DE20111246U1 - Computer device with phone number recognition - Google Patents

Description

Computer device

The invention relates to a computer device. Computers are known in the prior art with which telephone calls can be made over the Internet in a so-called direct or so-called indirect manner. In direct Internet telephony, a voice signal is recorded by a microphone on a sending computer, digitized in the computer's sound card, and then compressed. An Internet connection is then established to a conventional receiving computer. The voice data can then be transmitted from the sending computer to the receiving computer in the form of EP packets over the Internet using ISDN cards or modems on the sending and receiving computers. There, the received data is decompressed, converted into an analog signal in a sound card on the receiving computer, and transmitted to the computer's loudspeaker. The transmission of voice data in the opposite direction (i.e. from the receiving computer to the sending computer) takes place in a correspondingly reverse manner.

In contrast, in so-called indirect Internet telephony, the voice data is transmitted from the sender computer to a special telephone network Internet interface computer (so-called gateway computer) instead of to a conventional receiver computer. This computer dials the desired number of a conventional telephone connection and transmits the voice data as an analog signal to the telephone assigned to the telephone connection. The transmission of voice data in the opposite direction (i.e. from the telephone to the sender computer) takes place in the opposite way: The telephone network Internet interface computer digitizes the analog voice signal received from the telephone and transmits it to the sender computer via the Internet.

If the telephone network-Internet interface computer is located close to or at a medium distance from the receiving computer, the transmission costs can be reduced considerably: In addition to the costs for the Internet connection, only costs (e.g. local call tariffs) for the telephone connection between the interface computer and the telephone are incurred.

However, one of the disadvantages is that the desired telephone number must be entered manually on the sender's computer, which is time-consuming and prone to errors

The aim of the present invention is to provide a computer device which is improved over the prior art and which facilitates the input and/or storage of telephone numbers.

It achieves this and other objects by the subject-matter of claims 1 and 9, in particular by a computer device which comprises*

Means for storing a character string in electronic form;

Means for determining a telephone number string contained in the string; and

Means for identifying the determined telephone number string.

Furthermore, the invention achieves the above and other objects by providing a computer program product with which a computer can be configured to perform the above functions.

The invention makes it possible to determine telephone number character strings that are contained in any electronically stored character string. The electronically stored character string can be, for example, a code from a website or a text file, for example from a word processing or spreadsheet program. It is also conceivable, for example, that the character string is contained in a code from an electronic mail, for example in an e-mail or in another text message.

The string can be stored on any medium, e.g. in the memory of a computer's microprocessor, on a hard disk, a floppy disk, etc.

The telephone number character string is advantageously identified by changing its formatting. For example, after it has been determined, the telephone number character string can be highlighted, underlined and/or flashing, or marked in some other way (e.g. with an arrow), etc., compared to other character strings that do not represent a telephone number. Alternatively or additionally, the telephone number character string can be assigned an identifier (invisible to a user) that identifies it for the computer device as a character string that contains a telephone number.

The device can be, for example, a computer, in particular a portable computer (e.g. a pocket computer), or, for example, a PC.

Particularly preferably, the device also contains a means with which the telephone number character string can be selected after it has been determined for the automatic fulfillment of further functionalities (e.g. by clicking with a mouse, by pressing an enter key, touching a touch screen of a pocket computer, etc.), in particular for dialing the telephone number assigned to the telephone number character string.

In the following, the invention is explained in more detail using an exemplary embodiment and the accompanying drawing.

The drawing shows

Fig.l

Fig.2

a schematic representation of an Internet telephony system according to the invention, wherein a first website is displayed on a computer;

a schematic representation of the system shown in Fig. 1, with a second website displayed on the computer;

Fig.3

a schematic representation of the system shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, wherein a third website is displayed on the computer;

Fig. 4a

a section of the HTML code of the website shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4b the HTML code section shown in Fig. 4a without telephone number specific

characters, and no spaces;

Fig. 5a shows a first set of character strings consisting of the one shown in Fig. 4b.

code section and which satisfy condition a;

Fig. 5b shows a subset of the set of character strings shown in Fig. 5a, which

contains strings that additionally satisfy a condition b;

Fig. 5c shows a character string contained in the subset shown in Fig. 5b, and the

additionally a condition c is fulfilled;

Fig.5d

the character sequence shown in Fig. 5c after completion.

According to Fig. 1, an Internet telephony system according to the invention has a computer 1 with a screen 2, as well as a central computer 3, a telephone network-Internet interface computer 4, here a gateway computer, and a (video) telephone 5. A loudspeaker/microphone unit 6 is connected to the computer 1, as well as a keyboard 7, a mouse 8, and (optionally) a camera 9.

The computer 1 is initially disconnected from the Internet. By making appropriate entries on the keyboard 7 and/or the mouse 8, a user can establish an Internet connection 10 to the central computer 3. This can be done, for example, by the user entering a (first) URL address. This designates the central computer 3, the path to a local directory of the central computer 3 in which a specific website 11 is stored, and the exact file name of the website 11.

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The website 11 is transferred to the computer 1 using an Internet protocol, e.g. the hypertext transfer protocol (http), - optionally - temporarily stored there (e.g. in the main memory or in the working memory of the computer 1), and then displayed on the screen 2 of the computer 1 (see Fig. 1).
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The content of the website 11 can be defined in HTML, for example. It is also conceivable to use HTML extensions, e.g. Dynamic HTML (such as JavaScript, CSS and Layer), which allow the website 11 to be filled with dynamic content.

A computer program is stored in the computer 1, or alternatively in the central computer 3 (or at another location on the Internet), which determines telephone numbers appearing in the code of the website 11

Fig. 4a shows an excerpt from a text part of the HTML code of the website 11 shown in Fig. 1. This consists of a character string, i.e. a sequence of numbers and other characters (e.g. letters, spaces and special characters).

In a first step, the program determines whether the code contains one or more character strings in which more than a first predetermined, relatively small number of consecutive characters - in the embodiment shown here, more than 7 characters - are digits (or alternatively, for example, more than 4, 5, 6, or 8 consecutive characters) (condition a). Before this, as shown in Fig. 4b, a modified character string 18' is generated from the character string 18, in which, compared to the original character string 18, there are no spaces following digits; also not taken into account are other preselected characters, namely those that are frequently used for notating telephone numbers (e.g. the telephone number-specific characters + ()-/><). As shown in Fig. 5a, in the embodiment shown here, the character strings A1, A2, A3 satisfy the above condition a.

In a second step, the program then determines from the determined character strings Al, A2, A3 (again ignoring the above-mentioned telephone number-specific characters or the space) those which contain less than a predetermined, second, relatively large number of consecutive digits (in the embodiment shown here, less than 19 consecutive digits, or alternatively, for example, less than 23, 21, or 17 consecutive digits).

digits) (condition b). This condition is fulfilled here by the character strings Al and A2, see Fig. 5b. The character strings Al, A2 determined here are regarded by the program as telephone numbers.

To determine telephone numbers that appear in the code, the fact that a telephone number is often preceded (and/or followed) by certain characteristic character sequences can be used alternatively or additionally, e.g. character sequences such as "TEL", "PHONE", "NUMBER", "FAX", "NUMMER", "FACSIMILE", "MOBILE" (each written exclusively in uppercase letters, exclusively in lowercase letters, or a mixture of uppercase and lowercase letters). Alternatively or additionally, an HTML extension field can be used for determination, which explicitly marks a character sequence as a telephone number (the algorithm described above can then be used, for example, to verify whether a telephone number has actually been entered in the telephone number field - as intended - or to remove the above-mentioned telephone number-specific characters).

In a third step, the character strings or telephone numbers Al, A2 determined in the second step are sorted out, which meet certain exclusion criteria, e.g. those with a certain area code or those that belong to a predetermined area code group. (In other words, in the third step, those character strings Al that do not meet the above exclusion criteria are determined (condition c), see Fig. 5c.)

For example, all telephone numbers with a foreign area code may be ignored (or alternatively all those with a domestic area code) in relation to the area code of a predetermined country, e.g. 049 for Germany (or +49, ++49, or 49 if the telephone number-specific + sign is not taken into account).

Alternatively or additionally, telephone numbers with certain, predefined provider-specific area codes can be sorted out (e.g. the numbers of mobile phone providers (0170, 0171, 0172 numbers, etc.) - here the mobile phone number A2 -, or numbers with area codes that identify special services, such as 0190, 0180 numbers, etc.)

Then, in a fourth step, the telephone numbers Al determined in the third step are supplemented to form complete telephone numbers αΓ (cf. Fig. 5d), in the present case by prefixing the correct number of leading area code zeros.
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Next, the computer program causes the character string Bl on the website 11 that belongs to the determined telephone number &Agr;&Ggr;, which is displayed on the screen 2 of the computer 1, to be marked there in a special way. In the embodiment shown here, the telephone number character string Bl is highlighted, or its coloring and its colored background are changed. This is done, for example, by inserting appropriate formatting code characters in the HTML code character string 18 before and after the telephone number character string Bl. Alternatively or additionally, marking by underlining is conceivable, for example, or by copying the character string Bl into an additional, special data input field on the website 11, etc.

By making appropriate entries on the keyboard 7 and/or the mouse 8, the user can select the marked telephone number character string Bl, e.g. to fulfill further functionalities explained in more detail below.

This can be done, for example, by the user moving the cursor to the highlighted telephone number string Bl and "clicking" on it. The program then causes a further, predetermined URL to be read out, for example, from computer 1 (or, for example, from the central computer 3). This is different from the first URL mentioned above, and designates, for example, a path to another local directory of the central computer 3 in which a further, predetermined website 12 is stored (and the exact file name of the further website 12), or, for example, alternatively a second central computer 3' (not shown here) on which a further website 12' is stored. In this case, an Internet connection is established between the computer 1 and the second central computer 3'.

After selection by the user, the telephone number Al' determined by the computer program is stored in the computer 1, or - alternatively - automatically transmitted via the Internet to the further URL address and stored on the central computer 3 or the second central computer 3'.

The additional website 12 is transferred to the computer 1, - optionally - temporarily stored there, and then displayed on the screen 2 of the computer 1 (see Fig. 2). The additional website 12 can, for example, contain special, user-specific advertising displays (banners) - in this case a banner 13.

As shown in Fig. 2, the additional website 12 also contains an input field 14. When the website 12 is called up, the telephone number Al' determined by the computer program is automatically entered into this. For this purpose, this is read out - depending on where it was previously saved - from the computer 1, or the central computer 3 or the second central computer 3'.

By making appropriate entries on the keyboard 7 and/or the mouse 8, the user can change and/or select the telephone number Al' in the input field 14, e.g. to fulfill further functions explained in more detail below. The selection can be made, for example, by simply "clicking" on the input field 14 with the mouse 8. The program then causes a third URL to be read out, for example from the computer 1 (or, for example, from the central computer 3 or the second central computer 3*), which identifies the interface computer 4 (or, more precisely, a path to a specific local directory of the interface computer 4 in which a third, predetermined website 15 is stored, as well as its exact file name). An Internet connection 10' is then established between the computer 1 and the interface computer 4 (Fig. 3).

The interface computer 4 (more precisely, its URL) is selected from a large number of possible other telephone network Internet interface computers according to predetermined criteria, e.g. according to geographical proximity to a telephone connection of the telephone 5 assigned to the determined telephone number Al*.

After selection by the user, the telephone number &Agr;&Ggr; determined by the computer program can be automatically transmitted, e.g. via the Internet, to the third URL address and stored on the interface computer 4.

The third website 15 is a conventional telephony website for indirect Internet telephony. The third website 15 is transmitted to the computer 1 via the above-mentioned Internet connection 10', optionally - temporarily stored there, and then displayed on the screen 2 of the computer 1 as shown in Fig. 3.

The third website 15 contains a further input field 16 in which the telephone number AV determined by the computer program is displayed. For this purpose, this is read out - depending on where it was last saved - from the computer 1, the central computer 3 or 3 ^£ , or the interface computer 4.

By making appropriate entries on the keyboard 7 and/or the mouse 8, the user can change and/or select the telephone number Al' in the further input field 16, e.g. by "clicking" the input field 16 with the mouse 8. The interface computer 4 then dials the determined telephone number AV in the conventional manner, i.e. sends the telephone connection dialing characters of the telephone connection assigned to the (video) telephone 5. If another user answers the call on the telephone 5, a telephone connection 17 is set up between the telephone 5 and the interface computer 4. IP packets with digitized voice or image data can then be transmitted via the Internet connection 10' from the computer 1 to the interface computer 4, and from there via the telephone connection 17, e.g.

as an analog signal to the (video) telephone 5. The voice data sent from the computer 1 can be recorded, for example, by the loudspeaker-microphone unit 6 of the computer 1, and the image data by its camera 9. In a similar way, image and/or voice data can be transmitted from the (video) telephone 5 to the computer 1 via the telephone connection 17 and the Internet connection 10' - with the interface computer 4 in between - and displayed on the screen 2 or forwarded to the loudspeaker-microphone unit 6.

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Claims (10)

1. Computer device ( 1 ) comprising:
Means for receiving and storing a character string ( 18 ) in electronic form;
Means for determining a telephone number character string (B1) contained in the character string ( 18 ) automatically immediately after receiving and storing the character string ( 18 ); and
Means for identifying the determined telephone number string (B1). 2. Computer device ( 1 ) according to claim 1, which further comprises: means for selecting the determined telephone number character string (B1), and means for reading out a URL address stored in the computer device ( 1 ) or in a central computer ( 3 ) in response to the selection of the telephone number character string (B1). 3. Computer device ( 1 ) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the telephone number character string (B1) is characterized in that its formatting is changed. 4. Computer device ( 1 ) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the character string ( 18 ) is contained in a code of a website ( 11 ). 5. Computer device ( 1 ) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the character string is contained in a code of an electronic mail received by the computer device ( 1 ). 6. Computer device ( 1 ) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the character string ( 18 ) initially contains no identifier which identifies the telephone number character string (B1) as a character string which contains a telephone number. 7. Computer device ( 1 ) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the telephone number character string (B1) is assigned an identifier which identifies it as a character string containing a telephone number. 8. Computer device ( 1 ) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the means for selecting the determined telephone number character string can be used to select the telephone number character string (B1) for automatically dialing the telephone number (A1') associated with the telephone number character string (B1). 9. Computer device ( 1 ) comprising:
Means for storing a character string ( 18 ) in electronic form;
Means for determining a telephone number character string (B1) contained in the character string ( 18 ); and
Means for identifying the determined telephone number string (B1). 10. Computer device ( 1 ) according to claim 9, which additionally has one or more of the features mentioned in claims 1 to 8.