United States Patent
`
`[19]
`
`[I 1]
`
`4,054,756
`
`[45]
`Oct. 18, 1977
`Comella et a1.
`
`[54] METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR
`AUTOMATING SPECIAL SERVICE CALL
`HANDLING
`
`[75]
`
`Inventors:
`
`William Kirk Comella, Naperville,
`111.; Beran Julius Yokelson,
`Mendham Township, Morris
`County, NJ.
`
`[73] Assignee:
`
`Bell Telephone Laboratories,
`Incorporated, Murray Hill, NJ.
`
`[21]
`
`[22]
`
`[51]
`[52]
`[58]
`
`[56]
`
`App]. No.: 727,767
`
`Filed:
`
`Sept. 29, 1976
`
`Int. Cl.2 ...................... H04M 3/42; H04M 17/00
`US. Cl.
`............................... 179/18 B; 179/63 R
`Field of Search ............... 179/18 B, 27 FF, 7.1 R
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`2,676,209
`2,761,900
`3,175,039
`
`Joel ..................................... 179/631
`4/1954
`Joel ............ 179/63 R
`9/1956
`
`3/ 1965 Wilboum ........................ 179/7.l TP
`
`3,394,229
`3,453,389
`
`.......
`7/1968 Miller et a1.
`7/1969
`Sheer ................................
`
`
`
`l79/7.l R
`l79/7.l R
`
`Primary Examiner—William C. Cooper
`Attorney, Agent. or Firm—Martin S. Landis; John C.
`Albrecht
`
`[57]
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`A system is disclosed for serving special service calls
`such as collect, person-to-person and charge-to-third
`number on a wholly automatic basis without any opera-
`tor intervention normally being required. The system
`requests specific information from the calling party
`such as, his or her name for collect calls, and utilizes the
`received answers in the formulation of additional an-
`nouncements to the “called" subscriber. The system is
`responsive to information received from the called sta’
`tion or third party station for instituting billing for the
`requested call after a connection is established between
`the calling and called stations.
`
`19 Claims, 24 Drawing Figures
`
` TOLL
`SSAS
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`US. Patent
`
`Oct. 18, 1977
`
`Sheet 2 of 16
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`US. Patent
`
`Oct. 18, 1977
`
`Sheet 3 of 16
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`4,054,756
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 18,1977
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 18, 1977
`
`SheetS of16
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 18, 1977
`
`Sheet 6 of 16
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`4,054,756
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 18, 1977
`
`Sheet 7 of 16
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`US. Patent
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`Oct. 18, 1977
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`Sheet 8 of 16
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`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 18, 1977
`
`Sheet 12 of 16
`
`4,054,756
`
`SPC
`.
`
`FIG.
`/5
`SPECIAL TOLL CALL (04)
`————— TSPS HAS RECEIVED
`ANI,CALLED NUMBER
`
`CRTNTEJNRFIIIIR
`
`%8MҤդIIB :CUSTOMER DID NOT
`SEND EiAl—E INEITI’ALL _j_®
`RESPOND WITH TYPE OF
`SEIZURE & ARTTR #
`CALL DIGITS AS REQUESTED
`$8MM5A'IE
`.
`TIME OUT
`' Asflfi scsfifi Lug)
`TIME AWAITING
`SSAS REPLY
`IDLE ARTTR
`-- - 9 CHARGE
`T
`REPLY FROM 3rd 21¢
`
`DISCONNECT ARTTR,
`
`
`DISPLAY T0
`OPERATOR
`
`_____ TIME OUT
`
`CUSTOMER ON
`SPECIAL
`
`1 TOLL CALL
`
`CONNECT OUTPULSER
`TO TRUNK (T2)
`FORWARD CALL
`
`CONNECT OUTPULSER
`TO TRUNK (T2)
`PLACE CALL TO 3"°'I¢
`
`CALLING
`
`
`
`
`OUTPULSING
`OUTPULSING
`IS OVERLAPPED
`IS OVERLAPPED
`
`
`WITH RECORDING
`WITH RECORDING
`
`
`
`OPERATION
`OPERATION
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`AIIIIITAIENG
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`RECORDING
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`TO TRUNK (T2)
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`
`
`
`CALLING CUSTOMER HEARS
`CALL SETUP AUDIBLE
`RING,BUSY INTERCEPT
`
`ANNOUNCEMENT.NETWORK
`
`CONGESTION ANNOUNCEMENT ETC.
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Oct. 18, 1977
`
`Sheet 13 of 16
`
`4,054,756
`
`SPC
`
`FIG.
`
`/6
`
`UPON CALLED
`PARTY ANSWER
`SPLIT TRUNK
`
`COMMAND
`TO
`SSAS
`SEND SSAS /
`c-ALLED PARTY—— -( :)
`ANSWER
`
`
`
` CUSTOMER DID
`NOT RESPOND WITH
`
`ACCEPT OR NOT ACCEPT
`
`SIGNAL AS REQUESTED
`I
`I
`
`
`
`TIME AWAITING
`TT 9'5”“
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`6
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`
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`
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`CONNECT TO TRUNK (TI)
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`COMMAND
`T0
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`
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`
`MAINTENANCE
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`
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`SSAS
`
`9
`
` CALLED CUSTOMER
`
`
`
`
`
`MISHANDLED
`ACCEPTANCE.
`SEND CALL TO
`OPERATOR FOR
`ASSISTANCE.
`(ALTERNATIVELY
`COULD GIVE NOT
`ACCEPT TREATMENT)
`
`
`
`
`INv LID
`m ”s
`o
`A
`G
`DISCONNECT ARTTR
`R0
`(T2)
`F
`M
`TRUN K
`
`RESERVE NETWORK
`PATH FROM POSITION
`To TRUNK (TI)
`
`CONNECT ARTTR
`TO POSITION
`
`
`DISPLAY TO
`OPERATOR
`
`I. TYPE CALL
`
`
`2. ACCEPTANCE
`
`MISHANDLED
`
`SEND SSAS
`ANNOUNCE NAME
`
`COMMAND
`To
`SSAS
`1.6)
`
`MAINTENANCE
`.
`“ME OUT
`
`
` OPERATOR
`NOW KNows
`
`“‘ALL CALL
`
`DETAILS
`
`TRON
`TIME AwRAEITING
`SSAS
`SSAS
`LY
`___[_®
`
`9
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Oct. 18, 1977
`
`Sheet 14 of 16
`
`4,054,756
`
`FIG.
`
`/7
`
`PC
`@
`
`RESTORE ARTTR T0
`IDLEIJNK LBT
`
`
`
`
`
`FIG.
`
`/8
`
`FIG.
`
`/.9
`
`CONNECT OUTPULSER
`TO TRUNK (T2)
`FORWARD CALL
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`CALLING
`CUSTOMER HEARS
`CALL SETUP
`
`
`______ AUDIBLE RING.
`
`BUSY, INTERCEPT
`ANNOUNCEMENT,
`NETWORK CONGESTION
`ANNOUNCEMENT, ETC
`
`
`
`
`
`ARTTR
`
`DISCONNECT
`
`
`CONNECT POSISTION
`TO TRUNKtTD
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`CUT THROUGH TRUNK
`
`
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Oct. 18, 1977
`
`Sheet 15 of 16
`
`4,054,756
`
`SSAS
`
`FIG. 20
`
`_____ SPECIAL TOLL CALL
`INITIAL SEIZ RE
`
`H
`
`ANNOUNCE
`ALERTING TONE
`
`H
`
`PERIODICALLY SCAN
`ARTTR UNTIL 2
`TT DIGITS RCVD
`
`
`CUSTOMER INSTRUCTIONS REQUEST
`THAT CUSTOMERS SIGNAL
`
`—————— TYPE OF CALL INDICATION
`
`WITH TOUCH TONE PAD UPON
`
`RECEIPT OF ALERTING TONE
`
` T
`
`
`D IG ITS
`INDICATE TYPE
`OF CALL
`
`
`
`
`
`
`DIGITS=I3
`
`I CHARGE
`3rd 11
`
`SEND REPLY TO
`SPC TYPE OF CALL
`
`DIGITS=II
`COLLECT CALL
`
`
`
`ASSIGN MEMORY
`AREA FOR RECORDING
`
`
`
`DIGITS=I2
`‘IPERSON
`SEND REPLY TO
`SPC TYPE OF CALL "v.
`REPLY
`gRgM
`5 5
`
`ASSIGN MEMORY
`AREA FOR RECORDING
`
`ANNOUNCE llAT THE TONE
`PLEASE STATE YOUR
`NAME""TONE"
`
`
`
`ANNOUNCE ”AT THE TONE
`PLEASE STATE THE
`
`NAME OF THE PERSON
`
`TO WHOM YOU WISH
`TO SPEAK” ”TONE"
`
`
`
`BASE ADDRESS T0
`
`RSRIADD 400
`
`
`AND INCREMENg PTR
`
`EACH .5 SE
`RE
`T
`o SPC
`RECORDING COMPLETE
`
`SEND
`
`PLY
`
`_
`
`
`
`ANNOUNCE "AT THE TONE PLEASE DIAL THE
`AREA CODE AND THE NUMBER TO
`WHICH YOU WISH TO CHARGE
`REPLY
`THIS CALL" "TONE"
`FROM
`
`is“
`‘© REPLY
`IO N DIGITS RCVD
`
`PERIODICALLY SCAN ARTTR UNTIL
`
`FROM
`SSAs
`.‘3'
`
`'
`
`SEND REPLY TO SPC T PE
`OF CALL IO DIGIT
`1i
`
`ASSIGN MEMORY
`AREA FOR RECORDING
`
`ANNOUNCE "AT THE TONE PLEASE
`STATE YOUR NAME" ”TONE"
`
`BASE ADDRESS TO RSR,ADD 400 AND
`INCREMENT PTR EACH .5 SEC
`
`REPLY FROM SSAS
`\_
`@" -
`
`SEND REPLY TO SPC
`RECORDING COMPLETE
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`w
`Oct. 18 1977
`
`Sheet 16 of 16
`
`4,054,756
`
`SSAS
`
`FIG. 2/
`
`TYPE
`OF CALL
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`ANNOUNCE "—
`ANNOUNCE "THIS
`ANNOUNCE "TH IS
`WISHES T0 CHARGE
`IS A COLLECT
`IS A PERSON
`
`
`A CALL To
`
`CALL FROM—IF
`TO PERSON CALL
`
`
`NBA-NNX-XXXX
`YOU ACCEPT THE
`
`
`(CALLED 1:11 To THIS
`CHARGES DIAL 97.
`
`
`
`
`
`
`NUMBERIE you ACCEPT
`IF you WILL
`
`NOT ACCEPT
`THE CHARGES DIAL 971
`
`
`
`THE CHARGES
`IF you WILL NOT ACCEPT
`
`
`
`
`DIAL 66“
`DIAL 66"
`THE CHARGES DIAL 66"
`
`
`
`
`
`CHARGE 3M1:
`
`6%ng
`ERR REAP
`
`
`PERIODICALLY SCAN
`ARTTR UNTIL 2
`
`TT DIGITS RCVD
`
`
`
`---@
`
`SEND DIGITS
`TO SPC
`
`
`FIG. 23
`SSAS
`
`FIG. 24
`SSAS
`
`
`
`
`
`SILENCE
`ANNOUNCEMENT
`
`ZERO
`REGISTER
`
`
` SEND REPLY
`TO SPC
`
`CIRCUIT IS
`
`
`IDLE
`
`
`
`
`ANNOUNCE
`I'YOUR CALL
`WAS NOT
`ACCEPTED"
`
`SEND REPLY
`TO SPC
`END
`ANNOUNCEMENT
`
`ANNOUNCEMENT
`
`ANNOUNCE
`"'NAME"
`
`SEND REPLY
`TO SPC
`END
`
`'
`
`

`

`4,054,755
`
`1
`METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATING
`SPECIAL SERVICE CALL HANDLING
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`
`This invention relates to telecommunication systems
`and, more specifically, to systems for serving, on an
`automated basis, special service calls originating from
`either coin pay stations or normal telephone stations.
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND
`PRIOR ART
`
`When telephone service was first provided on a com-
`mercial basis during the latter part of the last century,
`all telephone calls were completed manually by an op-
`erator. An operator responded to a calling signal,
`learned the identity of the called subscriber, and then
`utilized a plug and jack connector to interconnect the
`calling and called stations. Sometime after the invention
`of the telephone, a trend began toward the automation
`of telephone switching. First a crank and buttons were
`added to the subscriber station and then later a dial was
`added. More recently, direct distance dialing has been
`instituted which allows a calling subscriber to directly
`dial most long distance calls in this country and to many
`foreign countries without operator intervention.
`In addition to automating long distance calling, sev-
`eral systems have been proposed for completely auto-
`mating the handling of calls instituted from coin sta-
`tions. These arrangements generally include announce-
`ment machines for indicating to the calling coin cus-
`tomer the amount of money to be deposited, and also
`include coin detectors for detecting signals originated at
`the coin station, which signals represent the deposit of
`specific coins thereat. One recent automated coin ar-
`rangement is described in R. M. Dudonis application
`Ser. No. 689,600, filed May 24, 1976.
`Several arrangements have also been proposed for
`automating special service calls including person-to-
`person, collect, credit card, and bill-to-third party. Spe—
`cial service calls are difficult to automate because of the
`different variations in each call type and the need for
`substantial interaction between the various parties.
`One prior art system for automating special service
`calls is disclosed in H. R. Wilbourn, In, US. Pat. No.
`3,175,039, issued Mar. 23, 1965. In this system, the call—
`ing subscriber dials a prefix code to gain access to an
`announcer unit which plays back a recorded message
`giving special instructions for completing the requested
`call. After the call is automatically completed to the
`called station, the calling party indicates whether the
`requested service has been provided and thereby con-
`trols the institution of billing for the call. To detect
`unscrupulous users who may use the initial contact
`interval to converse with the called station, a recording
`is made of all conversation or other signals conveyed
`over the connection prior to the receipt of a “starting
`billing” signal from the calling subscriber.
`Another prior art system disclosed in T. P. Miller et
`al, US. Pat. No. 3,394,229,
`issued July 23, 1968 im—
`proves upon the abovedescribed Wilbourn system in
`that the voice recording which is made from the institu—
`tion of the special service call to the start of the billable
`portion of the call is retained on a permanent basis only
`if there is a question as to whether the call is billable.
`Thus, ifa start billing indication is not received within
`a predetermined interval after the institution of a call,
`then and only then is the initial voice conversation re-
`tained.
`
`5
`
`10
`
`15
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`2
`The above two prior art systems suffer from the dis-
`advantage that the initial recorded portions of the call
`must be screened to detect fraudulent use of the tele-
`phone system. It is believed that such screening is not
`amenable to automation and thus telephone personnel
`must manually screen the calls. Moreover, even when a
`fraudulent call is discovered during the screening, it is
`still very difficult and expensive to collect the proper
`billing for the call. For example, on calls from one coin
`station to another coin station, it is virtually impossible
`to collect revenue for such calls because the true identi-
`ties of both the calling and called subscribers are often
`unknown.
`
`These prior art special service systems suffer from a
`further disadvantage in that the calling station indicates
`whether or not another station, normally the called
`station, will accept charges for the call. Thus, an un-
`scrupulous calling party can force an unwilling called
`party to be billed foran unwanted call.
`It is an object of this invention to fully automate the
`processing of special service calls.
`It is a further object of this invention to provide such
`automation without requiring the recording of the ini-
`tial conversation which must be later screened to detect
`fraudulent use of the telephone system.
`It is a still further object of this invention to allow
`only the party to whom a special service call is to be
`billed to indicate whether or not the charges for the call
`are accepted. For a person-to-person call, the calling
`party indicates, by instituting the call, the acceptance of
`charges upon answer by the specified party.
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`In accordance with the principles of our invention,
`special service calls such as collect, person-to-person,
`and charge-to-third number are processed by a wholly
`automated system utilizing a generic approach which
`allows the same equipment to be utilized in processing
`each of these special service call types. To elaborate, at
`the beginning of a call, the calling subscriber identifies
`the type of special service call requested by dialing
`additional digits. The automated system, upon deter-
`mining the type of service requested, then generates an
`appropriate announcement for the calling party. For a
`collect call or for a bill-to-third-number call, the an-
`nouncement requests the name of the calling subscriber,
`and for a person-to-person call the announcement re-
`quests the name of the person to whom the call is di-
`rected. Also for a bill—to-third-number call,
`the an-
`nouncement requests the calling party to dial the num-
`bers identifying the third station. The system records
`and stores the answer(s) received from the calling sub-
`scriber and utilizes the answer(s) in formulating another
`announcement which is conveyed to either the called
`station or to the third party station depending upon the
`type of call. For example, for a collect call the system
`generates a typical announcement for the called station:
`“This is a collect call from John Jones, if you accept the
`charges, dial 97. If you will not accept the charges, dial
`66.” The answer previously received from the calling
`station (e.g., John Jones) was automatically inserted
`after the word “from” in the above announcement. For
`
`65
`
`a person-to-person call, the announcement indicates, for
`example, “This a person-to-person call for -———. If —-—
`is there, dial 97, and if ——-— is not there, dial 66." For a
`charge-to—third-number call, an announcement
`indi—
`cates,“ —— wishes to charge a call to —-— (called
`number) to this number. If you accept the charges, dial
`
`

`

`3
`97, if you will not accept the charges, dial 66.” In each
`of the above announcements, the blanks are filled with
`answers received from the calling station responsive to
`other announcements directed thereto.
`The system is responsive to the digits received from
`the called station or third party station (i.e., 66 or 97) for
`either terminating the call or completing the call. Thus,
`billing for a particular call is only instituted responsive
`to an indication from the station to which the call is to
`be billed that the call has been accepted. However, for
`a person-to-person call, billing is instituted against the
`calling station upon receipt of an indication from the
`called station that
`the requested party is available.
`Moreover,
`the calling and called subscriber or third
`party subscriber cannot freely communicate with each
`other while the call is being established. This prevents
`fraudulent use of the automated system prior to the
`institution of billing.
`In accordance with one illustrative embodiment of
`our invention, the automated coin system disclosed in
`the above-mentioned Dudonis application is modified to
`operate in accordance with the principles of our inven-
`tion. More specifically, an encoder converts speech
`signals, received from the calling station in response to
`the questions directed thereto, into a digital form which
`is then stored in a memory. This stored speech informa-
`tion is later retrieved from the memory and utilized in
`formulating messages which are applied to the called
`and third party stations.
`In accordance with one feature of our invention,
`special service calls are processed on a fully automated
`basis in which information requested of the calling sta-
`tion is utilized in formulating announcements directed
`to the other stations.
`In accordance with another feature of our invention,
`special service calls are provided on an automated basis
`in which the party to whom a call is to be charged
`indicates the acceptance or nonacceptance of the call,
`except person—to-person calls.
`As a still further feature of our invention, such an
`automated system also includes coin detector means for
`handling special service calls instituted from calling
`coin stations.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
`
`The foregoing as well as other objects, features, and
`advantages of our invention will be more apparent from
`a description of the drawing, in which:
`FIG. 1 illustrates in block diagram form the manner in
`which a Special Service Announcement System
`(SSAS), operable in accordance with the principles of
`our invention,
`is added to an existing Traffic Service
`Position System (TSPS);
`FIG. 2 illustrates in greater detail the interface be-
`tween the stored program controller in TSPS and the
`microprocessing complex broadly shown as program-
`mable controller PC in FIG. 1; FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate
`the manner in which the circuitry in FIG. 2 is dupli—
`cated to provide for more reliable operation;
`FIGS. 5 through 10, when combined, as shown in
`FIG. 1],
`illustrate in greater detail the unduplicated
`microprocessor system previously generalized in regard
`to FIG. 2;
`More specifically, FIG. 5 illustrates microprocessor
`MPO, and the manner in which it communicates with
`its peripheral devices;
`FIG. 6 illustrates memory ASTRO which stores bi-
`nary announcement words and address generator AG
`
`IO
`
`15
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`65
`
`4,054,756
`
`4
`which normally controls the addressing of memory
`ASTRO;
`FIG. 7 illustrates the ac transmission of serial an-
`nouncement words to the announcement circuits and
`the ac transmission of encoded speech signals from the
`announcement circuits to memory;
`FIG. 8 illustrates the circuitry in the announcement
`circuits;
`FIG. 9 illustrates the manner in which address infor-
`mation is serially conveyed to the coin tone detectors
`and digit receivers to selectively interrogate these de—
`tectors and receivers;
`FIG. 10 illustrates the circuitry associated with the
`coin tone detectors and digit receivers;
`FIG. 11 illustrates the manner in which FIGS. 5-10
`are to be arranged;
`FIG. 12 illustrates how “real-time" is divided into
`time frames and time slots. Each announcement circuit
`is serviced during an assigned time slot;
`FIG. 13 illustrates how a digital bit stream encoded in
`an adaptive delta modulated format is first decoded and
`then filtered to generate audible speech;
`FIG. 14 illustrates the manner in which FIGS. 3 and
`4 are to be combined;
`FIGS. 15 through 19 show in the form of a flow
`chart, the sequential operations performed by the SPC
`in FIG. I to handle special service calls in this one
`illustrative embodiment of the invention; and
`FIGS. 20 through 24 illustrate in the form of a flow
`chart, the operations performed by the programmable
`controller PC in FIG. 1 in cooperation with the SPC to
`handle these special service calls on a fully automated
`basis.
`
`1.0 GENERAL DESCRIPTION
`
`FIG. 1 illustrates in block diagram form the manner in
`which a Special Servic Announcement System (SSAS)
`is added to an existing TSPS office to automate special
`service calls in accordance with the principles of our
`invention. The TSPS is comprehensively described in
`R. J. Jaeger, Jr. et al. US. Pat. No. 3,484,560, issued
`Dec. 16, 1966, and also in the Dec. 1970 issue of the Bell
`System Technical Journal.
`
`1.1 Prior Art TSPS System
`
`With the advent of TSPS, many of the functions pre-
`viously performed by an operator at a cordboard were
`automated. More specifically, a customer at a coin sta-
`tion CS would make an initial deposit and then dial a I
`followed by 7 or 10 digits. The local office LO routes
`the call to a TSPS trunk TRKl and down conductors
`T1 to the TSPS network NET. Stored program con-
`troller SPC, which is a duplicated processing unit for
`performing arithmetical and logical functions on data in
`accordance with its stored program, controls network
`controller NTC to establish connection P1. The local
`office transmits the calling and called digits to digit
`receiver DR via conductors T1 in the normal manner.
`The TSPS rates the call and displays the charge and
`initial period information to an operator at a position
`such as position POS. A new network connection (not
`shown) is then established between conductors T1 and
`position POS by TSPS network NET. While the opera—
`tor at position POS informs the calling party of the
`requisite coin deposit, outpulser OTP is controlled by
`the SPC to outpulse the digits in the called number via
`path P4 and conductors T2 to toll office TO. When the
`calling subscriber deposits coins at station CS, distinc—
`
`

`

`5
`tive tones are generated thereat indicating the type of
`coin deposit, i.e., nickel, dime, quarter. While the cus-
`tomer is depositing the coins, the toll office T0 estab-
`lishes the call to the called station in the normal manner.
`When the called party answers and the operator has
`determined that the requisite amount has been depos-
`ited, the call, under the control of the operator, is cut
`through by trunk TRKI directly from the local office
`L0 to the toll office TO.
`The TSPS system is also adapted to handle special
`service calls (such as person-to person, collect, credit
`card, charge-to-third number, and time and charges)
`originated from either coin stations such as CS or regu-
`lar stations such as CSB. Generally, these calls are pro-
`cessed by an operator at position POS, who requests
`information from the calling station and then utilizes the
`received information to request whether or not
`the
`called station or third party station accepts the call. For
`further details of how TSPS processes typical calls see
`page 2435 et seq.
`in the December 1970 Bell System
`Technical Journal.
`
`1.2 Prior Art Automated Coin Subsystem
`This one illustrative embodiment of the invention is
`incorporated into a prior art Automated Coin Subsys-
`tem (ACS) described in detail in the above~mentioned
`Dudonis application. More specifically, with regard to
`the structure generalized in FIG. 1, the Special Service
`Announcement System (SSAS) adds additional cir-
`cuitry to the ACS in the above-mentioned Dudonis
`application. The added or modified structure is shown
`in heavy underlining to point out how the automated
`coin subsystem was modified to service special service
`calls in accordance with the principles of our invention.
`To elaborate, in regard to FIG: 1, the added structure
`includes digit receiver DRR001 and encoder ECD001.
`Additionally, the program in the programmable con-
`troller PC and the program in the SPC have been modi-
`fied, but the basic structural components thereof have
`not been altered. The information content stored in
`announcement store ASTR has been modified. How-
`ever, again the structure of the store itself has not been
`modified.
`
`The prior art ACS was operable to automatically
`perform all operator functions previously described in
`regard to coin paid station-to—station toll calls in TSPS.
`In ACS, announcements to the customers are provided
`by announcement circuits including decoder DOG001
`in announcement circuit ANMOOIB. Coin deposits are
`automatically detected by coin tone detectors such as
`TD001 in receiver CTDOOIB.
`
`The following describes how the prior art ACS han—
`dles a typical coin paid toll call. The customer at coin
`station CS makes an initial deposit and then dials the call
`in the same manner previously described. Local office
`LO routes the call to TSPS and outpulses the calling
`and called digits which are received at the TSPS in digit
`receiver DR via path P1 from the T1 conductors. The
`SPC rates the call and instead of selecting an idle opera-
`tor position, it selects an idle coin circuit CDAMOOI
`(not shown but similar to circuit ARTTROOI). The SPC
`controls controller NTC to establish connection P2
`from the T1 conductors to leads C8001. SPC then sends
`a command including the identity of the chosen coin
`circuit, the call charge and the initial period to pro-
`grammable controller PC via cable CB1. Controller PC
`comprises self-checked, duplicated microprocessors, as
`hereinafter described. Responsive to this information
`
`10
`
`l5
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`60
`
`65
`
`4,054,756
`
`6
`from the SPC, programmable controller PC accesses
`the appropriate memory locations in announcement
`store ASTR and serially applies the digital binary bit
`information representing digitized speech retrieved
`from store ASTR to decoder DOG001 via lead AM001.
`This decoder converts the serial binary information into
`audible speech. An announcement requesting the appro-
`priate deposit and initial time period (e.g., ”Please de-
`posit 60 cents for the first 3 minutes") is applied to the
`calling subscriber via point X, hybrid HYZ, path API,
`hybrid HYl, leads C5001 path P2, conductors T1, and
`local office L0 to station CS.
`Responsive to the received announcement, the calling
`subscriber begins to deposit coins in station CS. Station
`CS generates dual frequency, in-band tones for each
`coin deposited and indicates the amount of the depos-
`ited coin by generating a sequence of one or more tone
`pulses; for example, a single dual-frequency pulse is
`generated for each nickel deposited, while two such
`pulses are generated for each dime deposited, and five
`such pulses are generated for each quarter deposited.
`These tones are received over conductors Tl, network
`connection P2, leads C8001, hybrid HYl, and path APZ
`by coin tone detector TD001. This detector comprises
`means for detecting the joint presence of the two dis-
`tinct frequencies and for counting the number of pulses
`thereby indicating the amount of each coin deposit in
`five-cent increments. Coin tone detector TD001 is peri-
`odically scanned by programmable controller PC over
`lead CD001 to receive coin deposit detection informa-
`tion therefrom. For each coin deposited, programmable
`controller PC updates its temporary memory for that
`detector and determines whether the requested deposit
`has been made and if not, waits for additional coins to be
`deposited. If the coins deposited are not sufficient, then
`the programmable controller PC accesses store ASTR
`and applies another announcement message or a prompt
`(e.g., “Please deposit 30 cents more”) to the calling
`subscriber via decoder DOG001.
`
`1.3 Special Service Announcement System
`
`As mentioned previously, the automated coin system
`in the above-mentioned Dudonis application has been
`modified to beneficially automate the serving of special
`service calls in accordance with the principles of this
`invention. These special service calls include collect,
`person-to-person, charge-to-third number, credit card
`and time and charges, In accordance with the principles
`of this invention, a generic approach suitable for com—
`plete automation is utilized to service each of these call
`types.
`To place a special service call, a telephone subscriber
`dials 0 plus the called number (7 or 10 digits). These
`special service calls can be instituted from either coin
`stations such as, station CS in FIG. 1 or from regular
`stations such as, station CSB in FIG. 1. Loca