Data recording system for storing as data the contents of telephone calls made by internal telephones and by mobile telephones having memory card data storage function

• US 6,690,950 B2
• Filed: 07/31/2001
• Issued: 02/10/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sovereign Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Takagi, Kenji, Uranaka, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Banks-Harold, Marsha D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): PEREZ GUTIERREZ, RAFAEL
• Application Number:
  US09/917,929
• Publication Number:
  US 20020022473A1
• Time in Patent Office: 924 Days
• Field of Search: 455/412.1, 455/414.1, 455/517, 455/550.1, 455/566, 455/557, 455/558, 379/68, 379/69, 379/70, 379/85, 379/84, 379/88.11, 379/88.17, 379/88.22, 379/88.23, 379/88.25, 379/88.26, 379/265.06, 379/265.07, 707/1, 707/10, 709/217, 709/218, 709/219
• US Class Current: 455/558
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2745 using static electronic memories, e.g. chips
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/56 Arrangements for indicating or recording the called number at the calling subscriber's set
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/575 Means for retrieving and displaying personal data about calling party
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/656 for recording conversations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724 User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72433 for voice messaging, e.g. dictaphones for answering incoming calls H04M1/64
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/553 Data upload
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/14 including a card reading device
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42221 Conversation recording systems at the subscriber's set H04M1/656
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/1235 where one of the core networks is a wireless network

Abstract

A data recording system for storing the voice data or other data contents of telephone calls, whereby contents of telephone calls performed using internal telephones which are connected via a switchboard to a public telephone network can be stored as data records by a telephone conversation recording apparatus, while contents of telephone calls performed using a mobile telephone can be stored on a memory card as a data record, which can be transmitted from a computer via a computer network and gateway to be stored by the telephone conversation recording apparatus in an identical way to the contents of a call performed using an internal telephone. A user can thus utilize or process the contents of a recorded telephone call in the same way, irrespective of whether the user has performed the telephone call at a remote location using a mobile telephone or by using an internal telephone.

Claims

1. A mobile telephone for use in a data recording system having a telephone switchboard for performing switching of telephone call connections of an internal telephone, and a telephone call recording apparatus for recording communication data or voice data contents of telephone calls which are communicated through said telephone switchboard, the mobile telephone comprising:

memory card connection means serving as an interface for connecting a memory card,

radio communication means for performing communication via a base station,

data recording means for recording, in a telephone call data record stored on a memory card, communication data contents or voice data contents of a telephone call which is communicated via said radio communication means,

audio input means for inputting a voice signal,

audio output means for rendering a voice signal audible,

telephone directory database means having stored therein, for each of a plurality of potential telephone call opposite parties, a set of related data concerning said opposite party, said set of related data including at least a telephone number and an identifier of said opposite party,

database data linkage means for relating an opposite party of a telephone call which is being performed using said mobile telephone to a corresponding one of said sets of related data held in said telephone directory database means,

a set of dialing keys operable for inputting telephone numbers, and for inputting commands to designate starting and ending of recording of each of respective main points within said communication data or voice data contents of a telephone call performed using said mobile telephone,

main point recording means responsive to said commands designating starting and ending of recording of said main points for recording, for each of said main points, respective amounts of time which elapse from a time point of starting recording of said communication data or voice data contents until the start of recording said main point and until the end of recording said main point, and

main point data storage means functioning in accordance with said values of elapsed time which are recorded by said main point recording means for reading out and storing portions of said communication data or voice data stored in said memory card which constitute the recorded data of said main points, following completion of recording said communication data or voice data contents of said telephone call.

2. The mobile telephone according to claim 1, wherein said values of elapsed time corresponding to said main points are transferred via said memory card connection means to be successively stored in said memory card together with said communication data or voice data contents of said telephone call.

3. The mobile telephone according to claim 1, comprising display means and means for controlling said display means, when said main points of a telephone call are being recorded, to display information which is indicative of the occurrence of said main point recording.

4. A data recording system having at least one internal telephone, a switchboard connected to said internal telephone for performing switching of telephone call connections of said internal telephone, and a telephone call recording apparatus for recording communication data or voice data contents of telephone calls which are performed using said internal telephone, and comprising:

at least one memory card, and at least one mobile telephone having interface means for connecting to said memory card,

a computer network for relaying data between computers,

a gateway for relaying data from said telephone call recording apparatus to said computer network and for relaying data from said computer network to said telephone call recording apparatus, and

at least one computer connected to said computer network for data communication and having interface means for connecting to said memory card,

wherein said mobile telephone comprises database means having stored therein respective sets of information relating to a plurality of potential telephone call opposite parties in conjunction with telephone numbers of said potential opposite parties, and means for storing in said memory card a telephone call data record containing the communication data contents or voice data contents of a telephone call performed using said mobile telephone and for reading out a part of said internally stored information which relates to an opposite party of said telephone call and including said information in said stored telephone call data record, and

wherein said telephone call data record is subsequently read out from said memory card and transmitted to said telephone call recording apparatus to be stored therein.

5. The data recording system according to claim 4, wherein when a telephone call is transferred from said mobile telephone to said internal telephone, or from said internal telephone to said mobile telephone, data constituting a call transfer designator is attached to a telephone call data record containing communication data or voice data contents of a part of said transferred call which was performed using said mobile telephone and which is stored in said memory card, and an identical call transfer designator is attached to a telephone call record containing communication data or voice data contents of a part of said transferred call which was performed using said internal telephone, which is stored in said telephone call recording apparatus, and wherein

when said telephone call data record is transmitted from said memory card to said telephone call recording apparatus, said telephone call recording apparatus combines the respective communication data or voice data contents of each of said telephone call data records into a single set of communication data or voice data.

6. The data recording system according to claim 5, wherein said telephone call recording apparatus comprises

switchboard communication control means for controlling communication via said telephone switchboard,

gateway communication control means for controlling communication with said gateway,

data recording means for recording and storing communication data or voice data of a telephone call performed using said internal telephone, as a telephone call data record which includes said apposite party identifier, and for storing said telephone call data record which is transmitted from said memory card,

telephone call recording apparatus overall control means for performing overall control of operation of said telephone call recording apparatus, and functioning, when a notification is received from said telephone switchboard that a telephone call received by said internal telephone is a transferred call, to control said data recording means to attach said call transfer designator to said telephone call data record of said telephone call that is recorded and stored by said data recording means, and

recorded data judgement means functioning when a telephone call data record is transmitted from said memory card for:

analyzing said telephone call data record to detect the presence of said call transfer designator attached to said record, when said call transfer designator is detected therein;

determining whether there is a telephone call data record that has been recorded by said data recording means which has said call transfer designator attached thereto; and

when such a telephone call data record recorded by said data recording means is found, judging whether said telephone call data record and said telephone call data record transmitted from said memory card contain data of the same telephone call.

7. The data recording system according to claim 6, wherein

when a telephone call performed using said mobile telephone is set in a waiting condition and said telephone call is transferred to said internal telephone, said call transfer designator is attached to said telephone call data record stored in said memory card by said mobile telephone,

when said data recording means receives notification sent from said telephone switchboard that said telephone call is transferred to said internal telephone, and begins to record the communication data or voice data of said telephone call in a telephone call data record with said call transfer designator attached, and

following termination of recording said communication data or voice data of said telephone call by said data recording apparatus, when said telephone call data record stored in said memory card has been transmitted to said telephone call recording apparatus, said recorded data judgement means compares said transmitted telephone call data record with each of respective telephone call data records stored in said data recording means, and when a telephone call data record stored in said data recording means is found to have said call transfer designator attached thereto and to contain an opposite party identifier that is identical to an opposite party identifier in said telephone call data record transmitted from said memory card, combines said communication data or voice data contents of said telephone call data record that has been stored in said data recording means with said communication data or voice data contents of said telephone call data record which has been transmitted from said memory card.

8. The data recording system according to claim 4, wherein said mobile telephone further comprises means for attaching, to said telephone call data record stored on said memory card, data constituting a user identifier relating to a user of said mobile telephone, wherein when said memory card is connected to said computer said user identifier is transmitted to said telephone call recording apparatus via said computer network and said gateway, and wherein said telephone call recording apparatus comprises means responsive to reception of said user identifier for transmitting to said computer, via said gateway and said computer network, a telephone call data record corresponding to said user, to be stored on said memory card.

9. The data recording system according to claim 8, wherein said mobile telephone comprises means for recording, within a telephone call data record, recording start time data indicative of a time at which recording of said communication data contents or voice data contents of a telephone call corresponding to said telephone call data record was started, and wherein said recording start time data and said opposite party identifier are transmitted to said telephone call recording apparatus from said memory card when said memory card is connected to said computer, and wherein when said opposite party identifier is identical to an opposite party identifier of said telephone call data record that is stored at said telephone call recording apparatus and said telephone call data record that is stored at said telephone call recording apparatus has been recorded subsequent to said telephone call data record currently stored in said memory card, said telephone call data record that is stored at said telephone call recording apparatus is transmitted to be stored in said memory card, while otherwise, said telephone call data record is not transmitted to be stored in said memory card.

10. The data recording system according to claim 9, wherein said telephone call recording apparatus comprises

switchboard communication control means for controlling communication with said telephone switchboard,

gateway communication control means for controlling communication with said gateway,

data recording means for storing communication data or voice data of a telephone call performed using said internal telephone, as a telephone call data record which includes said recording start time data and said opposite party identifier, and for storing said telephone call data record which is transmitted from said memory card,

telephone call recording apparatus control means for performing overall control of operation of said telephone call recording apparatus, and

telephone call data judgement means for comparing respective opposite party identifiers of said telephone call data record stored in said telephone call recording apparatus and said telephone call data record transmitted from said memory card, and for judging a time precedence relationship between respective recording starting times indicated by said recording start time data of said telephone call data record stored in said telephone call recording apparatus and said telephone call data record transmitted from said memory card.

11. The data recording system according to claim 4, comprising a public telephone network which is connected to said telephone switchboard and a mobile telephone base station which is connected to said public telephone network and is in radio communication with said mobile telephone,

wherein, following completion of a telephone call performed by said mobile telephone, said telephone call data record is read out from said memory card by said mobile telephone and is transmitted via said mobile telephone base station, said public telephone network, and said telephone switchboard to said telephone call recording apparatus, to be stored therein.

12. The data recording system according to claim 4, wherein said mobile telephone comprises means operable to selectively record main point time data in said telephone call data record, with said main point time data indicating for each of one more main points constituted by specific portions of said communication data contents or voice data contents a start time point and an end time point of said main point, with each said start time point and end time point expressed as an amount of elapsed time with respect to a starting time point of recording said communication data contents or voice data contents.

13. The data recording system according to claim 12, wherein said mobile telephone comprises:

main point recording means responsive to a predetermined actuation of dialing keys for recording an amount of time which has elapsed from the start of recording said communication data contents or voice data contents of a telephone call, as a time amount indicative of a starting point of recording a main point or an end point of recording a main point, and

main point data storage means for extracting said main points from communication data contents or voice data contents of said telephone call data record stored in said memory card, in accordance with said amounts of elapsed time which are recorded by said main point recording means, following completion of recording said communication data contents or voice data contents.

14. The data recording system according to claim 13, wherein said mobile telephone further comprises display means and means for controlling said display means, when said main points of a telephone call are being recorded, to display information which is indicative of the occurrence of said main point recording.

15. The data recording system according to claim 4, wherein said telephone call recording apparatus stores telephone call data records transmitted from respective ones of a plurality of said memory cards in a data directory configuration which is determined in accordance with the identities of users of mobile telephones corresponding to said memory cards and in accordance with said information relating to opposite parties which is attached to said telephone call data records.

16. The data recording system according to claim 4, wherein following completion of a telephone call performed by said mobile telephone, said memory card is disconnected from said mobile telephone and is connected to said computer, and wherein said telephone call data record is read out from said memory card by said computer and transmitted via said computer network and said gateway to said telephone call recording apparatus, to be stored therein.

17. A data recording system according to claim 4, comprising:

database linkage means controllable for relating one of said sets of information stored in said database means to an opposite party of a telephone call which is being performed by said mobile telephone, for reading out said set of information.