Data terminal having a telephone function

• US 7,333,817 B2
• Filed: 05/20/2003
• Issued: 02/19/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo Innovations Ltd Hong Kong (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Tsuchiyama, Kinya
• Primary Examiner(s): Trost; William
• Assistant Examiner(s): Santiago-Cordero; Marivelisse
• Application Number:
  US10/441,252
• Publication Number:
  US 20040023668A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,736 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.1, 455/414.1, 455/414.4, 379354-357
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2746 Sorting, e.g. according to history or frequency of use
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/10 including a GPS signal receiver

Abstract

A CPU in a cellular phone counts the number of calling times in each area in which the cellular phone resides, and stores the number of calling times for each area. The telephone numbers stored in the telephone directory file are affixed by priority orders based on the number of calling times for the area to which the telephone codes of the telephone numbers correspond. When the user wishes to display the telephone numbers on the screen of a display unit, the CPU arranges the telephone numbers in the order of the priority orders on the screen.

Claims

1. A cellular telephone comprising:

a storage device for storing therein a plurality of telephone numbers;

a locational information acquisition section, responsive to a received electromagnetic signal, for acquiring locational information comprising a location of said cellular telephone;

a call counting section for counting a respective number of calls for said telephone numbers made from said location based on said locational information;

a priority order determination section for determining a priority order for said telephone numbers based on said acquired locational information and said respective number of calls; and

an information output section for providing at least one of said telephone numbers higher in said priority order from among said telephone numbers.

2. The cellular telephone according to claim 1, wherein said information output section further provides a remaining part of said telephone numbers after said at least one said telephone numbers so that said telephone numbers are arranged in an order of said priority orders.

3. The cellular telephone according to claim 1, wherein said priority order determination section is selectively activated.

4. The cellular telephone according to claim 1, wherein said locational information acquisition section comprises a global positioning system (GPS) unit.

5. The cellular telephone according to claim 1, wherein said location of said cellular telephone comprises an area.

6. The cellular telephone according to claim 5, further comprising means for scaling said area.

7. A cellular phone comprising:

a telephone directory file for registering therein a plurality of telephone numbers;

an area identification section for identifying an area of said cellular phone from among a plurality of areas based on locational information of said cellular phone;

a counting section for counting a number of calls for respective ones of said plurality of telephone numbers in each of said areas;

a priority order determination section far determining priority orders of said areas and said respective ones of said plurality of telephone numbers based on said number of calls; and

a display unit for displaying said areas and said respective ones of said plurality of telephone numbers in one of said priority orders.

8. The cellular phone according to claim 7, further comprising an area scale setting section for setting a scale for said plurality of areas.

9. The cellular phone according to claim 7, further comprising a group registry section for registering each of said areas in one of a plurality of groups, wherein:

said priority order determination section further determines other priority orders of said groups, said other priority orders being determined based on the sum of the numbers of calls of said areas in each group; and

said display unit displays said telephone numbers in an order of said other priority orders.

10. The cellular phone according to claim 7, wherein said priority order determination section is selectively activated.

11. The cellular phone according to claim 7, wherein said cellular phone comprises a personal digital assistant.

12. The cellular phone according to claim 7, wherein said area identification section comprises a GPS unit.

13. The cellular phone according to claim 7, wherein said calling time counting section determines an area of a called telephone number based on a calling code of the called telephone number.

14. A computer readable medium encoded with a computer program on which a control processing unit (CPU) is run for operating a cellular phone, said program being capable of causing said CPU to:

determine an area of the cellular phone from among a plurality of areas based on indicated locational information of the cellular phone;

count a number of calling times for telephone numbers in each of said areas;

determine priority orders of said telephone numbers for each of the areas based on the number of calling times in said determined area of the cellular phone; and

display the telephone numbers in an order of the priority orders.

15. The recording medium according to claim 14, wherein said counting the number of calling times for each of said areas includes determining an area of a called telephone number based on a calling code of the called telephone number.