Method and system for single-step enablement of telephony functionality for a portable computer system
US7076275B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 13, 2000 |
| Grant date | Jul 11, 2006 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 17, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04M2250/22
- WIPO fieldTelecommunications
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and apparatus for automatic delivery of a phone call on a device (e.g. a portable computer system) regardless of whether other tasks are running on the operating system. A separate background task (“thread”), independent of the operating system, enables telephony functionality without regard to the mode of a graphical user interface. The background task is always active and functions to respond to an incoming call even if the user is in a graphical user interface window that requires some input from the user (e.g. the graphical user interface is blocked). In one embodiment, the background task running under the operating system monitors an interrupt line and controls the serial port connected to a phone chipset/module. The background task also senses any of the device's buttons and controls any ringer, vibrator or LEDs of the device's hardware. In one embodiment, if the graphical user interface is not blocked then one or more phone related displays can automatically be displayed on the screen. The phone related displays are similar to those displayed on cellular phones. In another embodiment, if the graphical user interface is blocked, the user can still answer the phone w…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.