CA2090997A1 - Call waiting announcement - Google Patents
Call waiting announcementInfo
- Publication number
- CA2090997A1 CA2090997A1 CA002090997A CA2090997A CA2090997A1 CA 2090997 A1 CA2090997 A1 CA 2090997A1 CA 002090997 A CA002090997 A CA 002090997A CA 2090997 A CA2090997 A CA 2090997A CA 2090997 A1 CA2090997 A1 CA 2090997A1
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- call
- busy
- recorded announcement
- receive channel
- incoming call
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
- 230000002093 peripheral effect Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 9
- 230000004913 activation Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 4
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 3
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000002452 interceptive effect Effects 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M3/00—Automatic or semi-automatic exchanges
- H04M3/20—Automatic or semi-automatic exchanges with means for interrupting existing connections; with means for breaking-in on conversations
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M3/00—Automatic or semi-automatic exchanges
- H04M3/42—Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers
- H04M3/487—Arrangements for providing information services, e.g. recorded voice services or time announcements
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A telecommunications switching system with call waiting capability comprises a main controller, peripheral controllers for connection to physical devices, and a switch for routing calls to and from the physical devices, and a device for sending a ringback signal to the receive channel of an incoming call when the called party is busy and the call wait feature is active. The peripheral controllers are connected to a recorded announcement device, and an arrangement is provided for temporarily connecting the recorded announcement device to the receive channel of the incoming call upon activation of the call wait feature to advise the calling party that the called party's line is busy.
A telecommunications switching system with call waiting capability comprises a main controller, peripheral controllers for connection to physical devices, and a switch for routing calls to and from the physical devices, and a device for sending a ringback signal to the receive channel of an incoming call when the called party is busy and the call wait feature is active. The peripheral controllers are connected to a recorded announcement device, and an arrangement is provided for temporarily connecting the recorded announcement device to the receive channel of the incoming call upon activation of the call wait feature to advise the calling party that the called party's line is busy.
Description
21~90997 The invention relates to telecommunication switching system, more particularly to a switching system call wait capability. -Call waiting is a feature that is increasing offered as a service by telephone utility companies. When the call wait feature is active, a subscriber talking to a third party is normally notified by tone of an incoming call. Instead of receiving a busy signal, the incoming caller receive~ the usual ringback signal implying that -the telephone of the call party is ringing. The incoming caller has no way of knowing of the existence of the call wait feature, and especially in small communities this can lead to unnecessary concern for the welfare of, for ;
example, an elderly subscriber because the incoming 15 caller may believe that the ~ubscriber is unable to -answer the telephone or is away from the home or when in fact this in not the case.
U.S. Patent No. 4,661,975 discloses an enhanced call waiting service where the call party has the capability of connecting the incoming caller to a recorded announcement station. However, this system require~
intervention by the called party to send a busy tone or a recorded announcement to the new caller. Once the call party as intervene in this manner, the incoming call is lost and cannot be recovered by the called party. The system described in this patent is therefore of limited usefulness.
An object of the invention is to alleviate the aforementioned disadvantages prior art.
According to the present invention there is provided a telecommunications switching system with call waiting capability comprising a main controller, peripheral controller means for connection to physical devices, and - 2~9~997 , switch means for routing calls to and from the physical devices, and means for sending a ringback signal to the receive channel of an incoming call when the called party is busy and the call wait feature i8 active, the peripheral controller means are connected to a recorded announcement device, and meanæ are provided for temporarily connecting said recorded announcement device to said receive channel of the incoming call upon activation of the call wait feature to advise the calling party that the called party's line is busy.
In the such a system in accordance with the invention, the calling party receives the recorded announcement followed by the normal ring back signal. The calling party then knows to continue listening until the 15 called party terminates the current call or to call back ~ --later. If the calling party hangs up, he or she does so in the knowledge that the subscriber is not out. Unlike in the prior art, the call party can communicate with the calling party anytime by hanging up the current call or by flashing to receive the call waiting.
Preferably, the system is arranged so that a single transmit channel from the recorded announcement device can be received by multiple outgoing channels. This permit~ a number of users to receive the recorded massage at the same time.
The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-,. .
Fig. 1 is block diagram of a telecommunication ~-switching system in accordance with the invention;
Fig. 2 i5 a diagram of showing the status of the system when the call wait feature is first activated;
.
.. . .
Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating the activation of the call wait system;
Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate the status of the system as the incoming call is retrieved by the called party; and Fig. 6 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the system.
Referring now to Fig. 1, a standard telecommunications switching system comprises a bus 1 ~ ~
with a main controller 2 in overall command of the ~ -system, a read-only-memory 3, and a digital signal proce~sor 4.
The bus 1 is also connected to a circuit switch 5 and a message switch 6, these switches in turn being ~ ~
connected to peripheral control devices 8 connected to ~-respective RAM8 9 and 10. The system described so far i9 ~.
conventional and would readily understood by one skilled in the art. One suitable system is, for example, Mitel~s SX5000~.
The peripheral control devices 7 and 8 interface with physical devices through line circuit 11. Such devices may be telephone sets 12 or, for example, trunks 13. The feature of the invention is that one the line circuit lla, instead of being connected to a telephone set or trunk, is connected to a recorded announcement device (RAD) 14.
In normal operation in accordance with standard practice in the art, the telephone sets 12 can communicate with each other through the switch or with external circuits through trunks 13.
Call waiting capability is provided in known manner.
. : .. :, , . ~ ..... , , ......... . - , -. ~ .
.,.; , ~ .; .,.:.; .. ~.. . . . . ... .. . ....... . .
2~90997 When incoming call arrives for party A, and party A i5 busy, the switch advises party A in a known manner by transmitting a tone from that line, and notifies the .. . ...
incoming caller by returning a ring back signal on the S incoming line.
:. .
In accordance with the invention, as soon the call wait feature is activated, the ring back signal is first transmitted to the calling party and the peripheral control device 8 then connects the recorded announcement device 14 to the receive channel of the incoming line to transmit thereon the pre-recorded announcement. Once the announcement has been transmitted, the system reverts to normal operation, and it continues to transmit the ringback signal until such time as the calling party hangs up or the call party terminates the current call and accepts the incoming call.
:: - , .
; ': '::: ,' The recorded announcement device (RAD) 14 can be any device capable of recording and playing back voice me~ages. It can be a tape-recording, or preferably a digital storage medium capable of storing digitized messages. The RAD 14 is controlled by the subscriber through the normal feature control circuitry of the switching system. The subscriber can record any appropriate message of his or her choosing.
Figs. 2 to 5 explain more fully the mode of ;
operation of the system.
~: ~ '. .
In Fig. 2, subscribers B and C are engaged in ~;~
conversation. Each party is controlled by the main controller, which transmits and receives messages on behalf of the subscribers. The main controller 2 also takes care of the handling of the RAD. When the subscriber A calls B, whose line is busy initially, the system first connects A's receive channel to the ringback ,.".,:,;, ~,. ..
2~0997 generator by the circuit switch in the conventional manner. A therefore receives a ringing tone, and so far is unable to determined whether B is busy or absent. At the same time a tone is normally transmitted to B to ~ -advise B of existence of the incoming call.
The system then connects the RAD 14 to A's receive channel (Fig. 3). The RAD 14 receives the request and answers in the exactly in the same manner as an ordinary subscriber telephone set so that the recorded message is transmitted through the receive channel to subscriber A.
If the RAD 14 is busy, the system queues the incoming call and waits for the RAD to become free. The RAD 14 can, however, be connected to multiple channels æo more then one incoming caller can receive the recorded message at the same time.
Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate what happens when ~ubscriber A is listening to the RAD and subscriber B
wishes to retrieve the call. The subscriber B i8 simply connected to 9ubscriber A through the switching system, and the RAD 14 i~ di8connected. This is handled by a message sent by subscriber B's process handler in the main controller to subscriber A's process handler.
Subscriber A's handler then disconnects his receive path from the RAD's transmit path and connects it to B's transmit path. Subscriber A's transmit path is then connected to subscriber B's receive path, and a two-way conversation can take place.
More details of the operation of the system are shown in Figure 6. It will be seen that unlike the prior art, the system notifies the caller of the status of the line without interfering with the call waiting facility.
The new caller is fully advised of the situation and has the option of holding the line to wait for the called party to become free or hanging up and trying again 2 ~ 9 7 later, but the knowledge that the called party is present.
example, an elderly subscriber because the incoming 15 caller may believe that the ~ubscriber is unable to -answer the telephone or is away from the home or when in fact this in not the case.
U.S. Patent No. 4,661,975 discloses an enhanced call waiting service where the call party has the capability of connecting the incoming caller to a recorded announcement station. However, this system require~
intervention by the called party to send a busy tone or a recorded announcement to the new caller. Once the call party as intervene in this manner, the incoming call is lost and cannot be recovered by the called party. The system described in this patent is therefore of limited usefulness.
An object of the invention is to alleviate the aforementioned disadvantages prior art.
According to the present invention there is provided a telecommunications switching system with call waiting capability comprising a main controller, peripheral controller means for connection to physical devices, and - 2~9~997 , switch means for routing calls to and from the physical devices, and means for sending a ringback signal to the receive channel of an incoming call when the called party is busy and the call wait feature i8 active, the peripheral controller means are connected to a recorded announcement device, and meanæ are provided for temporarily connecting said recorded announcement device to said receive channel of the incoming call upon activation of the call wait feature to advise the calling party that the called party's line is busy.
In the such a system in accordance with the invention, the calling party receives the recorded announcement followed by the normal ring back signal. The calling party then knows to continue listening until the 15 called party terminates the current call or to call back ~ --later. If the calling party hangs up, he or she does so in the knowledge that the subscriber is not out. Unlike in the prior art, the call party can communicate with the calling party anytime by hanging up the current call or by flashing to receive the call waiting.
Preferably, the system is arranged so that a single transmit channel from the recorded announcement device can be received by multiple outgoing channels. This permit~ a number of users to receive the recorded massage at the same time.
The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-,. .
Fig. 1 is block diagram of a telecommunication ~-switching system in accordance with the invention;
Fig. 2 i5 a diagram of showing the status of the system when the call wait feature is first activated;
.
.. . .
Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating the activation of the call wait system;
Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate the status of the system as the incoming call is retrieved by the called party; and Fig. 6 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the system.
Referring now to Fig. 1, a standard telecommunications switching system comprises a bus 1 ~ ~
with a main controller 2 in overall command of the ~ -system, a read-only-memory 3, and a digital signal proce~sor 4.
The bus 1 is also connected to a circuit switch 5 and a message switch 6, these switches in turn being ~ ~
connected to peripheral control devices 8 connected to ~-respective RAM8 9 and 10. The system described so far i9 ~.
conventional and would readily understood by one skilled in the art. One suitable system is, for example, Mitel~s SX5000~.
The peripheral control devices 7 and 8 interface with physical devices through line circuit 11. Such devices may be telephone sets 12 or, for example, trunks 13. The feature of the invention is that one the line circuit lla, instead of being connected to a telephone set or trunk, is connected to a recorded announcement device (RAD) 14.
In normal operation in accordance with standard practice in the art, the telephone sets 12 can communicate with each other through the switch or with external circuits through trunks 13.
Call waiting capability is provided in known manner.
. : .. :, , . ~ ..... , , ......... . - , -. ~ .
.,.; , ~ .; .,.:.; .. ~.. . . . . ... .. . ....... . .
2~90997 When incoming call arrives for party A, and party A i5 busy, the switch advises party A in a known manner by transmitting a tone from that line, and notifies the .. . ...
incoming caller by returning a ring back signal on the S incoming line.
:. .
In accordance with the invention, as soon the call wait feature is activated, the ring back signal is first transmitted to the calling party and the peripheral control device 8 then connects the recorded announcement device 14 to the receive channel of the incoming line to transmit thereon the pre-recorded announcement. Once the announcement has been transmitted, the system reverts to normal operation, and it continues to transmit the ringback signal until such time as the calling party hangs up or the call party terminates the current call and accepts the incoming call.
:: - , .
; ': '::: ,' The recorded announcement device (RAD) 14 can be any device capable of recording and playing back voice me~ages. It can be a tape-recording, or preferably a digital storage medium capable of storing digitized messages. The RAD 14 is controlled by the subscriber through the normal feature control circuitry of the switching system. The subscriber can record any appropriate message of his or her choosing.
Figs. 2 to 5 explain more fully the mode of ;
operation of the system.
~: ~ '. .
In Fig. 2, subscribers B and C are engaged in ~;~
conversation. Each party is controlled by the main controller, which transmits and receives messages on behalf of the subscribers. The main controller 2 also takes care of the handling of the RAD. When the subscriber A calls B, whose line is busy initially, the system first connects A's receive channel to the ringback ,.".,:,;, ~,. ..
2~0997 generator by the circuit switch in the conventional manner. A therefore receives a ringing tone, and so far is unable to determined whether B is busy or absent. At the same time a tone is normally transmitted to B to ~ -advise B of existence of the incoming call.
The system then connects the RAD 14 to A's receive channel (Fig. 3). The RAD 14 receives the request and answers in the exactly in the same manner as an ordinary subscriber telephone set so that the recorded message is transmitted through the receive channel to subscriber A.
If the RAD 14 is busy, the system queues the incoming call and waits for the RAD to become free. The RAD 14 can, however, be connected to multiple channels æo more then one incoming caller can receive the recorded message at the same time.
Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate what happens when ~ubscriber A is listening to the RAD and subscriber B
wishes to retrieve the call. The subscriber B i8 simply connected to 9ubscriber A through the switching system, and the RAD 14 i~ di8connected. This is handled by a message sent by subscriber B's process handler in the main controller to subscriber A's process handler.
Subscriber A's handler then disconnects his receive path from the RAD's transmit path and connects it to B's transmit path. Subscriber A's transmit path is then connected to subscriber B's receive path, and a two-way conversation can take place.
More details of the operation of the system are shown in Figure 6. It will be seen that unlike the prior art, the system notifies the caller of the status of the line without interfering with the call waiting facility.
The new caller is fully advised of the situation and has the option of holding the line to wait for the called party to become free or hanging up and trying again 2 ~ 9 7 later, but the knowledge that the called party is present.
Claims (3)
1. In a telecommunications switching system with call waiting capability comprising a main controller, peripheral controller means for connection to physical devices, and switch means for routing calls to and from the physical devices, and means for sending a ringback signal to the receive channel of an incoming call when the called party is busy and the call wait feature is active, the improvement wherein said peripheral controller means are connected to a recorded announcement device, and means are provided for temporarily connecting said recorded announcement device to said receive channel of the incoming call upon activation of the call wait feature to advise the calling party that the called party's line is busy.
2. A telecommunications switching system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said means for temporarily connecting said recorded announcement device to the receive channel of an incoming call permit said device to be connected simultaneously to a plurality of such channels, whereby a plurality of callers can receive the message at the same time.
3. A telecommunications switching system as claimed in claim 2, wherein said recorded announcement device comprises memory means for storing a digitized announcement and means for permitting subscriber access thereto to permit recording and storage of said announcement by the subscriber.
Priority Applications (4)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002090997A CA2090997A1 (en) | 1993-03-04 | 1993-03-04 | Call waiting announcement |
| GB9403419A GB2275847A (en) | 1993-03-04 | 1994-02-23 | Telecommunications call waiting service with recorded announcement |
| DE4406353A DE4406353A1 (en) | 1993-03-04 | 1994-02-26 | Call waiting announcement |
| ITMI940352A IT1273346B (en) | 1993-03-04 | 1994-02-28 | CALL NOTICE |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002090997A CA2090997A1 (en) | 1993-03-04 | 1993-03-04 | Call waiting announcement |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2090997A1 true CA2090997A1 (en) | 1994-09-05 |
Family
ID=4151250
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002090997A Abandoned CA2090997A1 (en) | 1993-03-04 | 1993-03-04 | Call waiting announcement |
Country Status (4)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2090997A1 (en) |
| DE (1) | DE4406353A1 (en) |
| GB (1) | GB2275847A (en) |
| IT (1) | IT1273346B (en) |
Families Citing this family (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FI99188C (en) * | 1994-09-14 | 1997-10-10 | Nokia Mobile Phones Ltd | radiotelephone |
Family Cites Families (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US4788715A (en) * | 1986-10-16 | 1988-11-29 | American Telephone And Telegraph Company At&T Bell Laboratories | Announcing waiting times in queuing systems |
| US4947421A (en) * | 1987-12-23 | 1990-08-07 | At&T Bell Laboratories | Call waiting arrangement providing options to both a subsequent calling party and to the called party |
| JPH05207153A (en) * | 1991-12-04 | 1993-08-13 | Nec Corp | System for informing of incoming waiting |
-
1993
- 1993-03-04 CA CA002090997A patent/CA2090997A1/en not_active Abandoned
-
1994
- 1994-02-23 GB GB9403419A patent/GB2275847A/en not_active Withdrawn
- 1994-02-26 DE DE4406353A patent/DE4406353A1/en not_active Withdrawn
- 1994-02-28 IT ITMI940352A patent/IT1273346B/en active IP Right Grant
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| ITMI940352A1 (en) | 1994-09-05 |
| GB2275847A8 (en) | 1996-07-14 |
| GB2275847A (en) | 1994-09-07 |
| ITMI940352A0 (en) | 1994-02-28 |
| GB9403419D0 (en) | 1994-04-13 |
| IT1273346B (en) | 1997-07-08 |
| DE4406353A1 (en) | 1994-09-08 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| FZDE | Discontinued |