CA2094547C - Dialing apparatus for displaying stored character with reduced key operations - Google Patents
Dialing apparatus for displaying stored character with reduced key operationsInfo
- Publication number
- CA2094547C CA2094547C CA002094547A CA2094547A CA2094547C CA 2094547 C CA2094547 C CA 2094547C CA 002094547 A CA002094547 A CA 002094547A CA 2094547 A CA2094547 A CA 2094547A CA 2094547 C CA2094547 C CA 2094547C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- digit
- strings
- memory
- characters
- key
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Fee Related
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Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
- H04M1/26—Devices for calling a subscriber
- H04M1/27—Devices whereby a plurality of signals may be stored simultaneously
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
- H04M1/26—Devices for calling a subscriber
- H04M1/27—Devices whereby a plurality of signals may be stored simultaneously
- H04M1/274—Devices whereby a plurality of signals may be stored simultaneously with provision for storing more than one subscriber number at a time, e.g. using toothed disc
- H04M1/2745—Devices whereby a plurality of signals may be stored simultaneously with provision for storing more than one subscriber number at a time, e.g. using toothed disc using static electronic memories, e.g. chips
- H04M1/27467—Methods of retrieving data
- H04M1/2748—Methods of retrieving data by matching character strings
Abstract
A dialing apparatus comprises a keypad (21) having digit keys for entering a digit corresponding to a set of characters and a function key (SND). Character strings and corresponding digit strings are stored in a memory (23). In response to a digit from the keypad, a controller (20, 24) makes a search through the memory for detecting each one of characters of the set which corresponds to the digit and detecting character strings each containing the detected character. The detected character strings are then sequentially supplied to a display unit (22) from the memory so that they are displayed one at a time. When the command key is operated, the character string being displayed on the display unit is identified and the digits stored in the memory corresponding to the identified character string are dialed to a switched network.
Description
NE-509 2 0 ~ 4 5 4 7 TITLE OF THE INVENTION
2 "Dialing Apparatus For Displaying Stored Character With Reduced 3 Key Operations"
S Field of the Invention 6 The present invention relates generally to telephone sets, and more7 specifically to a speed dialing technique for dialing digits with reduced 8 key operations.
g Description of the Related Art A conventional speed dialing procedure involves the use of 11 combinations of digit keys assigned uniquely to different characters. By 12 manually entering one of the key combinations, a memory is searched 13 for detecting characters which are stored in the leftmost column of the 14 memory and correspond to the entered key combination. If two or more characters are detected, the next key combination is entered to 16 make a search for those characters stored in the next column. The 17 process is repeated until there is only one remaining character string that 18 contains the detected characters. The remaining character string is then 19 put on display for confirmation by the user before corresponding digits are dialed. One disadvantage of the prior art dialing procedure is that if 21 similar character strings are stored in the memory, the user must repeat 22 key operations a substantial number of times.
24 It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a dialing 2 s apparatus for telephone set or the like for dialing stored digits with 26 reduced key operations while displaying characters.
27 According to the present invention, there is provided a dialing 28 apparatus comprising a keypad having manually operated digit keys 29 each being operated for entering a digit corresponding to a set of 3 0 characters and a manually operated function key. A plurality of ,~" i, -2- 20 ~5 4 7 character strings and a plurality of corresponding digit strings are stored 2 in a memory. Each digit string contains a series of digits that constitute a 3 subscriber number. In response to the digit from the keypad, a controller 4 makes a search through the memory for detecting each one of characters of the set which corresponds to the entered digit and 6 detecting character strings each of which contains one of the detected 7 characters. The detected character strings are then sequentially supplied 8 to a display unit from the memory so that they are displayed one at a 9 time to allow the user to confirm and operate the function key if the displayed character string is one that is desired. In response to the 11 operation of the command key, the controller identifies the character 12 string being displayed on the display unit. The digits stored in the 13 memory corresponding to the identified character string are then dialed 14 to a switched network.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
16 The present invention will be described in further detail with reference 17 to the accompanying drawings, in which:
18 Fig. 1 is a flowchart of a prior art memory search dialing operation;19 Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a telephone set according to the present invention;
21 Fig. 3 is a flowchart representative of the operation of the present 22 invention; and 23 Fig. 4 is a flowchart of a modified embodiment of the invention.
Prior to the description of the present invention it is appropriate to 26 describe a prior art memory dialing procedure with reference to Fig. 1.
27 During a memory search mode commenced by the operation of a 28 specially assigned key (block 1), control proceeds to block 2 to set 29 variable "i" to 1. Combinations of two digit keys are uniquely assigned to the individual letters of the alphabet, and the user sees a list of such digit A~,i, ~o 94547 ~
combinations and enters a string of digits corresponding to the first letter 2 of the name of a desired destination party. When this occurs, control 3 executes block 3 and branches to block 4 to search through a memory 4 in which character strings are stored in a matrix of rows and columns.
S The search is made row by row along column "i" so that the characters 6 of this column which correspond to the entered digit string are identified7 and the rows to which they beiong are treated as candidate character 8 strings, or names. Control proceeds to block 5 to determine whether two 9 or more of such candidate character strings exist. If the answer is affirmative, control branches at block 5 to block 6 to increment i by 1 and 11 returns to block 3 to repeat the process until there is only one candidate12 character string remaining. If this is the case, control branches out to 13 block 7 to identify row "j" in which the remaining character string is 14 stored. All characters of row "j" are then displayed (block 8) and the user is allowed to confirm the displayed name. If the displayed name is what 16 is intended, the user operates a proceed-to-send key (block 9) and the 17 digits of the displayed item are transmitted to the telephone network 18 (block 10). Therefore, if similar names are stored in the memory, the 19 user must perform a substantial number of key operations.
In Fig. 2, a dialing circuit of the present invention is shown as being 21 incorporated in a telephone set. The dialing circuit comprises a central 22 processing unit 20, a keypad 21, a liquid-crystal display unit 22, and an 23 electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM) 23 for storing 24 character strings and corresponding telephone numbers in a matrix of N
2s rows and M columns. The operating program of the CPU 20 is stored in 26 a second EPROM 24.
27 The keypad 21 includes ten digit keys, function keys including 28 asterisk (down scroll) and sharp (up scroll) keys, a proceed-to-send key 29 SND and a memory read command key READ which is used to initiate a 3 0 memory search mode. The display unit Z2 has an upper area for B
~ .... ,.. , ,.. ~
~ ~4547 displaying a telephone number and a lower area for displaying a 2 destination user name corresponding to the telephone number. Since 3 the number of items to be displayed is limited, only one item is displayed 4 at a time by scrolling the display unit. Numeral digit keys "1 " to ~l9l~ are 5 labelled with letters of the alphabet as indicated so that digit "1 " is 6 assigned a set of two characters and each of the other keys is assigned a 7 set of three characters as illustrated. During the memory search mode, 8 one of these digit keys is used to address the first-column (leftmost 9 column) characters stored in memory 23.
As shown in Fig. 3, CPU 20 performs a sequence of programmed 11 instructions during a memory search mode, starting with decision block 12 30 which checks to see if the READ key is operated. Exit then is to 13 decision block 31 which determines whether one of digit keys 1 to 9 is 14 depressed. If the answer is affirmative, control branches to block 32 to 15 search through the memory 23 row by row for the first-column 16 characters which correspond to the digit number of the key just 17 operated, and determines the number "K" of rows "i" (where i = 1, 2, ....
18 K) which contain the first-column characters detected as corresponding 19 to the entered digit. Control exits to block 33 to set a variable i to 1 and proceeds to block 34 to read out the character string and digit string of 21 row "i" from the memory 23 and supply them to the display unit 22.
22 The user is thus allowed to confirm the name of the displayed item. If 23 the displayed item is what is desired, the user operates the proceed-to-24 send key SND, otherwise he operates a scroll-down key. If the scroll-down key is operated (block 35), control branches at block 35 to 26 block 36 to increment variable "i" by one. Variable "i" is then checked 27 against the integer "K" (block 37). If variable i is smaller than K, control 28 branches at block 37 to block 34 to read out the item of the next row 29 from the memory 23 and put them on display. If i = K, control branches 3 0 out at block 37 to block 39 to decrement variable i by one and proceeds ~; -s , 2n ~4547 to block 40 to check if i = 1. If the answer is negative, control returns to 2 block 34 to repeat the process for the decremented candidate row. The 3 function keys are then checked (block 35) to see if the scroll-up key is 4 operated. If this is the case, control repeats blocks 39 and 40 to continue the down-scroll operation until variable i becomes equal to 1. When this 6 occurs control branches at block 40 and ends the program execution.
7 In this way, stored names having the same characters in the first column 8 are successively displayed each time one of the scroll keys is operated.
9 Alternatively, the program can be modified to automatically scroll down or up without the scroll key operation as shown in a flowchart of 11 Fig. 4. In this modification, blocks 30 to 33 are identical to those of Fig. 3.
12 Following the initialization of variable i to 1 (block 33), a flag F is initialized 13 to 0 (block 50). Exit then is to block 51 to display the character and digit 4 strings of row "i" and control proceeds to block 52 to check to see if theproceed-to-send key SND is operated. If the answer is negative, control 16 branches to block 53 to determine whether flag F is set to 0. Initially, the 17 answer is affirmative, and control branches at block 53 to block 54 and 18 goes to block 52 after executing a timeout check step (block 54). Within 19 the timeout period, block 52 is repeatedly checked while the contents of row "i" are being displayed. If the timeout period expires, control 21 branches at block 54 to block 55 to increment i by 1 and checks to see if 22 i ~ K. If the answer is negative, blocks 51 through 56 are repeated until 23 variable i is equal to 1<. When i = K, control branches at block 56 out to24 block 58 to set flag F to 1 and decrement variable i by 1 (block 5B) and makes a check for i = 1 in block 5~. If the answer is negative, control 26 branches at block 59 to block 51 to display the contents of the 27 decremented candidate row. The proceed-to-send key SND is again 2 8 checked (block 52). If this key is not operated, control exits to block 53.
2 9 Since F = 1, control branches at block 53 to block 60 to provide a timeout3 0 check to allow time for the user to examine the displayed itern of the ~ ~4547 decremented candidate row by repeatedly executing blocks 52, 53 and 2 60. Upon expiry of the timeout, control exits block 60 to block 58 to 3 decrement i by 1 and makes a check for i = 1 in block ~9. The down-4 scroll process is thus continued until i = 1, whereupon control exits block 5 59 and end the program execution.
6 If the user wants to place a call to a destination, say, "CGSPQR" which 7 is stored in the sixth row of memory 23, the user operates digit key "2".
8 The memory 23 is searched for (block 32) and the character strings 9 having the letters "A", "B" and "C" in the first column of the memory 23 1 0 are detected. Thus, the character strings stored in the first to sixth rows 1 1 of the memory 23 are read and successively put on display. When i = 6, 1 2 a character string "CGSPQR" will appear on the lower area of display unit 13 22 and the corresponding digit string "014532427" appears on the upper 1 4 area. The user confirms that the displayed item is what is desired and 1 5 operates the proceed-to-send key SND to select the dispiayed item.
1 6 When this occurs, control branches at block52 to block 57to transmit 1 7 the digits of the selected telephone number "014532427" to the 1 8 telephone network.
1 9 Returning to Fig. 2, the displayed digits are supplied from CPU 20 to 2 o a dialing circuit 25 where the digits are converted to a sequence of multi-2 1 frequency tone signals in cases where they are to be sent to an analog 2 2 telephone network or converted to a sequence of AMI (alternate mark 23 inversion) line codes in cases where they are to be sent to a digital 2 4 network. The output of the dialing circuit 25 is then transmitted via a 2 s speech circuit 26 to the telephone network.
g Description of the Related Art A conventional speed dialing procedure involves the use of 11 combinations of digit keys assigned uniquely to different characters. By 12 manually entering one of the key combinations, a memory is searched 13 for detecting characters which are stored in the leftmost column of the 14 memory and correspond to the entered key combination. If two or more characters are detected, the next key combination is entered to 16 make a search for those characters stored in the next column. The 17 process is repeated until there is only one remaining character string that 18 contains the detected characters. The remaining character string is then 19 put on display for confirmation by the user before corresponding digits are dialed. One disadvantage of the prior art dialing procedure is that if 21 similar character strings are stored in the memory, the user must repeat 22 key operations a substantial number of times.
24 It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a dialing 2 s apparatus for telephone set or the like for dialing stored digits with 26 reduced key operations while displaying characters.
27 According to the present invention, there is provided a dialing 28 apparatus comprising a keypad having manually operated digit keys 29 each being operated for entering a digit corresponding to a set of 3 0 characters and a manually operated function key. A plurality of ,~" i, -2- 20 ~5 4 7 character strings and a plurality of corresponding digit strings are stored 2 in a memory. Each digit string contains a series of digits that constitute a 3 subscriber number. In response to the digit from the keypad, a controller 4 makes a search through the memory for detecting each one of characters of the set which corresponds to the entered digit and 6 detecting character strings each of which contains one of the detected 7 characters. The detected character strings are then sequentially supplied 8 to a display unit from the memory so that they are displayed one at a 9 time to allow the user to confirm and operate the function key if the displayed character string is one that is desired. In response to the 11 operation of the command key, the controller identifies the character 12 string being displayed on the display unit. The digits stored in the 13 memory corresponding to the identified character string are then dialed 14 to a switched network.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
16 The present invention will be described in further detail with reference 17 to the accompanying drawings, in which:
18 Fig. 1 is a flowchart of a prior art memory search dialing operation;19 Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a telephone set according to the present invention;
21 Fig. 3 is a flowchart representative of the operation of the present 22 invention; and 23 Fig. 4 is a flowchart of a modified embodiment of the invention.
Prior to the description of the present invention it is appropriate to 26 describe a prior art memory dialing procedure with reference to Fig. 1.
27 During a memory search mode commenced by the operation of a 28 specially assigned key (block 1), control proceeds to block 2 to set 29 variable "i" to 1. Combinations of two digit keys are uniquely assigned to the individual letters of the alphabet, and the user sees a list of such digit A~,i, ~o 94547 ~
combinations and enters a string of digits corresponding to the first letter 2 of the name of a desired destination party. When this occurs, control 3 executes block 3 and branches to block 4 to search through a memory 4 in which character strings are stored in a matrix of rows and columns.
S The search is made row by row along column "i" so that the characters 6 of this column which correspond to the entered digit string are identified7 and the rows to which they beiong are treated as candidate character 8 strings, or names. Control proceeds to block 5 to determine whether two 9 or more of such candidate character strings exist. If the answer is affirmative, control branches at block 5 to block 6 to increment i by 1 and 11 returns to block 3 to repeat the process until there is only one candidate12 character string remaining. If this is the case, control branches out to 13 block 7 to identify row "j" in which the remaining character string is 14 stored. All characters of row "j" are then displayed (block 8) and the user is allowed to confirm the displayed name. If the displayed name is what 16 is intended, the user operates a proceed-to-send key (block 9) and the 17 digits of the displayed item are transmitted to the telephone network 18 (block 10). Therefore, if similar names are stored in the memory, the 19 user must perform a substantial number of key operations.
In Fig. 2, a dialing circuit of the present invention is shown as being 21 incorporated in a telephone set. The dialing circuit comprises a central 22 processing unit 20, a keypad 21, a liquid-crystal display unit 22, and an 23 electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM) 23 for storing 24 character strings and corresponding telephone numbers in a matrix of N
2s rows and M columns. The operating program of the CPU 20 is stored in 26 a second EPROM 24.
27 The keypad 21 includes ten digit keys, function keys including 28 asterisk (down scroll) and sharp (up scroll) keys, a proceed-to-send key 29 SND and a memory read command key READ which is used to initiate a 3 0 memory search mode. The display unit Z2 has an upper area for B
~ .... ,.. , ,.. ~
~ ~4547 displaying a telephone number and a lower area for displaying a 2 destination user name corresponding to the telephone number. Since 3 the number of items to be displayed is limited, only one item is displayed 4 at a time by scrolling the display unit. Numeral digit keys "1 " to ~l9l~ are 5 labelled with letters of the alphabet as indicated so that digit "1 " is 6 assigned a set of two characters and each of the other keys is assigned a 7 set of three characters as illustrated. During the memory search mode, 8 one of these digit keys is used to address the first-column (leftmost 9 column) characters stored in memory 23.
As shown in Fig. 3, CPU 20 performs a sequence of programmed 11 instructions during a memory search mode, starting with decision block 12 30 which checks to see if the READ key is operated. Exit then is to 13 decision block 31 which determines whether one of digit keys 1 to 9 is 14 depressed. If the answer is affirmative, control branches to block 32 to 15 search through the memory 23 row by row for the first-column 16 characters which correspond to the digit number of the key just 17 operated, and determines the number "K" of rows "i" (where i = 1, 2, ....
18 K) which contain the first-column characters detected as corresponding 19 to the entered digit. Control exits to block 33 to set a variable i to 1 and proceeds to block 34 to read out the character string and digit string of 21 row "i" from the memory 23 and supply them to the display unit 22.
22 The user is thus allowed to confirm the name of the displayed item. If 23 the displayed item is what is desired, the user operates the proceed-to-24 send key SND, otherwise he operates a scroll-down key. If the scroll-down key is operated (block 35), control branches at block 35 to 26 block 36 to increment variable "i" by one. Variable "i" is then checked 27 against the integer "K" (block 37). If variable i is smaller than K, control 28 branches at block 37 to block 34 to read out the item of the next row 29 from the memory 23 and put them on display. If i = K, control branches 3 0 out at block 37 to block 39 to decrement variable i by one and proceeds ~; -s , 2n ~4547 to block 40 to check if i = 1. If the answer is negative, control returns to 2 block 34 to repeat the process for the decremented candidate row. The 3 function keys are then checked (block 35) to see if the scroll-up key is 4 operated. If this is the case, control repeats blocks 39 and 40 to continue the down-scroll operation until variable i becomes equal to 1. When this 6 occurs control branches at block 40 and ends the program execution.
7 In this way, stored names having the same characters in the first column 8 are successively displayed each time one of the scroll keys is operated.
9 Alternatively, the program can be modified to automatically scroll down or up without the scroll key operation as shown in a flowchart of 11 Fig. 4. In this modification, blocks 30 to 33 are identical to those of Fig. 3.
12 Following the initialization of variable i to 1 (block 33), a flag F is initialized 13 to 0 (block 50). Exit then is to block 51 to display the character and digit 4 strings of row "i" and control proceeds to block 52 to check to see if theproceed-to-send key SND is operated. If the answer is negative, control 16 branches to block 53 to determine whether flag F is set to 0. Initially, the 17 answer is affirmative, and control branches at block 53 to block 54 and 18 goes to block 52 after executing a timeout check step (block 54). Within 19 the timeout period, block 52 is repeatedly checked while the contents of row "i" are being displayed. If the timeout period expires, control 21 branches at block 54 to block 55 to increment i by 1 and checks to see if 22 i ~ K. If the answer is negative, blocks 51 through 56 are repeated until 23 variable i is equal to 1<. When i = K, control branches at block 56 out to24 block 58 to set flag F to 1 and decrement variable i by 1 (block 5B) and makes a check for i = 1 in block 5~. If the answer is negative, control 26 branches at block 59 to block 51 to display the contents of the 27 decremented candidate row. The proceed-to-send key SND is again 2 8 checked (block 52). If this key is not operated, control exits to block 53.
2 9 Since F = 1, control branches at block 53 to block 60 to provide a timeout3 0 check to allow time for the user to examine the displayed itern of the ~ ~4547 decremented candidate row by repeatedly executing blocks 52, 53 and 2 60. Upon expiry of the timeout, control exits block 60 to block 58 to 3 decrement i by 1 and makes a check for i = 1 in block ~9. The down-4 scroll process is thus continued until i = 1, whereupon control exits block 5 59 and end the program execution.
6 If the user wants to place a call to a destination, say, "CGSPQR" which 7 is stored in the sixth row of memory 23, the user operates digit key "2".
8 The memory 23 is searched for (block 32) and the character strings 9 having the letters "A", "B" and "C" in the first column of the memory 23 1 0 are detected. Thus, the character strings stored in the first to sixth rows 1 1 of the memory 23 are read and successively put on display. When i = 6, 1 2 a character string "CGSPQR" will appear on the lower area of display unit 13 22 and the corresponding digit string "014532427" appears on the upper 1 4 area. The user confirms that the displayed item is what is desired and 1 5 operates the proceed-to-send key SND to select the dispiayed item.
1 6 When this occurs, control branches at block52 to block 57to transmit 1 7 the digits of the selected telephone number "014532427" to the 1 8 telephone network.
1 9 Returning to Fig. 2, the displayed digits are supplied from CPU 20 to 2 o a dialing circuit 25 where the digits are converted to a sequence of multi-2 1 frequency tone signals in cases where they are to be sent to an analog 2 2 telephone network or converted to a sequence of AMI (alternate mark 23 inversion) line codes in cases where they are to be sent to a digital 2 4 network. The output of the dialing circuit 25 is then transmitted via a 2 s speech circuit 26 to the telephone network.
Claims (4)
1. A dialing apparatus comprising:
a keypad having manually operated digit keys for entering a digit, each digit key being labelled uniquely with a set of characters, a first manually operated function key for entering a first command signal, and a second manually operated key for entering a second command signal;
a memory for storing a plurality of character strings and a plurality of corresponding digit strings, each of the digit strings containing a plurality of digits that constitute a subscriber number;
a display unit for displaying one of said character strings; and control means responsive to the entered digit from said keypad for making a search through said memory for detecting the characters of the set of characters which are labelled on the digit key of the entered digit, detecting character strings containing the detected characters and causing said display unit to display one of the detected character strings, replacing the displayed character string with another of the detected character strings in response to said first command signal, and identifying digits stored in said memory corresponding to the character string being displayed on said display unit as dialing information to be sent to a switched network.
a keypad having manually operated digit keys for entering a digit, each digit key being labelled uniquely with a set of characters, a first manually operated function key for entering a first command signal, and a second manually operated key for entering a second command signal;
a memory for storing a plurality of character strings and a plurality of corresponding digit strings, each of the digit strings containing a plurality of digits that constitute a subscriber number;
a display unit for displaying one of said character strings; and control means responsive to the entered digit from said keypad for making a search through said memory for detecting the characters of the set of characters which are labelled on the digit key of the entered digit, detecting character strings containing the detected characters and causing said display unit to display one of the detected character strings, replacing the displayed character string with another of the detected character strings in response to said first command signal, and identifying digits stored in said memory corresponding to the character string being displayed on said display unit as dialing information to be sent to a switched network.
2. A dialing apparatus comprising:
a keypad having manually operated digit keys for entering a digit, each digit key being labelled uniquely with a set of characters, a first manually operated function key for entering a first command signal, and a second manually operated key for entering a second command signal;
a memory comprising a matrix of rows and columns for storing a plurality of character strings and a plurality of corresponding digit strings along respective rows of the memory, each of said digit strings containing a plurality of digits that constitute a subscriber number;
a display unit for displaying one of said character strings and one of said digit strings corresponding thereto; and control means responsive to the entered digit from said keypad for making a search through said memory row by row along the leftmost column of the memory for detecting the characters of the set of characters which are labelled on the digit key of the entered digit, detecting character strings containing the detected characters and causing said display unit to display one of the detected character strings and the corresponding digit strings, replacing the displayed character string and the corresponding digit strings with a set of another of the detected character string and the corresponding digit string with a set of another of the detected character strings and another of the digit strings corresponding thereto in response to said first command signal, and transmitting the digits displayed on said display unit in response to said second command signal as dialing information to a switched network.
a keypad having manually operated digit keys for entering a digit, each digit key being labelled uniquely with a set of characters, a first manually operated function key for entering a first command signal, and a second manually operated key for entering a second command signal;
a memory comprising a matrix of rows and columns for storing a plurality of character strings and a plurality of corresponding digit strings along respective rows of the memory, each of said digit strings containing a plurality of digits that constitute a subscriber number;
a display unit for displaying one of said character strings and one of said digit strings corresponding thereto; and control means responsive to the entered digit from said keypad for making a search through said memory row by row along the leftmost column of the memory for detecting the characters of the set of characters which are labelled on the digit key of the entered digit, detecting character strings containing the detected characters and causing said display unit to display one of the detected character strings and the corresponding digit strings, replacing the displayed character string and the corresponding digit strings with a set of another of the detected character string and the corresponding digit string with a set of another of the detected character strings and another of the digit strings corresponding thereto in response to said first command signal, and transmitting the digits displayed on said display unit in response to said second command signal as dialing information to a switched network.
3. In a telephone apparatus comprising a keypad having manually operated digit keys for entering a digit, each digit key being labelled uniquely with a set of characters and a first and a second manually operated function key for entering a first and a second command signal, respectively, a memory for storing a plurality of character strings and a plurality of corresponding digit strings, each of said digit strings containing a plurality of digits that constitute a subscriber number, and a display unit for displaying one of said character strings, a method comprising:
(a) making a search through said memory in response to the entered digit from said keypad;
(b) detecting the characters of the set of characters which are labelled on the digit key of the entered digit and detecting character strings each of which contains one of the detected characters;
(c) supplying one of the detected character strings to said display unit from said memory and replacing the displayed character string with another of the detected character strings in response to said first command signal;
(d) identifying the character string being displayed on said display unit in response to said second command signal; and (e) dialing the digits which correspond to the character string identified by the step (d) to a switched network.
(a) making a search through said memory in response to the entered digit from said keypad;
(b) detecting the characters of the set of characters which are labelled on the digit key of the entered digit and detecting character strings each of which contains one of the detected characters;
(c) supplying one of the detected character strings to said display unit from said memory and replacing the displayed character string with another of the detected character strings in response to said first command signal;
(d) identifying the character string being displayed on said display unit in response to said second command signal; and (e) dialing the digits which correspond to the character string identified by the step (d) to a switched network.
4. In a dialing apparatus comprising a keypad having manually operated digit keys for entering a digit, each digit key being labelled uniquely with a corresponding set of characters and a first and a second manually operated function key for entering a first and a second command signal, a memory comprising a matrix of rows and columns for storing a plurality of character strings and a plurality of corresponding digit strings along respective rows of the memory, each of said digit strings containing a plurality of digits that constitute a subscriber number, and a display unit for displaying one of said character strings and one of said digit strings corresponding thereto, a method comprising:
(a) making a search through said memory row by row along the leftmost column of the memory in response to the entered digit from said keypad;
(b) detecting the characters of the set of characters which are labelled on the digit key of the entered digit, and detecting character strings containing the detected character;
(c) supplying one of the detected character strings to said display unit from said memory, and replacing the displayed character string with a set of another of the detected character strings and another of the detected digit strings corresponding thereto in response to said first command signal;
(d) identifying the character string being displayed on said display unit in response to said second command signal; and (e) dialing the digits which correspond to the character string identified by the step (d) to a switched network.
(a) making a search through said memory row by row along the leftmost column of the memory in response to the entered digit from said keypad;
(b) detecting the characters of the set of characters which are labelled on the digit key of the entered digit, and detecting character strings containing the detected character;
(c) supplying one of the detected character strings to said display unit from said memory, and replacing the displayed character string with a set of another of the detected character strings and another of the detected digit strings corresponding thereto in response to said first command signal;
(d) identifying the character string being displayed on said display unit in response to said second command signal; and (e) dialing the digits which correspond to the character string identified by the step (d) to a switched network.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| JP4-104449 | 1992-04-23 | ||
| JP4104449A JPH0646121A (en) | 1992-04-23 | 1992-04-23 | Telephone set |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2094547A1 CA2094547A1 (en) | 1993-10-24 |
| CA2094547C true CA2094547C (en) | 1997-06-10 |
Family
ID=14380945
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002094547A Expired - Fee Related CA2094547C (en) | 1992-04-23 | 1993-04-21 | Dialing apparatus for displaying stored character with reduced key operations |
Country Status (6)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US5467392A (en) |
| EP (1) | EP0567333B1 (en) |
| JP (1) | JPH0646121A (en) |
| KR (1) | KR960008330B1 (en) |
| AU (1) | AU661571B2 (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2094547C (en) |
Families Citing this family (17)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US6243460B1 (en) * | 1993-12-08 | 2001-06-05 | Lucent Technologies Inc. | Telephone with character keypad |
| US5786776A (en) * | 1995-03-13 | 1998-07-28 | Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba | Character input terminal device and recording apparatus |
| KR0149594B1 (en) | 1995-04-27 | 1998-11-02 | 김광호 | Dial information registration & detection method by communication terminal equipment |
| GB2313738B (en) * | 1995-04-27 | 1998-10-14 | Samsung Electronics Co Ltd | Method and apparatus for retrieving registered dial information |
| US6009444A (en) * | 1997-02-24 | 1999-12-28 | Motorola, Inc. | Text input device and method |
| KR100222707B1 (en) * | 1997-03-19 | 1999-10-01 | 윤종용 | Automatic dialing method |
| US5903630A (en) * | 1997-06-30 | 1999-05-11 | Movo Media, Inc. | Method and apparatus for specifying alphanumeric information with a telephone keypad |
| US6061681A (en) * | 1997-06-30 | 2000-05-09 | Movo Media, Inc. | On-line dating service for locating and matching people based on user-selected search criteria |
| KR20010023028A (en) * | 1997-08-20 | 2001-03-26 | 맥슨 시스템스 아이엔시. (런던) 엘티디. | A method for locating stored entries in an electronic directory and communication apparatus |
| KR100571230B1 (en) * | 1997-12-01 | 2006-04-13 | 산요덴키가부시키가이샤 | Telephone for retrieving memory content through simple operation |
| US6198939B1 (en) | 1997-12-19 | 2001-03-06 | Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) | Man machine interface help search tool |
| KR100278020B1 (en) * | 1998-04-14 | 2001-01-15 | 윤종용 | How to retrieve and dial a stored phone number from your phone |
| US6608895B1 (en) * | 1998-11-04 | 2003-08-19 | Tadiran Telecom Business Systems, Ltd. | Method of anticipatory dialing |
| US7869832B2 (en) | 2005-10-07 | 2011-01-11 | Research In Motion Limited | Device, system, and method for informing users of functions and characters associated with telephone keys |
| EP1796352B1 (en) * | 2005-12-06 | 2013-03-13 | Research In Motion Limited | Device, system, and method for informing users of functions and characters associated with telephone keys |
| US9690532B2 (en) * | 2011-05-27 | 2017-06-27 | Kyocera Corporation | Mobile electronic device and character input method |
| JP5894499B2 (en) | 2011-05-27 | 2016-03-30 | 京セラ株式会社 | Portable electronic device and input method |
Family Cites Families (11)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPS60236554A (en) * | 1984-05-10 | 1985-11-25 | Sharp Corp | Telephone set |
| EP0206391A3 (en) * | 1985-05-30 | 1988-12-21 | Automatic Dialer Partners Ltd. 1983 c/o Dasa Corporation General Partner | Microcomputer controlled repertory dialer |
| JPS61288646A (en) * | 1985-06-17 | 1986-12-18 | Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd | Telephone set with automatic dial function |
| JPS6221357A (en) * | 1985-07-22 | 1987-01-29 | Toshiba Corp | Memory system |
| JPS62235854A (en) * | 1986-04-07 | 1987-10-16 | Nec Corp | Telephone set |
| US4800582A (en) * | 1986-08-08 | 1989-01-24 | Dictaphone Corporation | Method and apparatus for creating and storing telephone directory listings |
| US5119417A (en) * | 1988-07-20 | 1992-06-02 | Casio Computer Co., Ltd. | Auto-dialing apparatus |
| EP0401849B1 (en) * | 1989-06-09 | 1998-04-22 | Nec Corporation | Apparatus for referring to a content of a dial memory in a telephone set |
| US5119477A (en) * | 1989-10-23 | 1992-06-02 | International Business Machines Corporation | Memory manager for hierarchical graphic structures |
| CA2053410A1 (en) * | 1990-12-17 | 1992-06-18 | Paul Edward Duffy | Multiple-mode cellular telephone control device |
| US5216709A (en) * | 1991-12-27 | 1993-06-01 | Inventa Electronics Co., Ltd. | Electronic device for providing information related to an input telephone number |
-
1992
- 1992-04-23 JP JP4104449A patent/JPH0646121A/en active Pending
-
1993
- 1993-04-21 CA CA002094547A patent/CA2094547C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1993-04-22 AU AU37130/93A patent/AU661571B2/en not_active Expired
- 1993-04-22 EP EP93303141A patent/EP0567333B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1993-04-23 US US08/051,732 patent/US5467392A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1993-04-23 KR KR93006850A patent/KR960008330B1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| US5467392A (en) | 1995-11-14 |
| KR930022786A (en) | 1993-11-24 |
| AU661571B2 (en) | 1995-07-27 |
| EP0567333B1 (en) | 2000-03-01 |
| AU3713093A (en) | 1993-10-28 |
| JPH0646121A (en) | 1994-02-18 |
| CA2094547A1 (en) | 1993-10-24 |
| EP0567333A1 (en) | 1993-10-27 |
| KR960008330B1 (en) | 1996-06-24 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEER | Examination request | ||
| MKLA | Lapsed |