System for digital radio communication between a wireless LAN and a PBX

• US 7,492,748 B2
• Filed: 11/06/2006
• Issued: 02/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Symbol Technologies, LLC (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Symbol Technologies, Inc. (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Inventors: Heiman, Fred P., McGlynn, Daniel R., Swartz, Jerome, Beach, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAN, MAN U
• Application Number:
  US11/593,624
• Publication Number:
  US 20070177560A1
• Time in Patent Office: 834 Days
• Field of Search: 370329-338, 370349-401, 379 58- 60, 379265-266, 455432-435, 455553-555
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/00 Methods or arrangements for effecting co-operative working between equipments covered by two or more of main groups G06K1/00 - G06K15/00, e.g. automatic card files incorporating conveying and reading operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/343 Cards including a counter
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3552 Downloading or loading of personalisation data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/00 Mechanisms actuated by objects other than coins to free or to actuate vending, hiring, coin or paper currency dispensing or refunding apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/02 by keys or other credit registering devices
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0036 Checkout procedures
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/14 Systems including one or more distant stations co-operating with a central processing unit data transmission in general H04L; telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station H04Q9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2535 adapted for voice communication over an Internet Protocol [IP] network Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network equipment and services H04M7/006; implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP] H04L69/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/57 Arrangements for indicating or recording the number of the calling subscriber at the called subscriber's set at the operator set in a manual exchange H04M5/20
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/663 Preventing unauthorised calls to a telephone set
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72403 with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/7243 with interactive means for internal management of messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72445 for supporting Internet browser applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/725 Cordless telephones user interfaces specially adapted therefor H04M1/724
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/733 with a plurality of base stations connected to a plurality of lines for selection in cordless PBX H04W84/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition speech recognition per se G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/18 : wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/20 : hybrid systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/22 : Automatic class or number identification arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/38 : Graded-service arrangements, i.e. some subscribers prevented from establishing certain connections queuing arrangements H04Q3/64
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42042 : Notifying the called party of information on the calling party details within substation equipment H04M1/57, signalling details H04Q3/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42059 : Making use of the calling party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42246 : where the subscriber uses a multi-mode terminal which moves and accesses different networks with at least one network having a wireline access including cordless PBX
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42314 : in private branch exchanges
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/533 : Voice mail systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 : Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/12 : for working between exchanges having different types of switching equipment, e.g. power-driven and step by step or decimal and non-decimal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 : Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/00 : Wireless network protocols or protocol adaptations to wireless operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 : WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/16 : WPBX [Wireless Private Branch Exchange]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 : Inter-networking arrangements

Abstract

A wireless local area network for digital radio communication between remote devices and a PBX telephone system, wherein the remote devices can access and use the voice message features in the PBX and the data bases on a host computer and servers. A wireless phone is provided for voice and data communication through the PBX or a CO telephone line with remote locations or the Internet using digital data packets and standard Internet Protocol. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the remote device is a cash register comprising a bar code scanner and a phone. Radio communication between the register and a host computer is carried out over two channels, a first channel for data communication and a second channel for voice communication.

Claims

1. A communication gateway for a wireless telephone system for communicating with a plurality of mobile units, each unit having a network address and a telephone extension address, said gateway including:

a memory for correlating telephone extension addresses of said mobile units with network addresses of said mobile units, said gateway connected to an access point and a public switched network;

wherein said mobile units can provide telephone communication with other mobile units using said network addresses without using the gateway, and wherein said mobile units can receive telephone communication from said public switched network addressed to said telephone extension addresses via said gateway.

2. A wireless system of claim 1 wherein said mobile units are IP phones and said network addresses are IP addresses.

3. A wireless system of claim 1 wherein said gateway is connected to said public switched network via a PBX.

4. A wireless system of claim 1 wherein said mobile units are arranged to generate DTMF tones and to communicate said DTMF tones as data messages to said gateway via said access point to establish a telephone connection to said public switched network.

5. A wireless system of claim 1 wherein said mobile units can provide telephone communication with other mobile units via said gateway using said telephone extension addresses.

6. The wireless system of claim 5 wherein said mobile units are arranged to generate DTMF tones and to communicate said DTMF tones as data messages to said gateway via said access point to establish a telephone connection to said other mobile units.

7. A wireless telephone system, comprising:

a plurality of mobile units, each having a network address and a telephone extension address;

and an interface unit connected to an access point, said interface unit including a memory for correlating telephone extension addresses of said mobile units and network addresses of said mobile units;

wherein said mobile units can provide telephone communication with other mobile units using said network addresses without using the gateway, and wherein said mobile units can receive telephone communication from other mobile units addressed to said telephone extension addresses via said interface unit.

8. The wireless system of claim 7 wherein said interface unit comprises a gateway for providing said correlation.

9. The wireless system of claim 7 wherein said correlation is a mapping between the telephone extension addresses and the network addresses.

10. The wireless system of claim 7 wherein said interface unit comprises a PBX.

11. The wireless system of claim 7 wherein said mobile units are arranged to generate DTMF tones and to communicate said DTMF tones as data messages to said interface unit via said access point to establish a telephone connection to said public switched network.

12. The wireless system of claim 7 wherein said mobile units can provide telephone communication with other mobile units via said interface unit using said telephone extension addresses.

13. The wireless system of claim 12 wherein said mobile units are arranged to generate DTMF tones and to communicate said DTMF tones as data messages to said interface unit via said access point to establish a telephone connection to said other mobile units.

14. The wireless system of claim 7 wherein said mobile units can receive telephone communication from said public switched network addressed to said telephone extension addresses via said interface unit.

15. In a local area network having at least one access point for providing wireless communication to mobile units, and a gateway connected to an access point and a public switched network, a method of providing telephone service to the mobile units, said method comprising:

storing telephone extension numbers and network addresses assigned to the mobile units;

receiving, for out-going calls, DTMF signals from the mobile units as data messages via said access point to establish external telephone connections from the mobile units to said public switched network; and

receiving, for incoming calls, signals from said public switched network representing telephone extension numbers and providing a correspondence between said telephone extension numbers and network addresses to establish telephone connections from said public switched network to the mobile units;

wherein said mobile units can provide telephone communication with other mobile units using said network addresses without using the gateway.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

transmitting said DTMF signals to a PBX.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein said signals received from said public switched network are received via a PBX.

18. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

receiving DTMF signals representing telephone extension numbers from the mobile units via said access point to establish telephone connections from the mobile units to other mobile units; and

providing a correspondence between said telephone extension numbers and network addresses to establish telephone connections from the mobile units to the other mobile units.

19. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

establishing telephone connections using data messages between the mobile units using said network addresses.

20. A telephone system, comprising:

a PBX having a gateway for providing a correspondence between telephone numbers, including telephone extension numbers, and network addresses;

telephone extensions having telephone numbers connected to said PBX;

at least one data communications access point connected to said gateway of said PBX; and

a plurality of wireless digital phones, arranged for radio data communication with said access point and each having a network address corresponding to a telephone number;

wherein said PBX receives telephone numbers corresponding to said wireless digital phones mobile units and establishes a connection to said wireless digital phone via said access point using said corresponding network address, and wherein said wireless digital phones generate DTMF signals corresponding to a telephone number of a telephone extension and provide said DTMF signals as a data message to said PBX via said access point to establish a connection to said telephone number;

wherein said wireless digital phones can provide telephone communication with other wireless digital phones using said network addresses without using the gateway.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein at least one of the plurality of wireless digital phones assigns distinctive rings to different priority calls.