Captioned telephone service
First Claim
1. A method of operating a captioned telephone call in which an assisted user is connected by through a captioned telephone device which is connected both to one telephone line to a remote user and a second telephone line to a relay providing captioning for the conversation, the method comprising the steps of when the assisted user initiates a call by dialing a telephone number on the first telephone line, the captioned telephone device storing the telephone number without dialing immediately on the first telephone line;
- the captioned telephone device initiating a call on the second telephone line to the relay to initiate captioning service set up, and thereafter passing the spoken words received on the first telephone line to the second telephone line; and
the captioned telephone device then dialing the stored telephone number on the first telephone line to initiate a spoken conversation; and
the captioning service them providing captioning to the captioned telephone device of the spoken words transmitted on the second telephone line.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Captioned telephone are devices intended to provide text captions to persons needing assistance with telephone communications. Captioned telephones provide text by using the services of a relay interposed between the assisted user and the hearing user, the relay providing the captioning for the assisted user. While captioned telephone service can be delivered over a single telephone line, if the assisted user has two telephone lines available for the captioning service, additional features and advantages are possible in the delivery of captioned telephone service to the user.
156 Citations
13 Claims
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1. A method of operating a captioned telephone call in which an assisted user is connected by through a captioned telephone device which is connected both to one telephone line to a remote user and a second telephone line to a relay providing captioning for the conversation, the method comprising the steps of
when the assisted user initiates a call by dialing a telephone number on the first telephone line, the captioned telephone device storing the telephone number without dialing immediately on the first telephone line; -
the captioned telephone device initiating a call on the second telephone line to the relay to initiate captioning service set up, and thereafter passing the spoken words received on the first telephone line to the second telephone line; and
the captioned telephone device then dialing the stored telephone number on the first telephone line to initiate a spoken conversation; and
the captioning service them providing captioning to the captioned telephone device of the spoken words transmitted on the second telephone line. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method of operating a captioned telephone call in which an assisted user is connected by through a captioned telephone device which is connected both to one telephone line to a remote user and a second telephone line to a relay providing captioning for the conversation, the method comprising the steps of
the captioned telephone device monitoring the status of both of the telephone lines; -
if a call is received by the captioned telephone device, and the other telephone line is not in use, the captioned telephone device setting up the call as a two-line captioned telephone call; and
if a call is received by the captioned telephone device, and the other telephone line is in use, the captioned telephone device setting up the call as a single-line captioned telephone call.
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6. A method of operating a captioned telephone call in which an assisted user is connected by through a captioned telephone device which is connected both to one telephone line to a remote user and a second telephone line to a relay providing captioning for the conversation, the method comprising the steps of
when an incoming call is initiated on the first telephone line, the captioned telephone line immediately and automatically calling the relay on the second telephone line so that the captioning of the telephone call by the relay can commence as soon as possible.
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9. A method of operating a captioned telephone call in which an assisted user is connected by through a captioned telephone device which is connected both to one telephone line to a remote user and a second telephone line to a relay providing captioning for the conversation, the method comprising the steps of
during the telephone conversation, the captioned telephone device receiving captioning for the words spoken by the remote user from the relay and displaying the words in a visual display for the assisted user; - and
when the telephone conversation is ended, the captioned telephone device maintaining the telephone connection on the second telephone line to the relay to maintain the set up in case the assisted user intends to promptly make another telephone call. - View Dependent Claims (10)
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11. A method of operating a captioned telephone call in which an assisted user is connected by through a captioned telephone device which is connected both to one telephone line to a remote user and a second telephone line to a relay providing captioning for the conversation, the method comprising the steps of
during the telephone conversation, the captioned telephone device receiving captioning for the spoken words of the remote user from the relay and displaying the words in a visual display for the assisted user; - and
during the telephone conversation, the captioned telephone device using echo cancellation to cancel the voice of the assisted user from the second telephone line so that the relay does not hear the voice of the assisted user, so the relay can caption all the words on the second telephone line without causing confusion to the assisted user. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13)
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Specification