Mobile communication terminal with unanswered incoming-call notifying function

• US 20030176205A1
• Filed: 03/18/2002
• Published: 09/18/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Mobile Communications Limited (Fujitsu Limited)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamashita, Minoru, Oota, Hisashi, Wagai, Kiyoshi
• Granted Patent: US 6,807,433 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/567
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0214 Foldable telephones, i.e. with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position combined with translation movement H04M1/0235
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0245 using open/close detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/22 Illumination; Arrangements for improving the visibility of characters on dials
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/575 Means for retrieving and displaying personal data about calling party
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724 User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 19/048 Arrangements providing optical indication of the incoming call, e.g. flasher circuits

Abstract

A mobile communication terminal is provided with a light-emitting element for notifying an unanswered incoming call. When the cancellation of an incoming call is canceled in a state where an incoming call response operation has not been carried out, the mobile communication terminal is brought into the standby state and then the light-emitting element is caused to emit light.

Claims

1. A mobile communication terminal capable of communicating with another terminal via a network, comprising:

first notifying means for notifying an incoming call to an user of the terminal, upon receiving the incoming call addressed to the terminal;

first detecting means for detecting incoming call response operation while the incoming call is notified;

second detecting means for detecting that the incoming call has been canceled by the network; and

second notifying means includes at least one light-emitting element, for notifying an unanswered incoming call by causing the light-emitting element to emit light, after said second detecting means detects the cancellation of the incoming call before said first detecting means detects the incoming call response operation.

2. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein said light-emitting element is separated from other light-emitting element used for notifying the incoming call or displaying a battery charging state.

3. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein said second notifying means causes said light-emitting element to emit light continuously.

4. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein said second notifying means causes said light-emitting element to emit light intermittently.

5. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein said second notifying means further includes means for monitoring the user'"'"'s acknowledgment operation while said second notifying means is notifying a predetermined information, upon detecting the user'"'"'s acknowledgment operation, and causes said second notifying means to stop notifying the unanswered incoming call.

6. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein said second notifying means determines whether the incoming call is a first incoming call which requests speech or the incoming call is a second incoming call which requests the reception of electronic mail, and notifies the first incoming call in a specific pattern and the unanswered incoming call in a different pattern.

7. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 6, wherein said second notifying means causes said light-emitting element different to blink for a first period to notify the first incoming call and to blink for a second period to notify the second incoming call.

8. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 6, wherein said second notifying means causes said light-emitting element to emit light of a first color to notify the first incoming call and to emit light of a second color to notify the second incoming call.

9. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein said second notifying means determines whether the incoming call is a third incoming call from a first another terminal subscribing to a carrier to which said mobile communication terminal has subscribed, or a fourth incoming call from a second another terminal subscribing to another carrier, and notifies the unanswered incoming call in a specific pattern when the third incoming call is received and in a different pattern when the fourth incoming call is received.

10. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 9, wherein said second notifying means causes said light-emitting element different to blink for a specific period to notify the third incoming call and to blink for a different period to notify the fourth incoming call.

11. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 9, wherein said second notifying means causes said light-emitting element to emit light in a specific color to notify the third incoming call and to emit light in a different color to notify the fourth incoming call.

12. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein said second notifying means further includes means for displaying information indicating the contents of the unanswered incoming call.

13. A mobile communication terminal having a first housing and a second housing rotatably connected to the first housing, said mobile communication terminal comprising:

notifying means for notifying an incoming call to an user of the terminal from a network, upon receiving the incoming call addressed to the terminal;

first detecting means for detecting incoming call response operation while the incoming call is notified;

second detecting means for detecting that the incoming call has been canceled by the network;

a first light-emitting element located to be invisible from outside while the first and second housings remain closed;

a second light-emitting element located to be visible from outside even while the first and second housings remain closed; and

control means for causing said first and second light-emitting elements to emit light after said second detecting means detects the cancellation of the incoming call before said first detecting means detects the operation that the user performs.

14. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 13, further comprising open/close determination means for determining whether the first and second housings remain closed,

wherein said control means selects said first light-emitting element when the said open/closed determination means determines that the first and second housings remain opened, and selects said second light-emitting element when the said open/closed determination means determines that the first and second housings remain closed.