Communication system for transmitting to a portable receiver data indicative of received image or voice signals

• US 5,159,624 A
• Filed: 10/22/1990
• Issued: 10/27/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 10/23/1989
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Makita, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Dwyer, James L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bost, Dwayne D.
• Application Number:
  US07/601,121
• Time in Patent Office: 736 Days
• Field of Search: 379/57, 379/58, 379/67, 379/88, 379/89, 379/100, 340/825.44
• US Class Current: 340/7.51
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 3/1066 with other provisions not elsewhere provided for, e.g. turn-off protection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/654 Telephone line monitoring circuits therefor, e.g. ring detectors
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/658 Means for redirecting recorded messages to other extensions or equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/022 Paging systems personal calling arrangements or devices G08B3/1008; selective calling networks H04W84/022
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32704 Establishing a communication with one of a facsimile and another telecommunication apparatus sharing a single line
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/3271 Telephone answering machine
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32717 a calling tone, e.g. CI
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32726 signals other than facsimile protocol signals, e.g. DTMF signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32745 Generating messages, indications or warnings locally
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3243 of type information, e.g. handwritten or text document
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3273 Display
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 379/902 Auto-switch for an incoming voice data, or fax telephone call, e.g. comp/fax/tel

Abstract

A communication system is disclosed having a portable radio called receiver and a communication apparatus for calling this receiver. The portable radio called receiver includes a display and a tone generating circuit. The communication apparatus includes a determination circuit, a control circuit, a voice signal recording device, a facsimile device, a memory, and a data processing circuit. The determination circuit determines whether a signal entered through a telephone line is a facsimile signal or a voice signal. The memory stores display data indicating the reception of an image signal, display data indicating the reception of a voice signal, and telephone number data of the portable radio called receiver. The control circuit is responsive to the output of the determination circuit to select one of the plurality of display data stored in the memory. The data processing circuit modulates the calling number of the portable radio called receiver and the selected display data and transmits the same on the telephone line. With such a structure, the display of the portable radio called receiver can display whether the received signal of the communication apparatus is an image signal or a voice signal.

Claims

1. A method of automatically transmitting signal identification data from a voice/image communication system, to a portable hand-held receiver via a wireless transmitter, under direction of control means, comprising the steps of:

storing in memory mean a calling number of the portable hand-held receiver and display data to be displayed by the portable hand-held receiver, entered into the voice/image communication system by system user via input means;

determining, in signal determination means, whether a received signal is a voice signal or an image signal and generating a determination signal indicative thereof;

enabling either automatic voice signal answering means or image signal receiving means in accordance with the determination signal; and

transmitting to the wireless transmitter along a transmission line, when the received signal terminates, the signal identification data, which comprises the calling number of the portable hand-held receiver, the display data, and voice indication data when the received signal is a voice signal or image indication data when the received signal is an image signal.

2. The method of automatically transmitting signal identification data from a voice/image communication system to a portable hand-held held receiver of claim 1, said step of storing further comprising storing in the memory means caller identification codes, indicative of authorized callers of the voice/image communication system, entered by the system user via the input means,

said step of determining further comprising determining whether the received signal includes an identification code which matches one of the stored caller identification codes, and

said step of transmitting further comprising transmitting

the calling number, the display data and the voice indication data when a voice signal is received and recorded by the automatic voice signal answering means,

the calling number, the voice indication data and message data, received along the transmission line from an authorized caller after entry of an identification code which matches one of the caller identification codes, and

the calling number, the display data, and the image indication data when an image signal is received and reproduced by the image signal receiving means.

3. The method of automatically transmitting signal identification data from a voice/signal communication system to a portable hand-held receiver of claim 2, the automatic voice signal answering means automatically answering a telephone call and the image signal receiving means receiving a facsimile signal, wherein the transmission line is a telephone line.

4. A communication system including a communication apparatus and a portable receiver, the communication apparatus receiving voice and image data and comprising:

relay means, coupled to a transmission line, for receiving and sending voice and image data along the transmission line and for sending system data to the portable receiver;

determination means, coupled to said relay means, for determining whether received data comprises voice data or image data and for generating a determination signal indicative thereof;

image transceiving means, coupled through modem means to said relay means, for receiving and transmitting image data along the transmission lien through said relay means;

automatic answering means, coupled to said relay means, for receiving and recording voice data, received along the transmission line, in absence of manual operation of the communication apparatus by a system user;

control means, coupled to said determination means, for enabling either said image transceiving means on said automatic answering means and for directing said relay means to couple received data from the transmission line to either said image transceiving means or said automatic answering means, in accordance with said determination signal;

data processing means, coupled to memory means and said control means, for selecting and modulating the system data, which is stored in said memory means, and for transmitting the modulated system data along the transmission line through said relay means upon termination of reception of voice or image data, under direction of said control means in accordance with said determination signal; and

manual operation means, coupled to said control means, for entering user data into the communication apparatus, the user data comprising a calling number of the portable receiver, display data to be displayed by the portable receiver, and caller identification codes,

the system data comprising

the calling number, the display data and an image indication data when said determination means determines that the received data is image data,

the calling number, the display data and a voice indication data when voice data is received and recorded by said automatic answering means, and

the calling number, the voice indication data and message data, which is received along the transmission line from a system caller after entry of an identification code which matches one of the caller identification codes.

5. The communication system of claim 4, wherein the communication apparatus transmits the modulated system data along the transmission line to a radio transmitter to be wirelessly transmitted to the portable receiver.

6. The communication system according to claim 4, wherein said memory means comprises a read only memory and a random access memory, said random access memory storing the calling number of the portable receiver, the display data, the caller identification codes, and the message data, and said read only memory storing an operation program for the communication system.

7. The communication system according to claim 6, wherein said random access memory comprises a telephone number region for storing the calling number of the portable receiver and the caller identification codes, a registration region for registering the display data, and a standby region where the display data is on standby.

8. The communication system according to claim 7, wherein said memory means is responsive to entry of the matching identification number by the system caller, under direction of said control means, to transfer the display data registered in the registration region into the standby region and for writing the next entered message data for display into the registration region.

9. The communication system including a communication apparatus and a portable receiver, the communication apparatus receiving voice and image data and comprising:

a relay means, coupled to a transmission line, for receiving and sending voice and image data along the transmission line and for sending identification data to the portable receiver, the identification data being indicative or whether the communication apparatus has received voice or image data;

determination means, coupled to said relay means, for determining whether received data comprises voice data or image data and for generating a determination signal indicative thereof;

image transceiving means, coupled through modem means to said relay means, for receiving and transmitting image data along the transmission line through said relay means;

automatic answering means, coupled to said relay means, for receiving and recording voice data, received along the transmission line, in absence of manual operation of the communication apparatus by a system user;

control means, coupled to said determination means, for enabling either said image transceiving means or said automatic answering means and for directing said relay means to couple received data from the transmission line to either said image transceiving means or said automatic answering means, in accordance with said determination signal; and

data processing means, coupled to memory means and said control means, for selecting and modulating the identification data, which is stored in said memory means, and for transmitting the modulated identification data along the transmission line through said relay means upon termination of reception of voice or image data, under direction of said control means in accordance with said determination signal,

the identification data comprising a calling number of the portable receiver and display data indicative of whether voice or image data has been received, the modulated identification data being transmitted to the portable receiver for display.

10. The communication system according to claim 9, wherein the transmission line is a telephone line.

11. The communication system according to claim 9, wherein said data processing means comprises dual tone multi-frequency modulating means for modulating the identification data into dual tone multi-frequency signals.

12. The communication system according to claim 9, wherein said display means comprises a liquid crystal display.

13. The communication system according to claim 9, wherein said image transceiving means comprises a facsimile device.

14. The communication system according to claim 9, wherein said automatic answering means comprises:

message signal generating means for transmitting an outgoing message signal along the transmission line through said relay means to a system caller;

voice signal recording means for recording the voice data received along the transmission line from the system caller; and

replay means, responsive to a request signal transmitted by the system user along the transmission line, for transmitting the recorded voice data to the system user along the transmission line.

15. The communication system according to claim 9, wherein said memory means comprises a read only memory and a random access memory, said random access memory storing the calling number of said portable receiver and the display data, and said read only memory storing an operation program for the communication system.

16. The communication system of claim 9, wherein the communication apparatus transmits the modulated identification data along the transmission line to a radio transmitter to be wirelessly transmitted to the portable receiver.

17. The communication system according to claim 16, wherein the portable receiver comprises:

a receiving antenna for receiving the modulated identification data from said radio transmitter;

demodulating means, coupled to said receiving antenna, for demodulating the received modulated identification data and for thereafter generating a calling signal and the display data;

tone generating means for generating an audio warning;

display means for displaying the display data; and

receiver control means, responsive to the calling signal, for enabling said tone generating means and for directing display of the display data by said display means.

18. The communication system according to claim 16, wherein the communication apparatus further comprises manual operation means, coupled to said control means, for designating the calling number in accordance with calling information input by the system user, the calling number thereafter being stored in said memory means under direction of said control means.

19. The communication system according to claim 18, wherein said manual operation means comprises push-button keys, a plurality of functional keys for entering the display data and the calling number of the portable receiver, and system display means for confirming entry of the calling number and the display data.