JPH10136059A - Telephone system and microprocessor device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent erroneous hang-ups by moving a switch means to a second position and preventing the occurrence of hang-up in a previously decided period while a telephone system is in a use state. SOLUTION: The telephone system is hung up by placing a transmitter/ receiver 60 on a casing and operating the switch 21, so that it moves from a non-hang-up position biased by an appropriate spring to a hang-up position. In such a case, the inner circuit constitutive element of the telephone set decides that a call intends to become an off-line condition in response and can prevent the erroneous use of the telephone. A microprocessor 200 executes a control step for making a response to the detection of the switch 21 in the hang-up position, delays the occurrence of hang-up in the period which has been previously decided and prevents hang-ups, when the switch 21 is not in the hang-up position at the end of the period.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to telephone devices and microprocessor devices.

During operation of a telephone device having a handset operated switch responsive to the positioning of the telephone handset in a handset or the like forming portion of the telephone casing, control of the telephone is partially due to the telephone being on the casing. May be performed in response to the condition of a switch that is mechanically actuated to a different state depending on whether it is positioned at a different position. Thus, for example, when the phone is placed in an unused position on the casing, the switch can be activated such that the phone is in an off-line mode. Then, when the telephone handset is picked up, a switch may be activated to effect the condition for using the telephone. Occasionally, if the handset is lifted and the phone casing itself is quickly lifted in its entirety from its stationary location, the hook switch can be inadvertently activated due to acceleration forces. In this case, the phone's internal circuitry will respond and determine that the phone is intended to be in an off-line condition, thereby erroneously preventing further use of the phone. In one aspect, the present invention seeks to at least partially remedy this problem.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided, in a first aspect, a telephone device having a handset, wherein the handset includes an earpiece for reproducing an electric input signal of the telephone device as voice,
A microphone for generating an output electrical signal from the spoken voice, means for coupling a handset to the telephone line to communicate the signal to the telephone line, and moving from the first position to the second position Switch means for effecting a hang-up of the telephone in response to positioning of the handset in a non-use position to be performed, wherein the telephone device, in use, moves the switch means to the second position. Means for preventing hang-up from occurring for a predetermined period of time afterwards, and preventing hang-up if the switch means is not in the second position during and / or at the end of said period. Provide telephone equipment.

If the telephone device is connected to a public service telephone network and receives audio signals therefrom and broadcasts via the telephone output, the telephone will receive other signals on the telephone line, which will have a public address. It may not be desirable to pass it to the system. In particular, busy sounds can appear on the line. In another aspect, the present invention seeks to avoid this problem.

[0005] In a second aspect of the present invention, a telephone device that is connectable to a public service telephone network and has an output connectable by the operation of the telephone device so as to guide an audio signal from the public service telephone network to an output. A telephone device provided with a busy tone detection circuit responsive to the detection of a busy tone on a public service telephone network that is connected when the telephone device is in use and blocks output operation. . Electrical isolation means may be provided to electrically isolate output from the public service telephone network.

[0006] During operation of a microprocessor device, the device may "frozen" and become unable to perform further program steps or respond to normal input thereto. In another aspect, the present invention seeks to provide a means to at least partially overcome this problem.

In a third aspect, the present invention is a microprocessor device, comprising a microprocessor for executing a program step, wherein the microprocessor generates a reset signal so as to restore the microprocessor to a reset state. A microprocessor terminal having a reset terminal that may be provided and an output at which a periodic pulse is generated during execution of a program step by the microprocessor, the microprocessor device further coupled to the microprocessor reset terminal and output to a predetermined one; A microprocessor device having a monitor for resetting the microprocessor by providing the reset signal to a reset terminal of the microprocessor in response to the absence of the pulse for a period.

[0008] The invention will be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG. 1 shows a telephone device 10 shown here.
0 is a casing 50 containing the main electrical components of the device and a hooking switch 2 when in the non-use position.
1 and a transmitter / receiver 60 that operates the hooking switch 21 by engagement of the lever arm. Casing 50
Has a dial button 19 and other buttons that allow dialing of telephone numbers, and the other buttons include a help button 6 that is effective for transmitting an alarm signal from the telephone device.
A reset button 2 for canceling the automatic dialing that is about to occur, a memory directory 7, a memory button 8 for starting the storage of numbers, and a volume button 9 for changing the volume of the handset to increments.
And a speaker button 10 for enabling a hands-free operation and a reproduction button 11 for recalling a previously dialed number.

The telephone casing 50 includes the built-in microphone 1
2, speaker volume control 13, and loudspeaker 18
Having. The handset 60 is connected to the casing 50 by the flexible lead 17. Line connector 27a allows connection of device 100 to line 27 of the public service telephone network (PSTN). An external low voltage DC inlet 23 is provided, and a switch 24 is provided to allow switching between operation from a low voltage supply or an internal battery. Further, a remote input / output connector 25 and a switch 26 for controlling the ring volume are provided. A lamp 1 is provided to indicate when the device is connected to mains power, and another lamp 5 indicates when the telephone is online in automatic dial mode.

[0011] The internal circuit components of the telephone device are in substantial accordance with conventional practice and will now be described only schematically with partial reference to FIG. Here, telephone line 27 is shown as including two wires connected to a bridge rectifier 64, which applies a DC voltage of the same polarity on line 27 regardless of the polarity of the signal applied to the line. Can be generated from the voltage given to The call detector 66
The output is received from the bridge rectifier 64 and the ringing tone is
7 and a call signal when the microprocessor 200
Are arranged to give Microprocessor is Z8
It may include a 6E21 type device.

[0012] The telephone device may be placed in an automatic answering mode. In this mode, when a ringing tone is detected, the microprocessor 200 switches to the optically isolated line switch 72.
Is effective to make the telephone line a closed circuit, and makes the telephone device a condition for transmitting and receiving signals. Switched line 78 from switch 72 is connected to a handset amplifier 80 to which handset 60 is connected, and transmission of a signal on line 78 to telephone line 27 allows the telephone to be used in a normal manner. To A hands-free amplifier 82 is provided to enable hands-free operation of the telephone device, which is connected to microphone 12 and loudspeaker 18 via speaker amplifier 84.
Transistor switch 8 coupled to handset amplifier 80
With the appropriate action of 6, the telephone device can be muted under the control of the microprocessor 200.

The microprocessor and the other components are A
Powered by C adapter 22, spare battery pack 92 is provided to operate in the event of a mains fault.

To protect the circuit components, a voltage protection device 92 is provided across line 27 immediately before bridge 64.

Signal 104 is also connected to line 27 via a series connector resistor 106 and capacitor 108, as shown.

The telephone device further includes a DTMF generator 122 connected to the handset amplifier 80 via a capacitor 124.
To allow the DTMF encoded signal to be provided via an amplifier via line 78 and to be provided over a PSTN network, for example, at a remote location.

The radio receiver and detector 126 is connected to the microprocessor 200 and shows two remote inputs 130, 132 that can direct signals to the microprocessor via respective optical isolators 136, 138. The remote output 134 is connected to a microprocessor via an optical isolator 140.

In general, the radio receiver and decoder 126 is effective to receive signals from an alarm device, which may be located in a fixed relationship within the premises where the telephone devices are arranged, or Alternatively, it may be in the form of a portable alarm device, such as a wrist alarm device, that an individual can operate in case of a personal emergency. Upon receiving the alert signal as decoded by the receiver and decoder 126, etc., the microprocessor 200 effectively operates the telephone device 100 in various ways that can be programmed in the microprocessor. To do this, the microprocessor 200 compares the incoming signal with the data stored in the EEPROM 108 to see if the incoming signal identifies the device on which the telephone device is intended to operate. . Thus, for example, when an alarm signal is received, telephone device 100 goes online and
It can be conditioned to be in an automatic dialing mode, dialing a remote location via 7 and preparing various alarm signals etc. to be given on the line. Telephone device 100 may also be provided with control over line 27 from a remote location, for example, to enable a telephone to listen or to allow audio output to be sent to output 134 from a remote location. Can be made conditional.

In addition to receiving, by radio signal, a signal from a warning device that operates by transmitting a warning signal, the microprocessor also provides a warning signal from the device that generates the electrical warning signal directly to inputs 130, 132. Can receive. For example, door switches, mat switches, etc. can be combined in this way. In this case, the microprocessor can control the telephone device 100 to generate a warning signal or the like and dial the remote location in the same manner as a warning signal is received from the wireless receiver and the detector 126.

The DTMF receiver 110 is provided to enable remote programming of the telephone device according to an encoded signal from a remote location.

In the automatic dial mode, the condition is that line 27 is not first closed. This is contact 10
2a, 102b. This line is then closed for approximately three seconds by actuating switch 72, and the number to be dialed is provided to DTMF generator 122 to effect dialing to the desired remote location. Next, the microprocessor 20
0 waits for a predetermined time to receive a handshake signal of a predetermined frequency, for example, 1400 Hz. This frequency is detected by a tone detector 74 which is connected to a line 78 via a DC blocking capacitor 76 and which effectively detects a tone signal of a predetermined frequency. Next, the telephone device transmits data suitable for the alert condition. This is done by the operation of DTMF generator 122, which transmits an encoded signal representing the data.

A monitoring device 160 or “watchdog” is connected to the microprocessor 200. This is shown in FIG. 4 as including a counter device 162, which is a CD4060 type device. Counter device 162
Has a first internal counter that generates pulses at a predetermined rate determined by the value of one capacitor 166 and two resistors 168, 170 connected thereto, and then an internal counter. An internal divider effective to change the state of the output 172 of the counter device 162 at the end of a predetermined period corresponding to a predetermined count of pulses from. Due to the change in state, an output pulse is generated through a differentiating circuit including a resistor 178 and a capacitor 176. This pulse is given to the switch 180 connected to the reset terminal 182 of the microprocessor 200. The output pulse is generated at a relatively low frequency, such as a two second period, and is effective to reset the microprocessor 200 to an initial state, such as a state where the phone is offline. The periodic signal is provided to a reset terminal 184 of the counter device 162 via a differentiating circuit including a capacitor 186 and a resistor 188,
These are generated by the microprocessor 200. In particular, during normal operation, microprocessor 200 causes output terminal 190 to reset counter device 162.
Sends a pulse through this differentiating circuit. The effect of the reset is to prevent the generation of a pulse at the output of the monitoring device 160, so that the switch 180 is not operated to reset the microprocessor 200. The signal generated at terminal 190 by the microprocessor is
If the counter device 162 is not reset,
The signal at 2 is repeated at a predetermined interval shorter than the interval at which the signal will appear and is caused to occur during normal operation of the microprocessor. However, under abnormal operation of the microprocessor, signal generation at terminal 190 is prevented so that no signal is generated by monitor 160, and no reset of the microprocessor is effected.
Thus, as long as the microprocessor continues to operate normally and signals periodically appear on terminal 190, the microprocessor will not be reset and will continue normal operation. However, if an abnormal condition occurs where there is no signal at terminal 190, the microprocessor is reset by monitor 160.

The hang-up of the telephone device is effected by placing the handset 60 on a casing and switching the switch 21 from a non-hang-up position biased by a suitable spring to a hang-up position. By operating 21. Occasionally, when the handset is lifted and the telephone casing itself is quickly lifted in its entirety from its stationary location, the switch 21 may be reluctantly activated due to acceleration forces. In any of these cases, the phone's internal circuitry may determine in response that the phone is intended to be in an offline condition and inadvertently prevent further use of the phone. Microprocessor 200 performs a control step responsive to detecting the switch in the hang-up position to delay hang-up from occurring for a predetermined period of time, at the end of which period switch 21 is no longer in the hang-up position. If not, prevent hang-up.

Referring now to FIG. 5, the program iteratively executes the steps beginning at step 201, where the microprocessor 200 detects whether the phone is in the automatic hold mode. This is allowed under microprocessor control when the telephone device 100 is online and can communicate with the PSTN for data or voice signal transfer, but the telephone is not conditioned for hands-free operation. Mode. If the telephone device 100 is in this position, the microprocessor program proceeds to step 250 where no action is taken. If it is determined that the phone is not in the automatic hold mode, the program proceeds to step 202 where it is determined whether switch 21 is in the hang-up position.
Proceed to. Typically, the hang-up position will correspond to the unlifted condition of the switch. If it is determined that the hook switch is in a non-hangup condition, the program proceeds to step 203 where it is determined whether the timeout period is zero. If the cycle has not reached zero, the program is deemed complete and the process proceeds to step 250. If the timeout period described above has expired, the program proceeds to step 204 where it is determined whether line 27 is closed. If not, the program causes the line to be closed in step 205 and sets a set of closed circuit flags in the microprocessor, at which point the program proceeds to step 250 Check that the action has been taken. If it is detected in step 204 that the line is already closed circuit, the program clears the hands-free operation of the telephone device in steps 206 and 207, cancels any mute, and then the program proceeds to step 250 again. . The program steps described above are effective in effecting the closing of line 27 when the hook switch is in a non-hangup condition.

If the hook switch is in a hang-up condition at step 202, the program proceeds to step 210 where a determination is made as to whether the telephone device is operating in a hands-free mode. If operating in the hands-free mode, the program completes step 250
Proceed to. Otherwise, a determination is made in step 211 as to whether the phone is hung up. If so, the program proceeds to step 250. If no hangup has ever occurred, the 600 millisecond timer is cleared and starts counting the 600 millisecond delay step 215
The program proceeds to In step 216, it is determined whether the 600 millisecond timeout period has expired. If not, it is determined in step 217 whether switch 21 is now in the non-hangup position. If so, the program proceeds to step 250 and completes. Otherwise,
The program returns to step 216 again to determine if a 600 millisecond delay has been reached. If the timeout of 600 milliseconds has been reached in step 216, a hang-up is provided and the timer is set to step 21
It is reset to 0 at 8. The line is hung up at step 219 and line 27 is released. A clear loop flag 220 is set in the microprocessor to record in the microprocessor that these steps have been taken. The program then proceeds to step 250.

As shown in FIG. 6, the loudspeaker 1
Telephone audio at speaker terminal 346 for 8 may be further directed to the public address system via output terminal 348 of isolation transformer 310. In this case, it is desirable that the busy tone does not appear on the output. Because it would advance undesirably and be broadcast from the loudspeakers. Therefore, the telephone device 1
00 includes the busy tone detector 320 shown in FIG. This is via the element capacitor 322 from the line 27 to the terminal 321
, For example, a semiconductor device 325 of the 75T980 type. The device 325 has the properties of a bandpass filter and operates in conjunction with a quartz watch 332. Device 325
Filters out low frequency signals and high frequency signals above the limited audio range, producing an output representative of the audio activity on the line. The filtered signal is provided on line 334 to a further microprocessor 336. It has an associated capacitor 338 and a resistor 340 that establishes an internal clock frequency for the microprocessor 336. Microprocessor 3
36 executes the program steps on line 334 that make it possible to detect whether the signal applied thereto is a busy signal. If a busy signal is detected, an output detector signal is provided to main microprocessor 200 via output line 344, thereby preventing operation of the output of the loudspeaker terminals.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating how busy tone sensing is accomplished by essentially sensing the envelope of a given signal.

If four consecutive cycles of the detected signal waveform meet a particular criterion, for this purpose the signal will have a cycle with a "mark" part followed by a "space" part. The read-out mark portion corresponds to a condition where a signal in a frequency band including a busy tone is present, and the spatial portion corresponds to a condition where no signal exists.
A cycle is detected when the cycle mark interval is 2
It is for the purpose of counting if it is between 90 and 380 milliseconds and the subsequent spatial interval is between 350 and 430 milliseconds. Thus, in performing the program steps shown in FIG. 7, the first step in performing a new attempt to detect a busy tone is to clear the pre-existing count of the number of cycles meeting the above criteria. This is performed in step 501. Next, in step 502, the program waits for the appearance of a signal. If there is no signal, keep waiting. When the signal occurs, the program clears another timer Step 5
Go to 03. Next, in step 504, the program waits for the end of the marking, ie, the occurrence of a space where the signal no longer appears. If no space is detected, the program will wait. When space occurs, the program proceeds to step 505, where the preceding mark spacing is 35
It is determined whether a duration within 0 to 430 milliseconds is true. If the mark spacing does not fit in this,
The program proceeds to step 510 where the cycle count is reset to zero. If the mark interval falls within this range, the program proceeds to step 506 where another timer is reset to 0, and then to step 507 where the program waits for another mark to occur. If the mark does not appear, the program will wait. If another mark appears, the program proceeds to step 508, where it determines whether the space between the currently detected mark and the previously generated mark is within a time interval of 290 to 380 milliseconds. Is determined. If not, the program returns to step 501 where the counter cycle is reset to zero. If the space is within this range, at step 509 the cycle count is incremented by one. In step 510, it is determined whether the number of cycles counted in step 509 is equal to four. If not, the program proceeds to step 503 and repeats the above steps for subsequent mark / space cycles. If the cycle count reaches 4, the program proceeds to step 512, where the output from microprocessor 336 is activated, causing microprocessor 200 to block the operation of the loudspeaker terminal output.

The above arrangements have been made by way of example only, and many modifications may be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a telephone device configured according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an end view of the telephone device of FIG. 1;

3 is a block diagram of the electrical circuit components of the device of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of a monitoring device forming part of the circuit components of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a part of the operation of the microprocessor incorporated in the circuit of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram of an output portion of the telephone device and a dial tone blocking device incorporated in the telephone device.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the busy tone detector of the telephone device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 60 handset 160 monitoring device 182 reset terminal 200 microprocessor

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A telephone device having a handset (60), said handset generating an output electric signal from a spoken voice and a handset for reproducing an electric input signal of the telephone device as voice. And a means for coupling the handset to a telephone line to communicate the signal to the telephone line, and a handset at an unused position to be moved from a first position to a second position. Switch means (2) for causing a telephone hang-up in response to the positioning of (60).
1) wherein the telephone device is used,
Preventing the hang-up from occurring for a predetermined period of time after moving the switch means (21) to the second position, and during and / or at the end of the hang-up, A telephone device having means for preventing a hang-up if it is not in state 2. 2. The telephone device according to claim 1, wherein the blocking of the hang-up occurs when a switch (21) is in a first position at the end of the predetermined period. 3. The telephone device according to claim 2, wherein said predetermined period is about 600 milliseconds. 4. A telephone device connectable to a public service telephone network and provided with an output (348) connectable by operation of the telephone device to direct an audio signal from the public service telephone network to an output, A telephone device, comprising: a busy tone detection circuit (320) responsive to detection of a busy tone on a public service telephone network connected when the telephone device is in use and blocking operation of the output (348). 5. An electrical isolation means for electrically isolating output from a public service telephone network is provided.
The telephone device according to claim 4. 6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the detection of the busy tone is effected by counting the number of cycles of the signal from the public service telephone network that is characteristic of the busy tone. Telephone equipment. 7. A microprocessor (200) for executing program steps, said microprocessor comprising: a reset terminal (182) to which a reset signal can be provided for restoring the microprocessor to a reset state; An output (19) in which a periodic pulse is generated during execution of a program step by the processor.
0), and a reset terminal (18) of the microprocessor (200).
2) coupled to an output (190) and responsive to the absence of the pulse for a predetermined period of time, providing the reset signal to a reset terminal (182) of a microprocessor;
Monitoring device for resetting a microprocessor (160)
A microprocessor device comprising: 8. A monitoring device (160) coupled to an internal clock generating a repetitive clock signal and to produce a change in the output of the device (162) when a predetermined number of clock signals are counted. And a means for generating a reset signal in response to the occurrence of the change in state (176, 17).
8) The microprocessor device according to claim 7, comprising: 9. The monitoring device (16), wherein the device (162) resets a counter device (162).
9. The microprocessor device according to claim 8, further comprising a reset terminal to which said pulse is applied to reset 0).