Abstract: A telephone that has dual keypads, wherein one of the keypads is a standard 12 number (1-9, 0, #, and *) keypad and the other keypad comprises a plurality of keys having a single character on each key. When a character key is pressed, it generates a DTMF pair corresponding to one of the 12 standard DTMF pairs.

Abstract: A wireless telecommunications system where call path resources are allocated in an orderly manner by queuing call requests during, for example, radio channel unavailability, and assigning radio channels to queued call requests as they become available. To accomodate movement of the mobile station within the service area, a plurality of queues are provided for different locations and a call request is sequentially placed in different queues as the mobile station moves. The system is usable for both incoming and outgoing calls.

Abstract: An arrangement providing a monitor-on-hold feature for telephone station apparatus. The exemplary apparatus includes a handset transmitter and receiver, a speaker, and four user control buttons. A user is given the capability to move a connection for a first call from the handset to the speaker by simply actuating one of the buttons, the PRIVACY button. A connection is thereafter completed to the handset to answer a second call in privacy by actuating a second button, the NEWCALL button, while continuing to monitor the first call via the speaker. The capability to move connections is provided by a microprocessor-controlled switch included within the apparatus to selectively interconnect the two communications channels used for the two calls, with the handset and the speaker. Alternatively, the moving of connections is effected within the switching system serving the telephone station.

Abstract: A method for use in a multimedia conferencing arrangement to control multiple concurrent calls where each call comprises one or more channels. A first call among a first set of user stations and a second call among a second set of user stations are merged into a single call comprising a plurality of channels among at least three user stations from the first and second sets. The plurality of channels of the single, merged call corresponds to a combination of channels of the first and second calls and may include a signalling channel, a voice channel, and one data channel for each data channel of the first and second calls. The method is also applicable to calls including image or video channels.

Abstract: A harmonic coding arrangement where the magnitude spectrum of the input speech is modeled at the analyzer by a relatively small set of parameters and, significantly, as a continuous rather than only a line magnitude spectrum. The synthesizer, rather than the analyzer, determines the magnitude, frequency, and phase of a large number of sinusoids which are summed to generate synthetic speech. Rather than receiving information explicitly defining the sinusoids from the analyzer, the synthesizer receives the small set of parameters and uses those parameters to determine a spectrum, which, in turn, is used by the synthesizer to determine the sinusoids for synthesis.

Abstract: An arrangement providing voice activated prompt interrupt for a voice messaging system. The exemplary apparatus includes a telephone line interface, a memory device, a processor, a prompting device and a recording device. Once a call is established at the interface, the processor causes the prompt to be played and simultaneously the incoming signal to be sampled. An echo estimate is determined, subtracted from the incoming signal and a determination is made if incoming speech is detected. If incoming speech is detected, the prompt is stopped and the buffered incoming signal is directed to the recording device.

Abstract: A transformation method for network conference connections where the network operations are determined based on stored information defining the original connection and stored information defining the target connection thus affording the opportunity to advantageously reuse existing paths. The paths to be deleted and the paths to be added to effect the transformation are determined such that no path is both deleted from and added to any switch. The connection information may be stored either in a central control entity or an intra-switch path information in the individual switches of the network. In the latter case, the individual switches determine their own intra-switch path additions and deletions in a distributed fashion.

Abstract: An arrangement for switching broadband ISDN (B-ISDN) packets is disclosed. The arrangement comprises a broadband packet switch connected to B-ISDN customers and to a narrowband switch via an interface unit. B-ISDN control packets are connected by the broadband packet switch to the narrowband switch which transmits them to a control unit. The control unit responds to control messages by controlling the broadband packet switch to selectively interconnect B-ISDN customers and by controlling the broadband packet switch, the interface means and the narrowband switch to selectively interconnect B-ISDN and narrowband customers.

Abstract: A conference connection method for use in a multicast packet switching network. Once the packet switches and inter-switch links to comprise a multicast connection among three or more endpoints are determined, a check is performed to determine whether that multicast connection would to usable to effect communication in accordance with a specified transmission matrix and meeting a packet sequencing condition. The multicast connection is established only when the check indicates that the connection would meet both requirements.

Abstract: A packet switching arrangement for receiving packets including broadcast addresses and connecting representations of the received packets to any combination of output ports specified in the address is disclosed. The packet routing units of the network both generate packet representations and selectively connect the representations to downstream routing units or network outputs. Packets for use with the network comprise an address portion encoded in a broadcast format or in a shorter point-to-point format and an address type character identifying the type of address in the address portion. The nodes of the network respond to the address type character of a received packet. By selecting the appropriate decoding format for the packet address portion, a packet select unit decodes the address portion in accordance with the selected encoding format and selectively connects the packet to the network outputs.