CONTACT EXPIRATION MANAGEMENT

• US 20090036163A1
• Filed: 08/02/2007
• Published: 02/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications USA Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications USA Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kimbrell, Jacob W.
• Application Number:
  US11/832,800
• Publication Number:
  US 20090036163A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/558
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2745 using static electronic memories, e.g. chips
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/27457 Management thereof, e.g. manual editing of data

Abstract

A apparatus and method for contact expiration management that includes identifying a contact as temporary, setting an expiration date for the temporary contact, and removing the temporary contact on the expiration date. The apparatus may be a mobile device such as a mobile phone. A user of the mobile device may respond to a prompt and select removing the temporary contacts or the temporary contacts may be removed automatically. A cleanup routine operating on the mobile device monitors time stamps on contacts and expiration dates of contacts to determine when a contact might be removed.

Claims

1. A method for contact expiration management comprising:

identifying a contact as temporary;

setting an expiration date for the temporary contact; and

removing the temporary contact on the expiration date.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the identifying, the setting, and the removing being performed in a mobile device.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising identifying the contact as temporary upon entering the contact into the mobile device

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the mobile device comprises a mobile phone.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising storing the temporary contact and the expiration date.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising removing the temporary contact from storage when the expiration date is the same as a current date.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising generating a prompt to confirm removal before removing the temporary contact on the expiration date.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising automatically removing the temporary contact on the expiration date.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising generating a prompt to change the expiration date before removing the temporary contact on the expiration date.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising generating a prompt to remove the expiration date before removing the temporary contact on the expiration date.

11. A method for contact expiration management comprising:

identifying a contact as temporary;

storing the temporary contact in temporary contact list; and

removing the temporary contacts in the temporary contact list.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising removing all the temporary contacts in the temporary contact list based on a set periodic deletion schedule.

13. The method according to claim 11, further comprising removing individual temporary contacts in the temporary contact list based on an expiration date for each individual temporary contact.

14. The method according to claim 11, further comprising the identifying, the storing and the removing being performed in a mobile device.

15. A method for contact expiration management comprising:

setting a deletion check date for contacts stored in a mobile device;

comparing the deletion check date for each stored contact with a current date; and

generating a prompt confirming deletion when the deletion check date for a stored contact is the same as the current date.

16. The method according to claim 15, further comprising deleting the stored contact based on a response to the generated prompt.

17. The method according to claim 15, further comprising revising the deletion check date for the stored contact based on a response to the generated prompt.

18. The method according to claim 15, further comprising removing the deletion check date for the stored contact based on a response to the generated prompt.

19. A mobile phone, the mobile phone including a display and a keypad, and comprising:

a memory, the memory storing contacts entered into the mobile phone; and

a contact cleanup routine, the contact cleanup routine identifying a contact as temporary, setting an expiration date for the temporary contact, and removing the temporary contact on the expiration date.

20. The mobile phone according to claim 19, wherein the memory comprises at least one of a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) contacts memory, a temporary contacts memory, and a phone contacts memory.

21. The mobile phone according to claim 19, wherein the contact cleanup routine operates one of once every specified time period, upon entry into a phonebook application, or continuously.

22. The mobile phone according to claim 21, the cleanup routine further determining if a number associated with at least one of an incoming call or an outgoing call is stored in the memory and generating a prompt for storing a contact associated with the number and an associated expiration date in the memory when the number is not stored in the memory.

23. The mobile phone according to claim 21, the cleanup routine further determining if a number associated with at least one of an incoming call or an outgoing call is stored in the memory and generating a prompt for revising an expiration date associated with a contact associated with the number when the number is stored in the memory.

24. A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having computer useable program code embodied therewith, the computer useable program code comprising:

computer useable program code configured to identify a contact as temporary;

computer useable program code configured to set an expiration date for the temporary contact; and

computer useable program code configured to remove the temporary contact on the expiration date.

25. The computer program product according to claim 24, wherein the computer useable program code operates on mobile device.