Remote management of an external phonebook

• US 6,950,652 B2
• Filed: 01/08/2003
• Issued: 09/27/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/08/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: VTech Telecommunications Limited (VTech Holdings Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: VTech Telecommunications Limited (VTech Holdings Ltd.)
• Inventors: Wong, Sean, Janssen, Holger, Dury, James, Louie, Gary
• Primary Examiner(s): Tieu, Binh
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pham, Tuan
• Application Number:
  US10/338,439
• Publication Number:
  US 20040131173A1
• Time in Patent Office: 993 Days
• Field of Search: 455/418, 455/419, 455/420, 455/550.1, 455/462, 455/88, 379/355.02, 379/355.03, 379/355.07, 379/355.09, 379/355.04, 379/355.05, 379/356.01
• US Class Current: 455/419
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2748 by matching character strings
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2757 by data transmission, e.g. downloading
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72403 with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/18 wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4931 Directory assistance systems

Abstract

The present invention permits access to information stored on a remote device from a local device without requiring that a complete physical copy of the remote information be made. An enhanced and refined hash table permits access to the remote information in order or according to a search key with significant reduction in the memory requirements on the local device even though the remote information is not sorted. Scrolling through the remote data structure without accessing any unnecessary record on the remote device and hence reducing scroll response time is also achieved.

Claims

1. A method of accessing a telephone address book from a remote electronic device using an enhanced hash table to organize a local data structure on a local electronic device so as to provide alphanumeric scrolling, searching and sorted access to records in an unsorted data structure on the remote electronic device without making a physical copy of the remote data structure on the local device and in a manner which minimizes a local memory requirement and minimizes access to the remote device, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a data table of a finite length including a predetermined number of alphanumeric slots wherein each slot includes a predetermined number of cells for storage of index values corresponding to records based upon their alphanumerical properties;

providing a predetermined number of slots designated as free slots wherein each free slot includes a predetermined number of cells for storage of index values corresponding to records;

reading records stored in the remote device;

generating an index value corresponding to each record in the remote device;

alphanumerically sorting entries and storing each index value in a cell within the appropriate alphanumerical slot;

whereby the index values serve as pointers to the records stored in the remote electronic device thereby omitting the need to store the entire record; and

sorting entries and storing an index value in said free slots when all said cells within an alphanumerical slot are full.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising updating the data table by:

storing new index values corresponding to new records in an appropriate cell of a slot; and

marking the cell as up-to-date to delete obsolete table entries;

whereby the data table can be updated in a single pass of reading the remote address book once and only once for a complete update.

3. An apparatus for accessing telephone book information from a remote device comprising:

a first device having a first storage medium and at least one record of telephone book information stored therein;

a second device having a second storage medium;

an interface through which the first device may communicate with the second device;

at least one index value stored in a local data structure of said second storage medium, said index value uniquely identifying the at least one record of telephone information stored in the first storage medium, wherein a sequence of alphanumerically ordered index values is created, so as to provide alphanumeric scrolling, searching and sorted access to records in an unsorted data structure on the first device without making a physical copy of the remote data structure on the local device and in a manner which minimizes a local memory requirement and minimizes access to the first device.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the second storage medium further comprises:

a series of slots;

at least some of those slots being home slots for particular alphanumeric combinations;

said slots further comprising a series of cells.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the at least one index value is stored in the home slot corresponding to the alphanumeric value of the associated record.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the second storage medium further comprises:

the at least one index value stored in alphabetical order.

7. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the at least one index value contains an update status flag.

8. The apparatus of claim 3 where the first electronic device is a cellular telephone and the second electronic device is a cordless telephone.

9. A system for accessing remote telephone book information, comprising:

a remote device containing a list of telephone book records stored in a first medium;

a local device having a second storage medium;

an interface by which information is communicated between the local and the remote device;

a data structure contained in the second storage medium, the data structure comprising a sorted list of index values, the sorted list of index value corresponding to an alphanumerically sorted list of telephone book records derived from the list of telephone book records stored in the first medium; and

a software driven indexing routine for creating the sorted list of index values, wherein alphanumeric scrolling, searching and sorted access to the list of telephone book records in the first medium are performed without making a physical copy of the telephone book records in the second storage medium, so that access to the remote device and memory requirement in the local medium are minimized.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the local device and the remote device are each chosen from the list comprising:

a handset of a cordless telephone system;

a personal digital assistant;

a wireless telephone;

a portable email terminal; and

a personal computer.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the local device comprises a handset of a cordless telephone system and the remote device comprises a cellular telephone.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising;

a remote microprocessor located in the cellular telephone and configured to read information from the first storage medium;

a third storage medium located in the cordless handset; and

a local microprocessor located in the cordless handset and cofigured to read and write from the second and third storage media and receive communications from the remote microprocessor.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the interface comprises interface hardware and driver software that provide for message exchanges between the remote and local devices.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the interface hardware is chosen from the list comprising:

a UART connection;

an RS232 cable;

and infrared transceiver;

a radio transceiver; and

electrical contacts of a base unit configured to receive the remote and local devices.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the interface is set up when the remote device is placed in a cradle of a base station of the cordless telephone system.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the third storage medium comprises a volatile memory and the second storage medium comprises a non-volatile memory.

17. The system of claim 9, wherein the data structure comprises a series of slots, each slot further including a fixed number of cells for containing the index values.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the series of slots comprises:

a group of home slots assigned to specific alphanumeric sequences;

a group of free slots configured to accommodate indexes when home slots are full;

a group of numeric slots;

and a group of symbol slots.

19. A method for managing telephone address book information in a plurality of devices, comprising:

storing the telephone book information comprising phone book entries in a first memory of a first device;

setting up an interface between the first device and a second device;

reading the phone book entries into a volatile memory of the second device;

providing a data structure in the second device, the data structure including a predetermined number of alphanumeric slots wherein each alphanumeric slot includes a predetermined number of cells for storage of index values corresponding to records based upon their alphanumerical properties;

storing an index value corresponding to each phone book entry in the data structure, wherein each index value serves as a pointer to the records stored in the first memory thereby omitting the need to store the entire record in the data structure.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

providing a predetermined number of free slots in the data structure, wherein each free slot includes a predetermined number of cells for storage of index values; and

storing an index value in the free slots when all the cells within an alphanumerical slot are full.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

selecting a designated index number that is displayed in the second device;

sending a request to retrieve the phone book entry corresponding to the designated index number from the first device; and

viewing the phone book entry corresponding to the second index number in the second device.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the data structure is stored in a non-volatile memory.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein the first device is a cellular telephone and the second device is a handset of a cordless telephone system.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein setting up an interface comprises placing the cellular telephone in a cradle of the cordless telephone system.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein the request to retrieve a telephone book entry is sent when the cordless handset is placed in a base unit of the cordless telephone system.