Mobile terminal incoming/outgoing call history management method

• US 20060025112A1
• Filed: 08/27/2004
• Published: 02/02/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kawahara, Eiji, Hamanaga, Ayaka
• Granted Patent: US 7,283,813 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/412.100
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2746 Sorting, e.g. according to history or frequency of use
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/56 Arrangements for indicating or recording the called number at the calling subscriber's set
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/575 Means for retrieving and displaying personal data about calling party
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6505 storing speech in digital form
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724 User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/10 including a GPS signal receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion telephones including GPS signal receivers H04M2250/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/52 including functional features of a camera constructional features concerning the integration of cameras in portable phones H04M1/0264
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/60 logging of communication history, e.g. outgoing or incoming calls, missed calls, messages or URLs logging of telephone numbers H04M1/56, H04M1/57

Abstract

An incoming/outgoing call detection section (31) detects an incoming or outgoing phone call from or to another mobile terminal. An information acquisition section (32) acquires related information concerning an incoming or outgoing call in response to detection of the incoming or outgoing call by the detection section. An incoming/outgoing call history generation section (33) generate history information in which the related information acquired by the information acquisition section (32) is kept in association with at least a telephone number of the incoming or outgoing call. An incoming/outgoing call history storing section (34) stores the history information generated by the history generation section (33). An incoming/outgoing call history notification section (35) notifies to a user of the mobile terminal the related information contained in the history information, in response to an incoming or outgoing call from or to the telephone number contained in the history information stored in the incoming/outgoing call history storing section (34).

Claims

1. A mobile terminal having a communication function, comprising:

a detection section operable to detect an incoming or outgoing phone call;

an information acquisition section operable to acquire related information concerning an incoming or outgoing call in response to detection of the incoming or outgoing call by the detection section;

a history generation section operable to generate history information in which the related information acquired by the information acquisition section is kept in association with at least a telephone number of the incoming or outgoing call;

a history storing section operable to store the history information generated by the history generation section; and

a history notification section operable to notify to a user of the mobile terminal the related information contained in the history information, in response to an incoming or outgoing call from or to the telephone number contained in the history information stored in the history storing section.

2. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, further comprising a device section operable to acquire environment information concerning surroundings of the mobile terminal or a state of the mobile terminal, wherein,

the information acquisition section acquires, as the related information, the environment information acquired from the device section at the time of the incoming or outgoing call, and

the history storing section stores the environment information acquired by the information acquisition section in association with the telephone number of the incoming or outgoing call.

3. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, further comprising a message storing section operable to store a plurality of answering messages, wherein,

as the related information, the information acquisition section acquires from the message storing section an answering message used to answer an incoming call, and

the history storing section stores the answering message acquired by the information acquisition section in association with a telephone number of the incoming call.

4. The mobile terminal according to claim 2, wherein,

the environment information is at least one of:

still image information, moving picture information, or audio information representing the surroundings of the mobile terminal;

or position information, viewed program information, or open/close information representing the state of the mobile terminal.

5. The mobile terminal according to claim 3, wherein,

the history storing section further stores information indicating whether the telephone number contained in the history information has been redialed or not, and

at the time of the incoming or outgoing phone call, the history notification section notifies to the user an answering message associated with a piece of history information containing the telephone number only if the telephone number has not yet been redialed.

6. The mobile terminal according to claim 3, wherein,

the message storing section stores alarm information specifying a time at which to notify an alarm in connection with the answering message, and

the history notification section notifies to the user an answering message associated with a piece of history information which has reached the time specified by the alarm information.

7. The mobile terminal according to claim 5, wherein,

the message storing section stores alarm information specifying a time at which to notify an alarm in connection with the answering message, and

the history notification section notifies to the user an answering message associated with a piece of history information which contains a telephone number that has not yet been redialed and which has reached the time specified by the alarm information.

8. The mobile terminal according to claim 5, wherein,

if the number of pieces of history information stored in the history storing section exceeds a predetermined maximum number, a piece of history information which contains an already redialed telephone number and which has an oldest time of reception/calling is automatically deleted.

9. The mobile terminal according to claim 5, wherein,

when a piece of history information which contains a telephone number that has not yet been redialed is nominated for deletion, a message is presented to the user to seek an approval to delete the piece of history information.

10. An incoming/outgoing call history management method for managing a communication history of a mobile terminal, comprising the steps of:

detecting an incoming or outgoing phone call from or to another mobile terminal;

acquiring related information concerning an incoming or outgoing call in response to detection of the incoming or outgoing call;

generating history information in which the related information is kept in association with at least a telephone number of the incoming or outgoing call;

storing the generated history information; and

notifying to a user of the mobile terminal the related information contained in the history information, in response to an incoming or outgoing call from or to the telephone number contained in the stored history information.

11. A computer-readable program for causing a mobile terminal to perform an incoming/outgoing call history management method for managing a communication history of the mobile terminal,

the program causing the mobile terminal to execute the steps of:

detecting an incoming or outgoing phone call from or to another mobile terminal;

acquiring related information concerning an incoming or outgoing call in response to detection of the incoming or outgoing call;

generating history information in which the related information is kept in association with at least a telephone number of the incoming or outgoing call;

storing the generated history information; and

notifying to a user of the mobile terminal the related information contained in the history information, in response to an incoming or outgoing call from or to the telephone number contained in the stored history information.

12. A medium having recorded thereon a computer-readable program for causing a mobile terminal to perform an incoming/outgoing call history management method for managing an incoming/outgoing call history of the mobile terminal,

the program causing the mobile terminal to execute the steps of:

detecting an incoming or outgoing phone call from or to another mobile terminal;

acquiring related information concerning an incoming or outgoing call in response to detection of the incoming or outgoing call;

generating history information in which the related information is kept in association with at least a telephone number of the incoming or outgoing call;

storing the generated history information; and

notifying to a user of the mobile terminal the related information contained in the history information, in response to an incoming or outgoing call from or to the telephone number contained in the stored history information.

13. An integrated circuit for use in a mobile terminal having a communication function, wherein the integrated circuit comprises circuitry functioning as:

a detection section operable to detect an incoming or outgoing phone call;

an information acquisition section operable to acquire related information concerning an incoming or outgoing call in response to detection of the incoming or outgoing call by the detection section;

a history generation section operable to generate history information in which the related information acquired by the information acquisition section is kept in association with at least a telephone number of the incoming or outgoing call;

a history storing section operable to store the history information generated by the history generation section; and

a history notification section operable to notify to a user of the mobile terminal the related information contained in the history information, in response to an incoming or outgoing call from or to the telephone number contained in the history information stored in the history storing section.