JPS627250A - Automatic answering telephone set - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify the circuit operation for recording and reproduction by recording a message from a telephone line and a memorandom-recording from a microphone in the same area, and by transmitting to the line beforehand one of the different response signals in accordance with the content of the memorandom recording when a remote signal is detected. CONSTITUTION:If the remote signal is detected by a detector circuit 20 when the response message is being transmitted, a control circuit 4 rewinds a deck 6, checks a memorandom-recording button operation flag, and transmits an intermittent sound from an intermittent-sound generator circuit 21 for a prescribed time and then a melody from a melody generator circuit 22 to the telephone line if the said flag is being set. On the contrary, if the flag is not being set the tape is rewound to the beginning end by means of the output from a tape-end sensor 2 while the melody is being transmitted. The control circuit 4 stops the melody transmission, and restarts the deck 6, and transmits into the telephone line the recorded message by turning an analog switch 24. Therefore, a controller who is remote can control operations of rewinding, fast forward winding, and reproducing by means of a remote signal.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an answering machine, and more particularly, to an answering machine equipped with a remote function for receiving a remote signal coming from a telephone line, and playing back and transmitting an emergency message recorded on tape. The present invention relates to an answering machine.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, this type of answering machine has not only been able to record a message from a caller when an incoming call is automatically answered, but also been able to record a message as a memo using a microphone attached to the device. In this case, in order to clearly indicate to those who are listening to the message e-sounded by remote control from outside that there is a message from an internal person, conventionally the memo bell area was placed at the beginning of the recording tape. The method used was to rewind the tape and play it from the beginning of the tape during remote operation, allowing the message to be heard first.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, with this method, after each message recording, it is necessary to move the telephone to the rear end of the recording area of the last message in order to enter the incoming call waiting state. This had the disadvantage of complicating the operation.

Means for Solving Problem C] In order to solve these problems, the present invention provides a storage means for storing the presence or absence of a message recorded as a memo from a microphone, and a storage means for storing a message when a remote signal is detected. The apparatus is provided with means for transmitting different response signals to the telephone line in accordance with the stored contents prior to reproducing and transmitting the business message.

[Effect].

Recording of business messages from the telephone line and memo recording are performed equally and sequentially in the same area without any distinction, but when a remote signal is detected, the presence or absence of memo recording is checked,
Since a different response signal is returned depending on the result, the remote operator must be aware that there is a message (or no message) in advance.
1. [Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. 2
In the figure, 1 is a telephone call circuit, 2 is a dial circuit, and handset 3.
By raising the hook switch H8, the connection of the hook switch H8 is switched to the side opposite to that shown in the figure, and a direct current loop is closed to the telephone line via the line terminal, so that a telephone call can be made.

On the other hand, 4 is a control circuit equipped with a processor unit such as a well-known microprocessor, and according to the program stored in the built-in memory, it performs the following control according to inputs from various switches and detection circuits, etc. Perform the action.

First, FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing memo recording processing. In the figure, when the memo recording switch SWl is turned on by pressing the memo recording button on the keyboard (
Step 101), the control circuit 4 controls the answering switch SW
Depending on the state of 2, check whether you are in home mode (step 102). If it is in home mode, wait until the non-locking memo recording switch SWI is turned off (step 103), and then turn on the deck controller 5. The analog switch 7 is turned on while the ICM cassette medium 6 is operated for recording. Thereby, the voice blown from the microphone 8 is amplified by the amplifier 9 and transmitted to the head 10, and memo recording is performed (step 104). Then, when the memo recording switch SW1 is turned on again (step 105), the analog switch 1 is turned off and the memo recording is ended (step 106), while a specific audible signal (this signal generation circuit is omitted in FIG. 1) is generated. is written as a message end mark at the end of the memo recording area (step 1o1), and a memo recording button operation flag is set in a specific area of the built-in memory (step 108). If the memo recording switch SWI is not turned on, and even if it is pressed but the home mode is not in effect, the above memo recording process is not performed and other processes are performed (steps 1o9).In other words, in this embodiment, memo recording is not performed. This is performed on the condition that the memo recording button is pressed while the at-home mode is set, but the mode and operation key procedure for memo recording are not limited to those of this embodiment and may be arbitrary.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the incoming call processing.

When the answering switch SW2 is turned on and the answering mode is set, when an incoming call is detected by the incoming call detection circuit 11, the execution of the program shifts to this incoming call processing, and the control circuit 4 first performs AI). Operate the relay 12. As a result, the connection of contact a is switched to the line relay T side, and a DC loop for the telephone line is closed (step 201). Next, the control circuit 4 sends a response message (O
GM) cassette deck 13 is operated for reproduction, and the analog switch 14t is turned on. This results in
A prerecorded response message is sent from the head 15 to the telephone line via the amplifier 16 and the hybrid circuit 11 (step 202). If it is confirmed that the response message has ended without any remote signal being detected (step 203), using a pre-recorded end mark, etc. (the detection circuit for this end mark is omitted in Figure 1) (step 203). 204), the playback operation of the deck 13 is stopped and the analog switch 14 is turned off to finish sending out the response message (step 205), then the message cassette deck 6 is started to record and the analog switch 18 is turned on. Particularly, a caller's message coming from the telephone line is transmitted to the head 10 via the hybrid circuit 17 and the amplifier 19, and the message is recorded (step 206). Detection of a click sound during hook-on or detection of continuation of silence for a certain period of time using a voice switch, etc. (These detection circuits are also omitted in Figure 1) When it is determined that the message has ended (Step 207), the control circuit 4 shifts to recovery processing, and in Step 208), the deck 6 is operated for recording, the analog switch 18 is turned off, and the deck 13 is operated for rewinding to find the beginning of the response message. Opening the loop 3. On the other hand, if the remote signal detection circuit 20 detects a remote signal while sending the response message (step 203), the control circuit 4 causes the deck 6 to rewind and then (Step 209), check whether the memo recording button operation flag is set or not.Step 210'), if it is set, first turn on the intermittent sound generation circuit 21 and generate the intermittent sound for a predetermined time T1. After sending the melody to the telephone line (step 211), the melody generation circuit 22 is turned on and the melody is sent out (step 211).
Step 212).

On the other hand, if the memo recording button operation flag is not set (step 210), the process immediately shifts to melody transmission (step 212). If it is detected from the output from the tape end sensor 23 that monitors the rotation pulse of the reel that the tape has been rewound to the beginning of the tape (step 213), the control circuit 4 stops sending out the melody and then starts the tape rewinding process. 6 is played back, and the analog switch 24 is turned on to send the muted business message to the telephone line (step 214). Note that 25 in FIG. 1 indicates other various function keys.

After proceeding to step 214 for reproducing and transmitting the business message in this manner, the remote operator can perform arbitrary operations such as rewinding, fast forwarding, and reproducing using a predetermined remote signal.

As explained above, according to this embodiment, when the memo recording button operation flag is set,
), after starting rewinding of the business message tape at point A, an intermittent tone is sent out for a predetermined time T1, and then the melody is sent out, whereas if the above flag is not set, As shown in FIG. 4(b), the melody is transmitted from the start of rewinding until the rewinding ends at point B. Therefore, the remote operator is notified in advance of the presence or absence of a memo recording by the difference in response signals, and is alerted to the situation.This prevents him from missing important message memos due to fast forwarding, etc.9. In the example described above, when there is a memo recording operation, 7 lags are unconditionally set regardless of the content, and an identification response signal is sent during remote operation. Considering that there are many things to do, and especially when it is necessary to emphasize to people who are on the go that there is a memo recording, for example, the memo sending switch SW3 as shown by the broken line in Fig. 1 can be used. By turning on the identification response signal, an identification response signal may be sent during the rear operation. In this case, it is not necessary to set the memo recording button operation flag in step 108 in FIG.
The determination process in step 210 in FIG. 3 is performed as to whether or not the memo transmission switch is on. For example, only when the memo transmission switch is on, the intermittent tone is transmitted. in this case,
The presence or absence of a memo-recorded message stored by the memo sending switch is not an objective fact, but is arbitrarily determined by the operator at home.

Further, a predetermined memo silence mark may be written on the tape during memo recording, and while an identification response signal is sent during remote operation, playback and transmission may be started from the memo recording area.

An example is shown in FIG. In the figure, steps 301 to 3
The process of step 08 is the same as the process of steps 201 to 208 explained in FIG.
), if the memo transmission switch is on (step 309), the control circuit 4 transmits an intermittent tone (step 3).
10) If the switch is not on, immediately start rewinding the deck 6 (step 311), send out the melody (step 312), and then check again to see if the memo transmission switch is on. If it is on, it is checked whether a memo recording mark has been detected (step 313), and it is checked whether the tape has been rewound to the beginning (step 314). If the memo transmission switch is not turned on (step 313), after the rewinding is completed (step 315), the process moves to playback and transmission of the message (step 316); however, if the memo transmission switch is turned on, the memo When the memo recording mark is detected by the recording mark detection circuit 2G (step 314), the rewinding operation is stopped (step 311),
Start playback and transmission from the memo recording part (step 3)
16), Therefore, in the case of this embodiment, when recording a memo, the memo is recorded as shown in FIG. Write a memo recording mark MM at the beginning of the recording area. Note that FM in FIG. 6 is an end mark written every time a business message (including a memo) ends. These marks are written using an oscillator that generates a specific audible signal, although it is omitted in FIG. In this embodiment, when the memo transmission switch is on, B
The tape is rewound to the memo recording mark writing position, and playback starts from there.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the above-mentioned fa2, in which it is possible to select whether or not to notify emphatically that there is a memo recording by using the memo transmission switch. Although this is an example, the first embodiment can be similarly applied to the case where the identification response signal is sent out indiscriminately if there are multiple memo recordings. Furthermore, if a memo recording mark is written during memo recording in this way, an identification response signal is generated at the start of rewinding the message board, and an identification response signal is generated when the memo recording mark is detected. Alternatively, a response signal may be sent to notify that it is a memo recording, and then playback may be started.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, there is provided a storage means for storing the presence or absence of a message recorded as a memo from a microphone, and a message that outputs a different response signal depending on the stored content of the storage means when a remote signal is detected. By providing a means for transmitting the message to the telephone line prior to playback, the recording of the message from the caller and the recording of the memo can be recorded in sequence, especially if areas are distinguished, and the recording can be played back. While the operation of the device can be simplified, it is also possible to alert a person doing remote listening from a location to the existence of a memo recording to ensure that important messages are heard. .

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention. 2 and iJ3 are flowcharts showing an example of a processing program in the control circuit, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a response signal, FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing another example of a processing program in the control circuit, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing program in the control circuit. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a recording format of a message. 4... Control circuit, 6... Cassette deck for message message, 8... Microphone, 20φ... Remote signal detection circuit, 21... Intermittent sound generation circuit, 22...
Fist/melody generation circuit, Swl... memo recording switch, SW3... memo sending switch.

Claims (1)

[Claims] In an answering machine that plays back a message recorded on a tape and sends it to the telephone line by detecting a remote signal arriving from a telephone line during automatic answering of an incoming call, the message recording area of the tape is means for recording a memo of an audio signal input from a microphone; a storage means for storing the presence or absence of a message memo-recorded by the means; 1. An answering machine characterized by comprising: means for transmitting different response signals to a telephone line prior to the operation of reproducing the business message.