Method of enabling telephone control via printed control interface

• US 7,577,428 B2
• Filed: 01/11/2006
• Issued: 08/18/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Limited
• Original Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Limited
• Inventors: Lapstun, Paul, Silverbrook, Kia, Lapstun, Jacqueline Anne, Walmsley, Simon Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Eng, George
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cho, Un C
• Application Number:
  US11/329,187
• Publication Number:
  US 20060111090A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,315 Days
• Field of Search: 455/420, 455/410, 455/411, 455/418, 455/419, 178/18.01, 382/312, 382/313, 382315-317
• US Class Current: 455/420
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 3/445 Printers integrated in other types of apparatus, e.g. printers integrated in cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1656 Details related to functional adaptations of the enclosure, e.g. to provide protection against EMI, shock, water, or to host detachable peripherals like a mouse or removable expansions units like PCMCIA cards, or to provide access to internal components for maintenance or to removable storage supports like CDs or DVDs, or to mechanically mount accessories mounting of accessories to a computer display G06F1/1607; display hoods G06F1/1603; cooling arrangements for portable computers G06F1/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1684 Constructional details or arrangements related to integrated I/O peripherals not covered by groups G06F1/1635 - G06F1/1675
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1688 the I/O peripheral being integrated loudspeakers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1614 Image rotation following screen orientation, e.g. switching from landscape to portrait mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1637 Sensing arrangement for detection of housing movement or orientation, e.g. for controlling scrolling or cursor movement on the display of an handheld computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0384 Wireless input, i.e. hardware and software details of wireless interface arrangements for pointing devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0321 by optically sensing the absolute position with respect to a regularly patterned surface forming a passive digitiser, e.g. pen optically detecting position indicative tags printed on a paper sheet constructional details of pen-shaped pointing devices G06F3/03545, G06F3/03542, G06F3/037
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/16 Sound input; Sound output speech processing G10L
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/27475 using interactive graphical means or pictorial representations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2755 by optical scanning
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72409 by interfacing with external accessories hands-free H04M1/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72442 for playing music files
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72445 for supporting Internet browser applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 : including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion telephones including GPS signal receivers H04M2250/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42 : Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers specially adapted for wireless communication networks H04W4/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0015 : First party call control architectures
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00204 : with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server programmed control between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device H04N1/32561
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00244 : with a server, e.g. an internet server fax-servers or the like for store and forward H04N1/324
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00307 : with a mobile telephone apparatus constructional features of portable telephone sets H04M1/0202; mobile radio systems H04W84/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00326 : with a data reading, recognizing or recording apparatus, e.g. with a bar-code apparatus arrangements for the associated working of recording or reproducing apparatus with related apparatus G11B31/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00392 : Other manual input means, e.g. digitisers or writing tablets
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00968 : by scanning marks on a sheet mark-sheet input means H04N1/00355; sensing record carriers G06K7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32122 : in a separate device, e.g. in a memory or on a display separate from image data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32133 : on the same paper sheet, e.g. a facsimile page header
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32778 : using a mark-sheet or machine-readable code request
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/60 : using transform coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/61 : in combination with predictive coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 : embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/422 : Input-only peripherals , i.e. input devices connected to specially adapted client devices, e.g. global positioning system [GPS] input devices also receiving signals from specially adapted client devices H04N21/4104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42203 : sound input device, e.g. microphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4223 : Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 : Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0082 : Image hardcopy reproducer H04N2201/0091 - H04N2201/0094 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3226 : of identification information or the like, e.g. ID code, index, title, part of an image, reduced-size image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3247 : Data linking a set of images to one another, e.g. sequence, burst or continuous capture mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3264 : of sound signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3269 : of machine readable codes or marks, e.g. bar codes or glyphs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3274 : Storage or retrieval of prestored additional information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/445 : for displaying additional information H04N5/50 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 : Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 : Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/783 : Adaptations for reproducing at a rate different from the recording rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/907 : using static stores, e.g. storage tubes or semiconductor memories H04N5/91 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 : by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 : Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/187 : Continuous sectional layer

Abstract

A method of enabling at least one function of a telephone to be controlled is provided. The telephone is operative to perform the function in response to a command from a computer system. The method includes the steps of: (a) providing a control interface containing information relating to the function, the control interface including coded data indicative of at least one operation relating to the command; (b) receiving, in the computer system and from the sensing device, indicating data regarding the operation and movement data regarding movement of the sensing device relative to the control interface, the sensing device, when moved relative to the control interface, generating the indicating data using at least some of the coded data and generating the movement data; and (c) effecting, in the computer system and from the indicating data and the movement data, the at least one operation.

Claims

1. A method of enabling at least one operation of a telephone to be controlled, the telephone being operative to perform the at least one operation in response to at least one command from a computer system, the method including the steps of:

providing a control interface containing visual information relating to the at least one operation and coded data portions, each coded data portion being indicative of a unique identity of the control interface and the position of the coded data portion on the control interface;

receiving, in the computer system and from a sensing device placed in an operative position relative to the control interface and configured to sense and decode the coded data portions, indicating data regarding the position of the sensing device relative to the control interface and the unique identity of the control interface;

determining, in the computer system, the telephone;

determining, in the computer system, at least one operation associated with the position and unique identity; and

sending, by the computer system, one or more commands to the telephone, thereby effecting the at least one operation.

2. The method of claim 1 in which the at least one operation relating to the at least one command is selected from the group comprising:

selecting said telephone from a list of telephones;

selecting a telephone number from a list of telephone numbers;

registering user access to control the telephone; and

authorizing user access to control the telephone.

3. The method of claim 1 in which the at least one command is selected from the group comprising:

dialing a pre-determined telephone number;

making an outgoing call to a pre-determined telephone number;

sending text information;

receiving an incoming call;

receiving and storing text information; and

displaying text information on a display of said telephone.

4. The method of claim 1 in which the at least one command is issued through the sensing device.

5. The method of claim 1 in which the at least one command is issued independently of the sensing device.

6. The method of claim 1 in which the at least one command is issued through a wireless connection.

7. The method of claim 1 in which the at least one command is issued through a wired connection.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensing device is embedded in the telephone.

9. The method of claim 1 which includes printing the control interface on demand.

10. The method of claim 9 which includes printing the visual information of the control interface on a surface and, at the same time that the visual information is printed, printing the coded data portions on the surface.

11. The method of claim 10 which includes printing the coded data portions to be substantially invisible to the average unaided human eye.

12. The method of claim 1 which includes retaining a retrievable record of each control interface generated, the control interface being retrievable using the unique identity of the control interface as encoded in the coded data portions.

13. The method of claim 1 which includes distributing a plurality of the control interfaces using a mixture of multicast and pointcast communications protocols.

14. The method of claim 1 in which the sensing device contains an identification means which imparts a unique identity to the sensing device and identifies it as being associated with a particular user and in which the method includes monitoring, in the computer system, said identity.

15. A system including:

a control interface containing visual information relating to the at least one operation and coded data portions, each coded data portion being indicative of a unique identity of the control interface and the position of the coded data portion on the control interface;

a sensing device for sensing one or more coded data portions when placed in an operative position relative to the control interface, for decoding the coded data portions to determine the position of the sensing device relative to the control interface and the unique identity of the control interface; and

a computer system operative to receive, from the sensing device, indicating data indicative of the unique identity and the position, to identify a telephone, to determine at least one operation associated with the position and unique identity, and to send one or more commands to the telephone, thereby effecting the at least one operation.

16. The system of claim 15 which includes the sensing device, the sensing device generating movement data indicative of its movement relative to the control interface.

17. The system of claim 15 in which the at least one operation relating to the at least one command is selected from the group comprising:

selecting said telephone from a list of telephones;

selecting a telephone number from a list of telephone numbers;

registering user access to control the telephone; and

authorizing user access to control the telephone.