Telephonic communications – Audio message storage – retrieval – or synthesis – Interaction with an external nontelephone network
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-22
2003-10-07
Weaver, Scott L. (Department: 2645)
Telephonic communications
Audio message storage, retrieval, or synthesis
Interaction with an external nontelephone network
C379S088180, C379S088220, C455S413000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06631180
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an answer phone system, in particular, to an answer phone system having an answer phone function disposed on an exchange side.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, telephone units that are subscriber terminal units used in homes and offices have an answer phone function. With the answer phone function, if a receiving party is absent, a voice message of a sending party is recorded and reproduced with a speech circuit. Since the cost of a semiconductor memory used to record a voice message is lowering and the storage capacity thereof is rising, such an answer phone function can be used with only a telephone unit as a terminal unit.
On the contrary, an answer phone system having an answer phone function disposed on the exchange side is known. Since a terminal unit has the above answer phone function, the answer phone system disposed on the exchanger is limited to emergency calls for special situations.
However, in recent years, the number of users of mobile terminal units such as portable telephone units that communicate using a mobile communication network has remarkably increased. Due to the characteristics of the mobile telephone units, the users frequently use the answer phone function. Although the mobile telephone network covers most urban areas, their uses are restricted from view points of safety and etiquette (in car and public transportation). In such situations, the users should use the answer phone system. In addition, since there are needs for reducing the size and weight of the mobile terminal units such as portable telephone units, it is necessary to omit an additional device that stores an answer phone voice message.
For that reason, the answer phone service of the mobile communication network for portable telephone units or the like is provided on the exchange side, not the terminal unit side. Thus, both the needs for reducing the size of the terminal unit and for preventing the service from deteriorating due to an increase of the uses of the service are satisfied.
FIG. 1
shows an outlined structure of a conventional answer phone system. The answer phone system has an answer phone function of a mobile telephone network for portable telephone units. The answer phone system is composed of a public telephone network, first to N-th exchanges
11
1
to
11
N
(where 1<M<N; M and N are natural numbers), an answer phone unit
12
, and a portable telephone position storing unit
13
. The public telephone network
10
has a plurality of exchanges (not shown) that connect and switch lines of the network. The first to N-th exchanges
11
1
to
11
N
accommodate first to N-th radio base stations
14
1
to
14
N
, respectively. The radio base stations
14
1
to
14
N
recognize first to N-th portable telephone units
15
1
to
15
N
, respectively. The answer phone unit
12
totally manages voice messages for the answer phone functions of the first to N-th portable telephone units
15
1
to
15
N
. The portable telephone position storing unit
14
stores registered-position information that represents which registered portable telephone unit is positioned in the radio area of which radio base station. The registered-position information is frequently updated corresponding to a predetermined position registering process.
In the answer phone system, the user of each portable telephone unit sets up an answer phone on/off mode. When the user of the first portable telephone unit
15
1
has set up an answer phone off mode, a call from the N-th portable telephone unit
15
N
to the first portable telephone unit
15
1
is connected to the portable telephone position storing unit
13
through the N-th radio base station
14
N
, the N-th exchange
11
N
, and the public telephone network
10
. As explained above, the portable telephone position storing unit
13
has registered the radio base station that manages the radio area of the pre-registered portable telephone unit. The portable telephone position storing unit
13
transmits the registered-position information that represents the first exchange
11
1
or the first radio base station
14
1
that accommodates the first portable telephone unit
15
1
as the receiving party to the N-th exchange
11
N
through the public telephone network
10
corresponding to the call from the N-th portable telephone unit
15
N
. With reference to the registered-position information, the N-th exchange
11
N
connects the call to the first exchange
11
1
that accommodates the first radio base station
14
1
through the public telephone network
10
so as to establish a communication path. Thus, the N-th portable telephone unit
15
N
can communicate with the first portable telephone unit
15
1
.
When the user of the first portable telephone unit
15
1
has set up the answer phone on mode, a call from the N-th portable telephone unit
15
N
to the first portable telephone unit
15
1
is connected to the portable telephone position storing unit
13
through the N-th radio base station
14
N
, the N-th exchange
11
N
, and the public telephone network
10
. The portable telephone position storing unit
13
has already registered the answer phone on mode of the first portable telephone unit
15
1
. Corresponding to the call from the N-th portable telephone unit
15
N
, the portable telephone position storing unit
13
notifies the N-th exchange
11
N
that the first exchange
11
1
has been set up to the answer phone on mode through the public telephone network
10
. Thus, the N-th exchange
11
N
is connected to the answer phone unit
12
through the public telephone network
10
so as to establish a communication path. Consequently, a voice message that has been input from the N-th portable telephone unit
15
N
is recorded and stored to the answer phone unit
12
so that the voice message can be reproduced by the first portable telephone unit
15
1
.
In the case that the first portable telephone unit
15
1
has set up the answer phone on mode and the answer phone unit
12
has registered answer-phone information (voice message), when the user of the first portable telephone unit
15
1
reproduces the voice message registered in the answer phone unit
12
, the user dials a pre-assigned telephone number with the first portable telephone unit
15
1
so as to issue an answer-phone-reproducing request to the answer phone unit
12
. The answer-phone-reproducing request is transmitted to the portable telephone position storing unit
13
through the first radio base station
14
1
, the first exchange
11
1
, and the public telephone network
10
(transmission
16
). The portable telephone position storing unit
13
stores registration-valid/invalid information of answer-phone information of the answer phone service as well as the registered-position information. The portable telephone unit position storing unit
13
notifies the first exchange
11
1
that answer-phone information has been registered (notification
1
). When the first exchange
11
1
has received the notification
1
, the first exchange
11
1
connects a communication path with the answer phone unit
12
that has totally registered answer-phone information (connection
18
). The first exchange
11
1
transmits the voice information reproduced corresponding to the answer-phone information registered in the answer phone unit
12
to the first portable telephone unit
15
1
through the first radio base station
14
1
(transmission
19
).
In such an answer phone system, since the user records and reproduces answer-phone information as a voice message through the public telephone network, he or she may be charged for a communication fee corresponding to the distance from the answer phone unit
12
and the user's terminal unit. In particular, when the user uses the answer phone service through an international telephone line network, the user may be charged for an expensive fee. To solve this problem, a technology disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3052588 titled “Apparat
NEC Corporation
Weaver Scott L.
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