Telephone announcement system

• US 4,899,378 A
• Filed: 01/27/1988
• Issued: 02/06/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/1988
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: William C. Hamer
• Original Assignee: William C. Hamer
• Inventors: Hamer, William C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dwyer, James L.
• Application Number:
  US07/149,188
• Time in Patent Office: 741 Days
• Field of Search: 379/374, 379/387, 379/388, 379/389, 379/390, 379/395, 379/179, 379/177, 379/167, 379/170, 379/156, 379/159, 379/160, 379/165
• US Class Current: 379/373.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/715 using two or more extensions per line cordless telephones H04M1/725
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/02 with bell or annunciator systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4283 Call holding circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 9/02 involving a common line for all parties

Abstract

A telephone announcement system adaptable to existing two-wire subscriber telephone lines is described. The announcement system is connected between the tip and ring wires of a standard subscriber telephone line and activated in a receive-only announcement mode. The announcement box monitors the telephone line for detecting specific DTMF tones to activate the device. Once activated, the device receives audio information on the telephone line, amplifies it, and broadcasts it on a speaker. The box is deactivated by the same or another DTMF tone. In operation, the subscriber may receive a telephone call, press a specific DTMF tone on the push-button telephone pad and then make the announcement of the telephone call into the handset of the telephone, and the telephone call is then broadcast by the announcement box.

Claims

1. A self-contained telephone announcement device for transmitting baseband announcement information over only the tip and ring wires used by existing telephone equipment without modifying the connections between the telephone wires and without modifying the existing telephone equipment, comprising:

connection means for connecting to the tip and ring wires of a subscriber'"'"'s telephone line in parallel to the subscriber'"'"'s telephone equipment and independent of the subscriber'"'"'s telephone equipment;

detector means attached to said connection means for monitoring the telephone line, for generating an ON signal in response to detecting a specific baseband DTMF tone pair on the telephone line and further for generating an OFF signal in response to detecting said baseband DTMF tone pair on the telephone line;

amplifier means attached to said connection means and said detector means for amplifying baseband audio signals placed on the telephone line by the subscriber'"'"'s equipment, said amplifying being in response to said ON signal generated by said detector means; and

a speaker attached to said amplifier means such that the amplified audio signals are output through said speaker.

2. The device according to claim 1 wherein said detector means further generates an OFF signal in response to detecting said DTMF tone pair on the telephone line and wherein said amplifier means turns off in response to said OFF signal generated by said detector means.

3. The device according to claim 2 wherein said ON signal is generated by said detector means in response to detecting a first DTMF tone pair and said OFF signal is generated in response to said detector means detecting a second DTMF tone pair.

4. The device according to claim 1 wherein said connection means further includes line isolation means for isolating the telephone announcement device from the telephone line.

5. The device according to claim 1 wherein said amplifier means further includes filtering means for removing extraneous noise from the audio signals received from said telephone line.

6. A method for announcing incoming telephone calls using only the tip and ring wires of an existing telephone line for use in parallel with a subscriber'"'"'s existing telephone equipment,

in response to placing a non-dialing standard baseband DTMF tone pair on the telephone line from the subscriber'"'"'s existing telephone equipment, comprising the steps of:

(a) detecting the baseband DTMF tone pair directly from said telephone line;

(b) energizing an amplifier in response to detecting the baseband DTMF tone pair;

(c) amplifying baseband audio signals placed on the telephone line by the subscriber'"'"'s equipment producing amplified audio signals; and

(d) broadcasting the amplified audio signals through a speaker.

7. The method according to claim 6 further including the steps of:

(f) detecting the non-hyphen dialing standard DTMF tone pair; and

(g) de-energizing the amplifier.

8. A baseband telephone announcement apparatus for connection to a standard subscriber'"'"'s telephone line to which is also connected in parallel a standard touch pad telephone, comprising:

input means connected to the telephone line in parallel with the standard touch pad telephone for receiving baseband audio signals placed on the telephone line by the standard touch pad telephone;

receiver means connected to said input means for detecting baseband DTMF tone pairs on the telephone line generated by the standard touch pad telephone;

control means connected to said receiver means for generating an ON signal in response to said receiver means detecting a baseband DTMF tone pair on said telephone line;

filter means connected to said input means and said control means for receiving and filtering said baseband audio signals from the telephone line and for producing therefrom filtered amplified audio signals in response to said ON signal; and

a speaker connected to said filter means such that said filtered amplified audio signals are broadcast.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8 wherein said control means further generates an OFF signal in response to said receiver means detecting a non-dialing standard DTMF tone pair wherein said amplifier means is de-energized in response to said OFF signal.

10. The apparatus according to claim 8 wherein said filter means includes a low-pass filter for limiting noise audio feedback in said signals.