Network implemented pay telephone set

Claim 1

A pay telephone for use in a telephone system comprising a plurality of central offices each of which serves a plurality of the subscriber telephones and pay telephones, a conventional switched telephone network connecting together said plurality of central offices, a call processor for providing call billing information for selected calls made from said pay telephone, said call processor being coupled to one of said plurality of central offices and being accessible by calling a predetermined telephone number, said pay telephone comprising: handset means for transmitting and receiving voice signals to and from the central office which serves said pay telephone; dial means for entering a user telephone number to be dialed; and a logic circuit coupled to said handset means and to said dial means and adapted to be coupled to the central office which serves said pay telephone, said logic means including memory means for storing the user telephone number received from said dial means, wherein only in response to selected user telephone numbers received from said dial means said logic circuit automatically places a call request to said processor to request and receive desired information from said call processor, said call request being made concurrently with any action performed by the user on said telephone, immediately thereafter said logic circuit terminates said call to said call processor and in response to the receipt of said desired information automatically dials the user telephone number into said switched telephone network through said central office which serves said pay telephone to complete the user's call, when said call request is not made to said call processor said logic means immediately dialing the telephone number into said switch telephone network through said central office.