The telephone sets described in patent specification no.

US 3662111 and US 3989900 are suitable to supervise solitary or sick people. Those sets give periodic alarm signals to be acknowledged. In case the patient fails to acknowledge the signal, the dedicated set dials a preprogrammed number and plays a prerecorded message. The fact that this is a dedicated set is a disadvantage as its setting requires expertise and its price is high due to the short-run production.

There are also cordless telephone systems operating ac- cording to the radio or infrared principle described in patent specification US 4508935 or US 5561712 or in the case of the infrared version described in US 4450319. Operation and serv- ices of these sets are similar to that of the radiotelephone, i. e. setting requires expertise and the price is many times higher than the price of a standard telephone set.

Also cordless remote control transceivers based on the radio or infrared principle are available in the market. These are mass-produced and used mainly to control the central lock- ing system or alarm system of cars.

There are cheap telephone sets with programmable one- touch dialing option 5 (DATA SET) and SPEAKER button 6 for line request/hold (e. g. SIEMENS Eurofon 815).

In SP-mode a call can be originated even with the handset put down, but direct human intervention is required for actu- ating the line request 6 and dialing 5 function (see fig- ure 1).

Accordingly, it is the target of the invention to produce a telephone set, which requires only minimum alteration of the commercial sets, the installation and operation of which does not require expertise and which increases the freedom of move- ment of the user as its operation does not require the user's direct presence.

The new function makes standard sets suitable for remote controlled answering and automatic originating of calls (e. g. emergency call).

The further objective of the invention is to create a telephone set, which allows duplex acoustic communication and telemonitoring following either remote controlled answering of a call or automatic originating of a call.

The invention provides these functions through a tele- phone set, where circuit elements, controlled by the remote control unit or units 8, are assigned to the circuit element of the SP-button (also line request/hold mechanism) 4 and to the contacts of the one-touch dialing button 5.

In the case of the invented telephone set, the circuit element (s) 6 controlled by remote control signal 2 are routed parallel with the circuit element of the SP-button 4 and the contacts of the one-touch dialing button 5.

Activated by a short remote signal 2, these circuit elements 6 automatically answer incoming calls when the phone is ringing or, when the set is in rest, dial the prepro- grammed number or numbers by actuating first the circuit ele- ment of the SP-button 4 then closing the contact, which is wired parallel with the one-touch dialing button 5. Of course, this function is also operable through either wire or cordless remote control, when the handset is in place, and the user is far from the telephone set.

The acoustic information is transmitted to the called party without interruption during the entire call through an integrated or optionally connected high-sensitivity external microphone of the telephone set, and the voice of the other party is heard through the speaker.

In the case of other applications, for example security systems, when the loudspeaker is switched off simultaneously with the alarm signal or upon activating this function, unno- ticed alarm and tapping can be initiated on the site. In this case dialing can be actuated by a panic button, any alarm sen- sor or standard alarm center output signal.

By repeated actuation of the remote control unit 8, and thus, repeated appearance of the control signal, 2 the pre- viously set up communication can be disconnected manually at any time or automatically by a time-limit release.

The telephone set made according to the invention can be connected to a line (analog or digital) or radio (mobile) telephone communication network.

Depending on application and cost factors, transmission of the remote control signal can be either traditional line or cordless (radio, optical, ultrasound etc.) transmission.

The signal can be received by a receiver 9 built in the set's box or by a highly advantageous solution, where-in the input of the control signal 2 is on the connector of the line entrance 3, thus the type of the remote controlled re- ceiver is optional and can be connected to the two available wires of the wall outlet 3, not used by the telephone line 1. For mobile use this connection can be made by a commercial paralleling unit, without any complicated fitting technique.

The remote controlled circuit elements can be electrome- chanical or electronic elements.

In one advantageous application of the invention the cir- cuit element connected parallel with the circuit element of the SP-button mechanism is the circuit element of the first relay charged in the active state of the remote control sig- nal. The circuit element, connected parallel with the contacts of the one-touch dialing button, is the circuit element which is delayed compared to the first relay.

A solution, where the second circuit element is connected through a delay circuit to the remote controlled action volt- age, could be beneficial.

Another method for delaying the call is to start the pre- programmed call number with a spacing interval, or if this can not be preprogrammed on the set, an optional losable digit can be stored before the interval, as required. In the case of several one-touch dialing pushbuttons, after one or repeated unsuccessful dialing of the call number assigned to one of the pushbuttons, automatic dialing is continued by the automatic dialing of the call number assigned to the next pushbutton.

Especially advantageous is a solution, where the input of the control signal 2 is on the connector of the line en- trance 3. This way the unit, which generates the control signal 8 and the field of application, is optional without disassembling the telephone set.

It is also conceivable that if the control signal is originated by cordless control 8b, 8c, the receiver end 9 is integrated in the box. In this case connection is identical with the standard telephone set.

Of course, the above functions can be realized by using the negative logic, i. e. by actuating after a ceased control signal.

This option is especially advantageous if the set is used in a security (property protection) system, as, in this case, isolation of the control signal results in immediate alarm.

Below I present the details of the invention with refer- ence to the models shown in the attached drawing as examples, Figure 1-schematic representation of the generally known telephone set used as basis for the telephone set made according to the invention, Figure 2-schematic representation of the telephone set made according to the invention, Figure 3-diagram showing the automatic operation of the SP-pushbutton elements and the one-touch dialing button of the telephone set made according to the invention, Figure 4-some conceivable connection diagrams of the telephone set, made according to the invention, in- cluding the remote controlled wire or cordless cir- cuit elements that can be connected and that origi- nate the actuating control signal.

Figure 1 shows a standard double-wire analog/or digital telephone set consisting of a box, handset, numerical keypad, SP-pushbutton mechanism 4 (which is also for line request /hold) and one-touch dialing button 5. Double-wire telephone line 1 can be connected to the set through a standard con- nector 3. The line adapter set is a standard RJ11 type con- nector, usually a 6-contact one. Only two of the six contacts are used for line communication.

Figure 2 shows the telephone set made according to the invention, where the two available contacts of the line adapter set are used as input for the remote control signal 2 and where the signal of the connected remote control unit (s) 8 is connected.

The remote controlled electromechanical or electronic circuit elements 6 assigned to the circuit element of the SP-button 4 and to the contacts of the one-touch dialing button 5 are built in the box of the telephone set. In case of double-wire control it is sufficient to connect a four-wire line. The circuit elements 6 are built in the box so as not to alter the external appearance of the set, thus the tele- phone set made according to the invention is externally iden- tical with a standard telephone set. Through appropriate lay- out of the circuit elements 6 the alarm event actuates auto- matic dialing of the preprogrammed call number or numbers by simulating the pushing of the SP-pushbutton mechanism 4 (which is also for line request/hold) and by actuating the preprogrammed one-touch dialing button 5 or any of several buttons. The connection, which substitutes actuation of the one-touch dialing pushbutton 5, is initiated after a prede- termined delay following line request/hold, or after detec- tion of incoming dialing signal. Dialing can be delayed also by starting with a spacing interval, the preprogrammed call number or by storing an optional losable digit before the in- terval, as required. As an alternative, in the case of more than one one-touch dialing button, if the automatic dialing of a call number assigned to one of the pushbuttons proves to be unsuccessful once or repeatedly, automatic dialing can be con- tinued by automatic dialing of the call number assigned to the next pushbutton. If the called party answers the phone, the voice link is established, i. e. the called party receives con- tinuous information from the site and duplex communication is possible.

An integrated or optionally connected external microphone transmits the room's noises and the voice to the other party, and the other party's voice is perfectly audible because of the SPEAKER function. The call can be disconnected by called- party release after or before the called party disconnects the call by repeated actuation of the remote controlled circuit element at a desired time. This action disconnects the call i. e. produces the same result as pushing the SP-button 4 in manual mode.

In addition to the remote controlled alarm function, any standard alarm device (burglar alarm), an automatic device for detecting and signaling certain selected events (measuring in- strument) or manual switch (panic button) can be connected parallel to the set's control input. Connecting the alarm sig- nal of the instrument, which monitors the condition of the pa- tient, can solve Telemonitoring of helpless sick people.

If the telephone set, made according to the invention, is connected to a digital telephone exchange, the phone number of the caller can be displayed on the called-party's set. This makes it possible to clearly identify the location of the call/alarm. The call is logged in the modern digital telephone exchange; thus any delay or lack of intervention can be traced and investigated later.

Figure 3 shows the contacts of the SP-button unit 4 and the contacts of the one-touch dialing button 5, including the contacts 6 that are controlled through the parallel- connected control signal, in resting condition. This second contact 6 constitutes a part of the electromechanical (e. g. relay) or electronic (e. g. semiconductor switch such as tran- sistor, thyristor, triac etc.) control-signal controlled cir- cuit element, which is closed for actuation (figure 3b). In this case it simulates pushing the contacts of the SP-button 4 and one-touch dialing button 5, required for the follow- ing three functions: Closing the controlled contact results in log-on in case of an incoming call.

If the line is vacant, the preprogrammed call number, as- signed to the one-touch dialing pushbutton, gets actuated.

In the event of a live link, disconnection can be initi- ated.

Figure 4 shows connection of the set to the PBX telephone exchange 7 through the telephone line entrance 1, using connecting points, which are identical with the standard ones.

The figure shows wire 8a, infrared transceiver 8b, radio transceiver 8c sets connected to the control signal input 2 , as examples for remote control operation. In the usage of a wire solution, the circuit element"K"converts the voltage of a battery into control signal, while in a cordless solution this switching function is realized at the output of the re- ceivers 9 as a result of the signal coming from the trans- mitter. If the receiving unit 9 is installed in the shell of the telephone set, the dead pair of conductors in the wall socket must not be used for connecting the external control signal. As the set can receive a control signal from a paral- lel-connected control signal source, simultaneous maintenance of this connection possibility could be useful. The control signal is a voltage-or current-selected to match the con- trollable circuit elements (direct voltage or direct current is the best option), i. e. a control signal either with direct output from the applied remote control unit or generated from such a signal.

One of the benefits of the telephone set, made according to the invention, is that it is identical with the standard telephone sets in terms of external appearance and operation.

Another advantage is that the main lines of the telephone com- pany are expected to be engaged for a shorter period during the set-up time, which is not paid by the subscriber (i. e. the user must not approach the set for answering the call). In alarm mode the set can be operated as a listening device (the integrated loudspeaker is switched off), but without any re- vealing external feature. Only the integrated speaker must be switched off, either preliminarily or by a control signal, to realize the undetected alarm function. This needs only a mini- mum alteration and can be optional without affecting the inte- grated elements. Since this supplementary function does not alter the original circuits of the telephone set, the trans- mitting parameters of the set will remain unchanged.

The telephone set made according to the invention can be used in normal telephone mode until the remote control func- tions (answering a call, immediate alarm, disconnecting a call) are actuated. It is easy to program or reprogram the phone number to be dialed in case of alarm. Operation, instal- lation and connection of the telephone set made according to the invention is simple and does not require special exper- tise.