Abstract:
A wearable communication apparatus is in the form of a self-contained telephone headset that includes an integral antenna, stand-alone power supply and on-board electronics and circuitry for RF and I/R communication. The headset includes a mouthpiece that is rotatably mounted to a central housing that contains the bulk of the apparatus electronics. The mouthpiece includes an ear speaker and microphone, as well as the rechargeable power supply. The rotating end of the mouthpiece includes an array of electrical contacts that are configured to contact a complementary contact array on the central housing. The electrical contacts provide for the communication of electrical power and information between the mouthpiece and its components and the central housing and its components. The headset can be activated by rotation of the mouthpiece into its operative position and deactivated by rotation out of this position. In the deactivated position, the contact array on the mouthpiece can provided electrical communication with complementary contacts on a base unit. The base unit also provides means for integrating the headset into a local telephone network, The base unit can be connected to the network via a traditional landline, and communicate with the headset via an RF antenna. The headset includes voice recognition capabilities that allow the user to dial telephone numbers, access a memory of stored numbers, and direct certain headset functions simply by spoken commands.

Description:
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Subject matter in the present application is included in Disclosure Document No. 403212, filed on Aug. 1, 1996. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to the field of telephony, and more particularly to an apparatus integrating voice recognition, cellular phone technology and telephone headsets. 
     Presently, a plurality of headset devices are available for use in a typical PBX or telephone system. A variety of such headsets are disclosed in the Hello Direct Catalog, Spring 1997, and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,882,745 to Silver. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,102 to Rothschild, Ralph F., et al., a headset interface is disclosed that is connected to the public telephone network at a central office. The system includes automated voice features that alleviates the need for an operator to vocalize greetings and responses to users of the telephone system. This system relies upon standard ground-line based telephony, rather than cellular technology. 
     Cellular technology has been widely applied to car telephone systems. For example, a standard car mounted cell phone with a keypad on the hand set is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,261 to Fujinaka. Dialing a phone number via the keypad is awkward and potentially unsafe while operating a moving vehicle. Even when the portable phone is removed from the vehicle-mounted base, the cell phone mounted keypad still presents the same difficulties to dialing while a person is in motion or in an environment where being visually distracted can be problematic. The cell phone system in the &#39;261 Patent includes a speaker phone feature that frees a driver from having to hold the phone in the car, but this feature only adds marginally to the overall convenience and safety of the device. 
     Telephone headsets have been proposed for use with cellular systems, such as the system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,191,602 to Regen et al. The headset shown in this patent fails to eliminate many of the problems of using a cellular device. For example, when using the cellular phone in an automobile, the driver is required to be connected to a slave unit containing electronic circuitry that purports to provide a transparent interface between the headset and the existing cell phone. With this system, the headset is directly connected by a cord to the cellular device. Moreover, as with a standard car phone, the user of the headset shown in the &#39;602 Patent is still required to dial using the keypad on the cellular device. 
     So-called “wearable” cellular phones have been recently promoted. One such compact telephone can be worn as a necklace around the neck. The device described in the article is not useable when being worn. Additionally a conventional extendable antenna is required along with a keypad for dialing. This invention is consistent with the current state of the art devices that require the user to use their hands to operate the device. 
     In U.S. Pat. 5,042,063 to Sakanishi, a telephone apparatus is disclosed in which a call may be made in response to utterances of a user by speech recognition without manually dialing a telephone number. However, the system still requires some keypad functions in order to communicate, so that is does not permit true hands free operation. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the limitations of the prior communication systems, the present invention contemplates a highly flexible headset communication apparatus. The headset apparatus is self-contained, meaning that it includes its own power source, communications link and circuitry to maintain remote, non-land based communications. In one application, the headset apparatus of the present invention permits use with a base unit linked to an office or landline telephone system. The same headset can be used for remote cellular communication outside the office. 
     In one embodiment, the headset apparatus includes a port and circuitry for I/R communications with external hardware. For example, in one mode of operation, the user can send and receive data to and from a personal computer, or an ATM. 
     In one important feature of the invention, the headset is provided with electronics/software for voice recognition. The headset permits voice activation of the headset, voice dialing and audible commands. The apparatus includes electronics to recognize whether the user has issued a voice command, to determine the nature of the audible command, and to control the operation of the headset in response to the spoken word. In one embodiment, the headset apparatus can distinguish between spoken numbers and spoken words. The headset includes electronics to permit spoken number dialing, and to access a database of telephone numbers referenced by spoken words. 
     In conjunction with the voice recognition features, the headset includes electronics and software for user recording of voice commands. A voice recognition processing unit (VRPU) within the headset processes verbal input and stores a translated version of the spoken words in a local memory. The VRPU can then compare future spoken commands with the translated version in memory to then issue an appropriate electronic command to the headset components. 
     In one beneficial feature of the invention, advanced antenna technology incorporated into the headset. The advanced antenna overcomes interference and signal degradation that is typically associated with cellular communications. A renewable power supply, such as a rechargeable lithium battery, adds to the flexibility of the inventive telephone headset. 
     In another feature of the invention, the headset includes a mouthpiece that is rotatably connected to the central housing of the apparatus. The mouthpiece includes a housing end that fits within a complementary configured recess in the housing. An array of electrical contacts are disposed on both the housing recess and the housing end of the mouthpiece. The electrical contacts transmitted electrical energy between the components in the central housing and the components in the mouthpiece, such as the ear speaker and microphone. In addition, the headset apparatus can be energized or de-energized by rotating the electrical contact arrays into and out of electrical connection. 
     In one feature associated with the rotatable mouthpiece, the electrical contacts at the housing end are arranged to contact corresponding electrical contacts on the base unit. With the mouthpiece rotated into a position in which the headset is not energized by its own power supply, the headset can be linked to the base unit. The base unit can be used to recharge the on-board power supply of the headset. In addition, the base unit can be used to maintain communication through the headset speaker and microphone. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a highly integrated wearable cellular telephone apparatus that is incorporated into a headset. Having the power source, control circuitry and antenna built in to the headset offers a significantly compact and portable communication device that can be operated safely in or out of a vehicle or the office. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide a wearable communication system which reduces need for having a separate phone device for your vehicle, home, office or other locations to be fixed. Features of the system allow connection to a PBX or use as a remote stand-alone cellular phone. 
     It is further an object of the present invention to function with a wireless infrared communication port to transmit data from a computer laptop or other device and to forward the data via the cellular network to other computers or systems. 
     One benefit of the present invention is achieved by features of the wearable headset that permit voice activated commands. Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the components of a cellular headset according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a partial exploded view of the electrical contacts between the mouthpiece and the electronics housing. 
     FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of a base unit for use with the cellular headset shown in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the headset shown in FIG. 1 mounted on the base unit shown in FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic representation of the electronic components of the cellular headset shown in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 6 is a generalized flowchart of the functions performed by the electronics diagrammed in FIG.  5 . 
     FIG. 7 is a detailed flowchart of one step shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6 for executing voice commands. 
     FIG. 8 is a detailed flowchart of a further step shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6 for executing recording commands. 
     FIG. 9 is a detailed flowchart of another step shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6 for executing voice-activated controls. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to one preferred embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated embodiment, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates. 
     In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a telephone headset  10  is provided with a headband  12  configured to be supported on the head of a user. The headband  12  is attached to an electronics housing  14  that contains electronic components used with the telephone headset  10 . The electronics housing  14  pivotally supports a movable mouthpiece  16  that is configured to wrap around from the side of the face of the user to the front adjacent the user&#39;s mouth. The mouthpiece  16  includes a microphone  18  that is mounted at the end of the mouthpiece. Thus, it should be apparent that the mouthpiece  16  is configured so that the microphone  18  can be disposed immediately adjacent the mouth of the user. In one specific embodiment, the microphone  18  is a sub-miniature condenser microphone having an even cardioid unit directional response over the speech bandwidth. In this specific embodiment, the microphone  18  assures extremely low sensitivity to mechanical vibration and reduces handling noise as the mouthpiece  16  is manipulated. In a further specific embodiment, the microphone  18  can include a back-electret element and an integral preamplifier for a refined and accurate signal. 
     The telephone headset  10  further includes an ear speaker  20  that is engaged within the mouthpiece  16  at the opposite end from the microphone  18 . An ear cushion  21  is provided so that the microphone can be supported and seated against the ear of the user. The headband  12  is provided in adjustable sections. The band includes a fixed section  12   a  that is attached to the electronics housing  14 . A strap  12   b  extends from the fixed section and is adjustably engaged by a movable section  12   c . In this respect, the headband  12  can be of a conventional design to permit adjustment to accommodate the head of the user. The movable section  12   c  can be provided with a counterweight at its free end to balance the weight of the headset components on the user&#39;s head. 
     In the preferred embodiment, the fixed section  12   a  is engaged to the electronics housing  14  by way of a pair of attachment pins  25  and corresponding attachment recesses  26 . In the illustrated embodiment, the pins  25  are shown as extending from the electronics housing  14 , while the recesses are disposed within the fixed section  12   a  of the headband  12 . Of course, the pins and recesses can be reversed in their location. In this embodiment, the pins are configured for removable press fit engagement within a corresponding recess to firmly hold the headband  12  and electronics housing  14  together. 
     In one feature of the invention, the telephone headset  10  is provided with an antenna  22  that is disposed within the headband  12 , and preferably the fixed section  12   a . In one specific embodiment, the antenna  22  can utilize advanced strip technology to reduce the profile of the antenna to fit within the headband  12 . 
     Two sets of mating contacts  28  and  29  are respectively connected to the headband  12  and electronics housing  14 . These contacts provide electrical connection between the antenna  22  and electronics disposed within the electronics housing  14 . 
     Looking again at the mouthpiece  16 , a housing  34  is provided adjacent the speaker  20 . The housing preferably includes means for supporting the speaker  20  at one face of the housing (not shown). The housing  34  further defines a battery compartment  35  for receiving battery cells  40 . Preferably, the batteries  40  are capable of providing five volts DC power to the electronics of the telephone headset  10 . In specific embodiments, the batteries can be standard lithium disk cells, as depicted in FIG.  1 . In an alternative embodiment, the disk cells can be replaced by a conformal battery that is configured to fit within the electronics housing  14  or a component of the headband  12 . 
     The electronics housing  14  defines a hinged recess  37  within which the housing  34  of the mouthpiece  16  can rotatably reside. The electronics housing  14  further provides a compartment for housing a cellular communication electronics component  30  and a headphone control electronics component  32 . Preferably, these two components  30 ,  32  are standard integrated circuit boards carrying the various electronic components for the appointed functions. 
     The battery compartment  35  of the housing  34  is closed by a cap  42 . The cap  42  includes a cylindrical hinge portion  43  that is preferably configured to be pressed into the battery compartment  35 . In a specific embodiment, the hinge portion  43  and the battery compartment  35  can form a circumferential pivoting hinge, such as a ridge and groove configuration, so that the mouthpiece  16  can be pivoted in the direction of the arrow A about the hinge portion  43 . 
     The cap  42  further includes an attachment plate  44  providing a means for supporting the hinge portion  43  relative to the electronics housing  14 . The attachment plate  44  can include a plurality of pins  45  that are adapted to be press fit into corresponding recesses  47  defined in the electronics housing  14 . The attachment plate  44  is configured so that the housing  34  pivots in close proximity and preferably direct contact with the hinge recess  37  of the electronics housing  14 . It is understood that the cap  42 , with its hinge portion  43  and attachment plate  44 , is one manner for pivotably supporting the mouthpiece  16  relative to the electronics housing  14 . Other hinge type supports are contemplated, provided that they maintain a direct pivoting contact between the housing  34  and the hinge recess  37 . 
     The importance of this direct contact can be appreciated with reference to the electrical contact array  50  that is disposed on the outer portion of the housing  34 . This contact array  60  is in direct electrical connection with a corresponding contact array  60  mounted to the surface of the hinge recess  37  of the electronics housing  14 . The relationship between the two contact arrays  50  and  60  are shown in the detailed view of FIG.  2 . The contact array  50  can include individual electrical contacts  50   A - 50   E  (note that contact  50   e  is hidden from view in FIG.  2 ). A corresponding number of contacts  60   A - 60   E  are provided in the array  60  in the electronics housing  14 . In a specific embodiment, the contacts  50   A  and  60 A can correspond to an electrical interface with the microphone  18 . The contacts  50   B  and  60   B  provide volume control, while the contacts  50   C  and  60   C  are the electrical connections for the speaker  20 . The final pair of contacts in each array is power contacts. 
     Each of the electrical contacts in the two arrays  50  and  60  can be of conventional design that provides for direct sliding contact. In one specific embodiment, the contacts  60   A - 60   E  can be somewhat elongated around the innercircumference of the hinge recess  37 . In this manner, direct electrical connection with the corresponding contact  50   A - 50   E  can be maintained even as the mouthpiece  16  is pivoted relative to the housing  14 . 
     The telephone headset  10  can include a pair of volume control buttons  52  and  54  mounted to the mouthpiece  16 . The pushbutton switches can be used to increase the volume heard through the speaker  20 . Signals from the volume control switches are passed to the headphone control electronics component  32  by way of the electrical contacts  50   B  and  60   B . Similarly, signals from the microphone  18  are passed to the electronics component  32  through the contacts  50   A  and  60   A , while signals travel to the speaker  20  by way of the electrical contacts  50   C  and  60   C . 
     The electronics housing  14  can carry an array of visual indicators. For example, a power indicator  56  can be provided to indicate that the phone headset is activated. This activation occurs when the mouthpiece  16  is pivoted relative to the electronics housing  14  so that the power electrical contacts  50   D,E  engage the contacts  60   D,E . When the headset  10  is in use for telephone communication or other type of data transmission, a busy indicator light  58  can be illuminated by circuitry within the electronics component  32 . In the case of both indicators  56  and  58 , a low-power LED can be utilized. In other specific adaptations, the LEDs can be illuminated in different colors to provide different indications. For example, the power LED  56  can be red when the telephone headset  10  is activated, and green when the batteries  40  are low on charge. Similarly, the in use LED  58  can be illuminated red when the user is making use of the headset  10  and can be illuminated a flashing green when an incoming call is being received by the unit. Of course it is understood that both the electronics housing  14  and the mouthpiece  16  can be provided with other visual indicators, such as the LEDs  56  and  58 , to act as annunciators for various functions of the telephone headset  10 . 
     A further component of the present invention is the base unit  70  shown in FIG.  3 . The base unit  70  can include a power input  71  which can provide for connection to an AC source of power. The unit also includes a retractable and extendable antenna  72  to provide a communication link to the telephone headset  10  by way of the antenna  22 . The base unit can also include a microphone  74  and a speaker  75  to establish two-way communication between the base unit and a variety of telephone headsets  10 . Two volume control switches  76  and  77  can also be provided to adjust the volume of the signal received over the speaker  75 . 
     In one feature of the invention, the base unit  70  provides a means for supporting and providing electrical contact with the telephone headset  10 . Specifically, an array of contacts  80   A - 80   E  is provided within a support recess  81  defined in the top face of the base unit  70 . The support recess  81  is configured to receive a portion of the housing  34  of the mouthpiece  16 , in a manner shown in FIG.  4 . In this configuration, the mouthpiece  16  is pivoted upward in the direction of the arrow A in FIG. 1 so that the arm of the mouthpiece substantially overlies the electronics housing  14 . In this orientation, the electrical contact array  50  is exposed beneath the telephone headset  10 . When the headset  10  is mounted within the support recess  81 , the electrical contact array  50  is exposed to and in electrical contact with the corresponding electrical contacts in the base unit  70 . Thus, the corresponding contacts  50   A ,  50   B  have complimentary mating contacts  80   A ,  80   E  within the base unit. The power and ground contacts  80   D  and  80   E  of the base unit are used to provide a recharging capability for the batteries  40  of the telephone headset  10 . Thus, in this instance, the batteries  40  are preferably rechargable lithium type batteries. When the telephone headset  10  is mounted within the base unit  70  for recharging, an indicator light  82  can be illuminated to shown the recharging function is occurring. With the telephone headset  10  mounted to the base unit  70 , the microphone and speaker of the telephone headset  10  are electrically connected to the base unit, rather than to the control electronics component  32  of the telephone headset  10 . 
     In further features of the base unit  70 , a display  84  can be provided for various messages. Circuitry within the base unit  70  can provide messages on the display  84  to indicate the origination of an incoming call, the duration of a call, and other information of interest. 
     So that the base unit  70  can operate within a telephone system, it is provided with a jack  85  for engaging a conventional telephone ground wire. This jack  85  can be an RJ45 jack as is known in the art. In addition, the base unit  70  is provided with a serial interface jack  86  that can be engaged by a serial cable to a data source, such as a personal computer. In this respect, the base unit  70  can be used to transmit serial data to a telephone headset  10 . To effect this function, the base unit  70  includes an I/R interface  88  that can transmit an infrared signal to a telephone headset  10 . The headset  10  can therefore be provided with a corresponding I/R interface  89 , located on the underside of the mouthpiece  16 . Circuitry within the headphone control electronics component  32  can be used to receive and condition signals transmitted via the I/R interfaces  88  and  89 . In this aspect, the signals can pass from the mouthpiece  16  to the electronics housing  14  though the microphone contacts  50   A  and  60   A . 
     It is understood that the I/R port  89  in the telephone headset  10  can be situated in a variety of locations on the headset. In addition, multiple I/R ports can be provided for greater ease of use of this communication aspect. If properly located on the headset, the I/R ports provide means for headset-to-headset communications. The I/R port  89  can also provide an interface to I/R ports on other data transmission devices, such as computers, printers, ATMs and the like. Using components of the headset described herein, a user can enable half or full-duplex communication with a computer or peripheral device. The I/R port can transmit verbalized commands that have been translated using speech synthesizer technology, to control the computer or peripheral. 
     Referring now to FIG. 5, the general electronics of the telephone headset  10  are depicted diagramatically. As indicated above, the telephone headset  10  includes a cellular communication electronics component  30  that includes circuitry for receiving and processing cellular communications over the antenna  22 . In one specific embodiment, the cellular component  30  is integrated with RF interface control circuitry  90  that provide for reception and transmission of RF signals over the antenna  22 . Such RF control circuitry  90  is well known in the art, as is the electronics necessary for the cellular interface, as part of the cellular communication electronics component  30 . Again, as indicated above, this component is provided as an integrated circuit board or wafer that is configured to be mounted within the electronics housing  14  of the telephone headset  10 . The cellular communication component  30  also controls a ring indicator  92 . The ring indicator can be a typical electromechanical device that provides an audible sound when a cellular telephone transmission is being received at the antenna  22 . The indicator  92  can also constitute or include a vibratory indicator that vibrates when an incoming call is received 
     Signals processed by the cellular interface component  30  are transmitted to the headphone control electronics component  32  for additional processing and transmittal to and from the microphone  18  and speaker  20 . The electronics component  32  is powered by a battery  40 , with the control electronics component  32  distributing power to the remaining electrical components of the telephone headset  10 . 
     The headphone control electronics component  32  can be provided with a separate power on/off switch  95  (not shown). However, most preferably, the power on/off switch  95  is integrated with the contacts  60   D  and  60   E . When the power circuit is completed through the contacts  50   D  and  50   E  of the mouthpiece  16 , the power switch  95  is activated. In this instance, a signal is provided to the electronics component  32 , which then illuminates the appropriate LED indicator  56 ,  68 . When the telephone headset  10  is mounted on the base unit  70 , the control electronics  32  can also be used to drive the LED display  84  mounted to the base unit  70 . In addition, the telephone headset  10  can be provided with I/R interface circuitry  97  that process I/R signals through the control electronics component  32 . 
     In one important aspect of the invention, the microphone  18  and speaker  20  are electrically connected to the control electronics component  32  by way of a voice recognition processing unit  100 . The VRPU  100  can be provided with an optional RAM memory  101  for storing a variety of voice recognition information, as described in more detail below. The VRPU  100  provides an important benefit to telephone headset  10  of the present invention. Specifically, the VRPU can translate audible instructions into electronic instructions to direct the mode of operation of an activity of the telephone headset  10 . In this way, the telephone headset  10  is truly a hands-free cellular telephone, in contrast to the traditional prior cellular phone that utilizes a keypad for data entry. 
     The voice recognition processing unit  100  can include a number of application specific integrated circuits (ASIC) to perform a variety of voice recognition functions. For example, one ASIC can be utilized for electronic dialing. This particular ASIC is configured to recognize spoken numbers corresponding to a telephone dialing command. A second ASIC can provide for general speech recognition to recognize specific commands used to operate the telephone headset. A third ASIC can provide means for programming the memory  101  of the VRPU  100  to store various spoken numbers and word commands. A further ASIC can process a variety of spoken instructions for controlling certain functions of the telephone headset  10 . Each ASIC includes circuitry for recognizing and processing spoken numbers and words and providing an appropriate signal to the headphone control electronics component  32  for subsequent electrical processing. 
     The VRPU  100  can also include voice recognition ASICs that permit the headset to “speak” to the user. For example, when an incoming call is received by the cellular interface unit  30 , a signal can be generated by the VRPU directing speech simulation software to send an audible, spoken message to the speaker  20 . For instance, the message can be the words “You have a call”. Other spoken messages can be generated by the headset VRPU  100  depending upon the headset activity. 
     In one specific embodiment, the electronics of the control electronics component  32  and the VRPU  100  execute a sequence of general instructions as shown in FIG.  6 . When power to the unit is activated in the initial step  110 , the power on indicator LED is illuminated in step  112 . In the subsequent steps  114 ,  116  and  118 , the various electrical components of the telephone headset  10  are activated, specifically, the mouthpiece  16  is activated at the hook on step, the microphone in the next step, and the volume controls in step  118 . 
     In the following steps  120 ,  122  and  124 , a command recognition ASIC within the VRPU  100  determines whether a spoken command is given corresponding to one of the three illustrated functions. Specifically, the recognition ASIC determines whether a voice dial command is being requested in step  120 , a recording command is issued in step  122 , or further telephone headset control commands being expressed in step  124 . If no audible commands are issued, the telephone headset  10  goes into a standby mode  126 . The standby mode is controlled by the control electronics component  32  which permits reduced power usage while keeping the telephone headset  10  activated to receive incoming calls. Once an incoming call is received by the cellular interface component  30 , the incoming signal awakes the control electronics component  32  so that full power can be supplied to the remaining electronics of the telephone headset  10 . 
     Referring now to FIG. 7, a flowchart of commands executed by a dialing ASIC within the VRPU  100  is illustrated. If a voice dial command is issued in step  120  (FIG.  6 ), control is passed to the dialing ASIC which is placed in step  130  in a ready mode to receive a dial command. This control transfer can be initiated by an audible command such as “dial” which is recognized by the command control ASIC. Once control is passed to the dialing ASIC, a determination is made as to whether the next verbal intonation by the user is a number or a word command. A test is conducted in step  132  to determine whether the spoken input is a number command. Thus, the dialing ASIC  66  will include an array of recognized numbers as spoken by the particular user, i.e. “one”, “two”, etc. If the dialing ASIC recognizes a number, control passes to step  134  in which the spoken number is converted to an electronic dialing command to dial the spoken number. Once the number has been dialed, the voice dialing sequence is turned off in step  136  so that any further spoken numbers by the user will not be interpreted as a dialing command. At this point, direct voice communication can be conducted by the user through the telephone headset  10 . In an optional step  138 , a voice synthesizer within the VRPU  100  can be activated. The voice synthesizer can issue audible requests through the speaker  20 . For example, in step  140 , the voice synthesizer can request whether any new numbers need to be dialed by the dialing ASIC. If the answer is yes, then control passes back to step  134  in which the number is spoken by the user and dialed by the dialing ASIC. The voice synthesizer can further request in step  142  whether the user is finished with the current conversation. If the enunciated answer is yes, then control passes to the standby mode at step  144 . 
     Referring back to the beginning of the flowchart in FIG. 7, if a number command is not issued to the ASIC in step  132 , control passes to step  150 . In this step it is determined whether a word command is being issued that is recognized by the VRPU  100 . If no word is uttered, control passes down to step  160 . On the other hand, if a word dialing command is issued in step  150 , control passes to the next step  152  in which the spoken word is looked up within the memory  101 . At this instance, the word command can simply be the name of a person to be called. This name can be stored within a look-up table in the RAM memory  101  to be accessed by the VRPU  100 . The dialing ASIC determines a match between the spoken word and the stored word, and the appropriate telephone number is electronically extracted from the memory  101 . In the next step this number is passed to the control electronics component  32  to perform the dialing function. As with the branch corresponding to number commands, the voice dialing activation is turned off in step  156  and the voice synthesizer activated in step  158 . In step  160  the dialing ASIC requests whether the user is done with the conversation, and if the answer is yes the telephone headset  10  is passed to the standby mode in the final step  162 . 
     When the telephone headset  10  is first activated by a user, it must be educated as to the user&#39;s voice. Thus, if no voice dialing commands are being issued in the flowchart of FIG. 6, then the next step  122  is used to determine whether any record commands are being issued by the user. If so, then control passes to the recording ASIC whose executed steps are shown in FIG.  8 . In this step, the voice activated recording commands are turned on in step  170 . In the next step  172 , the recording ASIC determines whether any recordable voice signals are being received. If so, it is determined in step  174  whether the next spoken words are to be recorded. If so, the user speaks the words and they are stored within the memory  101  in step  176 . If the user desires to change the particular recorded words, the last entered information can be erased in step  178 . In the following step  180 , it is determined whether any new recordings are to be made. If not, control passes to step  182  in which the telephone headset  10  is placed in the standby mode. 
     Referring back to FIG. 6, step  124  determines whether any specific control commands have been issued by the user. If so, then the control command ASIC is activated to follow the steps shown in FIG.  9 . Once the control command ASIC is activated in step  185 , it is determined whether any new commands have been issued by the user in step  187 . If so, the voice command is received in step  189 , and the memory  101  is searched in step  190  to find a match for the particular voice command. In one specific embodiment, these commands can be to activate various RF controls in step  192  or to activate I/R controls in step  194 . 
     Depending upon which controls are activated, the spoken voice command is converted to an electronic signal which is then passed to the appropriate control in step  196 . After the control signals have been received by either the RF or I/R control circuitry, the corresponding controls are deactivated in steps  198  and  200 . If no further commands are received in step  202 , the telephone headset  10  passes to the standby mode in step  204 . The audible commands executed by the command control ASIC according to the steps in FIG. 9 can correspond to commands for tuning the RF reception of the telephone headset  10  to a particular base unit  70 . In addition, when I/R controls are activated, the commands can give effect to various data transmissions over the I/R channel between the base unit  70  and the telephone headset  10 . In some cases, the I/R channel can be used to transmit data to the base unit  70  and through the serial interface  86  to a personal computer. Such data can be spoken words processed through speech synthesizer software to be downloaded to the PC, for subsequent transcription, for instance. 
     The present invention provides the user with a highly flexible communications device that is not constrained by conventional telephone system limits. For example, the headset  10  can be used in the office and integrated into the local PBX system through the base unit  70 . The base unit can be programmed to communicate with the headset on a cellular frequency. The headset allows the user to receive or continue a call anywhere in the office. The same headset can be used for remote cellular communication outside the office. The microprocessor  30  of the headset can issue commands to the cellular interface unit  30  to recognize when the unit is being used as part of the office telephone system and as a remote cellular unit. 
     The I/R port  89  adds a further dimension to the flexible communications achieved by the present invention. The I/R port permits communication that is not frequency dependent. In other words, while RF or cellular communication requires a unit specific address frequency, I/R communication requires no such limiting address. Thus, two headsets can communicate with each other, or a single base unit  70  can issue broadcast communications over the I/R band. Again, the microprocessor  30  of each headset can include software to recognize that an I/R transmission is being received. Various transmission protocols can be implemented to enable the headset to awake from a standby mode and activate the appropriate IR interface circuitry. If security is an issue, the I/R transmission packets can include password information recognizable only by a specific headset. 
     While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the foregoing drawings and description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only preferred embodiments thereof have been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected.