FR2710485A1 - Computer provided with means for communicating remotely via a telephone network in a wired mode or a radio mode, and a method implemented by the computer. - Google Patents

Abstract

A computer capable of communicating via a telephone network comprises in combination: - a computer unit (11), - a modem (12) capable of being connected to the telephone network by a cord (12a), - a transmission circuit / reception (14) capable of establishing radio communications with a remote site to also access the network, - a control circuit (13) of the transmission / reception circuit, - means for applying to the modem commands chosen from among a number of predefined set of commands, - means for determining whether a communication via the cord is sought or in progress, and for producing a signal, - means for either processing the commands received in the modem, or converting them into specific commands for the circuit control, according to the signal, and - means provided in said control circuit for processing said specific commands. The invention also relates to a method implemented by the computer.

Description

The present invention relates generally to computers,

  in particular portable personal computers, equipped with means of remote communication

by telephone network.

  Conventionally, such a computer is equipped with a modem enabling it to modulate / demodulate signals able to circulate in a telephone network with digital information. This modem is connected to the network

phone by a cord.

  Also known in the field of radiotelephony is a system for establishing a communication with a public telephone network by prior establishment of a radio link between a portable wireless telephone and a base station located at a certain acceptable distance from the position. We know in particular the so-called CT2 standard, identified more clearly in the following and to which reference will be made for all details, and a number of manufacturers propose electronic components or modules able to establish links.

  according to this standard.

  The present invention aims to provide a computer capable of communicating remotely via the public telephone network both by a cord connected to the network or by a radio link for example according to the

aforementioned standard.

  Another object of the present invention is to propose such a computer, in which a communication can be established by one or other of these two modes without the software used in the computer and having recourse to such communications. have to be specifically adapted. In particular, the invention proposes to manage the access modes to the network so as to

  transparent for the computer part proper.

  To this end, the invention proposes a computer, particularly a portable personal computer, capable of communicating remotely via a telephone network, characterized in that it comprises in combination: a computer unit comprising a central processor, storage means, input / output means and data acquisition and presentation means, a modem connected to the computer unit and adapted to be connected to the telephone network by a cord, a circuit for transmission / reception capable of establishing communications by radio with a remote site to also access the telephone network, - a control circuit of the transmission / reception circuit, - means provided in the computer for applying to the modem commands selected from a predefined set of commands, - means provided in the computer to determine whether a telephone communication via the cord is sought or in progress, and to produce a n corresponding signal, - means provided in the computer for processing the commands received in the modem, or converting said received commands into specific commands for the control circuit and to apply these specific commands to the control circuit, according to said signal , and - means provided in said control circuit

  to process said specific commands.

  Preferred, but not limiting, aspects of the computer according to the present invention are the following: said transmission / reception circuit is able to access said telephone network by the establishment

  prior to a radio link with a base station.

  the determination means are provided in the modem. the determination means comprise means

  to detect the connection of the cord to the modem.

  said detection means are constituted by means for determining the presence of an identifier of

country in said cord.

  - said specific commands each comprise: - a common prefix; an indication indicative of the fact that said command is a specific command;

- an identifier of the command.

  said common prefix is identical to a common prefix of commands belonging to said predefined command set. the control circuit is originally designed to accept manual instructions from a user producing instruction signals, one of said specific commands includes a command identifier followed by a string of characters, said identifier being representative of a simulation of manual instructions, and the control circuit is adapted to treat said characters of said chain as if they constituted instruction signals following manual instructions. - said manual instructions include

  keystrokes of a keyboard.

  - said character string is representative of a

call number.

  - said characters are in ASCII format.

  the control circuit is designed originally to drive a display means, the control circuit is able to transmit to the modem a message including a string of characters representative of information to be displayed on the display means, and the computer

  comprises means for processing said characters.

  the means for processing said characters comprise means for performing a display at

from said characters.

  the modem comprises means for detecting an incoming ringing signal, and the control circuit comprises means for generating a ringing signal

  simulated and apply it to the modem.

  the computer further comprises switching means controlled by the control circuit and able to selectively apply to an analog signal input terminal of the modem said generated simulated ring signal or analog signals received by the

transmission / reception circuit.

  According to another aspect, the invention relates to a method intended to be implemented in a computer, in particular a portable personal computer, comprising a computer unit comprising a central processor, storage means, input / output means and means for data acquisition and presentation, a modem connected to the computer unit and capable of being connected to a telephone network by a cord, a transmission / reception circuit able to establish communications by radio with a remote site, a control circuit of the transmission / reception circuit, and means provided in the computer for applying to the modem commands selected from a predefined set of commands, the method being intended to establish a remote communication via said telephone network and being characterized by the following steps: - it is determined whether a telephone communication via the cord is sought or in progress, and for prod a signal corresponding thereto, - depending on said signal, either the commands received in the modem are processed, or said received commands are converted into specific commands for the control circuit and these specific commands are applied to the control circuit, and - one treats said specific commands in said

control circuit.

  Other aspects, objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading the

  following detailed description of an embodiment

  preferred embodiment thereof, given by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 schematically represents a computer according to the present invention, FIG. 2 illustrates a detail of the computer of FIG. FIG. 3 illustrates another detail of the computer of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 schematically illustrates two modes of

  operation of a computer component.

  Referring firstly to Figure 1, there is diagrammatically shown a portable personal computer 10 which comprises the usual components of such a computer, namely a central unit, a read-only memory, a random access memory, input circuits / output, as well as mass storage devices, a data input device such as a keyboard and a data presentation means such as a display screen for example liquid crystal. These elements

are globally indicated in 11.

  This computer may be a "PowerBook" model manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. Computer 10 also includes a modem card 12

  connected to the part 11 by a suitable connector 12a.

  This modem card is for example the "PowerBook Express Modem" card also manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. This is a smart modem card controlled by a microcontroller and a resident program. This modem card 12 can be connected to the public telephone network RTP by a cord 12a. The modem card is further equipped to read in a cord connector a particular electrical parameter representative of the identifier of a country to which this cord is adapted, and to adapt its operating parameters to

PTT regulations of this country.

  For more details on this device, reference will be made to documents FR-A-2 652 173 and FR-A-2 677 831 to

name of the Applicant.

  In the context of the present invention, this country identification process is also used to determine whether a telephone communication via the cord

is possible or is in progress.

  In 13 is indicated a radio communication controller and in 14 an associated transmission / reception circuit, which it controls. In the present example, these elements are made according to the standard ESTI 300-131, commonly called CT2 for "Cordless Telephone 2". The radio communication controller 13 is governed by a microcontroller and a resident program. The controller 13 is connected to the modem 12 via a serial link, as will be seen in

detail further.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, all communication commands, in this case the commands of a standardized game commonly called "AT" commands, are applied to the modem 12 regardless of the communication mode used, as will be seen in detail. further. The modem 12 conventionally provides modulation / demodulation processes in itself and manages high level protocols such as standard protocols.

T30, MNP and V42.

  The controller 13 performs low-level functions, in particular access to the line and the

line management.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, the modem 12 is capable of controlling the controller 13 to

  using a set of specific pre-set commands.

  When a telephone call has to be established, the resident program of the modem 12 is designed to first check, as indicated above, whether the cord 12a is connected to the modem 12. If so, the commands of the aforementioned standard game ("AT" commands) are normally handled by the modem. If not, the modem program is designed to convert the commands received from the computer into corresponding commands for the circuits 13, 14, belonging to the specific game mentioned above. In this way, the existing applications involving telephone communications can be used in a computer according to the present invention without having to be rewritten, the choice between a conventional network access by cordon and access to the same network by radio link with a base station (conventionally called "terminal") being

transparent for the application.

  Alternatively, the choice of the connection mode, wired or radio, may be made at the initiative of the user, but a verification of the presence of the

  cord will in principle always be performed.

  In the case where the controller circuit 13 is directly derived from a circuit equipping a portable radiotelephone, that is to say that the instructions it deals come mainly from the depression of specific keys of a keyboard preferably, a specific command is provided for emulating such a key depression (s). More particularly, the resident program of the controller 13 is designed to interpret such a command exactly as if, in the case of a portable radiotelephone, the user had pressed the key of the keyboard corresponding to an identifier that follows

the command.

  This keyboard emulation command will be described in

detail further.

  Referring now to FIG. 2, the hardware aspect of the interface between the modem 12 and the controller 13 will be described. This interface is preferably a standard serial interface such as the interface known as the Serial Communication Interface (SCI). operating in asynchronous mode. This interface comprises two lines L1 and L2 respectively for the transmission and reception of the analog audio signals, a line L3 taking the place of an auxiliary input / output line and a line L4 for controlling the audio signal.

start up.

  Preferably, the logic of the modem 12 and that of the controller circuit 13 are preferably designed so that, when the modem wishes to send a command to the controller, it simply applies the corresponding data on the line L1, and that the controller 13 processes or not this command depending on whether it is ready or not. In other words, when the controller 13 is not processing commands, it remains constantly listening to the line L1 to process new orders that arise. In the case

  otherwise, he simply ignores the command.

  Advantageously, each command sent by the modem 12 to the controller 13 ends with an end character such as "carriage return" (<CR>), necessary for the

command is executed.

  According to another aspect of the invention, the resident programs of the modem and the controller circuit are designed so that the first can send to the second a state or status request command, as will be described in detail below, and is then waiting for a response, in the form of a message of predetermined format, a string of characters is representative of the state of the controller circuit and transmitter / receiver. This chain

  characters will end with <CR>.

  As will also be seen later, various types

  may be requested.

  The signals exchanged between the modem 12 and the controller circuit 13 are the following: a) for the logic signals: Txo s data output from the modem; Rxi: data input from the modem; Auxiliary I / O: used for general interest inputs; PowerOn: pulse signal to wake the controller and transmitter / receiver circuits (commissioning); Ring: Ringtone; Ring_Txa_Sel: control signal of an analog switch to selectively apply to the analog input terminal of the modem either a digital ringer signal or an analog signal. As indicated, the transmission on the serial link is asynchronous, no clock signal being conveyed. The clock frequencies of the microcontroller of the modem and that of the controller circuit are simply set at appropriate values for a timing

suitable signals.

  Preferably, the chosen data format consists of a low logic start bit, eight data bit, and a logic high bit stop bit. The eight-bit data is transmitted in

  starting with the least significant bit.

  As for the analog signals, they are: Txal, Txa2: positive and negative terminals of the analog data at the modem output in the form of differential signals; Rxal, Rxa2: Positive and negative terminals of analog data in modem input as differential signals. We will now describe in detail the format of the commands transmitted to the controller circuit 13 by the modem 12 in the case where a telephone call by radio is chosen (the terms of this choice were

described above).

  Preferably, a set of commands is used in the following format: AT ^ command <CR> AT is a prefix, indicating that it is a command, and in this case identical to the prefix of a standard game predefined commands from a conventional modem connected to the telephone network by a cable; ^ is a special character that distinguishes between a conventional "AT" command as mentioned above and a specific command generated by the modem and applied by it to the controller circuit;

  <CR> is the "carriage return" character, mandatory.

  Depending on the size of the input buffer register of the controller circuit, the length of the control properly

  said can be more or less important.

  In the case where a longer command is required, two commands as defined above are sent successively, and a concatenation of the control part itself is performed by the microcontroller of the

controller circuit.

  Commands 1) As indicated above, a main command from the modem 12 command set to the

  controller 13 is a keyboard emulation command.

  This command presents for example the following format: AT ^ KPklk2 ..... kn <CR> kl to kn denote characters in ASCII format, corresponding to the keys of a radio telephone keypad.

the CT2 standard.

  The correspondence between the designation of the simulated key and the corresponding ASCII value is for example as follows:

0 = $ 30

1 = $ 31

2 = $ 32

3 = $ 33

4 = $ 34

= $ 35

6 = $ 36

7 = $ 37

1]

8 = $ 38

9 = $ 39

* = $ 2A

# = $ 23

  O = $ 4F (turning on) C = $ 43 (erasing) R = $ 52 (renumbering) S = $ 53 (capital letters) M = $ 4D (memory) P = $ 50 (phone) U = $ 55 (increasing volume) D = $ 44 (decrease volume) T = $ 54 (cut volume) F = $ 46 (turn on / off, usually corresponding to opening / closing in the case of a folding radio) The above values are given in format hexadecimal. 2) An on-hook command, intended to break the established link, may have the following format:

AT ^ H0 <CR>

  When the transmission is in radio mode, this command is applied to the circuit 13, by the modem 12 when it receives from the computer a command

standard hang-up.

  Upon receipt of this command, the controller circuit 13 causes the transmission to the central station of a standard instruction (so-called CAI standard) called FULL_RELEASE. In principle, this causes the immediate removal of the link by the base. But in some

  case, the base station may wish to extend the link.

  To determine this situation, the modem may, following the hang-up command, send a status request, as will be seen in detail below, and be programmed to react (for example to send a message to the user). consequence of the actual receipt of the status.

  We will see later that a command to put out-

  service also allows to cut the link.

  3) A command to start an access to the link

  can be used to establish a radio link.

  The circuit 13, 14 will then attempt to establish a link in the default mode (public mode or private mode) and in the "slot" by default (for more details on these concepts, reference will be made to the aforementioned standard CT2 in particular, the term "slot" here refers to a particular location in a parameter table). That being the case, it will be seen that the user of the computer will be able to program a particular mode and / or slot and keep this

setting in memory.

  This command is sent by the modem 12 to the controller circuit 13 when the transmission must be done in radio mode and the modem receives from the computer a standard stall control. As for the other commands, it is the microcontroller that generates the appropriate type command AT ^ according to the command

AT standard received.

  Two types of handshake can be provided, namely a voiceband data type, and a voice communication type. In the first case, the function of mute at the level of the controller circuit 13 will be prohibited, in the second

case, it will be allowed.

  For example, five seconds after sending such a command to circuit 13, the modem may send a status request to determine if the link has actually been established. It will be observed here that, by the status information communicated by the circuit 13, the modem can determine the idenfifier of the active slot used. The command for establishing a voiceband data link is for example:

AT ^ H1 <CR>

  The command to establish a direct speech connection is for example:

AT ^ H2 <CR>

  It will be observed here that, if there is a loss of the link during a call, the circuits 13 and 14 will determine the loss of the carrier. However, circuit 13 does not have the ability to signal this to the modem. In this case, it is advantageously provided that the circuits 13 and 14 attempt to restore the link according to the CAI requirement, and inform the modem by the status message when the latter sends a corresponding request. 4) A decommissioning command may be provided to put the controller circuit 13 and the transceiver circuit 14 out of service. In this case, in a manner as defined by the CT2 standard, the active processes and the active links are completed and the configuration data is stored in the memory

  programmable, for example of the EEPROM type, of the circuit 13.

  After being decommissioned, Circuits 13 and 14 will not be able to accept incoming calls or

  request the establishment of a link.

  Preferably, after sending a decommissioning command, the modem waits a predetermined period, for example 3 seconds, before actually cutting power to the circuits 13, 14. This allows the circuit 13 to complete its entire sequence. out of order. Note that in a decommissioning situation, the circuit 13 can no longer send any

status to the modem.

  This out of order command is particularly suitable for a battery-powered laptop, as it saves battery power in the event of no communication.

  radio telephone is not required.

  The format of the decommissioning command is by

example:

AT ^ P0 <CR>

  5) As a corollary, provision is made for a commissioning command of the circuits 13 and 14. This command makes it possible to effectively feed these circuits, but also to perform a "warm start" or to reset the

circuits 13 and 14.

  The receipt of such a command by the circuit 13 will cause a self-reset of the circuit 13, and in particular the erasure of its current setting. And this is the setting previously saved by the user in the EEPROM memory of the circuit 13 which

will be automatically recalled.

  It will be noted here that the behavior of the circuit 13 as described above will be the same during a commissioning of the circuits 13 and 14 by simple application of

their supply voltage.

  The format of this command is for example:

AT ^ P1 <CR>

  6) It is also advantageous to provide a save settings command, which is addressed to the circuit 13 by the modem 12 to ask it to save its current configuration (or configuration) in its non-volatile memory EEPROM. In this way, if a drop in the supply voltage occurs, the circuit 13 will be able, as part of the commissioning command described above, to return to the previous configuration. This characteristic is particularly useful in the case where several "associations" are open in the

  modem 12 of the model as defined above.

  Thus, when an open association wishes to keep the setting of the parameters of the circuits 13, 14, the programming of the modem will be carried out so as to address to the circuit 13 not a decommissioning command AT ^ PO <CR>, because it do not break the radio link that may be in use by other associations, but a command to save settings. The format of the command is for example:

AT ^ P2 <CR>

  7) A command may be provided to pass the circuits 13, 14 in private mode. Upon receipt of this command, the circuit 13 goes into private mode and

  use as the active slot the default private slot.

  As we will see later, we can change slot by

  sending a slot selection command.

  When establishing a link, the slot identifier (called "LID") of the active slot will then be used to contact the private base station. Circuits 13, 14 will remain in private mode until a public mode command (see

above) is received.

  The format of this command is for example:

AT ^ M0 <CR>

  8) Similarly, a command, for example in AT ^ M1 <CR> format, is provided for passing the circuits 13, 14 in public mode. The behavior is then the same as for the switch to private mode as described above, but applies to the public mode. Similarly, circuits 13, 14 remain in public mode as long as an order

AT ^ MO <CR> is not received.

  9) There is also provision for an order allowing

  circuits 13, 14 to register with a private base.

  To do this, the circuits 13, 14 must have a free private slot. The determination of such a slot

  free is under the responsibility of the modem.

  When the circuit 13 has received such a command, it returns to the modem a link identifier value between $ 0401 and $ FFFE if the slot is currently

  occupied, and equal to $ FFFF if the slot is free.

  In the case where there is no free private slot, it will be up to the user to release one if he wants to register. It should be noted here that the registration process triggers to be able to operate the establishment of a connection, because the registration imposes such a link

with the private base.

  The format of this private registration command is for example:

AT ^ R1 <CR>

  To validate the recording, the modem sends to the circuit 13 another command, for example of format:

AT ^ KP # <CR>

  ) To unregister from a private base, the user must provide circuit 13 via the modem with a command on the non-free slot that contains the identifier

  link of the base from which one wishes to deregister.

  The process of de-registration occurs after having

  previously established a connection with the base.

  The format of this command is for example:

AT ^ R0 <CR>

  11) There may also be a public registration order. Unlike in the case of private registration, this public registration does not require the existence of a free public slot. Indeed the start of a public recording on a busy slot will register over the existing record. It is however the modem 12 to determine whether a slot can be used or not. Circuit 13 will return a link identifier value between $ 0000 and $ 03EF if the slot is currently occupied, and a

  value of $ FFFF if the slot is free.

  The format of this command is for example:

AT ^ KPS4M <CR>

  When registering on a server called "Telepoint", the modem 12 must transmit to the server via the circuits 13, 14 a certain number of data blocks. These blocks can be transmitted for example by a command in the format: AT ^ KPxx ... x <CR>

xx ... x being the block of data.

  The resident program of circuit 13 increments a block number to be received each time a block is correctly received. An OK message may be sent via the modem 12 to the application in use in the computer when all the blocks have been correctly transmitted, or

  an error message is sent if a problem has occurred.

  It will be observed here that at the application level, the same process will take place, except that the data blocks will be supplied to the circuit 13 via the modem using a special command, for example AT ^ Bxx ... x <CR> . When such a command is sent to the circuit 13 by the modem, the latter knows that it is waiting for an acknowledgment of the circuit 13, which simply indicates in this case the number

the next block to process.

  Note that, in order to cancel the block transmission process related to Telepoint registration, the application may request the modem to transmit an AT ^ KP # <CR> command. This cancels the

process from the start.

  12) One can also provide a simplified public registration order called OTAR. In summary, this is a recording process during radio transmission, which is performed after the establishment of a link between the computer and the public telephone network. This simplified registration has the advantage of

  decrease the amount of data to be exchanged.

  The format of this command is for example:

AT ^ KPS4M * <CR>

  As in the previous case, an appropriate user interface must be provided to enter the data necessary for registration, which are

  again transmitted by commands AT ^ Bxx ... x <CR>.

  It will be observed here that an application will be advantageously designed to allow the user to choose between a normal public record and a

simplified registration.

  13) A local deregistration command may also be provided, both public and private. This command involves the prior selection of the slot and the appropriate mode, by commands that

will be explained later.

  The format of this command is in the present

example:

AT ^ KPS4MC <CR>

  This procedure is purely local, that is to say that it does not require the establishment of a link, it can be considered as a slot erase command, which releases it. But in the case where one is in public mode, the user must realize that he will no longer be able to access the public network, and will have to contact the server to perform a new registration process. 14) A locate command may be provided to allow the computer to receive calls. This can only be done in public mode. Before sending this command to circuit 13, a link must have been

  established between the computer and a public base.

  The format of this command is for example:

AT ^ L1 <CR>

  A problem specific to this command is the presence of voice messages from the base. A particularly interesting solution may be to perform an electrical energy detection to determine the moment at which such a message ends. The modem can then send to the circuit 13 a command such that: AT ^ KPxx <CR> after the end of the voice message, o xx specifies the location duration, in an ASCII format and in a predetermined unit of time. This duration is preferably

determined once and for all.

  It will be observed here that the computer is designed to previously recognize, in the message "Information Page" conventionally returned by the database, the

  frequency of the election sequence.

  ) A delocalization command is also provided to suppress the reception of calls. This command is only executable in public mode. A link with a public base must first have been established. This command is in this example:

AT ^ L0 <CR>

  16) As previously indicated, a slot selection control is provided to select a particular slot in private or public mode. The computer has, for example, eight private slots and four

public slots.

  This command is in this example: AT ^ KPS4n <CR> where n denotes the number of the slot and varies between 1 and 8

  in the private mode and 1 and 4 in the public mode.

  17) An order may be made to return the

  Electronic Serial Number (ESN) of Module 13, 14.

  This command is in this example:

AT ^ E0 <CR>

  After sending this command, the modem goes into receive mode and expects to receive on

  the serial interface the ESN number in asynchronous mode.

  Note that since the serial number may be longer than the status information, a specific format must be created in this case.

example:

AT'dl dl2 .... <CR>

  o dl to d12 are the 12 digits of the serial number.

  18) Dialing a number will only be possible after the computer has waited for the connection to be established. A keypress emulation command is then sent to the circuit 13. In the case of a public numbering, the string of digits

must end with a "#".

  Thus a numbering will be done by commands AT ^ KPabcdef ... <CR> in private mode; AT ^ KPabcdef ... # <CR> in public mode;

  o abcdef ... means the number to dial.

  The provision of status information to the modem by the circuit 13 has been mentioned several times, indicating in particular the progress of the

different processes involved.

  As indicated, this status is sent only after a status request, ie by sending an AT ^ S <CR> command and waiting for a reply.

  Several statuses can be envisaged.

  1) Standard status First of all we will indicate as an example the information that the modem 12 needs to correctly manage its connections with the circuit.

controller 13.

  This information is in this case spread over 2 bytes of general status. Specific information can follow these two bytes. Octet 1 Bit 7 (System Status) 0: Circuits 13, 14 are busy, and some of the status information may be invalid; 1: the circuits 13, 14 are ready and the status is valid. Bits 6 and 5 (link) 00: no link present; 01: link present; : linkage being established or restored; 11: ring (this is a second way to indicate a ring tone - see below for

  concerns the ringing simulation).

  Bit 4 (Signal strength) 0: weak signal;

1: strong signal.

  Bit 3 (location-delocalisation) 0: not located;

1: activated location.

* Bits 2 and 1 (registration status) 00: wrong block; 01: correct block; 10: bad recording;

11: correct recording.

  Bit 0 (lock status) O: unlocked;

1: blocked.

  It is observed here that the device 13, 14 can be locked (operation prohibited) or unlocked. We will use commands of type AT ^ KP ... <CR> to make

  pass the circuits from one state to another.

Byte 2 Bit 7

Not used.

  Bit 6 (public mode indication) O: invalid;

1: active public mode.

  Bit 5 (private mode indication) O: invalid;

1: private mode active.

  Bit 4 (unknown mode indication) 0: invalid;

1: unknown mode.

Bits 3-0 (slot number)

a digit in hexadecimal format.

  The information following these two main bytes is as follows: ASCII four-digit four-digit link identifier Registration block number one ASCII format (one byte) All this information is transmitted to each

status request by the modem 12.

  The status therefore has a total of 7 bytes and its format is as follows: AT '<octetl> <octet2> <ident.liaison> <block #> <CR> 2) Extended status This second status format can be used in particular to perform in the computer a mobile phone emulation keyboard and display. This extended status is transmitted to the modem 12 by the circuit 13 as a result of an extended status request command which can

be for example AT ^ S1 <CR>.

  The simulations of key presses will be transmitted to the controller circuit 13 by the aforementioned commands AT ^ KP ... <CR>. The extended status information will be used to obtain circuit 13 data necessary for display and signaling on the computer screen (mainly text and icons), corresponding to those that are conventionally displayed on the computer.

a portable radiotelephone.

  We will place ourselves in this example in the case where the circuits 13, 14 are of the type used in a portable radiotelephone that can display eight symbols or different icons, namely: - an indicator "Busy" - a "Public" indicator - an indicator "Private" - a "On" indicator - a "Shift" indicator - a "Locked" indicator - a "Scroll" indicator - a "Ringing" indicator Each of these symbols can have three states,

  know not displayed, displayed or flashing.

  Each symbol can be described using two bits Bit 1 1: Flashing 0: Not flashing Bit 2 1: Displayed 0: Not displayed The state of the eight symbols, as determined by the

  circuit 13, can be encoded in 2 bytes.

  In the case where the controller circuit 13 manages more symbols, one or more additional bytes

may be provided.

  Moreover, assuming the fact that the controller 13 is able to drive a display with twelve characters, these twelve characters (for example in ASCII format) can be added after the two bytes of

  symbols as defined above.

  These symbol and character bytes are transmitted in an extended status message having the same format as the standard status message, i.e. they are

  preceded by AT 'and followed by <CR>.

  3) Status at the application level To allow an application to obtain the status of the circuits 13, 14 via the modem 12, special commands can also be provided, AT ^ S? <CR> and AT ^ S1? < CR>, respectively corresponding to the requests for standard status and extended status by the modem. The status information received by the modem will then be

  transmitted to the application in hexadecimal format.

Ring detection

  As mentioned above, the interface.

  The hardware between the modem 12 and the controller circuit 13 for the analog signals comprises two signals for the analog transmission and two signals for the analog reception. It is therefore a four-wire interface. In the case where the modem operates in direct connection, by cable, with the public telephone network, it is in two-wire mode. And the ringing information arrives on what corresponds to the analog reception signal in

the four-wire mode.

  In order to maintain the ring detection as already incorporated in the modem resident program, the controller circuit 13 is designed to emulate a ring signal, denoted ERING, by applying modulation on a special conductor. And an analog inverter is provided to selectively apply this emulated signal to the analog receive input of the modem. The corresponding circuit is indicated schematically

in Figure 3.

  The analog inverter 100 receives on a control terminal a selection signal Ring / transmit

analog, noted Ring_Txa_Sel.

  The input terminal A of the inverter 100 is connected to the

special driver mentioned above.

  The input terminal B of said inverter is connected to the output of a differential amplifier 110 at the two inputs of which are applied the positive and negative analog reception signals, respectively RXA1 ert RXA2. The output of the inverter 100 is connected to the input

  analog RXA reception of the modem.

  In this way, when the circuits 13, 14 receive a call from the base, a ring is simulated at the modem 12, which is then in two-wire mode. It is only when the establishment of the line is complete that the modem goes into four-wire mode. Thus the resident program of the modem, as to its ring detection aspect, does not have to be modified by

the addition of circuits 13 and 14.

  FIG. 4 shows the hardware aspect of the interface according to whether it is in four-wire or two-wire mode. Reference 12b designates at the bottom of the

  Figure 4 The telephone line interface.

  Of course, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described and shown, but one skilled in the art will be able to make any variant or

  modification in keeping with his spirit.

  The following appendix is a detailed specification, with examples, of the various commands implemented.

according to the present invention.

  O / Outstanding Questions and History History 1.0a4 - Dec 1: - Switching from PowerBop to PowerBop II. Modified the entire hardware interface specification, including

including synchronizations.

  l.0a4 - l.0a5 Added Change bars to all

  paragraphs that have been modified.

  10. Amended the description of the Orders and States

  exchanged between the CT2 Module and the Modem.

  Added the order to return the number

Serial Electronics (AT ^ E0).

  Added Extended State Description (At ^ Sl)

for keyboard emulation.

  Added the command AT ^ P2 to force the module CT2 to save the current settings programmed by

  the modem, but without going out of service.

  Added command AT ^ H2 to realize the difference between data mode links of

  voiceband and pure voice links.

  Questions left unanswered Voice Messages Management !! Management of Display Messages !! 25. What happens if you want to stop being registered at a base station and you are too far away. Does this command require a transaction between the terminal and the base station? Have the opportunity to get the power of

signal during the connection.

Change AT ^ S to AT ^ SO.

  Add, in the state format, a byte to identify the status type. A different byte for 2 different states (SO, and S1) and for restitution

the Electronic Serial Number.

1 / General Description

  PowerBop is a CT2 modem, based on an Apple PowerBook Express modem and Motorola's Silverlink CT2 handset. This modem can take

  place in PowerBooks 160, 165c, 180, 180c.

  2 / General Architecture The way this modem is implemented is as follows: The normal modem PSTN controls the card of

  Silverlink control device.

  10. The Silverlink Controller Board controls the Silverlink transceiver board. In this way, the entire device can make wireless modem connections using the CT2 protocol. The modem is responsible for performing the modulation-demodulation process and all high-level protocols (eg T30 protocol, MNP and V42 data protocols). The controller CT2 is responsible for access

  link and link management.

  In order for the modem to control the CT2 radio interface, we have defined a set of commands and states. Basically, these commands have been defined to emulate the "key presses", that is to say the key presses or operations, of the Silverlink telephone handset, and to allow the modem to implement the card. CT2 control device as a human operator would implement the Silverlink telephone unit. We have defined a standard, or standard, key operation command, as well as some special commands for

  perform some of the basic functions.

  3 / Equipment interface The equipment interface between the modem and the CT2 device, is based on a serial communications interface, or SCI, Motorola, which only works in asynchronous mode, with an additional wire that can be used for a

  Input / Output, or I / O, versatile.

3.1 / Description

  The interface logic is illustrated in Figure 2.

  Commands: From Modem to CT2 device. When the modem wishes to send a command to the device CT2, it simply begins sending the data, using the serial communications interface asynchronously. This is based on the fact that the module CT2 should be ready to receive commands at any time, when it is free of any processing of special commands AT. If the device CT2 has not completed the execution of the previous command, it ignores the current command and continues processing. If the CT2 device is available, it

  accepts data from the Tx line, that is,

  say transmission, the serial communications interface. If the command is not completed by a <CR>,

  that is, carriage return, it is not processed.

  During the next Send Command cycle, that is, send command, the uncompleted command is rejected and the new command is accepted. In this way, the device CT2 offers a possibility of correcting erroneous command transfers and interlocks. Status: From the CT2 device to the Modem. Whenever the modem wants a report of the evolution of the current process, it must send the special command "AT ^ S" I to the CT2 module on the serial communications interface in asynchronous mode. Immediately after sending this command, the modem goes into receiver mode to receive the data (status) sent by the CT2 module in asynchronous mode on the serial communications interface. The state must always be terminated with a carriage return character. The AT ^ S command requests the normalized state, defined at the end of this document. To extend the format of the data that can be retrieved by the modem from the module CT2, additional AT ^ SNs can be defined, n being able to take all the values from 1 to. 3.2 / Electrical Interface and Synchronizations The signals exchanged between the Modem and the

  CT2 device are described above.

  With regard to the logic signals, it is: Txo (DataOut, that is to say data output of the Modem) Rxi (DataIn, that is to say data input for the Modem) ExtraI / O, ie additional I / O (used for versatile input / output) PowerOn, that is, commissioning (Pulse simulation of handset activation) Ring, c Ring-TxaSel (Choice of Ring Digital Signal or Analog Signal Txa => Used for the choice of

analog switch).

  All these I / O lines are terminated by lowering resistors on the side of the device

CT2.

  The baud rate used by the serial communications interface on the modem side is 9.765 KHz (due to the 5 MHz clock signal from the controller), and 9.6 KHz on the CT2 side. The difference is small enough to be offset by the serial communications interface, knowing that the transfers are composed of a small amount of characters. The asynchronous data format is 1 bit

  stop, 1 start bit and 8 data bits.

  The level of these logic signals are:

HIV = 2.72 V to 3.2 V

VIL = 0 V to 0.85 V

  These levels are specified for a power supply

4.5 V CT2 device.

  With regard to analog signals, these are:

  Txal (Modem analog data output -

positive differential signal)

  Txa2 (Modem Analog Output Data -

negative differential signal)

  Rxal (Analog Data Input for Modem -

positive differential signal)

  Rxa2 (Analog Data Input for Modem -

  negative differential signal) With regard to the energy signals, we have:

+4.5V

  Mass Cycle Synchronization Table Writing / Reading

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0

line en | | Ill | || Z wait A

START STOP START

  The stop bit is always high.

  Writing / Reading cycles in data format.

  Bit Commands All characters transmitted on the serial communications interface are in the following order: The first bit transmitted is the bit of weight

low.

  4 / Commands 4.1 / Command Format To ensure synchronization between the different devices, which are receiving and interpreting the commands, this set of commands is based on a set of pseudo AT commands. Following the AT character sequence, a special character is added to indicate that the

  command is a PowerBop low level AT command.

  To avoid confusion with the standard set of AT commands, the character "^" was chosen as the special AT character of the PowerBop. The general format of the PowerBop AT command is as follows: AITtli CRI command All commands end with a CR,

that is, a carriage return.

  Maximum Command Length: The control part of the AT sequence is limited to 10 characters due to the limited buffer of the CT2 device. The command "KP", where KP represents the initials of Key Press or key press, is the only command that may require exceeding this limit (due to long chains of numbers to dial). In this case, the modem must divide the key operations into 2 "KP" commands and send them separately via the serial interface. The device CT2 will chain these key operations and treat them as a

  single series of key operations.

  4.2 / "Key Press" command, that is, key operation The key actuation command is the basic command that allows the modem to implement the CT2 controller board in the same manner as an operator would use the Silverlink keyboard. This type of order is specially

used to dial the number.

  The ID, or ID, of this command is KP, and is followed by the ASCII codes of the keys

to operate.

  IAiT ^ JIKP kIk2 a ... | kn CRI Accepted characters are: 0-Ascii $ 30 8-Ascii $ 38 M (emory) -Ascii $ 4D 1-Ascii $ 31 9-Ascii $ 39 P (hone) -Ascii $ 50 2-Ascii $ 32 * -Ascii $ 2AU (p Volume ) - Ascii $ 55 3-Ascii $ 33 # -Ascii $ 23 D (own Volume) -Ascii $ 44 4- Ascii $ 34 O (n) -Ascii $ 4FT (Mute) -Ascii $ 54 -Ascii $ 35 C (lear) - Ascii $ 43 F ( lapse) -Ascii $ 46 6-Ascii $ 36 R (edial) -Ascii $ 52 7-Ascii $ 37 S (hift) -Ascii $ 53 0: start, C: delete, R: renumber, S: Offset, so Upper case, M: Memory, P: phone, U: increase volume, D: decrease volume, T: cut volume, F: turn on / off, usually corresponding to open-close for

a foldable phone.

  Note: It is possible to send specific commands to the CT2 device by concatenating specific key operations in a "KP" command. This feature offers full access to all orders that are present in a

Silverlink telephone handset.

  In the case where specific orders are listed below in this document, it is necessary to

  use them instead of stringing "KP" commands.

  4.3 / Hook-up control The hung-up control is used to interrupt an already established link. It corresponds to a hangup, that is to say On hook for a modem on the public telephone network or PSTN (Public

Switched Telephone Network).

  Upon receipt of this order, the device

  CT2 transmits a CAI FULL_RELEASE to the base station.

  This normally causes an immediate termination of the link by the base, but the base may wish

  in certain circumstances extend the links.

  To determine this situation, the modem checks the status and reacts appropriately.

  The identification of this command is H0.

  If the system wishes to terminate a link immediately (and yet gradually), the command "Power Off Command", that is to say set

  out of service, AT ^ PO must be used (see

  below). 4.4 / Link Access Launch Control The Link Access Launch Control is

  used to attempt to establish a radio link.

  It is attempted in mode, and crack, by default (either Public or Private), unless the user has chosen a slot or mode variant since startup. It corresponds to hang up for a modem on the public telephone network or PSTN (Public

Switched Telephone Network).

  There are 2 different types of line establishments, 1 for voice band data (H1) and 1 for pure voice (H2). In pure channel mode, mute is allowed on the CT2 module while

  is not in voiceband data mode.

  The attempt to obtain a link lasts 5 seconds, after which the modem knows whether the link access has been successfully performed by reading the state given by the device CT2. Inside the same information, the modem obtains the identification element, also called the identifier, from the

active slot that is used.

  The identification of the command for the establishment of a data link per band

voice is Hl.

  Note: If a link loss occurs during a connection, the PowerBop system detects the loss of the carrier. However, the device CT2 does not issue a hang-up command since there is no connection to signal this. In contrast, the CT2 device will attempt to reestablish the link according to the requirements of the CAI specification and

  will report this activity in the state.

  The identification of the order to establish a

pure voice connection is H2.

AU | TL 1H {2CR |

  4.5 / Decommissioning Command The PowerOff command, that is, decommissioning, is used to decommission the CT2 device (controller board and transmitter / receiver board). Active processes and active links are progressively terminated and configuration data is stored in the electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, or EEPROM, of the CT2. In this mode, the device CT2 can not accept incoming calls,

  and it can not issue any link access.

  After issuing this command completely, the modem must wait 3 seconds before interrupting the power source in order to let the CT2 device completely execute the shutdown sequence. In addition, no other state is available at

this moment.

  The identification of this command is P0.

AT I P O CRI

  Note: When the PowerBop system wishes to keep the current configuration in non-volatile memory, it can issue the AT ^ PO command. When the system is restarted, it starts with the

saved configuration.

  4.6 / Power On Command The PowerOn command, that is, power on, is used as a hot boot command or as a restore command to a CT2 device that is currently in service. Emitting this command causes the CT2 device to restart and lose any current configuration. A current configuration is not saved in permanent memory and it is the last saved configuration which is recalled during the restart, from the permanent memory

(EEPROM).

  In order to perform a real commissioning, the PowerBook must simply have brought the voltage to

CT2 device.

  The identification of this command is P1 [AIT ^ IPI lCRI 4.7 / Save Orders Command The Save Settings command, that is to say save setpoints, is used by the modem to tell the CT2 radio module to memorize the command. configuration data in its EEPROM. In this way, if an interruption in the power supply occurs, the module CT2 awakens

always in the program mode.

  Note: This is especially used in cases where several associations are open inside the Express Modem. When one of the open associations stores the parameters of the module CT2, it can not issue the command AT ^ P0 since it must not deactivate the radio module (which

  could be used by other associations).

  The identification of this command is P2.

AITI ^ IP12 | CR |

  4.8 / Private Mode Control The Private Mode or Private Mode Control is used to switch the CT2 device to private mode. Upon receipt of this command, the device CT2 switches its mode to Private and uses the default private slot as its active slot. The active slot can be changed by issuing the slot selection command. Link launches use the LID (identification element) coming from the slot

  active for contact with the private base.

  After executing this command, the system remains in Private mode until the command is executed.

"Mi" command described below.

  The identification of this command is MO.

  IAITI ^ IMIO [CRj 4.9 / Public Mode Control The public mode control, or Public Mode, is used to switch the CT2 device to public mode. Upon receiving this command, the CT2 device switches its mode to Public and uses the default public slot as its active slot. The active slot can be changed by issuing the slot selection command. Link launches use the LID (identification element) coming from

  the active slot for contact with the public base.

  After executing this command, the system remains in Public mode until the command is executed.

"M0" command described above.

  The identification of this command is M1.

  TAT- ^ M 1 lCR 4.10 / Recording command Private To be able to record to a private database using this command, the CT2 must have an empty private slot. It is the responsibility of the modem (user) to determine if a slot is available or not. The CT2 device returns a value between LID $ 0401 to $ FFFE if the slot is currently occupied and a value of $ FFFF if the slot is empty. In the case where there is no free private slot available, the user must

  release one or he can not save.

  The recording starts at the same time as an access of

  line, since it is a wireless process.

  The identification of this command is Rl

| A | T ^ R1 CR |

  When this command has been executed by the CT2 module, a link is established between the PowerBop system and the private database. To validate the action

  the AT ^ KP # command must be issued.

We obtain the following sequence:

AT ^ R1 <CR> ->

  <- Check that link is established

AT ^ KP # <CR> ->

  <- Wait for the agreement, or OK, to record and end the registration action 4.11 / Order to stop recording, or deregister, private To stop recording from a private database, the user must issue this command on the non-empty slot that contains the LID of the database where the registration should stop. In this case

  termination of registration occurs wirelessly.

  The identification of this command is R0 [AI KR d0ICRI 4.12 / Public Registration Command (Telepoint) Unlike a private record, the CT2 device does not need to have an empty public slot for this type recording. Launching a public record of an already occupied slot overwrites the existing record. However, it is the responsibility of the modem (user) that

  determine whether or not a slot can be used.

  The CT2 device returns a value of LID $ 0000 to $ 03EF if the slot is currently occupied, and $ FFFF

if the slot is empty.

  The identification of this command is KPS4M.

IAITI ^ IK [PIS141MICRI

  When registering with a Telepoint Service Provider, the PowerBop system must enter several blocks of data, and we will now describe how

  the blocks are entered in the system.

AT ^ KPS4M <CR> ->

  <- Check Block Number to enter and send to Application AT ^ KPxxxx <CR> -> <- Increment Block Number to enter if all is correct AT ^ KPxxxx <CR> -> (corresponding to last block) <- Send OK , that is, chord, or ERROR, that is, Application error (indicates the result of the recording) Application Interface (Caution) On the application side, the following occurs: same process as described below, except that data blocks are sent to the modem using a special command (AT ^ B). In this way, the modem knows that it must wait for the acknowledgment of receipt of the device CT2 and in this case it does not display

  than the block number that needs to be processed next.

The sequence is as follows:

AT ^ KPS4M <CR> ->

  <- B0 AT ^ Bxxxx <CR> -> <- B1 (if data is correct or B0 otherwise) AT ^ Bxxxx <CR> -> (corresponding to the last block) <- OK or ERROR (indicates result of l In order to escape correctly in the middle of a block exchange process, the Application must send an AT ^ KP # command. This command will cancel the Telepoint registration and cause the CT2 module to

return to standby mode.

  Note: If an error occurs on the last block, it breaks the whole record, and it is not possible to enter the block again. In this case, the user must restart all

registration process.

  4.13 / OTAR Registration Order Public OTAR registration was introduced later and was completed to simplify the registration process. This is a wireless recording, which is performed when a link is established between the PowerBop system and the public network. The amount of data to be exchanged between

  the system and the public network is much less.

  The identification of this command is KPS4M *.

  The same type of user interface (Application) is set up to enter the data necessary for registration, and the command AT ^ B must be used. Generally, only 1 block is

  necessary for this type of recording.

  ****** Warning ****** In order to allow the user to choose between a manual public record and an OTAR recording (which depends on the network), the User Interface must provide an OTAR / Manual selector, and has a

recording activator.

  Depending on the record chosen, the Application sends the following commands to the modem: 5. AT ^ KPS4M * for OTAR AT ^ KPS4M and then sends the data blocks. ****** Warning ****** 4.14 / Terminal Registration Termination Command This Registration Termination command is valid only locally (without access to a

  any base station) for the PowerBop system.

  It can be done in both Public and Private modes. Before this Cessation of local recording, the correct slot and the correct mode (public

  or private) must be chosen - see order below

  below. The identification of this command is KPS4MC

IAITI ^ IKIPISI41MICICRJ

  Since Terminal Registration Termination is a local process (no link is to be established), it can be viewed as a Slot Erase command, which again frees the selected slot. However, in the case of public mode, the user must be aware that he will not be able to connect to the public network again, and that he will have to contact the service provider to carry out the process again.

recording.

  4.15 / Location Control on a Public Base The Location Control is used to receive incoming calls by the PowerBop system. It can only be done in Public mode. Before issuing this command, a link between the PowerBop system and a Public database

must be established.

  The identification of this command (corresponding to KPS8 of the handset) is LI [1 [-IAIL1l1CRI Transmission: The Page Information message must be processed by the PowerBop system. To avoid an overly complex user interface (by voice messages), the duration of the Location is forced to a predetermined time. The modem of the device CT2 performs a detection of energy to know when the voice message is finished, and then it knows that it can

  send the Duration to the Public database.

  However, the PowerBop system must recover the frequency of the query sequence that the base

  Public will return to the Page Information message.

  Let's describe the sequence of commands:

AT ^ L1 ->

  <- OK indicates that the link is established AT ^ KPxx -> Corresponds to the duration of the Localization <- OK xx is the duration given to the Public network, and its format is a series of ASCII digits. Depending on the network, the unit may be different (some in

* seconds, others in Minutes, ...).

  4.16 / Offsets Command on a Public Base The Offsets command is used to cause the PowerBop to stop receiving incoming calls. It can only be done in Public mode. Before issuing this command, a link must be established between the PowerBop system and the Public database. The identification of this command (corresponding to KPS8 of the handset) is L0 LATI ^ IL | 0iCRj 4.17 / Slot Choice Control This command is used to select a specific slot, either privately or in public mode. The PowerBop system has 8 private slots and 8 public slots.

  The identification of this command is KPS4n.

  The range n is between 1 and 8 in Private mode.

  The range n is between 1 and 4 in public mode.

  -AÀT [K] PISI14JnICRI! 4.18. Electronic or ESN Serial Number Restitution This command is used by the Modem to retrieve the Electronic Serial Number of the module

CT2 to which it is connected.

  The identification of this command is EO.

IAITI ^ IEIOICRI

  After sending this command, the modem goes into receive mode and waits for the data that makes up the electronic serial number to arrive in asynchronous format through the serial communications interface. Since the data to be returned by the modem does not fit the standard state format, a new data format must be defined to take care of this case. The electronic serial number is composed of 12 digits, which must be appended to the AT status identification element and whose appearance is the following: t Tjfldigl dig2 dig3] dig4] dig5 | dig5jdig6 di 7 Idig8 di9diq0 diglldil2 [ CR [o dig.l, dig2, etc. ... denote the number 1,

2, etc ...

  4.19 / Dialing a Telephone Number To dial a telephone number, the system

  PowerBop must wait for a link to be established.

  Subsequently, the key operation command is used to switch to the CT2 device the chain

the number to dial.

  The string of the number to be dialed must contain at the end a "#" character, in case the dialing occurs in Public mode. Example: Here is the series of commands to be issued

  to dial a phone number.

AT ^ H1

  Wait for the OK state on the line access.

  AT ^ KP "number string" in private mode AT ^ KP "number string #" in public / state mode The state is used by the CT2 device to report certain information to the modem (which controls the entire PowerBop device) about

  progress of the various processes in progress.

  It is the modem that always requests the status information (by sending the AT ^ S command), and this ensures

  a synchronization between the two devices.

  5.1 / Normalized Status (AT ^ S) 5.1.1 / State Information List The following list indicates different types of information that the modem needs to correctly process a CT2 connection. This information is divided into 2 bytes of general status

  followed by specific information.

  For each information of the report of state, one also lists the different values that it

can take.

  Status byte 1 Bit 7: CT2 System status 0 -> CT2 device busy and part of the state can be invalid 1 -> CT2 device ready and the status is valid Bits 6 & 5: Link 00 -> None present link 01 -> present link -> (r) handshaking 11 -> ringing (and alternative ring indication via the state) Bit 4: Signal strength 0 -> weak signal 1 - > Strong signal Bit 3: Localization / Delocalization: 0 -> Not located 1 -> Active location Bits 2 & 1: Registration status 00 -> Bad block 01 -> Good block -> Bad record 11 -> Good record Bit 0 : Lock state 0 -> Unlocked 1 -> Locked To specify whether to lock or unlock the CT2 device to block its operation, the modem uses the command AT ^ KP

  in which the correct keys are included.

  Status byte 2 Bit 7: Flag not available => Never valid Bit 6: Public mode indication 0 -> Invalid 1 -> Public mode Bit 5: Private mode indication 0 -> Invalid 1 -> Private mode Bit 4: Indication of unknown mode 0 -> Invalid 1 -> Unknown mode bits 3, 2, 1 & 0: Slot number -> Format is 1 in

hex format.

State LID (4 bytes)

4 digits in Ascii format.

  Registration Block Number (1 byte)

1 digit in Ascii format.

  All information is returned whenever the modem wants to know the status. All bits are grouped in 2 bytes, some of the bits being reserved

for later use.

  The rest of the information is in bytes for

each figure listed below.

  5.1.2 / Format of State The State is composed in total of 7 bytes plus the characters AT for the synchronization, and of a special character (') different from preceding (^) so

  to differentiate Orders and States.

  At T 'State Bytel State Byte2ILIDl1LID21LID3I LID4lBlk # 1CRI State Byte 1 includes the first part of all bits previously described in the following command: ICT2 Ready LinkLjLaison2iSignal Location | SaveRecordRecordRecord State Byte 2 includes the second part of all previously described bits in the following order: [NU [Mode PublicSMode Privé eMode InconnDuFente # 1 Slot # 2 Slot # 3 Slot # 4 o UN means: not used To get an idea of the state restitution by the modem, we get the following sequence of commands and answers:

AT ^ S <CR> ->

<- AT 804131323334000D

  which means that the CT2 module is ready, that it is in public mode, and that the selected slot is the first one. The LID of the selected slot is 1234, and the

block number is 0.

  5.2 / Extended state (AT ^ Sl) This second state format is used to perform on the Macintosh side the keyboard emulation

Telephone Handset.

  The system processes this feature using the command AT ^ KP to send all key operation information, and uses the state described below to obtain the data to be displayed on the telephone handset emulator. The central processing unit, or CPU, must simulate the different icons available on the handset display as well as the different channels that are normally

  displayed during operation.

  5.2.1 / Icons There are 7 different icons, 1 for the BUSY indication, 1 for the PUBLIC indication, 1 for the PRIVATE indication, 1 for the STATUS indication, 1 for the UPPERCASE indication, 1 for the indication LOCK, 1 for the indication RUNNING and 1 for the indication RING. Each icon has 3 different states: ON, OFF, or Flashing. To encode each icon, it

  it takes 2 bits which makes a total of 14 bits.

  However, to maintain compatibility with the Telephone Handset (which provides for future icons for the future), it is necessary to use a total of

3 bytes.

  The Silverlink phone display has slots where the different icons

are located.

48 2710485

  State Values According to the definition above, each icon is described by means of 2 bits. These bits are set and restored as follows to indicate whether the icon is on, off, or flashing. t Bit 1 1 Bit 2 l = Flashing 0 = No flashing l = In service 0 = Out of service Icon 1 byte (IcByl) ISPkrllSpkr2SlashlSlash2_VerroullVerrou2 Offset Offset2 Byte of Icone 2 (IcBy2) IOccupéelOccupé? 2Publ | Pub2LPrivllPriv2 [AlimllAlim2 Byte of Icone 3 (IcBy3) [Unwind Scroll21N.UIN.UIN.UIN.U UN NU 5.2.2 / Channels to Display The handset display consists of a 12-digit display. In all cases, even if some strings exceed 12 characters, only the last 12 are displayed. The type of string to be displayed usually consists of messages from the network or from the private base station to

which the system is connected to.

  The CT2 module appends these 12 characters to the 2 bytes of icons and the modem returns them to display them on the handset emulator (PowerBook screen). The format of these numbers is ASCII

  as the format used for AT ^ KP commands.

  di di2di3di4q2di5q3d di8q4di5 diq6diq7diq8diq9diq digllldigl2 | 5.2.2 / State format In summary, the following state is issued by the module

  CT2 in response to the command AT ^ S1.

  IAIT'IcByllIcB2cBdd21d31d41d51d6 1d7d8 d91dl 0dll d12 CRf To obtain an idea of the state of restitution extended by the modem, we obtain the following sequence of orders and responses:

AT ^ S1 <CR> ->

  <- AT 8041263132333435363738393031320D

  which means that it is necessary to modify the state of the icons described in the first 3 bytes and displayed

  "123456789012" on the PowerBop screen.

  6 / Application Status In order for the Macintosh Application to know the current state of the PowerBop system at any time, it can issue the same command that is used by the modem to restore the different status from the CT2 module, which would give the following sequences: 1 / IAiTI ^ IS ICRI It returns the normalized PowerBop state of the CT2 in the following format, all the fields being encoded in Hex code: jOctet Statel Byte State2 LIDIlLID2 LID3 LID-4Blk # TCR [

OK <CR> <LF>

2 /

AAITI ^ S 1? SHOUT

  It then returns the extended CT2 state of PowerBop in the following format, where all fields are encoded in Hex code: JIYIcBy2IIcBy3 dlqd2_d31d41d51d61d7 d8 d9 0 dl dl2 CRI

OK <CR> <LF>

  6 / Ringer Detection The hardware interface between the modem and the CT2 device for analog signals consists of two signals for the Analog Transmission, two signals for the Analogue Receive and one signal for the ground. This is called a 4-wire interface. In PSTN mode, the modem operates in 2-wire mode. In this case, Ringtone information comes on

  which is an RXA signal in 4-wire mode.

  To maintain ringing detection as it is already implanted in the micro-programs of the modem, the device CT2 emulates the ring signal by modulating a special wire which is routed to a modem signal Rxa using an analog switch (see FIG. Figure 3). In this way, the modem that is in 2-wire mode at the instant init sees a normal ring. When all the liaison institutions are carried out, the modem

then switches to 4-wire mode.

  Signal interpretation according to the set mode: Analog signals Hardware interface

(see Figure 4).

Claims (16)

  A computer, particularly a portable personal computer, capable of communicating remotely over a telephone network, characterized in that it comprises in combination: a computer unit (11) comprising a central processor, means memory, input / output means and means for data acquisition and presentation, - a modem (12) connected to the computer unit and adapted to be connected to the telephone network by a cord (12a), - a transmission / reception circuit (14) able to establish radio communications with a remote site to also access the telephone network, - a control circuit (13) of the transmission / reception circuit, - means provided in the computer to apply to the modem commands selected from a predefined set of commands, - means provided in the computer to determine whether a telephone communication via the cord is sought or in progress, and to produce a sig corresponding means, - means provided in the computer for processing the commands received in the modem, or converting said received commands into specific commands for the control circuit and to apply these commands specific to the control circuit, according to said signal, and - means provided in said control circuit   to process said specific commands.   2. Computer according to claim 1, characterized in that said transmission / reception circuit (14) is able to access said telephone network by the establishment.   prior to a radio link with a base station.   Computer according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the determination means are provided in the modem (12).   4. Computer according to claim 3, characterized in that the determining means comprises means for detecting the connection of the cord (12a) to the modem (12). 5. Computer according to claim 4, characterized in that said detection means are constituted by means for determining the presence of an identifier. in said cord (12a).   Computer according to one of claims 1 to 5,   characterized in that said specific commands each comprise: - a common prefix (AT); - indicative information (^) because said command is a specific command; - an identifier of the command.   7. Computer according to claim 6, characterized in that said common prefix is identical to a common prefix (AT) commands belonging to said set of predefined commands.   Computer according to one of claims 1 to 7,   characterized in that the control circuit (13) is originally adapted to accept manual instructions from a user generating instruction signals, in that one of said specific commands includes a control identifier followed by a control string. characters, said identifier being representative of a simulation of manual instructions, and in that the control circuit is adapted to process said characters of said string as if they constitute instruction signals following manual instructions.   9. Computer according to claim 8, characterized in that said manual instructions comprise   keystrokes of a keyboard.   10. Computer according to claim 9, characterized in that said string of characters is representative a phone number.   11. Computer according to claim 8, 9 or 10, characterized in that said characters are in the format ASCII.   12. Computer according to one of claims 1 to   11, characterized in that the control circuit (13) is originally designed to drive a display means, in that the control circuit is adapted to transmit to the modem a message including a string of characters representative of information to be displayed. on the display means, and in that the computer comprises means to process said characters.   Computer according to claim 12, characterized in that the means for processing said characters comprise means for performing a   display from said characters.   14. Computer according to one of claims 1 to   13, characterized in that the modem comprises means for detecting an incoming ringing signal, and in that the control circuit (13) comprises means for generating a simulated ring signal (ERING) and for apply it to the modem.   15. Computer according to claim 14, characterized in that it further comprises switching means (100) controlled by the control circuit (13) and adapted to selectively apply to an analog signal input terminal of said modem. generated simulated ring signal or analog signals received by the transmit / receive circuit. 16. A method to be implemented in a computer, in particular a portable personal computer, comprising a computer unit (11) comprising a central processor, storage means, input / output means and input means and data presentation, a modem (12) connected to the computer unit and capable of being connected to a telephone network by a cord (12a), a transmission / reception circuit (14) adapted to establish radio communications with a remote site, a control circuit (13) of the transmitting / receiving circuit, and means provided in the computer for applying to the modem commands selected from a predefined set of commands, the method being for to establish a remote communication via said telephone network and being characterized by the following steps: - it is determined whether a telephone communication via the cord is sought or in progress, and to produce a signal co corresponding, - according to said signal, either the commands received in the modem are processed, or said received commands are converted into specific commands for the control circuit and these specific commands are applied to the control circuit, and - the specific commands are processed. in said control circuit.