CA2218038C - Digital screen phone terminal with graphical user interface - Google Patents
Digital screen phone terminal with graphical user interface Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- CA2218038C CA2218038C CA002218038A CA2218038A CA2218038C CA 2218038 C CA2218038 C CA 2218038C CA 002218038 A CA002218038 A CA 002218038A CA 2218038 A CA2218038 A CA 2218038A CA 2218038 C CA2218038 C CA 2218038C
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- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- user
- telephone
- display device
- signal processor
- incoming
- Prior art date
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- Expired - Fee Related
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Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
- H04M1/247—Telephone sets including user guidance or feature selection means facilitating their use
- H04M1/2478—Telephone terminals specially adapted for non-voice services, e.g. email, internet access
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
- H04M1/02—Constructional features of telephone sets
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
- H04M1/247—Telephone sets including user guidance or feature selection means facilitating their use
- H04M1/2477—Telephone sets including user guidance or feature selection means facilitating their use for selecting a function from a menu display
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
- H04M1/26—Devices for calling a subscriber
- H04M1/27—Devices whereby a plurality of signals may be stored simultaneously
- H04M1/274—Devices whereby a plurality of signals may be stored simultaneously with provision for storing more than one subscriber number at a time, e.g. using toothed disc
- H04M1/2745—Devices whereby a plurality of signals may be stored simultaneously with provision for storing more than one subscriber number at a time, e.g. using toothed disc using static electronic memories, e.g. chips
- H04M1/27467—Methods of retrieving data
- H04M1/27475—Methods of retrieving data using interactive graphical means or pictorial representations
Abstract
A telephone device for accessing electronic services includes a housing having a front portion with a display device and a telephone keypad. The telephone device provides a graphical user interface whereby user selectable options are presented in a graphical format on the display device and a user is allowed to make selections therefrom with, for example, a point-and-click mechanism. A
processor, preferably a single programmable digital signal processor, is responsive to the telephone keypad and the user selectable options and executes a variety of modem functions, telephone functions, and application programs. The programmable digital signal processor also supports the graphical user interface.
processor, preferably a single programmable digital signal processor, is responsive to the telephone keypad and the user selectable options and executes a variety of modem functions, telephone functions, and application programs. The programmable digital signal processor also supports the graphical user interface.
Description
DIGITAL SCREEN PHONE TERMINAL WITH GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE
Field of the Invention This invention relates to co~ c~tion devices and, more particularly, to powerful, low cost7 user friendly tcl~hol-e tPnnin~l~ which have display screens and which utilize digital signal 5 processing and graphical user interf~ee technologies to provide modem and tP.lerhnn~P fi~nrtit~n~
BacL~uund ofthe Invention A t~leph( ne having a display screen, a telephone keypad, and a tPl~hnnP handset is known, and it so"~l;",es is referred to as a "screen phone". Companies such as Philips, VeriFone, Forval, U.S. Order, and SmartPhone Col."",li~;r~tion~ each provide such a telephone.
10 These screen phones generally look like cou~ ;t)n~l telephones except they have the display screen which typically is located above the keypad. Some screen phones have an ~rl~ ;c keyboard.
Known screen phones typically utilize a hal.lw~e architectllre having three physically st;y&~ and discrete hal.lw~e modules: a general purpose microprocessor (and associated 15 memory and logic) for ~ - e~ ). application programs and/or controlling the other modules; a modem; and plephone ele~llon.cs. Known screen phones typically use the keypad keys and/or deAic~ted fimetion key buttons on the face of the phones to control the phones and select options presented on the display screen. Some known screen phones which use the ADSI protocol developed by Bellcore provide pro~ "al~le "softkeys" on the display screen. The softkeys 20 allow the fixed-position function key buttons to be programmably ~ignkd a me~nin~
Su~y of the Invention The invention relates to a telephone device which includes a housing having a front portion with a display device and a telephone keypad. A telephone handset is P.~fPrn~l to the housing but connected thereto by, foF example, a collv~l ;on~l telephone cord. In accordance 25 with the invention, the telephone device provides a graphical user intP.rf~ce wllel~y user sPl~ct~hle options are plesenled in a graphical format on the display device and a user is allowed to make s~lP,ctinn~ therefrom with, for PY~mplP, a point-and-click mk,~ ":~". The user ~ccP~es various electronic services by, for ~ pl~., pressing the telephone keypad keys and/or selecting options via the graphical user intP.rf~ce A processor, preferably a single progl~able digital WO 96/32800 PCTIUS9C~ 6 signal processor, is responsive to the telephone keypad and the user selectable options and provides a variety of modem and telephone filnr.tion.~ which allow the tPIephc n~ device to co,."".",ic~te with the various electronic services. The progl~able digital signal processor also preferably supports the graphical user interface and also çYPcutes a variety of built-in functions 5 and application programs. Wlth this telephone device, a user thus can electronically perform a variety of tasks such as, for example, banking tr~n~ctinnS~ purchases, hlru~ Lion retrieval, and h~llll~lion di~spmin~tion~
The modem functions pelrullllcd by the programmable digital signal processor of the telephone device according to the invention can include modulation/democl~ tion,10 compression/decol.lples~ion, and error correction of voice and data signals inchltling f~c~imile images. The telephone functions include speech path processing as well as other telephone functions such as auto-dialing, call progress monitoring, DTMF (dual-tone multi-frequency) processing, call status, call waiting status, call duration, incoming/outgoing calling logs, and caller ID. The built-in filnrtion~ can include, for PY~mple7 clock, alarm, c~l~nr1~r, ol~er, c~ t~r, 15 phone lists. The application programs can include, for PY~mple, tPrmin~l Pmlll~tinn home banking, airline l~,s~,lv~Lions, etc.
The tPlephon e device acco~ g to the invention is thus in effect a remote input/output device which provides the user with access to a variety of electronic services. Also, when not being used as a remote input/output device for ~- c~;..g elccLluilic services, the telephone device 20 provides a complete set of feature telephone fim~.tiQn~
The telephone device can send and receive voice and data signals over a variety of c~,.. -ic~tion media inclllrlin~ analog telephone lines, digital lines (e.g., ISDN or Integrated Services Digital Network), whclei,~ networks such as cellular n~Lwolh~, and co.. i-ications nt;Lwolks in general. The data signals can include f~c~imile images.
In a pr~;relled embodiment of the tPIeph~rl~ device, an ~lpl~ . ;c keyboard is provided.
The keyboard preferably is a 55-key QWERTY keyboard and is slidable into and out of the housing for easy and convenient storage and access. The keyboard provides the user of the device with a convenient way to enter ~ll.h~ ic hlrU~ ;on The use of a graphical user interf~e makes the telephone device according to theinvention ~ lt;. ely simple to operate and very user-friendly. The programmable digital signal processor alone ~ec lte!': the modem functions, telephone functions, and application programs, unlike known screen phones which typically use physically separate and discrete haldw~;
modules for these functions. In addition to implemPnting the graphical user intPrf~r,e and providing the modem, t~o1ephonP; and application functions, the programmable digital signal processor also pl~;;re;l~bly provides other built-in filnrtion~ (e.g., clock, alarm, cAlPn~Ar, ol~i2er, c~lr,ulAfQr, phone lists, etc.). In general, all ofthe fimr.ti~n~lity of the telephone device is alterable 5 by repro~ the telephone device.
By using a single h~dw~e elemPnt (i.e., the programmable digital signal processor) to pGlrullll operations previously pe~ r.. ~d by three or more physically separate, discrete haldw~;
modules, the telephone device according to the invention can be produced for a lower cost as colll~alt;d to known screen phones which use a plurality of separate h~dw~e modules. Also, a 10 very powerful pro~;l~able digital signal processor can be purchased for a fraction of the cost of a general purpose microprocessor having colll~ble collll~ule power. Because one or more of the physically separate, discrete hal-lw~e modules of a known screen phone typically inr.llldçs a general purpose microprocessor, the price di~lellce belwt;~n a progl~able digital signal processor and a COLU~ b1Y PUWWrU1 general purpose microprocessor L~...CI_IeS into a ~i~nificAnt 15 mAmlfArtllrinp cost savings in favor ofthe t~l~.phol-e device of the invention. Cost is, however, only one of the advantages of this t~leph- n~ device over known screen phones.
The t~1ephc)n~ device accoldin~, to the invention can be quickly and easily upgraded or modified by downlo~in~ new sonwalt; for use by the pro~,~...,.,able digital signal processor. In a plt;rellt;d embodiment ofthe invention, the sonv~ e is downloaded into one or more memory modules associated ~vith the pro~,l~uable digital signal processor, and the programmable digital signal processor ~cceC~es the memory module(s) in order to execute its various functions. Known screen phones typically require an entire h~dw~e module to be removed and replaced in order to modify that aspect of the screen phone. For ~mple, to upgrade the modem module of a known screen phone from 2400 bits per second (bps) to 9600 bps, it typicaUy is n~ce~. y to remove the entire 2400 bps h~dw~ti module and replace it with a new 9600 bps h~-lw~e module. The telephone device of the invention can be upgraded with ~ignifir.Antly less effort, time, and cost.
Also, in about the same time it takes to perform one software download operation, more than one (or all) aspects of the telephone device's functionality (e.g., modem, telephone, application programs, and built-in fimr,ti~ns) can be altered. In contrast, altering more than one hal-lw~e module of a known screen phone increases the le4ùiled effort, time, and cost ~i nific~ntly over that le.luiLed to alter a single haldw~t; module.
WO 96/321~00 PCT/US96/04946 The telephone device according to the invention also is more reliable than known screen phones. The higher reliability is due in part to the integrated design which uses a single progr~mm~ble digital signal processor to pelrollll a variety of operations such as the execution of modem filnr.tion~ telephone fimr.tion.e, applic~tic)n programs, and built-in functions. This 5 centralized, integrated design of the telephone device ~ es the need for any sort of high level controlling microprocessor which known screen phones typically use to help the plurality of separate, discrete h~dw~e modules thereof operate together without conflict.
The rul ~Oillg and other objects, aspects, features, and advantages of the invention will become more appal ellL from the following description and from the claims.
CA 022l8038 l997- lO- lO
WO 96132800 PCT/U~;h '~1916 Brief Description of the Drawin~s In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to the same parts throughout the di~t;~ views. Also, the drawings are not nPcçc~tily to scale, lomph~ instead generally being placed upon illu~ illg the principles of the invention.
c S FIG. lA is a perspective view of a digital screen phone t~rrnin~l according to the invention, with an ~Iph~.. ,.~. ;~ keyboard in its stowed position.
FIG. lB is a perspective view of the digital screen phone t~.rmin~l showing the alph~n-lm~ric keyboard slid out for allowing access thereto.
FIG. 2 is a top view of a portion of the front of the digital screen phone t~.rmin~l of FIGS.
10 lA and lB.
FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C are CA~JICS of graphical displays shown to a user of the digital screen phone t~rmin~l on the display screen thereo~
FIG. 4 is a diagram of some of the electronic services which can be ~cc~ssecl with the digital screen phone t~ormin~l accc~d~ to the invention.
FIG. 5A is a block diagram of the haldwa~ components of a basic version of the digital screen phone t~.r~in~l FIG. 5B is a block diagram of the haldw~; components of an advanced version of the digital screen phone t~rmin~l FIG. 6 is a diagram showing various tasks pe.~lllled by the hal dw,u e of FIG. SA or SB.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing some of the functionality of the digital screen phone tPrmin~l according to the i~vention.
CA 022l8038 l997- lO- lO
W096/32800 PCTrUS96104946 Description Referring to FIGS. lA and lB, a telephone device according to the invention is a digital screen phone termin~l 10 with a housing 12 and a telephone handset 18. The handset 18 iS
separate from or PYt~rn~l to the housing 12, and it is cnnnected to the housing 12 by a telephone handset cord 20. The front portion ofthe housing 12 ofthe terminal 10 has a display screen 14 and a point-and-click ll~e~ -iem 26. The tPrmin~l 10 provides a user thereofwith a graphical user intPrf~se which inrlll~çs user selectable options displayed in a graphical format on the display screen 14. The user can select among the options displayed in the graphical format by manipulating the point-and-click me~ 26. The front portion of the housing 12 also has a 10 telephone keypad 16, function keys 24, telephone operation keys 28, a mic~ )hone 30, and a telephone message in~lic~tor lamp 32. The keypad 16 and/or the functions keys 24 can be used with, or in place of, the point-and-click mP~.h~ni.cm 26 by a user of the tP.rmin~l 10 to make option s~ectionc In a pler~;lled embodiment ofthe tPrmin~l 10, an ~ll)h~."""Pric keyboard 22 iS
provided. The keyboard 22 slides into (FIG. lA) and out from (FIG. lB) the housing 12 in order 15 to stow it or allow access to it.
R~.fi~rrin~ to FIG. 2, the keypad 16 on the front portion ofthe tPrmin~l's housing 12 inr.lllrles twelve user pressable keys 34-56 similar to a collvt;..Lional telephone keypad. The mP.c.c~ge indicator lamp 32 lights when one or more mP,cc~ges have been received. The microphone 30 iS for leCe:ivil~ the user's voice when the t~rmin~l 10 is being operated in 20 speakerphone mode (i.e., without using the handset 18). One of the telephone operation keys 28, labeled "speaker" 80, is used to turn the speakerphone mode on and off. In a preferred embodiment, a light 81 on the speaker key 80 in~ tes when the speakerphone mode is activated.
The tPrmin~l 10 in~ clPc a speaker (not shown) for projecting sound when the terminal 10 is used in the speakerphone mode. Another one of the telephone operation keys 28, labeled "mute" 78, is 25 for disabling the microphone 30 to allow, for example, the user to speak aloud while in the speakerphone mode without being heard on the other end but still hearing tr~ncmiccions from the other. The mute key 78 also preferably in~.lllcles a light 83 for in(~ie~tin~ when the mute mode is activated. The other telephone operation keys 28 are a "hold" key 82 and a "redial" key 84 which, respectively, put a caller on hold and ~ltc-m~tically redial the last-dialed telephone number.
30 A speaker volume control 86 and a display screen contrast control 88 are provided. In some embotlimPnt.c the t~rmin~l 10 has eight function keys 62-76, and in some other embo-limentc it has four such keys.
WO 96132800 ' PCI~/US96/04946 Still l~r~ ~ to FIG. 2, in a pler~ d embodiment, the point-and-click mP-.hAniem 26 in~.h-d~s a cursor controller 58 and an activation button 60. Together, the cursor controller 58 and the activation button 60 allow the user to select a desired one of the options displayed in the graphical format on the display screen 14 by moving a cursor to or near that option and then 5 in~ic~ting co..r.... IA~ ;nn of the sPlçctinn The cursor controller 58 responds to the user' s touches by moving the cursor in the corresponding direction: up, down, left, right, or diagonally. The activation button 60 is pressed when the cursor is at or near the desired option.
In some Ahel ~.~I;v~ embo-lim-pnt~ the point-and-click mech~niem 26 is replaced by another int~rfAce m~.h~niem such as, for example, a touch screen merll~niem or a voice activated 10 m~el~AI~ix~ The touch screen Illel'.l~A~ illl would allow the user to select among options displayed in the grap_ical format on the display screen 14 by touching, or poh,ling at or near, that option.
In this touch screen embodiment, the point-and-click I l le~ l l 26 might be removed from the front of the tprmin~l~s housing 12, the display screen 14 would be replaced with a suitable touch screen or touch-dG~ecl;"g ~1~.m~.nte would be added to the existing display screen 14, and the 15 tprmin~l 10 would be progl~ed to ;---~,lf r,l~lll the touch screen feature. The voice activated ~erl~ ix~ would allow the user to select among options di~ yed in the graphical format on the display screen 14 by ~lttP~in~ an instruction collG*,o~ g to that option. In this voice activated embodiment, the point-and-click m~ .. 26 might be lt; loved from the front of the prminAl's housing 12, the microphone 30 might be used to receive the uttered instructions, and the t~ minAl 10 would be programmed to implement the voice activated feature. In general, whatever the intf!rf~.e m~.~.h~ni~m employed to allow the user to make option selections, the t~rmin~l 10 will have a graphical user intP.rfAce for making the task simple, easy to understand, and intuitive in accold~ce with the invention.
The graphical user intPrf~ce provides user selectable options in a graphical format on the display screen 14. Referring to FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C, ~mple.~ of such a graphical format are provided by a home page screen 85, a world page screen 87, and a personal travel agent screen 89 which the user might see and interact with when using the digital screen phone tP.rmin~l 10 of the invention. The user is provided with options via a variety of graphical r~ ulGs in~.lutling buttons, scrolling lists, radio buttons, check boxes, dialog boxes, etc. The options provided to the user on the sample home page screen 85 can include, for example, buttons for manipulating phone calls 37 and m~ .s 39 and ;..r .... ,~1 ;on related thereto. The letters (e.g., ABC) shown within the buttons are lG~lGsGllt~live of indicia that can be displayed to the user to identify the particular CA 022l8038 l997-lO-lO
function of each button. The user can be provided with access to various stored phone Llunlbc via a directory listing 41. The options provided to the user on the world page screen 87 can include, for example, the ability to access various electronic services and applic~tion prograrns via a dhc-;kjly 43 of such services and applications and a variety of other options acc~ihle via various buttons 45. The options provided to the user on the personal travel agent screen 89 can include, for P~mple, the ability to select various dçstin~tir,ns via a destin~tions directory 47 and other options identified by various buttons 49. The user of the t~rrnin~l 10 manipulates the point-and-click meçll,~ni~l,,26 in order to point the cursor on the display screen 14 to, for e~rnplP~, the desired button and then select the option idP.ntified by that button.
Referring to FIG. 4, the digital screen phone tPrrnin~l 10 provides various built-in o~ Lional tools 94 such as calendar, clock, c~lc~ tor, ol~er, to do list, telephone number list, outgoing and incoming call log, call back list, and alert fimr.tion~ The tools 94 are filnr.ti~n~
pro~Lulcd into the tPrmin~l lO and generally are accçssed by a user interacting with the tF!rmin~l's graphical input/output r~ ~Lul~s (e.g., the display screen 14 and the point-and-click mPrll~ 26~ the keypad 16, and/or the ruL,clion keys 24). The prmin~l 10 also provides various built-in cr.. ,~ c~tion capabilities 92 inr~ ing modem and te1ephone filnrti->n~ which allow the t~rmin~l 10 to access various electronic services such as banking services 96, iL~UI " ".I;on services 98, travel pl~nni,~ services 100, and con~uL ,er services lOZ. The modem fims~tinn~ provided by the trrmin~l 10 can include mod-ll~tion and demodulation, decoLu~lt;s~ion and coLu~ ion, and error correction of outgoing and incoming voice and data signals. The data signals can include repl ~s~ n~ of facsimile images. The tPlephone functions provided by the t~rmin~l 10 include speech path procç~ing In general, the t~rmin~l 10 also provides at least all of the telephone functions provided by a collvellLional feature telephone such as auto-dialing, call progress mGl.lLoling, DTMF (dual-tone multi-frequency) processing, CLASS+ rea~ules inrlll~ing 25 call status, call waiting status, call duration, caller hLrolLIl~Lion (e.g., caller ID and name), incoming/outgoing calling logs, dial from log, block selected calls, and distinctive rings.
The banking services 96 can include bill paying, bank account tr~n~ctinnS (e.g., kansfer of funds between accounts, obtaining account balances, etc.), and fin~nri~l inforrn~tir n rekieval (e.g., bank loan interest rates). The iLIrolLllalion services 98 can include news on topics such as 30 finance, vveaLLer, sports, and entell;~;"",~ The travel pl~nning services 100 can include viewing airline schedules, making reservations, ordering tickets, and viewing maps. The C~n~
_ 9 _ services 102 can include retrieval of product inform~tion and the ordering of products and services. In general, the termin~l 10 can access and interact with any ele~ o~c service.
The digital screen phone tPrmin~l 10 according to the invention can be provided in two versions, a basic version (FIG. 5A) and an advanced version (FIG. 5B).
Referring to FIG. 5A, the basic version ofthe tPrmin~l 10 inrhldes at least the following components within the housing 12: a pro~l~able digital signal processor (DSP) 104; an input/output (VO) controller 106; an VO co,-"-"l";r~ti~-ns intPrf~re 108; an intrrf~ce codec 110; a h~nrl.~et codec 112; and memory 114, 116. This basic version also incl~ldes the telephone keypad 16 and the display screen 14 which are both ccnt~ined within the housing 12 but which are 10 exposed to allow the user to manipulate/view them. The telephone handset 18 is also shown in FIG. SA.
l? Pferring to FIG. 5B, the advanced version of the terminal 10 includes at least the following co~ ol-ell~s, within the housing 12: the programmable DSP 104; the VO controller 106;
the I/O c~ ;r~ n~ intrrf~re 108; the two codecs 110, 112; a speakerphone 138; memory 15 124, 126, 128; and various intPrf~cPs 130, 132, 134, 136 for receiving various cards. In addition to the keypad 16, the screen 14, and the handset 18, this advanced version inrl~ldçs the stowable ~lrll~,.,,,..~.lic keyboard 22.
Rerell~y to FIGS. 5A and 5B, both the basic version and the advanced version include the pro~l~,able DSP 104 and the VO controller 106. The pro~,.~u,.able DSP 104 uses digital signal processing techniques, and it alone impl~mPntc the modem &naions, the telephone functions, and the application prograrns. The prog. ~l-ll,able DSP l O4 is basically the same element with the sarnê functi-)n~lhy in both the basic version and the advanced version. The pro~ u ,able DSP 104 is aided by the VO controller 106 which performs some of the basic, low-level control functions nP.cess~. y to int~rf~re with the various I/O devices inçll--1ing the keypad 16, the display 14, the keyboard 22, the mPmrries 114, 116, 124, 126, 128, and the intP.rf~ces 130, 132, 134, 136. The low-level control functions handled by the VO controller 106 can inr.lll-lP, for example, sç~nning the keypad 16 and/or keyboard 22 for user inputs and updating the display screen 14. The VO controller 106 is a slave to the programmable DSP 104. The VO
controller 106 used in the advanced version typically is more complex than the I/O controller 106 in the basic version bêcause more VO devices must be handled in the advanced version.
In a pr~r~;llc;d embodiment of the tPrmin~l 10 ofthe invention, the pro~able DSP 104 is a single Texas Instruments TMS320C50 series digital signal processor chip with co~ uL~
WO 96132800 P~ 04946 power of about 28 ~PS (Millions of Instructions Per Second), and more preferably either a C5 1 or a C52 chip. It is possible to use other digital signal processors instead of the presently p~c:relled chip(s), but it has been discovered that any such chip should have compute power of about 28 M[PS or greater. Also, in the p,~r~lled embodiment, the VO controller 106 is an ASIC
(Application Specific Integrated Circuit) chip custom dP~ignP~d to provide the nP,cP~,y intPrf~ce functions incllltling the VO "glue logic" which is frequently a plurality of separate chips but which here has been inr.lllded in the ASIC. A prototype ofthe terrninal 10 used a relatively low cost, low power 8-bit microcoln~uu~el in place of the ASIC.
In the basic version of the terminal 10, as shown in FIG. 5A, a repertory dialing number 10 memory 116 is provided for storing repertory dialing ~ulllbe~. In the disclosed embodiment, this memory 116 is a lK-by-8 serial Electric~lly Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM) 122. Memory 114 for the programmable DSP 104 inrllldP~, in the disclosed embodiment, a 32K-by-16 Random Access Memory (RAM) 118 and a 64K-by-16 Flash Read Only Memory (ROM~ 120. The modem filnctinn, tPlephc~np function, application program, and 15 built-in fimr.tion software which dictates the operations pelru""ed by the programmable DSP 104 generally resides in the IGI~.Oly 114. New sunw~e is downloadable into the Flash ROM 120 to inco,~o,~e new r~Lules and/or modify existing fea~ult;s ofthe tprmin~l 10. Only about 25% or so of the memory 1 14 is, e-lu" ed for the programmable DSP 104 to pclrul , its modem and telephone functions and for the I/O controller 106 to pe~rullll its low-level control functions. This 20 leaves about 75% or so of the memory 114 for the other built-in fiunctions and application programs which the programmable DSP 104 ~xec~ltes and the terminal 10 provides to the user.
As mentioned previously, the built-in functions can include clock, alarm, calendar, ol~el, calculator, phone list, etc. functions, and the application programs can include tP.rmin~l Pmlll~ti~n such as a VT-100 termin~l emlll~tion program as well as a variety of other applic~ti~)n~
Still referring to FIG. 5A, the two codecs 110, 112 and the co.. ~.ic~tinnS intPrf~ce 108 are required to intP.rf~ce the programmable DSP 104 and the I/O controller 106 to analog telephone lines and the handset 18 which is analog. One or more of the two codecs 1 10, 1 12 and the intPrf~ce 108 could be replaced or removed if the tPrrnin~l 10 is to be coupled to a non-analog line such as the ISDN or other non-analog col-""-ll~ic~tiQns nt;lwo,h.
In the disclosed embodiment ofthe advanced version ofthe tPrrnin~l 10, as shown in FIG.
5B, the repertory dialing number memory is implPmPnted with a 2K-by-16 SRAM (Static RAM) 128 which is a battery-backed memory chip, and the DSP/controller memory is implennPnted with -CA 022l8038 l997- lO- lO
WO 96t32800 PCT/US9''~ ll 16 a 128K-by-16 RAM 124 and a 128K-by-16 Flash Erasable PROM OEPROM) 126. The intPrfi~c~,$
can include a personal co u~ulel memory card intP.rf~ce ~PCMCL~) 130 for lt;Ct;ivillg a PCMCLA
memory card, a serial port int~rf~ce 132 for receiving ~ssenti~lly any serial device card (e.g., a card for a printer or c~ P-l), a bar code intPrf~ce 134 for intPrf~eing with any bar code reader S via serial co~ - -;s~tion~, a ~lll~ lc~ d int~rf~ce 136 for receiving any .",.~ Lcard, and a m~netic stripe card int~rf~c~e 135 for receiving a m~gnPtic stnpe card. The handset codec 112 in this version is slightly di~ele~-l from the one in the basic version because in this advanced version the handset codec 112 in~.hldes mllltirlexing to accomm- date the handset 18 and the speakerphone 138.
Either version of the diBtal screen phone tPrmin~l 10 according to the invention can have an enclyl,Lion feature which provides secure cor..,....,-;cations. Three basic functions are required for the t~rmin~l 10 to provide secure co.. ~.. ;C~tion~ and all three ofthese can be PYecllted by the prog.~able DSP 104 ofthe t~rmin~l 10. The three basic functions are an encoder/decoder, an encry-pter/decly~ler, and a modem for 1~ and receiving the encrypted signals to and 1~ from the c~........ :c~ti-~n~ n~:lwo~h to which the t~rmin~l 10 is coupled. The encoder/decoder ~li iti7es and co.. ~lt;S~,es the data down to a manageable data rate (e.g., 2400 bps up to 9600 bps), and it also inr.hldes a decoder fim~.tic)n for the receive direction. The encrypter/dewy~
encrypts the data stream coming from the encoder/decoder, and it also decrypts the received data stream. The DES encryption method can be used by the encrypter/de-;ly~,ter. In general, a "key"
20 is needed by the encrypter/decly~,tel to operate. The smartcard int~.rf~-.e 136 can be used to allow a user of the tPrmin~l 10 to enter a key with a ~ ~d~ In other emborlimPnts, the key can be generated based on a random number.
Having described the haldw~e art~hitectllre and some ofthe functionality ofthe digital screen phone termin~l 10 acco--ling to the invention, the operations pelr,.u.ed by the 2~ pro~,.~able DSP 104 under software control will now be further desc.;l,ed.
The digital screen phone tprmin~l 10 has four modes of operation: off-line mode, on-line mode, facsimile mode, and phone mode. When in the off-line mode, the terminal 10 allows the user to pe-rullll application programs and built-in tools such as clock, alarms, calendar, ol~
calculator, phone list, etc. filn~.tion~ It is the programmable DSP 104 alone that ~Yec~ltes these 30 programs and functions. For P.~mple, the programmable DSP 104 alone can l)e~rcl~.~ the processing neces.,~uy to allow the user to interact with a home banking service, setJdisplay a clock on the display screen 14, set/sound an alarm on the display screen 14 and/or the speaker in the WO 96/32800 PCT/US9r'0 1~ 1C
housing 12 of the t~rmin~l 10, use a c~lr~ tor on the display screen 14, and set a password on the display screen 14. In the on-line mode, the pro~.~Luable DSP 104 alone ~imlllt~n~ously pelrulllls a variety of modem functions and t~rmin~l emlll~tinn which allow the user to con~ icate with and access various electronic services. When the t~rmin~l 10 is in the f~simi1e 5 mode, the progl~able DSP 104 alone pelrulllls a variety of f~c~imile modem fimr.tion.c inrlllrlin~ f~r~imile image send and receive fimction~ In the phone mode, the pro~,l~able DSP
104 alone performs a variety of telephone fimr.tion~ inrhltling speech path processing as well as other telephone fimrtinn~ such as auto-dialing, call progress monitoring, DTMF (dual-tone multi-frequency) processing, call status, call waiting status, call duration, caller inrullllaLion (e.g., caller 10 ID and name), il co~/~Julgoillg calling logs, dial from log, block selected calls, ~ tin~tive rings, and generally all of the telephone functions provided by a collvelllional feature telephone. In all four modes of operation, the programmable DSP 104 supports impl~m~-nt~tion of the graphical user int~rf~re. The single pro~able DSP 104 thus alone pGlrol.. s a variety of tasks as well as SUIJpOlling the graphical user int~rf~c~, all under SO~IW~G control.
Referring to FIG. 6, the various tasks pGlrul.,.ed by the pro~able DSP 104 can be broken down into three task areas: a modem task 142 inrllltling data and facsimile h~n(11ing, a phone task 144, and an ap~lic~tinn task 148. The I/O controller 106 which aids the pro~,,n~.,...~hle DSP 104 p~. r.,....~ most or all of an I/O task 146. The modem task 142 corresponds to the on-line mode and the f~r~imile mode. The phone task 144 corresponds to the phone mode, and the applic~ti()n task 148 corresponds to the off-line mode and the on-line mode.
In the on-line mode, both the modem task 142 and the application task 148 run concurrently.
Concurrent with the particular task(s) being pelrullued by the programmable DSP 104 (or the I/O
controller 106), a real-time operating system (OS) is also ç~c~lting on the programmable DSP
104. The real-time OS is always running in the ba~ihgLo~ld, and it le~luilGs a relatively small peLcGlll~ge ofthe DSP's compute power as colul~Gd to the DSP compute power leyuilGd to pelrullll any one ofthe three DSP-pelrulllled tasks 142, 144, 148. The real-time OS preferably is impl~m.onted in assembly l~n~l~ge to ~ ;,e real-time d~m~n~ and it preferably isprogrammed into a protected part of the flash memory (120 in FIG. 5A and 126 in FIG. 5B) as an object module.
In the disclosed embodiment, the modem task 142 involves the programmable DSP 104 p~, r~," "; "g the function of a 2400 bps full-duplex data modem and a 9600 bps half-duplex fax modem int~hl-lin~ modulation/demodulation, colllplG~sion/decolllplession, and error correction processing on the i~co illg and outgoing data signals. Other embodiments can implPnnent higher speeds for both fax and data such as 14,400 bps. The phone task 144 involves the progl~nable DSP 104 p~lrulll~iug speech path processing as well as impl.om~nting the re~ules m~ntionPd previously. The application task 148 involves the pro~,l~able DSP 104 PYeCuting the application programs mPntinnPd previously. The VO task 146 involves the VO controller 106 pelrul~ g~ possibly with some help from the programmable DSP 104, the various PxtPrn~l device intPrf~ce low-level control support mentioned previously. The programrnable DSP 104 accords the highest level of priority to the modem task 142 and the phone task 144 because these two tasks must operate on the incoming and outgoing voice/data signals in real-time to pleselve the 10 quality of the hlrull~ualion. Lower prioritv is given to the VO task 146 and the application task 148 because it generally is acceptable to, for example, slow the update rate of the display screen 14 or hold up an PYecuting application program for a short period of time.
The real-time OS 140 running in the bacl~gluui-d on the progra_mable DSP 104 provides a means for applic~tion programs to gain access to the full filnction~lity of the tPrmin~l 10 15 in~ tling the modem, tP-lephnnp~ built-in, display, and graphics filnrtit)n.c The prog.~uable DSP 104 can pe~ru~ I a set of pli~liv~ ical functions (PGFs). These PGFs are accesced by co,~ ting with the pro~uable DSP 104 with a protocol that defines groups of co""~ d strings to implement each PGF. Each co,~ l string begins with a specified Graphics Ct)mm~n-l Introducer (GCI) character which is an ASCII escape character. Following the GCI is a single 20 character in-lic~ting the co",~ to be p~ ru- ed as well as any p~LIellic hlrull~ ion needed by the progl ~able DSP 104 to process the request. Use of this protocol results in a low-resource, low-bandwidth co.. ~-is~tion method because the tPrmin~l 10 c~"".~"l~ic~tPs using simple ASCII character strings. Because a wide range of PGFs can be represented by brief ASCII
c~ """~n~le, the digital screen phone tPrmin~l 10 allows the user to interact with a high-level 25 graphical user intPrf~ce. Nulller~us graphical techniques and re~ul~s found in high-end windowing ~llvilO 'ents are supported by the terminal 10 in-.hltling buttons, scrolling lists, radio buttons, check boxes, dialog boxes, etc. (see, for example, FIGS. 3A-3C). The graphical user intPrf~e provided by the digital screen phone tPrmin~l 10 has the appearance of Motif, the windowing e"vh(,l-"le,-~ supported on high-end wu~kxl~ nx, The graphical user IntPrf~ce 30 provided by the tprnlin~l 10 is similar to Motif, Windows, and the Macintosh graphical user intP.rf~cPs, but it le4uires far less memory to achieve: 32 kilobytes for the digital screen phone tPrnlin~l versus 4+ megabytes for Motif, Windows, and Macintosh graphical user intPrf~es.
WO 96132800 PCTIU~ ) 19 Referring to FIG. 7, an overview of some of the functionality of the digital screen phone terminal 10 according to the invention is provided. For POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) functions 150, the t~rmin~l 10 provides pulse/tone capabilities. For Feature Phone functions 152, the p.rmin~l 10 provides a speakerphone 138, a mute button 78, a hold button 82, hands-free S dialing, a redial button 84, lists (e.g., e.~ e~ lcy, personal, and dial-from), and a message in~1iç~tor lamp 32. For CLASS + Features 154, the trrmin~l 10 provides displaying caller ,r~l ~Lion (e.g., caller ID and name), displaying incoming and outgoing calling log, dialing from log, block seiected calls, and distinctive rings. For Personal Features 156, the t~rmin~l 10 provides set/display of a clock, set/sound an alarm, use a ç~lr~ tor, set password, and 10 encrypt/decrypt lists, data sçs~ion~, f~c~imile, and voice me~ges For Data Terminal functions 158, the tPrmin~l 10 provides auto dial, auto logon, auto answer, send/receive data (V.22 format or other format), error correction of data (V.42), colllpl~ss/decompl~ss data (V.42bis), and ADSI. For F~c~imile functions 160, the t~rmin~l 10 provides incoming facsimile image processing (e.g., receive, store, display, and print) and ouLgoi~, facsimile processing (e.g., sr~nning sending, and rolw~dhlg). For An.,weliug Machine fimr,tinn.~ 162, the tçrmin~l 10 provides time/date stamping, selective replay, auto turn-on, digital uuLgo;llg/incoming (e.g., mllltiple mesF,~ge~, activate by code). The media 164 over which the digital screen phone trrmin~l 10 can co... -icate include various co~ ;r~tion~ n~ Lw(jlk, inr,l~r1ing wireless co.. ,.;c~tinn~
ncLwc,lk., and nt;Lw~lk, having analog tr~n~mi~ n lines and/or digital tr~n~mi~ion lines.
V~ri~tinn~, mollific~tion~, and other imp]e,.. ~ ons of what is described herein will occur to those of oldil~y skill in the art without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as r1~imr(1 Accordingly, the invention is to be defined not by the preceding illustrative description but instead by the following claims.
What is claimed is:
Field of the Invention This invention relates to co~ c~tion devices and, more particularly, to powerful, low cost7 user friendly tcl~hol-e tPnnin~l~ which have display screens and which utilize digital signal 5 processing and graphical user interf~ee technologies to provide modem and tP.lerhnn~P fi~nrtit~n~
BacL~uund ofthe Invention A t~leph( ne having a display screen, a telephone keypad, and a tPl~hnnP handset is known, and it so"~l;",es is referred to as a "screen phone". Companies such as Philips, VeriFone, Forval, U.S. Order, and SmartPhone Col."",li~;r~tion~ each provide such a telephone.
10 These screen phones generally look like cou~ ;t)n~l telephones except they have the display screen which typically is located above the keypad. Some screen phones have an ~rl~ ;c keyboard.
Known screen phones typically utilize a hal.lw~e architectllre having three physically st;y&~ and discrete hal.lw~e modules: a general purpose microprocessor (and associated 15 memory and logic) for ~ - e~ ). application programs and/or controlling the other modules; a modem; and plephone ele~llon.cs. Known screen phones typically use the keypad keys and/or deAic~ted fimetion key buttons on the face of the phones to control the phones and select options presented on the display screen. Some known screen phones which use the ADSI protocol developed by Bellcore provide pro~ "al~le "softkeys" on the display screen. The softkeys 20 allow the fixed-position function key buttons to be programmably ~ignkd a me~nin~
Su~y of the Invention The invention relates to a telephone device which includes a housing having a front portion with a display device and a telephone keypad. A telephone handset is P.~fPrn~l to the housing but connected thereto by, foF example, a collv~l ;on~l telephone cord. In accordance 25 with the invention, the telephone device provides a graphical user intP.rf~ce wllel~y user sPl~ct~hle options are plesenled in a graphical format on the display device and a user is allowed to make s~lP,ctinn~ therefrom with, for PY~mplP, a point-and-click mk,~ ":~". The user ~ccP~es various electronic services by, for ~ pl~., pressing the telephone keypad keys and/or selecting options via the graphical user intP.rf~ce A processor, preferably a single progl~able digital WO 96/32800 PCTIUS9C~ 6 signal processor, is responsive to the telephone keypad and the user selectable options and provides a variety of modem and telephone filnr.tion.~ which allow the tPIephc n~ device to co,."".",ic~te with the various electronic services. The progl~able digital signal processor also preferably supports the graphical user interface and also çYPcutes a variety of built-in functions 5 and application programs. Wlth this telephone device, a user thus can electronically perform a variety of tasks such as, for example, banking tr~n~ctinnS~ purchases, hlru~ Lion retrieval, and h~llll~lion di~spmin~tion~
The modem functions pelrullllcd by the programmable digital signal processor of the telephone device according to the invention can include modulation/democl~ tion,10 compression/decol.lples~ion, and error correction of voice and data signals inchltling f~c~imile images. The telephone functions include speech path processing as well as other telephone functions such as auto-dialing, call progress monitoring, DTMF (dual-tone multi-frequency) processing, call status, call waiting status, call duration, incoming/outgoing calling logs, and caller ID. The built-in filnrtion~ can include, for PY~mple7 clock, alarm, c~l~nr1~r, ol~er, c~ t~r, 15 phone lists. The application programs can include, for PY~mple, tPrmin~l Pmlll~tinn home banking, airline l~,s~,lv~Lions, etc.
The tPlephon e device acco~ g to the invention is thus in effect a remote input/output device which provides the user with access to a variety of electronic services. Also, when not being used as a remote input/output device for ~- c~;..g elccLluilic services, the telephone device 20 provides a complete set of feature telephone fim~.tiQn~
The telephone device can send and receive voice and data signals over a variety of c~,.. -ic~tion media inclllrlin~ analog telephone lines, digital lines (e.g., ISDN or Integrated Services Digital Network), whclei,~ networks such as cellular n~Lwolh~, and co.. i-ications nt;Lwolks in general. The data signals can include f~c~imile images.
In a pr~;relled embodiment of the tPIeph~rl~ device, an ~lpl~ . ;c keyboard is provided.
The keyboard preferably is a 55-key QWERTY keyboard and is slidable into and out of the housing for easy and convenient storage and access. The keyboard provides the user of the device with a convenient way to enter ~ll.h~ ic hlrU~ ;on The use of a graphical user interf~e makes the telephone device according to theinvention ~ lt;. ely simple to operate and very user-friendly. The programmable digital signal processor alone ~ec lte!': the modem functions, telephone functions, and application programs, unlike known screen phones which typically use physically separate and discrete haldw~;
modules for these functions. In addition to implemPnting the graphical user intPrf~r,e and providing the modem, t~o1ephonP; and application functions, the programmable digital signal processor also pl~;;re;l~bly provides other built-in filnrtion~ (e.g., clock, alarm, cAlPn~Ar, ol~i2er, c~lr,ulAfQr, phone lists, etc.). In general, all ofthe fimr.ti~n~lity of the telephone device is alterable 5 by repro~ the telephone device.
By using a single h~dw~e elemPnt (i.e., the programmable digital signal processor) to pGlrullll operations previously pe~ r.. ~d by three or more physically separate, discrete haldw~;
modules, the telephone device according to the invention can be produced for a lower cost as colll~alt;d to known screen phones which use a plurality of separate h~dw~e modules. Also, a 10 very powerful pro~;l~able digital signal processor can be purchased for a fraction of the cost of a general purpose microprocessor having colll~ble collll~ule power. Because one or more of the physically separate, discrete hal-lw~e modules of a known screen phone typically inr.llldçs a general purpose microprocessor, the price di~lellce belwt;~n a progl~able digital signal processor and a COLU~ b1Y PUWWrU1 general purpose microprocessor L~...CI_IeS into a ~i~nificAnt 15 mAmlfArtllrinp cost savings in favor ofthe t~l~.phol-e device of the invention. Cost is, however, only one of the advantages of this t~leph- n~ device over known screen phones.
The t~1ephc)n~ device accoldin~, to the invention can be quickly and easily upgraded or modified by downlo~in~ new sonwalt; for use by the pro~,~...,.,able digital signal processor. In a plt;rellt;d embodiment ofthe invention, the sonv~ e is downloaded into one or more memory modules associated ~vith the pro~,l~uable digital signal processor, and the programmable digital signal processor ~cceC~es the memory module(s) in order to execute its various functions. Known screen phones typically require an entire h~dw~e module to be removed and replaced in order to modify that aspect of the screen phone. For ~mple, to upgrade the modem module of a known screen phone from 2400 bits per second (bps) to 9600 bps, it typicaUy is n~ce~. y to remove the entire 2400 bps h~dw~ti module and replace it with a new 9600 bps h~-lw~e module. The telephone device of the invention can be upgraded with ~ignifir.Antly less effort, time, and cost.
Also, in about the same time it takes to perform one software download operation, more than one (or all) aspects of the telephone device's functionality (e.g., modem, telephone, application programs, and built-in fimr,ti~ns) can be altered. In contrast, altering more than one hal-lw~e module of a known screen phone increases the le4ùiled effort, time, and cost ~i nific~ntly over that le.luiLed to alter a single haldw~t; module.
WO 96/321~00 PCT/US96/04946 The telephone device according to the invention also is more reliable than known screen phones. The higher reliability is due in part to the integrated design which uses a single progr~mm~ble digital signal processor to pelrollll a variety of operations such as the execution of modem filnr.tion~ telephone fimr.tion.e, applic~tic)n programs, and built-in functions. This 5 centralized, integrated design of the telephone device ~ es the need for any sort of high level controlling microprocessor which known screen phones typically use to help the plurality of separate, discrete h~dw~e modules thereof operate together without conflict.
The rul ~Oillg and other objects, aspects, features, and advantages of the invention will become more appal ellL from the following description and from the claims.
CA 022l8038 l997- lO- lO
WO 96132800 PCT/U~;h '~1916 Brief Description of the Drawin~s In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to the same parts throughout the di~t;~ views. Also, the drawings are not nPcçc~tily to scale, lomph~ instead generally being placed upon illu~ illg the principles of the invention.
c S FIG. lA is a perspective view of a digital screen phone t~rrnin~l according to the invention, with an ~Iph~.. ,.~. ;~ keyboard in its stowed position.
FIG. lB is a perspective view of the digital screen phone t~.rmin~l showing the alph~n-lm~ric keyboard slid out for allowing access thereto.
FIG. 2 is a top view of a portion of the front of the digital screen phone t~.rmin~l of FIGS.
10 lA and lB.
FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C are CA~JICS of graphical displays shown to a user of the digital screen phone t~rmin~l on the display screen thereo~
FIG. 4 is a diagram of some of the electronic services which can be ~cc~ssecl with the digital screen phone t~ormin~l accc~d~ to the invention.
FIG. 5A is a block diagram of the haldwa~ components of a basic version of the digital screen phone t~.r~in~l FIG. 5B is a block diagram of the haldw~; components of an advanced version of the digital screen phone t~rmin~l FIG. 6 is a diagram showing various tasks pe.~lllled by the hal dw,u e of FIG. SA or SB.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing some of the functionality of the digital screen phone tPrmin~l according to the i~vention.
CA 022l8038 l997- lO- lO
W096/32800 PCTrUS96104946 Description Referring to FIGS. lA and lB, a telephone device according to the invention is a digital screen phone termin~l 10 with a housing 12 and a telephone handset 18. The handset 18 iS
separate from or PYt~rn~l to the housing 12, and it is cnnnected to the housing 12 by a telephone handset cord 20. The front portion ofthe housing 12 ofthe terminal 10 has a display screen 14 and a point-and-click ll~e~ -iem 26. The tPrmin~l 10 provides a user thereofwith a graphical user intPrf~se which inrlll~çs user selectable options displayed in a graphical format on the display screen 14. The user can select among the options displayed in the graphical format by manipulating the point-and-click me~ 26. The front portion of the housing 12 also has a 10 telephone keypad 16, function keys 24, telephone operation keys 28, a mic~ )hone 30, and a telephone message in~lic~tor lamp 32. The keypad 16 and/or the functions keys 24 can be used with, or in place of, the point-and-click mP~.h~ni.cm 26 by a user of the tP.rmin~l 10 to make option s~ectionc In a pler~;lled embodiment ofthe tPrmin~l 10, an ~ll)h~."""Pric keyboard 22 iS
provided. The keyboard 22 slides into (FIG. lA) and out from (FIG. lB) the housing 12 in order 15 to stow it or allow access to it.
R~.fi~rrin~ to FIG. 2, the keypad 16 on the front portion ofthe tPrmin~l's housing 12 inr.lllrles twelve user pressable keys 34-56 similar to a collvt;..Lional telephone keypad. The mP.c.c~ge indicator lamp 32 lights when one or more mP,cc~ges have been received. The microphone 30 iS for leCe:ivil~ the user's voice when the t~rmin~l 10 is being operated in 20 speakerphone mode (i.e., without using the handset 18). One of the telephone operation keys 28, labeled "speaker" 80, is used to turn the speakerphone mode on and off. In a preferred embodiment, a light 81 on the speaker key 80 in~ tes when the speakerphone mode is activated.
The tPrmin~l 10 in~ clPc a speaker (not shown) for projecting sound when the terminal 10 is used in the speakerphone mode. Another one of the telephone operation keys 28, labeled "mute" 78, is 25 for disabling the microphone 30 to allow, for example, the user to speak aloud while in the speakerphone mode without being heard on the other end but still hearing tr~ncmiccions from the other. The mute key 78 also preferably in~.lllcles a light 83 for in(~ie~tin~ when the mute mode is activated. The other telephone operation keys 28 are a "hold" key 82 and a "redial" key 84 which, respectively, put a caller on hold and ~ltc-m~tically redial the last-dialed telephone number.
30 A speaker volume control 86 and a display screen contrast control 88 are provided. In some embotlimPnt.c the t~rmin~l 10 has eight function keys 62-76, and in some other embo-limentc it has four such keys.
WO 96132800 ' PCI~/US96/04946 Still l~r~ ~ to FIG. 2, in a pler~ d embodiment, the point-and-click mP-.hAniem 26 in~.h-d~s a cursor controller 58 and an activation button 60. Together, the cursor controller 58 and the activation button 60 allow the user to select a desired one of the options displayed in the graphical format on the display screen 14 by moving a cursor to or near that option and then 5 in~ic~ting co..r.... IA~ ;nn of the sPlçctinn The cursor controller 58 responds to the user' s touches by moving the cursor in the corresponding direction: up, down, left, right, or diagonally. The activation button 60 is pressed when the cursor is at or near the desired option.
In some Ahel ~.~I;v~ embo-lim-pnt~ the point-and-click mech~niem 26 is replaced by another int~rfAce m~.h~niem such as, for example, a touch screen merll~niem or a voice activated 10 m~el~AI~ix~ The touch screen Illel'.l~A~ illl would allow the user to select among options displayed in the grap_ical format on the display screen 14 by touching, or poh,ling at or near, that option.
In this touch screen embodiment, the point-and-click I l le~ l l 26 might be removed from the front of the tprmin~l~s housing 12, the display screen 14 would be replaced with a suitable touch screen or touch-dG~ecl;"g ~1~.m~.nte would be added to the existing display screen 14, and the 15 tprmin~l 10 would be progl~ed to ;---~,lf r,l~lll the touch screen feature. The voice activated ~erl~ ix~ would allow the user to select among options di~ yed in the graphical format on the display screen 14 by ~lttP~in~ an instruction collG*,o~ g to that option. In this voice activated embodiment, the point-and-click m~ .. 26 might be lt; loved from the front of the prminAl's housing 12, the microphone 30 might be used to receive the uttered instructions, and the t~ minAl 10 would be programmed to implement the voice activated feature. In general, whatever the intf!rf~.e m~.~.h~ni~m employed to allow the user to make option selections, the t~rmin~l 10 will have a graphical user intP.rfAce for making the task simple, easy to understand, and intuitive in accold~ce with the invention.
The graphical user intPrf~ce provides user selectable options in a graphical format on the display screen 14. Referring to FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C, ~mple.~ of such a graphical format are provided by a home page screen 85, a world page screen 87, and a personal travel agent screen 89 which the user might see and interact with when using the digital screen phone tP.rmin~l 10 of the invention. The user is provided with options via a variety of graphical r~ ulGs in~.lutling buttons, scrolling lists, radio buttons, check boxes, dialog boxes, etc. The options provided to the user on the sample home page screen 85 can include, for example, buttons for manipulating phone calls 37 and m~ .s 39 and ;..r .... ,~1 ;on related thereto. The letters (e.g., ABC) shown within the buttons are lG~lGsGllt~live of indicia that can be displayed to the user to identify the particular CA 022l8038 l997-lO-lO
function of each button. The user can be provided with access to various stored phone Llunlbc via a directory listing 41. The options provided to the user on the world page screen 87 can include, for example, the ability to access various electronic services and applic~tion prograrns via a dhc-;kjly 43 of such services and applications and a variety of other options acc~ihle via various buttons 45. The options provided to the user on the personal travel agent screen 89 can include, for P~mple, the ability to select various dçstin~tir,ns via a destin~tions directory 47 and other options identified by various buttons 49. The user of the t~rrnin~l 10 manipulates the point-and-click meçll,~ni~l,,26 in order to point the cursor on the display screen 14 to, for e~rnplP~, the desired button and then select the option idP.ntified by that button.
Referring to FIG. 4, the digital screen phone tPrrnin~l 10 provides various built-in o~ Lional tools 94 such as calendar, clock, c~lc~ tor, ol~er, to do list, telephone number list, outgoing and incoming call log, call back list, and alert fimr.tion~ The tools 94 are filnr.ti~n~
pro~Lulcd into the tPrmin~l lO and generally are accçssed by a user interacting with the tF!rmin~l's graphical input/output r~ ~Lul~s (e.g., the display screen 14 and the point-and-click mPrll~ 26~ the keypad 16, and/or the ruL,clion keys 24). The prmin~l 10 also provides various built-in cr.. ,~ c~tion capabilities 92 inr~ ing modem and te1ephone filnrti->n~ which allow the t~rmin~l 10 to access various electronic services such as banking services 96, iL~UI " ".I;on services 98, travel pl~nni,~ services 100, and con~uL ,er services lOZ. The modem fims~tinn~ provided by the trrmin~l 10 can include mod-ll~tion and demodulation, decoLu~lt;s~ion and coLu~ ion, and error correction of outgoing and incoming voice and data signals. The data signals can include repl ~s~ n~ of facsimile images. The tPlephone functions provided by the t~rmin~l 10 include speech path procç~ing In general, the t~rmin~l 10 also provides at least all of the telephone functions provided by a collvellLional feature telephone such as auto-dialing, call progress mGl.lLoling, DTMF (dual-tone multi-frequency) processing, CLASS+ rea~ules inrlll~ing 25 call status, call waiting status, call duration, caller hLrolLIl~Lion (e.g., caller ID and name), incoming/outgoing calling logs, dial from log, block selected calls, and distinctive rings.
The banking services 96 can include bill paying, bank account tr~n~ctinnS (e.g., kansfer of funds between accounts, obtaining account balances, etc.), and fin~nri~l inforrn~tir n rekieval (e.g., bank loan interest rates). The iLIrolLllalion services 98 can include news on topics such as 30 finance, vveaLLer, sports, and entell;~;"",~ The travel pl~nning services 100 can include viewing airline schedules, making reservations, ordering tickets, and viewing maps. The C~n~
_ 9 _ services 102 can include retrieval of product inform~tion and the ordering of products and services. In general, the termin~l 10 can access and interact with any ele~ o~c service.
The digital screen phone tPrmin~l 10 according to the invention can be provided in two versions, a basic version (FIG. 5A) and an advanced version (FIG. 5B).
Referring to FIG. 5A, the basic version ofthe tPrmin~l 10 inrhldes at least the following components within the housing 12: a pro~l~able digital signal processor (DSP) 104; an input/output (VO) controller 106; an VO co,-"-"l";r~ti~-ns intPrf~re 108; an intrrf~ce codec 110; a h~nrl.~et codec 112; and memory 114, 116. This basic version also incl~ldes the telephone keypad 16 and the display screen 14 which are both ccnt~ined within the housing 12 but which are 10 exposed to allow the user to manipulate/view them. The telephone handset 18 is also shown in FIG. SA.
l? Pferring to FIG. 5B, the advanced version of the terminal 10 includes at least the following co~ ol-ell~s, within the housing 12: the programmable DSP 104; the VO controller 106;
the I/O c~ ;r~ n~ intrrf~re 108; the two codecs 110, 112; a speakerphone 138; memory 15 124, 126, 128; and various intPrf~cPs 130, 132, 134, 136 for receiving various cards. In addition to the keypad 16, the screen 14, and the handset 18, this advanced version inrl~ldçs the stowable ~lrll~,.,,,..~.lic keyboard 22.
Rerell~y to FIGS. 5A and 5B, both the basic version and the advanced version include the pro~l~,able DSP 104 and the VO controller 106. The pro~,.~u,.able DSP 104 uses digital signal processing techniques, and it alone impl~mPntc the modem &naions, the telephone functions, and the application prograrns. The prog. ~l-ll,able DSP l O4 is basically the same element with the sarnê functi-)n~lhy in both the basic version and the advanced version. The pro~ u ,able DSP 104 is aided by the VO controller 106 which performs some of the basic, low-level control functions nP.cess~. y to int~rf~re with the various I/O devices inçll--1ing the keypad 16, the display 14, the keyboard 22, the mPmrries 114, 116, 124, 126, 128, and the intP.rf~ces 130, 132, 134, 136. The low-level control functions handled by the VO controller 106 can inr.lll-lP, for example, sç~nning the keypad 16 and/or keyboard 22 for user inputs and updating the display screen 14. The VO controller 106 is a slave to the programmable DSP 104. The VO
controller 106 used in the advanced version typically is more complex than the I/O controller 106 in the basic version bêcause more VO devices must be handled in the advanced version.
In a pr~r~;llc;d embodiment of the tPrmin~l 10 ofthe invention, the pro~able DSP 104 is a single Texas Instruments TMS320C50 series digital signal processor chip with co~ uL~
WO 96132800 P~ 04946 power of about 28 ~PS (Millions of Instructions Per Second), and more preferably either a C5 1 or a C52 chip. It is possible to use other digital signal processors instead of the presently p~c:relled chip(s), but it has been discovered that any such chip should have compute power of about 28 M[PS or greater. Also, in the p,~r~lled embodiment, the VO controller 106 is an ASIC
(Application Specific Integrated Circuit) chip custom dP~ignP~d to provide the nP,cP~,y intPrf~ce functions incllltling the VO "glue logic" which is frequently a plurality of separate chips but which here has been inr.lllded in the ASIC. A prototype ofthe terrninal 10 used a relatively low cost, low power 8-bit microcoln~uu~el in place of the ASIC.
In the basic version of the terminal 10, as shown in FIG. 5A, a repertory dialing number 10 memory 116 is provided for storing repertory dialing ~ulllbe~. In the disclosed embodiment, this memory 116 is a lK-by-8 serial Electric~lly Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM) 122. Memory 114 for the programmable DSP 104 inrllldP~, in the disclosed embodiment, a 32K-by-16 Random Access Memory (RAM) 118 and a 64K-by-16 Flash Read Only Memory (ROM~ 120. The modem filnctinn, tPlephc~np function, application program, and 15 built-in fimr.tion software which dictates the operations pelru""ed by the programmable DSP 104 generally resides in the IGI~.Oly 114. New sunw~e is downloadable into the Flash ROM 120 to inco,~o,~e new r~Lules and/or modify existing fea~ult;s ofthe tprmin~l 10. Only about 25% or so of the memory 1 14 is, e-lu" ed for the programmable DSP 104 to pclrul , its modem and telephone functions and for the I/O controller 106 to pe~rullll its low-level control functions. This 20 leaves about 75% or so of the memory 114 for the other built-in fiunctions and application programs which the programmable DSP 104 ~xec~ltes and the terminal 10 provides to the user.
As mentioned previously, the built-in functions can include clock, alarm, calendar, ol~el, calculator, phone list, etc. functions, and the application programs can include tP.rmin~l Pmlll~ti~n such as a VT-100 termin~l emlll~tion program as well as a variety of other applic~ti~)n~
Still referring to FIG. 5A, the two codecs 110, 112 and the co.. ~.ic~tinnS intPrf~ce 108 are required to intP.rf~ce the programmable DSP 104 and the I/O controller 106 to analog telephone lines and the handset 18 which is analog. One or more of the two codecs 1 10, 1 12 and the intPrf~ce 108 could be replaced or removed if the tPrrnin~l 10 is to be coupled to a non-analog line such as the ISDN or other non-analog col-""-ll~ic~tiQns nt;lwo,h.
In the disclosed embodiment ofthe advanced version ofthe tPrrnin~l 10, as shown in FIG.
5B, the repertory dialing number memory is implPmPnted with a 2K-by-16 SRAM (Static RAM) 128 which is a battery-backed memory chip, and the DSP/controller memory is implennPnted with -CA 022l8038 l997- lO- lO
WO 96t32800 PCT/US9''~ ll 16 a 128K-by-16 RAM 124 and a 128K-by-16 Flash Erasable PROM OEPROM) 126. The intPrfi~c~,$
can include a personal co u~ulel memory card intP.rf~ce ~PCMCL~) 130 for lt;Ct;ivillg a PCMCLA
memory card, a serial port int~rf~ce 132 for receiving ~ssenti~lly any serial device card (e.g., a card for a printer or c~ P-l), a bar code intPrf~ce 134 for intPrf~eing with any bar code reader S via serial co~ - -;s~tion~, a ~lll~ lc~ d int~rf~ce 136 for receiving any .",.~ Lcard, and a m~netic stripe card int~rf~c~e 135 for receiving a m~gnPtic stnpe card. The handset codec 112 in this version is slightly di~ele~-l from the one in the basic version because in this advanced version the handset codec 112 in~.hldes mllltirlexing to accomm- date the handset 18 and the speakerphone 138.
Either version of the diBtal screen phone tPrmin~l 10 according to the invention can have an enclyl,Lion feature which provides secure cor..,....,-;cations. Three basic functions are required for the t~rmin~l 10 to provide secure co.. ~.. ;C~tion~ and all three ofthese can be PYecllted by the prog.~able DSP 104 ofthe t~rmin~l 10. The three basic functions are an encoder/decoder, an encry-pter/decly~ler, and a modem for 1~ and receiving the encrypted signals to and 1~ from the c~........ :c~ti-~n~ n~:lwo~h to which the t~rmin~l 10 is coupled. The encoder/decoder ~li iti7es and co.. ~lt;S~,es the data down to a manageable data rate (e.g., 2400 bps up to 9600 bps), and it also inr.hldes a decoder fim~.tic)n for the receive direction. The encrypter/dewy~
encrypts the data stream coming from the encoder/decoder, and it also decrypts the received data stream. The DES encryption method can be used by the encrypter/de-;ly~,ter. In general, a "key"
20 is needed by the encrypter/decly~,tel to operate. The smartcard int~.rf~-.e 136 can be used to allow a user of the tPrmin~l 10 to enter a key with a ~ ~d~ In other emborlimPnts, the key can be generated based on a random number.
Having described the haldw~e art~hitectllre and some ofthe functionality ofthe digital screen phone termin~l 10 acco--ling to the invention, the operations pelr,.u.ed by the 2~ pro~,.~able DSP 104 under software control will now be further desc.;l,ed.
The digital screen phone tprmin~l 10 has four modes of operation: off-line mode, on-line mode, facsimile mode, and phone mode. When in the off-line mode, the terminal 10 allows the user to pe-rullll application programs and built-in tools such as clock, alarms, calendar, ol~
calculator, phone list, etc. filn~.tion~ It is the programmable DSP 104 alone that ~Yec~ltes these 30 programs and functions. For P.~mple, the programmable DSP 104 alone can l)e~rcl~.~ the processing neces.,~uy to allow the user to interact with a home banking service, setJdisplay a clock on the display screen 14, set/sound an alarm on the display screen 14 and/or the speaker in the WO 96/32800 PCT/US9r'0 1~ 1C
housing 12 of the t~rmin~l 10, use a c~lr~ tor on the display screen 14, and set a password on the display screen 14. In the on-line mode, the pro~.~Luable DSP 104 alone ~imlllt~n~ously pelrulllls a variety of modem functions and t~rmin~l emlll~tinn which allow the user to con~ icate with and access various electronic services. When the t~rmin~l 10 is in the f~simi1e 5 mode, the progl~able DSP 104 alone pelrulllls a variety of f~c~imile modem fimr.tion.c inrlllrlin~ f~r~imile image send and receive fimction~ In the phone mode, the pro~,l~able DSP
104 alone performs a variety of telephone fimr.tion~ inrhltling speech path processing as well as other telephone fimrtinn~ such as auto-dialing, call progress monitoring, DTMF (dual-tone multi-frequency) processing, call status, call waiting status, call duration, caller inrullllaLion (e.g., caller 10 ID and name), il co~/~Julgoillg calling logs, dial from log, block selected calls, ~ tin~tive rings, and generally all of the telephone functions provided by a collvelllional feature telephone. In all four modes of operation, the programmable DSP 104 supports impl~m~-nt~tion of the graphical user int~rf~re. The single pro~able DSP 104 thus alone pGlrol.. s a variety of tasks as well as SUIJpOlling the graphical user int~rf~c~, all under SO~IW~G control.
Referring to FIG. 6, the various tasks pGlrul.,.ed by the pro~able DSP 104 can be broken down into three task areas: a modem task 142 inrllltling data and facsimile h~n(11ing, a phone task 144, and an ap~lic~tinn task 148. The I/O controller 106 which aids the pro~,,n~.,...~hle DSP 104 p~. r.,....~ most or all of an I/O task 146. The modem task 142 corresponds to the on-line mode and the f~r~imile mode. The phone task 144 corresponds to the phone mode, and the applic~ti()n task 148 corresponds to the off-line mode and the on-line mode.
In the on-line mode, both the modem task 142 and the application task 148 run concurrently.
Concurrent with the particular task(s) being pelrullued by the programmable DSP 104 (or the I/O
controller 106), a real-time operating system (OS) is also ç~c~lting on the programmable DSP
104. The real-time OS is always running in the ba~ihgLo~ld, and it le~luilGs a relatively small peLcGlll~ge ofthe DSP's compute power as colul~Gd to the DSP compute power leyuilGd to pelrullll any one ofthe three DSP-pelrulllled tasks 142, 144, 148. The real-time OS preferably is impl~m.onted in assembly l~n~l~ge to ~ ;,e real-time d~m~n~ and it preferably isprogrammed into a protected part of the flash memory (120 in FIG. 5A and 126 in FIG. 5B) as an object module.
In the disclosed embodiment, the modem task 142 involves the programmable DSP 104 p~, r~," "; "g the function of a 2400 bps full-duplex data modem and a 9600 bps half-duplex fax modem int~hl-lin~ modulation/demodulation, colllplG~sion/decolllplession, and error correction processing on the i~co illg and outgoing data signals. Other embodiments can implPnnent higher speeds for both fax and data such as 14,400 bps. The phone task 144 involves the progl~nable DSP 104 p~lrulll~iug speech path processing as well as impl.om~nting the re~ules m~ntionPd previously. The application task 148 involves the pro~,l~able DSP 104 PYeCuting the application programs mPntinnPd previously. The VO task 146 involves the VO controller 106 pelrul~ g~ possibly with some help from the programmable DSP 104, the various PxtPrn~l device intPrf~ce low-level control support mentioned previously. The programrnable DSP 104 accords the highest level of priority to the modem task 142 and the phone task 144 because these two tasks must operate on the incoming and outgoing voice/data signals in real-time to pleselve the 10 quality of the hlrull~ualion. Lower prioritv is given to the VO task 146 and the application task 148 because it generally is acceptable to, for example, slow the update rate of the display screen 14 or hold up an PYecuting application program for a short period of time.
The real-time OS 140 running in the bacl~gluui-d on the progra_mable DSP 104 provides a means for applic~tion programs to gain access to the full filnction~lity of the tPrmin~l 10 15 in~ tling the modem, tP-lephnnp~ built-in, display, and graphics filnrtit)n.c The prog.~uable DSP 104 can pe~ru~ I a set of pli~liv~ ical functions (PGFs). These PGFs are accesced by co,~ ting with the pro~uable DSP 104 with a protocol that defines groups of co""~ d strings to implement each PGF. Each co,~ l string begins with a specified Graphics Ct)mm~n-l Introducer (GCI) character which is an ASCII escape character. Following the GCI is a single 20 character in-lic~ting the co",~ to be p~ ru- ed as well as any p~LIellic hlrull~ ion needed by the progl ~able DSP 104 to process the request. Use of this protocol results in a low-resource, low-bandwidth co.. ~-is~tion method because the tPrmin~l 10 c~"".~"l~ic~tPs using simple ASCII character strings. Because a wide range of PGFs can be represented by brief ASCII
c~ """~n~le, the digital screen phone tPrmin~l 10 allows the user to interact with a high-level 25 graphical user intPrf~ce. Nulller~us graphical techniques and re~ul~s found in high-end windowing ~llvilO 'ents are supported by the terminal 10 in-.hltling buttons, scrolling lists, radio buttons, check boxes, dialog boxes, etc. (see, for example, FIGS. 3A-3C). The graphical user intPrf~e provided by the digital screen phone tPrmin~l 10 has the appearance of Motif, the windowing e"vh(,l-"le,-~ supported on high-end wu~kxl~ nx, The graphical user IntPrf~ce 30 provided by the tprnlin~l 10 is similar to Motif, Windows, and the Macintosh graphical user intP.rf~cPs, but it le4uires far less memory to achieve: 32 kilobytes for the digital screen phone tPrnlin~l versus 4+ megabytes for Motif, Windows, and Macintosh graphical user intPrf~es.
WO 96132800 PCTIU~ ) 19 Referring to FIG. 7, an overview of some of the functionality of the digital screen phone terminal 10 according to the invention is provided. For POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) functions 150, the t~rmin~l 10 provides pulse/tone capabilities. For Feature Phone functions 152, the p.rmin~l 10 provides a speakerphone 138, a mute button 78, a hold button 82, hands-free S dialing, a redial button 84, lists (e.g., e.~ e~ lcy, personal, and dial-from), and a message in~1iç~tor lamp 32. For CLASS + Features 154, the trrmin~l 10 provides displaying caller ,r~l ~Lion (e.g., caller ID and name), displaying incoming and outgoing calling log, dialing from log, block seiected calls, and distinctive rings. For Personal Features 156, the t~rmin~l 10 provides set/display of a clock, set/sound an alarm, use a ç~lr~ tor, set password, and 10 encrypt/decrypt lists, data sçs~ion~, f~c~imile, and voice me~ges For Data Terminal functions 158, the tPrmin~l 10 provides auto dial, auto logon, auto answer, send/receive data (V.22 format or other format), error correction of data (V.42), colllpl~ss/decompl~ss data (V.42bis), and ADSI. For F~c~imile functions 160, the t~rmin~l 10 provides incoming facsimile image processing (e.g., receive, store, display, and print) and ouLgoi~, facsimile processing (e.g., sr~nning sending, and rolw~dhlg). For An.,weliug Machine fimr,tinn.~ 162, the tçrmin~l 10 provides time/date stamping, selective replay, auto turn-on, digital uuLgo;llg/incoming (e.g., mllltiple mesF,~ge~, activate by code). The media 164 over which the digital screen phone trrmin~l 10 can co... -icate include various co~ ;r~tion~ n~ Lw(jlk, inr,l~r1ing wireless co.. ,.;c~tinn~
ncLwc,lk., and nt;Lw~lk, having analog tr~n~mi~ n lines and/or digital tr~n~mi~ion lines.
V~ri~tinn~, mollific~tion~, and other imp]e,.. ~ ons of what is described herein will occur to those of oldil~y skill in the art without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as r1~imr(1 Accordingly, the invention is to be defined not by the preceding illustrative description but instead by the following claims.
What is claimed is:
Claims (20)
1. Apparatus for accessing electronic services, comprising:
a housing configured as a telephone and having a front portion;
a display device located on the front portion of the housing;
a telephone keypad located on the front portion of the housing and including keys pressable by a user of the apparatus;
means for providing the user with a graphical user interface including means for displaying user selectable options in a graphical format windowing environment on the display device and means for allowing the user to make selections from the options displayed in the graphical format windowing environment on the display device; and means, responsive to the user pressable keys and user selectable options, for providing modem functions and telephone functions and for executing application programs.
a housing configured as a telephone and having a front portion;
a display device located on the front portion of the housing;
a telephone keypad located on the front portion of the housing and including keys pressable by a user of the apparatus;
means for providing the user with a graphical user interface including means for displaying user selectable options in a graphical format windowing environment on the display device and means for allowing the user to make selections from the options displayed in the graphical format windowing environment on the display device; and means, responsive to the user pressable keys and user selectable options, for providing modem functions and telephone functions and for executing application programs.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the means for providing modem and telephone functions and for executing application programs comprises a programmable digital signal processor.
3. A digital screen phone terminal, comprising:
an input communications port into which incoming voice signals and incoming data signals are received;
an output communications port from which outgoing voice signals and outgoing data signals are sent;
a display device for displaying options in a graphical format windowing environment, the options being selectable by a user of the terminal and relating to at least some of the incoming and outgoing voice and data signals;
a telephone keypad including keys pressable by the user to create at least some of the outgoing data signals;
a telephone handset into which the user can speak to create the outgoing voice signals and with which the user can hear the incoming voice signals;
an interface mechanism for allowing the user to make selections from the optionsdisplayed in the graphical format windowing environment on the display device;
a programmable digital signal processor coupled to the input and output communications ports, the display device, the telephone keypad, the telephone handset, and the interface mechanism, the programmable digital signal processor processing the incoming and outgoing voice and data signals, providing modem functions and telephone functions, and generating the options displayed in the graphical format windowing environment on the display device; and a housing with the input and output communications ports, the display device, the telephone keypad, the interface mechanism and the programmable digital signal processor, the housing having a front panel with the display device and the telephone keypad, the telephone handset being external to the housing.
an input communications port into which incoming voice signals and incoming data signals are received;
an output communications port from which outgoing voice signals and outgoing data signals are sent;
a display device for displaying options in a graphical format windowing environment, the options being selectable by a user of the terminal and relating to at least some of the incoming and outgoing voice and data signals;
a telephone keypad including keys pressable by the user to create at least some of the outgoing data signals;
a telephone handset into which the user can speak to create the outgoing voice signals and with which the user can hear the incoming voice signals;
an interface mechanism for allowing the user to make selections from the optionsdisplayed in the graphical format windowing environment on the display device;
a programmable digital signal processor coupled to the input and output communications ports, the display device, the telephone keypad, the telephone handset, and the interface mechanism, the programmable digital signal processor processing the incoming and outgoing voice and data signals, providing modem functions and telephone functions, and generating the options displayed in the graphical format windowing environment on the display device; and a housing with the input and output communications ports, the display device, the telephone keypad, the interface mechanism and the programmable digital signal processor, the housing having a front panel with the display device and the telephone keypad, the telephone handset being external to the housing.
4. The digital screen phone terminal of claim 3 wherein the modem functions provided by the programmable digital signal processor include modulation and demodulation, decompression and compression, and error correction of the outgoing and incoming voice and data signals.
5. The digital screen phone terminal of claim 4 wherein the incoming and outgoing data signals include representations of facsimile images.
6. The digital screen phone terminal of claim 3 wherein the telephone functions provided by the programmable digital signal processor include processing of the incoming and outgoing voice signals.
7. The digital screen phone terminal of claim 3 further comprising an alphanumeric keyboard coupled to the programmable digital signal processor.
8. CANCELED
9. The digital screen phone terminal of claim 3 wherein the input and output communications ports are coupled to a communications network from and to which the incoming and outgoing voice and data signals are received and sent.
10. The digital screen phone terminal of claim 9 wherein the input and output communications ports are coupled to the communications network which includes an analog transmission line.
11. The digital screen phone terminal of claim 9 wherein the input and output communications ports are coupled to the communications network which includes a digital transmission line.
12. The digital screen phone terminal of claim 3 wherein the input and output communications ports are coupled to a wireless communications network from and to which the incoming and outgoing voice and data signals are received and sent.
13. The digital screen phone terminal of claim 3 wherein the interface mechanismcomprises a point-and-click mechanism which allows the user to select a desired one of the options displayed in the graphical format on the display device by moving a cursor to or near that option.
14. The digital screen phone terminal of claim 13 wherein the point-and-click mechanism includes a cursor controlling device and an activation button on the front panel of the housing, the cursor controlling device for moving the cursor to or near the desired one of the options and the activation button for selecting that option.
15. The digital screen phone terminal of claim 3 wherein the programmable digital signal processor performs encryption and decryption on the outgoing and incoming voice and data signals.
16. The digital screen phone terminal of claim 15 further comprising means, coupled to the programmable digital signal processor, for allowing a key to be entered, the key used in the encryption and decryption performed by the programmable digital signal processor.
17. Apparatus for accessing electronic services, comprising:
a communications interface for receiving incoming voice signals and incoming data signals and for sending outgoing voice signals and outgoing data signals;
a display device for displaying options which are selectable by a user of the apparatus and which relate to at least some of the incoming and outgoing voice and data signals;
a telephone keypad including keys pressable by the user;
a telephone handset for allowing the user to create the outgoing voice signals and hear the incoming voice signals;
an interface mechanism for allowing the user to make selections from the optionsdisplayed on the display device;
a programmable digital signal processor coupled to the communications interface, the display device, the telephone keypad, the telephone handset, and the interface mechanism, the programmable digital signal processor being responsive to the user selectable options and the user pressable keys and providing modem functions and telephone functions which operate on the incoming and outgoing voice and data signals, the programmable digital signals processor also generating the options displayed on the display device; and a housing with the communications interface, the display device, the telephone keypad, the interface mechanism, and the programmable digital signal processor, the housing having a front panel with the display device and the telephone keypad, the telephone handset being external to the housing.
a communications interface for receiving incoming voice signals and incoming data signals and for sending outgoing voice signals and outgoing data signals;
a display device for displaying options which are selectable by a user of the apparatus and which relate to at least some of the incoming and outgoing voice and data signals;
a telephone keypad including keys pressable by the user;
a telephone handset for allowing the user to create the outgoing voice signals and hear the incoming voice signals;
an interface mechanism for allowing the user to make selections from the optionsdisplayed on the display device;
a programmable digital signal processor coupled to the communications interface, the display device, the telephone keypad, the telephone handset, and the interface mechanism, the programmable digital signal processor being responsive to the user selectable options and the user pressable keys and providing modem functions and telephone functions which operate on the incoming and outgoing voice and data signals, the programmable digital signals processor also generating the options displayed on the display device; and a housing with the communications interface, the display device, the telephone keypad, the interface mechanism, and the programmable digital signal processor, the housing having a front panel with the display device and the telephone keypad, the telephone handset being external to the housing.
18. The apparatus of claim 17 further comprising an alphanumeric keyboard coupled to the programmable digital signal processor.
19. CANCELED
20. The digital screen phone terminal of claim 17 wherein the interface mechanism comprises a point-and-click mechanism which allows the user to select a desired one of the options displayed on the display device by moving a cursor to or near that option, the point-and-click mechanism including a cursor controlling device and an activation button on the front panel of the housing, the cursor controlling device for moving the cursor to or near the desired one of the options and the activation button for selecting that option.
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US08/420,208 | 1995-04-11 | ||
| US08/420,208 US5657378A (en) | 1995-04-11 | 1995-04-11 | Digital screen phone terminal with graphical user interface |
| PCT/US1996/004946 WO1996032800A1 (en) | 1995-04-11 | 1996-04-11 | Digital screen phone terminal with graphical user interface |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2218038A1 CA2218038A1 (en) | 1997-10-17 |
| CA2218038C true CA2218038C (en) | 2000-08-22 |
Family
ID=23665522
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002218038A Expired - Fee Related CA2218038C (en) | 1995-04-11 | 1996-04-11 | Digital screen phone terminal with graphical user interface |
Country Status (5)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US5657378A (en) |
| EP (1) | EP0820675A1 (en) |
| AU (1) | AU5389596A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2218038C (en) |
| WO (1) | WO1996032800A1 (en) |
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-
1995
- 1995-04-11 US US08/420,208 patent/US5657378A/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
-
1996
- 1996-04-11 CA CA002218038A patent/CA2218038C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1996-04-11 AU AU53895/96A patent/AU5389596A/en not_active Abandoned
- 1996-04-11 EP EP96910800A patent/EP0820675A1/en not_active Withdrawn
- 1996-04-11 WO PCT/US1996/004946 patent/WO1996032800A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| US5657378A (en) | 1997-08-12 |
| WO1996032800A1 (en) | 1996-10-17 |
| AU5389596A (en) | 1996-10-30 |
| EP0820675A1 (en) | 1998-01-28 |
| CA2218038A1 (en) | 1997-10-17 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
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| EEER | Examination request | ||
| MKLA | Lapsed |