Telephone system having message recording function

• US 7,012,995 B2
• Filed: 11/20/2002
• Issued: 03/14/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Hatamura, Junji
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsang, Fan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Anwah, Olisa
• Application Number:
  US10/300,023
• Publication Number:
  US 20030095640A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,210 Days
• Field of Search: 379/67.1, 379/70, 379/74, 379/79, 379/81, 379/88.23, 379/161, 379/164, 379/168
• US Class Current: 379/74
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/57 Arrangements for indicating or recording the number of the calling subscriber at the called subscriber's set at the operator set in a manual exchange H04M5/20
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6505 storing speech in digital form
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/725 Cordless telephones user interfaces specially adapted therefor H04M1/724
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00281 with a telecommunication apparatus, e.g. a switched network of teleprinters for the distribution of text-based information, a selective call terminal details of transmission H04N1/00095; establishing a communication with one of a facsimile machine or another apparatus sharing a single line H04N1/32704; interfacing cordless telephone terminals with an accessory to increase the functionality of user interface H04M1/72409
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00302 with a telephonic apparatus, e.g. telephone answering machine or videotex terminal H04N1/00307 takes precedence; telephonic communication H04M
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00305 with a cordless telephone apparatus

Abstract

A telephone system having a message recording function includes a message receiving system that is connectable to a calling station to the telephone system through a telephone line and receives a message transmitted from the calling station through the telephone line, a message storage in which the message received by the message receiving system is stored, a message reproducing system that retrieves and outputs a message stored in the message storage. With this configuration, the message reproducing system reproduces the message with the telephone line being in the off-hook state.

Claims

1. A telephone system having a message recording function, comprising:

a message receiving system that is connectable to a calling station through a telephone line and capable of receiving a message transmitted from the calling station through the telephone line when in a connected state;

a message storage in which the message received by the message receiving system is stored;

a message reproducing system that retrieves and outputs a message stored in the message storage;

a line condition detecting system that detects whether the telephone line is in a condition where a call from said telephone system can be made when a message is reproduced with the telephone line being in the off-hook state;

a condition changing system which brings the telephone line into the on-hook state, and then brings the telephone line into the off-hook state again a predetermined time after the telephone line was brought into the on-hook state when the line condition detects that the telephone line is in the condition where a call from said telephone line cannot be made; and

at least one handset placed on a cradle, the telephone line being in an on-hook state when said at least one handset is placed on the cradle, the telephone line being set to an off-hook state when said at least one handset is picked up from the cradle;

said at least one handset including an instructing system that instructs said message reproducing system to output a message,

wherein said message reproducing system sets the telephone line in the off-hook state when the message stored therein is reproduced.

2. The telephone system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a caller telephone number storage that stores the telephone numbers of caller stations corresponding to messages stored in said message storage, the telephone numbers of caller stations being stored in relationship to the messages corresponding thereto; and

a calling system that makes a call with reference to a telephone number stored in said caller telephone number storage when a message is reproduced and an instruction to make a call to the caller station corresponding to the reproduce message is made.

3. The telephone system according to claim 1, further comprising:

numeral keys through which numerals are input;

a dial input recognizing system that recognizes an operation of a numeral key as a part of dial number input;

a command input recognizing system that recognizes an operation of a numeral key as a command input; and

an output controlling system that actuates said message reproducing system when a key input is recognized as the command input by said command input recognizing system.

4. The telephone system according to claim 3, wherein said command input recognizing system recognizes a key input as the command input when the key is operated for not less than a predetermined time period.

5. A telephone system having a message recording function, comprising:

a message receiving system that is connectable to a calling station through a telephone line and capable of receiving a message transmitted from the calling station through the telephone line when in a connected state;

a message storage in which the message received by the message receiving system is stored;

a message reproducing system that retrieves and outputs the message stored in the message storage;

a line condition detecting system that detects whether the telephone line is in a condition where a call from said telephone system can be made when a message is reproduced with the telephone line being in the off-hook state;

a condition changing system which brings the telephone line into the on-hook state, and then brings the telephone line into the off-hook state again a predetermined time after the telephone line was brought into the on-hook state when the line condition detects that the telephone line is in the condition where a call from said telephone line cannot be made; and

at least one handset placed on a cradle, the telephone line being in an on-hook state when said at least one handset is placed on the cradle, the telephone line being set to an off-hook state when said at least one handset is picked up from the cradle;

wherein said at least one handset includes;

a first instructing system that instructs said message reproducing system to output the message when the at least one handset is placed on the cradle; and

a second instructing system that instructs said message reproducing system to output the message when the at least one handset is picked up from the cradle, and

wherein said message reproducing system reproduces the message with the telephone line being in the off-hook state regardless whether the reproduction of the message is instructed by the first instructing system or the second instructing system.

6. The telephone system according to claim 5, wherein said message reproducing system brings the telephone line into the off-hook state if reproduction of a message is instructed when the telephone line is in an on-hook state.

7. The telephone system according to claim 5, further comprising:

a line condition detecting system that detects whether the telephone line is in a condition where a call from said telephone system can be made when a message is reproduced; and

a condition changing system which changes the condition of the telephone line so that a call from said telephone system can be made immediately upon request.

8. The telephone system according to claim 5, further comprising:

a caller telephone number storage that stores the telephone numbers of caller stations, each of the telephone numbers of caller stations being stored in relationship to a predetermined key,

wherein said message storage stores each message in relationship to the same predetermined key assigned to a corresponding telephone number of a caller station.

9. The telephone system according to claim 8, wherein the predetermined key includes date and time when said telephone system received each message.

10. The telephone system according to claim 5, further including a calling system that makes a call with reference to a telephone number stored in said caller telephone number storage when a message is reproduced and an instruction to make a call to the caller station corresponding to the reproduce message is made.

11. The telephone system according to claim 5, further comprising:

numeral keys through which numerals are input;

an input recognizing system that recognizes a predetermined command is input when a predetermined operation of the numeral keys is performed; and

an output controlling system that actuates said message reproducing system when said input recognizing system recognizes that the predetermined key operation of the numeral keys is performed.

12. A telephone system having a message recording function, comprising:

a message receiving system that is connectable to a calling station through a telephone line and capable of receiving a message transmitted from the calling station through the telephone line when in a connected state;

a message storage in which the message received by the message receiving system is stored;

a message reproducing system that retrieves and outputs a message stored in the message storage;

a first instructing system that instructs said message reproducing system to output a message with the telephone line being in an off-hook state;

a second instructing system that instructs said message reproducing system to output a message with the telephone line being in an on-hook state;

a line condition detecting system that detects whether the telephone line is in a condition where a call from said telephone system can be made when a message is reproduced with the telephone line being in the off-hook state; and

a condition changing system which brings the telephone line into the on-hook state, and then brings the telephone line into the off-hook state again a predetermined time after the telephone line was brought into the on-hook state when the line condition detects that the telephone line is in the condition where a call from said telephone line cannot be made.

13. The telephone system according to claim 12, further comprising:

a caller telephone number storage that stores the telephone numbers of caller stations corresponding to message stored in said message storage, the telephone numbers of caller stations being stored in relationship to the messages corresponding thereto; and

a calling system that makes a call with reference to a telephone number stored in said caller telephone number storage when a message is reproduced and an instruction to make a call to the caller station corresponding to the reproduced message is made.

14. The telephone system according to claim 12, further comprising:

numeral keys through which numerals are input;

a dial input recognizing system that recognizes an operation of a numeral key as a part of dial number input;

a command input recognizing system that recognizes an operation of a numeral key as a command input; and

an output controlling system that actuates said message reproducing system when a key input is recognized as the command input by said command input recognizing system.

15. The telephone system according to claim 14, wherein said command input recognizing system recognizes a key input as the command input when the key is operated for not less than a predetermined time period.