Keypad Number Key Highlighting for Telephone Input Validation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing solutions for assisting users in entering telephone numbers on terminal devices require large databases to validate input, which can overwhelm hardware resources and delay real-time feedback, especially on mobile devices.
Innovation Solution
A method and terminal device that uses a decision tree mapping the ITU's numbering plan rules to highlight valid or invalid number keys on a keyboard, providing immediate feedback without the need for a large database, allowing users to enter valid telephone numbers efficiently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a large database is used to validate telephone numbers in real-time, then measurement precision of phone number validity is improved, but device complexity and loss of time increase due to hardware overload and slow response
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the telephone number validation process into two distinct phases: an offline phase where a comprehensive database is processed to extract and store only the essential validation rules (numbering plan, country codes, area codes, length constraints) in a compact format, and an online phase where these compact rules are applied in real-time during phone number input. This segmentation allows the system to achieve accurate validation without requiring the full database to be present during real-time operation, thus reducing device complexity and improving response time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-processing the complete telephone number database offline to extract, analyze, and condense validation rules before they are needed for real-time validation. During the offline phase, the system identifies valid number patterns, country code requirements, area code structures, and length constraints, storing these processed rules in a compact format. This preliminary preparation eliminates the need to query the full database during real-time input, significantly reducing computational burden and response time while maintaining validation accuracy.
2Measurement precision
If a large database is used to validate telephone numbers, then measurement precision is improved, but loss of time occurs due to data transmission and processing delays
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the validation data into two components: a large comprehensive database stored offline for reference, and a compact set of extracted validation rules stored in memory for rapid access during real-time input. This segmentation allows the system to perform fast validations using the compact rules without the latency of querying the full database, thus eliminating real-time delays while maintaining validation accuracy through the comprehensive offline database.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary extraction and condensation of validation rules from the complete database before real-time operation. By pre-analyzing the database to identify and store only the essential validation criteria (numbering patterns, code requirements, length constraints) in an optimized format, the system eliminates data transmission and processing delays that would occur if the full database were accessed during real-time input, while still achieving accurate validation.
3Reliability
If all theoretically possible telephone numbers are stored in a database for validation, then reliability of validation is improved, but device complexity and storage requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential validation information from the comprehensive telephone number database, separating the critical validation rules (numbering plan structures, country code requirements, area code patterns, minimum and maximum length constraints) from the complete set of possible phone numbers. This extraction process creates a compact rule set that occupies minimal storage space while retaining all necessary information for accurate validation, thus reducing database size without compromising reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the expensive, large-scale comprehensive telephone number database with a cheap, compact representation in the form of extracted validation rules. Instead of storing and processing millions of individual phone number entries, the system uses a small set of condensed rules that can be quickly applied during validation. This substitution dramatically reduces storage requirements and computational overhead while maintaining validation accuracy, making the solution feasible for devices with limited resources.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a solution for assisting in the input of a telephone number into a terminal device using a keypad. According to this invention, on a suitably designed terminal device equipped with a processing unit and a program memory, at least certain number keys of the aforementioned keypad are highlighted after each press of a number key. Specifically, these keys are either highlighted only those whose press, together with the previously entered numbers, generates an input sequence that, according to a numbering plan that takes into account at least country codes and area codes, represents a valid telephone number or the beginning of such a valid telephone number, or only those number keys whose press does not result in a valid telephone number.To determine which number keys should be highlighted as a result of pressing a key, the number plan is represented as a multi-stage decision tree in the terminal device, whereby this decision tree is encoded as an immediate component of a program application held in the program memory of the terminal device and processable by its processing unit.