Remote recording of new outgoing announcement in a telephone answering device

In a telephone answering device of the type wherein a recorded outgoing announcement is transmitted from an announcement tape to the telephone line during an announcement transmit portion of the answering cycle and a message incoming from the telephone line is recorded on a message tape during a subsequent incoming message record portion of the answering cycle, a system for recording a new outgoing announcement under remote control via the telephone line, comprising:

• recording transfer means, responsive to a coded signal transmitted over the telephone line to said answering device during said incoming message record portion, and cooperating with the normal circuitry for recording incoming messages onto said message tape, for transferring the recording operation from recording onto said message tape to recording onto said announcement tape, and wherein said recording transfer means comprises:
• a motor drive circuit for alternately enabling one and disabling the other of the respective drive mechanisms for said message tape and said announcement tape,
• audio received from the telephone line being amplified by a first amplifier the output of which is effectively, concurrently connected to the record heads for both said announcement tape and said message tape, amplified audio being supplied simultaneously to both such heads but recording occurring only on that one of the announcement and message tapes which then is being driven,
• bistable circuit means for causing said motor drive circuit means to disable said message tape drive mechanism and to enable said announcement tape drive mechanism in response to receipt of said coded signal during said incoming message record portion, and
• erase means, also enabled by said bistable circuit means, for concurrently erasing the previously recorded outgoing announcement.

In a telephone answering device of the type wherein a recorded outgoing announcement is transmitted from an announcement tape to the telephone line during an announcement transmit portion of the answering cycle and a message incoming from the telephone line is recorded on a message tape during a subsequent incoming message record portion of the answering cycle, a system for recording a new outgoing announcement under remote control via the telephone line, comprising:

• an incoming amplifier connected to amplify audio incoming from the telephone line, said incoming amplifier being disabled during the announcement transmit portion and enabled during the incoming message record portion of of the answering cycle, the audio output of said incoming amplifier being supplied to the record/playback heads for both said announcement tape and said message tape, and
• motor control means for stopping movement of said incoming message tape and starting movement of said announcement tape, in response to actuation by the receipt of a coded signal transmitted over the telephone line to said answering device during said incoming message record portion, while maintaining said incoming amplifier in the enabled condition so that a new announcement then received over the telephone line will be amplified by said incoming amplifier and recorded on said announcement tape via the record/playback head for said announcement tape.

A circuit for facilitating the remote controlled recording of a new announcement in a telephone answering device, comprising:

• an announcement control record flip-flop comprising:
• an operational amplifier having its output terminal connected to the inverting and non-inverting amplifier inputs respectively via first and second resistors, said first resistor having considerably higher resistance than said second resistor,
• said non-inverting input receiving a pulse in response to receipt by said answering device of a coded signal, thereby causing the output of said operational amplifier to assume a high state,
• a first transistor connected to be turned on when said operational amplifier output assumes said high state, one collector/emitter node of said first transistor being connected via a third resistor to a source of power,
• a second transistor connected between said non-inverting input and a power source return, a control line being connected via a first capacitor to the base of said second transistor so that a pulse on said control line will momentarily turn on said second transistor, thereby switching said operational amplifier output to a low state and turning off said first transistor,
• a third transistor connected between said control line and said power source return, said one collector/emitter node of said first transistor being connected to charge a second capacitor when said first transistor goes off, said second capacitor being operatively connected to turn on said third transistor and thereby clamp said control line to said power source return while said third transistor is charging,
• said control line being operatively connected to control the state of the recording and playback amplifiers in said telephone answering device, said control line and said one collector/emitter node being cooperatively connected to control the driving mechanism for the announcement and message tapes of said telephone answering device.