Apparatus for telephone extension control
First Claim
1. A control system, which interfaces a central office telephone line with a plurality of telephones, the plurality of telephones capable of being used to answer incoming calls and initiate outgoing calls, said control system comprising;
- first means for controlling the ring function of at least one of said plurality of telephones when an incoming call is received;
second means for controlling the staging of the ring function of said plurality of telephones when an incoming call is received; and
third means for controlling the use of one or more of said plurality of telephones to initiate an outgoing call by selectively disabling at least one of said plurality of telephones from being used to initiate an outgoing call when another of said plurality of telephones is in use.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention is directed to a control system which interfaces a plurality of telephones, referred to as extensions, to a central office telephone line. The control system includes a ring detector, a ring generator, a controller and a telephone extension bus. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the control system is programmable to: (i) control the ringing function of a plurality of extensions when an incoming call is received; (ii) control the staging of the ringing function of a plurality of extensions when an incoming call is received; (iii) control the use of one or more of a plurality of extensions to initiate an outgoing call; (iv) control the use of one or more of a plurality of extensions when another extension is in-use, i.e. presently being used to engage in an ongoing telephone call; (v) control the use of one or more of a plurality of extensions when another extension is being used for a data call, i.e., a data transmission or communication between machines including, for example, facsimile machines and computers; and (vi) control access to a central office telephone line by one or more extensions when another extension is in-use.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A control system, which interfaces a central office telephone line with a plurality of telephones, the plurality of telephones capable of being used to answer incoming calls and initiate outgoing calls, said control system comprising;
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first means for controlling the ring function of at least one of said plurality of telephones when an incoming call is received; second means for controlling the staging of the ring function of said plurality of telephones when an incoming call is received; and third means for controlling the use of one or more of said plurality of telephones to initiate an outgoing call by selectively disabling at least one of said plurality of telephones from being used to initiate an outgoing call when another of said plurality of telephones is in use. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A control system, which interfaces a central office telephone line with a plurality of telephones located throughout a residence, the plurality of telephones capable of being used to answer incoming calls and initiate outgoing calls, said control system comprising:
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means for selectively ringing at least one of said plurality of telephones when an incoming call is received; means for selectively disabling the ring function of at least one of said plurality of telephones from ringing when an incoming call is received; means for selectively ringing at least one of said plurality of telephones only after another of said telephones has rung a predetermined number of rings in response to an incoming call; means for selectively disabling at least one of said plurality of telephones from being used to initiate an outgoing call; and means for selectively disabling at least one of said plurality of telephones from being used to initiate an outgoing call when another of said plurality of telephones is in-use.
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Specification