Telephone call service by sensing hand-held state of cellular telephone

• US 6,330,457 B1
• Filed: 07/29/1999
• Issued: 12/11/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: LG Information & Communications Ltd. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Information & Communications Ltd. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Yoon, Jang Sub
• Primary Examiner(s): Trost, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): SMITH, SHEILA B
• Application Number:
  US09/362,690
• Time in Patent Office: 866 Days
• Field of Search: 455/567, 455/556, 455/550, 455/458, 379/419
• US Class Current: 455/550.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0202 Portable telephone sets, e.g. cordless phones, mobile phones or bar type handsets constructional features of telephone transmitters or receivers, e.g. of speakers or microphones H04M1/03
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/725 Cordless telephones user interfaces specially adapted therefor H04M1/724
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion

Abstract

A phone call service based upon sensing a hand-held state of a cellular phone is disclosed According to the present invention, a user may receive and terminate a call by holding or not holding the phone, thereby allowing the user to receive a more convenient phone call service.

Claims

1. A method for providing a phone call service comprising:

determining whether a phone is busy;

determining whether a user is holding said phone if said phone is busy, and automatically closing an opened speech path when it is determined that the user is no longer holding said phone; and

determining whether there is an incoming call if the phone is not determined to be busy, and determining whether a user is holding said phone if there is an incoming call and automatically opening a speech path if the user is holding said phone.

2. A method of claim 1, wherein determining whether a user is holding said phone by a sensor on said phone.

3. A method of claim 2, wherein determining whether a user is holding said phone if said sensor is toggled on.

4. A method of claim 2, wherein said sensor is at least one of a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, a fingerprint sensor and/or a scanning beam interception sensor.

5. A method of claim 2, wherein said sensor is a combination of a temperature sensor and a pressure sensor.

6. An apparatus of claim 5, wherein said sensor senses whether a user is holding said phone either when there is an incoming call or when said phone is busy.

7. An apparatus of claim 6, wherein said sensor senses whether a user is holding said phone if said sensor is toggled on.

8. An apparatus of claim 6, wherein said CPU automatically opens a speech path if said sensor senses that the user is holding said phone when there is an incoming call.

9. An apparatus of claim 6, wherein said CPU automatically closes a speech path if said sensor senses that the user is no longer holding said phone when said phone is busy.

10. A method of claim 1, wherein said phone is one of a trunked radio system phone, a PCS phone, a cordless phone 2 generation or a cellular phone.

11. A phone comprising:

a CPU processing received data and processing data to be transmitted; and

a sensor connected to said CPU sensing whether a user is holding said phone and informing said CPU whether a user is holding said phone wherein the CPU opens/closes a speech path according to sensed data from said sensor.

12. An apparatus of claim 11, wherein said sensor includes at least one of a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, a fingerprint sensor and/or a scanning beam interception sensor.

13. An apparatus of claim 11, wherein said sensor is a combination of a temperature sensor and a pressure sensor.

14. An apparatus of claim 11, wherein said phone is one of a trunked radio system phone, a PCS phone, a cordless phone 2 generation or a cellular phone.