Pay telephone station with automatic dialing apparatus

Claim 1

The combination, with a telephone system comprising a pay station, an exchange, and a telephone line therebetween, the line being energized for dialing and communication from the pay station thereover only in response to an energization command, transmitted from the pay station over the line to the exchange, normally requiring the deposit of a coin in the pay station: of (1) automatic dialing apparatus located at the pay station and responsive to a temporary electrical actuation for dialing the successive digits of a predetermined telephone address by impressing upon the line a coded series of digit-representing signals preprogrammed within that apparatus, (2) means located at the pay station and responsive to a temporary electrical actuation for transferring to said automatic dialing apparatus until the completion of dialing of said digits the control of dialing from the pay station, and (3) switch means located at the pay station and temporarily Operable independently of coin deposit to transmit an energization command therefrom over the line to the exchange, both said automatic dialing apparatus and said transferring means being operatively connected with said switch means for actuation of each as an incident to operation of said switch means, whereby the pay station is rendered usable without the deposit of any coin therein but only under the telephone-address limitation imposed by the preprogramming within said automatic dialing apparatus.