Apparatus for referring to a content of a dial memory in a telphone set

• US 5,483,591 A
• Filed: 02/01/1994
• Issued: 01/09/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/1989
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Koma, Noriko
• Primary Examiner(s): Hofsass, Jeffery A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): SAINT SURIN, JACQUES M
• Application Number:
  US08/190,000
• Time in Patent Office: 707 Days
• Field of Search: 379/354, 379/355, 379/216, 379/356, 379/357
• US Class Current: 379/355.09
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2748 by matching character strings

Abstract

Index letters representing different groups of dial memories are stored in an index letter memory. One of the dial memories is displayed on a display to be a starting memory, when a reference requesting signal is supplied from a key input unit to a whole memory or skip reference portion of a central processing unit, so that a whole memory or skip reference mode is carried out to refer to a dial memory indexed in each of the different groups by each of the index letters in a forward or reverse direction from the starting memory to following dial memories. In the whole memory reference mode, dial memories indexed by the index letters are referred for continuous groups of dial memories. In the skip reference mode, index letters of a number "n" are skipped in accordance with the pressing-on of a skip reference key provided in the key input unit by "n" times, so that a dial memory corresponding to an index letter following the skipped index letters is referred to be displayed on the display.

Claims

1. An apparatus for referring to a content of a dial memory in a telephone set, comprising:

a dial memory group including a plurality of dial memories, each of said dial memories storing a content of a telephone number and letter data;

an index letter memory storing index letter data arranged in a predetermined order, each of said index letter data being a part of said letter data;

a key input unit including a forward direction reference key for generating a forward direction reference signal and a reverse direction reference key for generating a reverse direction reference signal;

a display for displaying said content stored in each of said dial memories;

whole memory reference means for referring in turn to each of said plurality of dial memories included in said dial memory group in said forward or reverse direction selected by said forward or reverse direction reference key one by one to display said content on said display beginning with a dial memory displayed on said display at a time of generating a signal of a reference instruction as a starting memory;

a skip reference means for referring in turn to index letter data and corresponding dial memories in said forward or reverse direction to display respective contents of said dial memories on said display, each of said dial memories being indexed by each of said index letter data, said skip reference means being operative to display one of said dial memories corresponding to one of said index letter data referenced; and

a whole memory reference key and a skip reference key, respectively, provided in said key input unit, said whole memory reference key selecting said whole memory reference means to be driven in a condition that said skip reference means is not selected, while said skip reference key selecting said skip reference means to be driven in a condition that said whole memory reference means is not selected, wherein said skip reference means is responsive to a skip instruction signal from said skip reference key, for skipping a user-designated number n of index letter data before displaying said contents of said dial memories beginning with a start memory, said whole memory reference means being operative in response to said whole memory reference key.

2. An apparatus for referring to a content of a dial memory in a telephone set, according to claim 1, wherein:

said whole memory reference means and said skip reference means are included in a central processing unit which is connected to a transmitting and receiving circuit of said telephone set.

3. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said index letter data comprises one or more alphanumeric characters.

4. An apparatus for referring to a content of a dial memory in a telephone set, comprising:

a dial memory group including a plurality of dial memories, each of said dial memories storing a content of a telephone number and letter data;

an index letter memory storing index letter data arranged in a predetermined order, each of said index letter data being a part of said letter data;

a key input unit including a forward direction key for generating a forward direction reference signal, a reverse direction reference key for generating a reverse direction reference signal, a skip reference key for generating a skip instruction signal, and a fixing key for generating a fixing signal;

a display for displaying said content stored in each of said dial memories; and

means for controlling access of said dial memory group and said index letter memory in accordance with one of said forward and reverse direction reference signals, said skip instruction signal and said fixing signal;

wherein, when accessing said index letter memory in a first mode, said index letter data are output and displayed on said display one by one in accordance with the generation of said forward and reverse direction reference signals, one of said index letter data displayed is fixed on said display when said fixing signal is generated, and the content of at least one dial memory having letter data associated with said index letter data that is fixed is displayed and scrolled according to the further generation of said forward and reverse direction reference signals; and

when accessing said index letter memory in a second, skip mode selected in response to generation of said skip instruction signal, a selected index letter data is output in accordance with a user-designated number n of index letter data to be skipped.

5. An apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein said index letter data comprises one or more alphanumeric characters.