Portable terminal device and storage medium storing program

• US 20080270419A1
• Filed: 04/14/2008
• Published: 10/30/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Lenovo Innovations Ltd Hong Kong (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Casio Hitachi Mobile Communications Company Limited (NEC Corporation)
• Inventors: Watanabe, Akira
• Application Number:
  US12/082,925
• Publication Number:
  US 20080270419A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2745 using static electronic memories, e.g. chips
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/27453 Directories allowing storage of additional subscriber data, e.g. metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2746 Sorting, e.g. according to history or frequency of use
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2757 by data transmission, e.g. downloading
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72454 according to context-related or environment-related conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/10 including a GPS signal receiver

Abstract

Provided that use environment conditions (types of access points) fit for using a telephone directory (user use information) are stored and managed in a condition table in association with the telephone directory, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) activates a wireless LAN module at the time of opening the telephone directory, and determines whether a portable terminal device lies within a wireless LAN or a hot spot based on whether wireless communication with an access point present nearby has been established. When the portable terminal device lies within the wireless LAN or the hot spot, the CPU accesses and outputs the telephone directory associated therewith.

Claims

1. A portable terminal device that accesses and outputs user use information usable by a user, comprising:

an environment information storage unit that stores and manages a use environment fit for using each piece of the user use information in association therewith;

an acquisition unit that acquires a current environment; and

an output control unit that accesses and outputs user use information associated by the environment information storage unit with the current environment acquired by the acquisition unit at a time of accessing the user use information.

2. The portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the environment information storage unit stores and manages, for each piece of user use information, access identification information for designating access to the user use information and use environment conditions fit for using the user use information in association with each other, and

when a result of comparing the current environment acquired by the acquisition unit with the use environment conditions stored and managed by the environment information storage unit shows that the current environment corresponds to one of the use environment conditions, the output control unit accesses and outputs user use information based on the access identification information associated with the corresponding use environment condition.

3. The portable terminal device according to claim 2, wherein the user use information is stored and managed by a server unit connected to the portable terminal device over a communication network, and

the access identification information designates user use information to be downloaded from the server unit.

4. The portable terminal device according to claim 2, wherein the user use information is stored in a memory of the portable terminal device, and

the access identification information designates user use information to be read out from the memory.

5. The portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the user use information is telephone directory information including telephone numbers for respective communication counter parties, and

the environment information storage unit stores and manages the use environment in association with each of plural types of telephone directories provided for different usages.

6. The portable terminal device according to claim 1, further comprising a usage selection unit that selects a usage, wherein

the environment information storage unit stores and manages a usage in addition to the use environment in association with each piece of user use information, and

when the use environment corresponds to the current environment and the usage corresponds to the one selected by the usage selection unit, the output control unit accesses and outputs user use information associated with the environment and the usage.

7. The portable terminal device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a selection unit that selects one of plural pieces of local identification information which are separately used according to a usage at a time of executing a communication process with the local identification information being stored and managed; and

a control unit that stores communication history information of the communication process as the user use information in association with the local identification information selected by the selection unit when the communication process is executed based on the selected local identification information.

8. The portable terminal device according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that stores, when the user use information is processed, the current environment acquired by the acquisition unit as the use environment corresponding to the user use information,

wherein at a time of referring to the user use information, the output control unit compares the current environment acquired by the acquisition unit with the use environment corresponding to the user use information, and extracts and outputs that user use information which corresponds to the current environment.

9. The portable terminal device according to claim 8, wherein the user use information is communication history information newly generated for each communication process, and

every time the communication history information is generated, the control unit stores the current environment acquired by the acquisition unit as the use environment corresponding to the communication history information.

10. The portable terminal device according to claim 9, wherein with a use environment condition being stored and managed as a condition to limit reference to the communication history information, the control unit determines whether the current environment acquired by the acquisition unit corresponds to the use environment condition every time new communication history information is generated, and stores the current environment as the use environment corresponding to the communication history information when the current environment corresponds to one of the use environment conditions.

11. The portable terminal device according to claim 8, wherein the user use information is file information newly acquired for each file process, and

at a time of executing a process on the file information, the control unit stores the current environment acquired by the acquisition unit as the use environment corresponding to the file information.

12. The portable terminal device according to claim 11, wherein with a use environment condition being stored and managed as a condition to limit reference to the file information, the control unit determines whether the current environment acquired by the acquisition unit corresponds to the use environment condition every time file information is processed, and stores the current environment as the use environment corresponding to the file information when the current environment corresponds to one of the use environment conditions.

13. The portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein

when it is possible to communicate with one of a plurality of external devices having a predetermined communication range, the acquisition unit acquires presence of the portable terminal device in the communication range where communication with that external device is enabled as a current environment,

the environment information storage unit stores and manages information on an external device having a communication range fit for using the user use information in association with each piece of user use information, and

the output control unit accesses and outputs user use information associated with that external device which is in the current environment acquired by the acquisition unit.

14. The portable terminal device according to claim 13, wherein

when it is not possible to communicate with any one of the plurality of external devices, the acquisition unit acquires presence of the portable terminal device out of a communicatable range as a current environment, and

the output control unit accesses and outputs every user use information stored and managed by the environment information storage unit.

15. The portable terminal device according to claim 14, wherein

the plurality of external devices are a plurality of access points included in a wireless LAN, and

together with the wireless LAN, the access points perform relay between an external communication network and the portable terminal device.

16. A storage medium storing a program that allows a computer to achieve:

an environment information storage function of storing and managing a use environment fit for using each piece of the user use information in association therewith;

an acquisition function of acquiring a current environment; and

an output control function of accessing and outputting the user use information associated with the current environment acquired by the acquisition function.