A telephone-operated stereo shut-off device for a stereo comprising a sensing component operatively associated with a telephone to sense an increase or decrease in voltage when the telephone rings, is answered or hung up. The device consists of a signal transmitting component that transmits a signal indicating the increase or decrease in voltage when electronically activated by the sensing component; a signal receiving component for receiving the signal transmitted by the radio transmitting component; and a switching component for opening and closing a speaker muting circuit located between a speaker and the stereo. The switching component is activated by the signal receiving component, wherein the speaker of the stereo is muted when an incoming telephone call is answered and conversely the speaker resumes operation after the telephone is hung up.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 07/405,446 filed Sep. 11, 1989 now abandoned.
A circuit for cutting off power to selected components in a network which requires that backup power be supplied to other components. A monitoring signal is generated and combined with the power coupled to the components. A signal detector in the selected components determines the absence of the monitoring signal which is indicative of a commercial power outage. The signal detector then activates a cutoff mechanism which cuts off a portion of the component from the backup power without obstructing the flow of power and of the monitoring signal to the output of the component so power may be used by other downstream components.
An apparatus and method are disclosed for connecting a headset microphone alternately to a telephone line and an alternative device. The apparatus includes a device connector for connecting the apparatus to the alternative device, a telephone connector for connecting the apparatus to the telephone line, and a microphone connector for connecting the apparatus to the microphone. The apparatus also includes a switching circuit connected to the device, telephone, and headset connectors. The switching circuit can be used with or included in a CTI module. The switching circuit connects the telephone connector to the headset connector in response to sensing a voltage greater than a predetermined threshold on the telephone line. When the voltage sensed returns to a value less than the predetermined threshold value, the switching circuit reconnects the headset connector to the device connector.
A pager operated control unit has input terminals of the control circuit are connected to the battery terminals of the pager and power is supplied to the pager receiver from the control circuit. Pager generated pulses are detected by the detection of changes in current drawn by the pager receiver. The control unit includes a pair of capacitors which are alternately charged under the control of a flip-flop in response to bursts of pulses generated by a pager receiver. An output relay is operated to one state when the charges on the two capacitors substantially equal, indicating the receipt of a burst of pulses of equal duration, and operated to another state when the capacitors have unequal charges, indicating the receipt of a burst of pulses of unequal duration.
A method and apparatus for transferring information received from a server that is operationally coupled to a telephone line, comprising an alarm signal generating circuit which generates an alarm signal at a selected time. A circuit, which is responsive to the alarm signal and operatively coupled to the telephone line, transmits selected information to the server. A circuit selects a message for sending by the server from a plurality of messages based upon the information transmitted to the server. A circuit that is operatively coupled to the telephone line presents to the user the selected message received from the server. In an alternative embodiment, a set of data is selected for sending by the server from a plurality of sets of data based upon the information transmitted to the server. A microprocessor having a digital memory, operatively coupled to the telephone line, stores the set of data received from the server. Such data may be used to control mechanical devices.
A switching device for simultaneously controlling AC power to an electrical appliance and providing an infrared mute and unmute signal to an infrared-controlled device in response to initiation and termination of a telephone call includes a circuit for connecting said switching device to a telephone line, having tip-and-ring connectors, and a telephone; an AC plug for connecting said switching device to an AC outlet; an AC power-controlled outlet for receiving electrical appliance plugs. An infrared-controlled circuit is provided for decoding an existing infrared emitting device and for emitting an infrared signal suitable for muting the infrared controlled device; and a control circuit is provided for simultaneously controlling power to said AC power-controlled outlet and causing said infrared circuit to emit the infrared signal. The control circuit is responsive to voltage across the tip-and-ring connectors and interconnected between the AC power plug, the AC power-controlled outlet and the infrared circuit.
