Mobile terminal and incoming/outgoing call history management method

• US 7,283,813 B2
• Filed: 08/27/2004
• Issued: 10/16/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Hamanaga, Ayaka, Kawahara, Eiji
• Primary Examiner(s): Kincaid, Lester G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Figueroa, Marisol
• Application Number:
  US10/524,852
• Publication Number:
  US 20060025112A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,145 Days
• Field of Search: 455/415, 455/414.3, 455/379, 455/42.1, 455/414.2, 455/45.8, 455/432.3, 455/550.1, 455/567, 455/412.1, 455/412.2
• US Class Current: 455/415
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2746 Sorting, e.g. according to history or frequency of use
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/56 Arrangements for indicating or recording the called number at the calling subscriber's set
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/575 Means for retrieving and displaying personal data about calling party
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6505 storing speech in digital form
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724 User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/10 including a GPS signal receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/52 including functional features of a camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/60 logging of communication history, e.g. outgoing or incoming calls, missed calls, messages or URLs

Abstract

An incoming/outgoing call detection section detects an incoming or outgoing phone call from or to another mobile terminal. An information acquisition section acquires related information concerning an incoming or outgoing call in response to detection of the incoming or outgoing call by the detection section. An incoming/outgoing call history generation section generates history information in which the related information acquired by the information acquisition section is kept in association with at least a telephone number of the incoming or outgoing call. An incoming/outgoing call history storing section stores the history information generated by the history generation section. An incoming/outgoing call history notification section notifies to a user of the mobile terminal the related information contained in the history information, in response to an incoming or outgoing call from or to the telephone number contained in the history information stored in the incoming/outgoing call history storing section.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal having a communication function, the mobile terminal comprising:

a detection section configured to detect an incoming or outgoing phone call;

an information acquisition section to acquire related information concerning an incoming or outgoing phone call in response to detection of the incoming or outgoing phone call by the detection section;

a device section configured to acquire environment information in response to detection of the incoming or outgoing phone call by the detection section, the environmental information being at least one of a still image of surroundings of the mobile terminal acquired with a camera, moving pictures of the surroundings of the mobile terminal acquired with a camera, sounds and soundscape of the surroundings of the mobile terminal acquired with a microphone, a channel which is being viewed in the mobile terminal acquired with an internal television tuner, and open/close information concerning at least one of a state of folding, rotating, and sliding of the mobile terminal acquired by the information acquisition section;

a history generation section configured to generate history information in which the related information acquired by the information acquisition section and the environment information acquired by the device section are kept in association with at least a telephone number of the incoming or outgoing phone call as a piece of the history information;

a history storing section configured to store the history information generated by the history generation section; and

a history notification section configured to notify a user of the mobile terminal of the related information and the environment information contained in the piece of the history information, in response to an incoming or outgoing phone call from or to the telephone number contained in the piece of the history information stored in the history storing section.

2. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, further comprising a message storing section configured to store a plurality of answering messages, wherein,

the information acquisition section is configured to acquire from the message storing section an answering message used to answer the incoming phone call as the related information, and

the history storing section is configured to store the answering message acquired by the information acquisition section in association with the telephone number of the incoming phone call.

3. The mobile terminal according to claim 2, wherein, the history storing section is further configured to store information indicating whether or not the telephone number contained in the piece of the history information has been redialed, and at a time of the incoming or outgoing phone call, the history notification section is configured to notify the user of the answering message associated with the piece of the history information containing the telephone number only if the telephone number has not yet been redialed.

4. The mobile terminal according to claim 3, wherein, the message storing section is further configured to store alarm information specifying a time at which to notify with an alarm in connection with the answering message, and the history notification section is configured to notify the user of the answering message associated with the piece of the history information which contains the telephone number that has not yet been redialed and which has reached the time specified by the alarm information.

5. The mobile terminal according to claim 3, wherein, if a number of pieces of the history information stored in the history storing section exceeds a predetermined maximum number, the history notification section is configured to automatically delete a piece of the history information which contains an already redialed telephone number and which has an oldest time of reception/calling.

6. The mobile terminal according to claim 3, wherein, when a piece of the history information which contains a telephone number that has not yet been redialed is nominated for deletion, the history notification section is configured to present a message to the user to seek an approval to delete the piece of the history information.

7. The mobile terminal according to claim 2, wherein, the message storing section is further configured to store alarm information specifying a time at which to notify with an alarm in connection with the answering message, and the history notification section is configured to notify the user of the answering message associated with the piece of the history information which has reached the time specified by the alarm information.

8. An incoming/outgoing call history management method for managing a communication history of a mobile terminal, the incoming/outgoing call history management method comprising:

detecting an incoming or outgoing phone call from or to another mobile terminal;

acquiring related information concerning an incoming or outgoing phone call in response to detection of the incoming or outgoing phone call;

acquiring environment information in response to detection of the incoming or outgoing phone call, the environmental information being at least one of a still image of surroundings of the mobile terminal acquired with a camera, moving pictures of the surroundings of the mobile terminal acquired with a camera, sounds and soundscape of the surroundings of the mobile terminal acquired with a microphone, a channel which is being viewed in the mobile terminal acquired with an internal television tuner, and open/close information concerning at least one of a state of folding, rotating, and sliding of the mobile terminal acquired by the acquisition of the related information;

generating history information in which the related information and the environment information are kept in association with at least a telephone number of the incoming or outgoing phone call as a piece of the history information;

storing the generated history information; and

notifying a user of the mobile terminal of the related information and the environment information contained in the piece of the history information, in response to an incoming or outgoing phone call from or to the telephone number contained in the piece of the stored history information.

9. A computer-readable medium encoded with a computer-readable program for causing a mobile terminal to perform an incoming/outgoing call history management method for managing an incoming/outgoing call history of the mobile terminal,

the program causing the mobile terminal to execute:

detecting an incoming or outgoing phone call from or to another mobile terminal;

acquiring related information concerning an incoming or outgoing phone call in response to detection of the incoming or outgoing phone call;

acquiring environment in response to detection of the incoming or outgoing phone call, the environmental information being at least one of a still image of surroundings of the mobile terminal acquired with a camera, moving pictures of the surroundings of the mobile terminal acquired with a camera, sounds and soundscape of the surroundings of the mobile terminal acquired with a microphone, a channel which is being viewed in the mobile terminal acquired with an internal television tuner, and open/close information concerning at least one of a state of folding, rotating, and sliding of the mobile terminal acquired by the acquisition of the related information;

generating history information in which the related information and the environment information are kept in association with at least a telephone number of the incoming or outgoing phone call as a piece of the history information;

storing the generated history information; and

notifying a user of the mobile terminal of the related information and the environment information contained in the piece of the history information, in response to an incoming or outgoing phone call from or to the telephone number contained in the piece of the stored history information.

10. An integrated circuit for a mobile terminal having a communication function, the integrated circuit comprising circuitry functioning as:

a detection section configured to detect an incoming or outgoing phone call;

an information acquisition section configured to acquire related information concerning an incoming or outgoing phone call in response to detection of the incoming or outgoing phone call by the detection section;

a device section configured to acquire environment information in response to detection of the incoming or outgoing phone call by the detection section, the environmental information being at least one of a still image of surroundings of the mobile terminal acquired with a camera, moving pictures of the surroundings of the mobile terminal acquired with a camera, sounds and soundscape of the surroundings of the mobile terminal acquired with a microphone, a channel which is being viewed in the mobile terminal acquired with an internal television tuner, and open/close information concerning at least one of a state of folding, rotating, and sliding of the mobile terminal acquired by the information acquisition section;

a history generation section configured to generate history information in which the related information acquired by the information acquisition section and the environment information acquired by the device section are kept in association with at least a telephone number of the incoming or outgoing phone call as a piece of the history information;

a history storing section configured to store the history information generated by the history generation section; and

a history notification section configured to notify to a user of the mobile terminal of the related information and the environment information contained in the piece of the history information, in response to an incoming or outgoing phone call from or to the telephone number contained in the piece of the history information stored in the history storing section.