JP2010028155A - Automatic answering telephone device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic answering telephone device capable of allowing person to immediately listen to a business message from a specific party. <P>SOLUTION: When there is a business message (step S02), a text of mail describing an effect that the business message is already stored and a number corresponding to the business message is transmitted to a preset destination (step S04). When the number is inputted by remote control from a mail transmission destination during the transmission of a response message successively, the business message corresponding to the number is reproduced (steps S05-S08). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an answering machine capable of recording a business message from a calling party.

In a conventional answering machine, if there is an incoming call with the answering machine function turned on, a line is automatically connected after a predetermined number of ringing sounds, and a response message stored in the answering machine (for example, , "I'm calling now. Please put a message after the beep.") After sending a beeping sound to the line, the message from the calling party is recorded.
Also, the date and time data at which the message is recorded is stored in the memory as voice or character data in association with the message, and the message is stored in the memory in order from the one that entered from the line (Patent Document). 1).
For this reason, when a user returns home or listens to and listens to a message recorded by remote control from a mobile phone or the like, the message is recorded in order from the most recently recorded message or the oldest recorded message. Message is played. Note that the user can switch playback to the next message message or switch playback to the previous message message by performing a specific key operation while playing the message.
Also, when the user listens to the message recorded by remote operation, the user calls the answering machine from the cellular phone device or the like, and the user is in the middle of playing the response message after connecting the line. By inputting a predetermined password using the numeric keypad, the message can be reproduced by remote operation. It is also possible to reproduce the next message or the previous message by the same key operation as when the user listens to the message by directly operating the answering machine.

  In addition, when a message is entered into the answering machine, a call is automatically made from the message to a predetermined destination (for example, a mobile phone), and a message indicating that the message has been entered, such as a cellular phone. There is also a function to inform the user. In this case, after receiving the call from the answering machine, the mobile phone user can make a call to the answering machine and perform the remote operation as described above to listen to the message.

Also, a technology has been proposed in which when a message message is stored in an answering machine, the stored message message is converted into voice data, and the converted voice data is attached to a mail for transmission (Patent Document 2). ).
JP-A-9-214598 (paragraph 0066) JP 2003-283606 A

In the answering machine described above, since the message is reproduced in the order of recording when the message is reproduced, the message from a specific destination that the user wants to hear particularly quickly cannot be heard immediately.
Further, the technology described in Patent Document 2 requires a configuration for processing a message message into voice data (voice processing means referred to in Patent Document 2). As a result, the cost of the apparatus is increased.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 of the present application is an answering machine that can receive and store a message from a line, and has a message after receiving the message from the line. A message indicating this and information specifying the message are notified to a preset destination.
The invention according to claim 2 is an answering machine capable of receiving and storing a business message from a line, a message indicating that there is a business message after receiving the business message from the line, and the business message This is characterized in that information designating a destination is notified to a preset destination as mail data.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an answering machine capable of receiving and storing a business message from a line, a message indicating that there is a business message after receiving the business message from the line, and the business message This is characterized in that information for designating is notified to a preset destination as voice data.
The invention according to claim 4 is an answering machine capable of receiving and storing a message from a line, the answering machine having a message message receiving means for receiving a message from the line, The message message storing means for storing the message message received by the message message receiving means, the mail creating means for creating a mail with a number indicating the stored message message, and the mail creating means A mail sending means for sending mail; and a control means, wherein the control means receives the message message by the message message receiving means, and the received message message is stored in the message message storing means. If it is determined that the mail has been created, the mail creating means automatically creates a mail with a number indicating the received message. To, and controlling said mail transmission means to transmit the email with the created.
The invention according to claim 5 is the answering machine according to claim 4, further comprising response message transmitting means for transmitting a response message to the other party in response to an incoming call, and a number indicating the message. An instruction number receiving means for receiving and a message message transmitting means, wherein the control means receives the instruction number while the response message transmitting means is transmitting a response message or after the response message is transmitted. When the means determines that the number indicating the message message has been received, the message message reproducing means reads the message message corresponding to the instruction number from the message message storage means and transmits the message to the other party. It is characterized by controlling.

  According to the present invention, when the answering machine stores the message, the user who received the mail transmits the message that the message has been received and the number that specifies the stored message to the predetermined destination. Can listen to the message corresponding to the input number immediately by inputting the number written in the mail when listening to the message by remote control. For this reason, it is not necessary to sequentially play back the message messages that have been stored from the newest one (or from the oldest one) as in the past. Is possible.

Hereinafter, specific examples of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to examples and drawings. However, the embodiment shown below is an answering machine for embodying the technical idea of the present invention (in this embodiment, a cordless telephone apparatus having an answering machine function is illustrated), and the present invention is It is not intended to be specific to this cordless telephone device, and is equally applicable to the answering machine of other embodiments included in the claims.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of a cordless telephone device 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the following first embodiment, the operation of the cordless telephone device 10 when the answering machine recording function is set and when there is an incoming call to a specific slave unit will be described.
The cordless telephone device 10 has a configuration in which a parent device 20 and a child device 30 are wirelessly connected, and a call can be received and transmitted from the child device 30 via the parent device 20. The cordless telephone device 10 may be either an analog cordless telephone device or a digital cordless telephone device, or may be a terminal device of an IP telephone system.

The master unit 20 is provided with a so-called answering machine function for recording a message from the calling party when the user is away and cannot respond to the master unit 20 or the slave unit 30 when receiving a call.
As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 2, the base unit 20 includes a telephone line control unit 21, an audio signal processing unit 22, a radio unit 23, a control unit 24, a microphone / speaker unit 25, an operation / display unit 26, a memory 27, An antenna 28 is provided. The control unit 24 is a control circuit composed of a microprocessor and includes a ROM and a RAM (not shown). The ROM stores a program for controlling the operation of each unit, and a program for allowing the control unit 24 to measure a call time and to calculate a call charge is also written. Information necessary for the operation of the control unit 24 is stored in the RAM.
The telephone line control unit 21 controls incoming calls from the public line N and outgoing calls to the public line N, and performs incoming call detection, dial tone detection, and the like. It also has a function of detecting telephone number data from the calling side and a function of transmitting and receiving mail data.
The voice signal processing unit 22 processes the received voice signal and outputs it through the microphone / speaker unit 25 or processes the transmission voice input through the microphone / speaker unit 25 and converts it into a voice signal. Send it out. The wireless unit 23 communicates a transmission signal, an incoming signal, a transmitted voice signal, and a received voice signal with the slave unit 30 via the antenna 28.
The operation / display unit 26 includes a display, function keys, numeric keys, and the like. The numeric keys are used to input a telephone number when making a call, and the function keys are used to select and set various functions. It is done. That is, the function key is operated to display a desired function setting screen on the display to set various functions of the cordless telephone device 10, or to set various service functions provided by the communication carrier on / off. can do. For example, on / off settings such as a number display service, a call waiting display service, and a name display service can be set. In the present embodiment, the operation / display unit 26 is described as one block, but it is needless to say that the operation unit and the display unit may be separate blocks.
The memory 27 is composed of, for example, a flash memory, system programs necessary for the operation of the control unit 14, telephone directory data (a plurality of names, telephone numbers, mail addresses, etc. can be stored in pairs for each destination), and sent / received mails. Data etc. are stored. In addition, a response message (for example, “I am calling now, please put a message after a beeping sound”) and a business message can be stored in this flash memory. Further, as will be described in detail later, the memory 27 also stores information on the other party to whom a mail indicating that the business message has been received is transmitted.
For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of message data can be stored in association with the name of the other party, the telephone number, the time when the message was recorded, and the voice data (not shown) of the message. is there. These message messages are stored in the order of arrival from the line. The oldest message message is the message message from Hanako Sasaki at address 4, and the newest message message is from Taro Shimada at address 1. This is a business message.
Further, in the master unit 20, the control unit 24 includes a communication range determination unit 241. When the master unit 20 calls the slave unit 30, the communication range determination unit 241 includes the corresponding slave unit 30 as the master unit 20. It is determined whether or not the wireless communication area is within a communication range. If the handset 30 is within the communication range and transmits a response signal to the calling signal from the base unit 20, and the base unit 20 receives it, the incoming call is connected to the handset 30.

Next, the slave unit 30 will be described.
As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 3, the slave unit 30 includes an audio signal processing unit 32, a radio unit 33, a control unit 34, a microphone / speaker unit 35, an operation / display unit 36, a memory 37, and an antenna 38. It is configured. The control unit 34 is a control circuit including a microprocessor, and includes a ROM and a RAM (not shown). The ROM stores a program for controlling the operation of each unit, and a program for the control unit 34 to communicate with the parent device 20 is also written therein. Information necessary for the operation of the control unit 34 is stored in the RAM.
The voice signal processing unit 32 processes the received voice signal and outputs the processed voice signal via the microphone / speaker unit 35, or processes the transmission voice input via the microphone / speaker unit 35 and converts it into a voice signal. Send it out. The radio unit 33 communicates a transmission signal, a transmission voice signal, and a reception voice signal with the parent device 20 via the antenna 38.
The operation / display unit 36 includes a display, function keys, numeric keys, and the like. The numeric keys are used to input a telephone number when making a call, and the function keys are used to select and set various functions. It is done. That is, by operating the function keys, a desired function setting screen can be displayed on the display, and various function settings of the slave unit 30 can be performed. The operation / display unit 36 is provided with an answering machine display area 361 for displaying whether or not an answering machine recording for the slave unit 30 is left in the recording / playback unit 29 of the master unit 20 and displaying a confirmation button for requesting playback. It has been. Therefore, the user of the handset 30 can play and listen to the message recorded in the recording / playback unit 29 by operating the confirmation button if there is an absence recording display in the area 361.

In addition to storing the setting status of various functions of the slave unit 30, the memory 37 can store telephone book entries and speed dial registration information input by the user. When the ringtone switching function is used, sound source data is stored so that the ringtone can be directly reproduced and output on the handset 30 side. This sound source data is stored in association with an identification code transmitted from the master unit 20 together with the incoming signal. The sound source data of each ring tone can be input from various removable recording media, or sound source data reproduced by other devices can be recorded and input.
In the cordless telephone apparatus having such a configuration, in the apparatus according to the present embodiment, when the message is stored in the parent device 20, the parent device 20 automatically records the message as shown in FIG. The e-mail shown is transmitted to a preset destination. In this mail text, the address number of the business message shown in FIG. 4 is also described. A user who has received this mail (for example, a user of a mobile phone) makes a call to the base unit 20 that has sent the mail, and inputs a personal identification number while playing back the response message (or after playing back the response message). Subsequently, by inputting the address number described in the mail text, it is possible to immediately listen to the business message corresponding to the address number.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure in the base unit 20 of the cordless telephone device 10 as the present embodiment. In the flowchart of FIG. 5, it is assumed that the answering machine setting is turned on in advance. When the control unit 24 of the base unit 20 determines that there is an incoming call from the line N in the process of step S01, the process proceeds to step S02.
In step S02, the control unit 24 starts storing the message from the line in the memory 27. Specifically, the line is automatically connected after a predetermined number of ringing sounds, a response message and a beep sound stored in the memory 27 are sent to the line L, and then a message from the line L is sent. Store in the memory 27. For example, the business message from Mr. Taro Shimada (phone number 0857-00-1110) shown in FIG. Note that the line L is released after the business message is stored, and a standby state is entered.
In step S03, as shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 24 automatically creates a mail in which the recording date and time, the destination number, the destination name, and the address number are written in the body of the email whose subject is an absence recording notification. In step S04, the telephone line control unit 21 is controlled so that mail is transmitted to the other party stored in the memory 27 in advance. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, a mail text describing that a business message from Mr. Taro Shimada is stored at address 1 is sent by mail.
In step S05, when the control unit 24 determines that there is an incoming call from the line N, the process proceeds to step S06.
In Steps S06 and S07, when the control unit 24 determines that the input of the DTMF sound having a predetermined 4-digit password is being sent from the line during or after sending the response message to the line after the ringing tone is sounded, S08 Remote operation starts in steps. In this case, the message is reproduced, stopped, etc. according to the DTMF sound from the calling side. If the password is not received in step S07, the process returns to step S02 to start recording the message.
The operation of the remote operation in step S08 will be described in detail. The control unit 24 determines that the address 1 (in this case, the DTMF signal corresponding to the numeric keypad 1) is input from the line N following the input of the password. The message corresponding to the address 1, that is, the message of Mr. Taro Shimada in FIG. 4 is read from the memory 27 and sent to the line N. At this time, for example, when address 2 (in this case, a DTMF signal corresponding to numeric keypad 2) is detected from the line, a message related to Ichiro Tanaka corresponding to address 2 is read from memory 27 and sent to line N.
As described above, in the present embodiment apparatus, when the message is stored in the memory 27 of the answering machine, the message indicating that the message is stored, the information on the sender of the message, and the address number are described. In order to automatically send the received e-mail to a preset destination, the user who receives this e-mail makes a call to the answering machine and inputs the address number by remote operation, thereby responding to the address number. It is possible to listen to the business message immediately.

  In the present embodiment, the cordless telephone apparatus with an answering machine function is used. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can be applied to other electronic apparatuses as long as the electronic apparatus has an answering machine function. Examples of other electronic devices include a facsimile machine having a voice mail function, a mobile phone device, a PHS (Personal Handy phone System), a copier, a navigation device, and the like.

It is a figure which shows the external appearance of the cordless telephone apparatus concerning the Example of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the main | base station concerning the Example of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the subunit | mobile_unit concerning the Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the storage form of the business message concerning the Example of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of mail data.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Cordless telephone apparatus 20 ... Base unit 21 ... Telephone line control unit 22 ... Voice signal processing unit 23 ... Radio unit 24 ... Control unit 241 ...・ Communication area discriminating means 25... Microphone / speaker unit 26... Operation / display unit 27... Memory 28. Machine 32... Audio signal processing unit 33... Wireless unit 34... Control unit 35. 37 ... Memory 38 ... Antenna N ... Public line

Claims (5)

An answering machine that can receive and store business messages from the line,
An answering machine characterized by notifying a preset destination of a message indicating that there is a business message after receiving a business message from a line and information specifying the business message. An answering machine that can receive and store business messages from the line,
An answering machine according to claim 1, wherein after receiving a message message from a line, a message indicating that there is a message message and information specifying the message message are notified to a preset destination as mail data. An answering machine that can receive and store business messages from the line,
An answering machine characterized in that after receiving a message message from a line, a message indicating that there is a message message and information specifying the message message are notified to a preset destination as voice data. An answering machine that can receive and store business messages from the line,
The answering machine includes a message message receiving means for receiving a message message from a line, a message message storing means for storing a message message received by the message message receiving means, and a stored message message. An email creation means for creating an email with a number to be instructed, an email transmission means for sending an email created by the email creation means, and a control means,
The control unit adds a number indicating the received message message when the message message receiving unit receives the message message and determines that the received message message is stored in the message message storage unit. The answering machine is characterized in that the created mail is automatically created by the mail creating means, and the mail sending means is controlled to send the created mail. An answering machine according to claim 4,
And a response message transmitting means for transmitting a response message to the other party in response to an incoming call, an instruction number receiving means for receiving a number indicating the message, and a message message transmitting means,
When the control means determines that the instruction number is received while the response message transmitting means is transmitting the response message or the instruction number receiving means has received a number indicating the message message after the response message is transmitted. The answering machine is characterized in that the message message reproducing means is controlled so as to read the message message corresponding to the message message from the message message storage means and send it to the other party.

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