JP2001339505A - Telephone set - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a telephone set that uses only a single key to select a loudspeaking reception mode or a hands-free speech mode without the need for provision of individual exclusive function keys. SOLUTION: The telephone set that shifts to the hands-free speech mode in a standby state through the depression of a prescribed function key, is transited to the hands-free speech mode 160 by depressing a prescribed function key for a short time in the standby state 100 or transited to a loudspeaking reception mode 120 by depressing the prescribed function key for a long time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a telephone, and more particularly, to a telephone capable of communicating in a hands-free call mode and a loudspeaker reception mode.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a telephone is set to a hands-free call mode, a call can be made with the handset on-hook, unlike the normal telephone mode. Therefore, the hands-free communication mode is used when a hand is occupied during a call and the handset cannot be off-hook, or when a large number of people use a telephone to make a call. A call mode called a loudspeaker reception mode is also known. When listening to the call from the other party unilaterally, for example, when listening to the weather forecast or receiving a ticket service, furthermore, it is not necessary to use the transmitter in the state from dialing until the other party comes out, so on-hook Make a call in the loudspeaker reception mode in the state. In a telephone provided with these two communication modes, it is possible to switch between a hands-free communication mode and a loudspeaker reception mode by pressing a predetermined function key.

[0003]

In a hands-free call generally used in a conventional telephone having a hands-free call mode, a call path of a receiving side is usually connected to mute a call path of a transmitting side. Then, when the input level of the transmitting side exceeds a certain level, the mute of the transmitting side is released and the mute is applied to the receiving side. Has been realized. In the hands-free call mode, a microphone separately provided on the telephone is used for transmitting, and a loudspeaker is used for receiving.

[0004] On the other hand, in the hands-free call mode, when it is sufficient to just listen, if the input from the other party is large, the loud sound from the receiving speaker is picked up by the microphone and the other party hears the sound. There is a case where the communication path is switched to the one for connecting the transmission. In this state, the reception from the other party is interrupted, and the usability deteriorates. To solve this problem, the telephone may be set to the loudspeaker reception mode described above, but it is necessary to clearly distinguish between the loudspeaker reception mode and the hands-free call mode. If a dedicated key for setting each mode is provided, this problem is solved, but there is a disadvantage that the cost is increased. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and it is possible to switch between a hands-free call mode and a loudspeaker reception mode by operating a single key without separately providing dedicated keys for both modes. It is an object of the present invention to provide a telephone capable of performing such operations.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, in a telephone set which transits to a hands-free communication mode by pressing a predetermined function key in a standby state, the predetermined function key is pressed for a short time in the standby state. The mode transits to the hands-free call mode, and when the button is pressed for a long time, the mode transits to the loudspeaker reception mode. In the telephone, when the predetermined function key is pressed for a long time in the hands-free call mode, the mode shifts to the loudspeaker reception mode.
In the telephone, when the predetermined function key is pressed for a long time in the normal telephone mode, the mode shifts to the loudspeaker reception mode.

[0006] Further, in the telephone, when the predetermined function key is pressed for a short time in the loudspeaker receiving mode, a transition is made to a standby state. In addition, when the telephone is dialed in the loudspeaker reception mode, the mode changes to the hands-free call mode when the other party answers. Further, the present invention provides a telephone which transitions to either a hands-free call mode or a loudspeaker reception mode by pressing a predetermined function key in a standby state, wherein when pressing the predetermined function key, which of the two modes is prioritized. A priority setting means is provided for determining whether to make settings.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Prior to describing the embodiments of the present invention, FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a telephone to which the present invention is applied.
It will be described based on. The voice signal sent from the other party via the line 1 is transmitted to the line control unit 2 and the communication path switch 3.
And is output to the speaker 4 via. An audio signal to be transmitted to the other party is input from the microphone 5 and transmitted to the line 1 via the communication path switch 3 and the line control unit 2. The signal received from the line 1 or the signal transmitted to the line 1 is controlled by the line control unit 2, and this control information is detected by the information detection unit 6 and input to the control unit 9. The transmission / reception level detected by the communication path switch 3 is detected by the transmission / reception level detector 7 and input / output to / from the controller 9.

The control section 9 switches the communication path switch 3 in accordance with the level of the transmission / reception level detected by the transmission / reception level detection section 7 to mute the transmission path on the transmission side or the reception side, thereby enabling hands-free communication. . The control unit 9 is connected to a memory 8 for storing various control information. Further, a display unit 10 for displaying a call destination and an operation unit 11 for performing key operations are connected to the control unit 9.

FIG. 2 is a state transition diagram for explaining the functional operation of the present invention. Five states are defined in the telephone of the present invention. The "standby" state 100 represents a normal standby state. The "loud voice reception" state 120 indicates a state in which the communication path on the transmitting side is muted and only the communication path on the receiving side is operating, that is, a state in which it is sufficient to only listen to a call from the other party. The "outside telephone call with handset" state 140 indicates a normal call mode, in which a call with the other party is made in a normal state using the handset. A "hands-free (on-hook)" state 160 indicates a so-called hands-free call mode in which a call is made while the handset is on-hook. "Hands-free (off-hook)" state 180 indicates a state in which hands-free operation is performed using a microphone and a speaker with the handset off-hook.

[0010] The present invention has a specific function key for switching to a hands-free call mode or a loudspeaker call mode. Hereinafter, this function key is referred to as a hands-free key.
In the standby state 100 shown in FIG. 2, when the hands-free key is pressed for a short time, the state transits to the hands-free (on-hook) state 160. That is, the mode is shifted to the ordinary hands-free call mode. Hands-free (on-hook) state 1
If the hands-free key is pressed again for a short time at 60, the state returns to the standby state 100.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a state in which a transition is made from the standby state to the hands-free call mode by short-time depression of the hands-free key. By pressing the hands-free key for a short time in the standby state, a hands-free external call is possible. If the telephone number of the other party is dialed in this state, the other party answers the telephone and hands-free communication becomes possible by loudspeaker reception using the speaker and the microphone. At the end of the call, the user returns to the standby state by pressing the hands-free key again for a short time.

Next, a description will be given of a case where a transition is made from the standby state to the loudspeaker reception mode with reference to the state transition diagram shown in FIG. In this case, the same hands-free key is pressed for a long time. In other words, when the hands-free key is pressed for about two seconds in the standby state 100, the state transits to the loudspeaker reception state 120. In this state, the communication path on the transmitting side output from the microphone is muted. Only the other party's voice is output from the built-in speaker.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a state transition from the standby state to the loudspeaker reception mode. When the hands-free key is pressed for 2 seconds in the standby state, the mode is set to the loudspeaker reception mode. In this state, an ear mark is lit on the display unit 10 next to the telephone mark indicating that the user is talking on the outside line.
Indicates that it is in the loudspeaker reception mode. Next, dial the telephone number of the other party, wait for a response from the other party in the loudspeaker reception mode until the other party comes out, and when the other party's response is detected,
Make a call with the handset off-hook. Loudspeaker reception state 12
When the hands-free key is pressed for a short time from 0, the state returns to the standby state 100.

When the telephone of the present invention is to be operated in the normal telephone mode, if the handset is picked up in the standby state 100 and goes off-hook, the outside line communication state 140 is entered. If the user goes on-hook after the call ends, the process returns to the standby state 100. If you want to talk to the other party in the loudspeaker receiving state 120,
If the handset is picked up and put in the off-hook state, the state shifts to the outside line communication state 140. Further, if the handset is picked up in the hands-free call mode and goes off-hook, the handset shifts to the outside line communication state 140. External line communication status 1 with the receiver
When the hands-free key is pressed for a short time at 40, the mode shifts to the hands-free call mode 180 in the off-hook state. If the user goes on-hook in this state 180, the mode can be shifted to the ordinary hands-free call mode 160 with on-hook.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show the structure of a cordless telephone, wherein FIG. 5A shows the structure of a master unit and FIG. 5B shows the structure of a slave unit. The present invention can be similarly applied to such a cordless telephone on both the parent device side and the child device side. In the case of a cordless telephone, the communication path switch 3 on the base unit side
a and the handset side communication path switch 3b
And the antenna 13 respectively. In the circuit configuration shown in FIG. 5, the same parts as those in the circuit configuration shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a state transition diagram for explaining another embodiment of the present invention. In the case shown in FIG. 6, when in the hands-free call mode (state 160), pressing the hands-free key for 2 seconds causes the loudspeaker reception state 120 to be displayed.
I am trying to shift to. Also, while talking in the normal telephone mode 140, press the hands-free key 2
When the button is pressed for two seconds, the state is shifted to the loudspeaker reception state 120. The reason for adopting this kind of operation is that while in the normal telephone mode or the hands-free call mode, while the other party holds the call and waits for the call to resume, it can be switched to the loudspeaker reception mode during that time. This is because there is an advantage that such an operation is performed because the above operation can be performed. Note that some people often use the hands-free call mode or the loudspeaker reception mode. Therefore, it may be convenient to set so as to give priority to either the hands-free call mode or the loudspeaker reception mode.

FIG. 7 shows a flowchart in the case where such a priority operation is set. In the standby state (step 700), when there is a key operation of the hands-free key (step 710), the line is captured and the call pictogram is turned on (step 720). Next, it is determined which mode is set with priority. here,
If the loudspeaker reception mode is set to be used with priority, the state shifts to the loudspeaker reception state (step 740), the communication path on the receiving side is set, and the communication path on the transmitter side is in a mute state. Next, the reception pictogram lights up to indicate that the loudspeaker reception mode has been set.

If it is determined in step 730 that the loudspeaker reception mode has not been set with priority, a hands-free communication mode is entered, and the transmission path and the reception path are set to operate in the hands-free communication mode ( Step 75
0). In any mode, when the call is completed, the process returns to the standby state (step 760). In addition, since it is not necessary to make a call with the other party when dialing, it is possible to make a setting so that the dialing is made in the loudspeaker receiving mode, and when the other party answers, the hands-free mode is set.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing such an operation procedure. First, in the standby state (step 800), the hands-free key is pressed for a long time (pressed for 2 seconds) to enter the loudspeaker reception mode (step 810). Then, the reception pictogram of the telephone is turned on, and the voice reception mode is set (step 820). Then, the telephone number of the other party is dialed in and a response from the other party is waited for (step 830). If there is a response from the other party (step 840), the user goes off-hook and then presses the hands-free key for a short time to switch to the hands-free mode in the off-hook state. Next, if the user goes on-hook, the hands-free communication mode in the on-hook state is set (step 850). When the call ends, the process returns to the standby state (step 860).

In the present invention, the control unit 9 detects whether the hands-free key has been pressed for a long time or has been pressed for a short time by detecting a signal input from the operating unit 11 and storing the signal in the memory 8 in advance based on the detection information. The mode is switched by the stored control program. Needless to say, the present invention can be used not only for fixed telephones but also for mobile telephones.

[0021]

As has been described in detail based on the above embodiments, in the present invention, only a single function key is prepared as a function key for switching between the hands-free call mode and the loudspeaker reception mode. Since the switching can be easily performed, and the fact that the speaker is in the loudspeaker receiving state can be clearly displayed, a telephone with good operability can be realized without increasing the cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a telephone according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a state transition diagram illustrating a functional operation of mode switching according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which a transition is made from a standby state to a hands-free call mode.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which a transition is made from a standby state to a loudspeaker reception mode.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a cordless telephone.

FIG. 6 is a state transition diagram illustrating a functional operation according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart in the case where priority is given to the loudspeaker reception mode;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart in a case where a transition is made to a hands-free call mode after receiving a response from the other party in the loudspeaker reception mode.

[Explanation of symbols]

 100 Standby state 120 Loudspeaking reception state 140 Handset outside call communication state 160 Hands-free (on-hook state) 180 Hands-free (off-hook state)

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A telephone which shifts to a hands-free call mode by pressing a predetermined function key in a standby state, wherein the telephone shifts to a hands-free call mode by pressing the predetermined function key for a short time in a standby state. A telephone set that switches to a loudspeaker reception mode when pressed for a long time. 2. The telephone according to claim 1, wherein the telephone shifts to the loudspeaker reception mode by pressing down the predetermined function key for a long time in the hands-free communication mode. 3. The telephone according to claim 1, wherein the telephone shifts to the loudspeaker reception mode by pressing the predetermined function key for a long time in a normal telephone mode. 4. The telephone according to claim 1, wherein a transition is made to a standby state by pressing the predetermined function key for a short time in the loudspeaker reception mode. 5. The telephone according to claim 1, wherein a dial input is performed in the loudspeaker receiving mode.
A telephone set that transits to the hands-free call mode when the other party answers. 6. A telephone which transits to a hands-free call mode or a loudspeaker reception mode by pressing a predetermined function key in a standby state, wherein when the predetermined function key is pressed, which of the two modes is prioritized. A telephone set provided with priority setting means for deciding whether to make settings.