Telephone apparatus

• US 7,206,395 B2
• Filed: 10/19/2004
• Issued: 04/17/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Igarashi, Hiroyuki, Yamamoto, Osamu, Yokoi, Shigeki
• Primary Examiner(s): Bui; Bing Q.
• Application Number:
  US10/542,474
• Publication Number:
  US 20060140379A1
• Time in Patent Office: 910 Days
• Field of Search: 379/142.01, 379/142.06, 379/142.08, 379/207.13, 379/210.01, 379/215.01, 379/210.02
• US Class Current: 379/142.06
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/578 associated with a synthesized vocal announcement
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/663 Preventing unauthorised calls to a telephone set

Abstract

A portable telephone apparatus 100 according to the present invention comprises a call waiting section and a telephone number acquisition section that can acquire telephone numbers of telephone apparatuses on the other end of lines. A telephone directory information registration section 109 registers telephone numbers associated with information on names. A caller confirmation section searches a telephone number of the telephone directory information registration section 109 based on the telephone number acquired by the telephone number acquisition section and confirms the caller. A character string speech conversion section converts the character information on the name of the confirmed caller to speech information. A caller information notification section notifies the user of the speech information from the character string speech conversion section when an incoming call arrives during a call with speech at a volume level which does not disturb the call.

Claims

1. A telephone apparatus comprising:

a call section that carries out a call-in-progress with one of a plurality of telephone apparatuses;

a call waiting section that notifies a user of the telephone apparatus of an incoming call during the call-in-progress, holds the call-in-progress, and connects the incoming call;

a telephone number acquisition section that acquires the telephone number of the telephone apparatus producing the incoming call;

a telephone directory information registration section that registers telephone numbers associated with name information of telephone users;

a caller determination section that searches said telephone numbers of said telephone directory information registration section based on said telephone number acquired by said telephone number acquisition section, determines whether or not said telephone number of the incoming call matches a telephone number within said telephone directory information registration section, and, if a match exists between the telephone number of the incoming call and a telephone number stored by the registration section, determines the name of the caller associated with the incoming call;

an incoming call notification determination section that determines whether or not to notify the telephone apparatus user of the incoming call;

a character string speech conversion section that converts character information of the name of said caller, determined by said caller determination section, to speech information; and

a caller information notification section that notifies the telephone apparatus user of the name of the caller associated with the incoming call, when said incoming call arrives during a call-in-progress and said incoming call notification section determines that the incoming call notification is required, using said speech information from said character string speech conversion section with speech at a volume level which does not disturb the call-in-progress.

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

another character string speech conversion section that converts, when information for identifying said corresponding caller is not obtained by said caller determination section, the telephone number acquired by said telephone number acquisition section to speech information; and

another caller information notification section that notifies the user of the telephone apparatus of said speech information converted by said other character string speech conversion section with speech at a volume level which does not disturb the call-in-progress.

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

an incoming call rejection setting section that makes a setting in information on said telephone numbers registered by said telephone directory information registration section so as to reject incoming calls during a call-in-progress, wherein

if said incoming call rejection is set in the information on said telephone number related to said incoming call when the incoming call arrives during the call-in-progress, said incoming call is not notified to the user.