Facility for detecting and converting dial information and control information for service features of a telephone switching system

• US 4,763,350 A
• Filed: 06/13/1985
• Issued: 08/09/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/1984
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Alcatel SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel NV (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Kopp, Dieter, Thierer, Gebhard, Immendorfer, Manfred, Seichter, Helmut
• Primary Examiner(s): BROWN, THOMAS
• Application Number:
  US06/744,343
• Time in Patent Office: 1,153 Days
• Field of Search: 370/61, 370/62, 379/216, 379/89, 379/52, 379/157, 379/88, 379/67, 379/84, 379/201, 379/211, 379/282, 379/283
• US Class Current: 379/88.03
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42204 Arrangements at the exchange for service or number selection by voice at the terminal H04M1/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/42 Circuit arrangements for indirect selecting controlled by common circuits, e.g. register controller, marker

Abstract

In a telephone switching system, a multifrequency code receiver unit is replaced by a voice-controlled dial signal receiver unit connected to the switching network via an adapter unit. The voice-controlled dial signal receiver unit contains a voice recognition unit, a voice output unit, and a control unit. A multifrequency code receiver is connected in parallel with the voice-controlled dial signal receiver unit and coupled to the adapter unit. The subscriber can enter dial information and service-feature-control information through the microphone of the handset of a telephone station and/or through a numeric keypad of the station. Instead of being informed of the respective line condition by tone signals, the subscriber receives this information in the form of speech from the voice output unit.

Claims

1. A facility for detecting and converting dial information and control information for service features of a telephone switching system, comprising:

a voice-controlled dial signal receiver unit including a voice recognition unit and a control unit;

a first message path and a second message path;

an adapter unit having means for interfacing to a switching network of the telephone switching system, respectively connected by said first message path and said second message path to said voice recognition unit and said control unit;

a multifrequency code receiver connected to said control unit and, in parallel with said voice-controlled dial signal receiver unit by said first message path, to said adapter unit;

a third message path; and

a voice output unit, said voice output unit being disposable in the telephone switching system and connected with said control unit and said voice recognition unit and, by said third message path, to said adapter unit, said control unit being responsive to activation of said voice-controlled dial signal receiver unit by the telephone switching system to control said voice output unit to provide voice prompts to a subscriber and control said voice recognition unit to receive acoustic dial and control information and convert the acoustic dial and control information into a dial code;

said multifrequency code receiver comprising means for detecting dial and control information entered by a subscriber through a numeric keypad, said multifrequency code receiver and said control unit being responsive to dial or code information received by said multifrequency code receiver to interrupt said voice recognition unit through said control unit.

2. A facility for detecting and converting dial information and control information for service features of a telephone switching system, comprising:

a voice-controlled dial signal receiver unit including a voice recognition unit and a control unit, said voice recognition unit comprising means for converting dial and code information to a dial code;

a first message path and a second message path;

an adapter unit having means for interfacing to a switching network of the telephone switching system, respectively connected by said first message path and said second message path to said voice recognition unit and said control unit;

a multifrequency code receiver connected to said control unit and, in parallel with said voice-controlled dial signal receiver unit by said first message path, to said adapter unit;

a third message path;

means, including a control and data line connected to said adapter unit, for transmitting the dial code converted from dial and code information from said voice recognition unit to the telephone switching system;

a voice output unit connected with said control unit and said voice recognition unit and, by said third message path, to said adapter unit, said voice-controlled dial signal receiver unit being activatable and deactivatable by the telephone switching system through said control and data line, said control unit being responsive to activation of said voice-controlled dial signal receiver unit by the telephone switching system to control said voice output unit to provide voice prompts to a subscriber and control said voice recognition unit to receive the acoustic dial and control information and convert the acoustic dial and control information into the dial code;

a fourth message path, connected to said adapter unit, for connecting said adapter unit to the switching network; and

means, including a line circuit connected to said switching network, for connecting a telephone station to said adapter unit through said line circuit, the switching network and said fourth message path with said fourth message path connecting said adapter to the switching network.

3. A facility as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that said voice-controlled dial signal receiver unit is connectable to data banks or information systems connected to the telephone switching system.

4. A facility as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that said first, second, third and fourth message paths are time-division-multiplex lines, so that the dial and control information is transmitted in digitized form.