Local control of call features in a telephone system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of locally controlling call features comprising:
- signaling a request for a call feature from a first telephone over a phone line;
processing the request in a processing element which is separate from and remote from said first telephone, by automatically setting said first telephone which signaled the request am a master controller which can send commands, detecting a command from another telephone, other than said master, and setting said another telephone as a slave telephone which receive commands from the master;
detecting a call feature request from said slave telephone; and
determining, in the master telephone, whether to grant access to the slave telephone in response to the request, and to command the slave telephone, over the phone line.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A residential phone system allows for local control of call features from any phone extension. The phone system may include a microcontroller that communicates along the phone lines at a non-utilized frequency to several extension phones in a residence. The microcontroller permits each phone to control call features such as call waiting, conference calling, paging, or other features. A control box may be included at any or all of the extension phones to provide a convenient user interface to access the call features.
24 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A method of locally controlling call features comprising:
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signaling a request for a call feature from a first telephone over a phone line;
processing the request in a processing element which is separate from and remote from said first telephone, by automatically setting said first telephone which signaled the request am a master controller which can send commands, detecting a command from another telephone, other than said master, and setting said another telephone as a slave telephone which receive commands from the master;
detecting a call feature request from said slave telephone; and
determining, in the master telephone, whether to grant access to the slave telephone in response to the request, and to command the slave telephone, over the phone line. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 21, 22)
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7. A method of processing call features comprising:
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submitting a request for a call feature from a first phone extension to a local controller which is separate from said first phone;
automatically designating the first phone as a master which can send commands;
receiving a request for a call feature from another telephone;
designating said another telephone as a slave telephone which receives commands from the master;
determining in the master whether to grant the call feature to the slave; and
transmitting instructions regarding the call feature over the local phone lines at a frequency not used for voice or voice-over-data communications. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 23, 24)
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12. A local phone system comprising:
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a controller which receives requests for call features from a plurality of phone extensions, wherein the controller processes the requests and transmits instructions to the phone extensions based on the requests and which automatically designates a last phone that makes a request as a master phone when no other phone is already a master phone, that can grant requests made by all other phones, and which other phones are designated as slave phones; and
a first transceiver which provides communications between the controller and the phone extensions over a phone line. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26)
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Specification