Multiple mode personal wireless communications system

Claims

We claim:

1. In a multiple mode communications system, a location analysis process including the steps of:

a) providing radio handsets capable of communicating selectively with cell sites of a cellular radiotelephone network and cordless stations of a local radio network;

b) configuring said cell sites to continuously broadcast data which identify said cell sites;

c) configuring said cordless stations to refrain from continuously broadcasting overhead message data streams;

d) comparing in one of said radio handsets, said data which identify said cell sites with a preselected profile of cell site identity data;

e) generating a trigger signal in response to a match of said data; and

f) transmitting an access request signal from said one radio handset in response to said trigger signal, said access request signal being configured to be received by one of said cordless stations.

2. The process of claim 1, further including the steps of:

periodically repeating transmission of said access request signal from said one radio handset;

receiving a response to said access request signal from one of said cordless stations; and

upon receipt of said response, performing a registration handshake with said one cordless station.

3. The process of claim 2, further including the step of initiating a call forwarding process to send calls for said one handset which are initiated from said cellular network to said one cordless station.

4. The process of claim 3, further including the step of switching said one handset to a local communication mode with said one cordless station.

5. The process of claim 1 wherein said one handset transmits at a first power level while communicating with one of said cell sites, said process further including the steps of:

registering said one handset for operation on said cordless station in response to said transmitting step; and

reducing the power level of the handset to a level below that at which said one handset communicates with said one of said cell sites.

6. The process of claim 1 further including the steps of:

registering said one handset for operation on said cordless station in response to said transmitting step; and

placing, after said registering step, a message on a display of said one handset that indicates to a user that the handset is in a home mode.

7. The process of claim 1, wherein said data which identify said cell sites comprise signaling channel identity and digital color code information.

8. The process of claim 1 additionally comprising the step of refraining from transmitting said access request signal when said trigger signal is absent.

9. In a multimode wireless handset capable of exchanging communications within a telecommunications network in accordance with a cellular