Telephone adapter with advanced features
First Claim
1. Communication apparatus, comprising:
- a telephone adapter, comprising;
a phone connector, for connecting to a telephone;
a line connector, for connecting to a telephone line of a circuit-switched telephone network;
a computer interface;
a phone analog front end (AFE), coupled to the phone connector and operative to convert audio input signals generated by the telephone into digital output samples for transfer via the computer interface; and
a line AFE, coupled to the line connector and operative to convert digital input samples received from the computer interface into analog output signals for transmission over the telephone line; and
a computer, which is coupled to the telephone adapter via the computer interface and is arranged to process the digital output samples in order to decode an indication of a destination telephone number that was input to the telephone by a user, and is further arranged to generate the digital input samples responsively to the decoded indication so as to cause the line AFE to transmit over the telephone line a sequence of dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signals corresponding to the destination telephone number.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Communication apparatus includes a telephone adapter, which includes a phone connector, for connecting to a telephone, and a line connector, for connecting to a telephone line of a circuit-switched telephone network, and a computer interface. A phone analog front end (AFE) is coupled to the phone connector and operative to convert audio input signals generated by the telephone into digital output samples for transfer via the computer interface. A line AFE is coupled to the line connector and operative to convert digital input samples received from the computer interface into analog output signals for transmission over the telephone line. A computer, is coupled to the telephone adapter via the computer interface and is arranged to process the digital output samples and to generate the digital input samples.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. Communication apparatus, comprising:
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a telephone adapter, comprising;
a phone connector, for connecting to a telephone;
a line connector, for connecting to a telephone line of a circuit-switched telephone network;
a computer interface;
a phone analog front end (AFE), coupled to the phone connector and operative to convert audio input signals generated by the telephone into digital output samples for transfer via the computer interface; and
a line AFE, coupled to the line connector and operative to convert digital input samples received from the computer interface into analog output signals for transmission over the telephone line; and
a computer, which is coupled to the telephone adapter via the computer interface and is arranged to process the digital output samples in order to decode an indication of a destination telephone number that was input to the telephone by a user, and is further arranged to generate the digital input samples responsively to the decoded indication so as to cause the line AFE to transmit over the telephone line a sequence of dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signals corresponding to the destination telephone number. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. Communication apparatus, comprising:
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a telephone adapter, comprising;
a phone connector, for connecting to a telephone;
a line connector, for connecting to a telephone line of a circuit-switched telephone network;
a computer interface;
a line analog front end (AFE), coupled to the line connector and operative to convert telephone input signals received from the telephone line into digital output samples for transfer via the computer interface; and
a phone AFE, coupled to the phone connector and operative to convert a digital input received from the computer interface into analog output signals for output to the telephone; and
a computer, which is coupled to the telephone adapter via the computer interface and is arranged to process the digital output samples in order to detect a ring signal of an incoming call received from the telephone line, and to generate the digital input, responsively to the ring signal, so that the analog output signals cause the telephone to provide an indication of the incoming call to a user. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11)
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12. Communication apparatus, comprising:
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a telephone adapter, comprising;
a phone connector, for connecting to a telephone;
a line connector, for connecting to a telephone line of a circuit-switched telephone network;
a computer interface; and
processing circuitry, coupled between the phone connector, the line connector and the computer interface, for converting digital input samples received from the computer interface into analog output signals for output to the phone connector and the line connector, and for converting analog input signals from the phone connector and the line connector to digital output samples for transfer via the computer interface; and
a computer, which is coupled to communicate over a packet network and is operative to control the telephone adapter so that the telephone serves as an audio input/output (I/O) device in a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) call placed to the computer over the packet network, and which is further operative to generate the digital input samples so as to cause the telephone to display a caller identification (CID) responsively to incoming calls received over the packet network and the circuit-switched telephone network. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for communication, comprising:
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connecting a telephone adapter, which comprises a phone analog front end (AFE) and a line AFE, to a telephone, to a telephone line of a circuit-switched telephone network, and to a computer, so that the phone AFE converts audio input signals generated by the telephone into digital output samples for transfer to the computer, and the line AFE converts digital input samples received from the computer into analog output signals for transmission over the telephone line;
processing the digital output samples using the computer in order to decode an indication of a destination telephone number that was input to the telephone by a user; and
generating the digital input samples using the computer, responsively to the decoded indication, so as to cause the line AFE to transmit over the telephone line a sequence of dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signals corresponding to the destination telephone number. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method for communication, comprising:
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connecting a telephone adapter, which comprises a phone analog front end (AFE) and a line AFE, to a telephone, to a telephone line of a circuit-switched telephone network, and to a computer, so that the line AFE converts telephone input signals received from the telephone line into digital output samples for transfer to the computer, and the phone AFE converts a digital input received from the computer into analog output signals for output to the telephone;
processing the digital output samples using the computer in order to detect a ring signal of an incoming call received from the telephone line; and
generating the digital input, using the computer, responsively to the ring signal, so that the analog output signals cause the telephone to provide an indication of the incoming call to a user. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27)
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28. A method for communication, comprising:
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connecting a telephone adapter to a telephone, to a telephone line of a circuit-switched telephone network, and to a computer, so as to convert digital input samples received from the computer into analog output signals for output to the telephone and the telephone line, and to convert analog input signals from the telephone and the telephone line to digital output samples for transfer to the computer; and
controlling the telephone adapter, using the computer, so that the telephone serves as an audio input/output (I/O) device in a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) call placed to the computer over the packet network; and
generating the digital input samples, using the computer, so as to cause the telephone to display a caller identification (CID) responsively to incoming calls received over the packet network and the circuit-switched telephone network. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification