Mobile telephone capable of displaying world time and method for controlling the same

• US 7,069,055 B1
• Filed: 07/17/1998
• Issued: 06/27/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Hye-Young
• Primary Examiner(s): WASHINGTON, ERIKA ALISE
• Application Number:
  US09/118,100
• Time in Patent Office: 2,902 Days
• Field of Search: 455/566, 455/550.1, 455/575.1, 368/21, 368/22, 368/47, 368/10
• US Class Current: 455/566
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 9/0076 in which the time in another time-zone or in another city can be displayed at will
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72451 according to schedules, e.g. using calendar applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location

Abstract

An apparatus and method for calculating and displaying local time for a plurality of cities in the world. The apparatus includes a memory for storing Greenwich mean time (GMT) information for each of the plurality of cities. The apparatus sets a reference time and counts the time that elapses from when the reference time is set. The apparatus calculates a local time of a city selected by a user, which is based on a difference between the GMT of the selected city and the GMT of a present location of the apparatus, the reference time and the counted elapsed time. The reference time may be either a time set by the user or a system time acquired from a signal generated from a remote system.

Claims

1. An apparatus for displaying local time information, comprising:

means for storing Greenwich mean time (GMT) information for each of a plurality of cities;

means for receiving a reference time from a signal received from a remote system;

means for counting a duration of time that elapses from when said reference time is acquired;

means for selecting at least one of said plurality of cities and automatically calculating a local time of said selected city, said local time being based on a difference between the GMT of said selected city and the GMT of a present location of said apparatus, said reference time and said elapsed time; and

means for outputting said local time.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said apparatus is a mobile telephone.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said reference time is a system time acquired from a sync channel message received by said mobile cellular phone from a base station of a CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) cellular system.

4. In an apparatus having a display and a memory for storing Greenwich mean time (GMT) information for each of a plurality of cities, a method for generating local time information, comprising the steps of:

receiving a reference time from a signal received from a remote system;

counting a time which elapses from said acquiring of said reference time;

selecting at least one of said plurality of cities;

automatically calculating a local time of said selected city based on the difference between the GMT of said selected city and the GMT of a present location of said apparatus, said reference time and said elapsed time; and

displaying said calculated local time.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising the step of displaying a message to set a reference time if said step of setting a reference time does not occur.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein said step of selecting includes the substeps of:

displaying a list of said plurality of cities; and

scrolling through said list to select a desired one of said plurality of cities.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein said apparatus is a mobile telephone.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said reference time is a system time acquired from a sync channel message received from a base station of a CDMA cellular system.