Abstract: A call charge allocation arrangement is implemented for a business communication system to track those situations in which a toll call is transferred from a first station to a second station. The arrangement tracks such transfers by establishing a first call record at the time the call is placed and establishing a second call record at the time the call is transferred, such that call charges which accrue prior to the transfer are entered in the first call record and call charges which accrue subsequent to the transfer are entered in the second call record.

Abstract: A user-application program for computerized telephone ordering is generated y a system designer who selects and interconnects pre-defined program modules and subroutines using a graphics terminal. The application program allows TOUCH-TONE input data and voice response. The present invention describes a Dialog Production System (DPS) for generating application programs for instructing a computer-controlled voice response system to provide computer-controlled voice services. The DPS includes interaction modules, each defining a basic end-user transaction which can be performed by the system, and methods for specifying module interconnection. Each interaction module controls the intercommunications with other modules and controls the devices which interface to the system. To design a dialog program to implement the desired voice service the system designer uses a graphic terminal to select and interconnect the modules to define the sequence of transactions needed to implement the desired voice service.

Abstract: Control equipment employed in a customer-owned public telephone station prevents a user from making unauthorized telephone calls in the telephone system. Operating under the control of a computer in the station, the control equipment is responsive to momentary loop breaks occurring on tip and ring lines connecting the station to a central office, and to a loop break provided by the central office which reflects that the far end party has disconnected. The control equipment is also responsive to scheduled as well as as unscheduled receipt of dial tone. The combination of ongoing loop break and dial tone detection and analysis conveniently provides the desired protection for reliable operation of the customer-owned public telephone station in the telephone system. Restrictions incorporated in the station for obtaining the desired protection are applied with minimal inconvenience for the legitimate user.

Abstract: A time manager for a personal terminal can be generally characterized as a things-to-do file in which the user inputs a to-do reminder message along with a data and time that the terminal user wants to be alerted (reminded). The notion of a terminal time manager is advanced by displaying reminder messages directed to calling a named entity that is contained in the terminal telephone directory and by automatically calling the named entity when the user points to the displayed reminder. If the user inputs the actual telephone number to be called in place of the named entity, then the telephone number will be called even though the telephone number is not contained in the directory.

Abstract: Local area networks having a plurality of stations connected to a transmission medium in a daisy chain configuration at the nodes or endpoints experience difficulty in detecting collisions between signals transmitted from two or more stations using standard Manchester violation or lost carrier collision detection techniques. The present invention eliminates collision detection problems in this environment almost entirely by monitoring the signal level coupled from the transmission medium to each station of the daisy chain to detect the presence or absence of collisions and generating a collision detection output signal when the signal level being monitored exceeds a predetermined threshold level.

Abstract: A personal computer or workstation is provided with an arrangement whereby the workstation keyboard and printer can be made to emulate the operation of a standard typewriter. The printer associated with the workstation is adapted to receive the workstation keyboard and to hold it in front of the platen and print head at an angle that approximates the angle of a standard typewriter keyboard, while software within the workstation, when called into operation, causes the printer to respond to the keyboard on a keystroke-by-keystroke basis.

Abstract: A dial tone detection arrangement for a PBX which provides a dial tone detection notification feature to a calling party is disclosed. The disclosed arrangement relieves the calling party from the burden of aurally monitoring the receiver of a station while waiting for receipt of central office (C.O.) dial tone. The dial tone detection notification feature is advantageous under conditions where the calling party places a call to a called station served by the C.O. and experiences extensive delays, e.g. 30 minutes, in the receipt of C.O. dial tone. The dial tone detection arrangement utilizes an algorithm to establish a connection between a dial tone detection circuit of the PBX and a trunk port connected to a C.O. via a switching network. The dial tone detection circuit monitors the C.O. via the trunk port for the presence of dial tone indicative of C.O. availability. The calling party may now go "on-hook" and await a notification at the calling station indicative of the detection of dial tone.

Abstract: This Inter-Exchange Carrier Access arrangement uses the Automatic Number Identification (ANI) capability of the central switching office to eliminate the need for the customer to dial an authorization code when accessing an inter-exchange carrier via a facilities reseller telephone communication system. The central switching office transmits the calling party identification (ANI) digits to the facilities reseller telephone communication system when the customer dials the remote access code for the facilities reseller telephone communication system. These received ANI digits are compared by the facilities reseller telephone communication system with a list of authorized customers stored in memory. If a match occurs, the identity of the inter-exchange carrier preselected by the customer is retrieved from memory and the telephone communication system automatically outpulses the inter-exchange carrier access code to the central switching office.

Abstract: The subject wideband switching network provides inexpensive point-to-point wideband communication connections. Wideband source and destination terminal equipment are either connected to modems which encode the analog signals used by the wideband source terminal equipment into digital signals for transmission through the wideband switching network and decode the received digital signals into analog signals used by the wideband destination terminal equipment; or are directly connected to the wideband switching network if source and destination terminal equipment transmit and receive digital signals. The modems are connected to the wideband switching network by optical fibers. The wideband switching network is a point-to-point space division switch that is comprised of a matrix of high frequency semiconductor crosspoints.

Abstract: A combined electrical/lightwave connection arrangement provides electrical connections via conventional contact blades and ground post and a lightwave connection via a lightwave transmission line carried within the ground post.

Abstract: The optical fiber connector of the present invention comprises a plurality of spaced-apart optical fiber receiving holes (or tubes) formed at one end of the connector and a spherical mirror formed at another end of the connector. The receiving holes are disposed on respective sides of the principal axis of the spherical mirror and the bottoms of the holes are collinear with and equidistant from the center of curvature of the mirror. Light signals emitted by an optical fiber inserted in one of the holes impinge on the mirror and are reflected in the direction of an optical fiber inserted in another one of the holes. The connector may be readily adapted to optically connect N+1 fibers together.

Abstract: An adjunct call manager unit connects to a station set port of a telephone communication system and receives button identification and status signals to determine line, agent, and feature activation status of the system. In response to one or more of the received status signals, commands are sent to the system using button depression commands and switchhook commands to effectuate call processing control over the system. In one embodiment, the adjunct unit functions as an automated call distributor for managing incoming calls to the system.

Abstract: A personal computer connected to a display and touch screen panel is provided with a form entry system integrated therewith. The form entry system is adapted to display a predefined form and to automatically display a predefined tool, such as a keyboard, menu, calculator, etc., to facilitate inputting information in a respective field of the form or chart. Specifically, the user is prompted as to which field is to be filled in by highlighting the field and concurrently displaying as an overlay (window) the tool that the user will use to input the information called for by the highlighted field. In the case where a field calls for illustratively the insertion of a name, the system may be adapted to display a menu of names as the tool for filling in that field. The user selects the name that he or she desired to be inserted in the field by touching that name. The system responsive thereto inserts the name in that field, highlights the next field to be filled in and displays the tool for filling that field.

Abstract: An asynchronous interface for coupling data between a terminal and a data module is provided. The asynchronous interface directly determines and matches to the rate of serial data being transmitted by the terminal and received by the data module with minimal involvement of a processor associated with the data module. The asynchronous interface determines the rate of the data being transmitted by configuring counting circuitry therein for measuring the period of the start bit in the first received character whenever the speed of data being transmitted by the terminal must be determined. The asynchronous interface then adjusts to the newly determined data rate and receives the remaining bits in the first character and subsequent characters at the new rate. The processor is involved only to request that the asynchronous interface determine the incoming data rate and match to it and, once the data rate has been determined and matched, to process the recovered characters and this new rate.

Abstract: An arrangement is disclosed for providing station number portability to stations ported from an original switching node to a new switching node which allows the ported station to maintain its original assigned station number. A ported station retains its original assigned number when it's original and new node have a common data base. The common data base identifies what station number is currently associated with which node. The station can be ported from one node to another node by altering the data base to indicate the new association of the ported number and the node to which the station has been ported.

Abstract: The severity of the problems of transmitting high speed data over a regular twisted wire pair are legendary. These problems arise from a variety of conditions, including the capacitance of the wire (which increases with length) and the propensity of unshielded wire to pickup high induced voltages. An arrangement is disclosed that is suitable for short, as well as long, wire distances and which also effectively eliminates the interference problem caused by induced voltages, including those causes by electrostatic discharge. This arrangement passes two twisted wire pairs through a series of ferrite cores. The twisted wire pairs coming out of the ferrite cores are terminated such that one of the pairs is connected to ground while the signal carrying twisted pair is connected to a small signal balun coil, pulse shaping circuit and low pass filter.

Abstract: A self-initializing communication system is described which automatically itializes circuit boards of the system using predetermined operating parameters when the system is initially powered-up or reset. The system is arranged to initialize circuit boards inserted in any order in any board slots of the system equipment housing. A malfunctioning circuit board can be replaced while the system is operating and the replacement circuit board is automatically initialized by the system using the stored operating parameters from the malfunctioning circuit board.