Telephone accessory
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An apparatus for use with a telephone that is electrically connected to a phone line, the apparatus comprising:
- a detector for detecting when an off-hook condition exists on said phone line, anda disconnect circuit responsive to the off-hook detector for eliminating the off-hook condition when said off-hook condition is caused by said telephone being in an off-hook mode.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for use with a telephone including, in one embodiment, a detector for detecting when the telephone is in an off-hook condition and disconnect circuit for eliminating the off-hook condition when the off-hook condition is caused by the telephone so that phone calls may be received by the line. An alarm responsive to the detector produces a warning of the off-hook condition if another phone on the line is off hook.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. An apparatus for use with a telephone that is electrically connected to a phone line, the apparatus comprising:
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a detector for detecting when an off-hook condition exists on said phone line, and a disconnect circuit responsive to the off-hook detector for eliminating the off-hook condition when said off-hook condition is caused by said telephone being in an off-hook mode. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An apparatus for use with a telephone that is electrically connected to a phone line, there possibly being another telephone connected to the phone line, the apparatus comprising:
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an off hook detector for detecting when an off-hook condition exists in said phone line, a line activity detector responsive to the off-hook detector for determining if the phone line experiencing the off-hook condition is inactive, and an alarm responsive to the line activity detector for indicating that the phone line is in an inactive off-hook condition. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. An apparatus for use with a telephone that is electrically connected to a phone line, the telephone causing an off-hook condition on said phone line when in an off-hook state, the apparatus comprising:
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a detector for detecting when the off-hook condition exists on said phone line, the off-hook detector detecting the presence of the off-hook condition on the phone line by monitoring a line voltage across said phone line, a line activity detector responsive to the off-hook detector for detecting when the phone line is in an inactive off hook condition, the line activity detector operating by detecting a warning signal sent by a phone system over the phone line, a disconnect circuit responsive to the line activity detector for disconnecting the telephone from the phone line when the inactive off-hook condition is detected, a testing circuit for detecting when the telephone is in the on-hook state, and an override circuit responsive to the testing circuit for resetting said disconnect circuit when the telephone is placed back in the on-hook state.
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25. A method for preventing a telephone from remaining off-hook and inactive comprising:
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detecting a signal sent to said telephone from said system when said telephone is in both an off-hook and inactive condition, and producing an signal in response to said off-hook and inactive condition. - View Dependent Claims (26)
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27. Method for preventing a telephone from remaining off-hook and inactive comprising:
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detecting when said telephone is in both an off-hook condition and an inactive condition, and removing said off hook condition.
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Specification