JPS6269766A - Telephone additional equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To control an equipment without waiting until a response message finishes when an originator is a subscriber by providing the means to detect a special signal originated by the originator and the means to omit the last half of the response message. CONSTITUTION:When an originator calls a telephone at the purpose of the control of the in-house equipment, the originator confirms that the telephone call is not executed by mistake by the message of 'This is ....(2) at the heading, the originator pushes the special button of tthe going-out destination telephone set. Thus, the special signal is inputted to a telephone additional equipment 1 as a password code, communicated through a transmitter receiver 3 and a mike 7 to a tone decoder 9, decoded to the code number, read to a CPU 15 and stored to a RAM 10. Next, the code number is collated with the code programmed to a ROM 14, decoded to be the password code to omit the last half of the response message and then, the last half of the message is omitted. Thus, the control of the in-house equipment can be quickly executed and the calling charge can be decreased.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a telephone accessory device for controlling a subscriber's home equipment using a telephone line.

<Prior Art> A telephone accessory device is known that transmits various signals using a general telephone line to perform ON-OFF control of equipment in a subscriber's home.

This device generally has a function to automatically respond to a caller when the subscriber is absent, and a function to control various devices in the subscriber's premises in response to device control signals sent from the caller. ing. The automatic answering function described above detects an incoming call, puts the phone into a talking state, and sends a predetermined response message, such as "This is ○○. I'm out of the office at the moment, so please call me later." After sending this response message, a device control signal is received and the home devices are controlled.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> The above-mentioned automatic answering function is performed regardless of whether the caller is the subscriber or not; For , response messages are essentially unnecessary.

Therefore, the time spent sending the response message is wasted, and the call time becomes longer by that amount, creating the problem that additional call charges must be paid.

The present invention has focused on this point, and has been made with the object of making it possible to control equipment without waiting until the response message is finished when the caller is a subscriber.

<Means for Solving the Problems> In order to achieve the above object, the telephone accessory device of the present invention includes, in addition to a normal response means, a means for detecting a specific signal emitted by a caller, and a means for detecting this specific signal. means for shortening the response message sent at the time of incoming call when the signal is received, and making it possible to immediately receive the device control signal.

<Operation> By calling the subscriber's home and transmitting a specific signal, it becomes possible to control the equipment using the equipment control signal, so the equipment in the home can be controlled immediately without having to wait for the end of a long response message. be able to.

<Example> An illustrated embodiment will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram, and numeral 1 indicates a telephone accessory, 2 a telephone main body, 3 a handset, and 4 a hook of the telephone.

The telephone accessory device 1 includes a microphone 5 that detects the ringing sound of the telephone.
．． 7-note control unit 6 for raising and lowering the 7-tsuku 4, handset 3
A microphone 7 receives a signal sound emitted by the receiver, and a speaker 8 sends a response message to the handset 3. 9 is a tone decoder that decodes the signal tone received by the microphone 7 into a code number; 10 is a RAM that stores the number information decoded by the tone decoder 9; and 11 is a RAM that outputs a response message as an audio signal to operate the speaker 8. 12 is a device control output section that outputs a control output for the controlled device 16; 13 is a mode switch that selects home mode and out-of-home mode; and 14 is a procedure for controlling the operations of these various components and transmission. 15 is a ROM that stores programs such as response procedures with the person, and 15 is a CPU that comprehensively controls the operation of each of the above components according to this control program.
It is.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing an example of a combination of the telephone accessory device 1, the telephone main body 2, etc.

17 is an operating plate of the hook control unit 6, and when going out,
The tip of the handset 3 is pressed down, and the handset 3 is set so that the receiver side corresponds to the microphone 7 and the transmitter side corresponds to the speaker 8, as shown in the figure, and the mode switch 13 is set to the outgoing side. be done.

Now, when there is an incoming call in the above state, the ringing sound is detected by the microphone 5, the actuating plate 17 is rotated in the opposite direction, the dial 4 is raised, and the telephone becomes in a talking state. Here, CPU 15
In accordance with the program stored in the ROM 14, for example, the synthesized speech generator 11 outputs a message such as "This is ○○." After a while, the message is outputted, for example, "I'm out of town. Please try again later. ” is output. These response messages are conveyed to the caller via the speaker 8 and handset 3.
The caller gets through the phone correctly, but finds out that the other party is not home and hangs up.

If you want to talk to someone, please use the opening line [This is ○○.

” message to confirm that you have dialed the wrong number, then press the main button on your outgoing phone, for example. In other words, this is a specific signal for omitting the latter half of the response message, and serves as a PIN code that indicates that the subscriber is the caller. The tone decoder 9 decodes the tone generated when this button is pressed into a corresponding code number, and the CPU 15 reads this number information and stores it in the RAM 10. Then, this stored number information is compared with the code programmed in the ROM 14, and if it is decoded to be a PIN code that omits the second half of the response message, it will say ``I'm going out...''.
Instead, the message "Please input" is output from the synthesized voice generator 11, and at the same time the controlled device 16 can be controlled.6 Therefore, the caller (subscriber) can control the device. The signal is decoded into a command code corresponding to the outgoing dial tone, and CPtJ15
reads this and stores it in RAM10.

Then, this number information is compared with various control command codes programmed in the ROM 14 to determine what type of control the command code performs, and the device control output unit 12 is controlled according to the content, and the controlled device 16 is A predetermined control is performed.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the above control procedure. Regardless of whether the caller is a subscriber or a non-subscriber, if no signal continues for 30 seconds, the operating plate 17 of the hook control unit 6 rotates and the 7-piece 4 is lowered, and the telephone line is disconnected. is released and returns to the initial standby state.

In the above embodiments, the telephone line is disconnected using a mechanical actuator, and the audio signal is received and transmitted using an acoustic coupler. However, for example, a semiconductor circuit or a relay circuit may be used to disconnect the telephone line. Alternatively, other methods such as inputting and outputting audio signals directly to the line can also be adopted.

<Effects of the Invention> As is clear from the above description of the embodiments, the telephone accessory device of the present invention allows the caller to send a specific signal, thereby shortening the response message sent when the call arrives, and immediately responding to the call. This makes it possible to receive device control signals. Therefore, when a subscriber makes a call for the purpose of controlling an in-home FI device, a device control signal can be issued without waiting for all unnecessary response messages to be completed.
This makes it possible to quickly control in-home equipment, and also to shorten call time and reduce call charges.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the external appearance of the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a control flowchart of the embodiment.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a telephone accessory device that automatically responds to a caller and controls in-home equipment according to equipment control signals sent from the caller, means for detecting a specific signal emitted by the caller; , means for shortening a response message sent at the time of incoming call when this specific signal is received, and immediately switching to a state of receiving a device control signal.