Importance

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Abstract

An automatic telephone dialer system using optical input of telephone numbers from printed materials. Numbers can be stored as bar codes (22) readable by a bar code wand (26) or as characters (24) readable by an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) scanner (106). When the number is read by the autodialer unit it is interpreted by a microcontroller (50) which commands a DTMF (Dual Tone MultiFrequency) generator (56) to send dialing signals to a telephone line (72). Dialing occurs when a sensor (68) detects that an attached telephone handset (74) is off-hook. Multiple numbers can be read into memory (42) and the next sequential number will be dialed after the telephone handset goes on-hook then off-hook. The sequence of numbers can be cleared by a reset switch (30). Bar codes are self checking and require only one scan. The autodialer unit can be configured to delete all scanned area codes or access codes. The user can create phone number storage media (114) by a computer (108) and a printer (112) or a dedicated unit (116). The computer is configured to delete local area codes and add access codes when printing. The computer provides a convenient human interface for creation of media for multiple autodialer units without burdening each autodialer with additional cost, bulk and complexity. Media formats include labels (20), rotary file cards (124), and a roster (132), with a single or a plurality of numbers per piece.

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First Claim