Method and apparatus for bypassing a cellular modem pool during a fax transmission
First Claim
1. A cellular modem pool apparatus comprising:
- bypass circuitry for providing an audio path between a calling party and a called party; and
a modem pair responsive to a facsimile calling tone signal present on the audio path that maintains the audio path until detection of a disconnect signal indicating a termination of an associated facsimile call whereby the associated facsimile call is routed through the modem pool via the audio path but not routed through the modem pair,wherein data terminal equipment ports of each modem of the modem pair are coupled together and at least one modem of the pair includes means for providing an ignore answer tone signal to the other modem of the pair through the coupled data terminal equipment ports subsequent detection of the facsimile calling tone signal.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A cellular modem pool provides a "transparent call progress" feature where each modem pair of the cellular modem pool is coupled to a cross-connect switch, which communicates call progress information between the cellular-side and the PSTN-side during data call setup. The modem pair of the cellular modem pool monitors the call progress information for a data signal provided by a DCE of the calling party, e.g., a predefined fax calling tone. Once the fax calling tone is detected, the modem pair prohibits the opening of the connection provided by the cross-connect switch. This enables the transparent call progress feature for the duration of the fax call thereby routing the fax call around the modem pair.
33 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A cellular modem pool apparatus comprising:
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bypass circuitry for providing an audio path between a calling party and a called party; and a modem pair responsive to a facsimile calling tone signal present on the audio path that maintains the audio path until detection of a disconnect signal indicating a termination of an associated facsimile call whereby the associated facsimile call is routed through the modem pool via the audio path but not routed through the modem pair, wherein data terminal equipment ports of each modem of the modem pair are coupled together and at least one modem of the pair includes means for providing an ignore answer tone signal to the other modem of the pair through the coupled data terminal equipment ports subsequent detection of the facsimile calling tone signal.
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2. A cellular modem pool apparatus for use in a cellular fax connection, the apparatus comprising:
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means for coupling at least one signal representative of call progress information between a first communications channel associated with a cellular-side of the cellular fax connection and a second communications channel associated with a public-switched-telephone-network-side (PTSN-side) of the cellular fax connection during a fax call setup portion of a data call; and a pair of modems coupled to the first communications channel and the second communications channel for monitoring signals on either the first communications channel or the second communications channel such that the pair of modems maintains the means for coupling in a closed state for the duration of the fax call upon detection of a fax calling tone on either the first communications channel or the second communications channel, at least one modem of the modem pair responsive to a disconnect signal indicating a termination of the fax call to disable the means for coupling subsequent to the fax call setup portion of the fax call, wherein the data terminal equipment ports of each modem of the modem pair are coupled together and the at least one modem includes means for providing an ignore answer tone signal to the other modem through the coupled data terminal equipment ports. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An improved cellular modem pool apparatus for providing a fax connection between a calling party and a called party, the fax connection comprising a cellular portion and a non-cellular portion, the apparatus including a modem pair, wherein the improvement comprises:
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means for coupling the cellular portion of the fax connection to the non-cellular portion of the fax connection for the duration of the fax call thereby bypassing the modem pair, wherein one modem of the modem pair is associated with the called party and disables the means for coupling upon failure to detect an answer tone within a predefined time interval. - View Dependent Claims (8)
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9. A method for use in establishing a cellular fax connection through a cellular modem pool, the method comprising the steps of:
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coupling call progress information between a cellular-side of the cellular fax connection and a non-cellular side of the cellular fax connection during a fax call setup portion of a fax call; maintaining said coupling for the duration of the call upon detection of a fax calling tone within the call progress information; and passing E&
M signaling information through a modem pair of the cellular modem pool prior to the coupling step. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11)
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12. A cellular modem pool apparatus for use in a cellular fax connection, the apparatus comprising:
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means for coupling at least one signal representative of call progress information between a first communications channel associated with a cellular-side of the cellular fax connection and a second communications channel associated with a public-switched-telephone-network-side (PTSN-side) of the cellular fax connection during a fax call setup portion of a data call, the means for coupling including a number of digital signal processing means coupled together to communicate the call progress information; and a pair of modems coupled to the first communications channel and the second communications channel for monitoring signals on either the first communications channel or the second communications channel such that the pair of modems maintains the means for coupling in a closed state for the duration of the fax call upon detection of a fax calling tone on either the first communications channel or the second communications channel, wherein at least one of the digital signal processing means is responsive to a disconnect signal to stop the call progress communication subsequent to the fax call setup portion of the data call.
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Specification