In-vehicle handsfree apparatus

• US 8,108,010 B2
• Filed: 10/21/2008
• Issued: 01/31/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Miyake, Kenji
• Primary Examiner(s): Urban, Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dreksler, Walter
• Application Number:
  US12/288,502
• Publication Number:
  US 20090111529A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,197 Days
• Field of Search: 455/569.2, 455/569.1, 455/575.9, 455/564, 704/275
• US Class Current: 455/569.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/27453 Directories allowing storage of additional subscriber data, e.g. metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2749 Automatic dialling or redialling systems, e.g. on off-hook or redial on busy
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2757 by data transmission, e.g. downloading
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6075 adapted for handsfree use in a vehicle H04M1/6058 takes precedence; arrangements for holding telephones in a vehicle B60R11/0241
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/02 including a Bluetooth interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/60 logging of communication history, e.g. outgoing or incoming calls, missed calls, messages or URLs logging of telephone numbers H04M1/56, H04M1/57

Abstract

An in-vehicle handsfree apparatus performs a dialing control with a first dialing phone number, which is a phone number included in historical data of outgoing or incoming calls of a cellular phone. If the destination of the dialing with the first phone number does not answer, the handsfree apparatus performs a dialing control by using a different second phone number, if it is available from the cellular phone. The second phone number, e.g., a number of a home telephone, is registered in phone book data of the cellular phone by using the same registration name as that of the first phone number; further, the second phone number is transmitted from the cellular phone to the handsfree apparatus.

Claims

1. An in-vehicle handsfree apparatus performing a handsfree phone call with a cellular phone,

the cellular phone storing (i) a plurality of phone book data, each phone book data containing registration information in association with more than one phone number, and (ii) historical call data on phone numbers of at least one of an outgoing call and an incoming call of the cellular phone,

the in-vehicle handsfree apparatus comprising:

a handsfree connection section configured to connect a protocol to perform a handsfree phone call with the cellular phone;

a historical call data acquisition section configured to acquire, from the cellular phone, historical call data;

a phone book data acquisition section configured to acquire a phone number from the phone book data stored in the cellular phone; and

a control section configured to perform a first dialing control using a first phone number included in the acquired historical call data under a condition that a user performs a predetermined operation via an operation section in a state that a protocol for performing the handsfree phone call with the cellular phone is connected by the handsfree connection section;

wherein when (i) a destination in the first dialing control using the first phone number does not answer and (ii) a second phone number, which is different from the first phone number, is registered in the registration information of the first phone number, the control section is further configured to cause the phone book data acquisition section to acquire the second phone number from the plurality of phone book data in the cellular phone and perform a second dialing control by using the acquired second phone number.

2. The in-vehicle handsfree apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the control section is further configured to cause a display section to display the second phone number different from the first phone number and acquired by the phone book data acquisition section from the cellular phone.

3. The in-vehicle handsfree apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the control section is further configured to automatically perform the second dialing control by using the acquired second phone number, without condition that the user performs, via the operation section, another predetermined operation.

4. The in-vehicle handsfree apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the control section is further configured to perform the second dialing control by using the acquired second phone number, under condition that the user performs, via the operation section, another predetermined operation.

5. The in-vehicle handsfree apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

when more than one phone number different from the first phone number is registered in the registration information of the first phone number, the control section is further configured to acquire as the second phone number a phone number having a higher registration order among the more than one phone number, via the phone book data acquisition section.

6. The in-vehicle handsfree apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a present time acquisition section configured to acquire a present time, wherein when more than one phone number different from the first phone number is registered in the registration information of the first phone number, the control section is further configured to acquire as the second phone number a phone number corresponding to the acquired present time among the more than one phone number via the phone book data acquisition section.

7. The in-vehicle handsfree apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a storage section to contain a historical call data storage area,

wherein the control section causes the historical call data acquisition section to acquire a part or all of the historical call data from the cellular phone based on (i) a number of the historical call data stored in the cellular phone and (ii) a number of historical call data enabled to be stored in the historical call data storage area.

8. The in-vehicle handsfree apparatus according to claim 7, wherein:

the control section causes the historical call data acquisition section to acquire a part of the historical call data from the cellular phone based on when the number of historical call data enabled to be stored in the historical call data storage area is smaller than the number of the historical call data stored in the cellular phone; and

the control section causes the storage section to update the historical call data storage area by storing, in the historical call data storage area, the part of the historical call data acquired from the cellular phone.

9. The in-vehicle handsfree apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data acquisition section acquires only the second phone number from the plurality of phone book data when the destination in the first dialing control using the first phone number does not answer.

10. A method by a control section included in an in-vehicle handsfree apparatus for acquiring a phone number from a cellular phone;

the in-vehicle handsfree apparatus further including a communication section that is presently under a connection state of connecting a protocol to perform a handsfree phone call with the cellular phone,

the cellular phone storing (i) a plurality of phone book data items, each phone book data item containing a registration name in association with more than one phone number, and (ii) historical call data on phone numbers of at least one of an outgoing call and an incoming call of the cellular phone,

the method comprising;

acquiring the historical call data on phone numbers from the cellular phone via the communication section;

performing a first dialing control using a first phone number included in the acquired historical call data under a condition that a user performs a predetermined operation via an operation section;

searching the plurality of phone book data items, which are stored in the cellular phone, for a second phone number, which is registered in association with the registration name of the first phone number, the second phone number being different from the first phone number, via the communication section, when a destination in the first dialing control using the first phone number does not answer;

acquiring the second phone number, if present in the cellular phone as a result of the searching, from the plurality of phone book data items stored in the cellular phone, via the communication section; and

performing a second dialing control by using the acquired second phone number.

11. The in-vehicle handsfree apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the data acquisition section acquires only the second phone number from the plurality of phone book data when the destination in the first dialing control using the first phone number does not answer.