Communication terminal

• US 6,411,822 B1
• Filed: 08/25/1999
• Issued: 06/25/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ironworks Patents LLC
• Original Assignee: Nokia Mobile Phones UK Limited (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Kraft, Christian
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Nay
• Assistant Examiner(s): GELIN, JEAN ALLAND
• Application Number:
  US09/383,125
• Time in Patent Office: 1,035 Days
• Field of Search: 455/403, 455/425, 455/550, 455/551, 455/556, 455/557, 455/558, 455/566, 455/575, 455/66, 455/418, 455/415, 455/460, 379/354, 379/355
• US Class Current: 455/558
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/27453 Directories allowing storage of additional subscriber data, e.g. metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2747 Scrolling on a display
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2748 by matching character strings
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724 User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/14 including a card reading device

Abstract

A communication terminal comprises display device for displaying information and connector for establishing a releasable connection to an exchangeable smart card. The smart card includes a phonebook memory having a group of records each of which is associated with a record identification number, a name label field in which a name label may be stored and a dialing umber field in which a dialing number may be stored. The processor device processes the phonebook information to be displayed in the display upon request from the user. The processor device identifies records in said group of records having name labels corresponding to the name label requested, associates the dialing numbers of the identified records with type labels in dependence of the corresponding record identification number and sets up a display image for the display in which the types of the dialing numbers are indicated by the associated type label.

Claims

1. A method of handling phonebook records stored on an exchangeable smart card in order to display dialing numbers associated with a requested name label on a display of a mobile terminal, said smart card includes a phonebook memory having a group of records each of which is associated with a record identification number, a name label field in which a name label may be stored and a single dialing number field in which a dialing number may be stored, said method includes steps of:

sorting in the phonebook memory in order to identify records in said group of records having name labels corresponding to the requested name label;

creating records corresponding to the requested name label in a memory of the mobile terminal where the records include;

a field for storing a master label corresponding to one of the name labels; and

a plurality of dialing number fields associated with each master label for receiving the dialing numbers of each name label in a predetermined order determined by the record identification numbers for the dialing numbers in the phonebook memory;

associating the dialing numbers of the identified records with a type label in dependence of the corresponding record identification number; and

displaying each name label requested together with each dialing number and associated type label.

2. Method of handling phonebook records according to claim 1 wherein a content of the phonebook memory is updated when a user edits a content of the memory of the mobile terminal.

3. A communication terminal for handling phonebook records stored on an exchangeable smart card in order to display dialing numbers associated with a requested name label, said smart card includes a phonebook memory having a group of records each of which is associated with a record identification number, a name label field in which a name label may be stored and a dialing number field in which a dialing number may be stored, said terminal comprises:

display means for displaying information;

means for establishing a releasable connection to an exchangeable smart card; and

processor means for processing the phonebook information to be displayed in the display upon request from the user, said processor means being adapted to;

sort the phonebook memory in order to identify records in said group of records having name labels corresponding to the name label requested;

associate the dialing numbers of the identified records with a type label in dependence of the corresponding record identification number, and

set up a display image for the display in which the requested name label is associated one or more dialing, numbers that are identified by the type label.

4. A communication terminal according to claim 3, and comprising a volatile memory for receiving a content of the phonebook memory, said processor creates records in said volatile memory and the records include:

a field for storing a master label corresponding to one of said name labels; and

a plurality of number fields for receiving said dialing numbers in a predetermined order determined by the record identification numbers for said dialing numbers in the phonebook memory.

5. A communication terminal according to claim 4, wherein the processor updates the content of the phonebook memory when the user edits the content of the volatile memory.

6. A communication terminal according to claim 4, wherein the processor uses the relative record identification numbers to link the dialing numbers and the type labels together.

7. The communication terminal of claim 3 wherein the type label is a work phone number, a private phone number, a fax number or a mobile phone number.

8. A method of handling a transfer of phonebook data between a memory of a mobile phone and an exchangeable smart card adapted to be electrically coupled to the mobile phone for the transfer of the phonebook data, the method comprising the steps of:

reading a record from the smart card, the smart card including a plurality of linear memory records, each record having a name label and a single dialing number associated with the name label;

determining if the memory of the phone includes a record having a master label corresponding to the name label, each master label being associated with a plurality of dialing number fields; and

storing the single dialing number in a next free dialing number field of the master label corresponding to the name label.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising the step of displaying a requested master label on a display of the phone, together with a plurality of dialing number fields associated with the requested master label.

10. The method of claim 8 further comprising the step of creating a master label in the memory of the phone when the name label does not have a corresponding master label stored in the memory of the phone.

11. The method of claim 8 further comprising repeating the steps, for each record stored on the smart card, of:

reading a record from the smart card;

determining if the memory of the phone includes a record having a master label corresponding to the name label; and

storing the single phone number in a next free dialing number field in the record of the corresponding master label.

12. The method of claim 8 further comprising the step of transferring phonebook data from the memory of the phone to the smart card by the steps comprising:

reading a master label record from the memory of the phone;

creating a name label in the smart card corresponding to the master label record, a single dialing number field being associated with the name label;

transferring a dialing number from a dialing number field in the memory of the phone to the dialing number memory field associated with the name label in the smart card;

determining if another dialing number is associated with the master label record, and

repeating the steps, for each dialing number associated with the master label record, of;

creating a name label in the smart card corresponding to the master label record, a single dialing number field being associated with the name label; and

transferring a dialing number from a dialing number field in the memory of the phone to the dialing number memory field associated with the name label in the smart card;

wherein a memory position corresponding to each name label created in the smart card is assigned a sequentially increasing value and when phonebook data on the smart card is transferred to a mobile phone, the phonebook data is transferred in an order beginning with phonebook data stored in a least significant position.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising the step of transferring the smart cart to a terminal that does not support multiple dialing number fields associated with a single name label, wherein when the phonebook data is transferred from the. smart card to the terminal a relative position of the dialing number in the smart card memory determines a type of dialing number being associated with each name label.