Portable telephone answering device

US4340784A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• International Port-A-Call · US

Inventors

• Wayne F. McQueen · Tullahoma, US
• Raymond R. Schansman · Huntsville, US
• William A. Hurd · Huntsville, US
• Joerg Fischer · Munich, DE
• Billy Dunn · Arab, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Feb 5, 1980
• Grant date: Jul 20, 1982
• Expiry date: Feb 5, 2000

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H04M1/6545
• WIPO field: Telecommunications
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A portable telephone answering device which fits over the cradle of a telephone handset and receives the handset with a speaker adjacent the handset microphone and a microphone adjacent the handset speaker. An outgoing message can be recorded on one track of a multi-channel loop of tape. When ringing is detected, the telephone plungers are released and the outgoing message played. Next the unit records an incoming message on another track. A metallic splice on the loop serves as a reference. The number of channels on which an incoming message has been recorded are counted and the count incremented only if audio signals are detected indicating a message was left.