Abstract:
A system and method for automatically forwarding calls directed to a wireless telephone device is disclosed. A call forwarding operation is automatically enabled in response to the wireless telephone device being at a particular location and is automatically disabled in response to the wireless telephone device leaving said predetermined location.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   I. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a system and method for forwarding calls directed to a wireless telephone device. 
   II. Description of the Related Art 
   Today the average individual has a home land-line telephone device, office telephone device and wireless telephone device. In addition, one or more of these telephone devices usually have some type of automated answering system, e.g. voice mail, answering machine, etc. When an incoming caller wishes to contact an individual the large number of telephone devices associated with the individual can often make the task difficult. There exists the possibility of calling several different telephone devices and leaving respective messages at each, without ever reaching the intended individual. In addition to the annoyance of not reaching the intended individual at several different telephone devices, there also may be a charge to the called or calling party associated with each left message. 
   To help alleviate this problem, the called individual can use the well known call forwarding feature, found in most land-line and wireless systems, to forward all of their calls to a telephone device where they will be located and/or to a telephone device which has the least associated operational cost. For example, an individual may choose to forward his wireless calls to a land-line telephone device, rather than a wireless telephone device, whenever possible. However, this requires that a user consistently enable and disable the call forwarding feature for one or more different telephone devices to which a call should be forwarded. This task can be burdensome. For example, to enable call forwarding one usually must enter a call forwarding code, i.e. “*71”, followed by the ten digit telephone number to which the calls are to be forwarded. There is a need for a more efficient system and method for an individual to manage and route their incoming wireless telephone calls in a cost effective way. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention provides a system and method for automatically forwarding calls from an individual&#39;s wireless telephone device to a desired alternative telephone device when the wireless device is at certain locations. The present invention also provides for automatically disabling the call forwarding feature when the conditions which precipitated the call forwarding are no longer existent. In one exemplary embodiment the system includes a wireless telephone which is configured to automatically forward calls whenever it is placed in a battery charger. Whenever the wireless telephone devices is removed from the charger call forwarding automatically ceases. 
   In yet another exemplary embodiment, calls are automatically forwarded to a respective telephone number based upon a recognition by the wireless telephone device of which unique charger is servicing it. In another exemplary embodiment, a call is automatically forwarded to a respective number based upon which of a plurality of charger inputs on the wireless device the charger is plugged into. In yet another exemplary embodiment, calls are automatically forwarded to a respective number based upon the wireless device being within a predetermined distance of a predetermined device or location. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
     The foregoing and other advantages and features of the invention will become more apparent from the detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention given below with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 
       FIG. 1  is an illustration of a wireless telephone device and associated battery charger in according with a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a flow chart depicting the operation of the wireless telephone device shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is an illustration of a wireless telephone device and a plurality of battery chargers in accordance with a second exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
       FIG. 4  is a flow chart of the operations performed by the wireless telephone device illustrated in  FIG. 3 ; 
       FIG. 5  is an illustration of a wireless telephone device and a battery charger in accordance with a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 6  is a flow chart of the operations performed by the wireless telephone device shown in  FIG. 5 ; 
       FIG. 7  is an illustration of a wireless telephone device and an associated GPS system in accordance with a fourth exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
       FIG. 8  is a flow chart depicting the operations of the wireless telephone device shown in  FIG. 7 ; and 
       FIG. 9  shows the internal structures of a wireless telephone device which may be used in the exemplary embodiments of the invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Referring now to the drawings, where like reference numerals designate like elements,  FIG. 1  shows an system for forwarding incoming calls directed to a wireless telephone device  102  in accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Wireless telephone device  102  includes a display  112 , keypad  108  and at least one charger port  110 . Wireless telephone device  102  interfaces with charger  104  through charger interface  106  in order to charge the battery of the telephone wireless device  102 . The connection between wireless telephone device  102  and charger  104  can also be used as a triggering event for forwarding incoming calls directed to wireless telephone device  102 . 
   The wireless telephone device  102  of the invention is depicted in greater detail in FIG.  9 . As shown therein, the wireless telephone device  102  includes a control circuit  118 , which is coupled to keyboard  108 , and display device  112 , as well as to a memory  116 , a transceiver  120 , and a connection port  110 . A GPS receiver  114  is also shown, which is used in one of the exemplary embodiments which will be described in detail below. The wireless telephone device  102  is capable of connecting via wireless connection with a wireless service provider illustrated generally as  140  in FIG.  9 . 
   Referring back to  FIG. 1 , the wireless telephone device  102  is used to first store a forwarding number in a memory  105  of the charger  104 . This task is accomplished by a user programming a forwarding number into memory  105 . To accomplish this, the wireless device  102  is connected to the charger  104  and the forwarding number is entered on the keypad  108  of wireless telephone device  102 . The number is transferred through charger port  110  to charger interface  106  and is stored in memory  105  within charger  104 . The number entered is the number to which calls for wireless telephone device  102  will be directed whenever wireless telephone device  102  is connected to the charger  104 . This number may conveniently be that of a land-line telephone at the location of the charger  104  or any other telephone device. Anytime a wireless telephone device  102  which is compatible with the charger  104  is docked to the charger  104 , the connection with the charger  104  will cause the wireless telephone device  102  to retrieve the forwarding number stored in memory  105  and connect with a wireless service provider, for example, by transmitting the appropriate forwarding operation code and sending the forwarding number, thereby instructing the service provider to automatically forward calls directed to the wireless device  102  to the number stored in the charger  104 . 
   When the wireless telephone device  102  is removed from the charger  104 , the wireless telephone device  102  will sense this and automatically again connect with the service provider and send the appropriate code to instruct the service provider to disable call forwarding. Thus, by docking a wireless telephone device  102  into the charger  104 , the wireless device is recharged and enables automatic call forwarding to the number stored in the charger  104  and when the wireless device  102  is removed from the charger call forwarding is automatically disabled. 
   The operation of the embodiment of the invention illustrated in  FIG. 1  will now be described in greater detail in connection with  FIG. 2 , which depicts the operations performed by the wireless telephone device  102  under control of control circuit  118  of FIG.  9 . The control circuit  118  may be a hard wired control circuit or more preferably a processor control circuit, in which case the operations thereof are programmed, either in firm ware or in a program stored within memory  116  or elsewhere. The control circuit  118  may be an existing control circuit in wireless telephone device  102  which is normally used for wireless call processing. 
   Referring to  FIG. 2 , a first operational step which is performed at processing segment  202  is to determine whether a wireless telephone device  102  is connected to a battery charger. If not, wireless device  102  continues to loop through processing segment  202  until a connection with a battery charger is detected. If connection to a charger is detected, at processing segment  204  wireless device  102  determines whether the charger has a stored number therein. If so, the wireless device proceeds to processing segment  212 , where it determines whether or not a user desires to change the number. If not, the process proceeds to step  214  where a stored number is retrieved from the charger memory, and from there the process proceeds to processing segment  216  where the wireless telephone device  102  makes a connection with the service provider, instructs the enablement of call forwarding, and sends the retrieved forwarding number to the service provider. 
   If in processing segment  204  it is determined that the charger does not have a stored number, the wireless telephone device proceeds to processing segment  210  where it receives a forwarding number from a keyboard  108  entry and stores the entered forwarding number within the charger memory  105  for later use. Following processing segment  210 , the wireless device proceeds to processing segment  214  and executes that step and subsequent steps as described above. 
   After the processing segment  216 , the wireless device  102  checks to see if it becomes disconnected from the charger  104  in processing segment  218 . If not, the wireless telephone device  102  loops through processing segment  218  until the disconnection of the wireless telephone device  102  from charger  104  is detected. If a wireless telephone device is disconnected from the charger as detected at processing segment  218 , the wireless telephone device  102  proceeds to processing segment  220 , where it establishes a connection with the service provider and sends an instruction to disable the call forwarding operation. Following processing segment  220 , the wireless device  102  proceeds back to the beginning of processing segment  202 , where it loops through signal  202  until another connection is made with a charger. 
   As a consequence of the  FIG. 2  process, when the wireless device is connected to a charger, a call forwarding operation is automatically initiated and a forwarding number as stored in the charger, is sent to the service provider, whereas when the wireless device is disconnected from the charger the call forwarding operation automatically ceases. The  FIGS. 1 and 2  embodiment may be used with any number of respective chargers  104 , each storing a respective forwarding number. 
   In another exemplary embodiment, illustrated in  FIG. 3  instead of having a number of chargers  104 , each storing a respective forwarding number, a plurality of chargers  104 ,  204 , etc. may be used with each charger having a predefined unchangeable identification (ID) number assigned to it. For example, charger  102  may have predefined ID number “ 1 ” and charger  204  may have predefined ID number “ 2 .” In this embodiment, the wireless device  102  stores in memory  116  a list of forwarding numbers in respective association with a charger ID number. For example, the forwarding number “212-555-1212” may be programmed for charger  104  having ID number “1,” while a different forwarding number, e.g., “202-555-1212” may be used for charger  204  having ID number “ 2 .” In this case, when a configured wireless device  102  is connected with a particular charger  104 ,  204 , etc. wireless telephone device  102  will receive the ID number from the charger and retrieves from its own memory  116  the forwarding number associated with the charger ID. Thereafter, the wireless telephone device  102  automatically connects to the wireless service provider, instructs the enablement of the call forwarding feature and sends the forwarding number to the service provider. Upon the wireless device  102  being removed from the charger, the wireless telephone device  102  will connect with the wireless provider and automatically disable the call forwarding operation. 
   The operations performed by wireless telephone device  102  for the system illustrated in  FIG. 3  are shown in FIG.  4 . At processing segment  202 , a wireless telephone device  102  determines whether or not it is connected to a charger. If so, it determines the charger to which it is connected in processing segment  250  by reading the charger ID information, following which in processing segment  252  the wireless telephone device retrieves a forwarding number stored in internal memory  116  of the wireless device, which is associated with the read charger ID number. Once the forwarding number is retrieved in processing segment  252 , the wireless telephone device proceeds to processing segment  216  where it connects with a service provider, instructs enablement of a call forwarding operation, and sends the retrieved forwarding number to the service provider. Subsequently, in processing signal  218  the wireless device  102  determines if it has been disconnected from the charger. If it has, the wireless device  102  proceeds to processing segment  220 , where it makes a connection with the service provider and instructs the disablement of the call forwarding operation, after which the wireless device proceeds back to processing segment  202  where it waits for another connection to a charger. 
   Another exemplary embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG.  5 . In this embodiment, wireless telephone device  302  includes multiple charger ports  320 ,  322 ,  324 . The wireless telephone device  302  has a forwarding number stored in internal memory  116  in association with each charging port  320 ,  322 ,  324 . In this way, when wireless telephone device  302  is connected to charger  404  via charger interface  406 , the user picks one of the multiple charger ports  320 ,  322 ,  324  in which to plug the charger interface  406 . When the charger interface  406  is connected to one of the multiple charger ports  320 ,  322 ,  324 , wireless telephone device  302  will detect which port is operative, connect to the wireless provider, enable the call forwarding feature and send to the wireless provider the forwarding telephone number associated with the connected charger port  320 ,  322 ,  324 . When the wireless telephone device  302  is disconnected from the charger  304 , the wireless telephone device  302  will connect with the wireless service provider and disable the call forwarding operation. 
   The operations performed by wireless device  302  for the system illustrated in  FIG. 5  are shown in FIG.  6 . 
   As shown, in processing segment  202  the wireless telephone device  302  determines whether or not it is connected to a charger. If not, the wireless telephone device  302  waits until it detects connection to a charger. If a charger connection is detected in processing segment  202 , the wireless telephone device proceeds to processing segment  260  where it determines to which charger port the charger is connected. Based on that determination, the wireless telephone device proceeds to processing segment  262 , where it retrieves the stored forwarding number which is associated with the connected port. After processing segment  262 , the wireless telephone device  302  proceeds to processing segment  216  where it connects with a service provider, instructs the enablement of a call forwarding operation, and sends the retrieved forwarding number to the service provider. Following this, the wireless device  302  proceeds to processing segment  218  where it determines if it disconnected from the charger. If not, the wireless device  302  loops through processing segment  218  until it determines that it has been disconnected from the charger. Once a disconnection is determined in processing segment  218 , the wireless device then connects with the service provider and instructs the disabling of the call forwarding operation in processing segment  220 , following which the wireless device  302  process proceeds back to the input of processing segment  202 . 
   In yet another embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 7 , a wireless device  502  can be used with a global positioning satellite (GPS) system  548  for an automatic call forwarding operation. In this embodiment, the GPS system  548  provides location data to the wireless device  502 , which includes a location determining device, for example, a GPS receiver  114  (FIG.  9 ). Location data can be collected by wireless telephone device  502  for specific locations or objects designated by the wireless user. For example, locatable objects may include a charger  504  or land line telephone  540 . For each designated object or location, the wireless user stores coordinate data in wireless telephone device  502  for the object or location by, for example, bringing wireless telephone device  502  to the location of the designated objects, taking a location coordinate measurement using, for example, GPS receiver  114  (FIG.  9 ), and then storing that measurement within the wireless device  502  in correspondence with an identification of a particular object or location. A user can then assign a forwarding number for each stored object or location coordinate information which is stored in memory  116 . Later, when the wireless telephone device  502  is within a predefined distance of such a locatable object or location , for example, within 50 feet of a charger  504 , determined by wireless device  502  comparing its present location to the prestored coordinate information, the wireless device  502  can connect to the wireless provider, enable the call forwarding feature, and send a forwarding number which is associated with the object or location which the wireless device  502  is within the predefined distance of 
   The processing performed by the wireless device illustrated in  FIG. 7  is shown in FIG.  8 . As shown therein, in a first processing segment  300 , the wireless telephone device  502  determines its location through a location determination device, for example, a GPS receiver  114 . Once the location is determined, the wireless device  502  proceeds to processing segment  302 , where it determines whether or not the wireless device is located within a predefined forwarding area. This would mean whether or not the wireless device is within a predefined distance of a predetermined location. Predetermined location information for one or more objects and/or locations, for example, the location of charger  504  or land-line telephone  540 , are acquired and prestored in memory  116  of telephone device  502 . If the wireless device is within a predefined distance of a predetermined location as detected in processing segment  302 , the wireless device  502  proceeds to processing segment  304 , where it determines which forwarding area it is in, and from that it retrieves in processing segment  306  a forwarding number associated with that predefined area from memory  116 . Following this, in processing segment  216 , the wireless device  502  connects with a service provider, instructs enablement of a call forwarding operation, and sends the retrieved forwarding number. After this, the wireless device  502  determines if it has left the predefined forwarding area in processing signal  308 . If not, the wireless device  502  loops through processing segment  308  until it leaves the predefined area, as detected in processing segment  308 . Once the wireless device  502  detects that it has left the predefined forwarding area in processing segment  308 , the wireless device proceeds to processing segment  220 , where it connects with the service provider, and instructs the disabling of the call forwarding operation. From there the wireless device proceeds back to processing segment  300 . 
   As a consequence of these operations, when the wireless device is within a predefined forwarding area, that is within a predetermined distance of a predetermined location, the call forwarding feature is automatically engaged and a number associated with the predetermined location is sent to the wireless service provider; whereas when the wireless device leaves the predefined area, the call forwarding operation is automatically disabled. 
   It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative and not restrictive of the invention. Many variations to the above-described system and method will be readily apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is not to be considered as limited by the specifics of the particular systems and methods which have been described and illustrated above, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.