Wireless call system

• US 7,353,042 B2
• Filed: 08/22/2001
• Issued: 04/01/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Folio Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Unirec Company Limited
• Inventors: Yamagishi, Junichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Eng; George
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cho; Un C.
• Application Number:
  US09/935,222
• Publication Number:
  US 20020183031A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,414 Days
• Field of Search: 455/3.05, 455/3.06, 455/41.2, 455/569.1, 455/556.1, 455/66.1, 455/90.1, 340/311.2, 340/313, 379/428, 379/440, 379/102.01, 379/102.06, 379/14.01, 379/14.02, 379/14.05, 379/14.06, 379/159, 348/14.01, 348/14.02, 348/14.05, 348/14.06, 348/143, 382/124, 341/22
• US Class Current: 455/556.1
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00563 using personal physical data of the operator, e.g. finger prints, retinal images, voicepatterns
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/37 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/025 Door telephones adapted for television H04N7/186

Abstract

A wireless call system enables even a bedridden person to easily answer a visitor. The wireless call system has an outdoor unit (3) installed on the outside of an entrance of a structure having a door (13) lockable with an electronic lock (15), for calling a resident in the structure, and an indoor unit (9) connected to the outdoor unit (3) by radio, for informing the resident of the presence of a visitor upon receiving a signal from the outdoor unit (3) and allowing the resident to answer the visitor through the outdoor unit (3). The outdoor unit (3) has an image pickup unit (23) for picking up an image of the visitor making a call with the outdoor unit (3). The indoor unit (9) is portable and has a display (53) for displaying the visitor'"'"'s image picked up by the image pickup unit (23) and control buttons (55) for unlocking the electronic lock (15) if necessary. The resident can carry the indoor unit (9) to an optional location, and at the location, check the visitor displayed on the display (53) and unlock the electronic lock (15) through the control buttons (55) after checking the visitor.

Claims

1. A wireless call system comprising:

an outdoor unit installed on the outside of an entrance of a structure having a door lockable with lock means, the outdoor unit having a call button responsive to finger pressure and means responsive to the call button to make a call to a resident in the structure and a message input button, responsive to finger pressure, controlling a messaging means for inputting a message to the resident;

an indoor unit connected to the outdoor unit by radio, for informing a resident of presence of a visitor upon receiving a signal from the outdoor unit and allowing the resident to answer the visitor through the outdoor unit;

the outdoor unit having image pickup means for picking up an image of the visitor making a call with the outdoor unit;

the indoor unit being handheld configured to be held in hand and portable and having display means incorporated therein for displaying the visitor'"'"'s image picked up by the image pickup means and unlock means for unlocking the lock means,

the indoor unit being portable to an optional location and allowing, at the optional location, the resident to check the visitor displayed on the display means and, if necessary, unlock the lock means through the unlock means,

the outdoor unit having fingerprint input means for inputting fingerprint information of the visitor,

unlock control means for unlocking the lock means if the fingerprint information input through the fingerprint input means agrees with registered fingerprint information,

the call button having a call button body formed of conductive material and grounded to effect static discharge in conjunction with finger depression to form an integrated static discharge and input button device, wherein the conductive material is any one of nonconductive resin mixed with conductive metal powder, nonconductive resin mixed with carbon fiber, and conductive resin,

the outdoor unit having a housing including a front wall defining a call button aperture, and a base panel within said housing and opposing a front wall inner surface of the front wall, said base panel being a circuit board carrying contacts,

the call button body being disposed in the call button aperture and having at least a portion thereof disposed between the front wall inner surface and the base panel, the body extending from the front wall inner surface toward the base panel and having a flange portion engageable with said front wall inner surface and a movable contact opposing said base panel,

a spring interposed between the flange portion of the call button body and the base panel to bias the call button toward the front wall of the housing,

the base panel having a panel front surface with a fixed contact disposed thereon opposite to the movable contact and a grounded conductive part also formed on the panel front surface, and

the call button body being electrical connected by a connection line to the grounded conductive part.

2. The wireless call system of claim 1, wherein:

the outdoor unit has message taking means for taking a message from the visitor; and

the indoor unit has message playback means for playing back the visitor'"'"'s message taken by the message taking means.

3. The wireless call system of claim 2, wherein:

the indoor unit has image recording means for recording the visitor'"'"'s image picked up by the image pickup means and message recording means for recording the visitor'"'"'s message taken by the message taking means; and

the display means is able to display the visitor'"'"'s image recorded by the image recording means, and the message playback means is able to play back the visitor'"'"'s message recorded by the message recording means.

4. The wireless call system of claim 1, wherein:

the indoor unit has image recording means for recording the visitor'"'"'s image picked up by the image pickup means; and

the display means is able to display the visitor'"'"'s image recorded by the image recording means.