CA2185662A1 - Computer and telephone apparatus with user friendly interface andenhanced integrity features - Google Patents

Abstract

A telephone configured as a programmable microcomputer (2) (telephone-computer) which operates through a standard telephone 12-key keypad input (3). The telephone-computer (2) has the overall appearance of a telephone and includes telephone electronics and a microprocessor unit operated in conjunction with other computer elements, including memory devices, a programmable gate array (PGA) chip which can be initially programmed and then fixed, and enhance integrity features. The PGA has the capability of being configured to accommodate various types of software which require different hardware configuration, but without actually reconfiguring the hardware. The telephone-computer (2) delivers data processing capabilities and services via conventional telephone lines (78) with a network host computer (68) which communicates with a vast panoply of service bureaus (80a-80d). Specifically, operating software is downloaded to the telephone-computer (2) by the network host computer (68) to format the microcomputer to conform to the software format used by the service bureaus (80a-80d).

Description

WO9S12s396 21 ~5662 ~".,~ ~ 12~1 AUD SELEP~ONE APPARAl~S WIT}~ ~rSE% ~RIEND1Y
INSEa~AC3: AND ~rlm l~-~.KL'L ~ ASt~Eg ~ROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a c~ntin~lAtinn of Serial No.
08/084,319, filed June 30, 1993, which i8 a cnnt;nl~Atinn of Serial No. 433,825, filed ~ov~ ' 9, 1989 ~now Ah:lnr1nnP~
and a cnnt;n~lAtl~n of Serial No. 08/104,931, filed August 12, 0 1993, which is a cnntinl~Ation of Serial No. 07/439,739, filed ~'~,v. -r 21, 1991 ~now AhAnr1nnPd), which is a cnnt;mlAtir~n-in-part of Serial No. 07/260,832, filed October 2~, 1988 ~now U.S. pate~t No. 5,008,927), which is a c~nt;nllAttcm-in-part of Serial No. 07/190,440, filed May 5, 1988 ~now U.S. patent No.
4,991,199), all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
BA~ uNL~ OF T~E lNv~ ON
1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a remotely reconfigurable user tPrmlnAl in the form of a tPl Prhnne-~ , -Pr specifically designed for use in ~nnnPction with a di8tributed data processing system. More partic--l ~rly, this invention relate8 wo 95l25396 21 8 5 6 ~ 2 PCT/US95/03~2-1 --to a user t~rm;n~l ;ntPnrle~ ~or use at the home o~ a bank customer to allow the customer access to the bank' s database and operating software, as well as to access other remote data bases and the like. The present invention relates generally to methods for communication between a home microcomputer system and one or more ~nmr~utPr networks providing information and ~; n;ln~ l services . The inYention relates more particularly to methods for conducting ~n~lnic~tisnq between a home computer system and a generally conventional ~ tpr network in an extremely simple manner, such that no knowledge of ~ tPr operations is nP~Pqs~ry for the user of a home computer system to obtain information or perform finAn~
transactions through the computer network.

2. Related Art Various f irms, including AT&T and Sears, Roebuck & Co ., have provided home banking services employing home tPrmi n;~l R
which communicate with bank service _ tPrs. These have either involved "dumb t~rmin~ls~~ i.e., tPrm;n~l devices having no ;n~ ence, or convPntinn~l PC~s. Nether system is fully user-friendly, as desired according to the invention, since both reguire some computer literacy on the part of the user .
It will also be appreciated t~at in recent years banking c~omers have iDC e ~siDgly ~1eCOme a~Custome~ ~o u~ing w095/~s396 21 85662 pcrlus9~l03~24 ~1~tnm~tic teller machine devices (ATM5) . These have been relatively successful because they provide simple and clear ~'menu" of choices to the consumer at each step of each tranq~rtinnl such that the customer is very readily led 5 through the sequence of inputs required by the system to respond to the customer' 5 reriuest. It would be desirable if such functions could also be carried out by the cnnC''mor in the privacy of his own home, thus rendering the service more convenient and thus more likely to be co~mmonly used. The 0 present t~ rhnn,o-cr~ utPr was developed exactly for the purpose of providing a readily available user-friendly m;rrr,rnmrlltPr with the f~mili~r appearance of a 5tandard table tPl ~rhnnP .
Such ~lt: t;C teller r:lrh;n~s~ typically operate using software prepared by individual pLUyLCLL~l.. eL~ using personal computers. Typically, these personal cnmrlltPrs are those manufactured by the I~I Corpr,rAt;rn (the ~I3~ PCn) or so-called "clo~es" thereof . As such, these r-r~ut~rs run various software ~LOyL~ which conform to I~ s standards for such personal cn~utPrs. While such a requirement places various substantial constraints on the , t~r user, parti cl~l ~rly cnnr~rn; rrJ memory access and the like, at this time the nPC" is so thoroughly entrenched tl--~,u~}.~,u~ industry that it is most unlikely that any change can be made. ~Iore particularly, any home tPrmin~l or cnmr~tl~r ;ntrn~Pd to be Wo 9~t25396 ;~ i 6 2 1 ~IIL ~ 47.1 employed with a banking system. now operating must emulate the IsM PC '~architecture~'; further details of this requirement are given below.
To date, subst~nt;Ally all PC's have been configured to comprise a keyboard of between 60 and 101 keys, a display device, and a housing cnntAin;ng~ the circuit boards of the !Pr ;nf ll~;n~ various interfaces to other devices such as modems for communication, printers and the like. Such PC's, while increasingly popular, still ;nt;m;~Ate many potential users. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a nnmrutPr which conforms to the functionality of the PC -- that is for example, which runs software developed for banking applications so that it can interface with banking s, exactly as if it were in fact a convPnt jonAl PC --while providing a user-friend~y, simplified and nonthrPAtPn;n~
appearance. In particular, it is desired to place a ~- tPr having PC functionality within a package phygically resembling an P~sPnt;~qlly convPnt;nnAl telephone.
It will be apparent to those of skill in the art that the provision of ~PC functionality~, that ig, the ability to run convPnt jnnAl PC software pLI~ral~li without modification to the software, places very substantial constraint8 on the design of a cn~utpr which is to fit within a housing conforming in size _nd shape to that of convPntinnAl tPl PrhonP For example, substAnt;Ally all PC PLUYL~a3 are ~PgignP~l to be stored on wo ss/2s396 2 1 8 5 6 6 2 ~ 51~ ~
"floppy disks", or are initially supplied on floppy disks and later copied to a "hard disk". soth of these memory devices re~uire more space than is available in the housing of a convPntir~n~1 telephone. Similarly, the circuit boards used convPnt;l~nAlly in PCs are much too large to fit within a convPntinnA1 telephone, as are the keyboards which are convPntir~nAlly used. Accordingly, it ig not possible to simply ch~Ph~rn the normal ~C ~r1mrr~nPntC into a housing rPcPmhl;n~ a convPnt;~n~l telephone. ~oreover, it is desirable in any event to P1 ;m;n~te the use of removable floppy disks and the like from the device provided according to the invention, to simplify its operation and to render it even more user-friendly, and thus ~pcs;hle to a wider class of possible users.
It is thus essential to achieving the obj ects of the invention that a rn~ltPr be provided which can ~c; l ~te the operation of a system comprising floppy and or hard disk memory devices, as well as other input-output lI/O) devices such as printers and the like, while f itting within the confines of a housing of fAm;liAr and nonthrePtPn;n~
r,l-lre, preferably conforming in size and appearance to that of a convPnt; onAl telephone . Similarly, it is desired that all convPnt;~n~l telephone fllnct;~nc be supported by the user tPrm;n~l of the invention Wo 9sns396 ~ 21 ~ 5 6 6 2 PCT/US9SN312.~ --It will also be appreciated that if a home terminal i5 to provide access to a banking ~n~711tPr to perform f;n~nr;;ll transactions, a very high degree of security must be built into the system, such that the user cannot corrupt his own or other a~ n m1ntc, cannot withdraw assets from other accounts, and most importantly cannot cause a system error of a type which would cause the entire bank , tPr system to cease operations, however briefly. To do so means that the home ePrm;n~1 must interact with the network in a sophisticated way. It is also highly desirable that the i ntPra~~t; c~n of tPrm;n~l and host be amenable to convenient alteration at a later time if it should become nf~ cS~ry For example, there have recently been widely publicized instances of "software viruses~ which permp~te c ItPr networks. The chaos caused in a banking system susceptible to such a virus can hardly be imagined. It is therefore highly significant that the: , LPrized tPl PrhnnP provided to the user by the present invention be l~r~l~t~h1 e with respect to any hardware and sof tware changes which may be required to P1 ;m;n~te the poss;h; 1 ity of such bugs or viruses when later developed, and also to be capable of impl: ;n~ new forms of security such as, for example, data encryption. The prior art teaches no system which provides anything remotely resembling this set of features in a tPrm;n~l ;ntpn~l~d for user home use for arCpsc;n~ a banking system.

W09s/2s396 2 ~ 8~662 ~ , 5.~ J2~
Megatel ~ ~UtPr ~1986) Corporation, of Weston, Ontario, Canada, with which at least one of the inventors named herein is affiliated, has been selling for more t~lan a year prior to the f iling date of this appl i r~ t i~r~ a 8ingle board computer which is capable of: 1 ~ting an IsM Personal C tPr and thereby of running conv~nt;~n~l software ~L~La~ l intPnr1P~ for use with convPnt;~n~l IsM PCs. This Megatel computer has on its single circuit board a microprocessor, typically a Nippon Electric Corporation (NEC) model V25 or V40, a L~L~Ldl..~llable gate array chip sold by XilinY. Corporation under Model No.
XC2018 or the equivalent, both random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory ~ROM) and various input-output devices as well as associated connectors and the like . srief ly stated, the use of the ~L~L hl e gate array to connect the microprocessor to the memory and to the input-output devices has provided this c , ~or with llnrAr~l l pl Pd fl PYih; l; ty in emulation of the basic flln~t;~nq of an Is~f PC, such that it is capable of running subst~nt;~lly all convPntinnAl software ~)L~LCIIIIS for the IsM PC. This i8 true even though in many applications the Megatel computer i8 not connected to PYtPrn~l magnetic storage media, printers and the like, and even though the 80ftware normally would only run on cc, tPrs thus configured. To fully understand the significance of this fact, a brief ~i qcl~qqi-,n of the IsM PC marketplace is in order.

Wo gs~zs396 2 1 ~ 5 6 6 2 PCrnJsssl03~2~ ~
As a rule, ~onventional software programs are stated to be IlPC-compatible'' when they are intended to be run on the I~
Personal rr~u t Pr ( PC ) . However, not all " PC - c r1mrA t i hl e "
programs will run on all PC' s . That is, for example, one program may require a so-called "hard disk" having 40 megabytes storage capacity. Another may require one megabyte of RAM. A third may re~auire an optical disk; a fourth a llGA
adapter card, and a fifth, two floppy disks. Thus, ~PC-at; hility" only implies with respect to a particular O software program that a PC be configured with appropriate optional ;ntPrnAl devices and peripherals on which the software will then run; it does }~Q~ mean that all "PC-compatiblel' software will run on the 8ame PC.
The basic hardware components of the PC itself, a distinguished from its peripherals, include a microprocessor, a certain amount of read-only and random-acces8 memory ("RA~
and "R0~" respectively), and circuit Pl~ ~~ providing logical c~nn~cti ~n be~ween these various basic ~ as well as to the keyboard and the display, and to any perirh~Al~ such as modems, printers, ~te~nAl memory and the like. The peripherals are normally connected directly to various dedicated "drivern and "interfacen chip8, which are in turn co~nected by logic circuit el em~nt~ to the microprocessor, RAN and R0~. Thus, all PC's require some sort of hardware, i.e., di8crete circuit elements, to provide wo g~/25396 2 i 8 5 6 6 2 ~ 5~ 'J
d~.,yLiate logical connections to functionally ~glue~' the microprocessor, RAM, ROM, and the variou~c dedicated input/output devices and peripheral drivers together.
Certain software, referred to as the "BIOS", for Basic Input/Output System, is also essential to provide the "PC
architecture" The BIOS provides the interface between the usual PC-compatible software yLu~L~S (which are also referred to the art as "DOS~ tih1 e", which means that they are ~lP~;5AIPd to work with IBM~s Disk Operating System, or DOS; DOS
is thus only useful if the BIOS and BIOS-~ t;hle hardware are already in place) and the actual hardware fOA--AAtc~ The hardware Plf~mPntA, plus the BIOS, thus form the basic 'PC
architecture ' .
In the IBM PC itself, a custom designed ngate array" chip is normally used to provide the logical connection between the microprocessor, the RAM and ROM, and the various dedicated input/output and peripheral driver elements. Various others have provided these functions using so-called pLuyL,~....~ble logic array (PLA) chips. Such Pr~ chips comprise a number of predefined but not preconnP~AtPd logic gates on a chip.
Connections are estAhli ChPci by fusing fusible links rl; cposP~l on the chip . Having thus been ~L.~ - ', the PL~ circuitry cannot be further altered.
The BIOS used by Megatel in this _ _tPr is also commercially available. The ~glue~ required to functionally Wo ss/2~396 2 1 8 5 6 6 2 ~ u~ z~ ~
connect the mi.Lu~Lucessor, the mDmory, and the input-output chips is provided by conf iguring the PGA chip by supply of a series of signals, referred to by Xilinx as ''cûnfiguration ~LuyL~.~D~' and sometimes herein as llconfiguration coden or "configuration software~. Essentially, this configuration code defines the logical rn"n~tion o~ various basic logic elements on the PGA chip.
A significant advantage is provided by use of his chip, in that by supply o~ new conf iguration code, changes can be 0 made to the hardware t-n""~c~t; n5 the microprocessor to the memory and the input-output chips on the circuit board. Thus, for example, if a particular hardware change needs to be made to ac~ te a particular software program, this can be done readily by simply supplying reconfiguration code appropriately to the PGA chip and recon~iguring it before the so~tware is to be run. Si~ilarly, use of the EGA chip in many cases will allow recon~iguration o~ the hardware to support new peripherals -- e.g., an .onh~nrF-d-r.ocnlll~;nn display, an optical disk storage device, so-called nsmart" or debit-card readers, or the like, which in other systems would normally re~uire the physical addition o~ a new circuit board or the like .
Use of the PGA chip has extremely power~ul and extensive implications. For example, a piece of goftware running on a IB~ PC operates properly when it nreceivesn an appropriate ~ wo ss/2s396 2 1 8 5 6 6 2 r~ r~424 seq~lPnce o~ signals ~rom the microprocessor in response to the signals it '~gPnpr~tpAl~. For example, a microprocessor may be directed by software to send a certain data item to a floppy disk for storage. The floppy disk controller responds to such a reguest with a predeeP~; nP~ acknowledgement signal; when this signal is received by the software, it then performs a subsequent function. Accordingly, if the PGA chip is configured to respond to a particular signal provided by the software with the proper acknowledgement signal, the software can be "fooled" into th;nk;n~ the PC i9 configured with certain peripherals when in fact none is provided. Thus, to provide ~'software-c , tih;l ity~ the PGA chip need simply be configured to respond to a known sequence of signals with a coLLe~ ding sequence of response 8ignals, thus fooling the software into th;nk;n~ it is running on a properly configured PC .
The Xilinx ~PL~ hle Gate Array Data Book" (1988) discusses at pages 6-38 - 6-40 use of this terhnr,l ory for "Self-D;~rnosin~ Hardware", suggesting that the device ~
can perform diagnostic fllncti~nc at power-up, or in test modes, and perform normal f~lnrt; onc where the board is detP~inPd to be operatio~al. n It is specifically guggested that this will be particularly u8eful for testing peripheral control logic using lo~rha~k te~hn;~lPg, I/0 and memory error 2s detection circuitry, and interrupt technigues.

w09~2s396 21 85662 P~ SOt4~ ~
As mentioned above, ~egatel hPs been u~ing the yL~LCUlLl~ble gate array technology to emulate a PC. However, to the best of the inventors~ knowledge, there has to date been no application of this PGA technology to the specific problem of providing a home user tP~n;n~l for accessing a bank system as well as other computer sy8tems, all as discussed above . Nor (again, to the best of the inventors ' knowledge) has there been any use of this PGA technology to physically emulate a t~l Prhnne while providing various functions of a typical personal ~ Pr. Moreover (again to the best of the inventors' knowledge), there has been no implernQnt~tir,n of a home rm~ utPr in which some portion of the hardware is defined by configuration code supplied to a ~uy hle gate array, much less one which can be remotely reconfigured, e.g. 80 as to cure a "hardware virusn, to provide an updated user function, to provide an improved security function such as data encryption, or otherwise to reconfigure the logic of a ;n~l once installed in the user's home.
Use of mi~;~u~LucesSorS for tele~ ; cations ~r~l;r~t;onq is known in the art, as shown by Subhash Bal, "New Generation Microprocessor for TP1 e- ; cation Applications. n PrQceedinqs 1980-International Conference on Communications, Seattle, Washington, (June 8-12, 1980) pages 11.5.1 - 11.5.4. Additionally, mi~.:L~yLUcessoL~ have been used as control apparatus for a number of crrnrrnlnirati~n system Wo 95/2~396 2 ~ ~3 5 6 6 2 administration fUnCt; onq and in switching systems as shown in United States Patent No. 4,580,011 to Robert ~. Glazer, issued April l, 1986 andUnited States Patent No. 4,629,832 to Robert A. Carson et al, issued December 6, 1986. It is known that, to increase system integrity, the administration functions in a telephone network can be controlled by a microprocessor to facilitate the interaction of a private branch exchange or similar tPlPrh~nP network with a telephone central office. It i8 also known that telephone protection functions can be performed through a microprocessor. Operation of cr~mrlltpr8 with simple interfaces and the rt~nnprtlon of geveral computers to a host r~mrutPr in a network through modems is also known in the prior art. However, the prior art does not teach the use of a mi.LuL,Locessor controlled primarily through a 12-key keypad of a normal telephone device where the keypad also operates a stand-alone tPl ~orh~nP unit and additionally provides user interface to the microprocessor.
SU~RY OF TX~ INVENTION
The mi.Lùc~ tPr with simplified user interface of the present invention is incorporated in a small degk-top housing which has the general appearance of a standard desk tPl Prh"nP.
The present telephone-rnmrl-tPr in accordance with the present invention t~rl~ P8 four basic C~rrnPntq which cooperate together to provide improved tPl~rhonP and c~ t;

Wo 95l25396 ~ 2 1 8 5 6 6 2 r ~ ~ ~ r ~7~ ~
functionality. These basic nn~rnn~n~ include (1) a primary microprocessor i n~ i n~ a central processing unit (CPU1, memory elements associated with the CPU and certain hardware integrity features protecting the CPU; (2) a PLuyL~-.-~ble Gate Array (PGA) comprising a logic cell array which provides the means for dynamically reconfiguring the basic architecture and control logic of the primary microprocessor; (3) telephone electro~ic~ comprising (i) a manual ~Pl PrhnnP circuit including a dialer, speech network and ring detector powered 0 by the telephone line voltage, (ii) a keyboard/keypad microprocessor receiYing i~put from a telephone keypad and a keyboard input device and associated hardware to pro-ride an interface between the telephone opPr~t; nn of the device and the primary mi~Lu~Lu~essor; and (4) a modem for data transfer to and from the primary microprocessor over the tPl PrhnnP
line .
The telephone elements of the device are operated from a convPnti nn~l 12-key telephone keypad through the tPl Prh~nP
electronics of the device and perf orm normal telephone functions. The telephone electronics may also provide inputs through a keyboard mi- Lu~Lucessor to the central processing unit of the primary microprocessor and its extensive memory.
An additional 52-key keyboard in the QWERTY format, normally hidden in the tPl PrhnnP housing, provides additional inputs to 2s the central processing DAit of the primary mi~.LUI.LùcesSor WO 9!il25396 ~ J2-1 '-- 21 ~5662 ~hrough the telephone electronics. Inputs to the primary microprocessor may, in the alternative Pmho~'~mPnt, be provided by a ~uyL hl e function key.
The primary microprocessor in conjunction with a multipurpose graphics display controller provides an output to a small display device such as a liquid crystal display (~CD) or a small cathode-ray tube display device mounted in the housing of the device ~or viewing by the operator. ~owever, the ~ "~ble gate array can also be readily L~L~,_ .1 to drive other sorts of displays such as convPntinn~l ~GA or CGA monitors, plasma displays o- the like. In some case it may be desired to employ a further ~ii tinn~l display driver chip, which itself provides certain display driver modification possibilities. Again, the reconfigurability of the ~LuyL~~ ~ble gate array allows very substantial flPT;h;lity in use of the device according to the invention.
The primary microprocessor itself is connected to the telephone line through a modem and, thus, is capable of dialing and communicating with ot~er parts of a ,- ,_tPr 2 0 network . The primary microprocessor may be ~ , ' to incorporate dedicated software fllnrtinnc including a record manager for reading and writing data, such as records, into the primary microprocessor memory, a tPlPrhnnP list, activity log, a user configuration record and a diagnostic log. The ZS logs may be sent to another rn~llter via tPl Prhnna line for Wo ss/2s396 2 1 8 ) 6 6 2 ~ . Q~12-1 --further processing. The primary mi. ~ UI~Lu~ 580r 1 rlr~ q certain sûftware diagnostics which contrûl the microprocessor' 8 status and provides for overall microprocessor protection. The primary microprocessor is also c~nnPrtPd to a modem which permits the transfer of data from the primary microprocessor over the tPl PE~hr~nP line.
The primary microprocessor is a general purpose ~ , ~ Pr and may be ~LC~L ~ in any standard manner. The primary microprocessor can be L~L~La~ ed to include certain fixed functions as will be PYplAinPd in detail below. one application program usable on the primary mi.Lu~Lucassor is implemented using a sof tware language ~1PairJnAtP~l Home Access ~anguage (HA~ . The application program is formatted in logic pages . A page i nrl l1rlPq screens to be displayed on the display and logic AaSori AtP~1 with specific operations described on the screens. The application program written in HAL is SrTr~ Prj into pseudo-code on a mainframe computer and is translated into an oYPr-utAhl e f ormat by a HAI, in~erpreter incorporated in the 256K byte ROM. The A~plicAtirn program, when incorporated in the primary miL.Lu~Lucesgor, permits it to receive input from the keyboard mi.L~"rL~c.essor and the modem and to perform certain PLU~L ~' function8 as P~lAin~"l below. More specifically, the program "pageg" supply the telephone-c LPr with sufficient npromptsn to elicit from 25 the user whatever infr~ tion -- user codes, desired W095125396 21~35662 pcTll~s9sl0312~
tr~ncac~lnn~, and the like -- i9 re~uired to access one of a plurality of service rnmr~ltPrs to which the network host computer is connected by convPnt; nn::ll tPl PrhnnP lines . The telephone-~ tPr comlltunicates with the network host computer via a message having a first protocol. The network host ~ Pr transform8 thig inforr~tinn into whatever second protocol is convPnt;nn~lly re~uired to communicate with the service ~~, tPr.
One object of the invention to provide a device with the features of a computer, housed in a unit which appears to the user to be no more complex than an ordinary telephone.
Another obj ect of this invention to provide a user friendly microprocessor controlled for most operations through the 12-element keypad of a normal tPl PrhnnP.
Another obj ect of this invention to provide a highly capable ~~, tPr usable as a tPlPrhnnP and also responsive to the user' 9 c ~c made through the keypad.
It is another object of thig invention to provide a mi~.LuyLucessor with PnhAnrPd integrity features allowing for an improved intPractinn with telephone electronics and other input devices.
Another obj ect of the invention is to allow a network host rr~ltPr to download program pages which are rrmrl~tihle with the present telephone- , ~ Pr or a PC to acce99 a variety of different infr,rr-tirn and fin~nrial gervice9 which woss/2s396 21 8 5 6 62 PCT/US9s/03~2~ --communicate with the network host computer via conventional telephone lines in languages which are compatible with the normal information and f;n~nC;~1 services, but which are not cnmrat;hle with the present telephone-com.puter or the PC.
Yet another obj ect of the invention is to provide a telephone configured as a reconfigurable general purpose _t~r which may be reconfigured on site or re~otely.
Features and advantages of the present invention will be better appreciated ~rom.. the detailed description below, taken in conjunction with the attached drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THB DRAwINGS
The i~vention i8 better understood by reading the following Detailed Description of the Preferred ~n~; ''R
with ref ere~ce to the ac~omr~nying drawing f igures, in which like reference num.erals refer to like elements th-uu~l-uut, and in which:
Figure l is a front perspective view of a first P ~ ~i of the telephone- , ~ nr in accordance with the 2 o present inventio~ .
Figure 2 is a rear perspective view of the tF~ rhnnlo-,-nm?llt~r of Figure l.
Figure 3 is a ~ront perspective view of a second ~mho~;m~nt of the t~ phnn~ r in accordance with the present invention.

W095/25396 2 I PCrlUS95~03~Z~
Figure 4 i8 a rear perspec~ive view o~ the tPl PrhnnP-computer of Figure 3.
Figure ~ i8 a side view of an access drawer having a QWERTY 52-key keyboard.
Figure 6 is a plan view of the access drawer having a QWERI'Y 52-key keyboard of Figure 5.
Figures 7 and 8 are perspective and plan views of the invention as used in a public booth deployed with peripheral equipment .
Figure 9 depicts in block diagram format the functional ^nt~ of the telephone-c~mp~ltpr of the invention.
Figure 10 depicts in block diagram format principal semiconductor , ^n~ utilized in the telephone-rmllrlutPr of the invention.
Figure 11 depicts in block diagram format a system support overview of the software functions of the primary microprocessor of the tPl P~h~P-c~mrutPr of the invention.
Figure 12 depicts in block diagram f ormat the primary microprocessor's software interface with the conventional tPl Prh-~nP circuitry of the tPl erh~nP-~ tPr of the invention .
Figure 13 is a fl-nctinn~l block diagram of the tPlPrh~nP
electronics and related communications featureg of the ~Pl Prh~nP- ~ Pr of the invention.

Wo 95/25396 ~ 2 1 8 5 6 6 ~ PCT/US95/0342~ ~
Figure 14 is a functional block diagram of the primary microprocessor, with input/output functions of the telephone-c~mputPr of the invention.
Figure 15 is a memory map of the memory elements of the primary mi~.Lu~Lucessor of the telephone-~ Pr of the invention .
Figure 16 is an overall view of a distributed data processing System which i8 accessed by the t~ rhOnl~-r~mrt~r~r of the invention.
Figure 17 shows an overall view of a distributed data processing system whioh is accessed by the telephone-c~mrt~rpr of the invention .
Figure 18 i8 a diagrammatic view of the message format employed according to the processing system of Figure 17.
Figure 19 is a diagrammatic view of a connect message employed according to the processing system of Figure 17.
Figure 20 is a dia ~L ti c view of a connect response message employed according to the processing system of Figure 17 .
Figure 21 is a diayL tic view of a trAn~act;nn message format employed according to the processing system of Figure 17 .
Figure 22 is a dia~L tic view of a page downl OA-l; n~
message text format employed according to the proc~s;n~
system of Figure 17.

Wo 95/2~396 2 1 6~6 2 pCT/11595/03~21 Figure 23 is a diagra~matic view o~ a page update request message employed according to the pr~rPqs;nr~ system of Figure 17 .
Figure 24 is a dia~L tic view of a response to the page update request message of Figure 23.
DETAII,ED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMSODIMENTS
Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the telephone-r~ tPr device of the present invention has the overall appearance of a conventional desk-top telephone unit. The present telephone-computer invention is incorporated in a telephone housing 50 that it presents to a technically llnck; 11 e-l operator a format with which he or she is familiar, i.e. a convPnt;~"~1 telephone. The telephone-cn~ltPr device of the present invention may be incorporated in a wall telephone or any other conv~nt; nn;il tPl erhr~e format. The invention is designed to operate both as a standard tPl PrhrnP unit and as a microrr~ tQr in a Cn~tPr network.
Referring to Figure 2, the housing for the invention further inrlllAPc controls 12 and 13 for the display 4, an ~ccP~csnries port 10 (to support printing or initial speed loading of the RAM), a connection 9 to a telephone line, controls 7 and 8 for the telephone speaker and ringer, and a wo9~/2~396 21 85662 r~ 'IQ~42~ --tone), and i8 located on the ~ottom of the telephone-computer device .
The telephone-computer of the present invention includes a primary mi.Ll yLocessor and associated memory, and i8 s designed to have a simplified user interface. The i~terface is operated through the telephone unit using the 12-key keypad

3 of the telephone. One key of the 12-key keypad is designated a H~ ~O key and activates the primary microprocessor control of the tPl PrhnnP as P7~rl A; n~l below. The telephone keypad 3 0 activates either tone or pulse dialing fllnntinnc for the electronics of the telephone incorporated in the device and also provides input through a keyboard/keypad microprocessor to the primary microprocessor element of the invention. The primary microprocessor may also receive input through the keyboard/keypad microprocessor from a 52-key keyboard 14 shown in Figures 5 and 6. This board has a QWERTY format and i8 normally hidden from view. The user ;ntPrfAC~ also includes a display 4 which receives its input directly from the mi.L~,yLocessor via a multipurpose graphics display controller.
Preferably, the display 4 is a flat panel li;auid crystal display (~2) . However, as described below, the yLUyL h~P
gate array can also be readily Ll:yL~L -' to drive other sorts of displays such as convPnr;nnAl ~:GA or CGA monitors, plasma displays or the like. Irl some cases it may be desired to employ a further additiona1 digplay driver chip, which Woss/2s396 2185662 1~".~ 424 itself provides certain display driver modif ication possibilities. Again, the reconfigurability of the ~L~L~~, .~ble gate array allows very substantial flexibility in use of the device according to the invention.
Figures 3 and 4 disclose an alternative Pmho~l; t of the invention in which the 12-key keypad is ^~ ~^^ti ~ by four function keys 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d. In this alternative, one of the function keys is a service key which performs the functions of the ~E~O key in the preferred Pmho~11mPnt The 0 other function keys are pL~Lcu,.,,~ble and may perform the standard functions of speed dial, f lash or redial .
The device m.ay be operated at a public booth 20 as shown in Figures 7 and 8. In this configuration, the apparatus of the invention is placed in a form fitted hole in a counter top with only the upper housing visible. The device is deployed with several peripheral items in close proximity in a user-friendly aLLCU~g~ ~. The peripheral items which are connected to the apparatus of the invention include a card reader 21 for reading m.~gnetic information im.printed on cards and a printer 22 capable of printing trAncact;nn journals.
Other items rnnn~ctpcl to the apparatus in this configuration, but which are not user-visible, are (1) an att^-^hmPnt called an P~îAn^inn box for converting signals comi~g out of the ci^,nnPctnr on the back of the apparatug, allowing for card reader and printer cnnnPctinn, (2) two floppy disc drives ~or -23 ^

Wos~/2s396 2~1 8 5 6 62 P~ r0~42~ --~an~lPd software and (3) an external power supply to drive the card reader and disc drives.
Figure 9 depicts the basic structure of the hardware of the telephone-cn~lt~ unit. A8 6tated above, the device of the invention i nr~ eC ~our basic elements ~1) the telephone electronics, generally indicated at 29, ~2) a ~Luy-~ ~le gate array ~PGA), generally indicated at 30, ~3) a primary mi..L.,~Locessor with memory, also generally indicated at 30, and ~4) a modem 27. The telephone electronics provides input to the primary microprocessor of the invention and also acts as a telephone. The primary mi.L,.~ocessor itgelf includes an 8086 cn"~p~tihle central processing unit and ig cnm~n~tihle with the standard International Bllqin~cs Machine ~IBM) PC/XT at the sIOS level.
A map of the primary microprocessor memory of the telephone-computer is shown in Figure 15. The microproces80r ;nrlur~s gix-memory unitg, a volatile writable s12R byte RAM
memory, a non-volatile writable 1g2K byte R~M memory with battery backup protected for a specified period, a 256R byte non-volatile non-writable ROM memory, an 8R byte character generator ROM memory and a 16R byte display memory for interface with the display. The volatile RAM memory is ;ntrn~d for holding microprocessor program infrJ~rirn and other data. The display is controlled by a multipurpose graphics display controller which can provide black and white w09sl2s396 2 1 ~ 5 6 62 .~.,L~ 42~
or color CRT or driYe an LC.^, display panel. The primary mic-uuLucessor memory may include a 32R byte electrically era6able ~-u~L~- ,~le read-only memory (EE~R0~) or a static RAM memory with ten-year built-in battery protection for recording user infor~tinn such as telephone numbers and addres ses .
Figure 10 shows in block diagram form the principal al ~ ~ c of the remotely reconf igurable rn~utar system comprised by the telephone-c^~i^utPr 2 (Firjure 16). A
0 microprocessor 30 which may comprise a Nippon ElectriC
Corporat j nn (NEC) ~5odel V2s or V40 or the e~uivalent is connected to a ~Lv~,.~,l"~ble gate array 32 which as indicated abo~e will typically be the model XC2018 of Xilinx Corporation of San Jose, California. The PGA provides the means for dynamically reconf iguring the basic architecture and control logic of the rn~r~ltar The "gluen res~uired to fllnrti~^nAl 1 y connect the mil Lu~rocessor, the memory, and the input-output chips is prûvided by conf iguring the PGA chip by supply of a series of signals, referred to by Xilinx ag /Iconfiguration prc~-~_. ," and 5~ t;~^- herein as llconfiguration codel' or " conf iguration sof tware n .
A significant advantage i8 provided by use of this chip, in that by supply of new conf iguration code, changeg can be made to the hardware connecting the microprocesgor to the memory and the input-output chlps on the circuit board. Thus, wossl2s396 21 85662 Pcr/uS95/03~2~ --for example, if a particular hardware change needs to be made to a:- 'Ate a particular software program, this can be done readily by simply supplying reconfiguration code appropriately to the PGA chip and reconfiguring it before the software i8 to be ru~. Similarly, use of the PGA chip in many cases will allow reconfiguration of the hardware to support new peripherals -- e.g., an Pnh~n~ -resolution display, an optical disk storage device, so-called "smart" or debit-card readers, or the like, which in other systems would normally re~uire the physical addition of a new circuit board or the like .
According to a particularly preferred: ' Ql'll ' of the invention, the reconfiguration code is stored in a FI-ASH-~PR0~, a read-only memory which is ~r~c~hl13 and rewritable in response to a signal received from a remote location. This allows the PGA chip in a - tPr i~stalled in a user~ s home to be reconfigured ess~nt;~lly at will, without the reQ,uirement of a service call or the like, at high speed and at low expense.
The advantage of this will be apparent to those of skill in the art: if it is desired to reconfigure the p~UyL hle gate array, for example, to cure a software bug or eliminate a virus, this ca~ be done remotely simply by supplying new configuration code to the FLASH-EPRC~ 34. 256 kilobytes of FLASH-EPR0~1 will normally be sufficient.

Wo 9sl2s396 2 1 ~ 5 6 6 2 PCT/US9S/03~2~
For example, in the ~anking telephone-cn~utPr ArplicAt;n~ suppose that a cnmrut~r virus is attacking the microprocessors 30 of the t~l~rhnnP-compute-s. Any such virus will have to conform to the microcode used to run the s microprocessor. According to the invention, some of the functions of the gates ;nt~rnAl to the ~LUyLa~ ~ble gate array 32 can simply be reversed, and a corresponding change made to all software downloaded to the telephone-computer to enable it to access the various service computers. The virus, not 0 having the benefit of the change, will cease to operate and thus cease to interfere with the operation of the telephone-cnmrut~r. Similarly, if comm.unication between the service t.ol rrhnnQ-computers and the service rn~ut~r3 tends to be corrupted or tapped, data encryption can be provided by reconf iguring some portion of the code stored in the FLASE~-~PRO~ 34 and thus reconfiguring the gates of the ~LUyL hle gate array.
From the above description, inherent in the PGA chip is the ability to initially configure it to provide the requisite intercnnn~ct; nnC between the primary mi.;Lul.Lu~essor, its ACSor;Atl~-i memory and the input-output chips, and then to re-conf igure the PGA chip in order to provide dif f erent intercnnn~ct;c-nq. Alternatively, ag will be appreciated by those of skill in the art from the above disclosure, such intercnnn~ct;nnC can be initially ~LUyL hly configured and wo 9s/2s396 2 1 8 5 6 6 2 ~ , ~ s/. ~2~ --then fixed using such deYices as PLA chips, as disclosed above, or other conventional means instead of the reconfigurable PGA chip.
The mi~:Lu~Lucessor 30 and the pLuy,.~~ .c,ble gate array 32 are connected as well to a main memory 36 which comprises random accefis memory (RAM) 36 as is conventional in the art.
Up to 2 megabytes of memory are typically provided. The random access memory 36 will normally be used to store application pL~L.~..s dowrlo~ d from a remote hofit, bue also stores reconfiguration code when first received, prior to its being copied into the FLAS~ PRo~ 34.
A communication path to the network host computer 68 (Figure 16) is provided via a serial data port indicated generally at 40. In o~Le embodiment of the invention, port 40 is also connected to a system integrity chip 38 typically comprising a single chip ~Iodel 16C54 cr~m~utpr sold by the ~icrochip Corporation. This chip has the ~r~hi ~ ity of both storing and executing code. Certain ~kernel~ code re~uired to initially program the pLU'_, hle gate array chip 32 is p~ n~ntly stored in non-volatile, non-rewritea~le ROM
comprised by the system integrity chip 3 8 at manu~acture .
Thus, in response to a simple reset gignal received f rom the outside port 40, the system integrity chip is capable of copying this kernel code to éhe ~LuyLa~ ble gate array chip 32. Typically the PGA chip 32 will first exercise the ~ Wo 95/25396 2 1 8 5 6 6 2 . ~ 2~
microprocessor 30 and verify circuit co~nections. Thereafter, the configuration code can be downln~Pd via the same port 40 or another port, stored in the random access memory 36, copied to the FI,AS/I-EPROM 34, and used to reconfigure the ~LUyLCUll~l~ble gate array 32.
More particularly, suppose that through error the entire system has been d~LoyL~L~ d, or alternatively suppose that the telephone-c~mputP~ is being manufactured and has never been pL~lL '. In either case, the ROM 38a of the system 0 integrity processor 38 will have stored therein the basic ~kernel~ or "system initialization software", required to allow configuration of the pL~L hl e gate array device.
The system integrity chip, which may also be termed a '~test processorn, initially configures a portion of the pLVy_ h~e gate array device to perform a nserial scan testn which will verify the physical circuit cnnnpctlonc of the chip. This is particularly useful because the ~L~LCUIII~ble gate array chip 32 will typically be physically connected to subst~nt1~l1y all signal paths on the circuit board, so that this test is in fact subst~nt;~lly complete.
The system integrity processor 38, having completed this test, then causes a first group of n8y8tem verifir~t;rn software" to be down1o~nlPd either from an P~tPrnz~l processor, such as the host network cn~?l.tPr, or from a te~hn;ri~nls test device, to reconf igure a portion of the ~LV~j_ hl e gate wo9s~396 i~i 85~2 ~ S~J21 ~
array to resemble read-only memory cnnt~in~n~ certain predetPrm; nPd microcode . This microcode is then used by the microprocessor 30 to test its own functions, which typically will include testing of the random access and read-only memory devices . At this point, the microprocessor 3 0 can take over operations, and causes furt~er reconfiguration code, the ~operational reconfiguration code~ (according to which the p1~L~, .cLble gate array chip 32 i9 configured to perform its ultimately desired functions) to be downloaded. This iB
lo stored first in the random access memory 36, then copied to the read-only memory 34 and is then used to reconfigure the pIoyL~uL~ ble gate array device 32 into its operational configuration, thus completing initial loading or test of the telephone-c ~Pr device of the invention.
In the preferred pmho~lim~nt, the ~operational reconf iguration code~ is stored in duplicate in the FLASH-EPROM. This allows the two versions to be ~,."~L-:d to one another, providing an additional check on system integrity.
One skilled in the art will understand that the diagram as depicted in Figure 10 is intended to be a functional depiction, and that in fact various principal cmlpnnontS
thereof such as the microprocessor 30, the PGA 32, the F~AS}}-~:PROM 34, the RAM 36, the system integrity ~LL,cesRo~~ 38 and its ROM 38a, may all be connected by a convPnt;nn~l data bus 48 . Again, the key function of the present tPl PrhnnP-computer ~ w09sl2s396 2 1 85662 P~ 2~
is that it can be capable of receiving and storing reconfiguration code preferably received over a tPl PrhnnP line or the like via a convFntionAl port, so as to enahle reconf iguration of the PGA as needed to update the hardware configuration of the system.
In the preferred Pmhonl;mPnt of the invention as employed in the tPlPrhonP-computer 2, four distinct levels of software are provided, having different access cAr7hilities, different storage requirements, and different uses as indicated below.
0 These f our levels are the HAL sof tware, the s}oS, the kernel, and the PGA reconf iguration code .
The highest "leveln of software in the tPlPrhnnP-Pm~ Ating version of the system, is referred to as the "home application languagen or ~ n software. The ~ software is downloaded in "pagesn from a network host cnmrutPr in response to the user~ s indication that a particular service is to be acAPcsed~ If the user indicates that he wants to ~PtPrm; nP
his l-hP~-k;ns account balance, typically by pressing a single button on the tPlPrh~nP-computer 2 in response to a prompt, the tPl PrhnnP-rn~ltPr 2 sends an d~ L~Liate message to the network host 68 ~Figure 16), after which the network host 68 downloads the ~Lu~Liate page of HAL software npcpcsAry to prompt the user to input his user code and the like. The X~
software when received by the telephone-cn~,utPr ig stored in random access memory (R~M) 36 and normally is run ;mmP~liAtPly Wo ss/2s396 21 8 5 6 6 2 PCT/11595/034~ ~
Certain commonly used pages of XAI, application software may also be stored by the telephone-rn~putPr, typically in FLAS}I-~PROM 34, in order to reduce the number of communications required to access the network host where this would appear useful. It is envisioned that on the order of 3-10 pages of software might be typically downloaded to a tPl erhr,nP-computer per day. The ~AL software thus provides the infs~t;nn nPrps~ry to provide the desired user-friendly user interface, and is downloaded in response to the user' 8 specific request, as described in greater detail below. The HAL sof tware is thus functionally comparable to I~' 8 Disk Operating System ~DOS) software.
The next level of sof tware stored in the telephone-rnmrutPr is the so-called basic input-output system.. or "sIos~
~8 is convPntinn~l in IBM PC tP~;n~logy, BIOS software supports various fl~nr~; nn~ shared by various pages of HAL
software such as display control, preparation of messages to the network host, support of keyboard functions, and the like.
According to the invention, updated ~multi-application~ BIOS
software can be downloaded from the network host when needed, a proce88 which might take place on the order of several times per year. Updated 3IOS software will initially be received in R~M and will the~ be copied to F},AS~ PROM f or long term ~torage. It will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that the sIOS software provideg functions which are employed wo ss/2s396 2 1 ~ 5 6 6 2 i ~,lr-J~,5 ~ ~1Z4 by the HAL software and is thus essential in order that the HAL sof tware can run properly .
The next lower level of software is the reconfiguration software or code which defines the state of the ~~ ~,~,,,,ulble 5 gate array (PGA). This is also referred to as nPGA code" or "configuration code". Functions provided by the PGA chip .","~d in accordance with the PGA code include functions which must be performed at high speed, such as memory control and timing, and parity checking with respect to various data communication paths, as well as providing the logic connecting the microprocessor to the RAr, R0~5 and input/output devices.
As in the case of the sIoS software, any update to this reconfiguration code downloaded from the network host is initially stored in the random access memory and then is copied to the FLASH-}iPRO~ and used to reconfigure the P~A chip as need be. For example, if it appears that a software virus is active, the hardware can readily be reconfigured such that tke virus could no longer run on the tPlPrhl~n~-rrmr~1t~r. This would of course necessitate that other software including the sIOS and possibly the HAL goftware be at leagt partially rewritten. However, these tasks can also be ~ 1 j remotely .
The advantage of this facility is clear; for further examples, the PGA code could also be altered remotely if it were desired to add additional fllnrt; rnR to the t~ rh~ nf~-wo ss/2s3s6 2 1 8 5 6 6 2 PCT/USgS/03~2~ ~
_tPr of the invention, 8uch as adding a facsimile c~r~hil; ty, a smart card interface, magnetic or optical memory elements, or the like. In some cases it might also be n~cPqs~ry to reconfigure the PGA code to cure a flaw in the hardware de9ign detected some time later Again, each of these options subst~nti~l1y increases the utility of the t~ rhrn~-c~ t~r~ It i8 not envisioned, however, that the PGA code will be altered more than once or twice over the lifetime o~ the product, which is ~nt;r;r~t~A to be on the lo order of ten years.
As indicated above, the PGA code, having reconfigured the PG~ chip, thus provides the fo~n~i~ti~n on which the BIOS
software operates; accordingly, the PGA chip must be configured properly for the various input-output functions controlled by BIOS to operate properly.
The final and lowest level of software i8 referred to as a "kernel n . This sof tware is p~ l y written to nonvolatile read only memory comprised by the system integrity chip 38 or possibly by a separate ROX. It is this kernel which operates the system to the extent required to allow the reconf iguration sof tware to be d: 1 o~d~d to the telephone-rr~ut-~r in order to initially program the PGA chip as indicated above. It is not possi~le to alter the kernel after manufacture of the system. Again, thig Software is essential WO 95/25396 2 1 ~ 5 6 6 2 PCTIIJS95/03~2~
in order that the PGA chip can be recon~igured by supply of reconf iguration code .
It will have been appreciated that the above described sof tware structure provides partitioning of the various elements of software according to their fllnrtirln~ and their fresruency and ease of access. The higher level software will be more frequently accessed. Similarly, the higher levels are variable in response to a user reguest (in the case of the H~L
application) or relatively readily by the operator of the network host (in the case of the sIoS software) . Acces~ to the PGA reconfiguration software will be restricted to the manufacturers or to a relatively small group of the 6ystem QpPrAtors in order to ensure that this highly significant sof tware is not tampered with . As noted the kernel sof tware is not alterable.
As indicated above, an extremely importa~tt object of the present invention is to allow the user to access a bank data base. Clearly in order to avoid C~ JL~ '~tinrJ the integrity of the data ~ase, and to restrain frAll~l~l Pnr transactions or the like, the system must be made highly reliable. The rArAh; 1 ity of reconfiguring the actual logic of the telephone-c~ rutPr according to the invention substAnt;Ally PnhAnrf~ this security. In this way, a hardware change can be made at any time to support a change in the software desired, for example, to alter access reguirements to prevent frAt~ lPnt users or to 21 8~662 W0 95/25396 ~ ~ - r ~ Q~2~
forbid them to access the data base. Those of skill in the art will ;~P~l;AtPly recognize a number of specific changes which can be made to prevent preexisting software from running on the telephone-~ , LPn. For example, data encryption could be made essential to all tpr~in~l-to-network host communications. Regular changes, e.g. once per month, could be instituted to prevent any "hacker~, from obtaining access, for example, simply by regularly changing the encryption method used.
Figure 8 sets forth an overview of certain software functions wherL the primary microprocessor is pLu!lL ~' in the HAL f ormat . The prisry microprocessor receives certain standard software applications after compilation into the HAI~
pseudo-code. These applications are interpreted by a ~
interpreter located in the 256K R~. The initial HAL
application pages, certain specific routines, customer data and/or configuration data are written into the battery-backed memory so that they are protected against power f ailure . In the alternative, all such data except cugtomer data may be 2 0 placed in the R0~.
The primary mi-;LuyLocessor pLClyL~ define certain microprocessor conf iguration pA tPr8 i n~ ; n~ the boundaries of the memory for the application pages as well as the data memory areas. The 8ystem software also provides that data pages may be writte~ in the volatile memory. When the Wo 9sl2s396 P~ l l ~ .,s/ ~2-1 memory is ~illed and the primary microprocessor needs an additional page, the primary microprocessor transfers the new page from a network data bank and overwrites the pages which are least recently used. These overwritten pages may be 5 retri ved ~rom the network memory through the modem, i~
required again.
The system software also provide input to microprocessor diagnostics and create a power-on self test ~or the microprocessor. In one Pmho~ Ant o~ the invention, the program invokes a record manager which manages a tP1 PrhAnP
list data record, activity logs, a personal confi~uration module and diagnostic log. Certain elements of these records are Tn';nt~;nP~ in the writable battery-backed memory to provide protection against power failure.
Referring now to Figures 12-14, the invention' s support circuitry provides a num.ber o~ integrity ~eatures. These include the following error ~Ptect;~An or failure prevention features: (1) a ~ptprm;n~tinn as to whether the microprocessor software is functioning properly when the tP1 eph~A~nP is taken off-hook, (2) a w~tAh~ timer to ensure that the cAmLAutPr software is not malflln~AtiAn;n~, (3) a parity check for the miL~ L.cessor~ s 512R byte volatile random access memory (RA~6), (~) battery power for the microprocessor~ s 192k byte non-volatile RAM, ( 5 ) circuitry to provide write prote~At; ~An for that memory, (6) power fa1lure detection which interrupts wo95/2~96 2 1 8 5 662 P~ J.,,S/0~42~ --the microprocessor when certain voltage thresholds are crossed, (7) battery low warning and (8) ;n~i,or~n~l~n~ operation o~ the telephone electronics from the trl ~rhnn~ li~e power so that when the ~/C power fails, the telephone will continue to operate.
The integrity features are described in greater detail as follows:
The telephone electronics i nrl ~ .9 an of f -hook timer which, when armed, senses the removal of the handset from the lo telephone . The function of the of f -hook timer is to ensure that the primary microprocessor software is fl1nrtioni properly each time the tPl~rhnne is taken off-hook. The off-hook timer is set to expire at the e~d o~ a period designated o~f-hook timer expiration (OHTE). If the timer expires without being halted, the tPl~rhnn~ features of the device are placed in the manual mode (i.e. the tPlrrhnnr cnntinll~Q to operate as a normal telephone) and the microprocessor is reset .
The microprocessor ; nrl ~ltipc a watchdog timer which is reset through the mic~ ,o. essol~s Input/Output bus. If, in the period rl~qirgn~te~ watchdog timer expiration (WDTE~, the watchdog timer is not reset by the primary microprocessor, a ~rnm~Rk~hl e interrupt (N~I) is ge~erated as an input to the microprocessor. If the timer is allowed to expire a second rnnqerutive time, a hardware reset is generated whic:h ~lc~hlP~q wo ssl2s3s6 2~ 6 6 2 ~ u.. ,s.~ 2~1 the timer, decouples the telephone electronics from the primary microprocessor, reboot the primary microprocessor and activates a service light on the housing.
The microprocessor circuitry provides a parity check for the 512E byte non-battery-backed-up RAM memory. The parity error detector provides the same type of NMI and f ailure protection as the watchdog timer. An autom.atic se~uencing is provided to Pl ;m~n~te the need for a manual reboot. If no parity error is associated with the RAM, and there is a reboot o caused by a hang-up in a non-memory rnmrnnPnt, the system will execute a soft reboot without the loss of memory.
The tPl Prhnnp-rn~lltpr electronics provides power failure protection features . The microprocessor~ s power failure detection circuit is responsive to certain interruptions in power to the mi. LuyLu~essor or low power conditions and notif ies the microproceSSor sof tware af ter receipt of the warning detections when certain thresholds are crossed. In response to these warnings, the prim ry microprocessor places itself in a condition for minimum disruption if power failure 2 0 occurs .
Figure 13 is a block diagram of the tPlP~hnnP electronics of the invention . The 12-key tPl PrhnnP keypad inrl ll-lPR a novel split pill output element which provides two separate output signals. One output is directed to the keyboard/keypad processor and the other to the tPl PrhnnP dialer. The dual Wo gs/2s396 2 1 8 5 6 6 2 r~ ,55l~)~S2~ 0 output is alway5 provided. The telephone dialer provides a pulse or tone dialing output to the telephone line. The telephone dialer function is deactivated through the direct keypad dialing switch if the processor ~letPrmi nPq that the output at the keypad should only be directed to the microprocessor and is not a part of the device ~ s normal telephone dialing features. The direct keypad dialing switch allows the primary mi.Lu~Lucessor to remove power from the dialer so that the keypad only provides input to the primary o microprocessor.
A phone hook switch may be contrûlled frûm the primary microproces80r to con~ect the dialer to the tPl erhonP line without raising the ha~dset . A main tP1 PrhrnP switch also controlled from the primary microprocessor connects the output of the telephone dialer to the outside tPl Prh~)nP line. The direct keypad, dialer tPl Prh~ne hook, and main telephone switch are all controllable ~rom the mi.Lu~Lucessor to permit the telephone dialer to provide pulse or tone outputs or deactivate these outputs.
one key on the 12-key keypad, usually the key, acts as a services key and may be designated a i~ELL0 key. Activation o~
this services or ~ELL0 key, when the tPl Prh~nP is on-hook, changes the primary microprocessor~ 5 control over the telephone from a monitoring mode to a controlling mode. The services or E~ELLû key feature provides r~mrutPr ~ w0 s~/2s3s6 2 1 8 5 6 6 2 ~ , /Q~424 telephone operation when the telephone is not connected to the network. The application on the primary microprocessor, in response to the services or HE~L0 key, typically provides a menu of mi~-uuLu~essor services, ~liminAt~q power to the tPl erhnn~ dialer (preventing unwanted dial tones from being transmitted to the network) and provides for transition of the tPl ~rhrn.o network to , _ter control .
In an alternative ~mho~:im~nt~ a function key may be used in place of the HELL0 key to obtain microprocessor control over the telephone.
Alternatively, one or more function keys may be mounted on the housing case of the invention adjacent to the 12-key keypad. ~ny function key or selected keys of the 12-key keypad can be ~ ~ uy_ - ' through the primary microprocessor for specific functions selected by the r^~n~lf~rt~rer. In one ~mhQ~l;m~nt, function keys for speed dial and re-dial may be provided . The device may include a f lash key which perf orms its standard function in a t~ol Prhrn~ device. The selected keys of the 12-key keypad may be PLUY- ' for these 2 o fllnrt; rn q .
The t~l ~rhr~n~ electronics includeg a keyboard/keypad processor which provides an interface between the 52-key keyboard and 12-key keypad and the primary microprocessor.
The alternative ~mhofl; t ~; qrl rqPd in Figures 3 and 4 use8 - 25 one or more function keys. In the alternative A-~ho~ t, W09sl2s396 2 1 8 5 6 62 ~ 2~ --function key input i8 also provided through the keyboard/keypad processor. The interface circuitry and the primary microprocessor will support up to eight function keys.
The keyboard/keypad processor also includes the invention' s tone detection circuitry. The tone ~Ptectl r~n Pl PmPnt~q, 8ense (1) busy/fast busy, (2) call-waiting, (3) ringing or (4) dial tone and proYide these detPct;~nq as an input to the primary microprocessor through the keyboard/keypad processor. The ring and dial tones are also provided through the speech O network to the telephone handset. The primary microprocessor provides a serial input to the modem which can be connected by control ~rom the microprocessor to the main telephone line.
The primary microprocessor and the keyboard/keypad processor have an est~hl; qhP~ joint protocol re~uiring the primary microprocessor to have input from the keyboard/keypad processor every five seconds. If such input is not received, both proce5sors will be reinit;~1 ;7Pd.
T~e primary microprocessor i8 r~1nnpctp~l to a 1200 saud or higher rate modem. The modem is also connected to the telephone line and provides an interface between the microprocessor and other elementg of the computer network in which the microprocessor is used.
A8 mont;nnPA above, a principal object of the invention is to provide a user-friendly tPlPrh~nP-comr~tpr suitable for ~rcPqsin~ a bank computer system operating various bank -W0 95/25396 2 1 8 5 6 6 2 1 ~ ,,S/Q~424 software ~L.~yLcullS, involving individual .-hPrk;ng ~rCOIlnts and the like, and additionally providing a user-~riendly method of accessing other service cn"~putPrs, such as those which provide airline reservation fl~nrt;~nC, stock table look-up functions, electronic bulletin board services, and a vast panoply of other such services, and which can also operate as a conventional telephone. It will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that typically in order to access such a diverse variety of services one must have P~ rAted oneself in a equal variety of telephone-computer protocols and communication methods, which can be quite complex. For example, simply to keep track of the various user codes and access steps required to access each of these services is a substantial undertaking.
The present telephone-computer accesses a network host as described in copPn~;nri application Serial No. 08/084,319, filed June 30, 1993, which is a cnrt;n-l~t;n~ of Serial No.
433,825, filed ~J~ 9, 1989 (now ~hAnr~nnP~l), and which is incorporated herei~ by reference. Ag ghown in Figure 16, each user is provided with the tPl Pphnnp-rn~utpr 2 in accordance with the present invention, ;nrl~ the digplay 4 and limited format keypad 3, or an equivalent tPrm;n~l with a keyboard, which communicates via convP~t;r~l telephone li~es ;n~;C;~tPd generally at 78, with a network hogt cnmputer 68.
The network host Cn~ltPr includes a ge8gion controller 66, WO 95/25396 1 ~ ~ 6 6 2 PCTNS951034 which may comprise hardware and so~tware and which includes various functional elements 64, 72, 74, and 76, as described more fully below. One essential function of the network host rnmrutPr 68 is to provide a series of application program "pages" which are downloaded to the home t~1Prhnn~-computer 2 and which provide it with sufficient infor,n~tinn that it can supply the user with sufficient "prompts" to elicit from the user whatever info~-tinn - user codes, desired transactions, and the like - is re~auired to access one of a plurality of service cnmrutPrs 80a-d to which the network host computer 68 is connected, also by convr-ntinnAl ~o1 erhnnG lines .
~ore particularly, suppose the user desireg to access the service c~n~ut-or 80a of a particular bank A. When he activates his home telephone-computer 2, there will appear on a display screen 4 a menu allowing him to select "Access ;3ank Services"
by pressing, for example, the -3n button on the keypad 3. If he does 60, the telephone-rn~.~ut~r 2 will send a message to the network host rn~llt-~r 68. This will in turn consult its ;ntPrnAl memory to locate the application program required to access the service ,-c ~ r 80a of bank A and will download this to the home t~ rhnn~ ter 2. The home t~ rhnn~-computer will in turn operate using this program and will ask the user various questions required to prompt the user to input the infnrr-tinn needed to accesg hig account at the bank -- for example, his acoount number, his secret access code, Wo95125396 2 1 ~ 5 6 62 ~ Q~
the type of transaction desired, the amount of deposit, withdrawal, or transfer required, and so on. This inf ~.tinn is then transferred from the home telephone-cnmrut~r 2 to the network host rn~lltPr 68 in a message having a first protocol.
The network host r~-mr~ltPr transforms this inforl-7tl on into whatever second protocol is convPntinn~lly required to communicate with the service c~mrlltpr 80a, for example, in the precise manner according to which allt~ tic teller m~ h;nPs communicate with it. If on the other hand the consumer desired to access Bank B, typically the -_ _ will be asked the same questions by way of prompts, but the network host c, ~Pr will transform the answers into a somewhat different protocol required to access the service computer 80b of sank s.
S In a similar manner, if the c ~ r desires to access an airline reservation host computer 80d, a somewhat different sequence of prompts would be provided by the home telephone-cnmrutPr 2, opPra~in~ using an a~L.,~Liate different ~page" of application program software downloaded by the network host 1_ ~ Pr 68; a similarly different communication sequence would occur between the network host ~ t Pr 6a and the airline reservation host c ~t Pr 80d. The communication seq~-Pnce and in particular the detailed format of the messages back and forth between the telephone-cn~ut~r 2 and the network host 68 are described in detail below.

WO 9S/2~5396 2 1 8 5 6 6 2 PCTIUS95/03~2~ --Communication between the network host 68 and the various service computers 80a-d takes place according to various second protocols defined by the proprietors of the services supported by the service computers; implo ~tion of these communications follows the techniques now in use with such preexisting service computers and is cnnqitlpred to be well within the skill of the art.
It will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that the acrPqsin~ of t~e various service computers 80a-d and countless others requires that the network host ~ ttPr be enabled to communicate according to a like variety of protocols. Typically, these will be implemented by I~M
personal c~ltPr software ~LL~CLLLI~; the telephone-c~ tpr 2 will therefore most conveniently also confor~ to the PC
architecture as defined above. Further, as indicated above, it is an object of the invention that the telephone-c ,_tPr 2 be capable o~ running other PC-~, tihle ~LLJYL ~. A
conventional personal computer can also be used according to the invention to communicate with the various service computers 80a-d by way of the network host cr~utpr 8. Again, "pages" of application software can be ~1I 1OA~1Pd from the network ho8t 68 to the convPntion~l PC in response to the user~ s selection of a particular service computer 80a-d.
The session controller 6 provided according to the present invention serves as a link between the tPl Prht~nP-Wo 9~/25396 = 2 1 8 5 6 6 2 ~ ,2~
rrmr'UtP~ 2 and a plurality of infnrmAtirn~l and f;nAnr;Al service cn~l~tPr systems 80a-d. Thug, an _mportant function of the network host 6 and of the telephone-computer 2 and the ~ software which it runs is to cooperatively transform the highly simplified, ~user-friendly~ request/response sequence seen and responded to by the user into the relatively complex communication sequence normally used to access the service Cn~utPrs 80a-d, and, vice versa, to modify the specialized display sequence typically presented by the service cnmru~P~s 0 80a-d into an easily understood prPqPntat;~m According to an important aspect of the invention, these menu choices are varied in accordance with the service selected by the user. That is, the user-friendly interface, comprising a "tree" of new menus displayed sequPnt;Ally and in response to each input provided by the uger, until all information required to access the service has been spec;f;P~7, thus varies with the service. Provision of application L/LL~yL"~ page by page in responge to the specification of a service according to the invention permits this flpy;hil; ty, as it would be impractical to gtore all poggible application pLU~ ' al.4~ in the tPl PrhnnP-computer.
The 8ession controller 66 f~nrt; rnA1 1 y comprises a tPrm;nAl ;ntPrfare controller (T~C) 64, a tPrm;nAl protocol interface (TPI) 76, a seggion manager (SM) 72, and a common integrator (CI) 74. The TIC 74 monitorg the meggage flow wo 9sl25396 ~: 2 1 8 5 6 6 2 p ~ s~ 2~ 0 between the home telephone-crmrutPr 2 and the TP::: 76 and controls timers to cause ti -cuts when message traffic ceases.
The TPI 76 com.municates with the home tPl PrhnnP-computer 2 and trAnc~ AtPC the protocol used by the home telephone-computer when ~irst establishing a connection with the host network ~-, tPr 8. Additionally, the TPI 76 generates random encryption key num.bers when requested by the home telephone-computer 2. These e~cryption key numbers are used by the tPrm;nA1 program to transmit conf;-lPntiAl ;nfnrm~tin~. The TP
76 also handles application page downlr,~l;n~ re~uests.
The S~ 72 ~=;nt~;nc the essential data needed for each communication session by storing inform~t;nn relating to the user of the telephone-rnmrtltPr 2 and the service computer system 80a-d which the user is accessing. All transactions performed between the home telephone--, tPr 2 and the session controller 66 during a particular geggion occur within the context of the sre~ifir consumer and the service selected, e.g., his bank or other f;nAnr;Al institution. For example, after the r nn r has been successfully established as a valid and authorized user, all message traffic to the particular telPphnnP-computer is thereafter considered related only to that ~_ _ ~. This context detPrm;nAt;nn, based on the consumer ;tlPnt;fication infnrm~t;nnl then allows the network host crm~ tPr 68 to accegs the correct service rnm~ tPr 80a-d for such items as account bAlAn~P~, and so on.
-4a-wo ss/2s396 2 ~ ~ ~ 6 6 2 r ~ 111) ~ r/n~2~
The SM 72 stores the contextual information required to validate the transaction and inserts it in messages passed to the CI 74 when necessary. The SM 72 also serves as the interface between the TPI 76 and the CI 74, which in turn serves as the cn~n;r~tinn link between the other elements of the session controller 66 and the service cnmr~ltor systems 80a-d .
The user accesses one particular service computer 80a-d by selecting the corro~pnnrl;n~ option, i.e. the desired 0 service, from a menu displaying the possible choices on the LCD of his home telephone-computer. Communication between the home telephone-computer 2, the session controller 66 and the selected service rnmrl~tor 80a-d is then begun with a session establishment and protocol selection phase.
During the session establishment and protocol sPl oct; on phase, the home tol orhono-cnm~l~tPr 2 connects to the network host cnmrutor 68 through a standard tPl Prhnno line 78 . After the t nnnPct; nn has been est~hl; e:hPd, the home tPl orhnno-c, tPr 2 sends a series of signals by which the session controller 66 sets such p~ tors as the communication baud rate. For exam.ple, after the network host computer 68 sets the ~ ;r~t;on baud rate, it responds with a tPrm;n~l type inquiry. The home tPlephnnP-cn~rvtor 2 interprets this signal as a request to identify the type of torm;n~l in use and responds with an ASCII code identifying the type of home wos5/2s396 2 1 85662 ~ 2~ --tPrmin~l being used, i.e. a tPl~rhnnP-computer 2 in accordance with the present invention or a PC tPrmin~l.
The network host 68 provides the important function of allowing the home telephone-computer 2 to mimic a convPntinn~1 PC tPrminA1 running essentially convPntinnll com.munication software. Therefore, the service ~-, tPr 80a-d receives communication in precisely the same ~ service computer communication protocol" which it convPntinn~1ly receives.
Accordingly, the service computers need not be modified in any way for communication according to the invention, which is essential to achieving the objects thereof. As indicated, such convPntinn~1 microcnmrutPr systems may be also interfaced to the service computers 80a-d by way of the network host 68 according to the invention. In such case, the network host 68 will again respond to a request for access to a service computer 80a-d by downloading one or more "pages" of application software, user prompts, etc., allowing the convPntinn11 mi~: ~,c _ ~Pr to co~veniently access the service computer 80a-d.
After a communication aesgion has thus been eseAh1 i qhP~, a "link level" protocol, is employed between the home ~ tPr and the session controller. In the link level protocol, all communications between the home tP1 PFhnnp-cn~lltpr 2 (or a convPntinn~1 mi~- u,~~ tPr, if used) and the network host ~nmruter 68 are formatted into info~m~ti nn packets called ~ Wo 95/2s39~ 2 1 8 5 6 6 2 pcr~sgSI03~2~
messages. Figure 17 shows the basic format of the message 130. This message format is used for thl~ majority of the messages sent between the network host and tPlorhnnP-~ ~Pr 2 or computer . Other related f ormats are uged in special cases discussed below.
Each message 130 begins with a one-byte start of text (STX) delimiter 132 which consists of the fixed ASCII code "2n. The next field of the message, the message text field 134, can contain up to 256 bytes of transaction inf~r~ tinn.
It is within this message text field 134 that the actual tr~n~ctinn infnrrn~tinn is transferred. The message text field 134 can also contain infor~tinn ronr~rn;nrJ the status of the message.
Following the message text field 134 iEI a one-byte start of header (SOH) delimiter 136 which has a fixed ASCII value of "ln. This SOH delimiter 136 signifies the end of the message text f ield 134 and the start of the Sliding Window Prot ~eader 138.
The Sliding Window Protocol Header 13 8 is provided according to an important aspect of the present invention, and rnnt~;n~ control and error ,~ ,t in~nr~ tinn. This header 138 comprises a seqllPn~P number field 140, an acknowledge number f ield 142, a status f ield 144, and a checksum f ield 146, totalling six bytes in length .

wo gsl2~396 2 1 8 5 6 6 2 ~ 2~ ~
The sequence number field 140 iS important to the error detection and control system employed according to the invention. This field ~nntA;nR a sequence number assigned by the transmitting device ( i . e . either the home telephone-computer 2 or the network host) to each message sent. ~ore specifically, the sequence number field 140 t nnta;nq a one-byte ASCII encoded number from 0 to 9 specifying the order of the message 130 in a series of transmitted messages. The se~uence numbers are assigned in~l~p~n~lGntly to the messages sent in both directions. Each successive message 130 is assigned a reference number one greater than that of the preceding message 130. The sequence numbers are applied in a cyclical fashion. That is, when sequence number 9 has been assigned to a message, the next message is assigned sequence number 0. This process is referred to as the ngliding window protocol" used for error detection and correction according to the invention.
The receiving device stores the sequence number of the message most recently received. When a new message is received, the receiving device det~n;n~c i~ the content of the sequence number field 140 is one greater than the sequence number of t~e preceding message received. If not, an error has been detected, and the receiving device directs the transmitting device to resend t~e precedi~g message.
.

wO ss/2s396 2 1 8 5 6 6 2 ~ 424 Additional security iq provided by use of the rherkq~m field 146, which r~mt~;nc a byte count for the entire message, which is written to the message by the network r~ tPr. This checksum value is compared with the byte count as r~atPrm; nPd by the receiving tPl Prhn~P-computer. If the checksum value is correct and the sequence num.ber is in the proper order, the message is rrnci~red to have been received in good condition.
The acknowledy~ ` num.ber field 142 of each message rnnt;:l;nq the sequence num.ber of the last message received in good condition. Until this acknowle~ ~ number is received, the transmitting device stores the messages in a buffer for possible retransmission. If the transmitting device has stored one or more messages with higher sequence n~lm.bers than the last received acknowledgement num.~ber, those lS messages with a greater sequence number are retransmitted.
CorrPspnn~l;n~ly, when an acknowle~g number is received, all stored messages having sequence numbers less than or equal to the last received acknowled~ t num.ber are discarded.
This sequencing and acknowledgment method allows f or the rnnt;n~ lc flow of information without the delay associated with acknowledging each message before transmitting the next, and limits the amount of data which m. ust be stored to implement this error correction - s 3 -Wo gs/2~396 2 1 8 5 6 6 2 PCT/US9S/03~2.~ 0 that sliding window protocols of this general type, including use of sequence numbers and acknowledgement of messages, are generally known to the art. See generally, T;~n~nhA~lm, onmnuter Networ3~s (Prentice Xall, 1981), esp. 4.2 ~ISliding Window Protocols", pp. 148-164.
There is, however, one limitation on this rnntinllo~lR flow of messages. Because the range of reference numbers is finite, the maximum number of messages which can be sent without r~r~t;n~ a refere~ce number is 10. Accordingly, if all the se~uence numbers available in the finite range 0-9 have been assigned to unacknowledged messages, the transmitting device ceases message tr~nRm;Rsions and sends an ';~te acknowle~..~..t request in a null message, that is, a message which cnnt~;nR no inform~tinn in its message text field, but which has a seguence number equal to that of the preceding message. The receiving device r~oosni 7eq a null message by its repetition of the precedi~g seguence number.
null message is thus used to convey control inforr~tinn such as an immediate acknowledgement request.
The status field 144 is a one byte (eight bit) field which i~form8 the receiving device of the status of the message and provides a medium for ~rarious control requests.
Figure 3 details the bits of the status field 144. sits 7 and 5 are alwayR set to zero and one, respectively, so that the value of the complete status byte 144 is in the range of 32 to W095125396 2 1 8 5 6 6 2 PCT/USg5103~2~
127. }lence~ the value o~ the status field can be represented by the ASCII codes for print characters, which i8 convenient for diagnostic purposes . Bit 6 indicateg the tr~nomi c8i~n channel over which the message is travelling. A value o~ o in bit 6 Ie}~Le8el~L8 a fu~ey~uu~ld, or high priority, tr~nF-icsio~
channel, and a value of l in bit 6 indicates use of a backy ~ uu-ld, or low priority, transmission channel .
Bit 4 is used to inform the receiving computer whether the responsê is cnnt~;nP~i in more than one message and whether 0 there is at least one more message to come which is related to the response c~nt~inod in the present message. A value of 0 in bit 4 indicates that the present message is the last or only segmê~t in a response while a value of 1 in bit 4 informs thê receiving rr~l~ter that the present message is the first or an i ntormo~ te segment of a multi^segment response .
Bit 3 distinguishes normal session messages from connect messages used when communicationg are f irst est~h1 i checl between the home c ~_t~or and the network computer. A bit 3 value of 0 represents a normal data message, while a bit 3 value of 1 ~jgnifjoS a connect requegt or response.
Similarly, bit 2 indicates whether a meggage ig a normal session message or a disconnect request, in which 0 indicates a normal session message and 1 requests a disconnect.
Bit 1 is set to a value of 1 to requegt retrangmission of all l-n~rl-- ledged messages, i.e., meggage8 with a higher wO 95l2s396 ;~ ~ ~3 5 ~ ~ ~ Pcr/uss~/0 reference number than the acknowledgement number of the message crntA;n;nr~ the retrAnqmission request. A o value in bit 1 indicates a normal message.
~3it 0 is set to a value of 1 to request acknowledgement from the receiving ~, tPr. This gignal would be sent, ~or example, in the situation P~lAinp~ above, in which the sending computer has used all of the reference numbers and re~uires an acknowledgement before sending any more messages.
A o value in bit 0 indicates a normal message.
0 The rh~rlcQllm field 146 as indicated above crntAinc a bit count or similar value calculated by the sending device; the same calculation is performed by the receiving device and compared to the stored value to confirm that the message has been correctly received. Finally, the mesgage 130 concludes with a carriage return (CR) 148.
According to the invention, when one of the devices involved in a communication session sends a message 130 rnntA;n;n~ either an acknowledgement request, an acknowledgement response, a retransmit request, a connect request or a disconnect request, there may be no transaction data to be transmitted in the message text field. }~ence, this infr,rmAt; rn is sent through a null meggage, including a repeated reference ~umber as above. This informs the receiving r-~mr~ tPr that any tr~nq~r,ti-m data that may be crntA;nPd in the text field is to be ignored and that the header --5~--W0 9~/25396 ~ 6 6 2 ~ J,5,~0~142~l in~nr~tinn only is to be read. Of course, it is not nP-PCSAry to send a null message for the above montinnP~
reguests and rPspnncPs. Instead, a normal message may be used which sends the reSEuest or response infnrmltinn~ while transaction information is sent in the text field. Null messages are sent when a normal message is not available and an acknowledgement has been re~uested, or when the maximum num.ber of messages is outstanding, and no more normal messages may be sent.
0 In esr~hli~h;n~ a comm.unication session, the home telephone-cnmrutor sends a connect request message, shown in Figure l9. When the session controller returns a connect response, shown in Figure 20, the session is est~hlichpd and all subse~Iuent comm.unications proceed using the message format discussed above. At the beginning o_ each session, a series of messages (shown in Figs. 23 and 24) are exchanged to tprmi no if the application pages resident in the home tPl orhonP-c ~ tor are current versions . Where necessary, outdated application pages in the home telephone-computer are replaced by current versions which are downloaded to the home tP1orhnnP-c _ ~ter, page by page, ag need be, using the pre~of;no~l message format. Updateg are made only with respect to the application page(s~ specific to the gervice o~ current interest to the user. ~his reduces the delay experienced by Woss/2s396 2 1 85662 P~ s/~l24 the user, while Pl 1minA~in~ any reguirement that all users have the same version of each application page.
Because some transactions available through the network involve individual fin~nrjAl accounts, an exchange of user verif ication messages is employed in these cases to ensure against l~nA~ thorized manipulation of cnn~ r accounts.
Accordingly this aspect of the invention, when the user has indicated his ;ntPn~inn to perform a finAnriAl transaction or other transaction requiring access to a secure database, the 0 term;nAl program interface ~TPI) 16 instructs the telephone-computer rnmrUtPr via a downloaded page to send a request for an encryption key. The TPI returns a randomly generated key.
The telephone-rr~l-tPr 2 uses thi8 to encrypt the rnn ' 5 personal i~Pnttfication code (PIC), that is, a code indicating his right to access the secure rlAtAhAAe me encrypted PIC is then transmitted to the network host 68 in a user verification message. Similarly, any other secure infn~tinn may be encrypted at any tim.e during a session if the tprminAl program includes instructions for sending A~ ; t j nnAl encryption messages. Each time a key is requested, a new encryption key is generated.
After the user verification stage is complete (which may also include a step of identifying the user to the tPl Pphr~no~-cn~utPr by input of his serial number, or i~iPntific~Ation of the telephone-r~ tPr to the ~etwork host, either or both of wo ss/~s396 2 1 ~ 5 6 6 2 PCT/US95/03~2~
which must be v~ tecl ~efore the transac:ion can proceed) the r-nn r may perform various trans~CtiOnS with the informational and f;n1nrlAl service computer systems. Such transactions can take a variety of f orms, as will be understood ~y those of skill in the art.
Once the page llrrlAtinrJ procedure has been completed as nPrP~sAry and the home telephone-computer is loaded with the application pages nPr~qsAry to access the service the cnncllmPr desires, the consumer can effect ~r~n~rtirnc with service 0 providers. Operations then proceed in a simple and straightforward manner. The consumer is prompted by software do~nl g~lP~ to the home telephone-c~r~ltPr as need be to provide any additional input raquired, and the appropriate message is sent by the home telephone---n~rutPr to the service rn~rUtPr which actively acrPssPs the database bank records, etc., in~olved. Again, according to the invention, the home telephone-~nmr~utPr 2 provides a user-friendly interface, and the network host ~ .~Pr 68 tr~n~1 AtPS the uger~ 8 responses to prompts, sent by the tPl~rhnnP-~ ~Pr 2 to the host in a first format, into the format convPnr~onAlly employed to access the particular service st. ~ rPr 80a-d providing the service desired.
In general, it is desirable that the prompts be suf f iciently def inite that the user can input all re~uired instructions using only the 12 keys of a tP1 PrhonP keypad 2~ 85662 wo 95/25396 responsive to prompts which are updated in lesponbe to the sequence of prior rPsp~nCPs. This greatly simplifies use of the system, and contributes subst~ntiAlly to the user friendliness which is a goal of the inYention. However, in S some cases it may be necessary to provide all 26 alphabetic keys as well, e.g. to spell out airline dest~nAtinnq~ In such cases, a small keyboard 14 sliding out of the housing of the telephone-r~ tPr is used.
If the cnncll~^r wishes to use a service for which the home telephone-t n~r~tPr has not stored the application pages, An explicit request message can be sent for the nPrPc5Ary pages. This rArAhi 1 i ty clearly provides unpre-P~Pnted flexibility in provision of network access to users operating simple, low-cost, user-friendly tPnm;nAl devices according to the invention .
When a communication session between the home telephone-~- tPr 2 and the network host , tPr 68 has been estAhl; 5hPd and both devices are y~ .aL~d to cnmmnnl n~te in the link level protocol message format of Figure 17, the home telephone-cn~tPr 2 sends a connect request meggage shown in Figure 19. The connect re~uest message cnnt~;nc no info~-tinn in the message text field, but the connect bit, bit 3 of the status field 144 of the gliding window protocol header ~see Figure 18), is set to 1. The sequence and acknowledgment fields 140 and 142 are shown in Figure 19 is WO 95/25396 2 ~ ~ 5 6 6 2 A ~_ " ~I ~,,sl~2 l set to zero, but the sequence num~er may begin as a number f rom 0 to 9 .
When the network host rr~le~r 68 receives the connect request message of Figure 19 from the home tal~Prhrnp-r~mrlvtpr 2, it sends a connect message response shown in Figure 2 0 . As with the connect reguest message, the connect bit in the status field 144 is set to 1. Although the 8equence and acknowledgement fields 140 and 142 are again shown here as ~o~, the network C^~utPr echoes back, in the acknowledgment field 142 of the connect response message, the sequence number sent by the home telephone-computer in the con~ect request message. As noted, the network tP~;n~l 68 may start the sPq-lPnre with any number from o to 9. In its next message, the home telephone-~ Pr 2 will similarly include an acknowledg~ - number equal to the sequence number of the connect response message. The other fields of the connect and connect response messages are as described aboYe.
As discussed above, to ensure the av~ h; l; ty of the most curre~t software on the home telephone c~ tPr, individual Hl~ pages resident in the home tPl erh~nP-computer are updated a8 nPcP~sAry. Superseded and o~trlAte~l pages are purged, and revised versions replace earlier versions. A8 storage is limited in the home telephone-crmrlltPr 2, only the pages that are frequently used by the individual congumer are re~id~pt i= the home telephone;c~ =f~oy~ Ly =~ed Wo95/2s396 2 ~ 85 662 .~ 474 pages can be provided by the network host computer 68 when needed by the home telephone-c~mnutPr 2 to access infrequently ufied network service providers. The llr~l~t;n~ process occurs at the beginning of each session, but page downloads can be requested at any time throughout the session, after the log-on process has been completed. The same communication process can be used to update pages normally stored in the home tPlPr71nnP-c ~ ~Pr when nPrP~S~ry.
Current versions of all ~ pages are stored by the O network host computer 8. When new versions are developed, the new pages are transferred to the data bank of the network host rnmrutPr 8. The updated pages are transferred to the home telephone-~nmrutPr 2 page-by-page during normal cnmmmlnit ;~t;nn ses s ions .
The format of the message text field of messages exchanged during the page downlo~Ain~7 process i8 different than when used for tr~n~actinn messages. Figureg 21 and 22 illustrate, the different formats used within the message text field 134 with respect to convPntinnAl transaction messages and page downloading ~sag-PR, respectively. As shown in Figure 21, the transaction message in~ S a transaction type code field 162. All tr~n~actinn type codes are three characters in length. The subsequent message PlPmPnt~ 162, 164, 168, 160 are i~?Pntified by their pogitiong in the text field rather than by element ID fields.

Wo 95/2~396 2 1 a 5 6 6 2 PCTIUS95103J2~
~ore particularly, as shown in Figure 21, the message text9field 134 includes at least four sub-fields when used for sending transaction message text . The f irst f ield o~ the message text field 134 is a transaction type code 162, which is normally numeric . This is f ollowed by one or more groups of three f ields . Each group of three f ields includes an element identif ication f ield 164, an element length f ield 168 and the actual element data field 160. For example, when the service r-~utpr 80a-d s~lectPd requires a user jA~n~t;f;cation number, and a request to this effect has been sent to the home t~l ~rhnn~-c~ut~ 2 by the network host rr~ut~r 8, the home telephone-computer generates a message ;n~ ;n~ a code in the element ID field 164 indicating that the subseguent element data field 160 ;nrl11APq the user ;Arnt;f;r~t;nn number. The element length f ield 168 then simply includes the actual length in bits of the data element 160. Additional data, such as the user account num.ber, can be included in the same message; again, the account num.ber would be located in an element data field 160, and would be preceded by an element ID
indicating that the subsequent data field inrlllA~q the account num.ber, and an element length field 168.
This method of _ iC~t;n~ data ~ m--nt~, by providing them in groups of three fields, specifying the element td~nt;f;C~t;nn and the element length, is important to the wo ss/2s396 2 1 8 5 6 6 2 PCT/USg5/0342~ --efficient rP~li7~t;~n of the communication8 scheme ~rcr,rtl;
to the invention.
Figure 22 shows the format o~ a page downl o~AP~ message.
This format is used for downloading pages of ~ 60ftware from a net~work host rnmrlltPr 68 to the individual telephone-computers 2. For example, suppose the home telephone-computer 2 is used to initiate a communication session in response to a user's pressing a key identifying the initial request for access to a service rr~tPr 80a-d. The initial reguest for 0 access to a service will be interpreted by the network host 68 to specify the ~ application page to be used to access the service computer. If nPress~ry, the network hogt will download the latest version of that page using the downloading message text format shown in Figure 22. This text is stored in the message text frame 134 of the overall message shown in Figure 17.
The downlr,~i;nrJ message text format ~ reS with a transaction type coce field 80 in which ig provided an alphabetic transaction code indicating, for example, that the subseguent data is a page of a H~L application program. This is followed by a page number field 84 which inr1tlf~P~ the page number of the f ollowing page of sof tware, or other i~Pntification data needed. Finally, the actual arpl ;r~ti~n software page needed by the home telephone-rrmrlltpr is provided in a page data field 86.

W095115396 2 ~ 85662 PCT~I~S9S/03424 The following description of Figures 23 and 24 provides a more detailed view of the way in which the home tPl !~rhnnP-computer and network host determine that an update of a particular software page or pages is npcpRc;~y. As noted, to ensure that the home telephone-cn~utPr does not utilize outdated application pages, each session begins with a page update exchange. These are Pl~P~lRry of tr~nc~rtlo,n text messages, and will provide to t~ose of skill in the art sufficient ;nfor~tinn to implement the other communications nPcPqs~ry to effect the f1~nrt;nnc of the invention. Other neces8ary messages generally follow the game forma~; their detailed functions and implementation are r-nnci~lpred to be within the skill of the art.
The home tPl ~rhnnP-computer sends an update reference number lURN) request message f ollowing the receipt of the connect response me8sage. Referring to Figure 23, the URN
request message is a normal message rnnt~;n,n~ the URN coded request in the message text field. The URN request begins with a transaction code 162, shown here as VER. Thus, the data field 13g in this request message comprises the page number8 168 of the appl ir~tinn page8 gtored in the home telephone-rn~ut~r 2 at the begin~ing of the pregent session.
The URN messages also specifie8 in a field 170 marked P/H
which type of home tPl ephnn~-rn~utPr is being used. This infor~-tinn is important in det~nT;n;n~ the priority used in w0 95~2s396 2 1 8 5 6 6 2 PCT/US95/0342~ ~
sending update information. The final data field 176 includes the tPrm;nAl ID ~ADID) .
The network c~mrutor responds to the URN request message of Figure 23 with a URN response message shown in Figure 24.
The transaction code 162 (VER) is repeated. This repetition of transaction codes is used in all trAn~Acti ~n me~sages in order for the, receiving device to determine the request message to which a given response applies.
The next data field 170 in the URN response is the URN
for the current Arpli~A~tin~n page stored in the network CnmrutPr: The final data field is a 2 digit status code 174 which informs the host tPrm1nAl whether page llrnlAtin~ is r~OcPqSAry .
If the home tPrm; nAl UR~7 is lower than the network computer URN, page l-r-l~ting- is nPcPcsAry~ The network host r~mrutPr 68 ~Acc~mm~l AtPg the list of pages that have new versions from a cross reference file, employing the home tPrminAl URN and the network tPrminAl ~RN.
An i 'iAte send flag is provided which is set to "1"
for pages related to particularly significant flln~-tif~nA such as log-on or the main menu displayed to the user. These pages are downloaded prior to sending the URN Le:l~y~ Se message, that is,; -';AtP1y upon estAhl;~hmont of the session. If any, of the pages have an T -';Ate S~ d flag set to nln, they are put .

WO 95125396 :2 ~ 8 5 6 6 2 P~ s9s/03~2~
at the top of the download file. The pages with the fla~ set to " 0 " are put in a zero length transactioral ile .
If during the session, following the page update process, the ~ ~nRl-mPr wishes to use a service for which the home tPl PrhnnP-r~mrutPr does not have the r~pcp~s~ry pages, an explicit page reguest can be sent.
It will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that there have been described several important and unigue aspects of the system of the invention. Of particular importance in allowing a user ~riendly home tPlPrh~nP-computer system.. to be employed with a variety of service c~, Prs is the concept of providing a network host _, t~r which receives relatively simple requests from the telephone-c~m~utPr, and responds to these with retluests for any additional data retauired, together with screen ~ ~R and the like, such that the home telephone- , :t~r can readily prompt the user to provide whatever additional data is needed. In thig way the "intelligence" of the network hogt is effectively ,~t inP~l with that of the tPl erhnnP-~ nm~rt~tPr to generate all inft~rr-tinn required to access the various service computers.
This limits the amount of comm.unication between the user and the service ,- , ~ Pr to a m;n; , which is important in reducing the cost of the service to the r~nnRl-m~r.
The use of the network host 68 to update the sof tware comprised by the hom.e telephone-cn~utPr page by page also has Wo ss/2s396 - - PCTIUS95/03~2 J
great significance, in that in this way the home tol ~rh~n~-computer can be provided with many additional ~-~r~hi~ ities, while r.~m~;n;~ a relatively inexpensive and compact unit and retaining the ~user-friendly~ appearance which is highly desirable. Furth~- ~, this capability allows access to further services to be provided in the future without requiring any physical modification of the telephone-~ , to~.
The ~sliding window" error detection and correction scheme is also highly useful in realizing the objects of the invention.
The use of the standardized message format ~1; cc~csed above, in which varying numbers of individual data elements can be communicated back and forth between the home telephone-c.~-lr~- and the network host, simply by specifying the identification of the element, is also of great utility, ;n:~cm~ h ag thig greatly gimplifieg communication between the tPl ~orhl~n~ r and the network hogt and renders this communication relatively flexible. At the same time, use of the same overall megsage format for all me8sage8, ;nr~]ll~lin~
both data items such as user identif ication numbers and software such as downloaded pages, further gimplifies the communication scheme provided according to the invention.
Finally, it will be recc~ni 7ed by thoge of gkill in the 2~rt that while a preferred ~mho~l;mGnt of the invention has been described in detail, this is not to be considered a limitation on the invention, but merely as ~ y thereof.

Wo ss/2s3s6 2 1 8 5 6 6 2 I ~I"~,,, ~/03~2~
o~her modificatio~s and i~ ,v. ~~ will be envisioned by those of skill in the art. Accordingly, the present invention is not be limited by the above disclosure, but only by the following claims.

Claims (96)

We claim

1. A user-friendly personal communication device having means for operating as a personal computer and a simplified user interface, said personal communication device comprising a telephone dialer;
electronics for said telephone dialer;
a standard telephone keypad, said keypad providing output to said telephone dialer;
a microprocessor having an associated memory and a plurality of components, said microprocessor means being responsive to inputs from said standard telephone keypad and instructions maintained in said memory to perform computing and control functions; and fixed logic means for defining interconnections among said components of said microprocessor and said associated memory.

2. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said telephone electronics provide standard telephone functioning when power is disconnected from said microprocessor.

3. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a display device, and wherein said microprocessor includes means for driving said display device.

4. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 2, further comprising a modem, and wherein said microprocessor and said associated memory are connected to a telephone line through said modem.

5. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a second keyboard.

6. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a second hidden keyboard.

7. A user-friendly personal communication device having means for operating as a personal computer with a simplified user interface, said personal communication device comprising:
a telephone dialer;
electronics for said telephone dialer for the operation of telephone service;
a standard telephone keypad, said keypad providing output to said telephone dialer;
a microprocessor having an associated memory and a plurality of components, said microprocessor being responsive to inputs from said standard telephone keypad and instructions maintained in said memory to perform computing and control functions, said microprocessor also being responsive to inputs provided from said telephone electronics and providing control of said telephone electronics, and said associated memory incorporating both volatile and non-volatile elements so that said microprocessor and said associated memory may be programmed as a general purpose compute; and fixed logic means for defining interconnections among said components of said microprocessor and said associated memory.

8. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 7, further comprising lapse timer means reset by output from said microprocessor for providing an interrupt to said microprocessor unless reset by said microprocessor within a first predetermined time, said microprocessor being rebooted and said lapse timer means being disabled unless said lapse timer means is reset within a second predetermined time interval.

9. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 7, further comprising:
a standard telephone handset;

detector means for detecting an off-hook condition on said handset; and timer means responsive to said off-box detector means and said microprocessor to reboot said microprocessor if said timer means is not reset by said microprocessor within a predetermined time interval.

10. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 7, further comprising:
parity check means for providing error detection for at least a part of said memory; and logic means responsive to said parity check means for providing an interrupt to said microprocessor when said parity check means provides an error detection.

11. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 7, further comprising a dual output device, wherein said keypad provides simultaneous outputs to said telephone dialer and said microprocessor through said dual output device.

12. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 7, further comprising a second keyboard.

13. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 7, further comprising a second hidden keyboard.

14. A user-friendly personal communication device having means for operating as a personal computer and a simplified user interface, said personal communication device comprising:
a standard telephone keypad;
telephone electronics, including a dialer, for performing standard telephone functions; and a microcomputer including a microprocessor having an associated memory, a plurality of components, and fixed logic means for defining interconnections among said components, said microprocessor being responsive to inputs from said telephone keypad and instructions retained in said associated memory to perform general computer functions;
said associated memory comprising both volatile and non-volatile memory elements, thug enabling said personal communication device to operate as a general purpose computer;
and said microprocessor being also responsive to inputs provided from said telephone electronics and providing control of said telephone electronics.

15. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 14, wherein said telephone electronics provide standard telephone functioning when power is disconnected from said microprocessor.

16. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 14, further comprising a display device, and wherein said microprocessor includes means for driving said display device.

17. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 16, wherein said microcomputer further comprises modem means for communicating with a remote computer.

18. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 17, wherein said microcomputer accesses a network host computer via said modem means, said network host computer communicating with information and financial services in formats used by said services and transmitting programs conforming to a format which said microprocessor understands, thereby enabling said microcomputer to communicate with said information and financial services which use formats that are incompatible with said microprocessor.

19. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 18, further comprising watchdog timer means resettable by output from said microprocessor for providing an interrupt to said microprocessor unless reset by said microprocessor within a first predetermined time limit, said microprocessor being rebooted and said watchdog timer means being disabled unless said watchdog timer means is reset within a second predetermined time limit.

20. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 19, further comprising:
a standard telephone handset;
detector means for detecting an off-hook condition on said handset; and timer means responsive to said off-hook detector means and signals from said microprocessor for rebooting said microprocessor if said timer means is not reset by said microprocessor within a predetermined time interval after detecting such off-hook condition.

21. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 20, further comprising:
parity check means for providing error detection for at least a part of said memory; and logic means responsive to said parity check means for providing an interrupt to said microprocessor when said parity check means provides an error detection.

22. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 14, further comprising a dual output device, wherein said keypad provides simultaneous outputs to said telephone dialer and said microprocessor through said dual output device.

23. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 14, further comprising a keyboard for inputting instructions and data to said microprocessor.

24. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 23, wherein said keyboard being movable between a position retracted from said housing for use, and a position hidden within said housing when not used.

25. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 14, wherein said keypad further includes additional programmable function keys.

26. The user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 14, further comprising an accessories port for connecting peripheral accessories to said personal communication device.

27. The user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 14, wherein said fixed logic means controls logical connections between said microprocessor and said associated memory.

28. The user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 14, wherein said memory includes electrically programmable non-volatile memory devices.

29. The user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 17, wherein said modem has means for detecting and distinguishing busy, call-waiting, ringing, dial, and redial tones.

30. The user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 14, wherein said microprocessor is programmable at several different system levels.

31. The user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 30, wherein said different system levels includes a software which is downloaded in pages from a network host terminal, a BIOS software which can be downloaded by an external computer, including such network host computer, and kernel software which is permanently resident in said memory.

32. The user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 17, wherein said microcomputer further comprises a processor which is logically connected to said microprocessor and said keypad for providing an interface between said microprocessor and said keypad.

33. The user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 32, wherein said microprocessor further includes a system integrity processor with a ROM memory device which stores initial instructions for the microprocessor.

34. A user-friendly personal communication device having means for operating as a personal computer, comprising:
standard telephone electronics and computer components, said standard telephone electronics including a telephone dialer and performing standard telephone functions, and said computer components comprising a microcomputer including a microprocessor having associated memory means for storing instructions for said microprocessor means and fixed logic means for defining interconnections among said computer components and said associated memory means;

a housing for retaining therein said telephone electronics and said computer components;
a display driven by said microprocessor;
a modem for communicating with remote computers via telephone lines; and a telephone keypad for selectively providing inputs to said telephone dialer and to said microprocessor, whereby said microprocessor is responsive to inputs from said keypad and instructions in said memory means to function as a computer.

35. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 34 wherein said telephone electronics provide standard telephone operations when power is disconnected from said microprocessor.

36. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 34, wherein said microcomputer accesses a network host computer via said modem means, said network host computer communicating with information and financial services in formats used by said services and transmitting programs conforming to a format which said microprocessor understands, thereby enabling said microcomputer to communicate with said information and financial services which use formats that are incompatible with said microprocessor.

37. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 36, further comprising watchdog timer means resettable by output from said microprocessor for providing an interrupt to said microprocessor unless reset by said microprocessor within a first predetermined time limit, said microprocessor being rebooted and said watchdog timer means being disabled unless said watchdog timer means is reset within a second predetermined time limit.

38. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 37, further comprising:
a standard telephone handset;
detector means for detecting an off-hook condition on said handset; and timer means responsive to said off-hook detector means and signals from said microprocessor for rebooting said microprocessor if said timer means is not reset by said microprocessor within a predetermined time interval after detecting such off-hook condition.

39. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 38, further comprising:
parity check means for providing error detection for at least a part of said memory; and logic means responsive to said parity check means for providing an interrupt to said microprocessor when said parity check means provides an error detection.

40. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 39, further comprising a dual output device, wherein said keypad provides simultaneous outputs to said telephone dialer and said microprocessor through said dual output device.

41. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 34, further comprising a keyboard for inputting instructions and data to said microprocessor.

42. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 41, wherein said keyboard being movable between a position retracted from said housing for use, and a position hidden within said housing when not used.

43. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 34, wherein said keypad further includes additional programmable function keys.

44. The user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 34, further comprising an accessories port for connecting peripheral accessories to said personal communication device.

45. The user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 34, wherein said fixed logic means controls logical connections between said microprocessor and said associated memory.

46. The user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 34, wherein said memory includes electrically programmable non-volatile memory devices.

47. The user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 44, wherein said modem has means for detecting and distinguishing busy, call-waiting, ringing, dial, and redial tones.

48. The user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 34, wherein said microprocessor is programmable at several different system levels.

49. The user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 48, wherein said different system levels includes a software which is downloaded in pages from a network host terminal, a BIOS software which can be downloaded by an external computer, including such network host computer, and kernel software which is permanently resident in said memory .

50. The user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 34, wherein said microcomputer further comprises a processor which is logically connected to said microprocessor and said keypad for providing an interface between said microprocessor and said keypad.

51. The user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 50, wherein said microprocessor further includes a system integrity processor with a ROM memory device which stores initial instructions for the microprocessor.

52 . A user-friendly personal communication device having means for operating as a personal computer, comprising:
a housing configured as a conventional telephone;
a display mounted at the front of said housing;
a standard telephone keypad, telephone electronics, and a microcomputer retained in said housing, said telephone electronics including a telephone dialer and being responsive to said keypad for performing standard telephone functions, said microcomputer including a microprocessor with associated memory and fixed logic means for controlling logical connections between said microprocessor and said associated memory, said microprocessor driving said display and also being responsive to inputs from said keypad and to instructions retained in said associated memory for operating said microcomputer.

53. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 52 wherein said telephone electronics provide standard telephone operations when power is disconnected from said microprocessor.

54. The telephone computer of claim 52, wherein said microcomputer further comprises modem means for communicating with a remote computer.

55. A user-friendly personal communication device. as claimed in claim 54, wherein said microcomputer accesses a network host computer via said modem means, said network host computer communicating with information and financial services in formats used by said services and transmitting programs conforming to a format which said microprocessor understands, thereby enabling said microcomputer to communicate with said information and financial services which use formats that are incompatible with said microprocessor.

56. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 55, further comprising watchdog timer means resettable by output from said microprocessor for providing an interrupt to said microprocessor unless reset by said microprocessor within a first predetermined time limit, said microprocessor being rebooted and said watchdog timer means being disabled unless said watchdog timer means is reset within a second predetermined time limit.

57. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 56, further comprising:
a standard telephone handset;
detector means for detecting an off-hook condition on said handset; and timer means responsive to said off-hook detector means and signals from said microprocessor for rebooting said microprocessor if said timer means is not reset by said microprocessor within a predetermined time interval after detecting such off-hook condition.

58. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 57, further comprising:
parity check means for providing error detection for at least a part of said memory; and logic means responsive to said parity check means for providing an interrupt to said microprocessor when said parity check means provides an error detection.

59. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 52, further comprising a dual output device, wherein said keypad provides simultaneous outputs to said telephone dialer and said microprocessor through said dual output device.

60. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 52, further comprising a keyboard for inputting instructions and data to said microprocessor.

61. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 60, wherein said keyboard being movable between a position retracted from said housing for use, and a position hidden within said housing when not used.

62. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 52, wherein said keypad further includes additional programmable function keys.

63. The user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 52, further comprising an accessories port for connecting peripheral accessories to said personal communication device.

64. The user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 52, wherein said memory includes electrically programmable non-volatile memory devices .

65. The user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 54, wherein said modem has means for detecting and distinguishing busy, call-waiting, ringing, dial, and redial tones.

66. The user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 52, wherein said microprocessor is at several different system levels.

67. The user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 66, wherein said different system levels includes a software which is downloaded in pages from a network host terminal, a BIOS software which can be downloaded by an external computer, including such network host computer, and kernel software which is permanently resident in said memory.

68. The user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 54, wherein said microcomputer further comprises a processor which is logically connected to said microprocessor and said keypad for providing an interface between said microprocessor and said keypad.

69. The user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 68, wherein said microprocessor further includes a system integrity processor with a ROM memory device which stores initial instructions for the microprocessor.

70. A user-friendly personal communication device having means for operating as a personal computer, comprising:
a housing configured as a telephone;
telephone electronics including a telephone dialer, said telephone electronics being enclosed in said housing;
a keypad on said housing;
a dual output device operated by said keypad and providing output signals to said telephone electronics;
a microcomputer also enclosed in said housing, said microcomputer having an associated memory including volatile memory means connected to said microprocessor for receiving and storing instructions, fixed logic means for controlling logical connections between said microprocessor and said associated memory, and system integrity processor means with an associated ROM for storing initial instructions for said microprocessor, said microprocessor also receiving outputs from said dual output device and said microprocessor means selectively providing inputs to said telephone dialer;
a communications processor logically connected to said microprocessor and said keypad for providing an interface between said microprocessor and said keypad;
switch means for selecting said telephone electronics when there is a power disconnect to said microprocessor;
modem means for communicating to remote computers via telephone lines, said modem means being logically interfaced with said communications processor and said microprocessor;
a display driven by said microprocessor;
whereby said microprocessor means is programmable by initially configuring said fixed logic means.

71. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 70, wherein said telephone electronics provide standard telephone operations when power is disconnected from said microprocessor.

72. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 70, wherein said microcomputer accesses a network host computer via said modem means, said network host computer communicating with information and financial services in formats used by said services and transmitting programs conforming to a format which said microprocessor understands, thereby enabling said microprocessor to communicate with said information and financial services which use formats that are incompatible with said microprocessor.

73. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 72, further comprising watchdog timer means resettable by output from said microprocessor for providing an interrupt to said microprocessor unless reset by said microprocessor within a first predetermined time limit, said microprocessor being rebooted and said watchdog timer means being disabled unless said watchdog timer means is reset within a second predetermined time limit.

74. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 73, further comprising:
a standard telephone handset;
detector means for detecting an off-hook condition on said handset; and timer means responsive to said of off-hook detector means and signals from said microprocessor for rebooting said microprocessor if said timer means is not reset by said microprocessor within a predetermined time interval after detecting such off-hook condition .

75. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 74, further comprising:
parity check means for providing error detection for at least a part of said memory; and logic means responsive to said parity check means for providing an interrupt to said microprocessor when said parity check means provides an error detection.

76. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 70, further comprising a keyboard for inputting instructions and data to said microprocessor.

77. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 76, wherein said keyboard being movable between a position retracted from said housing for use, and a position hidden within said housing when not used.

78. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 70, wherein said keypad further includes additional programmable function keys.

79. The user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 70, further comprising an accessories port for connecting peripheral accessories to said personal communication device.

80. The user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 70, wherein said memory includes electrically programmable non-volatile memory devices.

81. The user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 70, wherein said modem has means for detecting and distinguishing busy, call-waiting, ringing, dial, and redial tones.

82. The user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 70, wherein said microprocessor is programmable at several different system levels.

83. The user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 70, wherein said different system levels includes a software which is downloaded in pages from a network host terminal, a BIOS software which can be downloaded by an external computer, including such network host computer, and kernel software which is permanently resident in said memory.

84. A user-friendly personal communication device having means for operating as a personal computer and a simplified user interface, said personal communication device comprising:
a telephone dialer;
electronics for said telephone dialer;
a standard telephone keypad, said keypad providing output to said telephone dialer;
a microprocessor having an associated memory and a plurality of components, said microprocessor means being responsive to inputs from said standard telephone keypad and instructions maintained in said memory to perform computing and control functions; and fixedly programmable logic means for defining interconnections among said components of said microprocessor and said associated memory.

85. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 84 wherein said telephone electronics provide standard telephone functioning when power is disconnected from said microprocessor.

86. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 84, further comprising a display device, and wherein said microprocessor includes means for driving said display device.

87. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 85, further comprising a modem, and wherein said microprocessor and said associated memory are connected to a telephone line through said modem.

88. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 84, further comprising a second keyboard.

89. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 84, further comprising a second hidden keyboard .

90 . A user-friendly personal communication device having means for operating as a personal computer with a simplified user interface, said personal communication device comprising:
a telephone dialer;
electronics for said telephone dialer for the operation of telephone service;
a standard telephone keypad, said keypad providing output to said telephone dialer;
a microprocessor having an associated memory and a plurality of components, said microprocessor being responsive to inputs from said standard telephone keypad and instructions maintained in said memory to perform computing and control functions, said microprocessor also being responsive to inputs provided from said telephone electronics and providing control of said telephone electronics, and said associated memory incorporating both volatile and non-volatile elements so that said microprocessor and said associated memory may be programmed as a general purpose compute; and fixedly programmable logic means for defining interconnections among said components of said microprocessor and said associated memory.

91. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 90, further comprising lapse timer means reset by output from said microprocessor for providing an interrupt to said microprocessor unless reset by said microprocessor within a first predetermined time, said microprocessor being rebooted and said lapse timer means being disabled unless said lapse timer means is reset within a second predetermined time interval.

92. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 90, further comprising:
a standard telephone handset;
detector means for detecting an off-hook condition on said handset; and timer means responsive to said off-hook detector means and said microprocessor to reboot said microprocessor if said timer means is not reset by said microprocessor within a predetermined time interval.

93. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 90, further comprising:
parity check means for providing error detection for at least a part of said memory; and logic means responsive to said parity check means for providing an interrupt to said microprocessor when said parity check means provides an error detection.

94. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 90, further comprising a dual output device, wherein said keypad provides simultaneous outputs to said telephone dialer and said microprocessor through said dual output device.

95. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 90, further comprising a second keyboard.

96. A user-friendly personal communication device as claimed in claim 90, further comprising a second hidden keyboard.