Apparatus and method for routing messages in a telephone message center
First Claim
1. A telephone message system for use at a subscriber'"'"'s premises, adapted to be parallel connected onto a wire-pair that extends between said premises and a telephone line switching system, the message system comprising:
- controller means connected onto said wire-pair for receiving the identity of one of a plurality of preselected calling stations over said wire-pair in a first frequency band;
mailbox means having a plurality of mailboxes for storing telephone messages, each mailbox being respectively associated with a group of preselected calling stations;
call receiving means responsive to receipt of the identity of one of said preselected calling stations for routing a call from said calling station to the respectively associated mailbox within the plurality of mailboxes; and
at least one adjunct unit operatively, responsive to the controller means, the adjunct unit being commonly connected onto said wire-pair and communicating with said controller means over said wire-pair in a second frequency band for interrogating at least a specific one of said plurality of mailboxes for determining when a telephone message from at least one of said preselected calling stations is stored in said specific one of said plurality of mailboxes, said second frequency band being different from said first frequency band.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A telephone message system overcomes the problems and limitations of presently available systems that seek to enhance inter-and intra-premises communications. The system comprises a controller unit with Caller ID capabilities and one or more adjunct units that are all bridged onto a single wire-pair at a user'"'"'s residential location in a parallel electrical connection. For facilitating a message routing capability, a mailbox of groups of telephone numbers are associated with a particular party at the residence. These telephone numbers are preprogrammed into the controller unit so that upon receipt of an incoming call from one of these telephone numbers, identified through caller ID, the incoming call is associated with the particular called party and the controller unit routes the incoming call directly to the called party'"'"'s mail box where the calling party is able to leave a message. A user may easily access received messages stored in his or her mailbox in the message system which may be configured as either open or restricted. If the message system is open, then a user may access not only messages in his or her mailbox but also access messages in any of other mailboxes also in the system. If the message system is restricted, however, then a user is allowed access only to messages in his or her mailbox.
162 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A telephone message system for use at a subscriber'"'"'s premises, adapted to be parallel connected onto a wire-pair that extends between said premises and a telephone line switching system, the message system comprising:
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controller means connected onto said wire-pair for receiving the identity of one of a plurality of preselected calling stations over said wire-pair in a first frequency band; mailbox means having a plurality of mailboxes for storing telephone messages, each mailbox being respectively associated with a group of preselected calling stations; call receiving means responsive to receipt of the identity of one of said preselected calling stations for routing a call from said calling station to the respectively associated mailbox within the plurality of mailboxes; and at least one adjunct unit operatively, responsive to the controller means, the adjunct unit being commonly connected onto said wire-pair and communicating with said controller means over said wire-pair in a second frequency band for interrogating at least a specific one of said plurality of mailboxes for determining when a telephone message from at least one of said preselected calling stations is stored in said specific one of said plurality of mailboxes, said second frequency band being different from said first frequency band. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for processing telephone calls in a message system arranged for use at a subscriber'"'"'s premises, the message system being adapted to be parallel connected onto a wire-pair that extends between said premises and a telephone line switching system, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving in a controller the identity of one of a plurality of preselected calling stations over said wire-pair in a first frequency band; storing telephone messages in a plurality of mailboxes, each mailbox being respectively associated with a group of preselected calling stations; routing a call from said calling station to the respectively associated mailbox within the plurality of mailboxes in response to receipt of the identity of said calling station; connecting at least one adjunct unit onto the wire-pair, the adjunct unit being operatively responsive to the controller and communicating with said controller over said wire-pair in a second frequency band, said second frequency band being different from said first frequency band; and interrogating in said adjunct unit at least a specific one of said plurality of mailboxes for determining when a telephone message from at least one of said preselected calling stations is stored in said specific one of said plurality of mailboxes. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A telephone message apparatus for use at a subscriber'"'"'s premises, adapted to be parallel connected onto a wire-pair that extends between said premises and a telephone line switching system, the message apparatus comprising:
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controller means connected onto said wire-pair for receiving the identity of one of a plurality of preselected calling stations over said wire-pair in a first frequency band; mailbox means having a plurality of mailboxes for storing telephone messages, each mailbox being respectively associated with a group of preselected calling stations; call receiving means responsive to receipt of the identity of one of said preselected calling stations for routing a call from said calling station to the respectively associated mailbox within the plurality of mailboxes; and a plurality of adjunct units operatively responsive to the controller means, each one of the plurality of adjunct units being commonly connected onto said wire-pair and communicating with said controller means over said wire-pair in a second frequency band for retrieving a telephone message stored in at least a specific one of said plurality of mailboxes, said second frequency band being different from said first frequency band. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
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25. A telephone message apparatus adapted to be parallel connected onto a wire-pair that extends between a subscriber'"'"'s premises and a telephone line switching system, the message apparatus comprising:
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controller means connected onto said wire-pair for receiving the identity of one of a plurality of preselected calling stations over said wire-pair in a first frequency band; mailbox means having a plurality of mailboxes for storing telephone messages, each mailbox being respectively associated with a group of preselected calling stations; call receiving means responsive to receipt of the identity of one of said preselected calling stations for routing a call from said calling station to the respectively associated mailbox within the plurality of mailboxes; and at least one adjunct unit operatively responsive to the controller means, the adjunct unit being commonly connected onto said wire-pair and communicating with said controller means over said wire-pair in a second frequency band for retrieving a telephone message stored in at least a specific one of said plurality of mailboxes, said second frequency band being different from said first frequency band. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28)
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Specification