JPS63261944A - Automatic answering telephone set - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To know the name of a caller, etc., incoming during the sending of an answering message by providing a recording means, which records, at least, a part of the message, incoming from the caller during the reproduction of the answering message. CONSTITUTION:When the incoming of a telephone appears at an automatic answering mode, a bell signal tone from a line is detected by an incoming detection circuit 10. A microcomputer 12 turns a tape deck 1 into a reproduction mode based on this detection, and at the same time, makes a reproduction circuit part 15 and an index recording/reproducing part 7 operate. An answering message (OGM) signal, reproduced from a tape 2, is sent from the circuit 15 to the line and transmitted to the caller. At this time, if it is assumed that the caller spoke a part of his own business message (ICM), e.g., the name of the caller, the said ICM signal is impressed to a recording/reproducing part 7 and recorded in a RAM 8. This recording is carried out for required time from the start of the sending of the OGM. Thus, at least, the name of the caller is recorded in the RAM 8, and the name of the caller can be known.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an answering machine that automatically answers incoming calls while the user is away.

[Summary of the invention]

The present invention provides an answering machine that sends a response message to a caller in response to an incoming call, in which at least a part of the message sent from the caller is sent while the response message is being sent. By providing a recording means for recording, it is possible to send a response message without the caller noticing that the other party's telephone is an answering machine.
If you say part of the message, such as your name,
It was designed to record it.

[Conventional technology]

An answering machine generally detects when a call comes in while the user is away, and first sends a response message (hereinafter simply OGM) pre-recorded on a recording medium to the effect of recording the answering machine.
), the reproduced response message is transmitted to the caller through the line, and then a predetermined signal tone is transmitted and the 10M recording mode is established. Messages (hereinafter simply referred to as ICM) sent through the ICM are recorded on a recording medium.

Furthermore, conventional OGM and ICM recording methods can be broadly classified into the following four types.

(1) Cassette tape and ICM exclusively for recording OGM
A cassette tape exclusively used for recording and one that uses two pieces of tape.

(2) , OGM and ICM are recorded on one cassette tape.

(3) OGM and ICM are recorded in solid-state memory such as dynamic RAM.

(4) , QC; M is recorded in a solid-state memory and ECM is recorded on a cassette tape.

In addition, there are two ways to play back the recorded ICM: the user goes home and puts the answering machine into playback mode to play back 10M, and the other is to play back the recorded ICM using a telephone when the user is away from home. There is a method of performing 10M playback by calling the answering machine and sending a predetermined remote control signal to put the answering machine into playback mode.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

As mentioned above, with conventional answering machines, the caller is
I listen to the GM and then listen to a signal sound, such as a beep, before speaking my ICM. Further, the answering machine enters the ICM recording mode upon sending out the above-mentioned signal tone. However, the caller did not realize that the other party was using an answering machine, and while the OGM was being sent, the ICM
The caller may speak part of the ICM (often the caller's name), or even the entire ICM, and then hang up when the caller realizes it is an answering machine. In such a case, part or all of the ICM spoken by the caller during the 00M transmission is not recorded, so the user has no idea that the caller called him while he was away.

[Means for solving problems]

In the present invention, recording means is provided for recording at least a part of the message sent from the caller while the response message is being reproduced.

[Effect]

Even if the caller accidentally speaks ICM and hangs up while sending a response message, at least the fact that the caller called is recorded.

〔Example〕

In this embodiment, in addition to solving the above-mentioned problems, the following problems are also solved.

Multiple ICs recorded sequentially in a conventional answering machine
When reproducing M, it takes a very long time to reproduce each ICM in its entirety. Particularly when a single answering machine is used by a plurality of people, the users are forced to listen to ICMs that are not addressed to them, which is both time consuming and unpleasant. In some cases, ICMs addressed to yourself or others
The secret will also be leaked. Furthermore, when reproducing an ICM, it is often necessary to know only the main points, such as the name of the caller, which the caller says at the beginning of the ICM.

Therefore, the user performs a skip operation in order to listen to ICMs that are not addressed to him or the parts other than the main points of the ICMs. For this reason, it is necessary to repeatedly operate the fast-forward button while listening to the reproduced sound, which is very time-consuming and time-consuming. In particular, if 10M playback is performed by remote control from outside, telephone charges will also increase.

Next, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to the answering machine of type (1) mentioned above will be described with reference to the drawings.

In the drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes a tape deck for recording and reproducing OGM, and is provided with a cassette tape 2, a recording/reproducing head 3, and the like. 4 is a tape deck for recording and playing ICM;
A cassette tape 5, a recording/reproducing head 6, etc. are provided. Reference numeral 7 denotes an index recording and reproducing section provided according to the present invention, which includes a dynamic RAM 8 as a recording medium for recording the main parts of the ICM, and an A/D converter and a D/A (not shown).
A converter is provided.

9 is a line interface, 10 is a telephone incoming detection circuit, 11 is a remote control signal detection circuit, 12 is a microcomputer for system control, 13 is a timer circuit, 14 is a recording circuit section including a recording amplifier, etc., and 15 is a reproduction amplifier. 16 is a microphone;
7 is a speaker.

The microcomputer 12 includes a recording circuit section 14, a reproducing circuit section 15, an index recording/reproducing section 7, and a tape deck 1.
．． 4 etc. are controlled to be in a predetermined state at a predetermined timing.

Next, a case will be described in which recording is performed using the above configuration.

First, OGM recording is performed using the micro system 16.

After the OGM signal from the microphone 16 is processed by the recording circuit section 14, it is sent to the tape deck 1 and recorded on the tape 2 via the head 3.

Next, when the tape deck 1 is put into a playback mode to perform I-authorized playback of OGM, the OGM signal played back from the tape 2 by the head 3 is processed by the playback circuit section 15 and applied to the speaker 17 for checking.

Next, when the telephone answering machine is placed in the answering mode, the beginning of the OGM of tape 2 is located, and the beginning of the portion of tape 5 where the ICM is to be recorded is also located. Then, the user goes out and the device enters a state of waiting for an incoming call.

When a telephone call is received in this state, a ringing signal from the line is detected by the call detection circuit 10 through the line interface 9. Based on this detection, the microcomputer 12 puts the tape deck 1 into the playback mode and operates the playback circuit section 15 and the index recording/playback section 7.

The OGM signal reproduced from the tape 2 by the head 3 is transmitted from the reproducing circuit section 15 to the line via the line interface 9 and transmitted to the calling party.

At this time, if the caller does not realize that the other party is using an answering machine and speaks part (or in some cases, all) of his or her ICM, such as the caller's name, the ICM
The CM signal is applied to the index recording/reproducing section 7 from the line interface 9, converted into a digital signal by the A/D converter, and then recorded in the RAM 8. This recording is performed for a predetermined period of time from the start of OGM transmission. As a result, at least the name of the caller is recorded in the RAM 8.

If the caller waits for the end of sending the OGM and then listens to the signal tone before sending an ICM, the tape deck 4 is set to recording mode at the same time as the signal tone is sent, and the recording circuit unit 14 and index The recording/reproducing section 7 is operated.

When the caller sends an ICM after hearing the above-mentioned signal tone, this ICM signal is applied from the line interface 9 to the tape deck 4 through the recording circuit section 14, and then to the head 6.
is recorded on the tape 5. At the same time, the above ICM
The signal is converted into a digital signal by the A/D converter in the index recording/reproducing section 7 and then recorded in the RAM 8. This recording to the RAM 8 is performed for several seconds from the beginning of the ICM, for example.

This allows the ICM, for example, the caller's name, etc., to be sent to the RA.
Recorded on M8. The recording time of several seconds in the RAM 8 is managed by a timer circuit 13.

When the ICM recording is completed and the call is disconnected as described above, the device returns to the incoming call standby state. At this time, the OGM of tape 2 on tape deck 1 has been cued.
Next, when a second call arrives, the call is detected in the same manner as described above, and the caller's ICM is recorded on the tape 5 and a portion of the ICM is recorded on the RAM 8. By repeating the above-described operations, the ICMs are sequentially recorded on the tape 5, and part of the ICMs are sequentially recorded on the RAM 8.

Next, the case of reproducing the ICM recorded in the above manner will be described.

When the user is at home and wants to play back the ICM, the device is put into the home mode and then into the ICM playback mode.

As a result, the index recording and reproducing section 7 enters the reproducing mode, and the RAM 8 is read out. Some signals of each ICM sequentially read out from the RAM 8 are converted into analog signals by the D/A converter in the index recording/reproducing section 7, and then supplied to the speaker 17 through the reproducing circuit section 15. This allows the user to listen to parts of each of the plurality of ICMs recorded on the tape 5. Therefore,
A part of each ICM is added to all the ICs recorded on tape 5.
It can be used as an index of M.

This index also includes the part of the ICM that the caller accidentally sent while sending the OGM.

Thereafter, if the tape deck 4 is set to a reproduction mode as required, the ICM recorded on the tape 5 is supplied to the speaker 17 through the reproduction circuit section 15.

At this time, by using a part of each ICM read from the RAM 8 as an index, necessary
It is possible to listen to only commercials.

Further, when the user performs ICM playback by remote control using a telephone set outside the home, the user sends a predetermined remote control signal including his/her own identification signal. This remote control has line interface 9
The signal is detected by the remote control signal detection circuit 11 through the signal. Based on this detection, the micro combinator 12
By setting the index recording and reproducing section 7 to the reproducing mode, the RAM 8 is read out in the same manner as described above.

A portion of the read signals of each ICM are transmitted from the index recording/reproducing section 7 to the telephone set of the user's place of residence via the reproducing circuit section 15 and the line interface 9.

This allows the user to know, as an index, a portion of the ICMs of all the calls received while the user was away. Thereafter, if necessary, a predetermined remote control signal can be sent to put the tape deck 4 into playback mode and the ICM recorded on the tape 5 can be listened to.

Various functions described below can be added to the answering machine according to the embodiment described above.

(1) When recording part of the ICM in the RAM 8, perform voice detection, etc., operate the timer circuit 13 as if the ICM has started when the voice is detected, and then record the ICM for only a few seconds. .

This eliminates unnecessary recording to RAM8 and
8 capacity can be used effectively.

(2) Record various data as described below in the RAM 8 together with a part of the ICM.

a. Position information such as the recording start point and recording end point of the IcM recorded on the tape 5, which is recorded as a value obtained by counting the number of rotations of the reel shaft of the tape deck 4, for example.

b, ICM record mill, time.

C2 Total recording time of all ICMs.

d. Caller's identification signal. This can be realized, for example, by including in the OGM in advance a message indicating that it is desired to send an identification signal (promised in advance) that identifies the caller.

e, a priority signal indicating that when an ICM is played back, it is played back preferentially over other ICMs;

f. A signal for prohibiting playback when you do not want others to hear the ICM.

g. A signal that identifies the ICM partner.

h1 ICM only for the ICM partner specified above
total recording time.

Note that recording of each of the es f and es g signals can be realized by including such information in the OGM in advance. Further, the signals a, b, c, h, etc. mentioned above can be read out from the RAM 8 and displayed when reproducing the ICM. For example, information related to time or the like may be displayed using voice synthesis or a signal tone.

The data a (count value of the number of rotations of the reel shaft) can be used to search each ICM when playing back the tape 5.

Further, the above-mentioned signals such as d and eSf are particularly effective when one answering machine is used by a plurality of people. That is, it is not necessary to reproduce unnecessary ICMs in other people's queues, and it is possible to protect the secrets of ICMs addressed to oneself and in other people's queues.

(3) If the capacity of the RAM 8 is small, after ICM recording is finished or after the RAM 8 is full, part of the ICM recorded in the RAM 8 is sequentially recorded on a predetermined portion of the tape 2 and/or the tape 5. In that case, O for tape 2
If it is recorded in the part after the GM, and recorded in a predetermined part before the ICM recording part on the tape 5, it is convenient to use it as an index during playback.

By doing so, a large number of indexes can be obtained even if the capacity of the RAM 8 is small. Also, even if the power is turned off due to a power outage etc. and the data in RAM 8 disappears,
Indexes can be protected. More tape 2
．． The index can also be used when playing back 5 on another tape recorder.

Further, the embodiment is a case where the present invention is applied to the answering machine of the type (1) described in the prior art section, but
The present invention can also be applied to answering machines of the types (2)-1, (3) and (4). Further, instead of the RAM 8 that records part of the ICM, other recording media such as magnetic tape can be used as appropriate.

According to this embodiment, even if the caller hangs up after speaking his/her name during 00M playback, the caller's name etc. can be kept in the record.

Also, in addition to the tape 5 that records all of the ICM, there is also a RAM 8 that records only part of the ICM.
By reproducing M8, only the main part of the ICM of the telephone call received while the user was away can be used as an index of the ICM recorded on the tape 5. Therefore, when playing back the tape 5, it is possible to select and play back only the ICMs that the user wants to know in advance. Particularly when ICM playback is performed by remote control, it is convenient because the user can get an overview of the ICM in a short time, and it is also possible to save on telephone charges.

Since the RAM 8 allows a part of each ICM to be searched in a very short time, and addresses of part of the ICM can be stored as digital signals, control by the control microcomputer can be performed easily.

Also, if one answering machine is used by multiple people,
This is convenient because you can know in advance which ICM you want to listen to.

Further, by recording the digit 1 information of the ICM recorded on the tape 5 in the RAM 8, the tape 5 can be searched easily.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, in addition to the means for recording all ICMs, 0
Since a means for recording at least a part of the ICM during 0M transmission is provided, it is possible to reduce the amount of ICM recorded by this recording means.
By reproducing a portion of the message, it is possible to know at least the name of the caller, which is sent during the 00M transmission, which could not be recorded by conventional answering machines.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawing is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the invention. 1・-・---1---・・--・00M recording/playback tape deck 7・--
...Index recording and playback section 8-----
--------RAMl 2--------
---・It is a microcomputer.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] An answering machine that plays a pre-recorded response message in response to an incoming call and sends the played response message to the caller, wherein while playing the response message, An answering machine characterized by being provided with a recording means for recording at least a part of the message sent from the caller.