Feature access control in a display-based terminal environment
First Claim
1. A method of controlling a wireless terminal in a communication system, the method comprising the steps of:
- associating a set of label identifiers for a plurality of soft-labeled keys of the terminal with one of a plurality of states of a state machine that controls the soft-labeled keys of the terminal, wherein each of the label identifiers specifies a label to be associated with a given one of the soft-labeled keys of the terminal in a given one of the states; and
utilizing the label identifiers to generate a display including a set of labels for the plurality of soft-labeled keys;
wherein the associating step includes storing a control table specifying a set of label identifiers for each of at least a subset of the plurality of states of the state machine, the soft-labeled keys being controlled in accordance with the state machine with each of at least a subset of the states of the state machine having a corresponding entry in the control table and an associated set of label identifiers, the state machine being configured to run substantially in its entirety within the terminal, and wherein the utilizing step includes utilizing the set of label identifiers associated with a given one of the states to access a stored label table that specifies the corresponding set of labels, each of the label identifiers in the set of label identifiers associated with the control table entry for the given state serving as a pointer into the label table which specifies, for a given one of the label identifiers, a corresponding label for one of the soft-labeled keys in the given state, the label table thereby providing a single point of update for multiple occurrences of a particular label in the plurality of states.
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Abstract
Feature access control is provided for soft-labeled keys (SLKs) of a wireless terminal or other type of terminal in a communication system. In an illustrative embodiment, a different set of SLK label identifiers are associated in a control table with each state in a set of states of the terminal. Each of the label identifiers specifies a label to be associated with a given one of the SLKs in a given one of the states. The label identifiers are used as pointers into a label table which specifies, for each of the label identifiers, a corresponding label for one of the SLKs. The control table and label table together implement a bidirectional mapping between single switch-based features and corresponding multiple state-based appearances of those features on the terminal. The control table and label table may be downloaded into the terminal from a switch of the system. The SLK labels of the terminal may be updated by, e.g., transmitting to the terminal a state identifier, an identifier of a most-recently activated feature, and a presentation attribute for that feature.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of controlling a wireless terminal in a communication system, the method comprising the steps of:
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associating a set of label identifiers for a plurality of soft-labeled keys of the terminal with one of a plurality of states of a state machine that controls the soft-labeled keys of the terminal, wherein each of the label identifiers specifies a label to be associated with a given one of the soft-labeled keys of the terminal in a given one of the states; and
utilizing the label identifiers to generate a display including a set of labels for the plurality of soft-labeled keys;
wherein the associating step includes storing a control table specifying a set of label identifiers for each of at least a subset of the plurality of states of the state machine, the soft-labeled keys being controlled in accordance with the state machine with each of at least a subset of the states of the state machine having a corresponding entry in the control table and an associated set of label identifiers, the state machine being configured to run substantially in its entirety within the terminal, and wherein the utilizing step includes utilizing the set of label identifiers associated with a given one of the states to access a stored label table that specifies the corresponding set of labels, each of the label identifiers in the set of label identifiers associated with the control table entry for the given state serving as a pointer into the label table which specifies, for a given one of the label identifiers, a corresponding label for one of the soft-labeled keys in the given state, the label table thereby providing a single point of update for multiple occurrences of a particular label in the plurality of states. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An apparatus comprising:
a communication system wireless terminal operative to associate a set of label identifiers for a plurality of soft-labeled keys with one of a plurality of states of a state machine that controls the soft-labeled keys of the terminal, wherein each of the label identifiers specifies a label to be associated with a given one of the soft-labeled keys of the terminal in a given one of the states, such that the terminal utilizes the label identifiers to generate a display including a set of labels for the plurality of soft-labeled keys;
wherein the terminal stores a control table specifying a set of label identifiers for each of at least a subset of the plurality of states of the state machine, the soft-labeled keys being controlled in accordance with the state machine with each of at least a subset of the states of the state machine having a corresponding entry in the control table and an associated set of label identifiers, the state machine being configured to run substantially in its entirety within the terminal, and wherein the terminal utilizes the set of label identifiers associated with a given one of the states to access a stored label table that specifies the corresponding set of labels, each of the label identifiers in the set of label identifiers associated with the control table entry for the given state serving as a pointer into the label table which specifies, for a given one of the label identifiers, a corresponding label for one of the soft-labeled keys in the given state, the label table thereby providing a single point of update for multiple occurrences of a particular label in the plurality of states.- View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An apparatus comprising:
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a communication system switch operative to associate a set of label identifiers for a plurality of soft-labeled keys with one of a plurality of states of a state machine that controls the soft-labeled keys of a wireless terminal of the system, wherein each of the label identifiers specifies a label to be associated with a given one of the soft-labeled keys of the terminal in a given one of the states, such that the terminal utilizes the label identifiers to generate a display including a set of labels for the plurality of soft-labeled keys;
wherein the terminal stores a control table specifying a set of label identifiers for each of at least a subset of the plurality of states of the state machine, the soft-labeled keys being controlled in accordance with the state machine with each of at least a subset of the states of the state machine having a corresponding entry in the control table and an associated set of label identifiers, the state machine being configured to run substantially in its entirety within the terminal, and wherein the terminal utilizes the set of label identifiers associated with a given one of the states to access a stored label table that specifies the corresponding set of labels, each of the label identifiers in the set of label identifiers associated with the control table entry for the given state serving as a pointer into the label table which specifies, for a given one of the label identifiers, a corresponding label for one of the soft-labeled keys in the given state, the label table thereby providing a single point of update for multiple occurrences of a particular label in the plurality of states.
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20. An article of manufacture comprising:
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a machine-readable storage medium storing one or more programs for implementing a method of controlling a wireless terminal in a communication system, wherein the one or more programs when executed associate a set of label identifiers for a plurality of soft-labeled keys in the terminal with one of a plurality of states of a state machine that controls the soft-labeled keys of the terminal, wherein each of the label identifiers specifies a label to be associated with a given one of the soft-labeled keys of the terminal in a given one of the states, such that the label identifiers may be utilized to generate a display including a set of labels for the plurality of soft-labeled keys;
wherein the terminal stores a control table specifying a set of label identifiers for each of at least a subset of the plurality of states of the state machine, the soft-labeled keys being controlled in accordance with the state machine with each of at least a subset of the states of the state machine having a corresponding entry in the control table and an associated set of label identifiers, the state machine being configured to run substantially in its entirety within the terminal, and wherein the terminal utilizes the set of label identifiers associated with a given one of the states to access a stored label table that specifies the corresponding set of labels, each of the label identifiers in the set of label identifiers associated with the control table entry for the given state serving as a pointer into the label table which specifies, for a given one of the label identifiers, a corresponding label for one of the soft-labeled keys in the given state, the label table thereby providing a single point of update for multiple occurrences of a particular label in the plurality of states.
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Specification