Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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REMOTE TELEPHONE SOFTWARE CONFIGURATION
APPARATUS AND METHOD
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to remote configuration of a
telephone and more particularly to downloading files from
a network for execution on a telephone.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The features and services available in subscriber telephone
sets and in available telephone services continue to grow
in richness and flexibility. Many microprocessor-based
telephones are capable of supporting many different
mixtures of features and capabilities, by changing the
configuration of processor-readable parameters.
At the same time, the costs and delays associated with
visits to the subscriber premises by service provider
personnel are becoming less acceptable to the subscriber.
It would be desirable, therefore, for telephone service
providers to be able to change the configuration of a
subscriber telephone set without visiting the subscriber
premises.
Some manufacturers' telephones have been modified to
support remote re-configuration by using a variant of the
"Caller ID" signal, whereby the telephone service provider
can, presumably in response to a request by the subscriber,
add, modify or delete services or other parameters defined
within the telephone's processor subsystem. In simple
situations, this re-configuration can be accomplished by
this method in a few seconds. The quantity of data
associated with a more complex telephone, or especially one
capable of displaying promotional or informative images, is
not efficiently transferred using this method, because of
inherent limitations in the data transmission speeds
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available. A faster method of transferring data to a
telephone is required to support these newer, display
capable telephones. Operating companies need a way to
force a telephone to get information on a periodic basis.
Existing suppressed Ring Access (SRA) techniques rely on
FSK (frequency shift keying) data which is very slow and is
not reliable.
Generally, software in telephones is difficult to field
upgrade because it must be downloaded and verified before
the old software is deleted. Traditionally, software was
upgraded in a single unit requiring that the full software
application be duplicated before it can be verified and
accepted. This is very costly as it requires a relatively
large memory area to hold both the old software and the new
software.
The problem is compounded as software, data and service
downloads require a large number of files to be downloaded
successfully to the telephone. If one file is missed or
downloaded improperly then the entire download could be
compromised. Individual file downloads are possible but
the files must be managed, which greatly complicates the
system.
What would be desirable is a way of conveniently field
upgrading telephone software on line, without requiring
entire software replacement. The present invention
addresses this need.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is
provided a file download method and apparatus for
downloading files from a network into memory. The
apparatus includes a processor operable to communicate on
the network. The processor runs a browser for downloading
from a first resource identified by a first network
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resource locator, an applet including a second network
resource locator, an applet viewer for running the applet,
a public interface for communicating with the applet to
receive the second network resource locator from the
applet, a security manager for preventing running applets
from accessing the memory and a handler having access to
the memory, the handler being in communication with the
public interface, for communicating with a second network
resource identified by the second network resource locator
to receive and store in the memory, a file from the second
network resource.
Preferably, the handler is operable to decompress the file
from the second network resource to produce a plurality of
decompressed files.
Preferably, the handler is operable to verify the file has
been received in accordance with pre-defined criteria.
Preferably, the handler is operable to extract a password
from the file and compare the password against a pre-
defined password and to store the file in the memory when
the password matches the pre-defined password.
Preferably, the handler is operable to extract a filename
from the file from the second resource and load the file
into an area of memory associated with the filename.
Preferably, the apparatus includes an FSK receiver for
receiving an FSK message having a first network resource
locator identifying the first resource and preferably, the
browser is operable to receive the first network resource
locator from the FSK receiver.
Preferably, the apparatus includes a first telephone line
interface for receiving the FSK message from a first
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telephone line and for providing the FSK message to the FSK
receiver.
Preferably, the apparatus includes an event parser for
extracting the first uniform resource locator from the FSK
message for presentation to the browser.
Preferably, the apparatus includes a second telephone line
interface, the processor using the second telephone line
interface for communicating on the network.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there
is provided a computer readable medium on which is stored
a plurality of computer readable codes representing
instructions for directing a processor to download files
from a network into memory in communication with the
processor, the processor being operable to communicate on
the network, the instructions directing the processor to:
a) implement a browser operable to download to the
processor from a first resource identified by a
first network resource locator, an applet
including a second network resource locator;
b) run the applet on the processor;
c) receive the second network resource locator from
the applet;
d) prevent applets running on the processor from
accessing the memory; and
e) communicate with a second network resource
identified by the second network resource locator
to receive and store in the memory, a file from
the second network resource.
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Preferably, the computer readable medium includes a
plurality of computer readable codes for directing the
processor to decompress the file from the second network
resource to produce a plurality of decompressed files.
Preferably, the computer readable medium includes a
plurality of computer readable codes for directing the
processor to verify the file has been received in
accordance with pre-defined criteria.
Preferably, the computer readable medium includes a
plurality of computer readable codes for directing the
processor to extract a password from the file and compare
the password against a pre-defined password and to store
the file in the memory when the password matches the pre-
defined password.
Preferably, the computer readable medium includes a
plurality of computer readable codes for directing the
processor to extract a filename from the file from the
second resource and load the file into an area of memory
associated with the filename.
Preferably, the computer readable medium includes a
plurality of computer readable codes for directing the
processor to receive an FSK message having a first network
resource locator identifying the first resource and receive
the first network resource locator from the FSK receiver.
Preferably, the computer readable medium includes a
plurality of computer readable codes for directing the
processor to receive the FSK message from a first telephone
line and provide the FSK message to the FSK receiver.
Preferably, the computer readable medium includes a
plurality of computer readable codes for directing the
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processor to extract the first uniform resource locator
from the FSK message for presentation to the browser.
Preferably, the computer readable medium includes a
plurality of computer readable codes for directing the
processor to use a second telephone line interface for
communicating on the network.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there
is provided a method for remotely configuring a telephone
having a processor operable to communicate on a network and
memory accessible by the processor for storing groups of
processor readable codes for directing the processor to
effect telephone functionality. The method includes the
steps of:
a) downloading to the processor from a first network
resource on the network, an applet including a
second network resource locator;
b) running the applet on the processor;
c) to receiving the second network resource locator
from the applet;
d) preventing applets running on the processor from
accessing the memory; and
e) establishing communications between the processor
and a second network resource identified by the
second network resource locator to receive and
storing in at least one of the groups, a file
from the second network resource.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there
is provided a remotely configurable telephone having a
processor operable to communicate on a network and memory
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accessible by the processor for storing groups of processor
readable codes for directing the processor to effect
telephone functionality, the processor being programmed to
run:
a) a browser for downloading to the processor from
a first network resource on the network, an
applet including a second network resource
locator;
b) an applet viewer for running the applet on the
processor;
c) a public interface for communicating with
the applet to receive the second network
resource locator from the applet;
d) a security manager for preventing applets running
on the processor from accessing the memory; and
e) a handler providing the processor access to the
memory, the handler being in communication with
the public interface, for communicating with a
second network resource identified by the second
network resource locator to receive and store in
at least one of the groups, a file from the
second network resource.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there
is provided a method of remotely configuring a telephone
having a processor operable to communicate on a network and
memory accessible by the processor for storing groups of
processor readable codes for directing the processor to
effect telephone functionality, the method including the
steps of:
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a) downloading to the processor from a first
network resource on the network, an applet
including a second network resource locator;
b) running the applet on the processor;
c) receiving the second network resource locator
from the applet;
d) preventing applets running on the processor from
accessing the memory; and
e) establishing communications between the processor
and a second network resource identified by the
second network resource locator to receive and
store in at least one of the groups, a file from
the second network resource.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there
is provided a computer readable medium on which is stored
a plurality of computer readable codes representing
instructions for directing a processor to remotely
configure a telephone having a processor operable to
communicate on a network and memory accessible by the
processor for storing groups of processor readable codes
for directing the processor to effect telephone
functionality, the instructions directing the processor to:
a) download from a first network resource on
the network, an applet including a second
network resource locator;
b) run the applet;
c) communicate with the applet to receive the second
network resource locator from the applet;
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d) prevent running applets from accessing the
memory; and
e) communicate with the public interface, to
communicate with a second network resource
identified by the second network resource locator
to receive and store in at least one of the
groups, a file from the second network resource.
Effectively an aspect of the invention involves the use of
a short FSK blast which instructs the telephone to navigate
to the web using a high speed modem. The modem connection
is a reliable high speed connection which can be used to
download large files of telephone functionality software or
display-based advertising.
The use of Java software helps facilitate upgrading of
telephone software in small components (packages) which
means that only the downloaded component needs to be
duplicated in memory. This is much more cost effective and
much easier to implement compared to existing systems.
The large file to be downloaded is preferably a compressed
file bundle which includes all the necessary replacement or
new files to be sent to the telephone in one verifiable
download. An applet is started on the telephone which
makes a call to a main application running on the phone to
download the bundle and install it in a location in the
file system. The telephone then starts the download of the
file bundle and dynamically decompresses the bundle into
individual files. Once the full bundle has been downloaded
it is verified and the installation is completed. The
bundle is verified, through a checksum algorithm, that it
was properly received and in this manner, all files are
verified as having been received properly.
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This invention provides a subscriber telephone set with the
ability to efficiently receive and activate configuration
and other files defined by a service provider, without
intervention by the subscriber, and without the requirement
for attendance at the subscriber premises by service
provider personnel.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In drawings which illustrate embodiments of the invention,
20
Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus for
downloading files from a network into memory
according to a first embodiment of the invention;
Figure 2 is a block diagram of a suppressed ring access
(SRA) server and a central office service unit
according to the first embodiment of the
invention;
Figure 3 is a schematic representation of an SRA control
message and an SRC message transmitted by the SRA
server and the central office service unit
respectively;
Figure 4 is a schematic representation of a central office
and a telephone according to the first embodiment
of the invention;
Figure 5 is a block diagram of a central office line
interface in the telephone of Figure 4;
Figure 6 is a tree diagram of a directory structure of
file directories within the telephone;
Figure 7 is a schematic representation of storage areas in
the RAM shown in Figure 4;
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Figure 8 is a schematic representation of a program
architecture in a processor in the telephone of
Figure 4;
Figure 9 is a flowchart of an event parser thread run by
a system processor of the telephone of Figure 4;
Figure 10 is a flowchart of a main event handler thread run
by the system processor;
Figure 11 is a flowchart of an event dispatcher run by the
system processor;
Figure 12 is a flowchart of the browser thread run by the
system processor;
Figure 13 is a flowchart of a network driver run by the
system processor;
Figure 14 is a flowchart of an applet thread run by the
system processor;
Figure 15 is a flowchart of a public interface method by
the system processor; and
Figure 16 is a flowchart of a handler thread run by the
system processor.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Figure 1
Referring to Figure 1, a system for downloading files from
a network into memory in communication with a processor
operable to communicate on the network is shown generally
at 10. In this embodiment a first network node is shown
generally at 12 while a second network node is shown
generally at 14.
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The first network node includes a modified ring access
server which, in this embodiment is a suppressed ring
access (SRA) server 16 and a central office service unit 18
and the second network node includes a telephone 20. The
suppressed ring access server 16 is in communication with
the central office service unit 18 and the central office
service unit is in communication with the telephone through
a central office switch 22 in the public switched telephone
network.
In addition to providing conventional telephone features,
the telephone 20 receives FSK messages including a network
resource indicator, through suppressed ring access or
single ring access initiated by the SRA server 16 and
central office service unit 18. The telephone 20 also has
transceiver hardware and software for establishing
communications with an Internet service provider 24,
through the central office switch 22 to establish
communications with first or second Java applet providers
25 and 360 which act as network resources identified by
network resource indicators included in the FSK message
provided to the telephone by the central office service
unit 18. The SRA server thus directs the telephone 20 to
a network resource from which it can download Hypertext
Markup Language (HTML) pages. Such HTML pages may include
applets which can be run at the telephone 20 to direct the
telephone to communicate with first or second content
providers 26 and 366 which can provide files to re-
configure the telephone to change the functionality thereof
to display content such as advertising or to provide
enhanced telephone features.
Fiaure 2
SRA server
Referring to Figure 2, the SRA server 16 includes a
database shown generally at 28, a database manager 30, a
communications interface 32 and an administrator terminal
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34. The database 28 is used to store a plurality of
records including telephone number records 36, customer
premises equipment identification (CPE ID) records 38 and
feature records 40.
The telephone number records 36 have telephone number
fields 42, and subscriber information fields 44 while
customer premises equipment records 38 have telephone
number fields 46 and CPE ID fields 48. The contents of the
telephone number fields 42 and 46 link telephone number
records and CPE ID records together when the telephone
number fields 42 and 46 have the same contents.
The feature records 40 have respective URL fields 50 for
storing a uniform resource locator identifying a first
network resource on the world-wide web at which an HTML
page including a download applet is available. The
download applet is runable by the telephone 20 to provide
the telephone with the functionality required to download
a feature applet from the same network resource or a
different or second network resource.
The database manager 30 receives commands from the
administrator terminal 34 to create and amend telephone
number records 36 and CPE ID records 38 in the database 28.
A separate telephone number record is associated with each
telephone and therefore in this embodiment, telephone
number record 36 is associated with telephone 20 shown in
Figure 1. A CPE ID record is also associated with
telephone 20, and has a CPE ID field 48 identifying an
address of an equipment block within the telephone. This
facilitates a plurality of different equipment to be
connected to the same telephone line from the central
office switch (22), while allowing each different equipment
to be individually addressable.
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In one scenario, the SRA server 16 is maintained by a
telephone company providing telephone services to
subscribers such as the user of telephone 20. The database
records are created such that separate telephone number
records are associated with respective corresponding
subscriber lines and separate equipment ID records 38 are
associated with respective corresponding equipment
connected to a given line, at the subscriber's premises.
In the event that a user requests a change in telephone
features, an administrator enters the change into the
administrator terminal 34 which directs the database
manager 30 to search the telephone number records and CPE
ID records to locate the user's telephone number and CPE ID
for the telephone which is to be changed to include the new
telephone features. At the same time, the database manager
30 searches the feature records 40 to locate a record
containing a uniform resource locator (URL) defining an
address of a resource on the Internet at which an HTML page
including an applet which provides a URL identifying a
resource from which the telephone downloads a file using a
file transfer protocol (FTP), the file being executable by
the telephone to provide extended functionality thereto.
Figure 3
In response to the database search, the database manager
produces an SRA control message as shown at 31 in Figure 3,
including a message identifier 33 identifying the type of
loop carrier in the connecting path to the subscriber
location, a telephone number of a subscriber line 35, and
a CPE ID 37 identifying equipment on the subscriber line to
which the SRA control message is addressed, and a URL 39
copied from the uniform resource locator field 50 of the
feature record 40. Referring back to Figure 2, this SRA
control message is provided to the communication interface
32 which transmits it to the central of f ice service unit
18.
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Central Office Service Unit
Still referring to Figure 2, in this embodiment, the
Central Office service unit 18 includes a telemetry network
access computer 60, an SRA communications interface 62 and
a central office interface 64 including an FSK transmitter
65. The SRA communications interface 62 is connected to
the communications interface 32 of the SRA server 16 by a
public packet switched network link 66 and provides
messages received from the SRA server 16 to the telemetry
network access computer 60. The FSK transmitter 65 in the
central office interface 64 is controlled by the telemetry
network access computer 60 and is connected to the central
office (not shown in Figure 2) by at least one trunk 68
having a suppressed ring access class of service.
In general, the telemetry network access computer 60
receives SRA messages from the SRA server 16 and produces
on the trunk 68 suppressed ringing connection (SRC)
messages in an FSK format, as shown generally at 70 in
Figure 3. The suppressed ringing connection messages are
thus FSK messages.
Referring back to Figure 3, SRC messages have a format
which includes a message type field 72, a total length
field 74, a CPE ID field 76, a parameter type field 78, a
parameter length field 80, and a parameter data field 82.
The message type field identifies the message as a
suppressed ring connection message. Predefined codes are
used to identify predefined message types. The total
length field 74 is used to hold a value representing the
total length of the SRC message. The CPE ID field 76 is
loaded with the contents of the CPE ID field 37 of the SRA
control message from the SRA server. The parameter type
field 78 is used to identify the type of data stored in the
parameter data field 82 and, in this embodiment, the
parameter type field stores a predefined code representing
that the contents of the parameter data field 82 relate to
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URL data. The parameter length field 80 is used to
identify the length of the parameter data field 82. The
parameter data field 82 is, in this embodiment, used to
store the uniform resource locator identifying the first
network resource or first provider 25, from the URL field
39 of the SRA control message from the SRA server. The FSK
message thus has a first network resource locator
identifying the first network resource.
Figure 4
Central office
Referring to Figure 4, the central office switch 22
includes a program driven digital switch including a
switching network 45, a program controlled processor 47 a
trunk unit 57 and a plurality of subscriber interfaces,
only two of which are shown at 59 and 61.
The trunk unit 57 senses activation by the central office
service unit and signals the program controlled processor
47, to indicate such activation. The program controlled
processor then controls the switching network 45 to provide
voice path connections for communicating suppressed ring
access messages from the central office service unit 18 to
subscriber locations such as the telephone 20 served by the
central office switch 22. Communication between each
subscriber location and the switching network 45 occurs via
the subscriber interfaces, each of which includes a line
unit 49, a digital loop carrier 51 at the switch location,
a transmission path 52, a digital loop carrier 54 at a
remote location and a subscriber line 56, 58.
Generally, the trunk 68 has a class of service which
identifies to the central office switch 22 that the
connections being requested by the central office service
unit 18 are to be made with ringing suppressed, ie., with
no ringing signal transmitted or with a burst of ringing
signal transmitted of sufficient length to activate the
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digital loop carriers 51 and 54 but of insufficient length
to be present for any significant time after connection is
completed. Accordingly, the central office service unit 18
can establish connections through the central office switch
22 to the subscriber locations, and such connections are
accompanied by no or little (ie., short) ringing. These
connections facilitate the transmission of suppressed ring
access messages in an FSK format to the telephone. In
other words, the central office service unit places a call
through the central office on a trunk line having a special
class of service. The central office detects that a call
is being made on the special trunk line and activates the
digital loop carriers for the line to which the call is
being made, to enable communication between the central
office service unit and the telephone, without activation
(suppressed ringing) or with minium activation (single
ring) of ring tone generation circuitry (not shown) in the
central office. Thus, a communication link is established
between the central office service unit 18 and the
telephone to permit the FSK suppressed ring access message
to be transmitted from the central office service unit to
the telephone.
Telephone
Referring to Figure 4, the telephone is shown generally at
20 and includes a system microprocessor 90, a telephony
microcontroller 92, and a central office line interface 94
in communication with both the system microprocessor 90 and
the telephony microcontroller 92. The system
microprocessor is connected to a keyboard interface 96 and
a keyboard 98, for receiving user input for commanding the
system microprocessor 90 to effect certain functionality.
The system microprocessor is further connected to a display
interface 100 which is further connected to a display 102,
for displaying output to a user.
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The telephony microcontroller 92 is in communication with
the system microprocessor 90 by a plurality of signal lines
104 and is further in communication with a handset
interface 105 for controlling signals to and from a
conventional handset 106 and a hands-free interface 107 for
providing conventional speakerphone functionality to the
telephone.
The telephony microcontroller 92 is further in
communication with a dial pad 108 of the conventional type,
for enabling a user to dial telephone numbers at the
telephone.
Figure 5
Referring to Figure 5, the central office line interface is
shown in greater detail at 94. The central office line
interface has first and second telephone line inputs 110
and 112 which are connected to the first and second
telephone lines 56 and 58 respectively. The first line
input 110 is connected to a line 1 modem terminal 114, a
two to four wire interface terminal 116 and an on-hook
extension in use detector 118. The modem terminal 114 is
connected to a line selector switch shown generally at 120
having a selector terminal 122 and a line 2 modem terminal
124. The line selector switch 120 is controlled by a line
selector control circuit 126 to connect the selector
terminal to either the line 2 modem terminal 124 or the
line 1 modem terminal 114. The selector terminal 122 is
further connected to a modem hook switch 128 which is
controlled by a modem 130 in communication with the system
microprocessor 90, shown in Figure 4.
Referring back to Figure 5, the modem hook switch 128 is
connected to a data access arrangement 132 which isolates
the modem from the telephone line and provides a DC path
for seizing the line. The data access arrangement 132 is
in communication with the modem 130, to provide analog
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signals to and from the modem 130, for communication to the
system microprocessor.
The central office line interface further includes a line
hook switch 134 and a two wire to four wire hybrid circuit
136. The hook switch 134 is controlled by a line hook
switch control circuit 138 which opens and closes the hook
switch 134 thereby connecting and disconnecting the first
telephone line to and from the two to four wire hybrid
circuit 136.
The two to four wire hybrid circuit 136 has a transmit
input 140 and a receive output 142 and an off-hook detect
signal output 144. The transmit input 140 is connected to
a DTMF generator 146 and a transmit output of an audio
circuit 148. The DTMF generator is operable to provide
tones to the transmit input 140 to provide DTMF tones on
the first telephone line 56.
The receive output 142 of the two to four wire hybrid
circuit 136 is connected to a receive input of the audio
circuit 148, and is further connected to an FSK receiver
150 and a caller alerting signal receiver 152. The two to
four wire hybrid circuit thus acts as a receiver or means
for receiving the FSK message from a first telephone line
and providing the FSK message to the FSK receiver and the
FSK receiver acts as a receiver or means for receiving an
FSK message having a first network resource locator
identifying the first resource.
The off-hook EIU detect output 144 of the two to four wire
hybrid circuit 136 is connected to an off-hook EIU detect
circuit 154 which provides a signal indicating whether or
not an extension is in use on the first telephone line, at
the same time that the hook switch 134 is closed.
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The on-hook extension in use detector 118 monitors the
first telephone line 56 to provide a signal indicating
whether or not an extension is in use on the first
telephone line, when the hook switch 134 is in the open
position.
The line selector control circuit 126, the line hook switch
circuit 138 and the DTMF generator 146 are operable to
receive signals from the telephony microcontroller 92 shown
in Figure 4, to control the state of the line selector
switch 120, to selectively connect the modem 130 and data
access arrangement 132 to the first or second telephone
lines 56 or 58 and to control the state of the line hook
switch 134 and to provide DTMF signals to the two to four
wire interface for transmission on the first telephone
line, respectively. The modem 130 and data access
arrangement thus act as a second telephone line interface.
The audio circuit 148 is in bi-directional communication
with the telephony microcontroller which effectively
provides an audio path, with audio signal processing to the
handset interface 105 or hands-free interface 107 shown in
Figure 4.
The FSK receiver 150, caller alerting signal receiver 152,
off-hook EIU detect circuit 154 and on-hook extension in
use detector 118 provide FSK, CAS, off-hook EIU and on-hook
EIU signals respectively to the telephony microcontroller
92, which communicates these signals to the system
microprocessor 90.
Referring back to Figure 4, the system microprocessor 90 is
further in communication with FLASH memory 156 and random
access memory (RAM) 158.
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Figure 6
Referring to Figure 6, the FLASH memory holds a directory
structure as shown generally at 161. The directory
structure includes a base directory having a hardware
abstraction layer file 163, an operating system file 165,
a system subdirectory 167, a data subdirectory 169, a Java
subdirectory 171 and a temporary subdirectory 173.
The hardware abstraction layer file 163 includes basic boot
commands for booting up the system processor and for
directing it to load the operating system file 165 into
RAM, where it is run by the processor.
The operating system file 165 contains operating system
commands for establishing basic operation of the system
microprocessor 90. The operating system commands include
a Board Support Package (BSP) and drivers which direct the
processor to interact with the central office line
interface 94, the telephony microcontroller 92, the
keyboard interface 96 and the display interface 100 shown
in Figure 4. In this embodiment, the operating system is
known as VX Works (tm) provided by Windriver of Alameda,
California. The operating system maintains a routing table
155 in the RAM 158 shown in Figure 4 for maintaining
details of connections established through the central
office line interface 94 on the second subscriber line 58
shown in Figure 4.
The operating system file further include code implementing
a Java (tm) virtual machine and a graphics layer known as
RTX X-Windows server (tm) by Visicom of San Diego,
California. The Java virtual machine includes core Java
packages including Java.lang, Java.io, Java.applet,
Java.net and Java.awt which in connection with the
operating system files create a Java run time environment
at the system microprocessor 90.
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Still referring to Figure 6, the system subdirectory 167
includes an applications subdirectory 175 and an extensions
subdirectory 177. The applications subdirectory 175
includes a telephone subdirectory 179 containing files for
directing the system microprocessor 90 to cooperate with
the telephony microcontroller 92 to provide telephony
functionality. The applications subdirectory further
includes an event parser subdirectory 181 containing event
parser files, a main event handler subdirectory 183
containing main event handler files, a browser subdirectory
185 containing browser files, a public interface
subdirectory 187 containing public interface method files
189 and a handler subdirectory 191 containing handler
files.
The extensions subdirectory 177 includes an email
subdirectory 193 containing email files for providing email
functionality, a fax interface subdirectory 195 containing
fax files for providing fax functionality, a games
subdirectory 197 containing game files for providing game
functionality, a horoscope subdirectory 199 containing
horoscope files for communicating with horoscope content
providers, a sports subdirectory 201 containing sports
provider files for communicating with sports information
providers, a stocks subdirectory 203 containing stock
provider communication files for communicating with stock
information providers and a marketing subdirectory 205
containing marketing files for providing display
advertising on the display 102.
The data subdirectory 169 includes a configuration data
subdirectory 207 containing configuration files including
a CPE ID file 210 and an event code lookup table file 208.
The CPE ID file 210 holds a CPE ID of the telephone, to
identify the telephone from other telephones which may be
connected to the same telephone line. The event code
lookup table file 208 contains an event code lookup table
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having parameter type and URL event code fields 211 and 213
respectively, for associating parameter types with URL
event codes.
The Java subdirectory 171 includes Java class files of the
type classes.jar.
The temporary subdirectory 173 is used to store applets,
HTML pages and files which may be downloaded over one of
the analog subscriber lines 56 and 58 shown in Figure 4.
In general, the FLASH memory 156 stores groups of processor
readable codes for directing the processor to effect
telephone functionality and thus acts as a computer-
readable storage medium for directing the processor to
carry out the method described herein.
Referring to Figure 7, the RAM 158 is used to maintain an
FSK receive buffer 200, a variable buffer 202, a main event
handler buffer 204, an event queue buffer 206 and a routing
table 155.
The FSK receive buffer 200 is of sufficient length to
receive FSK messages, in general. Such messages may
include caller ID information and the like and, more
particularly, such messages may include SRC messages sent
by the central office service unit 18 shown in Figure 1.
The variable buffer 202 and the main event handler buffer
204 hold variable and main event records respectively. The
variable records include a parameter type field 215 and a
data field 216 and the main event records include a
parameter type field 217 and a data field 209. The event
queue buffer 206 is a variable length buffer for storing
various event queue records, each of which includes an
event code field 248 and a data field 250.
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Figure 8
Referring briefly to Figure 4, the system microprocessor
90, FLASH memory 156, and RAM 158 together form a computer
architecture. Referring to Figure 8, this architecture is
shown generally at 162.
Figure 9
Referring to Figure 9, the event parser files in the event
parser directory establish an event parser thread as shown
generally at 220. The event parser thread includes a read
comm port instance 222 which directs the system
microprocessor 90 shown in Figure 4, to communicate with
the telephony microcontroller to read the FSK receiver 150
to determine whether or not an FSK message is being
received at the FSK receiver 150. If a message is not
being received, the event parser thread is blocked on the
read comm port instance 222. If the FSK receiver 150 is
receiving an FSK message, such message is passed to the
system microprocessor and stored in the FSK receive buffer
200.
The event parser thread then includes a checksum instance
224 which directs the processor to read the contents of the
FSK receive buffer 200 to determine whether or not the
message was received properly. If the message was not
received properly, it is ignored and the processor is
directed back to the read comm port instance 222.
If the message was received properly, the processor is
directed to a CPE ID match instance 226 in which the
contents of the CPE ID register 210 stored in the FLASH
memory 156 is compared against the contents of the CPE ID
field of the FSK message stored in the FSK receive buffer
200. If the CPE IDs do not match, the processor is
returned to the read comm port instance 222.
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If the CPE IDs match, a no activity instance 228 directs
the processor to determine whether or not a user has
initiated any activity at the telephone within the last ten
minutes.
If the user has not made use of the telephone within the
last ten minutes an EIU instance 230 directs the system
microprocessor 90 to communicate with the telephony
microcontroller 92, causing it to determine whether or not
the EIU signal provided by either of the EIU detectors 118
and 154 shown in Figure 5, indicates that an extension is
in use. If so, then the processor is directed back to the
read comm port instance 222. If an extension is not in
use, then the processor is directed to a store parameter
type instance 232 which directs the processor to store the
contents of the parameter type field and the contents of
the data field in the variable buffer 202. Thus, the first
network resource locator is copied to the variable buffer
202. The event parser thus acts as a receiver or means for
receiving an FSK message having a first network resource
locator identifying the first resource. It also acts as
means for extracting the first uniform resource locator
from the FSK message. The system microprocessor 90 is then
directed to a copy instance 234 which directs it to copy
the contents of the variable buffer 202 to the main event
handler buffer 204. The processor is then returned back to
the read comm port instance 222 where it blocks until a
further FSK message is received.
Figure 10
Main event handler thread
Referring to Figure 10, the main event handler files in the
main event handler subdirectory 183 establish a main event
handler thread as shown generally at 240. The main event
handler thread includes a buffer loaded instance 242 which
directs the system microprocessor 90 to determine whether
or not the main event handler buffer 204 shown in Figure 7
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is full. If this buffer is not loaded then the processor
blocks on the buffer loaded instance 242.
If the main event handler buffer is loaded, the processor
is directed to a lookup table instance 244 which directs
the processor to find an event code record in the event
code lookup table 208 shown in Figure 6, having parameter
type field 211 contents corresponding to the contents of
the parameter type field in the main event handler buffer
204 shown in Figure 7.
On finding such an event code record, the system
microprocessor 90 is directed to a copy event code instance
246 which directs the processor to copy the contents of the
event code field 213 from the event code record into the
event queue buffer 206 shown in Figure 7 and also to copy
the contents of the data field 209 of the main event
handler buffer 204 shown in Figure 7 to the event queue
buffer 206 in association with the event code. Thus, the
processor stores, in the event queue buffer 206, a first
event record including an event code from the event code
lookup table 208 and data from the data field 250 of the
main event handler buffer 204 shown in Figure 7.
Figure 11
Referring to Figure 11, the event dispatcher files in the
main event handler subdirectory 183 shown in Figure 6
establish an event dispatcher thread as shown generally at
180. The event dispatcher thread includes a first instance
which directs the system processor to address the next
event code record in the event queue buffer 206 shown in
Figure 7. The system processor is then directed to
instance 184 which directs it to determine which threads
have registered for the event code record addressed at
instance 182. The registration of threads with event code
records is assumed to have been previously accomplished
according to conventional practices. After having
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determined which threads have registered for the current
event code record, instance 186 directs the processor to
communicate the current event code record from the event
queue buffer 206 to the registered threads. In this
manner, data is passed from the event queue buffer 206 to
appropriate threads.
Fiaure 12
Referring to Figure 12, a browser thread 260 is implemented
by the browser files in the browser subdirectory 185 shown
in Figure 6. The browser thread includes a pend instance
262 which directs the processor to pend for receipt of a
URL event code record from the event dispatcher thread 180
shown in Figure 11. The event dispatcher in conjunction
with the event parser and the main event handler and the
processor 90, thus cooperate to present the first uniform
resource locator from the FSK message to the browser.
On receipt of a URL event code record from the event
dispatcher thread, a request instance 264 directs the
system microprocessor 90 to request a connection to a
world-wide web resource specified by the URL in the data
field 250 of the event record. Such connection is
requested using classes in the Java. net package of the Java
virtual machine.
Figure 13
Referring to Figure 13, if a connection is requested by an
application, the network driver 270 included within the
operating system file 165 shown in Figure 6 is run. The
network driver task includes a first instance 272 which
directs the system microprocessor 90 to pend awaiting a
connection request from the browser thread shown in Figure
12.
On receiving a connection request, instance 274 directs the
system microprocessor 90 to check the routing table 155
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shown in Figure 7 to determine whether or not a network
connection has already been established. Referring to
Figure 13, if no such connection has been established,
instance 276 directs the system microprocessor 90 to
command the modem 130 to connect to the subscriber line 58
to place a telephone call over the public switched
telephone network to the Internet services provider 24
shown in Figure 1.
Referring back to Figure 13, establishment of a connection
with the Internet services provider involves a handshaking
instance 278.
On establishing connection with the Internet services
provider, instance 280 directs the processor to negotiate
a point to point protocol (PPP) connection with the
Internet services provider and to store the details of the
PPP connection in the routing table 155. A network
connection is thus created. The network driver, processor
90 and modem 130 thus cooperate to act as means for using
the second telephone line interface for communicating on
the network.
Instance 282 then directs the system microprocessor 90 to
notify the requesting application of the connection to the
resource specified by the URL in the data field 250 of the
event record.
On completion of transmission of the details to the browser
thread, the system microprocessor 90 is directed back to
instance 272 where it pends on receipt of a further
connection request from the browser thread.
It should be noted that at instance 274, where the
processor is directed to determine whether or not a
connection has already been established, if such a
connection has already been established, the processor is
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directed directly to instance 282 where it notifies the
requesting application of such connection.
Referring back to Figure 12, notification of the connection
established by the network driver task shown in Figure 13
is received at instance 290 in Figure 12.
Still referring to Figure 12, if no connection has been
made and no connection can be established, instance 292
directs the system microprocessor 90 to display an error
banner to indicate that the connection could not be
established. The processor is then returned back to the
pend instance 262.
If at instance 290, notification of a connection has been
established, instance 294 directs the processor to
download and decode an HTML file including an applet
including a second network resource locator from the first
resource. The HTML file is received and stored in the
temporary directory 173 in the FLASH 156. The browser and
system processor thus act as means for downloading from a
first resource identified by a first network resource
locator, an applet including a second network resource
locator.
Instance 295 then directs the processor to determine
whether or not the HTML file has been successfully decoded,
according to well known browser decoding criteria. In this
embodiment, the browser includes a security manager which
imposes restrictions on what hosts any applets within the
HTML file can communicate with. In particular in this
embodiment, applets are restricted from reading or writing
to the flash memory shown in Figure 6. Applets may only
open socket connections to the host that served them. They
are not permitted to open server sockets themselves, they
are not permitted to start other processes on the local
host and they are not permitted to have native methods.
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The security manager thus acts as means for preventing
running applets from accessing the memory.
If the HTML file was not successfully decoded, the
processor is directed to the error banner instance 292. If
the HTML file was successfully decoded, instance 296
directs the processor to spawn threads on each applet, if
any, contained in the HTML file. After spawning such
threads, the processor is returned to the pend instance
262. The browser and processor 90 thus act as means for
running the applet.
Figure 14
Referring to Figure 14, an applet thread, such as spawned
at instance 296 of the browser thread shown in Figure 12,
is shown generally at 310 in Figure 14. The applet thread
includes a first instance 312 which directs the system
microprocessor 90 to pass a pre-stored, second uniform
resource locator (URL) contained within the applet to the
public interface method shown in Figure 15. Instance 314
then directs the processor to pend, awaiting a completion
notice from the public interface method shown in Figure 14.
Figure 15
Referring to Figure 15, the public interface method is
shown generally at 320 and begins with instance 324 which
directs the system microprocessor 90 to receive the second
URL from the calling applet. The public interface method
thus acts as means for communicating with the applet to
receive the second network resource locator from the
applet. Instance 326 then directs the processor to create
a download event code record in the event queue buffer 206
shown in Figure 7. The download event record includes a
download event code, the URL received from the applet and
a password. Instance 328 then directs the processor to
pend for receipt of a completion notice from the handler
thread shown in Figure 16.
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Figure 16
Referring to Figure 16, the handler thread is shown
generally at 400 and includes a first instance 402 at which
it pends on receipt of a download event record from the
event dispatcher shown in Figure 11. (In the description
thus far, the download event record was entered into the
event queue by the public interface method.)
Upon receipt of a download event record, instance 404
compares the password from the download event record with
a pre-defined password, and if the password does not match,
instance 412 directs the processor to send a message to
the public interface to indicate that a download could not
occur.
If at instance 404 the password is authenticated, instance
406 directs the processor to receive files using the file
transfer protocol, from the resource identified by the URL.
At the second network resource specified by the second URL,
files operable to be downloaded are named and formatted
into directories of the same names as those in the FLASH
memory 156 of the telephone and are grouped into Java file
packages named after the corresponding directories. The
Java file packages are compressed according to the ZIP (tm)
algorithm and are stored at the second resource as ZIP
files named after the corresponding file packages. The ZIP
files are transmitted to the system microprocessor 90 in
the telephone, using the file transfer protocol.
When the ZIP files are received at the system processor,
they are un-compressed or exploded and are stored in the
temporary subdirectory 173. Instance 404 of the handler
thus acts as means for decompressing the file from the
second network resource to produce a plurality of
decompressed files. More generally, the handler and
processor act as means for communicating with a second
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network resource identified by the second network resource
locator to receive and store in the memory, a file from the
second network resource.
Instance 408 then directs the processor to verify and check
the files received by determining whether or not checksums
match and whether or not the un-compressed files have
acceptable package names. Instance 408 thus acts as means
for verifying the file has been received in accordance with
pre-defined criteria. The package names thus act as
passwords which are compared against predefined passwords
which, in this embodiment, are the directory names in the
FLASH memory. If the files do not have acceptable package
names, instance 410 directs the processor to remove the
files from the temporary storage directory and to proceed
to instance 412 to notify the public interface that the
files are not acceptable.
If the files are acceptable, instance 414 directs the
processor to move them from the temporary directory to the
appropriate directories in the file system, as determined
by the names and directory structures associated with the
files. The handler thread thus acts as means for
extracting a password from the file and for comparing the
password against a pre-defined password and to store the
file in the memory when the password matches the pre-
defined password and means for extracting a filename from
the file from the second resource and for loading the file
into an area of memory associated with the filename, where
the area of memory associated with the filename is the
corresponding directory in the FLASH memory 156.
After the files have been moved, instance 416 directs the
processor to notify the public interface method of
completion and the processor is returned to the pend
instance 402.
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Referring back to Figure 15, when the notice of completion
from the handler thread is received at instance 328,
instance 330 directs the processor to notify the applet
thread shown in Figure 14, of completion and the public
interface method shown in Figure 15 is completed.
The applet thread shown in Figure 14 is thus notified of
completion at instance 314 and the applet thread is
completed.
Operation
Referring to Figure 1, the content provider 26 includes a
web server 350 and a database of compressed files 352
containing Java classes for implementing the Java
applications in the applications subdirectory 175 shown in
Figure 6. The compressed files are compressed according to
the ZIP(tm) format and may include directories of files.
Thus, entire directories and files are zipped into a
compressed format and are stored as a single file in the
database.
The first Java applet provider 25 includes a web server 354
and a plurality of Java applets 356 containing uniform
resource locators identifying the first content provider
and compressed files stored in the content provider
database files 352.
Referring to Figure 2, the feature records 40 have URL
fields 50 which identify the individual applets 356 at the
Java applet provider 25 shown in Figure 1. Thus, when a
user requests an additional feature such as email
capability, fax interface, screen saver, etc., the user
pays an administrator of the service, and the administrator
enters at the administrator terminal 34 shown in Figure 2,
a request for a change in service, the user's telephone
number, the CPE ID of the equipment to be changed and an
identification of the desired feature. In response, the
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SRA server 16 dispatches an SRA message on public packet
switched network link 66, in the format shown at 31 in
Figure 3.
Referring back to Figure 1, the SRA message is received at
the central office service unit 18 which establishes a
connection between it and the central office switch 22 over
the trunk 68 enjoying a special class of service to
establish a suppressed ring access connection to the user
telephone 20. When such connection has been made, the
central office service unit 18 sends a suppressed ring
connection message as shown generally at 70 in Figure 3, to
the telephone 20 as shown in Figure 1.
The telephone receives the SRC message 70 through the event
parser thread 220 shown in Figure 9 and the main event
handler thread 240 shown in Figure 10 which load the event
queue buffer 206 with a URL event code and the contents of
the parameter data field 82 which contains the URL of an
HTML file 356 containing a Java applet at the Java applet
provider 25 as shown in Figure 1. The HTML file includes
an applet with a URL identifying a file on the first
content provider 26.
Referring to Figures 1 and 12, the browser thread 260
directs the system microprocessor 90 to establish a
connection with the Internet services provider 24 and the
network driver 270 shown in Figure 13 establishes a network
connection between the telephone 20 and the Java applet
provider 25 through the central office switch 22, the
Internet services provider 24 and the world-wide web 23.
The Java applet provider 25 transmits the HTML file
containing the applet back to the telephone 20 and such
HTML file is received in the temporary directory 173 shown
in Figure 6. The browser thread 260 then spawns applet
threads on each applet included in the HTML file received.
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The applets provided by the Java applet provider 25 include
uniform resource locators identifying compressed files 352
at the content provider 26 and thus referring to Figure 14,
the applet calls the public interface method 320 shown in
Figure 15 and passes to the public interface method, the
URL of the first file in the content provider 26 shown in
Figure 1.
The public interface method 320 then creates a download
event record in the event queue buffer 206 shown in Figure
7, indicating that a URL event has occurred and specifies
the URL provided by the applet for use by the handler
thread 400 in Figure 16.
The handler thread 400 receives the URL event code from the
event dispatcher shown in Figure 11 and makes a connection
to the first content provider 26. The file identified by
the URL is transmitted back to the telephone 20 using the
file transfer protocol. Instance 408 verifies the file as
being an approved type for inclusion in the extensions
subdirectory 177 shown in Figure 6 and the file is copied
from the temporary subdirectory 173 into the appropriate
sub-directory within the extensions subdirectory 177. The
classes contained with the file may then interact within
other classes within the system directory 167 and control
system resources to effect the new functionality requested
by the user.
It will be appreciated that files for implementing certain
functions such as email, fax interface and the like, are
relatively large files including many kilobits of program
code. Thus, use of the suppressed ring access connection
to transmit to the telephone the location of an applet
identifying a further location, where such a relatively
large file is located, effectively enables a telephone to
be informed that a file is to be downloaded. The
subsequent downloading of the file using the applet and the
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content provider is done using the modem for data transfer
rather than by simple FSK messaging which would take an
inordinately long time to transfer such large files. Thus,
the FSK messaging is merely used to initiate the download
process and the actual download process takes place
according to conventional rules for high speed data
transmission using modems.
The use of the applet server, rather than directly
accessing the content provider, in conjunction with a level
of security which prevents applets from access to system
resources within the telephone ensures that system
resources are guarded from control by programs and applets
not authorized to access system resources.
Second embodiment
Referring to Figure 1, in accordance with a system
according to a second embodiment of the invention, there is
provided the entire system as described in the first
embodiment with the further inclusion of a second Java
applet provider 360 having a web interface 362 and a
plurality of HTML files 364 containing Java applets and
advertising content or advertisements. In addition, this
system includes a second content provider shown generally
at 366 including a web interface 368 and a plurality of
advertising content or marketing HTML files 370. In this
embodiment, the applets 364 include uniform resource
locators pointing to respective marketing HTML files 370 at
the second content provider 366 and methods for directing
the system processor to display such marketing HTML files
on the display 102.
In this second embodiment, the system works generally as
described above with the exception that one of the HTML
files 370 is received from the second content provider at
instance 406 of the handler thread 400 of Figure 16. After
the HTML file is loaded into the marketing directory, an
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applet contained therein is run under the browser, which
retrieves the advertisement and displays it on the display
102, such that the advertisement occupies the entire
display, with no navigation tool icons or the like to
obstruct it.
Thus, the entire content of the HTML file from the content
provider is displayed on the display 102. In this manner,
marketing or advertising content is automatically displayed
on the display. The browser has no navigation tools or
buttons and, therefore, the advertisement is displayed
unobstructed.
The HTML file may include a plurality of links which the
user can select using an input device (not shown) and such
links may be used by the browser to connect to another
resource on the world-wide web or to connect to a resource
within the telephone itself. Such resource within the
telephone itself would be stored in a sub-directory of the
system subdirectory 167 shown in Figure 6.
Applets may be used to create animated marketing
advertisements or presentations which may be more appealing
to a user. In addition, high resolution pictures may be
included within the HTML file as GIF files or the like.
As HTML pages are for use on display screens of a
predefined aspect ratio, advertising for use on telephones
of the type described, can be simply and easily developed
using conventional HTML page development techniques. This
facilitates convenient creation of advertising content for
the telephone.
Alternatively, the application sub-directory 175 may
include applications which automatically cause HTML files
locally stored in the marketing subdirectory 205 to be
displayed for marketing purposes by creating, in the event
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queue buffer 206, an event record including a URL event
code and a URL specifying a resource within the FLASH
memory 156. In this manner, the display of HTML pages can
occur autonomously from within the telephone and may
initiate the display of HTML files stored within the
directory structure or stored at an external resource
location.
Effectively, the invention simplifies the download of a
single compressed file, including a bundle of files. This
allows multiple files and subdirectories to be downloaded
to the telephone in a single, quick file transfer. The
software bundle guarantees that all necessary files are
downloaded. Security is also enforced by refusing any
downloads except from password protected applets.
The invention described provides advantages in enabling
field up-gradable software components, extensible
applications and the ability to dynamically run Java
applets. Any system file components of the telephone can
be upgraded without the need to upgrade the entire software
load. This allows service providers to change specific
pieces of the telephone in short downloads thereby
changing, removing or adding functionality to the
application. The telephone is also easily extendible using
Java plug-ins. Such plug-ins may be designed to integrate
into the telephone software and allow third party
developers to add functionality to the telephone. In
addition, Java applets allow network based providers to use
standard interfaces provided on the telephone. This allows
Java applets to perform basic telephone functions such as
dialling a telephone number. Java applets also have access
to the same basic graphical components as the telephone
application so that applets can be made to look the same as
the main application.
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While specific embodiments of the invention have been
described and illustrated, such embodiments should be
considered illustrative of the invention only and not as
limiting the invention as construed in accordance with the
accompanying claims.
