Repertory Telephone Dialer With Remote Billing Capability

This invention relates to adjunct telephone equipment, and more particularly to repertory dialers.

In many situations, it is desirable to encourage telephone communication from a particular class of persons. One class of persons comprises travelers at an airport who need encouragement to call a specific hotel for accommodations. Another class of persons comprises elderly parents or college students who need encouragement to call other family members to "keep in touch". A number of "encouragements" exist including telephones that automatically dial a predetermined number when the handset is lifted, and repertory dialing machines having a plurality of pre-programmed numbers. One product even includes large keys for dialing wherein each key accommodates a photograph of the person to be called. In this product, automatic dialing is commenced by first depressing a special key and then depressing the key containing the photograph. Such products however, frequently require special interconnections, auxiliary power, or replacement of an existing telephone set. Although such devices do encourage telephone usage, it is desirable to bring these and other features to existing telephone sets.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide automatic dialing capability to an existing telephone with minimum inconvenience due to electric interconnection.

It is another object of the invention to further encourage the use of telephone communication in such a way that billing for the telephone call is automatically directed to a party other than the calling party.

A repertory telephone dialer includes a memory for storing at least one telephone number and storing telephone call payment information. The dialer also includes a switch which causes the telephone number to be dialed when it is activated. After the number is dialed, the dialer waits for a service-prompt tone and, in response thereto, transmits the telephone call payment information. The call payment information typically corresponds to the credit card number of the party to be billed for the call.

It is a feature of the present invention that the repertory dialer includes an area on a surface thereof for supporting a photograph or graphic rendering of the person or establishment to be called.

It is another feature of the present invention that remote billing can be de-activated by a manually operated switch on the repertory dialer.

It is another feature of the invention that the repertory dialer may be built into a single telephone set or into an adjunct device that readily connects to an existing telephone set.

It is yet another feature of the present invention that the repertory dialer is adapted to display a photograph preferably of the person or destination that will be called when the dialer is activated.

These and other objects and features of the present invention will be more fully understood when reference is made to the accompanying drawing and detailed description.

FIG. 1 illustrates a repertory dialer of the present invention and an associated telephone set in a typical installation;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the repertory dialer designed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 3 is a detailed schematic drawing of a line interface circuit used in the repertory dialer of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a detailed schematic drawing of a line status circuit used in the repertory dialer;

FIG. 5 is a detailed schematic drawing of a logic circuit used in the repertory dialer of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a detailed schematic drawing of a tone detector used in the repertory dialer of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a detailed schematic drawing of a dial memory circuit used in the repertory dialer; and

FIG. 8 illustrates waveforms at various locations within the logic circuit of FIG. 5.

The repertory dialer of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 1 in a typical environment. Repertory dialer 10 is pre-programmed, single number dial adjunct having third-party billing capability. In order to stimulate calling, the dialer is pre-programmed at a centralized programming center with a telephone number to be called and a billing number, such as an AT&T "CALL ME" card number. Once programmed, dialer 10 is given to the purchaser who inserts a photograph or other suitable graphic rendering of herself and sends it to a recipient such as a grandparent or a college student. Alternatively, the purchaser may wish to insert a photograph of his establishment for use in a commercial setting. In either case, the front surface of the dialer includes a recessed area for supporting such a photograph of graphic rendering.

To activate the dialer, the recipient simply lifts the handset of associated telephone 20, pushes a button (S1-shown in FIG. 2) on the front surface of repertory dialer 20, waits a few seconds for the connection to be completed, and begins conversation. Typically the conversation is with, and paid for by, the party whose photograph or graphic rendering is affixed to the repertory dialer. Options include direct/remote billing and touch-tone/dial pulse dialing. These options are respectively accessed by switches S2 and S3 which are positioned on the back surface of the repertory dialer 20.

FIG. 2 is a block representation of a repertory telephone dialer in accordance with the present invention. Dialer 10 is shown interconnected between the incoming telephone line L1 and associated telephone set 20. Installation of the repertory dialer 10 is a relatively simple task. A customer merely disconnects modular plug P1 from telephone set 20 and reconnects it to modular jack J1 on the dialer. The dialer comes equipped with a short length of cord L2 that terminates in modular plug P2 which is then connected to telephone set 20. The installation is now complete. The dialer is pre-programmed to perform the required dialing with power supplied to internal batteries to thus avoid the need for connection to commercial power.

Line interface 300 is adapted to buffer electric signals entering repertory dialer 10 on wires 11,12 which connect tip and ring from telephone line L1 to circuitry within the line interface. A pair of transfer contacts from relay K1 is used to regulate which electric signals are connected to telephone set 20. In their normal state, the contacts of relay K1 connect telephone set 20 directly to the telephone line. When relay K1 is activated, however, telephone set 20 is connected to circuitry within the line interface 300 on wires 13, 14 to receive a small amount of DC current and sidetone for call progress monitoring. Functions performed by line interface 300 include polarity reversal protection, line holding, current limiting and connection of dial pulse or touch-tone signals to telephone line L1. Selection of dial pulse or touch-tone signals is achieved by operation of switch S3 to the DP or TT position respectively.

Dial memory circuit 700 stores at least three numbers M1, M2, M3. M1 corresponds to a telephone number to be dialed having the following example format: 1+Area Code+seven digit number. M2 corresponds to a telephone number to be dialed having the following example format: Long Distance Access Code+Area Code+seven digit number. One suitable Long Distance Access Code is 102880 which selects AT&T as the long distance carrier. M3 contains billing data such as a credit card number. It is noted that M1 and M2 correspond to the same telephone number. M1 is dialed when billing is to be paid by the party at the calling number whereas M2 is dialed when billing is to be directed to the owner of the credit card number stored in M3. The user of repertory dialer 10 may select, via switch S2, whether M1 or M2 is to be dialed. When the user is ready to make a call, switch S1 is momentarily operated and dialing of the selected number, M1 or M2, commences.

In a situation whereby M2 is dialed, the long distance carrier recognizes M2 as a credit card call and returns the Calling Card Service-Prompt Tone, also known as the "bong" tone, which comprises 60 milliseconds of the tone-pair 941 Hz and 1477 Hz, followed immediately by 940 milliseconds of the tone-pair 440 Hz and 350 Hz. The later tone-pair decays exponentially from -10 dBM per frequency at -3 TLP with a time constant of 200 milliseconds. This bong tone is detected by tone detector 600 which forwards the information to logic circuit 500. Thereafter logic circuit 500 causes dial memory circuit 700 to deliver the credit card number M3 to line interface 300 and hence to telephone line L1 so that remote billing might occur.

Battery supply 100 comprises a 9-volt battery whose positive output, designated T', serves as a ground reference. Battery supply 100 further comprises voltage regulation circuitry to provide three output voltages, designated V1, V2 and V3, having nominal magnitudes of -5.0, -5.0, and -8.3 volts respectively. To prolong battery life, voltages V1 and V3 becomes 0 volts when the associated telephone set 20 is on-hook. A permanent 3-volt lithium battery is provided to preserve the contents of dial memory circuit 700 when the 9-volt battery needs replacing. The lithium battery is connected in such a manner that voltage V2 becomes -2.6 volts when the associated telephone set is on-hook or when the 9volt battery is removed. Since commercial power could be used to operate the repertory dialer and since the power supply is ancillary to the invention, details regarding the construction of battery supply 100 are omitted.

Line interface 300 is permanently connected to telephone line L1 over wire-pair 11, 12. Normally closed contacts of relay K1 and line L2 provide electrical connection between telephone station 20 and incoming telephone line L1. When repertory dialer 10 is activated, the transfer contacts of relay K1 operate to disconnect telephone set 20 from line L1 although sidetone is supplied to the telephone set over wire-pair 13, 14 and line L2. Such sidetone allows the user to monitor call progress. Once the repertory dialer 10 had completed dialing, relay K1 returns to its normal, non-activated state and telephone set 20 is directly connected to the telephone line.

Referring to FIG. 3 there is disclosed a detailed schematic drawing of line interface 300. A polarity guard circuit, comprising diodes 301-304 assures that reversals of tip and ring on wire-pair 11, 12 do not affect operation of the repertory dialer. Protection against excessive current is offered by components 305-312 which provide negative DC feedback to transistor 320. Resistor 310 is a half-watt carbon composition resistor able to withstand higher currents than the other components in line interface 300. High voltage (lightning) protection is provided by component 313 which is a 240-volt metal oxide varistor.

Components 314-320 are responsive to binary signals on input lead DP which provide loop disconnect (pulse) dialing when the user has selected mode "DP" via switch S3 (see FIG. 1 and 7) rather than mode "TT" which provides touch-tone dialing. Component 320 is an N-channel MOSFET transistor which performs electronic dialing of pre-programmed digits by turning on and off at the appropriate rate. Interdigit timing is discussed in connection with FIG. 5, where it is provided by components 526-532.

When touch-tone dialing is selected via switch S3 (see FIG. 3 and 5), components 333-339 and 349 are responsive to a dual tone multi-frequency signal on input lead DTMF for amplifying and impedance matching same to telephone line L1. Capacitor 331 provides filtering across the line and Zener diode 332, having a 15-volt breakdown, serves to protect components of line interface 300 from transient voltages on the telephone line.

Components 340-347 and 350 perform the line holding function. Bias resistors 342-344 and 347 cooperate to set the voltage at the base of transistor 345. Darlington pair 345-346 regulates the line holding current in accordance with the voltage across terminals T' and R". 4.7 volt Zenor diode 340 is used for dial pulse wave shaping. Diode 340 charges capacitor 341 rapidly at the start of each make period which sets the DC voltage across terminals T' and R". Capacitor 341 and resistor 342 set the AC impedance of the line holding circuit.

When relay K1 is operated and the associated telephone set is not directly connected to the telephone line L1, capacitor 348 couples a portion of the AC signal on lead R" to the telephone set via leads 13, 14. Components 351-353 supply a filtered negative DC voltage to the telephone set over lead 14. Should the user hang up the associated telephone set during dialing, the voltage on lead 14 becomes more negative. This negative signal is coupled through capacitor 362 to a reset circuit comprising components 361-365 which causes output lead RST to go high. The signal on lead RST is used to reset a flip-flop, comprising gates 515, 516 shown in FIG. 5, that indicates the dialing condition. So that dial pulse are not confused with telephone hangup, the voltage on lead RST is clamped negative during dialing. Such clamping is performed by diode 525, also shown in FIG. 5.

Turning now to FIG. 4, line status circuit 400 functions to determine the on-hook/off-hook status of associated telephone set 20 (see FIG. 1 and 2). This function is performed by monitoring the DC voltage level across terminals T' and R'. Advantageously, the polarity guard comprising diodes 301-304 (see FIG. 3) assures that T' is always positive with respect to R'. Zenor diode 402 has a 22-volt breakdown voltage so that when the voltage across T', R' is less than 22 volts, transistor 404 is turned off. This occurs when the associated telephone set is in an off-hook state. Resistors 401, 403, 405 and 406 are used to bias transistor 404 and produce the proper voltage levels in its on/off states. When transistor 404 is turned off, the voltage at its collector terminal becomes more negative thus turning transistor 408 on. Similar action occurs in transistor 409 when input lead MT1 becomes negative during dialing. Thus during dialing, or when the associated telephone set is off-hook, the collectors of transistors 408, 409 are at their high voltage level T'. Also during the off-hook condition, voltage V2 is at -5.0 volts nominally and V3 is at -8.3 volts nominally. Components 411, 412 provide filtering and bias respectively for the signal developed at the collectors of transistors 408, 409. This signal is delivered to components 413-416 which provide level shifting to deliver a voltage on output lead HKS whose level is low (-5.0 volts) during the off hook condition and whose level is high (0 volts) during the on-hook condition.

FIG. 5 us a schematic drawing of the logic circuit used in the present invention to regulate the various tasks of the repertory dialer. A user, desirous of commencing a call, must first lift the handset of the associated telephone. This condition is sensed by the line status circuit, as discussed above, which drives the voltage T' at its collector terminal when the user depresses switch S1 momentarily in order to activate the dialer. Resistor 501 is used to limit the current flowing in the base of transistor 502. Once S1 is activated, the high voltage at the collector of transistor 502 is filtered by capacitor 513 and used to toggle the flip-flop comprising gates 515, 516; and to select the telephone number to be dialed via transistor 507, diodes 503-504, and switch S2A. S2 is a two-position, double-throw switch comprising elements S2A and S2B, used by customer to select direct billing (position M1), or remote billing (position M2). In the M1 position, leads R5 and C1 are driven low to commence dialing of the telephone number stored in M1. In the M2 position, leads R5 and C2 are driven low to commence the dialing of the telephone number stored in M2.

Waveforms associated with the logic circuit of FIG. 5 are shown in FIG. 8 to more clearly illustrate its operation. The output signal of gate 515, also known as the "start" signal is shown in FIG. 8 as waveform A and is available on output lead RC. The start signal is delivered to the base of transistor 534 through current limiting resistor 533 to energize the coil of relay K1. Zenor diode 535 protects transistor 534 from the high voltage transient created when relay coil K1 is released. Operation of the K1 relay causes associated telephone set 20 to be disconnected from telephone line L1 and connected to leads 13, 14 of repertory dialer 10 where it is supplied with approximately 3.5 milliamps of DC as well as sidetone for call progress monitoring (see FIG. 2). The start signal is also used to remove the reset signal from flip-flops 521, 522 whose output signals are shown are shown as waveforms C and D in FIG. 8. They are now free to change states.

An interdigit timing circuit comprising components 526-532 provides inversion, with minimum delay, of its input signal on lead MT when it goes low (-5.0 volts) during dialing. Since lead MT remains low during touch-tone dialing, the voltage on the collector of transistor 530 remains high (see waveform B of FIG. 8). During dial pulse dialing lead MT goes high during the interdigit intervals for 740 milliseconds, but the voltage on the collector of transistor 530 remains high due to the time constant of resistor 527 and capacitor 529. Diode 531 assures that there is sufficient reverse bias for transistor 530 to turn it off when lead MT is low. After the telephone number is dialed (M1 or M2), the signal on lead MT goes high(0 volts); however, a one-second delay is encountered before the output of the interdigit timer goes low due to the time constant of resistor 527 and capacitor 529.

Flip-flops 521, 522 are D flip-flops that transfer a logic signal present on their D input whenever a positive-going transition is present on their C (clock) input. Flip-flop 521 has its Q output connected to its D input causing it to toggle on every positive-going transition delivered to its C input. After the dialing of M1 or M2 is completed, waveform B has a negative-going transition which is inverted by gate 524 and delivered to the C input of flip-flops 521, 522. Only flip-flop 521 toggles at this time (see waveform C).

If the user has positioned switch S2 in the M1 position (direct billing), then gate 547 receives a low voltage on its input lead from the Q output of flip flop 521. Since a low voltage on any input lead of gate 547 forces its output high, a high signal is delivered to gate 516 through resistor 548. This signal forces the flip-flop comprising gates 515, 516 to be reset thus ending the dialing cycle. Accordingly, the repertory dialer does not expect to receive a Calling Card Service-Prompt Tone when direct billing is selected.

If, on the other hand, the user has positioned switch S2 in the M2 position (remote billing), the input to gate 547 remains high so that its output is low and does not force the flip-flop comprising gates 515, 516 to be reset at this time. Regardless of the position of S2, however, immediately after dialing, flip-flop 521 is toggled and its Q output (waveform C ) is delivered to a timer comprising components 540-546 having a ten-second delay set by resistor 540 and capacitor 542. Transistor 541 inverts and amplifies its input signal. Whether or not a Calling Card Service-Prompt Tone is detected, within 10 seconds after M1 or M2 has been dialed, the output of transistor 541 is driven low thereby forcing gate 547 to go high and thus reset the flip-flop comprising gates 515, 516 and the repertory dialer is now ready to start all over again.

Whenever the Calling Card Service-Prompt Tone is absent, input lead TD to gate 518 is high thus forcing the output of gate 518 to be low which holds the collector of transistor 508 high. Whenever the Calling Card Service-Prompt Tone is present, lead TD is low. Since the other two inputs to gate 518 are also low after a telephone number has been dialed, the output of gate 518 now goes high and turns on transistor 508. Transistor 508 provides a low voltage to diodes 505, 506 and hence output leads R5, C3 respectively to thereby cause dial memory circuit 700 (see FIG. 7) to dial the number M3. Note that M3 corresponds to a credit card number, or the like, of the person to be billed for the telephone call. After the dialing of M3 is completed, lead MT goes high which turns on transistor 530 after a one-second delay and delivers a positive-going transition at the output of gate 524 to the C inputs of flip-flops 521, 522. This transition causes the Q output of flip-flop 521 to go low and flip-flop 522 to go high. The Q output of flip-flop 522 therefore goes low thus forcing the output of gate 547 high and resetting the flip-flop comprising gates 515, 516. The output of gate 515 (waveform A) is fed back to the reset (R) inputs of flip-flops 521, 522 thereby assuring that each of their Q outputs is in its low state. The repertory dialer has now completed its dialing cycle.

In the event a new battery is inserted, capacitors 510-511, in cooperation with resistor 509, couple a high signal to an input of gate 516 to assure that the flip-flop comprising gates 515, 516 is in its reset state.

Referring now to FIG. 6, there is disclosed a schematic drawing of tone detector 600 which operates to detect the 941 Hz component of the Calling Card Service-Prompt Tone. Tone detector 600 is enabled when power (T') is applied via transistor 602 which occurs when input lead RC is low (see waveform A--FIG. 5 and 8). Input lead RC is driven low when S1 is operated to commence dialing. Power is supplied to the integrated circuit 615 on its pin 4. This particular integrated circuit operates in the power supply voltage range 4.75 - 9.0 volts and typically uses 5.0 volts. After the dialing cycle is completed, input lead RC is driven high thus removing power from the tone detector 600.

Input lead R" delivers signals present on the telephone line to the tone detector 600. The signals on input lead R" are amplified by amplifier 606 which is a commercially available amplifier such as the LM358 Operational Amplifier. Varistor 610 limits the magnitude of the amplified signal and components 603-605 and 608-609 are selected for proper biasing and gain setting.

Integrated circuit 615 is a commercially available Tone Decoder such as the LM567; adapted, by externally connected components 611-614 and 616-617, to detect a tone having a frequency component of 941 Hz. The input signal to integrated circuit 615 is capacitively coupled via capacitor 611 to its pin 3; and the output signal, which is normally high, is available on pin 8. The externally connected components are used to independently set center frequency, bandwidth and output delay. When the input signal contains a 941 Hz frequency component, integrated circuit pin 8 (output lead TD) provides a saturated transistor switch to the low voltage (V3) connected to pin 7. Although the Calling Card Service-Prompt Tone contains more than a 941 Hz frequency component, in the present application this simplified technique advantageously provides sufficient accuracy while minimizing cost.

Referring now to FIG. 7, integrated circuit 710 is a commercially available repertory dialer chip such as the MK53762 which stores up to nine repertory numbers, each containing up to 18 digits. These numbers can be later redialed with a single key input. In the present invention only three memory locations are used: M1, M2 and M3; these memory locations are respectively addressed when a low voltage (-5.0 volts) is simultaneously presented on the R5 input along with one of the C1, C2 or C3 input leads.

Mode switch S3 allows the user to select between touch-tone or dial pulse dialing. When the touch-tone mode is selected, conventional touch-tone signals are available on the DTMF output lead for as long as the user holds the particular key depressed. Component 703 is a conventional low-cost television color-burst crystal having a nominal frequency of 3.579545 MHz. The crystal in combination with capacitors 701, 702 and circuitry within integrated circuit 710 cooperate to provide the time reference for all circuit functions including the DTMF output frequencies. Alternatively, a ceramic resonator having a tolerance of .+-.0.25% may be used in place of crystal 703. When mode switch S3 is in the DP position, the user has selected the dial pulse mode of operation in which the output signal on lead DP consists of an open drain N-channel device along with pull-up resistor 318 on FIG. 3 whose output comprises a sequence of negative-going output pulses, each having a duration of 60 milliseconds, on lead DP. The number of pulses corresponds to the digit dialed. Between digits the interdigit time is 740 milliseconds.

Lead MT delivers an output signal which comprises an open drain N-channel device. During standby, this is a high impedance connected to supply voltage T' through external pull-up resistor 706. When dialing, MT is low (-5.0 volts) continuously until dialing is completed except during the interdigit interval in dial pulse operation.

Input lead HKS provides an indication of the state of the line switch in the associated telephone set. It is high (0 volts) when the telephone set is on-hook, or low (-5.0 volts) when the telephone set is off-hook. It is noted that line status circuit 400, discussed in connection with FIG. 4, determines the state of the line switch and hence the voltage level on lead HKS. Components 707-709 are used to buffer the MT signal for delivery to the line status circuit of FIG. 4. The buffered MT signal is renamed MT1.

Although a particular embodiment has been disclosed, it is understood that various modifications may be made within the spirit and scope of the invention. Such modifications include, but are not limited to, the inclusion of the repertory dialer within a single telephone set structure; the billing for telephone calls, made from the repertory dialer, to someone other than the calling or called party; and automatic activation of the dialer when the user goes off-hook.