ANSWERING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATICALLY HANGING UP OR PUTTING THROUGH INCOMING CALLS

• US 20130157714A1
• Filed: 06/29/2012
• Published: 06/20/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Futaihua Industry (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.), Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Futaihua Industry (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.), Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: ZHANG, PAN
• Granted Patent: US 8,831,641 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/550.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/663 Preventing unauthorised calls to a telephone set
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72454 according to context-related or environment-related conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72463 to restrict the functionality of the device
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion telephones including GPS signal receivers H04M2250/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/74 with voice recognition means voice activated dialling H04M1/271; voice recognition algorithms G10L15/00

Abstract

An answering system including a first mobile phone, the first mobile phone includes a communication unit for communicating with a second mobile phone, a position sensor, a microphone, and a processor. The position sensor detects whether the first mobile phone is flat or tilted (balanced state or unbalanced state). The microphone detects vocal commands given to the first mobile phone. The processor acknowledges any incoming call when the first mobile phone is positioned in an unbalanced state and a conversation is detected in a preset time, and hangs up a call received previously when no command or conversation is detected in the preset time and the first mobile phone is positioned in a balanced state.

Claims

1. An answering system comprising a first mobile phone, the first mobile phone comprising:

a communication unit configured for communicating with a second mobile phone;

a position sensor configured for detecting position states of the first mobile phone, the position states comprising a balanced state and an unbalanced state;

a microphone configured for recording sound and generating a sound sample; and

a processor configured for putting through an incoming call made by the second mobile phone when the first mobile phone is in the unbalanced state and the sound sample comprises sound which is louder than a reference level of environmental noise in a preset time, and hanging up a current call when the sound sample does not comprise sound which is louder than the reference level of environmental noise in the preset time and the first mobile phone is in the balanced state.

2. The answering system of claim 1, further comprising a light sensor configured for detecting an increase or decrease in light intensity of the environment in front of the first mobile phone, wherein the processor further determines whether the increase or decrease in light intensity is more or less than a reference level of light intensity in a predetermined time before the processor puts through the incoming call or hangs up the current call.

3. The answering system of claim 2, wherein the predetermined time is within range from five to ten seconds.

4. The answering system of claim 1, further comprising a storage unit configured for pre-storing the reference level of environmental noise and the reference level of light intensity.

5. The answering system of claim 4, wherein the storage unit is selected from a group consisting of compact discs (CDs), digital video discs (DVDs), BLU-Ray disks, flash memories, and hard disk drives.

6. The answering system of claim 1, wherein the first mobile phone comprises a front surface, a back surface opposite to the front surface, a top surface adjacent to the front surface, and a bottom surface opposite to the top surface.

7. The answering system of claim 6, wherein the balanced state is defined by the processor as being when the first mobile phone is on a horizontal surface with a front surface or a back surface of the first mobile phone resting on the horizontal surface.

8. The answering system of claim 6, wherein the balanced state is defined by the processor as being when the first mobile phone resting perpendicularly on the horizontal surface with a top surface or a bottom surface of the first mobile phone resting on the horizontal surface.

9. The answering system of claim 6, wherein the unbalanced state is defined by the processor as being when the position sensor detects a first angle between the horizontal surface and one of the front surface, the back surface, the top surface, and the bottom surface as being within a range from five degrees to eighty five degrees.

10. The answering system of claim 6, wherein the balanced state is defined by the processor as being when the position sensor detects a second angle between the horizontal surface and each one of the front surface, the back surface, the top surface, and the bottom surface as being within a range from zero degree to five degrees.

11. The answering system of claim 1, wherein the preset time is 0.1 seconds.

12. A method of an answering system for automatically putting through an incoming call or hanging up a current call made by a second mobile phone to a first mobile phone, the method comprising:

receiving an incoming call by a communication unit of the first mobile phone;

detecting position states of the first mobile phone by a position sensor, the position states comprising a balanced state and an unbalanced state;

recording sound and generating a sound sample by a microphone; and

putting through the incoming call when the first mobile phone is unbalanced and the sound sample comprising sound which is louder than a reference level of environmental noise in a preset time; and

hanging up the current call made by the second mobile phone when the sound sample comprising no sound which is louder than the reference level of environmental noise in the preset time and the first mobile phone is balanced.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising a process of detecting increase or decrease in light intensity of the environment in front of the first mobile phone by a light sensor, further determining whether the increase or decrease in light intensity is greater than a reference level of light intensity in a predetermined time by the processor before the incoming call is acknowledged or the current call is hanged up.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the predetermined time is within a range from five to ten seconds.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising a process of pre-storing the reference level of environmental noise and the reference level of light intensity by a storage unit.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the first mobile phone comprises a front surface, a back surface opposite to the front surface, a top surface adjacent to the front surface, and a bottom surface opposite to the top surface.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the unbalanced state is defined by the processor as being when the position sensor detects a first angle between the horizontal surface and one of the front surface, the back surface, the top surface, and the bottom surface as being within a range from five degrees to eighty five degrees.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the balanced state is defined by the processor as being when the position sensor detects a second angle between the horizontal surface and each one of the front surface, the back surface, the top surface, and the bottom surface as being within a range from zero degree to five degrees.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein the preset time is 0.1 seconds.