MXPA00005729A - Multi-line wireless telephone system computer interface - Google Patents

Abstract

A wireless telephone system has one or more wireless handsets and a base unit. Each handset has a handset transceiver. The base unit has a base transceiver for communicating over an RF channel with each handset via its handset transceiver. The base transceiver also includes an interface for interfacing with an external computer, wherein the computer, when interfaced with the base unit via the interface, can control the operation of the wireless telephone system.

Description

I NTERFAZ OF MULTI-LINE MULTI-PHONE MULTI-PHONE TELEPHONE SYSTEM COMPUTER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to multi-line wireless telephone systems and, in particular, to interfacing between a computer and a time division multiplexed wireless telephone system (TDM). . Description of Related Art The use of telephones and telephone systems, including wireless telephone systems, is widely spread. In wireless telephone systems, a cordless telephone handset unit (wireless) communicates via either digital or analog radio frequency (RF) signals with a base unit, which is commonly connected via a standard telephone line to a telephone line. external telephone network. In this way, a user can use the wireless headset to make a telephone call with another external user through the base unit and the telephone network. Multi-line cordless telephone systems are used in various situations, such as businesses with many telephone users. These systems employ a headset that communicates with up to N handsets simultaneously, commonly with digital communications schemes, such as a broad-spectrum time division multiple access (TDMA). In a time-division multiple access system, a single radio frequency channel is used, and each handset transmits and receives data during a dedicated slot or time slot in a complete cycle or epoch. It is desirable to provide various functions, such as capabilities and aspects of private exchange (PBX), in a multi-line wireless telephone system. However, it can be difficult to establish such systems, and to control or insert the data in the system. For example, it can be difficult, annoying or impossible to set or change the route of the call as desired. This can be especially true in wireless telephone systems that do not include sophisticated user interface and user programming capability, as well as peripherals, processors, associated architecture and the like. See, for example, European Patent Application No. EP-A-0 399 61 1 (Phillips Electronics U K Limited), published on 05.22.90, which describes an exemplary wireless telephone system. This wireless system commonly does not contain these functions since it is generally designed to be relatively inexpensive. These limitations can affect the usefulness of wireless telephone systems. The Patent Abstracts of Japan, vol. 098, no. 002, January 30, 1998 and JP 09 284380 A (Sony Corp.), October 31, 1997, discloses a destination information registration system, information service device, telephone terminal, and information recording method of destination in which a portable telephone sends an acquired telephone number to a base unit, and the base unit sends the received telephone number to a personal computer via a communication interface. European Patent Application No. No. EP-A-0 399 611 (Phillips Electronics UK Limited), published on 05.22.90, which describes a communication system for data transmission in a frequency division duplex channel in time . BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF I NVENTION A wireless telephone system comprises one or more wireless headsets and a base unit. The base unit has a base transmitter-receiver to communicate on a radio frequency channel with each handset via its headset transmitter-receiver. The base transceiver also includes an interface for connecting to an external computer, wherein the computer, when interfaced with the base unit via the interface, can control the operation of the wireless telephone system. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DIAMETERS PC Figure 1 is a block diagram of a multi-line multiple time division wireless access telephone system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.; Figure 2 is a schematic representation of the structure of the base station of the system of Figure 1, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; and Figure 3 is a flow diagram illustrating the data flow of a telephone call combination operation implemented by the base station of the system of Figure 1, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALI DAD MODEL With reference now to Figure 1, a block diagram of a multi-line, multi-line, multiple-access, time-division, broadband, wireless digital telephone system 100, in accordance with with one embodiment of the present invention. The time division multiple access system 100 comprises a base unit 1 10, which has receiver and transmitter units 1 12 and 1 1 1, respectively, and is coupled to the external telephone network 1 16 via the line (s) (s) telephone (s) 1 15. The base unit 1 10 also comprises the interface 130, to provide interface connection between the base unit 1 10 and an external computer such as the personal computer (PC) 140. The system 100 also It comprises N wireless headphones 120j, 1202,. . .120N. Each has a transmitter and receiver unit (transmitter-receiver), such as transmitter 121 and receiver 122 of handset 120 ^ In one embodiment, receiver unit 1 12 comprises N logical receivers, and transmitter unit 1 1 1 comprises N logical transmitters, so that the transmitter and receiver units 1 12 and 1 1 1 provide N logical transmitter-receiver units, one for each of the N wireless handsets. At any given time, M headphones (O = M = N). they are operating or off-hook (that is, in the process of making a phone call). The telephone system provided by the system 100 preferably operates in the unlicensed 900 MHz band, and preferably provides functions such as those of a small telephone exchange, together with the personal computer 140. In one embodiment, the system 100 employs a combination of time division multiplexing (TDM) such as multiple time division access, and frequency band selection, for overcoming sources that interfere and maintaining reliable links between the base unit and the headsets. In a digital time division multiple access scheme, each handset only transmits or receives data during its own interval or "slice of time" allocated exclusively to it during the time of multiple time division access. Therefore, the system 100 provides a wireless time division multiplex network between the base station 1 10 and each handset 120 i (1 < i = N). As explained above, it can be difficult to establish such telephone systems and control or insert data into the system. For example, it may be prohibitively expensive to provide programmable configuration capabilities in a base unit, or to provide a wide array of input and output devices in addition to the simple keypads of the headphones and the base unit. The present invention provides an interface for allowing a telephone system, such as the telephone system comprising the base unit 10 and the headphones 120, to be coupled to an external computer, such as the personal computer 140, to facilitate control and use of the telephone system. The personal computer 140 itself is a sophisticated programmable device with suitable input and output devices (e.g., keyboard and mouse, monitor) to allow a user to have a great deal of control over the operations of the telephone system 100. For example, by using the personal computer 140, the user can more easily establish, operate and control the system, record data of selected data streams in the telephone system 100, routing and selectively combining lines and telephone calls, providing various functions such as voice mail (including storing voicemail messages and caller ID data), conference calling, caller ID functions, as well as filtering and routing calls based on caller ID, computationally intensive data operations, such as compression or decompression of audio or other data, and the like, as described in more detail below with reference to Figures 2 and 3 In general, the ability of the external personal computer 140 to establish, operate and control the telephone system 100, and to provide the various functions and aspects described herein, may be referred to as controlling the operation of the wireless telephone system. In the present invention, the obligation to perform certain tasks (for example, tasks in non-real time, such as storing of voice mail messages) is passed to the personal computer 140 for storage efficiency and to minimize memory and memory. requirements of physical equipment in the telephone system 100. Inserting the various applications achievable by the personal computer 140 via the interface 130 in the base unit 1 10 would require memory, protocol and other resources that can be very complex or expensive for a simple system of telephone, since such systems are generally designed not to be expensive. The present invention allows a relatively inexpensive digital wireless telephone system to be used, which has only the interface specified herein but which does not have all the other additional aspects, components and functionality necessary to allow a user to control the operation of the system. telephone, by providing these aspects of a personal computer coupled to the telephone system via the interface, and running applications of relatively inexpensive computer programs to provide these capabilities. Referring now to Figure 2, there is shown a schematic representation of an interface architecture 200 of the interface 130 of the base station 1 10 of the telephone system of Figure 1, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The architecture of the interface 200 allows the interface connection between the personal computer 140 and the base unit 1 10, to provide a plurality of useful aspects and functions, described in greater detail below. The architecture 200 comprises the transmitter-receiver 201 (comprising the transmitter 121 and the receiver 122); encoders and decoders and interfaces 231 ^ 231 N, one for each of the headphones 12d -120N; linear telephone call combiner 230, 210-220N coders and decoders and interfaces, each coupled to and for one of N external telephone lines; voice data buffers 241, 242; control unit 243; the inserted computer processor 250; read only memory 252; random access memory 251; peripherals 255, such as keyboard, display, DTM F keys (multiple dual-tone frequencies) 8 ie, keys 0-9, # and *, symbols used for dialing), lights, and the like; the caller's identification interface 253; and the external interface 254, which is coupled to an external computer port for coupling to the personal computer 140. The external interface 254 may be a standard port such as an interface compatible with universal serial bus or ethernet, RS-232, sufficient to provide a computer interface port. The encoders and decoders and interfaces 231? -231 N convert the PCM signals (modulated in pulse code) of the combiner 230 into a compressed format for transmission by the transmitter 121 of the transmitter-receiver 201, and convert the compressed signals received from the receiver 122. of the transmitter-receiver 201 back to the linear pulse code modulated signals to power the combiner 230. The transmitter-receiver 201 takes compressed audio data from the decoder 231, encodes this data for protection against radio frequency channel errors , temporarily stores the data up to the appropriate time interval for the handset for which the data is destined, and transmits the data, with the transmitter 121, in the time interval. The transmitter-receiver 201 also receives data from headphones during their respective time intervals, decodes the channel coding for this data, and transmits the compressed data to the decoder 231 for decompression. The linear telephone call combiner 230 performs functions such as: routing calls from external telephone lines to headphones or to the processor 250; provide intercommunication functions; connect headphones to the processor to retrieve voice mail; and merge multiple headsets and / or phone lines to make conference calls. The 210J-210N encoders and decoders and interfaces convert the POTS signal (old and simple telephone service) to digital and may contain a line echo cancellation function. The voice data buffer 241 allows the processor 250 to send voice signals to the combiner 230, which can then be routed to one or more headsets, as in the case of voicemail messages. in a multi-headset system such as system 100, multiple messages can be passed for several headphones of processor 250 to combiner 230 via buffer 241. Thus, for example, voice mail messages can be retrieved from the random access memory 251 or from an external storage device associated with the personal computer 140 via the external interface 254. Likewise, the buffer memory of voice data 242 allows processor 250 to receive voice signals from combiner 230, such as receiving a message from a telephone line and recording it. The recording can be stored in the random access memory 251, or transmitted through the external interface 254 to an external storage device associated with the personal computer 140. The control unit 243 controls the combiner 230 and is used to establish the combiner 230 for connecting calls from telephone lines to specific headsets or voice buffers 241, 242. The inserted computer processor 250 controls the system 100, such as data transfers between the interface and random access memory 251, and similar. The read-only memory 252 stores the program for the processor 250 and all the values set at the factory. The random access memory 251 stores the operation information, the temporary variables, and the user settings and the buffer data. The random access memory 251 may be backed by a battery. The peripherals 255 handle the input / output of the base unit 1 10. For example, the peripherals 255 indicate activity to the user (for example, the lines that are in use can be indicated by light emitting diodes) and allow the user to establish the base unit 1 10 using the display / keyboard functions of the base of the peripherals 255. The calling interface 253 can be implemented as an interface to the integrated circuits of the caller's identification modem, or it can be a modem internal computer or computer programs. The caller ID interface 253 interprets the signals of the call center indicating who originated the call, and makes this information available to the processor 250 for indication in an array of the handset or base, and / or record in memory 251 or on the personal computer 140 using the 254 interface. This allows priority to be given to important numbers, for example to ring all the headsets for incoming high priority calls, instead of transferring to the voice mail if there is no answer in a given handset The external interface 254 allows the processor 250 to exchange data with an external computer such as the personal computer 140. The interface 130 in Figure 1 is physically represented by the external interface 254 of the architecture 200, with the support of computer programs by means of the processor 250 and other functional support provided by the functional elements of the architecture 200. The interface 130 provides a means for passing various types of data to and from the personal computer 140 via the external computer port and, in particular, provides a means for allowing the personal computer 140 to control and access internal data streams and other aspects of the telephone system 100. For example, some applications that are run on the personal computer 140 may be designed to do something with data provided by the telephone system 100 , such as the voice mail application that can store messages on a device personal computer storage. These applications have to be able to recover from and transmit 100 selected audio data to the system. When an application of this type requires audio data, it needs to be able to read audio data from the voice data buffers 241, 242, in the telephone call linear combiner 230, and add data to the ports of the telephone call linear combiner. 230, which combines and mixes the calls. On the other hand, non-audio transactions, such as those dealing with caller ID messages received from external telephone lines, and the configuration data used to configure or establish the system 100, would not require data buffers from voice 241, 242. The inserted processor 250, in one embodiment, is powerful enough to be able to move data in real time. For example, processor 250 may provide voice mail by recording a voice message for a missed call, as well as the line number to which the call came, and optionally any caller identification information about the call. (for more computationally intensive operations, such as compression or decompression of audio, one or more personal computer processors 140 may be used to provide a hardware to assist the processor 250). A voice mail function, for example, requires the processor 250 to capture audio samples in real time from the voice data buffer 242 (approximately 8)., 000 samples / second). These captured samples are stored in the random access memory 251 in the system; or externally, on the personal computer 140, via the interface 254. Later, when the receiver requests (requests) the stored voice mail message, the processor 250 searches for the message in the memory (or receives the data from the personal computer 140 via interface 254) reproduces it and presents identification information (e.g., caller ID information) to the handset. The voice data buffers 241, 242 serve as the interface between the telephone call linear combiner 230 and the inserted processor 250 / external interface 254. This allows the data to be provided directly to the processor. The telephone call linear combiner 230 can be used to combine telephone call data for various purposes, such as conference calling, under the control of the personal computer 140. Therefore, the architecture 200 provides an interface that allows the computer staff 140 selectively combine telephone calls. The interface architecture 200 provides a number of additional advantages and aspects, including the storage of call records in the personal computer 140; voice mail services on the personal computer 140 (for example, when the personal computer 140 stores an outgoing message as well as all incoming messages); support important system parameters, such as caller IDs; and allow a list of very important people that will open lines via the identification information of the caller by users who are very important people, such as customers. The interface architecture 200 also provides a means for performing setup / setup / backup functions by the personal computer 140. For example, such functionality allows a user to quickly establish the desired functions for each handset of the telephone system. As an example, a graphical interface on the personal computer 140 can indicate the lines and headphones of the system 100, and the human user of the personal computer 140 can set or configure the system by clicking on several representations of the headset and line on the screen . The user can indicate which is the main line, and which are the derived lines. (The main line receives the first calls and when more than one call comes in, the extra calls enter a sequence of the other derived lines). The user can also set the extension numbers of the headset, and indicate which handset will be in secretarial mode. A secretary phone can be used to display more caller ID information than is possible for a normal headset deployment. For example, a secretary computer screen may have a caller ID list of all the lines in the system. The user can also set outgoing voice mail messages. A user can also add or remove headphones from the phone system, or add / activate / deactivate functions for phone system protocols. The present invention also allows the user to support the configuration of the telephone system in preparation for the unlikely event that the current configuration required to be restored, by storing the data of the current configuration in a storage device of the personal computer 140. Additionally, the user can install an update of the computer program of the system through the personal computer 140. The personal computer 140 can be configured to provide a user, of the personal computer 140, various operational services, such as a name table search identification of the caller; record of calls; voicemail; services for very important people (in which, for example, if the identification numbers of the key caller enter, ensure that the call is answered); telemarketing services, and call routing services. Although it is generally desirable to establish functions in a computer-free mode, the installation application's computer program could simplify the setup process for many users. In addition, given a reasonable bandwidth port, additional functions can be added to the system, in alternative modes. For example, one could use a bus such as the universal bus in series to connect multiple base stations together, under the control of the personal computer 140, to add functionality such as an increase in the overall size of the system. In this case, an additional digital port is provided, to allow the expansion of the system allowing the base station 1 10 to connect in interface with other multiple base stations. The external port coupled to the external interface 254 has sufficient bandwidth to support all the personal computer-based interfaces that are provided. If the personal computer 140 is used only for relatively low bandwidth tasks such as initialization and function backup, an RS-232 port is sufficient. On the other hand, a much higher bandwidth port such as an Ethernet adapter is preferably used for coupling to a local area network (LA N) when two spatially separated base stations are coupled together. Therefore, in one embodiment, a commitment approach is preferable in which an average bandwidth interface is used, such as the universal serial bus (USB) to couple the base unit 1 10 to the local personal computer 140 near the base station. This medium bandwidth interface is also sufficient to provide network access or storage and monitoring capabilities, as well as basic set-up functions.

Table 1 below shows adequate bandwidth requirements and interfaces for various applications, although those skilled in the art will understand that other suitable interfaces can also be used in addition to those listed in Table 1.

Table 1: Bandwidth / Application Exchanges With reference to Figure 3, a flow chart illustrating the data flow 300 of a telephone call combiner operation implemented by the base station of the system of Figure 1 is shown. , in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, using the linear telephone call combiner 230 and under the control of the personal computer 140. The data stream 300 illustrates the merging of two audio streams (e.g., two telephone calls) for conference purposes. The combiner 230 operates on the decompressed channel of the headphones, to save bandwidth, and therefore must be decompressed before being applied to the combiner 230. The compressed data may be, for example, in adaptive differential pulse code modulation format. (ADPCM). Then, for example, a radio frequency signal is received by the receiver 121 of an earphone, to provide an ADCPM signal, and then decompressed by the decoder 231, to provide a linear PCM signal. A second signal may be provided, also in compressed form (e.g., to save memory) by the processor 250 (or a personal computer processor 140) to the decompression of the encoder-decoder 231 via the multiplexer 301. This may be a signal recovered from the memory, which is to be combined with the audio signal of the headset, or another headphone signal after it has been processed by the processor 250. The combiner 230 may then combine two or more of the signals of the handset, the processor 250, or an external telephone line (POTS A / D line, via the encoder-decoder 210). The combined or merged signal is then transmitted to the appropriate containers. Alternatively, all audio signals could be transmitted via interface 254 to personal computer 140, for combining, or for compression and decompression. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the wireless system described above in accordance with the principles of the invention may be a cellular system wherein the base unit 1 represents a base station serving one of the cells in a cellular telephone network.

Claims (25)

1. CLAIMS 1. A wireless telephone system (100) comprising: (a) a plurality of wireless headphones (120), each headset (1200) comprises a headset transmitter-receiver (121, 122), and (b) a base unit (1). ) comprising a transmitter -based receiver (1 1 1, 1 12) for communicating on a radio frequency channel with each handset via its headset transmitter-receiver, and an interface (130) for interfacing with an external computer (140), characterized in that said interface comprises: a processor (250), and a linear telephone call combiner (230) for selectively combining and routing telephone calls in the system under the control of the processor in accordance with a system configuration , wherein the computer, when interfaced with the base unit via the interface, can communicate with the processor to change the system configuration 2. The system of claim 1, wherein The interface additionally comprises a first voice data memory (241) for receiving speech signals from the processor (250) to be sent to the combiner (230) and a second voice data memory (242) to receive speech signals from the combiner (230) to be sent to the processor (250). The system of claim 1, wherein said interface additionally comprises a control unit (243) for controlling the combiner (230) under the control of the processor (250). The system of claim 1, wherein the combination and selective routing of telephone calls by the combiner (230) under the control of the processor (250) comprises at least one of: routing calls from external telephone lines (1 15) ) to selected headphones (120) or to voice buffer (241, 242) coupled to the processor (250); connecting selected headphones (120) to the processor (250) to retrieve voice mail stored in a random access memory (251) of the interface; and merging multiple headsets (120) and / or telephone lines (1 15) to provide conference calls. The system of claim 1, wherein said interface (130) further comprises a random access memory (251) for storing system configuration data received from the external computer (140). The system of claim 1, wherein in a given system configuration provided via said external computer (140) additionally specifies at least one of: which telephone line (1 15) is a main line and which are derived lines; the extension numbers of each of the headphones (120); that handset (120) is in secretarial mode; and which headphones (120) are added or deleted from the telephone system (100). The system of claim 1, wherein the base-receiver transmitter establishes a time division multiple access (TDMA) link on said radio frequency channel with each handset via the headset transmitter-receiver in accordance with a time division multiple access time slot structure allocating exclusive audio packet time slots to each handset. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer (140) additionally provides one or more functions to the system (100), the system additionally comprises an external port (254) coupled to an interface (130), the external port and The interface has a sufficient bandwidth to support the functions provided. The system of claim 1, further comprising a second interface for interfacing with a second wireless telephone system, under the control of the external computer (140) to expand the overall size of the system. 10. In a base unit (1 10) of a wireless telephone system (100) having the base unit and a plurality of wireless headphones (120), the base unit comprises a base transmitter-receiver (1 1 1, 1). 12), each handset (1200) comprises a transmitter-receiver handset (121, 122), a method comprising the steps of: (a) communicating on a radio frequency channel with each handset via the base transceiver and the handset. transmitter-receiver of headset; (b) connecting in interface with an ex (140) via an interface (130) of the base unit; and (c) controlling, with a processor (250), a telephone call linear combiner (230) of the interface; (d) selectively combining and routing telephone calls in the system, with the combiner (230), under the control of the processor (250) in accordance with a system configuration; and (e) communicating, with the computer (140) with the processor (250) when interfaced with the base unit via the interface to change the system configuration. eleven . The method of claim 10, wherein said interface additionally comprises a first voice data memory (241) for receiving speech signals from the processor (250) to be sent to the combiner (230) and a second voice data memory ( 242) to receive speech signals from the combiner (230) to be sent to the processor (250). The method of claim 10, wherein said interface additionally comprises a control unit (243) for controlling the combiner (230) under the control of the processor (250). The method of claim 10, wherein the combination and selective routing of telephone calls by the combiner (230) under the control of the processor (250) comprises at least one of: routing calls from external telephone lines (1 15) ) to selected headphones (120) or to voice buffers (241, 242) coupled to the processor (250); connecting selected headphones (120) to the processor (250) to retrieve voice mail stored in a random access memory (251) of the interface; and merging multiple headsets (120) and / or telephone lines (115) to provide conference calls. The method of claim 10, wherein said interface (130) further comprises a random access memory (251) for storing system configuration data received from the external computer (140). The method of claim 10, wherein in a given system configuration provided via said external computer (140) additionally specifies at least one of: which telephone line (115) is a main line and which are derived lines; the extension numbers of each of the headphones (120); that handset (120) is in secretarial mode; and which headphones (120) are added or deleted from the telephone system (100). The method of claim 10, wherein step (a) comprises the step of establishing, with the base transceiver, a time division multiple access link over the radio frequency channel with each handset via the handset receiver transmitter in accordance with a time division multiple access time slot structure allocating exclusive audio packet time slots to each handset. The method of claim 10, wherein step (c) further comprises the step of providing one or more functions to the system, the system additionally comprises an external port coupled to an interface, the external port and the interface have a width enough band to support the functions provided. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of connecting in interface with a second wireless telephone system via a second interface, under the control of the computer (140) to increase the total size of the system (100). 19. A base unit (1 10) of a wireless telephone system (100) comprising the base unit and a plurality of wireless headphones (120), each headset (120 comprising a headset transmitter-receiver (121, 122) , the base unit (1 10) comprises: (a) a base transmitter-receiver (1 1 1, 1 12) to communicate on a radio frequency channel with each handset via its handset transmitter-receiver, and (b) an interface (130) for interfacing with an external computer (140), characterized in that said interface comprises: a processor (250), and a linear telephone call combiner (230) for selectively combining and routing telephone calls in the system under the control of the processor in accordance with a system configuration, wherein the computer , when it is connected in interface with the base unit via the interface, it can communicate with the processor to change the configuration of the system. The base unit of claim 19, wherein said interface additionally comprises a first voice data memory (241) for receiving speech signals from the processor (250) to be sent to the combiner (230) and a second data memory of voice (242) to receive speech signals from the combiner (230) to be sent to the processor (250). twenty-one . The base unit of claim 20, wherein said interface additionally comprises a control unit (243) for controlling the combiner (230) under the control of the processor (250). 22. The base unit of claim 20, wherein the combination and selective routing of telephone calls by the combiner (230) under the control of the processor (250) comprises at least one of: routing calls from external telephone lines (1 15) to selected headphones (120) or to voice buffers (241, 242) coupled to the processor (250); connecting selected headphones (120) to the processor (250) to retrieve voice mail stored in a random access memory (251) of the interface; and merging multiple headsets (120) and / or telephone lines (1 15) to provide conference calls. The base unit of claim 20, wherein said interface (130) further comprises a random access memory (251) for storing system configuration data received from the external computer (140). 24. The base unit of claim 20, wherein a given system configuration provided via said external computer (140) additionally specifies at least one of: which telephone line (1 15) is a main line and which are derived lines; the extension numbers of each of the headphones (120); that handset (120) is in secretarial mode; and which headphones (120) are added or deleted from the telephone system (100). 25. The base unit of claim 20, further comprising a second interface for interfacing with a second wireless telephone system, under the control of the computer (140) to expand the total size of the system. (54) Title: MULTI-LINE WIRELESS TELEPHONE SYSTEM COMPUTER (57) Summary: A wireless telephone system has one or more wireless headsets and a base unit. Each headset has a headset transmitter-receiver. The base unit has a transmitter-base receiver to communicate on a radio frequency channel with each handset via its handset transmitter-receiver. The transmitter-base receiver also includes an interface for interfacing with an external computer, wherein the computer, when interfaced with the base unit via the interface, can control the operation of the wireless telephone system.