# US 7,466,978 B1 · Telephone network node device > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 7,466,978 B1 - Document ID: US7466978B1 - Status: Granted - Kind: B1 - Application number: 09/664,460 - Filed: 2000-09-18 - Granted: 2008-12-16 - Earliest claimed: 2000-09-18 - Assignees: International Business Machines Corporation - Inventors: Robert Ellis Chapman, Jr.; Edith Helen Stern; Barry E. Willner - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US7466978B1 ## CPC - H04W 4/16: Communication-related supplementary services, e.g. call-transfer or call-hold - H04W 12/06: Authentication - H04M 3/465: {Arrangements for simultaneously calling a number of substations until an answer is obtained} - H04W 84/14: WLL [Wireless Local Loop]; RLL [Radio Local Loop] - H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72) - H04M: TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION (circuits for controlling other apparatus via a telephone cable and not involving telephone switching apparatus G08) ## Abstract The present invention is a network node device and method for connecting one or more telephone wirelines to one or more wireless connections. The network node device has one or more connections to one or more telephone wirelines, one or more wireless signal generators supporting one or more wireless connections; and one or more controllable interconnections between the telephone wirelines and the wireless signal generators. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A multi-subscriber network node device for connecting one or more telephone wirelines to one or more wireless connections, each wireless connection for connecting to a wireless device, the network node device comprising: one or more connections to one or more telephone wirelines for receiving incoming calls, each incoming call specifying the same single called telephone number; one or more wireless signal generators supporting one or more direct wireless connections to one or more wireless devices; one or more controllable interconnections between the telephone wirelines and the wireless signal generators; means for dynamically associating the single called telephone number with at least two wireless devices; means for alerting the at least two wireless devices associated with the single called telephone number of a first incoming call from an originating device which is not one of the at least two wireless devices associated with the single called telephone number; means for accepting one of said wireless devices as the answerer of said first incoming call to conduct the first incoming call with said wireless device; and means for transmitting a second incoming call, directed to the same single called telephone number, to one of the other wireless devices associated with that telephone number whilst the first call is in progress. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The device, as in claim 1, containing one or more computational elements that control said controllable interconnections. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The device, as in claim 2, wherein said computational elements include one or more processors and one or more storage memory. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The device, as in claim 3, wherein the information stored includes a connection process program to control the interconnections of said network node device between one of the telephone wirelines and one or more of the wireless signal generators. ### Claim 5 (depends on 3) The device, as in claim 3, wherein the storage memory includes long term storage for information. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The device, as in claim 5, wherein the information stored includes one or more associations of any one or more of the following: one or more phone identifiers, one or more connected wirelines, and one or more telephone services. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The device, as in claim 1, further comprising one or more wireline telephony signal generators. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The device of claim 7, where the signal generated by said wireline telephony signal generator are DTMF tones. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, where the controllable interconnection is non-blocking. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, where the controllable interconnection is any to any. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, where the interconnection is a bus. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1 further comprising: a power supply, the power supply comprising: a trickle charger attached to telephone wirelines; a battery attached to said trickle charger; and one or more connections from the battery to electrically powered components of the device. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1 containing a power supply that has one or more connections to an external power source and a transformer from converting external electrical power supply to a voltage for operating the device. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1 containing a power supply, said power supply comprising: one or more solar cells; a battery connected to the solar cells; and connections from the battery to electrically powered components of the device. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1 further comprising: a bridge that bridges signals from multiple wireless connections to one or more of the telephone wirelines. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The device, as in claim 1, further comprising means for selecting at least one wireless signal method to be used between the node device and the at least two wireless devices. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) A system for providing telephone service comprising: a wireline distribution of telephone signal lines proximate to one or more telephone users; one or more multi-subscriber network node devices of claim 1 where the telephone wirelines terminate; and one or more wireless devices for wireless communication with network node devices to establish connections to one or more of the telephone signals.