Training system for telephone switchboard operators using computer central processing unit

In a training device for a telephone system, a training position for a trainee comprising a lamp display board and a set of key means which simulate the lamp display and key means of a telephone board, input means over which coded digital words are provided to indicate different steps in a call, decoder means for decoding at least certain of the coded digital words received over said input means, lamp control means for illuminating the ones of the lamps on said telephone board which are identified by the coded words, word format means enabled in response to the operation of said key means by the trainee in the performance of the required step to generate output words which identify the ones of said key means which are operated by said trainee, audio tape control means including voice detection means for detecting audio responses of the trainee and for providing a signal to said word format means to effect generation of an output word with detection of a voice response by the trainee, control means for comparing the key identified by the digital words output from said word format means with the keys required to be operated in response to the condition represented by the digital word input over said input means and for verifying the receipt of a voice response by the trainee, said control means being operative to receive the digital words which represent the key and audio responses in a time overlapping manner, and being operative in response to detection of a trainee in the operation of one of said keys to output a set of coded words over said input means to provide a lamp display of a predetermined earlier condition in the call, and thereby erase the display presented at the time of the error.

In a training device for use in the training of personnel in the operation of a telephone switchboard, a plurality of individual training positions, each of which positions includes visual display means and a set of keys, source means including means for providing coded words for one of said positions to simulate the conditions for successive steps of a call, data means for transmitting said coded words to one of said positions, decoder means in said one position for detecting and decoding the words input thereto from said data means, means at each position for controlling the presentation of the display which is identified by the words which are decoded by its decoding means, word format means response to the operation of one of said key means to generate an output word which identifies the operated one of said keys, means for effecting generation of an output word with detection of a voice response by the trainee, and program means in said source means for comparing the words which identify the operated key and the audio response with the key and audio response required by the program said program means being operative in response to a miscompare to output the coded words for a predetermined earlier display condition for said call to thereby reset the visual display means for use by the trainee in a further attempt to process the simulated call from such earlier call condition.

A method of training a telephone switchboard trainee with a training board having a visual display means and keys arranged in a pattern similar to the telephone switchboard for which training is required comprising the steps of providing a stored program in a computer which indicate the different switchboard conditions to be displayed for successive steps of a plurality of simulated telephone calls and the steps to be performed in response to the display of the different conditions, generating and transmitting a digital word requesting service from the computer, transmitting a word from the computer to the board requesting identity of the telephone call desired, generating and transmitting a further digital word from the board to identify the one of the telephone calls desired, transmitting digital words to the training board from the computer indicating the condition to be displayed for one of the steps in such telephone call, decoding the received digital word at the training board, enabling the visual display means at the training board to present the visual display identified by the digital words, providing digital words which identifies the keyed and audio responses performed by the trainee for such display and comparing said digital word with the digital word identified in program as the word to be provided by the trainee, changing the visual display on said board in accordance with the key response by the trainee whenever the proper key and audio response are performed, and resetting the visual display on the board to a predetermined earlier display condition whenever the comparison indicates an error in a required key or audio response by the trainee.

In a training device for use in the training of a trainee in the operation of a telephone switchboard, at least one training position including visual display means and a set of keys, source means including means for providing coded words for said position to simulate the conditions for successive steps of a call, data means for transmitting said coded words to said one position, decoder means in said one position for detecting and decoding the words input thereto from said data means, means at said position for controlling the presentation of the visual display which is identified by the words which are decoded by its decoding means, word format means responsive to the operation of one of said key means by a trainee to generate an output word which identifies the operated one of said keys, voice detection means for detecting audio responses of the trainee and for providing a signal to said word format means to effect generation of an output word with detection of a voice response by the trainee, decision means in said source means for comparing each word which identifies the operated key with the key response required by a preselected program and for verifying the receipt of the voice response, memory means for said source means, and tape means having recorded digital information for storage in said memory means in response to selection of a training segment by the trainee for use in a training operation, said tape means further including audio signals, certain of which require a voice response by the trainee, and control signals for use in control of the movement of the tape means during the training operation identified by the digital information stored in the memory.