Hewlett-packard Company

Yuen-Yee Joanna Pang

Melissa L Monty

A facsimile machine which may be successfully operated by a user, using a dialing mode with which the user is already familiar. Programed dialing, monitor dialing, and speed dialing are integrated in a way that does not artificially constrain the user to only certain combinations of commands. Users who are dialing through a PBX or placing the call through a credit card company, may dial the call interactively using one or more string of numbers stored in memory along with numbers entered directly from the keypad, with the user receiving audible feedback in the form of dial tones, beeps and tones, and recorded verbal instructions. Various international dialing functions such as Mercury are stored and accessed in the same way the user would access other numbers stored in a speed dial or one-touch dial memory location. The various dialing modes and functions may be cascaded, whereby the user may access one speed dial number (or special function such as Mercury) and then continue to dial additional speed-dial numbers or digits from the front panel keypad. The number of buttons on the front panel is kept to a minimum, with multiple functions being assigned to a common button in optimal functional groupings whereby the user may readily locate, identify, and use all available functions, using a conventional keypad and two dedicated front panel buttons: 'Start' and 'Speed Dial', with appropriate messages being displayed on the front panel. In particular, the Start button is used both to cause the machine to go off-hook and to dial any previously speed dialing sequences, as well as to accept a displayed speed dial entry, while the Speed Dial button is used to invoke the speed dial function and to select between single and double digit entries and to scroll through successive entries.

Growing community of inventors

San Diego, CA, United States of America

Yuen-Yee Joanna Pang