Telephone answering machine with remote control capabilities

Claim 1

In a telephone answering machine which stores telephone messages received over a telephone line and which includes a first magnetic tape mechanism (T-1) having a recorded announcement thereon to be transmitted over the telephone line to a caller during a time interval (T 1 ) in response to a telephone call ring signal and having a beep signal recorded thereon at the end of the announcement, and a second magnetic tape mechanism (T-2) for recording messages received over the telephone line during a second time interval (T 2 ) following the time interval (T 1 ), and which responds to a remote control signal received over the telephone line from a caller to effectuate predetermined control operations; the combination of: microcomputer means; circuit means adapted to be coupled to the telephone line for receiving the remote control signal transmitted over the telephone line and for introducing the remote control signal to the microcomputer means; a beep oscillator circuit connected to the microcomputer means to be turned on and off by the microcomputer means, and means coupling the beep oscillator circuit to the telephone line for transmitting beep signals from the oscillator over the telephone line; an input circuit adapted to be coupled to the telephone line for receiving audio signals from the telephone line during the T 2 time interval representing a message from a caller and for causing such audio signals to be recorded on the T-2 tape mechanism; an output circuit adapted to be coupled to the telephone line and to the T-1 tape mechanism for transmitting to a caller audio signals representing the announcement and the beep signal recorded on the T-1 tape mechanism; circuit means connecting the microcomputer means to the T-1 and T-2 tape mechanisms for enabling the microcomputer means to control the operation of the tape mechanisms; circuitry connecting the T-1 tape mechanism to the microcomputer means for introducing the beep signal recorded on the T-1 tape to the microcomputer means to stop the T-1 tape mechanism; said microcomputer means responding to the remote control signal received from a caller over the telephone line immediately after the transmission over the telephone line of the beep signal recorded on the T-1 tape to cause the beep oscillator to transmit at least one additional beep signal over the telephone line to the caller; and the microcomputer means, when new messages are recorded on the T-2 tape, causing the T-2 tape to rewind to the point of the last remote operation, and then to reverse and play back the new messages recorded on the T-2 tape over the telephone line to the caller.