A teleprocessing system using the touchtone telephone as the primary input/output terminal

This paper describes a teleprocessing system (a system which processes messages transmitted and received over existing telephone communication channels), both hardware and software, which uses the 12 key touchtone telephone as the primary input/output terminal. The hardware elements are first examined collectively as a teleprocessing hardware system. Then, each of the individual hardware elements is examined and any special conditions affecting the software are explained. The software is discussed by dividing it into two functional parts, the operating system and the application for the touchtone terminal. The application selected for the touchtone telephone is that of providing the user with a non-printing desk calculator. Finally, an examination is made of this software from three points of view, the author of this paper, other similar systems, and the user at the touchtone telephone.