Cordless telephone apparatus

• US 5,850,601 A
• Filed: 02/22/1996
• Issued: 12/15/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Aida, Kosaku, Takahara, Yasuaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Bost, Dwayne D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): ARISTILDE, JEAN
• Application Number:
  US08/604,838
• Time in Patent Office: 1,027 Days
• Field of Search: 455/426, 455/462, 455/421, 455/403, 455/550, 455/463, 455/11.1, 455/412, 379/67, 379/88, 379/89
• US Class Current: 455/426.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6505 storing speech in digital form
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/652 Means for playing back the recorded messages by remote control over a telephone line H04M1/658 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72415 for remote control of appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72502 with one base station connected to a single line

Abstract

A cordless telephone apparatus has a base station connected to a public telephone network and assigned with a specific identification code and one or more personal stations linked to the base station through the medium of radio frequencies. The base station has one or more additional functions in addition to the speech function. The personal station can perform radio communications with the base station within a range in which radio waves from the base station is receivable and can perform radio communications with a cell station connected to a public telephone network outside the radio wave receivable range. The personal station has a remote-control instruction unit for instructing operation of the additional function of the base station. The personal station has a communication station decision unit for deciding which one of the base station and cell station can radio-communicate with the personal station, a storage unit for storing a specific identification code of the base station and a control code corresponding to the additional function, a DTMF signal generation unit for converting the given control code into a DTMF signal in accordance with a predetermined conversion rule, and a controller.

Claims

1. A cordless telephone apparatus comprising a base station connected to a public telephone network and assigned with a specific identification code, said base station having one or more additional functions, and one or more personal stations linked to said base station and having remote-control instruction means for instructing the operation of an additional function of said base station, said personal station being capable of performing radio communications with said base station within a range in which radio waves from said base station is receivable and capable of performing radio communications with a cell station connected to said public telephone network outside said range of radio waves,

said personal station including:

communication station decision means for deciding which one of said base station and cell station can perform radio communications with said personal station;

storage means for storing the specific identification code of said base station and a control code corresponding to said additional function;

DTMF signal generation means for converting the given control code into a DTMF signal in accordance with a predetermined conversion rule; and

control means for controlling said personal station to cause it to read from said storage means the control code corresponding to the additional function instructed by said remote-control instruction means and said identification code and transmit these codes to said base station when radio communications between said base station and said personal station is performable and read from said storage means the control code corresponding to the additional function instructed by said remote-control instruction means, supply the read-out control code to said DTMF signal generation means and transmit a DTMF signal representative of the converted control code when radio communications between said cell station and said personal station is performable.

2. A cordless telephone apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control means includes means for calling said base station through said public telephone network when said communication station decision means determines that radio communications is performable between said cell station and said personal station.

3. A cordless telephone apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said storage means of said personal station further stores the same personal code number as that stored in said base station, and when said communication station decision means determines that radio communications is performable between said cell station and said personal station, said DTMF signal generation means reads said personal code number from said storage means to convert it into a corresponding DTMF signal, said control means including means for transmitting said DTMF signal representative of said converted personal code to said base station through said public telephone network.

4. A cordless telephone apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said identification code is rewritable in said storage means.

5. A cordless telephone apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said DTMF signal generation means has a plurality of different conversion rules.

6. A cordless telephone apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said DTMF signal generation means has rewritable storage means for storing a conversion table showing control codes and DTMF signals corresponding thereto, and said conversion rule represented by said conversion table is changeable.

7. A cordless telephone apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said additional function includes an automatic answering function, and said base station has a record unit for recording communication messages.

8. A cordless telephone apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said additional function includes a function of reproducing a communication message recorded on said record unit of said base station and transmitting the reproduced communication message to said personal station, and said personal station further includes speech data storage means for recording the communication message transmitted by the operation of the additional function of reproducing and transmitting said communication message.

9. A cordless telephone apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said personal station includes means for receiving a control signal transmitted from said base station or said cell station and containing identification information indicating that the signal is from said base station or said cell station, and said communication station decision means compares said identification information in said received control signal with the identification code which is stored in said storage unit and which is specific to said base station so as to determine that radio communications is performable between said base station and said personal station when said identification information coincides with said specific identification code and determine that radio communications is performable between said cell station and said personal station when said identification information does not coincide with said specific identification code.

10. A cordless telephone apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said remote-control instruction means includes first instruction means for instructing start of remote control and second instruction means for specifying the kind of said additional function, said communication station decision means performs decision operation in response to instructions from said first instruction means, and when said communication station decision means determines that radio communications is performable between said cell station and said personal station, said personal station calls said base station through said public telephone network to cause said cell station to establish a telephone circuit between said personal station and said base station and reads a control code corresponding to said additional function from said storage means in response to the instructions from said second instruction means to convert the control code into a DTMF signal in accordance with said conversion rule and transmit the DTMF signal to said base station through said cell station.

11. A cordless telephone apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said base station includes means which responds to said control code radio-transmitted directly from said personal station or the control code transmitted through said public circuit and said DTMF signal representative of said converted control code to execute the additional function instructed by said control code.