Multiple message answering machine keyed to the incoming phone number
First Claim
1. A telephone answering machine comprising:
- means for storing a plurality of messages;
means for establishing a correspondence between a plurality of telephone numbers and said plurality of messages;
automatic number identification means for identifying a caller'"'"'s telephone number; and
selecting means responsive to said automatic number identification means and said means for establishing a correspondence for selecting one of said plurality of messages for playback.
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Accused Products
Abstract
According to the present invention, a telephone answering machine stores a plurality of messages and establishes a correspondence between those messages and a plurality of phone numbers. The phone number of a caller is identified and one of the plurality of messages selected for playback based on the identified phone number and the established correspondence. In a preferred embodiment, the answering machine is microprocessor-based and the correspondence of telephone numbers to messages is stored in a memory table. Messages may be stored either on magnetic media or in semiconductor memory using a signal compression/decompression module where economy dictates in order to reduce the size of the semiconductor memory. Microprocessor control allows economical realization of a full-featured machine.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A telephone answering machine comprising:
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means for storing a plurality of messages; means for establishing a correspondence between a plurality of telephone numbers and said plurality of messages; automatic number identification means for identifying a caller'"'"'s telephone number; and selecting means responsive to said automatic number identification means and said means for establishing a correspondence for selecting one of said plurality of messages for playback. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of providing an answering machine with multiple messages keyed to an incoming phone number, comprising the steps of:
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(a) storing a plurality of messages; (b) establishing a correspondence between a plurality of phone numbers and said plurality of messages; (c) identifying the phone number of a caller; and (d) selecting one of said plurality of messages for playback based on said phone number and said correspondence. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification