WO1999035807A1

WO1999035807A1 - Telephone message remote notify module

Info

Publication number: WO1999035807A1
Application number: PCT/US1999/000624
Authority: WO
Inventors: Pei-Hung Liu
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-01-09
Filing date: 1999-01-08
Publication date: 1999-07-15
Anticipated expiration: 2000-07-09
Also published as: TW401668B; AU2222699A

Abstract

An electronic module is disclosed which provides additional aural notification to the intended recipient of a telephone message that a message is waiting on an answering machine or voice mail system. The module monitors the telephone line used by the answering machine or voice mail system and detects that a message has been left. The module includes a sensor to sense the physical presence of a person near the module; when the presence of a person is detected, the module generates an audio signal.

Description

TELEPHONE MESSAGE REMOTE NOTIFY MODULE

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of our copending United States Provisional Application No- 60/070,881 which was filed on 09 January, 1998.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to an electronic module for use in conjunction with a telephone answering machine or voice message system which provides additional aural message- waiting notification to the intended message recipient.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Telephone answering machines and voice message systems have become a common part of everyday life. Virtually every business, and most private homes, have an answering machine to receive messages when no one is available to answer the phone. Having an answering machine or voice message system to receive calls gives the intended recipient of a call greater flexibility in scheduling their daily activities. Despite their ubiquitous nature, though, several practical problems exist with answering machines and voice message systems. The intended recipient of a phone call must in some way be made aware that a message has been recorded and is waiting to be retrieved. The most common means of notification is a visual display incorporated into the answering machine itself. After having been away from the residence or business for a period of time, the intended recipient will visually check the answering machine to determine if any messages have been left.

Visual inspection of the answering machine display works well in situations where the answering machine can be located such that the display is easily viewed and can be checked on a regular basis. In many situations, however, it may not be desirable, practical, or possible to locate the answering machine in such a manner. For example, a residence or business may have several entrances, or the phone and answering machine may be located in an out-of-the-way room of the home or office. The intended recipient might come and go without being aware that a message has been left. Or an individual may have visual difficulties which preclude them from utilizing the visual display.

On the basis of the foregoing, the need is seen for a module which supplements a standard answering machine or voice mail system to notify an intended recipient that a message has been left.

STJMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an objective of the present invention to provide an electronic module which monitors the telephone line used by an answering machine or voice mail system and, upon detecting that a message has been left, generates an audio signal when it detects the physical presence of a person near the module;

It is a further object of the invention to provide an external embodiment of the invention which may be remotely located from the answering machine or voice mail system, but which is connected to the same telephone line as the answering machine or voice mail system;

It is a further object of the invention to provide an internal embodiment of the invention which may be incorporated into a conventional answering machine to detect the presence of a person and generate aural cues if a message is waiting on the machine; It is a further object of the invention to provide and embodiment of the invention intended for use with voice message systems that monitors the phone line for a stutter dial tone, or for CLASS/FSK signals.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is further described in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure la is an interconnection diagram showing the external embodiment of the present invention connected to a phone jack, answering machine, and telephone;

Figure lb is an interconnection diagram showing the external embodiment of the present invention connected to a phone jack, with an answering machine and telephone connected to a second phone jack;

Figure 2 is a block diagram of the electrical circuitry of the preferred embodiment of the external version of the present invention; Figure 3 is a block diagram of the electrical circuitry of an alternate embodiment of the external version of the present invention; Figure 4 is a block diagram of an internal version of the present invention, incorporated into a standard answering machine; Figure 5 is a block diagram of an alternate embodiment of the present invention utilizing stutter dial tone and CLASS/FSK detection.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

External Embodiment

As shown in Figures la and JJ , the external embodiment of present invention comprises a message reminder module 10 which connects through a first telecom connector 12 and standard phone cable 22 to a standard phone jack 20.

The message reminder module 10 of the preferred embodiment further comprises a body detector 14, which in the preferred embodiment is a passive infrared sensor (PIR), but which may also comprise a miniature "radar" detector, or any other sensor suitable for detecting proximity to a human body. An enunciator 16 on the message reminder module may comprise either a simple buzzer, an electronically-generated voice, or any audio tone generating device suitable.

In operation, the message reminder module 10 is placed in a convenient location which the intended message recipient is likely to pass, such as near the main door of a home or office, with the body detector 14 positioned such that the presence of a person can be detected as they pass near the module. While the intended recipient is away from the home or office or otherwise engaged, the message reminder module monitors the telephone line to determine if a phone message has been left, as described below. If a message is waiting, upon detecting the presence of a person near the message reminder module 10 the module will generate an aural cue from enunciator 16 to notify the person that there is a waiting message.

As shown in Figure la, the external embodiment of message reminder module 10 further comprises a second telecom connector 18, permitting an answering machine 40 and telephone 50 to be connected directly to the module with standard telephone cables 42 and 52. Alternately, as shown in Figure lb, the answering machine and phone may be connect to a second standard phone jack 24, which may be remote from the phone jack 20, but which connects to the same telephone line. The capability of locating the external message reminder module remotely from the answering machine or telephone permits one or more message reminder modules to be placed in high-traffic areas where the intended recipient is likely to pass, such as near home or office doors, while the answering machine and phone in a different room, such as a den or bedroom.

In the preferred embodiment electrical power is provided to the message reminder module by an external AC adapter 30 and DC power cord 32 which plug into a standard DC power connector 32 on the module; alternate power sources, such a batteries, are of course possible.

Figure 2 is a block diagram of the circuitry of the preferred embodiment of the external version of the telephone message remote notify module. The circuitry primarily comprises a microprocessor or microcontroller 100 and an electronically- erasable read-only memory (EEPROM) 150 which stores program information and optionally a recorded announcement to be played back when a message is waiting. The EEPROM may also be used to store a flag indicating that a message is waiting, so that if a power outage occurs the module will "remember" that a message is waiting when power is restored- Monitoring the telecom line "Ring" and "Tip" signals are a Ring Detection circuit 102, a DTMF Detector 104, and a Voltage Detector circuit 106. The outputs of each of these circuits are monitored by the microprocessor or microcontroller. The Ring Detection Circuit 102 detects that the telephone line is ringing; the DTMF Detector 104 detects the standard telecom frequency tones; and the Voltage Detector circuit detects the change in line voltage which results when the telephone receiver is lifted off the hook. Each of these circuits is well understood in the art.

Various options exist for detecting that a message has been left on an answering machine or message system. For voice-mail message systems that are provided by the telecom service provider, one option is to monitor the FSK CLASS or stutter dial tone; this involves more complicated circuitry, and is the approach used by an alternate embodiment discussed below. The preferred embodiment utilizes a relatively simple approach, which minimizes circuitry and provides reliable message detection. In the preferred embodiment, an incoming call is detected by the Ring Detection circuitry 102. When it detects an incoming call, the microprocessor or microcontroller begins to monitor the Voltage Detector circuit 106 to determine if the receiver is lifted off the hook. If the receiver is not lifted within a certain preset time interval from the time that the phone began ringing, then the microprocessor or microcontroller 100 will determine that a message has been left.

The above method of message detection has the advantages of being very simple to implement, and of reliably detecting messages for both answering machines and voice mail message systems. It can give some false indications of the presence of messages, such as when the caller declined to leave a message. It does provide a reliable indication that there has been some phone activity, though, and that the answering machine or voice message system should be checked. The time interval after the first ring detect may be made user selectable, such that message detection is optimized for various answering machine settings or voice mail options.

Once it has been determined that a message has been left, the microprocessor 100 begins to monitor the electrical output of body detector 14. The body detector of the preferred embodiment is a passive infrared detector. If the presence of a person is detected near the module, the microprocessor activates enunciator 16 to inform the person that a message is waiting. The enunciator may be a simple buzzer or a speaker; the module may optionally incorporate the ability for the user to pre-store in the EEPROM 150 their personal announcement to be played when a message is waiting, similar to the pre-storing of a personal greeting in an answering machine. Many other methods of detecting the presence of a message are possible, such as detecting the "beep" tone associated with the leaving of a message on an answering machine or voice mail system, and monitoring the delay between the "beep" and the call termination. The module may incorporate other features well-known in answering machine art, such as remote reset by the detection of a certain sequence of DTMF tones. The preferred embodiment incorporates a DTMF Detector circuit 104 for such functions. The preferred embodiment also has at least one front panel LED 18 and one or more switches 20 to allow the user to configure the device. Figure 3 is a block diagram of the electrical circuitry of an alternate embodiment of the external module. Ring Detection circuitry 202 detects that a call is being received on the phone line; Answering Machine or Handset Lifting Detect circuitry 204 detects the lifting of the receiver either by a person manually answering the phone or by an answering machine taking the call. The microprocessor 100, by timing comparison of the two events, determines whether a person or an answering machine responded to the call, and whether a message was left on the answering machine. If a message was left, the microprocessor 100 monitors the body detector 14 output through Body Detector Interface circuitry 206 and activates the enunciator 16 when appropriate.

Internal Embodiment

Figure 4 is a block diagram of an internal version of the telephone message remote notify module, which may be built into an answering machine. Answering Machine Logic Circuitry 302 functions as in a standard answering machine, but in addition to illuminating visual indicator 304 (commonly an LED) when a message has been received, the circuitry activates Message Reminder Circuitry 306. Message Reminder Circuitry 306 then monitors body detector 314 to determine the presence of a person, and upon detecting that a person is present, generates an aural "message waiting" signal from enunciator 316.

Alternate Embodiment

Figure 5 depicts a block diagram of an alternate embodiment intended for use with a voice message system. Various methods are used to indicate that messages are present on such systems; two such methods are FSK/CLASS signals and stutter dial tone, as discussed in US Patent No. 5,825,852. The alternate embodiment of the present invention incorporates circuits which monitor these signals to indicate the presence of messages.

In addition to the embodiments described above, many variations of the telephone message remote notify module are possible. For example, but not limited to, the body detector may be any device capable of generating an electrical signal upon detecting the proximity of a person; also, the enunciator may be a simple buzzer, or a digitally- generated voice indicating "you have a message". The capability may also be included to allow the user to record their own announcement to be played back when a message is waiting. The module may be usefiil in other applications, such as indicating that a fax has been received on a fax machine. It is the applicant's intent that the present invention include any such variations which monitor the telephone line used by an answering machine or voice mail system to detect when an message has been left, and which detect the presence of a person near the module and generate an audio signal indicating that a message has been recorded.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A method of notifying the intended recipient of a telephone voice message that a message is waiting, comprising: a. monitoring the telephone line for the incoming calls; and, if a call is received b. determining that the phone receiver was not lifted from the hook within a preset time interval; c. monitoring the nearby physical area to detect the physical presence of a person; and, if a person is detected d. generating an aural cue.

2. A telephone message remote notify module, comprising: a message reminder module having means for connecting to a telephone line, means for detecting that a message has been left on an answering machine or voice mail system; means for detecting the physical presence of a person near the module, and means for generating an aural cue to the person that a message is waiting.

3. The telephone message remote notify module of Claim 2, wherein the means for detecting that a message has been left on an answering machine or voice mail system further comprises a "ring" detection circuit, a voltage detector circuit to determine if the phone receiver has been lifted off the hook, and and a timer to determine that a preset period of time has passed from the "ring" detection without the receiver having been lifted off the hook.

4. The telephone message remote notify module of Claim 2, wherein the means for detecting that a message has been left on an answering machine or voice mail system further comprises circuitry for detecting the "beep" tone generated by the answering machine or voice mail system, circuitry for monitoring the "off the hook" state of the phone line, and timing logic for determining from the occurance of a "beep" tone and the "off the hook" state of the telephone line that a message has been left.

5. The telephone message remote notify module of Claim 2, wherein the means for detecting that a message has been left on an answering machine or voice mail system further comprises circuitry for detecting the ring signal on the phone line, circuitry for detecting the lifting of the handset, and timing logic for determining from the detection of the ring signal and the detection of the lifting of the handset that a message has been left.

6. The telephone message remote notify module of Claim 2, wherein the means for detecting the physical presence of a person near the module further comprises an passive infrarad detector.

7. The telephone message remote notify module of Claim 2, wherein the means for detecting the physical presence of a person near the module further comprises a miniature radar module.

8. The telephone message remote notify module of Claim 2, wherein the means for generating an aural cue to the person that a message is waiting further comprises a buzzer.

9. The telephone message remote notify module of Claim 2, wherein the means for generating an aural cue to the person that a message is waiting further comprises a digitally-generated voice message.

10. The telephone message remote notify module of Claim 9, further comprising means for the user to store a personal voice message.

11. The telephone message remote notify module of Claim 2, wherein the means for detecting that a message has been left includes a circuit to monitor FSK CLASS signals.

12. The telephone message remote notify module of Claim 2, wherein the means for detecting that a message has been left includes a circuit to monitor stutter dial tone.