Communication terminal for processing voice and graphical information

• US 4,653,086 A
• Filed: 03/15/1985
• Issued: 03/24/1987
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/1984
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Alcatel SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Standard Electric Corporation (ITT, Inc.)
• Inventors: Laube, Manfred
• Primary Examiner(s): NOT, DEFINED
• Application Number:
  US06/712,303
• Time in Patent Office: 739 Days
• Field of Search: 179/2 DP, 179/2 TV, 179/90 B, 179/90 BB, 179/90 BD, 358/85, 178/19
• US Class Current: 379/93.19
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/23 Construction or mounting of dials or of equivalent devices; Means for facilitating the use thereof by improving visibility H04M1/22
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/247 Telephone sets including user guidance or feature selection means facilitating their use user interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones H04M1/724
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2478 Telephone terminals specially adapted for non-voice services, e.g. email, internet access centralized arrangements where telephones services are combined H04M7/0024; for recording text messages H04M3/5322; for accessing Internet H04M3/4938
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/27475 using interactive graphical means or pictorial representations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/066 Telephone sets adapted for data transmision
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 379/908 Multimedia
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 379/916 Touch screen associated with telephone set

Abstract

A communication terminal for processing voice and graphical information having a telephone set including a handset supported by a housing with an input device mounted within the housing for establishing communication with a distant terminal. The input device includes a flat display screen having a presentation portion and a switching field portion. A transparent resistive coating which conducts electrical signals and which is mounted over the presentation portion is manually contacted by a pen which extracts a signal for identifying the point of contact. The pen is used to touch the portion of the screen representing a dial keypad and various switching functions. The extracted signals are digitized and transmitted to distant terminals via a control circuit which processes both voice and graphical information.

Claims

1. A communication terminal for processing voice and graphical information comprising, in combination:

an external casing having a compact design and including a cradle;

a telephone set housed within said compact casing and including a handset electrically connected to said compact casing for processing voice communications, said cradle being configured for supporting said handset;

an input device mounted within said compact casing for establishing communication with at least one of a plurality of distant communication terminals, said input device including a flat display screen having a presentation portion and a switching field portion, said presentation portion being provided for the display of graphical information and said switching field portion being provided for initiating the selection of a plurality of switching functions;

transparent resistive coating means mounted above said flat display screen, said resistive coating means being electrically conductive;

a processing unit in electrical communication with said input device for initiating the performance of said plurality of switching functions and for the display and distribution of said graphical information, said processing unit including means for displaying a dialing keypad on the presentation portion of said flat display screen enabling the dialing of said telephone set;

circuit component means in circuit relation with said transparent resistive coating means for providing coordinate value electrical signals thereto;

a pen electrically connected to said circuit component means and manually applied to said resistive coating means of said flat display screen for extracting the coordinate value electrical signals for selecting one of said plurality of switching functions, said plurality of switching functions including a dialing mode and a graphical presentation mode, said flat display screen being electrically touch sensitive and wherein said pen extracts electrical signals from said resistive coating means for identifying the location of said pen when applied to said presentation portion for inputting graphical information to said display screen in said graphical information mode and for selection of indicia on the displayed keypad for enabling dialing of said telephone set in said dialing mode;

a component coder located within said circuit component means for receiving and digitizing said extracted signals and for transmitting said digitized signals to said processing unit for providing a pulse output; and

a control circuit for controlling the distribution of said pulse output including an operating mode selection switch for selecting the mode of operation fo the communication terminal wherein said telephone set processing voice communications and said input device displaying graphical information are incorporated within said compact casing.

2. The communication terminal of claim 1 wherein said control circuit further includes a telephone adapter for interrupting an internal speech path during said dialing mode, said telephone adapter being electrically connected to said handset for manual operation and to a means within said compact casing for automatic operation.

3. The communication terminal of claim 2 wherein said control circuit further includes a control coder-decoder for editing said graphical information.

4. The communication terminal of claim 3 wherein said control circuit further includes a frequency multiplexer for simultaneously transmitting voice and graphical information within a limited bandwidth and for connecting said operating mode selection switch to a subscriber line.

5. The communication terminal of claim 3 wherein said control circuit further includes a modem for transmitting said graphic information to said subscriber line.

6. The communication terminal of claim 1 wherein said transparent resistive coating means is detachably connected to said flat display screen.

7. The communication terminal of claim 1 wherein said transparent resistive coating means is inseparably connected to said flat display screen.

8. The communication terminal of claim 6 wherein said pen is connected to said circuit component means by an electric conductor.

9. The communication terminal of claim 7 wherein said pen is connected to said circuit component means by an electric conductor.

10. The communication terminal of claim 9 wherein said processing unit further includes a read-only memory having a dialing keypad stored in said read-only memory for display on the presentation portion of said flat display screen for enabling the dialing of said telephone set.