Calling party identification device with message function
First Claim
1. A caller identification device comprising:
- a line interface circuit coupled to a telephone line;
a ring detector coupled to the telephone line, the ring detector detecting rings of an incoming telephone call, wherein said line interface seizes the telephone line when the ring detector detects a predetermined number of rings of the incoming telephone call;
a line monitor coupled to the telephone line, the line monitor receiving an incoming telephone call signal from the telephone line while in an on-hook state;
a dual tone multi-frequency generator coupled to the line interface circuit for generating dual tone multi-frequency signals on the telephone line;
a VOX circuit coupled to the line monitor, the VOX circuit automatically detecting a presence of audible signals on the telephone line;
a memory storing at least numeric information and at least one identifier representing a detection by the VOX circuit of the presence of audible signals on the telephone line;
a caller identification detector coupled to the line monitor, the caller identification detector detecting caller identification information including at least a telephone number of a caller when the line monitor means receives the incoming telephone call signal; and
a controller which controls the line interface circuit to re-seize the telephone line in response to a completed telephone call in which the caller identification detector has detected the caller identification information, for subsequently controlling the dual tone multi-frequency generator to dial a predetermined telephone number that is stored in the memory, and for then controlling the dual tone multi-frequency generator to transmit said at least numeric information over the telephone line, wherein transmission of said at least numeric information by the controller is paused until the VOX circuit ceases to detect the presence of audible signals on the telephone line for a predetermined period of time each time the at least one identifier is encountered.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A caller identification device attachable to a telephone line and having a message function includes a line interface coupled to the telephone line, a ring detector for detecting rings of an incoming telephone call, and a line monitor for receiving an incoming telephone call signal from the telephone line in an on-hook state. A caller identification detector is coupled to the line monitor for detecting caller identification information including at least the caller'"'"'s telephone number when the line monitor receives an incoming telephone call signal. A speech synthesizer generates and transmits speech signals on the telephone line, and a remote detector is coupled to the line monitor for detecting a remote command tone signal. A controller activates the line interface to seize the telephone line when the ring detector detects rings of an incoming telephone call. The controller enables recording of the caller identification information detected by the caller identification detector, and causes the speech synthesizer to generate and transmit to the caller a menu of spoken options prompting the caller to enter a remote command tone signal corresponding to a message when the line interface seizes the telephone line. The message corresponding to the remote command tone signal entered by the caller and detected by the remote detector is recorded. The controller may optionally control dialing of a service such as a pager service, to transmit caller identification information and, if applicable, a message, to the pager service.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A caller identification device comprising:
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a line interface circuit coupled to a telephone line; a ring detector coupled to the telephone line, the ring detector detecting rings of an incoming telephone call, wherein said line interface seizes the telephone line when the ring detector detects a predetermined number of rings of the incoming telephone call; a line monitor coupled to the telephone line, the line monitor receiving an incoming telephone call signal from the telephone line while in an on-hook state; a dual tone multi-frequency generator coupled to the line interface circuit for generating dual tone multi-frequency signals on the telephone line; a VOX circuit coupled to the line monitor, the VOX circuit automatically detecting a presence of audible signals on the telephone line; a memory storing at least numeric information and at least one identifier representing a detection by the VOX circuit of the presence of audible signals on the telephone line; a caller identification detector coupled to the line monitor, the caller identification detector detecting caller identification information including at least a telephone number of a caller when the line monitor means receives the incoming telephone call signal; and a controller which controls the line interface circuit to re-seize the telephone line in response to a completed telephone call in which the caller identification detector has detected the caller identification information, for subsequently controlling the dual tone multi-frequency generator to dial a predetermined telephone number that is stored in the memory, and for then controlling the dual tone multi-frequency generator to transmit said at least numeric information over the telephone line, wherein transmission of said at least numeric information by the controller is paused until the VOX circuit ceases to detect the presence of audible signals on the telephone line for a predetermined period of time each time the at least one identifier is encountered. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification