JPH0531341B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an automatic telephone answering device that automatically answers calls from a telephone line. especially,
This is very useful for recipients who are a little further away than the phone and cannot answer the phone immediately after the phone rings, but can answer the call if they have a little time. This invention relates to a new type of automatic telephone answering device.

[Prior Art] Telephones have been widely used for both consumer and business use. A telephone equipped with a so-called automatic response function, which automatically returns a message when a telephone call is received, is already known as, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 36-9004. There is.

With normal telephones, call charges are incurred from the moment the message begins to be returned, and the caller is responsible for the call charges until the message is returned.

Therefore, in an automatic telephone answering system that automatically answers calls from a telephone line, if the time period during which the automatic telephone answering system is operating, that is, the message is returned, increases, the caller may There was a problem of having to pay a large amount of call charges.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems in the conventional automatic telephone answering device, and it is possible to shorten the operating time of the message transmitting device as much as possible to reach the caller. The purpose is to reduce the burden of telephone charges.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the automatic telephone answering device according to the present invention includes a counter device that counts the time corresponding to the waiting limit of the other party after receiving a ringing signal from the telephone line. a message transmitting means for returning the message to the other party; an auxiliary ring tone generating device for generating an auxiliary ring tone to notify that the message transmitting device is operating; It has a response detection means for detecting the response, and a line switching means for switching the telephone line between the telephone main body and the message transmitting device. Then, while the counter device is counting the waiting time limit, the telephone main unit continues to ring, and after the counter device is counting the waiting time limit, the message transmitting device is activated to send the message back to the other party. . Then, while the message transmitting device is in operation, the auxiliary ring tone generator is activated to generate an auxiliary ring tone, and when the response detection means detects that the recipient has answered the telephone, the line The telephone line is switched to the telephone main body side by the switching means.

In the above configuration, the time equivalent to the other party's waiting limit counted by the counter device is the limit that the person who made the call, that is, the caller, can hold the receiver and wait until there is a response. It's about time. Although the length may vary depending on the individual, it is usually equivalent to about five rings of a telephone.

[Function] When a call is received from the telephone line, the ring tone in the receiver's telephone body sounds in the same way as in normal telephone communication. At the same time, counting by the counter device starts. If the recipient is close to the telephone and immediately answers the telephone call, the response detection means detects this and the line switching means connects the telephone line to the telephone main body. Therefore, a call is made via the telephone as in normal telephone communication.

If the recipient is a little far away from the phone and cannot answer the call immediately, the counter device will respond to the call for a period of time equivalent to the waiting limit, for example, about 5 times after the phone rings. The corresponding time is counted. When this counting is completed, the line switching means switches the telephone line from the telephone main body to the message transmitting device, and at the same time an auxiliary ring tone is generated from the auxiliary ring tone generating device.

The message transmitter sends the message back to the other end of the telephone, while the recipient goes to the telephone and answers the telephone call before the auxiliary ring ends.

Telephone call charges are incurred at the same time as the message is returned, but in the present invention, the message is not returned at the same time as the telephone is called, but message return is started after counting the time corresponding to the waiting limit. In this way, by postponing the message return timing as much as possible in time, the call charges associated with message return can be reduced.

Further, once the message is returned, an auxiliary ring tone is simultaneously generated to notify the recipient that the message has been returned. Therefore, the recipient can pick up the phone and answer the phone as soon as possible. In this way, the time it takes for a message to be returned can be made as short as possible, and the telephone charges associated with returning a message can be reduced.

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 shows a circuit block diagram of an embodiment of an automatic telephone answering device according to the present invention.

In the figure, 1 indicates a counter device. This counter device 1 starts counting when a call is received from the transmitter side, for example counting the number of ringing signals of the telephone, and the counted value reaches a preset value set in the setting device 2. Then, a first output signal S1 is generated. In this case, the setting value of the setting device 2 is set to the time limit for a telephone caller to pick up the handset and wait for a response from the receiver, for example, a time corresponding to about five rings of the telephone.

3 indicates a message transmitting device. This message transmitting device 3 is comprised of, for example, a tape recorder, etc., and starts its operation in response to the first output signal S1 from the counter device 1, and, for example,
A message such as ``I will answer the phone soon, so please wait for a while.'' is output in the form of a signal.

T is the main body of the telephone, and 4 is a switch that detects when the handset of the main body of the telephone is picked up from the set position.

5 indicates a changeover switch, which connects the telephone circuit indicated by the broken line to the telephone main body T and the message transmitting device 3.
It functions to switch between.

6 indicates a ringer, which is a special ringer such as a buzzer (hereinafter referred to as auxiliary ringer).
The ring tone generating device is configured by a conventionally known ring tone generating device that generates a ring tone. This ringing tone generating device 6 is provided separately from the ringing tone generating device within the telephone main body T.
This ringing tone generating device 6 is started by the first output signal S1 outputted from the counter device 1 and generates an auxiliary ringing tone.

The response detection signal S2 from the handset switch 4 is
The signal is input to each of the message transmitting device 3, changeover switch 5, and ringing tone generating device 6.

The operation of the automatic telephone answering device having the above configuration will be explained.

When a call comes through the telephone line (dashed line), a ring tone is generated from the telephone body T just like a normal telephone, and when the ring tone reaches, for example, 5 times (i.e., the number of times the caller is waiting), The counter device 1 counts the number of times and outputs the first signal S1.
is output. Thus, the message transmitting device 3
is activated, and at the same time, the changeover switch 5 switches the telephone line to the message transmitting device 3 side. As a result, the message transmitting device 3 sends a message to the calling telephone, for example, saying, "I will answer the call soon, so please wait for a while."

Also, while the message is being returned, the ringer 6 is also activated to produce an auxiliary ringer to notify the recipient at home that a call is being made and, in particular, that the message is being returned. Because the above-mentioned message causes the calling telephone to wait for a while without hanging up, the call will not be hung up even when the recipient is, for example, in a faraway place.

Then, when the receiver is ready to answer the phone and picks up the receiver, the switch 4 is activated and outputs a response detection signal S2, which stops the operation of the message transmitting device 3, and at the same time The changeover switch 5 returns to the T side of the telephone body,
You can connect the line to the handset and make calls.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, the message sending device is activated to send back the message after the counter device counts the number of ringings of the telephone for a time corresponding to the standby limit of the other party. The following effects can be obtained by both the above-mentioned actions and the fact that the auxiliary ringtone is sounded during the message return to notify the recipient that the message is being returned. That is, the activation timing of the message sending device is delayed until after the waiting limit of the other party, so that the message sending device is not activated as much as possible, and once the message sending device is activated, the message is received as soon as possible by the auxiliary ring tone. The message transmission device is activated as short as possible by making the person aware of it. Due to this synergistic effect, the time during which the message transmitting device is activated can be minimized and the call charges to be borne by the call originator can be reduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of an automatic telephone answering device according to the present invention. 1... Counter device, 2... Setting device, 3...
Message transmitting device, 4...Response detection switch,
5...Line changeover switch, 6...Ring tone generator.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An automatic telephone answering device that automatically responds to calls from a telephone line, including a counter that counts the time corresponding to the waiting limit of the other party after receiving a call signal from the telephone line. a message transmitting device for returning the message to the other party; an auxiliary ringing device for generating an auxiliary ringing tone to indicate that the message transmitting device is operating; and when the recipient answers the call; , a response detection means for detecting the response, and a line switching means for switching the telephone line between the telephone main body and the message transmitting device, and while the counter device is counting the standby limit time, the telephone main body is called. After continuing to emit the sound and counting the waiting time limit by the counter device, the message transmitting device is activated to send the message back to the other party, and while the message transmitting device is in operation, the auxiliary ring generator is activated. and an auxiliary ring tone is sounded, and when the response detection means detects that the recipient has answered the telephone, the telephone line is switched to the telephone main body side by the line switching means. Automatic telephone answering device.