MXPA98003962A - Electronic devices and my programming methods - Google Patents

Abstract

A technique for programming operating parameters in an electronic device, such as programmable configuration values, uses an interactive response configuration server accessible through the telephone network. The configuration server provides indications or spoken questions to an operator of the electronic device over a telephone connection. The spoken indications are related to the desired form of operation that can be achieved with the values of the particular operating parameters. The values of the desired operation parameters are determined based on the operator's responses. A programming signal including representations of the values of the desired operation parameters is then generated and transmitted to an electronic device. The electronic device then sets the values of that programmable operating parameters according to the programming signal received.

Description

ELECTRONIC DEVICES AND METHODS OF PROGRAMMING THEMSELVES DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to the programming of electronic devices.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Many communication devices / such as facsimile machines (fax), private secondary center equipment (PBX), radiotelephones including cell phones and PCS, require users to initially enter configuration information, such as telephone numbers, names, passwords , account numbers and other programmable parameters before the device can operate in a desired manner. Typically, consumer-oriented communication devices employ numeric keypads and visualization screens to allow the introduction of configuration information by a user. For many consumers, entering the REF: 27135 configuration information using a numeric keypad and a display screen can be confusing and, very often, embarrassingly undesirable. Also, the numeric keypad and the configuration display screen can provide polyesters or no use during the operation of a communication device beyond the initial and / or infrequent configuration programming. As a consequence, the inclusion of such components in cost-sensitive consumer-oriented devices is considered relatively expensive in view of their sporadic or infrequent use. Alternative methods for entering configuration information include connecting the electronic device to a personal computer (PC) and executing a configuration program on the PC provided by the device manufacturer. Such configuration programming is often used for telephone network devices including, for example, particular types of network routers. Configuration programming using a connected PC is often less embarrassing to use in relation to the numeric keypad and configuration display screen. In addition, configuration programming using a PC advantageously reduces the manufacturing costs of the device due to the omission of the numeric keypad and configuration display screen. However, such a method of programming is undesirable for users who do not possess or do not have access to personal computers such as, for example, a large number of purchasers of consumer-oriented electronic devices. Consequently, there is a recognized need for a relatively low-cost, easy-to-use programming technique that does not require special programming equipment.

Brief Description of the Invention The invention was based on an advantageous programming technique for setting the operating parameters in an electronic device, such as by setting the programmable configuration, using an interactive configuration server accessible through the telephone network. More specifically, the configuration server provides spoken indications to an operator of the electronic device over a telephone connection. The spoken indications are related to a desired way of operation achievable with the values of the particular operation parameters. The values of the desired operation parameters are determined based on the operator's responses. A programming signal including a representation of the values of the desired operation parameters is then generated and transmitted to a destination electronic device. The target electronic device sets the values of its programmable operating parameters according to the received programming signal. Such a programming technique provides for easier programming of the device by the operator. In addition, it is advantageously possible to employ relatively low cost components in the electronic device to allow programming in this manner. In particular, it is possible for an electronic device according to the invention to include a programming controller and a telephone line interface to perform the operations necessary to receive and store the operation parameters. The device configuration server can also be provided at a relatively low cost such as a computer having an interface with the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and corresponding to the voice indication and operation parameter databases. Alternatively it is possible for the operator of the electronic device to contact the configuration server using a telephone line different from the telephone line used for the electronic device. Accordingly, after the configuration server has determined the desired operation parameters based on the responses of the operator of this remote telephone line, the configuration server automatically calls the electronic device's telephone number and establishes a connection before the Programming signal that represents the operation parameters is transmitted. The technique of the invention is advantageously useful for programming a variety of telecommunication devices including, for example, facsimile machines, facsimile routers, private secondary exchanges, answering machines, cable modems, radiotelephones including cell phones and PCS. In addition, a dedicated telephone line is not required to program the electronic device according to the invention. It is possible to connect a telephone line to the device as needed, when you want to program. Accordingly, the programming technique of the invention is also useful in other types of electronic devices including video cassette recorders, video cameras, televisions, audio equipment and multiple media as well as other programmable electronic devices such as controllers of household appliances and systems security, and cable and satellite television tuner controllers that provide, for example, internet access through television.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings The figure. 1 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an exemplary electronic facsimile device and the configuration server connected to a telephone network for programming the device according to the invention; FIGURE 2 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an exemplary component array for the facsimile device of FIGURE 1 according to the invention; FIGURE 3 illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary method performed by the facsimile device of FIGURE 2 to program the operating parameters according to the invention; FIGURE 4 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an exemplary c-i-speaker array for the configuration server of FIGURE 1; and FIGURE 5 illustrates a flow diagram of exemplary operations performed by the configuration server of FIGURE 4 to program the operating parameters of an electronic device according to the invention.

Detailed description FIGURE 1 shows an exemplary arrangement 1 for programming a facsimile transmission device (fax machine) 5 using a configuration server 10 over a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 15 according to the invention. The telephones 20 and 25 are connected to the fax machine 5 and the PSTN 25, respectively, and allow an operator to communicate with the configuration server 10 to program the fax machine 5. The description of the facsimile device 5 for a device Electronic that is programmable according to the invention is for purposes of illustration only and is not intended to be a limitation of the invention. The invention is directed to an electronic device having particular programming features and components that allow setting of the operating parameters of the device. However, the particular function performed for the operation of the electronic device is not critical to practicing the invention. Accordingly, the technique of the invention is advantageously useful for programming a variety of telecommunication devices including, for example, facsimile routers, private secondary centers, answering machines, cable modems, radiotelephones including cell phones and PCS. In addition, the programming technique is also useful for programming electronic devices not typically considered telecommunication devices including, for example, video cassette recorders (VCR), video cameras, televisions, audio equipment and other multi-media equipment and controllers such as controllers of home appliances and security systems, and controllers of cable and satellite television that provide, for example, internet access through television. For such devices, it is possible to connect the device to a telephone line only when necessary, when it is desired to program. Also, although the fax machine 5 communicates with the configuration server 10 over a wired telephone network, for example, the PSTN 15, it is alternatively possible for the fax machine 5 to communicate with the configuration server 10 over a network wireless telephone, such as a cellular network or PCS; .3 a combination of wireless and wired telephone networks according to the invention.

For clarity of explanation, the fax machine 5 has the ability to allow the transmission of the facsimile data signal to be alternately routed over a data network such as, for example, the Internet 30, or over the PSTN 15 to facilitate the reduction of facsimile transmission costs. In FIGURE 1, an exemplary Internet Service Provider (ISP) 35 provides access between the PSTN 15 and the Internet 30., a second fax machine 40 is connected to the PSTN 15 as well as the Internet 30 through a local area network (LAN) 45. In the transmission of a facsimile data signal representing a document of the fax machine 5 to the fax machine 40, the fax machine 5 determines the least expensive route for the signal between the route on the PSTN 15 or the alternative data network. Such cost determination is based on, for example, the location of the receiver, the time of day and the day of the week, and an inter-city rate scheme for the PSTN 15 and an alternative data network. It is possible that the fax machine 5 has access to the alternative data network in a conventional manner such as by establishing a telephone connection with the ISP 35 on the PSTN 15 by dialing a toll-free toll-free number and using the equipment and / or Internet telephony programs manufactured by, for example, Lucent Technologies Inc., Murray Hill, NJ in an alternative arrangement, a fax machine may have access to an alternative data network through a local area network such as the arrangement shown for the fax machine 40 and the LAN 45. The additional capacity for routing the Alternative data network requires that the fax machine 5 possess a relatively large number of programmable operating parameters. Exemplary operation parameters for the fax machine 5 include the conventional fax machine parameters such as time, date, name, telephone number, communication protocol, stored telephone numbers to mark the repertoire, as well as the parameters that are related with the access and use of the alternative data network including the telephone numbers or LAN addresses of the communication servers for the alternative data network as well as the interurban charge rates for the PSTN and the transmission of the alternative data network. The programming technique of the invention facilitates such setting of the operation parameters advantageously. According to the invention, the programming to set the operation parameters is carried out by the operator of the fax machine by dialing the telephone number of the configuration server 10 using the telephone 20 connected to the fax machine 5. The telephone may be 20 is a telephone device and a multi-tone dual-frequency keypad (DTMF) integrated into the fax machine 5. The configuration server 10 is an interactive response system that provides spoken indications on the PSTN 15 to the operator that is considered you want to set the operation parameters and / or the desired modes of operation of the fax machine 5. The operator responds to such spoken indications using the telephone numeric keypad or spoken answers. The configuration server 10 determines the setting of the desired operation parameters based on the operator's responses. An operation signal representing the setting of the desired operating parameters is then generated and transmitted to the fax machine 5 by the configuration server 10. The fax machine 5 receives the programming signal and stores the operating parameters set according to the values represented in the signal. Alternatively, it is possible for an operator to program the fax machine 5 in a similar manner using the telephone 25 connected to the PSTN 15 by means of a telephone line 17 which is different from the telephone line connected to the fax machine 5 and the telephone 20. In such remote telephone arrangement, the operator calls the configuration server 10 and responds to the spoken indication according to the desired form of operation as described above with respect to the use of the telephone 20. However, in the arrangement of remote telephone, the configuration server 10 dials the telephone number of the fax machine 5 and establishes a connection before transmitting the programming signal to the fax machine 5. In addition, in this remote telephone arrangement, it is desirable that the programming signal also contain an indicator, such as a signal header, that identifies the signal as that which contains fixed operation parameters. Furthermore, it is possible to provide a level of security for programming the operation parameters according to the invention by having the fax machine 5 and / or the configuration server 10 perform processes to verify that the operator trying to program the fax machine is authorized to carry out such an operation. Such security processes are useful, if the operator intending to program the fax machine 5 using a telephone set and keypad or a remote telephone, to provide a level of protection against unauthorized modification of the fax operation parameters. For example, a security password or equivalent, known by configuration server 10, may be given to an operator who has authorization for programming. Next, after establishing a connection between the operator and the configuration server 10, the server 10 can request, receive and verify the security password, before transmitting the communication signal. FIGURE 2 shows an exemplary configuration for the fax machine 5 in FIGURE 1 to allow programming of the operation parameters according to the invention. In FIGURE 2, the functional components are connected to an image reader 100 and the printer 105 in the fax machine 5. To be more clear the explanation, those functional components were represented by tables in FIGURE 1. The functions performed in FIG. those tables can be provided through the use of a shared or dedicated equipment including, but not limited to, the application of specific integrated circuits, digital signal processors, processors or multiple processors that execute programs. The use of the term "processor" and "controller" and forms thereof should not constitute an exclusive reference to the equipment capable of executing the programs and may be the respective programming routines that perform the corresponding functions and communication with others. More specifically, in FIGURE 2 the fax machine 5 includes the random access memory (RAM) 110 coupled to the image reader XZ and the printer 105. The RAM 110 is further coupled to an exemplary encoder / decoder 115 for coding the image data read by the image reader 100 and to necify the image data received by the fax machine 5 to be printed by the printer 105. It is possible that compression and decompression processes are necessary for such encoding and decoding. of data in accordance with conventional facsimile compression standards, such as, for example, the compression standard of Recommendation T.4 of the ISO / CCITT associated with the facsimile standard of Recommendation T.30 described in ITU-T Recommendation T. 4 Standardization of Group 3 Facsimile Apparatus for Document Transmission ,. v. I (1996), which is incorporated herein by reference. It is also possible to omit the encoder / decoder 115 if the coding and decoding operations are carried out by the operation controller 135. The encoder / decoder 115 is also coupled to a modem 130 which is further coupled to a telephone line interface (TLI) 125. The modem 120 modulates the image data signals to be transmitted by the fax machine 5 and demodulates the image data signals received by the fax machine 5. The TLI 125 is a coupling interface for a telephone line 130 connected to the PSTN 15 of FIGURE 1. The T >;: 125 is controlled by the controller 135 to perform call operations to establish connections on the PSTN 15 or the Internet 30, shown in FIGURE 1, to transmit facsimile data, as well as an off-hook operation to receive a call from PSTN 15, such as from another fax machine or configuration server 10 of FIGURE 1. The TLI 125 may include a conventional data access arrangement (DAA) for the TLI 125 such as, for example, the DAA manufactured by Cermete Microelectronics, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA ,. A system controller 130 includes an operation operator 135 and a programming controller 140 coupled to an operation parameter memory 145. The programming controller 140 controls the operation of the fixed operating parameters stored in the memory of the controller 145 based on to the method of the invention. An exemplary method performed by the programming controller 140 for setting the data of the operation parameters stored in the memory 145 according to the invention is described below with respect to FIGURE 3. The operation controller 135 controls the operations of the reader 100, the printer 105, the encoder / decoder 115, the modem 120 and the TLI 125 to perform facsimile reception and transmission operations in a manner based on the values of the operation parameters stored in the memory of the controller 145. The particular manner in which the operation controller 135 controls the operation of the fax machine 5 is not critical to the practice of the invention. The operation controller 135 may control operations in a manner similar to those used in conventional facsimile transmission devices with the exception of allowing a document from the facsimile to be transmitted to a destination device over an alternative data network. FIGURE 3 shows an exemplary method 200 of the programming controller 140 for programming the fixed operation parameters when a telephone is connected to the fax machine 5 as shown in FIGURE 1. Referring to FIGURE 3, the telephone number of the server configuration 10, shown in FIGURE 1, is marked by the operator in step 205. It is possible for programming controller 140 to access the stored telephone number of configuration server 10 to dial server 10 by the operator, such as when the operator activates a programming button on the fax machine 5 or the initial switching on of the machine 5. Alternatively, it is possible for the operator to dial the telephone number of the server directly in step 205. After establishing a telephone connection , the configuration server 10 transmits spoken indications on the telephone connection, the fax machine 5 then carries those indications These are spoken to the operator in step 210. Next, in step 215, the responses to the indications spoken by the operator are brought to the server 110. It is possible for the operator to respond to such spoken indications by, for example, generating DTMF tones. using a telephone keypad 20, and / or spoken responses to be processed by a speech recognition processor in the configuration server 10. The configuration server 10 then determines the values of the corresponding desired operation parameters based on the operator responses and generates a programming signal that contains a representation of the values of the desired operation parameters. The generated programming signal is transmitted to the fax machine 5 over the established telephone connection. The fax machine receives the programming signal transmitted in step 220. Next, in step 225, the desired operation parameter values represented here are identified by the programming controller 140, counter in FIG. 2. The values of the identified operation parameters are then stored in the memory of the controller 145, shown in FIGURE 2, in step 230. Accordingly, the programming method of the invention provides a relatively easy process for the values of the operating parameters that can be implemented in electronic devices, such as a fax machine, at a relatively low cost. In particular, as shown in FIGURE 2, it is possible to implement the method of the invention by adding only a programming controller with access to a telephone line interface of the electronic device. Furthermore, it is advantageous for the operations of such a programming controller and of a corresponding operation controller of the electronic device included within a single controller processor or ASIC system. It is also possible for an operator to perform such programming of the values of the operation parameters according to the invention using a telephone connected to a telephone line different from that of the fax machine 5, such as the telephone 25, shown in FIG. 1. It is possible to employ a method substantially the same as method 200 of FIGURE 3 to perform such remote telephone programming. More specifically, the step 205 of dialing the telephone number of the configuration server 10, shown in FIGURE 1, is performed by the operator from the remote telephone. The configuration server 10 then transmits spoken indications corresponding to the operator and determines the values of the desired operation parameters based on the responses of the operator as in the method 200. However, the passes ZD and 215 for transporting the signals of Spoken indication and corresponding operator responses via fax machine 5 were omitted.

Instead, after the configuration server 10 determines the values of the desired operation parameters based on the operator's responses, you must dial the telephone number of the fax machine 5 before transmitting the generated programming signal that contains the values of the determined operating parameters. Then, the fax machine 5 can perform the steps 220, 225 and 230 to receive the programming signal, and identify and store the values of the desired operation parameters contained therein. Numerous techniques are usable by the programming controller 140, shown in FIGURE 2, to detect a programming signal with the values of the operating parameters that are being received. However, the particular technique employed is not critical to practicing the invention. Exemplary techniques for detecting that a programming signal is being received include providing an indicator of the programming signal, such as in a signal or initial tone header, which identifies that the signal is a programming signal. In the alternative, it is possible for the fax machine 5 to make such a determination based on an address stored in the memory of the device corresponding to an automatic number identifier (ANI) of the call configuration server 10 provided by a switch of the PSTN 15 FIGURE 4 illustrates an exemplary array of components of the configuration server 10 of FIGURE 1. Such an arrangement may be provided, for example, by a conventional personal computer or a computerized server. As in FIGURE 2, the functional components of the arrangement in FIGURE 4 were represented as tables to make the explanation clearer. Accordingly, the functions performed in those tables can be provided through the use of shared or dedicated equipment including, but not limited to, application-specific integrated circuits, digital signal processors, microprocessors or multiple processors that execute programs. In FIGURE 4, the server 10 includes a controller 300 connected to the operation parameter and the spoken indication database 305 and 310. The spoken indication database 310 contains inputs representing respective spoken indications for the operator to program the fax machine 5. It is possible for such database entries to be digitized voice for the respective spoken indications or voice phonemes or digitized speech segments which when concatenated in a particular order produce the desired spoken indications. The database of the operation parameters 305 contains data entry for the possible values of the operation parameters that can be used in the fax machine 5. The configuration server 10 depends on the entries in this database to generate the programming signal described above. The controller 300 is connected to a TLI 315 to establish a connection in response to an operator call to the server 10 and, optionally, to dial an electronic device to be programmed. A speech synthesizer 330 is connected between the controller 300 and the TLI 315. The speech synthesizer 320 is used by the controller 300 to produce the spoken indication signals based on the entries in the spoken indication database 305. Alternatively it is possible to employ a different type of audio signal generator instead of speech synthesizer 320 to generate the desired spoken indications according to the invention. A digital signal processor (DSP) 325 and a voice recognition processor (SRP) 330 are also connectors between the controller 300 and the TLI 315 to process the responses of the operators in the proper manner to be read by the controller 300. For example, it is possible that the DSP 325 detects received DTMF tones when an operator responds to a spoken indication using the telephone keypad. Similarly, the SRP 330 processes the spoken responses received by the operator. The particular type of speech recognition processor used for the SRP 300 is not critical to the practice of the invention. The speech recognition processors useful for the SRP 330 include, for example, conventional voice recognition processors such as the system CONVERSANT® manufactured Lucent Technologies Inc. In addition, it is possible to omit the SRP 330 if the spoken answers are not accepted by the configuration server 10. In addition, the encoder 335 and a modem 340 are also connected between the controller 300 and the TLI 315 for transmitting the programming signal to the fax machine 5. The particular representation of the values of the desired operating parameters contained in the programming signal is not critical to the invention as long as such representation is readable by an electronic device. It is possible to use a conventional modem data signal format for the programming signal such as, for example, V.34, V.32, Bell 212A and 103, V.22 bis, V.23 and V.21, or DTMF tone sequences or other data transport protocols such as low bit rate frequency coding to generate the programming signal transmitted to an electronic device according to the invention. FIGURE 5 describes an exemplary method 400 for the configuration server of FIGURES 1 and 4 for programming an electronic device such as the fax machine 5 of FIGURES 1 and 2. Referring to FIGURE 5, the configuration server 10 receives a telephone call from an operator of the electronic device in step 405. The controller 300, shown in FIGURE 4, then causes the speech synthesizer 320 to generate a spoken indication related to the desired operation of the electronic device and / or a value of the desired operation parameter in step 410 and the server receives the response from the operators in step 415. Without the response being in the form of a DTMF signal, then the DSP 325, shown in FIGURE 4, processes the signal and provides the information corresponding to the controller 300. If the response was a spoken signal, then the signal is processed by the SRP 330. Next, in step 420, the method 400 proceeds to the step 410 to transmit other spoken indications if additional operator information is needed. However, if no additional operator information is necessary, method 400 proceeds from step 420 to step 425. In step 425, the values of the desired operating parameters for the electronic device are determined based on the operator's responses. If the operator responses relate to a desired operation value, then the determination of step 425 includes only the processing of the operator response to identify which values have been selected. The controller 300 then causes the TLI 315 to dial the telephone number of the destination electronic device in step 430. It is possible that this telephone number is obtained from the operator in response to a corresponding spoken indication transmitted in step 410. After The telephone connection with the target electronic device has been established in step 430, the controller 300 generates the programming signal and transmits it to the device over the telephone connection established in step 435. For example, the controller 300 first generates a signal that it represents the values of the determined operating parameters which are encoded by the encoder 335 and modulated by the modem 340 to form the programming signal that is transmitted to the electronic destination device. It should be readily understood that the step 430 of dialing the destination electronic device can be omitted if the operator calls the configuration server 10 from the telephone connected to the target electronic device, such as the telephone 20 connected to the fax machine 5 in the FIGURE 1. In such case, the programming signal is transmitted over the same telephone connection that is used to transmit the spoken indications and which correspond to the operator's responses. After the programming signal is transmitted in step 435 in FIGURE 5, the method 400 performs an optional step 440 of the transmission device.address, location, telephone number information and / or other configuration parameter information to a directory server that maintains at least one database of cross-reference tables of addresses such as IP addresses, locations and / or telephone numbers of the respective devices. Conventional directory services such as, for example, the InterNic-- a cooperative activity between the National Science Foundation, AT & amp;; T and Network Solutions, Inc., maintain a domain name server database and corresponding IP network number assignments. The InterNic directory server allows individuals to access and communicate with an electronic device over the Internet conveniently based on the domain name registered for that device instead of the corresponding IP address. Conventionally, users are required to manually register and update, in a disadvantageous manner, information such as the domain name and IP address with such directory servers by, for example, accessing the directory server from the internet in the name of domain "fiww.internic.net". In contrast, step 440 allows such updating or registration with a directory server to be performed automatically by the configuration server according to the invention based on the operator responses received in step 415. Accordingly, step 440 provides advantageously updating and registration information with directory servers according to the invention without calling the user to perform the annoying manual registration. Alternatively it is possible to carry out method 400 without step 440 according to the invention. In addition, the process steps of method 400 have been shown in a particular order for illustration purposes only. It is possible to perform several of the steps in a different order or concurrently. For example, determination step 425 may be performed concurrently or superimposed with the indication spoken in the spoken indication and receipt steps of operator responses 410 and 415. Although the invention has been described with respect to a capable fax machine of routing facsimile data over an alternative data network, it should be readily understood that the programming technique of the invention is useful over more conventional fax transmission devices as well as other telecommunication devices including, for example, answering machines, routers of fax, cable modems, radiotelephones such as PCS wireless cellular telephones that have access to the telephone network. In addition, the invention is more advantageously useful for programming electronic devices that are not typically considered telecommunication devices such as, for example, video cassette recorders (VCRs), camcorders, audio equipment including receivers and amplifiers. However, an interface to the telephone line, such as a conventional RJ-11 telephone connection, may be required in such devices to allow communication between the programming controller of such devices and the configuration server over a telephone network. Also, in such devices, only one telephone line may be connected to the interface once or infrequently for a relatively short duration to allow reception of the programming signal. The invention has been described with respect to the operating parameters that relate to the programmable configuration of an electronic device including, for example, date, time, name, selected communication protocols, directory of frequently dialed telephone numbers, selectable methods for altering operator conditions of a particular device, such as particular audible alerts for a paperless condition in a fax machine, as well as other preset parameters such as antenna options for a VCR or AM / FM tuner. This description of the invention with respect to the establishment of a programmable electronic device configuration is for purposes of illustration only and it is possible to perform other types of programming according to the invention. For example, it is possible for an operator to program a VCR to record a particular television program, or for an audio cassette unit for recording a particular radio broadcast using the programming technique of the invention. Although several embodiments of the invention have been described in detail above, many modifications can be made without departing from the teachings of the same. It is intended that all such modifications be encompassed in the following claims. For example, it is possible for a simple configuration server to program different types of electronic devices based on the response of an operator that identifies the particular type of device to be programmed. It is also possible for the configuration server to have preset configuration operation parameter variables that can be retrieved for a target device by an operator option of such pre-set configuration values when requested. In addition, the values of the operation parameters determined by the configuration server for a particular destination device can be stored in an "optional" manner by the configuration server to be subsequently retrieved for reprogramming of the particular target device or programming a device of In this way, after a malfunction, such as a power interruption or other similar event that causes the corruption of the operating parameters stored in the memory of the device controller, it is possible that the device will automatically make the call telephone to the configuration server and transmits a recovery request signal to obtain its operation parameters recovered and retransmitted to it.

It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known to the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention, is that which is clear from the present description of the invention.

Having described the invention as above, property is claimed as contained in the following:

Claims (26)

1. A configuration server method for programming an electronic device over a telephone network, characterized in that it comprises: establishing a telephone connection in response to receiving an incoming call; send spoken indications to a source of the incoming call, the spoken indications relate to a desired operation of a target electronic device; receive responses from the source in response to spoken prompts; determine the desired operation parameters for the electronic device based on the responses received; generating a programming signal that includes a representation of the desired operation parameters; and transmitting the programming signal to the electronic destination device over an established telephone connection.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises establishing a telephone connection between the server and the target electronic device by dialing a telephone number of the electronic device before transmitting the programming signal to the device.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the telephone connection established in response to receiving an incoming call is established through the destination electronic device and wherein the programming signal is transmitted over this telephone connection.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one of the responses is answered from the source, the method further comprises the speech recognition that processes the spoken response.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one of the spoken indications requests the selection of one of a plurality of options and the response is a corresponding DTMF tone, the method further comprising processing to identify the selection.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one of the spoken indications requests the source to select a value of the particular operation parameter of a plurality of values.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the spoken indications and the values of the operating parameters are related to the programming and a telecommunication device.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that the spoken indications and the values of the operating parameters are related to the programming of a facsimile device.

9. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the spoken indications and the values of the operating parameters are related to the configuration programming of the electronic destination device.

10. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the generated programming signal includes an indicator of the programming signal detectable by the target electronic device.

11. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that it also comprises the step of transmitting information to a directory server based on the responses received from the source.

12. A method for programming an electronic device, characterized in that it comprises: establishing a telephone connection in response to an incoming call from a device configuration server; receiving a programming signal from the configuration server over the established telephone connection, the programming signal includes a representation of the electronic device; detect the values of the desired operation parameters in the programming signal; and storing at least one of the values of the operation parameters detected in the memory.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that the operating parameters represent a desired programmable configuration of the electronic device.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that it also comprises performing at least one operation in accordance with the values of the stored operating parameters.

15. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that it further comprises: dialing a telephone number of a device configuration server over a telephone line; receiving spoken indications from the server over a corresponding established telephone connection related to the desired operation of the electronic device; and transmitting response signals to the server over the telephone connection corresponding to responses by an operator of the electronic device, wherein the corresponding generated programming signal is received over the corresponding established telephone connection of spoken indications and responses.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that the marking step is performed during the initial ignition of the electronic device.

17. The method in accordance with the claim 12, characterized in that it further comprises: in response to an event that is likely to cause the corruption of the stored operation parameters, dial the telephone number of the configuration server over the telephone line; transmitting a recovery request signal over the telephone line after a connection has been established; receive the programming signal from the configuration server over the established telephone connection; detect the values of the desired operation parameters in the programming signal; and storing at least one of the values of the operation parameters detected in the memory.

18. An electronic device, characterized in that it comprises: an operations controller; a controller memory coupled to the operation controller, the operation controller for controlling the operations of the electronic device according to the values of the programmable operation parameters stored in the memory of the controller; a programming controller coupled to the memory of the controller; and a first interface for connection to a telephone line, wherein the programming controller is adapted to receive a programming signal that includes the representation of the values of the desired operation parameters for the electronic device from a configuration server on a telephone connection through the interface, and wherein the programming controller is further adapted to store at least one of the operation parameter values in the memory of the controller.

19. The device according to claim 18, characterized in that the operations and the programming controller are formed within a single controller of the system.

20. The device according to claim 18, characterized in that it further comprises a telephone set and a numeric keypad, wherein the programming controller allows the operator of a device to establish a telephone connection to a configuration server over a telephone network from the telephone set and the numeric keypad allows reception of the programming signal over the established telephone connection.

21. The device according to claim 18, characterized in that it comprises a telephone interface, wherein the programming controller allows the operator to establish a telephone communication with a configuration server over a telephone network over the telephone line interface and the telephone interface and allows reception of the programming signal over the established telephone connection.

22. The device according to claim 18, characterized in that the programming controller is adapted to program the values of the configuration operation parameters of the device.

23. The device according to claim 18, characterized in that the device is a telecommunication device.

24. The device according to claim 23, characterized in that the telecommunication device is a document facsimile device.

25. The device according to claim 24, characterized in that the document facsimile device is capable of routing documents over the telephone network or an alternative data network.

26. The device according to claim 18, characterized in that the device is a non-telecommunication device, and wherein the telephone line interface is adapted to program the device.