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Transmitter having adjustable power levels responsive to the

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1. NaS 900 HOLVM 01 SNOTLONNA 900 HOLVM 331 dN0003J9INW 3AV1S YALNdNODONDIN 831SVM 0 96 1102419 NOTLINIOOIY JOIOA FOIA U S Patent Sep 29 1998 Sheet 4 of 13 5 815 820 0 o E PS aviasia eli 2z721 PAO TCMP PAI PA2 P P P P P e PD4 Vog 1 C lt lt lt 1 C CN E X D di MER gt e m D nee FE TIRE San Sy tg j T pa N 415 12 511 2510 5 i518 p neg 5 MASTER MICROCOMPUTER FIG 5 815 820 Sheet 5 of 13 Sep 29 1998 U S Patent 11 8 319IH3A 06 0 VN9IS o 120005 01 1093 4 97974 1VN331X3 Gly NOILINSI AMLINOUTO 3 91 3 MEN 9S Orany Hr O LINSNVM a el tSt I 3 1323 801V33N39 MNV8 831113 33183AN09 ae mare T3NNVHO N v 0 E owe 3510 WOONVY 96 29 929 829 40194144 LIWSNVUL XNV8 3311134 u3143AN02 YOSSIDONdONDIN TANNVH N C E 819 019 tSt 220249049 AMON3W 31V1dN31 pr i 0297 9 3 3 038015 V9 2 i U S Patent Sep 29 1998 Sheet 6 of 13 5 815 820 INTERRUPT FROM SLEEP STATE 704 702 IS THE ANTENNA EXTENDED READ KEYPAD IS ANY KEY PRESSED ACT ON KEY DO NORMAL
2. 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 12 US Pat Nos 4 797 929 4 817 157 4 870 686 4 896 361 4 945 570 U S patent application Ser No 07 266 293 Word Spotting In a Speech Recognition System Without Predetermined End Point Detection filed on behalf of Gerson on Oct 31 1988 and international publication numbers WO 87 07748 and WO 87 07749 Dec 17 1987 Referring to 6B there is shown a block diagram of a hands free vehicular adapter circuit which may be employed in the present invention The vehicular adapter 450 may be a hands free adapter with a regulated power supply which couples the portable radiotelephone to a vehicle battery 452 When coupled to duplex hands free adapter DHFA the portable radiotelephone is in the DHFA mode in which inter alia display 211 is disabled when the portable radio telephone is inactive for a period of time Master microcomputer 404 detects the presence of an external power source by monitoring an external power source signal from the vehicular adapter circuit 450 The external power source signal is converted to a binary signal have a binary state indicating whether or not the external power source is present i e binary 0 state equals external power source present If the portable telephone is in the DHFA mode audio amplifiers 422 and 426 are disabled and the TX audio at 421 and RX audio at 425 are routed to the hands free circuitry of the vehicular adapter circuit 450 f
3. for connection to the amplifier 426 and subsequently to the speaker 424 In the preferred embodiment two interconnected micro computer systems are utilized to control the basic functions of the portable radiotelephone the master microcomputer 404 and to control the keypad and display functions the slave microcomputer The slave microcomputer is shown in more detail in the schematic of FIG 5 The slave micro computer 414 consists of a microcomputer 414 which in the preferred embodiment is an MC68HCO05C4 microcomputer which also has onboard memory The basic function of the slave microcomputer is to provide interface to the user of the portable radiotelephone via keypad 205 display 211 and other buttons indicators and illumination backlighting The slave microcomputer 414 is coupled to a multi segment display 211 which in the preferred embodiment is a con ventional LED 8 digit display The slave microcomputer 414 is also coupled to a keypad matrix of key switches 205 which enables the portable radiotelephone user to input dial telephone numbers 517 store and recall telephone number information and perform other radiotelephone func tions such as initiate or terminate a telephone call In the preferred embodiments one of the keys of the matrix 205 508 is specially dedicated to the function of turning the power on and off The on off control is accomplished by a momentary switch closure by key 508 to ground which acti
4. of to of Claim 15 In column 21 on line 20 please asses of to of Claim 16 In column 21 on lne 26 please change claim 12 to claim 15 Signed and Sealed this Twenty fifth Day of April 2000 Q TODD DICKINSON Attesting Officer Director of Patents and Trademarks
5. the detector detects that the antenna is in the unstowed position 22 A portable radiotelephone comprising a housing having a microphone and a speaker and adapted to be positioned against a user s head to permit a user to speak into the microphone and listen from the earpiece speaker an antenna moveable between a stowed position and an unstowed position relative to the housing wherein the antenna is positioned closer to the user s head when the antenna is in the stowed position than when the antenna is in the unstowed position a transmitter for transmitting a signal at one of a plurality of predetermined power levels up to a maximum power level wherein the maximum power level is lower when the antenna is in the stowed position than when the antenna is in the unstowed position and a controller for controlling the transmitter to transmit the signal at one of the plurality of predetermined power levels up to the maximum power level UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION 5 815 820 DATERUNOE d October 15 1998 DATED INVENTOR S Kiem It is certified that error appears in the above indentified patent and that said Letters Patent is hereby corrected as shown below In column 2 between lines 29 and 30 add the section title SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Claim 13 In column 21 on line 12 please change of to of Claim 14 In column 21 on line 16 please change
6. the radio telephone including but not limited to the radiotelephone s 200 power on or off state voice recognition s on or off state functions implemented responsive to a key depression or transmit power FIGS 3A 3C illustrate a side view of a first 325 second 326 and third 327 embodiment respectively of the portable radiotelephone 200 of FIG 2 A cut away portion exposing cross sectional view in FIGS 3A 3C illustrate unique switching mechanisms for implementing alternatives of the present invention In the preferred embodiments 325 327 the antenna 213 may be perceived to extend solid line substantially outside the radiotelephone 200 or retract dotted line substantially inside the radiotelephone 200 along a center axis 311 of the antenna 213 A first second third and fourth position of the antenna 213 inside the radiotelephone 200 are referenced to datum lines at 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 4 313 316 respectively The first position at 313 represents the position of a retracted antenna The second position at 314 represents the position of an extended antenna The third position at 315 represents the position of a retracted antenna further retracted into the radiotelephone 200 than the first position at 313 The fourth position at 316 represents the position of the antenna between the first and the second position for example approximately half way between the retracted positi
7. ANDARD defines seven power levels below the maximum power level at which the transmit power may be adjusted for each Class while the portable radiotelephone is transmitting Thus the transmit power of the portable radiotelephone 200 is adjust able within the Class 3 and Class 2 when the antenna is moved to the retracted and extended position respectively Other portable radiotelephones may operate as a portable cordless radiotelephone having a fixed transmit power when the antenna is retracted and as a portable cellular radiotele phone having an adjustable transmit power when the antenna is extended Returning now to FIG 3A the antenna 213 of the radiotelephone 325 is shown to be movable between a first position 313 axially retracted substantially inside the radio telephone 325 and a second position 314 axially extended substantially outside the radiotelephone 325 The reed switch 305 and the magnet 301 provides means for detecting movement of the antenna between the retracted and extended positions Referring now to FIG 4 and 5 the transceiver 420 comprises means for transmitting an output signal from the antenna 213 and means for receiving an input signal from the antenna 213 Means for transmitting includes conven tional power amplifying means having gain The slave microcomputer 414 in combination with the master micro computer 404 per FIG 4 provide controlling means for adjusting the gain of the power amplifier responsive to th
8. HOOK SWITCH TRANSITION ACTIVATE KEYPAD BACKLIGHT AND DISPLAY TIME FOR 6 SECS DEACTIVATE KEYPAD BACKLIGHT AND DISPLAY TURN OFF VOICE RECOGNITION BACKLIGHT AND DISPLAY U S Patent Sep 29 1998 Sheet 11 of 13 5 815 820 FICGIZ2B 1214 VOICE RECOGNITION AV TENA TED SEND HOOK SWITCH FLASH DISABLE VOICE RECOGNITION CURRENTLY IN HANDS FREE SWITCH TO HANDS FREE MODE SWITCH TO HANDSET MODE U S Patent Sep 29 1998 Sheet 12 of 13 5 815 820 1301 WN FIG 13 U S Patent Sep 29 1998 Sheet 13 of 13 5 815 820 ENTER TRANSMIT ROUTINE 7140 1403 YES NO IS ANTENNA EXTENDED 1405 1407 SET MAX POWER 1 20 SET MAX POWER AT 0 6W AND CLASS 2 AND CLASS 5 1408 IS 5 CALL IN PROGRESS NO ACTIVATE TRANSMITTER 1409 NOTIFY THE BASF 1411 STATION OF THE CLASS NORMAL 1412 TRANSMITTER PROCESSING FIG 14 5 815 820 1 TRANSMITTER HAVING ADJUSTABLE POWER LEVELS RESPONSIVE TO THE POSITION OF A MOVABLE ANTENNA RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a Continuation in Part of patent application Ser No 07 729 502 entitled Apparatus and Method for Generating a Control Signal Responsive to a Movable Antenna filed on Jul 12 1991 by Kevin D Kaschke and assigned to the assignee of the present inven tion FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates
9. HOUSEKEEPING FUNCTIONS ic GO INTO LOW oe MODE YES ENTER SLEEP STATE WAIT FOR INTERRUPT 716 718 FIIG 7 U S Patent Sep 29 1998 Sheet 7 of 13 5 815 820 802 804 WAS AN ANTENNA SEND KEYPAD DISABLE RETRACTED INDICATION COMMAND TO MASTER uP RECEIVED 808 SEND KEYPAD ENABLE COMMAND TO MASTER WAS AN ANTENNA EXTENDED INDICATION RECEIVED FIG IA READ HKS STATE DIFFERENT FROM LAST TIME IS ANTENNA EXTENDED 908 SEND EXTENDED ANTENNA COMMAND TO MASTER uP 910 SEND RETRACTED ANTENNA COMMAND TO MASTER uP U S Patent Sep 29 1998 Sheet 8 of 13 5 815 820 912 916 SET KEYPAD KEYPAD ENABLE COMMAND ENABLE FLAG 9 EYPAD COMM AND YES CLEAR KEYPAD KEYP DISABLE uk ENABLE FLAG E READ KEYPAD AND VOLUME CONTROL SWITCHES WAS ANY KEY NO OR SWITCH o o YES NORMAL SLAVE uP BACKGROUND FUNCTION FIG IB U S Patent Sep 29 1998 Sheet 9 of 13 5 815 820 FIGC 0 STORE ANTENNA STATE IN MEMORY 1093 1008 IS ANTENNA EXTENDED EXTERNAL POWER SUPPLY NO 1010 TURN OFF ROUTINE NORMAL WAKE UP AND HOUSEKEEPING ROUTINES FIIC 77 TURN OFF ROUTINE 1116 NORMAL BACKGROUND ROUTINES U S Patent Sep 29 1998 Sheet 10 of 13 5 815 820 NORMAL RADIO MICROCOMPUTER BACKGROUND FUNCTION ON TO OFF
10. One such vehicular adaptor circuit which may be employed by the present invention is a S1747A available from Motorola Inc If the telephone is not coupled to the vehicular adaptor 450 then flow proceeds to a decision block 1224 where a determination of whether the voice recognition circuit has been enabled If the voice recognition circuit has been enabled it is then disabled at block 1225 before the process returns to the normal back 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 16 ground functions at 1202 If the voice recognition circuit is not enabled at this time then the process proceeds to block 1226 where a hookswitch flash signal is sent Optionally a hookswitch flash signal may be sent if the send key on the keypad is depressed Thus if the portable radiotelephone is coupled to the hands free vehicular adaptor 450 and is engaged in a telephone call when the hands free circuit of the vehicular adaptor is enabled the momentary retraction and extension of the antenna in less than n msec deactivates the hands free function and the portable radiotelephone reverts to the use of the internal microphone and speaker Likewise if the portable radiotelephone is coupled to the hands free adaptor 450 and engaged in a telephone call with the hands free circuit disabled the momentary retraction and extension of the antenna results in the activation of the hands free circuit If the portable radiotel
11. US005815820A United States Patent 11 Patent Number 5 815 820 Kiem et al 4 Date of Patent Sep 29 1998 54 TRANSMITTER HAVING ADJUSTABLE 5 109 538 4 1992 Ikonen et al 455 126 POWER LEVELS RESPONSIVE TO THE 5 109 539 4 1992 Inubushi et 455 89 POSITION OF A MOVABLE ANTENNA 5 138 329 8 1992 Saarnimo et al 343 702 5 144 324 9 1992 Chin etal 455 127 X i TT 5 179 353 1 1993 Miyake ossee 455 126 5 investors s ot 5 541 609 7 1996 Stutzman et al 455 575 Kaschke Hoffman Estates Raymond OTHER PUBLICATIONS A Jenski Palatine all of Motorola Inc User Manual 71991 68P09357A20 0 for 73 Assignee Motorola Inc Schaumburg Ill a cellular mobile telephone An FCC application dated Feb 19 1992 and grant dated E Mar 18 1992 for equipment authorization FCC ID 21 Appl No 880 918 seh AXATR 208 AZ 22 Filed May 11 1992 EIA Standard Cellular System Mobile Station Land STa tion Comaptibility Specification IS 3 D Mar 1989 Related U S Application Data Primary Examiner Edward F Urban 63 Continuation in part of Ser No 729 502 Jul 12 1991 Attorney Agent or Firm Kevin D Kaschke 51 H04B 1 38 57 ABSTRACT cor S ME 455 575 poss ds A portable radiotelephone 200 adjusts its transmit power 58 Field o Me one Gane ee 7 89 90 82 respon
12. an assignment Illumination for the keypad 205 is provided in the preferred embodiments by a plurality of light emitting diodes LEDs indicated by diodes 536 through 541 in FIG 5 LEDs 536 through 541 are conventionally supplied from a regulated 5 volt voltage source via current limiting resis tors and switch transistor 543 Switch transistor 543 is coupled to the TCMP port of the slave microcomputer 414 and is enabled disabled in accordance with the stored pro gram of the slave processor 414 The LEDs are physically mounted behind the keypad 205 shown in FIG 2 and provide backlighting to the keys to aid the user in selecting the keys in dim lighting conditions Referring now to FIG 6A there is illustrated a block diagram of a voice recognition circuit 432 which may be utilized in the present invention When the voice recognition circuits are activated microphone audio from an external microphone 454 is coupled to amplifier 610 where the gain is increased to an appropriate input level for the A D converter 612 and to a transmit TX audio path 421 The A D converter 612 digitizes the amplified analog input signal from the amplifier 610 The digitized signal from the A D converter 612 is fed into a filter bank 614 comprised of n bandpass filters whose responses overlap at the 3 dB response points The output from each of the filter bank channels is fed to an n channel energy detector 616 where the amplitude of the signal in ea
13. ansmitter s antenna Radiotelephones having adjustable transmit power respon sive to the position of the antenna may or may not include the prior art flip element 101 If the flip element 101 is not included as shown in FIG 2 the movable antenna may combine the adjustable transmit power control with other appropriate control functions described hereinabove FIG 13 is a drawing showing the change in distance between the antenna 213 of the portable radiotelephone 200 and a user s head 1301 when the antenna is retracted and extended The antenna 213 is located at a first predetermined distance D1 and a second predetermined distance D2 away from a portion of the body particularly the head 1301 of the user operating the radiotelephone 200 when the antenna is moved to the retracted position and extended position respectively The present invention may be used with any type of movable antenna and not the particular axial antenna shown and described herein For a given transmit power the exposure of the user s head 1301 to the antenna s radiated energy decreases when the antenna 213 is extended and increases when the antenna is retracted primarily because of the change in distance between the antenna 213 and the user s head 1301 when the antenna 213 is moved Since the exposure of the head to the antenna s radiated energy decreases when the antenna 213 is extended the radio s transmit power is increased when the antenna 213 is exte
14. at block 1405 when the antenna is extended If a call is determined to be in process at block 1408 i e the transmitter already active the radiotelephone bypasses block 1409 to notify the base station of the Class at block 1411 Otherwise if a call is determined not to be in process at block 1408 i e the transmitter is inactive the radiotelephone activates the transmitter at block 1409 and notifies the base station of the Class at block 1411 After the base station is notified of the radiotelephone s Class at block 1411 normal transmitter processing resumes at block 1413 What is claimed is 1 A portable radiotelephone comprising an antenna element moveable between a stowed position and an unstowed position a detector for detecting the movement of the antenna element between the stowed and the unstowed position wherein the movement of the antenna causes the detec tor to be in a first state when the antenna element is moved to the stowed position and causes the detector to be in a second state when the antenna element is moved to the unstowed position a transmitter for transmitting a signal at a first power level or a second power level wherein the second power level is greater than the first power level and a controller coupled to the detector and the transmitter wherein the controller controls the transmitter to trans mit the signal at the first power level when the detector is in the first state and controls the transmit
15. ave microcomputer of FIG 5 FIG 8 is a flowchart depicting the process of activation deactivation employed in the master microcomputer of FIG 4 FIGS 9A and 9B combined are flowcharts depicting the process of activation deactivation employed in the slave microcomputer of FIG 5 5 815 820 3 FIG 10 is a flowchart depicting the process of activation deactivation of the power on off switch upon initial power up of the master microcomputer of FIG 4 FIG 11 is a flowchart depicting the process of activation deactivation of the power on off switch after initial power up of the master microcomputer of FIG 4 FIGS 12A and 12B are a flowchart depicting the process of interpreting hookswitch operation of the master micro computer of FIG 4 FIG 13 is a drawing showing the change in distance between an antenna of a portable radiotelephone and a user s head when the antenna is retracted and extended FIG 14 is a flowchart depicting a change the transmit power of a portable radiotelephone responsive to the radio telephone s antenna position DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A portable radiotelephone 200 adapted for use in a cellular radiotelephone system is shown in FIG 2 The user may listen via the earpiece 201 and may speak into the microphone 203 The keypad 205 consists of a plurality of buttons numbered one through zero and in a familiar telephone arrangement as well as additional function butto
16. bed typical steps of depressing the on off key 508 and closing the hinged housing portion In the second preferred embodiment the on hook and off hook operating modes are generated using a conven tional key depression A further advantage of the second preferred embodiment allows the designer of the portable radiotelephone to eliminate the on off key on the keypad 205 completely thus reducing the cost and surface area of the keypad Generating the on off power control signal responsive to the antenna position may be conveniently used with a second generation cordless telephone service called CT 2 One feature of the CT 2 cordless telephone is that it will only allow outgoing calls Therefore the user should not have a need to extend the antenna without the intention of making a telephone call 1 the cordless telephone must be pow ered on An on off power control signal 412 FIG 4 and 5 is generated when the antenna 213 is moved from its retracted position at 313 past the half way position at 316 to its extended position at 314 Generation of the on off power control signal 412 in the second preferred embodiment occurs when magnet 301 momentarily short circuits the reed switch 307 at the half way position at 316 As the antenna 213 passes the half way position at 316 the magnetic field given off by the magnet 301 comes in close proximity with the reed switch 307 causing the reed switch 307 to momen tari
17. ch bandpass response is detected The detected level from each energy detector at 616 is fed to a conventional microcomputer 618 for com parison with a stored energy template from memory 620 Upon successful correlation of the microphone input with the stored template microcomputer 618 sends a command on the data bus 415 to the master microcomputer 404 In this manner a command such as a telephone number to be dialed or a send or end command may be entered to control radiotelephone operation Synthesized voice replies from the voice recognition circuits are initiated by the microcomputer 618 by sending control signals to a random noise generator and pitch generator circuit 622 Signals from these generators are fed to an n channel filter bank 624 which comprises n narrow bandpass filters The output of these filters are added together in a summer block 626 whose output is fed to a D A converter 628 where the digital signal is converted to an analog signal The analog signal is amplified to an appro priate level with amplifier 630 and sent to the receive RX audio path 425 which is then sent to the external speaker 456 so that the user will hear the synthesized voice responses The voice recognition circuits may be activated by the master microcomputer 404 by sending commands to the voice recognition processor 618 over the data bus 415 Similar voice recognition circuits are further disclosed in 10 15 20 25
18. ct inadvertently turn the radiotele phone 325 off or initiate a battery power draining function such as a key depression Therefore retracting the antenna 213 on the portable radiotelephone 200 may disable user interface controls either on the keypad 205 or on other peripheral surfaces of the radiotelephone 325 such as the on off 508 number dialling 517 volume controls 207 and 209 send 513 end 515 clear 521 function 523 and memory store 525 and recall 527 controls Additionally a retracted antenna at 313 may disable circuitry such as voice recognition circuitry as shown in FIG 6A and hands free circuitry as shown in FIG 6B Extending the antenna 213 enables the aforementioned disabled control functions and circuitry as well as keypad illumination 536 541 and display circuitry 211 per FIG 5 Referring now to FIG 3B an illustration of the second preferred embodiment one may perceive the generation of the on off power control signal responsive to the antenna position In the second preferred embodiment the user need only extend the antenna 213 and the portable radiotelephone 326 automatically turns on thus eliminating both of the previously described typical steps of opening the hinged housing portion and depressing the on off key 508 FIG 5 Likewise to turn off the portable radiotelephone 326 the user need only retract the antenna 213 again eliminating both of the previously descri
19. diated by the transmitter s antenna A portable radiotelephone comprises antenna means including an antenna element and a transmitter The antenna element is moveable between a stowed position and an unstowed position The transmitter transmits a signal from the antenna means at a first power level when the antenna element is moved to the stowed position and at a second power level greater than the first power level when the antenna element is moved to the unstowed position BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG 1 is an isometric drawing of a portable radiotele phone having a hinged housing portion which may employ the present invention FIG 2 is an isometric drawing of a portable radiotele phone without a hinged housing portion which may employ the present invention FIGS 3A 3C are side views of the portable radiotele phone of FIG 2 having a cut away view showing a first second and third embodiment respectively of the the radiotelephone of FIG 2 FIG 4 is a block diagram of the electronic elements of the portable radiotelephone of FIG 2 embodying the present invention FIG 5 is a schematic diagram of a slave microcomputer and associated circuitry employed in the portable radiotele phone of FIG 4 FIGS 6A and 6B are block diagrams of voice recognition circuitry and vehicular adaptor hands free circuitry respectively employed in FIG 4 FIG 7 is a flowchart depicting the deactivation process employed in the sl
20. djustable within the second range of power levels when the detector is in the second state 6 A portable radiotelephone in accordance with claim 2 wherein the first and the second range of power levels of the transmitter further comprise Class 3 low power levels and Class 2 mid range power levels respectively 7 A portable radiotelephone in accordance with claim 2 wherein the controller notifies a base station via the transmitter that the transmitter is operable to transmit the signal at a power level within the first range of power levels and at a power level within the second range of power levels when the detector is in the first state and the second state respectively 8 A portable radiotelephone in accordance with claim 7 wherein the notification occurs during a telephone call 9 A portable radiotelephone in accordance with claim 1 further comprising a housing including the detector the transmitter and the controller wherein the antenna element is axially retracted substan tially inside the housing when the antenna element is moved to the stowed position and axially extended substantially outside the housing when the antenna element is moved to the unstowed position 10 A portable radiotelephone comprising a transmitter for transmitting a signal at a power level within one of a plurality of predetermined ranges of power levels wherein each of the plurality of prede termined ranges of power levels is indicative of a
21. e detected movement of the antenna to adjust the radiotele phone s transmit power Thus the radiotelephone advantageously provides means for transmitting from the antenna 213 an output signal having a first and a second output power level when the antenna is moved to the first and the second position respectively Stated from another perspective the radio produces a first and a second transmit power responsive to the antenna being moved between the first and the second position respectively The portable radiotelephone conventionally notifies a remote base station not shown of its Class at the beginning of transmission The EIA STANDARD per section 2 3 3 defines a digital representation of the Classes as a Station Class Mark The Station Class Mark is sent to the base station from the portable unit as a four bit digital code via a control channel per section 2 7 1 1 Word A of the EIA STANDARD Acomplementary feature of the present invention enables the radiotelephone to also notify the base station of its Class not only at the beginning of transmission but also at any other time during transmission via a blank and burst control message on the voice channel The movable antenna pro vides means for selecting to transmit the output signal at least one of a first and a second power level The means for selecting comprises any user interface and need not be limited to the movable antenna as shown and described 5 815 820 19 herei
22. e row and column lines from the keypads in addition to the volume increase switch 207 and the volume decrease switch 209 at 922 to determine if any key or switch has 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 14 been depressed at 924 If a key or switch has been depressed then an identification of the key or switch depres sion is sent to the master microcomputer at 926 The process of FIGS 9A and 9B then returns to the normal slave microcomputer background functions at 926 Thus if the antenna is determined to be extended then the keys of the keypad and the volume increase and decrease switches are read in conventional fashion If the antenna is determined to be retracted then the keys of the keypad and volume increase and decrease switches are ignored The on off key 508 is also exposed and prone to accidental actuation In the preferred embodiment the on off key is placed among the matrix of keypad keys for aesthetic reasons It is a desirable feature that once the power is turned on the portable transceiver remains in a power on mode and not be turned off due to a spurious on off key depression when the antenna is retracted Likewise when the portable transceiver is turned off it is equally desirable that the portable transceiver remain in the powered off condition even though a spurious on off key depression may occur when the antenna is retracted Two processes enable this operation Depress
23. eceive signals may include conventional AM FM radios or any receiver utilizing an antenna Devices which only trans mit signals may include remote data input devices Referring to FIG 4 there is essentially illustrated an electrical block diagram of the cellular portable radiotele phone 200 of FIG 2 embodying the present invention Such a portable radiotelephone 200 includes a cellular radiotele phone transceiver 402 operable in cellular radiotelephone systems internal microphone 420 and switchable amplifier 422 internal speaker 424 and switchable amplifier 426 master microcomputer 404 with conventional RAM storing pertinent cellular telephone call parameters and conven tional ROM storing control software a power controller 410 including regulators coupled to a battery 430 for gen erating DC Direct Current voltages for powering other blocks and coupled to a on off terminal 412 a slave micro computer 414 including conventional ROM with controlling software for controlling the display 211 and the keypad 205 a voice recognition circuit 432 a vehicular adapter hands free circuit 450 and watch dog functions 406 Exter nal microphone 454 external speaker 456 and a vehicle battery 452 interface with the portable radiotelephone in a vehicular installation Master microcomputer 404 slave microcomputer 414 voice recognition circuit 432 vehicular adapter hands free circuit 450 and watch dog functions 406 are coupled to and co
24. ephone is not coupled to the hands free vehicular adaptor 450 and is presently in a call with the microphone not muted where the antenna is momentarily retracted and then extended prior to the timer expiring then either the voice recognition circuit is disabled or a hookswitch flash signal is sent From 1226 flow returns to the normal background functions at 1202 If a determination is made at 1223 that the telephone was in the hands free vehicular adaptor then the process flow continues to determination block 1228 A test is made at 1228 to determine whether the telephone is currently in the hands free mode If it is determined at 1228 that the telephone is not in the hands free mode then the process flow proceeds to block 1230 where the mode is set to the hands free mode In the hands free mode the internal micro phone 420 and speaker 424 are inactivated and the external microphone 454 and external speaker 456 are active Thus if the portable radiotelephone is in the hands free vehicle adaptor 450 and is presently in a call with the microphone not muted while the antenna is momentarily retracted and then extended prior to the timer expiring but is not in the hands free mode at the time then the mode is changed from a private call with the radiotelephone s internal microphone and speaker to the hands free mode using the external microphone and speaker From 1230 flow returns to the normal background func tions at 1202 If it is dete
25. er may terminate the telephone call by retracting the antenna 213 Such a retracted state of the antenna is commonly known as on hook In the first preferred embodiment the end key 515 FIG 5 may also be used to terminate a telephone call if the antenna is already extended 5 815 820 5 In FIG 3A one may perceive the generation of the hookswitch control signal at line 511 of FIG 5 responsive the antenna 213 being moved between the retracted position at 313 and the extended position at 314 An on hook control signal is generated when the antenna 213 is retracted substantially inside the portable radiotelephone 325 to the first position at 313 such that the magnet 301 on the end portion of the antenna 213 is in close proximity with the reed switch 305 The magnetic field given off by the magnet 301 causes the reed switch 305 to short circuit thereby placing the radiotelephone 325 in the on hook state Extending the antenna 213 substantially outside the portable radiotele phone 325 to the second position at 314 displaces the magnetic field given off by the magnet 301 from the reed switch 305 causing the reed switch 305 to open circuit placing thereby placing radiotelephone 325 in the off hook state In the first preferred embodiment the combi nation of the magnet 301 and the reed switch 305 coupled to the printed circuit board 303 may be known as the hook switch In the first preferred embodiment the anten
26. es If the external supply is not connected then a power turn off routine is followed at 1010 Power turn off is accomplished by the master microcomputer 404 by storing its status and other essential parameters in memory before allowing the watchdog functions 406 of FIG 4 to run out A watch dog power function run out is communicated to the power controller 410 which subse quently turns off the portable radiotelephone Once the master microcomputer 404 has successfully powered up any on off switch depressions are ignored so as long as the antenna is retracted A determination of the signal sense on line 414 of FIG 4 is made by the master micro computer 404 at 1102 of FIG 11 If the sense is signal high then the master microcomputer continues with its back ground routines If the sense is low then the master micro computer reads the status of the antenna state in storage at 1114 and either proceeds with a turn off routine at 1116 if the antenna is extended or ignores a depression of the on off 5 815 820 15 switch as a spurious depression if the antenna is retracted Thus a valid on off command may be processed only if the antenna is extended The process followed by the master microcomputer 404 in realizing the present invention in the preferred embodiment 325 and 327 is shown in FIGS 12A and 12B The master microcomputer 404 as part of its routine of chores at 1202 checks for an on hook to off hook transition at 1204 If an
27. g the on off key 508 on the keypad 205 to generate a power control signal 412 and the send 513 or end 515 key on the keypad 205 to produce the hookswitch operating mode are combined with the antenna movement to provide opti mum user convenience and radiotelephone functionality should the antenna become inoperable In the third preferred embodiment the antenna 213 has at least three positions The hookswitch control signal 511 is generated responsive to positioning the antenna between the first retracted posi tion at 313 and the second extended position at 314 as previously described in the first preferred embodiment The on off power control signal 412 is generated responsive to momentarily positioning the antenna 213 in the third posi tion at 315 also on the axis of the antenna 311 To power on the portable radiotelephone using the antenna 213 the user would momentarily position the antenna in the third position 315 by depressing the exposed portion of the retracted antenna 213 into the radiotelephone Upon depressing the antenna 213 the end portion of the 10 15 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 8 antenna inside the radiotelephone presses against a spring 319 of nonmagnetic material generating a spring force against the end of the antenna 213 along the antenna axis 311 One end of the spring 319 is attached to a support 321 to fixture the spring 319 The other end of the spring 319 opposite
28. generally to portable com munication devices and more particularly to a portable transmitting device having adjustable transmit power levels responsive to the position of a movable antenna BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A portable communication device of which a portable cellular radiotelephone subscriber unit is a convenient example provides an appropriate setting for describing the need for the present invention The small size of portable radiotelephones enables the user to carry and store the unit virtually anywhere Such portability is afforded by the use of a foldable housing and a movable antenna FIG 1 shows a foldable portable radiotelephone 100 having a housing portion 101 hinged to a body portion 103 and an antenna 109 extendably retractable along its longitudinal axis For increased port ability when the portable radiotelephone 100 is not in use the hinged housing portion 101 is rotated to cover the keypad 105 and the antenna is retracted substantially inside to the body of the portable radiotelephone A retracted antenna can transmit and or receive radio frequency RF signals but the antenna s performance is less than an extended antenna because of its shortened electrical length and interference from the close proximity of the user s body To use the portable radiotelephone the hinged housing portion 101 is rotated to expose the keypad 105 and the antenna is extended to project away from the body of the portable radiote
29. he plurality of predetermined ranges of power levels for transmitting the signal and notifying a base station during a telephone call that the signal is operable to be transmitted at the selected one of the plurality of predetermined ranges of power levels 18 A method in accordance with claim 17 wherein the step of selecting further comprises the step of detecting movement of an antenna element of antenna means between a stowed and an unstowed position wherein a first and a second range of power levels of the plurality of predeter mined ranges of power levels are selected when the antenna element is moved to the stowed and the unstowed position respectively 19 A portable communication device comprising an antenna moveable between a stowed position and an unstowed position a detector for detecting the movement of the antenna between the stowed and the unstowed position a transmitter for transmitting a signal at one of a first power level and a second power level within at least one predetermined range of power levels wherein the second power level is greater than the first power level within the at least one predetermined range of power levels and 10 15 20 25 35 40 45 50 55 22 a controller coupled to the detector and the transmitter for controlling the transmitter to transmit the signal at the first power level when the detector detects the antenna to be moved to the stowed position and for contr
30. icrophone is muted the voice recognition circuitry is disabled Flow proceeds from block 1214 to 1202 where flow returns to normal background functions If it is determined at 1212 that the microphone is not muted then flow proceeds to block 1216 where a timer of n milliseconds is started This timer runs until it has either expired or the antenna is extended After the counter is started flow proceeds to determination block 1218 where a test is made to determine whether the timer has expired If the timer has expired then the flow proceeds to block 1220 where the telephone call is terminated Thus if the antenna is retracted for longer than n milliseconds while a call is in progress and the micro phone is not muted then the call is terminated In the preferred embodiments the timer duration n is 1000 mil liseconds The flow proceeds to determination block 1222 where a test is made of whether an on hook to off hook transition has occurred If no on hook to off hook transition has occurred then flow returns to determination block 1218 Flow con tinues in the 1218 1222 loop until either the timer expires or an on hook to off hook transition occurs If a determination is made at 1222 that an on hook to off hook transition has occurred prior to the timer expiring then flow proceeds to determination block 1223 A test is made at 1223 of whether the telephone is coupled to the hands free vehicular adaptor circuit 450
31. ion of the on off key is ignored when the antenna is retracted Referring again to FIG 4 when a momentary depression of the on off switch 508 occurs a ground signal is applied to the on off line at 412 into the power controller 410 of FIG 4 The ground signal is buffered by power controller 410 and applied to the master microcomputer 404 via line 414 Upon receipt of this buffered on off signal on line 414 the master microcomputer 404 follows the process flow charted in FIG 10 In FIG 10 the master microcomputer 404 and the rest of the associated microcomputer system undergoes a reset operation at 1002 and requests a system characterization a definition of what peripherals exist on the bus at 1004 As part of the characterization process the slave microcom puter 414 reports the state of the antenna The current antenna State is then stored at 1005 The master microcom puter then determines if the antenna is extended at 1006 If this determination is positive then the master microcom puter proceeds with its normal wake up and house keeping routines If the antenna is determined to be retracted at 1006 then a check is made to determine if an external supply has been connected to the portable radiotelephone at 1008 A similar circuitry sharing arrangement is further described in US Pat No 5 029 233 If an external supply is determined to exist at 1008 then the master microcomputer 404 returns to its normal house keeping routin
32. l responsive to the antenna position Referring now to FIG 7 processes followed by the slave microcomputer 414 in realizing the present invention are illustrated in flowchart form The process of FIG 7 therefore commences with an interrupt due to a change of state of the hookswitch 305 to enable the microcomputer system at 702 A determination is made at 704 whether the antenna is extended or retracted If the antenna is extended then the keypad 110 is read to determine which key has been closed at 706 If a key has been depressed at 708 then the function or character designated by the key is acted upon at 710 If a keypad key has not been depressed then no action is taken and the microcomputer system resumes its normal functions of controlling the transceiver the display and other housekeep 5 815 820 13 ing chores as shown at 712 If it is determined that the antenna is retracted at 704 then any keypad key depression is considered to be spurious and is ignored by progressing directly from the determination block at 704 to the normal housekeeping functions block at 712 The entire process is repeated for a predetermined period of time until a deter mination is made that the microcomputer system should go into a low power consumption mode as determined at 714 The microcomputer system is put into a sleep state at 716 and only the low power functions await for an interrupt signal at 718 If the microcomputer system is imp
33. le Although the preferred embodiment describes an antenna 213 which extends and retracts axially with respect to the portable radiotelephone 200 this should not be a limitation of the present invention for other antenna movements may be used to generate the control signal if so desired For example one such antenna movement may comprise rotating the antenna about its point of attachment to the portable radiotelephone such that the 5 815 820 9 antenna folds along side the radiotelephone when not in use and is rotated away from the radiotelephone when in use Another such antenna movement may comprise spinning the antenna 213 about its axis when the antenna is either extended or retracted A variety of switching mechanisms are also well known to one skilled in the art and should not be limited to the magnet reed switch combination as described in the pre ferred embodiments 325 327 Other such switching mecha nisms may comprise microswitches and printed circuit board switches Mechanisms for positively positioning the antenna 213 in at least one of the two positions are well known to one skilled in the art and may be advantageously implemented in conjunction with the present invention Although the radio telephones 200 is capable of transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals the present invention may also be used with wireless communications devices which only transmit or receive radio frequency signals Such devices which only r
34. lemented as a master and a slave microcomputer the master microcomputer uti lizes the process shown in FIG 8 as part of its standard operating procedure to prevent spurious key depressions from activating the portable radiotelephone Since the slave microcomputer 402 can send either an antenna extended indication or an antenna retracted indication a detection of those indications is necessary by the master microcomputer A test is made at 802 of whether the antenna retracted indication has been received from the slave microcomputer 414 on the bus 415 If an antenna retracted indication is received then the master microcomputer 404 sends a key pad disable command at 804 to the slave microcomputer 414 on the bus 415 The master microcomputer 404 then returns to its programmed routine of chores If an antenna retracted indication is not received at 802 then a test is made of whether an antenna extended indication has been received from the slave microcomputer 414 at 806 If such an indication has been received by the master microcom puter 404 then a command is sent to the slave microcom puter 414 on the bus 415 to enable the slave microcomputer 414 to again read any keypad button depressions and to send such information to the master microcomputer 404 Upon completion of the enable command the master microcom puter 404 returns to its routine chores The process followed by the slave microcomputer 414 in realizing the present inventio
35. lephone for better performance This portability however allows the portable radiotele phone to be placed in locations where foreign objects may come in contact with a user interface mechanism i e a keypad and inadvertently enable or disable control func tions of the radiotelephone Such undesirable actuation of the control functions is likely to engage related functions which reduce the operating life of a storage battery which powers the portable radiotelephone and may inhibit normal operation US Pat No 4 845 772 and U S patent applications Ser Nos 07 439 993 and 07 439 983 describe portable radio telephones that enable or disable control functions of the radiotelephone responsive to the position of the hinged housing portion Steps have been taken however to reduce the cost weight and thickness of the portable radiotelephone by eliminating the hinged housing portion In doing so the advantages of controlling functions of the portable radio telephone responsive to the hinged housing portion are lost Accordingly there is a need for a portable communication device of which a cellular portable radiotelephone is merely an example having functions that can be controlled without the use of a hinged housing portion Portable radiotelephone antennas radiate RF electromag netic energy while transmitting an RF signal The human 10 15 20 25 30 45 50 55 60 65 2 body and more particularly the huma
36. ly short circuit thereby generating the on off power control signal 412 The movement of the antenna from the retracted position at 313 through the half way position at 316 to the extended 5 815 820 7 position at 314 causes the reed switch 307 to be momentarily actuated producing the on off power control signal 412 to turn the radiotelephone on The movement of the antenna from the extended position at 314 past the half way position at 316 to the retracted position at 313 causes the reed switch 307 to be momentarily short circuited producing the on off power control signal 412 to turn the radiotelephone off A logic interface circuit in a power controller 410 FIG 4 detects the momentary reed switch closure and initiates the steps to turn the portable radiotelephone 326 on if previously off or off if previously Details describ ing the logic interface circuit may be referenced in 0 5 Pat No 4 798 975 entitled High Noise Immunity Input Level Detector With Hysteresis filed in behalf of Walczak et al and assigned to the assignee of the present invention Other logic interface circuits may also be used to detect the momentary reed switch closure To conventionally turn on or off the portable radio telephone 326 without positioning the antenna 213 the user may also depress the on off key 508 on the keypad 205 In a first alternative to the second preferred embodiment of
37. maximum power level of the signal therein means for selecting one of the plurality of predetermined ranges of power levels for transmitting the signal and means for notifying a base station during a telephone call that the transmitter is operable to transmit the signal at the selected one of the plurality of predetermined ranges of power levels 11 A portable radiotelephone in accordance with claim 10 wherein the means for selecting further comprises antenna means including an antenna element moveable between a stowed and an unstowed position wherein a first and a second range of power levels of the plurality of predeter mined ranges of power levels are selected when the antenna element is moved to the stowed and the unstowed position respectively 12 A method of operating a portable radiotelephone the portable radiotelephone including an antenna element move able between a stowed position and an unstowed position and including a transmitter for transmitting a signal at a first power level or a second power level wherein the second power level is greater than the first power level the method comprising the steps of detecting the movement of the antenna element between the stowed and the unstowed position wherein the 5 815 820 21 movement of the antenna causes the detector to be in a first state when the antenna element is moved to the stowed position and causes the detector to be in a second state when the antenna element i
38. mmunicate with one another by way of a three wire data bus 415 which operates as described in U S Pat Nos 4 369 516 and 4 616 314 incorporated herein by reference The foregoing transceiver and microcomputer blocks may be conventional blocks of commercially available portable radiotelephones such as for example the MICROTAC PT Cellular Telephone available from Motorola Inc The MICROTAC PT Cellular Telephone is described in further detail in operator s manual no 68P81150E49 published and available from Motorola C amp E Parts 1313 E Algonquin Rd Schaumburg Ill 60196 Audio signals are converted into electrical signals by the internal microphone 420 and are coupled by switchable amplifier 422 to the radio transceiver 402 via conductor at line 421 These signals are then used to modulate the transmitter of the transceiver 402 in conventional fashion Likewise signals received by the receiver of transceiver 402 are coupled via conductor at line 425 to switchable amplifier 426 and subsequently to speaker 424 for conversion to acoustic signals When the portable radiotelephone is in the voice recog nition mode the signals from the microphone 420 are 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 10 coupled by switchable amplifier 422 to voice recognition circuit 432 via the conductor at line 421 Audio signals generated by the voice recognition circuit 432 are coupled via conductor at line 425
39. n The base station is notified of the selected power level during the transmission of the output signal Means for notifying the base station of the change in Class during radiotelephone transmission is accomplished by sending the updated four bit Station Class Mark via the Order Confirmation Message as described in the EIA STAN DARD section 2 7 2 1 Presently nineteen bits are not used of which four are assigned to the updated Station Class Mark Thus while the radiotelephone is in a call the base station is notified of the change in power level of the radiotelephone This up to date power information allows the base station to control the adjustment of the transmit power within the new Class as required to improve the radiotelephone s transmit performance FIG 14 is a flowchart depicting a change in the radio telephone s transmit power responsive to the radiotele phone s antenna position FIG 14 accounts for the antenna being moved before a call is initiated and while a call is in process The transmit routine at block 1401 is entered either when the user initiates a call i e begins transmission or when the user moves the antenna while in a call i e during transmission The radiotelephone determines whether the antenna is extended or retracted at block 1403 The radio telephone sets the maximum transmit power at 0 6 W corresponding to Class 3 at block 1407 when the antenna is retracted and at 1 2 W corresponding to Class 2
40. n head is biologically sensitive to excessive levels of radiated energy The level of exposure of the human body to the radiated energy is related at least in part to the power level of the transmitted signal and the distance between the antenna and the human body Exposure increases with increasing power level or decreas ing distance Portable radiotelephones by design are held against the user s head so that the user may conveniently listen via an earpiece speaker and talk via a microphone Such a design results in the antenna being located near the user s head thus unavoidably exposing the user s head to the radiated energy Safety standards have been established by the U S govern ment to safely limit the exposure of humans to the radiated energy The safety standards have been more than met by limiting the power level of the transmitted signal However a consequence of limiting the portable radio telephone s transmit power is that the physical distance from which the portable radiotelephone may transmit a signal to a remote base station is limited Thus limiting the portable radiotelephone s transmitter power to meet the safety stan dards also limits the useful transmit range of the portable radiotelephone Accordingly there is also a need for a transmitting device of which a cellular portable radiotelephone is merely an example that can transmit RF signals at a higher power level while limiting the exposure of humans to energy ra
41. n in the preferred embodiment is shown in FIGS 9A and 9B The slave microcomputer 414 memorizes the state of the hookswitch 305 corresponding to whether the antenna is extended or retracted The slave microcomputer 414 determines as part of its routine of chores whether the hookswitch 305 has changed state by comparing the current state against the stored state at 902 and 904 If the state is different then a determination is made at 906 whether the antenna is extended or retracted If the antenna is determined to be extended then an extended antenna command off hook is transmitted to the master microcomputer at 908 If the determination is made at 906 yields a retracted antenna then a retracted antenna command on hook is conveyed to the master microcom puter at 910 In either case the master microcomputer 404 always maintains the antenna state in its associated storage The slave microcomputer as part of its routine of chores checks for a keypad enable or keypad disable command received from the master microcomputer 404 This deter mination is made at decision blocks 912 and 914 A keypad enable command sets a keypad enable flag in the slave microcomputer 414 memory at 916 while a keypad disable command clears the keypad enable flag at 918 before the process of FIGS 9A and 9B resumes its normal background flow Further along the normal background process the slave microcomputer 414 reads the keypad enable flag at 920 and reads th
42. na 213 has at least two positions relative to the radiotelephone 325 in order to generate both the on hook and off hook operating modes To generate the on hook and off hook operating modes without positioning the antenna 213 the user may also conventionally depress the end 515 and send 513 keys respectively on the keypad 205 Similar radiotele phone devices such as conventional cordless radiotelephones have a dedicated switch to produce the on hook and off hook operating modes In the first preferred embodiment the on hook and off hook oper ating modes are produced by actuating the send 513 or end 515 keys on the keypad 205 or by moving the antenna 213 to provide optimum user convenience and functionality for the radiotelephone if the antenna should become inop erable Table 1 describes the on hook and off hook operating modes produced by actuating the send 513 or end 515 keys or by moving the antenna 213 after the radiotelephone 325 is already turned on The end and send key depression may place the radiotelephone in an on hook or off hook state respectively The antenna position may be extended out outside the radiotelephone or retracted in within the radiotelephone Extending the antenna 213 places the radiotelephone 325 off hook regardless of whether the radiotelephone 325 was placed in the on ho
43. nded Conversely since the exposure of the head 1301 to the antenna s radiated energy increases when the antenna is retracted the radio s transmit power is reduced when the antenna is retracted Thus the transmit ter s power is adjusted so that the radio can transmit RF signals at a high power level when the antenna is extended and at a low power level when the antenna is retracted to limit the exposure of humans to energy radiated by the transmitter s antenna in both the extended and retracted positions The high and low power levels at which the portable radiotelephone 200 transmits RF signals are defined as Classes in EIA INTERIM STANDARD Cellular System Mobile Station Land Station Compatibility Specification 10 15 20 25 40 45 50 55 60 65 18 IS 3 D Mar 1987 The STANDARD defines Class 1 to be a high power radio 3 W Class 2 to be a mid range power radio 1 2 W and Class 3 to be a low power radio 0 6 W The Classes are primarily distinguished by the maxi mum power level at which the portable radiotelephone 200 can transmit RF signals The present portable radiotelephone 200 is a Class 3 low power radiotelephone when the antenna is retracted and a Class 2 mid range power radio telephone when the antenna is extended The transmit power of the portable radiotelephone 200 may be adjustable or fixed in at least one of the retracted and extended positions Table 2 1 2 1 of the EIA ST
44. ns such as send clear function on off and other buttons associated with memory recall Disposed on a side of the portable radiotelephone are two volume control buttons volume increase 207 and volume decrease 209 which may adjust the volume of the earpiece and or the ringer A display 211 disposed above the keypad 205 provides visual feedback for the buttons depressed and other operational features A wireless communication element for example antenna 213 provides wireless transceiving com munications between the the portable radiotelephone 200 and the cellular radiotelephone system To reduce the cost weight and thickness of the portable radiotelephone 200 the hinged housing portion 101 used by the portable radiotele phone 100 of FIG 1 is not attached to the radiotelephone 200 of FIG 2 As in typical wireless communication devices the antenna 213 is extended when the portable radiotelephone 200 is in use and retracted when the portable radiotelephone 200 is not in use However in addition to positioning the radiotelephone s antenna 213 for transceiving communica tion signals a novel feature of the radiotelephone 200 comprises controlling a predetermined operating mode of the radiotelephone 200 responsive to the antenna s position while providing for the advantage of reduced cost weight and thickness The predetermined operating mode is a particular functioning arrangement or condition of
45. ok or off hook by a key depression Similarly retracting the antenna 213 places the radiotelephone 325 in the on hook state regardless of whether the radiotelephone 325 was placed in the on hook state or in the off hook state by a key depression TABLE 1 Hookswitch Hookswitch state after the Antenna state after the key depression movement antenna movement on hook in to out off hook off hook in to out off hook on hook out to in on hook off hook out to in on hook Determining the hookswitch state responsive to the posi tion of the antenna not only simplifies operation of the portable radiotelephone for the user but also allows certain control functions to be advantageously enabled or disabled at the appropriate time Control functions related to the 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 mode of operation of the portable radiotelephone 325 may be disabled to prevent accidental operation when the antenna 213 is in its retracted position at 313 i e when the portable radiotelephone 325 is not in use and may be enabled when the antenna 213 is in its extended position at 314 1 e when the portable radiotelephone 325 is in use For example when the portable radiotelephone 325 is in its standby condition i e turned on but in a low power mode to conserve battery power while awaiting a telephone call it would be undesirable to have the previously described foreign obje
46. olling the transmitter to transmit the signal at the second power level when the detector detects the antenna to be moved to the unstowed position 20 A portable radiotelephone comprising an antenna moveable between a stowed position and an unstowed position a detector for detecting when the antenna is in the stowed position and the unstowed position a transmitter for transmitting a signal at one of a plurality of predetermined power steps up to a maximum power step wherein the maximum power step is a first maxi mum power step when the detector detects that the antenna is in the stowed position and wherein the maximum power step is a second maximum power step higher than the first maximum power step when the detector detects that the antenna is in the unstowed position and a controller for controlling the transmitter to transmit the signal at one of the plurality of predetermined power steps up to the maximum power step 21 A method of operating a portable radiotelephone comprising the steps of detecting movement of an antenna between a stowed position and an unstowed position and transmitting a signal at one of a plurality of predetermined power steps up to a maximum power step wherein the maximum power step is a first maximum power step when the detector detects that the antenna is in the stowed position and wherein the maximum power step is a second maximum power step higher than the first maximum power step when
47. on at 313 and the extended position at 314 of the antenna 213 An example of a movable antenna that may be used in accordance with the present invention is described in U S Pat No 4 121 218 The movable antenna comprises a stationary helical coil capacitively coupled to an extendable half wavelength radiator The radio transmits primarily from the stationary helical coil when the half wavelength radiator is retracted and primarily from the half wavelength radiator when the half wavelength radiator is extended The preferred embodiments 325 327 utilize conventional reed switches 305 and 307 electrically coupled to a printed circuit board 303 and a magnet 301 affixed to an end portion of the antenna 213 inside the radiotelephone 200 A mag netic field given off by the magnet 301 causes the reed switches 305 or 307 to close i e short circuit when placed in close proximity to one of the reed switches and to open circuit when displaced from one of the reed switches The reed switches 305 and 307 are coupled to the radiotelephone circuitry which takes appropriate action responsive to the open or closed state of the reed switches 305 or 307 Referring now to FIG 3A one may appreciate the advan tages of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention wherein a hookswitch control signal at line 511 in FIG 5 is generated responsive to the antenna s position Once a typical portable radiotelephone is turned on by conventionall
48. on hook to off hook transition has not occurred then flow proceeds to determination block 1206 where a test is made to determine if an off hook to on hook transition has occurred If none has occurred then flow returns to the normal background functions at 1202 If it is determined that an off hook to on hook transition has occurred at 1206 indicating that the antenna 213 is in the retracted position then flow proceeds to determination block 1208 where a test is made to determine if a telephone call is presently in progress If it is determined that a call is not presently in progress then flow proceeds to 1210 where the voice recognition circuitry is disabled the backlighting is inactivated and the display is inactivated Thus if the antenna 213 is retracted while a call is not in progress then the voice recognition circuitry the backlighting and the display are inactivated Optionally the display may remain actuated for a period of six seconds before being deactivated by such an off hook to on hook transition From 1210 flow returns to the normal background functions at 1202 If a determination is made that a call was in process at 1208 then flow proceeds to determination block 1212 A test is made at 1212 of whether the microphone mute function is on If the microphone is muted then flow proceeds to 1214 where the voice recog nition circuitry is disabled Thus when the antenna 213 is retracted while a call is in progress and the m
49. or processing and coupling to the hands free microphone 454 and speaker 456 respectively as shown in FIG 6B The portable cellular radiotelephone receives its power via the external power source connection which is the output of conventional voltage regulator 642 The voltage supplied by the vehicle battery 452 is voltage regulated and con trolled by voltage regulator 642 Control circuitry 644 turns the regulator output on and off in response to signals from the vehicle ignition input at port 646 and data bus 415 Data bus 415 is used by the portable radiotelephone to sense if a hands free adapter 450 is plugged into the portable radio telephone RX audio signal at 425 from the portable radio telephone is coupled to the amplifier 648 in hands free adapter 450 to boost the level to drive speaker 456 The output from microphone 454 is connected to the portable radiotelephone via TX audio connection at 421 Although the preferred embodiments have been imple mented employing two microcomputers this should not be a limitation of the invention for it is possible to implement the present invention in a single microcomputer should the designer so desire For a single microcomputer or a multiple microcomputer system the microcomputers may be interrupt driven in order to save battery power FIGS 7 through 12B represent the processes followed to realize the preferred embodiments 325 and 327 of the present invention which generate a hookswitch signa
50. rmined at 1228 that the portable radiotelephone was in the hands free mode then the flow proceeds to block 1232 where the mode is changed from the hands free mode to a private call using the radiotelephone s internal microphone and speaker Thus if the portable radio telephone is in the hands free vehicular adaptor 450 and is presently in a call with either microphone not muted while the antenna 213 is momentarily retracted and then extended prior to the timer expiring and the radiotelephone is in the hands free mode at the time then the mode is changed from the hands free mode to that of a private call using the radiotelephone s internal microphone 420 and speaker 424 From 1232 flow returns to the normal background functions at 1202 If it is determined at 1204 that an on hook to off hook transition occurred then the flow proceeds to block 1234 where the voice recognition circuitry 432 is activated The process then at 1235 activates the keypad backlighting illumination and the display 211 for a conventionally timed period of six seconds Thus if the master microcomputer 404 is performing normal background functions and an on hook to off hook transition occurs then the voice rec ognition circuitry is activated the keypad backlighting is activated the display is activated The flow continues to determination block 1236 A test is made at 1236 to 5 815 820 17 determine whether the microphone mute function is on If it is dete
51. rmined at 1236 that the microphone is muted then flow proceeds to block 1238 where the microphone is unmuted Thus if the microphone is in the muted state with the antenna 213 retracted extending the antenna will unmute the microphone from 1238 flow returns to the normal background functions 1202 If it is determined at 1236 that the microphone was not muted then flow proceeds to determination block 1240 A test is made at 1240 to determine whether the portable radiotelephone is currently ringing If it is determined at 1240 that the portable radiotelephone is not ringing indi cating that there is no incoming call then the process flow returns to the normal background functions at 1202 If it is determined at 1240 that the radiotelephone is ringing then the process flow proceeds to block 1242 where the incoming call is answered Thus if the portable radiotelephone is ringing while the antenna 213 is retracted an the antenna 213 is extended the incoming call is answered From 1242 flow returns to the normal background functions at 1202 According to the present invention the radiotelephone s transmit power is yet another predetermined operating mode that can be controlled responsive to the position of the antenna The transmitter s power is adjusted responsive to the position of the antenna so that the radio can transmit RF signals at a higher power level while limiting the exposure of humans to energy radiated by the tr
52. rol signal 412 produced by positioning the antenna at position 315 The third preferred embodiment includes the advantages of both the aforementioned first and the second preferred embodiments The on off and hookswitch control signals generated by the antenna may also be generated by a key depression giving the user optimal convenience and radio telephone functionality if the antenna 213 should become inoperable An alternative to generating the on off control signal described in the third preferred embodiment comprises spinning the antenna 213 about the axis 311 of the antenna 213 as shown at 323 instead of depressing the antenna to the third position at 315 Conventional switching mechanisms responsive to a spinning motion about an axis are well know to those skilled in the art and may be employed in this alternative Axial displacement of the antenna between the retracted and extended positions at 313 and 314 respectively would continue to generate the hookswitch control signal at 511 The advantage of the spinning movement of the antenna 213 is that in some user applications spinning the antenna 213 about its axis 311 would make the antenna 213 sub stantially more immune to accidental power actuation than depressing the antenna into the radiotelephone 326 along its axis 311 to position 315 A variety of antenna structures are well known in the art and may be used to implement the present invention so long as the antenna 213 is movab
53. s moved to the unstowed position and controlling the transmitter to transmit the signal at the first power level when the detector is in the first state and controls the transmitter to transmit the signal at the second power level when the detector is in the second state 13 A method in accordance with claim 12 wherein the step of transmitting further comprises the step of adjusting the power level of the signal within at least one of the first and the second range of power levels 14 A method in accordance with claim 12 wherein the step of transmitting further comprises the step of fixing the power level of the signal within at least one of the first and the second range of power levels 15 A method in accordance with claim 12 further com prising the step of notifying a base station that the transmitter is operable to transmit the signal at the power level within the first and the second range of power levels when the antenna element is moved to the stowed and the unstowed position respectively 16 A method in accordance with claim 12 wherein the step of notifying occurs during a telephone call 17 A method of operating a portable radiotelephone comprising the steps of transmitting a signal at a power level within one of a plurality of predetermined ranges of power levels wherein each of the plurality of predetermined ranges of power levels is indicative of a maximum power level of the signal therein selecting one of t
54. s taken from the collector and applied to the interrupt request IRQ input and the keypad column inputs of microcomputer 414 having a negative duration of approximately 10 microseconds Slave microprocessor 414 stores the status of the hookswitch 305 and provides an indication of the change of state of the hookswitch 305 to the master microcomputer 404 Communication between the slave microcomputer 414 and the master microcomputer 404 is maintained on a data bus 415 This data bus 415 is coupled to the master micro computer 404 as shown in FIG 4 Other functions also share 5 815 820 11 the data bus 415 including the voice recognition circuit 432 and the vehicular adapter circuit 415 Assuming that the portable radiotelephone has been turned on a keypad 205 depression by the portable radiotelephone user results in a communication between the slave microcomputer 414 and the master microcomputer 404 via the bus 415 The slave microcomputer 414 in the preferred embodiment commu nicates that a closure has occurred between a particular row and a particular column corresponding to the key pressed by the user The master microcomputer 404 may then take appropriate action such as returning a digit instruction via the bus 415 for the slave microcomputer 414 to cause the display 211 to illuminate or otherwise display a character Thus the slave microcomputer 414 is commanded by the master microcomputer 404 or the user in order to complete
55. sive to the position of a movable antenna 213 The 455 83 126 128 129 127 343 702 901 antenna 213 is movable between a retracted 313 and an P extended position 314 The portable radiotelephone 200 56 References Cited transmits at low power when the antenna 213 is retracted U S PATENT DOCUMENTS and at high power when the antenna 213 is extended Additionally the portable radiotelephone 200 can notify a beers ie E ji gii remote base station of the change in transmit power at any 4 914 714 4 1990 Tamura 455 89 x time during transmission 4 958 782 9 1990 Imanishi eee 455 73 5 048 117 9 1991 Aisaka et al 455 89 22 Claims 13 Drawing Sheets AND CLASS IS CALL IN PROGRESS NO NOTIFY THE BASE STATION OF THE CLASS SET MAX POWER 1 2W ACTIVATE TRANSMITTER gt NORMAL TRANSMITTER PROCESSING SET MAX POWER AT 0 6W AND CLASS 3 1409 1411 1413 5 815 820 Sheet 1 of 13 Sep 29 1998 U S Patent FIG 2 FIG 1 U S Patent Sep 29 1998 Sheet 2 of 13 5 815 820 FIG 3A 5 815 820 Sheet 3 of 13 Sep 29 1998 U S Patent 440 NO V oft AN3L1V8 26 319IH3A 13T1081N02 1 15 M3MOd V 324005 43M0d 9 1vNN31X3 tV 01 bly 1102419 014 0 YV In9IH3A OIGNV XM lov 3 1395 1 014 20
56. ter to transmit the signal at the second power level when the detector is in the second state 2 A portable radiotelephone in accordance with claim 1 wherein the transmitter is operative to transmit the signal at a first power level within a first range of power levels and at second power level within a second range of power levels wherein a second maximum power level of the signal within the second range of power levels is greater than a first maximum power level of the signal within the first range of power levels and the controller controls the transmitter to transmit the signal at the first power level within the first range of Un 0 20 30 40 45 55 60 65 20 power levels when the detector is in the first state and controls the transmitter to transmit the signal at the second power level within the second range of power levels when the detector is in the second state 3 A portable radiotelephone in accordance with claim 2 wherein the power level of the signal is adjustable within at least one of the first and the second range of power levels 4 A portable radiotelephone in accordance with claim 2 wherein the power level of the signal is fixed within at least one of the first and the second range of power levels 5 A portable radiotelephone in accordance with claim 2 wherein the power level of the signal is fixed within the first range of power levels when the detector is in the first state and a
57. the present invention the depression of the on off key 508 or moving the antenna 213 may generate the on off control signal 412 to provide optimum user convenience and func tionality for the radiotelephone if the antenna should become inoperable In a second alternative of the second preferred embodi ment the radiotelephone 326 utilizes a continuously open or closed switch to determine the on off power operating mode For example cordless radiotelephones do not use a momen tary on off power switch Conventional cordless radiotele phones have a slide switch which places the radiotelephone in the on mode when short circuited and places the radiotelephone in the off mode when open circuited The on or off mode of a cordless radiotelephone may utilize the present invention by positioning the reed switch 307 at one extreme of the antenna movement In FIG 3B the alternative position for the reed switch 307 is shown at position 314 Thus when the antenna 213 is retracted to 313 the reed switch 307 is open and the radiotelephone 326 is in the off operating mode Likewise when the antenna is extended to 314 the reed switch 307 is closed and the radiotelephone 326 is in the on operating mode Referring now to FIG 3C an illustration of the third preferred embodiment one may perceive the generation of both the hookswitch 511 and the on off power control 412 signals responsive to the antenna position Depressin
58. the support 321 extends into free space and may be forced upon by the antenna 213 The force applied by the user overcomes the opposite force returned by the spring 319 so that the magnet 301 moves from its position at 313 in proximity to the reed switch 305 to the position at 315 in proximity to the reed switch 307 The spring 319 completely collapses when the magnet 301 is closest to the reed switch 307 so that the magnet does not move past the reed switch 307 Consequently the reed switch 305 becomes an open circuit and the reed switch 307 becomes a closed circuit When the user releases the applied force on the exposed end portion of the antenna the spring 319 forces the antenna 213 to its normally retracted position at 313 which causes reed switch 307 to become an open circuit and the reed switch 305 to become a short circuit The antenna may then be positioned to the extended position at 314 or the retracted position at 313 to generate the off hook or on hook states respectively The force required by the user to posi tion the antenna in the third position at 315 by compressing the spring 319 is substantially greater than the force required to move the antenna between the retracted 313 and extended 314 positions Thus the radiotelephone may not be unin tentionally turned on or off when positioning the antenna to generate the hookswitch signal 511 and may be inhibited from accidental actuation of the on off cont
59. vates on off circuitry Volume increase switch 207 and volume decrease switch 209 are electrically coupled to the slave microcomputer 414 as part of the row column matrix Their physical location is away from the keypad 205 on a peripheral surface of the radiotelephone 200 as shown in FIG 2 to allow for greater user conve nience Additional keys such as the send 513 end 515 clear 521 function 523 and memory store 525 and recall keys an also provided for typical radiotelephone operation The on off function normally performed by the on off switch 508 on the keypad 205 may also be performed using the switch 307 shown schematically in FIG 5 A direct current circuit is made or broken by the switch 307 to ground and applied to the on off line at 412 as an input to the power controller 410 The function which is normally performed by a hook switch in a conventional landline telephone is performed in the portable radiotelephone of the present invention as previously described in relation to FIG 3 The hookswitch is shown schematically as switch 305 in FIG 5 A DC Direct Current circuit is made or broken by the hookswitch 305 to ground and applied to the microcomputer 414 via the hookswitch control signal at line 511 Furthermore a pulse is generated from any change of state of the hookswitch 305 by a transistor 510 capacitors 512 and 514 and resistors 516 518 and 519 The output of the transistor 510 i
60. y depressing the on off key on the keypad 205 answering terminating or readying a telephone call requires a key depression or rotating the aforementioned hinged housing portion to generate the hookswitch control signal Additionally the antenna is typically extended during use for optimal wireless communication performance and retracted when not in use In the first preferred embodiment however the hook switch control signal at line 511 of FIG 5 is generated responsive to the position of the antenna 213 relative to the portable radiotelephone 325 Thus the key depression or rotation of the hinged housing portion to generate the hookswitch control signal at line 511 of FIG 5 is eliminated This feature of the radiotelephone 325 provides the user greater convenience in operating the radiotelephone The user may answer a telephone call by simply extending the antenna 213 Extending the antenna 213 may also ready the portable radiotelephone to make a call Such a state of answering or readiness to make a call is commonly know as off hook To make a call the user enters the appropriate phone number through the keypad and depresses the send button to activate the portable radiotelephone s transmitter thereby initiating communication with the cellular radiotelephone system In the first preferred embodiment the send key 513 FIG 5 may also be used to answer a telephone call if the antenna is already extended The us

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