State-based control of a terminal user interface containing soft-labeled keys
View Patent ↗Soft-labeled keys (SLKs) of a wireless terminal or other type of terminal in a communication system are controlled in an efficient manner using a state-based control model. In an illustrative embodiment, a state machine is generated such that each state in the state machine specifies a set of labels for a corresponding set of soft-labeled keys associated with the wireless terminal. At least a portion of the state machine is downloaded from a switch of the system, and processed to generate a display including a given one of the sets of labels. The state machine may be in the form of a state transition table which includes, for each state, (i) a set of labels for the set of soft-labeled keys, (ii) a set of feature identifiers, e.g., system codes, each identifying, for a given one of the labels, a particular feature supported by the switch, and (iii) a next state which is entered when the corresponding soft-labeled key is selected by the user. After a given one of the soft-labeled keys is selected by a user, the corresponding feature identifier is transmitted from the wireless terminal to the switch. The state transition table may also support a local mode in which selecting a particular SLK in a given state causes the terminal to execute a specified local program, after which the terminal returns to the given state. Updating of the display may be controlled locally by the wireless terminal, or by the switch sending an indication of the next state to the wireless terminal.
1. A method of controlling a terminal in a communication system, the method comprising the steps of:
generating information representative of at least a portion of a state machine, wherein each of a plurality of states in the state machine specifies a set of labels for a corresponding plurality of soft-labeled keys of the terminal;
downloading the information representative of the state machine from a switch of the system into the terminal;
the state machine being configured to run substantially in its entirety within the terminal, independent of the switch, so as to control assignment of the sets of labels to the soft-labeled keys in response to user input without requiring further information from the switch, and being configured such that a transition between a given pair of states of the state machine in response to the user input automatically alters the assignment of the sets of labels to the soft-labeled keys and causes an identifier of a corresponding switch-based feature to be transmitted from the terminal to the switch; and
processing the information in the terminal to generate a display including a given one of the sets of labels.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the terminal operates in at least the following modes:
a local mode in which the terminal is manipulated by the user for the purpose of local operations;
a download made in which the switch downloads the information representative of the state machine into the terminal; and a system mode in which switch-based features are available at the terminal.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the information representative of at least a portion of the state machine includes information representative of at least a portion of a state transition table specifying states of the state machine and transitions between the states of the state machine.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein the state transition table includes, for each state in a set of possible states, (i) a set of labels for at least a subset of the plurality of soft-labeled keys, (ii) a set of feature identifiers each identifying for a given one of the labels a particular feature supported by a switch of the system, and (iii) a next state which is entered when the corresponding soft-labeled key is selected by the user.
5. The method of claim 3 wherein the state transition table includes an identifier of a local program to be executed by the terminal in a local mode when a particular one of the SLKs is selected by a user in a particular one of the states.
6. The method of claim 1 further including the step of associating with each of the labels in a given one of the sets of labels a feature identifier identifying a particular feature supported by a switch of the system.
7. The method of claim 6 wherein the feature identifiers comprise system button identifiers (SBIDs).
8. The method of claim 6 further including the step of, after a given one of the soft-labeled keys is selected by a user, transmitting the corresponding feature identifier to a switch of the system.
9. The method of claim 1 further including the step of, after a given one of the soft-labeled keys is selected by a user, updating the display to include another of the sets of labels based on a determination of a next state using the information representative of the state machine.
10. The method of claim 9 wherein the updating step is controlled locally by the terminal.
11. The method of claim 9 wherein the updating step is controlled by a switch of the system, and further including the step of transmitting from the switch to the terminal an indication of the next state.
12. An apparatus comprising:
a terminal operative to store information representative of at least a portion of a state machine, wherein each of a plurality of states in the state machine specifies a set of labels for a corresponding plurality of soft-labeled keys of the terminal, and to process the information to generate a display including a given one of the sets of labels, wherein the information representative of the state machine is downloaded from a switch of the system into the terminal;
the state machine being configured to run substantially in its entirety within the terminal, independent of the switch, so as to control assignment of the sets of labels to the soft-labeled keys in response to user input without requiring further information from the switch, and being configured such that a transition between a given pair of states of the state machine in response to the user input automatically alters the assignment of the sets of labels to the soft-labeled keys and causes an identifier of a corresponding switch-based feature to be transmitted from the terminal to the switch.
13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the terminal, after a given one of the soft-labeled keys is selected by a user, updates the display to include another of the sets of labels based on a determination of a next state using the state machine.
14. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the terminal, after a given one of the soft-labeled keys is selected by a user, receives an indication of the next state from a switch of the system.
15. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the terminal operates in at least the following modes:
a local mode in which the terminal is manipulated by the user for the purpose of local operations;
a download made in which the switch downloads the information representative of the state machine into the terminal; and a system mode in which switch-based features are available at the terminal.
16. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein each of the labels in a given one of the sets of labels has associated therewith a feature identifier identifying a particular feature supported by a switch of the system.
17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the feature identifiers comprise system button identifiers (SBIDs).
18. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the terminal, after a given one of the soft-labeled keys is selected by a user, transmits the corresponding feature identifier to a switch of the system.
19. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the information representative of at least a portion of the state machine includes information representative of at least a portion of a state transition table specifying states of the state machine and transitions between the states of the state machine.
20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the state transition table includes, for each state in a set of possible states, (i) a set of labels for at least a subset of the plurality of soft-labeled keys, (ii) a set of feature identifiers each identifying, for a given one of the labels, a particular feature supported by a switch of the system, and (iii) a next state which is entered when the corresponding soft-labeled key is selected by the user.
21. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the information representative of the state transition table comprises the state transition table itself.
22. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the state transition table includes an identifier of a local program to be executed by the terminal in a local mode when a particular one of the SLKs is selected by a user in a particular one of the states.
23. An apparatus comprising:
a communication system switch having a processor and a memory, the switch being operative to store information representative of at least a portion of a state machine, wherein each of a plurality of states in the state machine specifies a set of labels for a corresponding plurality of soft-labeled keys of a terminal of the system, such that the terminal can process the information to generate a display including a given one of the sets of labels, wherein the information representative of the state machine is downloaded from the switch into the terminal;
the state machine being configured to run substantially in its entirety within the terminal, independent of the switch, so as to control assignment of the sets of labels to the soft-labeled keys in response to user input without requiring further information from the switch, and being configured such that a transition between a given pair of states of the state machine in response to the user input automatically alters the assignment of the sets of labels to the soft-labeled keys and causes an identifier of a corresponding switch-based feature to be transmitted from the terminal to the switch.
24. An article of manufacture comprising:
a machine-readable storage medium storing one or more programs for implementing a method of controlling a terminal in a communication system, wherein the one or more programs when executed generate information representative of at least a portion of a state machine, wherein each of a plurality of states in the state machine specifies a set of labels for a corresponding plurality of soft-labeled keys of a terminal, the information representative of the state machine being downloaded from a switch of the system into the terminal, such that the terminal can process the information to generate a display including a given one of the sets of labels;
the state machine being configured to run substantially in its entirety within the terminal, independent of the switch, so as to control assignment of the sets of labels to the soft-labeled keys in response to user input without requiring further information from the switch, and being configured such that a transition between a given pair of states of the state machine in response to the user input automatically alters the assignment of the sets of labels to the soft-labeled keys and causes an identifier of a corresponding switch-based feature to be transmitted from the terminal to the switch.