Telephone station equipment employing rewriteable display keys
First Claim
1. Telephone station equipment manipulatable by a user comprising, in combination:
- a line circuit for establishing a telephone communication channel,a telephone handset consisting of a mouthpiece microphone and an earpiece speaker,a hook switch for connecting and disconnecting said handset and said line circuit,a manually manipulatable keypad consisting of a plurality of movable display keys that are actuated by moving the key, each of said display keys comprising both sensing means for detecting the actuation of said key by said user and display means for visually presenting alterable display information to said user,a programmable computer, anda keypad interface circuit for interconnecting said computer and said keypad, said keypad interface consisting of;
input circuit means for transmitting keypress signals indicative of the actuation of each of said keys to said computer to initiate functions designated by said display information andoutput circuit means for transmitting said alterable display information from said computer to said individual key displays as required for one or more of said initiated functions.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Telephone station equipment consisting of a phone device interconnected with a personal computer. The phone device includes a conventional telephone handset and a keypad employing pushbutton display keys each of which has a writable keyface display for visually indicating the function of the key or other information to the user. The personal computer is connected to both the phone device and to one or more telephone communications channels and is programmed to display prompting information on the key displays and respond to keypress events to perform the functions indicated. The user can perform a variety of telephone system management tasks solely by viewing and manipulating the phone device keypad, including manual dialing, redialing, speed-dialing from a directory of commonly called numbers, making flash disconnections, forwaring calls, controlling call waiting and caller I.D. functions, adjusting speakerphone volume and microphone gain, handling conference calls, automatically logging into remote databases, recording the time and nature of each call in an accounting file, performing unattended call answering and voice mail functions, utilizing voice responsive and automated voice output systems, and other telephone management functions.
108 Citations
27 Claims
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1. Telephone station equipment manipulatable by a user comprising, in combination:
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a line circuit for establishing a telephone communication channel, a telephone handset consisting of a mouthpiece microphone and an earpiece speaker, a hook switch for connecting and disconnecting said handset and said line circuit, a manually manipulatable keypad consisting of a plurality of movable display keys that are actuated by moving the key, each of said display keys comprising both sensing means for detecting the actuation of said key by said user and display means for visually presenting alterable display information to said user, a programmable computer, and a keypad interface circuit for interconnecting said computer and said keypad, said keypad interface consisting of; input circuit means for transmitting keypress signals indicative of the actuation of each of said keys to said computer to initiate functions designated by said display information and output circuit means for transmitting said alterable display information from said computer to said individual key displays as required for one or more of said initiated functions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. Telephone station equipment manipulatable by a user for establishing a telephone communication connection over a telephone line circuit to a remote party, said equipment comprising, in combination:
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a telephone station set comprising; a microphone for accepting audio information from said user, a speaker for delivering audio information to said user, and a manually manipulatable keypad consisting of a plurality of display keys, each of said display keys comprising a movable push-button manipulatable by said user, sensing means for detecting the depression and release of said push-button by said user, and writable display means positioned on the exposed face of said push-button for visually exhibiting alterable display information to said user, a programmable computer, and a keypad interface circuit for interconnecting said computer and said keypad, said keypad interface consisting of; input circuit means for transmitting keypress signals indicative of the actuation of each of said keys to said computer to initiate functions designated by said display information and output circuit means for transmitting said alterable display information from said computer to said individual key displays as required for one or more of said initiated functions. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A telephone system control mechanism comprising, in combination:
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a telephone communications circuit for establishing connections with remote parties, a display keypad consisting of a plurality of movable push-button keys each given key including a display panel positioned on the exposed face of said given key for displaying an visual image to a user, said image being defined by display data, and a sensor for generating keypress signals whenever said given key is actuated by said user, a personal computer including a memory and a processor for executing programs stored in said memory, said programs including a control program, said personal computer comprising; means for placing said computer in a first of a plurality of mode states, means responsive to the activation of a selected one of said keys when said computer is in said first mode state for performing an operation signified by the image displayed on the face of said selected key, means for switching said computer to a different mode state specified by said selected key to thereafter process the activation of said keys in said different mode state, and means coupled to said display keypad for transmitting said display data to said keys to represent at least one function executable by said processor in said different mode state.
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Specification