Integrated alarm and touch tone telephone system

An integrated security and Touch Tone telephone system for a premises which allows the security system to be accessed through a Touch Tone telephone comprising:

• a. an on-premises Touch Tone telephone for the premises for connection by on-premises telephone lines to outside telephone lines during normal usage of the on-premises Touch Tone telephone, with the integrated security and Touch Tone telephone system being coupled by on-premises telephone lines to the on-premises Touch Tone telephone, and to the outside telephone lines;
• b. a security system for detecting an alarm condition at the premises, such as an unauthorized intrusion or a fire, with the integrated security and Touch Tone telephone system being coupled to said security system for monitoring the status thereof;
• c. a speech synthesizer for audibly reporting over the on-premises Touch Tone telephone or over the outside telephone lines on the condition of the security system;
• d. a Touch Tone decoder means, coupled by on-premises telephone lines to the on-premises Touch Tone telephone, and to the outside telephone lines, for decoding telephone Touch Tones which are received thereby, to allow a Touch Tone telephone, either the on-premises Touch Tone telephone or other Touch Tone telephones coupled over the outside telephone lines, to be utilized to access and control the security system;
• e. a ring detector means for detecting the presence of a ring signal across the outside telephone lines;
• f. an off-hook detecting means for detecting an off-hook condition of the on-premises telephone which is indicated by a flow of current to the on-premises telephone;
• g. an internal power supply for the on-premises telephone for supplying electrical power thereto independently of the outside telephone lines;
• h. an internal power supply switching means for connecting the on-premises telephone to either the internal power supply or to the outside telephone lines;
• i. a control means for the integrated security and Touch Tone telephone system, said control means controlling said internal power supply switching means to couple the on-premises Touch Tone telephone to the internal power supply during the periods of nonusage of the on-premises Touch Tone telephone, and being responsive to said ring detector means and said off-hook detecting means to control said internal power supply switching means to connect the on-premises Touch Tone telephone to the outside telephone lines in response to said ring detector means detecting the presence of a ring signal across the outside telephone lines, and also in response to said off-hook detecting means detecting an off-hook condition of the on-premises telephone, said control means further including means for detecting inoperative outside telephone lines, said means for detecting inoperative outside telephone lines utilizing said off-hook detecting means for monitoring the connection of the on-premises telephone to the outside telephone lines for continued current flow through the on-premises telephone after connection to the outside telephone lines, indicating operative outside telephone lines, with the lack of continued current flow indicating inoperative outside telephone lines, and the integrated system being responsive to inoperative outside telephone lines to disconnect the on-premises telephone from the outside telephone lines and reconnect it to the internal power supply.