Cellular docking station

• US 6,480,714 B1
• Filed: 07/30/1998
• Issued: 11/12/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Roach, Peter O. Jr., DePani, Sebastiano
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Thanh Cong
• Assistant Examiner(s): LE, LANA N
• Application Number:
  US09/126,268
• Time in Patent Office: 1,566 Days
• Field of Search: 455/557, 455/554, 455/426, 455/11.1, 455/33.1, 455/56.1, 455/33.2, 455/15, 455/560, 455/445, 379/59, 379/58, 379/63
• US Class Current: 455/422.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/14 WLL [Wireless Local Loop]; RLL [Radio Local Loop]

Abstract

A system for communicating with the user of a cellular telephone via the cellular mobile radio (CMR) system and the public switched telephone network (PSTN). A communications interface appends the telephone exchange number of an outgoing communication to include an identifier unique to the communications interface. The outgoing communication is transmitted by the cellular telephone to the CMR system, which recognizes and verifies the outgoing communication as originating with the communications interface. Accordingly, the origination of the outgoing communication from a communications interface is documented prior to forwarding the outgoing communication to its intended recipient via the PSTN. Communications incoming to a communications interface are authenticated as such, and a record as to this is created, prior to forwarding the incoming communication to the cellular telephone.

Claims

1. A communication system comprising:

a cellular mobile radiotelephone (CMR) system having a mobile switching center (MSC) and a plurality of cellular telephones; and

a communications interface for allowing a conventional telephone handset to access the CMR system via a selected cellular telephone, wherein the communications interface comprises

means for determining whether the selected cellular telephone is in communicative contact with the communications interface;

means for transferring communication signals between the telephone handset and the selected cellular telephone, wherein means for transferring comprises

a mobile terminal interface unit (MTIU) for delivering and receiving communication signals between the communications interface and the selected cellular telephone,

a telephony support unit (TSU) for delivering and receiving communication signals between the communication interface and the telephone handset, and

a controller connected to the MTIU and TSU for controlling the exchange of communication signals; and

means for supplying an indication to the CMR system that the selected cellular telephone is operating through the communications interface,

wherein communication signals initiated by the telephone handset are routed through the controller and the MTIU to the selected cellular telephone and, thereafter, transmitted as an outgoing communication, and whereby an incoming communication is received by the selected cellular telephone, routed through the communicatively connected MTIU and control unit to the TSU, at which point the incoming communications may be answered by the conventional telephone handset connected thereto.

2. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the MTIU is further operative to detect the selected cellular telephone when it is proximate to but disconnected from the communications interface and to relay the detection of the selected cellular telephone to the controller, thereby enabling use of the telephone handset for initiating communications signals.

3. A communication system comprising:

a cellular mobile radiotelephone (CMR) system having a mobile switching center (MSC) and a plurality of cellular telephones; and

a communications interface for allowing a conventional telephone handset to access the CMR system via a selected cellular telephone, wherein the communications interface comprises

means for determining whether the selected cellular telephone is in communicative contact with the communications interface;

means for transferring communication signals between the telephone handset and the selected cellular telephone, wherein means for transferring comprises

a mobile terminal interface unit (MTIU) for delivering and receiving communication signals between the communications interface and the selected cellular telephone,

a telephony support unit (TSU) for delivering and receiving communication signals between the communication interface and the telephone handset, and

a controller connected to the MTIU and TSU for controlling the exchange of communication signals; and

means for supplying an indication to the CMR system that the selected cellular telephone is operating through the communications interface,

wherein the transfer means comprises the MTIU and the controller, the MTIU is operative to detect the connection of the selected cellular telephone to the communications interface, and to relay the detected connection to the controller, thereby enabling use of the traditional telephone handset for initiating the communication signals.

4. A communication system comprising:

a cellular mobile radiotelephone (CMR) system having a mobile switching center (MSC) and a plurality of cellular telephones; and

a communications interface for allowing a conventional telephone handset to access the CMR system via a selected cellular telephone, wherein the communications interface comprises

means for determining whether the selected cellular telephone is in communicative contact with the communications interface;

means for transferring communication signals between the telephone handset and the selected cellular telephone; and

means for supplying an indication to the CMR system that the selected cellular telephone is operating through the communications interface, wherein the indicating means is operative to append an identifier that identifies an outgoing communication as originating from the communication interface.

5. A communication system comprising:

a cellular mobile radiotelephone (CMR) system having a mobile switching center (MSC) and a plurality of cellular telephones; and

a communications interface for allowing a conventional telephone handset to access the CMR system via a selected cellular telephone, wherein the communications interface comprises

means for determining whether the selected cellular telephone is in communicative contact with the communications interface;

means for transferring communication signals between the telephone handset and the selected cellular telephone; and

means for supplying an indication to the CMR system that the selected cellular telephone is operating through the communications interface,

wherein the MSC identifies incoming communications intended for subscribers to the communications interface by comparing the telephone exchange number for the incoming communication to a list of subscribers maintained in a database and, if identified as one of the listed subscribers and if the selected cellular telephone is proximate to the communications interface and available to receive the incoming communication, then delivering the incoming communication to the selected cellular telephone.

6. The communication system of claim 5 wherein the identification is performed by a Home Station Authentication Unit (HSAU), which authenticates the telephone exchange number to which the incoming communication is directed as a subscriber to the communication interface system.

7. A communication system comprising:

a cellular mobile radiotelephone (CMR) system having a mobile switching center (MSC) and a plurality of cellular telephones; and

a communications interface for allowing a conventional telephone handset to access the CMR system via a selected cellular telephone, wherein the communications interface comprises

means for determining whether the selected cellular telephone is in communicative contact with the communications interface;

means for transferring communication signals between the telephone handset and the selected cellular telephone; and

means for supplying an indication to the CMR system that the selected cellular telephone is operating through the communications interface,

wherein the MSC identifies incoming communications intended for subscribers to the communications interface by comparing the telephone exchange number for the incoming communication to a list of subscribers maintained in a database and, if identified as one of the listed subscribers and if the selected cellular telephone is located within the cell site in which the selected cellular telephone is registered for operation and available to receive the incoming communication, then delivering the incoming communication to the selected cellular telephone.

8. A communication system comprising:

a cellular mobile radiotelephone (CMR) system comprising a mobile switching center (MSC) and a plurality of cellular telephones, and

a communications interface for allowing a telephone handset to access the CMR system via a selected one of the cellular telephones by identifying an attempted outgoing communication originating from the communicatively connected telephone handset, determining whether the selected cellular telephone associated with the communications interface is connected to the communications interface,

in the event that the selected cellular telephone is connected to the communications interface, information including the telephone exchange number to which the outgoing communication is directed (called party number) is relayed from the telephone handset to a Telephony Support Unit (TSU) within the communications interface for processing, thereafter, the outgoing communication is routed to a controller where an identifier which identifies the outgoing communication as originating from the communications interface is appended to the called party number, thereafter, the outgoing communication is forwarded to the Mobile Terminal Interface Unit (MTIU), where it is delivered to the selected cellular telephone, which selected cellular telephone then initiates the outgoing communication via the CMR system.

9. The communication system of claim 8 wherein the communications interface is operative to identify its selected cellular telephone when the selected cellular telephone is proximate to but disconnected from the communications interface, and is further operative to communicate communication signals to and from the selected cellular telephone.

10. The communications system of claim 8 wherein the CMR system recognizes the identifier appended to the called party number as indicating origination of the outgoing communication from the communications interface and, in response, transfers the outgoing communication to a selected telephone cable trunk, which transfer is restricted by an authentication means.

11. The communications system of claim 8 wherein incoming communications to subscribers to the communications system are identified as such by authentication unit within the CMR system upon comparison of the telephone exchange number to which the incoming communication is directed to a list of subscribers maintained in a database and, if identified as a subscriber and if the selected cellular telephone is proximate to the communications interface and available to receive the incoming communication, the incoming communication is delivered to the selected cellular telephone.

12. The communications system of claim 8 wherein incoming communications to subscribers to the communications system are identified as such by the CMR system upon comparison of the telephone exchange number to which the incoming communication is directed to a list of subscribers maintained in a database and, if identified as a subscriber and if the selected cellular telephone is located within the cell site in which the selected cellular telephone is registered for operation and is available to receive the incoming communication, the incoming communication is delivered to the selected cellular telephone.

13. A method of communicating a telephone call initiated by a telephone handset via a cellular mobile radiotelephone (CMR) system, comprising the steps of:

responsive to initiation of an outgoing communication from the telephone handset, determining whether a cellular telephone is connected to a communications interface, which communications interface passes outgoing communications from the telephone handset to the cellular telephone,

in the event that the cellular telephone is connected to the communications interface;

accepting the outgoing communication from the telephone handset at the communications interface,

appending the outgoing communication with an identifier indicating that the outgoing communication is initiated by the communications interface,

providing the appended outgoing communication to the cellular telephone, and

transmitting the appended outgoing communication from the cellular telephone to the CMR system.

14. The communications method of claim 13, further comprising the steps of:

in the event that the cellular telephone is not connected to the communications interface, determining whether the cellular telephone is within close geographical proximity to the communications interface and, if so, forwarding the outgoing communication to the cellular telephone.

15. The communications method of claim 13, further comprising the steps of:

the CMR system identifying the outgoing communication as originating from the communications interface, then

directing the identified outgoing communication to a selected telephone cable trunk of a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) reserved for users of the communications interface.

16. A method of communicating a telephone call to a telephone handset via a cellular mobile radiotelephone (CMR) system, the method comprising the steps of:

responsive to receipt of an incoming communication by the CMR system, first determining whether the intended recipient of the incoming communication is a subscriber to a communications interface by checking a database within the CMR system;

then determining whether a selected cellular telephone is connected to the communications interface; and

in the event that the cellular telephone is connected to the communications interface, transmitting the incoming communication from the CMR system to the cellular telephone,

wherein the first determining step further comprises the steps of;

an authentication unit within the CMR system sending a number sequence to the communications interface;

the communications interface performing a predetermined algorithm on the number sequence;

the authentication unit performing the same predetermined algorithm on the same number sequence; and

comparing the two number sequences.

17. A method of communicating a telephone call to a telephone handset via a cellular mobile radiotelephone (CMR) system, the method comprising the steps of:

responsive to receipt of an incoming communication by the CMR system, first determining whether the intended recipient of the incoming communication is a subscriber to a communications interface by checking a database within the CMR system;

then determining whether a selected cellular telephone is connected to the communications interface; and

in the event that the cellular telephone is connected to the communications interface, transmitting the incoming communication from the CMR system to the cellular telephone,

wherein the second determining step identifies the selected cellular telephone when the selected cellular telephone is physically connected to the communications interface.

18. A method of communicating a telephone call to a telephone handset via a cellular mobile radiotelephone (CMR) system, the method comprising the steps of:

responsive to receipt of an incoming communication by the CMR system, first determining whether the intended recipient of the incoming communication is a subscriber to a communications interface by checking a database within the CMR system;

then determining whether a selected cellular telephone is connected to the communications interface; and

in the event that the cellular telephone is connected to the communications interface, transmitting the incoming communication from the CMR system to the cellular telephone,

wherein the second determining step identifies the selected cellular telephone when the selected cellular telephone is in close geographical proximity to the communications interface.