Data transmission arrangement

摘要

An improved data transmission system which uses the telephone system for transmitting information between data transmitting/receiving devices via a process intermediary is taught wherein at least some of the data transmitting/receiving devices can be actuated by a non-telephone actuation signal controlled by the process intermediary. Telephone number addresses are obtained by the process intermediately and assigned to uniquely identify non-telephone actuatable data transmitting/receiving devices. The telephone number addresses when used to transmit data to the assigned data transmitting/receiving device results in the transmitted data being received by the process intermediary and forwarded to the appropriate data transmitting/receiving device by actuating the device by means of a non-telephone actuation signal. This actuation signal causes the device to initiate a telephone communication with the process intermediary and thereby receive the transmitted data. In this way, the transmission of data to the data transmitting/receiving device identified by a telephone number address is essentially transparent to the originating data transmitting/receiving device.