Radio telephone device capable of automatically reconnecting an abnormally terminated communication line

• US 5,239,571 A
• Filed: 10/10/1991
• Issued: 08/24/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Toshiba Mobile Communications Limited (Fujitsu Limited)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Takahashi, Shinya
• Primary Examiner(s): Kuntz, Curtis
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cumming, William D.
• Application Number:
  US07/774,195
• Time in Patent Office: 684 Days
• Field of Search: 379/56, 379/58, 379/61, 379/59, 379/62, 455/127, 455/91
• US Class Current: 455/564
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72505 Radio link set-up procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/00 Telephonic communication systems specially adapted for combination with other electrical systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

A radio telephone device has the function of automatically reconnecting a telephonic communication line when the communication is terminated due to abnormality of the communication line during telephonic communication. If the communication is abnormally terminated due to abnormality of the telephonic communication line with a party during telephonic communication, the radio telephone device detects this fact and determines whether the communication was started by an outgoing call from the radio telephone device or by an incoming call from the party and stores the result of the determination. If the abnormally terminated communication was started by the outgoing call from the radio telephone device, the radio telephone device places an outgoing call to the party to automatically reconnect a telephonic communication line to the party. If the communication was started by an incoming call from the party, the radio telephone device automatically connects a telephonic communication line to the party without a user of the radio telephone device responding to an incoming call from the party.

Claims

1. A radio telephone device adapted to be connected to a party through a telephonic communication line including a radio circuit, comprising:

means for detecting abnormal termination of a telephonic communication with the party during telephonic communication due to abnormality of the telephonic communication line;

means for determining whether the telephonic communication was started by an outgoing call placed by the radio telephone device or by an incoming call from the party when the abnormal termination is detected by the detecting means;

means for storing the fact that the telephonic communication was started by the outgoing call from the radio telephone device when the detecting means determines so; and

reconnecting means for making a call to the party to reconnect the telephonic communication line to the party if the aforementioned fact is stored in the storing means.

2. A radio telephone device according to claim 1, wherein the detecting means detects the abnormal termination when a monitor tone transmitted through the radio circuit during the telephonic communication ceases for a predetermined period of time.

3. A radio telephone device according to claim 1, wherein the determining means comprises:

means for storing a telephonic communication start cause indicative of whether the communication was started by an outgoing call placed by the radio telephone device or by an incoming call from the party; and

wherein

the determining means determines whether the communication was started by the outgoing call placed by the radio telephone device or an incoming call from the party by referring to the telephonic communication start cause stored in the telephonic communication start cause storing means when the communication is terminated.

4. A radio telephone device according to claim 1, wherein the storing means comprises a memory region for storing an outgoing call flag indicating that the communication was started by an outgoing call placed by the radio telephone device,

whereby the memory region stores the fact that the communication was started by an outgoing call placed by the radio telephone device by means of setting the flag.

5. A radio telephone set according to claim 4, wherein the reconnecting means makes a call to the party when the flag is set in the memory region.

6. A radio telephone device according to claim 1, further comprising:

means for selecting a reconnecting mode; and

means for making the reconnecting means operable under the conditions where the reconnecting mode is selected by the selecting means.

7. A radio telephone device adapted to be connected to a party through a telephonic communication line including a radio circuit, comprising:

means for detecting abnormal termination of a telephonic communication with the party during telephonic communication due to abnormality of the telephonic communication line;

means for determining whether the telephonic communication was started by an outgoing call placed by the radio telephone device or by an incoming call from the party when the abnormal termination is detected by the detecting means;

means for storing a fact determined by the determining means;

reconnecting means for reconnecting the telephonic communication line to the party by placing an outgoing call to the party when the fact that the abnormally terminated communication was started by placing an outgoing call from the radio telephone device is stored in the storing means; and

non-responding connection means for automatically reconnecting a telephonic communication line to the party without a user of the radio telephone device responding to an incoming call from the party when the fact that the abnormally terminated communication was started by an incoming call from the party is stored in the storing means.

8. A radio telephone set according to claim 7, wherein the storing means comprises:

a first memory region for storing a first flag indicating that the communication was started by an outgoing call placed by the radio telephone device;

a second memory region for storing a second flag indicating that the communication was started by an incoming call from the party;

whereby the storing means stores whether the communication was started by an outgoing call from the radio telephone device or by an incoming call from the party depending on whether a first flag or second flag is set in the first or second storage region, respectively.

9. A radio telephone device according to claim 8, wherein the reconnecting means starts its operation to automatically reconnect a telephonic communication line to the party by making a call to the party under the conditions where the first flag is set in the first memory region;

and

the non-responding connection means automatically reconnects a telephonic communication line to the party without a user of the radio telephone device responding to an incoming call from the party under the conditions where the second flag is set in the second memory region.

10. A radio telephone device according to claim 7, further comprising:

means for starting to measure a time in response to the termination of the telephonic communication and stopping the measurement when a predetermined time is elapsed; and

means for inhibiting the operation of the non-responding connection means after the starting means stops its measurement.

11. A radio telephone device according to claim 7, further comprising:

means for selecting a reconnecting mode; and

means for making the reconnecting means and the non-responding connection means under the conditions where the reconnecting mode is selected by the selecting means.

12. A radio telephone device according to claim 7, further comprising:

timer means for starting to measure a time in response to the termination of the telephonic communication and stopping the measurement when a predetermined time is elapsed; and

means for erasing the storage in the storing means when the timer means stops its measurement operation.

13. A radio telephone device adapted to be connected to a party through a telephonic communication line including a radio circuit, comprising:

means for detecting abnormal termination of a telephonic communication with the party during telephonic communication due to abnormality of the telephonic communication line;

means for determining whether the telephonic communication was started by an outgoing call placed by the radio telephone device or by an incoming call from the party when the abnormal termination is detected by the detecting means;

means for storing the fact that the telephonic communication was started by an incoming call from the party when the detecting means determines so; and

non-responding connection means for automatically connecting the telephonic communication line to the party without a user of the radio telephone device responding to an incoming call from the party when the aforementioned fact is stored in the storing means.

14. A radio telephone device according to claim 13, further comprising means for starting to measure a time in response to the termination of the telephonic communication and stopping the measurement when a predetermined time is elapsed;

and

means for inhibiting the operation of the non-responding connection means after the starting means stops its measurement.