Local control of call features in a telephone system
First Claim
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1. A telephone system, comprising:
- a controller phone part, connected to receive telephone communication over a communication link, and such that only said controller phone part receives said telephone communication, and having control circuitry therein, said controller phone part connected to allow control and communication to each of a plurality of auxiliary telephone units over a telephone line, said control carried out over said telephone line using control data at a different frequency than usual voice communication and at a different frequency than DSL; and
at least one auxiliary telephone, also connected to said telephone line, and latching into a specified active or inactive mode,said controller phone part allowing activating said telephone line to receive communication from the controller, and to detect automatically an end of a telephone conversation, and resetting status of each of said auxiliary telephones upon detecting said end of communication.
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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.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A telephone system, comprising:
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a controller phone part, connected to receive telephone communication over a communication link, and such that only said controller phone part receives said telephone communication, and having control circuitry therein, said controller phone part connected to allow control and communication to each of a plurality of auxiliary telephone units over a telephone line, said control carried out over said telephone line using control data at a different frequency than usual voice communication and at a different frequency than DSL; and at least one auxiliary telephone, also connected to said telephone line, and latching into a specified active or inactive mode, said controller phone part allowing activating said telephone line to receive communication from the controller, and to detect automatically an end of a telephone conversation, and resetting status of each of said auxiliary telephones upon detecting said end of communication. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method, comprising:
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receiving telephone communication over a communication link into a single controller part; using said controller part to control, and allow communications with, a plurality of auxiliary communicators, said control carried out over said telephone line using control data at a different frequency than usual voice communication and at a different frequency than DSL; latching at least one of said auxiliary communicators into one of a specified active or inactive mode; and automatically detecting an end of a telephone conversation, and resetting status of each of said auxiliary communicators upon receiving said end of communication. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method, comprising:
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receiving information indicative of an incoming telephone call into a master controller; determining one of a plurality of auxiliary units to receive the telephone call information, and designating said one auxiliary unit as a master unit, and designating other auxiliary units as slave units, said designating carried out over a telephone line, using a different frequency than is used for normal voice communication; and detecting an end of a telephone call, and automatically resetting said one auxiliary unit as no longer being the slave unit.
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Specification