Abstract: A Family Branch Exchange (FBX) overcomes limitations of conventional residential telephone technology to inexpensively provide more useful and advanced residential telephone services. For example, a method of providing automatic call forwarding comprises receiving, at a service provider system connected to a telephone network and optionally to a data network, a call including dialing information indicating a person to whom the call is to be placed, retrieving, at the service provider system, destination information for the indicated person, and forwarding, from the service provider system, the call to at least one destination indicated by the destination information.

Abstract: In a single-line telephone, there are a plurality of extension telephone sets connected by a telephone line and each extension telephone set is connected to a communication controlling apparatus. The communication controlling apparatus includes an alternating current coupler and a power supply thus allowing two extension telephone sets to communicate with each other without being disturbed by a busy tone.

Abstract: A polarity ring director for designating a specific party in a multi-party telephone system using polarity encoding to ring only a specific party's telephone includes a solid state bipolar switch connected in series with the subscriber telephone line. The bipolar switch is unipolar in one polarity to pass DC signals and is selectively unipolar in the opposite polarity to selectively pass AC signals in response to a pilot signal to ring the subscriber's telephone. A pilot switch is responsive to polarity encoded line conditions for generating the pilot signal. A polarity detection circuit responsive to a predetermined pattern of AC and DC voltages superimposed on three input channels selectively enables or disables the pilot switch. A telephone line addressing means couples the tip, ring and ground lines of a telphone system in a predetermined pattern to the three input channels.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for decoding ringing signals on a party telephone line coupled to the telephone line and a telephone instrument, according to the polarity of a d.c. voltage level present across the telephone line upon which ringing signals are superimposed and according to the grounded state of the telephone line. The apparatus comprises a discrimination circuit which supplies a selected one of the ringing signals to the telephone instrument via a ringing signal path to actuate the ringer of the telephone instrument. The apparatus further comprises a ringing signal rectification circuit connected to the telephone instrument via a voice signal path for preventing the ringing signal present on the telephone line from activating a ringer of the telephone instrument via the voice signal path. A switching circuit selectively connects the telephone instrument to the ringing signal path and the voice signal path.

Abstract: A selective ringing circuit for a telephone line includes a rectifier which is normally connected to the telephone line for rectifying the AC ringing and other signals. The rectified ringing signals will not activate the ringing circuit of the telephone equipment, because a capacitor in the ringing circuit is charged and will not pass current therethrough in response to the DC signal. The selective ringing circuit includes a switch-selective signal-detecting arrangement by which a predetermined one of the ringing signals is detected and is used as an activation signal, while the other ringing signals are rejected. The activation signal activates an electrical connecting device which, when activated, electrically bypasses the rectifier and directly electrically connects the predetermined selected ringing signal to the telephone equipment. An automatic number identification circuit includes a transistor switch which connects a predetermined ground resistance to the telephone line.

Abstract: An apparatus is described having the capability to selectively alert subscribers in a telephone party line system where different subscriber parties are alerted using different ringing configurations. Subscribers are identified as being a member of a party by the connection pattern used to interface the apparatus to the telephone party line. The apparatus comprises means for detecting whether a ringer signal received from the telephone line is meant to alert a given subscriber party, and means for coupling the ringer signal to subscriber alerting equipment when an appropriate ringer signal is detected.

Abstract: An apparatus adapted to be coupled into a party telephone line for selecting a ringing signal transmitted on the line from among a plurality of possible coded ringing signals that could be transmitted on the line and for coupling the ringing signal to a telephone is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a rectifier coupled to the party line for providing a rectified ringing signal, a first switch having the rectified signal as an input for reversing the polarity of the rectified signal at selected times, a second switch coupled to the first switch for selecting either the rectified ringing signal or the ringing signal itself and a third switch coupled to the second switch for coupling the selected signal to a telephone coupled to the third switch.

Abstract: A polarity ring director for designating a specific party in a multi-party telephone system using polarity encoding to ring only a specific party's telephone includes a solid state bipolar switch connected in series with the subscriber telephone line. The bipolar switch is unipolar in one polarity to pass DC signals and is selectively unipolar in the opposite polarity to selectively pass AC signals in response to a pilot signal to ring the subscriber's telephone. A pilot switch is responsive to polarity encoded line conditions for generating the pilot signal. A polarity detection circuit responsive to a predetermined pattern of AC and DC voltages superimposed on three input channels selectively enables or disables the pilot switch. A telephone line addressing means couples the tip, ring and ground lines of a telephone system in a predetermined pattern to the three input channels.