Voice to digital fax transmission

• US 6,230,024 B1
• Filed: 05/12/1998
• Issued: 05/08/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ericsson AB (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Original Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Mizell, Jerry Louis, Wang, Chung-Ching, Manning, Serge
• Primary Examiner(s): MAUNG, NAY AUNG
• Application Number:
  US09/078,142
• Time in Patent Office: 1,092 Days
• Field of Search: 455/426, 455/414, 455/418, 455/420, 455/550, 455/557, 455/561, 379/100.15, 379/100.16, 358/434-436, 358/442
• US Class Current: 455/557
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 Inter-networking arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/12 between access points and access point controllers

Abstract

A wireless communication network includes a mobile station and a base station which are adapted to allow an ongoing voice call to be converted to a digital fax call without forcing the user to relinquish the line and to restablish a call for the purposes of a transmitting digital fax (fax from a digital device). A base station controller is adapted to respond to an analog tone which prompts the base station to set up a digital fax call even though a voice call is already in place. Similarly, a mobile station is adapted to set up a digital fax call even though a voice call is in place either when it receives the analog tone originated by the PSTN or when it receives an AT command from a personal computer indicating that a digital fax transmission is desired.

Claims

1. A code division multiple access (CDMA) communication network base station that is coupled to receive calls from a landline telephone network, comprising:

a first transceiver for communicating with an external device;

a second transceiver for transmitting and receiving wireless communication signals; and

circuitry adapted to cause the base station to interpret any of a set of received signals to convert a voice call to a digital fax call whenever a fax device connected to one of the landline telephone network and a mobile station generates a part of the set of received signals, the set of received signals including;

a service option (SO) specifying voice;

a calling tone (CG) received by way of the landline telephone network; and

a service option (SO) specifying digital fax;

said circuitry also being adapted to generate and transmit a set of signals to both the mobile station and the base station according to which one is receiving a fax from a digital fax, said set of signals for transmission including;

radio link protocol signals for transmission to an external fax coupled to the landline telephone network;

point-to-point protocol signals;

internet protocol signals;

an AT+FCLASS2.0 signal to set CLASS2.0 fax service;

an AT+CFG=( ) signal to set the configuration to a null string; and

an ATA signal to instruct the mobile station to receive the incoming call from the landline telephone network.

2. A method in a mobile station, comprising the steps of:

setting up a voice only call in an IS-95 compatible mobile station;

setting a service negotiation signal (SO) equal to voice;

receiving from a base station over a wireless link, after a voice call is setup, one of an SO signal set equal to digital fax or a CNG tone passed through the base station, the CNG tone having been transmitted by a digital fax device coupled to the base station by way of a landline telephone network;

setting up a digital fax call;

receiving digital fax signals from the base station over the wireless link;

receiving an AT+CFG=″

″

signal from a digital fax device and transmitting the AT+CFG=″

″

signal to the base station wherein the AT+CFB=″

″

signal is a configuration signal with a null string;

receiving and interpreting an AT+FCLASS2.0 signal from the digital fax device;

receiving and interpreting an AT+CRM=0 signal from the digital fax device;

transmitting, to the digital fax device, a RING result code signal; and

transmitting over a digital communication line to a digital fax device, the received digital fax signal, in a digital fax protocol.

3. A mobile station, comprising;

a first transeiver for communicating with an external device over a serial digital line;

a second transceiver for transmitting and receiving wireless communication signals; and

a CPU connected to the first and second transceivers, which CPU includes logic circuitry adapted to cause the mobile station to generate signals to convert a voice call to a digital fax call whenever the mobile station receives one of four different signals during a voice call from one of and externally connected fax or a base station, the four signals including;

a service option from a base station set equal to digital fax;

a CNG tone from the base station;

a tone from the digital fax indicating depression of a “

start”

key; and

an AT+CSO=n signal is received from the digital fax.