Abstract:
A system and method for a remote telephone ringer, which when used in proximity to a wireless or non-wireless telephone rings or vibrates when the telephone itself rings or vibrates. The method includes a protocol for communicating status from a sending device to a receiving device. In response to a detected incoming call, a ringer indicator signal is transmitted from a sending device attached to or built into the phone and a receiving device. The ringer indicator signal includes an encoded status message that includes parameters that identify how the receiving device is to function in response to receiving the signal. The status message is decoded by the receiving device, and the receiving device provided corresponding indicia to indicate a phone call has been received, such as generating an audible ringing noise or vibrating. The indicia can be turned off, either through detection of motion or user input.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The field of invention relates generally to a system and method for a remote telephone ringer, and more specifically, but not exclusively, to a device notified by a nearby telephone that a call is incoming. The present invention also relates to various protocols for communicating that a call is incoming, as well as for the ability to turn off the remote ringer with a single touch or movement of the device.  
       BACKGROUND INFORMATION  
       [0002]     The present invention addresses a problem encountered by just about every person at one time or another—that of the unheard phone ringer. The sequence is all too familiar. A caller desiring to reach someone at a time of critical need dials their wireless phone number. The call goes through and the callee&#39;s phone rings or vibrates, unbeknownst to the callee. The callee&#39;s wireless phone, stored in a backpack, handbag, or briefcase rings repeatedly, but the callee is unable to hear the ring or feel the vibration of the phone. Frustrated, the caller hangs up, redials the number one or more times in the hope that the callee will hear the ring but to no avail.  
         [0003]     There are known solutions to the unheard ringer problem, but most are not viable. The callee, of course, has the option of holding the wireless phone in hand, or placing it on a table, but for a number of reasons, such as custom, inconvenience, or forgetfulness, these solutions are often unused.  
         [0004]     The present invention addresses the aforementioned unheard ringer problem through the use of a novel remote ringing device.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     The present invention is a system and method for a remote ringer device, which when used in proximity to a wireless or non-wireless telephone rings or vibrates when the phone itself rings or vibrates.  
         [0006]     According to one set of techniques, the remote ringer device consists of two core components. The first component is an electronic transmitting device that attaches to an existing phone. The electronic device is sensitive to ringing and vibrating sounds emanating from the phone. Upon detection of a ring or vibration, the transmitting device sends a signal indicating that a call is incoming. The second component is an electronic receiving device that receives the signal indicating an incoming call. Upon receiving the signal, the receiving device emanates a ring or vibration via a built-in ringer and/or vibrator. This receiving device is implemented in the form of a bracelet worn by the user. In another embodiment, the receiving device is implemented as a ring, an earring, a barrette, and key, a pen, and a small box that, with adhesive or via other means, attaches to an existing accessory.  
         [0007]     According to another set of techniques, the remote ringer device consists of a chip and transmission assembly that, when integrated with the ringing circuitry of a phone, receives a signal from the phone indicating an incoming call (e.g. the same signal that is sent to the phone&#39;s own ringer/vibrator); the transmission assembly then sends a signal using Bluetooth wireless technology to a receiving device, as described above. According to another set of techniques, the transmission assembly uses Radio Frequency (RF) signals to send the incoming call signal.  
         [0008]     According to another set of techniques, the receiving device includes a motion sensor so that, if it is in the process of ringing, and it detects movement, it will stop ringing or vibrating. The receiving device also includes a touch sensor so that if it is touched while ringing or vibrating, it will stop.  
         [0009]     In one embodiment, the receiving device includes a sensitivity selector for adjustment of the motion and touch sensors, and a volume control knob for adjusting the volume of the ring, for switching between ring and vibrate, and for adjusting between different ring types. In another embodiment, the receiving device does not include controls, but rather receives the volume, sensitivity, and other settings as part of the novel protocol used to indicate to the receiving device that a call is incoming.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]     The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views unless otherwise specified:  
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram illustrating a component architecture used to send messages from the sending device to the receiving device in the form of a ring indictor signal.  
         [0012]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart illustrating a process for setting a remote ringer device.  
         [0013]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart illustrating operations performed by the components in component architecture of  FIG. 1  in connection with receiving a phone call.  
         [0014]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart illustrating operations in accordance with one technique via which a remote ringing device, which has been activated in response to a received ring indicator signal, can be turned off.  
         [0015]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart illustrating operations in accordance with another technique via which a remote ringing device can be turned off.  
         [0016]      FIG. 6  is a diagram illustrating one embodiment of the parameters in a status message used to store and transmit remote ring information.  
         [0017]      FIG. 7  is a drawing of various devices that may be used to host embodiment of the receiving device of the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0018]     Embodiments of method and apparatus for a remote telephone ringer, and more specifically, but not exclusively, a device notified by a nearby telephone that a call is incoming are described herein. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth (such as Bluetooth indicated as the wireless technology used for communication between the devices described) to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention.  
         [0019]     Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, the appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.  
         [0020]      FIG. 1  shows a component architecture that supports remote ringing, according to one embodiment. The architecture includes a sending device  104  which is installed in a phone  102 , such as, but not limited to, the cellular phone depicted, and a receiving device  116 . Sending device  104  includes an antenna  106 , a transmitter  108 , a circuit  110 , a ring sensor  112 , a user interface  114 , and memory  132 . The user interface includes a screen  134  and input control  136 . In response to ring of phone  102 , as detected by ring sensor  112 , a wireless ring indicator signal  138  is sent to receiving device  116 . The receiving device includes an antenna  118 , a receiver  120 , a decoder  122 , a ringer  124 , a vibrator  126  a motion sensor  128 , and a touch sensor  130 .  
         [0021]     In  FIG. 2 , process flow  200  illustrates a process by which sending device  104  is configured by a user to set up remote ringing. The process begins in a block  202 , wherein current settings are displayed on screen  134  in response to user input entered via input control  136 . These settings include, but are not limited to, the settings shown in  FIG. 6 , which are contained as various field parameters in a status message  600 , as described below. In accordance with a block  204 , sending device  104  receives modified settings from the user via input control  136 , displaying the revised settings on screen  134 . Device  104  then stores the revised settings (e.g., corresponding to the parameters depicted in status message  600 ) in memory  132 , as depicted in a block  206 .  
         [0022]     In  FIG. 3 , process flow  300  illustrates a process by which sending device  104  and remote receiving device  114  communicate, in which the user is ultimately notified via the remote receiving device  114  that phone  102  is ringing. In a block  302 , sending device  106  is attached to phone  102 . Various well-known means for attaching components may be employed, such as, but not limited to adhesives, magnetic coupling, and fasteners. As an option, the sending device may be built into phone  102 . In a block  304 , phone  102  receives an incoming call, causing it to ring or vibrate. In response, the ring sensor detects the incoming call in a block  306 . In one embodiment, ring sensor  112  comprises a vibration sensor, which, in combination with circuit  110 , detects the ringing or vibrating of phone  102  in accordance with the operations of block  306 . Circuit  110  then interfaces with transmitter  108  to send a ring indicator signal  138  via antenna  106  that includes a status message with encoded parameters based on the current user settings stored in memory  132 , as depicted in a block  308 . In one embodiment, transmitter  108  uses Bluetooth wireless technology to transmit ring indicator signal  138 . In another embodiment, transmitter  108  uses Radio Frequency (RF) signals to transmit ring indicator signal  138 .  
         [0023]     In another embodiment, sending device  104  is implemented as an integrated component of phone  102 , such that circuit  110  interfaces directly with the circuitry of phone  102 . Via this interface, the settings of sending device  104  can be configured (the phone&#39;s user interface is used), and ring/vibration sensor  112  is not required; the indication of ring or vibration comes directly via the phone&#39;s built-in circuitry.  
         [0024]     Receiving device  116  is configured to sense signals sent by sending device  104  that are received via antenna  118  and receiver  120 . Upon receiving a signal in a block  310 , receiving device  116  decodes the incoming signal using decoder circuit  122  in a block  312 , and then provides indicia indicating a phone call has been received in a block  314 . For example, the receiving device may provide audio indicia, such as ringing ringer  124 , or provide physical stimuli, such as via activation of vibrator  126  or providing a visual indicator. In one embodiment, the type of indicia is defined by the settings encoded in status message  600  transmitted via ring indicator signal  138 .  
         [0025]     As shown in  FIG. 4 , one embodiment of the invention includes a novel process  400  for deactivating the ringer or vibration of receiving device  116 . In one embodiment, when, due to the receipt of a notification from sending device  104 , ringer  124  or vibrator  126  on receiving device  116  is activated in a block  402 , motion sensor  130 , integrated in receiving device  116 , detects movement of the receiving device in accordance with a block  404 . In a block  406 , a motion sufficiency determination is performed. In one embodiment, in conjunction with decoder  122 , motion sensor  130  determines whether there is sufficient movement according to a received motion setting  614  ( FIG. 6 ) to turn off ringer  124  and/or vibrator  126 . In one embodiment, motion setting  614  is 2 bit value indicating whether motion should turn off the device, and the sensitivity of the motion sensor, with 0 for no detection, 1 for low, 10 for medium, and 11 for high sensitivity. If receiving device  116  determines the ringer and/or vibrator should be turned off at a decision block  408 , receiving device  116  turns off ringer  124  and/or vibrator  126  in a block  410 .  
         [0026]     As shown in  FIG. 5 , in another embodiment, receiving device  116  includes a touch sensor  130  that may be employed by a user to turn of ringer  124  or vibrator  126 . In accordance with a process flow  500 , when ringer  124  and/or vibrator  126  of receiving device  116  is active (as depicted in a block  502 ) and touch sensor  130  detects a touch in a block  504 , touch sensor  130  in combination with decoder circuit  122  makes a determination whether the touch is sufficient for receiving device  116  to turn off ringer  124  and/or vibrator  126 , as depicted in a block  506 . If the touch is sufficient, that is, if, as indicated by touch setting  516 , touch sensor  130  has received sufficient taps to indicate ringer  124  and/or vibrator  126  should be turned off, as determined in a decision block  508 , receiving device  116  turns off ringer  124  and/or vibrator  126  in a block  310 .  
         [0027]     As indicated earlier,  FIG. 6  illustrates various fields fro a status message  600 , wherein the fields contain setting values stored in memory  132  of sending device  104 . In one embodiment, the parameters in status message  600  transmitted as a status message delivered via ring indicator signal  138  by sending device  104 . In another embodiment, all or a portion of the parameters may be sent as a separate status message to configure the settings for receiving device  116 . In the illustrated embodiment, status message  600  includes the following fields.  
         [0028]     A receiver ID  602  is used to identify the receiver. In one embodiment, receiver ID  602  comprises an 8-bit value that contains a number identifying the receiver. In one embodiment, the value of receiver ID is set to 0 to indicate all receivers should receive the message; any other value indicates that only a receiver with the specified value should receive the message. Similarly, a sender ID  604  is used to identify the sender. On one embodiment, Sender ID  604  is an 8-bit value.  
         [0029]     A version field  606 , comprising a 4-bit value in one embodiment, is employed to indicate the version of the status message. A volume field  608  is used to indicate how the ringer volume is to be set. In one embodiment, volume field  608  comprises a 2-bit value, wherein a value of 00 indicates that the ringer volume should be off (no remote ringing should occur), 01 indicates a low volume, 10 is used for setting a medium volume, and 11 for a high ringer volume. Similarly, a vibrate field  610  is used to indicate vibration settings for receiving device  116 . In one embodiment, vibrate field  610  comprises a 2-bit value, wherein a value of 00 indicates receiving device  116  should not vibrate, 01 indicates low vibration, 10 medium vibration, and 11 high vibration.  
         [0030]     A repeat field  612  is used to indicate how many times ringer  124  and/or vibrator  126  should ring and/or vibrate. In one embodiment, wherein repeat field  612  comprises a 3-bit value, the values range from 000, meaning 0 repeats, up to 111, indicating 8 repeats.  
         [0031]     A motion field  614  is to set the motion sensitivity level for motion sensor  128 . In one embodiment, motion field  614  comprises a 2-bit value, wherein a value of 00 indicates no motion detection is to be employed, 01 indicates low motion sensitivity, 10 medium sensitivity, and 11 high sensitivity.  
         [0032]     A touch field  616  indicates whether receiving device  116  should turn off based on a touch from the user. In one embodiment, touch field  616  comprises a 2-bit value, with 00 indicating a touch sensed by touch sensor  130  will not turn off receiving device  116 , 01 indicating one tap of touch sensor  130  to turn off, 10 indicating two taps, and 11 indicating three taps.  
         [0033]     A phone No. field  618 , comprising a 48-bit field in one embodiment, is used to identify the incoming phone number, e.g. the Caller ID of the incoming call. In one embodiment, when receiving device  116  receives the status message  600 , it displays the value from Phone No. field  618  on a built in Liquid Crystal Display (LCD).  
         [0034]     A parity field  620  comprises a 1-bit field indicating the total number of set bits in all other fields. If the number of set bits is even, sending device  104  sets parity field  618  equal to zero; if odd, it sets parity field  518  to one. Receiving device  116 , via decoder  122 , evaluates the parity status message  600  to make sure that the set bits in all fields except parity field  620  corresponds to parity field  620 . If they do not correspond, receiving device  116  knows that an error occurred during transmission and discards the message and does not ring or vibrate.  
         [0035]     In general, receiving device  116  can be configured as a small device that can be integrated into or hosted by a variety of devices. For example, some exemplary devices are shown in  FIG. 7 , including an earring  702 , a bracelet  704 , a barrette  706 , a standard adhesive receiving device, e.g. a small box with adhesive material on it that attaches to another accessory such as an existing watch or barrette, and a wristwatch  710 . It will be recognized by one skilled in the art that the technology and processes of receiving device  116  can be implemented in a variety of forms.  
         [0036]     The above description of illustrated embodiments of the invention, including what is described in the Abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention are described herein for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the invention, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize.  
         [0037]     These modifications can be made to the invention in light of the above detailed description. The terms used in the following claims should not be construed to limit the invention to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the drawings. Rather, the scope of the invention is to be determined entirely by the following claims, which are to be construed in accordance with established doctrines of claim interpretation.