Patent Publication Number: US-2012030710-A1

Title: Tv with landline integrated into tv&#39;s user interface

Description:
I. FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present application relates generally to TVs with landlines integrated into the user interface (UI) of the TV. 
     II. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Landline telephone remain important even with burgeoning wireless telephone use. Landlines often offer cheaper operational cost than wireless phones, and market shares for some telephony applications such as voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) and video conferencing remains relatively small for reasons of bandwidth. Thus, there is still a strong need for a dedicated landline telephone in meeting rooms, hotel rooms, and in the home. 
     As understood herein, when a person is watching TV such as in a motel room or other location, the phone can ring, requiring the person to rouse himself and locate the phone should the person desire to answer it. This can be distracting, annoying, and inconvenient. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Present principles understand that by combining a television with a landline phone, ease of customer use is facilitated, the number of devices in a room is reduced, and interruptions to TV viewing are reduced because a person can answer or make a call without moving or leaving the TV. 
     Accordingly, a TV includes a TV processor, a TV tuner sending TV signals to the TV processor, and a video display controlled by the TV processor to display video in the TV signals. The TV also has one or more speakers controlled by the TV processor to present audio in the TV signals. The TV processor presents on the video display a user interface (UI) including a single row of genre selector elements and, when an element is highlighted or selected, a single column of selectable elements pertaining to a respective genre under a selected genre selector element. One of the genre selector elements is a TV selector element selectable to cause input to the video display and speaker to be from the TV tuner. A second genre selector element is a telephone selector element which, when highlighted or selected, causes a column of telephone-related elements to appear. 
     In some embodiments a telephone module is provided within a chassis of the TV or is housed separately therefrom and is connected to the TV processor. For example, the telephone module can be provided in a set back box housed separately from the chassis. The telephone module may communicate with the public switched telephone network (PSTN) over a landline and in example non-limiting embodiments may include a speaker and a microphone which receives voice signals and provides the signals to a TM controller processor. The TM controller processor controls a telephony circuit within the module and connected by a landline to the PSTN. As an example, the telephony circuit can include a full duplex voice path in the frequency range of 300 Hz to 3400 Hz, and circuitry providing for call progress tones. 
     In some embodiments, responsive to receiving a signal from the telephone module that a telephone is incoming, the TV processor presents a caller identification string on the video display indicating a telephone number of a calling party. The TV processor can also present on the display an “answer” selector element which may be selected by means of a TV remote control (RC) to cause the telephone module to answer the call at least in part by enabling voice input from a microphone. Furthermore, the TV processor can also present on the video display a “send to voice mail” selector element responsive to an incoming call. Responsive to selection of the “send to voice mail” selector element, the TV processor can command the telephone module to activate a voice mail feature of the telephone module, in which a caller&#39;s message is recorded. Responsive to selection of the “answer” selector element the TV processor can automatically mute the speaker and in response to selection of the “send to voice mail” selector element the TV processor does not mute the speaker. The “answer” selector element and the “send to voice mail” selector element may be presented on a currently presented screen including a live video screen responsive to an incoming call arriving, such that a viewer of the TV answers the call or causes it to be sent to voice mail with a single click of the RC. 
     In another aspect, a TV includes a TV processor, a TV tuner sending TV signals to the TV processor, and a video display controlled by the TV processor to display video in the TV signals. The TV also has one or more speakers controlled by the TV processor to present audio in the TV signals. The TV processor presents on the video display a user interface (UI) including a set of telephone-related elements. The elements include a “place call” selector element selectable to cause a sub-UI to appear on the display into which a user can enter, by means of a TV remote control (RC), a telephone number to call. A second element can be presented which is selectable to cause the TV processor to command a telephone module to dial a customer service telephone number prestored in the TV and being a customer service telephone number of a manufacturer of the TV. Yet a third element is presented and is selectable to enable a viewer to establish answering machine-related settings for the telephone module. 
     In another aspect, a method executed by a TV processor controlling a TV display and at least one TV audio speaker includes receiving a message that a telephone call is incoming. The method also includes, responsive to the message, presenting on the display “answer” and “voice mail” selector elements, and responsive to selection of the “answer” selector element, muting audio on the TV audio speaker while continuing to present video on the TV display and commanding a telephone module to pick up the call. However, responsive to selection of the “voice mail” selector element, the method includes commanding the telephone module to activate its voice mail feature and continuing to play both audio and video on the TV audio speaker and TV display, respectively. 
     The details of the present invention, both as to its structure and operation, can best be understood in reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts, and in which: 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an example system in accordance with present principles, schematically showing interior components of the TV; 
         FIGS. 2 and 3  are screen shots of an example user interface (UI) implemented as a cross-media bar (XMB) including a “telephone” category and showing items in the telephone category; 
         FIGS. 4-6  are screen shots of example sub-UIs that may be invoked from  FIG. 2  or  3 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a flow chart of example logic executed by the TV for an incoming call; and 
         FIG. 8  is a flow chart of example logic executed by the TV for an outgoing call. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring initially to  FIG. 1 , a TV system  10  includes TV chassis  12  holding a TV video display  14  and one or more audio speakers  15 , both controlled by a TV processor  16  accessing a non-transitory computer readable storage medium or media  18 , implemented as solid state storage, disk-based storage, etc. The TV processor  16  can receive TV signals from a TV tuner  20 , typically located within the chassis  12  but in some implementations located in a separately housed set-top box. The TV processor  16  can receive wireless user command signals from a wireless remote control (RC)  22 , typically in the infrared (IR) range but sometimes in the radiofrequency (RF) range. To this end, a wireless RC signal receiver  24  can be provided to receive signals from the RC  22  and send the signals to the processor  16 . 
     According to present principles, a telephone module  26  may be provided within the chassis  12  or housed separately therefrom and connected to the TV processor  16 . The telephone module  26  can include one or more speakers  28  such as telephone ringers and a microphone  30  which receives voice signals and provides the signals to a TM controller processor  32  accessing one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media  34 . The controller processor  32  may be part of or otherwise control a telephony circuit  36  connected by a landline  38  such as a wire or fiber optics or microwave landline to the public switched telephone network (PSTN)  40 . In any case, the controller processor  32  communicates with the TV processor  16 . 
     Without limitation and by way of illustration the telephony circuit  36  may include a full duplex voice path in the frequency range of 300 Hz to 3400 Hz. The circuit  36  may include circuitry providing for call progress tones such as dial tones and ringing signals as well as provide for subscriber dialing and operator services. Furthermore, the circuit  36  may include battery feed, overvoltage protection, ringing, supervision, a codec, hybrid circuitry, and testing circuitry (collectively known as “BORSCHT”) that may be used in plain old telephone service (POTS) signaling, line supervision, and telephone terminal operation. All or parts of the circuit  36  can be implemented on a telecommunications network line card and can be integrated into a chipset. 
     Now referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , in an example embodiment a user interface (UI)  42  is shown which includes a single row  44  of genre selector elements and, when an element is highlighted or selected as indicated by the screen cursor  46  controllable by the RC  22 , a single column  48  of selectable elements pertaining to that genre under the selected genre selector element as shown. In the example shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the genre selector elements in the row  44  may include, from left to tight, a users element  50  which can be selected to establish user accounts for each user of the TV. A settings selector element  52  may be provided which may be selected to establish TV settings, e.g., video display  14  settings, closed caption settings, and so on. Next, a TV selector element  54  may be provided to cause input to the display  14  and speakers  15  to be from the TV tuner  20 , whereas a disk selector element  56  may be presented to cause the TV to present content from a disk in a video disk player. A music selector element  58  may also be presented to cause a music selection folder to be opened to allow music to be played on the speakers  15 . 
     In accordance with present principles, a telephone selector element  60  may be provided in the row  44  of genre selectors which, when highlighted or selected as shown, causes a column  48  of telephone-related elements to appear below it.  FIG. 2  shows some example telephone elements that may be presented while  FIG. 3  shows additional example telephone elements that may be presented. 
     Prior to describing the functions of the telephone elements in the column  48  of telephone-related elements, attention is drawn to the left portion of  FIG. 2 . When an incoming call is received by the telephone module  26 , the controller processor  32  informs the TV processor  16  of this fact and in accordance with logic shown in  FIG. 7  and described further below, the TV processor  16  in response presents a caller identification string  62  on the display  14  as shown, indicating the telephone number of the calling party. Also, in the example shown the TV processor  16  presents on the display  14  an “answer” selector element  64  which may be selected by means of navigating the screen cursor  46  using the RC  22  to the answer selector element  64  and pressing a “select” key on the RC  22 . In response, the TV processor  16  commands the controller processor  32  to pick up, or answer, the call. On the other hand, the TV processor  16  also presents a “send to voice mail” selector element  66  on the display  14  when an incoming call is present and responsive to selection of the “send to voice mail” selector element  66 , the TV processor  16  commands the controller processor  32  to activate the voice mail feature of the telephone module  26 , in which a caller&#39;s message may be recorded on, e.g., the telephone module storage media  34 . 
     It is to be understood that while  FIG. 2  shows the elements  62 ,  64 ,  66  presented on the UI  42  screen, the elements  62 ,  64 ,  66  can be presented on any currently presented screen including a live video screen whenever an incoming call arrives. For example, the elements  62 ,  64 ,  66  can be presented in a graphics plane of the TV and overlaid on a video plane in which TV programming is being presented so that regardless of what screen the user has invoked, the elements  62 ,  64 ,  66  can appear to enable a viewer of the TV to answer the call or cause it to be sent to voice mail with a single click of the RC  22 . 
     Turning attention to the telephone elements in the column  48  of telephone-related elements, an “answer” element  68  may be presented indicating that if selected, the TV audio will be muted. Selection of the “answer” element  68  results in the same response as selection of the “answer” selector element  64  mentioned above and described in detail below, it being understood that the “answer” element  68  in the  48  of telephone-related elements is presented only when the UI  42  is selected for display and the telephone selector  60  is active. 
     Also, a “place call” selector element  70  can be presented in the column  48  as shown to enable a viewer of the TV to place a call through the telephone module  26  using the RC  22 .  FIGS. 4 and 8 , described further below, illustrate example operation of the TV processor  16  responsive to selection of the “place call” selector element  70 . 
     In addition, a “send call to answering machine” element  72  may be presented which, when selected, causes the TV processor  16  to function as described above with respect to the “send to voice mail” selector element  66 . 
       FIG. 3  shows additional elements that may be presented in the column  48 . As shown, an element  74  may be selected, responsive to which the TV processor  16  commands the telephone module  26  to dial a telephone number typically prestored in the TV and being the customer service telephone number of the manufacturer of the TV. The prestored customer service number is provided by the TV to the telephone module  26 . 
     An element  76  in the row  48  may be selected to enable a viewer to establish certain answering machine-related settings for the telephone module  26 .  FIG. 5 , described below, further illustrates an example response to selection of the element  76 . Also, an element  78  may be provided to enable a user to input speed dial numbers as further described in reference to  FIG. 6 , while an “auto redial” selector element  80  may be provided which can be selected to cause the TV processor  16  to command the telephone module  26  to redial the last number it dialed. A wake up TV selector element  82  can be provided to invoke a sub-UI permitting the viewer to establish a wake up time at which the TV will automatically turn on, as well as a sleep time at which the TV will automatically power down. 
     As mentioned above, responsive to selection of the “place call” element  70 , the TV processor  16  presents on the display  14  a UI  84  which includes a field  86  into which a user may type a telephone number to be called using the number keys on the RC  22 . The UI  84  may also include a prompt as shown instructing the user to place a call by entering a number using the RC and then pressing a “select” or “enter” key on the RC  22 . 
     As also mentioned above, responsive to selection of the “set answering machine” element  76 , an example UI  88  shown in  FIG. 5  may be presented on the TV display  14 . Among other things a user can select to set a greeting for the voice mail feature of the telephone module  26  to play responsive to an incoming call being sent to voice mail. When this is selected the TV processor  16  commands the controller processor  32  to record, as the answering machine greeting, the next sounds it receives from the microphone  30  of the module  26 . The user may also select from the UI  88  to playback messages recorded on the telephone module  26 , in which case the TV processor  16  commands the controller processor  32  to play, on the telephone module speakers  28 , messages recorded on the module media  34 . Other voice mail features may also be input using the UI  88  to the TV processor  16  and sent from there to the controller processor  32  for execution, such as the number of rings to use prior to invoking the answering machine feature of the telephone module  26 , etc. 
     Turning to  FIG. 6 , responsive to selection of the “set speed dial numbers” element  78 , a UI  90  may be presented with fields  92 , numbered in ascending order as shown, into which a user may enter telephone numbers using the RC  22 . The TV processor  16  correlates the numbers entered into the fields  92  with their numeric position in the ascending order. Thereafter, the user may dial a speed dial number by selecting the “place call” element  70  and then entering into the field  86  of the UI  84  shown in  FIG. 4  the numeric position, e.g., “1” or “2”, of the desired speed dial number, and then pressing a “select” key on the RC  22 . The TV processor  16  interprets entry of a single number as a speed dial number, looks up the corresponding telephone number that was entered using the UI  90  in  FIG. 6 , and then commands the telephone module  26  to place a call to the corresponding number in accordance with logic described further below in reference to  FIG. 8 . 
     Other elements may appear in the column  48 . By way of non-limiting example, similar to the customer service element  74 , a concierge telephone number-dialing element may be presented which, when selected, dials a prestored concierge number. 
     Now referring to  FIG. 7  for an understanding of example logic that may be implemented by the TV processor  16  when an incoming call is received, at block  94  a message is received from the controller processor  32  of the telephone module  26  that an incoming call has arrived, along with the caller ID of the calling number. At block  96  the caller ID is presented on the display  14  as described above, along with the “answer” and “voice mail” selector elements  64 ,  66 . Decision diamond  98  indicates that responsive to a user selection of “answer”, the TV processor  16  mutes the audio on the TV speakers  15  at block  100 , continuing to present video on the display  14  from whatever source had been currently active when the call arrived. At block  102  the TV processor  16  commands the controller processor  32  to pick up the call, activating the microphone  30  of the telephone module  26 . When the telephone module  26  informs the TV processor  16  that the call has concluded, audio from the current source is presented on the TV speakers  15 , i.e., the speakers  15  are no longer muted, at block  104 . 
     On the other hand, responsive to the user selecting “voice mail”  66  and also as a default to the user not selecting anything within a predetermined period (e.g., ten seconds) after a call arrives, the logic flows from decision diamond  98  to block  106  to command the telephone module  26  to activate its voice mail feature. Both audio and video continue to be played on the speakers  15 /display  14  at block  108  under these circumstances. 
       FIG. 7  shows example logic for placing a call. Commencing at block  110  a place call command is received from, e.g., the RC  22  operating on the U 184  of  FIG. 4  or selecting the customer service element  74  of  FIG. 3 . The desired telephone number is sent to the telephone module  26  at block  112  with a command to dial the number and activate the microphone  30 . After the command is sent, the TV speakers  15  are muted at block  114 , there being no reason to mute them prior to sending the dial command. 
     The telephone module  26  may also be used as a dial-up modem. The modem would not be ideal for large internet usage, but could be good for metadata such as weather, time, movie/show listing. 
     Other features of the telephone module  32  may include a contact telephone book, which may be invoked from a selector element provided under the telephone element  60 . 
     While the particular TV WITH LANDLINE INTEGRATED INTO TV&#39;S USER INTERFACE is herein shown and described in detail, it is to be understood that the subject matter which is encompassed by the present invention is limited only by the claims.