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1. 1750 05758 United States Patent uo Patent Number 5 758 295 Ahlberg et al 45 Date of Patent May 26 1998 54 UNIFORM MAN MACHINE INTERFACE 0279233 8 1988 European Pat FOR CELLULAR MOBILE TELEPHONES 2268362 1 1994 United Kingdom 92 14331 8 1992 WIPO 75 Inventors Bj rn Gustav Dinese Ahlberg 95 23485 8 1995 WIPO Falsterbo Sweden Anders Lennart N C Johan Falk CITE Jarfalla Sweden Telcom Report vol 16 No 6 Nov 1993 GSM Handy Mit Top Handling pp 332 335 73 Assignee Telefonaktiebolget LM Ericsson Electrical Communication No 4 1993 New Intuitive Sweden Screenphones for Advance Telephony Services pp 380 386 21 Appl No 777 002 Annual Review of Communications International Engineer 22 Filed Jan 3 1997 ing Consortium vol 47 1993 94 User Interface Issues For Cellular Phones pp 679 685 Related U S Application Data Primary Examiner Dwayne Bost 63 Continuation of Ser No 213 704 Mar 16 1994 aban Assistant Examiner William G Trost doned Attorney Agent or Firm Burns Doane Swecker amp Si 10 01 aaa ass 40 7 32 Mathis LLP 52 U S CL 455 566 455 550 379 396 57 ABSTRACT 58 Field of Search 379 425 433 379 396 345 146 169 455 550 566 564 A mobile radio terminal includes a display for outputting at 575 90 552 553 least one menu The menu i2. STO key providing another option in the menu to store the entered number rather than start a call If the subscriber wants to initiate the call he she presses the YES key after which the word CALL is dis played in addition to the destination telephone number When the access is received by the land system the number disappears and the display may show in addition that ter minating the call may be achieved by pushing the NO key which in this situation corresponds to the ON END key of an AMPS terminal When the NO key is pressed the call is disconnected and the idle display is shown FIG 7B illustrates the emulated AMPS case for setup and termination of incoming calls as follows In the beginning there is an idle display When a call is detected as incoming to the mobile terminal the flashing word CALL is dis played alone or with a picture of the SEND key of an AMPS terminal together with a question mark for receiving the call If the subscriber wants to answer the call he she presses the YES key after which the word CALL is displayed alone or in addition to the ON END key picture followed by NO The latter indicates that terminating the call may be achieved by pushing the NO key which in this situation corresponds to the ON END key of an AMPS terminal When the NO key is pressed the call is disconnected and the idle display is shown FIG 8A illustrates the emulated GSM case for setup and termination of outgoing c
3. munication examples as shown in Tables 1 5 respectively using the keypad and display according to the present invention Table 6 illustrates NMT and AMPS system for answering an incoming call and ending a call according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention TABLE 6 NMT and AMPS Event User Action Cellular Action Display Idle display manufacturer specific Cellular rings ANSWER is displayed or a menu option ANSWER is marked by a cursor in the display Cellular does Off hook Call in progress display manufacturer specific Call in progress display manufacturer specific Cellular does On hook Idle display manufacturer specific Incoming call Answer call Press YES key Call in progress Terminate call Press NO key In both cases the user is prompted to answer the call in the display and accepts by pressing YES He she can of course reject the call by pressing NO When in conversation he she terminates the call by pressing NO i e thus ending rejecting the current state of call in progress Table 7 below illustrates the NMT and DECT systems for originating a call according to one embodiment of the present invention TABLE 7 NMT and Event User Action Cellular Action Display Idle display manufacturer specific Enter Number Enter digits Displays entered number Cellular does Off hook and calls entered number D
4. Alt 2 Reject call Idle display U S Patent May 26 1998 Fig IOA YES NO Fig 10C NO mA Fig 114 NO END Fig 118 NO 7 Sheet 15 of 15 5 758 295 Fig YES Fig 10D 5 758 295 1 UNIFORM MAN MACHINE INTERFACE FOR CELLULAR MOBILE TELEPHONES This application is a continuation of application Ser No 08 213 704 filed Mar 16 1994 now abandoned BACKGROUND The present invention is directed to a man machine inter face apparatus for mobile radio terminals More particularly the present invention relates to a new user interface for mobile cellular telephones involving mainly a new keypad display and application software Today several different cellular telephone systems use different user interfaces for communicating between the air interface and the user These systems include Nordic Mobile Telephony NMT Advanced Mobile Phone Service AMPS Total Access Communication System TACS Global System for Mobile communications GSM Digital AMPS D AMPS Personal Digital Cellular system PDC Extended TACS ETACS Digital European Cordless Tele phone system DECT Cordless Telephone 2 CT 2 and Cordless Telephone 3 CT 3 Such interfaces are specified within the various systems to different degrees of specificity While cellular telephones may vary to some degree between different manufacturers they all have to have roughly the same functionality and key configuration
5. after which the word Conversation is displayed When the NO key is pressed at this point the call is disconnected and the idle display is shown If the user wants to reject the call he she presses the NO key when the answer option is presented FIGS 10A 10D illustrate alternative embodiments of the YES NO keys for NMT and GSM systems according to the present invention FIGS 11A 11B illustrate alternative embodiments of the YES NO keys for AMPS systems according to the present invention Using these alternatives the user can be made to feel more at home with the keypad of the mobile telephone including the uniform interface according to the present invention regardless of the system to which he had become accustomed The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily modify and or adapt for various applications such specific embodi ments without departing from the generic concept and therefore such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments It is to be understood that the phraseology of terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation What is claimed is 1 A mobile radio terminal comprising an output means for outputting at least one menu said at least one menu comprising
6. A third embodiment is shown in FIGS in which two arrow keys are used each having an arrow pointing in opposite directions on an angle with respect to the vertical FIG 2B is a block diagram of the pertinent portions of a cellular mobile radio telephone according to the present invention The telephone includes a central processing unit CPU 120 for controlling the various parts of the cellular telephone a memory 122 for storing the control programs of the telephone as well as other information used by the telephone such as prestored telephone numbers etc and a transceiver section 124 which transmits and receives the control and traffic signals over the air interface The cellular telephone also includes the display 110 keypad 111 loud speaker 126 and microphone 128 According to a possible embodiment of the present invention a display 110 is provided with a 4x20 position dot matrix display with high resolution The resolution should preferably be above about 50 dpi The display area is preferably not divided into smaller areas thereby making it possible to generate any kind of graphics as well as char acters With a display of this type it is possible to generate icons and symbols resembling a Windows type of user interface Such an interface is very powerful since common knowledge of this interface is widespread and growing rapidly Two possible keypad 111 configurations according to the present invention are illust
7. FIGS 6A and 6B illustrate emulated NMT procedures for outgoing and incoming calls respectively according to an embodiment of the present invention FIGS 7A and 7B illustrate emulated AMPS procedures for outgoing and incoming calls respectively according to an embodiment of the present invention FIGS 8A and 8B illustrate emulated GSM procedures for outgoing and incoming calls respectively according to an embodiment of the present invention FIGS 9A and 9B illustrate system independent proce dures for outgoing and incoming calls respectively accord ing to an embodiment of the present invention FIGS 10 10 illustrate alternative embodiments of the YES NO keys for NMT and GSM systems according to the present invention and FIGS 11 illustrate alternative embodiments of the YES NO keys for AMPS systems according to the present invention GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to an apparatus for providing a uniform user friendly man machine interface for mobile radio terminal call origination and call termination substituting the system specific man machine interfaces used to date for this purpose for the various mobile radio systems The uniform man machine interface does not require changes to different air interface signaling standards used by the terminals The signaling differences are taken care of by software in the terminals An interactive uniform dialog is performed by the u
8. according to these systems standards Examples of such cellular telephone key configurations are shown in FIGS 1 1 The variations between different standards creates prob lems for users when they switch between them To switch between two systems having different user interfaces is difficult because it requires that the users access services and make calls in different ways than they are used to on their home system This problem is compounded by the use of different interfaces by different models of the same manu facturer FIG 1A illustrates the keypad configuration provided for currently available NMT cellular telephones FIG 1B trates the keypad configuration provided for currently avail able AMPS cellular telephones FIG 1C illustrates the keypad configuration provided for currently available GSM cellular telephones More detailed descriptions of these keyboards are available for example from Ericsson Mobile Communications Stockholm Sweden in Ericsson NH99 User Manual publication number SV LZT 126 1171 R2 Ericsson AH97 User Manual publication number CEL NA 9013 and Ericsson 68198 User Manual pub lication number EN LZV 109 028 respectively In the NMT system the cellular telephone includes a keypad 10 a display 9 and a plurality of function keys 1 8 as shown in FIG 1A The display 9 has two rows an alpha numeric row and a numeric row for displaying respec tively alphanumer
9. action to be performed by the radio terminal the correspond ing action including causing a successive branch to be displayed and performing a terminal function selection means for designating one of the options first means for confirming selection of the option designated by the selec tion means thereby moving forward through the menu to a succeeding branch of the at least one branches and perform ing the corresponding action chosen by the confirmed option and for originating and answering telephone calls second means for rejecting selection of the option desig nated by the selection means thereby moving backward through the menu to a preceding branch of the at least one branches and for terminating telephone calls According to another embodiment of the present invention a mobile radio terminal comprises means for emulating procedures provided by a plurality of different air interface signalling standards an output means for out putting a plurality of menus each having at least one option for processing telephone calls according to one of the plurality of air interface signalling standards user input means for selecting one of the plurality of menus to be output at any given time selection means for designating one of the options in the output menu first means for confirming selection of the option designated by the selec tion means thereby moving forward through the menu and for originating and answering telephone calls and
10. call Press key ON END Cellular does On hook function key 22 in AMPS Idle display function key 32 in GSM manufacturer specific Thus the problems with cellular user interfaces of today is that they differ in appearance and functionality between different cellular systems as well as between model genera tions The user then has to re learn how to use these cellular telephones every time he she changes to a new system environment or to a new model This can be difficult because the telephone user interfaces are not generally user friendly These interfaces are almost solely hardware dependant i e keypads and displays making it costly for manufacturers to comply with different system standards Dual mode cellular mobile telephones which can be used to interface with analog and digital traffic channels are known For example the ELA TIA IS 54 standard specifies such an air interface However the setting up of calls uses analog control channels and procedures have been designed to be common for analog and digital traffic channels Multi mode cellular mobile telephones which can be used to interface with analog and digital traffic and control channels are also known For example U S application Ser No 07 751 763 filed 29 1991 incorporated herein by reference discloses a cellular mobile radio telephone system where modified analog and dual mode mobile radio tele phones may select and use either analog or d
11. shown in FIGS 6 9 the user has only to press the YES or NO keys in response to the prompts displayed in the display The user can select which mode he would like to be in either through the use of a hardware switch not shown or for example by selection of options displayed on the display The menu allows the user to select NMT FIGS 6A 6B AMPS FIGS 7 7 GSM FIGS 8A 8B or other system emulation or a system independent procedure FIGS 9 9 FIGS 6 9 are tables which are read in chronological order from top to bottom and left to right FIG 6A illustrates the emulated NMT case for setup and termination of out going calls as follows In the beginning there is an idle display To make a call the subscriber enters a number which is shown in the display as the string 012345678901 in the drawings together with a question mark and a picture of the SEND key receiver icon of a NMT terminal for sending the entered number that is actually starting the call Alternatively the display may show in addition a picture of the S key providing another option in the menu to store the entered number rather than start a call If the subscriber wants to initiate the call he she presses the YES key after which the word CALL is displayed in addition to the destination telephone number When the access is received 5 758 295 15 by the land system the number disappears and the display may show in addition that termin
12. the function of going off hook The NO key is used to reject the menu option entered numbers entered characters or presented questions in the display and to terminate calls If a menu option is rejected the previous menu branch is display The NO key thus provides the function of moving backwards through the menu to the preceding branch thereof and the function of going on hook An alternative NO key shown in FIGS and doubles as an on off key when pressed for more than one second and there is no call in progress The arrow keys provide the function of desig nating options in the menu by navigating between options in each branch In addition the arrow keys allow the user to scroll horizontally through a text displayed in the display FIGS 6 6B 8B 9 and 9B illustrate how the same call handling procedures can be implemented in a telephone with a uniform interface according to the present invention The illustrated procedures are one possible set of interpretations and are meant to provide a general idea of the possibilities available with the interface according to the present invention Additionally the communication examples i e outgoing and incoming calls and the systems emulated are exemplary only It is within the skill of the ordinary artisan to implement other telephone features or other emulations using the uniform interface once in pos session of the instant disclosure Using the procedures
13. HIY 5 758 295 Sheet 11 of 15 May 26 1998 U S Patent AD ds p 8 PI T1V9 1068 94 2210 5 A lt 106829866210 1068293 Z apy Apjdsip umoys s hay 015 7102 9100 4201 ssasbosd u 02 7 52 48113 5 758 295 Sheet 12 of 15 May 26 1998 U S Patent Aojasip ap oN 2 1179 6 14 01 7779 Aojdsip pT Apjdsip UMOYS 10 10 VWV9 SJA SJA TWO 5 gg bly 7 02 DUIUJ 55926020 u D2 02 7 02 5 758 295 Sheet 13 of 15 May 26 1998 U S Patent Apjdsip 2 lO68Z9SbEZIO 401 108 9 0 14 88946040 109 1068 999 6010 2 1068299 Joquinu yaquinu sajuz Aojdsip ajpy Aojdsip umoys J 5 pesn V6 015 U S Patent May 26 1998 Sheet 14 of 15 5 758 295 Fig 98 Action Event Used key s Shown in display Idle display incomt call as INCOMING incoming call CALL gt Answer lt Answer Transfer Alt 1 An r swer call Conversation Call in progress Conversation Terminate call Idle display
14. User Action Cellular Action Display Idle display manufacturer specific Incoming call CALL flashing Cellular does Off hood and displays Answer call Press key SEND function key 21 in AMPS function key 31 in GSM CALL Call in progress CALL Terminate call Press key ON END Cellular does On function key 22 in AMPS hook function key 32 in GSM Idle display manufacturer specific In a user test carried out by the assignee of the present application within a phone rental project for the AMPS system it was discovered that Scandinavian users had difficulties in understanding that the SEND key was used to answer calls They felt uncomfortable with using a key named SEND when they were actually receiving some thing Tables 3 and 4 below illustrate a difference between the NMT and the DECT systems respectively for the proce dures involved in originating and terminating outgoing calls TABLE 3 NMT Event User Action Cellular Action Display Idle display manufacturer specific Enter number Enter digits Displays entered number Originate call press key SEND END Cellular does Off function key 1 book and calls entered number Displays CALL entered number Call in progress CALL Terminate call Press key SEND END Cellular does On hook function key 1 display manufacturer specific TABLE 4 DECT Event User Action Cellular Action Display Idl
15. a GSM network area instead of its home NMT area however the user may independently choose to have the system emulate the NMT system for placing calls using the uniform interface according to the present inven tion In this way the particular air interface standard in use in the area does not mean that the user must have a new user interface Using the present invention for the mentioned basic call origination and disconnection functions but having non uniform displayed options and procedures regarding more advanced features is possible although it is preferred to use uniform procedures whenever possible for the advanced features as well as for the basic functions Although the invention is directed to a uniform man machine interaction for call originating answering and terminating the invention allows departing from this uni form man machine interaction when appropriate Two examples follow When a mobile subscriber has bought a new radio termi nal according to the present invention he she may emulate the procedures of a previously used terminal providing its procedures and keys as soft keys 1 options on the display of the new radio terminal The selection between an old and the uniform procedure may be performed by for example a hardware switch or a software switch selecting the appropriate menu option presented in the display When a subscriber having a terminal according to the present invention wan
16. a dual or multi mode cellular telephone that 15 a telephone con taining hardware components for two or more systems standards This cellular telephone can then be used in several system environments where choice of and access to one of these standards is performed according to some predefined algorithm such as scanning available control channels or by operating a manual switch This selection may be made independently of which emulation mode is chosen FIG 5 is a block diagram for system specific components inside a dual mode cellular telephone 50 The blocks 52 and 54 are the hardware components for system standard 1 and 2 respectively An example of such a telephone includes NMT components as standard 1 and GSM components for standard 2 The contents of the blocks 52 and 54 are within the skill of the ordinary artisan once in possession of the instant disclosure The telephone switches between the two component blocks 52 and 54 at any given time by actuation of a switch 56 according to an algorithm 58 for selection of a system standard dependent at least in part on the location of the mobile radio terminal Thus the user can move the mobile terminal to an area using one system standard GSM to an area using another e g NMT by activating the appropriate block Application 60 is the software which controls and runs the telephone which can consist of a system and or customer software application The algorithm 58 for selecting o
17. alls as follows In the beginning there is an idle display To make a call the subscriber enters a number which is shown in the display together with a question mark and a picture of the SEND key of a GSM terminal for sending the entered number that is actually starting the call Alternatively the display may show in addition a picture of the S key providing another option in the menu to store the entered number rather than start a call If the subscriber wants to initiate the call he she presses the YES key after which the word CALL is displayed in addition to the destination telephone number When the access is received by the land system the number disappears and the display may show in addition that terminating the call may be achieved by pushing the NO key which in this 10 15 20 25 35 45 55 65 16 situation corresponds to the turn key of a GSM terminal When the NO key is pressed the call is discon nected and the idle display is shown FIG 8B illustrates the emulated GSM case for setup and termination of incoming calls as follows In the beginning there is an idle display When a call is detected as incoming to the mobile terminal the flashing word CALL is dis played alone or with a picture of the SEND key receiver icon of a GSM terminal together with a question mark for receiving the call If the subscriber wants to answer the call he she presses the YES key after
18. at least one branch for processing telephone calls each of said at least one branches comprising at least one option for choosing a corresponding action to be performed by said radio 5 758 295 17 terminal corresponding actions including causing successive branch to be displayed and performing a terminal function selection means for designating one of said at least one options a first key for confirming selection of said one of said at least one options designated by said selection means thereby moving forward through said menu to a suc ceeding branch of said at least one branches and performing the corresponding action chosen by the confirmed option and for originating and answering telephone calls and a second key for rejecting selection of said one of said at least one options designated by said selection means thereby moving backward through said menu to a preceding branch of said at least one branches and for terminating telephone calls said first key and said second key being located in a position on said radio terminal that is independent of a location of said output means on said radio terminal 2 The terminal of claim 1 further comprising at least one navigation key for moving said selection means between branches in said menu 3 The terminal of claim 2 wherein said navigation key comprises at least one arrow key for moving between options output in said output means 4 The terminal of claim 1 where
19. ating the call may be achieved by pushing the NO key which in this situation corresponds to the SEND key of an NMT terminal receiver icon When the NO key is pressed the call is disconnected and the idle display is shown FIG 6B illustrates the emulated NMT case for setup and termination of incoming calls as follows In the beginning there is an idle display When a call is detected as incoming to the mobile terminal the flashing word CALL is dis played alone or with a picture of the SEND key receiver icon of a NMT terminal together with a question mark for receiving the call If the subscriber wants to answer the call he she presses the YES key after which the word CALL is displayed alone or in addition to the receiver icon followed by NO The latter indicates that terminating the call may be achieved by pushing the NO key which in this situation corresponds to the SEND key of an NMT terminal receiver icon When the NO key is pressed the call is disconnected and the idle display is shown FIG 7A illustrates the emulated AMPS case for setup and termination of outgoing calls as follows In the beginning there is an idle display To make a call the subscriber enters a number which is shown in the display together with a question mark and a picture of the SEND key of an AMPS terminal for sending the entered number that is actually starting the call Alternatively the display may show in addition a picture of the
20. dware components one of said plurality of menus to be output at any given time said user input means comprising a twelve key alpha numeric keypad and selection means for designating one of said at least one option in the output menu a first key for confirming selection of said one of said at least one options designated by said selection means thereby moving forward through said menu and for originating and answering telephone calls and a second key for rejecting selection of said one of said at least one options designated by said selection means thereby moving backward through said menu and for terminating telephone calls said first key and said second key being located in a position on said radio terminal that is independent of a location of said output means on said radio terminal 13 The terminal of claim 12 wherein said selection means comprises at least one arrow key for navigating between options in said menu and said user input means comprises key means for turning on and off the terminal said key means comprising said second key
21. e display manufacturer specific Cellular does Off hook immediately and transmits digits as they are entered OR cellular does Off hook and Enter number and Press key SEND PAGE originate call and then enter digits OR enter digits and then press key SEND PAGE 10 15 35 45 55 65 4 TABLE 4 continued User Action Cellular Action Display calls entered number Displays entered number entered number Cellular does On hook Idle display manufacture specific Call in progress Terminate call Press key SEND PAGE In the NMT system of Table 3 the user enters desired digits and then presses SEND END to make a call whereas in the DECT system of Table 4 the user also has the option of first pressing SEND PAGE and then entering desired digits The functionality of the key SEND PAGE is also cryptic to the user A third situation is presented by the AMPS and GSM systems in which two different keys are required to respectively originate and terminate a call as shown in Table 5 TABLE 5 AMPS and GSM Event User Action Cellular Action Display Idle display manufacturer specific Enter number Enter digits Displays entered number Originate call Press key SEND Cellular does Off hook function key 21 in AMPS and calls entered number function key 31 in GSM Displays CALL entered number Call in progress CALL Terminate
22. e used on the keys where appropriate The language of the dis played options may be selectable by program The invention allows the user to travel between countries with different air interface signaling standards present and future without the need to use different keypads and or procedures for call originating answering and terminating Thereby the user may use single mode terminals capable of signaling via the respective air interface only or dual mode or multi mode terminals with several selectable air interfaces but with identical man machine interaction for call originating answering and call terminating What is uniform in the inventive terminal and system is firstly the keypad and the designations text icons on or near the keys secondly the displayed options regarding originating answering and terminating of calls and thirdly the sequence of events i e the flowchart for originating answering and terminating calls What is selectable in or for the inventive terminal and system is the radio hardware module and an associated air interface signaling software module which will be available as one out of at least two possible radio modules with associated software modules for compliance with the local cellular standard and for connect ing to the uniform man machine interface module Additionally it is possible that a particular radio hardware module will be selected for example because the terminal is being used in
23. ellular telephone that includes only components to allow it to communicate according to one system standard such as GSM In this way when the user of that telephone travels to another region using a different standard such as he she can use a telephone that is equipped with components to handle that second standard without learning a different interface According to another embodiment the invention can be implemented on a dual or multi mode telephone which includes the components to communicate according to more than one system standard such as NMT and GSM systems A system and or customer application is down loaded into the cellular telephone memory Commands which conven tionally were handled by pressing specific designated keys such as the SEND or RCL keys in FIG 1 are handled according to the present invention by presenting a unified command 1 standard independent in the display and then pressing a general application supporting key to acti vate this command One example of a general hardware platform of a cellular mobile telephone according to one embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG 2A The cellular mobile telephone includes an advanced dot matrix display 110 Keypad 111 includes the traditional number keys 0 9 the corresponding alpha characters not shown are provided on the number keys in the conventional manner a key a HELP key and two general application supportin
24. em standard 2 for example NMT for example GSM Algorithm for selection of system standard Application 5 758 295 Sheet 7 of 15 May 26 1998 U S Patent 40 051 pT T1W9 lO6829SPVEZIO TVT1V9 s 1068294896210 2 lt 068 96 6210 4 62 Aojdsip pT p ds ip umoys 5 pesn 514 1 02 5591604 1 05 02 419107 2 5 758 295 Sheet 8 of 15 26 1998 U S Patent Aojdsip pT 40 0 2 17172 17172 T1179 7772 40 412 1179 719 Aojdsip 8 PI 0 051 ul UMOYS sJAey pesn g9 015 1102 559 560284 u 02 02 samsuy 5 758 295 Sheet 9 of 15 May 26 1998 U S Patent Apjdsip 8 PI 10 T1179 10682955 0838 lO68L9GPEZIO 1068 94 20 Aojdsip Aojdsip umoys 5 pesn 1 09 afouiwmsal ssaibosd 02 D9 AOQUNU 4324437 U2 3 26 1998 Sheet 10 of 15 5 758 295 U S Patent AD ds p 8 1 7179 Bulysoly 73779 1179 Apjdsip u UMOYS 82 5 p sn 014 7702 0 559 u 02 02 Jamsuy 201 UO
25. ention is to provide a user interface which can be used on a dual or multi mode cellular telephone that is a telephone containing hardware components for two or more systems standards such as NMT and GSM This cellular telephone could then be used in several system environments where choice of and access to one of these standards is performed according to some predefined algorithm or by a manually operated switch The emulation using software of different standards could thus be independent of the choice of the different hardware components This dual or multi mode telephone can also be comprised of a cellular satellite phone that is a phone containing components for one or more cellular system standard s together with components for one or more satellite system standard s Another object of the present invention is to provide a man machine interface that enables cellular telephones to be lighter and smaller than conventional cellular telephones 35 45 55 65 6 Another object of the present invention is to provide a cellular telephone having a reduced number of keys elimi nating the need for traditional on hook and off hook keys According to one embodiment of the present invention a mobile radio terminal comprises an output means for out putting at least one menu the menu comprising at least one branch for processing telephone calls each of the branches comprising at least one option for choosing a corresponding
26. g keys YES and NO 112 Of course keys with comparable meaning and in contrast to each other as for example OK and CANCEL can also be used According to one embodiment an ON OFF key 118 is also provided to turn on and off the cellular telephone The system and or customer software SW application 116 is down loaded into the memory Further an arrangement of four arrow keys or a cross arrow key 114 having four arrows is provided to allow navigation within the displayed text or displayed icons and symbols The arrow key or navigation key is used to navigate through menus texts and or icons either by scroll 10 15 25 35 45 55 65 10 ing through single menu lines vertically or by moving a cursor between a plurality of menu options displayed on a single display screen as well as edit numbers and characters by scrolling the cursor sideways That is the arrow keys navigate a cursor through the different options in the same branch of the menu or between branches in the menu The navigation key may be cross arrow key having four sides each side having an arrow pointing in a respective direction as shown in FIGS 3A and 3B Alternatively four arrow keys pointing in respective upward downward and sideward directions may be used As an alternative embodiment as shown in FIGS 3C and 3D the navigation key may be a single key having two arrows one pointing upward with reference to the paper and one pointing downward
27. he Menu mode Function key 36 is used for accessing terminal functions in Menu mode and for muting the microphone during conversation Arrow keys 37 and 38 are used to scroll the menu and to increase and decrease volume during conversation Tables 1 and 2 below illustrate one programming differ ence in the man machine interface between two systems where Table 1 shows the NMT system and Table 2 shows the AMPS and the GSM system The tables are read in chro nological order from top to bottom and left to right The sequences shown are used for answering incoming calls originating outgoing calls and for terminating any calls As seen in the following Tables in the NMT system of Table 1 the user presses the same key to answer and to terminate a call In the AMPS system different keys are used for the same operations In the GSM system the specifications require that different keys are used to answer and to termi nate calls TABLE 1 IMI Event User Action Cellular Action Display Idle display manufacturer specific Incoming call CALL flashing Answer call Press key SEND END CALL function key 1 Call in progress CALL Terminate cali Press key SEND END Cellular does On hook 5 758 295 TABLE 1 continued AMI Event User Action Cellular Action Display function key 1 Idle display manufacturer specific TABLE 2 AMPS and GSM Event
28. ic and numeric characters Function key 1 is used to originate terminate and answer a call In particular function key 1 serves as an on and off hook key Function key 2 stores numbers and names in a memory and stores the setting of certain telephone parameters Function key 3 clears the last entered character or digit and if pressed for a longer period clears the entire displayed string It is used for exiting from the Menu mode Function key 4 is used for accessing terminal functions in Menu mode and for muting the microphone during conversation Function key 5 is a register key used during conversation to access yarious network services Arrow keys 7 and 8 are used to scroll the menu and to increase and decrease volume during conversation 15 35 45 55 2 In the AMPS system the cellular telephone includes a keypad 20 a display 29 and a plurality of function keys 21 28 as shown in FIG 1B The display 29 15 the same as that described above with respect to FIG 1A Function key 21 is used to originate and answer a call that is as an off hook key Function key 22 is used if a call is in progress to terminate the call that is as an on hook key otherwise it is used to turn on and off the cellular telephone Function key 23 is used for recalling numbers stored in the terminal directory searching by name or abbreviated number num bers stored in a scratch pad and the last called number Function key 24 stores nu
29. igital control channels However these systems also relate to the com munication between mobile telephones and the one stan dardized cellular land system in which procedures have been designed to be common 5 758 295 5 Two different systems using more less the same man machine interface are also known 1 AMPS first used in the U S and TACS first used in the U K The standards of the two systems regard the air interface leaving the man machine interface open But TACS terminal implementation copied the earlier defined AMPS Combined cordless and cellular mobile telephones which can be used to work via different air interface standards are also known For example U K patent application 2 225 512 describes cellular cordless radio telephone However the patent does not described a man machine interface usable with any air interface In the future it is anticipated that a satellite phone system for wireless pocket phones will cover the entire planet which means that it will cover several different cellular system standards The satellite system will probably have one method i e key sequence defined for every action which is cost efficient for example one for making and one for receiving calls whereas the cellular system stan dards have differing methods for these actions This funda mental problem can using a normal cellular phone user interface only be solved in two ways The satellite system has t
30. in said selection means comprises a cursor and wherein a plurality of options in said at least one branch are displayed on a single screen in said output means and further comprising at least one navigation key for moving said cursor between options in the displayed branch 5 The terminal of claim 1 wherein said first key com prises a yes key and said second key comprises a no key 6 The terminal of claim 1 wherein said output means comprises a display 7 A mobile radio terminal comprising means for emulating call handling procedures provided by a plurality of different air interface signalling stan dards an output means for outputting a plurality of menus each having at least one option for processing telephone calls according to one of said plurality of air interface signalling standards user input means for selecting one of said plurality of menus to be output at any given time selection means for designating one of said at least one option in the output menu a first key for confirming selection of said one of said at least one options designated by said selection means thereby moving forward through said menu and for originating and answering telephone calls a second key for rejecting selection of said one of said at least one options designated by said selection means 5 25 35 45 55 18 thereby moving backward through said menu and for terminating telephone calls and at least one navigation key f
31. is empty causes a return to the previous state 5 758 295 11 FIGS 3E 3H illustrate alternative embodiments accord ing to the present invention The YES and NO keys operate as above although in FIGS and the NO key also is used to turn on and off the power Thereby one key becomes unused and may be labeled e g as HELP key to fetch explanations to be displayed whereby return to the previous state could be achieved by the NO key The arrow keys scroll in different directions depending on the mode In particular in a menu or text mode the arrow keys scroll the menus and texts vertically In a digit or character mode the arrow keys edit numbers and characters by scrolling the cursor side ways The decision whether scrolling is vertical or sideways is dependent on the option selected in the menu A cellular mobile telephone viewed as a platform on which several applications system and or customer can be down loaded provides possibilities of designing and devel oping advanced as well as user friendly telephones It makes it much easier to introduce and upgrade advanced custom ized applications targeting specific user groups Cellular telephones for different systems as well as new models are then software modifications It is with this view and this solution possible to define a uniform user interface for telephones mainly cellular but also other types as used for example in trunked radio or satellite systems By
32. isplays CALLING Initiate Call Press YES key 5 758 295 13 TABLE 7 continued NMT and DECT Event User Action Cellular Action Display entered number Cali in progress Call in progress display manufacturer specific Cellular does On hook Idle display manufacturer specific JJ U U U 111 Terminate call Press NO key Again the YES key is used to confirm a proposition i e the entered number and thereby making the call Of course NO can be used to reject the entered number and return to the previous branch of the menu Thus the YES and NO keys together with the information in the display provide human control in every situation in an easy to learn and easy to use way It is with this configu ration possible to cover all communication examples with exactly the same procedure YES to confirm a proposition or selection and thus move forward within the branches of the menu and to perform the off hook function and NO to reject a proposition or selection and thus move backward to the preceding branch of the menu and to perform the on hook function In this way the invention provides the ability for the user to recognize what actions to do when he she is in similar situations but in different system environments where these actions are comprehensible as well as consistent and also reduces the number of keys required on the cellular tele phone The above described invention can also be used on
33. mbers and names in a memory and stores the setting of certain telephone parameters Function key 25 is used for accessing terminal functions in Menu mode and for muting the microphone during conversation Function key 26 clears the last entered character or digit and if pressed for a longer period clears the entire displayed string It is used for exiting from the Menu mode Arrow keys 27 and 28 are used to scroll the menu and to increase and decrease volume during conversation In the GSM system the cellular telephone includes a keypad 30 a display 39 and a plurality of function keys 31 38 as shown in FIG 1C The display 39 has two rows an alpha numeric row and a numeric row for displaying respectively alphanumeric and numeric characters Function key 31 is used to originate and answer a call that is as an off hook key Function key 32 is used if a call is in progress to terminate the call that is as an on hook key otherwise it is used to turn on and off the cellular telephone Function key 33 is used for recalling numbers stored in the terminal directory searching by name or abbreviated number num bers stored in a scratch pad and the last called number Function key 34 stores numbers and names in a memory and stores the setting of certain telephone parameters Function key 35 clears the last entered character or digit and if pressed for a longer period clears the entire displayed string It is used for exiting from t
34. ncludes at least one branch for processing telephone calls Each of the branches includes at 56 References Cited least one option for choosing a corresponding action to be performed by the radio terminal the corresponding actions U S PATENT DOCUMENTS including causing a successive branch to be displayed and 5 020 093 5 1991 Pireh performing a terminal function The mobile terminal 5 127 042 6 1992 Gillig et al 379 61 X includes a selection mechanism for designating one of the 5 128 981 7 1992 Tsukamoto et al 455 450 options A first key is included for confirming selection of 5 335 355 8 1994 Tanaka et al the option designated by the selection means so as to move 5 425 077 6 1995 Tsoi A SRS 379 58 forward through the menu to a succeeding branch and 115 perform the corresponding action chosen by the confirmed 5 555 502 9 1996 Opel 364 424 05 option and for originating and answering telephone calls 5 561712 10 1996 Nishihara _ 379 355 second key is included for rejecting selection of the option 5 579 535 11 1996 Orlen et al 455 421 designated by the selection mechanism so as to move 5 581 593 12 1996 Engelke et al 455 312 backward through the menu to a preceding branch and for terminating telephone calls FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS 2046423 1 1992 Canada 13 Claims 15 Drawing Sheets DIRECTORY Find Name Find Pos Add Ne
35. ne of two or more system component blocks can be defined in several different ways The following is a description of two of such possibilities The first selection algorithm is implemented according to the principles specified in co pending application Ser No 07 751 763 filed Aug 29 1991 discussed above The co pending application covers control channel scanning procedures for analog and digital control channels for the 10 15 25 35 45 55 14 North American market However in this case traffic chan nels belong to the same IS 54 standard whereas at least two different cellular standards are considered for the present invention The second selection algorithm involves the case in which the different system standards implemented in a cellular telephone are also separated geographically If so then the user selects the country in which he she is currently located and the correct system component block is selected in the terminal through a table look up As discussed above the uniform interface keypad trated in FIGS include YES and NO keys The YES key is used to confirm a menu option for example desig nated by the cursor gt lt in the advanced dot matrix display entered numbers entered characters or presented questions in the display and to originate and answer calls The YES key thus provides the function of moving forward through the menu to the branch designated in the display and
36. o be implemented with several different methods for similar actions i e one method corresponding to each cellular system standard This is very costly and technically difficult to implement Alternatively the user has to use one method for an action on the cellular system and another different method for the same action on the satellite phone system This is not a user friendly solution Another problem facing cellular telephone manufacturers today involves the decreasing size of cellular telephones As telephones get smaller it becomes more and more difficult to include as many function keys as has conventionally been used in key sizes which are practical for use SUMMARY The present invention is intended to overcome the disad vantages described above One object of the present invention is to provide a user interface which can be used with several cellular telephone systems such as NMT AMPS TACS GSM D AMPS PDC ETACS 2 CT 3 and DECT which are used around the globe The presented user interface can also be used on future pocket sized wireless satellite telephones Another object of the present invention is to provide single mode mobile cellular telephones with a man machine interface which is the same for all cellular telephone systems making it possible for people to rent a foreign mobile telephone when they travel abroad which has a man machine interface with which they are familiar Another object of the present inv
37. on means thereby moving backward through the menu and for terminating telephone calls Still other objects features and attendant advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from a reading of the following detailed description of the embodiments constructed in accordance therewith taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings 5 758 295 7 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention of the present application will now be described in more detail with reference to the preferred embodiments of the device given only by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which FIGS 1A 1B and 1C are examples of system specific hardware implementations of a conventional cellular mobile telephones in the NMT AMPS and GSM systems respec tively FIG 2A is an example of a general hardware platform of a cellular mobile telephone according to one embodiment of the present invention FIG 2B is a block diagram of the pertinent portions of a cellular mobile radio telephone according to the present invention FIGS illustrate examples of general keypad con figurations according to the present invention FIG 4 illustrates the operation of the menus according to an embodiment of the present invention FIG 5 illustrates a block diagram of system specific hardware components inside a dual mode cellular phone according to an embodiment of the present invention
38. or moving said selection means between options in said menu said first key and said second key being located in a position on said radio terminal that is independent of a location of said output means on said radio terminal 8 The terminal of claim 7 wherein said at least one navigation key comprises at least one arrow key for scrolling in said output means 9 The terminal of claim 7 wherein said first key com prises a yes key and said second key comprises a no key 10 The terminal of claim 7 wherein said output means comprises a display 11 The terminal of claim 7 wherein said selection means comprises at least one arrow key for navigating between options in said menu and said user input means comprises key means for turning on and off the terminal said key means comprising said second means 12 A dual mode mobile radio terminal comprising at least two hardware component means for implementing at least two different air interface standards means for selecting one of said at least two hardware component means for use at a given time means for emulating call handling procedures for a plu rality of different air interface signalling standards an output means for outputting a plurality of menus each having at least one option for processing telephone calls according to one of said plurality of air interface signalling standards user input means for selecting independently of the selection of one of said at least two har
39. playing menu options according to the present invention One possibility is that several options for example the options available in a single branch are displayed simultaneously by using one display row per option and the selection means for desig nating one of the options is a cursor which moves between the displayed options In this case it is easier for the user to get an overview of all possible menu options in the current cellular state However it is not possible to show the current active setting of the separate menu options For example it would not be possible to display 10 15 20 25 35 45 55 65 12 gt Ring Signal lt High where High is the current active setting for the menu option Ring Signal Alternatively only one menu option may be displayed at a time by using all the display rows for this option and the selection means for designating one of the options is imple mented by the movement of the options in the display provided by the scrolling of the menu between the options caused by use of the arrow keys where stepping between branches of the same menu uses horizontal scrolling of the displayed text In this case it is possible to show the current active setting of the separate menu options when displaying each one however it is difficult to get an overview of all the possible menu options in the current cellular state The following Tables 6 7 illustrate the same two com
40. rated in FIGS 3A and 3B The YES key is used to confirm the displayed proposition or selection for example such as a menu option directory entry entered number or entered name that is move to the next successive menu branch indicated by the selection designated in the display The YES key also performs the function of answering an incoming call or originating an outgoing call that is the off hook function The NO key is used to reject a proposition or selection and return to the previous menu branch The NO key is also used to terminate an on going call that 15 the on hook function The cross arrow key or navigation key is used to navigate through menus texts and or icons as described above The circular key at the bottom of the figures is the on off key used to turn on and off the power to the telephone FIGS 3C and 3D illustrate alternative embodiments according to the present invention The YES NO and on off keys operate in the same manner as described above with respect to FIGS and and so will not be discussed further The two arrow key is used to scroll menus and texts vertically but cannot be used to edit numbers and characters sideways The NO key may be used to edit numbers or characters by rejecting the displayed string The depression of the NO key either causes a return to the previous state and the string could then be re entered or deletes the last entered digit character and when the string
41. second means for rejecting selection of the option designated by the selection means thereby moving backward through the menu and for terminating telephone calls and at least one navi gation key for moving the selection means between options in the menu According to another embodiment of the present invention a dual mode mobile radio terminal comprises at least two hardware component means for implementing at least two different air interface standards means for select ing one of the at least two hardware component means software means for emulating procedures provided by a plurality of different air interface signalling standards an output means for outputting a plurality of menus each having at least one option for processing telephone calls according to one of the plurality of air interface signalling standards user input means for selecting one of the plurality of menus to be output at any given time independently of the selected one of the at least two hardware component means the user input means comprising a twelve key alpha numeric keypad and selection means for designating one of the at least one option in the output menu a first key for confirming selection of the one of the at least one options designated by the selection means thereby moving forward through the menu and for originating and answering tele phone calls and a second key for rejecting selection of the one of the at least one options designated by the selecti
42. ser whereby selectable options are displayed to the user on a display and whereby the user indicates his her choice of options using YES and NO keys for confirmation and rejection respectively and for example arrow keys for pointing at options The options are presented in the form of menus where the menu can be said to include a trunk the main menu and or one or more branches Each branch has one or more options that when selected perform a corresponding action either in the form of causing another branch to be displayed or performing a mobile radio terminal function For purposes of this description if a branch has only one option it is still referred to as a branch 10 15 25 45 55 65 8 The YES key provides the function of advancing through the branches of the menus and the NO key provides the function of moving back through the previously displayed branches of the menus The YES and NO keys are also used to provide the functionality of conventional off hook and on hook keys respectively thus eliminating the need for separate off hook and or on hook keys In this way the present invention provides advantages over the prior art by reducing the number of keys required on the cellular telephone The functions of the keys and displayed options are identical in identical situations but the labels of the keys may vary depending on the language of the country where the terminal is sold Language independent icons may b
43. ts to use it with any intelligent nodes 5 758 295 9 and any procedures for services additional to the normal originating answering and terminating of calls the addi tional procedures used may not be the same in different regions for the same function but the interactive dialog allows using these procedures without memorizing anything because the options are always presented on the LCD display DETAILED DESCRIPTION According to the present invention a globe trotter man machine interface is provided for use on cellular mobile telephones to allow the telephone to be used with several cellular telephone systems such as NMT AMPS D AMPS 5 GSM ADC and PDC which are used around the globe This is done by perceiving the cellular telephone as a computer platform on which different soft ware applications system and or customer are down loadable The cellular telephones are equipped with a suit able key configuration and display to support these applications In this way if a system standard such as NMT AMPS etc is perceived as a software application it is possible to build one hardware platform covering all or almost all systems Of course the hardware platform must comprise the hardware components such as radios and antennas for the air interfaces to be used as explained in more detail as follows According to one embodiment the system according to the present invention can be implemented on a c
44. using an advanced display together with one of the keypads described above it is possible to emulate existing models of mobile stations and to eliminate the cryptic system specific keys from the keypad as for example FCN STO RCL etc These keys are instead pre sented in the display in the form of menu options i e soft keys and their functions are activated by pressing the YES key when marked by a cursor In particular the user marks his her choice by stepping up or down using the arrows in arrow key 114 of FIG 2A to move the cursor to the desired location He she then selects the designated menu item by pressing the YES key A sample menu is shown in FIG 4 According to one embodiment the menus operate as rotating drums which are rotated in both directions without beginning or end Accord ing to one embodiment a selection is marked with two arrows as the cursor When the cursor hits the display s bottom or top by movement of the arrow key 114 for example the menu is shifted one step up or down respec tively The cursor can also be fixed in the display causing the menu to be shifted up or down every time an arrow key is pressed Another variety of moving around in the branches of a menu is to scroll the text horizontally when the arrow keys are pushed In this case the cursor is the window itself and does not need to be indicated in the window There are essentially two methods for dis
45. w 5 758 295 Sheet 1 of 15 May 26 1998 U S Patent 2149WNU DYOD lv 21 014 m 214 2 197 YOlHd vi 015 5 758 295 Sheet 2 of 15 May 26 1998 U S Patent Aojdsip 10 MS 15 615 bz 62 22 12 eee 82 22 92 Disawnu 62 LUV 40144 gi 214 U S Patent May 26 1998 Sheet 3 of 15 5 758 295 Fig 2B 124 Transceiver 5 758 295 Sheet 4 of 15 26 1998 U S Patent Q K L A 7 gt w ZS Z gt DEF DEF 3 RARE JKL TUV OPER ABC TUV 2 1X 5 IO 9 02 5 K b 9 8 o IN l oj 5 SN PRS PRS GHI PQR XYZ GHI PQR XYZ Bee 2 BALE DEF MNO UVW Q lt lo jeu 5 O gt Y N DEF MNO ABC JKL ABC JKL STU U S Patent May 26 1998 Sheet 5 of 15 5 758 295 Fig U S Patent May 26 1998 Sheet 6 of 15 5 758 295 Fig 4 DIRECTORY N Find Name Find Pos Add New Fig 5 Components Components ASICS etc for ASICS etc for system standard 1 syst
46. which the word CALL is displayed alone or in addition to the turn key picture followed by NO The latter indicates that termi nating the call may be achieved by pushing the NO key which in this situation corresponds to the turn off receiver key of a GSM terminal When the NO key is pressed the call is disconnected and the idle display is shown FIG 9A illustrates the emulated uniform implementation for setup and termination of outgoing calls as follows In the beginning there is idle display To make a call the subscriber enters a number which is shown in the display together with text Enter number to If the subscriber wants to initiate the call he she presses the YES key after which the word CALLING is displayed in addition to the destination telephone number When the access is received by the land system the display may show the text versation and the entered number When the NO key is pressed the call is disconnected and the idle display is shown FIG 9B illustrates the emulated uniform implementation for setup and termination of incoming calls as follows In the beginning there is an idle display When a call is detected as incoming to the mobile terminal the word INCOMING CALL with an ANSWER option and a question mark is displayed alone or with a transfer option to transfer the call If the subscriber wants to answer the call he she presses the YES key
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