Importance

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Abstract

An improved verbally interactive telephone interrogation system is provided in which a two-way telephone subscriber network, such as a Touch-Tone type two-way telephone subscriber network, is utilized to enable both telephone call placement and individualized remote variable audio message selection and interrogation of prerecorded audio messages as well as remote response accumulation. The Touch-Tone type telephone, which is employed to maintain normal telephone contact with other subscribers, is also utilized to call-up a multitrack magnetic storage device which provides selectible reproducible conversational responsive audio messages to particular primary reproducible interrogatory message from a plurality of different selectible audio messages stored thereon. A frequency decoder and track selection means is associated with the multitrack magnetic storage device for decoding tone signal outputs from the Touch-Tone type telephone to accomplish track selection subsequent to the connection of the subscriber to the multitrack magnetic storage device. Response recording, such as in conjunction with a pulse counter, may be operatively connected to the frequency decoder so as to accumulate responses to particular interrogatory messages based on reception of unique tone signal outputs from the Touch-Tone type telephones in the system. If desired, a rotary dial-type telephone can be employed with pulse counting and signal discrimination to distinguish between the various dial positions. In this manner, telephone subscribers may verbally interact with the prerecorded messages as well as have their responses recorded, such as for an automatic telephone survey, by use of the conventional telephone key pad on their Touch-Tone type telephone or the conventional rotary dial on their dial-type telephone.

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First Claim