Voice responsive remote-controllable system

Claim 1

A terminal answering telephone system at least including acquisition means responsive to an incoming call transmitted through a communication line for acquiring said communication line, transmission means responsive to said incoming call for transmitting an outgoing message through said communication line after being acquired by said acquisition means, record means for recording a message of a caller for a predetermined time interval when the system is in a recording mode, and playback means for reproducing said message of said caller recorded by said record means, said system comprising: certification means for certifying an establishment of a remote control mode, after performing a talking requirement requiring input of an identification (ID) code by a voice through said communication line connected to said caller when said recording mode is changed to a remote control mode and after said acquisition means acquires said communication line, and after checking agreement between said ID code by the voice and a reference ID code previously stored; voice command introduction means for introducing a voice command from said caller through said communication line, after performing a talking requirement requiring input of said voice command, and after said certification means certifies said establishment of said remote control mode; command recognition means for recognizing an introduced voice command by comparing said introduced voice command with a restored voice command; and control means for executing a predetermined command corresponding to said restored voice command in accordance with a recognition result of said command recognition means, wherein a change from said recording mode to said remote control mode is performed by said control means responsive to continuity of a voiced sound of a word for a predetermined time interval, which is inputted from said caller through said communication line while said transmission means transmits said outgoing message, thereby stopping transmission of said outgoing message from said transmission means when a change of modes is detected; and wherein said transmission means stops said transmission of said outgoing message having several bundles of meanings such that said transmission is stopped at any pauses of said several bundles of meanings when a detector detects said continuity of the voiced sound of said word for said predetermined time interval.