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Digitally-controlled telephone answering switching system

  • US 4,302,632 A
  • Filed: 07/27/1979
  • Issued: 11/24/1981
  • Est. Priority Date: 10/18/1976
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A digitally controlled telephone answering switching system serving the subscribers of at least one telephone company central office comprising:

  • (a) a remote site in close geographic proximity to said telephone company central office;

    (b) a central site at which the telephones of subscribers are actually answered;

    (c) a plurality of incoming telephone lines of subscribers at said remote site;

    (d) at least one remote site concentrator and associated control unit located at said remote site and responsive to said plurality of incoming telephone lines;

    (e) a plurality of trunk lines connecting said remote site concentrator to said central site;

    (f) a plurality of operator positions at said central site each including telephone receiving and transmitting means for answering calls;

    (g) line scanning means included in said remote site control unit coupled to said plurality of incoming telephone lines for scanning each of said incoming lines to determine whether the line should be answered and switched to one of said plurality of trunk lines;

    (h) address decoding and switching means included in said remote site control unit coupled to said line scanning means and responsive to a digitally coded address for causing a switching connection in said remote site concentrator from a subscriber line to be answered via one connecting path of a plurality of connecting paths to a given trunk line;

    (i) digital computer means at said central site including table look-up means for determining from among the plurality of connecting paths a free answering path through the remote site concentrator and also including address generation means for generating a digitally coded address defining said free answering path through the remote site concentrator; and

    (j) data transmission means connected between said address generation means and said remote site control unit for transmitting said digitally coded address to said control unit, whereby a call to be answered is switched to said central site;

    (k) said digital computer means also causing a switching connection at said central site from said given trunk line to an available operator position selected by said digital computer means so that an operator can answer the call.

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