Telephone system having land-line-supported private base station switchable into cellular network

• US 6,035,193 A
• Filed: 06/28/1996
• Issued: 03/07/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Wireless Services Incorporated (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Leuca, Ileana A., Buhrmann, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Urban, Edward F.
• Application Number:
  US08/671,745
• Time in Patent Office: 1,348 Days
• Field of Search: 455/552, 455/426, 455/561, 455/404, 455/444, 455/462, 455/445, 379/45, 379/49
• US Class Current: 455/426.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/50 for emergency connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/02 Processing of mobility data, e.g. registration information at HLR [Home Location Register] or VLR [Visitor Location Register]; Transfer of mobility data, e.g. between HLR, VLR or external networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/045 using private Base Stations, e.g. femto Base Stations, home Node B

Abstract

A telephone system includes at least one mobile station for communicating with a wireless cellular phone network at a private base station that registers a mobile station and enables communication of a mobile station with a land-line telephone network through the private base station. The private base station is responsive to pre-determined signaling codes received from a registered mobile station for switching the communication of the private base station into the wireless cellular phone network. The private base station includes a memory for storing calling numbers received from a landline network. A dialer generates calls to a stored calling number through the wireless cellular network upon receipt of a pre-determined signal generated by a registered mobile station.

Claims

1. A telephone system comprising:

at least one mobile station for communicating with a cellular phone network,

a private base station, including means for registering the at least one mobile station with said private base station and enabling communication of the mobile station with a land-line telephone network through said private base station, and

means responsive to predetermined signalling codes of the land-line telephone network not recognized by the cellular phone network, the predetermined signalling codes being received from the registered mobile station, for retrieving information stored in the private base station and converting the retrieved information for presentation to the cellular shone network.

2. The telephone system according to claim 1 wherein said private base station includes a memory for storing calling numbers received from a land-line network, and a dialer for generating calls to a stored calling number through the wireless cellular phone network upon receipt of a predetermined signal from a registered mobile station.

3. The telephone system according to claim 1 wherein said private base station includes at least one stored emergency number that is dialed through the wireless cellular phone network upon receiving an emergency signal.

4. The telephone system according to claims 3 wherein said mobile station includes an emergency push button for generating said emergency signal.

5. The telephone system according to claims 3 wherein said private base station includes an emergency push button for generating said emergency signal.

6. The telephone system according to claim 3 wherein said private base station switches said call into the landline network if a connection through the wireless cellular network cannot be established.

7. The telephone system according to claim 1 wherein said private base station includes at least one stored emergency number that is dialed through the landline upon receiving an emergency signal.

8. The telephone system according to claim 4 wherein said private base station switches said call into the wireless cellular phone network if a connection through the landline network cannot be established.

9. A telephone system according to claim 1, wherein the service node is located outside of a mobile switching center.

11. The telephone system according to claim 9 wherein said private base station includes a memory for storing calling numbers received from the landline network, and a dialer for generating calls to a stored calling number through the wireless cellular phone network upon receipt of a predetermined signal from a registered mobile station.

10. A telephone system comprising:

at least one mobile station for communicating with a cellular phone network,

a private base station operable with a land-line telephone network and the cellular phone network, including means for registering the at least one mobile station with said private base station and enabling communication of the mobile station with the land-line telephone network through said private base station, and means for generating and forwarding a redirection signal through the land-line telephone network and to the cellular phone network in communication with the land-line telephone network upon registration of the mobile station so as to redirect all calls made to the mobile station within the cellular phone network through the land-line telephone network to the private base station, and means responsive to predetermined signalling codes of the land-line telephone network not recognized by the cellular phone network, the predetermined signalling codes being received from the registered mobile station, for switching communication from the private base station into the cellular phone network.

12. The telephone system according to claim 10 wherein said private base station includes at least one stored emergency number that is dialed through the wireless cellular phone network upon receiving an emergency signal.

13. The telephone system according to claims 12 wherein said mobile station includes an emergency push button for generating said emergency signal.

14. The telephone system according to claims 12 wherein said private base station includes an emergency push button for generating said emergency signal.

15. The telephone system according to claim 12 wherein said private base station switches said call into the landline network if a connection through the wireless cellular phone network cannot be established.

16. The telephone system according to claim 10 wherein said private base station includes at least one stored emergency number that is dialed through the landline upon receiving an emergency signal.

17. The telephone system according to claim 16 wherein said private base station switches said call into the wireless cellular phone network if a connection through the landline network cannot be established.

18. A method of enabling communication between a cellular phone network and a private base station comprising the steps of:

switching the communication of the private base station into the cellular phone network after receiving predetermined signalling codes of a land-line telephone network not recognized by the cellular phone network from a mobile station that is registered with the private base station, the private base station being operable with the land-line telephone network and the cellular phone network,

retrieving information stored in the private base station in response to the received predetermined signalling codes, and

converting the retrieved information for presentation to the cellular phone network.

19. A method according to claim 18 including storing calling numbers within the private base station that had been received from a land-line network, and generating calls to a stored calling number through the wireless cellular phone network after receiving a predetermined signal from a registered mobile station.

20. A method according to claim 18 including the step of dialing an emergency number stored in the private base station through the wireless phone network upon receiving an emergency signal.

21. A method according to claims 20 including dialing an emergency number after an emergency push button located on a registered mobile station has been pushed.

22. A method according to claims 20 including dialing an emergency number after an emergency push button located on the private base station has been pushed.

23. A method according to claim 20 including the step of switching a call into a landline telephone network if a connection through the wireless cellular phone network cannot be established.

24. A method according to claim 18 including the step of dialing an emergency number stored in the private base station through the land-line telephone network upon receiving an emergency signal.

25. A method according to claim 24 including the step of switching a call into the wireless cellular phone network if a connection through the landline telephone network cannot be established.

26. A method according to claim 18, wherein the service node is located outside of a mobile switching center.

27. A method of enabling communication between a wireless cellular phone network and a private base station comprising the steps of:

registering a mobile station with a private base station so that the mobile station communicates with a land-line telephone network via the private base station, the private base station being operable with a land-line telephone network and the wireless cellular phone network,

generating and forwarding a redirection signal through the land-line telephone network to the wireless cellular phone network in communication with the land-line telephone network after the mobile station has registered,

redirecting all phone calls made to the mobile station within the wireless cellular phone network through the land-line telephone network to the private base station in response to the redirection signal, and

switching the communication of the private base station into the wireless cellular phone network after receiving predetermined signalling codes of the land-line telephone network not recognized by the wireless cellular phone network from the registered mobile station.

28. A method according to claim 27 including storing calling numbers within the private base station that had been received from a landline telephone network, and generating calls to a stored calling number through the wireless cellular phone network after receiving a predetermined signal from a registered mobile station.

29. A method according to claim 27 including the step of dialing an emergency number stored in the private base station through the wireless cellular phone network upon receiving an emergency signal.

30. A method according to claims 29 including dialing an emergency number after an emergency push button located on a registered mobile station has been pushed.

31. A method according to claims 29 including dialing an emergency number after an emergency push button located on the private base station has been pushed.

32. A method according to claim 29 including the step of switching a call into a land-line telephone network if a connection through the wireless cellular phone network cannot be established.

33. A method according to claim 29 including the step of dialing an emergency number stored in the private base station through the landline telephone network upon receiving an emergency signal.

34. A method according to claim 33 including the step of switching a call into the wireless cellular phone network if a connection through the landline telephone network cannot be established.

35. A method of enabling communication with a cellular phone network and a private base station comprising the steps of:

receiving within the private base station predetermined signalling codes of a land-line telephone network not recognized by the cellular phone network from a registered mobile station, the private base station being operable with the land-line telephone network and the cellular phone network

retrieving signalling information stored in the private base station in response to the predetermined signalling codes,

converting the retrieved information for presentation to the cellular phone network, and

receiving within the cellular phone network the converted information.

36. A method according to claim 35 including the step of generating calls to the private base station from a phone network for subsequent storage of the calling number within the private base station.

37. A method according to claim 36 including the step of receiving calls within a wireless cellular phone network that have been generated from calling numbers stored within the private base station.

38. A method according to claim 35 including receiving a dialed emergency number within the wireless cellular phone network after an emergency button has been depressed on the private base station or on a mobile station registered with the private base station.

39. A method according to claim 35 including receiving a dialed emergency number within the landline telephone network after an emergency button has been depressed on the private base station or on a mobile station registered with the private base station.

40. A method according to claim 35 including redirecting all calls generated to a mobile station within the cellular phone network through a landline phone network to a private base station after receiving a redirection signal from the private base station.

41. A method according to claim 38, wherein the service node is located outside of a mobile switching center.

42. A private base station operative with a cellular mobile station comprising:

an interface for connecting to a land-line telephone network and enabling communication of the mobile station with the land-line telephone network through the private base station, and

a switch for switching communication of the private base station into a cellular phone network from the land-line telephone network after having received predetermined signalling codes from the mobile station that is registered with the private base station, the predetermined signalling codes being initiated by a user of the mobile station

wherein the predetermined signalling codes are of the land-line telephone network and are not recognized by the cellular phone network, and the private base station is operative with the land-line telephone network and the cellular phone network to receive the predetermined signalling codes and to establish communication between the cellular phone network and the registered mobile station in response to the predetermined signalling codes.

43. A private base station according to claim 42 including a storage unit for storing calling numbers that have been received within the private base station.

44. A private base station according to claim 42 including a storage unit for storing at least one emergency number.

45. A private base station according to claim 44 wherein said private base station includes an emergency button, wherein upon depression of the emergency button the stored emergency number is dialed.

46. A private base station coupled with a land-line telephone network comprising:

a first transceiver unit for communicating with a registered mobile station;

a switch for switching connection of the private base station into a cellular phone network after having received predetermined signalling codes of the land-line telephone network that are not recognized by the cellular phone network from the registered mobile station, the predetermined signalling codes being initiated by a user of the mobile station; and

a second transceiver unit for communicating with the cellular phone network.