INITIATING A CALL FROM A MOBILE DEVICE TO A NUMBER THAT IS NOT HYPERLINKED

• US 20070238487A1
• Filed: 03/31/2006
• Published: 10/11/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Bocking, Andrew, Lazaridis, Mihal, Major, Harry, Kuhl, Lawrence
• Granted Patent: US 7,606,598 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/566
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/233 including a pointing device, e.g. roller key, track ball, rocker switch or joystick constructional details of pointing devices per se G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/56 Arrangements for indicating or recording the called number at the calling subscriber's set
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72436 for text messaging, e.g. short messaging services [SMS] or e-mails

Abstract

A method for initiating telephone calls from a mobile device which operates in a wireless communication network, including: displaying text on a visual display of the mobile device; moving a position marker on the visual display throughout the displayed text in response to a navigational input by a user to the mobile device; monitoring for a predetermined user input to the mobile device and upon detecting the predetermined user input causing a list of user selectable functions to be displayed on the visual display; determining if the position marker is located within a non-hyperlinked number string in the displayed text when the predetermined user input is detected and if so, causing the displayed list of user selectable functions to include a telephone call function for initiating a telephone call to the non-hyperlinked number string; and causing, if a user selects from the list of functions the initiate a telephone call function, a telephone call to the non-hyperlinked number string to be initiated through the wireless communications network.

Claims

1. A method for initiating telephone calls from a mobile device which operates in a wireless communication network, comprising:

displaying text on a visual display of the mobile device;

moving a position marker on the visual display throughout the displayed text in response to a navigational input by a user to the mobile device;

monitoring for a predetermined user input to the mobile device and upon detecting the predetermined user input causing a list of user selectable functions to be displayed on the visual display;

determining if the position marker is located within a non-hyperlinked number string in the displayed text when the predetermined user input is detected and causing the displayed list of user selectable functions to include a telephone call function for initiating a telephone call to the non-hyperlinked number string; and

causing, if a user selects from the list of functions the initiate a telephone call function, a telephone call to the non-hyperlinked number string to be initiated through the wireless communications network.

2. The method of claim 1 including, if the non-hyperlinked number string does not meet predetermined criteria, forgoing causing the displayed list of user selectable functions to include the telephone call function for the non-hyperlinked number string.

3. The method of claim 2 including:

when displaying the text on the visual display;

(i) detecting any number strings within at least a portion of the text and comparing the number strings against further criteria to detect number stings that are telephone number strings, wherein the further criteria is more stringent than the predetermined criteria;

(ii) causing a hyperlink to be created for each number string detected as a telephone number string;

causing the hyperlink for a telephone number string to be highlighted when selected by a user during the displaying of the text;

determining if the hyperlink of a telephone number string is selected by a user when the predetermined user input is detected and if so, causing the displayed list of user selectable functions to include a telephone call function for initiating a telephone call to the selected hyperlinked telephone number string; and

causing, if a user selects from the list of functions the initiate a telephone call function, a telephone call to the selected hyperlinked telephone number string to be initiated through the wireless communications network.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the predetermined criteria requires that the non-hyperlinked number string include a first minimum number of numeric characters, and the further criteria to detect number stings that are telephone number strings requires that the number string match one of a plurality of predetermined telephone number patterns, each of the telephone number patters requiring a minimum number of numeric characters that is higher than the first minimum.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the predetermined user input is a single depression of a depressible rotatable input mechanism provided on the mobile device.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein user selection from the list of functions is performed through a further single depression of the depressible rotatable input mechanism.

21. A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium carrying computer instructions for executing the method of claim 1.

22. A carrier signal carrying computer instructions for executing the method of claim 1.

7. The method of claim I further including:

monitoring for user actuation of a SEND key provided on the mobile device;

determining if the position marker is located within a non-hyperlinked number string when the SEND key is actuated and if so, causing a telephone call to the non-hyperlinked number string to be initiated through the wireless communications network provided that the non-hyperlinked number string meets predetermined criteria.

8. The method of claim 7 including:

when displaying the text on the visual display;

(i) detecting any number strings within the text and comparing the number strings against further criteria to detect number stings that are telephone number strings, wherein the further criteria is more stringent than the predetermined criteria;

(ii) causing a hyperlink to be created for each number string detected as a telephone number string;

causing the hyperlink for a telephone number string to be highlighted when selected by a user during the displaying of the text; and

causing, if a user actuates the SEND key while a hyperlinked telephone number string is highlighted, a telephone call to the selected hyperlinked telephone number string to be initiated through the wireless communications network.

9. A mobile device comprising:

a controller including at least one processor;

a wireless transceiver coupled to the controller for exchanging signals with a wireless communications network;

a user interface coupled to the controller for receiving user input;

a storage coupled to the controller and storing data items that include text containing number strings;

a visual display coupled to the controller for displaying the text of data items stored in the storage;

the controller being operative to;

cause text of a user selected data item to be displayed on the visual display of the mobile device;

cause a position marker to move on the visual display throughout the displayed text in response to a navigational input by a user through the user interface;

monitor for a predetermined user input to the mobile device through the user interface and upon detecting the predetermined user input cause a list of user selectable functions to be displayed on the visual display;

determine if the position marker is located within a non-hyperlinked number string in the displayed text when the predetermined user input is detected and cause the displayed list of user selectable functions to include a telephone call function for initiating a telephone call to the non-hyperlinked number string; and

cause, if a user selects from the list of functions the initiate a telephone call function, a telephone call to the non-hyperlinked number string to be initiated through the wireless communications network.

10. The device of claim 9 wherein the controller is operative to cause the displayed list of user selectable functions to not include the telephone call function for the non-hyperlinked number string if the non-hyperlinked number string does not meet predetermined criteria.

11. The device of claim 10 wherein the controller is operative to:

when displaying the text on the visual display;

(i) detect any number strings within at least a portion of the text and compare the number strings against further criteria to detect number stings that are telephone number strings, wherein the further criteria is more stringent than the predetermined criteria;

(ii) cause a hyperlink to be created for each number string detected as a telephone number string;

cause the hyperlink for a telephone number string to be highlighted when selected by a user during the displaying of the text;

determine if the hyperlink of a telephone number string is selected by a user when the predetermined user input is detected and if so, cause the displayed list of user selectable functions to include a telephone call function for initiating a telephone call to the selected hyperlinked telephone number string; and

cause, if a user selects from the list of functions the initiate a telephone call function, a telephone call to the selected hyperlinked telephone number string to be initiated through the wireless communications network.

12. The device of claim 11 wherein the predetermined criteria requires that the non-hyperlinked number string meet a first minimum number of numeric characters, and the further criteria to detect number stings that are telephone number strings requires that the number string meet a second minimum number of numeric characters, the second minimum being higher than the first minimum.

13. The device of claim 9 wherein the user interface includes a depressible rotatable input mechanism coupled to the controller and the predetermined user input is a single depression of the depressible rotatable input mechanism.

14. The device of claim 13 wherein user selection from the list of functions is performed through a further single depression of the depressible rotatable input mechanism.

15. The device of claim 9 wherein the user interface includes a depressible SEND key coupled to the controller and the controller is operative to:

monitor for user actuation of the SEND key;

determine if the position marker is located within a non-hyperlinked number string when the SEND key is actuated and if so, cause a telephone call to the non-hyperlinked number string to be initiated through the wireless communications network provided that the non-hyperlinked number string meets predetermined criteria.

16. The device of claim 15 wherein the controller is operative to:

when displaying the text on the visual display;

(i) detect any number strings within the text and compare the number strings against further criteria to detect number stings that are telephone number strings, wherein the further criteria is more stringent than the predetermined criteria;

(ii) cause a hyperlink to be created for each number string detected as a telephone number string;

cause the hyperlink for a telephone number string to be highlighted when selected by a user during the displaying of the text; and

cause, if a user actuates the SEND key while a hyperlinked telephone number string is highlighted, a telephone call to the selected hyperlinked telephone number string to be initiated through the wireless communications network.

17. The device of claim 9 wherein the data items include electronic messages messages, calendar entries, memo items, task items, or Web pages.

18. A method for initiating telephone calls from a mobile device which operates in a wireless communication network, comprising:

receiving an selection input from a user through a user interface of the mobile device to display an electronic message on a display of the device;

scanning a text portion of the electronic message to detect any number strings contained therein and comparing the detected number strings against first criteria to identify telephone number strings from among the identified number strings;

displaying the electronic message on the display and causing a user selectable hyperlink to be created for each number string in the electronic message identified as being a telephone number string, wherein any number strings not identified as telephone number strings are displayed as non-hyperlinked number strings;

moving a position marker on the display throughout the displayed text in response to a navigational input by a user through the user interface of the mobile device;

monitoring for a predetermined user input through a user interface of the mobile device and upon detecting the predetermined user input causing a list of user selectable functions to be displayed on the visual display;

determining, in dependence on the location of the position marker, if a hyperlinked telephone number string is selected by a user when the predetermined user input is detected and if so, causing the displayed list of user selectable functions to include a telephone call function for initiating a telephone call to the selected hyperlinked telephone number string, and causing, if a user selects from the list of functions the initiate a telephone call to the selected hyperlinked telephone number string, a telephone call to the hyperlinked telephone number string to be initiated through the wireless communications network; and

determining if the position marker is located within a non-hyperlinked number string in the displayed text when the predetermined user input is detected and if so, comparing the non-hyperlinked number string against further criteria to identify if the non-hyperlinked number string is a callable number string, and if the non-hyperlinked number string is identified as being a callable number string, causing the displayed list of user selectable functions to include a telephone call function for initiating a telephone call to the non-hyperlinked number string, and causing, if a user selects from the list of functions the initiate a telephone call to the non-hyperlinked number string function, a telephone call to the non-hyperlinked number string to be initiated through the wireless communications network.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the first criteria and the further criteria each require a minimum number of digits to be included in a number string, the minimum being greater for the first criteria than the further criteria.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein the predetermined user input is a single depression of a depressible rotatable input mechanism provided on the mobile device.