Wireless telecommunications systems provide a convenient way for users to communicate when landline phones are unavailable. What was once an expensive luxury is now an affordable convenience. By simply carrying a small, lightweight mobile communications device, users may place or receive calls of excellent quality in any geographic region offering such wireless service.
Typically, wireless telecommunications systems are made up of a series of base stations connected to landline telecommunications networks through the use of base station controllers. The base stations have the capacity to communicate with each other via the base station controllers and to establish a fixed number of radio frequency (RF) communications channels with remote mobile phones. The RF communications channels act as a conduit by which the mobile phones may ultimately communicate with landline phones. Thus, as long as a mobile user remains within the geographic coverage area of the wireless system, communication with other mobile and landline users is possible.
To standardize the operation of wireless systems, several communication implementations have been developed. One such implementation, currently used in numerous wireless communication system deployments, is known as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). This communication technique is described under the TIA/EIA/IS-95-A standard (IS-95). Accordingly, the IS-95 standard is incorporated by reference in its entirety so as to provide the reader with adequate background information regarding mobile phone operation in an IS-95 telecommunications environment. As defined in the IS-95 standard, analog voice signals are converted to the digital domain, orthogonally encoded and then spread by a pseudo-random spreading signal so as to occupy a 1.23 MHz frequency band. From this spread signal, inphase and quadrature phase signals are generated which are then combined and modulated onto RF carrier signals for transmission between remote mobile stations and fixed base stations.
Current wireless systems allow landline users to place and receive calls with mobile phone users. Additionally, mobile phone users can place and receive calls with other mobile phone users. Fixed base stations facilitate these calls by routing the calls between users and handling necessary overhead activities required to establish the RF communications channels used to conduct the calls.
Typically, when a landline user calls a mobile phone user, the base station acts as an intermediary by alerting the mobile of the attempted call via at least one RF channel. After alerting the mobile, the base station waits for a fixed time period, which defines a ringing cycle, to receive a response from the mobile. The response indicates the mobile is ready to accept the call. If the mobile does not respond within the ringing cycle time period, the base station releases the call by terminating the call alert to the mobile and signaling to the caller that the mobile is unavailable. During the ringing cycle, the mobile phone produces an audible ringing or mechanical vibration to alert the mobile phone user of the incoming call. If the mobile phone user decides to answer the incoming call, a response is sent from the mobile to the base station indicating that the call is to be accepted. The base station then sets up a connection on the existing RF channel or establishes a second RF channel where the call will ultimately be connected.
Included in the call alert to the mobile phone may be identification information about the caller, sometimes referred to as caller ID. This identification information can be displayed by the mobile phone allowing the mobile phone user to determine who is calling before the call is answered. If the mobile phone user decides not to receive calls from specific callers, the identification information can be viewed, and if desired, the incoming call can be left unanswered for the entire ringing cycle.
One of the major benefits to users of mobile phones is the ability to place or receive calls without being restricted to a fixed location as when using a landline phone. So long as the mobile phone maintains an RF communication channel with at least one base station, communication services are generally available. This allows mobile users to send and receive calls when away from their home or office and even while traveling in automobiles.
However, having accessibility to instant communications may at times have undesirable consequences. In particular, unless the mobile phone is powered off, there may be no action a user may take to prevent the phone from proceeding through the entire ringing cycle. This means that for every unanswered incoming call, the phone will ring for the entire ringing cycle until the call is released by the base station. Even if the user is able to mute the audible ringing, the call is still processed by the phone until released, which may prevent the phone from handling other calls. There may also be times when a user desires to refuse all communications from certain callers. Such times may occur when prank callers or telemarketers repeatedly call or when users simply do not want to receive calls originating from specific calling stations. Unfortunately, present systems do not allow mobile phones to refuse to accept calls nor do they provide mobile phone users with a rejection-on-demand capability to immediately reject any incoming call as desired.
Mobile phone systems have also adopted some of the features available in landline systems. For instance, a call-waiting feature may be implemented in a mobile phone system. During operation of call waiting, a user of a mobile phone may be connected and in active communication with a first caller when a second caller attempts a call to the same mobile phone. Instead of the second caller getting an immediate busy signal, a ringing cycle occurs where the mobile phone user receives a call alert indicating that there is an incoming call. The mobile phone user may then switch over to the second call and put the first call on hold, or may ignore the second call and continue on the first call. If the second call is not answered, the call alert to the mobile phone user will continue for a time period defining the ringing cycle. Unless the mobile phone user answers the second call, there is currently no way to terminate the call alert until the ringing cycle is complete.
There currently exists a need in the mobile communications industry for a method and apparatus wherein a user of a mobile phone has the capability to reject an incoming call. Such a method and apparatus should provide the user an automatic mode of rejection and a manual mode of rejection. The automatic mode should allow the user to preprogram the mobile phone with information descriptive of calling stations whose calls are to be rejected. When an incoming call from a pre-selected calling station is detected, the mobile phone should automatically reject the call. The preprogrammed information should include wild card characters, thereby allowing entire groups of calling stations to be rejected from a single entry. In the manual mode of operation, the method and apparatus should allow a user to manually reject any incoming call as desired. Thus, the user can conveniently and effectively screen incoming calls, prevent undesirable audible ringing and minimize unnecessary utilization of the phone.