was a Japanese inventor who registered over 1,000

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

s throughout the world, including patents for Caller-ID system and telephone

answering machine An answering machine, answerphone or message machine, also known as telephone messaging machine (or TAM) in the UK and some Commonwealth countries, ansaphone or ansafone (from a trade name), or telephone answering device (TAD), was used for a ...

. He patented his first telephone answering machine, the Ansa Fone, in Japan in 1954, followed by the United States in 1960. He patented Caller-ID in Japan in 1976, and received a United States patent in 1980. In 1983 he invented a digital telephone answering device. He was a recipient of Japan's Medal of Honour, the

Yellow Ribbon The yellow ribbon is used for various purposes. It may be worn on a person, placed on a vehicle, around a tree, or for a neck tie. History and etymology Early Puritan history The song/poem ''"She wore a yellow ribbon"'' has appeared in variou ...

, and was designated as a Living National Treasure. Hashimoto was awarded an honorary 'Doctor of Science' degree ('honoris causa') by

New Jersey Institute of Technology {{Infobox university , name = {{nowrap, New Jersey Institute of Technology , image = New Jersey IT seal.svg , image_upright = 0.9 , former_names = Newark College of Engineering (1930–1975)Ne ...

in 1994 for his outstanding contributions to the field of

telephony Telephony ( ) is the field of technology involving the development, application, and deployment of telecommunication services for the purpose of electronic transmission of voice, fax, or data, between distant parties. The history of telephony is i ...

References

"Phonetel: Dr. Kazuo Hashimoto’s legacy"

"New Jersey Institute of Technology 2009 Commencement Ceremony Guide"
1995 deaths Japanese inventors Year of birth missing {{inventor-stub