International speaker telephone - Patent Review 5014301

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FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to providing instructions to customers using pay stations such as coin telephones.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Improvements in the field of payphones during the last decade and the break up of the monopoly by the common carriers and utilities of the telephone industry have increased, and resulted in better customer service, including more economical service.

Today payphones are using spoken words to instruct the caller how to make and complete a call. At this time we are using approximately 46 phrases to instruct and assist the caller in making his call.

Today, "Smart Payphones" are using digital voice microchips to give the caller a set of instructions; such as, "deposit 25 cents, thank you", in English language only. These sets of instructions are coming from among the payphone itself, the central office, or a live operator.

In places such as airports, the public is made up of many nationalities requiring at times instructions in their native language. The prior art does not provide this multilingual service at the payphone itself.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

My invention is comprised of an improvement wherein not only English language instructions are available but multilingual instructions on a selective basis using the keypad or dial input are possible.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates in block diagram the manner in which a payphone is altered to add the embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates the directory listing and store of information for a host of languages.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates in block diagram the telephone dial with the conventional numerals and signs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, *, #. Along side the keypad or dial is a directory listing of a host of languages and a corresponding numeral (such numerals fund in the keypad) representing a number code which when dialed in a sequence discussed below will enable the voice device within the telephone to provide instructional aid.

The voice will be in the language selected by the user. A customer would operate the payphone by first depressing the (*) asterisk key followed by the appropriate coded numeral which reflects the language desired. This would activate the voice chip to provide instructional aid in using the payphone in the appropriate language. Upon completing of the call the user would depress the pound button (#) which will disconnect the call and reset the payphone voice chip to the language of prominence in the region; such as English as shown.

FIG. 2 illustrates the directory listing, shown as an example, that would be next to the keypad. This would allow a user to make the appropriate selection of the language of choice.

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