IPC분류정보
| 국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
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| 국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
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| 출원번호 |
US-0826475
(1992-01-27)
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발명자
/ 주소 |
- Hartzell Jonathan (8760-A Research Blvd. #210 Austin TX 78758) Tunning Darrell R. (4511-B Smooth Oak Dr. Austin TX 78759)
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| 인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
171 인용 특허 :
0 |
초록
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An electronic communication system and method of utilizing same for telephonically exchanging between teacher and parent information regarding student homework assignments, attendance, classroom behavior, and academic performance. During the school day each teacher carries a small, portable terminal
An electronic communication system and method of utilizing same for telephonically exchanging between teacher and parent information regarding student homework assignments, attendance, classroom behavior, and academic performance. During the school day each teacher carries a small, portable terminal (1) which not only accepts manually entered numeric data, but also produces digital audio recordings of voiced homework assignments, announcements, and comments made by the teacher. Upon leaving at the end of the day, the teacher returns the remote terminal to a centrally located storage rack (2). The system\s central computer (3), electronically connected to the rack, then extracts data from the newly inserted terminal. The numeric and audio information thus gathered from a multiplicity of such terminals is organized by the computer and made telephonically available to participating parents.
대표청구항
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An electronic communication method for telephonically relaying from teacher to parent information regarding student homework assignments, comprising in combination: a plurality of remotely disposed audio-numeric terminals, henceforth referred to as remote terminals, each being self-powered and suffi
An electronic communication method for telephonically relaying from teacher to parent information regarding student homework assignments, comprising in combination: a plurality of remotely disposed audio-numeric terminals, henceforth referred to as remote terminals, each being self-powered and sufficiently compact in size as to be conveniently portable by way of pocket or purse, and each being assigned to a designated teacher and periodically interfaced with a dedicated central computer by way of a terminal storing means, centrally located, for physically storing said plurality of remote terminals and for electronically connecting the terminals to said central computer, each of the terminals being electronically encoded with a unique terminal identification number, and each of the terminals having: a terminal audio recording and reproducing means for electronically recording and reproducing by way of digital representation voiced announcements made by the teacher regarding student homework assignments, said terminal audio recording and reproducing means functionally connected to and operated by a terminal controlling means for issuing electronic commands to the audio recording and reproducing means, and for receiving, identifying, routing and retrieving various digital data strings provided by the audio recording and reproducing means, said terminal controlling means being responsive to a terminal manual data entering means for enabling the teacher to enter an appropriate class period number that corresponds with a particular homework assignment to be voiced, and to a mode selecting means for switching terminal operating power on and for selecting either audio recording mode or audio reproducing mode of said terminal audio recording and reproducing means, said operating power derived from a self-contained power source for providing electrical power sufficient for all electrical operating power requirements of said terminal, said controlling means also being operatively connected to a terminal visual display, for presenting visible alpha-numeric verification of input-output data and functional status, as well as for presenting procedural instructions to the teacher, and to a terminal data storing means of sufficient capacity and design to receive, maintain and furnish for retrieval all data directed thereto, as well as to maintain resident data disposed therein representing teacher procedural instructions to be supplied to said terminal visual display via said terminal controlling means, the controlling means also being responsive to a daily assignment selecting means, for activating and terminating function of said terminal audio recording and reproducing means in the recording mode or reproducing mode designated by said mode selecting means, whereby the teacher, having taken said remote terminal from said terminal storing means at the beginning of a school day, and now intending to announce a homework assignment to the students in a given class, can remove the terminal from pocket or purse and engage the mode selecting means to select the recording mode of the audio recording and reproducing means, such engagement causing the mode selection means to also direct operating power to the audio recording and reproducing means as well as to the visual display such that the controlling means can then retrieve from said terminal data storing means the data required to operate the visual display, thereby causing text to appear via the visual display in the form of a procedural prompt, in this case instructing the teacher to designate the specific class period for which the assignment is to be announced, so that the teacher is then required to enter via the manual data entering means a single digit response corresponding to the appropriate class period, such response then causing the controlling means to command the visual display to present text that prompts the teacher to engage said daily assignment selecting means and to begin voicing the intended homework assignment, upon which engagement such voicing is electronically recorded by the audio recording and reproducing means, while the controlling means causes the visual display to indicate that a voiced homework assignment is being recorded for the class period designated until the daily assignment selecting means is disengaged, causing termination of such recording process, and furthermore causing the controlling means to append an identifying code to the resulting data string which has through such procedure been produced by the audio recording and reproducing means and which therefore represents such voicing and which the controlling means then routes to the data storing means for maintenance and subsequent retrieval, such retrieval being immediately executed in the event that the teacher then selects via the mode selecting means the audio reproducing mode of the audio recording and reproducing means, thereby causing the controlling means to default to the most recently made recording and to retrieve such recently stored data and direct such data to the audio recording and reproducing means, thereby causing an audible reproduction of the voiced homework assignment to be presented for review by the teacher, the controlling means having also caused the visual display to present textual verification of the class period associated with the voiced homework assignment currently being played, after which review, and after any remaining voiced homework assignments have been recorded for subsequent class periods, the terminal is then placed by the teacher into the centrally located terminal storing means, the storing means having a data transferring means, for transferring data between said plurality of remote terminals and said central computer, the computer having: a computer controlling means for receiving, identifying, time dating, routing and retrieving various digital data strings provided by a plurality of sources including said data transferring means, said computer controlling means operatively connected to a computer time-keeping means, for providing a continuous time reference standard, and to a computer data storing means of sufficient capacity and design to receive, maintain and furnish for retrieval all data directed thereto, the computer controlling means additionally being responsive to a computer manual data entering means, for enabling a school administrative staff member operator to enter data representing school class schedules, teacher names, each name corresponding to said unique terminal identification number associated with a given terminal, student names with associated student identification numbers, and parent access codes, the computer controlling means also being operatively connected to a computer visual display, for presenting visual verification of input and output data and operational status as well as for presenting procedural instructions to the staff member operator, the computer controlling means also operatively connected to a telephone interfacing means, for receiving incoming telephone calls arriving separately or simultaneously via a plurality of discrete paths, for translating tone digit signals thereby received into electronic commands, for directing such resulting commands to the computer controlling means, and for transmitting outgoing analog signals representative of voiced announcements, the computer controlling means also being operatively connected to a computer audio recording and reproducing means, including a plurality of submodules, each of said submodules being capable of performing similar yet discrete audio recording and reproduction tasks, for receiving commands from the computer controlling means, for extracting from said computer data storing means data strings specified by such commands, for converting such data strings into analog signals representative of voiced announcements, and for directing such signals to said telephone interfacing means for outbound transmission, the computer controlling means also being operatively connected to a speech synthesizing means, for converting alpha-numeric data into audio representations of human speech utterances of such data, whereby at the end of a given school day each teacher in compliance with established school procedure can return his or her terminal to the terminal storing means, enabling the computer controlling means via the data transferring means to extract from the terminal data storing means all data received therein as a result of the day\s operation, and whereby at the beginning of a given school term, or at any other chosen time, the staff member operator can employ said computer manual data entering means to enter the full names of all students registered with the school, each student\s full name accompanied by additional data including a phonetically spelled version of the student\s first name; a unique student identification number; a unique numeric access code assigned to the student\s parents; a listing of numeric codes representing all classes the student is scheduled to attend, the staff member operator also being able to enter the names of all teachers employed by the school, each such name also expressed in a phonetically spelled version and accompanied by the unique terminal identification number associated with that teacher\s assigned terminal, and accompanied as well by a listing of numeric codes representing all classes taught by each named teacher, the staff member operator also being able to enter a listing of numeric codes representing each and every class being taught throughout the school, each such code being accompanied by a phonetically spelled version of its corresponding course title, the staff member operator also being able to enter phonetically spelled greetings, announcements and procedural instructions intended for outbound telephonic transmission to parents who utilize said electronic communication system, such manual data entries made by the staff member operator being received by the computer controlling means which then directs such data to the computer data storing means, whereby a parent of a student can establish a telephonic connection to the communication system by using a tone digit dialing telephone and a designated telephone number arranged to establish contact with said telephone interfacing means, causing the computer controlling means to retrieve from the computer data storing means data representing a phonetically spelled greeting and to direct such data to said speech synthesizing means, causing transmission of a resulting synthesized voicing of such greeting that instructs the parent to enter by telephone a tone digit response representing said numeric parent access code, such response resulting in the computer controlling means then causing by similar procedure a synthetically voiced instruction to be transmitted, advising the parent to enter a subsequent tone digit response representing his or her student\s student identification number, such response causing the computer controlling means to retrieve from the computer data storing means data relevant to the individual student associated with the student identification number, the computer controlling means then executing a comparison of the student identification number to the numeric parent access code earlier received, such comparison yielding either compatibility or non-compatibility between both numeric codes, and such comparison procedure being for the purpose of deterring unauthorized telephonic acquisition of a given student\s class schedule and other student related information, such compatibility, however and therefore, being established, the computer controlling means then retrieves from the data storing means and directs to the speech synthesizing means data strings representing appropriate announcements and procedural instructions, the computer controlling means also issuing appropriate commands to said audio recording and reproducing means, with the result that the parent is telephonically presented with a synthesized voice indicating the student\s first name and announcing that a summary of the individual student\s homework assignments for the most recent school day, such day and date being cited, is to follow, at which point the synthesized voice continues by announcing the first class period number on the student\s schedule, followed by the course title and teacher\s name, upon which announcement follows an audio recording of the indicated teacher\s voice announcing a homework assignment, such recording having been made via the teacher\s remote terminal earlier in the most recent school day during the teacher\s actual live announcement to the class, such that, after the audio recording has been presented, the synthesized voice continues by announcing the second class period number, course title and teacher\s name, upon which announcement follows an audio recording of that subsequently indicated teacher\s voice announcing an additional assignment, such procedure being executed fully to the point at which all such homework assignments for the individual student have been presented, at which point the parent then terminates the telephonic connection.
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