Communication terminal providing user communication of high comprehension

• US 4,394,649 A
• Filed: 07/28/1980
• Issued: 07/19/1983
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/1980
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: I/O Industries Incorporated
• Original Assignee: IO SRL
• Inventors: Doyle, Robert O., Suchoff, Michael A., Doyle, Holly T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Curtis, Marshall M.
• Application Number:
  US06/173,263
• Time in Patent Office: 1,086 Days
• Field of Search: 340/706, 340/792, 340/311, 340/711, 340/311.1, 340/365 R, 340/791, 340/721, 179/5.5
• US Class Current: 345/168
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0489 using dedicated keyboard keys or combinations thereof

Abstract

A keyboard and display terminal displays alphanumeric characters with a split screen format and with selective scrolling to display both host message information and user message information in a highly comprehensible manner. The terminal provides further message information to a user with kinetic punctuation of the message display and with audible cues. The terminal also provides automatic repertory dialing directly to a telephone line, and monitors the line for the user.

The terminal can employ a display element of limited capacity, and yet provides high comprehension to an unskilled user. The terminal provides the user with both message information and operating reports for enhanced intelligibility.

The terminal further sends a host a terminal-identifying code which can uniquely identify that terminal.

Claims

1. A keyboard and display terminal for communication with a data processing host and having character-entering keys and a character-displaying element and further having the improvement comprising

A. means for selectively controlling character display on a single line of said display element to start the display of characters in either of first and second spaced-apart locations of said single display line,

B. means for restricting keyboard control of displayed characters to only those characters for which the display starts at said second display location,

C. means for extending, along said single display line, the display of characters for which the display started at said second location in the direction toward the display locations of characters for which the display started at said first location, and

D. means responsive to the extension of characters for which the display started at said second location onto locations displaying characters for which the display started at said first location, for maintaining the display of the latter characters stationary in the absence of such an extension, and for moving the display of the latter characters in the direction of said extension in the presence of such an extension.

2. A keyboard and display terminal for communication with a data processing host and having character-entering keys and a character-displaying element and further having the improvement comprising

A. means for controlling the display of characters on said display element selectively to scroll characters on the display element, and

B. means responsive to selected sets of one or more characters for introducing an inter-character space in said scrolled display of characters for providing a punctuation-simulating pause in the character display.

3. A terminal according to claim 2

A. further comprising user-actuatable means for adjusting the rate of scrolling the character display, and

B. in which said space-introducing means includes means for adjusting the space duration automatically in correspondence to the adjusted rate of scroll.

4. A terminal according to claim 2 further comprising

A. user-actuatable means for stopping the scroll of the character display, and

B. cuing means responsive to said scroll-stopping means to produce a user-perceptible cue during the time said stopping means is operated to stop scroll of the display.

5. A keyboard and display terminal for communication with a data processing host and having character-entering keys and a character-displaying element and further having the improvement comprising

A. means for connection with a telephone line for providing two-way message communication between the terminal and the data processing host by way of a telephone line,

B. means for displaying a telephone number on the display element and for responding to user selection of a displayed telephone number for dialing that number by way of a telephone line to which said connection means are connected, and

C. means for monitoring a telephone line to which said connection means are connected and for producing at least one user-perceptible cue identifying and responsive to a telephone line signal condition selected from the signal conditions including dial tone, dialing signal, ringing signal, and busy signal.

6. A terminal according to claim 5 further comprising means for flashing the display of each digit of said selected displayed telephone number coincident with the dialing of that digit by said displaying and dialing means.

7. Data communications apparatus comprising

A. a display device capable of displaying only a limited number of alphanumeric characters simultaneously on a single display line, said number being less than forty,

B. associated with and interconnected to said display device, display register means for holding data defining the characters which are being displayed, the character positions being individually and randomly addressable through said register means for entering a new character in a chosen location in said display without disturbing existing characters in other positions,

C. coupler means for direct electric connection of the apparatus to a telephone line, said coupler means including frequency selective filter means,

D. a digital processor,

E. serial/parallel converter means interconnecting said processor and said coupler means,

F. a keyboard providing for alphanumeric character entry, said keyboard being interconnected with said processor,

G. means for signalling that a sequence of characters to be displayed is one of a first sequence or a second sequence,

H. read-only memory means associated with said processor and containing an operating system, said processor being interconnected with said coupler means for effecting dialing under control of said operating system in accordance with telephone protocols, said operating system further providing

I. means responsive to a first sequence of characters for entering the first character in the new sequence into the leftmost display position of said single display line, for entering successively subsequent characters in successive positions to the right along said single display line until display line is filled, and then entering further characters in that same sequence into the rightmost display position of said single display line with earlier characters being scrolled to the left,

J. means responsive to a new second sequence of characters for entering successive characters in that sequence into the rightmost display position of said single display line with earlier characters in the same sequence being scrolled to the left along said single line and replacing the display of characters of any previously entered first sequence, and

K. means, including a buffer register which initially receives characters from said coupler, for limiting the speed of scrolling of characters across said single display line to a rate level which is operator selectable and is independent of the rate at which characters are received,

L. said apparatus including also a pocket-sized case containing said display device, said keyboard, said coupler means, said processor and said memory means.

8. Communications apparatus according to claim 7

A. further comprising a sound-producing transducer,

B. wherein said keyboard includes an increase key and a decrease key, for controlling the scroll rate, and

C. further comprising means responsive to operation of the increase key for increasing the scroll rate in predetermined steps and responsive to operation of the decrease key for decreasing the scroll rate in predetermined steps and, at each such change, initiating with said transducer a sound cue having a change in pitch corresponding to the change in scroll rate.

9. Communications apparatus adapted for use by a lay consumer, said apparatus comprising

A. a display device capable of displaying only a limited number of alphanumeric characters simultaneously in a single display line, said number being not more than thirty-two,

B. associated with and interconnected to said display device, display register means for holding data defining the characters which are being displayed, the character positions being individually and randomly addressable through said register means for entering a new character in a location in said display without disturbing existing characters in other positions,

C. a keyboard providing for alphanumeric character entry,

D. coupler means for direct electric connection of the apparatus to telephone lines, said coupler means including frequency selective filter means,

E. a digital processor,

F. read-only memory means associated with said processor and containing an operating system, said processor being interconnected with said coupler means for effecting dialing under control of said operating system in accordance with telephone protocols, said operating system including also encoding means for transmitting data from either said keyboard or said memory over telephone lines using said coupler means;

G. buffer storage means for holding receiving data prior to display thereof on the display device,

H. means responsive to a control character of a first type for causing a subsequently received alphanumeric characters to be entered into successive locations in said single display line starting with the leftmost location, said means being also responsive to a control character of a second type for causing subsequently received alphanumeric characters to be entered into the rightmost location of said single display line, and, as successive characters following the control character are received, for causing previously received characters in the sequence to be scrolled to the left along said display line, and

I. a pocket-sized case containing said display device with display register, said keyboard, said coupler means, said processor, and said memory means.

10. A keyboard and display terminal for communication with a data processing host and having character-entering keys and a display element having multiple character-display locations arrayed in a line, and further having the improvement comprising

A. means for selectively controlling the character display on said display element to start the display of characters identified with a first control signal at a first location along the line of the display element and to start of the display of characters identified with a second control signal at a second location along the line of the display element,

B. means for identifying characters entered by way of said keys with said second control signal and for restricting keyboard control of displayed characters to only those characters for which the display started at said second display-element location, and

C. means for extending into one said location the display of characters for which the display started at the other said location and thereby replacing characters at said one location with characters for which the display started at the other said location.

11. A terminal according to claim 10 in which said display controlling means includes means for identifying at least selected characters communicated from the host, other than characters entered by way of said keys, with said first control signal.

12. A terminal according to claim 10 in which said improvement further comprises

A. means for extending toward said first location the display of characters identified with said second control signal, and

B. means responsive to said extension into locations which display characters identified with said first control signal for displacing from said display line the display of the latter characters in the direction of said extension.

13. A keyboard and display terminal for communication with a data processing host and having character-entering keys and having a display element with plural character-display locations arrayed in a line for displaying at least one line of characters, and further having the improvement comprising

A. means for selectively controlling the character display in said one display line of said display element to display a sequence of one or more characters associated with a second control identification beginning at a second end of the display line and to scroll the display thereof toward the opposite first end of the display line to display further characters of that sequence, and to scroll the concurrent display of characters associated with a first control identification, during said scroll of characters associated with said second identification, with the scroll of the latter characters toward and successively off the first end of the display line,

B. means for providing a user stimulus in a form selected from audible form and visible form in said one display line,

C. register means for storing the identification of characters for display on said display means, and

D. means responsive to the identification in said register means of selected punctuation characters for actuating said stimulus means for providing a user stimulus coincident with the display of selected sets of one or more characters.

14. A terminal according to claim 13 in which said display controlling means includes means for displaying substantially instantaneously on said one line of said display element a full line of characters associated with said first identification, and for scrolling the display thereof to display additional ones of such characters.

15. A terminal according to claim 13 having the further improvement comprising

A. at least first and second sets each of one or more scroll-controlling function controls, each of which is actuatable by a user of the terminal, and

B. means responsive to actuation of a control in said first set thereof to change the speed and said scroll of displayed characters, and responsive to actuation of a control in said second set thereof to switch the scroll of displayed characters between a stop condition and a go condition.

16. A terminal according to claim 15 having the further improvement:

A. in which said first set of function controls includes two separate function keys, and

B. in which said means responsive to control actuation includes means responsive to actuation of one key in said first set for increasing the speed of scroll and responsive to actuation of the other key of said first set to decrease the speed of scroll.

17. A terminal according to claim 15 having the further improvement comprising cue producing means responsive to the switching of said character-display scroll to the stop condition for producing a perceptible cue for reporting the stopping of the character-display scroll.

18. A terminal according to claim 13 having the further improvement comprising:

A. at least first, second and third user response function controls, each of which is actuatable by a user of the terminal,

B. means responsive to actuation of said first user response control for producing, for transmission to a data processing host, a signal sequence identifying a carriage return, and, selectively, identifying a first further response,

C. means responsive to actuation of said second user response control for producing, for transmission to a data processing host, a signal sequence identifying a clear character response and selectively, a second further response, and

D. means responsive to actuation of said third user response control for producing, for transmission to a data processing host, a signal sequence identifying a combined carriage return and third further response.

19. A terminal according to claim 18 having the further improvement comprising:

A. three separate keys forming said first, second and third user-response controls and means forming a YES legend on said first user response key, a NO legend on said second user response key, and a DON'"'"'T KNOW legend on said third user response key,

B. a fourth user response key actuatable by a user and bearing a HELP legend, and

C. means responsive to actuation of said fourth user response key for producing, for transmission to a data processing host, a signal sequence identifying a combined carriage return and said third further response.

20. A terminal according to claim 13 having the further improvement comprising

A. user-actuatable control means for changing the speed of said scroll of the character display,

B. register means for storing characters received from a data processing host and for applying stored characters to said display control means, and

C. means responsive to the number of characters stored in said register means for selectively producing, for transmission to a data processing host, a first signal sequence identifying a stop sending character message and, alternatively, a second signal sequence identifying a start sending character message.

21. A terminal according to claim 13 having the further improvement comprising:

A. at least first, second, third and fourth further user response controls each of which is actuatable by a user and means labeling said first further user response control with a repeat legend, means labeling said second further user response control with a go back legend, means labeling said third further user response control with a character-clearing backspace legend, and means labeling said fourth further user response control with a clear entry legend,

B. means responsive to actuation of said first further user response control for producing a signal sequence identifying a message for causing the display of the last previously-displayed host message,

C. means responsive to actuation of said second further user response control for producing a signal sequence identifying a message for causing the display of the last message to which a response was entered,

D. means responsive to actuation of said third further user response control for producing a signal sequence for actuating said display control means to delete from the display element the display of the last character entered by way of said character-entering keys of the terminal, and

E. means responsive to actuation of said fourth further user response control for actuating said display control means for deleting the immediately-preceding user response entered by way of said character entering keys of the terminal.

22. A terminal according to claim 13 having the further improvement in which said stimulus means includes means for blinking the display of at least one character associated with said first control identification, and includes means for providing selected audible tones in response to actuation of selected keys of said keyboard on the terminal.

23. A keyboard and display terminal for communication with a data processing host and having character-entering keys and a character-display element having a lined array of multiple character display locations, and further having the improvement comprising

A. means for selectively controlling the character display on the display element to display in a single line characters of a message identified from a first source and concurrently characters of a message identified from a second source which includes the character-entering keys of the terminal, and for scrolling the display along the entirety of said display line to enter the display of additional characters of a message identified from said second source by decreasing the number of locations available for display of characters of a message identified from said first source,

B. said display controlling means further including means for displaying an entire line of characters of a message identified from said first source and for scrolling the display to enter the display of additional characters of such a message, and

C. means responsive to selected sets of one or more characters being entered in said display line during the scrolling of the display for introducing an inter-character space in said scrolled display for providing a punctuation-simulating pause in the character display.

24. A keyboard and display terminal for communication with a data processing host and having character-entering keys and a character-display element having a lineal array of multiple character display locations, and further having the improvement comprising

A. means for selectively controlling the character display in said one display line of said display element to display characters of a message identified from a second source, which includes the keys of the terminal, beginning at a second end of the display line and to scroll the display thereof toward the opposite first end of the display line to display further characters of said second-source message, and to scroll the concurrent display of characters of a message identified from a first source, during said scroll of characters of said second-source message, with the scroll of characters of said second-source message toward and successively off the first end of the display line, and

B. means including separate function keys on the keyboard for user communication at the terminal of an affirmative response, a negative response, a "don'"'"'t know" response, an instruction for deleting the last displayed character of a second-source message, an instruction for deleting a displayed second-source message, an instruction for repeating the currently-displayed message identified from said first source, and an instruction for repeating the previously-displayed message identified from said first source.

25. A keyboard and display terminal for communication with a data processing host and having character-entering keys and a character-displaying element with a pointer, and further having the improvement comprising

A. first means for storing a display-format variable and for placing said stored display-format variable selectively in at least either of first and second values, and

B. second means responsive to a first value of said stored display-format variable for introducing the display of a character at a pointer-identified location on a single line of said display element, and responsive to a second value of said stored display-format variable for introducing the display of a character at a scroll-entry location on the same single line of said display element, and for scrolling the display of characters introduced at said scroll-entry location along said single line of said display element in a direction towards said pointer-identified location.

26. A terminal according to claim 25 further comprising

A. means for storing the pointer location on said single line of said display element, and

B. means responsive to said stored pointer location having a selected value relative to said scroll-entry location for changing the value of said stored display-format variable from said first value to said second value.

27. A terminal according to claim 25

A. further comprising register means for storing a value identifying the present location along said single line of said display element of the oldest presently-displayed character introduced at said scroll-entry location, and

B. in which said second means is responsive to the location-identifying value stored in said register means for selectively scrolling the display of characters introduced at a pointer-identified location.

28. A terminal according to claim 27 in which said second means includes means responding to the coincidence of said location stored in said register means with any location displaying a character introduced at a pointer-identified location, for scrolling the display on said single display line of all characters introduced at a pointer-identified location, together with the scroll of the display of characters introduced at said scroll entry location.