I've tried searching for this without much luck. For all I know, I might just be using the wrong search terms. What I want is a device that temporarily disconnects the phone line (or since my family has a set of DECT phones, disconnecting the power to the base unit would probably also work) and automatically reconnects it after a set time, so that I can avoid getting interrupted during a meal, without having to worry about remembering to manually reconnect. Kind of the inverse of a normal timer switch.
While searching for such a device, I came across this patent:
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6599139.html
which seems close to what I'm looking for, but 1. I don't know if anybody has actually built a device like that and put it up for sale, and 2. it seems like that is only pre-programmable by time of day, but I don't want the line disconnected if one of my family is in the middle of a phone call just before a meal.
If somebody knows where to get such a device, please let me know. Thanks in advance.
While searching for such a device, I came across this patent:
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6599139.html
which seems close to what I'm looking for, but 1. I don't know if anybody has actually built a device like that and put it up for sale, and 2. it seems like that is only pre-programmable by time of day, but I don't want the line disconnected if one of my family is in the middle of a phone call just before a meal.
If somebody knows where to get such a device, please let me know. Thanks in advance.