Telephonic communications – Audio message storage – retrieval – or synthesis – Dynamic audio signal recording or reproduction
Reexamination Certificate
1998-05-26
2001-12-18
Tsang, Fan (Department: 2645)
Telephonic communications
Audio message storage, retrieval, or synthesis
Dynamic audio signal recording or reproduction
C379S100160, C379S067100, C379S070000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06332018
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a communication apparatus capable of recording a voice received from an external device and simultaneously outputting the voice being recorded.
2. Description of Related Art
Many conventional telephones are equipped with an answering function for recording a message from a caller and are designed to output the voice being recorded, so the called party may monitor the caller's voice from a speaker separately provided.
With such an answering function-equipped telephone, a user can hear a message from a caller as the message is being recorded, if the user is around the telephone (or the speaker) but does not or cannot answer the call for some reason. That is, the user can hear the message without needing to listen to the recorded message later.
However, since the aforementioned conventional answering function-equipped telephones output a caller's voice from a speaker, the message can also be heard by a third person near the telephone (or the speaker). Thus, the conventional answering function-equipped telephones have a problem of being unable to assure the secrecy of messages.
Many conventional automatic answering function-equipped telephones allow a user to reduce the volume of the caller's voice to a low or zero level by operating a volume button. If the volume is thus reduced, it may become necessary for a user to re-operate the volume button in order to obtain a sufficiently audible volume when the user desires to hear a message. The potential need to repeat such a troublesome operation of the volume button is another problem of the conventional art.
Although the problems of the conventional art have been stated in conjunction with a telephone set, these problems can occur not only in telephones in a narrow definition, but also in any communication apparatus equipped with a similar function, such as, for example, a facsimile machine with a message recording function.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a communication apparatus capable of selectively preventing the production of a caller's voice during the recording of a message without requiring a user to change the caller's voice volume setting.
According to the invention, there is provided a communication apparatus including a receiver unit capable of receiving a voice signal from an external device via a communication path, a recorder unit capable of recording the voice signal received by the receiver unit, and a voice outputting unit capable of audibly outputting the voice signal. A setting unit allows a setting to be made regarding whether the caller's voice signal is to be produced by the voice outputting unit simultaneously with recording of the voice by the recorder unit. A silencing control unit performs control such that, if a setting has been made by the setting unit such that the caller's voice is not to be produced, output of the caller's voice by the voice outputting unit is prevented or reduced to a low level such that it is impossible for a third person to hear the caller's voice during the recording of the voice signal by the recorder unit.
In this communication apparatus, the setting unit allows a user to select whether the caller's voice is to be produced. Therefore, the setting unit may be formed by any device as long as the device sets and maintains either one of two states corresponding to whether the caller's voice is to be produced, and allows these settings to be detected. More specifically, the setting unit may be formed by, for example, a switch changeable between the on and off states, a memory rewritable between two different values, or the like.
The silencing control unit makes it impossible for a person to hear or understand the content of a caller's message. As long as this is achieved, the unit may completely eliminate the caller's voice or reduce the volume thereof to a substantially inaudible level.
If a setting is made in this communication apparatus by the setting unit such that a caller's voice is not to be produced, the silencing control unit makes it impossible for a person to hear the content of the caller's message during the recording of voice signals by the recording unit, thereby eliminating the danger that a third person near the communication apparatus may hear the message during the recording. The secrecy of the message is thereby assured. When a voice signal is not being recorded by the recording unit, the silencing control unit does not make it impossible for a person to hear the content of the caller's message. Therefore, when a user desires to hear the recorded message later, the user can hear the caller's voice without needing to change the setting made by the setting unit.
The communication apparatus of the invention may further include a volume adjusting unit capable of adjusting the volume of the voice output by the voice outputting unit, wherein the silencing control unit performs control such that the output of a voice by the voice outputting unit is prevented or reduced to a substantially inaudible volume, regardless of volume adjustment by the volume adjusting unit.
This embodiment allows a user to change the volume of the caller's voice as desired or in accordance with the environment of the communication apparatus installed. Further, even if the volume of the caller's voice is adjusted by the volume adjusting unit, the production of the caller's voice is substantially prevented during the recording of voice signals. Thereby, the protection of the secrecy of message can be achieved.
The silencing control unit may employ various methods in order to completely eliminate the sound of the caller's voice or reduce the volume thereof to a substantially inaudible level. For example, some of these methods may include a method in which the operation of the volume adjusting unit is prevented, or invalidated, until the silencing control ends. Furthermore, it is also possible to employ a method in which although the sound volume is allowed to change in accordance with the amount of adjustment made by the volume adjusting unit, adjustment to the maximum volume by the volume adjusting unit actually achieves only a substantially inaudible volume of the caller's voice during the silencing control. Any of these and other methods may be employed by the silencing control unit as long as the intended effect of the unit can be achieved.
In this communication apparatus, it is impossible to hear the content of the caller's voice during the recording of voice signals by the recording unit as long as the setting content of the setting unit is such that the caller's voice is not to be produced. If the setting unit uses a setting switch whose switching function and method can easily be understood or guessed, there is a danger that a third person may intentionally alter the setting made by the user. In such a case, a caller's voice may be monitored during the recording of voice signals by the recording unit. Therefore, it is desirable to devise the system so that the setting content of the setting unit cannot easily be changed by a third person.
To this end, the communication apparatus of the invention may further include a setting changing unit that changes the setting made by the setting unit when a general-purpose operating key device is operated in a predetermined sequence.
With this setting changing unit provided, the general-purpose operating key device must be operated in a predetermined sequence in order to change the setting content of the setting unit. Therefore, a person who does not know the sequence cannot easily change the setting content of the setting unit.
The sequence of operating the general-purpose operating key device, which is used for purposes other than the purpose of changing the setting made by the setting unit, may be any specific key-operating sequence. If there is a need to enhance the protection of the setting content, t
Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
Escalante Ovidio
Oliff & Berridg,e PLC
Tsang Fan
LandOfFree
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