Portable radio information terminal, screen displaying method, recording medium and microcomputer

• US 6,418,329 B1
• Filed: 12/21/1998
• Issued: 07/09/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Furuya, Mami
• Primary Examiner(s): Urban, Edward F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): MEHRPOUR, NAGHMEH
• Application Number:
  US09/216,965
• Time in Patent Office: 1,296 Days
• Field of Search: 455/566, 455/412, 455/575, 455/550, 455/567, 455/38.1, 455/38.2, 455/38.4, 340/7.61, 340/7.6, 340/7.62
• US Class Current: 455/566
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 5/227 with call or message storage means

Abstract

A portable radio information terminal with a message-notification mode/message-storage mode setting unit, a message-notifying-device-operation control unit and a display-mark turning-on/off unit. The message-notification mode/message-storage mode setting unit sets the portable radio information terminal in a message-notification mode for notifying the user of a message in the event of an incoming information signal conveying the message or in a message-storage mode for halting an operation to notify the user of a message in the event of an incoming information signal conveying the message. The message-notifying-device-operation control unit enables a selected message-notifying device to notify the user of an incoming information signal in the message-notification mode or prevents a selected message-notifying device from notifying the user of an incoming information signal in the message-storage mode. The display-mark turning on/off unit means displays a display mark of a selected message-notifying device on the screen of an image displaying unit in the message-notification mode or halts an operation to display display marks of all message-notifying devices including a selected message-notifying device in the message-storage mode.

Claims

1. A portable radio information terminal comprising:

a receiver for receiving an incoming information signal conveying information and extracting said information from said incoming information signal;

a plurality of message-notifying devices including at least a ringing-sound-message-notifying device and vibration-message-notifying device for generating a ringing sound and a vibration respectively in an event of said incoming information signal to notify a user of said incoming information signal;

a message-notifying-device selecting means for selecting one of said message-notifying devices and for enabling said message-notifying device selected by the message-notifying device selecting means to operate to notify the user of said incoming information signal;

an image displaying unit for displaying said information conveyed by said incoming information signal and a display mark indicating an operative state of at least said message-notifying device selected by said message-notifying-device selecting means; and

a control unit for controlling at least an operation to display said information on said image displaying unit;

message-notification mode/message-storage mode setting means for use by the user with a high degree of freedom to set said portable radio information terminal in a message-notification mode for notifying the user of a message in the event of said incoming information signal conveying said message or in a message-storage mode for halting the operation to notify the user of the message in the event of the incoming information signal conveying said message;

message-notifying-device-operation control means for setting said message-notifying device selected by said message-notifying-device selecting means in a state of notifying the user of said incoming information signal in said message-notification mode or preventing said message-notifying device selected by said message-notifying-device selecting means from notifying the user of the incoming information signal in said message-storage mode; and

display-mark turning on/off means for displaying the display mark of said message-notifying device selected by said message-notifying-device selecting means on a screen of said image displaying unit in said message-notification mode or halting the operation to display display marks of all of said message-notifying devices including said message-notifying device selected by said message-notifying-device selecting means to indicate that the portable radio information terminal is in said message-storage mode.

2. A recording medium for storing at least three procedures for execution by a computer employed in a portable radio information terminal having an image displaying means and a plurality of message-notifying devices including at least a ringing-sound-message-notifying device and a vibration-message-notifying device for generating a ringing sound and a vibration respectively in an event of an incoming information signal to notify a user of said incoming information signal, comprising:

message-notification mode/message-storage mode setting means for use by the user with a high degree of freedom to set said portable radio information terminal in a message-notification mode for notifying the user of a message in the event of the incoming information signal conveying said message or in a message-storage mode for halting an operation to notify the user of said message in the event of said incoming information signal conveying said message;

message-notification-device-operation control means for setting a message-notifying device selected from said message-notifying devices for notifying the user of the incoming information signal in said message-notification mode or preventing said message-notifying device selected from said message-notifying devices from notifying the user of the incoming information signal in said message-storage mode; and

display-mark turning on/off means for displaying a display mark of said message-notifying device selected from said message-notifying devices on a screen of said image displaying means in said message-notification mode or halting an operation to display display marks of all of said message-notifying devices including said message-notifying device selected from said message-notifying devices to indicate that the portable radio information terminal is in said message-storage mode.

3. A microcomputer, comprising:

an embedded central processing unit;

an embedded storage unit for storing programs for execution by said embedded central processing unit; and

an embedded data transfer means connected to external equipment and used for connecting at least said embedded central processing unit to said embedded storage unit,

said microcomputer further provided with means to transmit a signal based on a processing result outputted by said embedded central processing unit to said external equipment by one of radio communication and wire communication and employed in a portable radio information terminal comprising an image displaying unit and a plurality of message-notifying devices including at least a ringing-sound-message-notifying device and a vibration-message-notifying device for generating a ringing sound and a vibration respectively in an event of an incoming information signal to notify a user of said incoming information signal,

wherein said embedded storage unit includes at least;

message-notification mode/message-storage mode setting means for use by the user with a high degree of freedom to set said portable radio information terminal in a message-notification mode for notifying the user of a message in the event of said incoming information signal conveying said message or in a message-storage mode for halting an operation to notify the user of said message in the event of said incoming information signal conveying said message;

message-notifying-device-operation control means for setting a message-notifying device selected from said message-notifying devices in a state for notifying the user of said incoming information signal in said message-notification mode or preventing said message-notifying device selected from said message-notifying devices from notifying the user of said incoming information signal in said message-storage mode; and

display-mark turning on/off means for displaying a display mark of said message-notifying device selected from said message-notifying devices on a screen of said image displaying unit in said message-notification mode or halting an operation to display marks of all of said message-notifying devices including said message-notifying device selected from said message-notifying devices to indicate that the portable radio information terminal is in said message-storage mode.

4. A screen displaying method adopted in a portable radio information terminal including a radio-wave receiving means, a message-notifying means comprising a plurality of message notifying devices including at least a ringing-sound-message-notifying device and a vibration-message-notifying device for generating a ringing sound and a vibration respectively in an event of an incoming information signal to notify a user of said incoming information signal and an image displaying unit wherein one of said message-notifying devices of said message-notifying means specified in advance operates to notify the user of an arrival of said incoming information signal at said radio-wave receiving means, said method comprising the steps of:

displaying a display mark of at least one of said message-notifying devices of said message-notifying means specified in advance on a screen of said image displaying unit when said portable radio information terminal has been set in a message-notification mode for notifying the user of a message in the event of said incoming information signal conveying said message; and

putting display marks of at least one of said message-notifying devices of said message-notifying means including one of said message-notifying devices, specified in advance in a winking state on said screen of said image displaying unit to indicate that said portable radio information terminal has been set in a message-storage mode for suppressing an operation to notify the user of said message in the event of said incoming information signal conveying said message.

5. A portable radio information terminal comprising:

a receiver for receiving an incoming information signal conveying information and extracting said information from said incoming information signal;

a plurality of message-notifying devices including at least a ringing-sound-message-notifying device and a vibration-message-notifying device for generating a ringing sound and a vibration respectively in an event of said incoming information signal to notify a user of said incoming information signal;

a message-notifying-device selecting means for selecting one of said message-notifying devices and enabling said message-notifying device selected by said message-notifying-device selecting means to operate to notify the user of an arrival of said incoming information signal;

an image displaying unit for displaying said information conveyed by said incoming information signal and a display mark indicating an operative state of at least said message-notifying device selected by said message-notifying device selecting means; and

a control unit for controlling at least an operation to display said information on said image displaying unit;

message-notification mode/message-storage mode setting means for use by the user with a high degree of freedom to set said portable radio information terminal in a message-notification mode for notifying the user of a message in the event of said incoming information signal conveying said message or in a message-storage mode for halting the operation to notify the user of a message in the event of said incoming information signal conveying said message;

message-notifying-device-operation control means for setting said message-notifying device selected by said message-notifying-device selecting means in a state for notifying the user of said incoming information signal in said message-notification mode or preventing said message-notifying device selected by said message-notifying-device selecting means from notifying the user of said incoming information signal in said message-storage mode;

display-mark turning-on means for turning on the display mark of said message-notifying device selected by said message-notifying-device selecting means displayed on a screen of said image displaying unit in said message-notification mode; and

display-mark winking means for putting display marks of all of said message-notifying devices including said message-notifying device selected by said message-notifying-device selecting means displayed on said screen of said image displaying unit in a winking state to indicate that the portable radio information terminal is in said message-storage mode.

6. A recording medium for storing at lest four procedures for execution by a computer employed in a portable radio information terminal having an image displaying means and a plurality of message-notifying devices including at least a ringing-sound-message-notifying device and a vibration-message-notifying device for generating a ringing sound and a vibration respectively in an event of an incoming information signal to notify a user of said incoming information signal, said four means including:

a message-notification mode/message-storage mode setting means for use by the user with a high degree of freedom to set said portable radio information terminal in a message-notification mode for notifying the user of a message in the event of said incoming information signal conveying said message or in a message-storage mode for halting an operation to notify the user of said message in the event of said incoming information signal conveying said message;

message-notifying-device-operation control means for setting a message-notifying device selected from said message-notifying devices in a state for notifying the user of the incoming information signal in said message-notification mode or preventing said message-notifying device selected from said message-notifying devices from notifying the user of the incoming information signal in said message-storage mode;

display-mark turning-on means for turning on a display mark of said message-notifying device selected from said message-notifying devices displayed on a screen of said image displaying unit in said message-notification mode; and

display-mark winking means for putting display marks of all of said message-notifying devices including said message-notifying device selected from said message-notifying devices displayed on said screen of said image displaying unit in a winking state to indicate that the portable radio information terminal is in said message-storage mode.

7. A microcomputer, comprising:

an embedded central processing unit;

an embedded storage unit for storing programs for execution by said embedded central processing unit; and

embedded data transfer means connected to external equipment and used for connecting at least said embedded central processing unit to said storage unit,

said microcomputer further provided with a function to transmit a signal based on a processing result outputted by said central processing unit to said external equipment by one of radio communication and wire communication and employed in a portable radio information terminal also comprising an image displaying unit and a plurality of message-notifying devices including at least a ringing-sound-message-notifying device and a vibration-message-notifying device for generating a ringing sound and a vibration respectively in an event of an incoming information signal to notify a user of said incoming information signal,

wherein said programs stored in said embedded storage unit include at least;

message-notification mode/message-storage mode setting means for use by the user with a high degree of freedom to set said portable radio information terminal in a message-notification mode for notifying the user of a message in the event of said incoming information signal conveying said message or in a message-storage mode for halting an operation to notify the user of said message in the event of said incoming information signal conveying said message;

message-notifying-device-operation control means for setting a message-notifying device selected from said message-notifying devices in a state for notifying the user of said incoming information signal in said message-notification mode or preventing said message-notifying device selected from said message-notifying devices from notifying the user of said incoming information signal in said message-storage mode;

a display-mark turning-on means for turning on a display mark of said message-notifying device selected from said message-notifying devices displayed on a screen of said image displaying unit in said message-notification mode; and

a display-mark winking means for putting display marks of all of said message-notifying devices including said message-notifying device selected from said message-notifying devices displayed on said screen of said image displaying unit in a winking state to indicate that the portable radio information terminal is in said message-storage mode.