Importance

Loading Importance Indicators...

Abstract

An interface is described which attaches between the incoming trunk lines from a central office and a PBX system and which monitors the communication between the central office and the PBX to record the signals representative of telephone extension of a called party for later downloading to telephone peripheral equipment attached to the PBX, such as voice mail systems. The interface passively monitors the line during handshake communication between the central office and the PBX and receives the digits of the dialed extension and stores them in memory. The interface then monitors the line for a request to send from the peripheral equipment attached to the PBX. When the request is received, the interface assumes supervision of the telephone line by terminating the line to the central office and the line to the PBX. The interface then downloads the digits of the dialed extension to the telephone peripheral equipment, such as a voice mail system, for identifying the extension to which the message belongs. Two embodiments of the present invention are described in which the interface can operate with either DID trunk lines attached to a PBX system or with POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) lines attached to a PBX.

Loading the Abstract Image...

First Claim