JP2004120362A - Telephone - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a telephone wherein, according to the urgency of a call or the importance of matter, switching can be performed between a regular telephone conversation connection accompanied by a call termination alarm and a specified control that inhibits a call termination alarm (especially, the recording of conversation by means of a telephone answering function). <P>SOLUTION: The telephone is provided with a storage means for storing the telephone conversation permission level showing the level that permits a regular telephone conversation connection upon a call accompanied by a call level given according to the urgency of the call; a calling means that calls a sending node including information on a call level; a call termination alarming means that alarms a call termination; and a control means that compares the call level transmitted from a sender with the telephone conversation permission level stored by the storage means at the time of a call termination, permits a regular telephone conversation when the urgency is judged to be high, and permits the specified control that inhibits an alarm by the call termination alarming means when the urgency is judged to be low. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a mobile phone and a fixed telephone.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a conventional mobile phone or fixed telephone, a call from a caller is received as it is, and in a normal setting, a ring tone notifying the call is made or a vibrator is vibrated. In a telephone having an answering machine function, if a setting is made to use this function, a message from a caller can be recorded when a call is made.
When receiving a call from a caller as it is in the past, the ringtone sounds unconditionally even at night unless the setting to prohibit the notification of the incoming call due to the ringtone or the vibration of the vibrator is made, If the call is not urgent, it may cause inconvenience. On the other hand, if the setting is made to use the answering machine function, a call with high urgency will be missed.
[0003]
For this reason, it has been demanded that the telephone be processed in accordance with the urgency of the call or the importance of the business when receiving the call.
An invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-095281 is an invention of a telephone that performs special processing according to the importance of the telephone requirements. According to the present invention, in the case of a high-priority message, a part of a low-priority message is erased from the storage capacity of the recording unit and recorded. In this way, a message with a high degree of importance is stored with priority, but even if the message is urgent, the contents are not transmitted until the contents are confirmed on the called side.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-07-095281 (page 5, FIG. 2, FIG. 4)
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and according to the urgency of a call or the importance of a task, a normal call connection with notification of an incoming call and a predetermined control (in which the notification of an incoming call is prohibited) are performed. In particular, the present invention provides a telephone capable of switching between a telephone call recording and a telephone answering function.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problem, the invention according to claim 1 stores a call permission level indicating a level at which a normal call connection is permitted for a call with a call level given according to the urgency of the call. Storage means, a calling means for calling a destination including information on the call level at the time of calling, an incoming call notifying means for notifying an incoming call, and the call level transmitted from the caller side at the time of the incoming call. Comparing with the call permission level stored in the storage means, and as a result, when it is determined that the urgency is high, a normal call connection with notification by the incoming call notification means is controlled, and the urgency is low. And control means for prohibiting the notification by the incoming call notifying means and performing predetermined control.
[0007]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the telephone set according to the first aspect, the telephone set has an answering machine function, and the control unit determines that the urgency is low in the comparison at the time of the incoming call. Is characterized by performing control to switch to an answering machine function as the predetermined control.
[0008]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the telephone set according to the first or second aspect, the storage unit associates and stores a caller's telephone number and the call permission level, and the control unit stores When receiving a call, the control is performed in accordance with the call permission level corresponding to the telephone number of the caller.
[0009]
The owner of the telephone set according to the present invention sets a call permission level in the telephone in advance as a level for permitting a normal call connection with respect to the call level transmitted from the caller. When making a call, the call level is input along with the telephone number when performing a normal call operation in accordance with the urgency of the call (call) or the importance of the business. In response to this operation, the calling means calls the destination including the input call level information. The called side telephone set to be called has a call permission level set in advance as described above, and when the called side telephone receives a call, the control means sets the call level transmitted from the caller side to the setting. And a communication permission level (stored in the storage means). As a result of this comparison, when it is determined that the urgency is high, the normal call connection accompanied by notification by the incoming notification means is controlled. At this time, even if the setting to use a predetermined function (for example, an answering machine function) is made, the normal call connection accompanied by the notification by the incoming call notifying means is controlled. On the other hand, in other cases, the notification by the incoming notification unit is prohibited and predetermined control is performed.
[0010]
In the present invention, by controlling as described above, if the urgency of the call or the importance of the task is high, by the notification by the incoming call notifying means, the called party can reliably receive the call, If not, that is, if the urgency of the call or the importance of the task is low, the notification by the incoming call notification means is prohibited, so when sleeping or when it is not possible to answer the telephone at a meeting etc. , Prevent calls that are neither urgent nor important.
Here, the normal call connection means that, when an incoming call is received, a notification is made by the incoming call notifying means (for example, a ringing tone is sounded), and a call between the calling side telephone and the called side telephone is made off-hook. Processing for connection.
[0011]
Further, in the telephone according to the present invention having an answering machine function, the control means does not notify the incoming call notifying means when the urgency is determined to be low in the comparison at the time of the incoming call, and does not provide the answering machine function. Switch to
By controlling in this way, even if the call is of low urgency or a message of low importance, the message of the caller is recorded by the answering machine function, and the callee can check the contents later. it can.
The answering machine function is a function of receiving a message from the caller side and recording the content (voice) of the message as a so-called answering machine.
[0012]
Further, in the present invention, since the telephone number of a specific caller and the call permission level are stored in association with each other, for example, the telephone number of the caller and the call By associating the permission level with the permission level, it is possible to establish a normal call connection even if the caller (specific caller) calls at a low call level.
[0013]
Also, in the telephone according to claim 2 or 3, when the caller's message is recorded by the answering machine function, the call level transmitted from the caller can be recorded together, and the call level can be confirmed. You may do so. For example, the call level of the message itself or the call level of the message may be confirmed on the display unit provided in the telephone by a color or the like corresponding to the call level, so that the called party can select a message to be reproduced. Alternatively, the messages may be reproduced in descending order of the call level. In this way, the called party can give priority to the message with the higher call level and check the contents.
[0014]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the mobile phone according to the present embodiment.
[0015]
In FIG. 1, a mobile phone 1 includes an antenna 11, a communication unit 12 that performs wireless communication with a base station (not shown) via the antenna 11, and a call level data input together with a call destination telephone number. A call level signal to be included in the signal of the control channel for calling the call destination is generated and provided to the communication unit 12, or a call level signal included in the signal of the control channel for calling the received mobile phone 1 is received from the communication unit 12, A call level signal generation / detection unit 13 that detects the call level and notifies the following CPU / 24, and a voice processing unit that encodes a voice input from the microphone 14 or decodes a signal input from the communication unit 12 A speaker 16 for outputting a voice signal decoded by the voice processing unit 15 and a message recorded by the answering machine function; A sound source 17 for playing back data, a speaker 18 for emitting reproduced music (including a music used as a ringtone or a hold tone), an input unit 19 for inputting a telephone number and a function selection, and a vibe described later. A vibrator 20 for notifying an incoming call in a mode, a display unit 21 such as a liquid crystal display panel, a ROM (read only memory) 22 for storing a communication program, an answering machine function program, music data, etc., and an answering machine It comprises a RAM (random access memory) 23 for storing message data and other data recorded by the function, and a CPU (central processing unit) 24 for executing various programs and controlling the operations of the above-mentioned units. Each unit shown in FIG. 1 is connected to the CPU 24 by the bus 10.
[0016]
To further explain the above configuration, at the time of transmission, the communication section 12 modulates the paging level signal provided from the paging level signal generation / detection section 13 by including the paging level signal in a control channel signal, and modulates the modulated signal via the antenna 11. Transmit to base station. At the time of an incoming call, a call level signal included in the signal of the control channel is provided to the call level signal generation / detection unit 13. On the other hand, when a normal call connection is made, the signal input from the audio processing unit 15 is modulated, and the modulated signal is transmitted to the base station via the antenna 11. Also, it demodulates a radio signal received via the antenna 11 and outputs the demodulated signal. In the modulation and demodulation method, QPSK (four-phase modulation) or the like is used to improve the utilization rate of the radio frequency. When the TDD (time division two-way communication) method is used, transmission and reception are performed in a time division manner using the same frequency for transmission and reception. In addition, a CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) method, a PDC (Personal Digital Cellular System) method, or the like may be used.
[0017]
In the RAM 23, a user setting data storage area, a work area for the CPU 24, a storage area for music data downloaded via a wireless communication line, and the like are set. The ROM 22 stores a communication program for outgoing / incoming processing executed by the CPU 24, a program for controlling an answering machine function, a program for assisting music reproducing processing for reproducing music data, and the like. The input unit 19 is an input unit including a numeric keypad composed of numerical keys and code keys, a jog dial, and the like. In addition to operations for ordinary telephone calls, operation inputs such as selection and playback instructions of recorded messages by the answering machine function can be performed. The display unit 21 displays a menu of telephone functions, a display corresponding to button operations such as a numeric keypad and a jog dial, and a character string or a call level for identifying a recorded message when the answering machine function is selected.
[0018]
In the present embodiment, a call level set according to the urgency of the caller calling the destination as the caller side and the level of importance of the business, and a level at which the normal call / call is permitted as the callee side. Using a preset call permission level, the incoming call is controlled according to the level of the call level with respect to the call permission level. How the mobile phone 1 operates is determined in advance according to the magnitude of the call level with respect to the call permission level. Basically, regardless of the answering machine function setting (valid / invalid), if the call level> call permission level, it is determined that the urgency of the call is high, and the call is ignored ignoring the normal answering machine function setting Continue to report sounds and the like. On the other hand, if the call level is smaller than the call permission level, it is determined that the urgency of the call is low, and the call is forcibly switched to the answering machine function. If the call level and the call permission level are equal, it is determined to which one (hereafter, in this case, it is determined that the urgency is high). In addition, various operation settings such as changing the operation according to the number of calls before recording by the answering machine function (however, there is no ring tone), the degree of vibration of the vibrator 20, and the caller's telephone number, etc. It is possible.
[0019]
The number of levels of the call level and the call permission level may be any number as long as it is two or more. However, in reality, it is difficult for many people to accurately recognize several levels of importance. For example, the following method may be used.
Initially, there are only two levels, Hi and Lo, and the default settings usually use the call level and the call permission level as Lo for both the caller and the callee. Then, the calling level is set to Hi when the caller needs an emergency, and a simple setting method such as setting the call permission level to switch to the answering machine function except for the emergency requirement is adopted. If it is determined that a specific person can set each level finely between specific persons, only the call from the other party is operated at the particularly set level. In this case, the processing is performed according to the caller's telephone number.
[0020]
In the following description, it is assumed that the call level and the call permission level for a specific caller are five levels of 1 to 5, respectively, and the larger the numerical value, the higher the urgency. For the other callers, the call level and the call permission level are set to two levels (two levels) of “Hi” and “Lo”, respectively. However, the setting of each level can be arbitrarily set by the user as described above.
The CPU 24 compares the call level received at the time of the incoming call with the preset call permission level, and switches the processing according to the result.
[0021]
Here, if it is determined that the urgency of the call is high (otherwise the urgency is low) when the call level is equal to or higher than the call permission level, for example, the call level for calling the mobile phone 1 is 5 If the call permission level set in the mobile phone 1 is 3 or less, even if the answering machine is set at this time, the incoming call is received by a ring tone or the like until the user goes off-hook or the caller stops calling. Continue to inform. At this time, when the so-called manner mode (vibration mode) of the mobile phone is set, it is possible to select whether to change the intensity of the vibration of the vibrator 20 for notifying the incoming call or to sound the ring tone ignoring the manner mode. You may do so. On the other hand, when the call permission level is set to 5, when the call level for calling the mobile phone 1 is other than 5, the incoming call is not notified by a ring tone or the like, and the call is forcibly switched to the answering machine function. Enables recording of messages from callers. For example, such a setting is made when only a call with a high degree of urgency is received during the night.
[0022]
Further, in the present embodiment, a specific number table for associating a telephone number of a specific caller with a call permission level is provided, and when there is a call from a specific caller, the specific number table is set in the specific number table. The above control is performed based on the call permission level. By doing so, an individual call permission level can be set for a specific caller. Also, identifying the sender can prevent mischief.
[0023]
Next, the operation of the mobile phone 1 according to the present embodiment thus configured will be described.
[0024]
[When calling]
When the user operates the input unit 19 and inputs the value of the call level together with the telephone number of the call destination by a predetermined operation method (for example, by adding “#” after the telephone number), the call level The signal generation / detection unit 13 generates a call level signal based on the call level. The generated call level signal is included in the signal of the control channel in the communication unit 12 and transmitted together with the call signal.
[0025]
[Incoming call]
Hereinafter, description will be made with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
First, it is determined whether the received telephone number of the caller is the telephone number (specific number) of the specific caller registered in the specific number table (step S101). If the determination is No, that is, if it is determined that the telephone number of the caller is not the specific number, the process proceeds to step S102. In step S102, a two-level process using the two levels of "Hi" and "Lo" is performed. This process is the same as the process after step S103 described below, except that two levels “Hi” and “Lo” are used as the call level and the call permission level.
On the other hand, if the determination is Yes, that is, if the number is the specific number, the process proceeds to step S103. Note that, here, five levels of call permission levels are used for calls from specific callers.
[0026]
In step S103, it is determined whether or not the call level signal sent together with the call signal is equal to or higher than the call permission level corresponding to the caller set in the specific number table. If the determination is No, that is, if it is determined that the call level is lower than the call permission level, the process proceeds to step S104. In this step S104, switching to the answering machine function is performed (answering machine mode).
On the other hand, if it is determined that the call level is equal to or higher than the call permission level, the process proceeds to step S105.
[0027]
In step S105, it is determined whether or not a vibration mode in which vibrator 20 is vibrated to notify an incoming call.
If the determination is No, that is, if it is determined that the mode is not the vibration mode, the process proceeds to step S106. In step S106, a ringtone is generated. Specifically, the CPU 24 transfers the music data for the ring tone from the ROM 22 to the sound source 17, and the sound source 17 reproduces the ring tone and emits the sound from the speaker 18.
Next, in step S107, it is determined whether or not an off-hook operation has been performed. This determination is repeated until the processing in step S106 is off-hook. In this way, the ring tone continues to be sounded until the user goes off-hook. If it is determined in step S107 that the hook has been turned off, the process proceeds to step S108.
In step S108, the reproduction of the ringtone ends, and the routine goes to step S112.
[0028]
On the other hand, if the determination in step S105 is Yes, that is, if it is determined that the vibration mode is set, the process proceeds to step S109. In this step S109, the CPU 24 changes the vibration intensity of the vibrator 20 according to the level difference between the call level and the call permission level and causes the vibrator 20 to vibrate. For example, as the level difference increases, the vibration intensity increases. Then, the process proceeds to step S110.
Next, in step S110, it is determined whether or not an off-hook operation has been performed. This determination and the processing of step S109 are repeated until the hook goes off-hook. If it is determined in step S110 that the hook has been turned off, the process proceeds to step S111. In step S111, the vibration by the vibrator 20 is terminated, and the process proceeds to step S112.
[0029]
In step S112, a process for making a call connection with the mobile phone 1 on the caller side is performed to enable a call between the caller and the callee. During this time, a call is made between the calling party and the called party.
Then, in a step S113, it is determined whether or not an on-hook operation is performed. This determination is repeated until the hook becomes on-hook, and when the hook becomes on-hook, the process proceeds to step S114. In step S114, a predetermined call termination process is performed.
If the call from the caller is disconnected from the caller before the call processing in step S112, the process ends at that stage.
[0030]
The operation of the mobile phone 1 according to the present embodiment has been described above.
Note that the operation flow described above is an example, and is not limited to the above processing flow.
Further, in the present embodiment, the comparison between the call level and the call permission level is performed by the mobile phone 1 of the called party. May be performed by a host system (home server, service control station, etc.). In this case, the call permission level is registered in advance in the host system from the called side, and a call level signal is sent to the host system when a call is made from the caller side mobile phone 1, and the host system sends the call level signal to the called side mobile phone. 1, the result of comparison between the call level and the call permission level may be sent.
[0031]
The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and includes a configuration and the like without departing from the gist of the present invention. In the above-described embodiment, a mobile phone has been described as an example. However, the present invention can be applied to, for example, a PHS (registered trademark) (Personal Handyphone System) terminal, a pager, and the like. Of course, it can also be applied to fixed telephones. In the case of a fixed telephone, it is assumed that a call level signal can be transmitted by performing an additional operation in addition to a normal telephone number dialing operation. For example, call level information can be sent to the destination using the subaddress of the ISDN line. This call level signal is transmitted to the called telephone through the telephone network in the same manner as when a telephone number is sent by telephone number notification. The processing at the receiving telephone at this time is the same as that described in the above embodiment.
[0032]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, at the time of outgoing call, the destination is called including the information of the call level, and at the time of incoming call, the call level transmitted from the caller side and the call permission level stored in the storage means. If the result is determined to be high in urgency, normal call connection with notification of incoming calls is controlled, and if it is determined to be low in urgency, notification of incoming calls is prohibited. Since the predetermined control is performed, the notification of the incoming call is conventionally made regardless of the degree of urgency of the call. On the other hand, the response to the incoming call according to the urgency of the call can be selected by the called party. In other words, when the urgency of the call or the importance of the task is high, the notification of the incoming call allows the called party to receive the call without fail. When the degree is low, the notification of the incoming call is prohibited, so that it is possible to prevent an emergency or unimportant call when the user is sleeping or cannot answer the telephone at a meeting or the like. Further, the caller can indicate the urgency of the call to the callee.
[0033]
Also, according to the present invention, when it is determined that the urgency is low, the call is switched to the answering machine function. Is recorded, and the called party can check the content later.
Further, according to the present invention, the telephone number of the caller and the call permission level are stored in association with each other, and when a call is received, control is performed according to the call permission level corresponding to the telephone number of the caller. , The permission level can be individually set, and by specifying the sender, mischief can be prevented.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the mobile phone according to the embodiment when receiving a call;
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Mobile telephone (telephone), 10 ... Bus, 11 ... Antenna, 12 ... Communication part (calling means), 13 ... Call level signal generation / detection part, 14 ... Microphone, 15 ... Sound processing part, 16 ... Speaker, 17 ... sound source (incoming notification means), 18 ... speaker (incoming notification means), 19 ... input unit, 20 ... vibrator (incoming notification means), 21 ... display unit, 22 ... ROM, 23 ... RAM, 24 ... CPU (control means) )

Claims (3)

Storage means for storing a call permission level indicating a level at which a normal call connection is permitted for a call having a call level given according to the urgency of the call;
Calling means for calling a destination including information on the call level at the time of calling,
Incoming call notification means for notifying incoming calls,
At the time of an incoming call, the call level transmitted from the caller is compared with the call permission level stored in the storage means, and as a result, if it is determined that the urgency is high, the notification by the incoming notification means is made. And a control means for controlling the accompanying normal call connection and, when it is determined that the degree of urgency is low, prohibits the notification by the incoming call notification means and performs predetermined control. The telephone has an answering machine function,
The control means includes:
2. The telephone according to claim 1, wherein, when it is determined in the comparison at the time of the incoming call that the urgency is low, the predetermined control is controlled to switch to an answering machine function. 3. The storage means,
Storing the telephone number of the caller and the call permission level in association with each other,
The control means includes:
The telephone according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control is performed in accordance with the call permission level corresponding to the telephone number of the caller when receiving an incoming call.

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