Communication Device

• US 20080043938A1
• Filed: 08/14/2007
• Published: 02/21/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Brother Industries Limited)
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Brother Industries Limited)
• Inventors: Yasuda, Masaru
• Granted Patent: US 8,457,285 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/88.08
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/764 at the destination reformatting of additional data in video clients H04N21/4355
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6505 storing speech in digital form
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/64 file transfer between terminals

Abstract

There is provided a communication device including a first communication unit configured to communicate with a first device having a telephone function through a first network; a second communication unit configured to communicate with a second device having a function of reproducing sound, through a second network; a data storage unit configured to store an incoming message as sound data; a sound data transmission unit configured to transmit the sound data to the second device in response to a request from the second device; a reproduction recordation unit configured to register the sound data which has been transmitted to the second device, as reproduced sound data; a reproduction judgment unit configured to judge whether the sound data is registered as reproduced sound data; and a sound data information transmission unit configured to transmit sound data information concerning the sound data judged not to be registered as reproduced sound data.

Claims

1. A communication device, comprising:

a first communication unit configured to communicate with a first device having a telephone function, through a first network;

a second communication unit configured to communicate with a second device having a function of reproducing sound through a second network;

a data storage unit configured to store an incoming message from the first device as sound data having a first data format which the second device does not support;

a conversion unit configured to convert the sound data having the first data format to sound data having a second data format which the second device supports; and

a sound data transmission unit configured to transmit the sound data having the second data format converted by the conversion unit to the second device through the second interface.

2. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the conversion unit converts the sound data having the first data format to sound data having the second data format in response to reception of a file transmission request.

3. The communication device according to claim 2,

further comprising:

an information generation unit configured to generate list information representing a list of pieces of sound data stored in the communication device; and

an information transmission unit configured to transmit the list information to the second device,

wherein the information generation unit generates the list information such that in the list a first type of information concerning the sound data having the first data format is converted to a second type of information representing the sound data having the second data format.

4. The communication device according to claim 3, wherein:

the first type of information concerning the sound data having the first data format is an extension of a file name of the sound data having the first data format; and

the second type of information representing the sound data having the second data format is an extension of a file name of the sound data having the second data format.

5. The communication device according to claim 1,

further comprising:

a detection unit configured to detect whether the second device is connected to the second network,

wherein the conversion unit converts the sound data having the first data format to the sound data having the second data format in response to detection of connection of the second device to the second network by the detection unit.

6. The communication device according to claim 5,

wherein:

the data storage unit further stores the incoming message as sound data having the second data format; and

the sound data transmission unit transmits the sound data having the second data format stored in the data storage unit, to the second device,

wherein the communication device further comprises;

a judgment unit configured to judge whether the second device detected by the detection unit is disconnected from the second network; and

a deletion unit configured to delete the sound data having the second data format stored in the data storage unit in response to judgment that the second device is disconnected from the second network by the judgment unit.

7. The communication device according to claim 1, further comprising a combining unit configured to combine a plurality of pieces of sound data having the second data format into a piece of combined sound data,

wherein the sound data transmission unit transmits the combined sound data to the second device.

8. The communication device according to claim 1,

further comprising:

a reproduction recordation unit configured to register the sound data which has been transmitted to the second device by the sound data transmission unit, as reproduced sound data;

a reproduction judgment unit configured to judge whether the sound data stored in the data storage unit is registered as reproduced sound data by the reproduction recordation unit; and

a sound data information transmission unit configured to generate sound data information concerning the sound data judged not to be registered as reproduced sound data by the reproduction judgment unit, and to transmit the sound data information to the second device.

9. The communication device according to claim 8, further comprising a detection unit configured to detect whether the sound device is connected to the second network,

wherein the sound data information transmission unit transmits the sound data information to the second device in response to detection of connection of the second device to the second network by the detection unit.

10. The communication device according to claim 8, further comprising a reproduction unit configured to reproduce the sound data stored in the data storage unit,

wherein the reproduction recordation unit registers additionally the sound data which is reproduced by the reproduction unit, as reproduced sound data.

11. The communication device according to claim 1,

further comprising:

a reproduction recordation unit configured to register the sound data which has been transmitted to the second device by the sound data transmission unit, as reproduced sound data;

a reproduction judgment unit configured to judge whether the sound data stored in the data storage unit is registered as reproduced sound data by the reproduction recordation unit; and

a sound data information transmission unit configured to generate sound data information concerning the sound data stored in the data storage unit, and to transmit the sound data information to the second device,

wherein the sound data information transmission unit generates the sound data information such that the sound data information includes information enabling the second device to provide the sound data judged not to be registered as reproduced sound data by the reproduction judgment unit and the sound data judged to be registered as reproduced sound data by the reproduction judgment unit in different forms.

12. The communication device according to claim 1,

further comprising:

a time obtaining unit configured to obtain time information representing a time when the incoming message from the first device is received; and

a sound conversion unit configured to convert the time information to time indication sound data used to indicate the time information by voice,

wherein;

the data storage unit stores additionally the time indication sound data converted by the sound conversion unit; and

the sound data transmission unit transmits additionally the time indication sound data to the second device.

13. The communication device according to claim 12,

further comprising:

an image conversion unit configured to convert the time information to time indication image data used to indicate the time information through an image; and

a judgment unit configured to judge whether the second device has a displaying unit capable of displaying an image corresponding to the time indication image data,

wherein the sound data transmission unit transmits additionally the time indication image data to the second device in response to judgment that the second device has the display unit by the judgment unit.

14. The communication device according to claim 13, wherein the sound data transmission unit transmits additionally text information including a character string corresponding to the time information, to the second device in response to judgment that the second device does not have the display unit by the judgment unit.

15. The communication device according to claim 12, wherein:

the sound conversion unit converts additionally caller information concerning a caller of the incoming message to caller indication sound data used to indicate the caller information by voice; and

the sound data transmission unit transmits additionally the caller information sound data to the second device.

16. The communication device according to claim 1,

further comprising:

a time obtaining unit configured to obtain time information representing a time when the incoming message from the first device is received; and

an image conversion unit configured to convert the time information to time indication image data used to indicate the time information through an image,

wherein;

the data storage unit stores additionally the time indication image data converted by the image conversion unit; and

the sound data transmission unit transmits additionally the time indication image data to the second device.

17. A communication device, comprising:

a first communication unit configured to communicate with a first device having a telephone function through a first network;

a second communication unit configured to communicate with a second device having a function of reproducing sound, through a second network;

a data storage unit configured to store an incoming message from the first device as sound data;

a sound data transmission unit configured to transmit the sound data to the second device in response to a request from the second device;

a reproduction recordation unit configured to register the sound data which has been transmitted to the second device by the sound data transmission unit, as reproduced sound data;

a reproduction judgment unit configured to judge whether the sound data stored in the data storage unit is registered as reproduced sound data by the reproduction recordation unit; and

a sound data information transmission unit configured to generate sound data information concerning the sound data judged not to be registered as reproduced sound data by the reproduction judgment unit, and to transmit the sound data information to the second device.

18. A communication device, comprising:

a first communication unit configured to communicate with a first device having a telephone function through a first network;

a second communication unit configured to communicate with a second device having a function of reproducing sound, through a second network;

a data storage unit configured to store sound data transmitted from the first device;

a sound data transmission unit configured to transmit the sound data to the second device in response to a request from the second device;

a reproduction recordation unit configured to register the sound data which has been transmitted to the second device by the sound data transmission unit, as reproduced sound data;

a reproduction judgment unit configured to judge whether the sound data stored in the data storage unit is registered as reproduced sound data by the reproduction recordation unit; and

a sound data information transmission unit configured to generate sound data information concerning the sound data stored in the data storage unit, and to transmit the sound data information to the second device,

wherein the sound data information transmission unit generates the sound data information such that the sound data information includes information enabling the second device to provide the sound data judged not to be registered as reproduced sound data by the reproduction judgment unit and the sound data judged to be registered as reproduced sound data by the reproduction judgment unit in different forms.

19. A communication device, comprising:

a first communication unit configured to communicate with a first device having a telephone function through a first network;

a second communication unit configured to communicate with a second device having a function of reproducing sound, through a second network;

a time obtaining unit configured to obtain time information representing a time when an incoming message from the first device is received;

a sound conversion unit configured to convert the time information to time indication sound data used to indicate the time information by voice;

a data storage unit configured to store sound data corresponding to the incoming message and the time indication sound data converted by the sound conversion unit; and

a sound data transmission unit configured to transmit the time indication sound data and the sound data corresponding to the incoming message stored in the data storage unit, to the second device.

20. A communication device, comprising:

a first communication unit configured to communicate with a first device having a telephone function through a first network;

a second communication unit configured to communicate with a second device having a fraction of reproducing sound, through a second network;

a time obtaining unit configured to obtain time information representing a time when an incoming message from the first device is received;

an image conversion unit configured to convert the time information to time indication image data used to indicate the time information through an image;

a data storage unit configured to store sound data corresponding to the incoming message and the time indication image data converted by the image conversion unit; and

a sound data transmission unit configured to transmit the time indication image data and the sound data corresponding to the incoming message stored in the data storage unit, to the second device.