System and method for amplifying attenuated DTMF signals in a packet based network

• US 8,767,930 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2007
• Issued: 07/01/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ray, Amar N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jamal, Alexander
• Application Number:
  US11/824,185
• Publication Number:
  US 20080304652A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,559 Days
• Field of Search: 379/386, 379/347, 379/142.18
• US Class Current: 379/142.18
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/505 signals generated in digital form
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/1295 Details of dual tone multiple frequency signalling

Abstract

A network interface device may include an I/O unit configured to receive data packets from a packet network. A processing unit may be in communication with the I/O unit and be configured to identify data packets including data representative of DTMF signals, convert the data in the data packets into analog DTMF tone signals, and determine if power of the analog DTMF tone signals is below a threshold value. A digital to analog converter may be in communication with the processing unit and be configured to generate the analog DTMF tone signals based on the data in the data packets. A DTMF amplifier may be in communication with the processing unit and the digital to analog converter, where the processing unit may cause the DTMF amplifier to amplify the power of the analog DTMF tone signals in response to determining that the power of the analog DTMF tone signals are below the threshold value.

Claims

1. A network interface device, comprising:

an I/O unit configured to receive data packets from a packet network;

a processing unit in communication with said I/O unit and configured to identify data packets including data representative of DTMF signals;

a digital to analog converter in communication with said processing unit and configured to convert the data into analog DTMF tone signals and generate analog DTMF tone signals based on the data, and the processing unit further configured to determine if power of the analog DTMF tone signals is below a threshold value; and

a DTMF amplifier in communication with said processing unit and said digital to analog converter, said processing unit causing said DTMF amplifier to amplify the power of the analog DTMF tone signals in response to determining that the power of analog DTMF tone signals is below the threshold value.

2. The network interface device according to claim 1, wherein the threshold value is set at a low power DTMF threshold value as specified in the TIA-470.230-C standard.

3. The network interface device according to claim 1, wherein said processing unit is further configured to determine a difference in power level that the analog DTMF tone signals are below the threshold level by, and cause said DTMF amplifier to amplify the analog DTMF tone signals by at least the difference in power level.

4. The network interface device according to claim 1, wherein the data included in the data packets is for at least one of continuous DTMF signals and DTMF tone signals.

5. The network interface device according to claim 1, wherein said processing unit is configured to convert the data to the analog DTMF tone signals according to an RFC 2833 standard.

6. The network interface device according to claim 1, wherein said I/O unit is further in communication with a remotely accessed telecommunications system.

7. The network interface device according to claim 6, wherein the remotely accessed telecommunications system is an interactive telephone response system.

8. The network interface device according to claim 1, wherein the power of the analog DTMF tone signals is an average power.

9. The network interface device according to claim 8, wherein the average power is calculated over a single DTMF tone.

10. The network interface device according to claim 1, wherein the network interface device is an Internet access device.

11. A method for communicating DTMF signals over a packet network, said method comprising:

identifying data packets received via a packet network, the data packets including data representative of DTMF signals;

converting the data in the data packets into analog DTMF tone signals;

determining if power of the analog DTMF tone signals is below a threshold value; and

amplifying the power of the analog DTMF tone signals in response to determining that the power of the analog DTMF tone signals is below the threshold value.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising setting the threshold value at a low power DTMF threshold as specified in the TIA-470.230-C standard.

13. The method according to claim 11, further comprising determining a difference in power level that the analog DTMF tone signals are below the threshold level by, and cause the power of the analog DTMF tone signals to be amplified by at least the difference in power level.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein identifying data packets including data representative of DTMF signals including identifying data packets including at least one of data representative of continuous DTMF signals and data representative of the DTMF tone signals.

15. The method according to claim 11, wherein converting the data to the analog DTMF tone signals includes converting the data to the analog DTMF tone signals according to an RFC 2833 standard.

16. The method according to claim 11, further comprising communicating the analog DTMF tone signals with a remotely accessed telecommunications system.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein communicating the analog DTMF tone signals with the remotely accessed telecommunications system includes communicating the analog DTMF tone signals with an interactive telephone response system.

18. The method according to claim 11, wherein determining if power of the analog DTMF tone signals is below a threshold value includes determining if average power of the analog DTMF tone signals is below the threshold value.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein determining if the average power of the analog DTMF tone signals is below the threshold value includes determining if the average power over a single DTMF tone is below the threshold value.

20. The method according to claim 11, further comprising receiving the data packets from the Internet.