JPH01277043A - Portable automatic dialing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make a dialing operation unnecessary by converting a telephone number and a number for telephone service to a prescribed tone signal, respectively when the telephone number of long distance speech is retrieved, and when the telephone number of the long distance speech is retrieved and furthermore, a special number for telephone service is retrieved. CONSTITUTION:The name and the telephone number of an opponent registered in a telephone mode are called sequentially from a RAM5 by depressing a search key 3h or 3i, and when the name and the telephone number of the opponent desired to communicate are displayed on a display device 2, an automatic dialing operation is performed by depressing a dial key 3j. And it is judged whether or not the leading data of a retrieved telephone number is '1'. Since the identification number '1' of the long distance speech is registered, judgement shows YES, and it is judged whether or not a mode is an SSN mode. At this time, since a portable automatic dialing device 1 is operated in a telephone mode, the judgement shows NO, and next, it is judged that data being referred at present is equivalent to which data out of 0-9, xsi, and *. The tone signal corresponding to the number '1' is generated, and is supplied to a speaker 9 via an amplifier 8.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a portable automatic dialing device, and in particular, it registers telephone numbers and related data in advance, and converts the registered data into tone signals. The present invention relates to a portable automatic dialing device which converts and transmits from a speaker to a public telephone line, thereby operating a telephone exchange.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, when making a telephone call, the person making the call had to dial the telephone number, password, etc. of the other party. However, with the recent diversification of telephone services, the number of digits required for dialing has tended to increase, making dialing cumbersome. Also, it is difficult to remember many people's phone numbers in your head.

Therefore, a portable automatic dialing device that has both a function of storing telephone numbers and the like and an automatic dialing function has recently been proposed. This portable automatic dialing device is equipped with a key operation section and a display like a so-called electronic desktop calculator. The key operation section includes various keys used for data entry and retrieval. The telephone number inputted from the key operation unit and data related thereto (name of the other party, password, telephone company access code, etc.) are stored in an internal storage device (for example, RAM).

On the other hand, when making a phone call, by operating a search key provided on the key operation section, the corresponding telephone number etc. are retrieved from the storage device and displayed on the display. When a key for dialing is pressed, the retrieved data such as the telephone number is converted into a corresponding tone signal.

This tone signal is an audible frequency signal having the same frequency as a push button signal of a so-called push button telephone. This tone signal is then given to a speaker provided inside and output to the outside. At this time, the portable automatic dialing device is brought into contact with the mouthpiece of the handset of the telephone, so that tone signals from the speaker are sent out to the telephone line. As mentioned above, the tone signal is an audio frequency signal with the same frequency as the pushbutton signal of a pushbutton telephone, so it activates the telephone exchange and connects the telephone line to the other telephone whose telephone number corresponds to the tone signal. let Thus, portable automatic dialing devices are extremely convenient because they do not require any dialing and can store a large number of telephone numbers and related data.

By the way, in the public telephone system in the United States, when making a long distance call, it is necessary to add "1" to the beginning of the called party's telephone number.

On the other hand, in the United States there is a telephone service called calling card dialing service. In this calling card dialing service, a calling card (a type of credit card for telephones) is issued in advance by a telephone company, and a calling card number assigned to each customer is recorded on this calling card. By dialing this calling card number after the other party's phone number, the call fee will be automatically deducted from your bank account. For example, if you call New York from a pay phone in Los Angeles, you don't have to have change on you to make the call, and the call will be billed to you once a month as part of your phone bill.

Currently, there are public telephones that are equipped with a card reader and those that are not. A public phone equipped with a card reader allows the card reader to read the calling card number and automatically make a call to the center. Therefore, dialing a calling card number is not necessary. In contrast, public telephones without card readers (which most currently do) require the caller to dial the number of the other party followed by the calling card number. The method of making a call using such a calling card number differs depending on the telephone company, but in any case, it is necessary to add "0" to the beginning of the telephone number of the other party.

This is the same regardless of whether it is a local call or a six-way distance call. Therefore, when making a long distance call using a calling card number, it is necessary to add a "0" instead of the leading "1" that is added in the case of a normal long distance call as described above. There is.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, when a conventional portable automatic dialing device automatically dials a long distance call, only the telephone number of the other party is memorized. For distance calls, it was necessary to dial 1m at the beginning, and for long distance φ calls using a calling card number, it was necessary to manually dial the card number with "0" at the beginning and at the end. Therefore, conventional portable automatic dialing devices have the problem that dial operations are not fully automated and require troublesome dial operations.

Although the above explanation has been given using the public telephone system in the United States as an example, similar problems may occur in our country due to the recent establishment of power outages.

This invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and it is difficult to make a normal long-distance call and a long-distance call using a special telephone service (for example, the above-mentioned calling card dialing service). Regardless,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable automatic dialing device that can completely eliminate the need for dialing operations at all times.

[Means for Solving the Problems] A portable automatic dialing device according to the present invention includes a data input means for inputting a telephone number and data related thereto, and data for registering the data input from the data input means. A registration means, a search means for searching necessary data from among the data registered in the data registration means, and converting the data searched by the search means into a tone signal used for using a public telephone line. A device comprising a converting means and a speaker for outputting the output of the converting means to the outside, and configured such that a tone signal emitted from the speaker is sent to a telephone line through a mouthpiece of a telephone, thereby operating a telephone exchange. has been done.

The portable automatic dialing device has a first mode for registering and searching a general telephone number;
It is equipped with a second mode for registering and searching for special telephone service numbers other than general telephone numbers.
Among the telephone numbers registered in the first mode, the telephone numbers registered as long-distance calls are registered with a predetermined identification number for long-distance calls added thereto. Further, in the portable automatic dialing device of the present invention, when a telephone number for a long-distance call is retrieved in the first mode, the retrieved telephone number is directly supplied to the conversion means to convert it into a corresponding tone signal.゛When a long-distance telephone number is searched for in the first mode and a special telephone service number is searched for in the second mode, the first control means extracts an identification number from the searched telephone number. and a second control means for supplying the telephone number from which the identification number has been removed and the retrieved special telephone service number to the conversion means for conversion into a corresponding tone signal.

[Function] In this invention, when making a normal long-distance call, the telephone number with the identification number added is directly given to the conversion means and converted into a corresponding tone signal, and also when a special telephone service is used, When making a long-distance call, the identification number is automatically removed from the searched phone number, and the phone number from which the identification number has been removed and a special telephone service number are given to a conversion means and a corresponding tone signal is sent. By converting to , dialing is no longer necessary, regardless of whether you are making a regular long distance call or a long distance call using a special telephone service.

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 is an external front view of a portable automatic dialing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the portable automatic dialing device 1 includes a display 2, data input/output,
A key operation unit 3 including a plurality of types of keys used for searches and the like is provided.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing the electrical circuit portion of the embodiment shown in FIG. In the figure, the CPU 4 is connected to the display 2 and the key operation unit 3 described above. Also, C.P.
RAM5 and ROM6 are connected to U4. R.A.
M5 is for storing data input from the key operation section 3 and various other data necessary for processing. The ROM 6 is used to store operating programs for the CPU 4, and stores, for example, a program as shown in FIG. 3, which will be described later. Furthermore, CPU4 has
An oscillator 7a for generating an operating clock for the CPU 4 and an oscillator 7b used for creating a tone signal are connected. As mentioned above, this tone signal is an audible frequency signal having the same frequency as the push button signal of the push button telephone. The tone signal created based on the oscillator 7b is amplified by an amplifier 8 and then given to a speaker 9. The speaker 9 is arranged inside the portable automatic dialing device 1 so as to face the back surface thereof.

Although not shown, a plurality of holes are formed on the back surface of the portable automatic dialing device 1 for guiding tone signals emitted from the speaker 9 to the outside.

In the above-described configuration, the portable automatic dialing device 1 has a telephone mode (first mode) and an SSN (
Special 5service Number
r) mode (second mode).

Telephone mode is a mode for registering and searching general telephone numbers and party names, and SSN mode is a mode for registering and searching for special telephone service numbers.

Normally, the portable automatic dialing device 1 operates in telephone mode, but is switched to SSN mode by pressing the ssN key 3a.

Next, the operating method or operation of the above embodiment will be explained.

First, a method for registering a telephone number for long distance calls (hereinafter referred to as long distance calls) will be described. In telephone mode, first enter the name of the other party. This input is performed using the character/numeric key group 3b of the key operation section 3. At this time, the character/number key group 3b has been switched to character input mode by the input switching key 30. The input partner's name is displayed on the upper stage of the display 2.

When the input of the name is completed, the cursor position on the display 2 is moved to the lower row of the display 2 by operating the cursor movement key group 3d. However, if you enter the name up to the last digit, that is, 12 characters, in the upper row, the cursor position will automatically move to the telephone number display section in the lower row.

Then, input "1" at the beginning for long-distance calls.

This input of "1" is performed using the character/numeric key group 3b. At this time, the character/numeric key group 3b has been switched to the numeric input mode by the input switching key 3c.

Next, for the purpose of making the displayed content easier to read, press the hyphen key 3.
"-" is input by operating e. However, it is not necessary to input this "~". Next, the character/number key group 3b is operated to input the telephone number of the other party. “1-Destination telephone number” input in this way is displayed on the lower part of the display 2. When the input of the telephone number of the other party is completed, the input key 3f is pressed. As a result, the name and telephone number (including the first 1) displayed on display 2 are stored in the RAM.
Registered in 5.

Next, a method of registering SSN data for using the calling card dialing service will be described. First, S
The SN key 38 is pressed to enter the SSN mode. Here, after entering the name, move to the lower part of the display 2, that is, the telephone number display section, and enter "0-U", then enter the pause code "P" and the calling card number, and press the input button. -3f to register in RAM5. In addition,"
"U" means that the telephone number of the other party is entered in this part, and is input using the target key 3g. Also, the pause code "P" is input using the pause key 3k, and commands a pause state for a certain period of time. The data for the calling card dialing service registered in this way can be commonly used for a plurality of destination telephone numbers input in the above-described manner.

Next, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3 and the display example of FIG. 4, the search and automatic dialing operations when making a normal long-distance call will be described.

First, search keys 311 and 31 are operated to search for the corresponding telephone number of the other party. That is, when the search key 3h or 31 is pressed, the name and telephone number of the other party registered in the telephone mode are sequentially retrieved from the RAM 5 and displayed on the display 2. When the name and telephone number of the person you wish to call are displayed on the display 2, the dial key 3j is pressed and the automatic dialing operation shown in FIG. 3 begins. First, in step S1, it is determined whether the leading data of the retrieved telephone number is "1". At this time, since the identification number "1" indicating a long-distance call is registered at the beginning of the telephone number, the determination in step S1 is YES, and the process proceeds to step S2. In this step S2, it is determined whether the mode is SSN mode. At this time, since the portable automatic dialing device 1 is operating in telephone mode, the determination is No and the process proceeds to step S3. This step S
3, the currently referenced data is 0 to 9, #, *
It is determined whether the At this time, since the leading data "1" is being referred to, the process proceeds to step S4, where a tone signal corresponding to "1" is created by the CPU 4 and is provided to the speaker 9 via the amplifier 8. Therefore, the speaker 9 outputs a tone signal corresponding to the suppression signal of the push button "1" of the push button telephone.

At this time, the mouthpiece of the telephone receiver is brought into contact with the back surface of the portable automatic dialing device 1 so as to receive the tone signal derived from the speaker 9.

Therefore, the tone signal output from the speaker 9 is sent to the telephone line through the mouthpiece of the handset. Subsequently, the process advances to step S5, and the next data is referenced. Since the data referenced at this time is "-", step S
3, it is determined in step S6 that the data being referenced at that time is "-". At this time, the tone signal is not output in step S4, and the process proceeds to step S5, where the next data is referred to. That is,
As mentioned above, the "-" symbol is inserted simply to make the display easier to read, and therefore no action is taken. After this, steps S5°S3. The operation of S4 is repeated and a tone signal corresponding to the called party's telephone number is output. Note that if "-" is inserted between the station numbers, the tone signal output operation (step S4) is skipped in step S6, as described above. The tone signal corresponding to the telephone number of the other party created in this way is sent out to the telephone line through the mouthpiece of the handset in the same way as the first number "1" described above. This tone signal therefore activates the telephone exchange to connect the telephone line to the other telephone having the telephone number corresponding to the signal. When the output of the tone signal is finished, the process proceeds to step S7, where it is determined whether the next reference data is "U". At this time, since no data is registered in the next reference data, the determination in step S7 is No, and the process proceeds to step S8. In this step S8, it is determined whether or not it is in the SSN mode, but since the portable automatic dialing device 1 is in the telephone mode at this time, it is determined as NO, and the automatic dialing operation is terminated. Do not return to another main flow.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 3 and 5, the search and automatic dialing operations when making a long distance call using the calling card dialing service will be described. First, search keys 3h and 31 are operated to search for the name and telephone number of the corresponding party. This search operation is the same as in the case of the normal long-distance call described above. When the search for the name and telephone number is completed, the SSN key 3a is pressed to enter the SSN mode. Then, the calling card number is searched by operating the search keys 3h and 31. Usually, in this type of portable automatic dialing device 1, a plurality of special telephone service numbers are registered in the SSN mode, and a calling card number is searched from among them. When the calling card number search is completed, the dial key 3a is pressed and the third
Enter the automatic dialing operation shown in the figure. First, step S1
It is determined whether the first data is "1" or not. As described above, since the "〇-UP calling card number" is registered as data for the calling card dialing service, the first data is "0". Therefore, the determination in step S1 is No, and the tone signal corresponding to the leading data "0" is outputted in step S4 via step S3. continue,
The next data is referenced in step S5. Since the next data is “-”, it is passed through step S3 and then step S
6, it is determined that it is "-".

In this case, no tone signal is output, and the process returns to step S5 to refer to the next data. Since the next data is "U", after the operations in steps S3 and S6, the reference data at that time is "U" in step S7.
It is determined that

Therefore, the process advances to step S9, and the telephone number of the other party searched in the previous telephone mode before entering the SSN mode is set. The identification number "1" at the beginning of the telephone number set at this time indicates that the call is a long distance call.
is added. Therefore, after step S9, it is determined in step S1 that the leading data is "1", and the process proceeds to step S2. In step S2, it is determined whether or not the mode is SSN mode. Since the mode is SSN mode at this time, the process advances to step S10. In step SIO, it is determined whether processing of the other party's telephone number is currently being executed.

At this time, since the other party's telephone number is being determined, the process advances to step Sll and the next data is referenced. Since the next data is "-", this is determined in step S12, and the next data is referenced in step S5. The data after this is the actual telephone number of the other party (excluding the leading 0). And this phone number is
5. S3. At S4 and S6, a tone signal corresponding to that number is output. In this way, in the automatic dialing operation in the calling card dialing service, the "1" added to the beginning of the long-distance telephone number registered in the telephone mode is automatically deleted, indicating that the calling card dialing service is not in use. When the tone signal output of the destination telephone number is completed, the next data referred to in step S5 is "P", so after passing through steps S3 and S6, , a one-second standby process is performed in steps S15 and S16, and the SSN is processed in step S8 through step S7.
It is determined that the current mode is selected, and the process advances to step S13.

In step 813, it is determined whether or not the execution of the SSN data has ended. At this time, since the execution of the SSN data has not yet been completed, the process advances to step S14. In this step S14, the calling card number as the final part of the SSN data is set. Subsequently, steps Sl, S2. After the SIO operation, the process advances to step S3. Thereafter, a tone signal corresponding to the calling card number is outputted through the operation loop of steps 83 to S6. When the calling card number tone signal output operation is completed, the process proceeds to step 31B after passing through steps S7 and S8, and it is determined whether the execution of the SSN data is completed. Therefore, the process returns to the main flow (not shown).

In the above embodiment, the calling card number is automatically output as a tone signal in the SSN mode, but when making a call from a public phone equipped with a card reader, the calling card number recorded on the calling card is read. Since the call is automatically sent to the center, there is no need to output a tone for the calling card number. Therefore, in order to support such phones with card readers, SSN
In the mode, "O-U" may be registered separately from the "0-UP co-coding card number". If you are making a call from a public telephone with a card league, use the latter S.
The SN data is retrieved and an automatic dialing operation is performed, but since the SSN data does not include the calling card number at this time, the calling card number tone is not output.

It should be noted that although the above description of the operation has mainly been given with respect to long-distance calls, this embodiment can also be applied to short-distance calls, that is, local calls.

For normal short-distance calls, only the telephone number of the other party (in this case, the leading identification data 1 is not included) is registered in the telephone mode. Further, for short-distance calls made using the calling card dialing service, the same registration and automatic dialing operations are performed as for long-distance calls made using the calling card dialing service.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, dialing operations can be completely automated at all times, regardless of whether the call is a normal long distance call or a long distance call using a special telephone service. This eliminates the need for troublesome dialing operations.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an external front view of a portable automatic dialing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electric circuit portion of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an automatic dialing operation according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a display when a normal long-distance call is made in an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a display when a long distance call is made using the 5-ring card dialing service in one embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a portable automatic dialing device, 2 is a display, 3 is a key operation unit, 3a is an SSN key, and 3 is a character/
Numeric key group, 3g is target key, 3h and 31 are search keys, 3j is dial key, 4 is CPU, 5 is R
OM, 6 is a RAM, 7a and 7b are oscillators, and 9 is a speaker. Figure 2 ρ 1 t ￥P

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A data input means for inputting a telephone number and data related thereto, a data registration means for registering data input from the data input means, and a data registration means for registering data input from the data input means. a retrieval means for retrieving necessary data therein; a conversion means for converting the data retrieved by the retrieval means into a tone signal used for using a public telephone line; and an output of the conversion means for externally. and a tone signal emitted from the speaker is sent to a telephone line through a mouthpiece of a telephone, thereby activating a telephone exchange. The ring device has a first mode for registering and searching for general telephone numbers, and a second mode for registering and searching for special telephone service numbers other than general telephone numbers. Of the telephone numbers registered in the first mode, the telephone number registered as a long-distance call is registered with a predetermined long-distance call identification number added thereto; When a telephone number for a long-distance call is retrieved in the first mode, a first control means provides the retrieved telephone number as is to the conversion means and converts it into a corresponding tone signal; When a long-distance call telephone number is searched for and the special telephone service number is searched for in the second mode, the identification number is removed from the searched telephone number, and the identification number is removed. a second method for supplying the retrieved telephone number and the retrieved special telephone service number to the converting means and converting the retrieved telephone number into a corresponding tone signal;
A portable automatic dialing device having control means.