Method and apparatus for accessing a telephone answering device from a cordless telephone portable unit

Abstract

A cordless telephone provides for increased features available at a portable unit that have heretofore been available only at a base unit which combines a cordless telephone fixed station and telephone answering device. The cordless telephone includes a call screening feature which allows a user at the portable unit to monitor incoming messages received over telephone lines as they are being recorded at the telephone answering device without the user having to configure the portable unit in any way during actual receipt of the message. A built-in loudspeaker is incorporated into the portable unit so that the user may easily listen to the incoming messages. Once receipt of the incoming message is completed, amplifier circuitry driving the loudspeaker is turned off. The cordless telephone also includes a caller-ID feature which informs the user at the portable unit of the identity of a preidentified calling party before the call is answered. This operation is achieved by the user entering into a memory table in the telephone each one of a plurality of desired telephone numbers for subsequent access and comparison when a caller-ID number is received from a calling party. The user also associates with each telephone number a voice message which is subsequently generated in the loudspeaker in the portable unit in response to a favorable comparison between the caller-ID signal and the stored telephone number.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.