may be introduced into the'phone or communications device through the existing microphone (such as the mouthpiece on a telephone or mobile phone), through an additional purpose-fitted device, or by an audio output of a tape, record or CD player, radio, television or computer, or indeed any other audio source, either analogue or digital.

If a user tires of the ringer in use, a new sound may be programmed in to replace it.

The invention would most obviously be applied to mobile phones, but could also be applied to home phones, pagers and any other communications device which would benefit from having a personalised distinctive ring.

Given that incoming call identification is possible, it would be possible to provide a ringing tone unique to a call from any predetermined telephone. This would require a plurality of memories, or a memory being a plurality of sites, each individually accessible, dependant on the source of the call.

Further developments of the device would be additional functions such as the ability to send sounds to other users in the way that it is currently possible to send text messages. Examples here could include a snapshot of the sound of a new bom child to a pair of grandparents on the other side of the world. Alternatively, sound could arrive with text, thus increasing the impact of text messaging.

Claims

CLAIMS A telephone ringer having a selectable ringing tone, predetermined at the discretion of a user of the telephone, the ringer comprising programmable memory means, microphone or other audio input means adapted to provide a selected audio signal to said memory means for storage thereby, means to access said memory means on receipt of an incoming telephone call, and means to broadcast said stored selected audio signal as a ringing tone.
2. A ringer as claimed in claim 1, wherein a plurality of memory means are provided, each programmable individually to receive and store a selected signal.
3. A ringer as claimed in claim 2, wherein means are provided to access selectively one or other of said plurality of memory means.
4. A ringer as claimed in claim 3, further comprising means to discriminate the source of an incoming call, wherein said access is selectable in response to a signal from said discriminating means.
5. A telephone ringer substantially as described herein.
6. A method of producing a selectable ringing tone for a telephone, as defined herein, the method comprising the steps of providing a programmable memory means, connecting said memory means to an audio source, storing a selected sound from said audio source in said memory means, accessing said memory means on receipt of an incoming call, and broadcasting said stored sound at least once.
7. A method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the sound is broadcast repeatedly at spaced intervals of time.
8. A method of producing a selectable ringing tone for a telephone substantially as described herein.