Automatic answering telephone set with individual answering and method thereof

A telephone set for automatically answering an incoming call, comprising:

• a microphone;
• an indicator that when activated is detectable by one of a plurality of users;
• an individual answering mode setting device including a plurality of individual answering mode setting buttons, each button setting a state indicative of whether a corresponding one of a plurality of users is present or absent and each button is dedicated to a single one of the users;
• a memory for storing an answering message, a user identification code for each of the users, the states set by the individual answering mode setting buttons input for the users, and a message left by a caller;
• and
• a control unit that detects an identification code input by a caller, determines whether a user corresponding to the identification code is absent based on the individual answering mode setting state corresponding to the user stored in the memory, and controls a detectable indicator based on whether the user is absent,
• wherein the control unit output an answering message to the caller if the individual answering mode setting state corresponding to the identification code indicates that the corresponding user is absent, and activates the indicator if the individual answering mode setting state corresponding to the identification code indicates that the corresponding user is present.

A telephone set for automatically answering an incoming call, comprising:

• a microphone;
• a detectable indicator;
• an individual answering mode setting device including a plurality of buttons, each button setting a state indicative of whether a corresponding one of a plurality of users is present or absent and each button is dedicated to a single one of the users;
• a memory for storing an answering message, an identification code for each of the plurality of users, the states set by the individual answering mode setting buttons input for the users, and a message left by a caller;
• and
• a control unit that determines whether the plurality of users is absent based on their corresponding individual answering mode states and controls a detectable indicator based on whether the user is absent, and
• if the plurality of users are absent, determines an input identification code, transmits an answering message to the caller corresponding to the input identification code, and
• if one of the plurality of users is not absent, activates the indicator.