JP2001333178A - Absence time notice method, response device, telephone response system and telephone set - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an absence time notice method by which a time until reaching a state replied to a phone call can be reported to an opposite party making a phone call. SOLUTION: The absence time notice method has a step where a set time required to reach a state replied to a phone call or a reply available time reaching a state replied to the phone call is entered, a step where a remaining time until reaching a state replied to the phone call is obtained on the basis of the entered time or time interval and a current time and a step where the obtained remaining time is transmitted via a communication means 5.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an answering time notification method, an answering apparatus, a telephone answering system, and a telephone which can notify a calling party of a time until the telephone can be answered.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, a fixed telephone at each home or a mobile telephone such as a portable telephone, a PHS, a car telephone, etc. is set to an answering machine mode (answering machine setting), and the telephone is called. , A preset response message flows to the other party who made the call.

[0003]

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] However, the response message to the other party is, for example, "I am out of the office. If it becomes a pe, please talk about your name and your business." The other party receiving such a response message, for example, does not know when to call again when calling the same person again.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and an absent time notification method, a response device, and a telephone answering method capable of notifying a calling party of a time until the telephone can be answered. It is intended to provide a system and a telephone.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for informing a user of an absence time, which comprises the steps of inputting a set time required until a telephone can be answered or a response available time at which a telephone can be answered. A step of obtaining a remaining time until the telephone can be answered based on the input set time or available time, and a step of transmitting the obtained remaining time via communication means. .

[0006] Then, based on the input set time or available time, the remaining time until the telephone can be answered is determined, and the determined remaining time is transmitted via the communication means, so that the telephone can be answered. The time until the state is reached is notified to the person who called.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a response device for storing a set time and a set time at which the set time is set, and calculating a response time by subtracting an elapsed time from the set time from the set time. Means, and a response means for notifying the response time obtained by the calculation means when a call is received.

Then, the calculating means obtains a response time by subtracting the elapsed time from the set time from the set time, and the response means notifies the response time when the telephone is in a receiving state. Is notified to the person who called.

A response device according to a third aspect of the present invention includes a storage device for storing a predetermined time, a calculation device for obtaining a response time from a time difference between the predetermined time and the current time, and a calculation device for obtaining a response time in a telephone reception state. Response means for notifying the response time.

Then, the calculating means obtains a response time from the time difference between the predetermined time and the current time, and the response means notifies the response time when the telephone is in a receiving state. The caller is informed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a telephone answering system which is connectable to each of a personal telephone and a partner telephone via communication means, and provided in the telephone answering system. 3 is provided.

[0012] Since the response means of the response device provided in the telephone response system body notifies the response time when the telephone is in the receiving state, the time until the telephone can be answered is notified to the other party who made the call. Is done.

A telephone according to a fifth aspect of the present invention comprises: a telephone main body;
A response device according to claim 2 or 3 provided on the telephone body.

[0014] Since the response means of the response device provided in the telephone body notifies the response time when the telephone is in the receiving state, the time until the telephone can be answered is notified to the other party who made the call. .

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The configuration of an embodiment of a telephone answering system incorporating a answering device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a telephone answering system.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a telephone answering system main body composed of a computer or the like.
Is managed by an answering machine service center or the like, and can be connected to each of the personal telephone 2 and the other telephone 3 via communication means 5 such as a telephone line.

Each of the personal telephone 2 and the other telephone 3 is, for example, a fixed telephone at each home or a mobile telephone such as a mobile telephone, a PHS, or a car telephone.

In the telephone answering system main body 1, when the user is in the absence mode, the telephone caller 1
A response device 6 is provided that responds with a predetermined response message on behalf of the person in response to receiving a call from the other party.

As shown in FIG. 1, the response device 6 includes a storage unit 11 as a management unit for registering and managing predetermined information in a database. As shown in FIG. 2, the database stored in the storage means 11 stores, as predetermined information, for example, telephone numbers of each customer, set time and set time set for each telephone number. ing.

Note that the set time is a time (length between two points of time flow) set based on the operation of the personal telephone 2 by the customer (person), that is, for example, DDD day hh
The time is mm minutes. The set time is the time (for example, MM / DD / hh / mm / YYYY) at which the customer (person) operates the personal telephone 2 to set the set time.

Further, as shown in FIG.
Calculation means 12 is provided. The calculating means 12 calculates the elapsed time from the set time stored in the storage means 11 (the time difference between the set time and the current time) at the time of receiving a telephone call, and then calculates the set time stored in the storage means 11. The response time is obtained by subtracting the elapsed time from. The response time is, for example, how many days, how many days, how many hours, how many minutes, and so on. When calculating the elapsed time from the set time, the calculating means 12 calculates the current time from the clock means 14 (for example, the time at which the answering device 6 receives a call from the other party's telephone 2 to the own telephone 2). Recall and storage means
The set time is called from 11, and the set time is subtracted from the current time to obtain the elapsed time from the set time. In addition,
Although not shown, the calculating means 12 may be configured to calculate the elapsed time from the set time by the timer means.

Further, the response device 6 includes a response means 13 as shown in FIG. The response means 13 notifies the response time obtained by the calculation means 12 when the telephone is in a receiving state.
A predetermined response message including the response time obtained in step (1) is transmitted via the communication means 5.

As a result, the caller may say, for example, “I am in a state where I cannot answer the phone right now,
In 0 minutes, you will be ready to answer the phone. "
Receive a voice response message with the remaining absence time by voice.

Also, the other party's telephone 3 of the called party
, A character response message with the remaining absence time is displayed, for example, "I am in a state where I cannot answer the phone now, but I will be able to answer the phone in 10 minutes."

On the other hand, the answering device 6 is provided with switching means 15, which is activated when the elapsed time from the set time becomes longer than the set time, and the answering setting state is set. Is automatically switched to the absence mode.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.

First, with reference to FIG. 3, a description will be given of the flow of processing when an answering machine is set in the above-described telephone answering system.

Telephone answering system body 1 and personal telephone 2
Is connected via the communication means 5 and the person who is the owner of the personal telephone 2 operates an operation unit (not shown) to predict that it is necessary to be able to answer the telephone. When the time (set time) is input, the response device 6 determines whether or not the telephone number of the person, that is, the telephone number to be set is in the database of the storage means 11 (step 1).

If it is determined that the telephone number of the user is not in the database, the response device 6 sets the set time in association with the telephone number of the user, and sets the set time, which is the time at which the set time was set, to the personal time. The telephone number, the set time and the set time are registered in the database (step 2).

On the other hand, if it is determined that the telephone number of the user is in the database, the response device 6 deletes the corresponding data already registered in the database, that is, the telephone number of the person, the set time, and the set time (step). 3) Then, a new set time is set in association with the user's telephone number, and a set time, which is the time at which the set time is set, is set in association with the user's telephone number. And the set time is newly registered in the database (step 2).

Next, with reference to FIG. 4, a flow of processing when a call is received in the above-described telephone answering system will be described.

When the other party other than the owner of the other party's telephone 3 dials the telephone number of the other party's telephone 2 by operating an operation unit (not shown), the telephone answering system body 1 and the other party Communication means 5 with telephone 3
Connected.

In this state, the answering device 6 determines whether or not the telephone number of the personal telephone 2 dialed by the other telephone 3 is in the database of the storage means 11 (step 4). That is, it is determined whether or not the personal telephone 2 has been set for absence.

If the answering device 6 determines that the telephone number of the person is not in the database, it performs a normal process (step 5), and the telephone 2 and the telephone 3 can be connected. As a result, when the principal answers the principal telephone 2, the principal telephone 2 and the partner telephone 3 can be connected via the communication means 5.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the telephone number of the person is in the database, the response device 6 determines whether the set time has elapsed. That is, the response device 6 determines whether the elapsed time from the set time (current time-set time) is longer than the set time (step 6).

If the result of the determination is that set time> (current time−set time), the calculating means 12 subtracts the elapsed time (current time−set time) from the set time to obtain a response time (remaining answering machine time), for example. The remaining minutes (hours, days) are calculated (step 7), and the obtained response time, that is, the remaining minutes (hours, days) is notified to the other party of the other party's telephone 3 (step 8).

On the other hand, if the result of the determination is that set time ≦ (current time−set time), the corresponding telephone number, set time and set time of the person already registered in the database are deleted from the database (step 9). ,
Thereafter, normal processing is performed (step 5), and the personal telephone 2 and the other telephone 3 can be connected to each other. As a result, when the personal telephone enters the personal telephone 2, the personal telephone 2
And the other party's telephone 3 can be connected via the communication means 5.

As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, the person who is the owner of the personal telephone 2 inputs the time (set time) required until the telephone can be answered. The personal telephone 2 is set to a predetermined absence setting state.

When a call is made to the personal telephone 2 while the personal telephone 2 is in the absence mode, the caller is the owner of the personal telephone 2 each time. A predetermined response message including the remaining absence time until the person can answer the telephone is transmitted to the other party's telephone 3 via the communication means 5.

As a result, the other party who is the owner of the other party's telephone 3 is, for example, "I am in a state where I cannot answer the telephone now, but will be in a state where I can answer the telephone in 10 minutes." A timed voice response message is received from a microphone unit (not shown).

At the same time, on the display (not shown) of the other party's telephone 3 of the called party, for example, "You are in a state where you cannot answer the telephone right now, but in 10 minutes you will be able to answer the telephone. . "Is displayed.

Therefore, the other party who is the owner of the other party's telephone 3 knows the time until the person who is the owner of the own phone 2 can answer the call, that is, the state in which the person can answer the call. You will know when to call back to.

Thus, for example, a message was sent from a friend to an answering machine, and when the user called back, the friend was out of the office. It is possible to prevent the call from being received and the message "Oh, please call me" is only exchanged, so that time is not wasted unnecessarily.

Further, for example, even if a message is put on the answering machine, it is not known when the contact can be made. Therefore, the call is cut off without putting a message, and the telephone bill is not wasted.

Furthermore, in public places such as inside a train, many of the owners of the personal telephone 2, for example, a mobile telephone or a PHS mobile telephone, answer the above answer message with the remaining absence time as described above. Since the service will be used, unwanted calls to the surroundings will be reduced.

Next, more specific effects of the above-described telephone answering system will be described.

For example, the principal telephone 2 is a fixed telephone at each home, etc.
Let's take a yearly business trip as an example. The person is the person's telephone 2
Is set to a predetermined absence mode (set time = 365 days), and then the user goes on a business trip. During a business trip of the person, for example, three days after the person goes on a business trip, if a friend or the like calls, the friend or the like will say, "I am traveling abroad. I can answer the phone in 362 days. Will be in a state. " Therefore, it is possible to prevent an abnormally large number of messages from accumulating without making the caller wait for an indefinite number of days, and the person can travel with confidence.

Further, for example, a case in which the personal telephone 2 is a mobile telephone of a portable telephone or a PHS, and the personal who owns the mobile telephone takes a train for 30 minutes as an example. The person sets the person's telephone 2 in a predetermined absence mode (set time = 30 minutes), turns off the power, and gets on the train.

It should be noted that the principal telephone 2 is the principal telephone 2
May be configured to automatically turn off the power when set to the predetermined absence setting state (set time = 30 minutes), and to automatically turn on the power after the set time elapses. In this case,
It is only necessary to set the answering machine for the user's own telephone 2, and the operability is extremely good. Note that the personal telephone 2 has an operation unit (not shown) having an answering machine set button for setting the answering machine mode, and the answering machine set button operates the telephone body of the personal telephone 2 in the answering machine mode (answering machine). Button for setting or canceling the setting, for example, by pressing once, the telephone body can be set to a predetermined absence setting state (for example, setting time = 10 minutes). . It should be noted that the personal telephone 2 may have a boarding time calculating means for calling information from a train timetable stored in advance based on the input of the name of the station to get on and the name of the station to get off, and calculating the boarding time between both stations. .

When a friend or the like calls on the train while the person is on the train, for example, 10 minutes after the person gets on the train, the friend or the like says, "I can't answer the phone right now. You will be able to answer the phone. "
Receive a response message with the time left. Therefore,
If you set the riding time, you can safely turn off the power and get on the train without disturbing people around you on the train.

Further, for example, a case where the personal telephone 2 is a car phone and the person who owns the car phone drives the car for one hour is taken as an example. The person sets the person's telephone 2 in a predetermined absence setting state (set time = 1 hour) and then starts driving. During the driving of the person, for example, when a friend or the like calls 23 minutes after starting driving,
The friend says, for example, "I'm driving now.
In minutes, you will be ready to answer the phone. ", A response message with the remaining absence time is received. Therefore, if the ride time is set, the rider can turn off the power with ease and get on, and can concentrate on driving.

Next, the configuration of an embodiment of a telephone incorporating the answering device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a telephone, for example, a mobile telephone such as a portable telephone or a PHS. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 21 denotes a telephone body having an answering machine function and the like, and an antenna section 22 is provided at a corner of one end of the telephone body 21 and sequentially from one end to the other end. Speaker section
23, display unit 24 such as display, operation unit 2 such as button group
5, and a microphone section 26 are provided.

The operation unit 25 includes a number button 25a, a power button 25b, an answering machine set button 25c for setting an answering machine mode, and the like. Answering machine set button 25c
Is a button for setting the phone body 21 to the answering machine mode (answering machine setting) and canceling the setting.
For example, the telephone body 21 can be set to a predetermined absence mode (for example, set time = 10 minutes) by a single pressing operation.

Further, the telephone body 21 has a response device which responds to a called party with a predetermined response message on behalf of the called party in response to receiving a call from the called party in the absence setting state. 30 are provided.

The response device 30 includes storage means 31 for storing predetermined information in a memory. The memory of the storage means 31 stores, for example, a preset set time and set time. I have.

Note that the set time is a time set based on the operation of the operation unit 25 (the length between two points of the time flow),
That is, for example, DDD days hh hours mm minutes. The set time is a time at which the set time is set by operating the operation unit 25.

The response device 30 has a calculating means 32. The calculation means 32 calculates the elapsed time from the set time stored in the storage means 31 (the time difference between the set time and the current time) at the time of receiving a telephone call, and then calculates the time elapsed from the set time stored in the storage means 31. The response time is obtained by subtracting the elapsed time. Response time is, for example, how many days,
How many days, what hours, what hours, minutes, etc. This calculation means 32
When the elapsed time from the set time is obtained, the current time (for example, the time at which the answering device 30 receives a call from the other party) is called from the clock means 34 and the storage means
The set time is called from 31 and the set time is subtracted from the current time to obtain the elapsed time from the set time. In addition,
Although not shown, the calculation means 32 may be configured to obtain the elapsed time from the set time by the timer means.

Further, the response device 30 is provided with a response means 33, which notifies the response time obtained by the calculation means 32 when the telephone is in a receiving state. When the response means 33 detects that a call is received from another telephone body (not shown) to the telephone body 21 in the state where the answering machine mode is set (the answering machine setting state), the other telephone body A predetermined response message including the response time obtained by the calculation means 32 is transmitted to the communication apparatus via communication means such as a telephone line.

As a result, the caller may say, for example, "I can't answer the phone right now,
In 0 minutes, you will be ready to answer the phone. "
Receive a voice response message with the remaining absence time by voice.

Further, on the display of the telephone set of the other party who made the call, for example, "I am in a state where I cannot answer the telephone now, but will be in a state where I can answer the telephone in 10 minutes." A text response message with the absence time is displayed.

On the other hand, the response device 30 is provided with switching means 35, which is activated when the elapsed time from the set time becomes longer than the set time, and the answering setting state is set. Is automatically switched to the absence mode.

Next, the operation and the like of the embodiment will be described.

First, with reference to FIG. 6, a description will be given of the flow of processing when the above-mentioned telephone sets an answering machine.

By operating the operation unit 25 of the telephone main body 21 and inputting a waiting time (set time) estimated to be required until the telephone can be answered, the response unit 30
Determines whether the set time has already been set in the memory of the storage means 31 (step 10).

When the response device 30 determines that there is no existing set time, it sets the input set time and stores the set time, which is the time at which the set time was set, in the storage means 31 ( Step 11).

On the other hand, if it is determined that there is an existing set time, the response device 30 deletes the set time and the set time (step 12), and then newly sets the input set time, and The set time, which is the time at which the set time was set, is stored in the storage means 31 (step 11).

Next, with reference to FIG. 7, the flow of processing when an incoming call is received from the above-mentioned telephone will be described.

When the holder (person) of the telephone body 21 receives a call from a partner such as a friend, for example, the partner telephone body and the telephone body 21 are connected via communication means such as a telephone line. . In this state, the answering device 30 is
It is determined whether or not the answering machine 21 itself is set to answer (step 13).

When the answering device 30 determines that the telephone body 21 is not in the absence setting state, it performs normal processing (step 14), and the telephone body 21 generates a ringing tone.

On the other hand, if the answering device 30 determines that the telephone body 21 is in the absence mode, the answering device 30 determines whether the set time has elapsed. That is, the response device 30 determines whether the elapsed time from the set time (current time−set time) is longer than the set time (step 15).

If the result of the determination is that set time> (current time−set time), the calculating means 32 subtracts the elapsed time (current time−set time) from the set time to obtain a response time (remaining answering machine time), for example, The remaining minutes (hours, days) are calculated (step 16), and the obtained response time, that is, the remaining minutes (hours, days), is notified to the other party (step 17).

On the other hand, if the result of determination is that set time ≦ (current time−set time), the set time and the set time are deleted from the memory of the storage means 31 (step 18), and normal processing is performed (step 18). 14) A ringing tone is generated from the telephone body 21.

As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, the time (set time) required for the person who is the owner of the personal telephone body 21 to be able to answer the telephone is set.
Is input, the telephone body 21 is set to a predetermined answering setting state. Then, when the telephone body 21 receives a call while the telephone body 21 is in the absence setting state, each time the telephone call is made, the person on the telephone body 21 side can answer the telephone, that is, A predetermined response message including the remaining absence time until the call can be answered is transmitted to the other party's telephone via the communication means.

As a result, the other party who is the owner of the other party's telephone set has the remaining absence time, for example, "I am in a state where I can not answer the phone right now, but I will be able to answer the phone in 10 minutes." The received voice response message is received from a microphone unit (not shown).

At the same time, on the display (not shown) of the other party's telephone, for example, the message, "I can't answer the phone right now,
You will be able to answer the call. And the like, and a character response message with the remaining absence time is displayed.

Accordingly, the other party, who is the owner of the other party's telephone, knows the time required for the individual, who is the owner of the own telephone body 21, to be able to answer the call, that is, to be ready to answer the call. You will know when to call back to.

Thus, for example, when a message is received from a friend on an answering machine, when the callback is made, the friend is away, so if a message is entered on the answering machine, the friend It is possible to prevent the call from being received and the message "Oh, please call me" is only exchanged, so that time is not wasted unnecessarily.

Further, for example, even if a message is put in an answering machine, it is not known when a contact can be made. Therefore, the call is cut without putting a message, and the telephone bill is not wasted.

Further, in a public place such as in a train, many telephone owners 21 use an answering machine service in which a response message with the remaining absence time is used as described above. The number of unsolicited telephone calls etc. is reduced.

For example, a mobile phone, a PHS telephone body 21
As an example, the person who owns the telephone sets the telephone main body 21 in a predetermined absence setting state (set time = 30 minutes), and then gets on the train.

When a friend or the like calls on the train while the person is on the train, for example, 10 minutes after the person gets on the train, the friend or the like says, "I can't answer the phone right now. You will be able to answer the phone. "
Receive a response message with the time left. Therefore,
The person can ride with confidence by setting the riding time,
It does not bother others around you on the train.

In each of the above embodiments, the response devices 6 and 30 are provided with storage means 11 and 31 for storing the set time and the set time, and the response time by subtracting the elapsed time from the set time from the set time. Means for calculating
Although the description has been made of the configuration including the response means 32 and the response means 13 and 33 for notifying the response time calculated by the calculation means 12 and 32 in the telephone reception state, for example, the predetermined time (the time at which the telephone is ready to answer the telephone) ), Calculating means for obtaining a response time from a time difference between a predetermined time and the current time from the clock means (at the time of receiving a call from the other party), and a response time obtained by the calculating means in the telephone receiving state. Even in a configuration including a response means for notifying, like the telephone answering system of FIG. 1 and the telephone of FIG. 5, when the telephone is received before the responsive time, which is a predetermined time, is reached, the person or the like can answer the telephone. It is possible to obtain an operation effect such as notifying a calling party of a time until a response can be made.

That is, for example, when the person who is the owner of the personal telephone 2 inputs a response available time at which the telephone can be answered, the personal telephone 2 is set to a predetermined answering state. When a call is made to the personal telephone 2 in the absence setting state of the personal telephone 2, the other party who made the call can answer the telephone, which is the owner of the personal telephone 2. A predetermined response message including the remaining absence time until is reached is transmitted to the other party's telephone 3 via the communication means 5. For this reason, the other party who is the owner of the other party's telephone 3 knows the time until the person who is the owner of the own phone 2 can answer the call, that is, the state in which the person can answer the call. You can know when to call again.

Similarly, the telephone owner 21 is set to a predetermined answering state by inputting a response available time at which the telephone owner 21 is able to answer the telephone. Then, when the telephone main body 21 is in the absence setting state, when a call is received to the telephone main body 21,
The caller receives a predetermined response message including the remaining time required for the person on the telephone body 21 side to answer the call, that is, the time to be able to answer the call, via the communication means. Sent to the phone. For this reason,
The other party who is the owner of the other party's phone is the main phone
The time required for the 21 owner to answer the call, that is, to be able to answer the call, is known, and it is possible to know when to call the person again.

In each of the above embodiments, the response devices 6 and 30 have been described as notifying the other party of the predetermined response message including the remaining absence time by voice and image. Only one response message may be used.

Further, the response devices 6 and 30 may be configured to be able to record a message from the other party after notifying the other party of a predetermined response message including the remaining absence time via the communication means.

When the elapsed time from the set time is longer than the set time, or when the current time has passed the available time, the responding devices 6 and 30 respond to the call. The main body 21 may be switched to a conventional answering machine mode, that is, a normal answering setting state in which a response is made with a preset fixed response message.

The telephone shown in FIG. 5 has been described as a configuration in which the answering device 30 is incorporated in a mobile telephone such as a mobile telephone or a PHS. Answering device to possible landline
30 may be incorporated.

[0090]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to notify the calling party of the time until the telephone can be answered.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the response time obtained by the calculation means based on the set time and the set time is notified by the response means, so that the time until the telephone can be answered can be determined. Can be notified to the other party.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the response time obtained by the calculation means is notified by the response means, thereby notifying the other party of the time until the telephone can be answered. Can be.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the answering device provided in the telephone answering system main body can notify the calling party of the time until the telephone can be answered.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the answering device provided in the telephone body can inform the other party who has called the remaining time until the telephone can be answered.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a telephone answering system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an example of a database structure stored in a storage unit of the telephone answering system.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing when the answering machine is set in the telephone answering system.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of a process when the telephone answering system receives an incoming call;

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of one embodiment of a telephone according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing when the telephone set is set to an answering machine.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing flow when the telephone of the telephone receives a call;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Telephone answering system main body 2 Personal telephone 3 Remote telephone 5 Communication means 6,30 Response device 11,31 Storage means 12,32 Calculation means 13,33 Response means 21 Telephone body

Continued on the front page F-term (reference)

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A step of inputting a set time required until the telephone can be answered or a responsive time at which the telephone can be answered, and answering the telephone based on the input set time or the responsive time. An absent time notification method, comprising: a step of obtaining a remaining time until a state in which the remaining time can be obtained; and a step of transmitting the obtained remaining time via a communication unit. 2. A storage means for storing a set time and a set time at which the set time has been set; a calculating means for subtracting an elapsed time from the set time from the set time to obtain a response time; A response unit for notifying the response time calculated by the calculation unit. 3. A storage means for storing a predetermined time, a calculation means for obtaining a response time from a time difference between the predetermined time and the current time, and a notification of the response time obtained by the calculation means in a telephone receiving state. A response device comprising: a response unit. 4. A telephone answering system main body connectable to each of a personal telephone and a partner telephone via communication means, and the answering device according to claim 2 provided in the telephone answering system main body. A telephone answering system. 5. A telephone comprising: a telephone main body; and the response device according to claim 2 provided on the telephone main body.