Computer and telephone apparatus with user friendly computer interface and enhanced integrity features

Claim 1

A microcomputer with simplified user interface comprising a microprocessor computing unit and associated memory; said microprocessor computing unit and said memory being mounted in a housing configured as a conventional telephone unit including an upper mounting structure and a base structure, a telephone handset mounted in a craddle on said upper mounting structure, a conventional twelve-key telephone keypad mounted on said upper mounting structure of said housing and a keyboard input device mounted in a concealed position within said base structure of said housing and movable to an open position for use by the operator of the microcomputer; said microprocessor computing unit cooperating with and being responsive to instructions maintained in said memory and other instructions and data inputs received through a keyboard/keypad processor and a modem to perform computing and control functions, said keyboard/keypad processor processing data inputs for said microprocessor computing unit received from said conventional telephone keypad, said keyboard input device and telephone electronics in said housing: said instructions maintained in said memory of said microprocessor computing unit being received and updated through said modem from an external host computer over a telephone line, said keyboard/keypad processor also functioning to detect and evaluate telephone tone signals relating to telephone events received by said telephone electronics from the telephone line for said microprocessor computing unit; said keyboard/keypad processor functioning to provide serial data inputs from said conventional telephone keypad, said keyboard input device and said telephone electronics to said microprocessor computing unit through a serial interface, said serial interface between said keyboard/keypad processor and said microprocessing computing unit being the data interface between the operator of said microcomputer and said microprocessor computing unit; said conventional twelve-key telephone keypad also providing output to a telephone dialer; said telephone electronics mounted in said housing being responsive to said telephone dialer when a switch means disconnects said microprocessor computing unit from said telephone electronics; and said switch means also automatically connecting said telephone electronics to telephone line power to provide standard telephone functioning in the absence of power to or input from said microprocessor computing unit and said memory.