Abstract: An embodiment of the present invention is an apparatus for placing a telephone call over a telephone line and for detecting whether the telephone call was answered by a live person, an answering machine, a facsimile machine, or a data apparatus such as a modem and, depending on the manner in which the telephone call was answered, for connecting: (a) either a human agent or a telephone dialogue application to the telephone line to speak to a live person; (b) a voice message delivery system to the telephone line to send a voice message to an answering machine; (c) a facsimile message delivery system to the telephone line to send a facsimile message to the facsimile machine; and (d) a data message delivery system to the telephone line to send a data message to the data machine.

Abstract: A detector to indicate if a telephone call was answered by an answering machine or a live person includes (to analyze frames): a click detector; a ring detector; a voice detector; an energy detector; and a controller. The controller routes to: a voice analyzer if voice occurred; a ring analyzer if ring started, continues, or ended; a noise detector if there is neither ring nor voice; a click analyzer if a click occurred; an answer analyzer if ring did not start in the frame; and a silence analyzer. The noise detector detects noise; the ring analyzer detects start time, end time, and length of ring; the click analyzer detects click time; the answer analyzer detects call answer time; the silence analyzer detects silence and the time of predetermined lengths of silence; and the voice analyzer detects the first frame of voice and routes to an on-first voice analyzer or to an after-first voice analyzer.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for detecting and identifying dial pulse digits in a telephone signal. An embodiment of the inventive method includes the steps of: detecting a dial pulse "0" digit; analyzing the dial pulse "0" digit to determine a predetermined set of data to provide a template which is characteristic of the dial pulse "0" digit; detecting a further dial pulse digit; analyzing the further dial pulse digit to determine a predetermined set of data which is characteristic of the further dial pulse digit; and comparing the predetermined set of data of the further dial pulse digit with the template to identify the further dial pulse digit.

Abstract: TDM bus and, in particular, a PCM Expansion Bus (PEB): (a) which permits a multiplicity of apparatus to monitor a TDM signal simultaneously and (b) wherein various timing and control signals are provided in a manner that minimizes the hardware needed by the apparatus for identifying, i.e., decoding, various channels in the TDM signal for accessing and inserting information therein.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for recovering in-bound calls to a call center, which in-bound calls were directed to overflow. An embodiment of the inventive method includes the steps of: logging telephone numbers of in-bound calls that overflow the handling capacity of the call center, which telephone numbers are provided by the signaling capacity of the network to the call center; determining when call center agents become available; automatically initiating calls back to the logged telephone numbers; detecting when calls are answered; and causing call center agents to be connected thereto.

Abstract: ANI Blocking System (ABS) logically interfaces between a calling party and a called party in a telephone network which provides CallerID and CallerID blocking. The ABS automatically: (1) accepts a call from the calling party; (2) places a call to the called party; and (3) connects the called party with the calling party.

Abstract: An ANI Converter System (ACS): (1) logically interfaces between: (a) a telephone network, on the one hand, and customer premises equipment (CPE), on the other hand, or (b) two portions of a switched telephone network, such as two tandem toll switching machines; (2) accepts incoming calls; (3) extracts in-band network routing and/or origination information such as ANI information; (4) uses the information to extract relevant information from a data base; and (5) places a call to a predetermined called party at, for example, a predetermined workstation to aid operators using the workstation in carrying out transactions with a calling party.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for identifying telephone signals which are produced by a human voice. The method includes determining a measure of the energy of predetermined frequency bins of the frequency spectrum of the signal for a frame comprised of a predetermined number of consecutive samples of the signal, if the signal is an analog signal; averaging the measure of the energy of the predetermined frequency bins over a predetermined number of frames to provide a frame group average energy measure; determining the sum of the absolute value of the difference between the frame group average energy measure for all pairs of frame groups which are consecutive in time; and comparing the sum with a predetermined amount to identify the signal as having been produced by a human voice if the sum exceeds the predetermined amount.

Abstract: For faster realtime analysis related to Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT), prestored pre-multiplied values of amplitude times cosine and sine functions are used. Method and apparatus for determining the content of a predetermined frequency bin f in the frequency spectrum of a signal and, in particular, a signal which occurs in a telephone network, includes the step of storing on a storage means:C.sub.k (x.sub.k,n)=x.sub.k *cos(2.pi.kn/N) and S.sub.k (x.sub.k,n)=x.sub.k *sin(2.pi.kn/N)for: k=0, . . . , (N-1); n=0, . . . , (n-1); and x.sub.k ranging over all the values of the set of M predetermined digital levels into which the amplitude of the signal is mapped, if the signal is a digital signal, or into which a sample of the amplitude of the signal is mapped, if the signal is an analog signal. N is a predetermined number of amplitudes or samples of the amplitude of the signal which are used in analyzing the frequency spectrum and n is a frequency index.

Abstract: Apparatus and method for measuring the transmission quality of a telephone line, for example, a telephone line connected between two voice processing systems. The apparatus includes means for generating a predetermined sequence of DTMF pulses having predetermined amplitude values and for transmitting them over a telephone line; means for receiving DTMF pulses from a telephone line and determining the value of each pulse; means for counting the number of received DTMF pulses; and means for comparing the number with a predetermined threshold value, whereby the telephone line is determined to have acceptable transmission quality if the number exceeds the predetermined threshold value. Further, in a preferred embodiment, the predetermined sequence of DTMF pulses comprises four groups of ten (10) DTMF pulses, each of which groups has succeedingly lower amplitude.

Abstract: A Call Filter System (CFS): (1) logically interfaces between a public telephone network and business customer premises equipment; (2) automatically processes incoming and outgoing calls which are amenable to such intervention; and (3) enlists the aid of human intervention on calls requiring such intervention.

Abstract: Apparatus for detecting a single-frequency signal having a predetermined frequency in an analog signal includes means for converting the analog signal to a differentially encoded digital signal and detection means for detecting a single-frequency signal having the predetermined frequency from the differentially encoded digital signal. In a preferred embodiment, the detection means includes: means for detecting one cycle of the analog signal by detecting a signal maximum followed by detecting a signal minimum which is followed, in turn, by detecting another signal maximum; means for determining the length of the cycle, for determining whether the length is within predetermined bounds, and for keeping a count of such occurrences; and means for determining whether the count has reached a predetermined amount, whereby a single-frequency signal having the predetermined frequency has been detected.

Abstract: Circuitry which permits a plurality of peripherals to share a single interrupt signal line in computer systems and thereby increase the number of peripherals which can be supported.