CA2194923A1 - System for generating aural announcements within a premises using switch and premises phone or speaker - Google Patents
System for generating aural announcements within a premises using switch and premises phone or speakerInfo
- Publication number
- CA2194923A1 CA2194923A1 CA002194923A CA2194923A CA2194923A1 CA 2194923 A1 CA2194923 A1 CA 2194923A1 CA 002194923 A CA002194923 A CA 002194923A CA 2194923 A CA2194923 A CA 2194923A CA 2194923 A1 CA2194923 A1 CA 2194923A1
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- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- communication channel
- premises
- aural
- phone
- announcement
- 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.)
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Abstract
A system for generating aural announcements within a premises has in one aspect of the present invention a premises phone connected within a premises phone line that forms first and second communication channels. The first communication channel is adapted for connection and communication to a phone network. An announcement controller is connected within the phone line and generates aural announcement signals along the second communication channel to the premises phone which receives corresponding aural announcements. A switch may be operatively connected between the premises phone and announcement controller and switches the announcement controller into the second communication channel for transmitting aural announcement signals to the premises phone. In another aspect of the present invention, the aural announcements are generated along the second communication channel to a speaker, without the use of a switch.
Description
. ,~
,_ SYSTEN FOR GENERATINa ~UP'T-ANNOUNCEMENTS Wl...~.. A PREMISES
UxlN~ SWITCH AND PREMISE8 PHONF OR SPT~F~
This application is related to commonly assigned copending patent application entitled System For Generating Aural Announcements Within A Premises, filed on December 8, 1995, by the same inventor, the disclosure which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
F~ Al ~ of Tho Tn~nt-~ ~n This application relates to a system for generating aural announcements within a premises using an announcement controller for generating aural announcement signals to a premises phone or a speaker over a second comml]n;cation channel without interfering with baseband services to the local exchange carrier.
Ra~l~ , -.. l nf T~ ~ ; ~~
Time is a precious commodity, and a telephone can be a curse or blessing depending on who calls, how long they want to talk, and the schedule of the one called, i.e., whether they are too busy to accept a call. Sometimes, one may be tempted to let the phone n ring off the hook"
unless a close family m~mher, business associate or an =-- ~
expected call is incoming. However, it is difficult to distinguish one call from the other to ensure that the desired person has called. Even sophisticated caller identification systems sometimes require that the called party look at a phone display for identifying the caller.
It would be advantageous if an aural announcement system could state the identification of the caller through a .
' speaker system or a premises phone without requiring visual identification. Such a system would be advanta-geous if it could use the existing wiring of the premises phone line without interfering with the existing baseband services with the local exchange carriers. It would also be advantageous if any speakers used in the system could be connected to the existing phone wire system, such as through RJ-ll jacks. It would also be advantageous if aural announcements could be generated to a premises phone without interrupting existing baseband services. Such aural announcements could also be first recorded in an answering machine and generated through the existing phone wire system to a premises phone or a speaker.
SYm~--v ~ The ~-v~ o~
The present invention now provides a system for generating aural announcements such as caller identification within a premises using the existing wiring of the premises phone system without interfering with the existing base band service with the local exchange carrier. In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a premises phone is connected within a premises phone line that forms first and second c~mml~n;cation channels. The first communication channel is adapted for connecting to a phone network. An announcement controller is connected within the phone line. The announcement cont~oller includes signal generating means for generating aural announcement signals along the second cs~mllnication channel exten~; ng between the premises phone and the announcement controller. A premises phone is connected within the phone line for receiving the announcement signals generated by the announcement controller.
' ~
_ - 3 -In another aspect of the present invention, a switch is operatively connected between the premises phone and the announcement controller for switching the announcement controller into the second co~mt]n;cation channel for transmitting aural announcement signals along the second comml~n;cation channel to the premises phone. The announcement controller can be an answering machine.
Recorded messages can be later played as announcements to the premises phone.
In still another aspect of the present invention, a speaker is connected within a premises phone line that forms first and second communication channels. The first csmmlln;cation channel is adapted for connection to a phone network. An announcement controller, which could include answering machine functions, is connected within the premises phone line for generating aural announcements along the second csmmlln;cation channel to the speaker for playing corresponding aural announcements. No switch and premises phone is necessary. For example, a "hermit" may desire only a speaker with no chance to co~mlln;cate via a premises phone.
In another aspect of the present invention, the announcement controller receives incoming calls from a phone network along the first comml]n;cation channel and generates aural announcement signals relating to caller identification. The premises phone or speaker would rece~ve the aural announcements. In another aspect of the present invention, the switch interconnects between the second co~ml]n;cation channel for transmitting aural announcement signals to the premises phone. The announcement controller may also include a database having stored therein a plurality of caller identifications corresponding to received aural announcement signals for 219~923 ~ .~
_ - 4 -each caller identification. If the database does not include the calling number, an aural announcement such as "Caller Not Identified," can be generated to the speaker or premises phone, or the switch operated to connect to the premises phone. The premises phone could ring and the aural announcement could be played through the premises phone.
In still another aspect of the present invention, the announcement controller includes a microphone operatively connected to the signal generating means for receiving aural announcements from a premises user for generating announcement signals along the second comml~n;cation channel, such as to the speaker. In still another aspect of the invention, the first commnn;cation channel comprises a twisted wire pair and a carrier signal extending along the twisted wire pair having a first frequency range. The second co~mlln;cation channel comprises a subcarrier signal ext~n~; ng along the twisted wire pair having a second frequency range.
In still another aspect of the present invention, the first commlln;cation channel can comprise a first twisted wire pair and the second comml1n; cation channel can comprise a second twisted wire pair. A second twisted wire pair is sometimes found in some premises, but not always used. Thus, it may be available for use as a second commlln;cation channel.
Des~;rt~ of T~- n~w~n~ The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present invention will be appreciated more fully from the following description, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is an environmental view of the system in accordance with one aspect of the present invention that - 219~923 generates aural announcements within a premises using a switch and premises phone.
Figure 2 is an environmental view of the system in accordance with one aspect of the present invention where aural announcements are generated to a speaker in a system without a switch and premises phone.
Figure 3 is a high level block diagram of an announcement controller of the present invention which includes answering machine functions.
Figure 4 is a high level flow chart depicting one sequence of possible steps where the announcement controller receives an incoming call from the phone network along the first commlln;cation channel and then generates aural announcement signals relating to caller identification along the second commlln;cation channel to a speaker or a premises phone.
r~et~ ~ l ~ n~ n of T~
Referring now to Figure l! there is illustrated generally at 10 a system of the present invention for generating within a premises 12 aural announcements using the existing premises phone line (shown by the dashed lines 13) without interfering with baseband services with a local exchange carrier. As illustrated, the premises phone 14 is connected to a phone network 16 by a local exchange carrier 18 and first commlln;cation channel 20.
As illustrated, an announcement controller 22, in accordance with the present invention, is connected between the premises phone 14 and the phone network 16 along the first comm-ln;cation channel 20. The announcement controller 22 includes a signal generator 24 for generating aural announcement signals along a second commlln; cation channel 26 extending between the premises phone 14 and the announcement controller 22, and to the premises phone 14 operatively connected to the phone line 13. The premises phone 14 receives the generated analog speech signals forwarded from the signal generator 24 of the announcement controller 22 along the second communication channel 26, converted to the first commllnication channel by switch 30. As illustrated, the announcement controller 22 can be designed to include answering machine functions 27, so that messages can be recorded. Afterward, later portions, or the complete message, or an aural announcement indicating there is a recorded message, can be generated to the premises phone.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a switch 30 is operatively connected between the premises phone 14 and the-announcement controller 22.
- The switch 30 is operatively connected between the premises phone 14 and the announcement controller 22 for switching between 1) the second co-mmlln;cation channel 26 for transmitting aural announcement signals to the premises phone 14, and 2) the first commlln;cation channel 20 for receiving from the phone network 16 the incoming phone signals on the first commlln;cation channel 20. The announcement controller 22 could generate a signal to the premises phone 14 via the switch 30 causing the premises phone 14 to ring. Once answered, the aural announcement is generated to the premises phone.
In one embodiment of the invention, the first communication channel 20 comprises a twisted wire pair 34 (Figure 3) and a carrier signal extending along the twisted wire pair of a first frequency range such as the conventional baseband signal of 300 Hz to 3 kHz. The second comm~ln;cation channel 26 can comprise a subcarrier 2194~23 ' _ - 7 -signal extending along the twisted wire pair and having a second of a frequency range of about 300 to 400 kilohertz.
In still another embodiment of the invention, the first communication channel 20 can comprise a first twisted wire pair 34 and the second commtlnication channel 26 can comprise a second twisted wire pair 36 such as shown in greater detail in Figure 3. In some premises, a second twisted wire pair 36 is part of the conventional wiring within a premises 12, but r~m~i n.C unused.
As shown in Figure 1, at least two premises phones can also be used in the system of the present invention and are illustrated in the home premises environment and connected to the local exchange carrier 18 via the commlln;cation channel 20. As illustrated, a base station 37 is connected to the first commlln;cation channel 20 and works with a hand-held cordless telephone 38. One switch 30 can be used for the entire premises, or as shown in Figure 1, can be used for one premises phone 14, and a switch 30' can be used for another premises phone 14 so that each premises phone can be individually controlled relative to the announcement controller 22.
Referring now to Figure 2, there is illustrated another aspect of the present invention where no switches are used. The illustrated embodiment also does not include a premises phone, but in some instances, a premises phone could be included in the system. For example, a hermit may not desire a premises phone, or the capability for speaking to someone. He may just want to hear announcements generated from an announcement controller 22, or recorded messages. The announcement controller would be located in one location and speakers connected through various phone jacks in the house. An _ - 8 -Infrared Sensor or receiver on the announcement controller could receive control signals that initiates the controller for signal generations.
Referring now in greater detail to Figure 3, different components of the announcement controller 22, which includes answering machine functions 27 are illustrated in the block diagram. As illustrated, the announcement controller 22 has a main processing system, indicated generally at 40, which includes a microprocessor 42 connected to a digital bus 44. The announcement controller 22 typically includes a housing 45 (shown by black outline in Figure 2) contA;n;ng the processing system 40 and other components. The announcement controller 22 also includes a memory 46 for storing digital information. Part of the memory 46 can be RAM 48 for fast retrieval, as well as a hard storage device such as an EPROM 50. The memory 46 is connected to the digital bus 44.
Data such as phone numbers are stored in the memory 46. Data is read from memory 46 when instructed by the microprocessor 42. An analog - to - digital (A/D) converter 54 may be included within the announcement controller 22 for converting incoming analog signals to digital data for storage within memory 46 and further processing by the microprocessor 42. Such signals could incl~de telephone messages.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a microphone 60 can be mounted to the housing 45 and connected to a microphone controller and amplifier 64 for generating aural announcement signals corresponding to what is spoken through the microphone 60 and through the second co~mlln;cation channel 26 to the speaker 28 or ~19~923 g through the switch 30 to the premises phone 14 (Figure 1) or directly to the speaker 28 (Figure 2). An on-off button 66 may be operatively connected to the microphone 60 so that upon depression of the button 66, the S microphone 60 will receive sounds and convert them by the associated circuitry 64 for generation and transmission through the second com.munication channel 26.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention shown in Figure 1, the switch 30 is responsive to the generated signals of the second comm~n;cation channel 26 and switches into the second commllnication channel and signals into the premises phone 14. Thus, it is evident that the present invention can be used as an intercom system. In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 2, it is possible that the speaker 28 could be plugged into the conventional RJ-ll connector at a desired location within a premises and the announcement controller 22 could be positioned within the kitchen or other derived location. The button 66 is pushed, and the caller states "Come Eat." Other speakers could be wired in different parts of the premises.
Incoming phone calls are forwarded to the announcement controller 22 which then identifies the caller and conducts a database look up in memory 46 to determine if there is a message corresponding to the caller-identification. For example, if the premises user's mother has a certain caller I.D., the aural message can be stored in memory ~Your Mom Is Calling~. When the microprocessor 42 conducts the corresponding comparison, it then retrieves the recorded digital message ~Your Mom Is Calling", and then forwards the corresponding data signal to the A/D converter 54 and signal generator 24, 219~92~
which forwards an analog signal through the second communication channel 26 to the speaker 28 (Figure 2) or through the switch 30 to the premises phone (Figure 1).
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the announcement controller could also include circuitry 90 which allows recording of messages.
The flow chart of Figure 4 illustrates the various steps of one aspect of the system for generating aural announcements within a premises. For purposes of understanding, the blocks of the flow chart are numbered with numerals starting in the two hundred series.
In block 200, an incoming call is transmitted along the first communication channel 20 to the announcement controller 22 (Block 202). The announcement controller 22 then identifies if there is a caller I.D. associated with the incoming call (Block 204). If there is no caller ID
association, the microprocessor 42 retrieves a message from the memory database 46 and forwards the signal through the A/D converter 54 to the speaker (in the embodiment of Figure 2) stating" Caller Unidentified"
(Block 206). In the embodiment of Figure 1, the message is generated through the switch to the premises phone (Block 207) If there is a caller I.D. association, then the microprocessor searches the memory database 46 (Block 208) to determine if the caller I.D. is present in the database (Block 210). If the caller I.D. is not present in the database, then the microprocessor 42 retrieves a message from the database and generates a signal to the A/D converter 54 corresponding to "Caller Unidentified"
(Block 212). If the caller I.D. is present in the database, then the corresponding message is retrieved (Block 214) and the appropriate signals are sent to the second communication channel to the speaker where the 21949~3 message is delivered (Block 216), or alternately to the premises phone via the switch (Block 217). The message could be "Bob Is Calling".
It should be understood that the above description is only one preferred embodiment of the invention. Numerous other arrangements may be devised by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.
,_ SYSTEN FOR GENERATINa ~UP'T-ANNOUNCEMENTS Wl...~.. A PREMISES
UxlN~ SWITCH AND PREMISE8 PHONF OR SPT~F~
This application is related to commonly assigned copending patent application entitled System For Generating Aural Announcements Within A Premises, filed on December 8, 1995, by the same inventor, the disclosure which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
F~ Al ~ of Tho Tn~nt-~ ~n This application relates to a system for generating aural announcements within a premises using an announcement controller for generating aural announcement signals to a premises phone or a speaker over a second comml]n;cation channel without interfering with baseband services to the local exchange carrier.
Ra~l~ , -.. l nf T~ ~ ; ~~
Time is a precious commodity, and a telephone can be a curse or blessing depending on who calls, how long they want to talk, and the schedule of the one called, i.e., whether they are too busy to accept a call. Sometimes, one may be tempted to let the phone n ring off the hook"
unless a close family m~mher, business associate or an =-- ~
expected call is incoming. However, it is difficult to distinguish one call from the other to ensure that the desired person has called. Even sophisticated caller identification systems sometimes require that the called party look at a phone display for identifying the caller.
It would be advantageous if an aural announcement system could state the identification of the caller through a .
' speaker system or a premises phone without requiring visual identification. Such a system would be advanta-geous if it could use the existing wiring of the premises phone line without interfering with the existing baseband services with the local exchange carriers. It would also be advantageous if any speakers used in the system could be connected to the existing phone wire system, such as through RJ-ll jacks. It would also be advantageous if aural announcements could be generated to a premises phone without interrupting existing baseband services. Such aural announcements could also be first recorded in an answering machine and generated through the existing phone wire system to a premises phone or a speaker.
SYm~--v ~ The ~-v~ o~
The present invention now provides a system for generating aural announcements such as caller identification within a premises using the existing wiring of the premises phone system without interfering with the existing base band service with the local exchange carrier. In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a premises phone is connected within a premises phone line that forms first and second c~mml~n;cation channels. The first communication channel is adapted for connecting to a phone network. An announcement controller is connected within the phone line. The announcement cont~oller includes signal generating means for generating aural announcement signals along the second cs~mllnication channel exten~; ng between the premises phone and the announcement controller. A premises phone is connected within the phone line for receiving the announcement signals generated by the announcement controller.
' ~
_ - 3 -In another aspect of the present invention, a switch is operatively connected between the premises phone and the announcement controller for switching the announcement controller into the second co~mt]n;cation channel for transmitting aural announcement signals along the second comml~n;cation channel to the premises phone. The announcement controller can be an answering machine.
Recorded messages can be later played as announcements to the premises phone.
In still another aspect of the present invention, a speaker is connected within a premises phone line that forms first and second communication channels. The first csmmlln;cation channel is adapted for connection to a phone network. An announcement controller, which could include answering machine functions, is connected within the premises phone line for generating aural announcements along the second csmmlln;cation channel to the speaker for playing corresponding aural announcements. No switch and premises phone is necessary. For example, a "hermit" may desire only a speaker with no chance to co~mlln;cate via a premises phone.
In another aspect of the present invention, the announcement controller receives incoming calls from a phone network along the first comml]n;cation channel and generates aural announcement signals relating to caller identification. The premises phone or speaker would rece~ve the aural announcements. In another aspect of the present invention, the switch interconnects between the second co~ml]n;cation channel for transmitting aural announcement signals to the premises phone. The announcement controller may also include a database having stored therein a plurality of caller identifications corresponding to received aural announcement signals for 219~923 ~ .~
_ - 4 -each caller identification. If the database does not include the calling number, an aural announcement such as "Caller Not Identified," can be generated to the speaker or premises phone, or the switch operated to connect to the premises phone. The premises phone could ring and the aural announcement could be played through the premises phone.
In still another aspect of the present invention, the announcement controller includes a microphone operatively connected to the signal generating means for receiving aural announcements from a premises user for generating announcement signals along the second comml~n;cation channel, such as to the speaker. In still another aspect of the invention, the first commnn;cation channel comprises a twisted wire pair and a carrier signal extending along the twisted wire pair having a first frequency range. The second co~mlln;cation channel comprises a subcarrier signal ext~n~; ng along the twisted wire pair having a second frequency range.
In still another aspect of the present invention, the first commlln;cation channel can comprise a first twisted wire pair and the second comml1n; cation channel can comprise a second twisted wire pair. A second twisted wire pair is sometimes found in some premises, but not always used. Thus, it may be available for use as a second commlln;cation channel.
Des~;rt~ of T~- n~w~n~ The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present invention will be appreciated more fully from the following description, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is an environmental view of the system in accordance with one aspect of the present invention that - 219~923 generates aural announcements within a premises using a switch and premises phone.
Figure 2 is an environmental view of the system in accordance with one aspect of the present invention where aural announcements are generated to a speaker in a system without a switch and premises phone.
Figure 3 is a high level block diagram of an announcement controller of the present invention which includes answering machine functions.
Figure 4 is a high level flow chart depicting one sequence of possible steps where the announcement controller receives an incoming call from the phone network along the first commlln;cation channel and then generates aural announcement signals relating to caller identification along the second commlln;cation channel to a speaker or a premises phone.
r~et~ ~ l ~ n~ n of T~
Referring now to Figure l! there is illustrated generally at 10 a system of the present invention for generating within a premises 12 aural announcements using the existing premises phone line (shown by the dashed lines 13) without interfering with baseband services with a local exchange carrier. As illustrated, the premises phone 14 is connected to a phone network 16 by a local exchange carrier 18 and first commlln;cation channel 20.
As illustrated, an announcement controller 22, in accordance with the present invention, is connected between the premises phone 14 and the phone network 16 along the first comm-ln;cation channel 20. The announcement controller 22 includes a signal generator 24 for generating aural announcement signals along a second commlln; cation channel 26 extending between the premises phone 14 and the announcement controller 22, and to the premises phone 14 operatively connected to the phone line 13. The premises phone 14 receives the generated analog speech signals forwarded from the signal generator 24 of the announcement controller 22 along the second communication channel 26, converted to the first commllnication channel by switch 30. As illustrated, the announcement controller 22 can be designed to include answering machine functions 27, so that messages can be recorded. Afterward, later portions, or the complete message, or an aural announcement indicating there is a recorded message, can be generated to the premises phone.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a switch 30 is operatively connected between the premises phone 14 and the-announcement controller 22.
- The switch 30 is operatively connected between the premises phone 14 and the announcement controller 22 for switching between 1) the second co-mmlln;cation channel 26 for transmitting aural announcement signals to the premises phone 14, and 2) the first commlln;cation channel 20 for receiving from the phone network 16 the incoming phone signals on the first commlln;cation channel 20. The announcement controller 22 could generate a signal to the premises phone 14 via the switch 30 causing the premises phone 14 to ring. Once answered, the aural announcement is generated to the premises phone.
In one embodiment of the invention, the first communication channel 20 comprises a twisted wire pair 34 (Figure 3) and a carrier signal extending along the twisted wire pair of a first frequency range such as the conventional baseband signal of 300 Hz to 3 kHz. The second comm~ln;cation channel 26 can comprise a subcarrier 2194~23 ' _ - 7 -signal extending along the twisted wire pair and having a second of a frequency range of about 300 to 400 kilohertz.
In still another embodiment of the invention, the first communication channel 20 can comprise a first twisted wire pair 34 and the second commtlnication channel 26 can comprise a second twisted wire pair 36 such as shown in greater detail in Figure 3. In some premises, a second twisted wire pair 36 is part of the conventional wiring within a premises 12, but r~m~i n.C unused.
As shown in Figure 1, at least two premises phones can also be used in the system of the present invention and are illustrated in the home premises environment and connected to the local exchange carrier 18 via the commlln;cation channel 20. As illustrated, a base station 37 is connected to the first commlln;cation channel 20 and works with a hand-held cordless telephone 38. One switch 30 can be used for the entire premises, or as shown in Figure 1, can be used for one premises phone 14, and a switch 30' can be used for another premises phone 14 so that each premises phone can be individually controlled relative to the announcement controller 22.
Referring now to Figure 2, there is illustrated another aspect of the present invention where no switches are used. The illustrated embodiment also does not include a premises phone, but in some instances, a premises phone could be included in the system. For example, a hermit may not desire a premises phone, or the capability for speaking to someone. He may just want to hear announcements generated from an announcement controller 22, or recorded messages. The announcement controller would be located in one location and speakers connected through various phone jacks in the house. An _ - 8 -Infrared Sensor or receiver on the announcement controller could receive control signals that initiates the controller for signal generations.
Referring now in greater detail to Figure 3, different components of the announcement controller 22, which includes answering machine functions 27 are illustrated in the block diagram. As illustrated, the announcement controller 22 has a main processing system, indicated generally at 40, which includes a microprocessor 42 connected to a digital bus 44. The announcement controller 22 typically includes a housing 45 (shown by black outline in Figure 2) contA;n;ng the processing system 40 and other components. The announcement controller 22 also includes a memory 46 for storing digital information. Part of the memory 46 can be RAM 48 for fast retrieval, as well as a hard storage device such as an EPROM 50. The memory 46 is connected to the digital bus 44.
Data such as phone numbers are stored in the memory 46. Data is read from memory 46 when instructed by the microprocessor 42. An analog - to - digital (A/D) converter 54 may be included within the announcement controller 22 for converting incoming analog signals to digital data for storage within memory 46 and further processing by the microprocessor 42. Such signals could incl~de telephone messages.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a microphone 60 can be mounted to the housing 45 and connected to a microphone controller and amplifier 64 for generating aural announcement signals corresponding to what is spoken through the microphone 60 and through the second co~mlln;cation channel 26 to the speaker 28 or ~19~923 g through the switch 30 to the premises phone 14 (Figure 1) or directly to the speaker 28 (Figure 2). An on-off button 66 may be operatively connected to the microphone 60 so that upon depression of the button 66, the S microphone 60 will receive sounds and convert them by the associated circuitry 64 for generation and transmission through the second com.munication channel 26.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention shown in Figure 1, the switch 30 is responsive to the generated signals of the second comm~n;cation channel 26 and switches into the second commllnication channel and signals into the premises phone 14. Thus, it is evident that the present invention can be used as an intercom system. In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 2, it is possible that the speaker 28 could be plugged into the conventional RJ-ll connector at a desired location within a premises and the announcement controller 22 could be positioned within the kitchen or other derived location. The button 66 is pushed, and the caller states "Come Eat." Other speakers could be wired in different parts of the premises.
Incoming phone calls are forwarded to the announcement controller 22 which then identifies the caller and conducts a database look up in memory 46 to determine if there is a message corresponding to the caller-identification. For example, if the premises user's mother has a certain caller I.D., the aural message can be stored in memory ~Your Mom Is Calling~. When the microprocessor 42 conducts the corresponding comparison, it then retrieves the recorded digital message ~Your Mom Is Calling", and then forwards the corresponding data signal to the A/D converter 54 and signal generator 24, 219~92~
which forwards an analog signal through the second communication channel 26 to the speaker 28 (Figure 2) or through the switch 30 to the premises phone (Figure 1).
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the announcement controller could also include circuitry 90 which allows recording of messages.
The flow chart of Figure 4 illustrates the various steps of one aspect of the system for generating aural announcements within a premises. For purposes of understanding, the blocks of the flow chart are numbered with numerals starting in the two hundred series.
In block 200, an incoming call is transmitted along the first communication channel 20 to the announcement controller 22 (Block 202). The announcement controller 22 then identifies if there is a caller I.D. associated with the incoming call (Block 204). If there is no caller ID
association, the microprocessor 42 retrieves a message from the memory database 46 and forwards the signal through the A/D converter 54 to the speaker (in the embodiment of Figure 2) stating" Caller Unidentified"
(Block 206). In the embodiment of Figure 1, the message is generated through the switch to the premises phone (Block 207) If there is a caller I.D. association, then the microprocessor searches the memory database 46 (Block 208) to determine if the caller I.D. is present in the database (Block 210). If the caller I.D. is not present in the database, then the microprocessor 42 retrieves a message from the database and generates a signal to the A/D converter 54 corresponding to "Caller Unidentified"
(Block 212). If the caller I.D. is present in the database, then the corresponding message is retrieved (Block 214) and the appropriate signals are sent to the second communication channel to the speaker where the 21949~3 message is delivered (Block 216), or alternately to the premises phone via the switch (Block 217). The message could be "Bob Is Calling".
It should be understood that the above description is only one preferred embodiment of the invention. Numerous other arrangements may be devised by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.
Claims (27)
1. A system for generating aural announcements within a premises comprising a premises phone connected within a premises phone line that forms first and second communication channels, said first communication channel being adapted for connection to a phone network, an announcement controller connected within the phone line for generating aural announcement signals along the second communication channel extending between the premises phone and said announcement controller, and a switch operatively connected between said premises phone and said announcement controller for switching between the first and second communication channels for allowing the transmitting of aural announcement signals to a premises phone along the second communication channel.
2. A system according to claim 1 including means for receiving incoming calls from a phone network along the first communication channel and generating aural announcement signals relating to caller identification.
3. A system according to claim 2 including a database having a plurality of caller identifications and corresponding aural announcements signals for each caller identification.
4. A system according to claim 1 wherein said announcement controller includes a microphone for receiving aural announcements from a premises user for generating aural announcement signals along the second communication channel corresponding to the aural announcements received over the microphone.
5. A system according to claim 1 wherein said first communication channel comprises a twisted wire pair and a carrier signal extending along said twisted wire pair having a first frequency range, and said second communication channel comprises a subcarrier signal extending along said twisted wire pair having a second frequency range.
6. A system according to claim 1 wherein said first communication channel comprises a first twisted wire pair and said second communication channel comprises a second twisted wire pair.
7. A system according to claim 1 wherein said announcement controller includes a signal generator for generating signals corresponding to aural announcements.
8. A system for generating aural announcements within a premises comprising a premises phone connected within a premises phone line that forms first and second communication channels, said first communication channel being adapted for connection to a phone network, an answering machine connected within the phone line for recording incoming messages and generating aural announcement signals along the second communication channel extending between the premises phone and the answering machine corresponding to recorded messages, and a switch operatively connected between said premises phone and said answering machine for switching between the first and second communication channels to allow messages resulting from the aural announcement signals to be heard from the premises phone.
9. A system according to claim 8 wherein said answering machine includes a microphone for receiving aural announcements from a premises user for generating aural announcement signals along the second communication channel corresponding to the aural announcements received over the microphone.
10. A system according to claim 8 wherein said first communication channel comprises a twisted wire pair and a carrier signal extending along said twisted wire pair having a first frequency range, and said second communication channel comprises a subcarrier signal extending along said twisted wire pair having a second frequency range.
11. A system according to claim 8 wherein said first communication channel comprises a first twisted wire pair and said second communication channel comprises a second twisted wire pair.
12. A system according to claim 8 wherein said answering machine including means for receiving incoming calls from a phone network along the first communication channel and generating aural announcement signals relating to caller identification.
13. A system according to claim 8 including a database having a plurality of caller identifications and corresponding aural announcements signals for each caller identification.
14. A system for generating aural announcements within a premises comprising a speaker connected within a premises phone line that forms first and second communication channels, said first communication channel being adapted for connection to a phone network, and an announcement controller connected within the premises phone line for generating aural announcement signals along the second communication channel to the speaker for playing corresponding aural announcements.
15. A system according to claim 14 including means for receiving incoming calls from a phone network along the first communication channel and generating aural announcement signals relating to caller identification.
16. A system according to claim 14 including a database having a plurality of caller identifications and corresponding aural announcements signals for each caller identification.
17. A system according to claim 14 wherein said announcement controller includes a microphone for receiving aural announcements from a premises user for generating aural announcement signals along the second communication channel corresponding to the aural announcements received over the microphone.
18. A system according to claim 14 wherein said first communication channel comprises a twisted wire pair and a carrier signal extending along said twisted wire pair having a first frequency range, and said second communication channel comprises a subcarrier signal extending along said twisted wire pair having a second frequency range.
19. A system according to claim 14 wherein said first communication channel comprises a first twisted wire pair and said second communication channel comprises a second twisted wire pair.
20. A system according to claim 14 wherein said announcement controller includes a signal generator for generating signals corresponding to aural announcements.
21. A system for generating aural announcements within a premises comprising a speaker connected within a premises phone line that forms first and second communication channels, said first communication channel being adapted for connection to a phone network, an answering machine connected within the premises phone line for receiving and recording messages received from a phone network over the first communication channel and for generating aural announcement signals along the second communication channel to the speaker for playing corresponding recorded messages.
22. A system according to claim 21 wherein said answering machine includes means for receiving incoming calls from a phone network along the first communication channel and generating aural announcement signals relating to caller identification.
23. A system according to claim 21 including a database having a plurality of caller identifications and corresponding aural announcements signals for each caller identification.
24. A system according to claim 21 wherein said answering machine includes a microphone for receiving aural announcements from a premises user for generating aural announcement signals along the second communication channel corresponding to the aural announcements received over the microphone.
25. A system according to claim 21 wherein said first communication channel comprises a twisted wire pair and a carrier signal extending along said twisted wire pair having a first frequency range, and said second communication channel comprises a subcarrier signal extending along said twisted wire pair having a second frequency range.
26. A system according to claim 21 wherein said first communication channel comprises a first twisted wire pair and said second communication channel comprises a second twisted wire pair.
27. A system according to claim 21 wherein said answering machine includes a signal generator for generating signals corresponding to aural announcements.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US60078696A | 1996-02-13 | 1996-02-13 | |
| US600,786 | 1996-02-13 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2194923A1 true CA2194923A1 (en) | 1997-08-14 |
Family
ID=24405034
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002194923A Abandoned CA2194923A1 (en) | 1996-02-13 | 1997-01-13 | System for generating aural announcements within a premises using switch and premises phone or speaker |
Country Status (2)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2194923A1 (en) |
| MX (1) | MX9700974A (en) |
-
1997
- 1997-01-13 CA CA002194923A patent/CA2194923A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 1997-02-07 MX MX9700974A patent/MX9700974A/en unknown
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| MX9700974A (en) | 1997-08-30 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEER | Examination request | ||
| FZDE | Dead |