Radio frequency-controlled telecommunication device
First Claim
1. A telecommunications device, comprising:
- a DTMF generator;
a microprocessor coupled to said DTMF generator; and
a radio frequency transceiver coupled to said microprocessor;
wherein said radio frequency transceiver is configured to;
detect existence of a radio frequency tag;
receive from said radio frequency tag a radio frequency signal comprising tag data associated with said radio frequency tag, said tag data being associated with an item with which the radio frequency tag is associated; and
provide said tag data to the microprocessor;
wherein said microprocessor is configured to do the following substantially at the time the radio frequency signal is received;
receive said tag data from the radio frequency transceiver;
associate said tag data with an associated DTMF sequence; and
cause the DTMF generator to provide said associated DTMF sequence as output; and
wherein said radio frequency tag is attached to a business card on which information for an entity is displayed and wherein said tag data is associated with a telephone number for said entity, whereby said microprocessor causes the DTMF generator to dial said telephone number for said entity in response to receiving said tag data.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Provided are telecommunications devices and systems which incorporate and use radio frequency (RF) tag technology. Telecommunications devices in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention incorporate RF transceivers (readers) which are configured to read associated RF transponders (tags) in order to automatically dial desired telephone numbers without the need for a manual user interface. Tags in systems in accordance with this embodiment of the present invention may be attached to or incorporated with a myriad of items, including picture frames, consumer products and packaging, advertising and promotional material, electronic business cards, record-keeping systems, etc. Devices and systems in accordance with the present invention have a variety of telephony and non-telephony applications.
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Citations
38 Claims
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1. A telecommunications device, comprising:
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a DTMF generator; a microprocessor coupled to said DTMF generator; and a radio frequency transceiver coupled to said microprocessor; wherein said radio frequency transceiver is configured to; detect existence of a radio frequency tag; receive from said radio frequency tag a radio frequency signal comprising tag data associated with said radio frequency tag, said tag data being associated with an item with which the radio frequency tag is associated; and provide said tag data to the microprocessor; wherein said microprocessor is configured to do the following substantially at the time the radio frequency signal is received; receive said tag data from the radio frequency transceiver; associate said tag data with an associated DTMF sequence; and cause the DTMF generator to provide said associated DTMF sequence as output; and wherein said radio frequency tag is attached to a business card on which information for an entity is displayed and wherein said tag data is associated with a telephone number for said entity, whereby said microprocessor causes the DTMF generator to dial said telephone number for said entity in response to receiving said tag data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A telecommunications device, comprising:
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a DTMF generator; a microprocessor coupled to said DTMF generator; and a radio frequency transceiver coupled to said microprocessor; wherein said radio frequency transceiver is configured to; detect existence of a radio frequency tag; receive from said radio frequency tag a radio frequency signal comprising tag data associated with said radio frequency tag, said tag data being associated with an item with which the radio frequency tag is associated; and provide said tag data to the microprocessor; and wherein said microprocessor is configured to do the following substantially at the time the radio frequency signal is received; receive said tag data from the radio frequency transceiver; associate said tag data with an associated DTMF sequence; and cause the DTMF generator to provide said associated DTMF sequence as output; and wherein said radio frequency tag is attached to a refrigerator magnet on which information for an entity is displayed and wherein said tag data is associated with a telephone number for said entity, whereby said microprocessor causes the DTMF generator to dial said telephone number for said entity in response to receiving said tag data. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A telecommunications device, comprising:
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a DTMF generator; a microprocessor coupled to said DTMF generator; and a radio frequency transceiver coupled to said microprocessor; wherein said radio frequency transceiver is configured to; detect existence of a radio frequency tag; receive from said radio frequency tag a radio frequency signal comprising tag data associated with said radio frequency tag, said tag data being associated with an item with which the radio frequency tag is associated; and provide said tag data to the microprocessor; and wherein said microprocessor is configured to do the following substantially at the time the radio frequency signal is received; receive said tag data from the radio frequency transceiver; associate said tag data with an associated DTMF sequence; and cause the DTMF generator to provide said associated DTMF sequence as output; and wherein said radio frequency tag is attached to a consumer product label on which information for a first entity is displayed and wherein said tag data is associated with a telephone number for a second entity, whereby said microprocessor causes the DTMF generator to dial said telephone number for said entity in response to receiving said tag data. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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Specification