Handset proximity muting
First Claim
1. An audio path attenuation controller for a cordless telephone, comprising:
- a proximity determinator to repeatedly determine a distance based on a round trip delay between a handset of said cordless telephone and a base unit of said cordless telephone; and
an attenuator to attenuate an audio path between said handset and said base unit based on said repeatedly determined distance.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus and methods for automatically (i.e., without requiring manual user adjustment) reducing gain in one or both acoustic feedback paths of a cordless telephone when the handset and its base unit are operating in close proximity to one another, preventing uncontrolled feedback and audible howling even before it begins. A proximity detection module determines a distance between the handset and its base unit using an appropriate technique, e.g., using RSSI, round trip delay times, and/or GPS measurements. If the distance indicates that the handset is within close proximity to the base unit, appropriate attenuation of the microphone gain and/or speaker volume of the base unit and/or the handset will be implemented. One or more fixed levels of attenuation may be implemented based on a corresponding one or more measured close proximity distances between the handset and its base unit. Thus, the attenuation may result in a muting, a fixed amount of attenuation (e.g., 6 decibels (dB), 12 dB, or other appropriate fixed amount), or may be a variable amount dependent upon a relationship to the distance between the handset and the base unit.
-
Citations
24 Claims
-
1. An audio path attenuation controller for a cordless telephone, comprising:
-
a proximity determinator to repeatedly determine a distance based on a round trip delay between a handset of said cordless telephone and a base unit of said cordless telephone; and an attenuator to attenuate an audio path between said handset and said base unit based on said repeatedly determined distance. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
-
-
7. An audio path attenuation controller for a cordless telephone, comprising:
-
a proximity determinator including a global positioning satellite system to repeatedly determine a distance based on a round trip delay between a handset of said cordless telephone and a base unit of said cordless telephone; and an attenuator to attenuate an audio path between said handset and said base unit based on said repeatedly determined distance. - View Dependent Claims (8)
-
-
14. A method of attenuating an audio path of a cordless telephone, comprising:
-
repeatedly determining a proximity of a handset of said cordless telephone to a base unit of said cordless telephone using a round trip delay timing of a signal between said handset and said base unit; and when said handset is within a predetermined distance to said base unit, attenuating at least one audio path between said handset and said base unit based on said repeatedly determined proximity. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
-
-
19. A method of attenuating an audio path of a cordless telephone, comprising:
-
repeatedly determining a proximity of a handset of said cordless telephone to a base unit of said cordless telephone using a difference between a GPS determined location of said handset and a GPS determined location of said base unit; and when said handset is within a predetermined distance to said base unit, attenuating at least one audio path between said handset and said base unit based on said repeatedly determined proximity.
-
-
20. Apparatus for attenuating an audio path of a cordless telephone, comprising:
-
means for repeatedly determining a proximity of a handset of said cordless telephone to a base unit of said cordless telephone based on a round trip delay between said base unit and said handset; and means for attenuating at least one audio path between said handset and said base unit when said handset is within a predetermined distance to said base unit based on said repeatedly determined proximity; wherein said attenuation prevents instability in audible feedback between said handset and said base unit. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
-
-
24. Apparatus for attenuating an audio path of a cordless telephone, comprising:
-
means for repeatedly determining a proximity of a handset of said cordless telephone to a base unit of said cordless telephone based on a location provided by a global positioning satellite system; means for attenuating at least one audio path between said handset and said base unit when said handset is within a predetermined distance to said base unit based on said repeatedly determined proximity; wherein said attenuation prevents instability in audible feedback between said handset and said base unit.
-
Specification