JPS6318734A - Personal calling device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To call a specific person directly without requiring the intervention of a 3rd party and without any modification to a telephone exchange by providing an automatic response means, a reception means and a call means for calling individuals. CONSTITUTION:A person call signal is sent from a telephone set 1 of a caller side in succession to dialing to a person call device 4, which forms electrically the hook-off state automatically by the call incoming at first to bring the person call signal to the receivable state. Then a person being a called party is called automatically based on the person call signal. Thus, a complicated procedure in a conventional pocket bell system is not required and the intervention by the 3rd party is not required. Since the forming of the hook-off state is established automatically by the automatic response circuit 6 the hook-off by the 3rd party in the person call is not required.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a personal calling device that directly calls a specific individual via a telephone line.

(Prior Art) A telephone line network essentially forms a voice line between telephones. This is no exception for loudspeaker telephones and cordless telephones.

However, when a telephone line network is used for telephone calls, its primary purpose is to provide voice links between individuals.

A call using the conventional telephone port Ii network is established on the premise that the person on the other end of the call is near the telephone. Various methods for providing voice lines between individuals without requiring such preconditions have been devised and put into practical use. A typical example is a personal calling system called a pager.

With the pager system, you can make a call to the desired party using the following steps.

■“The caller makes a call to a telephone terminal where the other party is registered,” ■“A third party picks up the handset at that telephone terminal,” and ■ “When the other party is not near the third party.” After hearing the name of the caller, the telephone terminal immediately disconnects the line from the caller, ``Paging the other party with a pager,'' ``Paging the other party with a pager,'' and ``Call the telephone terminal and ask a third party who is calling,'' ■ ``Call the caller.''

As described above, the pager system not only requires complicated procedures, but also requires the intervention of a third party, resulting in large time and economic losses.

On the other hand, it is conceivable that the calling party sends a personal calling signal following a normal dial operation, and the called party uses this personal calling signal to call the individual by radio or the like. however,
It is not possible to send a personal call signal over a conventional switched telephone network without going off-hook at the called party. That is, in order to make a personal call without changing the telephone exchange using this method, it is necessary for the called party to perform an off-footer, which ultimately results in the inconvenience of a third party. Additionally, making direct personal calls without off-hook requires modifications to the telephone exchange.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> As described above, with the conventional technology, there are problems such as requiring complicated procedures for making a personal call, inconveniencing a third party, and requiring changes to the telephone exchange. there were.

The present invention uses a simple procedure, requires no third party intervention, and does not require any changes to the telephone exchange.
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a personal calling device that can directly call a specific person.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving Problems) A personal calling device according to the present invention includes an automatic answering means that is connected to a telephone line and responds to an incoming call, and an automatic answering means that makes a call after the automatic answering means answers. The present invention is characterized in that it comprises a receiving means for receiving a personal calling signal transmitted from the receiving means, and a calling means for calling the individual corresponding to the personal calling signal received by the receiving means.

(Operation) When the caller performs a normal dialing operation, the automatic answering means responds to the incoming call, thereby creating an electrically off-hook state and making it possible to receive a personal calling signal. The personal calling signal is sent, for example, in the form of a DTMF signal. When this personal calling signal is received, a call is placed, for example, via a radio receiver owned by the individual corresponding to the personal calling signal. In this way, the individual is directly called without going through a third party.

(Example) FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an example of the present invention,
A personal calling device M4 according to the present invention is connected to a private branch exchange 11 (PBX) 2 via a general telephone line 3. The personal calling device 4 is made up of the following components.

That is, when the automatic answering circuit 6 receives a dial operation from the calling party's telephone station 1 toward the telephone set 5, the automatic answering circuit 6 responds to the incoming call and electrically displays the same state as when the telephone set 5 goes off-hook from the viewpoint of the exchange 2. to form. Receiving circuit 7
is a circuit for receiving a personal calling signal, and its output is sent to a transmitting circuit 8. Based on the signal from the receiving circuit 7, the transmitting circuit 8 transmits a radio paging signal to a portable radio receiver 9 owned by each individual. The control circuit 10 is connected to the telephone 5. The telephone R5, the automatic response circuit 6, and the transmission circuit 8 are controlled by determining each state of the automatic response circuit 6 and the reception circuit 7.

Next, the procedure for making a personal call in this embodiment will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, when the caller points telephone 1 toward telephone 5 and performs a dial operation (step 11), the dialing signal is transmitted to exchange 2 and telephone line 3.
is sent to the personal calling device 4 provided corresponding to the telephone 5, and the automatic response circuit 6 responds to it (step 12).

This creates the same condition as going off-hook.

Further, the dialing operation here is based on a telephone number assigned to a normal telephone.

The caller then dials the personal calling signal. This personal calling signal is, for example, a signal corresponding to a one-digit dial operation. In short, when a single telephone is shared by multiple people, a specific number is determined for each person, separate from the telephone number.

Therefore, this personal calling signal may have any number of digits. Also, this personal calling signal may be input consecutively with the telephone number, or
You may enter them at intervals. In the latter case, the personal calling signal may be accepted after a tone indicating an off-footer is delivered to the caller.

Telephone 111.5 is a push-button dialing telephone, and the personal calling signal as well as the dialing signal are DTM F (
Dual Tone Multiple, Frequency
ency) signal is used. The receiving circuit 7 detects the presence or absence of this personal calling signal (step 13). When the personal paging signal is received, a signal is sent from the receiving circuit 7 to the transmitting circuit 8, and a radio paging signal is sent to the transmitting circuit 8 to call the individual (hereinafter referred to as called party) corresponding to the DTMF pattern constituting the personal paging signal. A signal is transmitted from the transmitting circuit 8 (step 14). When this radio paging signal is received by the radio receiver 9 owned by the called party, it is displayed on the radio receiver 9 by sound and/or light. This display allows the called party to know that he or she is being called.

When the called party learns that he is being called, he goes to the telephone hall 5, picks up the handset, and performs the prescribed procedures. Here, the predetermined procedure is a predetermined procedure when responding to a personal call, and may include, for example, operating a special number dial, hooking, or operating a button provided on a personal calling device. It is checked in step 15 whether this predetermined procedure has been carried out.

If the predetermined procedure is, for example, special number dialing, the determination as to whether the predetermined procedure has been carried out is made by the control circuit 1° detecting the state of the telephone n5. When it is determined that the predetermined procedure has been completed, a signal is sent from the control circuit 10 to the transmission circuit 8, and the transmission of the radio paging signal from the transmission circuit 8 is stopped (step 16). The line between the telephone 5 and the telephone port Ij13 is connected via the automatic answering circuit 6 by the signal, and the telephone 1 and the telephone TFI are connected.
It becomes possible to make a call between 5 and 5 (step 17). When the call ends and the user goes off-hook, the line is disconnected (step 18).

In addition, if the called party does not respond to the radio call and does not perform the prescribed procedures, the control circuit 10
The automatic answering circuit 6 forms an on-footer state in response to a signal from the caller, and the line with the calling party's telephone 1 is disconnected (
Steps 19-21).

On the other hand, when the receiving circuit 7 does not receive the personal calling signal after the automatic answering circuit 6 responds, the control circuit 10 determines that a normal call without personal calling according to the present invention has been made. Then, the bell of the telephone 5 rings (step 22). Note that instead of generating such an audible signal, light, that is, a visible signal may be generated. Next, phone R5
The control circuit 10 detects whether the handset is picked up or hung up (step 23), and when the handset is picked up, the ringing of the bell is stopped (step 24), and the process moves to step 17 for line connection described above. . In addition, if the handset is not picked up even after a certain period of time has passed after the automatic answering circuit 3 answers, the ringing of the bell is stopped by a signal from the control circuit 10, and then the caller's telephone 1 is connected to the telephone 1 of the caller. The line between them is disconnected (steps 25-27).

In this way, a personal calling signal is sent from the telephone 1 on the caller's side following the Guyar operation, and the personal calling station 4 first electrically establishes an off-hook state upon receiving the call, and then calls the personal It becomes possible to receive a calling signal, and based on this personal calling signal, the called individual is automatically called. Therefore, there is no need for complicated procedures as in conventional pager systems, and no intermediary by a third party is required. Further, since the off-hook state is automatically created by the automatic response circuit 3, there is no need for an off-hook by a third party when making a personal call. Furthermore, after forming an off-hook state, the DTM
Since this system receives a personal calling signal consisting of an F signal, there is no need for the telephone exchange 2 itself to have a function of receiving a personal calling signal sent following a normal dialing operation. That is, the existing telephone exchange 1112 can be used without any modification.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be implemented with various modifications as follows.

(1) After the automatic response circuit responds to an incoming call (forms an off-hook state), it is practically effective to send back information that prompts the calling party to send a personal calling signal. As such information, for example, pre-stored voice information itself may be used, or information obtained by applying voice synthesis technology may be used.

(2) Notifying the calling party of the fact that a wireless call is being made through audio information during a wireless call has the same meaning as the calling party hearing the ringing tone during a call on a regular telephone. is valid.

(3) Before disconnecting the line when the called party does not respond after making a wireless call, it is also effective to notify the calling party by voice information that the line will be disconnected.

(4) During a wireless call, it is not possible to make a call using a telephone connected to a personal calling device, so it is desirable to notify the surrounding area of the fact that calls cannot be made by means of a lamp display or the like.

(5) If the called party does not respond after a wireless call, it is also possible for the calling party to transmit a request to prohibit disconnection of the line in the form of a DTMF signal or the like.

(a In the example, the line was put on hold during a wireless call, but
A method may also be adopted in which the line is temporarily disconnected after the start of a radio call, and when the called party actually answers and performs a predetermined procedure, a line is automatically established with the calling party. This is particularly effective when the called party is far away from the telephone, or when the called party is on another telephone or cannot take his hands off the telephone.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, a specific call can be made using a telephone line without requiring complicated procedures, without involving a third party, and without making any changes to the existing telephone exchange. It is possible to call individuals directly, and it is possible to significantly improve efficiency when operating a private telephone system.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of a personal calling device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operating procedure of the embodiment. 1... Caller's telephone, 2... Local telephone exchange -, 3
...Telephone line, 4...Personal calling device, 5...Telephone attached to personal calling device, 6...Automatic answering circuit, 7
. . . Personal calling signal receiving circuit, 8 . . . Radio calling signal transmitting circuit, 9 . . . Radio receiver, 10 .

Claims (6)

[Claims] (1) An automatic answering means connected to a telephone line and answering an incoming call, a receiving means for receiving a personal calling signal sent from the calling party after the automatic answering means responds, and a personal calling signal received by the receiving means. A personal calling device comprising: calling means for calling an individual corresponding to the received personal calling signal. (2) The personal calling device according to claim 1, wherein the personal calling signal is a DTMF signal. (3) The personal paging device according to claim 1, wherein the paging means transmits a radio paging signal to a radio receiver owned by the individual corresponding to the personal paging signal. . (4) The invention further comprises means for generating a predetermined audible or visible signal when the personal calling signal is not received within a predetermined time after the automatic answering means answers an incoming call. Personal calling device as described in Section 3. (5) The personal calling device according to claim 1, further comprising means for connecting a telephone to the telephone line when a predetermined procedure is performed during a calling operation of the calling means. (6) The personal calling device according to claim 1, further comprising means for disconnecting the line when the calling means does not complete a predetermined procedure within a predetermined time for a calling operation.