Calling party announcement apparatus

Abstract

A calling party announcement apparatus that provides the identity of the caller in synthesized human speech. The invention captures the Incoming Caller Line Identification (ICLID) signal sent by the telephone company. The invention announces the calling party's identity to the called party through a built-in speaker and over the telephone receiver. The called party can elect to accept or reject the call before the telephone company central office has connected the two parties together. The invention makes it possible to screen incoming telephone calls without the aid of a special Caller ID telephone set or auxiliary Caller ID display terminal. The invention is installed in the customer premises, such as a residence or office, between the telephone line demarcation point and the telephone sets. The invention is compatible with any standard telephone set and subscriber trunks provisioned with the Caller ID enhanced customer feature. One of the most important features of the invention is its ability to deliver a vocalized announcement of the caller's identity over a standard telephone set's receiver without the call having actually been declared answered by the telephone company, and without the caller having been cut through. The call is not considered “answered” nor is it billed by the telephone company unless the called party or a telephone answering device , such as an answering machine, accepts the call.

1 . A calling party announcement apparatus for a telephone system which provides caller identification signals to subscriber's telephone sets connected to said telephone system, said system having an exchange switch, said apparatus comprising: 
 detecting means, connected to the exchange switch, for detecting the caller's identification signal sent by the switch;    central processing means, connected to said detecting means, for processing said identification signal to output a signal corresponding to the identity of the caller;    announcing means, connected to said central processing means, for transforming the identity signal provided by said central processing means to produce an audible signal that announces the caller's identity.    
   
   
       2 . The calling party announcement apparatus of  claim 1  further comprising: 
 isolation means, interconnected with said central processing means, for isolating said telephone set from said switch during the time following the engagement of said telephone, wherein said switch is unaware that said telephone set has been answered and continues to return a ringback indicating to the calling    
   
   
       3 . The calling party announcement apparatus of  claim 2  further comprising: 
 reconnection means, interconnected with said central processing means, for reconnecting said telephone set to said switch after the called party has decided to accept said incoming call.    
   
   
       4 . The calling party announcement apparatus of  claim 3  further comprising: 
 loop current means, connected to said isolation means and connected to said announcing means, for producing and audible signal that announces the caller's identity over said telephone set.    
   
   
       5 . The calling party announcement apparatus of  claim 1  further comprises speech synthesizing means for providing the caller's telephone number in synthesized human speech.  
   
   
       6 . The calling party announcement apparatus of  claim 1  further comprising speech synthesizing means for providing the caller's state of origin name in synthesized human speech.  
   
   
       7 . The calling party announcement apparatus of  claim 6  wherein said central processing means further comprises memory storage for providing a signal to said announcement means that corresponds to the name of the calling party.  
   
   
       8 . The calling party announcement apparatus of  claim 7  wherein said memory storage means further comprises address input means for adding, deleting, and editing names and corresponding telephone numbers.  
   
   
       9 . The calling party announcement apparatus of  claim 7  wherein said memory storage means further comprises multiple association means for associating a single name with multiple corresponding telephone numbers.  
   
   
       10 . The calling party announcement apparatus of  claim 7  wherein said announcement means provides the caller's name in synthesized human speech.  
   
   
       11 . The method of announcing a calling party's identity to the called party comprising: 
 detecting the caller's line identification signal;    processing the signal detected corresponding to the caller's line identification signal to a signal corresponding to the identity of the caller;    announcing the caller's identity to the called party in synthesized human speech.    
   
   
       12 . The calling party announcement apparatus of  claim 7  wherein said apparatus are components of said telephone set.  
   
   
       13 . The calling party announcement apparatus of  claim 7  wherein said apparatus are components of a cordless telephone set.  
   
   
       14 . The calling party announcement apparatus of  claim 7  wherein said apparatus are components of a computer modem.  
   
   
       15 . The calling party announcement apparatus of  claim 7  wherein said apparatus are components of a computer-telephony interface board.  
   
   
       16 . The calling party announcement apparatus of  claim 7  wherein said apparatus are components of a telephone answering device.  
   
   
       17 . The calling party announcement apparatus of  claim 7  wherein said apparatus is interconnected to a plurality of telephone sets served by the same telephone line of said switch.