JP2001036647A - Automatic telephone answering service system for portable phone - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an automatic telephone answering service system for a mobile communication system where a caller side can confirm whether or not a receiver side hears a message. SOLUTION: An automatic telephone answering service system 211 stores a password entered from a caller in cross-reference with a message together with a reception number provided by the system side in the case of registering the message from the caller to a recipient and is provided with a storage section 209 having a confirmation number storage section 210 for each user that stores a check area denoting an open state of the message in cross-reference with the message. When the recipient opens the message, the check area is set from a non-open state into the open state, the caller enters the password and the reception number from a telephone terminal and a collation means collates the number with a number in the confirmation storage section 210 to acquired the information denoting whether or not the recipient has already confirmed the message.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mobile communication system, and more particularly to an answering machine service.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An answering machine system of a mobile device such as a portable telephone or a PHS (Personal Handy Phone System) terminal is used when a receiver terminal cannot respond to a call from a calling terminal, for example, when the receiver moves. This service provides a service for recording the message of the caller in place of the receiver when the terminal is out of the service area or the terminal is turned off. Prepared on the side. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, for example, it comprises mobile radio terminals 101 to 104, radio base stations 102 and 105, a base station control device (or PHS connection device) (not shown), an exchange 107, and a telephone public network (not shown). In a mobile communication system, as shown in FIG.
7 is connected.

[0003] A user (subscriber) of a mobile station subscribes to the answering machine service, so that a message storage area is provided in the answering machine service center 109.

[0004] For example, when a receiver A as a service subscriber does not respond to a call by a caller (user) B103 because the user is out of service area, the terminal is turned off, or does not go off-hook (call connection). If not, switch 107 connects the communication to answering machine service center 109.

The answering machine service center 109 sends a pre-recorded voice guidance message for response to the connected communication, receives the message from the caller B, and receives the message from the receiver A in the storage unit 108. Is stored as a digital signal in the message storage area allocated to the.

[0006] Then, the receiver A becomes available for talking,
When a predetermined reproduction operation is performed from the operation unit of the mobile terminal, the storage unit 1 of the answering machine service center 109
The message message stored in 09 is reproduced and output.

[0007] For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 10-032633 proposes an answering machine system for a portable telephone which enables a receiving side to perform a remote operation such as reconfirmation or deletion of a message message. Further, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-017
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 802 proposes a configuration in which an answering machine response message selected by the receiving side according to the reason for the non-reception is transmitted to the sender.

[0008]

However, in the conventional answering machine service system, the caller only registers the message exclusively, and the caller checks whether the receiver has heard the message of the answering machine. There is a problem that cannot be done.

For this reason, unless there is any communication from the receiver to the sender, especially when the contents of the message need to be urgent, etc., the sender uses the same message and sends the message to the receiver. You will be calling multiple times. In this case, the caller ’s actions,
In addition to an increase in the economic burden, the receiving side must also check the message message of the same content from the same sender a plurality of times, which also imposes a burden on the receiving side.

[0010] Further, storing the same message in the message storage area a plurality of times in the storage unit of the answering machine service center is wasteful of the storage unit. In the answering machine service center, the capacity of the message storage area allocated to the subscriber is limited, and in practical use,
The number of items that can be saved is limited. In this case, the effective use of the message storage area allocated to the subscriber is prevented.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a portable telephone system which enables a sender to confirm whether a receiver has heard a message. It is in.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention relates to an answering machine service system for a mobile communication system, wherein when a message message is registered from a caller to a receiver, the password of the caller is registered on the system side. Storage means for storing in correspondence with the message message together with the reception number given in the, the storage means, a check area indicating the open state of the message message is provided in association with the message message, the receiver is When the message message is opened, the message area further comprises means for setting the check area from an unopened state to an opened state, wherein the caller inputs the password and a reception number from a telephone terminal so that the receiver It is characterized in that information on whether or not the message has already been confirmed can be obtained.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described. In an embodiment of the present invention, in a mobile communication system including a radio base station that performs radio communication connection with a mobile terminal and an exchange that connects to the radio base station, an answering machine service center that connects to the exchange includes: At the time of answering machine, in addition to the area for saving a message message from the calling terminal to the receiving terminal ((e) in FIG. 2), the password input from the calling terminal and the reception number assigned by the system are described above. An area for storing the message in correspondence with the message (FIGS. 2B and 2C) and a confirmation for managing whether the receiving terminal has already confirmed the message in correspondence with the message. Storage means (FIG. 1) having, for each subscriber of the answering machine function service, a message opening check area (FIG.
209), after the message is recorded at the caller terminal, when the message message confirmation mode is selected and the password and the reception number are input, the input password and the reception The password is compared with that stored in the storage means, and if there is a password whose reception number matches the reception number, the receiver checks the received message from the value of the confirmed marker corresponding to the message message corresponding to the number. Means for acquiring the information as to whether the message has already been confirmed and notifying the sender (208 in FIG. 1)
Is provided.

[0014] When leaving a message in the message storage area of the receiver, the caller inputs a password in addition to the reception number provided by the answering machine service center, and these numbers are stored in the answering machine service center. Section stores the message in correspondence with each message. The storage unit of the answering machine service center holds, in association with each message, a confirmation marker indicating whether the recipient has opened or unopened the message.

[0015] After registering the message message, the caller inputs a reception number and a password from the telephone terminal, and after authentication is performed using these numbers, the receiver sends the message message of the caller from the value of the confirmation marker. Get information about whether you have already confirmed.

[0016]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, one embodiment of the present invention includes mobile terminals 201, 203, 204,
02, 205, and an exchange 207.
The control unit 206 is connected to the answering machine service center 211 via the answering machine service center connecting unit.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the answering machine service center 211 includes a collation unit 208 and a storage unit 2.
09 includes a confirmation number storage unit 210 in addition to a message storage area for each user.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the confirmation number storage unit 210 of the storage unit 209 according to one embodiment of the present invention.
The confirmation number storage unit 210 includes (a) a message opening check area, (b) a password storage area, and (c) a reception number storage area for each entry. The message is added to the message message registered in the storage area (e) and stored.

In the message open check area, a mark indicating that the message stored in the message storage area (e) has been opened or unopened is added. In order for the sender to know the opening status of the message, check the box when the recipient confirms the message. For example, when registering a message on the receiving side,
An "unopened mark" is given, and when the recipient confirms the message, the "opened mark" is set in the message open check area.

As the information in the password storage area (b) and the reception number area (c), values set by the sender in each message are held.

In order to confirm whether or not the receiving side has listened to the message at the sender, and to prevent a third party from arbitrarily confirming whether or not the message has been heard, the message is registered at the time of registration of the message. It is necessary to implement a protection mechanism that is registered by the caller himself and cannot be accessed by a third party.

Therefore, in one embodiment of the present invention, when registering a message, the caller is prompted to input an arbitrary number as a password (personal identification number) from the telephone terminal. At this time, a number (reception number) is also given from the service center in consideration of a case where the same caller registers a plurality of messages with the same password, or a case where a password is overlapped with a different caller. Messages can be uniquely distinguished by the reception number and password. The combination of the password and the receipt number is called the "registration number."

The collating unit 208 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In order to know the opened / unopened status of the message message stored in the storage unit 209, the sender sets the password set when registering the message and the reception number given by the service center. Enter using the key on the phone terminal.

The number information input from the caller's telephone terminal is temporarily stored in the collation unit 208 of the answering machine service center 211 via the exchange 207, and is registered in the confirmation number storage unit 210 of the storage unit 209. The registration number ((d) in FIG. 2) added to the received password is compared with the input password and the reception number.

If a corresponding message exists, the contents of the check area (a) of the confirmation number storage section 210 are checked, and the status of opening / unopening the message is guided to the caller by voice or character information. .

FIGS. 3 and 4 are flowcharts showing the processing procedure of one embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to an example in which a caller B calls a receiver A subscribed to an answering machine service. .

When the receiver A is in the answering machine mode, the exchange directly connects to the service center (step 40).
1, 402).

The service center first requests the sender B to select (I) leave a message and (II) confirm that the message has been opened. If the caller B selects to leave the message (I) within the prescribed time, the service center stores the message in the message storage area (e) of the storage unit 209 (step 404).

Thereafter, the service center requests the sender B to input a password and informs the reception number (step 405).

The sender B inputs a password of an arbitrary number (step 406).

The password is stored in the password storage area of the confirmation number storage unit 210 of the storage unit 209.

The reception number is also stored in the reception number storage area of the confirmation number storage unit 210 of the storage unit 209.

Further, as a mark of unopened message, for example, "0" is set for unopened and "1" is set for opened, and "0" is set in the check area of the confirmation number storage unit 210 ( Step 407).

If the sender B selects the message opening confirmation of (II) within the specified time in step 403, FIG.
, The service center requests the caller A to enter a password and a receipt number (step 408,
409).

Caller B inputs the registration number, which is obtained when the message is stored and is composed of the password and the reception number, from the telephone terminal (step 410).

The registration number input from the telephone terminal is temporarily stored in a collation unit provided in the service center (step 411).

The collating unit 208 of the service center 211
The confirmation number storage unit 210 of the storage unit 209 is searched to check whether or not there is a registration number of each message stored in the storage unit 209 that matches the input number (step 412).

If the number registered with the input registration number does not exist in the confirmation number storage unit 210 of the storage unit 209 (NO in step 413), the message "message does not exist or has been opened" is transmitted to the sender B. .

If a number matching the input registration number exists in the confirmation number storage unit 210 of the storage unit 209 (YES in step 413), a confirmation mark is displayed in the message opening check area of the confirmation number storage unit 210. "Message not opened" or "message opened" is transmitted to sender B in accordance with whether it is set (step 4).
15, 418).

If the caller B does not select either (I) or (II) within the specified time in step 402 of FIG. 3, the caller B is automatically connected to the service center and what the confirmation number is Is also not entered.

This is because other functions such as "automatic transfer" are not affected.

When the recipient A opens the message, the service center puts the opened mark on the value of the check area (a) of the confirmation number storage unit 210 corresponding to the opened message. For example, the unopened "0" is set to the confirmed "1" (step 420).

Thereafter, the service center requests the recipient A to select whether to save or delete the message (step 421).

When deleting, the check area (a), registration number (d) and message storage area (e) of the confirmation number storage unit 210 corresponding to the message are deleted.

On the other hand, if the message is to be saved in step 421, the opened mark, registration number and message are saved (step 422).

[0048]

As described above, according to the present invention,
This has the effect of reducing the burden on the caller who has to make multiple calls and the burden on the receiver having to listen to the message with the same content a plurality of times, and improving the answering machine function and customer service.

Further, according to the present invention, the effective use of the storage section of the receiver is improved, the period in which important data can be stored is increased, and a larger number of tasks can be accepted. It is possible to achieve the effect.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a storage unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an answering machine system in a conventional mobile phone.

[Explanation of symbols]

 101, 201 mobile phone (user A) 102, 202 base station 103, 203 mobile phone (user B) 104, 204 mobile phone (user C) 106, 206 control unit 107, 207 exchange 108, 209 storage unit 109, 211 answering machine Telephone service center 210 confirmation number storage

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F-term (reference)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An answering machine service system for a mobile communication system, comprising: when registering a message from a caller to a receiver, storing and managing at least a password of the caller in association with the message. When the receiver opens the message, the state of the message is set to unopened from unopened, and the caller inputs at least the password from the terminal, so that the receiver has already received the message. An answering machine service system characterized in that information on whether or not a message has been confirmed can be obtained. 2. When registering a message from the caller to the receiver, a reception number assigned by the system side is stored and managed in association with the message in addition to the password of the caller, 2. The answering machine service system according to claim 1, wherein by inputting the personal identification number and the reception number from a terminal, information as to whether the recipient has already confirmed the message message is acquired. . 3. In an answering machine service system of a mobile communication system, when registering a message message from a caller to a receiver, a personal identification number of the caller is associated with the message message together with a reception number assigned by the system. A storage unit for storing, the storage unit is provided with a check area indicating an open state of the message message in association with the message message, when the recipient opened the message message, the check area Means for setting from an unopened state to an unopened state, wherein the caller inputs the password and the reception number from a telephone terminal when the receiver checks the state of the message, and the input password The number and the reception number are collated by the collation means with the number stored in the storage means, and the message corresponding to the collated number is received. An answering machine service system, wherein information on whether the recipient has already confirmed the message message is notified to the caller from the value of the check area of the message. 4. A mobile communication system comprising: a radio base station connected to a mobile terminal by radio communication; and an exchange connected to the radio base station, wherein an answering machine service center connected to the exchange comprises a calling terminal. In addition to an area for storing a message message to the receiving terminal, an area for storing a password input from the calling terminal and a reception number assigned by the system in association with the message message, and the message message Storage means having, for each subscriber of the answering machine function service, a message opening check area holding a confirmed marker for managing whether or not the receiving terminal has already confirmed the message message in correspondence with After recording the message at the caller terminal, when confirming the message at the caller terminal, The personal identification number and the reception number are inputted from the user terminal, and the inputted personal identification number and the reception number are compared with those stored in the storage means, and the one in which the personal identification number and the reception number match If there is, from the value of the confirmed marker for the message message corresponding to the matched password and reception number, obtain information as to whether the recipient has already confirmed the message message and notify the sender. An answering machine service system characterized by comprising means for performing an answering service.