JP4423563B2 - Answering machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an answering machine, and more particularly, an answering machine capable of changing the operation of an automatic answering unit depending on whether or not there is a person near the telephone when an incoming call is received in a state where the answering machine is set. About.

Generally, when an answering machine detects an incoming call when the user is set to answering machine due to absence or the like, it automatically sends a response message to the calling party and then records a message from the calling party. (Refer to Patent Document 1). Here, the time from when the incoming call is detected to when the response message is started to be sent to the calling side is a predetermined time (for example, the time for which the ringing tone is sounded five times).
JP-A-8-88683

  However, in a conventional answering machine equipped with an automatic answering unit that automatically responds to an incoming call that arrives on the line based on the calling operation on the calling side, a response message is transmitted after the incoming call is detected. Since the time until is constant, even if a person is near the telephone, if the person does not respond within a certain period of time, a response message is automatically sent out, making it impossible to talk to the caller. Increasing the time from when an incoming call is detected until the response message is sent decreases the degree of occurrence of such a situation, but if there is no person near the phone, the waiting time of the caller becomes longer. End up.

The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and its purpose is to detect an incoming call that arrives on a line based on a call origination operation when the answering machine mode is set. In the answering machine that executes answering machine response processing when a predetermined automatic response time has passed , the possibility of a call with a caller when there is a person nearby is increased , and transmission when there is no person nearby Is to prevent the extension of the waiting time.

The invention according to claim 1, when set to the Voice mode, answering response processing when automatic response time has elapsed a predetermined from the detection of the incoming call arriving at the line based on the outgoing side of the call operation In the answering machine that executes the human sensor, the human sensor and the automatic response time are set to a first time when there is no detection signal of the human sensor, and when a predetermined condition is satisfied, Automatic answering time setting means for setting a second time longer than the first time, wherein the condition is that there is at least a detection signal of the human sensor. .
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the answering machine according to the first aspect of the present invention, the answering machine has means for determining whether or not the caller is a specific partner, and the condition is that the detection signal of the human sensor is The answering machine is characterized in that the caller is a specific partner .
The invention according to claim 3 is the answering machine according to claim 1 , comprising a microphone and means for determining whether or not the microphone detects a sound of a predetermined level or higher, wherein the condition is The answering machine is characterized in that there is a detection signal of a human sensor and the microphone detects a sound of a predetermined level or higher.
The invention according to claim 4 is the answering machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the incoming call display means for visually or audibly displaying the incoming call, and the display mode of the incoming call display means is the automatic response. An answering machine comprising: means for setting a display mode according to a set time of the time setting means .

(Function)
According to the first aspect of the invention, the automatic response time is set to the first time when there is no human sensor detection signal, and at least when the human sensor detection signal is present, the first time is set. Longer than the second time .
According to the invention of claim 2, the automatic response time is set to the first time when there is no human sensor detection signal, the human sensor is detected, and the caller is a specific partner. In some cases, a second time longer than the first time is set .
According to the third aspect of the invention, the automatic response time is set to the first time when there is no human sensor detection signal, and there is a human sensor detection signal and the sound of the microphone above a predetermined level. Is detected, a second time longer than the first time is set .
According to the invention which concerns on Claim 4, the display mode of an incoming call display means is set to the display mode according to the setting time of an automatic response time setting means.

By the present invention lever, when set to answering mode, an answering response processing when automatic response time has elapsed a predetermined from the detection of the incoming call arriving at the line based on the outgoing side of the call operation In the answering machine to be executed, when there is at least a human sensor detection signal, the automatic response time is set longer than when there is no human sensor detection signal. the possibility is growing call with, it is possible to prevent the extension of the caller's waiting time in the case of close to no one.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, a telephone according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a control device 1, a storage device 2, an input device 3, a display device 4, a line connection circuit 5, a call circuit 6, respectively connected to the control device 1. An incoming call detection circuit 8, a caller number detection circuit 9, a dial transmission circuit 10, a speaker 11, a bell 12, an incoming call lamp 13, a timer 14-1, an extension timer 14-2, an infrared sensor 15, and a sound collecting microphone 16 are provided. Yes. A handset 7 is connected to the call circuit 6.

  The control device 1 includes a microprocessor and controls the entire telephone. The storage device 2 includes a ROM 2A in which a program used when the control device 1 executes various controls and the like, a RAM 2B that temporarily stores data when the control device executes various controls, a response message, It has EEPROM2C for storing business messages, emergency contact phone numbers, phone book data, etc. The input device 3 includes dial keys and various function keys. The display device 4 is composed of an LCD, and displays the operating state of the telephone, the incoming / outgoing telephone number, and the like. The line connection circuit 5 closes and opens the telephone line. The call circuit 6 performs 2-wire-4 wire conversion and the like. The handset 7 is a handset equipped with a speaker and a microphone. By picking up or placing the handset 7, a hook switch (not shown) is turned on / off. The incoming call detection circuit 8 detects an incoming call from a telephone line. The caller number detection circuit 9 detects a caller number when an incoming call is received. The dial transmission circuit 10 generates and sends a dial signal. The speaker 11 outputs a message or the like from the caller recorded and reproduced in the EEPROM 2C. Bell 12 outputs a ringing tone when an incoming call is received. The incoming call lamp 13 emits light when an incoming call is received. The timer 14-1 starts when an incoming call is detected in a state where the telephone is set in the answering machine mode, and time-ups when a predetermined time is counted until the answering machine response process is started. The extension timer 14-2 starts when the time until the answering machine response process is started after the timer 14-1 times out, and starts up when the extension time is counted. The infrared sensor 15 is provided in the case or handset of the telephone, and can detect a person near the telephone. A sound collecting microphone 16 is also provided in the casing or handset of the telephone, and detects sounds around the telephone.

The operation of the telephone having the above configuration when receiving a call will be described with reference to FIG.
Incoming calls from the telephone line are detected by the incoming call detection circuit 8 and notified to the control device 1 (YES in step S1). When notified of the detection of the incoming call, the control device 1 generates a ringing tone from the bell 12 and blinks the incoming call lamp 13. Next, the control device 1 determines whether or not the answering machine mode is set (step S2). Here, when the user of the telephone presses the answering mode setting key of the input device 3, it is detected by the control device 1, and the answering mode setting flag in the RAM 2B is set, so that the control device 1 sets the flag. By looking, it can be determined whether the answering machine mode is set.

  If the answering machine mode is not set (NO in step S2), it is determined whether or not the user has responded to the incoming call by picking up the handset 7 (step S3), and if the incoming call is answered (YES in step S3) ) Performs the incoming call response process (step S4) and then proceeds to the call process. As a result, it is possible to make a call with the caller through the handset 7 -the communication circuit 6 -the line connection circuit 5 -the telephone line.

  If the user is not responding to the incoming call (NO in step S3), it is determined whether or not the incoming call has ended, that is, whether the caller has disconnected the line by performing on-hook or the like (step S5). As a result of the determination, if the incoming call is terminated (YES in step S5), an end process (step S6) such as stopping the ringing tone is executed. If not, the process returns to step S2.

  If the answering machine mode is set (YES in step S2), it is determined whether or not the automatic response time has elapsed based on whether or not the timer 14-1 has been counted up after the timer 14-1 has started. (Step S7). As a result of the determination, if the automatic response time has not elapsed (NO in step S7), the process proceeds to step S3, and if the automatic response time has elapsed (YES in step S7), the process proceeds to step S8. Instead of performing the determination as to whether or not the automatic response time has elapsed based on the count value of the timer, the automatic response time may be configured to be performed based on the count value of the number of ringing sounds.

  In step S8, the infrared sensor 15 is operated, and it is determined whether or not the infrared sensor 15 is detecting a person. If not detected (NO in step S8), a response message is read from the EEPROM 2C and the caller is read. (Step S14), receives a message from the caller, and writes it to EEPROM 2C (answering machine). Therefore, when there is no person near the telephone, the answering machine response process is immediately executed, so that the waiting time of the caller does not increase.

  If the infrared sensor 15 detects a person (YES in step S8), the extension timer 14-2 is started to extend the automatic response time (step S9). Further, the call notification method (incoming display mode) is changed by increasing the ringing sound level of the bell 12 or increasing the blinking speed and brightness of the incoming call lamp 13 (step S10).

  Next, it is determined whether or not the user has responded to the incoming call (step S11). If the user has responded (YES in step S11), the incoming call response process (step S4) is performed and then the process proceeds to the call process. If the user has not responded to the incoming call (NO in step S11), it is determined whether or not the incoming call has ended (step S12). As a result of the determination, if the incoming call is terminated (YES in step S12), the termination process (step S6) is executed. If the incoming call is not terminated, it is determined whether or not the extension timer 14-2 has expired (step S13). ). If time is up, the answering machine response process (step S14) is executed, and then the answering machine process is performed. If the time is not up, the process returns to step S11. Therefore, when there is a person near the phone, the time from detection of incoming call to execution of answering machine processing becomes longer (the timing for starting answering machine answering process is delayed), so the possibility of calling with the caller is improved. To do.

  In the process shown in FIG. 2, when the infrared sensor 15 detects a person (YES in step S8), the extension timer 14-2 is started to unconditionally extend the automatic response time. (Step S9) may be configured to start a timer for extending the automatic response time when the infrared sensor 15 detects a person and a predetermined condition is satisfied.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of the configuration. In this configuration example, when the infrared sensor 15 detects a person (YES in step S8), it is determined whether or not the caller number is detected by the caller number detection circuit 9 (step S81). If the caller number is detected as a result of the determination, it is determined whether or not the number is an emergency contact stored in advance in the EEPROM 2C (step S82). It is determined whether or not it is registered in the telephone directory (step S83). If it is an emergency contact or registered in the telephone directory, the process proceeds to step S9, where a timer for extending the automatic response time is started. If the caller ID is not notified (NO in step S81), and if it is notified, it is not an emergency contact (NO in step S82) and is not registered in the phone book (in step S83) NO), the process proceeds to step S84, where it is determined whether or not the sound level detected by the sound collecting microphone 16 hinders the call. As a result of the determination, if there is a problem in the call (YES in step S84), the process proceeds to step S9 to start the extension timer 14-2, and if there is no problem (NO in step S84), the process proceeds to step S14 and the answering machine. Perform response processing.

  That is, in the process of FIG. 3, when the infrared sensor 15 detects a person at the time of an incoming call and the caller number is an emergency contact or a registered address in the telephone directory, or when the incoming call is received, the infrared sensor 15 detects a person. If there is a high noise level around the telephone and there is a hindrance to the call, the automatic response time is extended (the timing for starting the answering machine response process is delayed). Therefore, even when the answering machine mode is set, it is possible to increase the possibility of a call with the emergency contact address or the telephone directory registration destination. In addition, it is possible to increase the possibility of avoiding a call when there is a hindrance to the call.

  As described above, according to the telephone according to the present embodiment, when an incoming call is detected in a state where the answering machine mode is set, and there is a person near the telephone when the timer 14-1 times out, there is no need. When the condition or the predetermined condition is satisfied, the extension timer 14-2 is started to extend the time until the answering machine response process is started, so when there is a person near the telephone, The possibility increases. In addition, when the time is extended, the volume of the bell 12 is increased and the brightness of the incoming call lamp 13 is increased, so that it is possible to expect an effect of urgently answering a person near the telephone.

  In the process shown in FIG. 2, when the timer 14-1 times out, the presence or absence of the detection output of the infrared sensor 15 is determined, and the extension timer 14-2 is started when a person is detected. When the incoming call is detected and it is determined that the answering machine mode is set (YES in step S2), the timer 14 may be started and the extension timer 14-2 may be started when the time is up. . Also set to start the timer 14 when the detection output of the infrared sensor 15 is detected slightly before the incoming call detection (for example, 5 seconds before the incoming call detection) and start the extended timer 14-2 when the time is up May be. Further, the answering machine response process may be prohibited while the infrared sensor 15 is detecting a person.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the telephone set which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement at the time of the incoming call of the telephone which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is another structural example of the flowchart which shows the operation | movement at the time of the incoming call of the telephone which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Control apparatus, 9 ... Caller number detection circuit, 12 ... Bell, 13 ... Incoming lamp, 14-1 ... Timer, 14-2 ... Extension timer, 15 ...・ Infrared sensor, 16 ... Sound collecting microphone.

Claims (4)

When the answering machine mode is set, in the answering machine that executes answering machine response processing when a predetermined automatic response time has elapsed from detection of an incoming call arriving on the line based on the calling operation on the calling side,
A human sensor,
The automatic response time is set to a first time when there is no detection signal from the human sensor, and is set to a second time longer than the first time when a predetermined condition is satisfied. Automatic response time setting means to
The answering machine is characterized in that the condition is that there is at least a detection signal of the human sensor . In the answering machine according to claim 1,
Means for determining whether the caller is a specific person ,
The answering machine is characterized in that there is a detection signal of the human sensor and the caller is a specific partner . In the answering machine according to claim 1,
A microphone,
Means for determining whether or not the microphone detects a sound of a predetermined level or higher,
The condition, telephone answering device, wherein the there are detection signals of the motion sensor, and the microphone is that it detects the sound of a predetermined level or more. In the answering machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
An incoming call display means for visually or audibly displaying an incoming call, and a means for setting the display mode of the incoming call display means to a display mode corresponding to the set time of the automatic response time setting unit , Answering machine.

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