EP0674419A2 Expired / Lapsed EP ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Communication system for processing caller ID information

Assignee: AT&T Inc

•

Filing: 1995-03-16

•

Granted: —

•

Expires: 2015-03-16

📄 Original PDF 🌐 Google Patents 🔄 Sync Now

Abstract

Abstract An information processing system is disclosed for use in conjunction with a telephone communication system. The telephone communication system has at least one telephone line (801-805) adapted for carrying incoming telephone calls, and a plurality of station sets (231-235), including an attendant station set (231) for forwarding incoming telephone calls, and a plurality of adjunct station sets (232-235) each adapted for receiving incoming telephone calls. The attendant station set is coupled to the plurality of adjunct station sets. The information processing system includes a caller identification signal receiver (252), a timed switching device (254), and a call forwarding device (250). The timed switching device (254) is coupled between the incoming telephone line (801-805) and the call forwarding device (250). The call forwarding device is coupled between the timed switching device (254) and the plurality of station sets (231-235). The caller identification signal receiver (252) is coupled to the incoming telephone line (801-805) and the call forwarding device (250). When no incoming call is being received, the timed switching device (254) is in a first, open state, such that a circuit between the telephone line and the call forwarding device is interrupted. Upon receipt of an incoming call on the telephone line, the timed switching device and the caller identification signal receiver are activated. The timed switching device enters a second, closed state after a finite amount of time has elapsed such as, for example, several seconds, thereby allowing sufficient time for the caller identification signal to arrive on the incoming telephone line. The caller identification signal receiver responds to the receipt of incoming caller identification information by immediately activiating the timed switching device, placing the timed switching device into the second state. In response thereto, the call forwarding device connects the incoming telephone call to a selected one of the plurality of said station sets.

Inventors

👤 Aileen Y. Chang
👤 Joseph Michael Fallon
👤 Ryan S. Wallach

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —

Jurisdiction EP

Data Source google_patents

Last Synchronized 2026-10-23 17:12

CPC Classifications

H; H04; H04M; H04M1/00; H04M1/57; H04M3/00; H04M3/42; H04M3/54; H04M3/546; H04M9/00; H04M9/002; H04M9/005; H04Q; H04Q3/00; H04Q3/72; H04M2201/00; H04M2201/14; H04M2242/00; H04M2242/22; H04M3/02; H04M3/42025; H04M3/42034; H04M3/42042; H04M3/42059; H04Q2213/00; H04Q2213/1309; H04Q2213/13091; H04Q2213/13103; H04Q2213/13106; H04Q2213/13204; H04Q2213/13213; H04Q2213/1322; H04Q2213/13282

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 8

Claim 1

Independent Claim 131 words

An information processing system characterized by: (a) receiver means for receiving a caller identification signal from an incoming telephone line; (b) timed switch means having a first state and a second state, and responsive to the receipt of an incoming telephone call such that the switch means is in the first state prior to the receipt of an incoming telephone call and, upon receipt of an incomcing telephone call, enters the second state upon the occurrence of at least one of (i) the expiration of a time period Td; and (ii) the receipt of a caller identification signal by the receiver means; and (c) call forwarding means for forwarding incoming telephone calls to any of a plurality of station sets in response to the timed switch means entering the second state.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 113 words

An information processing system characterized by: (a) receiver means for receiving a caller identification signal from an incoming telephone line; (b) timed switch means having a first state and a second state, and responsive to the receipt of an incoming telephone call such that the switch means is in the first state prior to the receipt of an incoming telephone call and, upon receipt of an incoming telephone call, enters the second state upon the occurrence of the expiration of a time period Td; and (c) call forwarding means for forwarding incoming telephone calls to any of a plurality of station sets in response to the timed switch means entering the second state.

Claim 3

Independent Claim 183 words

A method for processing of information for use in a communications system having at least one telephone line adapted for carrying incoming telephone calls, a plurality of station sets adapted for receiving incoming telephone calls, receiver means for receiving a caller identification signal from an incoming telephone line, timed switch means having a first state and a second state, and call forwarding means for forwarding incoming telephone calls to any of a plurality of station sets in response to the timed switch means entering the closed state, the method characterized by the following steps: (a) placing a timed switching device into a first state, such that, in the absence of an incoming telephone call, a circuit between the telephone line and the call forwarding device is open-circuited; (b) upon receipt of an incoming call on the telephone line, activating the timed switching device and the caller identification signal receiver; (c) placing the timed switching device into the second state after a finite amount of time has elapsed, thereby allowing sufficient time for a caller identification signal to arrive on the incoming telephone line.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 46 words

A method for processing information as set forth in Claim 3 further characterized by the step of the caller identification signal receiver responding to the receipt of incoming caller identification information by activating the timed switching device, placing the timed switching device into the second state.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 45 words

A method for processing information as set forth in Claim 4 further characterized by the step of the call forwarding device, in response to the caller identification signal receiver, connecting the incoming telephone call to a selected one of the plurality of said station sets.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 89 words

A method of processing information as set forth in Claim 3 further characterized by the step of the switch means responding to the receipt of an incoming telephone call such that the switch means is in the open state prior to the receipt of an incoming telephone call and, upon receipt of an incoming telephone call, entering the closed state upon the occurrence of at least one of (i) the expiration of a time period Td; and (ii) the receipt of a caller identification signal by the receiver means.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 23 words

A method of processing information as set forth in Claim 3 characterized in that time period Td is approximately 4 to 8 seconds.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 20 words

A method of processing information as set forth in Claim 7 wherein the time period Td is approximately 6 seconds.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

No citation records indexed.

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Maintenance schedule is calculated for granted US utility patents.

Assigned Categories & Tags

No categories assigned to this patent yet.

Assign Category Tag

Select Category

Notes (Optional)