EP0740482A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Telephone management system for answering a transfering calls in a system including a mobile cellular phone
Assignee: HP Inc
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Filing: 1995-04-28
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2015-04-28
Abstract
Abstract A telephone management system 10 provides appropriate routing of an incoming call to a user with both a cellular phone 14 and a cordless phone 36. The telephone management system 10 is connected to a switching fabric 28 and selectively routes incoming calls to a cellular phone 14, a cordless phone 36, or a further telephone 65 or answering machine 64, dependent on the operational statuses of the cellular phone 14 and the cordless phone 36 as deduced by the presence or absence of the cellular phone 14 and the cordless phone 36 at their respective base stations 12 and 34. Presence of the phones 14 and 16 may be determined by checking for current flow through the respective chargers 16 and 38. The management system 10 may also be connected to a single line 30 to provide appropriate routing of incoming calls.
Inventors
- 👤 Graeme John Proudler
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 12:19
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04M; H04M1/00; H04M1/006; H04M1/72; H04M1/725; H04M1/72502; H04M1/72505; H04M3/00; H04M3/42; H04M3/54
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 14
Claim 1
Independent Claim
83 words
A telephone management system for use with a wirefree phone and a further phone or message management means, said system defining a base station for said wirefree phone and including means for determining the presence or absence of said wirefree phone at said base station, thereby to deduce the operational status thereof, and means for selectively routing an incoming call to said wirefree phone, or to said further phone or message management means, dependent on the absence or presence of the wirefree phone.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
16 words
A telephone management system according to Claim 1, wherein said wirefree phone comprises a cellular phone.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
36 words
A telephone management system according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein said wirefree phone incorporates a rechargeable battery, and said wirefree phone base station includes electrical charging means for charging the battery of said wirefree phone.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
38 words
A telephone management system according to Claim 3, wherein said means for determining the presence or absence of said wirefree phone comprises current detector means responsive in use to current consumption by said wirefree phone electrical charging means.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
83 words
A telephone management system according to any preceding Claim, wherein said further phone or message management means includes a further wirefree phone, and said system further defines a base station for said further wirefree phone and includes means for determining the presence or absence of said further wirefree phone at said base station thereby to deduce the operational status thereof, and said means for selectively routing is responsive also to the presence or absence of said further wirefree phone at its base station.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
17 words
A telephone management system according to Claim 5, wherein said further wirefree phone comprises a cordless phone.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
39 words
A telephone management system according to Claim 5 or 6, wherein said further wirefree phone incorporates a rechargeable battery, and said further wirefree phone base station includes electrical charging means for charging the battery of said further wirefree phone.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
40 words
A telephone management system according to Claim 7, wherein said means for determining the presence or absence of said further wirefree phone comprises current detector means responsive in use to current consumption by said further wirefree phone electrical charging means.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
68 words
A telephone management system according to any one of Claims 5 to 8, wherein said system further includes telephone answering means operable to transmit an outgoing message and/or record an incoming message, and wherein said means for selectively routing is operable to route an incoming call to said telephone answering machine if neither wirefree phone is operational or if the selected phone is busy or does not answer.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
57 words
A telephone management system according to any one of Claims 5 to 8, wherein said system includes a further phone, and wherein said means for selectively routing is operable to route an incoming call to said further phone if neither of said wirefree phones is operational, or if the selected phone is busy or does not answer.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
120 words
A telephone management system according to Claim 1 wherein said wirefree phone is a cellular phone, and said further phone or message management means includes a cordless phone, and said system has access to a plurality of lines and a switching fabric, and said selective routing is as follows:- (i) if the cellular phone is away from its base station, incoming calls are routed to the cellular phone, (ii) if only the cordless phone is away from its base station, incoming calls are routed to the cordless phone, (iii) if neither the cellular phone nor the cordless phone is away from its respective base station, incoming calls are selectively diverted to an alternative destination or to a telephone answering means.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
126 words
A telephone management system according to Claim 1 wherein said wirefree phone is a cellular phone, and said further phone or message management means includes a cordless phone and said system has access to a single line, and said selective routing is as follows:- (i) if the cellular phone is away from its base station, incoming calls are routed to a telephone answering means, which optionally instructs the caller to dial the cellular phone number direct, (ii) if only the cordless phone is away from its base station, incoming calls are routed to the cordless phone, (iii) if neither the cellular phone nor the cordless phone is away from its respective base station, incoming calls are routed to a normal phone or a telephone answering means.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
131 words
A telephone management apparatus for use with a wirefree phone connectable to an associated base station, and a further phone or message management means, said apparatus being operable for selectively routing incoming calls to said wirefree phone or said further phone or message management means, said apparatus comprising:- interface means for being connected in use to a telephone line or switching fabric to transmit or receive calls via said telephone line or switching fabric; presence detector means for detecting the presence of said wirefree phone at said base station; and call routing means responsive to said presence detector means to route an incoming call received via said interface means to said wirefree phone or to said further phone or message management means, dependent on the output of said presence detector means.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
75 words
A telephone management apparatus according to Claim 13, wherein said further phone or message management means includes a further wirefree phone connectable to a further wirefree phone base station, and said apparatus includes further presence detector means for detecting the presence of said further wirefree phone, and said call routing means is responsive also to said further presence detector means selectively to route an incoming call to said wirefree phone or said further wirefree phone.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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