Portable electronic device having integrated telephony and calendar functions

• US 7,362,854 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2001
• Issued: 04/22/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Gateway Incorporated (Acer, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Gateway Incorporated (Acer, Inc.)
• Inventors: Mcknight, Russell F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Deane, Jr.; William J.
• Application Number:
  US09/966,533
• Publication Number:
  US 20030063732A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,398 Days
• Field of Search: 37926501-2654, 37926601-2661, 379/209.01, 379/88.13, 379/201.01, 379/207.15
• US Class Current: 379/210.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2749 Automatic dialling or redialling systems, e.g. on off-hook or redial on busy
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/575 Means for retrieving and displaying personal data about calling party
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/663 Preventing unauthorised calls to a telephone set
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72451 according to schedules, e.g. using calendar applications

Abstract

The phone number or other identifying information of an incoming phone call or other network communication is optionally stored, and a call-back is optionally scheduled. The user is prompted whether to schedule a call back, and if so, a call-back sequence is initiated at an appropriate time. When a call-back sequence is initiated, the scheduled call-back number or address may be automatically dialed, or alternatively the user selects whether to go forward with the call-back routine, at which time the call-back continues if the user selects an affirmative response. As an option, the user can delay the call-back to a predetermined time in the future, or the call-back can be rescheduled or canceled. Associated notes or other text can be saved in a calendar along with the scheduled call-back event to remind the user the reason and subject matter of the call back. The invention provides integrated communications and calendaring features. The invention may be directed to telephony system such as cellular telephones or telephony enabled computers systems, or may be expanded to network communication such as e-mail or network addressing in lieu of telephony communications.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a telephony circuit structure, disposed within a first device, configured to receive an incoming telephone call and enable a user of the first device to speak to an initiator of the incoming telephone call;

a caller ID circuit structure, disposed within the first device, configured to identify caller information associated with the incoming telephone call; and

a scheduling circuit structure, disposed within the first device, configured to enable the user to schedule a call-back based on the identifying caller information identified by said caller ID circuit structure; and

a reminder circuit structure disposed within the first device and configured to initiate a call-back scheduled by the scheduling circuit structure;

wherein said scheduling circuit structure is configured to require, upon receiving the incoming telephone call and after said identifying caller information for the incoming telephone call is provided to the user upon receipt of the incoming telephone call, an indication from the user that a call-back should be scheduled.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said scheduling circuit structure includes an electronic calendar.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said scheduling circuit structure includes a scheduler module.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a call management circuit structure disposed within the first device and being coupled with said telephony circuit structure, said caller ID circuit structure, and said scheduling circuit structure.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, the first device being selected from the group comprising a cellular telephone, a home telephone, and a work telephone.

6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a storage circuit structure configured to store the identified caller information associated with the incoming telephone call.

7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 6, said storing means including a contacts database.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first device comprises a portable handheld device.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the scheduling circuit structure enables a user of the portable device, after receiving the incoming call, to, at the option of the user, automatically schedule a call-back.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the scheduling circuit structure enables a user of the first device to, at the direction of the user and based on a selection by the user after receiving the incoming call, automatically schedule a call-back.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a prompting circuit structure within the first device and configured to prompt the user to approve of the call back prior to initiation of the call back.

12. A method for enabling a recipient of an incoming telephone call to schedule a call-back, comprising:

receiving an incoming telephone call by a first device;

obtaining caller information associated with the incoming telephone call by the first device;

providing the caller information associated with the incoming telephone call by the first device to a recipient of the incoming call; and

requesting from the recipient of the incoming call, after receiving the incoming call and providing the caller information to the recipient of the incoming call, an indication of whether the first device should initiate an automatic scheduling of a call-back for the incoming telephone call by the first device based on the caller information provided to the recipient.

13. A method as claimed in claim 12, further comprising the step of determining whether obtained caller information associated with the incoming telephone call is stored in a database, and if not, then saving the obtained caller information in the database.

14. A method as claimed in claim 12, further comprising the step of, at a time scheduled in said scheduling step, initiating a call-back based using the obtained caller information.

15. A method as claimed in claim 12, said scheduling step further comprising the step of optionally entering text associated with the scheduled call-back.

16. A method as claimed in claim 12, further comprising the step of, at a scheduled call-back time, prompting the user to select an option to be executed, the option being at least one of the following from the group comprising proceeding with a scheduled call-back, canceling a scheduled call-back, delaying a scheduled call-back, and rescheduling a scheduled call-back.

17. A method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the enabling step further comprises, after the incoming call is received, requiring the recipient to indicate that a call-back should be scheduled for the incoming telephone call before any scheduling of a call-back.

18. A method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the enabling step further comprises, after the incoming call is received, requesting from the recipient an indication that a call-back should be scheduled for the incoming telephone call before any scheduling of a call-back.

19. An apparatus, comprising:

means for receiving an incoming communication;

means for identifying information associated with the incoming communication;

means for presenting the identifying information to a recipient of the incoming communication; and

means for requesting the recipient of the incoming communication to indicate, after receiving the incoming communication and presenting the identifying information to the recipient, whether to automatically schedule a response to the incoming communication based on information identified by said identifying means.

20. An apparatus as claimed in claim 19, the incoming communication received by said receiving means being selected from the group comprising telephony, e-mail, network protocol, file transfer protocol, Internet protocol, wireless network protocol, RF network protocol.

21. An apparatus as claimed in claim 19, said receiving means being selected from the group comprising cellular telephone, home telephone, work telephone, computer system, network adapter, and server.

22. An apparatus as claimed in claim 19, said identifying means including a structure selected from the group comprising caller ID, network adapter, firewall software, firewall hardware, network hardware, and network software.

23. An apparatus as claimed in claim 22, said scheduling means including an electronic calendar.

24. An apparatus as claimed in claim 22, said scheduling means initiating a response communication at a scheduled time.