User configurable telephone with alarm feature
First Claim
1. A user configurable telephone station for connecting to a telephone line, the station comprising:
- timer means for generating a clock signal;
means or generating an alerting signal responsive to an incoming telephone call;
means for providing a user settable alarm for alerting the user at a prescribed time, the generating means providing an alerting signal both upon receipt of an incoming call and at the prescribed time selected by the user settable alarm, said alerting signal including both a first and a second ringing signal, said first ringing signal having a first telephone ring pattern generated in response to the incoming telephone call and said second ringing signal having a second telephone ring pattern generated in response to the timing means advancing to one of the prescribed times set by the user settable alarm, said second telephone ring pattern being distinctive from said first telephone ring pattern; and
recording means for recording an announcement to be played to the user in response to the timing means advancing to at least one of the prescribed times set by the user settable alarm.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A user configurable telephone station receives telephone calls in a normal manner and also provides a user settable alarm for alerting a user at prescribed times. At each prescribed time, an alerting signal is provided by actuating the telephone ringer either with a distinctive ring or a normal ring, such configuration being selectable by the user. The telephone station optionally also includes a recorder with which the user may record a spoken announcements for associating with the alerting signal. When the switch-hook in the telephone station is actuated in response to the alerting signal, any associated, recorded announcements is played through an acoustic device, such as a speaker, in the telephone station.
19 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A user configurable telephone station for connecting to a telephone line, the station comprising:
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timer means for generating a clock signal; means or generating an alerting signal responsive to an incoming telephone call; means for providing a user settable alarm for alerting the user at a prescribed time, the generating means providing an alerting signal both upon receipt of an incoming call and at the prescribed time selected by the user settable alarm, said alerting signal including both a first and a second ringing signal, said first ringing signal having a first telephone ring pattern generated in response to the incoming telephone call and said second ringing signal having a second telephone ring pattern generated in response to the timing means advancing to one of the prescribed times set by the user settable alarm, said second telephone ring pattern being distinctive from said first telephone ring pattern; and
recording means for recording an announcement to be played to the user in response to the timing means advancing to at least one of the prescribed times set by the user settable alarm. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9)
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7. A user configurable telephone station for connecting to a telephone line, the station comprising:
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timer means for generating a clock signal; means for generating an alerting signal responsive to an incoming telephone call; means for providing a user settable alarm for alerting the user at a plurality of prescribed times, the generating means providing an alerting signal both upon receipt of each incoming call and at each prescribed time selected by the user settable alarm, said alerting signal including both a first and a second ringing signal, said first ringing signal having a first telephone ring pattern generated in response to the incoming telephone call and said second ringing signal having a second telephone ring pattern generated in response to the timing means advancing to one of the prescribed times set by the user settable alarm, said second telephone ring pattern being distinctive from said first telephone ring pattern; and recording means for recording each one of a plurality of announcements to be played to the user in response to the timing means advancing to each one of the plurality of prescribed times set by the user settable alarm. - View Dependent Claims (8, 10)
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11. A method of configuring a telephone station comprising the steps of:
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generating a clock signal indicative of the time of day; providing a user settable alarm for alerting the user at a plurality of prescribed times; generating an alerting signal responsive to an incoming telephone call, the generating step providing an alerting signal at each prescribed time selected by the user settable alarm and upon receipt of each incoming call at the telephone station, said alerting signal including both a first and a second ringing signal, said first ringing signal having a first telephone ring pattern generated in response to the incoming telephone call and said second ringing signal having a second telephone ring pattern generated in response to the clock signal advancing to one of the prescribed times set by the user settable alarm, said second telephone ring pattern being distinctive from said first telephone ring pattern; and recording an announcement to be played to the user in response to the clock signal advancing to at least one of the prescribed times set by the user settable alarm. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification