{
  "patent_number": "US RE48232",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "Using Cordless Phones to Send Voice Commands to Smart Home Devices",
  "original_title": "USRE48232E1 - Method for controlling cordless telephone device, handset of cordless telephone device, and cordless telephone device",
  "summary": "A method for letting a cordless phone handset send voice commands to smart home appliances over the same signal path used for regular phone calls.",
  "what_it_does": "This patent describes a way to repurpose the audio stream of a cordless phone to control home appliances. When a user triggers the device—such as by pressing a button or moving the phone—the handset generates 'instruction bit information' alongside the voice data. This data is sent to the base unit using the standard DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) multiplexing scheme, which is the same technology used for normal phone calls. If the user is already on a call, the system can automatically mute the call to the person on the other end while the voice command is processed by the home system.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover voice control systems that use Wi-Fi or Bluetooth protocols instead of DECT.",
    "Does not cover smart home control that requires a dedicated, non-telephony communication channel.",
    "Does not cover systems that lack the ability to switch between call mode and mute mode during a voice command."
  ],
  "filed": "2018-03-07",
  "granted": "2020-09-29",
  "expires": null,
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Panasonic Intellectual Property Corp of America",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/panasonic-intellectual-property-corp-of-america",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Masayuki Kozuka",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/masayuki-kozuka"
    },
    {
      "name": "Tohru Wakabayashi",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/tohru-wakabayashi"
    },
    {
      "name": "Hiroshi Yahata",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/hiroshi-yahata"
    },
    {
      "name": "Keizo Ishiguro",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/keizo-ishiguro"
    },
    {
      "name": "Hideyuki Oka",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/hideyuki-oka"
    },
    {
      "name": "Tomoki Ogawa",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/tomoki-ogawa"
    },
    {
      "name": "Shingo Matsumoto",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/shingo-matsumoto"
    },
    {
      "name": "Akihiko Inoue",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/akihiko-inoue"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 0,
  "tags": [
    "consumer_electronics",
    "telecommunications"
  ],
  "abstract": "Disclosed is a method for controlling a cordless telephone device for use in a system that allows remote control of a home electric appliance. The method includes a first generation step of causing a first generation unit in a handset to encode audio input via a sound receiving unit in the handset to generate a first stream, and a first transmission step of transmitting the first stream to a base unit. The first generation step includes causing the first generation unit to generate instruction bit information and a first instruction stream when a first trigger indicating a request to start the remote control is given to the first generation unit. The first transmission step includes transmitting the instruction bit information and the first instruction stream to the base unit through a multiplexing scheme that is common to transmission of a first stream generated when the first trigger is not given.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/RE48232/video-doorbell",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/RE48232/video-doorbell/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/USRE48232",
  "relatedPatents": []
}