Method and apparatus for determining digits dialed using a selected algorithm
Granted: March 9, 1999
Patent Number:
5881146
A technique for minimizing the number of users which must dial training digits in a voice processing system. The system uses the first digit normally dialed as part of the user responses to the voice processing application, and measures such digit to determine whether it and future digits can be detected accurately without the use of a training digit. If they can, no training digit is required. If they can't, then a training digit is required, and the user is prompted for the same.
Technique of controlling telephone calls
Granted: September 15, 1998
Patent Number:
5809110
An improved system for minimizing toll charges is disclosed wherein line quality is measured and a call is terminated if the line quality is not at an acceptable level to allow for the highest possible bit rates during data transfer or to guarantee a certain minimum degree of quality.
Competitively bidding service centers
Granted: August 4, 1998
Patent Number:
5790642
A plurality of service centers, disbursed throughout a telecommunications network such as the public switched telephone system (PSTN), competitively bid for the rights to service a particular call to be serviced from one of the service centers. After comparing the cost (or other parameter to be optimized) of servicing a call from the numerous different service centers, the cost (or other parameter) of the call is minimized (optimized) by assigning it to the service center which can…
Call processing using previously obtained line characteristics
Granted: June 9, 1998
Patent Number:
5764759
A technique for utilization of call processing resources in a call processing system is disclosed wherein echo characteristics of a telephone line ascertained and utilized by a echo canceler, and are also stored for subsequent use by a different echo canceler which processes a call on that same telephone line. The technique may also be used with call processing resources other than echo cancelers.
Method and apparatus for assigning memory space addresses to memory on computer interface boards
Granted: April 28, 1998
Patent Number:
5745786
Method and apparatus for assigning memory space addresses of a computer, for example, a personal computer (PC), to memory contained on computer interface boards interfaced to the computer wherein the computer controls the memory space addresses assigned and wherein multiple computer interface boards can be assigned to the same memory space addresses. An embodiment of the inventive method includes the steps of: (a) setting a computer interface board identification at the computer…
Run time control in a call processing system
Granted: February 17, 1998
Patent Number:
5719919
A method of allowing independent call processing resources to work together in a call processing system by specifying conditions/action pairs. The technique arms specified resources to issue particular commands upon detection of the particular conditions. When the condition occurs, the armed resource issues the command and an acting resource acts upon the command. The application program no longer need be involved in mediating between resources.
AD-HOC conferencing method
Granted: December 23, 1997
Patent Number:
5701340
An improved conferencing protocol is disclosed wherein users telephone a predetermined number and enter any conference identifier arranged among themselves. Users entering a common conference identifier are connected with one another.
Tone blocking using variable delay buffer
Granted: November 11, 1997
Patent Number:
5687177
A tone blocking system and method for use preferably in conferencing systems in order to prevent control tones from being transmitted to other conferees is disclosed. The buffer length used to process the signal and detect tones is varied, being increased when a tone is suspected to allow for sophisticated tone detection algorithms, and being decreased when silence is present by trimming the silence away. The technique minimizes delay, and its degrading effect on echo, but nonetheless…
Voice detection
Granted: June 10, 1997
Patent Number:
5638436
In a voice processing system, a voice detection algorithm is disclosed wherein the sensitivity is adjusted based upon whether or not tones (e.g.; DTMF) are presently being received. In an additional embodiment, the adjustment is made only when the voice processing system is in a predetermined mode.
Tone blocking using variable delay buffer
Granted: February 18, 1997
Patent Number:
5604793
A tone blocking system for use preferably in conferencing systems in order to prevent control tones from being transmitted to other conferees is disclosed. The buffer length used to process the signal and detect tones is varied, being increased when a tone is suspected to allow for sophisticated tone detection algorithms, and being decreased when silence is present by trimming the silence away. The technique minimizes delay, and its degrading effect on echo, but nonetheless provides for…
Selectively activated dual tone multi-frequency detector
Granted: October 17, 1995
Patent Number:
5459781
A technique for improved DTMF detection utilizes a speech detector, either alone or in combination with other information from a voice processing arrangement, to adjust the sensitivity of the DTMF detector. The DTMF detector is turned completely off when the voice processing application is in the record mode, and when speech is detected.
Voice detection
Granted: September 12, 1995
Patent Number:
5450484
Voice detector for detecting whether a telephone signal has been produced by a voice. The voice detector obtains, on a per frame basis, measures of the following quantities relating to the telephone signal: total energy; energy and frequency of two largest energy peaks in a frequency spectrum; and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). If the measure of total energy exceeds a predetermined threshold, the voice detector increments running sums of the following measures: total energy; frequency of…
Detecting whether a telephone line has been disconnected
Granted: September 12, 1995
Patent Number:
5450485
Apparatus for detecting whether a telephone call has been disconnected, which apparatus includes: (a) a click detector for detecting a click and for generating a "click indication"; (b) a telephone handset impact detector for detecting a telephone handset impact and for generating a "handset impact indication"; (c) a silence detector for detecting silence and for storing a "silent indication"; (d) a timer for determining a predetermined time interval and for transmitting a signal to a…
Ring tone detection for a telephone system
Granted: August 15, 1995
Patent Number:
5442694
A technique for software ring tone detection is disclosed utilizing, in the preferred embodiment, a recursive algorithm. The technique provides flexibility in that a digital signal processor may be reprogrammed to detect ring tone frequencies and amplitudes present in numerous different countries.
Detecting make-break clicks on a telephone line
Granted: June 27, 1995
Patent Number:
5428662
Method and apparatus for detecting make-break clicks on a telephone line, i.e., clicks produced by going on-hook or off-hook. A click is detected by analyzing time slices of a telephone signal to detect a sharp positive transition in signal energy followed by a diminishing envelope of short duration. Three signal measures are utilized to determine whether a click has occurred: (a) a magnitude transition, i.e., a change of the magnitude of the amplitude of the signal over a short period…
Outcalling apparatus
Granted: April 4, 1995
Patent Number:
5404400
An embodiment of the present invention is an apparatus for placing a telephone call over a telephone line and for detecting whether the telephone call was answered by a live person, an answering machine, a facsimile machine, or a data apparatus such as a modem and, depending on the manner in which the telephone call was answered, for connecting: (a) either a human agent or a telephone dialogue application to the telephone line to speak to a live person; (b) a voice message delivery…
Machine answer detection
Granted: December 6, 1994
Patent Number:
5371787
A detector to indicate if a telephone call was answered by an answering machine or a live person includes (to analyze frames): a click detector; a ring detector; a voice detector; an energy detector; and a controller. The controller routes to: a voice analyzer if voice occurred; a ring analyzer if ring started, continues, or ended; a noise detector if there is neither ring nor voice; a click analyzer if a click occurred; an answer analyzer if ring did not start in the frame; and a…
Dial pulse digit detector
Granted: June 8, 1993
Patent Number:
5218636
Method and apparatus for detecting and identifying dial pulse digits in a telephone signal. An embodiment of the inventive method includes the steps of: detecting a dial pulse "0" digit; analyzing the dial pulse "0" digit to determine a predetermined set of data to provide a template which is characteristic of the dial pulse "0" digit; detecting a further dial pulse digit; analyzing the further dial pulse digit to determine a predetermined set of data which is characteristic of the…
TDM expansion bus
Granted: May 18, 1993
Patent Number:
5212688
TDM bus and, in particular, a PCM Expansion Bus (PEB): (a) which permits a multiplicity of apparatus to monitor a TDM signal simultaneously and (b) wherein various timing and control signals are provided in a manner that minimizes the hardware needed by the apparatus for identifying, i.e., decoding, various channels in the TDM signal for accessing and inserting information therein.
Automatic call center overflow retrieval system
Granted: February 9, 1993
Patent Number:
5185786
Method and apparatus for recovering in-bound calls to a call center, which in-bound calls were directed to overflow. An embodiment of the inventive method includes the steps of: logging telephone numbers of in-bound calls that overflow the handling capacity of the call center, which telephone numbers are provided by the signaling capacity of the network to the call center; determining when call center agents become available; automatically initiating calls back to the logged telephone…
