SHARED WIDEBAND COMMUNICATION LINE FOR PRIVATE BRANCH EXCHANGE STATIONS

• US 3,617,637 A
• Filed: 01/28/1970
• Issued: 11/02/1971
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/1970
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Patrick Henry Ii Gorman
• Original Assignee: Patrick Henry Ii Gorman
• Inventors: Gorman, Patrick Henry II
• Primary Examiner(s): Claffy, Kathleen H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): D'Amico, Tom
• Application Number:
  US05/006,370
• Time in Patent Office: 643 Days
• Field of Search: 179/2TV,36,37,38,39,17B 178/6PD
• US Class Current: 348/14.11
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/00 Selecting arrangements H04Q5/00 - H04Q11/00 take precedence

Abstract

Equipment is disclosed including a shared wideband communication facility which may be key selected by private branch exchange stations or, alternatively, selected on an automatic basis to complete outgoing or incoming audio-video connections directly between line terminations of a switching office and the exchange stations.

Claims

1. A communication system for establishing audio and wideband path connections between a switching office and a plurality of stations comprising, a wideband path common to said stations extending from said office, a plurality of audio paths extending from said office each associated with a separate one of said stations, means detecting a ringing signal on one of said audio paths, and means controlled by said detecting means and responsive exclusively to a connect signal from the particular called one of said stations associated with said one audio path for connecting said wideband path to said called station.

2. The system set forth in claim 1 further including means responsive to said connect signal for establishing a connection from said called station to said one audio path.

3. A communication system in accordance with claim 1 further including means at each of said stations for selecting said wideband path to originate a call to said office, means responsive to the actuation of said selecting means for establishing a connection between an originating one of said stations and one of said audio paths associated with said originating station, and means reserving said wideband path for an exclusive connection to said originating station.

4. A communication system in accordance with claim 1 further including a second wideband path and a second plurality of audio paths, said second wideband path being common to all of said stations and each station having one of said second plurality of audio paths individually associated therewith, and means detecting a ringing signal on one of said second plurality of audio paths for reserving said second wideband path for connection to the one of said stations individually associated with said one path of said second plurality of audio paths.

5. The invention recited in claim 1 further including means responsive to the receipt of a special signal on said wideband path before the detection of said ringing signal for disabling said connecting means to prevent the establishment of a connectIon between any of said stations and said wideband path.

6. The invention recited in claim 5 further including means also responsive to said special signal for indicating a busy condition of said wideband path at each of said stations.

7. The invention recited in claim 6 further including means controlled by said detecting means for altering said indicating means to indicate a calling condition rather than a busy condition at said called station.

8. An arrangement including a common wideband channel for supplementing any one of a plurality of audio paths to furnish audio-video communications between key-equipped telephone stations and a switching office comprising, a key at each of said stations exclusively associated with the selection of said channel, means responsive to the operation of said key at one of said stations for controlling the establishment of a connection between one of said audio paths and said one station, and means actuated by said controlling means and responsive to a signal on said channel from said office for connecting said channel to said one station.

9. The invention set forth in claim 8 further including means actuated by said controlling means for preventing establishment of a second connection from said channel and audio paths to another of said stations in response to the operation of a second one of said keys at a different one of said stations.

10. Equipment interposed between a plurality of audio paths extending between exchange stations and a switching office for providing shared access to a wideband channel to augment said paths comprising, means selectively actuated from any one of said stations for reserving said channel for the exclusive use of said one station, means controlled by said reserving means for excluding all stations except said one station from connecting to said audio paths, means actuated by said reserving means for connecting a prescribed one of said paths to said one station, and means responsive to a signal from said office for connecting said channel to said one station, said signal being sent by said office after the receipt of a call address by said office.

11. A communication system for establishing audio and wideband path connections between a switching office and a plurality of stations each of which includes a video set and an audio set comprising a plurality of wideband paths each common to a plurality of said stations and extending from said office, a plurality of audio paths extending from said office, and a control means individually associated with one of said wideband paths and with a distinct group of said audio paths, each one of said control means being connected to said video set and audio set of each station and including an auxiliary line circuit connected to each audio path of said associated distinct group, each one of said auxiliary line circuits including means for detecting a ringing signal on said audio path connected thereto, and means controlled by said detecting means and responsive exclusively to a signal from one of said stations individually associated with said audio path over which said ringing signal is detected for connecting said one station to the one of said wideband paths associated with the one of said distinct groups containing said last-mentioned audio path.

12. A communication system in accordance with claim 11 wherein said control means includes lamp control circuitry for indicating the idle-busy state of said wideband paths at each one of said stations.

13. A communication system in accordance with claim 11 wherein said control means includes means activated on a call originated at a calling one of said stations for reserving a particular one of said wideband paths, and means actuated by said reserving means for controlling the establishment of a connection from said calling station to one of said audio paths which is included in the distinct group associated with said reserved wideband path.

14. A communication system in accordance with claim 13 further inCluding means responsive to the receipt of a signal on said reserved wideband path for controlling the connection of said reserved wideband path to said calling station.

15. Control circuitry for a communication system wherein a plurality of common wideband channels and individual audio paths are provided to a switching office for a plurality of stations, each wideband channel being common to all said stations and each station having one audio path associated with each wideband channel, said control circuitry including means detecting a ringing signal on one of said audio paths associated with a wideband channel and means controlled by said detecting means and responsive to a signal from a station associated with said one audio path for connecting said associated wideband channel to said station associated with said one audio path.

16. In combination, a plurality of lines extending from a local switching office, a plurality of stations each associated with prescribed ones of said lines, key means at each of said stations for controlling the establishment of a connection to associated ones of said lines, a common wideband channel extending from said office and connectable to any one of said stations, means responsive to the receipt of a first signal on said channel indicating a call to an unidentified one of said stations for sending a channel-busy indication to every station, means also responsive to the receipt of said first signal for preventing a connection of said lines to said stations in response to actuation of said key means at any of said stations, means responsive to the receipt of a second signal on one of said lines for identifying the called one of said stations, means activated by said identifying means for indicating a calling condition at said called station, and means exclusively controlled by actuation of said key means at said called station for establishing a connection from said one line as well as said channel to said called station.