1163 results about "Radiotelephone" patented technology

A conference call facility is described in which one (2a) of a group of communication devices (2a,2b,2c,2d) connected to a low power radio frequency network (9) is able to set up a call to a party external of the network (9) and then selectively add further devices (2a,2b,2c) to the call under the control of the user of the one device (2a). The users of the other devices (2b,2c) are able to enable or disable the selection of their device in a conference call. One or more of the communication devices may be a mobile radio telephone equipped with the necessary network interface (1).

A time / location information delivery system that provides focused advertising and / or other information to individuals based on the time and their location. A wireless identification device is carried by an individual and can be read from or written to when the individual passes by interrogators in a specific geographic location. The detectors read ID information embedded in the wireless identification device. A computer uses the ID and location information to select, from a list of information providers, those information providers which provide information content identifiable or correlated to a location and / or time, and is of interest to the individual. The information content can be forwarded to the individual by a variety of information channels. One channel uses conventional Internet email to deliver advertisements and other information to the individual's Internet mailbox. The email can be delivered to a conventional PC, a portable computer, a PDA, an intelligent telephone, pager or other suitable device. For ease of discussion, a pager and a PDA will be referred to collectively as a PDA. The wireless identification device can be an RFID tag embedded in a card, or even a wireless telephone. The RFID tag is read or written to by fixed interrogators and the location of the wireless telephone is detected by triangulating information from cell towers or by embedding the GPS receiver in the wireless telephone thereby providing the location information directly from the telephone. Of course, other nearly identical location determination means, such as quadrangulation could also be used. The location determination can be performed through similar means with other devices such as PDAs, laptops, pagers, etc.

A system and method of providing an integrated wireless telecommunications network including a cellular network portion and a packet-switched network portion. The cellular network portion provides legacy mobile telecommunications functionality to mobile subscribers. The packet-switched network portion is provided for transporting communication traffic, wherein the communication traffic comprises traffic originated from a mobile subscriber, traffic intended for a mobile subscriber, or both. The network also includes a gateway disposed between the cellular network portion and the packet-switched network portion for providing a communication path therebetween. An interworking interface module is provided between the cellular network portion and the packet-switched network portion. The interworking interface module preferably comprises a mobility gateway and an IP client (or proxy), wherein the mobility gateway handles mobility management information and the translation of control signaling information between the cellular network portion and the packet-switched network portion. The IP client handles communication traffic with one or more associated servers disposed in the PSN with respect to, e.g., mobility management, security / authentication, and subscriber services of the mobile subscriber.

A user may utilize a communication device, e.g., a wireless phone, mobile device or personal digital assistant (PDA), to contact an information / call center where an operator provides personalized information and communications services to the user in accordance with the invention. Such services include, e.g., providing listing information, contacts information, appointments information, etc. To provide effective connectivity, for example, when a user locates a phone number in his / her private directory using a web browser, the user may utilize a direct connect feature of the invention to initiate a phone call to the desired number over the Internet. In addition, the invention allows for delivery of the appointments information to the user not only via voice connection, but also SMS, email, facsimile, PDA, etc. It also allows for rendering a calendaring service in combination with such services as a TeleConcierge® service which helps the user to plan a future event, e.g., making a restaurant reservation. An appointment record concerning the future event is automatically incorporated into the user's calendar once it is successfully planned. To personalize the services, at least one profile associated with the user is used which specifies the subscribed services and the preferred ways of receiving them. For example, the profile may specify use of a special skilled operator, methods of delivery of information to the user, etc.

In a broadband communications system, e.g., a cable system, programming content can be readily reserved and accessed for viewing using an interactive program guide, a network home graphic user interface (GUI), Quick View Guide, etc., in accordance with the invention. Such programming content may include in-progress programs, future programs and previously broadcast programs which are recorded at a headend in the cable system, and which may or may not have overlapping broadcast times. In addition, the user may reserve programs at a set-top terminal, and may also do so remotely from the terminal through a communications network such as, the Internet, a public switched telephone network (PSTN), a wireless telephone network, etc.

A matching network system including communication devices, servers and software which enables the provisioning of services and execution of transactions based on a plurality of private and public personality profiles and behavior models of the users, of the communication devices, of the products / services and of the servers; in combination with the software resident at the communication device level and or the local / network server level. Matching and searching processes based on a plurality of personality profiles wherein the information, communication and transactions are enabled to be matched with the user, the communication device and or the servers. The communication device is a stationary device or a mobile device, such as a portable computing device, wireless telephone, cellular telephone, personal digital assistant, or a multifunction communication, computing and control device.

A system and method permit a customer obtaining communication services to modify account parameters governing terms on which that service is provided. Customer account parameters are stored in one or more databases and accessed by one or more servers. The customer, upon accessing the communication service, is provided with an opportunity to modify the account parameters via automated interactive communication with the server. The invention can applied to wireless communication services such as wireless telephone service, wireless internet access, paging, or other forms of interactive wireless communication; to telephone or other wired interactive communication; to cable services; and to any other form of interactive subscriber communications. The invention may be implemented using existing equipment, and can be optimized for the type of communication device at issue.

A location based communications system uses a physical location system (PLS) or relative position system to determine a communication unit's location in two or three dimensions, and is configured for radiotelephonic calls through intermediary communications satellite systems, cellular systems or other mobile systems and land line systems, based on the location G# of the called telephone or on a caller-defined estimated area or space termed a G zone number GZ# surrounding the desired callee. The system is particularly advantageous for mobile communications, and may be interfaced with conventional stationary telephones, cellular phones and other communications devices. Multiple telephone units may be simultaneously contacted with messages in user-defined languages. Emergency features enable the location based communication system to locate and notify the nearest and / or best equipped party for assistance in the event of an emergency, issue warnings to all phones in a specific area of any size, calculate vehicle velocities and control traffic.

Satellite radiotelephone systems include a space-based component that is configured to provide wireless radiotelephone communications in a satellite footprint over a satellite radiotelephone frequency band. The satellite footprint is divided into a plurality of satellite cells, in which satellite radiotelephone frequencies of the satellite radiotelephone frequency band are spatially reused. An ancillary terrestrial network is configured to terrestrially reuse at least one of the ancillary radiotelephone frequencies that is used in a satellite cell in the satellite footprint, outside the cell and in some embodiments separated therefrom by a spatial guardband.

A communication system comprising at least one mobile handheld telephone handset adapted to communicate via a wireless telephony medium with a telephone network handling system. The handset comprises input devices to receive input from a user and produce signals dependent thereupon, an onboard processor to adapt speech input to produce a voice transmission signal as part of a telephone conversation with a third party; and an antenna to transmit the voice transmission signal via the wireless telephony medium. The telephone network handling system comprises a receiver to receive the voice transmission signal, and means to forward the voice signal to a third party. The handset further comprises a first processor to carry out a first processing step on selected input signals and produce data dependent thereupon which preserves predetermined information necessary to carry out a remote second processing step, an onboard processor to adapt the data according to a conventional wireless telephony protocol to produce a transmission signal, and an antenna to transmit the transmission signal via the wireless telephony medium to the telephone network handling system. The system further comprises a remote processor adapted to receive and adapt the transmission signal from the telephone network handling system to regenerate the data, and to carry out a second processing step on the data and produce an output dependent thereupon.

In configuring data synchronization between two devices, the first device generates a user configuration interface to be presented on the second device. The user interface elicits information from a user regarding a personal information manager (PIM) that is installed on the second device. This information is transmitted to the first device, which downloads to the second device a synchronization application package based on the PIM. The user interface installs the synchronization application on the second device, obtains information regarding data to be synchronized, and transmits that information to the synchronization application. This information may include names and locations of folders to be synchronized and synchronization preferences such as synchronization direction and schedule. The devices may include servers, PCs, PDAs, handheld computers, and wireless phones. The server may be network-based, accessible via the Internet, a LAN, or the PSTN. Alternatively, the connection between the devices may be local or dedicated, and wired or wireless.

A space-based network for a satellite radiotelephone system includes at least one receive-only satellite and at least one transmit satellite. The transmit satellite can be a transmit-only satellite or a transmit and receive satellite. The receive-only satellite(s) are configured to receive wireless communications from a radiotelephone at a location over a satellite frequency band. The transmit satellite(s) are configured to transmit wireless communications to the radiotelephone at the location over the satellite frequency band. By providing at least one receive-only satellite and at least one transmit satellite, space-based networks can offer a significant link margin, without the need to undesirably burden the radiotelephones themselves to achieve this link margin.

A space-based component, such as a satellite, is configured to receive wireless communications from radiotelephones in a satellite footprint over an uplink satellite radiotelephone frequency, and to transmit wireless communications to the radiotelephones over a downlink radiotelephone frequency. An ancillary terrestrial network, that may include one or more ancillary terrestrial components, is configured to transmit wireless communications to, and receive wireless communications from, the radiotelephones over the uplink satellite radiotelephone frequency in a time-division duplex mode. An interference reducer is configured to reduce interference from the wireless communications that are received by the space-based component from the second radiotelephone and / or from the ancillary terrestrial network over the uplink satellite radiotelephone frequency, using the wireless communications that are transmitted by the ancillary terrestrial to, and / or received by the ancillary terrestrial network from, the second radiotelephone over the uplink satellite radiotelephone frequency.

A satellite radiotelephone system includes a space-based component, a plurality of ancillary terrestrial components, and a plurality of radiotelephones. The space-based component is configured to provide wireless radiotelephone communications using satellite radiotelephone frequencies. The plurality of ancillary terrestrial components include a plurality of ancillary terrestrial component antennas configured to provide wireless radiotelephone communications using at least one of the satellite radiotelephone frequencies in a radiation pattern that increases radiation below the horizon compared to above the horizon. The plurality of radiotelephones are configured to communicate with the space-based component and with the plurality of ancillary terrestrial components. Each radiotelephone also includes a GPS signal processor and a GPS mode filter that is configured to suppress energy at (1575.42-.DELTA.) MHz, where 0<.DELTA..ltoreq.16.42 MHz. Related radiotelephones and methods are also discussed.

A system and method for notifying an offline global computer network user of an online interaction in which the offline user could participate. The system and method specify notification criteria of the offline user, monitor activities occurring on the global computer network, compare the activities to the notification criteria, and, if the activities satisfy the notification criteria, forward an offline communication to the offline user, which notifies the offline user of the online interaction. Examples of the online interactions include chat rooms, game sites, instant messaging services, auctions, and calls made over the global computer network. Examples of the offline communication include calls to a wireline telephone, calls to a wireless telephone, messages to a caller identification device, messages to a wireless access protocol device, messages to a one-way pager, and messages to an interactive pager.

A system for controlling wireless phone usage enables a supervisor to establish user profiles for supervised users of wireless phones across a range of parameters, which are stored in a user profile database. Such parameters can include one or more locations, at which use of the wireless phone is restricted or permitted. In addition, restrictions on phone use, such as cumulative usage time, number of messages or number of bytes, can be provided based upon total phone usage within a specified control period, time periods, dates or days of the week during which phone use is restricted or permitted. One or more lists including numbers or other identifiers that are always-accessible can be provided, and one or more lists including numbers or other identifiers that are never-accessible can also be provided. In the event a call, message or browse does not satisfy predefined criteria, the communication attempt is blocked. Predetermined messages can be played or displayed to the called or calling party, as applicable, when a communication attempt is blocked. Boolean combinations of restrictions and permissive use criteria for the wireless phone can be specified to provide for flexibility when establishing use criteria for the wireless phone.

A system and method for automatically detecting a peripheral device in communication with a wireless device, such as a wireless telephone, and requesting a driver for the peripheral from a remote server via a wireless communications network. After the driver is received and installed, the wireless device checks automatically for availability of a new version of the driver from the remote server. If there is a new version, the new driver will be downloaded to the wireless handheld device.

An Automatic Purchase System (APS) provides a radio broadcast listener with the ability to conveniently purchase media content such as music or speech while listening to the radio. The user can respond to items in the radio broadcast such as advertisements, fund raising drives such as those conducted by public radio, or interactive listener polls during the broadcast. Data such as song title and artist, author or publisher and the IP address for the location where the digital version of the content is stored, can be transmitted using the RBDS / RDS data stream. A reference number representing song title and artist, author or publisher and the IP address for the location where the digital version of the content is stored can also be employed for ease of implementation. This reference number can reside in a lookup table to be accessed by the APS server software on a Data Server located at the broadcast site, a remote site or both for purposes of redundancy. Transmission of purchase requests from a Technology Enabled Radio (TER) is provided via wireless transmission, or by accessing the Internet using a personal computer or through a cellular or wireless phone.

Embodiments of the invention provide methods, systems, and devices for enabling data communication between an IMD and a host computer. In one embodiment, a device is provided that comprises a frequency and protocol agile transceiver capable of communicating with an IMD via a short range communications link and with a host computer via a long range wireless communications link. The transceiver may be utilized by the device to retrieve clinical data stored in the IMD and to transmit the clinical data directly to the host computer via the long range wireless communications link. An apparatus is provided according to another embodiment of the invention that comprises an interface between an IMD and a communications device, such as a wireless telephone or a two-way wireless pager. The interface can communicate directly with the IMD to retrieve clinical data stored in the IMD and can utilize the communications device to transmit the clinical data to a host computer.

A multi-configuration portable electronic device is provided. The device includes at least one processor, a first body element including at least one input, and a second body element including a display. The second body element is pivotally coupled to the first body element such that the device can be positioned into a plurality of physical configurations. In response to a change in the physical configuration of the device, there is a change in at least two of a mode of operation of the input device, a mode of operation of the display, and an active software application being executed by the processor. In a preferred embodiment, the physical configurations of the device include a portrait configuration in which the device functions as a wireless phone, and a landscape configuration in which the device functions as a text messaging pager, PDA, handheld computer, electronic organizer, or media player. Also provided is a method of operating a portable electronic device having a plurality of physical configurations.

A mobile telephone comprises a telephony unit to process wireless telephony signals and a browser to enable the user to navigate hypermedia information via a wireless network. The telephony unit receives a signal indicating an incoming telephone call with Caller-ID information. The telephony unit provides the Caller-ID information to the browser, which uses the Caller-ID information to identify an action or data previously associated with the Caller-ID information. In one embodiment, the browser looks up ring tone data associated with the Caller-ID information and provides the ring tone data to the telephony unit, which causes a ring tone to be generated based on the ring tone data. Distinctive ring tones may be associated with particular callers or groups of callers. The browser may request ring tone data from a remote server over the wireless network.

A device for matching an antenna impedance in a portable radio telephone having transmission and receiving circuits, a foldable casing enclosing the radio, the foldable casing movable between an unfolded position and a folded position, an antenna movable between an extracted position from the foldable casing and a retracted position into the foldable casing includes means for sensing whether the foldable casing is in the unfolded position and for sensing whether the antenna is in the extracted position, and for providing a sensing signal in response thereto, and means for matching an impedance of the antenna and an impedance of the radio in response to the sensing signal, thereby making an optimal matching of impedances between the antenna and the radio according to the states of the folder casings and the antenna, and according to the transmission / reception mode.

A method for exchanging voice messages that may be employed in an answering machine, in wired or wireless telephone, or in an voice messaging system. An incoming voice message from a message source is received and recorded, parsed into segments, and the parsed message is played back to a listener, pausing between each of the parsed segments to accept and record a spoken response from the listener. A reply message is returned to the original message source that includes each such spoken response along with a snippet extracted from the particular segment responded to in the original message. The listener may also interrupt the playback of the voice message at any time to record a response.

A system for providing a wide range of telecommunications initiated data fulfillment services in which a multi-function code, such as “*#” (star, pound), input into an originating telecommunications device, such as a conventional land-line or wireless telephone, triggers the treatment of the input sequence as a multi-function code service request rather than a dialed directory number. The multi-function code is followed by an input data string to complete the multi-function code service request, which the user typically enters into the telecommunications device just like a conventional telephone call, except that the input string begins with the multi-function code. The telecommunications system recognizes the multi-function code as a trigger, and in response takes one or more actions, such as automatically terminating the call to an announcement and routing a data message to a data fulfillment center, which responds to the message by implementing a response action indicated by the multi-function code service request. For example, the data fulfillment center may respond by transmitting a message over a wireless data network or the Internet to implement a service, such as activation of a vending machine, remote control of device, delivery of a message over the Internet or wireless data network, initiation of an interactive Internet session with the originating device, or a wide range of other services. In addition, a charge for this service may be automatically charged to an account associated with the originating telecommunications device, which may be billed separately or incorporated on the user's conventional monthly telecommunications invoice.

A communication system is provided. The communication system includes a host unit that is adapted to communicate wireless telephony signals with a telephony network and adapted to communicate wireless data with at least one data network. A communication link carries both the wireless telephony signals and the wireless data. At least one remote antenna unit is communicatively coupled to the host unit over the communication link. The remote antenna unit communicates the wireless telephony signals and the wireless data with wireless terminals. The at least one remote unit further communicates digitized telephony signals and wireless data signals with the host unit over the communication link.

A user may utilize a communication device, e.g., a wireless phone, mobile device or personal digital assistant (PDA), to contact an information / call center where an operator provides personalized information and communications services to the user in accordance with the invention. Such services include, e.g., providing listing information, contacts information, appointments information, etc. To provide effective connectivity, for example, when a user locates a phone number in his / her private directory using a web browser, the user may utilize a direct connect feature of the invention to initiate a phone call to the desired number over the Internet. In addition, the invention allows for delivery of the appointments information to the user not only via voice connection, but also SMS, email, facsimile, PDA, etc. It also allows for rendering a calendaring service in combination with such services as a TeleConcierge® service which helps the user to plan a future event, e.g., making a restaurant reservation. An appointment record concerning the future event is automatically incorporated into the user's calendar once it is successfully planned. To personalize the services, at least one profile associated with the user is used which specifies the subscribed services and the preferred ways of receiving them. For example, the profile may specify use of a special skilled operator, methods of delivery of information to the user, etc.

Methods, systems and devices implement changes in operating mode for a media player, wireless telephone, portable computer or other device having a force sensor and a proximity sensor. A force indication is received from the force sensor and a proximity indication is received from the proximity sensor responsive to user input. The device is then switched from a second operating mode to a first operating mode in response to an occurrence of user input being indicated by both the force and proximity indications. A trigger event occurring during one of the operating modes evokes a response by the device that is not evoked by the trigger event in the other of the first and the second operating modes.

A satellite radiotelephone system includes a space-based component, an ancillary terrestrial network, a monitor and a controller. The space-based component is configured to wirelessly communicate with radiotelephones in a satellite footprint over a satellite radiotelephone frequency band. The satellite footprint is divided into satellite cells in which subsets of the satellite radiotelephone frequency band are spatially reused in a spatial reuse pattern. The ancillary terrestrial network is configured to wirelessly communicate with radiotelephones in the satellite footprint over at least some of the satellite radiotelephone frequency band, to thereby terrestrially reuse the at least some of the satellite radiotelephone frequency band. The monitor is configured to monitor wireless radiation at the space-based component that is produced by the ancillary terrestrial network and / or the radiotelephones in satellite cells that adjoin a satellite cell and / or in the satellite cell, in at least part of the subset of the satellite radiotelephone frequency band that is assigned to the satellite cell for space-based component communications. The controller is configured to adjust the radiation by the ancillary terrestrial network and / or the radiotelephones, in response to the monitor.