Telephone system

• US 8,194,845 B2
• Filed: 08/28/2008
• Issued: 06/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Estech Systems IP, LLC (Estech Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Estech Systems, Inc.
• Inventors: Hansen, Harold E. A., Suder, Eric
• Primary Examiner(s): Gauthier, Gerald
• Application Number:
  US12/200,330
• Publication Number:
  US 20080317235A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,377 Days
• Field of Search: 379/88.07, 379/211.02, 379/84, 379/88.17, 379/88.19, 379/88.22, 379/100.08, 379/88.11, 379/88.13, 379/88.14, 379/88.25, 379/93.05, 379/93.14, 379/93.29, 379/93.32, 379/100.15, 455/459, 455/557, 348/14.01, 358/440, 370/352, 370/355, 370/401, 700/2
• US Class Current: 379/211.02
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/533 Voice mail systems

Abstract

A telephone and voice mail (voice processing) system is implemented using only a single processing means for controlling operations of both the telephone system and the voice mail system. The single processing means communicates with a hard disk, which stores programs for running the various operations of the system, voice prompts and all voice mail messages. The single processing means is coupled to signal processing circuitry, which emulates analog electronics that would be used for filters, tone decoder, generators, etc. The single processing means and signal processing circuitry are coupled to central office lines and station lines by a digital cross-point matrix, which can connect any voice path to another voice path. The system integrates call processing and voice processing into one system controlled by one set of software and a single processing means.

Claims

1. A telephone call and voice processing system comprising:

a microprocessor executing a computer program product for controlling connections of incoming telephone voice calls to a plurality of telephone extensions and voice mailboxes associated with each of the telephone extensions; and

the computer program product stored in a computer storage media coupled to the microprocessor, the computer program product comprising program steps for;

upon receipt by the system of an incoming telephone voice call, determining which of the plurality of telephone extensions is identified by the incoming telephone voice call as a desired telephone extension destination for establishing a voice communication channel between an originator of the incoming telephone voice call and the desired telephone extension destination;

signaling the desired telephone extension destination of the incoming telephone voice call; and

if the desired telephone extension destination does not go off hook to answer the incoming voice call after passage of a specified time period, coupling the incoming telephone voice call to the voice mailbox associated with the desired telephone extension destination, wherein the voice mailbox interacts with the incoming telephone voice call so that a voice message provided by the incoming telephone voice call is stored in the voice mailbox associated with the desired telephone extension destination.

2. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the computer program product comprises the following program steps:

while the incoming telephone voice call is providing the voice message being recorded in association with the voice mailbox, receiving a signal from the desired telephone extension destination that it has gone off hook; and

in response to receipt of the signal that the desired telephone extension destination has gone off hook, establishing the voice communications channel between the incoming telephone voice call and the desired telephone extension destination.

3. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the incoming telephone voice calls arrive to the system via telephone trunks from a central office.