Hands-free telephone apparatus

• US 7,486,972 B2
• Filed: 03/30/2006
• Issued: 02/03/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alpine Electronics Incorporated (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Alpine Electronics Incorporated (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Kouno, Yoshiyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Kuntz; Curtis
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TUAN DUC
• Application Number:
  US11/393,376
• Publication Number:
  US 20060223592A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,041 Days
• Field of Search: 379/419, 379/420.01, 379/420.02, 379/420.03, 379/420.04, 455/569.1, 455/569.2
• US Class Current: 455/569.2
• 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 1/667 Preventing unauthorised calls from a telephone set H04M1/677 takes precedence

Abstract

A hands-free telephone apparatus which supports a user so as not to restrict the functions of the hands-free telephone processor. The hands-free telephone processor inquires the state of the mobile telephone when the model of the connected mobile telephone is unknown. If the hands-free telephone processor receives the notification of the state of the mobile telephone in response to this inquiry, the hands-free telephone processor refers to the warning information stored in advance. The hands-free telephone processor determines whether the mobile telephone is in a state of restricting the functions of the hands-free telephone apparatus available to the user. If it is necessary to output a warning, the hands-free telephone processor outputs the warning message registered corresponding to the state of the mobile telephone in the warning information. The hands-free telephone processor issues a restart command to the mobile telephone to restart the mobile telephone.

Claims

1. A hands-free telephone apparatus for adding a hands-free telephone function to a connected telephone set, the apparatus comprising:

a speaker for outputting voice received by the connected telephone set;

a microphone for inputting voice to be transmitted from the connected telephone set;

a state-information obtaining section for obtaining state information indicating a state of the telephone set from the connected telephone set when the telephone set is connected;

a model-information storage section for storing model information indicating a correlation between a model of the telephone set and a command for obtaining a state of the telephone set from the telephone set of the model for a plurality of models, wherein the state-information obtaining section obtains model-identification information indicating a model of the telephone set from the connected telephone set when the telephone set is connected, and issues a command corresponding to the model indicated by the model information of the model indicated by the obtained model-identification information stored in the model-information storage section to the connected telephone set in order to obtain state information indicating the state of the telephone set and a warning section for warning a user to change the state of the telephone set when the state of the telephone set obtained by the state-information obtaining section restricts a function of the hands-free telephone apparatus available to the user.

2. The hands-free telephone apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a warning-necessity setting section for setting a warning-necessity mode indicating necessity of outputting the warning in accordance with the user'"'"'s operation,

wherein, when the warning-necessity mode indicates that the warning output is unnecessary, the warning section does not give the warning.

3. The hands-free telephone apparatus of claim 1,

wherein the telephone set is a mobile telephone set connecting to a mobile telephone network, and

the hands-free telephone apparatus is mounted in a vehicle.

4. The hands-free telephone apparatus of claim 1,

wherein the state of the telephone set is a state of whether there is a setting of a dial lock for invalidating the user'"'"'s operation of dial keys or the like, and

the warning section warns the user to release the setting of the dial lock of the telephone set to the user when the state of the telephone set obtained by the state-information obtaining section is a state of being set to a dial lock.

5. The hands-free telephone apparatus of claim 1,

wherein the state of the telephone set is a state of whether there is a setting of a manner mode for informing the user of receiving a call without sounding an audible ringing at a call incoming time, and

the warning section warns the user to release the setting of the manner mode of the telephone set to the user when the state of the telephone set obtained by the state-information obtaining section is a state of being set to a manner mode.

6. The hands-free telephone apparatus of claim 1,

wherein the state of the telephone set is a state of whether the telephone set is using an Internet connection service, and

the warning section warns the user to terminate the use of the Internet connection service when the state of the telephone obtained by the state-information obtaining section is a state of using the Internet connection service.

7. The hands-free telephone apparatus of claim 1,

wherein the warning section gives a warning to the user when the state of the telephone obtained by the state-information obtaining section is a state of restricting a function of the hands-free telephone apparatus available to the user regardless of a state of the hands-free telephone apparatus.

8. The hands-free telephone apparatus of claim 7,

wherein the state of the telephone set is a state of whether there is a setting of a message-memo mode for recording received voice by automatically responding at a call incoming time, and

the warning section warns the user to release the setting of the message-memo mode of the telephone set to the user when the state of the telephone obtained by the state-information obtaining section is a state of being set to a message-memo mode and when the hands-free telephone apparatus is not set to a mode of automatically responding at a call incoming time.

9. The hands-free telephone apparatus of claim 7,

wherein the state of the telephone set is a state of whether there is a setting of an answer-phone mode for using an answer-phone service provided by an answer-phone center on a telephone network at a call receiving time, and

the warning section warns the user to release the setting of the answer phone of the telephone set to the user when the state of the telephone obtained by the state-information obtaining section is a state of being set to a answer-phone mode and when the hands-free telephone apparatus is not set to a mode of automatically responding at a call receiving time.

10. The hands-free telephone apparatus of claim 7,

wherein the state of the telephone set is a state of whether there is a setting of an automatic receiving mode for automatically responding to an incoming call at a call incoming time, and

the warning section warns the user to release the setting of the automatic receiving mode of the telephone set to the user when the state of the telephone obtained by the state-information obtaining section is a state of being set to an automatic receiving and when the hands-free telephone apparatus is not set to a mode of automatically responding at a call receiving time.

11. The hands-free telephone apparatus of claim 7,

wherein the state of the telephone set is a state of whether there is a setting of a packet communication mode for carrying out packet communication, and

the warning section warns the user to set the telephone set to a line switching mode for carrying out line switching communication when the state of the telephone obtained by the state-information obtaining section is a state of being set to a packet communication mode and when the hands-free telephone apparatus is set to a mode of carrying out line switching communication.

12. The hands-free telephone apparatus of claim 7,

wherein the state of the telephone set is a state of whether there is a setting of line switching communication for carrying out line switching communication, and

the warning section warns the user to set the telephone set to a packet communication mode for carrying out packet communication when the state of the telephone obtained by the state-information obtaining section is a state of being set to a line switching communication mode and when the hands-free telephone apparatus is set to a mode of carrying out packet communication.

13. The hands-free telephone apparatus according to claim 12,

wherein the telephone set is a mobile telephone set connecting to a mobile telephone network, and

the hands-free telephone apparatus is mounted in a vehicle.

14. A hands-free telephone apparatus for adding a hands-free telephone function to a connected telephone set, the apparatus comprising:

a speaker for outputting voice received by the connected telephone set;

a microphone for inputting voice to be transmitted from the connected telephone set;

a model-information storage section for storing model information indicating a correlation between a model of a telephone set and a command for setting/changing a function of the hands-free telephone apparatus available to the user to a non-restricted state of the hands-free telephone apparatus function from the telephone set of the model for a plurality of models;

a model-identification information obtaining section for obtaining model-identification information indicating a model of the telephone set from the connected telephone set when the telephone set is connected;

a telephone-set state setting section for issuing the command to the connected telephone set when the model-identification information storage section stores model information indicating a command corresponding to a model indicated by the model-identification information obtained by the model-identification information obtaining section;

a state-information obtaining section for obtaining state information indicating a state of the telephone set from the connected telephone set when the model-identification information storage section does not store model information indicating a command corresponding to a model indicated by the model-identification information obtained by the model-identification information obtaining section; and

a warning section for warning the user to change the state of the telephone set when the state of the telephone set obtained by the state-information obtaining section restricts a function of the hands-free telephone apparatus available to a user.

15. The hands-free telephone apparatus according to claim 14,

wherein the warning section gives a warning to the user when the state of the telephone obtained by the state-information obtaining section is a state of restricting a function of the hands-free telephone apparatus available to the user regardless of a state of the hands-free telephone apparatus.

16. The hands-free telephone apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising:

a warning-necessity setting section for setting a warning-necessity mode indicating necessity of outputting the warning in accordance with the user'"'"'s operation,

wherein, when the warning-necessity mode indicates that the warning output is unnecessary, the warning section does not give the warning.

17. The hands-free telephone apparatus according to claim 14,

wherein the telephone set is a mobile telephone set connecting to a mobile telephone network, and

the hands-free telephone apparatus is mounted in a vehicle.

18. A method of supporting use of a hands-free telephone apparatus, the hands-free telephone apparatus comprising a speaker for outputting voice received by a connected mobile telephone set and a microphone for inputting voice transmitted from the connected mobile telephone, the method comprising the steps of:

obtaining model-identification information indicating a model of the telephone set from the connected telephone set when the telephone set is connected to the hands-free telephone apparatus;

issuing a command to the connected telephone set when the hands-free telephone apparatus already knows the command for setting/changing a function of the hands-free telephone apparatus available to the user to a non-restricted state;

obtaining state information indicating a state of the telephone set from the connected telephone set when the hands-free telephone apparatus does not know the command for setting/changing a function of the hands-free telephone apparatus available to the user to a non-restricted state; and

giving a warning to change the state of the telephone set to the user when the obtained state of the telephone set restricts a function of the hands-free telephone apparatus available to the user.

19. The method of claim 18,

wherein the telephone set is connecting to a mobile telephone network, and

the hands-free telephone apparatus is mounted in a vehicle.