Main device of cordless telephone system

• US 8,301,134 B2
• Filed: 02/09/2009
• Issued: 10/30/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Arimoto, Hideki
• Primary Examiner(s): Appiah, Charles
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sabouri, Mazda
• Application Number:
  US12/367,678
• Publication Number:
  US 20090203330A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,359 Days
• Field of Search: 455/90.2, 455/426.1
• US Class Current: 455/426.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72505 Radio link set-up procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/73 Battery saving arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

There is provided a main device of a cordless telephone system that performs communication with at least one additional device, each of which includes a search unit that intermittently searches for a radio wave generated from the main device, and a search stopping unit that stops execution of the search unit after a state in which the search unit does not receive a radio wave continues for a predetermined time. The main device includes a radio wave generating unit, an operation stopping unit that stops an operation of the radio wave generating unit, and a temporary returning unit that temporality recovers the operation of the radio wave generating unit and stops the operation of the radio wave generating unit after the additional device executes multiple searches by using the search unit after stopping the operation of the radio wave generating unit, but before the predetermined time elapses.

Claims

1. A main device of a cordless telephone system configured to perform communication with at least one additional device, each of the at least one additional device comprising:

a search unit configured to search intermittently for a radio wave generated from the main device; and

a search stopping unit configured to stop execution of the search unit after a state in which the search unit does not receive a radio wave continues for a predetermined time,

wherein the main device comprises;

a radio wave generating unit configured to generate the radio wave;

an operation stopping unit configured to stop an operation of the radio wave generating unit; and

a temporary returning unit configured to recover temporarily the operation of the radio wave generating unit to generate a radio wave and configured to stop the operation of the radio wave generating unit after the at least one additional device executes multiple searches by using the search unit after stopping the operation of the radio wave generating unit, but before the predetermined time elapses, wherein the temporary returning unit comprises;

a recovery unit configured to recover the operation of the radio wave generating unit;

a judging unit configured to judge whether communication with the at least one additional device is established after the recovery of the operation by the recovery unit; and

a re-stop unit configured to stop the operation of the radio wave generating unit under a condition that the judging unit judges that communication with all of the at least one additional device is established,

wherein the search unit is configured to execute searches a predetermined number of times within the predetermined time, and

wherein the temporary returning unit is configured to recover temporarily the operation of the radio wave generating unit to generate a radio wave while the at least one additional device executes a search corresponding to the predetermined number-th search, which is counted from the stoppage of the operation of the radio wave generating unit by the operation stopping unit or the re-stop unit, by using the search unit.

2. The main device of the cordless telephone system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a cycle determining unit configured to determine a recovery cycle corresponding to the predetermined time,

wherein the temporary returning unit is configured to recover the operation of the radio wave generating unit in the recovery cycle determined by the cycle determining unit.

9. The main device of the cordless telephone system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a recovery cycle memory, to which a recovery cycle corresponding to the predetermined time is set,

wherein the recovery cycle is set to a cycle shorter than a shortest time among predetermined times corresponding to the at least one additional device.

3. A main device of a cordless telephone system configured to perform communication with at least one additional device, each of the at least one additional device comprising:

a search unit configured to search intermittently for a radio wave generated from the main device; and

a search stopping unit configured to stop execution of the search unit after a state in which the search unit does not receive a radio wave continues for a predetermined time,

the main device comprising;

a radio wave generating unit configured to generate the radio wave;

an operation stopping unit configured to stop an operation of the radio wave generating unit; and

a temporary returning unit configured to recover temporarily the operation of the radio wave generating unit to generate a radio wave and stops the operation of the radio wave generating unit after the at least one additional device executes multiple searches by using the search unit after stopping the operation of the radio wave generating unit, but before the predetermined time elapses, wherein the temporary returning unit comprises;

a recovery unit configured to recover the operation of the radio wave generating unit;

a judging unit configured to judge whether communication with the at least one additional device is established after the recovery of the operation by the recovery unit; and

a re-stop unit configured to stop the operation of the radio wave generating unit under a condition that the judging unit judges that communication with all of the at least one additional device is established;

a cycle determining unit configured to determine a recovery cycle corresponding to the predetermined time; and

an additional device model type identifying unit configured to identify model types of the at least one additional device,

wherein the temporary returning unit is configured to recover the operation of the radio wave generating unit in the recovery cycle determined by the cycle determining unit, and

wherein the cycle determining unit is configured to determine a cycle shorter than a shortest time among predetermined times corresponding to the at least one additional device as the recovery cycle when the additional device model type identifying unit identifies that all the model types of the at least one additional device are known.

4. The main device of the cordless telephone system according to claim 3, wherein the cycle determining unit comprises:

a test unit configured to perform generation of a radio wave by the radio wave generating unit every predetermined test cycle;

an additional device response judging unit configured to judge whether communication with the at least one additional devices is established every time the radio wave generating unit generates a radio wave; and

an extension unit configured to extend the test cycle when the additional device response judging unit judges that communication with all of the at least one additional device is established,

wherein the cycle determining unit is configured to determine a cycle shorter than a test cycle when the additional device response judging unit judges that there is no response from at least one of the at least one additional device, as the recovery cycle.

5. The main device of the cordless telephone system according to claim 4, further comprising:

an extension limiting unit configured to limit extension of the test cycle by the extension unit up to a predetermined upper limit,

wherein the cycle determining unit is configured to determine the predetermined upper limit as the recovery cycle when the test cycle reaches the predetermined upper limit limited by the extension limiting unit and the additional device response judging unit judges that the communication with all of the at least one additional device is established.

6. The main device of the cordless telephone system according to claim 5, further comprising:

an upper limit setting unit configured to set a cycle shorter than a shortest time among predetermined times corresponding to the at least one additional device as the recovery cycle when the additional device model type identifying unit identifies that at least one of the at least one additional device is known.

7. The main device of the cordless telephone system according to claim 4, further comprising:

a message outputting unit configured to output a message,

wherein, when the recovery cycle is determined by the cycle determining unit, the message outputting unit is configured to output the message that instructs to cancel an operation of the search stopping unit of the additional device which is judged that communication therewith is not established by the additional device response judging unit.

8. The main device of the cordless telephone system according to claim 6,

wherein the message output by the message outputting unit is a message that instructs to temporarily remove a battery of a corresponding additional device.

10. A cordless telephone system comprising:

a main device comprising;

a radio wave generating unit configured to generate a radio wave; and

an operation stopping unit configured to stop an operation of the radio wave generating unit; and

at least one additional device configured to connect with the main device via a wireless communication, the additional device comprising;

a search unit configured to search intermittently for the radio wave generated from the main device; and

a search stopping unit configured to stop execution of the search unit after a state in which the search unit does not receive a radio wave continues for a predetermined time,

wherein the main device further comprises;

a temporary returning unit configured to recover temporarily the operation of the radio wave generating unit to generate a radio wave and configured to stop the operation of the radio wave generating unit after the at least one additional device executes multiple searches by using the search unit after stopping the operation of the radio wave generating unit, but before the predetermined time elapses wherein the temporary returning unit comprises;

a recovery unit configured to recover the operation of the radio wave generating unit;

a judging unit configured to judge whether communication with the at least one additional device is established after the recovery unit recovers the operation; and

a re-stop unit configured to stop the operation of the radio wave generating unit under a condition that the judging unit judges that communication with all additional devices of the at least one additional device is established,

wherein the search unit of the at least one additional device is configured to execute one or more searches a predetermined number of times within the predetermined time, and

wherein the temporary returning unit is configured to recover temporarily the operation of the radio wave generating unit to generate a radio wave while the at least one additional device executes a search corresponding to the predetermined number-th search, which is counted from the stoppage of the operation of the radio wave generating unit by one or more of the operation stopping unit and the re-stop unit, by using the search unit.