APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DUPLICATING USER INPUT INTO A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION DEVICE VIA COMMAND SHORTCUTS

Abstract: A wireless communication device (101) is provided with a keypad (134) to allow a user to enter data, such as alphanumeric sequences, timing and delay information, associated with a destination. A data storage (118) communicatively coupled to the keypad (134) stores the information entered by the user. A processor (112, 114) is communicatively coupled to the keypad (134) and to the data storage (118). In operation, the user uses the keypad (134) to enter information for storage in the data storage (118). When a call is to be placed to the destination, the user again uses the keypad (134) to select information stored in a particular addressable memory location (120) within the data storage (118). The processor (112, 114) is responsive to a command from the user to retrieve the selected information and to transmit the retrieved information from the wireless communication device (101) to the destination.

Description: APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DUPLICATING USER INPUT INTO A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION DEVICE VIA COMMAND SHORTCUTS FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention is related generally to wireless communication devices, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for duplicating user input into a wireless communication device via command shortcuts. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Wireless communication devices, such as cellular telephones, are extremely popular. They allow a user to send and receive telephone calls from virtually any location. Cellular telephones sometimes have many of the features presently found in conventional land-line telephones, but additional features and functions are often needed in order to conveniently use cellular telephones. Because a user of a cellular telephone often uses the cellular telephone while in a moving vehicle or while present in an inconvenient location (such as while walking along a sidewalk or sitting in a restaurant), safety, utility, and courtesy considerations require that the user spend as little time as possible dialing destination telephone numbers and inputting other information with a keypad of the cellular telephone. For instance, when the user is driving the vehicle, it is extremely hazardous for the user to try to dial a destination telephone number, and at the same time, try to focus attention on traffic. To help address this safety concern and to provide additional convenience, many conventional land-line and cellular telephones include a feature that is sometimes referred to as "speed-dialing." Speed-dialing involves the storage of favorite or commonly dialed destination phone numbers in a memory of the telephone. When a call is to be placed to that destination telephone number, the user simply presses one or two keys on the keypad to retrieve the stored destination telephone number and to automatically place a call to that destination telephone number. Therefore, the user is provided with a command shortcut such that the user does not need to enter a long sequence of numbers that make up the telephone number. Although speed-dialing does provide some convenience for conventional land-line and cellular telephones, speed-dialing does not permit more extensive programming capabilities. Therefore, it can be appreciated that there is a significant need for programming capability in a wireless communication device. The present invention provides this and other advantages as will be apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying figures. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention provides a wireless communication device comprising a keypad to allow a user to enter information, with the information including a destination telephone number and additional data. A data storage is communicatively coupled to the keypad and stores the information entered by the user. A processor communicatively coupled to the keypad and to the data storage is responsive to a command from the user entered via the keypad to retrieve the information from the data storage and to transmit the retrieved information from the wireless communication device. In one embodiment, the information stored in the data storage comprises an alphanumeric sequence. In another embodiment, the information comprises timing information in addition to the alphanumeric sequence. Further embodiments provide the data storage with a plurality of addressable memory locations. The addressable memory locations have information stored therein that is separately identifiable by a corresponding keypad combination. The keypad is structured to allow the user to enter the keypad combination to trigger the processor to retrieve selected information from one of the addressable memory locations. In another embodiment of the present invention, the wireless communication device further comprises a display. The display displays a menu representative of the information stored in the data storage to allow the user to view the information. In yet another embodiment, the processor triggers a transmission of the additional data after a wireless communication link to the destination is separately established by first transmitting the destination telephone number. The present invention also provides a method of operating a wireless communication device. The method comprises storing information including a destination telephone number and additional data in addressable memory locations of a data storage, assigning a separate keypad combination to a corresponding addressable memory location, retrieving the information in one of the addressable memory locations by entering the keypad combination corresponding to the one addressable memory location, and transmitting the retrieved information from the wireless communication device to establish a wireless communication link with a destination communication device associated with the destination telephone number. The method can further comprise displaying a menu representative of the information stored in the addressable memory locations. Another embodiment includes using a keypad to store the information in the addressable memory locations and to enter the keypad combination to retrieve the stored information. In yet other embodiments, the method further comprises transmitting the information to the destination as a sequence of portions of information and waiting for acknowledgment from the destination before transmitting a subsequent portion of information. Embodiments of the invention also provide a device and method of transmitting information stored in a data storage as part of an ongoing wireless communication link and subsequent to establishing the wireless communication link. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of a wireless communication device of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an illustrative operation of the wireless communication device of FIG. 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention allow a user to program a wireless communication device with a variety of alphanumeric data and other information, thereby substantially eliminating the need to manually enter long sequences of information via the wireless communication device's keypad each time a telephone call is made. That is, with conventional land-line and cellular telephones, dialing an overseas destination telephone number, accessing a voicemail system, or accessing various account information often requires a transmission of long and complicated sequences of numbers or other alphanumeric characters once a connection is established with the destination telephone number. For instance, to remotely access and use a voicemail system, the user first needs to dial the telephone number of the voicemail system and then enter a series of passwords and alphanumeric commands to retrieve, listen, save, or delete voicemail messages. Embodiments of the present invention described herein make these types of telephone calls dramatically more convenient. The present invention is embodied in a system 100 illustrated in the functional block diagram of FIG. 1. The system 100 is incorporated into a wireless communication device 101, which may be embodied in a cellular telephone. The system 100 includes a housing 102 that contains a transmitter 104 and a receiver 106 to allow transmission and reception of data, such as audio communications, between the system 100 and a remote location, such as a cell site controller (not shown). The transmitter 104 and the receiver 106 may be combined into a transceiver 108. An antenna 110 is attached to the housing 102 and is electrically coupled to the transceiver 108. The operation of the transmitter 104, receiver 106, and antenna 110 is well known in the art and need not be described herein. Although described herein as a cellular telephone, the principles of the present invention are applicable to a variety of wireless communication devices including, but not limited to, cellular /PCS, radio telephone, conventional radio, and the like. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited by the specific form of wireless communication device. The wireless communication device 101 also includes a central processing unit (CPU) 112, which controls operation of the system 100. The CPU 112 may perform all the tasks involved in the operation of the system 100, or only a portion of them, where the remaining tasks are delegated to other processing units included in the system 100. For example, the wireless communication device 101 can include, in addition to the CPU 112, a call processor 114 that controls processing of outgoing and incoming telephone calls. The call processor 114 can be located in the system 100 or it can be at a remote external location, such as a cell site (not shown). The call processor 114 can be a combination of hardware and software, and in some instances, can be integrated with or a part of the CPU 112. The specific functions of the call processor 114 will be described in greater detail below. For the sake of simplifying this description, the call processor 114 and the CPU 112 will be used interchangeably herein, and it is understood that either or both of these components can perform the various functions described herein. The wireless communication device 101 further includes a computer- readable medium, such as a memory 116, which may include both read-only memory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM). A portion of the memory 116 may also include non-volatile random access memory to store information that must be present upon powering the wireless communication device 101. The memory 116 is generally used to store instructions and data for processing by the CPU 112 or by the call processor 114, including addresses of information stored within a data storage 118. The data storage 118 is another memory within the wireless communication device 101 that stores, for example, user- entered alphanumeric sequences, timing and delay information. Although the data storage 118 is shown in FIG. 1 as being separate from the memory 116, it is to be appreciated that one skilled in the art can make the data storage 118 part of the memory 116. Also, the data storage 118 could be divided into a plurality m of addressable memory locations 120 where the user-entered information may be stored and accessed by the CPU 112, or by any other processing unit, such as the call processor 114. As will be described later below, each of the addressable memory locations 120 stores distinct user-entered information and is assigned a corresponding keypad combination to allow the user to identify the particular addressable memory location 120 and to retrieve and transmit the information stored therein. The wireless communication device 101 also includes an audio input device, such as a microphone 122 and an audio output device, such as a speaker 124. The microphone 122 and the speaker 124 operate in a conventional manner to provide two-way audio communication using the wireless communication device 101. The speaker 124 is driven by driving signals generated by an output driver 126. The driving signals provided by the output driver 126 are converted by the speaker 124 into audible signals to transmit the voice of the caller to the user, or to produce audible cues and alerts that inform the user when an incoming call is being received and when an outgoing call is being made. Examples of audible cues and alerts that can be created by the output driver 126 and the speaker 124 include a ring that alerts the user of an incoming call, a key beep to indicate when a key on the wireless communication device is pressed, and a series of beeps to indicate when alphanumeric sequences (e.g., destination telephone numbers) are being automatically transmitted from the wireless communication device 101. A timer circuit 128 operated by timing software allows the user to program the wireless communication device 101 with timing and delay information. One function of the timer circuit 128 can be to assist in recording timing and delay information entered by the user. Another function of the timer circuit 128 can be to use the timing and delay information to control the timing of data transmission from the transceiver 108. This transmission is explained later below. The wireless communication device 101 also includes a display 130 to conveniently display operational settings of the wireless communication device 101, as well as user-entered data, such as destination telephone numbers and alphanumeric text. This information can appear on a menu 132 on the display 130. As will be described in more detail below, the menu 132 can also inform the user when information stored in the data storage 118 is retrieved and transmitted, or provide the user with a listing of the information stored in the data storage 118, along with their corresponding keypad combination. A keypad 134 is attached to the housing 102 for operation by the user to input information and commands into the wireless communication device 101. The keypad 134 provides a convenient input device by which destination telephone numbers, commands, and alphanumeric information may be entered and retrieved by the user. In an exemplary embodiment, the keypad 134 is used to enter, record, store, and select alphanumeric sequences, timing and delay information, and other information to and from the data storage 118. The various components of system 100 are coupled together by a bus system 136 of the wireless communication device 101, which may include a power bus, control bus, and status signal bus in addition to a data bus. However, for the sake of clarity, the various buses are illustrated in FIG. 1 as the bus system 136. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating operation of the wireless communication device 101 according to an embodiment of the invention. Beginning at step 140, the user presses one or more keys on the keypad 134 of the wireless communication device 101 to enter a "RECORD" mode. The key(s) pressed during step 140 triggers the CPU 112 to place the memory 116 or the data storage 118 in the RECORD mode such that the identity and timing of keys subsequently pressed on the keypad 134 are stored. Next at step 142, the user uses the keypad 134 to enter an alphanumeric sequence, timing, and delay information. Data entered by the user at step 142 can comprise any combination and length of alphanumeric sequences, timing, and delay information. For instance, an alphanumeric sequence can be a local destination telephone number, a destination telephone number along with an extension number, or an international telephone number. Lengthier alphanumeric sequences can include a telephone number followed by additional alphanumeric sequences corresponding to menu selections, account information, identification information, social security numbers, etc. For example, if the user wants to program the wireless communication device 101 so that the user can check voicemail, the alphanumeric sequence entered in step 142 can include the telephone number of the voicemail system, the user's password, and a menu selection of the voicemail system (such as numeral "1" to check new voicemail messages, numeral "2" to review old voicemail messages, numeral "3" to delete voicemail messages, etc.). Another example of an alphanumeric sequence that can be recorded in step 142 is information used for long distance calling cards. The user can record an access telephone number of the calling card, a personal identification number (PIN) or account information indicated on the calling card, the destination telephone number, and menu selection information (e.g., when a system recording played after connecting to the access telephone number says, "Press 1 if you wish to make a long distance call."). Therefore, the recording of alphanumeric information and sequences in step 142 eliminates the need for the user to repeatedly and manually enter all of the calling card information each time the user wishes to place a telephone call. Other possible types of alphanumeric sequences can be entered and recorded at step 142. For instance, if the user frequently checks bank account information, then a bank telephone number, account number, social security number, and menu selections can be recorded at step 142 so that the user does not need to manually enter all of this information during subsequent telephone calls to the user's bank. It is not required that the destination telephone number be recorded at step 142 as part of the alphanumeric sequence. That is, the information recorded at step 142 can be used in combination with speed-dial telephone numbers stored elsewhere in the wireless communication device 101. Therefore, in operation, the user can press a first set of keys on the keypad 134 to speed-dial a destination telephone number (e.g., to transmit just the destination telephone number), and once the communication link with the destination is established, the user can press a second set of keys to subsequently transmit additional data, such as alphanumeric sequences corresponding to menu selections, passwords, etc., to the destination as part of an ongoing communication. As mentioned above, in addition to entering alphanumeric sequences at step 142, the user can also enter timing and delay information. Such timing and delay information is useful, for example, in some voicemail systems that require a prerecorded greeting or instruction of the voicemail system to be completed before the user can enter a menu selection. Accordingly, the wireless communication device 101 can be programmed such that at step 142, the time to enter individual digits of the alphanumeric sequence is recorded. For example, during the RECORD mode, the user can record a telephone number of a voicemail system and then wait for 10 seconds before entering additional information via the keypad 134, with the 10 seconds corresponding to a length of the voicemail greeting. After the 10-second delay, the user can record a password, menu selection, etc. During step 142, the timer circuit 128 operates in conjunction with the CPU 112 or with the call processor 114 to trigger a software routine to store the delay between pressed digits, along with the alphanumeric information itself, in the data storage 118. In other embodiments, it is possible to provide recording software that can operate in conjunction with the timer circuit 128 such that, rather than a real-time recording between the pressing of keys, the user can enter command information such that during the recording, the user can electronically set timing and delays. This works, for example, with the user first entering the RECORD mode, keying in a destination telephone number, pressing a "*1" command to indicate to the software that the user wishes to record a delay, pressing "30" to set a 30-second delay, and then pressing "*2" to indicate to the software that the user has finished recording a delay and to instruct the software to resume recording pressed digits. Thus, the system 100 can accommodate a broad range of programming features. Next at step 144, the user presses one or more keys on the keypad 126 to enter an "END RECORD" mode. This mode notifies the CPU 112 or the call processor 114 that the user has finished entering information, and at step 146, the user chooses an addressable memory location 120 in the data storage 118 to store the recorded information. At step 148, the user assigns a name or a keypad combination in association with the recorded information. For example, if the user has programmed the wireless communication device 101 to store the telephone number and account number of the user's bank account, then at step 148 the user can assign an alphanumeric keypad combination that spells "BANK." The keypad combination can be any alphanumeric sequence or name. For example, the keypad combination assigned to each of the addressable memory locations 120 can be as simple as a single-digit or double-digit number. Theoretically, an infinite number of keypad combinations can be assigned to identify each addressable memory location 120. In practice, it is expected that the number of valid keypad combinations will be limited to the number of available addressable memory locations 120 in the data storage 118. Further, the data storage 118 need not be physically located in the wireless communication device 101. The data storage 118 can be located at an external location, such as at a cell site (not shown), so that the user is provided with additional memory locations beyond the physical capacity allowed within the wireless communication device 101 itself. Therefore, the information recorded by the user at step 142 can be stored in the wireless communication device 101, at a cell site, or in both locations, so long as the stored information is accessible by the CPU 112 or by the call processor 114. Various modifications are possible for the steps 144-148 shown in FIG. 2. For example, although FIG. 2 shows that the user enters the END RECORD mode at step 144 after recording a single entry (e.g., a single telephone number) at step 142, it is to be appreciated that it is possible to record any number of entries at step 142 before the user enters the END RECORD mode at step 144. Additionally, although FIG. 2 shows steps 146 and 148 as occurring after the user enters the END MODE at step 144, it is to be further appreciated that the user can choose an addressable memory location at step 146 and assign a name or keypad combination for the recorded information at step 148 before the user enters the END RECORD mode at step 144. Consequently, the embodiments of the invention are not limited by the particular order of the steps shown in the flowchart of FIG. 2. At step 150, the user can view or select the recorded information stored in the data storage 118 by scrolling through the menu 132 on the display 130. This is particularly useful if the user has stored a large number of telephone numbers in many different addressable memory locations 120, and needs to remember which keypad combination corresponds to a given addressable memory location 120. The menu 132 can display the keypad combination and an indication of the information stored in the addressable memory location 120 associated with that keypad combination. That is, the menu 132 can display the "BANK" keypad combination along with corresponding textual identification data, such as "Verify Bank Account Information." Alternatively or in addition to scrolling through the menu 132 at step 150, and in particular if the user has not stored a great number of information in the data storage 118 (and therefore does not need to remember many different keypad combinations), the user can retrieve information stored in a given addressable memory location 120 by using the keypad 134 to directly enter the corresponding keypad combination or name associated with the stored information. Once the user has viewed and selected the desired stored information at step 150 and if the user wishes to transmit the selected information, the user at step 152 presses one or more key(s) (such as a "SEND" key, not shown) on the keypad 134. If the information includes a destination telephone number, selection of the SEND key will trigger a dial-up to the destination telephone number. The call processor 114 performs the dial-up by retrieving the selected information from the particular addressable memory location 120, extracting the destination telephone number from the selected information, and triggering a transmission to the destination telephone number via the transceiver 108. Step 152 includes displaying indication data on the menu 132 to indicate to the user that the call is being placed to the destination telephone number. The output driver 126 and the speaker 124 can also generate audible sounds to indicate to the user that the transmission is occurring. Because the user will often store the destination telephone number as part of the alphanumeric sequence that was recorded at step 142, the transmission that occurs at step 152 may simply be a dial-up to the destination telephone number. If there are timings and delays that the user has recorded at step 142, the transmission at step 152 will include the programmed timings and delays after an initial connection is established with the destination. The timer circuit 128 assists the transceiver 108 and other components of the wireless communication device 101 with sending and processing the timings and delays. As discussed above, step 152 can be complementary to a separate speed-dialing operation, such that after a connection to the destination is established by speed-dialing the destination telephone number, pressing a key on the keypad 134 performs step 152 to transmit additional information as part of the ongoing communication. Many different types of modifications can be made to the embodiments of the invention provided herein. For example, although the description provided herein describes the stored information as being transmitted to the destination at step 152 as a single sequence of information, it is to be appreciated that the stored information can be transmitted to the destination in portions. This implementation may be used when the call processor 114 of the wireless communication device 101 is programmed to receive acknowledgments from the destination before transmitting subsequent portions of the selected information. The following example illustrates this implementation. The call processor 114 triggers a transmission to a destination telephone number, such as to a voicemail system, based on a first portion of information stored in the data storage 118 that is selected by the user and that contains the destination telephone number. Once the connection to the voicemail system is established, an acknowledgment (such as a voicemail greeting) is transmitted from the voicemail system to the wireless communication device 101. The call processor 114 detects this return transmission (e.g., the greeting /acknowledgment) from the voicemail system, and in response, the call processor 114 triggers a transmission of a second portion of the stored information, which can be the user's password. The call processor 114 then waits for the voicemail system to acknowledge /transmit a receipt and authentication of the user's password. Once this acknowledgment is received by the call processor 114, the call processor 114 sends a third portion of the stored information to the voicemail system, with the third portion of the stored information corresponding to a menu selection (such as a menu selection to listen to new voicemail messages). Accordingly, many modifications and changes can be made to the invention based on the disclosure herein because the above description of illustrated embodiments of the invention is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention are described herein for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications, such as those described above, are possible within the scope of the invention, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. The teachings provided herein of the invention can be applied to other communication systems and devices, not necessarily the illustrative wireless communication device described above. In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the invention to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims. Instead the scope of the invention is to be determined entirely by the following claims, which are to be construed in accordance with established doctrines of claim interpretation. What is claimed is:

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A wireless communication device, comprising: a keypad to allow a user to enter information, characterized in that the information includes a destination telephone number and additional data, and further characterized in that the wireless communication device also comprises: a data storage communicatively coupled to the keypad to store the information entered by the user; and a processor communicatively coupled to the keypad and to the data storage, the processor responsive to a command from the user entered via the keypad to retrieve the information from the data storage and to transmit the retrieved information from the wireless communication device to establish a wireless communication link with a destination communication device associated with the destination telephone number. 2. A wireless communication device, comprising: a keypad to allow a user to enter information associated with a destination; a data storage communicatively coupled to the keypad to store the information entered by the user; and a processor communicatively coupled to the keypad and to the data storage, characterized in that the processor is responsive to a command from the user entered via the keypad to retrieve the information from the data storage and to transmit the retrieved information from the wireless communication device to the destination as part of an ongoing wireless communication link and subsequent to establishing the wireless communication link. 3. The wireless communication device of claims 1 or 2 wherein the information stored in the data storage comprises an alphanumeric sequence. 4. The wireless communication device of claims 1 or 2 wherein the information stored in the data storage includes timing information. 5. The wireless communication device of claims 1 or 2 wherein the data storage comprises a plurality of addressable memory locations, the addressable memory locations having stored therein information separately identifiable by a corresponding keypad combination, the keypad being structured to allow the user to enter the keypad combination to trigger the processor to retrieve selected information from one of the addressable memory locations. 6. The wireless communication device of claims 1 or 2, further comprising a display to display a menu representative of the information stored in the data storage. 7. The wireless communication device of claim 1 wherein the processor triggers a transmission of the additional data after the wireless communication link is separately established by first transmitting the destination telephone number. 8. A method of operating a wireless communication device, the method comprising: storing information, characterized in that the information includes a destination telephone number and additional data, in addressable memory locations of a data storage associated with the wireless communication device, and further characterized in that the method also comprises: assigning a separate keypad combination to a corresponding addressable memory location; retrieving the information stored in one of the addressable memory locations by entering the keypad combination corresponding to the one addressable memory location; and transmitting the retrieved information from the wireless communication device to establish a wireless communication link with a destination communication device associated with the destination telephone number. 9. A method of operating a wireless communication device, the method comprising: storing information in addressable memory locations of a data storage associated with the wireless communication device; assigning a separate keypad combination to a corresponding addressable memory location; retrieving the information stored in one of the addressable memory locations by entering the keypad combination corresponding to the one addressable memory location; and transmitting the retrieved information from the wireless communication device to a destination, characterized in that the retrieved information is transmitted as part of an ongoing wireless communication link and subsequent to establishing the wireless communication link. 10. The method of claims 8 or 9 wherein storing the user- entered information in addressable memory locations comprises storing an alphanumeric sequence. 11. The method of claims 8 or 9 wherein storing the user- entered information in addressable memory locations comprises storing an alphanumeric sequence and timing information. 12. The method of claims 8 or 9, further comprising displaying a menu representative of the information stored in the addressable memory locations. 13. The method of claim 8 wherein transmitting the retrieved information comprises transmitting the additional data after separately transmitting the destination telephone number and establishing the wireless communication link with the destination. 14. The method of claims 8 or 9, further comprising repeating the storing of information and assigning a separate keypad combination for additional information. 15. The method of claims 8 or 9, further comprising using a keypad to store the information in the addressable memory locations and to enter the keypad combination to retrieve the stored information. 16. The method of claims 8 or 9, further comprising transmitting the information to the destination as a sequence of portions of information and waiting for acknowledgment from the destination before transmitting a subsequent portion of information.

Inventors: GUM ARNOLD J, GUM, ARNOLD, J.
Applicants: QUALCOMM INC, QUALCOMM INCORPORATED
Application year: 2001
Main classification: H04M1
IPC codes: H04M1, H04Q7