Method for operating a telecommunications system

• US 7,317,911 B2
• Filed: 04/25/2001
• Issued: 01/08/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Deutsche Telekom AG, T-Mobile Deutschland GmbH (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: T-Mobile Deutschland GmbH (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Brenig, Heinrich-Helmut, Firch, Detlef
• Primary Examiner(s): Feild; Joseph
• Assistant Examiner(s): Peaches; Randy
• Application Number:
  US10/258,690
• Publication Number:
  US 20040038674A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,449 Days
• Field of Search: 455/556.1, 455/575.1, 455/573, 455/404.1, 455/564, 455/550.1, 455/90.1, 455/90.3, 455/422.1, 455/414.2, 455/411, 455/445, 455/550, 455/418, 340/506, 340/531, 340/511
• US Class Current: 455/418
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/88 Provision for limiting connection, or expenditure
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0116 Provision for limiting expenditure, e.g. limit on call expenses or account
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/04 for emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/30 Determination of the location of a subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/382 using authorisation codes or passwords
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42059 Making use of the calling party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42153 by subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/436 Arrangements for screening incoming calls , i.e. evaluating the characteristics of a call before deciding whether to answer it based on the calling party profile H04M3/42059; based on location H04M3/42348; based on presence H04M3/42365; diversion H04M3/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/54 Arrangements for diverting calls for one subscriber to another predetermined subscriber based on the calling party profile H04M3/42059; based on location H04M3/42348; based on presence H04M3/42365; to voice mail H04M3/53308

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for operating a telecommunications system and to a corresponding telecommunications system comprising at least one centralized device and at least one telecommunications terminal device, which is configured for communicating with the centralized device and/or other telecommunications terminal devices. The invention is characterized in that one or more control programs are stored in the centralized device, whereby the control programs can be activated by signals of the telecommunications terminal device in order to initiate one or more functions in the telecommunications terminal device, in the centralized device and/or in other telecommunications terminal devices.

Claims

1. Method for the operation of a telecommunication system with at least one central unit and at least one telecommunication terminal device for communication with said at least one central unit and/or other telecommunication terminal devices, comprising the steps of storing wherein said at least one central unit (3) a plurality of control programs, wherein said plurality of control programs are activatable by signals of the telecommunication terminal device (1;

4;

5) in order to initiate at least one function in the telecommunication terminal device, the central device and/or in other telecommunication terminal devices (19;

20), and further recognizing specific calls or call numbers of a called telecommunication terminal device by means of a remote terminal control program (13) of said at least one central unit, wherein in the presence of a specific call number without activation of a call indicator device a connection between the caller and the called telecommunication terminal device is established.

2. Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control programs are activated by signals of the telecommunication terminal device, which are triggered by specific keys, such as function keys, programmable keys and/or speed-dial keys of the telecommunication terminal device.

3. Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control programs are activated by signals of the telecommunication terminal device, which are triggered by voice input or by specific events.

4. Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a control program operates as a room monitoring program, in which a call indicator device of the telecommunication terminal device is muted, a volume level device succeeding a microphone of this terminal device for generating a sound signals upon a noise level picked up by the microphone exceeding a predetermined one, is activated, and, by means of the sound signal, the dialing of a call number of the central device, saved in the terminal device, is activated and a connection to the central device is established, and a call number contained in the control program saved there is dialed after passage of a predetermined period of time.

5. Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein after activation of the room monitoring program and after dialing the stored call number, a confirmation message is sent by the dialed call number.

6. Method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that wherein in the absence of confirmation by the call number or a dialed connection, the dialing process is repeated at previously defined time intervals, and the central unit saves the dialing processes to the call number together with time information.

7. Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the saved dialing processes can be called up from the central unit together with the time information.

8. Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a control program operates as an active emergency call program, in which one or several specific keys of the telecommunication terminal device have the function of an emergency call key, upon the actuation of which an emergency call signal is sent to the central device, which forwards this emergency call to at least one call number stored in the control program of the central unit.

9. Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein with the active emergency call program activated, upon actuation of a specific key of the terminal device an emergence call number stored in the central device is dialed and a message stored in the central device is sent to a specific receiver.

10. Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein with the person monitoring program activated, in the event of an emergency signal at least one predetermined emergency call number is dialed and to it is sent information or a message stored in the program of a central device.

11. Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a control program operates as a passive emergency call program, in which a motion sensor is provided for generating a motion signal, a threshold value device succeeding the motion sensor generates a trigger signal if the motion signal during a predetermined time period is below a predetermined threshold value, and, in the presence of the trigger signal, a device activates the telecommunication terminal device for sending a call signal to the central device or other terminal devices.

12. Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the motion sensor is an acceleration sensor or a position sensor.

13. Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the motion sensor can be externally connected to the telecommunication terminal device.

14. Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein through the call signal in the central unit a passive emergency call program is activated, which generates an emergency signal or a call to at least one call number stored in the central unit.

15. Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the emergency call signal is an acoustic signal output via a loudspeaker of the telecommunication terminal device.

16. Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein with the passive emergency call program activated, together with the call signal information stored in the program of a central device is sent to any desired receiver.

17. Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the location of the telecommunication terminal device is automatically acquired by means of known position finding methods by the central device and/or the telecommunication terminal device, is processed and made available to the control programs.

18. Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a call forwarding device is provided in the central unit, which, with the room monitoring program activated, forwards incoming calls to another terminal device.

19. Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein in the telecommunication terminal device a storage package is present, which, with the room monitoring program activated, saves signals picked up by a microphone and/or a camera of the terminal device when a threshold value is exceeded, as long as a connection via a central device to another terminal device is established, and/or a device is available, which via the central device establishes a connection to the other terminal device and transmits the saved signals to this other terminal device.

20. Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the storage function is assumed by the central device as soon as a connection between the sending telecommunication terminal device and the central device is established.

21. Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein in the central device a connection time limitation device settably by the subscriber is provided, which interrupts the connection between telecommunication terminal device and central device and/or other telecommunication terminal devices if a presettable fee or time limit is exceeded.

22. Method for the operation of a telecommunication system with at least one central unit and at least one telecommunication terminal device, for communication with the central unit and/or other telecommunication terminal devices, wherein said at least one central unit (3) includes at least one control program stored therein, said at least one control program being activatable by signals of a telecommunication terminal device (1;

4;

5) in order to initiate at least one of a plurality of functions in the telecommunication terminal device, the central unit and/or in other telecommunication terminal devices (19;

20),

wherein said at least one control program includes a person surveillance program, in which one or several specific keys of the terminal device have the function of a reset key, and in a remote terminal control program of the central unit an emergency signal or dialing a call number stored in the central unit is generated if the reset key, after activation of the person surveillance program, is not actuated within a time period presettably by a timer, wherein the presettable time period starts anew if the reset key is actuated within the time period.

23. Method for the operation of a telecommunication system with at least one central unit and at least one telecommunication terminal device, for communication with the central unit and/or other telecommunication terminal devices, said at least one central unit (3) including at least two control programs stored therein, comprising the steps of activating at least one control program by signals of a telecommunication terminal device (1;

4;

5) in order to initiate at least one of a plurality of functions in the telecommunication terminal device, the central unit and/or in other telecommunication terminal devices (19;

20), and

providing a warning device, which, with a person surveillance program activated in the central unit after passage of a predetermined time interval during a warning interval, generates a visual and/or acoustic warning signal, wherein an emergency signal is generated if the reset key is not actuated after the start of the warning signal within a warning interval, wherein the time interval starts anew after actuation of the reset key.

24. Method for operating a telecommunications system having at least one central unit (3) and at least one telecommunications terminal device (1;

4;

5;

31) for communication with said at least one central unit (3) and/or other telecommunications terminal devices (19;

20) via at least one telecommunications network (2;

6;

7;

16;

17), wherein said at least one central unit (3) is implemented in the telecommunications network (2;

6;

7;

16;

17) and in said at least one central unit (3) a plurality of control programs are stored, wherein said plurality of control programs are activatable by signals of the telecommunications terminal device (1;

4;

5;

31) in order to trigger one or more functions in the telecommunications terminal device (1;

4;

5;

31), the central unit (3) and/or in other telecommunications terminal devices (19;

20), the method comprising the steps of

activating a room monitoring program (9) in order to transmit noises picked up by a microphone of a terminal device (4) via at least one telecommunications network (6;

19) to said at least one central unit (3) and on to another terminal device (19),

operating an active emergency call program (10) which is activated when a certain emergency call key is actuated in the terminal device (4) so that subsequent steps specified by the active emergency call program (10) are initiated and carried out by said at least one central unit (3), and

operating a people surveillance program (11) in which one or more particular keys of the terminal device have the function of a reset key (36) and, in a remote terminal control program of said at least one central unit (3), an emergency signal or a call to the line number stored in the central unit is generated if after activation of the people monitoring program the reset key is not actuated within a period of time predetermined by a timing circuit (48), wherein the predeterminable period of time starts afresh when the reset key is actuated within the period of time and that a passive emergency call program (12) in association with the terminal device (5) and a movement sensor connected to the terminal device (5) generates an emergency call signal if for a certain period of time the movement sensor does not issue an adequate movement signal.

25. Telecommunication system comprising at least one central unit and at least one telecommunication terminal device, for communication with said at least one central unit and/or other telecommunication terminal devices, wherein in said at least one central unit (3) at least one control program is stored which operates as a call transfer program (8), a room monitoring program (9), an active emergency call program (10), a person surveillance program (11), a passive emergency call program (12), a remote terminal control program (13) and a program for monitoring the connection time (14), said programs are activatable by signals of the telecommunication terminal device (1;

4;

5) in order to initiate at least one function with respect to call transfers, room monitoring, active emergency calling, person surveillance, passive emergency calling, remote terminal controlling and monitoring the connection time in the telecommunication terminal device, said at least one central device and/or in other telecommunication terminal devices, and means for recognizing specific calls or call numbers of a called telecommunication terminal device by means of a control program of the central unit, wherein in the presence of such a specific call without activation of a call indicator device a connection between the caller and the called telecommunication terminal device is established.