JPH04239851A - Cordless automatic answering telephone set and cordless telephone set - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the function of a telephone set by stopping a call tone of a master set and a slave set with a human body access detection signal and enabling ringing at a succeeding incoming call. CONSTITUTION:A user of an automatic answering telephone set hears automatic reply with a caller from a speaker amplifier 14 and a finger tip or the like is in contact with a human body access sensor 36, than a signal corresponding to an access distance to a comparator circuit 37. The comparator circuit 37 detects it that a human body is accessed within a preset distance and sends a signal to a master set A via a slave set microprocessor 30, a data transmission circuit 31 and a radio circuit 25. Upon the receipt of a signal from the human body access sensor 36 of the slave set section B, the master set A turns off the speaker amplifier 14 to stop monitoring during absence. After the end of automatic reply with the caller, the speaker amplifier 14 is automatically turned on to prepare for a succeeding incoming call.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a cordless answering machine that includes a base unit having an answering machine function and a cordless handset that is wirelessly connected to the base unit, and a cordless handset that is connected to the base unit and The present invention relates to a cordless telephone device configured with a cordless handset connected wirelessly.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art In the case of a conventional cordless answering machine of this type, the volume attached to the main body of the main unit is turned down in order to mute the monitoring sound of the answering machine in the main unit.

[0003] Furthermore, in the case of conventional cordless telephone devices of this type, the ring tone for the base unit or handset does not ring until either the base unit or the handset answers the call. It is normal to continue.

0004

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, with the above-mentioned conventional cordless answering machine, the content being monitored during an answering machine is content that one does not necessarily want to hear, such as a sales matter for some kind. In this case, you have to turn down the volume attached to the main unit, which is extremely inconvenient, and if you leave the volume turned down and forget to turn it back on, the next time the automatic answer comes, The disadvantage is that monitoring becomes impossible.

Furthermore, in the conventional cordless telephone device, the ring tone for the base unit or the handset continues to ring until the call is answered by either the base unit or the handset. When you try to answer on both the side and the handset, when one answers, the other one is already answering or at the same time, or one of them tries to answer, but the other one's ringer does not ring. There was a problem that the sound kept ringing and could be noisy.

[0006] The present invention is an attempt to improve such conventional problems, and includes a base unit having an answering machine function that makes it possible to monitor the absence at all times during automatic response, and a base unit that is wirelessly connected to the base unit. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a cordless answering machine consisting of a cordless handset, and also to provide a cordless answering machine consisting of a cordless handset, and also to provide a cordless answering machine that, when a normal incoming call is made, when either the base unit or the handset answers, the ringing tone on the other handset is It is an object of the present invention to provide a cordless telephone device that includes a base unit that can stop ringing, and a cordless slave unit that is wirelessly connected to the base unit.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a cordless answering machine according to the present invention includes a base unit having an answering machine function and a cordless slave unit wirelessly connected to the base unit. A cordless telephone that is configured to detect an incoming call from a caller, close the central office line, notify the caller that you are unavailable, and perform an automatic answering operation that records the caller's message. In the answering machine, the base unit includes amplification means for amplifying the situation during automatic answering; the cordless handset unit includes a human body approach detection unit for detecting the approach of a human body up to a predetermined distance and notifying the base unit; control means for stopping the operation of the loudspeaker means in response to a detection signal from the human body approach detection means during automatic response by the base unit; and after the automatic response operation in which the operation of the loudspeaker means is stopped; The present invention is characterized in that it includes at least a control means for operating the amplification means again at the time of the next automatic response.

[0008] The above-mentioned cordless answering machine is further provided with a control means for canceling the suspension of the operation of the loudspeaker means in response to a second detection signal from the human body detection means while the operation of the loudspeaker means is stopped. This is a characteristic feature.

[0009] The cordless telephone device according to the present invention is comprised of a base unit and a cordless handset wirelessly connected to the base unit. The cordless handset has a human body approach detection means that detects the approach of a human body within a predetermined distance and notifies the base unit, While the machine is ringing, a detection signal from the human body approach detection means causes
A control means for stopping the operation of the ringing means in the base unit, and at the time of the next incoming call after the operation of the ringing means is stopped,
The present invention is characterized in that it is configured to include at least a control means for operating a ringing means in the base unit.

[0010] Furthermore, in a cordless telephone device consisting of a base unit and a cordless slave unit wirelessly connected to the base unit, each ring tone of the base unit and the slave unit is sounded in response to an incoming call from a caller. The base unit and the slave unit each have a ringing means, and the base unit includes a human body approach detection unit that detects when a human body approaches within a predetermined distance. A control means for stopping the operation of the sounding means in the child unit based on a detection signal from the human body approach detection means;
The present invention is characterized in that it includes at least a control means for operating the ringing means in the slave unit when the next call arrives after the operation of the ringing unit in the slave unit has stopped.

[0011] Furthermore, each of the cordless telephone devices has a timer circuit that is activated when the ringing means in the base unit stops operating or the ringing unit in the slave unit stops operating and counts a predetermined time; Control means for stopping the operation of the ringing means in the base unit or canceling the stoppage of the operation of the ringing unit in the slave unit if the call continues to be received from the caller even after the time set in the timer circuit has elapsed. The present invention is characterized by having the following features.

0012

[Function] Therefore, according to the cordless answering machine of the present invention, it is possible to amplify the automatic response on the main unit's answering monitor using the loudspeaker means, and also to amplify this by bringing a human hand or the like close to the handset. This can be detected by the human body approach detection means, and the amplification operation can be stopped by the control means.

Further, according to the cordless telephone device of the present invention, when a call is received during a normal call, when attempting to answer the call, the hand or the like of the human body is brought close to the handset or base unit. The detection means can detect this, and the control means can stop the operation of the ringing means in the corresponding base unit or slave unit.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the cordless answering machine and cordless telephone apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 1 and FIGS. 2 to 5.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a cordless answering machine to which an embodiment of the present invention is typically applied. As shown, a device obtained by removing the answering machine function from the cordless telephone answering machine corresponds to the cordless telephone device.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, A indicates a base unit having an answering function, and B indicates a slave unit connected wirelessly, that is, cordlessly, to the base unit A, which has an answering function. The base unit A and the handset unit B corresponding to the base unit A constitute the cordless answering machine.

First, in the configuration of the base unit A having the answering function, 1 is a central office line connecting terminal for connecting a central office line, and 2 is an incoming call detection circuit for detecting an incoming signal. 1, and when an incoming call is detected by the incoming call detection circuit 2, the incoming call detection circuit 2 outputs a detection signal to the base unit microprocessor 3 that controls this device, and also outputs a detection signal to the base unit microprocessor 3. When activated, the ringing switch 5, which is normally kept in the on state, causes the ringing tone buzzer 6 of the base unit to ring.

Further, 7 is the parent microprocessor 3.
Indicates a central line switch that closes the central line under the control of
and 8 is a communication circuit that forms a communication path for the handset 9 of the base unit or enables communication with the slave unit B through the wireless circuit 10 and antenna 11 of the base unit, and includes a speaker amplifier 14; The audio during automatic response can be amplified from a speaker 16 via a volume 15 and a volume 15. A data receiving circuit 12 for receiving data and a data transmitting circuit 13 for transmitting data to slave unit B are connected to each.

Further, 17 is a response message sending circuit informing the caller that the caller is absent, 18 is a business message recording circuit for recording the caller's message, and 19 is a circuit in which a password entered from the central office line has been preset. This is a PIN number determination circuit that determines whether the PIN number matches a registered PIN number, and each of these circuits 17, 18, and 19 is connected between the base unit microprocessor 3 and the communication path. .

Further, reference numeral 20 denotes an operation unit of the base unit, and 21 controls the opening and closing of the ringing switch 5 of the base unit to operate a ringing buzzer 6.
22 is a timer circuit that manages the operating time of the main unit ringing prohibition circuit 21;
3 is a human body approach detection sensor of the base unit, such as an infrared sensor or an ultrasonic sensor that detects the approach of a human body to the base unit; 24
is a comparison circuit between the output value of the human body proximity detection sensor 23 and a set value.

Next, in the configuration of the handset section B, 25
, 26 indicate a radio circuit and an antenna that are wirelessly connected to the radio circuit 10 and antenna 11 of the base unit A, and a communication path for the receiver 28 and microphone 29 of the slave unit is formed via the audio circuit 27. and receiver 2 of the slave unit
8. The microphone 29 is connected to the audio circuit 27, the wireless circuit 25, and the antenna 26, and is then connected to the base unit A so that the microphone 29 can communicate with the central office line.

Further, reference numeral 30 denotes a slave microprocessor for controlling the slave unit, and between the wireless circuit 25 and the slave microprocessor 30 there is data for transmitting data to the base unit A by radio. A transmitting circuit 31 and a data receiving circuit 32 that receives data from base unit A are connected.

Furthermore, 33 is a ring tone output circuit for the slave unit which is activated by the slave unit microprocessor 30 and outputs a ring tone for ringing the ringer buzzer 34 of the slave unit, and 35 is a ring tone output circuit for operating the slave unit. 36 is a human body approach detection sensor of the slave unit such as an infrared sensor for detecting the approach of a human body to the slave unit, and 37 is a comparison circuit for comparing the output value of the human body approach detection sensor 36 and a set value.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the signal configuration of wireless data applied to this embodiment. In FIG. 2, a synchronization signal section includes a signal section for synchronizing wireless data; The ID number section is a password data section for matching base unit A and slave unit B, and the control signal section is a control data section for setting control commands.

Next, the operation of the embodiment apparatus having the above configuration will be described. First, FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the base unit microprocessor for incoming call processing when monitoring when the user is away.

An incoming call from the caller during the absence monitoring is inputted to the incoming call detection circuit 2 of the base unit A via the office line connection terminal 1, and the incoming call detection circuit 2 detects this incoming call signal and sends it to the parent unit. A detection signal is output to the machine microprocessor 3.

By sensing the detection signal from the incoming call detection circuit 2, the base unit microprocessor 3 activates the office line switch 7 to close the office line, and also activates the response message sending circuit 17. and sends a response message to the caller. Furthermore, when the sending of the response message is completed, the business message recording circuit 18 is activated to perform an automatic response operation of recording the caller's business. In the case of the base unit microprocessor 3, the speaker amplifier 14 is activated during this automatic answering, and the automatic answering process with the caller is amplified from the speaker 16, whereby the absence monitor during automatic answering is activated. It becomes possible.

[0028] The user of this cordless answering machine, who was monitoring the caller's absence, listens to the automatic response to the caller from the speaker amplifier 14, and detects the approach of a human body by the cordless handset unit B. Assume that, for example, a finger or the like is brought close to the sensor 36.

In this case, the human body approach detection sensor 36 is
An output signal corresponding to the approach distance of the hand is output to the comparison circuit 37, and the comparison circuit 37 converts the output signal from the human body approach detection sensor 36 to a preset value (for example, when approaching to 50 cm). When the set value is exceeded, a human body approach detection signal is output to the slave microprocessor 30. When the handset microprocessor 30 receives a detection signal from the comparator circuit 37, it determines that the user's hand, in this case, has approached a predetermined position, and thereby The microprocessor 30 sets a human body approach detection command in the control signal part of the wireless data shown in FIG.
are sent to the base unit A through the following sequentially.

When the base unit microprocessor 3 receives the human body approach detection command from the slave unit B through the antenna 11, the wireless circuit 10, and the data receiving circuit 12, the ``human body approach'' command in the flowchart of FIG. Proceeds to the "Y" side in the determination 301 of "Approach detection command present", and advances to the "Y" side in the determination 302 of "Automatically responding" because in this case, automatic response is in progress.
In the determination 303 that "audience amplification is prohibited", since the amplification is not prohibited in this case, the process proceeds to the "N" side and the speaker amplifier 14 is turned off by the "speaker amplifier off" process 304.

That is, in this way, the absence monitoring can be stopped by simply bringing the user's part, in this case, the hand, close to the human body approach detection sensor 36 of the handset unit B.

Note that the parent microprocessor 3 is
Absence monitoring is suspended until the automatic answering with the caller is finished, but after this automatic answering is finished, the speaker amplifier 14 is turned on, and when the next call is received, the absentee monitoring is enabled again. do.

[0033]Furthermore, when the user approaches the handset unit B again while the absence monitoring is canceled, the handset unit B side sends a human body approach detection command to the base unit A side again. , the base unit microprocessor 3 proceeds to the "Y" side for the determination 201 of "Human body approach detection command present" and the "Y" side for the determination 202 of "Automatically responding" in the flowchart in FIG. Forbidden”
Regarding the determination 203, in this case, since the amplification is prohibited, it is possible to proceed to the "Y" side and turn on the speaker amplifier 14 by processing 205, and in this way, once,
Even if the absence monitoring is canceled, the absence monitoring can be made possible again.

Furthermore, FIGS. 4 and 5 are flowcharts of the microprocessors of the slave unit and the base unit for incoming call processing during a normal call.

[0035] When receiving a call from the caller during a normal call,
The signal is input to the incoming call detection circuit 2 of the base unit A through the office line connection terminal 1, and the incoming call detection circuit 2 activates the ring tone output circuit 4 upon detection of this incoming call signal, which is normally kept in the on state. A ringing switch 5 in the base unit rings a ringing tone buzzer 6 of the base unit, and a detection signal is output to the base unit microprocessor 3.

By sensing the detection signal from the incoming call detection circuit 2, the base unit microprocessor 3 sets a handset ringing command in the control signal portion of the wireless data shown in FIG. , wireless circuit 10,
and transmits this to the handset unit B through the antenna 11 sequentially. When the slave microprocessor 30 receives this through the antenna 26, the wireless circuit 25, and the data receiving circuit 32 in sequence, the determination 401 of "sensor input present" in the flowchart of FIG. Since there is no input to the human body proximity detection sensor 36, “N”
In addition, in the judgment 405 of ``Ring command present'', in this case, there is a ring command, so the process proceeds to the ``Y'' side, and further, the process 406 of ``Start ring tone output circuit'' causes the ring tone of the handset to be activated. The output circuit 33 is activated to sound the ringing tone buzzer 34, and in this way, when an incoming call is received, both the base unit and the slave unit will ring.

[0037] Here, if the user of the handset approaches the human body proximity detection sensor 36 of the handset unit B in order to answer a call, the human body proximity detection sensor 36 compares output signals corresponding to the approaching distance. The comparator circuit 37 compares the output signal from the human body proximity detection sensor 36 with a preset value (for example, the value when approaching to 3 m), and determines whether the human body approach detection sensor 36 exceeds the set value. At times, a human body approach detection signal is output to the slave microprocessor 30. When the slave microprocessor 30 receives a detection signal from the comparator circuit 37, it determines that the user has approached a predetermined position. Set the human body approach detection command in the control signal part of the wireless data shown,
Data transmission circuit 31, radio circuit 25, and antenna 2
6 in sequence and transmits it to base unit A.

When the base unit microprocessor 3 receives the human body approach detection command from the slave unit B through the antenna 11, the wireless circuit 10, and the data receiving circuit 12, the "sensor detection command" in the flowchart of FIG. The judgment 501 of ``Input Yes'' is set to the ``N'' side, and the judgment 506 of ``Time Over'' is set to the ``N'' side.
In the judgment 510 of ``Human body approach detection command exists'', in this case, there is a human body approach detection command, so the process goes to the ``Y'' side, and then, in the process 511 of ``Start alarm inhibit circuit'', the alarm inhibit circuit 21 of the base unit is activated. , the ringing switch 5 is turned off to stop the ringing of the ringing tone buzzer 6, and the timer circuit 22 of the base unit is activated by the "timer activation" process 512.

That is, when the user approaches the human body proximity detection sensor 36 on the handset unit B side in order to answer the phone, the ringing tone on the base unit A side is suppressed. It can be stopped.

Contrary to the above, when the user of the base unit tries to answer the phone, the human body proximity detection sensor 23 of the base unit A
When approaching the human body, the human body approach detection sensor 23
outputting an output signal corresponding to the approach distance to the comparison circuit 24;
In the comparator circuit 24, the output signal from the human body proximity detection sensor 23 is again compared with a preset value (for example, the value when approaching up to 3 m), and when the signal exceeds the set value, A human body approach detection signal is output to the parent unit microprocessor 3. When the base microprocessor 3 receives a detection signal from the comparison circuit 24, it determines that the user has approached a predetermined position, and as a result, the base microprocessor 3 determines that the user has approached a predetermined position.
In the flowchart of FIG. 5, the determination 501 of "sensor input present" is advanced to the "Y" side, the output of the human body proximity detection sensor 23 is reset by the "sensor input reset" process 502, and the "ringing tone is in progress" ” Judgment 50
3, in this case the ringtone is ringing, so press “Y”
Proceed to the side, and then proceed to process 5 of “send ringing prohibition command”
04, the control signal part of the wireless data shown in FIG.
At the same time as setting a human body approach detection command, it is transmitted to the handset unit B through the data transmission circuit 13, the wireless circuit 10, and the antenna 11 in sequence, and the timer circuit 22 is started by the "timer start" process 505. let

When the handset microprocessor 30 receives the human body approach detection command from the base unit A through the antenna 26, the wireless circuit 25, and the data receiving circuit 32, the sensor The determination 401 for "input exists" goes to the "N" side, the determination 405 for "sound command exists" goes to the "N" side, and the determination 407 for "sound prohibition command exists" indicates that in this case, there is no sound prohibition command, so " After proceeding to the Y'' side, the output of the ring tone output circuit 33 of the handset and, by extension, the ringing from the ring tone buzzer 34 is stopped by the process 508 of "stop ring tone output circuit".

That is, when the user attempts to answer the phone on the base unit A side, the human body proximity detection sensor 23
By bringing a finger or the like close to the terminal, the ringing tone on the slave unit B side can be stopped.

Also, the timer circuit 22 activated by the "timer activation" processes 505 and 512 in the flowchart in FIG. 5 on the base unit A side described above.
However, if the incoming call still continues after the preset time (for example, 10 seconds) has elapsed,
In other words, if the user does not answer the phone on either the base unit A side or the slave unit B side, the "time-out" determination 5 in the flowchart in FIG.
06 is the "Y" side, similarly, the determination 507 of "incoming call continues"
is on the “Y” side, process 5 of “send ringing command”
08, the control signal part of the wireless data shown in FIG.
A ringing command is set and continues to be transmitted to the slave unit B through the data transmission circuit 13, wireless circuit 10, and antenna 11 in sequence, and then the master unit The operation of the ringing prohibition circuit 21 is stopped and the ringing switch 5 is turned on.

That is, in this way, the user of base unit A or slave unit B can be prompted to answer the telephone.

[0045]

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the description of each embodiment, when using the cordless answering machine according to the present invention, the content being monitored by the base unit may be a sales call, etc. If the content is something you don't want to hear, you don't have to go through the trouble of turning down the volume on the base unit; just bring your hand or other object close to the human body proximity detection means on the cordless slave unit, and you can monitor the content. It is extremely easy to operate as it can make the sound inaudible. Then, the next time you receive an automatic response, you will be automatically enabled to monitor when you are away, so there is no risk that you will be unable to monitor when you are away due to forgetting to turn it back down, like when you turn down the volume, and you can prevent malfunctions. become. Furthermore, even if the monitor sound becomes inaudible by mistake, the monitor sound can be heard again by bringing a hand or the like closer to the human body approach detection means of the cordless handset again, so there is an advantage that the erroneous operation can be recovered.

Further, when using the cordless telephone device according to the present invention, when a call is received, if a finger or the like approaches the human body proximity detection means of the base unit or slave unit in order to answer the call, first of all, You can stop the ring tone of the corresponding base unit or handset, so if you are trying to answer a call, the corresponding handset or base unit will answer first, or if the base unit or Or, even if you are trying to answer a call on one of the handsets, you can improve the disadvantage that the other handset keeps ringing and is noisy.Furthermore, if you try to answer a call but cannot answer it, It has excellent features such as a timer that returns the ring tone to both the base unit and handset after a few seconds, making it possible for either party to answer the call.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a cordless answering machine to which an embodiment of the present invention is typically applied.

[Figure 2
] An explanatory diagram showing an example of a signal configuration of wireless data applied to a device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Fig. 3] Flowchart of the base unit microprocessor for incoming call processing during absence monitoring according to the present invention.

[Figure 4
】Flowchart of the handset microprocessor for processing incoming calls during normal calls according to the present invention

[Fig. 5] Flowchart of the base unit microprocessor for incoming call processing during normal calls according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

A　Main unit part 1 Office line connection terminal 2 Incoming call detection circuit 3. Main unit microprocessor 4　Base unit ring tone output circuit 5 Ringing switch 6　Base unit ringing buzzer 7 Office line switch 8　Telephone circuit 9　Base unit handset/receiver 10 Wireless circuit of base unit 11. Base unit antenna 12　Data receiving circuit of base unit 13. Data transmission circuit of main unit 14 Speaker amplifier 15 Volume 16 Speaker 17 Response message sending circuit 18 Message recording circuit 19 PIN number determination circuit 20 Main unit operation section 21　Main unit ringing prohibition circuit 22 Timer circuit 23 Human body proximity detection sensor on the main unit 24 Comparison circuit of main unit B Handset unit 25 Wireless circuit of handset 26　Antenna of handset 27 Audio circuit 28 Receiver of slave unit 29. Microphone of handset 30 Slave microprocessor 31. Data transmission circuit of slave unit 32. Data reception circuit of slave unit 33. Ring tone output circuit of handset 34. Handset ringing buzzer 35　Control unit of slave unit 36 Human body proximity detection sensor of handset 37 Comparison circuit of slave unit

Claims (5)

[Claims] [Claim 1] Consisting of a base unit having an answering function and a cordless slave unit wirelessly connected to the base unit,
A cordless answering machine that detects an incoming call from a caller, closes the central office line, informs the caller that the caller is unavailable, and performs an automatic response operation that records the caller's message. In the base unit, the base unit includes amplification means for amplifying the situation during automatic response; the cordless slave unit includes a human body approach detection unit for detecting the approach of a human body up to a predetermined distance and notifying the base unit; and the base unit; control means for stopping the operation of the loudspeaker means in response to a detection signal from the human body approach detection means during automatic response, and after the automatic response operation in which the operation of the loudspeaker means is stopped, the following A cordless answering machine comprising at least a control means for operating the amplification means again at the time of automatic answering. 2. Claim 1, further comprising a control means for canceling the suspension of the operation of the loudspeaker means in response to a detection signal from the human body detection means again while the operation of the loudspeaker means is stopped. Cordless answering machine as described. Claim 3: In a cordless telephone device consisting of a base unit and a cordless handset connected wirelessly to the base unit, each ring tone of the base unit and the handset is sounded in response to an incoming call from a caller. The base unit and the slave unit each have a ringing means, and the cordless slave unit includes a human body approach detection unit that detects the approach of a human body within a predetermined distance and notifies the base unit, and a ring tone is emitted by the base unit. a control means for stopping the operation of the ringing means in the base unit in response to a detection signal from the human body approach detection means; A cordless telephone device comprising at least a control means for operating a ringing means. Claim 4: In a cordless telephone device consisting of a base unit and a cordless handset connected to the base unit wirelessly, each ring tone of the base unit and the handset is sounded in response to an incoming call from a caller. The base unit and the slave unit each have a ringing means, and the base unit includes a human body approach detection unit for detecting a human body approaching within a predetermined distance, and while the base unit is ringing,
Based on the detection signal from the human body approach detection means of the base unit,
At least a control means for stopping the operation of the ringing means in the handset, and a control means for operating the ringing means in the handset at the time of the next incoming call after the operation of the ringing means in the handset is stopped. A cordless telephone device comprising: 5. A timer circuit for counting a predetermined time that is activated by the stoppage of operation of the sounding means in the parent device or the stoppage of the operation of the sounding means in the child device, and a timer circuit for counting a predetermined time. If the call continues to be received from the caller after the elapsed time, the control means is configured to stop the operation of the ringing means on the base unit or cancel the stoppage of the operation of the ringing means on the slave unit. Claim 3 or 4 characterized by
Cordless telephone device as described.