Hearing assist telephone

Claim 2

A telephone set, for communicating via a standard local loop telephone network, comprising: a receiver amplifier; a receiver converting an electrical receiver signal received from the receiver amplifier into an audible acoustical signal, a receiver volume control providing adjustment of the gain and frequency response characteristic of the receiver amplifier, such that with the volume control at a first setting, the gain of the receiver amplifier is at a minimum, and the frequency response of the amplifier is substantially uniform throughout the audio spectrum, and such that with the volume control at a second setting, the gain of the receiver amplifier is at a maximum, and the frequency response of the amplifier is emphasized at the higher frequencies of the audio spectrum; a visual indicator of incoming calls; an electronic ringer producing an audible signal to herald incoming calls, the frequency response of said ringer emphasizing the lower frequencies of the audio spectrum; and an illuminated, large-key dialing keypad.

Claim 3

A line-powered telephone set, for communicating via a standard local loop telephone network, comprising: a receiver amplifier; a receiver converting an electrical receiver signal received from the receiver amplifier into an audible acoustical signal, a receiver volume control providing adjustment of the gain and frequency response characteristic of the receiver amplifier, such that with the volume control at a first setting, the gain of the receiver amplifier is at a minimum, and the frequency response of the amplifier is substantially uniform throughout the audio spectrum, and such that with the volume control at a second setting, the gain of the receiver amplifier is at a maximum, and the frequency response of the amplifier is emphasized at the higher frequencies of the audio spectrum; a visual indicator of incoming calls; an electronic ringer producing an audible signal to herald incoming calls, the frequency response of said ringer emphasizing the lower frequencies of the audio spectrum, said electronic ringer having a plurality of selectable volume level settings; an illuminated, large-key dialing keypad; and a line-powered memory dialing circuit providing storage for a plurality of dialing sequences, the dialing circuit responsive to dialing keypad inputs to store dialing sequences, and selectively retrieve and issue the stored dialing sequences.

Claim 4

A line-powered telephone set, for communicating via a standard local loop telephone network, comprising: a receiver amplifier; a receiver converting an electrical receiver signal received from the receiver amplifier into an audible acoustical signal, a receiver volume control providing adjustment of the gain and frequency response characteristic of the receiver amplifier, such that with the volume control at a first setting, the gain of the receiver amplifier is at a minimum, and the frequency response of the amplifier is substantially uniform throughout the audio spectrum, and such that with the volume control at a second setting, the gain of the receiver amplifier is at a maximum, and the frequency response of the amplifier is emphasized at the higher frequencies of the audio spectrum; a visual indicator of incoming calls; an electronic ringer producing an audible signal to herald incoming calls, the frequency response of said ringer emphasizing the lower frequencies of the audio spectrum, said electronic ringer having a plurality of selectable volume level settings; an illuminated, large-key dialing keypad; and a line-powered memory dialing circuit providing storage for a plurality of dialing sequences, the dialing circuit responsive to dialing keypad inputs to store dialing sequences, and selectively retrieve and issue the stored dialing sequences.