WO2001060031A1

WO2001060031A1 - Integrated telecommunication device including voice and data communication functions

Info

Publication number: WO2001060031A1
Application number: PCT/NZ2001/000018
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ian Charles Bailey; Ross Graham Purdy
Original assignee: Cadmus Limited; Aurium Systems Limited
Priority date: 2000-02-09
Filing date: 2001-02-09
Publication date: 2001-08-16
Also published as: AU3624001A

Abstract

A telecommunication device (1) is provided which includes a line interface (9) to connect the telecommunication device (1) to a communications network (20). The line interface (9) selectively connects either a first or a second communication channel to the telecommunications network (20) and is controlled so that if one communication channel is in use, the line interface (9) cannot change which communication channel is connected to the telecommunications network (20). The second communication channel may be communicatively connected to the first communication channel. Particularly, the first communication channel may be connected to telephony circuitry (13) and the second communication channel connected to a modem (8) and a CPU (2) allowing both telephony and data signals to be communicated with the telecommunications network (20) from a single device, which has common componentry including a keypad (17) and display (14) for the telephony and data transfer functions of the telecommunication device (1).

Description

INTEGRATED TELECOMMUNICATION DEVICE INCLUDING VOICE AND DATA COMMUNICATION FUNCTIONS

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to an integrated telecommunication device including voice and data communication functions. In particular, but not exclusively, the present invention relates to an integrated telephone and financial data transaction terminal. Particular application may be found in applying the present invention to an integrated analogue telephone and Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale (EFTPOS) terminal.

The term "transaction" has been used in the following description and claims, to refer to any data communication between the device of the present invention and a communications network and should be so interpreted. In particular, the term "transaction" should not be interpreted as referring to solely transaction data used to conduct financial transactions.

The development of networked financial transaction systems for credit card transactions and EFTPOS has lead to widespread use of cards to transfer funds. These systems have various advantages over dealing with currency, including convenience and safety. Further, when integrated into a transaction network, traders typically have access to detailed records of their daily transactions. Smart cards offer a further option, which while not widely accepted at present, may be more widely used in the near future in network transaction systems.

The use of transaction cards is one example of the use of data communications in a network environment. With the increasingly rapid use of local and wide area networks, more and more information is being distributed in the form of data packets through communication networks. The network requires a means to generate data packets containing the required information at the sending end and a means to receive interpret and act on the information at the receiving end. These functions are typically performed using a terminal device, such as a computer and modulator and demodulator of varying complexity.

The EFTPOS system, for example requires communication through a telecommunications network between an EFTPOS terminal and a financial institution. This is typically performed through a fixed telephone network such as a PSTN. The EFTPOS terminal includes a keypad, display, magnetic card reader, and communication ports and is a separate device from any other devices using the same connection to the network such as telephones and personal computers with an Internet connection.

The requirement for a business to have both an EFTPOS terminal and a standard telephone may create problems due to having to locate both devices somewhere on or near a counter. The space used by these devices may be commercially important and could be used, for example for increased advertising or product display. Furthermore, EFTPOS terminals are typically costly and hence require what may be a substantial investment from the small business owner.

Also, if one person is using a telephone on the same line as the EFTPOS terminal is connected, the user of the EFTPOS terminal must wait until the line is "free" before proceeding and vice-versa. If the telephone and EFTPOS terminal are located distal from each other, or a person forgets to check whether the other device is in use, the use of the EFTPOS terminal may interfere with someone's telephone conversation or the use of a telephone may interfere with the data transfer necessary to effect an EFTPOS transaction.

The local telephone authorities may have stringent standards governing the isolation of any phone circuitry from data circuitry. This creates difficulties in providing an integrated unit combining these functions. These difficulties will apply to any application where it is required to integrate an analogue communication system and data communication system into a single device. Providing such a device to satisfy the requirements of telecommunication regulations typically involves significant cost increases.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is thus an object of the present invention to overcome or alleviate problems in providing analogue and data communication functions in a single device at present, or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.

Further objects of the present invention may become apparent from the following description which is given by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a telecommunication device suitable for communicating signals to and from a telecommunications network, the telecommunication device including: a network interl ace including a switching means to selectively communicativel/ connect either a first or a second communication channel to a telecommunications network; telephony circuitry suitable for sending and receiving telephony signals communicatively connected to said first communication channel; data communication means including a data communication interface suitable for sending and receiving data signals communicatively connected to the second communication channel; sensing means to detect and produce an output indicative of whether or not the telephony circuitry and or the first communication channel are in use and whether or not the data communication means and or the second communication channel are in use; and switch control means to control the operation of the switching means dependent on the output from the sensing means.

Preferably, the switch control means prevents switching of the switching means when the telephony circuitry and or the first communication channel are in use or if the data communication means and or the second communication channel are in use.

Preferably, the data communication means may include a processing means and an instruction set readable by the computer processing means to cause the computer processing means to generate communication data and network address data and output said communication data and network address data to the second communication channel. Preferably, the second communication channel may be communicatively connected to the first communication channel.

Preferably, the second communication channel may be communicatively connected to the first communication channel through the telephony circuitry.

Preferably, the telephony circuitry may be electrically isolated from the data communication means.

Preferably, the data communication means may be electrically isolated from the second communication channel.

Preferably, the device may include a further switching means operable to selectively connect or disconnect the telephony circuitry to the network interface.

Preferably, the sensing means may detect the position of the further switching means to detect whether or not the telephony circuitry and or first communication channel is in use.

Preferably, the further switching means may be actuated through use of a telephone handset.

Preferably, the sensing means may include an incoming signal detector to detect an incoming signal from a telecommunications network.

Preferably, the switch control means may control the switching means to connect the first communication channel to the telecommunications network whenever the sensing means detects that the data communication means and or second communication channel is not in use and the incoming signal detector may be connected to said further switching means, whereby said incoming signal detector is connected to said first communication channel when said further switching means is in a position in which the telephony circuitry is disconnected from the network interface.

Preferably, the telecommunication device may include a keypad readable by the data communication means.

Preferably, the telecommunication device may include a swipe card reader readable by the processing means.

Preferably, the telecommunication device may include a smart card reader readable by the processing means.

Preferably, the data communication interface may convert network address data received from the processing means from a first format to a second format suitable for transmission by the telecommunications network.

Preferably, the address data may be transformed into dual-tone multifrequency signals by the data communication interface.

Preferably, the data communication means may include a modem having an electrically isolated output to the second communication channel.

Preferably, the telecommunication device may include a display controlled by the processing means, the display facilitating the communication of information to a user of the telecommunication device.

Preferably, the telecommunication device may include a housing, wherein all components of the telecommunication device excluding a line to the telecommunications network are located within the same housing.

Preferably, the telecommunication device may include a data buffer to store communication data and network address data for delayed communication with the telecommunications network.

Further aspects of the invention, which should be considered in all its novel aspects, may become apparent from the following description given by way of example only and in reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 : shows a block diagram of an integrated telecommunication device according to one aspect of the present invention; and

Figure 2: shows a more detailed block diagram of the data generation and switching functions of an example of an integrated telecommunication device according to the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a telecommunication device capable of communicating with a telecommunications network using one of at least two communication channels. For example, the telecommunication device may be implemented as a single integrated unit, which has a data communication system electrically isolated from an analogue system.

Particular application of the present invention is envisaged in electronic funds transfer terminals. Using the present invention, conventional telephony functions and transaction functions can be combined into a single device. This may save space, reduce the cost of manufacture and increase the convenience of using electronic funds transfer systems. The following description is given by way of example of the preferred embodiment of the invention applied to an integrated device capable of communicating both telephony and financial transaction data to a telecommunications network. However, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that applications of the present invention may potentially be found wherever two or more communication channels to a telecommunications network are required.

The telephony function allows telephony information such as voice information to be transmitted to a telecommunications network, while the financial transaction function allows data to be communicated to the same communication network. The telephony circuitry and circuitry of the financial data system are electrically isolated from each other. Also, automatic selection of whether to use the telephony functions or data transfer function is performed. Referring to Figure 1 , a block diagram showing the general functionality of a telecommunication device 1 , is shown. The telecommunication device 1 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 2 with associated RAM 3, ROM 4 and a clock 5. The CPU 2 is programmed to control the functions of the telecommunication device 1 , in particular, to control the transfer of information from the telecommunication device 1 to and from a telecommunication network such as a PSTN network.

A modem 8 is included to allow data communication between the telecommunication device 1 and the PSTN network through a PSTN line interface 9, which is controlled by the CPU 2. The PSTN line interface 9 allows selective telephony information, for example voice information, or data communication to and from the PSTN network.

The modem 8 is capable of generating DTMF tones to communicate with an address switching system of the PSTN network and a modem output is also connected to the phone circuitry 1 3. The modem 8 generates and sends DTMF tones under the control of the CPU 2.

A keypad 1 7 (see Figure 2), is provided to allow manual entry of a telephone number required to establish a connection with a selected remote device. The keypad 1 7 is polled by the CPU 2, which controls the modem 8 to generate the required DTMF tones. Alternatively, numbers may be recalled from the RAM 3 or ROM 4 or from a remote source. The CPU 2 may control when a number is to be recalled from memory depending on manual control from the keypad 1 7, for example recalling a stored number or performing a redial. Alternatively, the CPU 2 may dial a specific number on the occurrence of a specific event, such as the elapsing of a time interval. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the CPU 2 may control many activities of the telecommunication device 1 related to either telephony or data transaction functions, these activities including the traditional functionality of phones and transaction terminals at present.

A magnetic stripe card reader 6 and optionally a smart card interface 7 communicates with the CPU 2 to provide financial information required to conduct financial transactions. Other methods may be used to communicate this information to the telecommunication device 1 , for example from a remote device through an RS422 port 1 5 or RS232 port 16, through manual entry using the keypad, or from preferably encrypted transaction data stored in memory 4.

The PSTN line interface 9 is matched with a speaker 1 1 and microphone 1 2 of a phone by the phone circuitry 1 3 in the normal manner, allowing voice communication through the PSTN network.

A display 1 4 allows various transaction and telephone information to be communicated to the user of the transaction terminal 1 . For example, the display 14 may show various information typically associated with phone functions like caller identification, numbers held in memory, the time and may also display information related to the transaction functions, such as the amount to be transferred and whether the transaction has been successfully completed or instigated.

Serial communication ports such as an RS422 port 1 5 or RS232 port 1 6 may be provide for expansion of the functions of the transaction terminal. For example, the addition of a PIN pad and/or a meter to record and assign costs of phone calls may be provided through a serial communication port. Other communication ports may also be provided where required. The RAM 3 or another memory element may be provided to act as a buffer and store transaction data for delayed sending. The CPU 2 may be programmed to send any data held in memory at a specific date, time or on the satisfaction of any other conditions. A particular example may be when the telephony functions are in use at the time of the transaction, the information may be held in the RAM 3 until the telephony functions are not in use.

Referring now to Figure 2, a more detailed block diagram of aspects of the transaction terminal 1 is shown. The CPU 2 is connected to the keypad 1 7. The keypad 1 7 is used both for telephone and transaction purposes and allows input of inter alia telephone numbers, transaction amounts, transaction types and memory selection. The display 1 4 is controlled by the CPU 2.

It will be appreciated that the dual use of the display 1 4 and keypad 1 7 for both telephony and data communication functions allows for significant savings in materials, which reduce the cost of production of the transaction terminal 1 in comparison to separate phone and transaction devices. Furthermore, the required space of the terminal 1 may be significantly less than that required by separate devices.

In Figure 2, a single block 1 8 represents the additional communications interfaces of the CPU 2 and may include interfaces to communicate with any smart card readers, swipe card readers, serial ports and other devices using one or more communication protocols.

As described herein above, data communication and DTMF tone generation are performed by the modem 8, which is connected to a PSTN socket 20 through the PSTN line interface 9. Voice communication is achieve d through the speaker 1 1 and microphone 1 2 within the handset 1 9 throuqh the phone circuitry 1 3, which is also connected to the line interface 9.

The line interface 9 includes a hybrid amplifier 21 and a transformer 22 at its input to receive data and DTMF tones from the modem 8 and allow communication with the PSTN network. A switch 23 provides switching between the modem 8 and phone circuitry 1 3 to allow data or voice communication respectively under the control of the CPU 2.

The output of the transformer 22 is connected to an input of the phone interface 1 3. This connection allows the DTMF tones generated by the modem 8 to be communicated to the phone circuitry 1 3. The DTMF tones are then communicated to the PSTN network via the interface 9. This avoids having to attempt to change the switch 23 between dialling and voice communication.

A second switch 24 is operated by lifting the handset 1 9 or automatically on turning a mobile handset on and connects or disconnects the phone circuitry 1 3 from the PSTN line interface 9 as the handset 1 9 is lifted or replaced respectively. The switch 24 also provides an indication to the CPU 2 of whether the handset 1 9 is lifted or not through the earthing of line 25 when the handset 1 9 is lifted.

A line voltage and ring detector 26 is connected to the PSTN line interface 9 through the switch 24 when the handset 19 is replaced. The line voltage and ring detector 26 provides an indication to the CPU 2 when communication is initiated from the PSTN network. The ring detector 26 is electrically isolated from the line interface 9 by, for example, an opto-isolator. Thus, when the telecommunication device 1 is not in use to send or receive voice or data communications, both switch 23 and switch 24 are in the upper position, thereby connecting the PSTN socket 20 to the telephone circuitry and ring detector 26. The ring detector detects when an incoming call is received and CPU 2 controls switches 23 and 24 depending on whether it is an analogue voice communication or data communication.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that when the modem 8 is communicating with the PSTN network, switch 23 isolates the phone circuitry 1 3 from the network. Similarly, when the phone circuitry 1 3 is communicating with the PSTN network, the modem 8 is isolated. This isolation may be required to satisfy regulations of phone authorities.

The CPU 2 controls the operation of switch 23 and prevents the switch 23 from switching should it detect use of the telephony circuitry or associated communication channel or use of the data communication side of the telecommunication device 1 . Therefore, once the data communication functions are operable, switch 23 isolates the telephony functions from the telecommunications network and the CPU 2 prevents switching of switch 23 until after the data communication functions have completed their task of sending and/or receiving data. Similarly, if the telephony functions are in use, the CPU 2 prevents switching to the data communication functions, although data communication may be buffered for deferred sending.

Thus there is provided a transaction terminal which provides both voice and data communication in the same unit The sharing of components and the reduced space of the terminal allow savings in the cost of manufacture and cost in valuable bench or counter space.

Where in the foregoing description, reference has been made to specific components or integers of the invention having known equivalents then such equivalents are herein incorporated as if individually set forth.

Although this invention has been described by way of example and with reference to possible embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that modifications or improvements may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

Claims:

1 . A telecommunication device suitable for communicating signals to and from a telecommunications network, the telecommunication device including: a network interface including a switching means to selectively communicatively connect either a first or a second communication channel to a telecommunications network; - telephony circuitry suitable for sending and receiving telephony signals communicatively connected to said first communication channel; data communication means including a data communication interface suitable for sending and receiving data signals communicatively connected to the second communication channel; sensing means to detect and produce an output indicative of whether or not the telephony circuitry and or the first communication channel are in use and whether or not the data communication means and or the second communication channel are in use; and switch control means to control the operation of the switching means dependent on the output from the sensing means.

2. A telecommunication device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the switch control means prevents switching of the switching means when the telephony circuitry and or the first communication channel are in use or if the data communication means and or the second communication channel are in use.

3. A telecommunication device as claimed in either claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the data communication means includes a processing means and an instruction set readable by the computer processing means to cause the computer processing means to generate communication data and network address data and output said communication data and network address data to the second communication channel.

4. A telecommunication device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second communication channel is communicatively connected to the first communication channel.

5. A telecommunication device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the second communication channel is communicatively connected to the first communication channel through the telephony circuitry.

6. A telecommunication device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the telephony circuitry is electrically isolated from the data communication means.

7. A telecommunication device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the data communication means is electrically isolated from the second communication channel.

8. A telecommunication device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, including a further switching means operable to selectively connect or disconnect the telephony circuitry to the network interface.

9. A telecommunication device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sensing means detects the position of the further switching means to detect whether or not the telephony circuitry and or first communication channel is in use.

0. A telecommunication device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the further switching means is actuated through use of a telephone handset.

1 . A telecommunication device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sensing means includes an incoming signal detector to detect an incoming signal from a telecommunications network.

2. A telecommunication device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the switch control means controls the switching means to connect the first communication channel to the telecommunications network whenever the sensing means detects that the data communication means and or second communication channel is not in use and the incoming signal detector is connected to said further switching means, whereby said incoming signal detector is connected to said first communication channel when said further switching means is in a position in which the telephony circuitry is disconnected from the network interface.

3. A telecommunication device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the telecommunication device may include a keypad readable by the data communication means.

4. A telecommunication device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further including a swipe card reader readable by the processing means.

1 5. A telecommunication device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further including a smart card reader readable by the processing means.

1 6. A telecommunication device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the data communication interface converts network address data received from the processing means from a first format to a second format suitable for transmission by the telecommunications network.

1 7. A telecommunication device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the address data is transformed into dual-tone multifrequency signals by the data communication interface.

1 8. A telecommunication device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the data communication means includes a modem having an electrically isolated output to the second communication channel.

1 9. A telecommunication device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the telecommunication device includes a display controlled by the processing means, the display facilitating the communication of information to a user of the telecommunication device.

20. A telecommunication device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further including a housing, wherein ail components of the telecommunication device excluding a line to the telecommunications network are located within the same housing.

21 .A telecommunication device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further including a data buffer to store communication data and network address data for delayed communication with the telecommunications network.

22. A telecommunication device substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.