Arrangement for interfacing a telephone device with a personal computer
First Claim
1. An arrangement for interfacing a telephone device with a personal computer comprising:
- means for attaching the telephone device to an analog line and to the personal computer;
sensing means for determining when said computer is in a powered-on state and in a powered-off state;
storage means in said telephone device for storing information received over said analog line and transmitted over said analog line while said computer is in the powered-off state;
means for transferring said information from said telephone device storage means to said computer while said computer is in the powered-on state;
storage means in the computer for storing said information transferred from said telephone device storage means to said computer while said computer is in the powered-on state; and
means for retrieving information from said computer storage means and providing said retrieved information to said storage means in the telephone device, said retrieving means being responsive to user input provided either at the computer or at the telephone device.
16 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An arrangement provides an interface between a telephone device and a personal computer in such a manner that enhanced capability for both the telephone device and the computer in processing information in an analog telephone environment is provided. The telephone device attaches to an analog telephone line and advantageously operates either as a stand-alone device when the computer is powered-off or in tandem with the computer when the computer is powered-on. A user is able to access any of the available telephony features from the telephone device at all times and from the computer when it is powered-on. Such available telephony features include, by way of example, Caller ID for decoding available information presented on the analog telephone line and an integrated telephone answering system, which provides for reception, transmission, and storage of voice, facsimile, and electronic mail messages.
116 Citations
25 Claims
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1. An arrangement for interfacing a telephone device with a personal computer comprising:
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means for attaching the telephone device to an analog line and to the personal computer; sensing means for determining when said computer is in a powered-on state and in a powered-off state; storage means in said telephone device for storing information received over said analog line and transmitted over said analog line while said computer is in the powered-off state; means for transferring said information from said telephone device storage means to said computer while said computer is in the powered-on state; storage means in the computer for storing said information transferred from said telephone device storage means to said computer while said computer is in the powered-on state; and means for retrieving information from said computer storage means and providing said retrieved information to said storage means in the telephone device, said retrieving means being responsive to user input provided either at the computer or at the telephone device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An analog system for interfacing a telephone device with a personal computer comprising:
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means for attaching the telephone device to an analog line and to the personal computer; sensing means for determining when said computer is in a powered-on state and in a powered-off state; storage means in said telephone device for storing information received over said analog line and transmitted over said analog line while said computer is in the powered-off state; means for transferring said information from said telephone device storage means to said computer while said computer is in the powered-on state; storage means in the computer for storing said information transferred from said telephone device storage means to said computer while said computer is in the powered-on state; and means for retrieving information from said computer storage means and providing said retrieved information to said storage means in the telephone device, said retrieving means being responsive to user input provided either at the computer or at the telephone device.
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14. A method of interfacing a telephone device with a personal computer comprising the steps of:
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providing telephone functionality at said telephone device; attaching the telephone device to an analog line and to the personal computer; determining when said computer is in a powered-on state and in a powered-off state; storing in said telephone both information received over said analog line and transmitted over said analog line while said computer is in the powered-off state; responsive to said determining step, transferring information between said telephone device and said computer while said computer is in the powered-on state; storing in memory in the computer said information transferred from said telephone device to said computer while said computer is in the powered-on state; and retrieving information from said memory in said computer and providing said retrieved information for storing the telephone device, said retrieving step being responsive to said determining step for retrieving said information from said memory in said computer, and said retrieving step also being responsive to user input provided either at the computer or at the telephone device. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. An arrangement for interfacing a telephone device with a personal computer comprising:
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means for attaching the telephone device to an analog line and to the personal computer; sensing means for determining when said computer is in a powered-on state and in a powered-off state; storage means in said telephone device for storing information received over said analog line and transmitted over said analog line while said computer is in the powered-off state, said information including voice, facsimile and electronic mail messages communicated between the telephone device and a remotely located telephone device via said analog line; means for transferring said information from said telephone device storage means to said computer while said computer is in the powered-on state; storage means in the computer for storing said information transferred from said telephone device to said computer while said computer is in the powered-on state; and means for retrieving information from said computer storage means while said computer is in the powered-on state and providing said retrieved information to said storage means in the telephone device, said retrieving means being responsive to user input provided either at the computer or at the telephone device.
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Specification