JPH0638362U - Telephone device with search device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] To be able to promptly retrieve the telephone number of the other party from a large number of data managed in the database and to send the selection signal without fail to call the other party. . [Structure] A network control device 8, storage devices 10 and 11, and a search device 20 for searching the telephone number data of a communication partner stored in the storage devices 10 and 11, and transmitting and receiving analog signals and digital signals Terminal device 2, 13-1 which is a device
A storage device 1 for controlling any or all of 9
Retrieval device 2 for telephone number data stored in 0 and 11
Search with 0 and automatically send a selection signal to communicate.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a telephone device capable of controlling information exchange with various terminal devices using a public telephone line.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 In the past, with the introduction of computerized telephones as this type of telephone device, it was possible to select the other party by the abbreviated number and to transmit and receive digital signals as a device that integrates a digital device such as a modem or facsimile and a telephone. You can use a telephone with a built-in facsimile machine or a telephone with a built-in modem, use an answering machine for analog signals, or connect and disconnect individual terminal devices and telephones for each purpose to send and receive information. I've been told.

[0003]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, the frequency of using public telephone lines in the current information-oriented society has become extremely high, and the number of parties to communicate with has increased. It is possible to deal with a few dozens, but if the number is more than that, it will take too much time to search for a telephone number and it will be difficult. When different types of information are exchanged using one line, for example, information exchange by voice, other facsimile, image scanner for high quality image transmission, transmission / reception of digital signals such as digital data, etc. are performed by one line telephone. When using a line, it is necessary to connect the equipment that suits each purpose, the operation is complicated, and it is necessary to take up a large installation area on top of it. Furthermore, in order to perform these tasks, each Collecting equipment naturally makes it expensive.

[0004]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to solve the above problems, the present invention comprises, in claim 1, a network control device, a storage device, and a search device for searching the telephone number data of a communication partner stored in a storage device. Controls any or all of the terminal equipment, which is an equipment for transmitting and receiving analog and digital signals, searches for telephone number data stored in the storage device with a search device, and automatically sends a selection signal for communication. It adopts a configuration that enables the following.

According to a second aspect, in the configuration according to the first aspect, the search device is any one of a digital computer, a printer, a display, an image scanner, a facsimile, a digital device such as a modulation / demodulation device, and an analog device. Or, a configuration having a function of controlling information exchange with all is adopted.

[0006]

[Action]

 The present invention manages a telephone number in a database, searches for the telephone number of the other party by a retrieval device composed of a computer based on the data in the managed database, and at the same time sends a selection signal with the retrieved telephone number to identify the other party. call. The data in the managed database differs according to each user, and is managed hierarchically by code number, such as the type of business of the business partner, the person in charge of each person, the department for internal use, etc. Each of them is assigned a code number.If you enter a one-digit or two-digit code number, the partial code belonging to that code or the name of the other party and the telephone number and the comment if necessary will be displayed on the screen. Is displayed in. If you select the other party from the displayed names, the selected number will be automatically sent to the other party. In addition, when searching for the other party, not only the code number but also the name is displayed, and the registered party is displayed. You can select the party from the display screen and send a selection signal. Since a search device that performs search operations is mainly a microprocessor, that is, a computer, in order to effectively use this computer, the automation function of the telephone line network control is improved to improve the efficiency of information exchange over the telephone line. It can be used for many other tasks that use public telephone lines, such as various types of image transmission, digital data transmission, etc., while improving it.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, 1 is a telephone device main body, 2 is a transceiver for transmitting and receiving analog signals such as voice, and 3 is a push button. It is a dial that generates and sends a selection signal for selecting the other party of the call, and also serves as an input device for inputting an operation command signal of the search device 20 shown in FIG. Reference numeral 4 denotes a display device such as a liquid crystal display for displaying the data retrieved by the retrieval device 20, selecting a communication partner while observing the display data, and displaying information necessary for operation. Reference numeral 5 denotes a flexible disk drive which constitutes a part of the auxiliary storage device 11 shown in FIG. 2, and stores search data regarding work order, telephone number and information to be transmitted / received on a flexible disk or a fixed disk, or is flexible. It is designed to read the information stored on a disc. Reference numeral 6 denotes a connector for connecting peripheral devices, and as shown in FIG. 2, from connectors 6a to 6d respectively connected to peripheral devices such as an external display 14, a keyboard 15, a printer 16, an image scanner 17 and an RS232C. Has become. 7 is a telephone line.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining the function of one embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 8 denotes a network control device, which is a device for controlling the closing and opening of the public telephone line by exchanging signals with the telephone switchboard, which is generally a function possessed by the telephone, such as the push button dial 3 and the transmitter / receiver 2 in FIG. The display 4 and the dial signal converter 21 shown in FIG. 2 are included. Since the dial signal converter 21 is a code signal in which the output signal of the push button dial 3 is composed of a combination of two frequencies, in order to enable the retrieval device 20 composed of a computer to be operated by the output signal of the push button dial 3. The signal code of the output signal of the push button dial 3 is converted. Reference numeral 9 denotes a central processing unit (CPU) composed of a microprocessor, to which a telephone line and necessary peripheral devices are connected via a main storage device 10 and an input / output control device 12. Reference numeral 20 is a retrieval device composed of a computer, which is composed of a central processing unit 9, a main storage device 10, an auxiliary storage device 11, and an input / output control device 12. The input / output control device 12 is a device for controlling information exchange with each peripheral device in accordance with a command from the central processing unit 9, and includes an interface circuit required for each device. The fax machine 13 decomposes characters and figures into pixels, converts them into electric signals and converts them into signals that can be transmitted by telephone lines, and assembles characters and figures from the electric signals decomposed into sent pixels. An image transmitting / receiving terminal having a function of reproducing and recording, which includes an image reader and an image recorder. Reference numeral 14 denotes an external display device, for example, when the internal display device 4 is small and cannot display a large amount of data at a time, a large display device such as a CRT or liquid crystal displays a large amount of work data such as search data and transmission / reception data. It is used for the purpose of displaying a large amount of work information at once and improving work efficiency. Reference numeral 15 denotes a keyboard, which is a device for inputting necessary information to the search device 20, which can be used in combination with the push button dial 3, and is used particularly when inputting characters other than numbers. For example, it is used when searching a telephone number by name. Reference numeral 16 is a printer, which is a device for printing information that needs to be recorded. Reference numeral 17 denotes an image scanner, which converts an image into an electric video signal that can be transmitted with high quality, and can also be used by converting it into a signal standard for a facsimile of general image quality. In some cases, the facsimile 13 is not particularly required because it can be held. Reference numeral 18 denotes a demodulation device (modem) for mutually converting signals between the central processing unit 9 that handles digital signals and the telephone line 7 that handles analog signals into signals that can be handled by each. Is essential to. Reference numeral 19 denotes an external computer, which is connected to the connector 6e, but can also be used as a connector for connecting a peripheral device other than the external computer 19 that uses a connection cable of RS232 C specifications.

The operation procedure of the present invention is, for example, a menu method. To explain an example of its use, first, in the telephone number search operation, when the “0” on the push button dial 3 is pressed, a classification code is displayed on the display 4. The type of information, that is, telephone, facsimile, digital signal, etc., is displayed on the display 4 together with the number and asks "which one to select". Then, when "telephone" is selected, the display and number such as company, individual, school, hospital, etc. are displayed on the display unit 4. For example, if you select "Individual", you will be asked how many lines to look for, such as "a" line or "sa" line at the beginning of the name. If you enter "ka" line, when the number of data is small, The full name of the "ka" line is displayed. When there are many, you will be asked which character on the "ka" line next, so for example, all names starting with "ke" are displayed. However, when the display 4 has a small screen and only a few can be displayed, pressing # on push button dial 3 advances to the next display, and pressing * moves down to the previous display. All the retrieved data can be checked, and if the name of the other party is found, the search number or its position can be pointed to with the cursor, etc., and the phone number registered with that name will become the selection symbol. Then, a code signal corresponding to the selection symbol is created and sent to the telephone exchange. Since the hook-off and hook-on signals of the handset are controlled by the search device 20, there is no need to operate after the hook is turned off. If the other party is busy even if the selection signal is sent, the display unit 4 asks whether the other party is busy and will cancel or continue the connection. If you select cancel, If it is canceled and you choose to continue, you will be asked how many minutes later you will send the selection signal. Therefore, if it is 5 minutes later, the selection signal will be automatically sent again after 5 minutes. If the other party is not busy, the display unit 4 displays "Calling, wait for a while". When the other party responds by the ringing tone, that is, when the other party hooks off, the display unit 4 displays "Talk" and the call is started. When the number of retrieved data is large, the telephone 4 can be efficiently searched by using the display 4 and the external display 14 having a large display area. Of course, the use example is not limited to this, and various programs can be assembled as needed.

When used as a normal telephone, first, by lifting the handset 2 and hooking it off, the search operation of the search device 20 is stopped, and a push button dial is used to select a normal call partner. Operate 3 to send out a selection signal, and perform the operation in the same way as a normal telephone operation. It is also possible to use a recorder that has a built-in facsimile 13 and records the received signal of the facsimile as a substitute for the printer 16 of the retrieval device 20. The flexible disk drive 5 shown in FIG. 1 can be equipped with not only one drive but two drives depending on the amount of data to be handled.

Although the output signal of the push button dial 3 described above is described based on the telephone standard, the signal code conversion of the dial signal converter 21 is performed according to the standard of the output signal of the keyboard 15 of the computer. It is also possible to convert the keyboard 15 standard into a telephone standard and use it only when sending a selection signal. In addition, the operation procedure of the embodiment described above. The function and the code number of the hierarchical classification code and their names differ depending on each user, and can be arbitrarily changed by the program software. For example, as an example of usage, a connector for connecting peripheral equipment of the present telephone device and an image input terminal of a television are connected, and a signal from a remote controller for channel switching of the television is a cordless telephone which is a child device of the present telephone device. By learning, you can switch between TV channels using the television screen and the push-button dial of the cordless handset, and you can also search for the other party on the screen, and even use a fax machine, etc. You can also view the information sent by on the TV screen.

[0012]

[Effect of device]

 According to the present invention, since the telephone number search operation is performed while checking the search result on the display unit or the external display unit, the telephone number of the communication partner can be promptly selected from a large number of data managed in the database. Moreover, it is easy to select a telephone line because you can definitely search and send out a selection signal to call the other party. In addition, not only the name confirmation but also the comment is displayed on the screen as needed in the search result of the phone number, the selection accuracy is improved, and the number of false calls can be significantly reduced.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, not only is the function of automating the circuit network control of information exchange by telephone line improved, but the information of the information society, that is, text, digital information, photographs, pictures, etc. A device that can send and receive information, such as a device that can be used for facsimile, image transmission, digital data transmission, etc., can be built in or easily connected to these devices, and the information can be stored in an auxiliary storage device and stored. It can be output at any time. As a result, effective use of public telephone lines can be achieved, many kinds of information can be easily exchanged, and they can be manufactured at low cost as a whole despite having many functions.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a telephone device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating functions of an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Telephone Device 2 Handset 3 Pushbutton Dial 4 Display 5 Flexible Disk Drive 6 Connector 7 Telephone Line 8 Network Control Device 9 Central Processing Unit 10 Main Storage Device 11 Auxiliary Storage Device 12 Input / Output Control Device 13 Facsimile 14 External Display Device 15 Keyboard 16 Printer 17 Image scanner 18 Demodulator (modem) 19 External computer 20 Search device (computer) 21 Dial signal converter

Claims (2)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A terminal device, which has a network control device, a storage device, and a search device for searching the telephone number data of a communication partner stored in the storage device, and which is a transmission / reception device for analog signals and digital signals. A telephone device with a search device capable of controlling any or all of them, searching for telephone number data stored in a storage device with a search device, and automatically sending a selection signal to perform communication. 2. The search device has a function of controlling information exchange with any or all of digital devices such as a digital computer, a printer, a display, an image scanner, a facsimile, a modulator / demodulator, and analog devices. A telephone device with a search device according to 1.