DE9103822U1 - Electronic phone book - Google Patents

Description

Electronic phone book

Description

State of the art

Telephone numbers are usually determined using book-format directory listings (telephone books). Due to the limited capacity of these books, more than 100 official telephone books are required for Germany, for example. In addition, there are over 70 yellow pages and a considerable number of local telephone books.

A telephone subscriber does not usually have all the official telephone books. In order to find an unknown number, he often has to rely on the help of telephone directory enquiries, unless he knows the number.

Even public payphones do not have all official telephone books and if necessary, telephone information must be sought.

Address memories in the form of a "notebook" are well known; here addresses are stored using memory circuits, the display is via LCD displays, the keyboard is integrated into the "notebook". The main disadvantage is the low storage capacity, usually no more than a few hundred addresses can be stored.

For some time now, encyclopedias, dictionaries, industry overviews and similar items have been offered on CD-ROM. The first telephone books are now available on CD-ROM. The high capacity of the CD-ROM makes it possible, for example, to store all telephone connections in the old federal states on a few CD-ROMs.

In order to read a CD-ROM, a CD-ROM drive is required, which is connected to a personal computer either as an optional device or as a built-in unit. The contents of a CD-ROM can be read using software on a supplied diskette or on the CD-ROM itself and the personal computer's operating system. This software allows very specific information to be obtained quickly using certain search criteria.

problem

The invention is based on the problem of creating an electronic telephone book with which a desired telephone number can be called up quickly and easily and which can be used both as an additional device for house telephones and can be integrated into pay phones.

invention

The problem is solved with the provisions of claim 1.

Advantageous effect of the invention The invention enables quick access to a large number of telephone subscribers and thus makes making phone calls much easier. The invention can be easily used by a large group of users, telephone books can be largely saved, thus contributing to environmental protection by saving paper. Ongoing updates can be carried out quickly and inexpensively at any time. The design of the invention complies with data protection requirements.

Further developments of the invention

Advantageous embodiments of the inventions are specified in claims 2 to 4.

The design according to claim 2 enables the use as an add-on device for the house telephone, the dimensions of the housing are adapted to the dimensions of the telephone, the coupling is preferably carried out via plug connectors or acoustic coupling.

The further developments according to claims 3 and 4 enable the application of the invention in coin-operated telephones. The application of the invention is particularly useful here. A separate housing is not required, and the displays and keyboards already present in card telephones can be used. If necessary, additional drives or drives with CD changers can be installed. The effect of saving paper is particularly evident here, since experience shows that telephone books are subject to high levels of wear and tear.

It is conceivable that the inventions could also be used for other problems where access to a large amount of data is required using a portable, handy device. For example, an application as an electronic dictionary, encyclopedia, standard collection or similar reference work can be easily implemented.

Description of the invention

The invention is illustrated in three embodiments. The figure shows the corresponding block diagram.

In the first example, a compact device is implemented that is tailored exclusively to one application, namely an electronic telephone book based on CD-ROM. This device consists of a CD-ROM drive 6, its own keyboard 2, its own display 1, a controller 4 and permanently installed evaluation electronics 3. Its dimensions are adapted to standard telephones. The operating elements, an alphanumeric keyboard 2 and a display 1, are either permanently connected to the device or are connected to the device via a cable as a separate module. The permanently installed software, consisting of an operating system and the special application programs required to read the telephone book stored on the CD-ROM, is stored on a ROM 5. The device can also have additional memory that enables: 1. reading frequently used telephone numbers from the CD via shortened access, 2. additionally storing telephone numbers not stored on the CD. The electronic telephone book can have connections for personal computers and telephones, which enable it to be used for service purposes and/or to directly dial the telephone number found.

The evaluation electronics and software are designed in such a way that data protection requirements are guaranteed. This means that no software other than that loaded in the ROM can be used.

In the second example, the invention is used as a built-in variant of the electronic telephone book for a coin or card telephone.

Compared to the compact solo device, the following changes apply:

- Keypad 2 and display 1 are an integral part of the telephone. They have a dual function. Firstly, they are used for normal dialing of the subscriber (card telephone) and secondly they are control elements of the electronic telephone book.

- The housing of the solo device is no longer required.

- The interface to the personal computer is used as a connection for test purposes.

-The connection to the actual telephone is an integral part of the facility.

-Multiple drives can be installed. With multiple drives or CD changers (and therefore multiple CD-RCMs), the entire territory of the Federal Republic of Germany can be reached.

In a third example, a coin or card phone is linked to the electronic phone book. In a modification of the second example, the phone book can only be used if either a phone card is inserted or if valid coins are inserted.

The use can be subject to a fee, or inserting coins or a phone card to make a call allows the use of the phone at the same time.

List of reference symbols

1 display

2 Keyboard

3 Evaluation electronics

4 Controller

5 Memory (RAM/ROM)

6 CD-ROM drive

Claims (4)

Electronic telephone directory protection claims 1. Electronic telephone directory based on CD-ROM, characterized in that it consists of a coupling of a CD-ROM drive (6) with evaluation electronics (3) and a memory (5) with evaluation software and an alphanumeric keyboard (2) and a display (1) as well as a controller (4). 2. Electronic telephone book according to claim 1, characterized in that the CD-ROM drive (6), the evaluation electronics (3), the memory (5) with the evaluation software, the keyboard (2), the display (1) and the controller (4) are housed in a fixed housing. 3. Electronic telephone book according to claim 1, characterized in that the CD-ROM drive (6), the evaluation electronics (3) and the memory (5) with the evaluation software and the controller (4) are integrated in a pay telephone, whereby the alphanumeric keypad (2) and the display (1) are, in a known manner, an integral part of the pay telephone. 4. Electronic telephone book according to claim 3, characterized in that a circuit is provided which only allows the telephone book to be used after a coin has been inserted.