System and method for communicating with digital and analog devices via a single digital interface

Claim 1

A system for providing information telecommunication services between a computing device and a selected one of plurality of diversely equipped analog and digital devices remotely linked to said computing device through parts of a public switched network, said computing device being required to be able to process information contained in signals transferred to said computing device via said network, said system comprising: a digital channel for carrying signals between said computing device and said network; said digital channel carrying digitized log PCM signal functions representing diverse types of information when said remote device is analog in nature, said digital channel carrying various other digital formats when said remote device is digital in nature and having various different signal formats in accordance with diverse characteristics of equipment at said devices; said log PCM signal functions being incompatible in form with information signal processing requirements of said computing device, and therefore the information content of said signal functions is not directly processable by said computing device while said signal functions are in said log PCM forms; and digital signal processing means for coupling said computing device with said digital channel for exchanging signals in diverse signal forms compatible with requirements of equipment at said remote devices, and for exchanging signals with said computing device in forms directly compatible with information processing requirements of said computing device but incompatible with signalling requirements of said remote devices, and for converting said signals in transit between said computing device and said digital channel into forms respectively compatible with said signalling requirements of said devices and said computing device.