Logging in of battery-operated mobile parts at base stations with a battery charging device

• US 7,236,809 B2
• Filed: 06/28/2002
• Issued: 06/26/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gigaset Communications GmbH (Gigaset AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Scholz, Peter, Heynen, Dominic, Fischedick, Thomas, Vieregge, Jens, Holtmann, Frank Peter, Ober, Uwe, Zavelberg, Martin
• Primary Examiner(s): Le; Lana
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TUAN HOANG
• Application Number:
  US10/482,346
• Publication Number:
  US 20040185917A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,824 Days
• Field of Search: 455/573, 455/127.1, 455/343.1, 455/435.1, 455/462, 455/572, 455/574, 320106-115
• US Class Current: 455/573
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/727 Identification code transfer arrangements

Abstract

In order to improve the logging in of battery-operated mobile parts (MT) in base stations (BS) with a battery charging device (ALE) in telecommunications systems for wireless telecommunication so that a log-in standby state between the mobile part (MT) which is logging in and the base station (BS) can be automatically produced without the user of the telecommunications system having to execute existing described procedures, said log-in standby for a battery operated mobile part (MT) in a base station (BS) with a battery charger in a telecommunications network for wireless telecommunication is produced by means of charging contacts (LK1-M, LK2-M, LK1-B, LK2-B) of the mobile part (MT) and base station (BS), whereupon the log-in procedure is carried out via the aerial interface of the telecommunications system.

Claims

1. A method for registering battery-operated mobile parts at a base station comprising a battery-charging unit, comprising:

establishing a ready-to-register state between the mobile part to be registered and base station;

executing a registration procedure via wireless communication, wherein prespecified registration data comprising base station, mobile part, system and product-specific identifications, are transmitted between the registering mobile part and the base station;

storing the registration data;

establishing the readiness to register by performing the steps of

(a) introducing the mobile part to be registered into a battery-charging unit of the base station, wherein the mobile part becomes connected to the base station via charging contacts;

(b) performing trickle-charging to a battery of the mobile part to be registered for a predetermined time;

(c) checking in the mobile part to be registered whether registration data is stored in the mobile part, in which case the process of establishing the ready-to-register state continues if no registration data is stored, or is aborted if data is already stored;

(d) transferring from the mobile part to be registered to the base station a signal via the charging contacts, wherein the signal notifies the base station of the ready-to-register state on the mobile part side;

(e) detecting the signal at the base station and transmitting a conformation signal from the base station to the mobile part via the charging contact to confirm to the mobile part the receipt of the signal and notifies the base station side ready-to-register status; and

(f) detecting the confirmation signal at the mobile part to be registered wherein the detection of the confirmation signal initiates a registration procedure.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the transmission of the confirmation signal initiates a timer at the base station to measure an interval between a start point and an end point for creation of a time stamp in each case for the measured interval both in the base station and the mobile part.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the initiation of the timer in the base station and in the mobile part begins at different starting points and stopped at different ending points.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein after the stopping of the timer in the mobile part, the time stamp created by the timer of the mobile part is transmitted from the mobile part to the base station and wherein the base station compares the transmitted time stamp with the time stamp of the base station, and, if the two time stamps differ by at least a prespecified value, there is no registration of the mobile part at the base station.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the signal is generated by the connection between the mobile part and base station via the charging contacts being opened and then closed again at least once by the mobile part.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the confirmation signal is generated by the connection between the mobile part and base station via the charging contacts being opened and then closed again at least once by the base station.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the mobile part to be registered records an actual value of a charge current which flows in the connection between the mobile part and the base station via the charging contacts, and, if this actual value is less than a specified required value of the charge current, it interrupts the establishment of the ready-to-register state until such time as the actual value is equal to or greater than the required value.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the mobile part to be registered monitors whether the mobile part was operated by the user before it was inserted into the battery-charging unit and whether the display is not in an idle state and, if this is the case, does not begin to establish the ready-to-register state.

9. A system, comprising:

a battery-operated mobile part comprising charging contacts;

a base station comprising a battery-charging unit, a memory and charging contacts, wherein the mobile part establishes a ready-to-register state with the base station, and a registration procedure is executed via wireless communication, wherein prespecified registration data comprising base station, mobile part, system and product-specific identifications, are transmitted and stored in the memory of the base station,

and wherein the ready to register mobile part and base station establish a readiness to register,

(a) wherein the mobile part to be registered is connected into the battery-charging unit of the base station via the charging contacts;

(b) wherein the base station comprises means for performing trickle-charging to a battery of the mobile part to be registered for a predetermined time;

(c) wherein the mobile part to be registered comprises checking means to check whether registration data is stored in the mobile part, in which case the process of establishing the ready-to-register state continues if no registration data is stored, or is aborted if data is already stored;

(d) wherein the mobile part to be registered comprises signal means for transferring to the base station a signal via the charging contacts, wherein the signal notifies the base station of the ready-to-register state on the mobile part side;

(e) wherein the base station comprises detecting means for detecting the signal and transmits a conformation signal to the mobile part via charging contact to confirm receipt of the signal and notifies the base station side ready-to-register status; and

(f) wherein the mobile part to be registered detects the confirmation signal and initiates a registration procedure.

10. The system according to claim 9, further comprising a timer in the mobile part that measures the interval between a start point and an end point and creates a time stamp for the measured interval, which is triggered by the base station with the transmission of the confirmation signal together with a further timer in the base station.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein the mobile part timer is connected to a control device, a radio part and an antenna in such a way that after the timer is stopped, the time stamp created by the timer of the mobile part will be used for a comparison with a further time stamp which is created by the further timer in the base station, in which case, if the two time stamps differ by at least prespecified value from one another, there is no registration of the mobile part at the base station.

12. The system according to claim 10, wherein the signal means comprises a switch device and a control device connected to each other in such a way that for creation of the signal the connection between the mobile part and the base station via the charging contacts is interrupted and established again at least once.

13. The system according to claim 12, wherein the control device is designed in such a way that via a charge switch of the switch device an actual value of a charge current that flows in the connection between the mobile part and the base station via the charging contacts is recorded and, if this actual value is less than a specified required value of the charge current the establishment of the ready-to-register state is interrupted until such time as the actual value is equal to or greater than the required value.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the control device comprises monitoring means that monitors whether the mobile part, before it is introduced into the battery-charging unit has been operated via a keypad and the display is not in the idle state and with the control device, a functional unit is formed so that when the display is not in the idle state, the establishment of the ready-to-register state is not started.

15. A telecommunications system for wireless telecommunications, comprising at least one base station having a battery-charging unit and at least one battery-operated mobile part, wherein the base station and the mobile part can establish a ready-to-register state and with which, when the mobile part and the base station are ready to register, the mobile part can be registered at the base station in a registration procedure by wireless telecommunications, in which case prespecified registration data comprising base station, mobile part, system and product-specific identifications are transmitted between the mobile part and base station and stored in a memory, wherein, to establish the ready-to-register state, said system comprises:

(a) charging contacts in the mobile part that are inserted into the battery-charging unit which comprises further charging contacts;

(b) a switch device in the mobile part to be registered allows trickle charging for a predetermined period of time;

(c) means for checking a memory in the mobile part to be registered whether registration data is stored in the memory, wherein the checking means are assigned to a control device that establishes the ready-to-register process proceeds if no registration data is stored, otherwise the process for establishing the ready-to-register state is aborted;

(d) means for creating a signal in the mobile part to be registered which are connected to the charging contacts and are designed in such as way that a signal is created and transferred to the base station to notify the base station that the mobile part side is ready to register;

(e) means for creating of a confirmation signal in the base station that reconnected to the charging contacts and are designed in such a way that a conformation signal is created and transmitted to the mobile part via charging contact to confirm to the mobile part the receipt of the signal and to notify it of the ready-to-register state on the base station side;

(f) means to detect a confirmation signal in the mobile part to be registered that detect the confirmation signal and which are assigned to the control device and form a functional unit with this in such a way that, when the confirmation signal is detected, the registration procedure is started.

16. The telecommunications system according to claim 15, further comprising timers, one timer in the mobile part and one timer in the base station wherein the timers measure an interval between a start time and an end time and for creating time stamps, and where a time stamp created in the base station and of a time stamp created in the mobile part for the measured interval, which are triggered by the base station with the transmission of the confirmation signal.

17. The telecommunications system according to claim 16, wherein the timer in the mobile part is connected to the control device, a radio part and a antenna of the mobile part in such a way that, after the mobile part timer is stopped, the time stamp created by the timer of the mobile part is transmitted to the base station and a comparator is available in the base station that compares the time stamp transferred by the mobile part with the time stamp created by the timer in the base station and is assigned to a control device in the base station and with this forms a functional unit in such a way that, when the two time stamp differ from each other by at least a prespecified value, the mobile part is not registered at the base station (BS).

18. The telecommunications system according to claim 15, wherein the signal creation means comprises a switch device and control device that are connected to each other in such a way that for creation of the signal, the connection between the mobile part and the base station via the charging contacts is interrupted and established again at least once.

19. The telecommunications system according to claim 15, wherein the confirmation signal creation means comprises a switch device in the base station and a control device in the base station connected to each other in such a way that for creation of the confirmation signal the connection between the mobile part and base station via the charging contacts of the base station is interrupted and established again at least once.

20. The telecommunications system according to claim 15, wherein the control device in the mobile part to be registered is designed in such a way that via a charge switch of the switch device an actual value of a charging current that flows in the connection between the mobile part and the base station via the charging contacts is recorded and, if this actual value is smaller than a prespecified required value of the charging current the establishment of the ready-to-register state is interrupted until such time as the recorded actual value is equal to or greater than the required value.

21. The telecommunications system according to claim 15, wherein the control device in the mobile part to be registered features monitoring means that monitor whether the mobile part, before it is inserted into the battery-charging unit, is being operated via a keypad by the user and the display is not in the idle state, and together with the control device, forms a functional unit in such a way that, when the display is not in the idle state the establishment of the ready-to-register state is not started.