JP2004221814A - Call music tone generating method, call music tone generating apparatus, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a call music tone generating apparatus capable of more accurately discriminating call consecution / stop. <P>SOLUTION: A call music tone generating method for generating a music tone in place of a ring-back tone at the detection of a phone ring-back tone, includes: a call time prediction step (SP15) for predicting a call time until an opposite party replies from start of making a call on the basis of a past calling history; a music tone adjustment step (SP35) for adjusting the music tone in response to the predicted call time; and a tone generating step (SP35) for generating the music tone adjusted in the music tone adjustment step. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a ring tone generating method, a ring tone generating device, and a program suitable for use in telephones (fixed telephones and mobile phones).
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, when a call is made using a telephone, a monotonous ringing tone (a 400 Hz intermittent tone called a ringback tone) is emitted from the calling handset until the other party answers the call. Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique for generating a voice guidance or a melody corresponding to a destination telephone number when a ringback tone after a dial number is transmitted is detected.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-33801
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the time required for the other party to answer the call varies from person to person, and the call is not answered if the person is away from the call. Therefore, in the technique of emitting a monotonous ringing tone from the handset or the technique described in Patent Document 1, the caller determines whether or not the other party answers the telephone call only by empirical prediction. As a result, the decision to continue / stop the call was inaccurate.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a ring tone generating method, a ring tone generating apparatus, and a program that can more accurately determine whether to continue or stop a call.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is characterized by having the following configuration. The contents in parentheses are examples.
In the ring tone generating method according to the first aspect, when a ringback tone (ring tone) of a telephone is detected, a past tone is generated instead of the ringback tone. A ringing time prediction process for predicting a ringing time from the ringback tone detection to the answering of the other party based on the call history, and adjusting (changing) the musical tone according to the predicted ringing time (a predicted ringing time). And a tone generation process of generating the tone adjusted in the tone adjustment process.
Further, in the configuration according to the second aspect, in the ring tone generating method according to the first aspect, the tone adjusting step adjusts a tempo or a volume of the tone according to the predicted ringing time. It is characterized by being.
Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, in the ring tone generating method according to the first aspect, a step of selecting the tone to be pronounced from a plurality of types of tone in accordance with the predicted ringing time. A step of vibrating the vibrator in a vibrating state according to the predicted calling time, a step of lighting or blinking a light source (LED) in a lighting state or a blinking state according to the predicted calling time, Controlling the volume of an external device according to the predicted calling time.
A fourth aspect of the present invention is a ring tone generating apparatus (fixed telephone, portable telephone) that executes the ring tone generating method according to any one of the first to third aspects.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program for executing the ring tone generating method according to any one of the first to third aspects.
[0006]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
1. Configuration of Embodiment (1) Overall Configuration The overall configuration of a ring tone generating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
In the figure, reference numeral 100 denotes a music reproducing unit, which reproduces a melody based on a melody file. An audio processing unit 200 converts an analog audio signal input via the transmitter 220 into a digital audio signal. Further, the audio processing unit 200 converts the digital audio signal into an analog audio signal, and emits the sound via the receiver 240. Reference numeral 260 denotes a ring tone melody speaker, which emits a melody when a call is received. A communication unit 300 performs long-distance communication with a base station of a mobile phone company using radio waves. Reference numeral 350 denotes a short-range wireless unit, which communicates with peripheral AV devices by infrared communication, wireless LAN, Bluetooth (registered trademark), or the like, and thereby controls the AV devices. Reference numeral 400 denotes an input unit, which includes ten keys, up / down / left / right movement keys, and function keys. Reference numeral 500 denotes a display unit, which includes a liquid crystal display panel. Reference numeral 520 denotes an LED, which notifies the possibility of a call partner's response by changing the blinking speed at the time of calling. Reference numeral 540 denotes a vibrator, which notifies the user of an incoming call by vibrating the eccentric motor. Reference numeral 560 denotes an external interface, which takes in a melody file from a storage medium such as a memory card. Reference numeral 600 denotes a CPU, which controls each unit. A RAM 620 is used as a work memory. A flash ROM 640 stores programs, parameters, an address book, and the like. Reference numeral 700 denotes a bus line that connects each unit. The above elements constitute a mobile phone (ringing sound generator) 1000.
[0007]
(2) Configuration of Music Playback Unit Next, the configuration of the music playback unit 100 inside the mobile phone 1000 will be described with reference to FIG.
In the figure, reference numeral 10 denotes an interface for inputting a melody file and a control signal via a bus line 700. Reference numeral 20 denotes a FIFO (First_In_First_Out) memory, which is a buffer memory of a system that first retrieves the first input data. Reference numeral 30 denotes a sequencer, which changes the volume data according to a control signal such as volume and tempo input through the interface 10 and controls the data sending speed of the FIFO 20. Reference numeral 40 denotes a sound source unit, which includes a plurality of sound source units and synthesizes audio signals. A D / A converter 50 converts a digital audio signal into an analog audio signal. The above elements constitute the music reproducing unit 100. In addition, an output terminal of the D / A converter 50 is connected to the ring tone melody speaker 260 and the voice processing unit 200.
[0008]
2. Operation of the present embodiment (1) The mobile phone 1000 sets a melody whose volume, tempo, tune, etc. are adjusted based on a call history that records when and where a call is made, so that the melody is emitted at the time of calling. Is configured. To realize this function, the file name of the melody emitted at the time of calling and the call history are stored.
For example, in the address book shown in FIG. 3A, the fact that the melody file "rock.mmf" is used for "sato" of the telephone number "09012345678" is stored, and "yamada" of the telephone number "0509876554321" is stored. "Indicates that the melody file" jazz.mmf "is used. Note that the start address of the chorus part or the start address of the music is stored for each melody file.
The call history stores a call destination (name, telephone number), a call date and time, and a call time from when the call is made to when the other party answers. For example, as shown in FIG. 3B, a call to “sato” is made at “20:30” on “Sunday, September 1”, and the calling time is stored as “5” seconds. You. Also, a call is made to “yamada” at “13:00” on September 2 (Monday), and the call time is stored as “15” seconds. Further, it is stored that the call was made again to “sato” at “10:45” on “September 3 (Tuesday)”, but did not respond.
[0009]
(2) Operation at the time of calling The operation of the mobile phone 1000 at the time of calling will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the user presses a numeric key or the like to call the other party, the routine of FIG. 4 is started.
In step SP10, it is determined whether or not the pressed calling number is a number stored in the calling history. If the calling number is a number stored in the call history, it is determined to be “YES”, and the process proceeds to step SP15. In step SP15, the call time is predicted by calculating the average of the call time using the past call history. That is, if the call date is a weekday, the average of the call times from Monday to Friday is calculated, and if not, the average of the call times on Saturday and Sunday is calculated. In the case of a call history in which a call has not been established, it is assumed that the possibility of the call being established is extremely low because the other party is away from the telephone at that time, and an unrealistic long time is substituted. . Then, the calculated average value is set as the “estimated call time”. In this way, by classifying the history of the calling time for each calling number according to the condition and obtaining the average value, it is possible to predict a certain calling time. Then, the process proceeds to step SP20.
[0010]
In step SP20, it is determined whether the communication unit 300 has detected a ringback tone. If no ringback tone is detected, “NO” is determined and the detection is repeated. On the other hand, if a ringback tone is detected, “YES” is determined, and the process proceeds to step SP25. In step SP25, the ringback tone signal input to the audio processing unit 200 is cut off. As a result, ringback tone is not emitted from receiver 240. Then, the process proceeds to step SP30, where the melody file specified by the address book is selected. Then, the process proceeds to step SP35.
[0011]
In step SP35, a sound generation process is performed, and each unit is controlled according to the predicted call time. Specifically, the data of the melody file is input to the FIFO memory 20 via the bus line 700 and the interface 10. Here, data is output from the FIFO memory 20 by the sequencer 30 at a tempo based on the command of the control signal until the reproduction / sound stop processing is performed by the command of the control signal separately input via the interface 10. . Then, the data is input to the sound source unit 40, and a digital audio signal is reproduced. Then, the reproduced digital audio signal is converted into an analog signal by the D / A converter 50. Further, the converted analog audio signal is input to the audio processing unit 200 and emitted from the receiver 240.
[0012]
If the predicted call time is shorter than the predetermined value, the reproduction start position is changed so that the music is reproduced from the chorus portion. On the other hand, if the predicted call time is longer than the predetermined value, the music is reproduced from the beginning. Further, as shown in FIG. 3C, the sequencer 30 changes the volume data so that the melody volume gradually increases toward the predicted response time and the melody volume gradually decreases from the predicted response time. Done. In addition, the playback tempo of the melody is adjusted so as to be gradually advanced from the predicted response time to the peak, and is adjusted to be gradually delayed after the predicted response time. Further, the vibrator 540 is driven around the predicted response time, and the process is performed so that the LED 520 blinks faster at the peak of the predicted response time. Further, the AV device is controlled via the short-range wireless unit 350 so that the volume of the surrounding AV device is minimized near the response prediction time. As a result, the caller can know the predicted response time of the other party, and can make a decision according to the time. Then, the process proceeds to step SP40.
[0013]
In step SP40, it is determined whether the ringback tone has stopped. If the ringback tone does not stop, the determination is "NO", the process returns to step SP35, the control of each unit is continued, and the sound generation process is repeated. On the other hand, if the ring back tone is stopped, the determination is "YES", the process proceeds to step SP45, the melody reproduction and sound generation stop processing are performed, and the control of each unit is stopped. Then, the process proceeds to step SP47 to add a call history. That is, the calling number, the calling date and time, and the calling time executed this time are additionally stored in the flash ROM 640. Then, this routine ends.
[0014]
By the way, in step SP10, if the calling number is not stored in the call history and is determined as "NO", the process proceeds to step SP50, and it is determined whether or not a ring back tone is detected. If no ringback tone is detected, “NO” is determined, and the determination is repeated. On the other hand, if a ring back tone is detected, “YES” is determined, and the process proceeds to step SP55.
[0015]
In step SP55, the ringback tone audio signal is input to the audio processing unit 200, and is emitted from the receiver 240. Then, the process proceeds to step SP60, and it is determined whether or not the ring back tone has stopped. If the ringback tone does not stop, the determination is "NO", the process returns to step SP55, and the sound emission of the ringback tone is continued. On the other hand, if the ring back tone stops, the determination is "YES", the process proceeds to step SP65, and the call history is added in the same manner as in step SP47. Then, this routine ends.
[0016]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the call time is predicted on the telephone side, and the information is notified to the caller through adjustment / change of the melody or the like. This makes it easy and accurate to determine whether to continue or stop the call. In addition, even when the user is in the standby mode, listening to the melody makes it easy to determine that the time is likely to cause the other party not to respond, so that other operations can be performed during that time, thereby increasing the efficiency of the standby time. It is possible.
[0017]
4. Modifications The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible, for example, as described below, and all are included in the scope of the present invention.
(1) In the above embodiment, the function of the ringing melody sounding method is added to the mobile phone, but the same function can be added to the fixed telephone. In this case, the fixed telephone and the AV device are connected by, for example, a home network. Then, near the predicted response time, the volume of the AV device is adjusted to be the lowest. Thus, even if the caller is doing other work while making an on-hook call, the caller can pay attention to the telephone by reducing the volume of the AV device.
(2) In the above embodiment, to set the “estimated calling time”, if the calling date is a weekday, the average value of the calling time from Monday to Friday is calculated. Although the average value of the call time has been calculated, the total average value of the call time may be calculated for the called party. If the calling time is in the morning, the average value of the morning calling time may be calculated. In addition, the average value of the call time may be calculated in units of N hours such as in units of 4 hours as needed. It is more preferable to set the shortest value of each of the plurality of average values as the “estimated call time”.
(3) In the above embodiment, the melody file specified by the address book is selected in step SP30. However, if the predicted call time is particularly short, the melody file of a major tune (bright tune) is selected and called. If the prediction time is particularly long, a melody file of a minor tune (dark tune) may be selected.
(4) In the above embodiment, in step SP35, the change of the music reproduction start position, the adjustment of the melody volume, the adjustment of the music tempo, the driving of the vibrator, the adjustment of the blinking speed of the LED, and the adjustment of the volume of the peripheral device are simultaneously executed. However, any one of the adjustments may execute a plurality of types of adjustments. In addition to adjusting the blinking speed of the LED, a light source such as an LED or a neon lamp may be turned on when the predicted call time elapses.
(5) In the above embodiment, the calling melody sounding method was executed by the program stored in the flash ROM 640. However, only the program is stored and distributed on a storage medium such as a CD-ROM or a flexible disk, or a telecommunication line is used. It may be distributed through
[0018]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the configuration of the present invention, a tone adjusted in accordance with the predicted ringing time can be generated by detecting a ringback tone.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a mobile phone (a ring tone generating device) according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a music reproduction unit.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a table indicating an address book, a table indicating a call history, and a change in volume / tempo;
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a flowchart.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Interface, 20 ... FIFO memory, 30 ... Sequencer, 40 ... Sound source part, 50 ... D / A converter, 100 ... Sound reproduction part, 200 ... Sound processing part, 220 ... Transmitter, 240 ... Receiver, 260 ... Incoming melody speaker, 300 communication unit, 350 short-range wireless unit, 400 input unit, 500 display unit, 520 LED, 540 vibrator, 560 external interface, 700 bus line, 1000 mobile phone ( Ring tone generator)

Claims (5)

When a ringback tone of a telephone is detected, a ring tone generating method for generating a tone instead of the ringback tone,
A ringing time prediction process of predicting a ringing time from ringback tone detection to a response by the other party based on past call history;
A tone adjusting step of adjusting the tone according to the predicted calling time;
A tone generating step for generating the adjusted tone in the tone adjusting step. 2. The ring tone generating method according to claim 1, wherein the tone adjusting step is a step of adjusting a tempo or a volume of the tone according to the predicted ringing time. Selecting the tone to be pronounced from a plurality of types of tone according to the predicted calling time;
In a vibration state according to the predicted calling time, a step of vibrating the vibrator,
In a lighting state or a blinking state according to the predicted calling time, a step of lighting or blinking the light source,
2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: controlling a volume of an external device according to the predicted ringing time. A ring tone generating apparatus for executing the ring tone generating method according to any one of claims 1 to 3. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program for executing the method of generating a ring tone according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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