Automatic call answering and sequencing system

In electrical connection to multiple incoming telephone lines of a standard multiple line key telephone instrument and to its key service line circuit equipment, an automatic telephone answering and sequencing system comprising:

• a plurality of line connection circuit means each being connected to a corresponding said incoming line for automatically terminating said line upon detection of an incoming call in the event that an attendant is already using said instrument, for ceasing to terminate said line when it is answered at said telephone instrument and also in the event that the calling party disconnects, for gating audio signals to said line and for providing a key of said instrument corresponding to the line to which said connection circuit means is connected with a lamp flashing priority signal distinctly different from other flashing signals from a priority control signal identifying said call incoming upon said line as the oldest among incoming calls not yet handled by an attendant at said instrument;
• read and write memory means for storing the order of arrival of all incoming unattended calls and the identity of the lines having said calls, and for reading out as a priority control signal the identity of the single line having the oldest among incoming unattended calls;
• a plurality of audio signal delivery means each being connected to a corresponding said line connection circuit means for delivering audio signals to selected ones of said lines;
• system control means connected to each said line connection circuit means, said read and write memory means and said audio signal delivery means, said control means for scanning all of said line connection circuit means upon detection of an incoming call, for writing into said read and write memory means said order of arrival of said incoming calls and said identity of lines, for reading from said memory means said priority control signal and sending it to the identified line connection circuit means identified thereby and for starting said audio signal delivery means at the completion of each scan of all of said line connection circuit means.

An automatic call sequencing system for connection within a telephone subscriber's key telephone service installation servicing a plurality of incoming telephone lines and including at least one key telephone instrument having a plurality of illuminable selector keys each corresponding to a said incoming line and in labeling the line to be selected and answered, said system comprising:

• a plurality of incoming call detection means, each for detecting an incoming ringing signal upon a said line to which it is connected;
• scanning means connected to said lines and to said incoming call detection means, for scanning all of said lines when an incoming ringing signal is detected by said call detection means;
• a plurality of identifier means connected to said call detection means and to said scanning means, each for providing a line identification signal for the said line to which it corresponds when interrogated by said scanning means and when an incoming ringing signal is present on said line,
• queue memory stack means connected to said plurality of identifier means for storing in order of receipt all of said line identification signals scanned by said scanning means, and for reading out a queue first control signal corresponding to said line having said oldest unanswered call;
• a plurality of key lamp signal control means each connected to operate the lamp of the corresponding key of said telephone instrument, and connected to said queue memory stack means to respond to said queue first control signal, said key lamp signal control means for providing a said key corresponding to said line having the oldest unanswered call with a visual indication distinctly differing from visual indications of others of said keys for lines having less senior unanswered calls;
• a plurality of operator interrupt detection means, each connected to a corresponding incoming line and to queue memory stack means, for detecting the occurrence of the operator's answering the said line having the oldest unanswered incoming call and for thereupon advancing said queue memory stack means to the next oldest line identification signal stored therein, whereupon a queue first control signal corresponding to the line thus identified is output by said queue memory stack means and a key lamp signal control means corresponding to the line thus identified causes a distinctly different visual indication at the key for said line.