Calendar-display apparatus, and associated method, for a mobile terminal

• US 6,728,530 B1
• Filed: 12/28/1999
• Issued: 04/27/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Kronström, Kai, Mononen, Jari, Itävaara, Jaakko, Nykänen, Petri, Lehtinen, Kari, Heinonen, Eeva-Liisa, Virtanen, Mikko, Karves, Heidi
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Sinh
• Assistant Examiner(s): Afshar, Kamran
• Application Number:
  US09/472,756
• Time in Patent Office: 1,582 Days
• Field of Search: 455/414.1, 455/418, 455/410, 455/417, 455/459, 455/566, 455/461, 455/466, 455/425, 455/550, 455/557, 455/422.1, 455/414, 455/456, 705/8, 705/9, 707/104, 707/507, 707/509, 379/93.17, 379/93.21, 379/93.23, 395/768, 395/773
• US Class Current: 455/414.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

Calendar display apparatus, and an associated method, displays the calendar display at a mobile terminal operable in a radio communication system. The calendar display includes calendar items retrieved from both a local storage element and from a network-based calendar database. The calendar items are displayed simultaneously. And, calendar items stored locally are exportable to the network database. Analogously, calendar items stored at the network database are downloadable to the mobile station to be stored thereat.

Claims

1. In a mobile terminal operable by a user thereof in a radio communication system having network infrastructure with which the mobile terminal communicates by way of a radio link, the network infrastructure coupled to a network-based calendar information source containing at least one network-based calendar item, an improvement for the mobile terminal of calendar-display apparatus for displaying at the mobile terminal calendar information, said calendar-display apparatus comprising:

a mobile-based calendar information source positioned at the mobile terminal, said mobile-based calendar information source containing at least one mobile-based calendar item;

a retriever positioned at the mobile terminal, said retriever selectably for retrieving by way of the radio link, upon initiation by the user of the mobile terminal, at least one selected network-based calendar item, stored at the network based calendar information source, and for retrieving at least one selected mobile-based calendar item stored at said mobile based calendar information source; and

a display element coupled to receive indications of the selected network-based calendar item and of the selected mobile-based calendar item, said display element for displaying together and simultaneously, in human perceptible form, the selected network-based calendar item, retrieved by said retriever by way of the radio link, and the selected mobile-based calendar item, retrieved by said retriever from said mobile-based calendar information source, as a common calendar display at least during the radio-link connection, between the mobile terminal and the network infrastructure;

further comprising a user actuator positioned at the mobile terminal and coupled to said mobile-based information source, said user actuator actuable selectably by a user to store the at least one mobile-based calendar item at said mobile-based calendar information source.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a copier, wherein said copier is selectably operable to copy the selected mobile based calendar item to the network-based calendar information source.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the mobile terminal comprises transmit circuitry and receive circuitry, and wherein said retriever causes the transmit circuitry to transmit a retrieve request, the retrieve request for requesting retrieval of the selected network based calendar item from the network-based calendar information source.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said retriever further causes the receive circuitry to detect, when received at the receive circuitry, indications of the selected network-based calendar item, retrieved responsive to the request therefor.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the communication system comprises a GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) cellular communication system which provides for SMS (Short Message Service) messaging and wherein the retrieve request caused by said retriever to be transmitted by the transmit circuitry comprises a first SMS message.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the indications of the selected network-based calendar item which said retriever causes the receive circuitry to detect, comprises a second SMS message.

7. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the communication system comprises a GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) cellular communication system which provides for GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) and wherein the retrieve request caused by said retriever to be transmitted by the transmit circuitry comprises a first GPRS message.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the indications of the selected network-based calendar item comprise a second GPRS message.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said display element displays the selected network-based calendar item and the selected mobile-based calendar item in visual form.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said display element includes a video screen, the video screen for displaying a display sheet thereon, the display sheet including the selected network-based calendar item and the selected mobile-based calendar item.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the display sheet comprises a plurality of mobile-based calendar items forming a local sheet, the local sheet exportable to the network-based calendar information source.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the display sheet comprises a plurality of network-based calendar items, exported to the mobile terminal and stored thereat and forming a pushed sheet, the pushed sheet exportable to the network-based calendar information source.

13. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the display sheet comprises a plurality of network-based calendar items forming a network sheet, the network sheet exportable to be stored at said mobile-based calendar information source.

14. A method for displaying calendar information at a mobile terminal, the mobile terminal having a calendar application and operable by a user thereof in a radio communication system having network infrastructure with which the mobile terminal communicates by way of a radio link, and the network infrastructure coupled to a network-based calendar information source, said method comprising:

detecting initiation of a request by the user of the mobile terminal to retrieve at least one selected network-based calendar item stored at the network based calendar information source;

retrieving the at least one selected network-based calendar item stored at the network-based calendar information source by way of the radio link, and retrieving at least one selected mobile-based calendar item stored in association with the mobile-terminal calendar application; and

displaying the selected network-based calendar item and the selected mobile-based calendar item, retrieved during said operation of retrieving, simultaneously on a display element of the mobile terminal using the calendar application as a common calendar display at least during connection by way of the radio link between the mobile terminal and the network infrastructure;

further comprising a user actuator positioned at the mobile terminal and coupled to said mobile-based information source, said user actuator actuable selectable by a user to store the at least one mobile-based calendar item at said mobile-based calendar information source.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein said operation of retrieving comprises sending, from the mobile terminal, a retrieve request requesting retrieval from the network-based calendar information-source the selected network-based calendar item.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein said operation of retrieving further comprises detecting indications of the selected network-based calendar item at the mobile terminal, provided thereto responsive to the retrieve request.

17. The method of claim 14 comprising the additional operation of storing the selected network-based calendar item, retrieved during said operation of retrieving, at the mobile-based calendar information source.

18. The method of claim 14 comprising the additional operation of storing the selected mobile-based calendar item, retrieved during said operation of retrieving, at the network-based calendar information source.