Systems and methods for using landline telephone systems to exchange information with various electronic devices

• US 7,327,981 B2
• Filed: 03/03/2004
• Issued: 02/05/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: VTech Telecommunications Limited (VTech Holdings Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: VTech Telecommunications Limited (VTech Holdings Ltd.)
• Inventors: Hundal, Sukhdeep S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung; Nay
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TUAN HOANG
• Application Number:
  US10/790,809
• Publication Number:
  US 20050197061A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,434 Days
• Field of Search: 455/41.2, 455/74.1, 455/41.3, 455/426.1, 455/426.2, 455/552.1, 455/462, 455/553.1, 455/465
• US Class Current: 455/41.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2757 by data transmission, e.g. downloading
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6033 for providing handsfree use or a loudspeaker mode in telephone sets arrangements for preventing acoustic echo H04M9/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6066 including a wireless connection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72502 with one base station connected to a single line
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/02 including a Bluetooth interface

Abstract

Systems and methods for wireless communications between at least one electronic device and a landline telephone. A system includes at least one electronic device in communication with a cordless telephone base station. In the preferred embodiment in which BLUETOOTH standards are used, each of the cordless telephone base station and the at least one electronic device includes a BLUETOOTH radio transceiver, so that the at least one electronic device can communicate with the base station using BLUETOOTH communications protocol. The cordless telephone base station also includes a cordless radio transceiver to communicate, using cordless radio frequency communications, with at least one cordless handset. The BLUETOOTH radio transceiver and the cordless radio transceiver of the cordless telephone base station are coupled so that a user can use cordless handsets to exchange messages, including audio, video and data, with the at least one electronic device through the control of the telephone base station.

Claims

1. A system for exchanging information between landline telephone and electronic devices, the system comprising:

a telephone base station having a first short range radio frequency (RF) communications radio transceiver; and

at least two electronic devices each having a second short range RF communications radio transceiver configured to communicate with the first short range RF communications radio transceiver of the base station;

wherein the first and second short range RF communications radio transceivers are configured so that a first of the at least two electronic devices exchanges information with a second of the at least two electronic devices via the base station, and

wherein the first of the at least two electronic devices is configured to communicate with an external network using a separate communications link while the first of the at least two electronic devices is in communication with the telephone base station using the second short range RF communications radio transceiver.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least two electronic devices are BLUETOOTH-enabled devices and each of the first and second short range RF communications radio transceivers is BLUETOOTH transceiver.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein one of the at least two electronic devices is a camera.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein one of the at least two electronic devices is a personal computer.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein one of the at least two electronic device is a cellular telephone.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the base station further comprises a first cordless radio transceiver.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein one of the at least two electronic device is a cordless telephone handset that has a second cordless radio transceiver configured to communicate with the first cordless radio transceiver of the base station.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the information includes one or more of data, video, and audio.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a short range RF communications module.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the short range RF communications module establishes an audio link for exchanging audio messages between the at least two electronic devices.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the short range RF communications module establishes a video link for exchanging video messages between the at least two electronic devices.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the short range RF communications module establishes a data link for exchanging data between the at least two electronic devices.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the first of the at least two electronic devices is a cellular telephone that is configured to perform one or more of receiving and sending information between the cellular telephone and an external cellular network using a long range radio transceiver.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the first of the at least two electronic devices is a computer that is configured to perform one or more of receiving and sending information over a data network.

15. A system for wireless communications, comprising:

a base station including a first short range radio frequency (RF) wireless communications transceiver and a first cordless radio transceiver, wherein the telephone base station includes a short range RF communications module that supports one or more profiles;

a handset including a second cordless radio transceiver configured to communicate with the telephone base station; and

one or more electronic devices each including a second short range RF wireless communications transceiver configured to communicate with the first short range RF wireless communications transceiver of the base station, and

wherein when at least one of the one or more electronic devices is in a range of the first short range RF wireless transceiver of the base station, a wireless communication is established between the at least one of the one or more electronic devices and the telephone base station to exchange information between the at least one of the one or more electronic devices and the handset through the base station, and wherein the at least one of the one or more electronic devices is configured to communicate with an external network using a separate communications link while the at least one of the one or more electronic devices is in communication with the telephone base station using the second short range RF communications radio transceiver.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the short range RF communications module is a BLUETOOTH module that supports one or more BLUETOOTH profile.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein a data link is established using an Asynchronous Connectionless Link (ACL) connection along with the audio link to support data exchange between the at least one of the one or more electronic devices and the telephone base station.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the landline telephone is a landline corded telephone.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the landline telephone is a landline cordless telephone.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the at least one of the one or more electronic devices comprises a cellular telephone.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the handset is used to receive incoming calls for the cellular telephone and to send outgoing calls on the behalf of the cellular telephone under the control of the base station.

22. The system of claim 15, wherein the telephone base station transmits radio signals in a hopping frequency to discover the at least one of the one or more electronic devices, wherein the telephone base station automatically establishes a wireless communication with the discovered electronic devices if the telephone base station has previously activated a connection with the discovered electronic devices.

23. The system of claim 15, wherein the telephone base station establishes a wireless communication with the at least one of the one or more electronic devices through a user intervention.

24. A telephone base station for exchanging information with one or more electronic devices, comprising:

a short range RF wireless communications module that supports one or more short range RF wireless communications profiles; and

a short range RF wireless communications radio transceiver for transmitting and receiving wireless signals to and from at least one of the one or more electronic devices;

wherein at least one of the one or more short range RF wireless communications profiles includes a profile that the at least one electronic device supports, and the base station and the at least one of the one or more electronic devices uses the common profile to exchange information with each other, and

wherein the at least one of the one or more electronic devices is configured to communicate with an external network using a separate communications link while the at least one of the one or more electronic devices is exchanging information with the telephone base station using the common profile.

25. The base station of claim 24, wherein the short range RF wireless communications module is a BLUETOOTH module that supports one or more BLUETOOTH profiles.

26. The base station of claim 24, further comprising a cordless radio transceiver for transmitting and receiving radio signals from a cordless handset, wherein the cordless radio transceiver and the short range RF wireless communications radio transceiver are coupled so that the base station can exchange information with one or more electronic devices by using the cordless radio transceiver.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the one or more electronic devices includes a cellular telephone.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the cellular telephone supports a cordless telephony profile.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the electronic device includes a headset that supports at least one BLUETOOTH profile.

30. A method for exchanging messages between a landline telephone and an electronic device, the method comprising:

activating a wireless communication network with the electronic device through a short range RF wireless communications technology;

establishing a wireless communications link between the landline telephone and the electronic device when the electronic device is within a range of a transceiver of the landline telephone;

establishing a message communications link between the electronic device and the landline telephone;

exchanging information between the electronic device and the landline telephone according to a short range RF wireless communications profile supported by both of the electronic device and the landline telephone; and

establishing a communications link between the electronic device and an external network,

wherein the electronic device is configured to send and receive information over the external network while the message communications link is active between the electronic device and the landline telephone, and wherein the landline telephone, after receiving information from the electronic device, further transmits the received information to another electronic device that is wirelessly in communication with the base station.

31. The method of claim 30, further comprising:

establishing a data link using Asynchronous Connectionless Link (ACL) connection between the electronic device and the landline telephone for supporting data exchanges between the electronic device and the another electronic device.

32. The method of claim 30, further comprising establishing an audio link between the landline telephone and the electronic device when the wireless communications link between the landline telephone and the electronic device is established.

33. The method of claim 30, wherein the one electronic device, the another electronic device, and the landline telephone are all BLUETOOTH-enabled.

34. The method of claim 30, wherein the landline telephone comprises two transceiver, one of which is a cordless link transceiver for use in receiving/sending messages to at least one landline handset, and the other one of which is a BLUETOOTH transceiver for use in receiving/sending messages to the electronic device.

35. The method of claim 30, wherein after the message communications link is established, the landline telephone exchanges the messages with the electronic device by using the at least one landline handset.

36. The method of claim 30, wherein the message communications link includes an audio link and the messages exchanged between the landline telephone and the electronic device via the audio link includes AT commands.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the AT commands are sent using data packets over an ACL (Asynchronous Connectionless link) connection.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the AT commands are sent using one of the audio packets, the data packets, and a combination of audio packets and data packets.

39. The method of claim 36, wherein the AT commands are sent using data packets over an audio (SCO) connection.

40. The method of claim 30, wherein the messages include data, audio messages and video messages.