JPH118703A - Voice mail communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform quick and easy mail communication by making the conversation of voice messages utilizing a mail box possible without accompanying a troublesome operation and confirming the contents of the transmitted voice message. SOLUTION: This voice mail communication system is composed of exchanges 10 and 20 connected to a telephone network 1, telephone terminals 11 and 21 and voice mail systems 13 and 22. In this case, the voice mail systems 13 and 22 store a message number and the numbers of the telephone terminals on a transmission side and a reception side as addresses for each transmission and allocate the voice message to the mail box for each message number, the addresses and the mail box are utilized in the telephone terminals on the transmission side and the reception side and bidirectional mail communication is performed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a voice mail communication system which is connected to or built in a private branch exchange or the like and performs mail communication by recording and reproducing voice messages through a mailbox for each user of a telephone accommodated in the exchange.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of voice mail communication system, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-289854, "E-mail System", Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 61-280149, "Voice Storage Device", and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-34670. There is known an example disclosed in a “voice interactive service system”.
A conventional example of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-289854 is an e-mail system that performs an e-mail transmission / reception process and a voice synthesis process for converting a character code string of a received e-mail into a voice signal. Is going.

A conventional example of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-280149 is a voice storage device that outputs voice guidance according to a preset response pattern and stores voice data of the response. Further, the prior art disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-34670 is a four-wire telephone apparatus having an independent transmission / reception, an exchange, and an audio storage apparatus for storing and reproducing telephone audio signals through the exchange. In this voice storage device, at the time of notification to a subscriber, a clear voice signal is transmitted by removing background noise.

[0004]

In such a conventional example, when replying to a sent voice message, it is necessary to send a calling voice message to the other party's mailbox. In this case, the operation of calling the other party's mailbox and sending the voice message is troublesome, and it is difficult to obtain a direct answer, so that there are many choices to make a call. In other words, voice messages often include the message "call me". Therefore, there is a disadvantage that quick and easy mail communication cannot be performed.

[0005] Further, when sending a mail, the mail is posted to the mailbox of the other party, but the voice message once posted cannot be taken out and heard by the person who sent it. That is, since the transmitting person cannot confirm the mail, the past progress in exchanging the mail using the mailbox is not known, and in this case, there is a disadvantage that quick and easy mail communication cannot be performed.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, and enables a voice message conversation using a mailbox to be performed without troublesome operations. It is an object of the present invention to provide a voice mail communication system capable of confirming the contents from a transmission side and being usable as a voice mail conference communication system and capable of performing mail communication by a voice message quickly and easily.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a voice communication system in which a telephone terminal performs two-way mail communication by recording and reproducing voice messages through a voice mail system connected to an exchange. In a mail communication system, a voice mail system stores, as an address, a message number for each transmission, and numbers of telephone terminals of a calling side and a receiving side as addresses, and assigns and stores a voice message for each message number. And a two-way mail communication processing means for performing two-way mail communication using the mailboxes at the calling and receiving telephone terminals.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the voice mail communication system, the two-way mail communication processing means records and reproduces a voice message, and transmits the voice message to a receiving exchange and a voice mail system. A voice signal transmitting / receiving unit for transmitting the number information to the exchange as a PB tone signal, and voice guidance for prompting the caller to input a message number, and exchanging the number information through the exchange, the calling side and the receiving side telephone terminal. A central processing unit to be controlled; an address memory for storing the numbers of the telephone terminals on the calling side and the receiving side corresponding to the message numbers assigned for allocating a mailbox for each voice message; and providing voice guidance to the caller. A voice guidance memory that stores synthesized voice data and a message memory that stores voice messages Obtain some as a constituent.

The voice mail communication system according to a third aspect is configured such that the two-way mail communication processing means is connected to an exchange accommodating a telephone terminal in the voice mail communication system connected through a telephone network.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the voice mail communication system, the address memory is provided with respective fields of a message number, a sender number, and a receiver number, and divides an extension number and an external number according to the message number. The numbers of the transmitting and receiving telephone terminals are stored.

In the voice mail communication system according to the present invention, a column of a message storage area is provided in the message memory for each message number.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the voice mail communication system, the central processing unit reads out from the address memory and converts the number of the telephone terminal on the transmitting side and the number on the receiving side into the number information of the PB tone signal converted by the voice signal transmitting / receiving unit. An extension number or an outside line number is divided, and the exchange switches between an extension call and an outside line call based on the extension number or the outside line number.

A voice mail communication system according to claim 7, wherein the address and the mailbox in the voice mail system are used by a plurality of telephone terminals, and the voice mail communication system is used as a voice mail conference communication system for a large number of people. There is.

The voice mail communication system of the present invention having such a configuration stores the message number and the numbers of the telephone terminals on the transmitting side and the receiving side as addresses for each transmission.
In addition, a voice message is assigned to a mailbox for each message number, and two-way mail communication is performed using the address and the mailbox on the telephone terminals on the transmitting side and the receiving side.

Therefore, the voice message conversation using the mailbox can be performed without troublesome operation, and the content of the transmitted voice message can be confirmed from the transmitting side. As a result, quick and easy exchange of mail by voice message is performed.

In the voice mail communication system according to the present invention, the address and the mailbox in the voice mail system are used by a plurality of telephone terminals and used as a voice mail conference communication system for a large number of people. In this case, a large number of people can exchange mail quickly and easily by voice message.

[0017]

Next, an embodiment of the voice mail communication system of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a voice mail communication system according to the present invention. In the voice mail communication system shown in FIG. 1, one and the other voice mail communication systems are connected to a telephone network 1. One voice mail communication system has an exchange 10 and a telephone terminal 11 connected to the exchange 10 for making and receiving calls. The voice communication system performs voice mail communication in conjunction with the exchange 10. Mail system 13 and central processing unit 1 for controlling exchange 10 and voice mail system 13
And 4.

The other voice mail communication system also has an exchange 20, a telephone terminal 21, and a voice mail system 22.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the voice mail system 13. As shown in FIG. The voice mail system 13 shown in FIG. 2 transmits and receives voice messages by recording and playing back the voice messages, and transmits the PB tone to the exchange 2 to transmit the voice messages stored in the other exchange 20 and the voice mail system 22. A voice signal transmitting / receiving unit 31 for sending out a signal, voice guidance for prompting a caller and a receiver to input a message number, and exchanging telephone terminal numbers of a calling side and a receiving side with the exchange 20. And a central processing unit 32 for controlling.

Further, the voice mail system 13
A message number for allocating a mailbox to each voice message is assigned, an address memory 33 for storing the numbers of telephone terminals on the calling side and the receiving side corresponding to the message number, and voice guidance to a user (caller). And a message memory 35 having a storage area for storing a voice message for each message number. The voice mail system 22 has the same configuration.

FIG. 3 shows the contents stored in the message memory 35. The message memory 35 is provided with message memories (storage areas) A, B, C, D... N for storing voice messages for each of the message numbers 101, 102, 103, 104.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the contents stored in the address memory 33. The address memory 33 is provided with a number (caller number) column 332 of the calling-side telephone terminal and a number (partner (recipient) number) column 333 of the receiving-side telephone terminal corresponding to the message number column 331. I have. Here, the sender numbers 1234, 7890, XXXX... N and the other party (receiver) numbers 5678, 1236/5623, YYYY... Correspond to the message numbers 101, 102, 103.
n is stored. In addition, this caller number 1234 ~
n and the other party (recipient) number 5678-n are divided into an extension number and an outside line number. For example, they are classified by the number of digits.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure for transmitting a voice message in the operation of this embodiment. When transmitting a voice message from the telephone terminal 11 to the telephone terminal 21, the caller goes off-hook on the telephone terminal 11, dials a special number for connecting the voice mail system 13, and transmits this data to the central processing unit 14 through the exchange 10. take in. Thereafter, the central processing unit 14 performs control to activate the voice mail system 13 (steps S100 and S1).
01, S102).

In the activated voice mail system 13, under the control of the central processing unit 14, the central processing unit 32 provides voice guidance from the voice guidance memory 34 to the caller requesting the caller to input a message number for each voice message. The message is transmitted to the telephone terminal 11 through the exchange 10, and the synthesized voice is output to notify the caller (step S1).
03). In accordance with the voice notification, the caller changes the telephone terminal 11
As shown in FIG. 4, the message numbers 101 to n or the other party (recipient) numbers 5678 to n are input (step S).
104).

Here, when the first voice message is input, the central processing unit 32 sends an empty mailbox (message memory A to message memory A) in the message memory 35.
n), which prompts the user to record a voice message. That is, the central processing unit 32 has the voice guidance memory 34
And outputs the synthesized voice data to the telephone terminal 11 through the exchange 10, and notifies the sender of the synthesized voice output.

When a message number is input in step S104, the central processing unit 32 indicates a mailbox (message memory A to n) corresponding to the message number in the message memory 35, and records the voice message. Gives prompting information. That is, the central processing unit 32 reads out the synthesized voice data from the voice guidance memory 34, sends out the synthesized voice data to the telephone terminal 11 through the exchange 10, and notifies the originator of the synthesized voice output to the caller (steps S105 and S106).

Thereafter, the caller sends a voice message via the telephone terminal 11, and the voice message is stored in the message memory 35 (step S107). Then, the central processing unit 32 determines whether the dialed (recipient) number is an extension number or an external telephone (telephone network 1).
It is determined whether or not the telephone terminal 21 is accommodated in the exchange 20 through the switch. This determination is made in the address memory 33 shown in FIG.
(Step S10).
8).

If the dialed party (recipient) number is an extension number in step S108, the central processing unit 32 in the voice mail system 13 outputs the partner (recipient) number to the exchange 10 through the central processing unit 14. The exchange 10 sends data indicating the storage of a voice message to an extension telephone terminal not shown in FIG. The reception of the voice message is displayed on the extension telephone terminal (step S1).
09, S110). If the called party (recipient) number dialed in step S108 is an outside line number, the central processing unit 32 in the voice mail system 13 sends the telephone terminal number on the receiving side (the party (recipient) number) to the central processing unit. 1
4 to the exchange 10 and the exchange 10 sends it to the exchange 20 through the telephone network 1 (step S111).

The exchange 20 activates the voice mail system 22 (step S112), and sends a message number and a voice message to the voice mail system 22 for storage. At the same time, the exchange 20 sends data indicating the storage of the voice message to the telephone terminal 21, and the reception of the voice message is displayed on the telephone terminal 21 (steps S113 and S113).
114).

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure for receiving a voice message in the operation of this embodiment. The telephone terminal 21 accommodated by the exchange 20 is the telephone terminal 1
1 to indicate receipt of a voice message storage. Thereafter, the recipient goes off-hook on the telephone terminal 21 and dials a special number for connecting the voice mail 22 (steps S200, S201). The voice mail system 22 fetches the special number data via the exchange 20 and starts up (step S202).

The activated voice mail system 22 informs the receiver of the message number of the stored voice message by a synthesized voice output. When the message number is inputted from the telephone terminal 21 by the receiver, this message is displayed. The voice message of the number is the voice mail system 2
2 is sent to the telephone terminal 21 through the exchange 20, and the listening is performed (steps S203, S204).

Next, if there is a reply voice message after the listening (step S205), the same processing as in step S105 with a message shown in FIG. 5 is performed. That is, a synthesized voice signal for prompting the recording of a voice message is sent from the voice mail system 22 to the telephone terminal 21, and then the caller sends a voice message through the telephone terminal 21, and the voice message is stored in the voice mail system 22. Is done. Next, it is determined whether the dialed telephone terminal number (the other party (recipient) number) of the receiving side is an extension number or a telephone terminal 11 accommodated by the exchange 10 through the telephone network 1 of the external line number (step S206). , S207, S208).

If the destination (recipient) number dialed in step S208 is an extension number, the voice mail system 22 outputs the destination (recipient) number to the exchange 20, and from the exchange 20, an extension not shown in FIG. Data indicating the storage of the voice message is transmitted to the telephone terminal.

The reception of the voice message is displayed on the extension telephone terminal (steps S209 and S210). If the called party (recipient) number dialed in step S208 is an outside line number, the voice mail system 22 sends the exchange 20 a number of the receiving-side telephone terminal (the recipient (recipient) number).
And the exchange 20 sends the number (the partner (recipient) number) to the exchange 10 through the telephone network 1 and the connection is established (step S211).

The exchange 10 activates the voice mail system 13 through the central processing unit 14 (step S21).
2) Send the message number and voice message to the voice mail system 13 for storage. At the same time, exchange 1
0 sends data indicating the storage of the voice message to the telephone terminal 11, and the reception of the voice message is displayed on the telephone terminal 11 (steps S213 and S214).

In this embodiment, the case of two-way mail communication in which one and the other voice mail communication systems are connected to the telephone network 1 has been described, but a large number of voice mail communication systems are connected to the telephone network 1. It can also be used as a voice mail conference communication system in which many people send and receive voice messages for the same agenda.

[0037]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the voice mail communication system of the present invention, a voice message is assigned to a mailbox for each message number, and the address and the mailbox are assigned to the sender and the receiver. Two-way mail communication is performed using a telephone terminal.

Therefore, conversation of voice messages using the mailbox can be performed without complicated operations. In addition, the content of the transmitted voice message can be confirmed from the transmitting side. As a result, quick and easy mail communication by voice message can be performed.

According to the voice mail communication system of the present invention, the address and the mailbox in the voice mail system are used by a plurality of telephone terminals, and are used as a voice mail conference communication system by many people. In this case, a large number of people can perform quick and easy mail communication using voice messages.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a voice mail communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the voice mail system in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing storage contents of a message memory in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing storage contents of an address memory in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for transmitting a voice message in the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure for receiving a voice message in the operation of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Telephone network 10,20 Switchboard 11,21 Telephone terminal 13,22 Voice mail system 14,32 Central processing unit 31 Voice signal transmission / reception part 33 Address memory 34 Voice guidance memory 35 Message memory

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A voice mail communication system in which a telephone terminal performs two-way mail communication by recording and playing back a voice message through a voice mail system connected to an exchange. The numbers of the calling and receiving telephone terminals are stored as addresses, and voice messages are assigned and stored for each message number, and the addresses and mailboxes are used by the calling and receiving telephone terminals for bidirectional communication. A voice mail communication system comprising two-way mail communication processing means for performing mail communication. 2. The two-way mail communication processing means for recording and playing back a voice message and transmitting a number message to the exchange in order to transmit the voice message to a receiving exchange and a voice mail system. A voice signal transmission / reception unit for transmitting as a signal; a central processing unit for providing voice guidance for prompting a caller to input a message number, and controlling exchange of number information through a switchboard, a calling side and a receiving side telephone terminal; Address memory that stores the numbers of the calling and receiving telephone terminals corresponding to the message numbers assigned to assign a mailbox to each message, and voice guidance that stores synthesized voice data that provides voice guidance to the caller 2. A memory, comprising: a memory; and a message memory for storing a voice message. A voice mail communication system as described. 3. The voice mail communication system according to claim 1, wherein said two-way mail communication processing means is connected to an exchange accommodating a telephone terminal in a voice mail communication system connected through a telephone network. 4. A telephone terminal on a calling side and a receiving side in which an address memory is provided with respective columns of a message number, a caller number, and a receiver number, and an extension number and an external number are divided according to the message number. 3. The voice mail communication system according to claim 2, wherein the number is stored. 5. The voice mail communication system according to claim 2, wherein the message memory is provided with a message storage area column for each message number. 6. The central processing unit reads out from an address memory and classifies an extension number or an outside line number from the numbers of the telephone terminals on the calling side and the receiving side in the number information of the PB tone signal converted by the voice signal transmitting / receiving section, 3. The voice mail communication system according to claim 2, wherein the exchange switches between extension transmission and external transmission based on the extension number or the external line number. 7. The voice mail communication system according to claim 1, wherein the address and the mailbox in the voice mail system are used by a plurality of telephone terminals, and the voice mail communication system is used as a voice mail conference communication system for a large number of people. Voice mail communication system.