US 5,046,088 A · Converter for in-band routing and/or origination information

Abstract

An ANI Converter System (ACS): (1) logically interfaces between: (a) a telephone network, on the one hand, and customer premises equipment (CPE), on the other hand, or (b) two portions of a switched telephone network, such as two tandem toll switching machines; (2) accepts incoming calls; (3) extracts in-band network routing and/or origination information such as ANI information; (4) uses the information to extract relevant information from a data base; and (5) places a call to a predetermined called party at, for example, a predetermined workstation to aid operators using the workstation in carrying out transactions with a calling party. The ACS includes a network signalling interface (NSI) for receiving calls from a calling party; a customer premises equipment signalling interface (CPESI) for placing calls to a called party at, for example, a business CPE; a voice and data processing means (VDPM) which is switchably interconnected to the NSI and the CPESI for detecting the in-band network routing and/or origination signals transmitted with the incoming signal from the calling party; a connection and switching means (CSM) for connecting and switching the NSI to either the VDPM or the CPESI and for connecting and switching the VDPM to the CPESI; and a controller for directing the activities of the NSI, CPESI, VDPM and CSM to accept incoming calls, to extract the in-band information, to use the information to extract relevant information from a data base, and to place a call to a predetermined called party.

Apparatus for interfacing between a first telephone equipment and a second telephone equipment, which first telephone equipment outputs a first telephone call signal which is comprised of first in-band network routing and/or origination information, which apparatus comprises:

at least one network signalling interface for receiving the first telephone call signal in response to commands from a controller means;
at least one customer premises equipment signalling interface for sending a second telephone call signal comprised of second in-band network routing and/or origination information to the second telephone equipment in response to commands from the controller means;
at least one voice and data processing means which is switchably interconnected to at least one of the at least one network signalling interface and to at least one of the at least one customer premises equipment signalling interface:
(a) for detecting the first in-band network routing and/or origination information, (b) for transmitting the first in-band network routing and/or originating information to the controller means, (c) for transmitting audio signals, in response to commands and information sent thereto from the controller means, to at least one of the at least one network signalling interface or to at least one of the at least one customer premises equipment signalling interface, and (d) for transmitting the second in-band network routing and/or origination information sent thereto from the controller means;
a connection and switching means, in response to commands from the controller means, for connecting and switching at least one of the at least one network signalling line interface to either at least one of the at least one voice and data processing means or at least one of the least one customer premises equipment signalling interface and for connecting and switching at least one of the at least one voice and data processing means to at least one of the at least one customer premises equipment signalling interface;
wherein the controller means comprises means which causes the apparatus:
(a) to respond to the first telephone call signal input to one of the at least one network signalling interface and to detect and decode the first in-band network routing and/or origination information by interaction with the one of the at least one network signalling interface, one of the at least one voice and data processing means and the connection and switching means;
(b) to obtain the second in-band network routing and/or origination information by retrieving information pertaining to a predetermined portion of the second telephone equipment from a data base system which uses at least a portion of the first in-band network routing and/or origination information as a retrieval key;
and (c) to send the second telephone signal which is comprised of the second in-band network routing and/or origination information to the second telephone equipment by interaction with one of the at least one customer premises equipment signalling interface, the one of the at least one voice and data processing means, and the connection and switching means;
wherein at least a portion of the first in-band network routing and/or origination information is different from the second in-band network routing and/or origination information.

7 more elements

Facts

Application

07/429,849Filed 31 Oct 1989

Granted

3 Sep 1991

Term ends

Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

H04M 3/51
Centralised arrangements for answering calls; Centralised arrangements for recording messages for absent or busy subscribers ; Centralised…:…
H04M 3/64
Semi-automatic systems, i.e. in which the numerical selection of the outgoing line is under the control of an operator: arrangements for…
H04Q 3/0025
Arrangements providing connection between exchanges: provisions for signalling
H04Q 3/72
Selecting arrangements: finding out and indicating number of calling subscriber

Converter for in-band routing and/or origination information

Life of this patent

Converter for in-band routing and/or origination information

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims28