Intelligent phone cord apparatus

Details Intelligent phone cord apparatus Intelligent phone cord apparatus

1996-12-23

2001-05-29

Chan, Wing F. (Department: 2643)

Telephonic communications

Supervisory or control line signaling

Substation originated

C379S130000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06240175

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a phone cord for interconnecting the base of a telephone to a phone jack, and more particularly to a telephone cord that is a adapted to automatically dial a predetermined sequence of numbers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The recent proliferation of independent telecommunications carriers has left the consumer with a multitude of options when placing a long distance or local call. Moreover, now that some long distance carriers offer inter-lata as well as intra-lata telephone services, there is even a wider variety of choices.
It is usually desirable, however, for an individual consumer to want to place the majority of calls with a single carrier, if possible, in order that he or she may take full advantage of discounts associated with a specific calling plan or because the consumer has familiarity and developed a comfort level with, and perhaps brand loyalty to, a specific carrier.
Depending on the geographic location of where a call is originated and terminated, and the carrier which provides the local and long distance telephone service, a predetermined sequence of numbers or a prefix code may have to first be dialed in order to gain access to the services of a specific telecommunications carrier. This is exemplified in the current situation in a number of states where carriers other than the local exchange carrier can be accessed by the customer for intra-lata calls by pre-dialing an alternate carrier access code.
This scheme is at times disadvantageous since a would-be caller may forget to dial the predetermined sequence of numbers or may be in a hurry and feel inconvenienced at having to dial the additional numbers. The resulting call may then be placed with an unintended carrier, wherein the consumer loses out on certain expected benefits, and at the same time may be charged at a higher calling rate than anticipated.
The above hardships would seemingly be eliminated if the intended communications carrier were always able to be automatically dialed upon placement of a call. Automatic dialing apparatus are known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,241,590 to Deakins et al. discloses a device for dialing a pre-programmed telephone number wherein the device is inserted between a cord connecting the handset and the body of a telephone. A push button switch on the device activates the redial function of a DTMF tone generator chip which is connected electrically in parallel with the microphone connections of the cord. The Deakins et al. patent, however, does not disclose a device for automatically dialing only a prefix or partial address of numbers in order to access a specific telecommunications carrier.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a simple and cost effective manner for automatically accessing the services of a specific telecommunications provider for both inter-lata and intra-lata calls.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is a telephone cord having an automatic dialer incorporated therein. The cord connects a telephone to a wall jack and includes line powered dialer circuitry. When the associated telephone goes off-hook for placement of an outgoing call, an off-hook detector senses the change in line current and/or voltage and immediately couples the phone line to a dial tone detector. If a dial tone is detected, indicating an outgoing call, a predetermined sequence or prefix of numbers is automatically dialed using DTMF tones stored in memory associated with a dialer circuit. In this way a specific telecommunications carrier may be selected for both inter-lata and intra-lata calls.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the phone cord and accompanying dialer circuitry include a microprocessor in order that intelligent functions may be performed. That is, a dialed number is initially trapped and buffered, wherein the number is analyzed to determine if a modified sequence of numbers needs to be dialed. A prerecorded message or confirmation tone may be issued to the caller while the message is being buffered. In another alternative embodiment, a number recognition program is automatically downloaded from a central office upon initial power-up of the dialer circuitry to assist in automatic dialing of local toll calls. Also an access key on the telephone keypad can be pressed in order to initiate the dialing sequence. Accordingly, the invention may be used on any phone including those utilized in PBX switching networks. A multi-position switch is included for mode selection and to disable the device when desired.


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