Method and apparatus for detecting and responding to hook flash events occurring on a remote telephone

Claim 1

An apparatus for use in conjunction with a local telephone equipment in telecommunication with a remote telephone, wherein said remote telephone has a three-way calling service which is not associated with the apparatus, to indicate whether a remote party using the remote telephone has performed a specific act that is consistent with an attempt to initiate a three-way call causing the generation of a hook flash signal, said apparatus comprising: low pass filter means for passing energy received by the local telephone equipment having frequencies below about 500 Hz; energy detection means for detecting a specific electrical energy pulse having been filtered by said filter means and having a predetermined minimum magnitude; window analyzation means for cooperating with said energy detection means to detect a specific event(s) occurring during a predetermined maximum time window following the detection of a specific pulse occurring during a telephone call in progress between a local party and a remote party, the detection of the specific event(s) providing an indication as to whether the remote party has performed a specific act that is consistent with an attempt to initiate a three-way call; said window analyzation means including timer means for cooperating with said energy detection means so that said timer means begins running for a first predetermined time period when a specific energy pulse is detected and sound detection means for detecting sound during the telecommunication and for cooperating with said timer means so that said sound detection means is activated at the end of the first predetermined period for a second predetermined maximum time period; and handling means for implementing a predetermined response if sound is undetected during the second predetermined period, the undetection of which provides an indication that the remote party has performed a specific act that is consistent with an attempt to initiate a three-way call.

Claim 2

An apparatus for use in conjunction with a local telephone equipment in telecommunication with a remote telephone, wherein said remote telephone has a three-way calling service which is not associated with the apparatus, to indicate whether a remote party using the remote telephone has performed a specific act that is consistent with an attempt to initiate a three-way call causing the generation of a hook flash signal, said apparatus comprising: low pass filter means for passing energy received by the local telephone equipment having frequencies below about 500 Hz; energy detection means for detecting a specific electrical energy pulse having been filtered by said filter means and having a predetermined minimum magnitude; window analyzation means for cooperating with said energy detection means to detect a specific event(s) occurring during a predetermined maximum time window following the detection of a specific pulse occurring during a telephone call in progress between a local party and a remote party, the detection of the specific event(s) providing an indication as to whether the remote party has performed a specific act that is consistent with an attempt to initiate a three-way call; said window analyzation means including timer means for cooperating with said energy detection means so that said timer means begins running for a first predetermined time period when a specific energy pulse is detected and sound detection means for detecting sound during the telecommunication and for cooperating with said timer means so that said sound detection means is activated at the end of the first predetermined period for a second predetermined maximum time period; and handling means for implementing a predetermined response if sound is undetected during the second predetermined period, the undetection of which provides an indication that the remote party has performed a specific act that is consistent with an attempt to initiate a three-way call.

Claim 8

A method for indicating whether a remote party using a remote telephone in telecommunication with a local telephone/equipment, wherein said remote telephone has a three-way calling service which is not associated with the local telephone/equipment, has performed a specific act that is consistent with an attempt to initiate a three-way call causing the generation of a hook flash signal, said method comprising: filtering energy received by the local telephone equipment to pass energy having frequencies below about 500 Hz; detecting a filtered specific electrical energy pulse having a predetermined minimum magnitude; detecting a specific event(s) occurring during a predetermined maximum time window following the detection of the specific pulse, which pulse occurs during a telephone call in progress between a local party at said local telephone equipment and said remote party; said detecting a specific event(s) including running a timer means for a first predetermined time period when the specific energy pulse is detected; and monitoring the telecommunication for a second predetermined maximum time period which commences at the end of the first predetermined time period for the purpose of detecting sound, the detection of which indicates that a three-way call has not been attempted whereas the failure to detect sound indicates that the remote party has performed a specific act that is consistent with an attempt to initiate a three-way call; and responding to the detection of the specific event(s).

Claim 9

A method for indicating whether a remote party using a remote telephone in telecommunication with a local telephone/equipment, wherein said remote telephone has a three-way calling service which is not associated with the local telephone/equipment, has performed a specific act that is consistent with an attempt to initiate a three-way call causing the generation of a hook flash signal, said method comprising: filtering energy received by the local telephone equipment to pass energy having frequencies below about 500 Hz; detecting a filtered specific electrical energy pulse having a predetermined minimum magnitude; detecting a specific event(s) occurring during a predetermined maximum time window following the detection of the specific pulse, which pulse occurs during a telephone call in progress between a local party at said local telephone equipment and said remote party; said detecting a specific event(s) including running a timer means for a first predetermined time period when the specific energy pulse is detected; and monitoring the telecommunication for a second predetermined maximum time period which commences at the end of the first predetermined time period for the purpose of detecting sound, the detection of which indicates that a three-way call has not been attempted whereas the failure to detect sound indicates that the remote party has performed a specific act that is consistent with an attempt to initiate a three-way call; and responding to the detection of the specific event(s).

Claim 18

An apparatus for use in conjunction with a local telephone equipment in telecommunication with a remote telephone, wherein said remote telephone has a three-way calling service which is not associated with the apparatus, to indicate whether a remote party using the remote telephone has performed a specific act that is consistent with an attempt to initiate a three-way call causing the generation of a hook flash signal, said apparatus comprising: low pass filter means for passing energy received by the local telephone equipment having frequencies below about 500 Hz; energy detection means for detecting a specific electrical energy pulse having been filtered by said filter means and having a predetermined minimum magnitude; window analyzation means for cooperating with said energy detection means to detect a specific event(s) occurring during a predetermined maximum time window following the detection of the specific pulse occurring during the telecommunication between a local party at said local telephone equipment and the remote party, the detection of the specific event(s) providing an indication as to whether the remote party has performed a specific act that is consistent with an attempt to initiate a three-way call; and normalization means for normalizing the level of electrical energy to be presented to said energy detection means so that the energy level of long distance calls has approximately the same magnitude as that of local calls; said normalization means including: ringback level detection means for detecting the level of the remote party telephone's ringback energy; and adjustable gain means for amplifying or attenuating the ringback energy level by a factor related to the detected remote party ringback energy level so that the electrical energy of long distance calls to be presented to said energy detection means has approximately the same magnitude as that of local calls.

Claim 19

An apparatus for use in conjunction with a local telephone equipment in telecommunication with a remote telephone, wherein said remote telephone has a three-way calling service which is not associated with the apparatus, to indicate whether a remote party using the remote telephone has performed a specific act that is consistent with an attempt to initiate a three-way call causing the generation of a hook flash signal, said apparatus comprising: low pass filter means for passing energy received by the local telephone equipment having frequencies below about 500 Hz; energy detection means for detecting a specific electrical energy pulse having been filtered by said filter means and having a predetermined minimum magnitude; window analyzation means for cooperating with said energy detection means to detect a specific event(s) occurring during a predetermined maximum time window following the detection of the specific pulse occurring during the telecommunication between a local party at said local telephone equipment and the remote party, the detection of the specific event(s) providing an indication as to whether the remote party has performed a specific act that is consistent with an attempt to initiate a three-way call; and normalization means for normalizing the level of electrical energy to be presented to said energy detection means so that the energy level of long distance calls has approximately the same magnitude as that of local calls; said normalization means including: ringback level detection means for detecting the level of the remote party telephone's ringback energy; and adjustable gain means for amplifying or attenuating the ringback energy level by a factor related to the detected remote party ringback energy level so that the electrical energy of long distance calls to be presented to said energy detection means has approximately the same magnitude as that of local calls.

Claim 21

An apparatus for use in connection with a limited access telephone in telecommunication with a called party, wherein the called party's telephone has a three-way calling service which is not associated with the apparatus to detect and respond to the called party's performance of a specific act that is consistent with an attempt to initiate a three-way conference call, said apparatus comprising; interference prevention means for preventing signals originating at the limited access telephone from interfering with signals originating at the called party's telephone; low pass filter means for passing energy having frequencies below about 500 Hz; energy detection means for detecting a specific electrical energy pulse having been filtered by said filter means and having a predetermined minimum magnitude; timer means for cooperating with said detection means so that said timer means begins running for a first predetermined period of time when the specific pulse is detected; sound detection means for detecting sound during the telecommunication and for cooperating with said timer means so that said sound detection means is activated at the end of the first predetermined period for a second predetermined maximum period of time; and conference calling handling means for implementing a predetermined response if sound is undetected by said sound detecting means during the second predetermined period.

Claim 22

An apparatus for use in connection with a limited access telephone in telecommunication with a called party, wherein the called party's telephone has a three-way calling service which is not associated with the apparatus to detect and respond to the called party's performance of a specific act that is consistent with an attempt to initiate a three-way conference call, said apparatus comprising; interference prevention means for preventing signals originating at the limited access telephone from interfering with signals originating at the called party's telephone; low pass filter means for passing energy having frequencies below about 500 Hz; energy detection means for detecting a specific electrical energy pulse having been filtered by said filter means and having a predetermined minimum magnitude; timer means for cooperating with said detection means so that said timer means begins running for a first predetermined period of time when the specific pulse is detected; sound detection means for detecting sound during the telecommunication and for cooperating with said timer means so that said sound detection means is activated at the end of the first predetermined period for a second predetermined maximum period of time; and conference calling handling means for implementing a predetermined response if sound is undetected by said sound detecting means during the second predetermined period.

Claim 23

A method for indicating whether a remote party using a remote telephone, wherein said remote telephone has a three-way calling service which is not associated with the apparatus, in telecommunication with a local telephone equipment has performed a specific act that is consistent with an attempt to initiate a three-way call causing the generation of a hook flash signal, said method comprising: filtering energy received by the local telephone equipment to pass energy having frequencies below about 500 Hz; detecting a filtered specific electrical energy pulse having a predetermined minimum magnitude; detecting a specific event(s) occurring during a predetermined maximum time window following the detection of a specific pulse, which pulse occurs during a telephone call in progress between a local party at said local telephone equipment and the remote party; normalizing the level of electrical energy to be presented to the energy detecting means so that the energy level of a long distance call has approximately the same magnitude as that of local calls; said normalizing comprising; detecting the level of the remote party telephone's ringback energy; and amplifying or attenuating the ringback energy level by a factor related to the detected ringback energy level so that the electrical energy of long distance calls to be presented to the energy detection means has approximately the same magnitude as that of local calls.

Claim 24

A method for indicating whether a remote party using a remote telephone, wherein said remote telephone has a three-way calling service which is not associated with the apparatus, in telecommunication with a local telephone equipment has performed a specific act that is consistent with an attempt to initiate a three-way call causing the generation of a hook flash signal, said method comprising: filtering energy received by the local telephone equipment to pass energy having frequencies below about 500 Hz; detecting a filtered specific electrical energy pulse having a predetermined minimum magnitude; detecting a specific event(s) occurring during a predetermined maximum time window following the detection of a specific pulse, which pulse occurs during a telephone call in progress between a local party at said local telephone equipment and the remote party; normalizing the level of electrical energy to be presented to the energy detecting means so that the energy level of a long distance call has approximately the same magnitude as that of local calls; said normalizing comprising; detecting the level of the remote party telephone's ringback energy; and amplifying or attenuating the ringback energy level by a factor related to the detected ringback energy level so that the electrical energy of long distance calls to be presented to the energy detection means has approximately the same magnitude as that of local calls.

Claim 25

An apparatus for use in conjunction with local telephone equipment in telecommunication with a remote telephone, wherein said remote telephone has a three-way calling service which is not associated with the apparatus, which apparatus is capable of determining whether a remote party using the remote telephone has performed a specific act that is consistent with an attempt to initiate a three-way call utilizing a hook-flash signal comprising: means for the detection of an energy pulse received by the local telephone equipment having a frequency characteristic of the hook-flash signal; and response means for implementing a predetermined response when said energy pulse is detected.

Claim 26

An apparatus for use in conjunction with local telephone equipment in telecommunication with a remote telephone, wherein said remote telephone has a three-way calling service which is not associated with the apparatus, which apparatus is capable of determining whether a remote party using the remote telephone has performed a specific act that is consistent with an attempt to initiate a three-way call utilizing a hook-flash signal comprising: means for the detection of an energy pulse received by the local telephone equipment having a frequency characteristic of the hook-flash signal; and response means for implementing a predetermined response when said energy pulse is detected.

Claim 38

An apparatus for use in conjunction with local telephone equipment in telecommunication with a remote telephone, wherein said remote telephone has a three-way calling service which is not associated with the apparatus, which apparatus is capable of determining whether a remote party using the remote telephone has performed a specific act that is consistent with an attempt to initiate a three-way call utilizing a hook-flash signal comprising: means for the detection of an energy pulse received by the local telephone equipment having a frequency characteristic of the hook-flash signal; window analyzation means for cooperating with said energy detection means to detect a specific event(s) occurring during a predetermined time window following the detection of the energy pulse, the detection of the specific event(s) confirming whether the remote party has performed a specific act that is consistent with an attempt to initiate a three-way call; and response means for implementing a predetermined response when the remote party's performance of a specific act that is consistent with an attempt to initiate a three-way call has been confirmed.

Claim 39

An apparatus for use in conjunction with local telephone equipment in telecommunication with a remote telephone, wherein said remote telephone has a three-way calling service which is not associated with the apparatus, which apparatus is capable of determining whether a remote party using the remote telephone has performed a specific act that is consistent with an attempt to initiate a three-way call utilizing a hook-flash signal comprising: means for the detection of an energy pulse received by the local telephone equipment having a frequency characteristic of the hook-flash signal; window analyzation means for cooperating with said energy detection means to detect a specific event(s) occurring during a predetermined time window following the detection of the energy pulse, the detection of the specific event(s) confirming whether the remote party has performed a specific act that is consistent with an attempt to initiate a three-way call; and response means for implementing a predetermined response when the remote party's performance of a specific act that is consistent with an attempt to initiate a three-way call has been confirmed.

Claim 55

A method for determining whether a remote party using a remote telephone in telecommunication with local telephone equipment, wherein said remote telephone has a three-way calling service which is not associated with the apparatus, has performed a specific act that is consistent with an attempt to initiate a three-way call utilizing a hook-flash signal comprising: detecting an energy pulse received by the local telephone equipment having a frequency characteristic of the hook-flash signal; and responding in a predetermined manner when said energy pulse is detected.

Claim 56

A method for determining whether a remote party using a remote telephone in telecommunication with local telephone equipment, wherein said remote telephone has a three-way calling service which is not associated with the apparatus, has performed a specific act that is consistent with an attempt to initiate a three-way call utilizing a hook-flash signal comprising: detecting an energy pulse received by the local telephone equipment having a frequency characteristic of the hook-flash signal; and responding in a predetermined manner when said energy pulse is detected.