APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING A GRAPHICAL CONTROL INTERFACE

Techniques for employing a television set and a television set controller as the control interface for devices which themselves do not have display capability and for services provided via the telephone network. The techniques involve control apparatus which is connected to the telephone network and a television set and is responsive to inputs from and-held controller for the television set. The control apparatus outputs a screen which contains control selections to the television set and the user employs the controller to make a selection. The control apparatus then performs the control function specified by the selection. One application is a telephone messaging system: integral with the control apparatus is a system which can answer calls and store voice messages, fax messages, character-string messages, and script messages. The control apparatus plays the voice messages on the television set and provide screens to the television set which display the fax and character-string messages. The script messages contain code which the control apparatus executes to produce displays. Services provided by the telephone network are controlled and displayed analogously. The services may also involve other devices connected to the control apparatus. The control apparatus may further be used with supplemental output devices such as printers and supplemental input devices such as fax machines, electronic pads, and key boards. En la presente invencion se describen técnicas para emplear un aparato de television y un controlador del aparato de television como la interfaz de control para dispositivos que no tienen por sí mismos capacidad de representacion visual, y para servicios proporcionados vía la red telefonica. Las técnicas comprenden un aparato de control que está conectado a la red telefonica y a un aparato de television, y es sensible a las entradas desde un controlador portátil para el aparato de television. El aparato de control produce una pantalla que contiene las selecciones de control para el aparato de television, y el usuario emplea el controlador para hacer una seleccion. El aparato de control luego realiza la funcion de control especificada por la seleccion. Una aplicacion es un sistema de mensajes telefonicos: integral con el aparato de control está en un sistema que puede responder llamadas y almacenar mensajes de voz, mensajes de facsímil, mensajes de secuencia de carácteres, y mensajes de escritura. El aparato de control reproduce los mensajes de vo