Telephone apparatus
First Claim
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1. A telephone apparatus having:
- exchange connection means suitable for connection, by means of a telecommunications exchange line, to a telecommunications network;
signal recognition means suitable for detecting and recognising a ringing pattern or cadence of signalling, associated with an incoming call, transmitted over the exchange line to the apparatus, call handling means for handling the incoming call according to the ringing pattern or cadence;
at least one cordless handset connection means suitable for establishing wireless communication between the apparatus and at least one respective cordless handset;
detection means for detecting the presence or absence of such cordless handsets, and programming means to change the correspondence between ringing patterns or cadences and handling process according to the presence or absence of the cordless handsets.
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Abstract
A telephone apparatus connects to a telecommunications network via an exchange line. It has signal recognition for detecting and recognizing calling line identity (CLI) and called number identity (CNI) signalling transmitted over the exchange line. The apparatus causes an incoming call to be transferred to a second exchange line in response to specified CLIs and/or CNIs.
108 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A telephone apparatus having:
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exchange connection means suitable for connection, by means of a telecommunications exchange line, to a telecommunications network;
signal recognition means suitable for detecting and recognising a ringing pattern or cadence of signalling, associated with an incoming call, transmitted over the exchange line to the apparatus, call handling means for handling the incoming call according to the ringing pattern or cadence;
at least one cordless handset connection means suitable for establishing wireless communication between the apparatus and at least one respective cordless handset;
detection means for detecting the presence or absence of such cordless handsets, and programming means to change the correspondence between ringing patterns or cadences and handling process according to the presence or absence of the cordless handsets. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of operating a telephone apparatus connected to a telephone network by means of an exchange line, wherein:
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on an incoming call attempt being made from the network, handling the call according to a selected one of a plurality of modes under the control of the apparatus according to which of a predetermined set of ringing patterns or cadences is transmitted form the network; and
wherein the apparatus is associated with one or more removable handsets, and the correspondence between ringing patterns or cadences and handling process selection is varied according to the presence or absence of the removable handsets. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
a) transmitting a message offering handling options to the calling party, the options offered being selected according to the characteristics of the signalling associated with the call attempt;
b) receiving handling instructions from the calling party; and
c) handling the incoming call according to said handling instructions.
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Specification