Wireless mobile telephone system with voice-dialing telephone instruments and DTMF capability

• US 6,292,675 B1
• Filed: 05/13/1999
• Issued: 09/18/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Dot 23 Technologies, LLC
• Original Assignee: Reena Kuyper
• Inventors: Nilsson, Byard G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hunter, Daniel
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gantt, Alan T.
• Application Number:
  US09/311,795
• Time in Patent Office: 859 Days
• Field of Search: 455/563, 455/557, 455/412, 379/88.01, 379/88.02, 379/88.03, 379/88.04
• US Class Current: 455/563
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/406 with more than one transmission mode, e.g. analog and digital modes
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/271 controlled by voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6041 Portable telephones adapted for handsfree use
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 17/00 Prepayment of wireline communication systems, wireless communication systems or telephone systems using a coded card to authorise calls from a telephone set H04M1/675
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 17/005 Disposable prepaid communication devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 17/026 Constructional features
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 17/20 with provision for recharging the prepaid account or card, or for credit establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/18 wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42204 Arrangements at the exchange for service or number selection by voice at the terminal H04M1/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing

Abstract

A wireless telephone system incorporates voice activated mobile instruments that are powered through a separate pod that includes electrical couplings either to A.C. structural power or D.C. vehicular power. Furthermore, the system accommodates both digital (DTMF) and voice (audio) communication from the keyless mobile instruments to and through a switched telephone network.

Claims

1. A wireless telephone system for use with a plurality of mobile telephone instruments operated by voice dialing and using voice communication to communicate through a switched telephone network with other telephone terminals comprising:

a platform for interfacing the plurality of mobile telephone instruments to receive voice signal representations originating from individual mobile telephone instruments;

a voice translator for converting signals representative of spoken numerals to keypad representations of the spoken numerals;

a control unit for alternately indicating a state for either keypad or vocal communication for the individual telephone instruments;

a switching structure controlled by the control unit for alternately routing voice signal representations originating from individual mobile telephone instruments to the switched telephone network untranslated or through the voice translator for communication; and

a detector coupled to the platform for detecting specific voice signal representations from the mobile telephone units to control the control unit whereby a mobile telephone unit may communicate through the switched telephone network in either voice or keypad signals using speech.

2. A wireless telephone system according to claim 1 wherein said specific voice representations consist of voice representative audio signals.

3. A wireless telephone system according to claim 1 further including a signal source for providing a state signal to said individual telephone units manifesting the existing state for communication.

4. A wireless telephone system according to claim 1 further including a state signal source to manifest the keypad communication state at mobile telephone units.

9. A wireless telephone system according to claim 1 further including a state signal structure for providing a signal to mobile telephone instruments selectively during periods of silence to manifest the existing state for communication.

10. A wireless telephone system according to claim 9 wherein said state signal structure manifests the keypad state of communication for a mobile telephone instrument.

5. A wireless telephone system for accommodating a plurality of voice-activated wireless telephone instruments to communicate through a switched telephone network with communicating telephone terminals by either vocal conversation or keypad signals, comprising:

a wireless transceiver platform for communicating with the voice-actuated wireless telephone instruments;

a telephone interface coupled to the wireless transceiver platform for bridging wireless telephone instruments to communicate through the switched telephone network to selected of the other telephone terminals;

a voice path coupled to the telephone interface for passing vocal conversation signals from a communicating voice-actuated wireless telephone instrument to a selected telephone terminal;

a data path coupled to the telephone interface including a voice recognition unit for translating vocalized numeral signals from a communicating voice-actuated wireless telephone instrument to keypad signals and passing the keypad signals to the selected telephone terminal; and

a control switch actuated from the communicating voice-actuated wireless telephone instrument for alternatively selectively coupling the vocal path and data path for communication to the selected telephone terminal.

11. A wireless telephone system according to claim 5 wherein said control switch is actuated from the communicating voice-actuated wireless telephone instrument by spoken words.

12. A wireless telephone system according to claim 5 including a signal unit for manifesting the state of the control switch at the communicating voice-actuated wireless telephone instrument.

6. A platform system for interfacing a plurality of wireless mobile telephone units to receive voice signal representations for either voice or digital communication, comprising:

a voice translator for converting signals from the wireless mobile telephone units representative of spoken numerals to keypad representations of the spoken numerals;

a control unit for alternatively indicating a state for either keypad or vocal communication for the individual telephone units;

a switching structure controlled by the control unit for alternatively routing signals from individual mobile telephone units to the switched telephone network untranslated or through the voice translator; and

a detector for detecting specific signals from the mobile telephone units to control the control unit whereby a wireless mobile telephone unit may selectively communicate in either conversation or keypad communication using speech.

13. A platform system according to claim 6 wherein said detector detects specific signals representing a series of a repeated word as spoken at a wireless mobile telephone unit.

14. A platform system according to claim 6 including a signal unit for manifesting the state of the switching structure at individual mobile telephone units.

15. A platform system according to claim 6 wherein the switching structure couples the keypad representations from the voice translator to the individual telephone units as acknowledgements.

7. A method of interfacing a plurality of wireless mobile telephone instruments to receive voice signal representations for either voice or digital communication through a switched telephone network, comprising the steps of:

storing a current operating state to indicate alternatively, conversation or keypad communication for an active unit of the wireless mobile telephone instruments;

receiving audio signals from the active units of said wireless mobile telephone instruments to indicate spoken words including words manifesting numerals;

for the active units of the wireless mobile telephone instruments that are in the keypad communication state, translating words manifesting numerals to keypad representations thereof for communication to the switched telephone network;

for the active units of the wireless mobile telephone instruments that are in a conversation communication state, passing audio signals to the switched telephone network unconverted; and

receiving specific audio signals from the active units of said wireless mobile telephone instruments to alter the current operating state.

8. A method according to claim 7 further including the steps of manifesting the current keypad state to the active of said wireless mobile telephone instruments.

16. A method according to claim 7 further including a step of providing signal indications of keypad representations to active wireless mobile telephone instruments to acknowledge translated words.