DEVICE FOR USE AS A CLIENT IN A CLIENT-SERVER SYSTEM

Abstract: A WAP enabled mobile telephone handset (MS1) has a display device (5) and a processor (8) operable to provide user selectible displays of decks of WAP cards derived from a remote WAP server (18), and a user operable keys 3,4 for controlling the display provided by the display device, the keys being individually operable in first and second time windows to provide different key functionalities for controlling the display provided by the display device.

Description: Device for use as a client in a client-server system Description This invention relates to a device for use as a client in a client-server system, such as a mobile telephone handset or a personal digital assistant (PDA) enabled for wireless application protocol operation. Conventional mobile telecommunications devices, such as telephone handsets, have been designed primarily for speech calls and have only a limited capability for handling data. For example, in GSM, a short message service (SMS) has been provided to permit the user to send and receive short text messages that can be transmitted through a cellular public land mobile network (PLMN). More recently, recommendations have been developed to provide a wireless application protocol (WAP) to promote common standards and specifications for data services that operate over wireless communication networks. WAP enabled telephone handsets have been developed which allow the user to access remote servers. Data content is provided in a markup language, similar to conventional hypertext markup language (HTML), known as wireless markup language (WML), which is configured to allow data to be displayed as a deck of individual cards which are of a size suited for display on the relatively small display screen usually available on a mobile device such as a cellular telephone handset or PDA. A WAP server can be accessed by dialling an individual telephone number associated with a WAP gateway which acts as a proxy server between the WAP server itself and the mobile device which acts as a client. Thus, individual WAP servers can be accessed by a user, by dialling the telephone numbers associated with the individual WAP gateways that provide access to the servers. The mobile device runs a browser to display data from the server and navigation between different decks and cards thereof is controlled by the user with keys on the mobile device. Typically, the mobile device has a smaller number of keys than a conventional personal computer and does not have a mouse, and so navigating with the browser of the mobile device gives rise to a problem in terms of ergonomics, in relation to ease of browser controllability for the user. The present invention seeks to overcome this problem. According to the invention there is provided a mobile device for use as a client in a client-server system, including a display device and a processor operable to provide user selectible displays of data derived from the server, and a user operable key for controlling the display provided by the display device of the data derived from the server, the key being individually operable in first and second time periods to provide different key functionalities for controlling the display provided by the display device. The processor is configured to be controlled by program elements, for example from a markup language such as WML, having an attribute to be associated with individual key operations, such that the attribute is invoked selectively in one of said time periods. The invoked functionality may be an accesskey functionality. The time periods for the different functionalities comprise relatively short and long key depression time windows, whereby depression of the key for a period within the relatively short window invokes a first key functionality and depression of the key for a period within the relatively long window invokes a second key functionality. The device may have a plurality of the user selectible keys whereby the depression of a selected one the keys for a period in the short window invokes a text input window functionality with a character being inserted into the text input window in dependence upon the selected key. The selected key may be operable to insert an individually selectible character from a plurality of characters associated with the selected key. Furthermore, the depression of a selected one the keys for a period in the long window may invoke a functionality for which a link is selected depending upon the selected key. The device may also be configured so that the time periods for the different functionalities are defined by a first key functionality window of a predetermined duration occurring in response to commencement of a display of data by the display device, and a second key functionality window that occurs after expiry of the first key functionality window, so that operation of the key within the first key functionality window invokes a first key functionality and operation of the key within the second key functionality window invokes a second key functionality. Operation of the key within the first key functionality window may invoke a functionality for which a link is selected depending upon the depressed key and operation of the key within the second key functionality window invokes a functionality dependent upon a prior selection made in the display. A focus may be selectively movable to select different options in the display so that the invoked functionality is dependent upon the option selected by means of the focus. The device according to the invention may comprise a mobile telecommunications handset or other mobile device such as a PDA. The invention also includes a method of operating a mobile client device in a client-server system, comprising providing a user selectible display of data derived from the server, and operating a control to control the display provided by the display device, the control being operable in first and second time periods to provide different functionalities for controlling the display provided by the display device. In order that the invention may be more fully understood an embodiment thereof will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a mobile telephone handset which can communicate through PLMN to a WAP server; Figure 2 is a schematic block diagram of the circuitry of the mobile handset shown in Figure 1 ; Figure 3 illustrates schematically the display of the handset and the associated keys 4; Figures 4 illustrates a scrolling functionality associated with key 4c; Figure 5A illustrates an initial display of a WML deck; Figure 5B illustrates a display resulting from a relatively long key press of the 2-key; Figure 5C illustrates a corresponding display for a relatively short key press of the 2-key; Figure 6 is a flow diagram of process steps carried out by the micro- controller 8; Figure 7 is a timing diagram for a second embodiment of the invention; Figure 8A illustrates an initial display of a WML deck for the second embodiment; Figure 8B illustrates a display produced by operation of the 2-key during a first key functionality window; Figure 8C illustrates an initial WML deck with the input element selected by means of the focus; Figure 8D illustrates the display produced by operation of the 2-key during the second key functionality period; Figure 8E illustrates the initial display with the first internal link option selected; Figure 8F illustrates the display produced when the 2-key is depressed during the second key functionality period for the display of Figure 8E; Figure 8G illustrates the initial display with an external link selected by the focus; Figure 8H illustrates the display produced when the 2-key is depressed during the second period in respect of the display of Figure 8G; and Figure 9 is a flow chart of process steps carried out by the microcontroller 8 for the second embodiment. In Figure 1 , a mobile station in the form of a battery driven telephone cellular handset MS 1 , is shown schematically in radio communication with PLMN 1. The mobile handset MS1 , includes a microphone 2, keypad 3, soft keys 4, a liquid crystal display device 5, ear-piece 6 and internal antenna 7. As will be explained in more detail, the handset 1 is WAP enabled. The circuitry of the handset MS 1 is shown in more detail in Figure 2. Signal processing is carried out under the control of a digital micro-controller 8 which has an associated RAM/ROM 9 and flash memory 10. Electrical analogue audio signals are produced by microphone 2 and amplified by pre-amplifier 11. Similarly, analogue audio signals are fed to the ear-piece 6 through an amplifier 12. The micro-controller receives instruction signals from the keypad and so-called soft keys 4 and controls operation of the LCD display 5. Information concerning the identity of the user is held on a smart card 13 in the form of a GSM SIM card which contains the usual GSM international mobile subscriber identity and encryption Kj that is used for encoding the radio transmission in a manner well known per se. The SIM card 13 is removably received in a SIM card holder 14. Radio signals are transmitted and received by means of the antenna 7 connected through a rf stage 15 to a codec 16 configured to process signals under the control of a micro-controller 8. Thus, in use, for speech, the codec 16 receives analogue signals from the microphone amplifier 11 , digitises them into a form suitable for transmission and feeds them to the rf stage 15 for transmission through antenna element 7 to PLMN 1 shown in Figure 1. Similarly, signals received from PLMN 1 are fed through the antenna element to be demodulated by the rf stage 15 and fed to codec 16 so as to produce analogue signals fed to amplifier 12 and ear- piece 6. The handset 1 is WAP enabled and capable of receiving data in a predetermined channel e.g. for GSM, at 9.6Kbit/sec. Also, the handset may be configured to receive a high speed circuit switch data (HSCSD) according to the GSM recommendations, at a data rate from 14.4-43.2 Kbit/sec. It will however be understood that the invention is not restricted to any particular data rate and that higher rates could be used. The WAP content and its applications are specified in a well known set of content formats based on familiar www content formats. WAP is disclosed in the Wireless Application Protocol Architecture Specification; version 30 April 1998, published by the Wireless Application Protocol Architecture Working Group (see also http://www.wapforum.org/docs/technical.htm/arch-30-apr-98.pdf). As known in the art, the WAP environment (WAE) provides a browser e.g. a micro-browser operable on the handset MS 1 as a client, for connection to WAP servers. The browser is configured to operate with WML which, as previously mentioned comprises a lightweight markup language similar to HTML but optimised for use in hand-held mobile terminals, WML script - a lightweight scripting language similar to JAVA Script™, wireless telephony application (WTA, WTAI) telephony services and programming interfaces, and content formats - a well known set of data formats including images, phone book records and calendar information. Data can be downloaded to the browser from a WAP server such as server 18 shown in Figure 1. The server 18 provides WML decks of cards, corresponding to conventional pages of HTML such that a deck can be downloaded to the handset MS1 and the individual cards manipulated for display by means of the keys 3, 4. The server 18 is accessed through a gateway 19 which acts as a proxy server. The handset MS 1 can access the gateway 19 by dialling a predetermined telephone number. The WML data downloaded from the server 18 may be held in the RAM 9 or the flash memory 10. The microcontroller 8 provides the browser functionality and causes individual cards of the downloaded WML deck to be presented to the user in the browser on the screen of the display 5, and the display can be manipulated by means of the keys 4. The functionality of the soft keys 4 will now be described in more detail with reference to Figure 3. The keys 4 are disposed adjacent the underside of the display 5. The keys 4a, 4b comprise manually depressible buttons. Their functionality can be pre-programmed depending upon the task performed. The function attributed to the keys is displayed on the display 5 as soft key function legends 20, 21 adjacent to the respective keys 4a, 4b. The key 4c comprises a roller device to perform a scrolling function for the display 5. In use, an active or focus region 22 is provided on the display which, as explained in more detail later, can be moved around the display area. The roller 4c may comprise a 3-way roller, as shown in Figure 4. The roller may be pushed by the user's finger, to pivot about axis 23. When pushed upwardly, in the direction of arrow 24, a "scroll- up" function is performed. Conversely, when pushed downwardly in the direction of arrow 25 a "scroll-down" function is performed. Additionally, the roller 4c may be manually depressible inwardly of the handset, in the direction of arrow 26, to perform a "select" function. The key 4c may be further configured as a five-way roller, not shown, so as additionally to perform right and left scrolling functions. Alternatively, the key 4c may comprise a rollerball, a touch pad or other navigation device of the type used in laptop computers. In this example, the focus region 22 is delineated by a rectangular box which is moved around the screen of the display 5. However, the focus region can be provided in different ways, such as a region highlighted with a different intensity or colour from the rest of the display, an underlining of a menu option or by means of a pointer movable across the display in the manner of a conventional mouse pointer. The keypad 3 is shown schematically in Figure 4 and includes keys corresponding to the numbers 0 - 9 together with the usual # and * keys. As known in the art, the keys can also be used to select alpha characters, for example to produce a short text message known as a SMS. The selected key is pressed successively relatively quickly to change the character selected by the key between the characters marked on the key concerned, with each successive key operation. When the desired character is displayed, the user waits and a timeout occurs with the result that the displayed character becomes the selected character. This functionality can be found in conventional Nokia mobile telephone handsets such as the Model 21 10. As previously explained, the information displayed on the display 5 comprises WML data. The specification for WML can be found in WAP WML Version 4 - November 1999 "Wireless Application Protocol Wireless Mark Up Language Specification Version 1.2" published by Wireless Application Protocol Forum Limited, which can also be found at http//www1.wapforum.org/tech/documents/spec-wml-19991 104.pdf. The deck is the smallest unit of WML that is transmitted to the WAP device. A deck is conceptually one or more pages of information much like a web page with which the user interacts. The deck commences with a prologue and is delimited by a <wml> tag. This syntax of a deck is set out below. <wml> <head> <template> <card> </wml> The <head> element contains optional information about the deck as a whole including access control information to control access to the deck so that only permitted links may gain access. The <template> element contains optional information about deck-level bindings and will not be described in detail herein - reference is directed to Wireless Application Protocol Wireless Mark Up Language Specification Version 1.2, supra for further information. The <card> element defines the user interface and processing logic of the deck. As previously mentioned, the deck may include a number of cards. As with HTML, links can be defined. In WML the links can be between decks or cards. The links are defined in WML by an ANCHOR element which defines the head of the link. WML also includes an element A which is a shorthand version of the ANCHOR element. Furthermore, WML allows a user to insert text, for example to enter a user name, by means of an element INPUT . This element thus specifies a text entry object, in a similar manner to HTML. accesskey attribute Certain WML elements have an attribute that assigns an access key to the element. In this way, the WML elements can be given a particular focus by operating a predetermined key on the keyboard 3,4 of the device. The attribute is defined in WML as accesskey and is an attribute of the WML elements: ANCHOR, A and INPUT. An example is given below of the use of the accesskey element in a link using the A element (with A being shown in lower case i.e. "a" below): <a accesskey="1 " href=http://someplace.com/specification/contents.html> Table of Contents</a> In this example, when the key "1 " on the keypad is pressed, a link to the domain "someplace" is actuated, to locate the contents of a table. A more detailed description of the attribute accesskey and the WML elements: ANCHOR, A and INPUT is given in Wireless Application Protocol Wireless Mark Up Language Specification Version 1.2, supra. First embodiment Figure 5A illustrates a display on the display device 5 of the handset MS1 that comprises an initial card in a deck of WML data downloaded from WAP server 18. In this example, the downloaded WML data relates to a news service from a company "Newsco". As shown in Figure 5A, the displayed card includes an input 27, corresponding to the WML element INPUT together with links 28, 29 to "World News" and "European News". The links 28, 29 correspond to ANCHOR elements previously described. In the display of Figure 5a, the focus 22 is shown at the input 27. In accordance with the invention, an improved way of selecting items from the display is provided. The user choice can be determined by the duration for which a particular key is pressed by the user. If a key is pressed for a period longer than a predetermined threshold e.g. five seconds, a selection corresponding to the key is made. However, if the key is pressed for a duration shorter than the threshold, a character corresponding to the key is inserted into a text editor corresponding to the input 27, irrespective of the location of focus 22. Thus, a relatively long key press of a particular key produces a corresponding accesskey whereas a relatively short key press of a particular key causes a character corresponding to the key to be inserted into the text editor associated with input 27. This will now be explained in more detail with reference to Figures 5B and C in relation to operation of the 2-key of the key pad 3 shown in Figure 3. Long key press of 2-key When the 2-key is pressed for a period greater than the aforementioned threshold period e.g. five seconds, a display corresponding to Figure 5B is provided on the display device 5. The relatively long operation of the 2-key invokes accesskey functionality with a result that the link corresponding to the number "2" i.e. link 29 - European News, is selected. As a result, a card corresponding to the European News link is displayed which itself contains three numbered links: 1 - first Euro story, referenced 30, 2 - second Euro story, referenced 31 and 3 - third Euro story, referenced 32. Details of these Euro stories can be individually selected by selecting one of the links 30, 31 or 32. The links can be selected in a conventional manner using the focus 22 and by depressing the soft key 4c shown in Figure 3. Alternatively, the links can be selected according to the invention by a relatively long key press of the 1 -, 2- or 3- key to invoke accesskey functionality as just described. Short key press of 2-key Referring again to Figure 5A, when the 2-key is pressed for a period less than the aforementioned threshold period e.g. less than five seconds, a character corresponding to the 2-key is inserted in the text editor corresponding to the input 27, resulting in a display as shown in Figure 5C. In this example, the input 27 results in the display of a text editor screen 33 into which, conventionally, the user can type alphanumeric characters such as a user name or password. In this example, a user name may be entered in order to provide access to a restricted area in the "Newsco" site. In accordance with the invention, operation of the 2- key for the relatively short period, automatically opens the text editor 33 shown in Figure 5C and simultaneously results in the insertion of a character 34 corresponding to the 2-key into the text editor. As shown in Figure 3, the 2-key of the keys 3, has associated with it a number of alpha characters, in this example "a, b, c" and these characters can be selected individually by successive operation of the 2-key in the manner conventionally used to compose a SMS. In this example, the character "a" referenced 34 in Figure 5C, is initially inserted. However, if the user had wished to enter the character "b" the key would be operated for a second time to change the character 34 to "b". A third operation would change the display to the character "c". If the user wished initially to enter another character, for example "g" as the character 34, then the 4- key would be initially depressed rather than the 2-key. The selection process corresponding to the invention greatly speeds up the selection operation. If the user wishes to type information into the text editor 33 corresponding to input 27, the user can start relatively short duration key operations without having first to select the input 27 by scrolling the focus 22 with the key 4c. The relatively short duration operations of the keys will cause the text editor 33 to be automatically selected, with the character 34 inserted, irrespective of the location of focus 22 in the display of Figure 5A. Similarly, a relatively long press of the appropriate key corresponding to the menu option in the screen display of Figure 5A, will result in the link being automatically selected, without the need to manipulate key 4c and focus 22. The process carried out by micro-controller 8 to achieve this functionality is shown in Figure 6. At step SO, the duration of a key press is detected, for the key pad 3. If the key depression is detected at step S1 to be greater than the aforementioned threshold, then, accesskey functionality is invoked at step S2. Otherwise, at step S3, the input element functionality associated with input 27 is selected. Then at step S4, key data corresponding to individual relatively short key presses of the key are inserted into the text editor 33 of Figure 5C, so as to allow a user name or other alpha numeric data to be inserted, in the manner conventionally used to produce a SMS. Second embodiment A second embodiment will now be described in which keys are individually operable in first and second successive time periods referred to herein as time windows, to provide different functionalities. The second embodiment is shown in Figures 7 to 9. Referring to Figure 7, when a deck is initially displayed at time t , the micro-controller 8 opens a first key functionality window w-i with a duration of e.g. three seconds and thereafter opens a second key functionality window w 2 . The first key functionality window w- t is defined by an internal timer T. If the keys of the key pad 3 are pressed within the first key functionality window w-i, accesskey functionality is invoked. However, if the key is operated later, in the second key functionality window, different key functionalities are invoked depending on the selection made with the focus 22. This will now be explained in more detail with reference to Figure 8. Operation of the 2-key of the keys 3 will be described by way of example. Operation of 2-key in first window w-i Figure 8A illustrates the initial screen display on display device 5, at time t , when the deck is first downloaded and displayed from the server 18. As previously described, the initial display includes an input element 27, together with a selection list of numbered links 28, 29 to other cards in the deck, and a further link 35 to another domain which may be provided by a different server. In this example, the link 35 provides access to an archive site for old archived news stories. Referring to Figure 8A, when the 2-key is pressed within the first key functionality window w-i, accesskey functionality is invoked with the result that option 2 from the initial list of options is selected corresponding to the pressed key "2". In this example, the selection corresponds to link 29 - European news. As a result, a display corresponding to Figure 8B is provided. It will be understood that displays corresponding to option 1 can alternatively be provided by operating the 1 -key of the keys 3 within the first key functionality window to provide a display corresponding to the link 28. Operation of 2-key in second key functionality window After expiry of the first window Wι, the second key functionality window w 2 commences and the key functionality changes from accesskey to a functionality that depends upon the option in the display of Figure 8A that has been selected with focus 22. Considering Figure 8C, this corresponds to Figure 8A i.e. with the link 27 selected. When the 2-key is pressed in the second period w 2 , with link 27 selected, the input editor 33 is displayed as shown in Figure 8D and the alpha-character corresponding to the 2-key is inserted into the editing window, as shown by the character 34 in Figure 8D. As previously explained, the character display can be changed by successive operations of the 2-key in order to select "b" or "c", in the manner conventionally used to compose SMSs. Referring to Figure 8E, when another numbered link in a selection list is selected by focus 22, operation of the 2-key within the second period w causes a display of the selected link to be produced with the selection within the display being automatically selected as shown in Figure 8F. In this example, the internal link 28 - "World News" was initially selected with focus 22 so that when the 2-key was pressed, within the second period w 2 , the World News card is displayed as shown in Figure 8F, with the focus 22 automatically moving to the second numbered option i.e. corresponding to the 2-key - "Second World story" 36. It will be understood that if the 1 or 2-key had been depressed during period w 2 corresponding menu options 1 and 2 would have been selected by focus 22 i.e. "First World story" 37 or "Third World story" 38. In a modification, the display of Figure 8F may be amended and the operation of the key during period w 2 selects automatically the text of the appropriate selected story. Thus in this example, the text of the Second World story 36 would be displayed immediately, without the intermediary of the display shown in Figure 8F. Referring to Figure 8G, if an un-numbred link which does not form part of a numbered selection list - such as link 35, is selected by focus 22 initially, then, on operation of the 2-key within the second key functionality period w 2 , the link is established to the relevant domain i.e. the Newsco archive site but, in contrast to Figure 8F, the option corresponding to the 2-key may not necessarily be selected, depending upon the attributes of the domain. Thus, a display is provided as shown in Figure 8H. This functionality can also be used for a selection list which selects unnumbered items on pages within a deck i.e. not involving a link to a different deck or domain. The process steps performed by the micro-controller 8 are shown in Figure 9. At step S5, when a new deck is entered at time t d , the internal timer T is initialised at step S6. When a key press is detected at step S7, a determination is made at step S8 of whether the timer has timed out i.e. whether the first key functionality window Wi has expired. If not, accesskey functionality is invoked at step S9. If the timer T has in fact timed out, a determination is made of whether an input element (i.e. element 27) has been selected at step S10. If so, key press data is inserted into the editor window 33 as described with reference to Figure 8D, at step S1 1. If at step S12, it is determined that a selection list of internal links to pages within the displayed deck have been selected with focus 22, then at step S13, the selection highlighted by focus 22 is selected. If however an external links has been selected by focus 32, this is detected at step S14 and the corresponding link is made as shown at step S15. Many modifications and variations of the described embodiments are possible and features of them may be used in combination. Furthermore whilst the described embodiments make use of a mobile handset MS1 , it will be appreciated that the invention may be used with PDAs and other mobile computer devices. The PLMN need not be a GSM network and may operate according to any appropriate protocol such as UMTs. The invention is applicable to markup languages other than WAP, for example HTML which also includes an accesskey program element.

Claims: Claims 1. A mobile device for use as a client in a client-server system, including a display device and a processor operable to provide user selectible displays of data derived from the server, and a user operable key for controlling the display provided by the display device of the data derived from the server, the key being individually operable in first and second time periods to provide different key functionalities for controlling the display provided by the display device. 2. A device according to claim 1 wherein the processor is configured to be controlled by program elements having an attribute to be associated with individual key operations wherein said attribute is invoked selectively in one of said time periods. 3. A device according to claim 2 wherein the program elements are from a text markup language and said invoked functionality is an accesskey functionality. 4. A device according to any preceding claim operable to provide a browser controllable by means of said user operable key. 5. A device according to any preceding claim which is WAP enabled. 6. A device according to any preceding claim wherein the time periods for the different functionalities comprise relatively short and long key depression time windows, whereby depression of the key for a period within the relatively short window invokes a first key functionality and depression of the key for a period within the relatively long window invokes a second key functionality. 7. A device according to claim 6 including a plurality of the user selectible keys. 8. A device according to claim 7 wherein the depression of a selected one the keys for a period in the short window invokes a text input window functionality with a character being inserted into the text input window in dependence upon the selected key. 9. A device according to claim 8 wherein the selected key is operable to insert an individually selectible character from a plurality of characters associated with the selected key. 10. A device according to claim 7, 8 or 9 wherein the depression of a selected one the keys for a period in the long window invokes a functionality wherein a link is selected depending upon the selected key. 11. A device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the time periods for the different functionalities are defined by a first key functionality window of a predetermined duration occurring in response to commencement of a display of data by the display device, and a second key functionality window that occurs after expiry of the first key functionality window, whereby operation of the key within the first key functionality window invokes a first key functionality and operation of the key within the second key functionality window invokes a second key functionality. 12. A device according to claim 11 wherein operation of the key within the first key functionality window invokes a functionality wherein a link is selected depending upon the depressed key. 13. A device according to claim 11 or 12 wherein operation of the key within the second key functionality window invokes a functionality dependent upon a prior selection made in said display. 14. A device according to claim 13 wherein the display is configured so that a focus is selectively movable to select different options in the display and the invoked functionality is dependent upon the option selected by means of the focus. 15. A device according to any preceding claim and comprising a mobile telecommunications handset. 16. A device according to any preceding claim and comprising a PDA. 17. A client-server system including a server and at least one client as claimed in any preceding claim. 18. A method of operating a mobile client device in a client-server system, comprising providing a user selectible display of data derived from the server, and operating a control to control the display provided by the display device, the control being operable in first and second time periods to provide different functionalities for controlling the display provided by the display device. 19. A client device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 20. A method of operating a client device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Inventors: NIELSEN PETER DAM, NIELSEN, PETER, DAM
Applicants: NIELSEN PETER DAM, NOKIA MOBILE PHONES LTD, NIELSEN, PETER, DAM, NOKIA MOBILE PHONES LIMITED
Application year: 2001
Main classification: G06F3
IPC codes: G06F3, H04M1