Serially content addressable memory controlled call forwarding system

Claim 2

A content addressable memory comprising means for recording pulses of serial pulse trains, means for selecting idle ones of said recording means, means enabled by said selecting means for directing information ones and address ones of said serial pulse trains to said recording means, means for simultaneously comparing pulses of an interrogating one of said serial pulse trains with the pulses of said address pulse trains stored in said recording means, and means enabled by said comparing means detecting a match of said interrogating serial pulse train with one of said recorded address pulse trains for serially reading one of said information pulse trains corresponding to said matched address pulse train from said recording means.

Claim 3

The content addressable memory set forth in claim 1 wherein said recording means comprises address means for counting and storing the pulses of said address pulse trains, and storage means associated with said address means for counting and storing the pulses of said information pulse trains.

Claim 4

The content addressable memory set forth in claim 2 wherein said selecting means comprises locating means for selecting an idle one of said address means and an idle one of said associated storage means.

Claim 5

The content addressable address memory set forth in claim 3 wherein said directing means comprises first means responsive to said locating means for steering said information pulse trains to said selected storage means, and second means responsive to said locating means for subsequently steering said address pulse trains identifying said information pulse trains to said selected address means.

Claim 6

The content addressable memory set forth in claim 4 wherein said comparing means comprises means for enabling said address means to generate pulse trains corresponding to said address pulse trains stored therein, means responsive to said enabling means and said interrogating pulse train for collating each pulse of said interrogating pulse train to each pulse of said generated address pulse trains, and means enabled by said collating means and said enabling means for detecting a match of said interrogating pulse train with one of said generated address pulse trains.

Claim 7

The content addressable memory set forth in claim 5 wherein said reading means comprises means responsive to said detecting means for activating said storage means associated with said address means storing said matched address pulse train to generate a serial train of pulses corresponding to said stored information pulse train stored therein, and means responsive to said activatiNg means for gating said serial train of pulses from said associated storage means.

Claim 8

A content addressable memory controlled call forwarding system comprising address means for counting and storing pulses of address pulse trains, storage means associated with said address means for counting and storing pulses of information pulse trains, means for selecting idle ones of said address means and said associated storage means, means enabled by said selecting means for directing said information pulse trains to said selected storage means and said address pulse trains to said selected address means, means for simultaneously comparing pulses of an interrogating one of said address pulse trains with the pulses of said address pulse trains stored in all of said address means, and means enabled by said comparing means detecting a match of said interrogating address pulse train with one of said address pulse trains stored in said selected address means for serially reading one of said stored information pulse trains from said selected associated storage means.

Claim 9

A content addressable memory controlled call forwarding system comprising address means for counting and storing pulses of address pulse trains, storage means associated with said address means for counting and storing pulses of information pulse trains, means for selecting idle ones of said address means and said associated storage means, means enabled by said selecting means for directing said information pulse trains to said selected storage means and said address pulse trains to said selected address means, means for simultaneously comparing pulses of an interrogating one of said address pulse trains with the pulses of said address pulse trains stored in all of said address means, and means enabled by said comparing means detecting a match of said interrogating address pulse train with one of said address pulse trains stored in said selected address means for serially reading one of said stored information pulse trains from said selected associated storage means.

Claim 10

A call forwarding switching system wherein stations each assigned a directory number may be interconnected by a controller responsive to directory number pulse trains comprising address means for counting and storing pulses of said directory number pulse trains, storage means associated with said address means for counting and storing pulses of said directory number pulse trains, means enabled by said controller for selecting idle ones of said address means and said associated storage means, means enabled by said selecting means for directing one of said directory number pulse trains identifying a first one of said stations to said selected storage means, means enabled by said selecting means for subsequently steering one of said directory number pulse trains identifying a second one of said stations to said selected address means, means enabled by a calling one of said stations for interrogating said address means by simultaneously comparing the pulses of a called one of said directory number pulse trains with pulses identifying said directory numbers stored in said address means, and means enabled by said interrogating means detecting a match of said called directory number pulse train with said second station directory number pulse train recorded in said selected address means for serially reading said first station directory number pulse train from said associated storage means into said controller.

Claim 11

A call forwarding switching system wherein stations each assigned a directory number may be interconnected by a controller responsive to directory number pulse trains comprising address means for counting and storing pulses of said directory number pulse trains, storage means associated with said address means for counting and storing pulses of said directory number pulse trains, means enabled by said controller for selecting idle ones of said address means and said associated storage means, means enabled by said selecting means for directing one of said directory number pulse trains identifying a first one of said stations to said selected storage means, means enabled by said selecting means for subsequently steering one of said directory number pulse trains identifying a second one of said stations to said selected address means, means enabled by a calling one of said stations for interrogating said address means by simultaneously comparing the pulses of a called one of said directory number pulse trains with pulses identifying said directory numbers stored in said address means, and means enabled by said interrogating means detecting a match of said called directory number pulse train with said second station directory number pulse train recorded in said selected address means for serially reading said first station directory number pulse train from said associated storage means into said controller.

Claim 12

The call forwarding system set forth in claim 8 wherein each of said address means and said associated storage means comprise counting means responsive to said directory number pulse trains for recording the sum of said pulses of said directory number pulse trains in predetermined ones of a fixed number of counting states.

Claim 13

The call forwarding system set forth in claim 9 wherein said selecting means comprises first logic means for indicating an idle status of one of said address means and said associated storage means, and second logic means responsive to said first logic means and sequentially enabled by said controller for signaling said controller of the selection of said one address means and said associated storage means.

Claim 14

The call forwarding system set forth in claim 10 wherein said directing means comprises first binary means having a set state for inhibiting said first logic means and a clear state for clearing said counting means of said idle address means and said associated storage means to an initial one of said counting states, first gating means for connecting said first station directory number pulse train to said counting means of said selected storage means, and second gating means enabled by said controller in combination with said second logic means for operating said first binary means from said clear state to said set state and for enabling said first gating means.

Claim 15

The call forwarding systeM set forth in claim 11 wherein said subsequently steering means comprises third gating means for connecting said second station directory number pulse train to said counting means of said selected address means, and fourth gating means responsive to said second logic means and said controller for enabling said third gating means.

Claim 16

The call forwarding system set forth in claim 12 wherein said interrogating means comprises means responsive to said controller for enabling said counting means of said address means to generate pulse trains corresponding to said directory number stored in said predetermined ones of said counting states and means responsive to said enabling means for associating one of said generated pulse trains to said called directory number pulse train.

Claim 17

The call forwarding system set forth in claim 13 wherein said enabling means comprises third logic means enabled by said controller for cycling said counting means of said address means from said predetermined ones of said counting states through said fixed number of counting states forward to said predetermined ones of said counting states, and second binary means enabled by said cycling counting means advancing through said initial counting state for generating pulse trains each having a number of pulses corresponding to the sum of said directory number pulse trains recorded in said cycling counting means.

Claim 18

The call fowarding system set forth in claim 14 wherein said associating means comprises comparison means enabled by said second binary means in combination with said controller for simultaneously comparing each pulse of said generated pulse trains to each pulse of said called directory number pulse train, detector means responsive to said comparsion means for ascertaining a mismatch of said called directory number pulse train with said generated pulse trains, and means inhibited by said detector means for signaling said controller that a match of said called directory number pulse train with one of said generated pulse trains has occurred.

Claim 19

The call forwarding system set forth in claim 15 wherein said signaling means comprises third binary means having a first state for indicating said match and a second state for indicating said mismatch, delay means enabled by said controller responding to said calling station for initially operating said third binary means to said first state, strobe means responsive to said third logic means in combination with said detector means for operating said third binary means to said second state to indicate said mismatch, and fifth gating means responsive to said third binary means in said first state for transmitting a signal representing said match to said controller.

Claim 20

The call forwarding system set forth in claim 16 wherein said reading means comprises cycling means enabled by said controller in combination with said first state of said third binary means for advancing said counting means of said associated storage means to originate pulses representing said first station directory number pulse train, and fourth logic means responsive to said cycling counting means and said controller for gating said originate pulses into said controller.

Claim 21

A call forwarding switching system wherein a controller responsive to serial pulse trains is arranged to transfer an incoming call directed to a base station number to a remote station identified by a remote station number arbitrarily chosen by a base station user comprising a plurality of remote station counters each arranged to count and store pulses of one of said serial pulse trains generated by said base station user and identifying said remote station number in one of a fixed number of counting states, a plurality of base station counters each associated with one of said remote station counters and each arranged to count and store pulses of one of said serial pulse trains identifying said base station number in one of said fixed number of counting states, logic means sequentially enabled by said controller for selecting an idle combination of one of said remote station counters and one of said associated base station counters, first directing means enabled by said logic means in combination with said controller for steering said base station user generated remote station number pulse train to said selected remote station counter, second directing means enabled by said logic means in combination with said controller for subsequently steering said identifying base station number pulse train to said selected base station counter, interrogating means enabled by said controller responding to an incoming one of said serial pulse trains identifying said base station for cycling said plurality of base station counters through said fixed number of counting states to generate trains of pulses corresponding to said serial pulse trains stored in said base station counters, match means enabled by said interrogating means for detecting a pulse-by-pulse match of said incoming serial pulse train with said train of pulses generated by said selected base station counter, read means enabled by said match means for cycling said selected remote station counter through said fixed number of counting states to generate serial pulses corresponding to said stored remote station number pulse train, and means enabled by said controller and said read means for gating said generated serial pulses into said controller.

Claim 22

A call forwarding switching system wherein a controller responsive to serial pulse trains is arranged to transfer an incoming call directed to a base station number to a remote station identified by a remote station number arbitrarily chosen by a base station user comprising a plurality of remote station counters each arranged to count and store pulses of one of said serial pulse trains generated by said base station user and identifying said remote station number in one of a fixed number of counting states, a plurality of base station counters each associated with one of said remote station counters and each arranged to count and store pulses of one of said serial pulse trains identifying said base station number in one of said fixed number of counting states, logic means sequentially enabled by said controller for selecting an idle combination of one of said remote station counters and one of said associated base station counters, first directing means enabled by said logic means in combination with said controller for steering said base station user generated remote station number pulse train to said selected remote station counter, second directing means enabled by said logic means in combination with said controller for subsequently steering said identifying base station number pulse train to said selected base station counter, interrogating means enabled by said controller responding to an incoming one of said serial pulse trains identifying said base station for cycling said plurality of base station counters through said fixed number of counting states to generate trains of pulses corresponding to said serial pulse trains stored in said base station counters, match means enabled by said interrogating means for detecting a pulse-by-pulse match of said incoming serial pulse train with said train of pulses generated by said selected base station counter, read means enabled by said match means for cycling said selected remote station counter through said fixed number of counting states to generate serial pulses corresponding to said stored remote station number pulse train, and means enabled by said controller and said read means for gating said generated serial pulses into said controller.

Claim 23

A call forwarding attended telephone switching system wherein a controller responsive to serial pulse trains is arranged to transfer an incoming call directed to a base station telephone number to a remote station telephone identified by a remote station telephone number arbitrarily chosen by one of base station users and attendant station users comprising a plurality of remote station counters each arranged to count and store pulses of one of said serial pulse trains selectively dialed by said one station user and identifying said remote station telephone number in one of a fixed number of counting states, a plurality of base station counters each associated with one of said remote station counters and each arranged to count and store pulses of one of said serial pulse trains identifying said base station telephone number in one of said fixed number of counting states, logic means sequentially enabled by said controller for selecting an idle one of said remote station counters in combination with one of said associated base station counters, first directing means enabled by said logic means in combination with said controller for selectively connecting said one station user dialed remote telephone station number pulse train to said selected remote station counter, second directing means enabled by said logic means in combination with said controller for subsequently connecting said identifying base station telephone number pulse train to said selected base station counter, interrogating means enabled by said controller responding to an incoming one of said serial pulse trains identifying said base station for cycling said plurality of base station counters through said fixed number of counting states to generate trains of pulses corresponding to said serial pulse trains stored in said base station counters, match means enabled by said interrogating means for detecting a pulse-by-pulse match of said incoming serial pulse train with said train of pulses generated by said selected base station counter, read means enabled by said match means and said controller for cycling said selected remote station counter through said fixed number of counting states to generate serial pulses corresponding to said stored remote station number pulse train, gating means enabled by said controller and said read means for transmitting said generated serial pulses into said controller, and means selectively controlled by said one station user For canceling said remote telephone station pulse train and said base station telephone number pulse train stored in said remote station and said base station counters, respectively.

Claim 24

A call forwarding attended telephone switching system wherein a controller responsive to serial pulse trains is arranged to transfer an incoming call directed to a base station telephone number to a remote station telephone identified by a remote station telephone number arbitrarily chosen by one of base station users and attendant station users comprising a plurality of remote station counters each arranged to count and store pulses of one of said serial pulse trains selectively dialed by said one station user and identifying said remote station telephone number in one of a fixed number of counting states, a plurality of base station counters each associated with one of said remote station counters and each arranged to count and store pulses of one of said serial pulse trains identifying said base station telephone number in one of said fixed number of counting states, logic means sequentially enabled by said controller for selecting an idle one of said remote station counters in combination with one of said associated base station counters, first directing means enabled by said logic means in combination with said controller for selectively connecting said one station user dialed remote telephone station number pulse train to said selected remote station counter, second directing means enabled by said logic means in combination with said controller for subsequently connecting said identifying base station telephone number pulse train to said selected base station counter, interrogating means enabled by said controller responding to an incoming one of said serial pulse trains identifying said base station for cycling said plurality of base station counters through said fixed number of counting states to generate trains of pulses corresponding to said serial pulse trains stored in said base station counters, match means enabled by said interrogating means for detecting a pulse-by-pulse match of said incoming serial pulse train with said train of pulses generated by said selected base station counter, read means enabled by said match means and said controller for cycling said selected remote station counter through said fixed number of counting states to generate serial pulses corresponding to said stored remote station number pulse train, gating means enabled by said controller and said read means for transmitting said generated serial pulses into said controller, and means selectively controlled by said one station user For canceling said remote telephone station pulse train and said base station telephone number pulse train stored in said remote station and said base station counters, respectively.

Claim 25

The call forwarding attended telephone switching system set forth in claim 19 wherein said canceling means comprises control means enabled by said match means in combination with said controller for setting said selected remote station and said selected base station counters to an initial one of said fixed number of counting states, and clearing means enabled by said controller responding to one of said attendant station users for setting both said plurality of remote station counters and said plurality of base station counters to said initial counting state.