System for transmission of voice and data over the same communications line

• US 7,334,024 B2
• Filed: 02/10/2005
• Issued: 02/19/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: CyberFone Systems LLC (Marathon Patent Group, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cyberfone Technologies Incorporated
• Inventors: Martino, Rocco L.
• Primary Examiner(s): LIN, KENNY S
• Application Number:
  US11/055,470
• Publication Number:
  US 20050165864A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,104 Days
• Field of Search: 709/201, 709/203, 709/217, 709/237, 379/93.17
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/00 Payment architectures, schemes or protocols apparatus for performing or posting payment transactions G07F7/08, G07F19/00; electronic cash registers G07G1/12
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/305 using wired telephone networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/493 Interactive information services, e.g. directory enquiries ; Arrangements therefor, e.g. interactive voice response [IVR] systems or voice portals
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/533 Voice mail systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q

Abstract

A data transaction processing system in which transaction data is entered by the user in response to prompts in a template which is tailored to each user application. The template and entered data are accumulated into data transactions which are immediately transmitted upon completion to an external database server for processing and storage. The data transactions are not locally stored for processing, and no conventional operating system is necessary. No local processing needs to be provided, and the only local storage is a flash PROM which stored the control firmware, a flash memory which stores the data streams making up the forms and menus, and a small RAM which operates as an input/output transaction buffer for storing the data streams of the template and the user replies to the prompts during assembly of a data transaction. The data transaction is received via standard protocols at a database server which, depending upon the application, stores the entire data transaction, explodes the data transaction to produce ancillary records which are then stored, and/or forwards the data transaction or some or all of the ancillary records to other database servers for updating other databases associated with those database servers. Also, in response to requests from the transaction entry device, the database server may return data streams for use in completing the fields in the data transaction or in presenting a menu on the display which was read in from the database server or a remote phone mail system. The transaction entry device is integrated with a telephone and is accessed via a touch screen, an optional keyboard, a magnetic card reader, voice entry, a modem, and the like.

Claims

1. A method for a wireless mobile device, said wireless mobile device having a display and an input interface, the method comprising:

creating, in a client module executing on a processor in said wireless mobile device, a data transaction to a server in a network, said data transaction identifying a remote processing capability associated with said server, said server communicating with said wireless mobile device over a wireless link, said creating comprising;

retrieving an identifier of said remote processing capability from a memory in said wireless mobile device,

generating said data transaction using said identifier and identification information,

displaying on said display information relating to said data transaction,

and selectively generating a voice signal for transmission;

transmitting said data transaction and said voice signal over said wireless link to said server;

receiving from said server a response over said wireless link; and

processing said response in said client module, to cause information in said response to be at least one of displayed on said display and presented audibly to a user.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of presenting a menu of system options for selection.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of changing from a data transaction mode for transmitting the data transaction to a telephone mode for transmitting said voice signal over said wireless link.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the data transaction and the voice signal arc transmitted simultaneously over said wireless link.

5. The method of claim 4, comprising the step of appending the voice signal to the data transaction for transmission.

6. A method as in claim 1, wherein said selectively generating a voice signal comprises generating the voice signal as part of the data transaction.

7. A wireless mobile device comprising:

a processor;

a memory;

a display;

a display module coupled to said display wherein said display module drives said display;

a key pad including a plurality of keys;

a keypad module coupled to said keypad wherein upon a user activating a key in said keypad, said keypad module stores information identifying the activated key in said memory;

a network interface module receiving data from and sending data to a network over a wireless link;

a telephone circuit that receives a voice signal from a user; and

a client module executing on said processor, said client module processing said stored information identifying the activated key and storing a symbol representing said pressed key in said memory;

wherein upon completion of data entry, said client module retrieves the symbols in said memory, generates a data transaction including said symbols and an identifier identifying a remote processing capability on said network, and forwards said data transaction to said network interface module for transmission over said wireless link; and

wherein said telephone circuit further forwards said voice signal to said network interface module for transmission over said wireless link.

8. The device of claim 7, further comprising a mode switch that switches from a first position for transmission of said data transaction to a second position for transmission of said voice signal.

9. The device of claim 7, wherein the data transaction and the voice signal are transmitted simultaneously over the wireless link.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the client module appends the voice signal to the data transaction for transmission over the wireless link.

11. A device as in claim 7, wherein said client module and said telephone circuit forwards the voice signal as part of said data transaction.

12. A computer readable storage medium including computer program code stored thereon for execution in a wireless mobile device, said wireless mobile device having a display and an input interface for interacting with a network, said computer program code comprising:

first computer program code for generating a data transaction in said wireless mobile device to communicate with a server in said network, said request including an identifier identifying said server, said first computer program code further retrieving said identifier from a memory in said wireless mobile device and constructing said data transaction using said identifier and identification information;

second computer code that generates a voice signal of a user;

third computer program code for transmitting said data transaction and said voice signal over a wireless link;

fourth computer program code for receiving a response from said server over said wireless link; and

fifth computer program code for at least one of displaying said response on said display and audibly presenting said response to the user.

13. The computer readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the third computer program code transmits said data transaction and the voice signal simultaneously over the wireless link.

14. The computer readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the third computer program code appends the voice signal to the data transaction for transmission over the wireless link.

15. A storage medium as in claim 12, wherein said third computer program code transmits said voice signal as part of the data transaction.

16. A method for a two-way communication device having a display and an input interface to interact with a data network, the method comprising:

sending a data transaction to a server across a communication line for access to a remote processing capability on said data network;

receiving over said communication line a response from said server, said response resulting from said server accessing and transforming information contained in said transaction to include additional information about the transaction;

displaying a display screen on said display based on said response; and

sending a voice signal across the communication line.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the data transaction is sent in a transaction entry mode, further comprising the step of presenting a menu of system options for selection.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the voice signal is sent in a telephone mode, further comprising the steps of providing a dial tone and enabling a telephone keypad of said input interface.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the communication line is a telephone line and transmission of said voice signal is enabled intermittently, further comprising the step of changing from said transaction entry mode to said telephone mode for sending said voice signal.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the communication line is a telephone line and transmission of said voice signal is enabled at all times.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein the sending of the data transaction and the sending of said voice signal occur simultaneously.

22. The method of claim 21, comprising the step of appending the voice signal to the data transaction for sending.

23. The method of claim 16, comprising the step of appending at least one of audio, video, and picture data to the data transaction for sending.

24. The method of claim 16, wherein the sending steps include the step of transmitting at least one of the data transaction and voice signal across a wireless communication path.

25. The method of claim 16, comprising the step of said server sending at least one of said data transaction and said voice signal to at least one other server in said data network.

26. The method of claim 25, comprising the step of said at least one other server sending at least one of said data transaction and said voice signal to at least one further server in said data network.

27. A method as in claim 16, wherein said sending voice signal comprises sending the voice signal as part of the transaction.

28. A two-way communication device for communicating with a network across a communication line, said two-way communication device comprising:

a display to display information;

a network interface to communicate across said communication line; and

a client module running on a processor, said client module generating and sending a data transaction to a remote processing capability on the network across the communication line, said client module receiving a response from said remote processing capability and displaying information on said display based on said response, and said client module generating and sending a voice signal across said communication line.

29. The device of claim 28, wherein the client module operates in a transaction entry mode and presents a menu of system options to said display in the transaction entry mode for selection.

30. The device of claim 28, further comprising a telephone keypad, wherein the client module operates in a telephone mode and provides a dial tone and enables said telephone keypad in the telephone mode.

31. The device of claim 30, wherein the communication line is a telephone line and said telephone mode is enabled at all times.

32. The device of claim 30, further comprising a mode switch, wherein the communication line is a telephone line and said telephone mode is enabled intermittently by switching said mode switch from a first position for a transaction entry mode to a second position for said telephone mode for sending said voice signal.

33. The device of claim 28, wherein the data transaction and the voice signal are transmitted simultaneously over the communication line.

34. The device of claim 33, wherein the client module appends the voice signal to the data transaction for sending over the communication line.

35. The device of claim 28, wherein the communication line includes a wireless communication path and said network interface includes a wireless communications interface.

36. The device of claim 28, further comprising a battery that powers said display, said network interface and said client module.

37. The device of claim 28, further comprising:

a memory;

a display module coupled to said display wherein said display module drives said display;

a key pad including a plurality of keys;

a keypad module coupled to said keypad wherein upon a user activating a key in said keypad, said keypad module stores information identifying the activated key in said memory; and

a telephone circuit that receives a voice signal from a user,

wherein said client module processes said stored information identifying the activated key and stores a symbol representing said pressed key in said memory;

wherein said network interface receives data from and sends data to the network over a wireless link;

wherein upon completion of data entry, said client module retrieves the symbols in said memory, generates a data transaction including said symbols and an identifier identifying the resource on the network, and forwards said data transaction to said network interface for transmission over said wireless link; and

wherein said telephone circuit further forwards said voice signal to said network interface for transmission over said wireless link.

38. The device of claim 37, further comprising a mode switch that switches from a first position for transmission of said data transaction to a second position for transmission of said voice signal.

39. The device of claim 37, wherein the data transaction and the voice signal are transmitted simultaneously over the wireless link.

40. The device of claim 39, wherein the client module appends the voice signal to the data transaction for transmission over the wireless link.

41. A device as in claim 28, wherein said client module sends the voice signal as part of the data transaction.