Presence IndicativeTerminal Device and Presence Managing System

• US 20090292769A1
• Filed: 10/17/2006
• Published: 11/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Access Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Access Company Limited
• Inventors: Matsuzawa, Koji
• Granted Patent: US 8,615,568 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

Provided is a presence display terminal device comprising a registration unit for registering presence targets, an update information receiving unit for receiving update information indicating an update of the presence targets registered, a control unit for displaying a predetermined one of the presence targets registered, in a screen, and an update presence information acquisition unit for deciding it on the basis of the update information whether or not the presence target displayed on the screen is to be updated, thereby to acquire the updated presence information of the presence target decided to have been updated.

Claims

1. A presence indicative terminal device, comprising:

a registration unit to register presence-enabled targets;

an update information receiving unit to receive update information, which represents presence information of the presence-enabled targets being registered is updated;

a display control unit to display predetermined presence-enabled targets among the presence-enabled targets being registered; and

an updated presence information obtaining unit to judge as to whether the presence information of the presence-enabled targets to be displayed by the display control unit should be updated based on the update information and obtain updated presence information of the presence-enabled targets of which presence information is judged to be updated.

2. The presence indicative terminal device according to claim 1,

wherein the updated presence information obtaining unit judges as to whether the presence-enabled targets being displayed by the display control unit are included to be the presence-enabled targets, of which presence information is updated when the presence-enabled targets are displayed by the display control unit, and obtains the updated presence information of the presence-enabled targets being displayed when it is judged that the presence-enabled targets are included.

3. The presence indicative terminal device according to claim 1,

wherein the updated presence information obtaining unit judges, when the update information receiving unit receives the update information, as to whether the presence information of the presence-enabled targets being displayed by the display control unit is updated based on the update information and obtains the updated presence information of the presence-enabled targets of which presence information is judged to be updated.

4. The presence indicative terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit displays the presence-enabled targets designated by a user among the presence-enabled targets being registered on a screen.

5. The presence indicative terminal device according to claim 1,

wherein the presence information of the presence-enabled targets being displayed by the display control unit includes a plurality of items to represent the presence information;

wherein the presence indicative terminal device further includes a display item designating unit to designate items to be displayed on the screen among the plurality of items; and

wherein the updated presence information obtaining unit specifically obtains the updated presence information concerning the designated items to be displayed.

6. The presence indicative terminal device according to claim 1,

wherein the updated presence information obtaining unit obtains the updated presence information from a server which is equipped in a communication network to manage the presence information.

7. The presence indicative terminal device according to claim 1,

wherein the update information is provided by a server which is equipped in a communication network to manage the presence information;

and

wherein the update information receiving unit receives the provided update information.

8. The presence indicative terminal device according to claim 1, comprising a feature to function as a mobile phone.

9. The presence indicative terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit displays the predetermined presence-enabled targets on a standby screen.

10. The presence indicative terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit displays the predetermined presence-enabled targets which correspond to users appearing on an address book screen.

11. The presence indicative terminal device according to claim 1, further comprising:

address book data containing address information of a communicates;

wherein the registration unit registers the presence-enabled targets based on the address book data.

12. The presence indicative terminal device according to claim 11, wherein the registration unit accepts user'"'"'s operations to register the presence-enabled targets through an address book screen.

13. The presence indicative terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the registered information of the presence-enabled targets is registered to form a part of address book data.

36. The presence indicative terminal device according to claim 1,

wherein the updated presence information obtaining unit judges, in one of cases when the presence-enabled targets are displayed by the display control unit and when the update information receiving unit receives the update information, as to whether the presence-enabled targets being newly displayed and the presence-enabled targets having been continuously displayed are included to be the presence-enabled targets, of which presence information is updated, and obtains the updated presence information of the presence-enabled targets when it is judged that the presence-enabled targets are included.

14. A presence managing system, comprising:

at least one first terminal device to view presence information;

at least one second terminal device to disclose the presence information; and

a server, wherein the server is provided with;

a presence information containing unit to contain the presence information of the second terminal device;

a presence-enabled target registration information containing unit to contain presence-enabled target registration information, which represents the second terminal device being registered as a presence-enabled target in the first terminal device; and

an update information transmitting unit to transmit update information, which represents update of the presence information of the second terminal device, to the first terminal device, in which the second terminal device is registered as the presence-enabled target, based on the presence indicative terminal registration information being contained when the presence information of the second terminal device is updated;

wherein the first terminal device is provided with;

a registration unit to register the presence-enabled target;

an update information receiving unit to receive the update information, which represents the presence information of the presence-enabled target being registered is updated;

a display control unit to display a predetermined presence-enabled target among the presence-enabled targets being registered; and

an updated presence information obtaining unit to judge as to whether the presence information of the presence-enabled target to be displayed by the display control unit should be updated based on the update information and obtain updated presence information of the presence-enabled target of which presence information is judged to be updated.

15. The presence managing system according to claim 14,

wherein the updated presence information obtaining unit judges as to whether the presence-enabled target being displayed by the display control unit is included to be the presence-enabled target, of which presence information is updated when the presence-enabled targets are displayed by the display control unit, and obtains the updated presence information of the presence-enabled target being displayed when it is judged that the presence-enabled target is included.

16. The presence managing system according to claim 14,

wherein the updated presence information obtaining unit judges, when the update information receiving unit receives the update information, as to whether the presence information of the presence-enabled target being displayed by the display control unit is updated based on the update information and obtains the updated presence information of the presence-enabled target of which presence information is judged to be updated.

17. The presence managing system according to claim 14, wherein the display control unit displays the presence-enabled target designated by a user among the presence-enabled targets being registered on a screen.

18. The presence managing system according to claim 14,

wherein the presence information of the presence-enabled target being displayed by the display control unit includes a plurality of items to represent the presence information;

wherein the first terminal device further includes a display item designating unit to designate items to be displayed on the screen among the plurality of items;

wherein the updated presence information obtaining unit specifically obtains the updated presence information concerning the designated items to be displayed.

19. The presence managing system according to claim 14, wherein the updated presence information obtaining unit of the first terminal device obtains the updated presence information from the server.

20. The presence managing system according to claim 14,

wherein the update information is provided by the server;

and

wherein the provided update information is received by the update information receiving unit of the first terminal device.

21. The presence managing system according to claim 14,

wherein at least one of the first terminal device and the second terminal device is provided with a feature to function as a mobile phone.

22. The presence managing system according to claim 14, wherein the display control unit displays the predetermined presence-enabled target on a standby screen.

23. The presence managing system according to claim 14, wherein the display control unit displays the predetermined presence-enabled target which corresponds to a user appearing on an address book screen.

24. The presence managing system according to claim 14, further comprising:

address book data containing address information of a communicates;

wherein the registration unit registers the presence-enabled target based on the address book data.

25. The presence managing system according to claim 24, wherein the registration unit accepts user'"'"'s operations to register the presence-enabled target through an address book screen.

26. The presence managing system according to claim 14, wherein the presence-enabled target registration information containing unit is an address book.

27. A server used, in a presence managing system including at least one first terminal device to view presence information and at least one second terminal device to disclose the presence information, to provide information concerning the presence of the at least one second terminal device to the at least one first terminal device, the server comprising:

a presence information containing unit to contain the presence information of the second terminal device;

a presence-enabled target registration information containing unit to contain presence-enabled target registration information, which represents the second terminal device being registered in the first terminal device as a presence-enabled target;

an update information transmitting unit to transmit update information, which indicates that the presence information of the second terminal device includes updated information, to the first terminal device, in which the second terminal device is registered as the presence-enabled target, based on the presence indicative terminal registration information being contained in the presence-enabled target registration information containing unit when the presence information of the second terminal device is updated; and

an updated presence information transmission unit to transmit the updated presence information of the second terminal device to the first terminal device based on a request from the first terminal device.

28. A method to manage presence information of a plurality of presence-enabled terminal devices, comprising steps of:

registering the plurality of presence-enabled terminal devices;

displaying at least one predetermined one of the presence-enabled terminal devices to be viewed;

receiving update information, which represents that the presence information of the presence-enabled terminal devices being registered is updated;

judging as to whether the presence information of the presence-enabled terminal devices being displayed includes the updated presence information based on the update information; and

obtaining the updated presence information of the presence-enabled terminal devices of which presence information is judged to be updated.

29. The method according to claim 28,

wherein the step to obtain the updated presence information is performed when the presence-enabled terminal devices are displayed.

30. The method according to claim 28,

wherein the step to obtain the updated presence information is performed when the update information is received.

31. A method to manage presence information to be implemented on a server used, in a presence manageable system having at least one first terminal device to view the presence information and at least one second terminal device to disclose the presence information, to provide information concerning the presence of the at least one second terminal device to the at least one first terminal device, the method comprising steps of:

storing the presence information of the second terminal device;

storing presence-enabled target registration information, which represents the second terminal device being registered in the first terminal device as a presence-enabled target;

transmitting update information, which indicates that the presence information of the second terminal device includes updated information, to the first terminal device, in which the second terminal device is registered as the presence-enabled target, based on the presence indicative terminal registration information being stored when the presence information of the second terminal device is updated; and

transmitting the updated presence information of the second terminal device to the first terminal device based on a request from the first terminal device.

32. A computer usable medium comprising computer readable instructions to manage presence information of a plurality of presence-enabled terminal devices, by executing steps of:

registering the plurality of presence-enabled terminal devices;

displaying at least one predetermined one of the presence-enabled terminal devices to be viewed;

receiving update information, which represents that the presence information of the presence-enabled terminal devices being registered is updated;

judging as to whether the presence information of the presence-enabled terminal devices being displayed includes the updated presence information based on the update information; and

obtaining the updated presence information of the presence-enabled terminal devices of which presence information is judged to be updated.

33. The computer usable medium according to claim 32,

wherein the step to obtain the updated presence information is performed when the presence-enabled terminal devices are displayed.

34. The computer usable medium according to claim 32,

wherein the step to obtain the updated presence information is performed when the update information is received.

35. A computer usable medium comprising computer readable instructions to manage presence information in a presence manageable system having at least one first terminal device to view the presence information, at least one second terminal device to disclose the presence information, and a server to provide information concerning the presence of the at least one second terminal device to the at least one first terminal device, by executing steps of:

storing the presence information of the second terminal device;

storing presence-enabled target registration information, which represents the second terminal device being registered in the first terminal device as a presence-enabled target;

transmitting update information, which indicates that the presence information of the second terminal device includes updated information, to the first terminal device, in which the second terminal device is registered as the presence-enabled target, based on the presence indicative terminal registration information being stored when the presence information of the second terminal device is updated; and

transmitting the updated presence information of the second terminal device to the first terminal device based on a request from the first terminal device.