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AssigneeCompaq Computer Corporation
InventorsP. Bradley Rosen, Lee D. Weinstein, Michael A. Bromberg, Glen R. Dash
Estimating the term…
A method and apparatus provide communication in a telephone system connected to an external phone line, wherein the telephone system has a telephone line, a telephone, a phone interface unit coupled to the telephone and the telephone line, a computer system, and a computer interface unit coupled to the computer system and the telephone line. A bias voltage on the telephone line is detected to determine if the telephone is on-hook or off-hook, a ringing voltage on the telephone line is detected to determine if an external call is incoming, and a first carrier transmitted by the phone interface unit is detected. A second carrier is transmitted using the computer interface unit under control of the computer system. Detection of the bias voltage, ringing voltage, and/or first carrier is communicated to the computer system. An off-hook condition is indicated if the line bias voltage is less than an off-hook bias threshold voltage. An incoming ring is indicated if the ringing voltage has an amplitude greater than a first voltage and a frequency in the range of a ring frequency. The first carrier is indicated as being present if a signal is detected at a first carrier center frequency and having an amplitude greater than a first carrier threshold voltage. The second carrier is indicated as being present if a signal is detected at a second carrier center frequency and having an amplitude greater than a second carrier threshold voltage.
A method of communicating information in a telephone system connected to an external phone line, the telephone system having a telephone line, a telephone, a phone interface unit coupled to the telephone and the telephone line, a computer system, and a computer interface unit coupled to the computer system and the telephone line, the method comprising the steps of:
A method of communicating information in a telephone system connected to an external phone line, the telephone system having a telephone line, a telephone, a phone interface unit coupled to the telephone and the telephone line, a computer system, and a computer interface unit coupled to the computer system and the telephone line, the method comprising the steps of:
A method of communicating information in a telephone system connected to an external phone line, the telephone system having a telephone line, a telephone, a phone interface unit coupled to the telephone and the telephone line, a computer system, and a computer interface unit coupled to the computer system and the telephone line, the method comprising the steps of:
A telephone system comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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No related US applications are recorded in the indexed filing history.
Substation extension arrangements: using two or more extensions per line
Arrangements for interconnection not involving centralised switching: involving a common line for all parties
Telephonic communication systems specially adapted for combination with other electrical systems: simultaneous speech and data transmission, e.g.…
Telephonic communication
Term ended 23 Aug 2016 (estimated)
USPTO file history isn’t available for this patent, so only indexed dates are shown.
The invention relates to communication between a telephone and a computer system.
Software and hardware are now available to enable computers to perform speech recognition. One application of speech recognition is in word processing, in which a user can draft a document by speaking into a microphone connected to the computer. Another application of speech recognition is in computerized telephone answering systems, in which a prerecorded message prompts a caller to select different options by speaking.
In a computerized answering system the caller can access the system by calling from a telephone using an outside phone line. When the caller picks up the telephone, the phone company detects that a telephone has been taken off-hook. Telephone line resources--including power, dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) or pulse dialing detectors, and call progress tone generators--are then dedicated to the now off-hook telephone.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a telephone network in which telephones communicate with a computer system by radio frequency signals over an existing phone line.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a telephone network system in which telephones communicate with a computer system by electromagnetic wave signals.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a telephone network system in which telephones communicate with a computer system by radio frequency signals sent over AC utility wiring.
TELEPHONE SYSTEM
Referring to FIG. 1, a telephone network 10 according to the present invention includes phone interface units (PIUs) 106 and 110 placed between telephones 104 and 108 (PIU-connected telephones) and wall jacks 116 and 118, respectively. A telephone 114 is connected directly to a wall jack 120 (a non-PIU telephone). A computer interface unit (CIU) 102 is connected between a computer system 100 and a wall jack 122. The wall jacks 116, 118, 120 and 122 can be standard RJ-11 telephone jacks. Each of the wall jacks 116, 118, 120 and 122 is connected to a local or internal telephone network line 130, which is connected to an external phone line 128 at a "point of demarcation" or a "network interface" 132, and ultimately to switching circuitry located at a telephone company central office 134. When an external phone call is in progress, each PIU behaves as a wire and connects its respective telephone to the telephone network line 130.
Internal communication can occur between one of the PIU-connected telephones and communication software running in the computer system 100. A user can issue commands, make inquiries, and access information simply by picking up the nearest telephone to access the computer system 100 remotely. The communication software, depending upon user selection, responds by either providing a voice greeting or, alternatively, causing the PIU to connect the telephone to the telephone network line 130 so that the user hears a dial tone. If the latter option is selected by the computer, then the user can perform a flash hook on the telephone (for example, hanging up the telephone for less than one second) to override the computer selected option, and the communication software will cause the PIU to disconnect the telephone from the line 130 and connect the telephone to the computer system 100. Once connected to the computer system 100, the user can issue voice commands by simply speaking. To switch the phone back to normal mode, the user can ask the computer for an outside line before dialing.