Accessory device for handling multiple calls on multiple mobile stations

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates generally to accessory devices for mobile stations and particularly to accessory devices for handling multiple calls on multiple mobile stations.

[0004] 2. Background of the Present Invention

[0005] In today's cellular marketplace, a mobile subscriber may have more than one subscription to a cellular service and separate mobile stations for each subscription. Alternatively, a mobile subscriber may have more than one mobile station per subscription. For example, even though many businesses now provide employees with a mobile station and associated subscription for work-related calls, the employee may also maintain a separate mobile station and associated subscription for personal calls.

[0006] For heavy users of cellular telecommunications, it is not unusual for a mobile subscriber to have more than one mobile station actively involved in a call at a time. For example, the subscriber might receive a call on one mobile station during the time that the mobile subscriber is involved in a call on another mobile station. Alternatively, a call may be originated on one mobile station, while a second call is received on another mobile station. As another example, a conversation in progress on one mobile station may cause the initiation of a call on another mobile station.

[0007] However, in most cases, it is awkward and confusing for a mobile subscriber to use more than one mobile station at the same time. For example, it may require the mobile subscriber to put down one of the mobile stations in order to talk on the other mobile station, or the mobile subscriber may have to hold both of the mobile stations, one to each ear, in order to listen and speak simultaneously on both. In some situations, this may even represent a safety hazard.

[0008] Likewise, a problem also exists in the case where the mobile stations are not owned by the same mobile subscriber, but instead are owned by different mobile subscribers, each of whom are present and wish to actively engage in conversation on theirs and the other mobile subscriber's mobile stations. In these situations, it is usually not possible for a mobile subscriber to talk on his or her mobile station, while at the same time engaging in conversation on another mobile subscriber's mobile station, especially if the other mobile subscriber is also talking on his or her mobile station.

[0009] The only way to currently effectively handle multiple calls on multiple mobile stations simultaneously is to either not receive or originate one of the calls, or terminate one of the calls once more than call is established. Consequently, the calls that are not received or originated may never be made, resulting in lost revenue for the cellular network operator for the unrealized air time. Alternatively, the calls that are not received or originated may be postponed, inconveniencing both the calling and called subscribers.

[0010] The present invention is directed to an accessory device for a mobile station that allows one or more mobile subscribers to conveniently and simply use two or more mobile stations at the same time. In addition, the accessory device also provides the ability to bridge the two or more calls into a multi-party call. The accessory device includes two or more connectors, each having a plug on either end. One plug of each connector is inserted into the hands-free port of each mobile station, while the other plug is inserted into the accessory device. The plug that is inserted into the accessory device attaches to a single speaker/microphone combination in the accessory device. Alternatively, a hands-free headset can be used instead of a built-in speaker/microphone. The accessory device also includes at least one switch to allow the mobile subscriber to select between the calls or to establish a bridge between all of the calls. In an alternative embodiment, the accessory device can communicate with each of the mobile stations wirelessly.

[0011] The disclosed invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which show important sample embodiments of the invention and which are incorporated in the specification hereof by reference, wherein:

[0012] FIG. 1 is an exemplary diagram of an accessory device for handling multiple calls on multiple mobile stations, in accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention;

[0013] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the interior of the accessory device shown in FIG. 1; and

[0014] FIG. 3 is an exemplary block diagram of the accessory device communicating wirelessly with each of the mobile stations, in accordance with alternative embodiments of the present invention.

[0015] The numerous innovative teachings of the present application will be described with particular reference to the presently preferred exemplary embodiments. However, it should be understood that this class of embodiments provides only a few examples of the many advantageous uses of the innovative teachings herein. In general, statements made in the specification of the present application do not necessarily delimit any of the various claimed inventions. Moreover, some statements may apply to some inventive features but not to others.

[0016] With reference now to FIG. 1 of the drawings, an accessory device 100 for handling multiple calls on multiple mobile stations 20a-cis shown. The accessory device 100 allows one or more mobile subscribers to use two or more mobile stations 20a-c,at the same time, with convenience and simple operation. For example, a mobile subscriber may be actively involved on a call on one mobile station 20a,and receive a call on another mobile station 20bassociated with that mobile subscriber. Alternatively, one mobile subscriber may be involved in a call on one mobile station 20aand another mobile subscriber may be involved in a call on another mobile station 20b.

[0017] To switch between the calls effectively or to bridge the calls together into a multi-party call, the mobile subscriber(s) can insert a first plug 210aon one end of a first connector 200ainto a hands-free port 25aof a first mobile station 20aand a second plug 220aon the opposite end of the first connector 200ainto a first port 110ain the accessory device 100. A second connector 200bis used for the second mobile station 20b,a third connector 200cis used for the third mobile station 20c,and so on, until all of the mobile stations 20a-cinvolved are connected into the accessory device 100 or until all of the ports 110a-con the accessory device 100 are connected to mobile stations 20a-c.

[0018] Since the physical configuration of the hands-free ports 25a-cvaries across mobile station 20a-cmodels, the connectors 200a-cmay be modular in design. For example, in one modular configuration, the connectors 200a-ccan be produced and purchased separately, with each having a different plug 210a-con one end to match the respective mobile station's hands-free port 25a-c,and a standardized plug 220a-con the other end to connect to the accessory device 100. In another configuration, standard connectors 200a-ccan be included with the accessory device 100, requiring the mobile subscriber(s) to purchase individual plug adapters (not shown) for each mobile station 20a-cmanufacturer or model line.

[0019] It should be understood that each of the mobile stations 20a-cconnected to the accessory device 100 has a wireless call connection to a respective cellular network 10, only one of which is shown. Therefore, once all of the mobile stations 20a-chave been connected to the accessory device 100, in order to switch between the calls, the mobile subscriber(s) must activate at least one switch 130a-con the accessory device 100.

[0020] Preferably, as shown in FIG. 1, each port 110a-con the accessory device 100 has a separate switch 130a-c,respectively, associated therewith. For example, if the mobile subscriber(s) wants to select the call on the first mobile station 20a,the mobile subscriber(s) can depress the switch 130aassociated with the port 110athat the first mobile station 20ais connected to. As another example, the mobile subscriber(s) can select a particular call by moving the respective switch 130ato an “on” position. Alternatively, any type of switch 130a-ccan be used to select between the calls.

[0021] If the mobile subscriber(s) wants to connect one or more of the calls together into a multi-party call, the mobile subscriber(s) can activate the switches 130a-cfor each of the mobile stations 20a-cthat the mobile subscriber(s) want to involve in the multi-party call. For example, if the mobile subscriber(s) would like only the first and second mobile stations 20aand 20b,respectively, connected to the accessory device 100 to be involved in the multi-party call, the mobile subscriber(s) would activate only the first and second switches 130aand 130b,respectively. Alternatively, instead of activating separate switches 130a-cfor each call, a single multi-party call switch (not shown) could be provided on the accessory device 100. However, if a single multi-party call switch is included, all of the calls for all of the mobile stations 20a-cconnected to the accessory device 100 would have to be bridged together. Thus, in this case, selectively bridging together certain calls would not be possible.

[0022] Once the mobile subscriber has selected one or more of the calls by activating one or more of the switches 130a-c,the mobile subscriber can engage in conversation on each of the selected calls by listening to and speaking into a single speaker/microphone combination 120. The volume of the speech received on each call can be controlled separately by separate volume dials 140a-cfor each of the switches 130a-c,respectively. Therefore, advantageously, the mobile subscriber(s) does not need to adjust the volume on the mobile stations 20a-c.Alternatively, a single volume dial (not shown) can be provided, in which case, the volume on each call would be the same.

[0023] With reference now to FIG. 2 of the drawings, a more detailed interior view of the accessory device 100 is shown. Each accessory device port 110a-cis connected to a respective line 135a-cthat leads to respective volume and gain circuitry 150a-c.The volume and gain circuitry 150a-ccan be, for example, pre-amplification stages. Preferably, the volume and/or gain is set on a per-line 135a-cbasis, in which case, a separate volume dial 140a-ccontrols each volume and gain circuitry 150a-c,respectively. Alternatively, as discussed above, a single volume dial (not shown) can control a single volume and gain circuitry (not shown). In this case, each line 135a-cleading from the ports 110a-cwould connect to the single volume and gain circuitry.

[0024] In preferred embodiments, each volume and gain circuitry 150a-cis connected to switching circuitry 160 over lines 145a-c.The switching circuitry 160 is responsible for connecting two or more calls together into a multi-party call. To bridge the calls together, the switching circuitry 160 preferably includes speech path electronics.

[0025] Each port 110a-cthat has a respective connector 200a-cplugged into it receives speech from the respective mobile station 20a-c(shown in FIG. 1) and transmits that speech over respective lines 135a-c.Each line 135a-cis controlled by a respective switch 130a-c.If a switch, for example, switch 130a,is activated for a particular line 135a,the speech received at the port 110afor that particular line 135ais transmitted over the line 135ato the respective volume and gain circuitry 150a.Once amplified, the amplified speech is transmitted over line 145afrom the volume and gain circuitry 150ato the switching circuitry 160. If amplified speech is received on two or more lines, for example, lines 145aand 145b,the switching circuitry 160 bridges the speech together into a multi-party call. Otherwise, if amplified speech is received on only one line, such as line 145a,the switching circuitry 160 simply transmits this amplified speech.

[0026] Once the amplified speech has passed through the switching circuitry 160, the amplified speech is transmitted to the combined speaker/microphone 120 over line 165. Likewise, speech received at the speaker/microphone 120 is transmitted over line 165 to the switching circuitry 160, and subsequently over lines 135a-cto the respective ports 110a-cfor each of the selected mobile stations 20a-c(shown in FIG. 1).

[0027] Optimum performance of the bridging function may also require the incorporation of a battery 170, due to the decibel (dB) drop and impedance change from the addition of the speech path electronics. The battery 170 can be a portable battery that can be easily removed from the accessory device 100 to be recharged, or the battery 170 can be included within the accessory device 100 and replaced as needed.

[0028] With reference now to FIG. 3 of the drawings, in an alternative embodiment, the mobile stations 20a-ccan be wireless connected to the accessory device 100. In this embodiment, each of the mobile stations 20a-chas a transceiver 30a-c,respectively, therein for transmitting speech to and receiving speech from the accessory device 100. Likewise, the accessory device 100 includes at least one transceiver 180 for communicating with the mobile stations 20a-c.

[0029] To implement the wireless connection, a limited distance transmission system is preferred. As an example, one such system is the Bluetooth system, which provides a point-to-point or point-to-multipoint connection over a short-range radio link in a masterslave relationship. Bluetooth operates in the unlicensed ISM band at 2.4 GigaHertz (GHz). Access to a channel between the various mobile stations 20a-cand the accessory device 100 is controlled by the master, which in this case is the accessory device 100. Speech is transmitted over the channel in packets, with each mobile station 20a-ctransmitting the packets in a pseudo-random hopping sequence through the allowed radio frequencies.

[0030] As a further alternative, instead of providing a single speaker/microphone 120 (shown in FIG. 1) within the accessory device 100, a hands-free headset 195 can be used by the mobile subscriber to listen and transmit speech to the accessory device 100. The hands-free headset 195 can be connected to the accessory device 100 at a hands-free port 190 of the accessory device 100, as is shown. Alternatively, the Bluetooth system can provide a wireless connection to the hands-free headset 195.

[0031] As will be recognized by those skilled in the art, the innovative concepts described in the present application can be modified and varied over a wide range of applications. Accordingly, the scope of patented subject matter should not be limited to any of the specific exemplary teachings discussed, but is instead defined by the following claims.