JPH11196176A - Automatic answering telephone system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent recording of a useless message and to specify an opposite party even if no message is left. SOLUTION: This system is provided with a message transmission part 12 for transmitting a message for inquiring the presence or absence of a message to an opposite side, an information reception part 14 for receiving an incoming telephone number and a message presence/absence signal from the opposite side and for receiving the message when the transmission presence/absence signal is turned on, a recording part 16 recording the message, an information processing part 18 for detecting the sound level of a message and deleting a pertinent message recorded in the recording part 16 when the level is lower than a prescribed level and an output part 20 for outputting an incoming telephone number when the information processing part 18 deletes the message and when the message presence/absence signal is turned off.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an answering machine for recording a message or the like from a partner. More specifically, the present invention relates to a control system for recording a message or the like on an answering machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An answering machine which transmits a response message when a call is received from the other party during an absence and records the message of the other party has become widespread. The answering machine has a message transmitting unit that transmits a message to the other party, a receiving unit that receives a message from the other party after the end of the normal message, and a recording unit that records a message from the other party. I have. As the recording unit, those using an IC device for converting sound into a digital signal and recording it, and those recording on a micro-cassette tape or the like are known.

[0003] Users who return home from home or the like,
The message recorded in the recording unit can be reproduced to check the content.

[0004]

However, in the answering machine described above, the recording of the message is started after the transmission of the response message is completed. Therefore, even if the other party cuts off or is silent. , That record is left behind. For this reason, the user who wants to listen to the message needs to reproduce all recorded contents including the silent message, so that it may take time to listen to the necessary message. In addition, since the capacity of the recording unit is wasted due to the silent message, there is a possibility that the recording unit may not be able to record a necessary message due to a lack of capacity.

[0005] In the above-mentioned answering machine, if the other party hangs up silently, it is not possible to specify from whom the call came. For this reason, it is necessary to wait for the other party to contact again.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a telephone answering machine which can prevent useless recording of a message and can identify the other party without a message.

[0007]

As a technical means for achieving the above object, an answering machine according to the present invention comprises: a message transmitting unit for transmitting a message for asking a partner to determine whether there is a message; An information receiving unit that receives a caller's incoming telephone number and a message presence / absence signal from the user and receives a message when the message presence / absence signal is not turned off, a recording unit that records the message, and detects a voice level of the message to be lower than a predetermined level. For example, an information processing unit that deletes the message recorded in the recording unit, and an output unit that outputs an incoming telephone number when the information processing unit deletes the message and when the message presence / absence signal is off. Features.

Therefore, when a call is received from the other party to the answering machine, the information receiving section operates to receive the called telephone number of the other party. Then, the message transmitting unit operates to transmit a message asking the other party whether there is a message. As a result, the other party transmits a message presence / absence signal for notifying the presence / absence of a message by pressing a predetermined operation button. The message presence / absence signal is received by the information receiving unit, and its on / off state is determined.

Here, if the message presence / absence signal is not off, that is, if the ON operation button is pressed due to the presence of a message, or if none of the operation buttons are operated, the information receiving unit is activated and the message from the other party is transmitted. To receive. Further, this message is recorded by the recording unit. At this time, the information processing section operates to detect the voice level of the message. If the voice level of the message is lower than the predetermined level, the message recorded in the recording unit is deleted. In this case, the case where the message is received without operating the ON operation button is also included, and the case where the message is not received, in other words, the case where the other party does not operate the OFF operation button and does not send the message is also included. . In these cases, the output unit can be operated to output the incoming telephone number. Thereby, the user can know the telephone number of the other party. If the voice level of the message is equal to or higher than the predetermined level, the record in the recording unit is left. By reproducing this recorded content, the user can hear the message content.

On the other hand, when the message presence / absence signal is off, that is, when the other party does not intend to leave a message, the output unit can be operated to output the incoming telephone number. Thereby, the user can know the telephone number of the other party.

Further, in the answering machine according to the second aspect of the present invention, the information receiving section receives and distributes the incoming telephone number, the message presence / absence signal and the message, and receives the incoming telephone number from the receiving section. An incoming call number storage unit that stores the message, a message receiving unit that can receive messages from the receiving unit, and a message receiving unit that determines whether the message presence signal from the receiving unit is on or off and determines that the message presence signal is not off and receives the message. And a message confirmation unit for causing the message to be transmitted.

Therefore, when a call is received from the other party to the answering machine, the receiving unit operates to receive the called telephone number of the other party. Then, the incoming call number storage unit operates to store the incoming telephone number from the receiving unit. When the other party transmits the message presence / absence signal, the message confirmation unit operates to determine whether the message presence / absence signal is on or off. If it is determined that the message presence / absence signal is not off, the message receiving unit is operated to receive the message from the receiving unit.

Further, in the answering machine according to the third aspect of the present invention, the information processing section detects a voice level of the message and compares it with a predetermined level, and determines when the message presence / absence signal is off and when the level is determined. The invalid message processing unit that transmits the incoming telephone number from the information receiving unit to the output unit when the voice level of the message is determined to be lower than the predetermined level in the unit, and the voice level of the message is lower than the predetermined level in the level determination unit. And an invalidation processing unit for deleting the message recorded in the recording unit when the judgment is made.

Therefore, when the message is recorded in the recording section, the level judging section operates to detect the voice level of the message and compare it with a predetermined level. When the level determining unit determines that the voice level of the message is lower than the predetermined level, the invalidation processing unit operates to delete the message recorded in the recording unit and activates the invalid message processing unit to receive information. The incoming telephone number from the unit is transmitted to the output unit. The invalid message processing unit operates even when the message presence / absence signal is off, and transmits the incoming telephone number from the information receiving unit to the output unit.

In addition, the answering machine according to the invention of claim 4 further comprises a number conversion unit for converting the incoming call number stored in the incoming call number storage unit into unique information based on preset data. If the incoming call number corresponds to the data, the unique information corresponding to the data is output to the output unit.

When the preset data is a correspondence between a telephone number and a name, the unique information is the name, and the output unit outputs the name instead of the incoming number. Therefore, it is possible to easily confirm who the other party is. If not registered in the data, the incoming call number is output to the output unit.

Further, in the above-described configuration, the message receiving process is not performed only when the intention to leave the message is clear, and when the intention to leave the message is clear and when the intention is not clear, the message is not received. Although it is assumed that the reception process is performed, the reception process is performed only when the intention to leave the message is clear, and the reception process is not performed when the intention to not leave the message is clear and when the intention is unknown It can also be configured as

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The configuration of the present invention will be described below in detail based on an example of an embodiment shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of an embodiment of the answering machine of the present invention. The answering machine 10 of the present embodiment receives a message transmission unit 12 that transmits a message asking the other party whether or not there is a message, and receives the incoming telephone number and the message presence / absence signal from the other party and when the message presence / absence signal is not off. An information receiving unit 14 for receiving the message, a recording unit 16 for recording the message,
The information processing unit 18 detects the voice level of the message and deletes the message recorded in the recording unit 16 if the voice level is lower than a predetermined level.
And an output unit 20 that outputs the called telephone number when the message is deleted by the information processing unit 18 and when the message presence / absence signal is off. Here, the message transmitting unit 12 and the information receiving unit
The information processing unit 18 and the like are specifically configured using an electric circuit such as a microcomputer or a sequencer circuit.

The message transmitting unit 12 transmits a message indicating that the user is out of the office and a message asking the user whether he / she has an intention to leave a message. Then, for example, a message is sent to the other party so as to press the push button 1 when there is an intention to leave a message, and to press the push button 2 when there is no intention to leave a message.

The information receiving unit 14 receives a receiving telephone number, a message presence / absence signal, and a message, and distributes the message.
A receiving number storage unit 24 for storing a receiving telephone number from the user; a message receiving unit 26 capable of receiving a message from the receiving unit 22;
A message confirming unit 28 that causes the message receiving unit 26 to receive a message when the message presence / absence signal is not off by judging on / off of the message presence / absence signal from 22, that is, when the push button 2 is not pressed. I have.

Receiving section 22 first receives the called telephone number of the other party when a call is received from the other party. This reception can be performed before or after the call is connected. Further, when the receiving unit 22 receives the incoming telephone number, the incoming number storage unit 24 stores the incoming telephone number.

Further, the message confirming unit 28 determines whether the message transmission signal is on or off when the other party transmits a message presence / absence signal by operating the push button, and turns on / off the message recording flag. That is, in the above-described example, when 1 is pressed, it is determined to be on and the message recording flag is turned on. Conversely, if 2 is pressed, it is determined to be off and the message recording flag is turned off. In addition,
If no button operation has been performed by the other party even after the predetermined time has elapsed, the message presence / absence signal is determined to be on, and the message recording flag is turned on. Then, the message receiving unit 26 receives the message from the receiving unit 22 when the message checking unit 28 determines that the message presence / absence signal is ON.

As the recording unit 16, for example, an IC-type recording unit for recording audio as a digital signal or a recording unit for recording audio on a micro-cassette tape or the like can be used. Then, the message received by the message receiving unit 26 is recorded.

The information processing section 18 detects a voice level of the message and compares it with a predetermined level. The level determining section 30 detects whether the message presence signal is off or on even if the message presence signal is on. When the voice level is determined to be lower than the predetermined level, the invalid message processing unit 32 that transmits the incoming telephone number from the information receiving unit 14 to the output unit 20, and the voice level of the message is lower than the predetermined level by the level determination unit 30. An invalidation processing unit 34 for deleting the message recorded in the recording unit 16 when the judgment is made.

When the message is recorded in the recording unit 16, the level judgment unit 30 detects the voice level of the message and compares it with a predetermined level. Here, it is preferable that the predetermined level is, for example, a sound level that is small enough to be hardly heard. The invalidation processing unit 34 is a recording unit when the level determination unit 30 determines that the voice level of the message is lower than a predetermined level.
Delete the message recorded in 16. This makes it possible to prevent the recording unit 16 from wasting capacity, since audio that is too small to be heard is deleted from the recording.

Further, the invalid message processing section 32 outputs the information receiving section 14 when the level determination section 30 determines that the voice level of the message is lower than a predetermined level and when the message presence / absence signal is off.
Is transmitted to the output unit 20 and the invalid message counter is incremented.

The output unit 20 includes an invalid message table 36 for receiving the incoming telephone number from the information receiving unit 14, and a liquid crystal display 38 capable of displaying the contents of the invalid message table 36, for example.
And Invalid message table 36 and display
The display contents of 38 include, for example, the value of an invalid message counter, that is, the number 38a of invalid messages, the arrival date / time 38b of invalid messages, and the incoming telephone number 38c of invalid messages, as shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the contents of the invalid message table 36 are displayed on the liquid crystal display 38, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the notification may be made by voice using a receiver.

An operation key 40 is connected to the invalid message table 36. Therefore, the incoming telephone number received in the invalid message table 36 by operating the operation key 40 can be output to the display 38. This allows
The user can know the telephone number of the other party.

Further, when the level determining section 30 determines that the voice level of the message is equal to or higher than the predetermined level, the effective message counter is incremented and the recording of the recording section 16 is maintained. Then, the user can reproduce and listen to the message content by operating the operation keys 40.

Hereinafter, the operation of the answering machine 10 of the present invention will be described in order with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

When an incoming call is received while waiting for an incoming call (step 3
01), the message recording flag is turned on (step 30)
Along with 2), the receiving unit 22 and the called number storage unit 24 operate to store the called telephone number (step 303). In addition,
The storage of the incoming telephone number may be before or after the incoming call. Then, the message transmitting unit 12 operates to transmit a response message (step 304). Here, the other party performs a predetermined button operation. When no message is left, the off operation button is operated, and when the message is left, the on operation button is operated. When the off operation button is operated, the message recording flag is turned off. When the on operation button is operated and when none of the operation buttons are operated, the step 302 is performed.
The on state of the message recording flag turned on in step is maintained.
That is, the message confirmation unit 28 determines the button operation of the other party, and the message recording flag is turned on / off. In step 305, the message recording flag is determined to be off.

If the determination in step 305 is affirmative,
That is, when the message recording flag is on, the message receiving unit 26
Is activated to receive the message (step 306). This message is recorded in the recording unit 16 (step 307), and at the same time, the sound level is judged by the level judgment unit 30 (step 308). If the voice level is lower than the predetermined level, it is determined that the message is invalid after the end of the call. If no message is left without operating any of the operation buttons,
Since the voice level is lower than the predetermined level, it is determined that the message is invalid. Then, the invalid message processing unit 32 is activated to try to activate the invalidation processing unit 34. At this time, since the message recording flag is ON, the invalidation processing unit 34 operates. As a result, the message recorded in the recording unit 16 is deleted (step 309). Further, the date and time of the incoming call and the incoming telephone number stored in the incoming number recording unit 16 are written in the invalid message table 36 (step 310). Then, the invalid message processing unit 32 increments an invalid message counter (step 311).

On the other hand, if the message recording flag is off (step 305), it is determined that the message is invalid, and the invalid message processing unit 32 is activated to try to activate the invalid processing unit 34. However, since the message recording flag is off, the invalidation processing unit 34 does not operate. Therefore, the record is not deleted, and writing to the invalid message table 36 described above (step 310) and the invalid message counter are incremented (step 3).
Perform 11).

On the other hand, when the voice level is equal to or higher than the predetermined level (step 308), the valid message counter is incremented by the level determination section 30 (step 312). This effective message counter is displayed on the display 38 as the number of effective messages.
To be displayed.

Further, when the invalid message counter is incremented (step 311) or the effective message counter is incremented (step 312), the message recording flag is turned off (step 313), and the system enters a state of waiting for an incoming call (step 313). Step 314). By operating the operation keys 40 in this state, the contents of the invalid message table 36 and the valid message counter can be displayed on the display 38, and the valid message contents can be heard.

As described above, according to the answering machine 10 of the present embodiment, the incoming call number storage unit 24 stores the incoming call number at the time of an incoming call and displays the incoming call number on the display 38 when the message is invalid. Since the message is displayed, even if the call from the other party is silent or the line is immediately disconnected, the other party can be specified. This eliminates the need to wait for the other party to call again.

Further, according to the answering machine 10 of the present embodiment, if the message confirming unit 28 confirms that the other party has no intention of message, the message is not recorded.
Useless recording of the recording unit 16 can be prevented. Moreover, if the message content is determined to be silent by the level determination unit 30, the record is deleted from the recording unit 16, so if the user is silent while indicating the intention to send the message, or if the message cannot be heard during playback. If the volume is low or the message is not sent because the intention is unknown, the record is deleted and the recording unit 16
Useless recording can be prevented. Therefore, the usage of the capacity of the recording unit 16 can be reduced, so that a necessary message can be reliably recorded. In addition, the user who wants to listen to the message can hear only the effective message, so that the user can quickly hear the message content.

The above embodiment is an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the called number storage unit 24
Invalid message table 36 without changing the incoming phone number stored in
, But the display is not limited to this. As shown in FIG. 4, a number conversion unit 42 is provided between the called number storage unit 24 and the invalid message table 36 so that the called telephone number can be displayed in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, the name may be converted to the name 38d and displayed. That is, the number conversion unit 42 registers the name and the telephone number in advance, inputs the incoming telephone number, compares it with the registered telephone number, converts the corresponding number, if any, to the name, and outputs it. If it is output as it is. According to this, the user who sees the display 38 can immediately know the other party.

[0039]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the answering machine of the first aspect of the present invention, when the receiving telephone number and the message presence / absence signal from the other party are received and the message presence / absence signal is not off, An information receiving unit that receives a message and an output unit that outputs the incoming telephone number when the message is deleted by the information processing unit and when the message presence / absence signal is turned off. Even if it is or has been cut immediately, the other party can be specified. This eliminates the need to wait for the other party to call again.

Also, since the answering machine has an information receiving unit for receiving the incoming telephone number and the message presence / absence signal from the other party and receiving the message when the message presence / absence signal is not turned off, the recording unit is wasted. Recording can be prevented. In addition, since the answering machine has an information processing unit that detects the voice level of the message and deletes the message recorded in the recording unit if the voice level is lower than a predetermined level, if the message presence / absence signal is not turned off, the voice mail is silent. Even if there is, useless recording of the recording unit can be prevented. Accordingly, the amount of use of the capacity of the recording unit can be reduced, so that a necessary message can be reliably recorded. Also,
The user who wants to listen to the message can hear only the effective message, so that the user can quickly hear the message content.

Further, when the message presence / absence signal is turned off, the intention of the other party not to leave a message becomes clear, and the process when the message presence / absence signal is off can be executed immediately, and the next incoming call can be executed. Can wait and process quickly.

According to the second embodiment of the present invention, the receiving telephone number can be stored in the receiving unit and the receiving number storage unit. Thus, even if the other party hangs up the telephone immediately, the incoming telephone number can be stored.

Further, according to the answering machine of the invention, when the message is recorded in the recording unit, the level judging unit operates to detect the voice level of the message and compare it with a predetermined level. When it is determined that the voice level of the message is lower than the predetermined level, the invalidation processing unit operates to delete the message recorded in the recording unit. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the capacity of the recording unit from being wasted.

Further, when it is determined that the voice level is lower than the predetermined level and when the message presence / absence signal is off, the invalid message processing unit transmits the incoming telephone number from the information receiving unit to the output unit. Can easily identify the other party of the silent call.

In addition, according to the answering machine of the fourth aspect of the invention, if the called number is registered, that is, if the other party has a high call frequency, the called party is replaced with the called number. Since it can be confirmed by unique information such as name and name, the other party can be easily confirmed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a circuit configuration of an answering machine of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a display example of a display of the answering machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the answering machine;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically showing a circuit configuration of another embodiment of the answering machine of the present invention.

5 is a plan view showing a display example of a display of the answering machine of FIG. 4;

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Answering machine 12 Message sending unit 14 Information receiving unit 16 Recording unit 18 Information processing unit 20 Output unit 22 Receiving unit 24 Received number storage unit 26 Message receiving unit 28 Message checking unit 30 Level judgment unit 32 Invalid message processing unit 34 Invalid processing Department

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A message transmitting unit for transmitting a message asking whether or not there is a message to a partner, receiving a called telephone number and a message or not signal from the partner and receiving a message when the message or not signal is not off. An information receiving unit, a recording unit that records the message, an information processing unit that detects the voice level of the message and deletes the message recorded in the recording unit if the voice level is lower than a predetermined level, and the information processing unit An answering machine, comprising: an output unit that outputs the called telephone number when the message is deleted and when the message presence / absence signal is off. 2. The information receiving section receives and distributes the incoming telephone number, the message presence / absence signal, and the message, and an incoming number storage section that stores the incoming telephone number from the receiving section. And a message receiving unit capable of receiving the message from the receiving unit, and determining whether the message presence / absence signal from the receiving unit is on / off, and transmitting the message to the message receiving unit when the message presence / absence signal is not off. The answering machine according to claim 1, further comprising a message confirming unit for receiving the message. 3. The information processing unit detects a voice level of the message and compares the voice level of the message with a predetermined level. An invalid message processing unit that transmits the incoming telephone number from the information receiving unit to the output unit when it is determined that the message level is lower than the predetermined level, and that the voice level of the message is lower than the predetermined level at the level determination unit. 3. The answering machine according to claim 1, further comprising: an invalidation processing unit that deletes the message recorded in the recording unit when the judgment is made. 4. A number conversion unit for converting an incoming call number stored in the incoming call number storage unit into unique information based on preset data. The answering machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the unique information corresponding to the unit is output.