The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 02, 1997
Filed:
Dec. 11, 1995
Burt Joseph Bossi, Indianapolis, IN (US);
William Alan Hewitt, Greenfield, IN (US);
Stephen Dale Hoskins, Indianapolis, IN (US);
AT&T, Middletown, NJ (US);
Abstract
A telephone adjunct interface for use with a network-based voice and/or data message storage and delivery service detects and alerts the subscriber to the existence of waiting messages. The interface device utilizes a combination of AC ring detection and outcall polling of the network to determine whether a visual and/or audible notification should be provided to the subscriber. That is, if the subscriber phone is not answered after a selected number of rings, the interface polls the network after a suitable delay to determine if any messages were left. If the subscriber line is busy or on call-forward while a calling party is seeking to leave a message, the network service platform stores the message and waits a selected interval before seeking to alert the subscriber. Advantageously, the device is configured as a small, portable and inexpensive consumer premise unit which connects easily to all standard analog telephone systems that use modular connectors.