GB2235109A - Telephone caller device - Google Patents

Abstract

In a telephone subscriber's instrument a caller device is provided to generate a speech message indicative of an incoming call. The device may be either acoustically or electrically coupled to the instrument, and the message may be provided by a recording or a speech synthesiser. <IMAGE>

Description

Telephone Caller Device This invention relates to telephone instruments, and in particular to devices for alerting a subscriber that his/her telephone instrument is ringing A telephone subscriber's instrument generally incorporates a bell or a tone ringer whereby the subscriber is alerted to receive an incoming call.

Where there are several adjacent telephone instruments, e.g. in a busy office environment, it is often not clear which telephone is ringing and which party should thus receive the call. Attempts have been made to reduce this problem by the development of ring tone generators that can be programmed to give one of a selection of a number of tones, typically four. However, this requires a feat of memory on the part of the subscriber and may still lead to confusion when two telephones are ringing simultaneously. Furthermore, this is not a satisfactory solution to the problem in offices in which there is a high staff turnover.

The object of the invention is to minimise or to overcome this disadvantage.

According to the invention there is provided a telephone subscriber's instrument incorporating a telephone caller device for alerting a subscriber to receive an incoming call, the device including means for sensing the presence of ringing voltage on the line or of a ring tone generated by the instrument responsive to the ringing voltage, and means responsive to said sensing means for outputting a stored speech message identifying that instrument to the subscriber.

According to the invention there is provided a telephone subscriber's instrument incorporating-a telephone caller device for alerting a subscriber to receive an incoming call, the device including means for sensing the presence of ringing voltage on the line or of a ring tone generated by the instrument responsive to the ringing voltage, and means responsive to said sensing means for broadcasting a stored speech message identifying that instrument to the subscriber.

According to the invention there is further provided a telephone caller device for a telephone subscriber's instrument, the device including digital means for storing a speech message, means for generating synthesised speech from said stored message, and means responsive to the presence of ringing voltage on the lines and for enabling said speech synthesising means whereby to output the synthesised speech so as to identify the instrument to the subscriber.

As the caller device replaces or augments a conventional ringing tone with a highly distinctive speech message, the problem of identifying a particular instrument among many is overcome. Advantageously, the stored speech message may include the name of the subscriber responsible for that particular instrument.

Even in anoisy office environment, the subjective effect of a subscriber hearing his name called immediately alerts him to the presence of an incoming call.

The caller device may be provided as an acoustically coupled 'add-on' unit for a telephone.

This embodiment has the advantages that it may be employed with a previously purchased or rented instrument and that no electrical connection to the public network via the instrument is required.

Advantageously, the caller device is provided in the form of one or more integrated circuits.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a telephone caller device for acoustic coupling to a telephone instrument; and Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a modified caller device for incorporation in an instrument.

Referring to Fig. 1, the caller device is provided as an 'add-on' attachment to a telephone instrument and includes acoustic coupling means 11, e.g.

a microphone, disposed adjacent the telephone bell or ringer (not shown). The acoustic coupler 11 is connected to the input of a trigger circuit 12 via an audio filter circuit 13. The filter 13 has a pass band tuned to the audio frequency of the bell or tone ringer and prevents spurious triggering e.g. from background noise.

The trigger 12 initiates operation of a speech synthesiser circuit 14 to output a stored speech message via an amplifier 15 and a loudspeaker or transducer 16.

A timer 17 coupled to the speech synthesiser 14 and reset by the trigger 12 terminates the speech message after a predetermined time. Advantageously, the speech message is presented in the break period between successive bursts of ringing. The timer circuit may also inhibit triggering for a preset period, e.g. to prevent repeat triggering from the conventional double burst ringing tone, so as to ensure that output of the message is confined to the longer period between ringing bursts.

The speech synthesiser 14 may be programmed with a permanently stored speech message.

Alternatively, a microphone input arrangement 18 may be provided whereby the subscriber can store his own speech message and, where appropriate, can replace a previously stored message with a new message.

As the caller device of Fig. 1 is acoustically coupled to the instrument, there need be no electrical connection to the line and the device can thus be employed without restriction on telephones connected directly to the public network. In such an arrangement the device may be battery powered.

Fig. 2 shows an alternative arrangement which may be incorporated in a telephone instrument by the manufacturer. This arrangement is of particular advantage with telephones connected to a private exchange or PABX and for which electrical restrictions imposed by the public network requirements do not apply. The caller device of Fig. 2 includes a ring voltage detector 21 coupled to the line either directly or via a variable attenuator 22. The output of the detector 21 is coupled to a trigger circuit 12 which, as before, controls the operation of speech synthesiser 14 to output a speech message via amplifier 15 and speaker 16. The arrangement of Fig. 2 may be line powered via a rechargeable battery (not shown).

In the arrangement of Fig. 2, a switch 23 may be provided hereby the telephone ringer 24 may be optionally disabled so that conventional ringing tone is replaced with the speech message when ringing voltage is present on the line. In a further embodiment, the ring tone generator may be dispensed with. The ring tone, if required, may then be provided by the synthesiser from a suitable stored digital code.

Claims (6)

1. A telephone subscriber's instrument incorporating a telephone caller device for alerting a subscriber to receive an incoming call, the device including means for sensing the presence of ringing voltage on the line or of a ring tone generated by the instrument responsive to the ringing voltage, and means responsive to said sensing means for outputting a stored speech message identifying that instrument to the subscriber.

2. A telephone caller device for a telephone subscriber's instrument, the device including digital means for storing a speech message, means for generating synthesised speech from said stored message, and means responsive to the presence of ringing voltage on the line, or of ring tone generated by the instrument, for enabling said speech synthesising means whereby to output the synthesised speech so as to identify the instrument to the subscriber.

3. A telephone caller device as claimed in claim 2, and including timer means for dialling the speech sythesising means at a predetermined period after the speech synthesising means has been added.

4. A telephone caller device as claimed in claim 2, and including trigger means whereby the speech synthesiser is enabled in response to the application of ringing voltage to the line.

5. A telephone caller device substantially as described herein with reference to and as shown in Fig.l or Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawings.

6. A telephone instrument provided with a caller device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.