Method and apparatus for reporting status information in a fixed wireless terminal

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The foregoing problems are solved and a technical advance is achieved with the use of an audio signaling generator, or a generic, asynchronous voice band protocol (caller ID protocol) signaling generator, in novel combination with status processing means in a fixed wireless terminal connected to a user's telephone to retrieve, format, generate, and display status information to the user on conventional caller ID equipment connected to the user's telephone line.
In basic operation, a fixed wireless terminal having transceiver and call processing means establishes a wireless local loop by the connection of an ordinary wireline telephone to the FWT.
This provides the user with an RF telephone link to a cellular telephone system for transmission of voice or data communications.
In a preferred embodiment, a standard caller ID module, either in the telephone or in line between the fixed wireless terminal and the telephone, conveniently and inexpensively provides the means to provide status or test information to the user.
Such status information may be obtained from a status processor within the fixed wireless terminal on request in response to a user who enters a simple sequence of dialed characters on the telephone.
The requested status information is reported over the same telephone line on which the request was initiated.
A telephone line coupling or interface and the call processor within the fixed wireless terminal are used to decode the dialing signals to enable access to the status processor in the FWT.
Upon gaining access to the FWT, the status processor may provide helpful prompts on the caller ID display as to the particular status information available, and the dialing sequence required to retrieve the status information.
The desired status information is then reported on the display or by tones generated in the earpiece of the telephone.
A signaling generator within the telephone line interface of the fixed wireless terminal encodes the information provided by the status processor into an FSK or DTMF signal according to the generic, asynchronous caller ID protocol, or, alternatively, the signaling generator may generate audible tones for signaling through the telephone earpiece or control signals to produce a sequence of ringing signals on the telephone ringer