Inventors:
Steven R. Bartholomew - Robbinsville NJ
Stella Yuen-Chi Norteman - Scotch Plains NJ
Assignee:
Lucent Technologies Inc. - Murray Hill NJ
International Classification:
H04M 342
Abstract:
Automatic call forwarding techniques for use in conjunction with a telephonic communications system such as a PBX or a central switching office. A telephonic device is associated with a smart card reader/writer and a communications unit RF transceiver. Subscribers are each provided with a smart card and an RF jacket transceiver adapted to partially and removably encase the smart card. In response to input received from the smart card reader/writer, the telephonic device instructs the communications system to forward incoming telephone calls for a given subscriber to the associated telephonic device. The communications unit RF transceiver periodically transmits an interrogation signal to the RF jacket transceiver. If the interrogation signal is received by the RF jacket transceiver, the RF jacket transceiver sends an acknowledgment signal to the communications unit RF transceiver, and incoming calls will continue to be forwarded to the associated telephonic device. However, if the interrogation signal is not received by the RF jacket transceiver, the RF jacket transceiver does not transmit an acknowledgment signal, the communications unit RF transceiver does not receive the acknowledgment signal, and the communications unit RF transceiver causes the associated telephonic device to instruct the communications system to no longer forward incoming calls to the associated telephonic device.