Apparatus and method for augmenting a telephone network

Claim 2

An alarm signaling and supervisory monitoring apparatus for telephone subscriber homes, residences and the like, comprising in combination: a telephone central office, a plurality of residential telephone subscribers'' stations, each station having thereat, a subscriber''s telephone set connected to said central office over a circuit consisting of a pair of metal conductors, a normally inactive oscillation generator adapted to generate a distinctive tone frequency signal within the transmission frequency band of said station, high impedance means coupling an output from said oscillation generator to said telephone circuit, a device separate and apart from said telephone set which responds to a preselected change in a condition at said station subject to variation, for activating said oscillation generator to transmit said tone signal over said circuit to said central office, monitoring means at said central office for repetitively scanning said plurality of said subscriber''s circuits, said monitoring means responding to receipt of said tone signal over any said subscriber''s circuit for identifying and indicating the said circuit over which said tone is received.

Claim 3

The combination according to claim 1, which additionally includes means at said central office for selectively transmitting a distinctive signal to any selected subscriber''s station, means connected to said subscriber''s circuit thereat responsive to said signal for energizing a reporting circuit coupled to said subscriber''s circuit, and means in said reporting circuit when energized for transmitting signals over said subscriber''s circuit to the central office reporting upon a condition at said subscriber''s station.

Claim 4

The combination according to claim 1 wherein said scanning means includes a scanning switch and a scanning pulse generator periodically activating said switch for successively connecting said subscriber circuits to a signal-detecting means, said detecting means including means responsive to said supervisory signal for deactivating said pulse generator to arrest said scanning progression, means responsive to the positioning of said scanning switch for identifying the subscriber circuit over which said supervisory signal Is received and for indicating the changed condition at said subscriber''s station.

Claim 5

The combination according to claim 1, wherein said electrical supervisory signal comprises the combination of at least two frequencies within the transmission frequency band of said subscriber''s circuit.

Claim 6

The combination according to claim 1, wherein said signal-generating means comprises a D.C. voltage energizable oscillator.

Claim 7

The combination according to claim 5, which additionally includes means at said central office for selectively transmitting a D.C. voltage to any selected subscriber''s station for energizing any said oscillator connected to the subscriber''s circuit thereat, said oscillator when energized transmitting an oscillatory signal over said subscriber''s circuit to the central office reporting upon a change in a condition at said subscriber''s station.

Claim 8

The combination according to claim 6, wherein said oscillator is voltage triggerable and said D.C. voltage is in excess of any voltage normally on the subscriber''s circuit.

Claim 9

The combination according to claim 6, wherein said oscillator is energizable by D.C. voltage of only a given polarity, and said selectively-transmitted D.C. voltage is of said given polarity.

Claim 10

The combination according to claim 1 which includes at each subscriber''s station, a plurality of normally inactive oscillation generators, each having an output coupled through high impedance means to said subscriber''s telephone circuit and each adapted to generate a distinctively different tone frequency signal within the transmission frequency band of said station, a corresponding plurality of devices at said station associated with said generators respectively, each device being separate and distinct from said subscriber''s set, and each adapted to respond to a preselected change in a condition at said station subject to variation, a different condition for each said device, and for activating the associated tone generator to transmit its tone signal over said subscriber''s circuit to said central office, said repetitively monitoring means at said central office responding to any said tone signal received from any said tone signal received from any said station to identify the station from which said signal is received, and means at said central office selectively responsive to said different tone signals for uniquely identifying the condition of change at said station.

Claim 11

The combination according to claim 9, wherein each of said plurality of distinctively different electrical supervisory signals comprises a different combination of at least two frequencies within the transmission frequency band of said subscriber''s circuit.

Claim 12

The combination according to claim 9, wherein said electrical supervisory signal-generating means comprises a series of oscillators, each generating a single frequency different from all of the others, and wherein each of said distinctively different electrical supervisory signals comprises a different combination of at least two of said oscillator frequencies.

Claim 13

The combination according to claim 9, wherein said scanning means includes a series of contacts to which said subscriber circuits are respectively connected and means for successively connecting a signal detector to said contacts in successive sequence, means controlled by said signal detector for arresting said scanning in response to receipt by said signal detector of a supervisory signal from a subscriber''s circuit, a signal identification circuit connected to said signal detector for selectively identifying each of said distinctively different supervisory signals, and means responsive to said identification circuit for selectively and uniquely indicating each of said distinctive supervisory signals as and when received over any of said subscriber''s circuits.

Claim 14

The combination according to claim 12, wherein said scanning means comprises a second series of contacts connected to a decoding deviCe, and wherein said means for successively connecting to said signal detector the series of contacts respectively connected to said subscriber''s circuits also concurrently successively connects an energizing circuit to said second series of contacts, whereby upon arresting said scanning on any particular contact connected to a subscriber''s circuit, said energizing circuit is connected to a corresponding contact of said second series for identification by said decoder of the subscriber''s circuit at which said scanning is arrested.

Claim 15

In a telephone system comprising a central office having connected thereto over circuits individual thereto a plurality of subscriber''s telephone stations, each located within premises provided with facilities subject to abnormal variations including at least one of the group consisting of heat, power and water, the method of repetitively monitoring from said central office a condition of said premises subject to abnormal variation, said method comprising: sensing at said station the occurrence of a preselected variation of said condition from a preselected value thereof; generating at said station in response to said variation, a distinctive tone frequency signal within the transmission frequency band of said station; transmitting said signal over said subscriber''s circuit to said central office, while repetitively scanning said plurality of circuits at said central office, and upon receipit of said tone signal over any said subscriber''s circuit, idenetifying the circuit over which said tone signal is received; and indicating the said variation in said condition occurring at said subscriber''s station.

Claim 16

In a telephone system comprising a central office having connected thereto over circuits individual thereto a plurality of subscriber''s telephone stations, each located within premises provided with facilities subject to abnormal variations including at least one of the group consisting of heat, power and water, the method of repetitively monitoring from said central office a condition of said premises subject to abnormal variation, said method comprising: sensing at said station the occurrence of a preselected variation of said condition from a preselected value thereof; generating at said station in response to said variation, a distinctive tone frequency signal within the transmission frequency band of said station; transmitting said signal over said subscriber''s circuit to said central office, while repetitively scanning said plurality of circuits at said central office, and upon receipit of said tone signal over any said subscriber''s circuit, idenetifying the circuit over which said tone signal is received; and indicating the said variation in said condition occurring at said subscriber''s station.

Claim 17

The method according to claim 14, wherein said supervision is applied to a plurality of conditions subject to change at each subscriber''s station by generating at each said station a corresponding plurality of mutually distinctive electrical supervisory signals and selectively applying said mutually distinctive signals to each subscriber''s telephone circuit in accordance with preselected changes in said conditions, respectively, and at said central office selectively discriminating between the mutually distinctive supervisory signals received and causing them to produce distinctively different indications at said central office.

Claim 18

The method according to claim 15, wherein each of said supervisory signals comprises the combination of at least two different frequencies and a different combination of each frequency for each of said distinctively different supervisory signals.

Claim 19

In a telephone system in combination: a central office having a plurality of subscriber stations connected thereto over tip and ring individual to said stations and supevisory apparatus for repetitively monitoring from said central office a condition subject to change at each said station, said apparatus including at each said station, means coupled between the tip and ring leads for generating and applying to said leads a distinctive alternating current supervisory signal when activated, and means responsive to a preselected change of said condition for activating said signal-generating means, said apparatus including at said central office, means for repetitively scanning said subscriber''s leads, said scanning means including a scanning switch and a scanning pulse generator periodically activating said switch for successively connecting said subscriber leads to a signal-detecting means, said detecting means responding to receipt of said supervisory signal to activate a first relay, the activation of which deactivates said pulse drive generator to arrest said scanning, and also completes an energizing delay circuit for activating a second relay, said second relay upon delayed energization deactivating said first relay, the deactivation of which in turn deactivates said second relay to restore said scanning sequence, means responsive to receipt of any said supervisory signal over said leads for automatically identifying the subscriber''S station from which said supervisory signal is received, and means for identifying said changed condition from a plurality of possible conditions.

Claim 20

In a telephone system in combination: a central office having a plurality of subscriber stations connected thereto over tip and ring individual to said stations and supevisory apparatus for repetitively monitoring from said central office a condition subject to change at each said station, said apparatus including at each said station, means coupled between the tip and ring leads for generating and applying to said leads a distinctive alternating current supervisory signal when activated, and means responsive to a preselected change of said condition for activating said signal-generating means, said apparatus including at said central office, means for repetitively scanning said subscriber''s leads, said scanning means including a scanning switch and a scanning pulse generator periodically activating said switch for successively connecting said subscriber leads to a signal-detecting means, said detecting means responding to receipt of said supervisory signal to activate a first relay, the activation of which deactivates said pulse drive generator to arrest said scanning, and also completes an energizing delay circuit for activating a second relay, said second relay upon delayed energization deactivating said first relay, the deactivation of which in turn deactivates said second relay to restore said scanning sequence, means responsive to receipt of any said supervisory signal over said leads for automatically identifying the subscriber''S station from which said supervisory signal is received, and means for identifying said changed condition from a plurality of possible conditions.

Claim 21

The combination according to claim 17, wherein the positioning of said scanning switch upon arrest of said scanning identifies the leads over which said supervisory signal is received, and wherein said central office apparatus includes means responsive to activation of said first relay, and circuits, including release contacts of said second relay and contacts of said stepping switch, for indicating the lead on which said supervisory signal is received, and also for activating indicating means responsive to said signal.