Abstract: The present invention relates to a subscriber presence detector system comprised of a switching system for connecting calls to and from a plurality of lines, a person presence detector connected to a line, for providing an indication to the switching system that a person is adjacent or not adjacent the detector, and apparatus for routing calls to the line in the event an indication has been received by the switching system that a person is adjacent the line.

Abstract: A method of establishing a telephone communication link from a calling line to one of plural peripheral devices associated with a single telephone number in a central office telephone switching system or PBX is comprised of storing in a memory a first table of directory numbers and equipment identifiers associated with each directory number, storing in a memory a second table of references to physical peripheral devices associated with each equipment identifier, receiving a request for service to a particular directory number, accessing the first table using the particular directory number and obtaining references to all equipment identifiers associated therewith, accessing the second table using the particular equipment identifiers associated with the particular directory number and identifying the particular physical peripheral devices associated with the particular identifiers, ringing all of the particular physical peripheral devices, detecting one of the particular physical devices going off-hook, ceasin

Abstract: A method of defining the operation of switching system peripherals is comprised of storing a software program for operating the peripherals in a switching system; storing at least one table of data for access by the program for defining operating parameters of a corresponding at least one peripheral; modelling a prototype of the peripheral in a remote host system by creating a human-machine-interface simulating the peripheral; storing a control table of data corresponding to the modelled prototype in a memory for the host system; and downloading the control table into the one table, whereby operation of the peripheral is controlled by the operating software programs and the data in the at least one table.