Method and apparatus to control a state of music reproducing device through wireless communicator

• US 10,257,338 B2
• Filed: 05/26/2016
• Issued: 04/09/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Fukuda, Hikaru, Matsuo, Hideyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Wang-Hurst, Kathy W
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hannan, B M M
• Application Number:
  US15/165,978
• Publication Number:
  US 20160269532A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,048 Days
• Field of Search: 4555561, 455420, 455462, 455465
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72415 for remote control of appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72442 for playing music files
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72484 wherein functions are triggered by incoming communication events
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72502 with one base station connected to a single line
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/02 including a Bluetooth interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4227 Providing Remote input by a user located remotely from the client device, e.g. at work
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4396 by muting the audio signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6181 involving transmission via a mobile phone network arrangements for providing broadcast or conference services to substation in data switching networks in combination with wireless systems H04L12/189; wireless uplink channel access H04W74/004
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6187 involving transmission via a telephone network, e.g. POTS
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/632 using a connection between clients on a wide area network, e.g. setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet for retrieving video segments from the hard-disk of other client devices broadcast-related systems characterised by transmission among terminal devices H04H60/80; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8113 comprising music, e.g. song in MP3 format

Abstract

Provided is a telephone apparatus including a wireless communicator that performs wireless communication of data with a music reproducing device, a controller that remotely controls the music reproducing device through the wireless communicator, a speaker, a sound processor that reproduces sound data from the music reproducing device and outputs the sound data to the speaker, and a call controller that detects outgoing or incoming of a call through a telephone line and restricts output of sound data from the music reproducing device in a case where the incoming or outgoing of a call is detected while the sound data is output as a sound.

Claims

1. A telephone apparatus, connectable to a telephone network to handle outgoing and incoming calls through the telephone network, the telephone apparatus comprising:

one or more of cordless telephone slave devices; and

a cordless telephone master device, which is configured to control the one or more of the cordless telephone slave devices, wherein;

the cordless telephone master device includes a wireless communicator that performs wireless reception of music data from a portable music player, wherein the portable music player is separate from the telephone apparatus, and that performs wireless transmission of control information to the portable music player;

the cordless telephone master device integrally includes a speaker that outputs the music data received via the wireless communicator from the portable music player; and

the cordless telephone master device includes a controller, which

in response to detecting an outgoing call originating from the one of the cordless telephone slave devices to the telephone network while the speaker is outputting the music data received from the portable music player, transmits the control information via the wireless communicator to the portable music player to suspend output of the music data and processes the outgoing call to support voice communication on the one of the cordless telephone slave devices, and

in response to detecting termination of the voice communication on the one of the cordless telephone slave devices, transmits the control information via the wireless communicator to the portable music player to resume output of the music data via the wireless communicator to the speaker to thereby resume output of the music data from the speaker.

2. The telephone apparatus of claim 1,

wherein the wireless communicator is in compliance with an IEEE802.15.1 standard.

3. A method of controlling operation of a telephone apparatus, connectable to a telephone network to handle outgoing and incoming calls through the telephone network, wherein the telephone apparatus includes one or more of cordless telephone slave devices and a cordless telephone master device, the cordless telephone master device controls the one or more of the cordless telephone slave devices, and the cordless telephone master device integrally includes a speaker, the method comprising:

the cordless telephone master device wirelessly receiving music data from a portable music player, wherein the portable music player is separate from the telephone apparatus;

the cordless telephone master device outputting the music data received from the portable music player via the speaker of the cordless telephone master device;

in response to detecting outgoing call originating from the one of the cordless telephone slave devices to the telephone network while the speaker is outputting the music data received from the portable music player, wirelessly transmitting control information to the portable music player to suspend output of the music data and processing the outgoing call to support voice communication on the one of the cordless telephone slave devices; and

in response to detecting termination of the voice communication on the one of the cordless telephone slave devices, wirelessly transmitting control information to the portable music player to resume output of the music data to thereby resume output of the music data from the speaker of the cordless telephone master device.

4. The method of claim 3,

wherein the cordless telephone master device wirelessly receiving the music data from, and wirelessly transmitting the control information to, the portable music player pursuant to an IEEE802.15.1 standard.