CA2168987A1 - Home services delivery system with intelligent terminal emulator - Google Patents

Abstract

Systems and methods provide communication between a user-friendly terminal (2), such as a "home terminal" shaped to resemble a conventional telephone (2), and a number of service provider computers such as financial institutions (20a-20d). The system's application software transform simple user commands into commands understood by the service provider computers (20a-20d). The network host computer (8) supplies messages to the terminal for generating prompts needed to solicit required information from the user, and communicates with the service computers (20a-20d) according to their respective protocols. The invention provides a packet assembler and disassembler (PAD) element within the home terminal itself, allowing fast response time for the customer at the home terminal while retaining the benefits of data error, entry correction and data transmission error correction.

Description

WO 95/06384 216 8 ~ 8 7 PCT/US94/09722 ~IOME SERVICES DELIVERY ~iY~il~
WlT~ INTELLIGENT TERMINAL EMULATOR

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present applica~ion is a continu~tion-in-part (C.I.P.) of:
(A) Serial No. 08/084,319, filed June 30, 1993 (a file wl~er contiml~tion of 433,825, filed November 9, 1989); and (B) Serial No. 08/104,931, filed August 12, 1993 (a file wlap~er continu~tion of 439,739, filed November 21, 1989), which is a continuation-in-part of both Serial No. 260,832, filed October 21, 1988, now U.S. Patent No. 5,008,927, and Serial No. 190,440, filed May 5, 1988, now U.S. Patent No. 4,991,199.
The present application is related to U.S. patent application Serial No. 593,921, filed October 5, 1990, now U.S. Patent No. 5,195,130, issued March 16, 1993, which is a continn~tion-in-part of three prior patent applications, namely, (1) said Serial No. 260,832, filed October 21, 1988, now U.S. Patent No. 5,008,927, (2) said Serial No. 433,825, filed November 9, 1989, and (3) said Serial No. 439,739, filed November 21, 1989. Said Serial No. 260,832 is itself a contim~tion-in-part of said Serial No. 190,440, filed May 5, 1988, now U.S. Patent No.
4,991,199. The present application is also related to U.S. Patent No. Des. 312,457 (Inatomi), which issued from patent application Serial No. 380,557, filed July 17, 1989.
All the fol~going patents and applications, as well as all patents and applications cited herein, are inc~lpoldLed herein by reference as if reproduced in full below.

BACKGROUND OF mE INVENIION
Tec~nic~l Field The present invention relates generally to appa~atus and methods for communic~tion between a home nelwu.]~ terminal microcomputer-based system and one or more cG~ ~r nelwolhs providing infol",ation and fin~nci~l and other services. The invention relates more particularly to a~paratus and methods for cond-~ctin~ commlmi~tions between a home 2168!~87 ` ` ` - `
WO 95/06384 PCTtUS94/09722 col"~uler system and a generally coll~,.,nlional co~-,puLcr ntlwo,k in an extremely simple manner, such that no knowledge of co",p~lcr operations is n~ces~ry for the user of a home coll,puler system to obtain in~ollllation or perform fin~nri~l and other transactions through the co,n~uler ncLwolk.

Backglound Art Develuplllcll~s in comm--nic~tions technology in the past decade have made it possible for cons-~ el~ to access infollllalion stored on large co,,,l,uLer systems through home miclocolllL,uLers. It is well known that a home computer system can be used to commllnir~te through standard telephone lines with large computer data bases storing such information as stock market st~ticticsi airline flight sche~l~lçc, and other useful consumer information.
However, there are several limit~tionc to providing not only inru'lllation services but also interactive fin~nrisl services through a col"~ulcr network to the home environment of the typical con~u,lRr. First, although technological adv~nr~mrntc have created an unsul~assed standard of living for cons,lme,~ in many aspects of everyday life, including commllnic~tions, a COr~,St onding limit on the level of consumer acceptance of technological innovations has arisen. Many concllmers are reluct~nt to rely on technologically advanced devices which they cannQt ~ccimil~t~ into the pr~^tices they have used previously and which they understand.
This consumer acceptance threshold has been encountc1cd by home computer m~nl-r~clllrcr~ who have experienced difficulty in convincing a substantial portion of the public of the al~ ~es of having a home cGll,puLcr. In order to provide inrol.,.a~ion services, and in particular relatively complex intçractive fin~nrisl services, in the home enviro.. ellL, the col~ul.,er must be convinced to inco-~ol~te some form of network terminal 25 in his home. Typically, however, the steps ~-~ces~r~ to establish commllnir~tions betwccn a home microcG,,,pulcr and a remote co,llpuLcr data base require the con~ulner to have a f~mili~r underst~n-ling of the home mic,ucollll~uLcr. Although sûr~w~c packages are available that present a relatively "user-friendly" envi~onlllent for the consumer to carry on nelWO1k commllnir~tions~ a basic .n~e.~n(lin~ of microcolll~ulcr operation is ncvc.lheless 30 required of the con~u...er. A majority of consumers do not have this fun~mental knowledge, adding to con~.-.ller reluctance to use the technologically advanced products.

21fi8~87 `~

The microproc~ssor/telephone communic~tion device ~icrl~s~ in U.S. patent applications Serial Nos. 07/190,440 (Parekh et al.) and 260,832 (Weiss et al.), filed May 5, 1988, and October 21, 1988 respectively, and in U.S. P~.ent No. Des. 312,457 (from application no. 380,557) (Inatomi) filed July 17, 1989, an of which are Accignf~ to the 5 ~ccignPe of the present application and are hereby incoll,olaled by reference herein, provides a means for bringing technologically ba~!sd services into the typical consumer's home despite consu~l~er resict~nre to complex products. This breakthrough is acco"lplished by providing what is in reality a computer termin~l resembling the fAmiliAr desktop telephone. The communication device of the invention provides easily understood information and10 instructions through a visual display "menu" to guide the user in using advanced telephone ~ealules and network services. The shift in emphasis from user-or ~inated control to device-originAts~ control in transactional operations AcsimilA~s the user into a technologically based marketplace of services which he would otherwise avoid.
Although a home terminal, such as the microprocessor/telephone of the Weiss et al.
invention, provides the hardware nP~escAry for network co.. l.nicAtions to the cons~l---er in f~mili~r form, the nelwo~l~ commllnic~tion meth~c available cullenlly still present a technologically complicated procedure to the user of the home terminal. Those mPtho~c in the prior art which provide infollllalional services to the consu~-ler at home do so in a manner which requires some level of computer litescy on the part of the consumer user. Recognizing 20 that this colllpuler literacy relluircl.len~ is a s.~ba~ l impe~imPnt to bringing the technologically based infol...alional and finAnri~l services to the general consull-er, it is an object of the invention to provide a method for communirAting between the home terminal and a coml,uLer llelwoll~ which controls con-----~n;r~tiQnS so that the user need only read and respond to simple questions, that is, "l,lollll)lsn, presented on a display screen.
In the prior art, inl~ l;ve com~nunic~tion metho~c have esc~ ly provided only infollllational services to the home consumer. The nPcec~ry level of s~ulily, ease of use and reliable, quick infolll.ation transmicsion required for a compasble home-based fin~nri~l services system have not been achieved. Accordingly, it is another object of the present invention to provide r~n~l~ri~l services in addition to hlfo~ .lional services to the consulllcr and in particular to provide a method of cGll'p~l~er commlmic~tion belweell the home terminal and a colllpulcr nclwull~ so that the conaulllcr can effect r~ nri~l transactions through the system termin~l in an easily ..~ el~ood fashion. For e~ample, it is an object of the invention WO95/06384 ; - ~ PCT/US91.'1~37~2 to provide a system Whe~LCbY a user can deterrnine his account balance, pay bills, transfer funds from one account to another, and the like, while in his home and in particular without requiring any computer literacy, and wherein the same system can be used to access other systems, such as ~t~b~es, airline reservation systems, and the like.
Using current communication methods, communi~tion between a home co-l,puLer system and a co..lpuler nelwolk requires that the home computer system have a sufficient memory size to store application programs to control the communications. Each network, tl~t~b~e, or the like to be ~r~essed typically requires its own software, access codes, and related data which must be stored in the miclocoll-puler memory. Accordingly, as more 10 information and fin~nri~l services are to be provided, the nPces~ry application program memory requirement increases. At some point, the memory size requirement makes it impractical to place the home network terminal in the relatively small housing of a telephone.
In particular, it is an object of the invention to avoid the requirement of a floppy disk or other bulky storage medium in the user terminal; if a physically larger computer system were lS used to accommodate the memory requilclllenls, the advantage of consumer acceptance achieved by placing the micr~col.lpuler in a small housing with a limited number of keys made possible according to the Weiss et al. invention would be lost.
More particularly, it is desirable that the micr~coll.puLer nPces~ry to carry out commnni~tion with the nclwork colll~u~cr be small enough to be integrated into a housing 20 physically resembling that of a standard desktop telephone. The data storage capacity of such a mini~tl)re device is collc*,ondingly small. Additionally, it is preferred to provide the consumer with as many various servius as possible. Therefore, it is a further object of the invention to provide a method for providing required application programs from a ne~w~rk host cGIllpulcr to the user terrnin~l as needed and in a rapid and efficient manner so that the 25 consu.ller tr,rmin~l can employ a plurality of application pr~g,a.l,s which could not be stored in a memory physically disposed within the telephone housing.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a method by which updatedversions of the application pr~ ~lls can be downloaded to the microco~llpuler aulo...~ lly each time the con~u-ller comecls to the n~lwolh, thereby ensuring that out-of-date 30 application pro&l~lls are not used.

2 1 6 ~ 8 7 PCT/US94/09722 DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
The present invention o~tlcGllles the dlawl.acks of the known systems and represents a signifir~nt advance in the art by providing user-friendly systems and methods for communi~tin~ with a plurality of infor"lalional and fin~nri~l and other service computer 5 systems through a miclucol"~uler-based terminal, such as "home" terminal, so that a typical consumer having little expertise in computer operations can easily use the facilities of the service coll,pu~r systems.
The comm~lnir~tion method of the invention makes it possible for network communic~tions to be performed through a home terminal which does not appear to the user 10 to be technologically complex. The hardware used in yell~lllling the method of the present invention comprises a home terminal such as a telephone/microcol"yulcr disclosed in U.S.
Patent No. 4,991,199 (D. Weiss et al.), and ~sign~ to the ~iEnee of the present application, which is incorporated by reference herein. The home terminal is thus a de~ir~tç~ microcoll,l.u~r which provides a simple input keyboard resembling the keypad of 15 a conven~ional telephone and a visual display for commnnir~ting with the consumer.
In the home terminal of Weiss et al, a micloco.,.~ulcr resides within a standarddesktop telephone and co,.. ,-ic~tes with the consumer through a liquid crystal display (LCD) and a standard telephone keypad, both disposed on the top surface of the telephone.
The home terminal comprises memo;y for storing data and programs and is interfaced to the 20 telephone electronics so that it may also control the tel~honc in the coll~cnlional ll,anner.
In some embaliment~ this device also comprises a keyboard including all of the alphabetic characters, which may slide out of the holl~ing, without desllu~il g its resemblance to a telephone. A modem is co~ ;te~ to the microcolllpuler within the home terminal for conn~cting the microcom~Ler through standard telephone lines to one or more remote 25 co..,pu~er systems, by way of a session controller which is comprised by a ncl~o.h host co..,l,uLer provided according to the invention.
In accoI~ce with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a system forenabling a c.islu...P-r to interar,t with at least one service provider through at least one applications ~rog~ related to the service p~vided by the at least one service provider. The 0 system has a tP-~rnin~l including an input ~evice, a display, and a packet assembler and semhler (PAD) element The system also has a tprmin~l controller including means to ~ecut,e the applications program and means for t~nQI~ting information btL-.~ell rc~e~ re 2168~87 WO 95/06384 ~ PCT/US94/09722 formats and l.,s~ ive communic~tionc pr~tocols used by the PAD element and the service provider, to enable the customer to co~ nir~te with the service provider through the terminal.
The invention also provides a system for enabling a customer to interact with at least 5 one service provider through at least one applications program related to the service provided by the at least one service provider. The system has a terminal including: 1) a customer input device having means for receiving input from the user and for converting the input into input signals, the input possibly having fol-"alling errors; and 2) a packet assembler and di~ccembler (PAD) element, located subst~nti~lly within the terminal and in communication 10 with the customer input device. The PAD element includes means for leceiving the input signals, for analyzing the input signals in accordance with input form~tting rules which are related to the service provided by the service provider, and for providing local fee~b~r~
signals in accordance with the analysis; and means, rcsl~onsive to the input signals, for forming first packets of information in accordance with first fo~ in~ rules and a first 15 communic~tions protocol, and for transmitting the first packets of infol."alion which have no fo....~tling errors or fewer form~tting errors than the input signals. The termin~l includes a display including means for receiving the local fee~h~clf signals and for displaying them to the customer. The system also has a terminal controller, located remotely from the terminal, and implel.leil~d on at least one coll,puling device having means to execute the applications 20 pro~l~ln. The termin~l controller has a t~min~l interface controller including means for m~n~ging flow of packets of info,lnalion into and out of the terminal controller in accordance with the first commllnir~ti~ns IJrolocol, and means for tr~nCl~ting the information in the first packets to a second format and a second co.. ~ ir~tions pro~ocol which are cGnll)alible with the service provider, so that the applications plo~lalll forms comm~n~c for output to the 25 service provider in accor~lu~ce with the customer's input.
The invention further provides a system for enabling a user to interact with service col"puler~ which provide infollllalional, finqnri~l and other services. The system has a n clwor~ host coll",uler having applications software in memory. The system also has a home terminal having a con,pacl housing ess~ ly configured as a telephone, the home terminal 30 including a display for displaying prompts for controlling the operation of the home terminal, data input means, telel)holle electronics, co",~uling means, memory; means to electronically COI~ and control the display, data input means, telephone electronics, co~ JuLing means, WO 95/06384 2 1 6 S 9 ~7 PCT/US94/09722 -and memory, to function as both a s~ndar~ telephone and a general purpose con"~ul~" a modem to connect the home terminal co,llp.-ling tO the host colllpu~er via a first telephone ne~wolh; and means, including a packet assembler and disassembler (PAD) element, for m~n~ging message comm-lnir~tion between the home terminal and the network host and for 5 ensuring that data input through the data input means has been formatted for the network host applications software. The system also has means for ~rces~ing at least one of the service co",l)u~cr~ over a second telephone n~,~wolh in response to at least one messagecomml-nir~te~l from the home terminal over the first telephone network and through the ne~wolk host co,,,~u~cr~ the at least one message in~lic~ting selection of a service in response 10 to the pro",p~. In this system, the network host computer further includes means for controlling a co.,.~"-lnic~tions session between the home terminal and at least one service co~llpu~er over the first and second telephone networks, the communications session controlling means being controlled by instructions for tr~nCl~ting messages between the home terminal and at least one service co,ll~u~er.
The invention further provides a method of providing a home terminal with the ability to use services provided by at least one service co",~u~r com~Pcl~ to the home terminal in a communir~tions session managed by a host co~lpulcr, wherein the home terminal has a display, a data input device, telephone electronics, co"ll)uling electronics, a modem and software to operate the termin~l as both a telephone and a general purpose col"pu~cr. The 20 method comprising the steps of initi~ting the co..,,,,(~ic~tions session with the host co",~uLer using a packet assembler and ~i~cs~-rnhler (PAD) element in the terminal; ~ntling mPS~ge~
to the t~rmin~l to prompt a customer to provide input to the te.rmin~l; imputing data through the data input device; locally analyzing the input data for confollnance with format and content requi~.,.el Ic, and displaying appr~liate l,ro~"l)ls and imputing additional data if the 25 input data is not in confo""al1ce with the re4uirc~ C; assembling the data input into message p~r~ts: establishing the comm--nir~tions session be~n~n the service co"")u~er and the home t~.rmin~l; and controlling the commnnir~tion session by tr~nCl~ting messages bel~.,n r~S~eclivc foll"a~s usable by the home terminal and the service co~ u~cr, and by timing m~s~ge flow.
BRIEF DESCRIPIION OF DR~WINGS

W O 9~/06384 ~ PCTrUS94/09722 The invention will be better understood if ,cfel~nce is made to the accompanyingdrawings, in which FIGS. 1-10 are those present in Serial No. 08/084,319, filed 3une 30, 1993 (a file wrapper continuation of 433,825, filed November 9, 1989), and in which FIGS. 11-19 are added in the application being filed August 25, 1993.
FIG. 1 shows a schPm~tic overview of t~e system according to the inventiGn.
FIG. 2 shows a diagram of the message format employed according to the invention.
FIG. 3 shows a detail of a status field of the message according to the invention.
FIG. 4 shows a connect mPs~ge according to the invention.
FIG. 5 shows a connect response message according to the invention.
FIG. 6 shows a transaction message text format according to the invention.
FIG. 7 shows a page downloading message text format employed according to the invention.
FIG. 8 shows a page update request message according to the invention. and FIG. 9 shows a response to the page update request message of FIG. 8.
FIG. 10 shows a schematic view of a distributive data processing system shown inFIG. 19 of U.S. Patent No. 5,195,130.
FIG. llillust~ltes an al~l"slive home services delivery system.
FIG. 12 illu~t~tPS an al~,l,alive embodiment of the home services delivery system ofFIG. 11, in which the packet assembler and disassembler (PA D)is resident in the terrninal 104 rather than in the terminal interface controller ~IC) 122.
FIG. 13 ill--ctr~tes a typical physical arrangement of several terminal controllers.
FIG. 14 is a high-level block ~li~r~m of an application generd~ion system (AGS) which may be used to develop and test applications pr~gld",s for the home services delivery system.
FIG. 15 illustrates a typical local area nelwurk configuration for use with the application ge~ on system according to the present invention.
FIG. 16 sl~hPm~ti~lly illustrates components of the application data base, according to the FIG. 21 embolim~Pnt FIG. 17 illU~ dt~_S the manner in which the application generdlion system provides different versions of applications pl~gldlllS, especi~lly suitable for use in a variety of foreign languages.

WO 95/06384 21 6 ~ 9 8 7 PCT/US94/09722 _ 9 _ FIG. 18 shows an example of a screen which shows a German version of an application program.
FIG. 19 illuctr~tes a typical screen display gener~Led by the application generation system to allow a developer to sim~ te hardware errors.
BEST MODE(S) FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
In describing ~lei~led embodiments of the present invention illustr~t~ in the drawings, specific terminology is employed for the sake of clarity. However, the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific terminology so selected and it is to be understood that each specific element includes all te~hnir~l equivalents which operate in a similar manner to acco.,.~lish a similar purpose.
As a bacl~loulld, FIGS. 1-10 are those present in Serial No. 08/084,319, filed June 30, 1993 (a file wrapper continll~tion of 433,82S, filed November 9, 1989). FIGS. 11-19 are added in the application being filed August 25, 1993, with emphasis being placed on the embodiment in FIG. 12.
Referring to FIG. 1, the method of the present invention is pel ror,.led through a home tennin~l 2 connr~teJ via a con~enlional telephone circuit 3 to a æssion controller 6, which may comprise both hardware and s~nw~, as understood by those of skill in the art, and which is resident in a nclwulk host co,llpu~r system 8.
According to the invention, the home terminal 2 physically resembles a telephone with a display screen 2a, as described in the Weiss applications ~iscucsed above. However, certain aspects of the invention-may be applicable to more co~ ional micr~colll~uler systems, as shown at 10: Indeed, according to one aspect of the invention described in Serial No. 07/439,739 and F.W.C. 08/104,931 (Ahlin etal.), the telephone-resembling user 25 terminal 2 functionally mimics an IBM PC/XI mic.ucolllpu~r~ such as col~uler 10, in certain ~cpertc.
The session controller 6 provided accor~ g to the present invention serves as a link between the micl~,colll~ u~r 2 and/or 10 and a plurality of inrc,lll.alional and fin~nri~l service computer systems 20(a-d). As in-lir~teA, service COInLJuk;F~ 20(a-d) typically are themselves host coll-~,uler systems such as bank coll.l,ulers, airline r~se~lion Colll~ host colllpulels nlnl~ing ~t~b~ access systems, etc., which co~ nlionally respond to inquiries from remote systems. It would also be possible to physically provide the nctwor~ host co.llpuler 8 as a WO 95/06384 ~: ` PCT/US94/09722 part of one of the service co,l,l.u~l~ 20 (a-d). For example, the neLwo,k host co~..pu~er might be physically configured as portion or a co-,-puler also serving as a bank service co,..yul~r. The claims of this application are intended to include this possibility.
According to an important aspect of the invention, the function of the session 5 controller 6 is to allow the user to conveniently employ the mi~roco,..pu~r resembling a telephone 2 as described in the Weiss et al application to access the remote service computers 20(a-d); notably, this is accomplished according to the invention without modifying the software of the service co",pu~e.~ 20(a-d). Thus, an important function of the network host 8 and of the user terminal 2 and the HAL software which it runs is to coope,~lively transform 10 the highly simplified, "user-friendly" request/response sequence seen and responded to by the user into the relatively complex communication sequence normally used to access the service colllp~ s 20(a-d), and, conversely, to modify the speciqli7e~ display sequence typically presented by the service computers 20(a-d) into an easily understood p,csen~tion.
More particularly, as is understood by those of skill in the art, each of the service 15 co,l.p~.L~rs 20(a-d) provides a dif~elelll service, e.g., stock ticker infor,alion, airline r~selv~tions, bank tr.qn~qrtion services, and a myriad of others. To access each of these services co"~nlionally requires that the user have available one or more access codes, and that he has me",o,iiLed the a~ ,liate sequenre of responses to "prompts". Each of theme sequences is different, and each co"ve,llionally requires some education.
For example, in a typical automatic teller mqrllinP transaction, the user is first required to insert a card which includes a user identific-qtion. He then is pr~".pted to input an access code. The system correlates this with the id-Pntifir-qtion provided by the card, to ensure that the user is duly authorized. He is then prompted to select a tr.qn~ction, and an accounL. Depe-n-ling on the tr~qn~tion S~PlP~t~P~7 various other options must be selected. All of the l~s~onse sequences must be learned before the user can employ the system. By comparison, if using a legal r~sean;h ~qtLqhq~e, for example, an entirely dir~trenl sequence of steps must be negotiated. Accordingly, the cor.sul"cr must be separately e~lc-qted with respect to each service he desires to use. Clearly, this represents a signifirqnt barrier to the wide accep~nce and use of these systems.
By co"")~ison, according to the invention, the ll~lwoll~ host 8 is interposed belween the user terminqlc 2 and each service co",~uler system 20 (a-d). The n~lwolk host 8 thus works in concert with the user terminals 2, in particular by supplying to the user terminal 2 WO 9S/0~3~4 2 1 6 ~ 9~ 7 PCT/US94/09722 one or more pages of HAL application software which npersolldlizes" the user terminal 2 to the service co~ )uLer 20(a-d). The user terminal 2 is enabled by the application software to - prompt the user to supply any infGl.,.ation needed to access the service co."puler. The network host 8 then tr~n~l~tPs the user data, received from the user terminal 2 in a first user 5 terminal format, into wl.a~er service co..,puler communication format is required by the service co--,puler 20(a-d) selecte~l. Thus, the user sees an essentially similar selection of simple queries (e.g., "Input User Coden, "Press 4 for ChPr~ing Account, 6 For Saving Accountn, "Press for Previous Screen", "Press to Authorize Auto Pdy---ent") regardless of the service he has selectç~. The "user-frien-llinPss" thus provided by the network host and 10 the user terminal of the invention in response to the user's selection of a particular service is very ~ignifit~nt in achieving the objects of the invention.
For example, at any given time, the display 2a of the user terminal may include the user's last ~a~,onse (e.g., in a b~nking t~n~ction~ "National Bank of Washington") the infol,..a~ion being sought (e.g., "Select Account Desired"), and 2 list of prompts, indicating 15 the choices available to the user by pressing a single button in the keypunch (e.g., "Press 1 for Savings, 2 for ChPc~ing~ 3 for Money ~ ~.arketn) as ~ -~ll as a series of help ~r.~l"~ts also sele~t~ble by pl~s5ing a single button (e.g., "Hit * to Back Up, 0 to Start Over, # for More Choicesn).
According to an i",pol~n~ _spect of the invention, these menu choices are varied in 20 acco~dance with the service se!ec~ by the user. That is, the user-friendly interface, comprising a "tree" of new menus displayed sequentially and in response to each input provided by the user, until all infolll,alion required to access the service has been specified, thus varies with the service. Provision of application programs page by page in rG~onse to the specifi~ ~tion of a service according to the invention permits this flexibility, as it would 25 be i~,.pr~lical to store all possible application programs in the user terminal.
The session controller 6 functionally comprises a tç~rnin~l interface controller (TIC) 4, a terminal ~tocol interface (TPI) 10, a session manager (SM) 12, and a commonor (CI) 14. The TIC 4 monitors the message flow belwcen the home terminal 2 and the TPI 10 and controls timers to cause timeouts when message traffic ceases. This is 30 i..,pol~ll in enauling that the terminal 2 properly provides the normal telephone functions.
See the Weiss et al applications ~fell. d to above. The TPI 10 comm-lni~tes with the home te~min~l 2 and tr~n~l~tPs the protocol used by the home te min~l when first establishing a WO 95/06384 ~ `. 5 '~"',, ' ~ PCT/US94/09722 conneclion with the host nelwolh col"y~ller 8. Additionally, the TPI 10 genera~es random encryption key numbers when requested by the home terminal 2. These encryption key numbers are used by the terminal program to transmit confidential information. The TPI 10 also h~n-1les application page downloading requestc.
The SM 12 m~int~in~ the essential data needed for each communication session by storing information relating to the user of the terminal 2 and the service col-,puler system 20(a-d) which the user is accessing. All tr~n~ctions performed between the home terminal 2 and the session controller 6 during a particular session occur within the context of the specific consu",er and the service sel~cted, e.g., his bank or other fin~nri~l institution. For example, after the consumer has been successfully established as a valid and authoriæd user, all message traffic to the particular terminal is thereafter considered related only to that cor,s.l",er. This context determination, based on the consumer id~ntifiç~tion infol"lalion, then allows the nelwulh host col,lyu~er 8 to access the correct service coll,yuler 20(a-d) for such items as account b~l~nr,es~ and so on. The SM 12 stores the con~ 1 infol"lalion required to validate the t~n~tion and inserts it in messages passed to the CI 14 when n~ sa.y.
The SM 12 also serves as the interface belwæn the TPI 10 and the CI 14, which in turn sexes as the commtlnir~tion link between the other elem~-ntc of the session controller 6 and the service' col,,puler systems 20 (a~) According to the method of the present invention, the user ~cce~es one particular service col"puler 20(a-d) by selecting the coll.,s~onding option, i.e. the desired service, from a menu displaying the possible choices on the LCD of his home terminal. Communication between the home terminal 2, the session controller 6 and the sele~d service col~yuler 20(a-d) is then begun with a session establishment and pr~locol selection phase.
During the session establi~hmrnt and ~rulocol selection phase, the home te~min~l 2 com~ecli to the nelwo~ host colllyu~r 8 through a st~ndal~ telephone line 3. After the com~iion has been established, the home tennin~l 2 sends a series of signals by which the session controller 6 sets such parameters as the comm-lnic~tion baud rate. For example, after the nel~o~k host col"yuler 8 sets the commlmir~tion baud rate, it responds with a terminal type inquiry. The home terminal 2 hl~ly~ s this signal as a request to identify the type of terminal in use and responds with an ASCII code identifying the type of home terminal being used, i.e. a miclucolllpuler/telephone 2 according to the Weiss invention, a standard WO 95/06384 216 8 ~ 8 7 PCT/US94/09722 miclocol.,l~ul~r 10 employed corve--Lionally to access the service co...pu~r~, or some other remote te~rninql type.
During this session establishment phase the terminal 2 may also request the user to provide a pclaollal serial number, to ensure that the user is in fact authorized to use the 5 te rninql. A tenninql ID number may also be rehired to be inclu~l~P~ in some of the messages.
The nclwurl~ host is capable of ~1eletin~ either serial number from lists of vqli~q~ted serial nu...bcl~, so as to pl~ent users who becG..-c un-q-lthorized (e.g. by failure to keep accounts current, etc.) from using the system.
Accor~ g to the invention, the l~elwGIl~ host 8 provides the hllpGllant function of 10 allowing the home terminal 2 to mimic a conventional miclucolllputer 10 running essentially conventional co... ~ r~qtion software. Therefore, the service co.. l,uler 20(a-d) receives cG~ irz~ion in precisely the same "service co-npu~r communication protocol" which it cor.~nlionally receives. Accordingly, the service co---~uter~ need not be modified in any way for ~ ir~tion accor~ing to the invention, which is PsQ~nti~l to achieving the objects lS thereof. As intlica~p~d such cGn~,e..l;on~l micr~co..",uler s~;,~.ns 10 may be also intel~d to the se~ice co...pule,~ 20(a-d) by way of the nclwGlk host 8 according to the invention.
In such case, the nctw~lk host 8 will again respond to a request for access to a service cGlll~,lLer 20(a-d) by downloading one or more "pages" of application software, user p~o...l,t~, etc., allowing the co--~e,llional mic,ucGlll~u~r 10 to conveniently access the service co...~u~er 20 20(a-d).
The l-.am~r in which the user ter~in~l 2 is enabled to mimic a collvelllional mic,ucGlll~llter 10 for the ~ OSC of cG.. ~.. ;r~ting with the service coll.pute,~ 20(a-d) via the network host 8 is ~icrlosed in detail in Serial No. 07/439,739 and F.W.C. 08/104,931 (Ahlin et al.).
After a cG... ~ l;on session has thus been established, a "link level" plotocol is employed bch.~ll the home cG---~uler and the session controller. In the link level pr~)tocol~
all co---~ C~ nQ beL~cell the home ~ min~l 2 (or a con~ ional micluco--.puler 10, if used) and the l~t~Ol~ host cGI..~u~r 8 are fo----~ d into inrc~llllalion packets called ,..~$Cage5, FIG. 2 shows the basic format of the mPsQage 30. This message format is used 30 for the majority of the mPssagçs sent belw~n the netwull~ host and tPrmin~l 2 or co---puler 10. Other related ro....A~ are used in special cases ~liQ~cuss-p~ below.

WO 95/06384 . PCT/US94/09722 Each message 30 begins with a one-byte start of text (STX) delimiter 32 which consists of the fixed ASCII code "2n. The next field of the message, the message text field 34, can contain up to 256 bytes of transaction information. It is within this message text field 34 that the actual transaction inforrnation is transferred. The message text field 34 can also 5 contain info~ alion concerning the status of the message.
Following the message text field 34 is a one byte start of header (SOH) delimiter 36 which has a fixed ASCII value of "1". This SOH delimiter 36 signifies the end of the message text field 34 and the start of the Sliding Window Protocol Header 38.
The Sliding Window Protocol Header 38 is provided according to an important aspect 10 of the present invention, and contains control and error management information. This header 38 comprises a sequence number field 40, an acknowledge number field 42, a status field 44, and a çhpc~cum field 46, totalling six bytes in length.
The sequence number field 40 is important to the error detection and control system employed according to the invention. This field contains a sequence number ~ccign~Pd by the 15 transmitting device (i.e. either the home terminal 2 or the network host) to each message segmPnt. More specifically, the sequence number field 40 contains a one-byte ASCII
encoded number from 0 to 9 specifying the order of the message 30 in a series of tr~ncmitt~d messages. The sequence numbers are ~csignP,d independently to the messages sent in both directions. Each successive message 30 is ~csignçd a reference number one greater than that 20 of the prece~ling message 30. The sequence numbers are applied in a cyclical fashion. That is, when seqUp~nr~ number 9 has been ~csignp~d to a message, the next message is ~$cigned equence number 0. This process is referred to as the "sliding window protocol" used for error ~Ptection and COr~ iOn according to the invention.
The receiving device stores the sequence number of the message most recently 25 received. When a new message is received, the receiving device determines if the content of the sequence nllmber field 40 is one greater than the sequenre number of the prece~ling message received. If not, an error has been detectPvd and the receiving device directs the transmitting device to resend the prece~ling message.
~dditiQn~l securi~ is provided by use of the chPc~c~m field 46, which contains a byte 30 count for the entire message, which is written to the message by the nelv~ol~ computer. This ch~c~cum value is compared with the byte count as determined by the receiving termin~l. If WO 95/06384 21 6 8 ~ 8 7 PCTIUS94/09722 the chPc1~cl~m value is correct and the sequence number is in the proper order, the message is considered to have been received in good condition.
The acknowledgement number field 42 of each message contains the sequence numberof the last message received in good condition. Until this acknowledgement number is 5 received, the tr~ncmitting device stores the messages in a buffer for possible retr~nsmicsion.
If the transmitting device has stored one or more messages with higher sequence numbers than the last received acknowledgement number, those messages with a greater sequence number are ret~ncmittP~. Correspondingly, when an acknowledgement number is received, all stored messages having sequence numbers less than or equal to the last received 10 acknowledgement number are discarded. This sequencing and acknowledgment method allows for the continuous flow of information without the delay ~ccoci~tP~ with acknowledging each message before tr~ncmitting the next, and limits the amount of data which must be stored to implement this error correction arrangement.
It will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that sliding window protocols of this 15 general type, inrlutling use of sequence numbers and ach,owledgement of mPs~gp~s~ are generally known to the art. See generally, T~n~l-h~.. , Computer Networks (Prentice Hall, l981), esp. 4.2 "Sliding Window Protocols", pp. 148-164, which book is incorporated herein by lcçelence.
There is, however, one limitation on this continuous flow of mPs~ps. Rer~nce the20 range of lcfclcnce numbers is finite, the m~imllm llu~lber of messages which can be sent without repe~ting a ~cçel`ence number is 10. Accordingly, if all the sequence numbers available in the fini~.e range 0-9 have been ~ccignP~d to lm~r~nowledged messages, the t~ncmittin~ device ceases mes~ge trancmicsions and sends an immP~i~te a~hl~ wlP~gemPnt request in a null message, that is, a mec~e which contains no infollllalion in its message 25 text field, but which has a sequence greater or equal to that Or the prece~ing mPs~ge. The receiving device recognizes a null mPs~ge by its repetition of the prece~ling sequence number. A null message is thus used to convey control infollllalion such as an imme~ te acknowledgement request.
The status field 44 is a one byte (eight bit) field which informs the receiving device 30 of the status of the message and provides a medium for various control requests. FIG. 3 details the bits of the status field 44. Bits 7 and 5 are always set to æro and one, .c~eclively, so that the value of the complete status byte 44 is in the range of 32 to 127.

WO 95/06384 ~ PCTIUS94l09722 Hence, the value of the status field can be rcl~lcse-~ed by the ASCII codes for print characters, which is convenient for ~ gnostir, purposes. Bit 6 in-lic~tes the tr~ncmicsion channel over which the message is trav~e!~ing. A value of 0 in bit 6 represents a foreground, or high priority, tr~ncmission channel, and a value of 1 in bit 6 in~icates use of a 5 backgloulld, or low priority, tr~ncmiccion channel.
Bit 4 is used to inform the receiving co~pulcr whether the response is contained in more than one message and whether there is at least one more message to come which is related to the ~es~onse contained in the present message. A value of 0 in bit 4 in-lic~tes that the present message is the last or only segment in a response while a value of 1 in bit 4 10 informs the receiving co...puler that the present message is the first or an interm~ te segment of a multi-segment response.
Bit 3 distinguishes normal session messages from connect messages used when communications are first established between the home comPuter and the network col~ ler.
A bit 3 value of y ~cp~senls a normal data message, while a bit value of 1 $ignifiPS a connect 15 request or lcsl,onse. Similarly, bit 2 intlir~tes whether a message is a normal session message or a disconnecl request, in which 0 in-lic~tes a normal session message and 1 requests a discom1ecl.
Bit 1 is set to a value of 1 to request retr~ncmicsion of all un~r~nowledged messages, i.e., mess~ges with a higher reference number than the acknowledgement number of the 20 message cont~inin~ the retr~ncmiccion request. A 0 value in bit 1 in~ir~tes a normal message.
Bit 0 is set to a value of 1 to request ~.ckl-owledgement from the rcceiving co.--pu~er.
This signal would be sent, for example, in the situation explained above, in which the sending co,,.~ulcr has used all of the fcftlc,lce "u",be~ and requires an acknowledgement before 25 sen~ing any more messages. A 0 value in bit 0 in~ir~tes a normal message.
The cl.~rL~,-... field 46 as in-lir~t~ above co,l~ins a bit count or similar value c~lcul~te~ by the sending device; the same calculation is perrul"led by the receiving device and co..... ......~arcd to the scored value to confirm that the message has been collcclly received.
Finally, the message 80 concludes with a carriage return (CR) 48.
According to the invention, when one of the devices involved in a collllll~ r~tion session sends a message 30 conl;~ining either an acknowledgement request, an acknowle~lgeme~t r~,*)OnSe, a l~r~1n~ t request, a com1ec~ request or a discolll~ecl request, there may be no transaction data to be transmitted in the message text field. Hence, this information is sent through a null message, including a repeated reference number as above.
This informs the seiving col,lpuler that any transaction data that may be contained in the te~t field is to be iOnored and that the header information only is to be read. Of course, it 5 is not nP~e~ary to send a null message for the above mentioned requests and responses.
Tn~te~d a normal message may be used which sends the request or response information, while transaction infol",alion is sent in the text field. Null messages are sent when a normal message is not available and an acknowledgemPnt has been requested, or when the maximum number of messages is outct~n~ine~ and no more normal messages may be sent.
In establishing a communir~tion session, the home terminal sends a connect request message, shown in FrG. 4. When the session controller returns a connect response, shown in FIG. 5, the session is established and all subsequent communications proceed using the message format ~i~cu~ above. At the beeinnine of each session, a series of messages (shown in FIGS. 8 and 9) are Pxch~n~ed to determine if the application pages resident in the 15 home terminal are current versions. Where npc~ss~2ry~ out l~tec' application pages in the home terminal are replaced by current versions which are downloaded tO the home terminal, page by page, as need be, using the pre~efinP~ message format. Updates are made only with respect to the application page(s) specific to the service of current interest to the user. This reduces the delay eYpe~ienr~l by the user, while elimin~tine any requirement that all users 20 have the same version of each application page.
Rer~ e some tr2n~tions available through the nelwork involve individual fin~nri~l accounls, an e~rh~nee of user ve2~ification messages is employed in these cases to ensure against un~'lthorized manipulation of con~ull,er accounts. Accordingly this aspect of the invention, when the user has in~ c~tp~ his intention to pe~rol,l, a fin~nri~l tr~n~rtion or other 25 ~ sdr-lion requiring access to a secure ~ t~b~e, the terminal program il"e,race (TPI) 10 ins~rucl~ the ~ ."i~l co",l,uLer via a down oaded page to send a request for an enc,r~lion key. The TPI returns a randomly gel-f,i.~ed key. The tP-rmin~l 2 uses this to encrypt the consumer's ~e,sonal identification code (PIC), that is, a code in~ic~tine his right to access the secure ~l~t~b~ce. The enclrp~d PIC is then tr~n~mitted to the network host 8 in a user 30 verific~tion mpsca~e. Similarly, any other secure info""alion may be encly~ted at any time during a session if the terminal pr~glanl inrl~dçc instructions for sending additional enc.y~lion messages. F~ch time a key is reques~, a new en~;lrl)lion key is genf-.~

WO 95/06384 21~ 8 ~ 8 7 PCT/US94/09722 After the user verification stage is complete, (which as noted above may alsc~ include a step of identifying the user to the`-terminal by input of his serial number, or idenrifiç~tion of the terminal to the network host, either or both of which must be validated before the transaction can proceed) the consu~mer may pelrol--- various transactions with the 5 informational and finsnri-sl service coll-puLer systems. Such transactions can take a variety of forms, as will be understood by those of skill in the art.
Once the page updating procedure has been completed as nPce-c~sry and the home terrnin-sl is loaded with the application pages nPceccsry to access the service the consumer desires, the consumer can effect transactions with service providers. Operations the.a 10 proceed in a simple and straiglll~lward manner. The consumer is prompted by software downloYdP~ to the home terminal as need be to provide any additional input required, and the appropriate message is sent, by the home terminal to the service col..puLer which actively -sccesces the ~stshsce bank records, etc., involved. Again, according to the invention, the home terminal 2 provides a user-friendly interface, and the l~work host computer 58 trsnC~stps the user's r~slJonses to p~lllpls, sent by the user te~rnins-l 2 to the host in a first format, into the format collvenlionally employed to access the particular service col.-p~ller 20(a-d) providing the service desired.
In general, it is desirable that the pr~lllpls be s~ffiriently definite that the user can input all required instructions using only the 12 keys of a telephone keypad responsive to pr~ ls which are updated in response to the sequenre of prior responses. This greatly simplifies use of the system, and contributes ~ub~ ;slly to the user friendliness which is a goal of the invention. However, in some cases it may be nPces~sry to provide all 26 slrh~sbetir, keys as well, e.g. to spell out airline ~lestinstions. In such cases, a small keyboard sliding out of the hol~ing of the user ter ninsl may be provided. See U.S. Patent No. Des.
312,457 (from design patent application Serial No. 380,557). Of course, this problem does not arise if the system and method of the invention are employed to fsrili~ste access to service CGIllpult;l~ using a coll~ lional mi~;,ocol.lplller 10.
As mentioned above, according to the invention, if the consumer wishes to use a service for which the home terminal has not stored the application pages, an explicit request mPssa~e can be sent for the np~es~ pages. For inctsnre, if the consumer is con~ucting t-~n~sctiQns with his bank's co---puler system and desire to check stock market listings from the stock market h~follllalional senices, the con~ulller exits the bank service and responds 21fi8987 WO 95/06384 PCT/US91~9722 to menu guides then provided by the home tennin~l software to access a con~e,-lional stock market service. The application page which in~lruc~ the micloco.lll,uler to display the menu cont~ining the stock market service option also contains the instructions to call up the stock market service application pages from the resident memory. Accordingly, if the home 5 tenninal 2 finds that the application page for the stock market service is not stored in the resident memory, the terminal 2 will send an explicit page request cont~ining the page number for the stock e~çh~nge service application page to the network computer 8. This capability clearly provides llnprece~entç~l flexibility in provision of netwo,k access to users operating simple, low-cost, user-friendly terminal devices according to the invention.
The following provides additional exemplary details of typical message formats and communication sequences according to the invention. Other communir~tion sequences, as nre~ed, are within the skill of the art, given the disclosure provided by this application.
When a commllnit~tion session between the home terminal 2 and the network host co~"puler 8 has been established and both devices are prepared to communic~te in the link 15 level protocol message format of FIG. 2, the home terminal 2 sends a connect request message shown in FIG. 4. The connecl reeuest m~Ssa~e contains no info.l..alion in the message text field, but the com~ecl bit, bit 3 of the status field 44 of the sliding window pl~Locol header (see FIG. 1), is set to 1. The sequence and acknowle~gment fields 40 and 42 are shown in FIG. 4 is set to zero, but the sequence number may begin as a number from 20 0to9.
When the nelwork host computer 8 Iccei~es the connect request message of FIG. 4 from the home terminal 2, it sends a colulecl message response shown in FIG. 5. As with the comlecL request message, the coml~l bit in the status field 44 is set to 1. Although the sequenre and acknowle~gem~nt fields 40 and 42 are again shown here as on, the llelWOll~
25 co...puler echoes back, in the acknowle~gm~nt field 42 of the com~ccl ~s~onse message, the se.l~cnre llu---ber sent by the home terrnin~l in the connect request message. As noted, the n~,lwurk ~ --in~l 8 may start the sequence with any number from 0 to 9. In its next message, the home tçrmin~l 2 will simil~rly include an ~h~ûwledgement number equal to the sequellre number of the conl-Pcl l~s~onse ...es~e. The other fields of the col~e~;l and 30 connect r~S~OnSe messages are as described above.
As ~ ue~ above, to ensure the availability of the most current SOrlwar~ on the home termin~l, individual HAL pages resident in the home ~ ...in~l are updated as nececc~ry.

21689~7 WO 95/0~1 PCT/US94/09722 - 20 -i '--Superseded and outdated pages are purged, and revised versions replace earlier versions. As storage is limited in the home terminal 2, only the pages that are frequently used by the individual consumer are resident in the home terminal. Infrequently used pages can be provided by the network host coll-yuler 8 when needed by the home terminal 2 to access S infrequently used network service providers. The up~ting process occurs at the beginning of each session, but page downloads can be requestecl at any time throughout the session, after the log-on process has been completed. The same communication process can be used to update pages normally stored in the home terminal when n~ces~ry.
Current versions of all HAL pages are stored by the network host coll,pu~er. When new versions are developed, the new pages are transferred to the data bank of the network host computer 8. The updated pages are transferred to the home terminal 2 page-by-page during normal communication sessions.
The format of the message text field of messages exrh~nged during the page downloading process is different than when used for transaction messages. FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate, the different ~rlllats used within the message text field 34 with respect to conventional trAnC~ction messages and page downloading messages, resyecLively. As shown in FIG. 6, the transaction message includes a transaction type code field 62. All transaction type codes are three characters in length. The subsequent message elements 62, 64, 68, 60 are identified by their positions in the text field rather than by element ID fields.
More particularly, as shown in FIG. 6, the message text field 34 includes at least four sub-fields when used for sending tran~ction message text. The first field of the message text field 34 is a trAn~ction type code 62, which is normally numeric. This is followed by one or more groups of three fields. Each group of three fields includes an element identific~tion field 64, an element length field 68 and the actual element data field 60. For example, when the service computer 20(a-d) selected requires a user identific~tion number, and a request to this effect has been sent to the home terminal 2 by the network host colllyuler 8, the rome terminal gene~es a message including a code in the element ID field 64 in~ ting that the subsequent element data field 60 includes the user identifir~tion number. The element length field 68 then simply includes the actual length in bits of the data element 60. Additional data, such as the user account number, can be included in the same message; again, the account number would be located in an element data field 60, and would be preceded by an element ID in~ir~ting that the subsequent data field includes the accounl number, and an element length field 68.
- This method of commllnir~ting data elements, by providing them in groups of three fields, specifying the element identifir~tion and the element length, is h,.po,~l~ to the 5 efficient realization of the commlmir~tions scheme according to the invention.FIG. 7 shows the format of a page downloaded message. This format is used for downloading pages of HAL sonwal~ from a nelworh host co-,-~u~er 8 to the individual terminals 2. For example, suppose the home terminal 2 iS used to initiate a commllnic~tion session in le~ol~ to a user's pressing a key identifying the initial request for access to a 10 service co~.~puler 20 (a-d). The initial request for access to a service will be interpreted by the network host 8 to specify the HAL application page to be used to access the service co",l,uler. If n~ess~ry, the network host will download the latest version of that page using the downloading message text format shown in FIG. 7. This text is stored in the message text frame 34 of the overall message shown in FIG. 2.
The downloading mes~ge text format co.. f ~-r,cs with a transaction type code field 80 in which is provided an alphabetic tr~n~r-tion code intlic~ting, for example, that the subsequent data is a page of a HAL applicati~on prOgldlll. This is followed by a page number field 84 which includes the page number of the following page of software, or other identifir~tion data nre~ed.
Finally, the actual application software page needed by the home terminal is provided in a page data field 86.
The following description of FIGS. 8 and 9 provides a more detailed view of the way in which the home terminal and ne~work host determine that an update of a particular sc rlwarc page or pages is n~ces~ry. As noted, to ensure that the home terminal does not utilize outdated application pages, each session begins with a page update eY~h~nge. These are exemplary of transaction text messages, and will provide to those of skill in the art suffirient information to implement the other commllni~tions n~ ~ry to effect the functions of the invention. Other l-rces~.y messages generally follow the same format; their detailed functions and implementation are considered to be within the skill of the art.
The home terminal sends an update ~cfe~cl~ce number (URN) request message following the receipt of the connect response message. Referring to FIG. 8, the URN request message is a normal message cont~ining the URN coded request in the message text field.

W O 95/06384 ' PCTrUS94/09722 The URN request begins with a t-~n~rtion code 62, shown here as VER. Thus, the data field 34 in this request message comprises the page numbers 68 of the application pages stored in the home terminal 2 at the beginning of the present session.
The URN messages also specifies in a~. f~eid 70 marked P/H which type of home 5 terminal is being used. This information IS important in deterrnining the priority used in sen~in~ update infol...alion. The final data field 76 includes the terrninal ID (AVID). If the ADIU 76iS not v~ t~d, or has been de-validated, e.g., upon failure of the user to keep his account current, the transaction is ended.
The network co...~uLer responds to the URN request message of FIG. 8 with a URN
10 response message shown in FIG. 9. The transaction code 62 (VER) is repe~ted. This repetition of transaction codes is used in all transaction messages in order for the, receiving device to determine the request message to which a given response applies. This feature is of great importance when several requests are o-ltst~n~1in~ and r~onses are reL~,..ed out of the order in which the requests were made, that is, in connc~;lion with message exch~nges not 15 employing the sequence and acknowledgement fields of FIG. 2.
The next data field 72 in the URN rc;~onse is the URN for the current application page stored in the network col--puL~r. The final data field is a 2 digit status code 74 which informs the host terminal whether page up~i~ting is nP~es~ry.
If the home terminal URN is lower than the n~lwoll~ co~--puler URN, page up~l~ting 20 is nPcess~.y. The nelwolk host co...~uler 8 ~r~umul~t~P-s the list of pages that have new versions from a cross reference file, employing the home terminal URN and the network terminal URN.
An immP~ te send flag is provided which is set to "1" for pages related to particularly cignifir~nt functions such as log-on or the main menu displayed to the user.
25 These pages are downloaded prior to spn~ling the URN l. s~on~ message, that is, im...~ ely upon establichmP-nt of the session. If any of the pages have an Tmme li~te Send flag set to ~1n~ they are put at the top of the download file. The pages with the flag set to "0" are put in a zero length tran~rtional file:
If during the session, following the page update process, the consumer wishes to use 30 a service for which the home terrninal does not have the nrces~r~ pages, an explicit page request can be sent.

WO 95/06384 ~ 1 6 8 9 8 7 PCT/US94/09722 According to the invention described in Serial No. 07/439,739 and FWC 08/104,931(Ahlin et al.), certain elements of the hardware of the user terminal 2 are provided by a logic cell array chip, which is reconfigurable using sorLware downloaded from the network host cG..lp~iler as I~PedPd Such reconfiguration soflwal~ is stored in a remotely erasable read only memory. Other system functions, such as those nPces~qry to accept and store the reconfiguration software, are provided by permqnPntl~ ~,vritten read only memory and by nonrecollrlgurable hardware.
As in-lirqtPd above, application programs are downloaded as needed responsive to the user's selection of a particular service. According to another aspect of the invention the underlying software of the terminal, which is nPces~q-ry to support downloading the application programs, provide display control, carry out comm-lnirqtiQn with the network host 8, provide an initial "main menu" display, and so on, may also be updated from time to time by downlo~q~dine revised versions from the ~lwolk host. Preferably this is done separately from any user commnnirrqtion, e.g. outside normal workin~ hours, and is done in such a way that the telephone does not ring. Details of the software structure and its functional partitioning, as well as the way in which the various software co.--ponel-ls are hqn-lled by the terminal, can also be found in Serial No. 07/439,739 and FWC 08/104,931 (Ahlin et al.).
It will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that there have been described several important and unique aspects of the system of the invention. Of particular ill.pol~ilce in allowing a user friendly home terminal system such as the "enh-qnred telephone" described in the Weiss applications to be employed with a variety of service co.llpulers is the concept of providing a nelwolk host coll.~ ~r which f~i~eS relatively simple requests from the terminal, and responds to these with requests for any additional data required, together with screen commqn~1~ and the like, such that the home le~ l can readily prompt the user to provide whatever additional data is nPet~ed. In this way the "intelligellre" of the network host is efrælively combined with that of the user terminal to gel~ldLe all info,l-.alion required to access the various service CGlllpult;lS. This limits the ~mount of commllni~ion between the user and the service co-.-l uter to a minimllm, which is illlpOl~t in reduc-ing the cost of the service to the con;,.l---er.
The use of the nelwolk host 8 to update the sorl~ale comprised by the home terminal page by page also has great signifirqnr~ in that in this way the home ltl--lindl can be provided with many adrlitiQn~l capabilities, while rçmqining a relatively in~ ,cnsive and W O 95/06384 PCTrUS94/09722 co~ )acl unit and ret~ining the "user-friendly" appea,~nce of the Weiss enhAnr~d teiephone, which is highly desirable. Furthermore, this c~r~hility allows access to further services to be provided in the future without requiring any physical modification of the terminal. The "sliding window" error detection and correction scheme is also highly useful in reAIi7ing the 5 objects of the invention.
The use of the standardized message format ~ cussed above, in which varying numbers of individual data elements can be communir~ted back and forth between the home t~rmin~l and the nelwork host, simply by specifying the identific~tion of the element, is also of great utility, in~much as this greatly simplifies communication belween the terminal and 10 the network host and renders this communir~tion relatively flexible. At the same time, use of the same overall message format for all messages, including both data items such as user identificAtion numbers and software such as downloaded pages, further simplifies the communicAtion scheme provided according to the invention.
The following desc.il,lion relates to FIGS. 11-19, which are added in the patentapplication filed August 25, 1993.
The home services delivery system that has been described in U.S. Patent No.
5,195,130 (Weiss et al.; hereinafter "the '130 patentn) as well as in FIG. 1 of the patent application Serial No. 07/433,825 (hereinafter "the '825 applicationn) may be implemented with several variations. Among the variations include different combination of placement of 20 the packet assembly and ~licAcs~mhly (PAD) function and of the applications program storage.
Generally, the host co",puler and the home lel"linal share the functions of packet assembly and ~iSA!:~.mhly and storage of the applications p~g,~".
For example, when a "dumb" terminal is used, the terminal has no PAD and no applications l.lugl~lls. In this case, the host system performs the PAD function and retains 25 the applications progl~"s.
At the opposite eAlle",e, such as one using the home access language (HAL), both the PAD and the applications pr~g,~"s (or downloA-l~d "pages" thereof) are resident in the .~....inAl. In this case, the termin~l must be a co...p~rA~;vely "smart" terminal.
A co,,,l,lulllise to these two e~ ",es may be chosen, in which the PAD is placed in the home terminal (such as a telephone unit), but the applications programs are retained in the host col"pl~r. In this CO~"pl- l"ise configuration, the functions are distributed strAtr.gjrAlly bel~,en the home terminAl and the host co"~ r. By plAr~-llenl of the PAD

WO 95/06384 2 1 6 8 g 8 7 PCT/US9~/09722 in the home ter...il-~l, a highly re~on~i~., user in~,~ce is provided in a small unit. In this arrangement, applications programs do not have to be downloaded to the home terminal, and the home terminal need not include costly storage components which take up physical space.
An embodiment of this arc'nitect-re is illustrated in FIG. 12, and will be subsequently 5 described in greater detail.
FIG. 19 of the ' 130 patent has been reproduced herein as FIG. 10. The following text is based closely on that of the '130 patent.
The FIG. 10 telephone-col"puler ~cces~,s a nelwork host as described in application Serial No. 433,825, filed ~ovember 9, 1989. As shown in FIG. 10, each user is provided 10 with a telephone-col"p~Ler 1, including the display 4 and the keypad 3 or an equivalent terrninal 19 with a keyboard, which comm--nir~fes via conventional telephone lines in~ir~ted generally at 18, with network host computer 60. Hereafter, the term "terminal" shall mean the telephone-co"-~u~er 1 Of a PC tenninal 19.
The network host co",putels include Terminal Controllers 59a and In~1~ gPS 59b.
15 The terminal controller comprises hardware and software functions.
One es~ l function of the network host co~ ,u~r 60 is to provide a series of application program "pages" which are downls~ded to the terminal. The downloadedprogram pages supply the termin~l with suffirient n~lo~ t~." to elicit from the user ~hl-aLe~r infollllation, i.e., user codes, desired ~ ;ons. and the like, required to access one of a 20 plurality of service colllpul~.~ 60a-d to which the l~hvOl~ host coll-puler 60 is conn~cted via convel,lional telephone lines.
More particularly, su~pose the user desires to access the service computer 60a of Bank A. When the user activates a term~nal, there will appear on its display screen a menu allowing him to select "Access Bank Services" by pressing, for exa nple, the numeral "3"
25 button on the keypad 3 of the telephone~",puler or any other keys ~esign~ted for such access in the t~ l . If the user presses the button, the te~ ...in~l will send a message to the nelwoll~ host co~ uler 60 which in turn consults its internal llle.llGly to locate an application program l~ uir~d to access the service collll,uler 60a of Bank A and will download an appropliale program to the terminal. The terminal will in turn operate using this program 30 and will ask the user various questions required to prompt the user to input the inÇollllation needed to access his llcco~ at the bank, i.e., for example, his accouill number, his secret access code, the type of l.~ l;on desired, the amount of deposit, withdrawal, or transfer required, and so on. This info,ll.alion is then tran~re-,~d from the terminal to the ntLwoll.
host colllp~,Ler in a message having a first protocol.
The network host co~ u~er transforms this inl~llllation into whatever second protocol is conventionally required to communicate ~tvi~ the service colll?uLer 60a, for example in the 5 precise manner in which au~olllatic teller m~chines communicate.
If, on the other hand, the consumer desires to access Bank B, typically, the consumer will be asked the same questions by way of pru~ Ls~ but the neLwolh host computer will transform the answers into the protocol required to access the service colllpu~er 60b of Bank B.
To access a consumer d~t~h~ce host computer 60c, a different sequence or promptswould be provided by the terminal, using appropriate pages of application program software downloaded by the network host conl~uler. Similarly, different col"~"~ tion sequences would occur between the network host cGlll?LILer and the airline reservation host colllpuler 60d. The co.~ c~tion sequence, and in particular the dPPilç~ format of the messages back and forth belween the telephone-colll~uLer or equivalent terminal and the network host colllpuLer, are described in detail in the '130 patent.
Communic~tions be~-.een the nelwolk host co,llpuLer 60 and the various service computers 60a-d takes place according to various second protocols defined by the proprietors of the services supported by the service colll~uLe-~. Implement~tion of these commllnir~tions follows the techniques now in use with such preexisting service colllpuL~,~, and is considered to be known by one skilled in the art.
It will be appreciated that the ~ccec~ of the various service colllpuL~,s 60a-d and countless others, requires that the network host co,llpuLer be enabled to comm~mic~te according to a like variety of p~LOCOIS.
The terminal controller 59a serves as a link to the termin~l, and the interchange (IX) S9b serves as the link with the plurality of info.lllaLional and fin~nri~1 service co",p~Ler systems 60a-d. Notably, this linking is accomplished without modifying the software of the service COlllpuLc;l~ 60a-d. Thus, an illl~Olt~t function of the n ctwulk host cGll-~uLer, the telephone collll~uLer, and the SOrLw~Lre which it runs, is Ll~nsro,ll'ing bet~n the highly simplified "user-friendly" request/response sequence (menu) seen and responded to by the user, and the complex communir2tion ~quence normally used to access the service computers 60a-d.

WO95/O~Y1 21 68gS7 PCT/US94/09722 According to an important aspect of the invention, these menu choices are varied in accordance with the service selected by the user. That is, the user-friendly interface - comprising a "tree" of new menus, is displayed sequentially and in response to each input provided by the user, until all inrol"~alion required to access the service has been specified.
5 The interface varies with the service. Provision of application programs page by page in response to the specification of a service according to the invention permits this flexibility, as it would be impractical to store all possible application programs in the telephone-co",pu~r.
The terminal controller 59a functionally comprises a terminal interface controller (TIC) 62, a session controller 61, and a common integrator (CI) 65. The session controller 61, in turn, controls a terminal protocol interface (TPI) 63 and a session manager (SM) 64.
The TIC monitors the message flow between the telephone-computer and the TPI, and controls timers to cause timeouts when message traffic ceases. The TPI commtlnir-q-tes with the telephone~l"~u~r and trqnC~at~s the l)lolocol used by the telephone-co",pl.~er when first 15 establishing a com~eclion with the nFIw-.lk host co"")u~r. Additionally, the TPI generates random encryption key numbers when requested by the terminal. These enc,yl"ion key numbers are used by the terminal program to transmit confidential information. The TPI also hqndlPs application page downloading r~luF~.
The SM mqintqin~ the esse-ntiql data needed for each communication session by storing 20 infoll"alion relating to the user of the tPrminql and the service co~ uler system 60a-d which the user is q-r~es~ing. All trqn~rtions ~elru",led between the terminal and the session controller during a particular session occur within the context of the specific consumer and the service sPlectP~7 e.g., his bank or other finqnciql in~titlltion. For example, after the cons~ll"er has been su~rully established as a valid and authorized user, all message traffic 25 to the particular le- ...inql is thereafter considered related only to that consull,er. This context determinqtion, based on the consu,ner identifir-qtion inrol",alion, then allows the nF lwolk host co".~lller to access the correct service co,llpuler 60a-d for such items as accounl bqlqnces, and so on. The SM stores the con~ l information required to validate the l-i-nc ~ on and inserts it in messages passed to the CI when nF~ss-r~. The SM also serves as the interface between the TPI, and the CI, which in turn serves as the co.. ~ r-qtion link between the other ek nFn~ of the session controller and the service computer 5~lelllS 60a-d.

W095,063216 ~ ~ 8 7 , i - ~ PCT/US94/09722 . ,, The user ~esses one particular service neLwo-l~ 60a-d by s~lecting the cGIl~s~onding option, i.e., the desired service, from a menu displaying the possible choices on the terminal display. Communic~tion between the terminal, the session controller, and the selected service computer 60a-d then begins with a session establishment and protocol selection phase.
S During the session establishment and protocol selection phase, the terminal connects to the network host co~ u~er through the standard telephone line 18. After the connection has been established, the telephone co,llpu~er sends a series of signals by which the session controller sets such parameters as the comml-niC~tion baud rate. For example, after the network host computer sets the communir~tion baud rate, it responds with a terminal type inquiry. The terminal interprets this signal as a request to identify the type of terminal in use and responds with an ASCII code identifying the type of home terminal being used, i.e, the telephone-computer or a PC terminal.
The network host computer provides the important function of allowing the telephone-colllpu~er to mimic a conventional mic,~ co~ uLer running es~~ lly conventional communir~tion software. Therefore, the service colllpu~er 60a-d recei~es communic~tion in precisely the same "service colllpu~r comml~nir~tion pr~tocol" which it con~enlionally lecei~es. Accordingly, the service col,lpulel~ need not be modified in any way for communir~tion. As in~1ir~trA, such co~,vc~,lional microco~"puler systems 19 may also be interfaced to the service COlll~u~r~ 60a-d by way of the ne~wo,k host co,llpu~er. In such a case, the nelwo~l, host co,npu~r will again respond to a request for access to a service co,ll~u~er 60a-d by downlo~ing one or more "pages" of application software, user prompts, etc., allowing the con~en~ional microco~ u~r 19 to coll~elliently access the service colllpu~r 60a-d.
After a communir~tion session has thus been established, a "link level" protocol is employed bel~,en the termin~l and the session controller. In the link level protocol, all commllnir~tions belween the terminal and the nelw~,k host co",puler are fo....;~ led into infol,llation packets called messages, as further described in the '130 patent.
This ends desc,i~lion directed to FIG. 10 derived directly from the ' 130 patent. The desc,il,lion of the system in FIG. 1 has been provided above. Still another home services 30 delivery system according to the invention is shown in FIG. 11. Many of the elern~ntC in FIG. 11 have functions i~lentir~l to those of co"~.s~onding elementc shown in FIGS. 1 and 10, and to that extent, need not be further described here. Further, FIG. 12 illus~,~tcs a WO 95/06384 2 1 6 ~ 9 ~ 7 PCT/US91J(~97 ~2 variation of the embo~iment shown in FIG. 11, the main difference being the placement of the packet assembly and disassembly (PAD) function.
The following ~iccl-scion focuses on the elements which are common to FIGS. 11 and 12, with the underst~n~ling that the dirrele~ ce in placement of the PAD results in a system 5 with improved performance, as described above. Des~ip~iffn of functions in FIGS. 11 alld 12 which are the same as in earlier-described embodiments need not be duplicated here.
A termin~l controller 102 f~r-ilit~t~s communication be~ eell a terminal 104 andanyone of a plurality of external surface providers, 106, 108, 110 via an interchange 112.
Also provided is a s~ ol~ cessor 114 whose function is described below.
A packet assembler and disassembler (PAD) schem~tic~lly indic~ted as element 120, is also provided in both embodiments of FIGS. 11 and 12. In the FIG. 11 embodiment, the PAD function is provided within a terminal interface controller (TIC) 122. However, in contrast, in the FIG. 12 embodiment, the PAD function is provided within terminal 104.
As readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, PAD elements are known in the art.
For example, an X3 standard, or a PAD of other standard or customized design, may be employed as element 120. However, the PAD which is employed should have the f~nction~lity described below, to be optimally useful in the home services delivery system.
In ernbo~lim~ntc of both FIGS. 11 and 12, the terminal controller 102 includes asession controller 124, a terrninal pr~ locol interface (TPI) 126, an applications program 128 a session manager 130, and an in~glalor 132. These various elements are implemented and function as follows.
The terminal 104 may be any device which is authorized and able to commllni~te with the home services delivery system. In particular, the te~nin~l 104 may be implemented as a pe,~l~al col--p~ller 19 (FIG. 10), an enh~n~ed telephone 1 (FIG. 10), or any devic capable of emnl~tin~ a terminal. A particular int~ ent terminal emulator is ~ lcsed in greater detail below.
The purpose of the packet assembly and ~ cc~mbly function is to collect input from the user, and present it in a format acceptable to the terminal inl~lr~ce controller 122. The PAD also allows the TIC to send inrol.l.alion to the ~llllh~al.
In a particular exemplary ernbodim~nt, a screen ploce~; ng request is tr~ncmitte~ from the TIC to the t~rmin~l. The screen ~r~ccin~ request has a text elem~nt which includes screen request te~ct.

WO 95/06384 21 ~ 8 9 ~ PCT/US94/09722 The message transmitted to the lelll.inal is divided into various segments in any suitable practical way. Each message seg ,ment includes a message type code, a message type length, followed by the message itself.
The message type code specifies whether the message is, for example, a screen display 5 message, or an input field description. Of course, the message type code may define messages having any other mP~ning with respect to the terminal in question.
The message type length e*Jl~SSe,S the length of the message data which follows.As recognized by those skilled in the art, certain binary sequences of message data may coincidentally be identical with ASCII data bytes which are signifir~nt to the PAD-TIC
10 communications protocol. Such sufficient ch~r~r-ters are STX, ETX, ACK, and so forth.
Those skilled in the art will readily recognize that the PAD should ensure that the message itself does not contain any llnintPndP~ protocol-significant ch~racters. In an exemplary embodiment, the protocol-~ignifir~nt ch~r~ct~Prs are avoided by setting certain bit uniformly high, thereby avoiding the protocol-significant characters within the message itself.
It is preferable that a sliding window protocol, such as that described in the related app!ications listed above, be employed. A sliding window protocol helps to ensure that any data passing between the PAD and the TIC is subst~nt~ y error free, as gll~r~ntP~l by such procedures as parity chP~Ling and/or ch~L~ comparison.
Many implementations of the PAD may be chosen, in accordance with principles 20 known to those skilled in the art. However, as introduced above, the placement of the PAD
in the terminal rather than in a terminal controller's TIC, provides advantages which have not helelor()l~ been recogni7~ especially in the context of a home services delivery system.
The TIC controls communir~tions in all the various sessions that are active at a given time, informing the session controller 124 of the beginning or ending of each session.
25 F.csPnti~lly~ the TIC 122 provides timing control and mPs~ge traffic flow control.
The session controller 124 is called by the TIC 122 when the TIC recognizes and acl~no~ledges a new session begun by a cu~tomPr. When called by the TIC, the session controller 124 calls up a tP-rmin~l protocol inltlrace (TPI) 126, applications program 128, and a session m~n~er 130 (collectively called a "tripletn), and causes the triplet to be CO-m~'CIed 30 to an integ,~tor 132.
The terrnin~l ~lolocol interface 126 includes s~r~war~ which is sperific to the particular type of termin~l 104 which is in the system. Each terminal ~lolocol interface 126 WO 9S106384 2 1 6 8~ 8 7 PCT/US91~ 722 tr~nCl~t~s infol,l.dlion into and out of the particular pFolocol of the specific terminal, thus m~n~ging message flow into and out of the terminal. In contrast to the terminal protocol interface 126, the applications program 128, session manager 130, and integrator 132 include software which is the same regardless of the terminal involved in the session.
The session manager 130 establishes and m~int~inc session context, handles security and access control, governs activity logging, enh~nres mes~ges, and manages list processing.
The inLegl~tor 132 generates messages to the external service providers 106, 108, 110 through a suitable interchange 112. When the integrator 132 receives a message from terminal 104 through the terminal protocol inLelr~ce 126, program 128 and session manager 130, it sends messages through the interchange 11~ to the appropriate external service provider. Conversely, the integrator 132 collates any return infollllalion received from the external service providers through the interchange, and returns the messages to the terminal through the session manager, applications program and terminal protocol interface.
The interchange 112 is essentially a nelwGlk which routes and manages message traffic to and from the external service providers.
A support processor 114 is provided as a storage area for a customer ~t~b~
accou.lt list information, ~ caclion parameters, activity log files, and the like. The support processor is summoned by the integ~lor when it needs infulll.ation for such purposes as access control, to ensure that the user of the terminal has a proper level of clearance to use a given external service provider.
Finally, the external service providers may be those institutions shown in FIGS. 1 and 10, such as banks or other fin~nri~l in~tinltions, consu.l.er ~1~t~b~es~ airline resel~alion services, services for equity, bond, and option quotations and brokerage, news retrieval sources, and the like. In a particular pr~ftlled embo liment the external service providers are fin~nri~l imtihltions~ and the terminal 104 is a telephone colll?uler such as that shown in FIG. 10, the telephone co.llyu~r terminal having the PAD element contained within it.
Referring again to FIG. 12, the leL-llinal in~lr~ce controller 122 and session controller 124 are resident in the ~llllinal controller 102 at nurn-on. In a typical system, elements 122, 124 comprise about 10% of all the code within the le~ l controller. The rem~ining 90%
of the code lies within the triplets comprising terminal p~ocol interface 126, applications program 128, and session manager 130.

wo 95,0638? PCT/US~ ;)57~2 The three-element "triplets" 126, 128, 130 are not resident and active all the time.
Rather, a given triplet is brought up when,~a customer activates a session by entering infornlalion through terminal 104, and are terrnin~tPA when the session is complete. More specifically, when a customer begins a session, the terminal interface controller 122 recognizes it and informs session controller 124. Then, session controller 124 causes a triplet of elements 126, 128, 130 to be activated for that particular session. After the triplet is called up, the terminal interface controller 122 communicates with the triplet through the just-activated terminal protocol interface 126.
Should a user activate another session, the process described immediately above is repeated, using another triplet. That is, for a second session, a second triplet 126, 128, 130 is activated. Thereafter, the code contained within the two triplets is concurrently executed by a plucessor within the terminal controller 102.
In this manner, the different sessions inctituted by the terminal(s) are effectively separated. This provides the advantage that, in the event of a session crash, only one session will be lost, and not any other sessions which may be active at the time. Accordingly, the home services delivery system, considered as a whole, is very fault-tolerant.
The integr~tor 132 has a loose ~C~ tion with the triplets 126, 128, 130 as they are activated and de-activated. There need not be a one-to-one co-,~s~ondence between triplets and integrators. Rather, a sufficient number of infPgr~tors 132 are activated, based on the dem~n~c of comm-lni~ting with external service providers.
When a session is ended, the session controller 124 de-activates the particular triplet 126, 128, 130 in question. However, triplets acLivaled for serving any other pending sessions remain active. However, when a given session is termin~t~-d, a terminal controller may de-aclivate an intpgr~t~r~ if the reduction in communication dem~nd caused by the session termin~tion ~arlanls it.
The various el~pmpntc 122, 124, 126, 128, 130, 132 within terminal controller 102 commllni-~tç via a transport-level interface which is ll~ent to the structure of the undellying physical l~twork. Here, the term "transport" refers to the fourth layer as dPsi~n~tP~ in the Open Systems In~el~omlection (OSI) standard. The first through seventh layers, as al)pr~cialed by those skilled in the art, are the physical layer, the data link layer, the network layer, the LrallS~Oll layer, the session layer, the pr~ ~tion layer, and the application layer. The ll~ls~ l-level ~ rl r~e according to the present invention may be wo ss/063s4 2 1~ 6 ~ ~ 8 7 PcTrusg1l~5722 called a n~ A~ a~ .P~ cm (I'rM). The llallS~Il mP~h~nicm is "transparentn, in the sense that functional blocks may use it to comm--nic~te without being forced to adopt a particular hardware configuration.
As described above, the elements in FIGS. 11 and 12 are understood to be functional S blocks, and aubsl~ 1 ll ;ally independent of any particular hardware configuration. For example, the terminal controller 102 may be a single col-lpuler, with the various functional blocks contained 122-130 within it having software which is executed on the terminal controller's pr~cessor. However, the various functional elements within the terminal controller 102 may be distributed among other pr~cessola. In fact, an increasingly common trend has been to 10 use several microplocessoFa acting in parallel, instead of using a single minico,llpuler or m~inframe colllpuler. The present invention can be embodied to embrace this trend by strategically allocating microprocessors to different tasks. Accordingly, various physical implementations of the same functional blocks may be provided.
The flexibility of physical implemPnt~tion of the functional blocks is enh~nre~ by the 15 tr~n~p~rent transport mech~nicm (TTM). The TTM is tran~p~rent to the physical structure of the system. In FIG. 12, the TTM may be considered to "underlie" the elements 122-132, and is actually implefnPntPd in the kernel of UNIX as a device driver to improve speed.
Thus, any applications programs (within triplets 126, 128, 130) do not need to know any physical addressing or underlying com,,,,,~ lions protocols, because the TTM is essentially 20 a name-based ll~srer ~. ~ch~nicm. Rec~l~ce about 90% of the code in the terrninal controller is in the triplets, the physical system colllpol1e,llâ and the individual triplet elements can be changed ind~el1denlly of each other without the necessily of re-compiling other software.
For example, in the event that a system is being upgraded to have a larger number of micr~rvcessola, only the TTM itself, as well as the terminal interface controller 122 and 25 session controller 124 would have to be adjusted.
FIG. 13 illucl.i.les a typical physical view of an embodiment of the home services delivery system. In FIG. 13, several terminal contr~ FS 102-1...102-N (such as FIG. 12, ck~ 102) are provided. Several terminal controllers must be provided, so that varying llulll~ela of incoming calls from various terminals can be h~n~lPd. As the various calls 30 arrive, they are ~ccignP~ to one of the terminal controllers. If a given termin~l controller is down or if it has ~li~a~ed as many sessions as its cal,acily will allow, the call rolls over to W 095/06384 216 8 9 8 7 PCTrUS94/09722 a next terminal controller. If all terminal controllers are busy or down, the ~Ccescing terminal reCei~eS a "system busy" message.
Also ill--ct~ate~l in FIG. 13 are interchanges 112-1, 112-2 which receive messages through a nelwork, such as an X.25 network or ETHERNET. The interchanges route message traffic to and from the external service providers. If one interchange is down, traffic may be routed through another interchange. Finally, two support processors 114A, 114B are provided, each norrnally h~n~ling their respective different tasks. However, when one is down, the other may take all the messages.
In contrast to the dial-up comlecLions btlween the terminal 104 and the terminalcontrollers 102, the communications links between the terrninal controllers 102 and the external service providers are preferably permanent connections. In this manner, the overall system provides rapid response between the terminal and the service provider, subst~nti~lly independently of the number of terminals which may from time-to-time access the system.
~etl-rning to ~iscuccion of FIG. 12, the PAD 120 is illustrated as resident in terminal 104. This is a feature distinguishing it from the emho~1im~nt of FIG. 11. Thus, the interface on path 116 (FIG. 11) is subst~nti~lly different from the interface on path 118 (FIG. 12).
Briefly, the embodiment of FIG. 12 provides the PAD within the terminal so that the information entered by the customer is initially screened before the terminal interface controller 122 ever receives the infollllalion. This is in contrast to the information passing on path 116 (FIG. 11), which is ess~nti~lly "raw" data input through a relatively "dumb"
te min~l. In the FIG. 12 embodiment, the applications programs remain in UNIX code in the terminal controller, whereas in the embodiment of FIG. 11, the applications programs (or at least "pages" of the program) are downloaded to the terminal.
Briefly, the PAD 120 perrullns t vo types of error correction. The first type of error correction, termed "telephone tPncmiccion error correctionn. Telephone tr~ncmiccion error correction involves correction of or compensation for noise on the telephone lines or other channel 118. A second type of error correction, termed "data entry error correction", involves input of the customer's key entries, echoing characters to the terminal screen, tranC~Gtion inrollllalion ~ccu~ tion~ and data packet assembly. Both telephone tranemi ~sion error correction and data entry error correction are performed local to the customer, providing the rapid r~sponse which is desirable in consumer products.

WO 95/06384 2 1 6 8 ~ 8 7 PCT/US94/09722 In contrast to the emboAim~nt~ which use the Home Access Language (HAL), the embodiment of FIG. 12 does not involve downloading of programs, or even of HAL "pages"
as such. Rather, messages are sent from the terminal controller to the PAD via commnniC~tion~s path 118.
These messages include screen text and Acsoci~t~cl input fields. Essentially, the screen text is used to prompt the customer to enter inforrnation into the terrninal. The input fields, which have ~c$oci~tç~1 data types, f~rilit~te data entry error correction.
The PAD includes means for responding locally to data which is input to particular input fields. The PAD responds according to the data type of the input field.
For example, if a particular data field calls for a date to be entered, the PAD
determines whether the input data corresponds to a proper and meaningful date. Similarly, if the data type is required to be text or numeric, the PAD determines whether the data entered is in fact text or numeric data"e~e~;lively, and responds appropriately.An appropriate response to a correct data entry is to echo characters to the display, to visually confirm to the customer that his data entry is proper and has been received. If, ho~ve~er, the data entered is determined to be of the il,lploper type, a suitable response is displayed. A suitable response might include a "?" chA-~cter, an audiblç tone (if one is provided with the terrnin~ or a more descliy~ive error message.
As another al~r,~live, the input field data type may inAic~tç a confidential sequence of data, such as a password or pe.~onal identifi~tion number (PIN). The use of such confiAentiAl data is of great importance in fin~nri~l transactions, to control access to data in banks and other fin~nci~l inctitutiQns. Accordingly, when a data type associated with an input field reflects that the data being entered should not be literally echoed, the PAD determines that a suitable "dummy" ch~-artPr, such as an asterisk, should be sent to the terminal's display. In this manner, the confidentially of the password or PIN is plule~æ~ and the S~uliLy of the info.ll,alion in the service provider data banks, is enhAI-~A.
Each of these responses to a customer's data input is genera~ed locally, because the PAD is resident in the tærrnin~l. Advantageously, the FIG. 12 embodiment ensures rapid feeAbArl~ to the ~u~lul~er when he presses a button, because all intelligence for initially screening the cu~lulnel~s entries is resident in the terminal PAD. This arrangement is in contr~ct to the FIG. 11 emboAim~nt, in which individual keystrokes must be sent from the ~ minAI to the PAD which is remotely located from the terrnin~l~ this r~llo~elless causing annoying delays to the customer. The FIG. 12 embodiment has the further advantage that it can be small in size and relatively simple'-~in architecture, because it does not need to receive any downloaded application~s prlograms.
Rec~nce the terminal responds immPcli~tely to the customer's input, and because of the level of sophictic~tion provided by the terminal's PAD in communication with the terminal controller, the terminal essenlially functions as an intelligent terminal emulator. This is particularly noteworthy in embo~imPntc in which the terminal is contained w~f~Pa housing resembling a col,ven~ional telephone, and in which the terminal indeed continues to function as an ordinary telephone when not being used as a terminal.
0 Application Generation System. The invention also provides an application generation system (AGS) which may be used to develop, debug and test applications programs for the home services delivery system described above. FIG. 14 is a high-level block diagram which s~ P~,~Alir~lly illustrates the application genendlion system according to a p~fellt;d embo~imPnt The FIG. 14 embodiment is for use by a single programmer, as compared to the multi-progr~mmPr embodiment shown in FIG. 15.
Briefly, the application geneldlion system is an appal~us for facilit~ting geneldlion of applications progl~l,s especially suitable for a service delivery system. Again, the above-described service delivery system has a termin~l with a PAD element and a terminal controller in communir~tion with the terminal via the PAD element. As described in greater detail below, the application geneld~ion system has an application data base, and a plurality of editors inrlu-ling means for allowing a user to gene.dle applications program elements for storage in the application data base. The system also has a validator including means for providing colllpdlibility of the elemPntc of the applications program, and storage means, responsive to the validator, for storing runtime files e~ecut~ble by the service delivery system. Also, the system has a cimul~tor including means for executing the runtime files from the storage means to c~imul~te~ among other things, cG...,.,l~ni~tion between the terrninal and the termin~l controller via the terminal's PAD element.
Referring now to FIG. 14, a development colllpuler 502 is shown with a target colllpll~r 504. Target colllpuler 504 may be, for example, the home services delivery system 30 described above. The development co~ uler and the target co,l-~uler have r~s~eclive user terminals 506, 508. For purposes of this ~i~ucsion, it is ~csllmP~ that the target col.lpuler has runlilllc files on a storage medium 510. The user termin~l 508 may access and interface with the runtime files via a runtime driver 512. An essen~ial purpose of the development cG",I!uler 502 is to facilitate the generation, debugging, and testing of applications programs for the target co",p~lLer.
Within the development col,lpuler 502 is an application rl~t~h~ce 520. The content - 5 of the application ~t~b~ce is described below, with lcfeltllce to FIG. 16.
Also illuct~ted within the development c~ll,puler 502 are a variety of editors, genPr~lly in-lir~tP,d as element 530, utilitie~generally in~ic~ted as 540, and a simul~t ~r 550.
A validator/tr~ncl~tor 560 is also illnctratPA. Runtime files are stored in a suitable within the development computer, as generally inrlic~ted at 562. Each of the elements 530, 540, SS0, and 560 are in co.. ut~ic~tion with the application ~t~b~Ce at one time or another throughout the application generation, debugging, and testing process.
In the illustrated embodiment, various editors are provided. First, a text screens editor 532 is provided. The text screens editor allows the progr~mmer to edit text on the screens of display devices of the target computer for which the application is written. For 15 example, in the example of a telephone co~ ul~er, the text screens would involve the displa~ed pr~ll,p~. of the telephone c~,-lpu~r. The development colllpuler also has a graphics screens editor 534. This editor allows a progr~mmer to design and edit any graphics which are to be displayed on the user terminal.
The development colll~uler also lncludes a procedures editor 536. The procedures20 editor allows writing and editing of es~-.l;~l progr~mming code which governs the operation of the applications program.
Finally, the illllstr~tP~ embodiment of the development colllpuleF includes a data dictionary 538. The data dictionary is described below, with rcfeiellce to FIG. 16.
Collectively, the editors 530 produce inr("",~lion which is stored in the applications 25 ~t~b~ce 520. Moreover, the editors include many validity chP/~L i,~g procedures which screen any text screens, graphics screens, procedures, or data dictionary entries which are ....~cceplable for some reason, such as those being self-contr~ictQFy or of il"~ioper format.
In this manner, the editors ensure that, during a development process, only text, graphics, plv~lur~,s, and data dictionary entries passing certain in~g~ and format checks are 30 allowed to be stored in the application ~t~b~ce 520.
The validator/translator 560 carries this validity r-hf,~L ing process even further, while t~ncl~ting the source code from the application ~l~t~b~ce into runtime code for storage on WO 95t06384 PCT/US91~1~97~2 storage m~illm 562. The validator portion of validator/t-ancl~tor 560 performs additional tests on the source code, such as, for example, to verify that one screen's reference to another screen is valid.
Thus, the editors 530 pe~ru~l-, internal validation checks for each of the various 5 components (graphics, text, procedures, data dictionary entries), whereas the validator wlthin element 560 carries out various colllpalibility and con~ict~nr-y checks so that the runtime code stored in element 562 is ~u~sl~nl;~lly free of most progr~mming errors, even before ~imula~or 550 operates on it.
Utilities 540 in the development col"puler 502 allow the programmer to more easily 10 develop the applications program. For example, the reports utility 542 allows gel~er~ion of reports relating to the applications program, such as basic printouts of source code or other relevant information.
Also, ~at~b~, maintenance utilities 544 are provided. These utilities operate on the application ~at~b~ce 520 so that basic operations, such as adding and ~eleting applications, 15 can be easily performed by the user through terminal 506.
Moreover, system ~ministration utilities 546 are provided. These ~(lmini~trationutilities include adding and deleting authorized users and controlling access to the development computer through use of passwords.
The Cim~ tor 550 includes a co,llpr~hensive debugger 552. Among other debugging 20 tools, the debugger has breakpoint capability, which allows a programmer to view the status of the applications p~gl~lll anytime during e~e~ution, at any pre-chosen part of the program.
The runtime driver 554 allows the p~og.;1~..mPr to run the runtime code from storage me~ium 562 in a ,l,anner gov~lllcd by debugger 552. A termin~l interface 556, which may be an intelligent terminal emulator 104 (FIG. 12), is also provided.
In operation, the development colllpuler 502 uses the simul~tor 550 to execute the runtime files from storage element 562. Signifir~ntly, the runtime files in elemPnt 562 may be exactly the same files as in runtime file storage elemP-nt 510 within the target system 504.
In this l,l~ r, exactly the same code which will be inct~lled in the target colll~uler can be thoroughly tested before inct~ tion. This auth~-ntir pre-inct~ tion testing helps to ensure that subsequent software testing and in~t~ tion periods in the target computer are as short and trouble-free as possible.

WO 95/06384 2 1 ~ 8 9 ~ 7 PCT/US94/09722 According to the preferred embo-~im~lt the AGS provides that the procedure language is entered with minimum possibility of forrnatting error. The comman~s of the procedure language include predeterrnined portions which are presented to the programmer, with blank fields representing the "variable" portions which the programmer enters. Because 5 the l logla~"mer does not enter the invariant portion of the comm~nd the number of fo...-~ling errors is greatly redl-ced. The following list of comm~n~C is provided in an exemplary embo~imPIl~ of the AGS:

Basic:
SET < variable > TO < expression >
DISCARD < variable >
IF. . .THEN. . .ELSE
REPEAT
GOTO < procedure >
CALURETURN
EXIT
RESTART
Screen VO:
PREPARE <frame>
PRESENT <frame>
RETRY INPUT
Error Handling WHENEVER < condition >
M~age I/O:
SEND < message >
WAITFOR <mPs~ e>
READY FOR < message >
CANCEL < m~sc~ge >
Table Manipulation INSERT INTO < table > AT < row >
FROM < table > WHERE/AT < rows >
DELETE FROM < table > WHERE/AT < rows >

WO 95/06384 216 ~ 9 8 7 PCT/US~4.~7~2 REPLACE < table > WHERE/AT < rows >
WITH < table > WHERE/AT < rows~
WITH EACH ROW < table > ` ,'~
WHERE/AT < rows >
5 In this list of comm~n~ls, the words which are in capital letters represent the invariant portion of the comm~n~l. The variables, expressions, procedures, frames, conditions, messages, rows, tables, and other info~ ation which is br~r~PtP~d < ~, ~resent the infclllla~ion which the progr~mmPr enters. After the pru~l~lllmer enters the infollllaLion, the editor ensures that the data entry is of the proper type and is mP~ningful. In this manner, illl~ruper 10 command formats, as well as some higher-level problems, may be p~e~enled before compilation and cim~ tion.
FIG. 14 illustrates a single-programmer embodiment. However, FIG. 15 illustratesa local area netwulk which is another useful configuration for an application generation system according to the present invention. In FIG. 15, the single-user component which has been lisc'~c~l above, is illustrated at 580. However, along the local area network 582 are other work stations 584 and 586, along with a client pel~onal colllpuler (nPCn) 588.
In the client work stations 584, 586, the application gene,alion system runs locally.
However, the ~t~h~ce which is stored on the LAN server is shared among the various users.
However, in the client PC 588, the application generation system actually runs on the 20 server, and not on the PC. The user of the client PC uses only windows which are sent from the server.
In the arr~ngemPnt of FIG. 15, it is possible for a team of programmers working at various work stations or even a PC, to contribute their effort to the development of a single applications program, or to a coll~onding number of different applications programs, using 25 the tools illl~ct~tP~l in detail in FIG. 14.
Referring now to FIG. 16, the con~P~ of the application ~l~t~h~ce 520 are illl-s schem~tir~lly.
In FIG. 16, certain esse.llial components of the applications program are illu~
benP~th the left column he~ing. The screens for display on the target co~ )uLer's user 30 terminal are a part of the applications programs. Also, printer forms, such as lecei~s for ~--tom~tic teller ~ ch;l~5s, are a part of the applications plogl~n. InputJoutput (I/O) fields are also defined in the application program and are used for such purposes as ~efinin~ the type and format of information in requests for info~ ion to a terminal. The applications program also includes "local" variables, as distinguished from the global variables which are in the data dictionaries (right side of FIG. 15; see also element 538 in FIG. 14). The applications program include the "procedures", namely the code governing operation of the - S target co~,lpu~r.
Also, the applications programs includes a provision for overriding settings within the data dictionary 538. Data dictionary overrides are useful in some international finance applications, such as for placing a ".00" after a mlmPr~l representing J~p~n~se yen (purposely made different than accepted repr~_se,l~ions of yen, for a particular display).
Also ilh-str~ted in FIG. 16 is a middle column representative of different "versions"
of the same applications program. In a preferred embo lim~nt involving b~nking in different countries having different languages, the applications program (left column in FIG. 16) is considered the "main version", and any versions designPd for use by customers using languages other than F.nglich are considered supplemental "versions". As shown in FIG. 16, the screens, printer forms, and I/O fields are specified for each "version". However, the local variables, procedures, and data dictionary overrides do not vary from version to version, because these do not depend on a customer's native language.
Finally, the content of the data dictionaries is illuct-~ted on the right column of FIG. 16. The data dictionary includes a specification of the messages used in the applications program. In a pr~fel,cd embolim~nt relating to banking services, these messages are transaction-oriented, and are the messages which pass to and from the hosts to gather )rmation from and send information to the b~nking customer at an ATM or telephone colllpu~cr. In the data dictionary, global variables, those used by more than one applications program, are stored. Also, the "table type" definition, used for special variables such as tables and lists, are also present in the data dictionary. Data types, defining how information is stored intern~lly~ distinguishes among text, n--meric~l values, stock quotations and the like.
I/O foll,~ and Styles relate to display of information, such as the di~rc,cl~ce between month-day-year format and day-month-year format in different countries. Corresponding to the I/O
fo,llla~s and styles, default attributes are also provided in the data dictionary.
FIG. 17 illllctrates how the applications ge~ lion system according to the plcfellcd embodiment changes only what needs to be changed, when gene,a~ing a different "version"
for use in a language other than F.nglich. In FIG. 17, the example of the dir~clcnce between a German version of the application program and the "main" (Fnglich-language) version of the application program is illustrated. Only certain portions of the data dictionary are different in the German version; oth~er,p;of~ions remain llnr~l~nged. For example, the manner in which currency and dates are r~l. ~nLed are different and would thus be different in the 5 two versions. Similarly, any "templates" (those brief labels such as for carrying on auLolll~Lic teller m~ine tr~n~rtions) also must be differently translated. Further, the screens themselves, which contain explanatory text for the customer to use, must be tr~ncl~ted differently. However, it is understood that those portions of the applications program which do not have to be changed for different language versions are, in fact, not changed and 10 remain the same for all versions.
FIG. 18 illustrates a specific example of the different types of fields and formats which vary with the version of the applications program. The screen text language, month name and format, variable language, standard template language and format, text format, Cull~hcy format, and font are emphasized. According to the preferred embodiment, the 15 choice of language is done by the runtime driver, and any adjustment of date, format, font, and so forth is pclrol...ed au~o...~lir~lly in ~sl,onse to this initial choice.
According to still another feature of the p~efcllcd applications generation system, these are provided for testing paths within the applications program, as well as simul~ting hardware errors. FIG. 19 illuctrates a typical hardware cimul~tion screen which is displayed 20 to the applications pr~g-A.--mçr. In the upper left portion, a simulated keypad for an aulo,..alic teller m~cllinP is illustrated. In the upper right portion, various hardware devices, such as the cash dispenser or printer of the aul~-l-alic teller m~r~ine, are listed beside COll. ~onding in-lir~t- rs which tell whether the simul~tion program is treating them as being operational (nupn) or ~lu'-Pn In the lower right portion of the display is a "log watch", 25 which is ecc-pnt~ y a log of occullcnces during a debug session. During development, the progr~mmPr can select the status of a variety of devices using the upper right version of the screen, execute applications program code using the debugger, and watch the recorded ~i~nostic infoll--alion shown in the lower right portion of the screen. In this manner, the pruyl~ lllçr can sim~ tç hardware errors without destroying hardw~;, while efficiently 30 developing ~pl,l~liate routines for responding to actual hardware breakdowns in the target collll)uLcr system.

WO 95/06384 21 6 8 ~ 8 7 PCT/~1S94/09722 Finally, it will be recognized by those of skill in the art that while preferredembodim~nfc of the invention has been described in detail, this is not to be considered a limitation on the invention, but merely as exemplary tnereof. Other modifications and i"~ o.~e."ents will be envisioned by those of skill in the art. Similarly, those of skill in the 5 art will recognize that the present disclosure is adequate to enable them to practice the method of the invention as cl~imed; in particular, the implem~nt~tion of the network host co~ uler for conversion of the data provided by the home terminal into a protocol suitable for ~r~essing a selected service computer is believed to be well within the skill of the art as of the filing of '~s application. Thus, mo~ifir~tions and variations of the above-described 10 embo limPIltc o, .ne present invention are possible, as appreciated by those skilled in the art in light of the above t~achingc. It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

Claims (18)

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A system for enabling a customer to interact with at least one service provider through at least one applications program related to the service provided by the at least one service provider, the system comprising:
a) a terminal, including:
1) a customer input device having means for receiving input from the user and for converting the input into input signals, the input possibly having formatting errors;
2) a packet assembler and disassembler (PAD) element, located substantially within the terminal and in communication with the customer input device, the PAD element including:
i) means for receiving the input signals, for analyzing the input signals in accordance with input formatting rules which are related to theservice provided by the service provider, and for providing local feedback signals in accordance with the analysis; and ii) means, responsive to the input signals, for forming first packets of information in accordance with first formatting rules and a first communications protocol, and for transmitting the first packets of information which have no formatting errors or fewer formatting errors than the input signals; and 3) a display including means for receiving the local feedback signals and for displaying them to the customer; and b) a terminal controller, located remotely from the terminal, and implemented on at least one computing device having means to execute the applications program, the terminal controller including:
1) a terminal interface controller including means for managing flow of packets of information into and out of the terminal controller in accordance with the first communications protocol; and 2) means for translating the information in the first packets to a second format and a second communications protocol which are compatible with the service provider, so that the applications program forms commands for output to the service provider in accordance with the customer's input.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein:
A) the terminal controller further includes:
1) means for receiving information in the second format and the second communications protocol from the service provider;
2) means for translating the information from the second format and the second communications protocol in accordance with the applications program;
and 3) means for causing the terminal interface controller to form second packets in accordance with the first formatting rules and the first communications protocol;
B) the PAD element further inrludes means for receiving the second packets and for forming further feedback signals in response to content of the second packets;
and C) the display constitutes means for displaying the further feedback signals to the customer in response to the PAD element, the further feedback signals reflecting some of the information received from the service provider.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the PAD element's means for analyzing the input signals and providing local feedback signals includes:
means for detecting an improper input entered in response to a prompt which has been displayed on the display; and means for providing an error signal to the display in response to the detection,as the local feedback signal.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the PAD element's means for analyzing the input signals and providing local feeback signals includes:
means for determining when a proper input has been entered in response to a prompt which has been displayed on the display; and means for providing an echo signal to the display in response to the detection, as the local feeback signal.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the PAD element's means for analyzing the input signals and providing local feedback signals includes:
means for determining when a confidential input has been entered in response to a confidential code prompt which has been displayed on the display; and means for providing a set of dummy signals which are not descriptive of the confidential input to the display in response to the detection, as the local feedback signal.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the means for forming the first packets of information includes:
means for forming and sequentially transmitting a plurality of first packets in accordance with a sliding window protocol constituting part of the first communications protocol; and means for retransmitting certain packets in response to a "not acknowledge"
signal received back from the terminal interface controller.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein:
the customer input device, PAD element and display are substantially contained within a housing resembling a telephone.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein:
the PAD and the terminal interface controller each include means for communicating the first packets of information over a telephone network using the first communications protocol.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein:
the applications program is essentially a computer program allowing the customer to interact with any of a plurality of financial service providers.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein:
the input formatting rules define formats required to allow the customer to uniquely designate financial quantities and account identification information which respectively correspond to financial quantities and accounts which are governed by the financial service provider.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein:
the PAD element's packet forming and transmitting means constitutes means for emulating an intelligent terminal.

12. A system for enabling a customer to interact with at least one service provider through at least one applications program related to the service provided by the at least one service provider, the system comprising:
a terminal including an input device, a display, and a packet assembler and disassembler (PAD) element; and a terminal controller including means to execute the applications program and means for translating information between respective formats and respective communications protocols used by the PAD element and the service provider, to enable the customer to communicate with the service provider through the terminal.

13. A system for enabling a user to interact with service computers which provide informational, financial and other services, the system comprising:
a) a network host computer having applications software in memory;
b) a home terminal having a compact housing essentially configured as a telephone, the home terminal including:
1) display means for displaying prompts for controlling the operation of the home terminal;
2) data input means;
3) telephone electronics;
4) computing means;
5) memory;

6) means to electronically connect and control the display means, data input means, telephone electronics, computing means, and memory, to function as both a standard telephone and a general purpose computer;
7) a modem to connect the home terminal computing to the host computer via a first telephone network; and 8) means, including a packet assembler and disassembler (PAD) element, for managing message communication between the home terminal and the network host and for ensuring that data input through the data input means has been formatted for the network host applications software; and c) means for accessing at least one of the service computers over a second telephone network in response to at least one message communicated from the home terminal over the first telephone network and through the network host computer, the at least one message indicating selection of a service in response to the prompts;
wherein the network host computer further includes means for controlling a communications session between the home terminal and at least one service computer over the first and second telephone networks, the communications session controlling means being controlled by instructions for translating messages between the home terminal and at least one service computer.

14. The system claimed in claim 13, wherein the means for controlling a communications session includes:
a home terminal protocol interface for controlling message flow between the terminal and the home terminal protocol;
a session manager for storing (1) user access data and (2) access data relating to at least one service computer, in the home terminal for initiating a communications session over the first and second telephone networks; and a communications integrator for establishing a communications link between the means for controlling a communications session to a service computer.

15. The system claimed in claim 14, comprising:
means for generating an encryption code for transmitting confidential information.

16. A method of providing a home terminal with the ability to use services provided by at least one service computer connected to the home terminal in a communications session managed by a host computer, wherein the home terminal has a display, a data input device, telephone electronics, computing electronics, a modem and software to operate the terminal as both a telephone and a general purpose computer; the method comprising the steps of:
initiating the communications session with the host computer using a packet assembler and disassembler (PAD) element in the terminal;
sending messages to the terminal to prompt a customer to provide input to the terminal;
imputing data through the data input device;
locally analyzing the input data for conformance with format and content requirements, and displaying appropriate prompts and imputing additional data if the input data is not in conformance with the requirements;
assembling the data input into message packets;
establishing the communications session between the service computer and the home terminal; and controlling the communication session by translating messages between respective formats usable by the home terminal and the service computer, and by timing message flow.

17. The method claimed in claim 16, wherein the step of controlling the communication session includes:
creating a message text portion which includes more than one data element per message, in which each data element preceded by an element identification portion.

18. The method claimed in claim 17, wherein the step of controlling the communication session further includes:
providing a data element length indicator preceding the data element.