Device and method for processing system-related events in a portable terminal

• US 7,742,782 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2005
• Issued: 06/22/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Jae-Ho, Kim, Hyun-Ji, Seo, Jeong-Wook
• Primary Examiner(s): Le; Danh C
• Application Number:
  US11/311,358
• Publication Number:
  US 20060166708A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,645 Days
• Field of Search: 455/414.1, 455/418, 455/550.1, 370/328
• US Class Current: 455/550.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0489 using dedicated keyboard keys or combinations thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724 User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72427 for supporting games or graphical animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/56 including a user help function
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0254 detecting a user operation or a tactile contact or a motion of the device
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0261 managing power supply demand, e.g. depending on battery level
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Provided is a device and a method for processing system-related events generated in a portable terminal. The method includes the steps of storing system-related events generated in the portable terminal, confirming specialists set in advance so that the system-related events can be processed by the specialists respectively, calling the confirmed specialists and processing the system-related events, and displaying the processing results set in advance with respect to the specialists with a text/avatar, according to the processing results which are processed by the specialists.

Claims

1. A device for processing system-related events in a portable terminal, the device comprising:

a memory for storing a character User Interface (UI) image according to a system-related event;

an event collection section for detecting the system-related event generated in the portable terminal and for generating an event message for discriminating the generated system-related event;

an agent control section comprising a plurality of specialists for processing system-related events, the agent control section determining a specialist of the plurality of specialists corresponding to the system-related event, calling the determined specialist to process the system-related event, and selecting and outputting a character UI Identification (ID) corresponding to the system-related event;

an agent expression section for accessing and outputting at least one of a character image and a text corresponding to the character-UI ID according to the system-related event; and

a supervision section for selecting a specialist that is most relevant to the received event, if more than two specialists are selected with respect to one event.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the agent control section comprises:

a specialist which confirms whether a state of a battery is fully charged and informs a user that the battery is fully charged if the battery is determined to be fully charged; and

a specialist which confirms whether the battery power is less than a threshold value and informs a user that the residual amount of the battery power is low if the battery power is less than the threshold value.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the agent control section comprises a specialist which confirms whether a signal strength is less than a threshold value, and informs a user that the signal is weak by selecting and outputting a corresponding character-UI ID if the signal strength is determined to be less than the threshold value.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the agent control section comprises a specialist which confirms whether an available memory capacity is less than a threshold value and informs a user that the available memory capacity is low if the memory capacity is less than the threshold value.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the agent control section comprises a specialist which confirms whether a bell sound changing day exceeds a threshold day and informs a user to change the bell sound if the bell sound changing day exceeds the threshold day.

6. The device according to claim 1, wherein the agent control section comprises a specialist which confirms whether a background changing day exceeds a threshold day and informs a user to change the background if the background changing day exceeds the threshold day.

7. The device according to claim 1, wherein the agent control section comprises a specialist which sets a timer when a bell mode has been changed at more than a threshold number of times within a threshold time range and informs a user to change the bell mode if the timer event is generated.

8. The device according to claim 1, wherein the agent control section comprises a specialist which confirms whether a phone use frequency is lower than a threshold value and informs a user to use a corresponding recommended program if the phone use frequency is lower than the threshold value.

9. The device according to claim 1, wherein the memory stores at least one of a character UI image informing a user that the battery is fully charged, a character UI image informing a user that the residual amount of the battery power is low, a character UI image informing a user that the signal strength is weak, a character UI image informing a user that the available memory capacity is low, a character UI image informing a user to change the bell sound, a character UI image informing a user to change the background, a character UI image informing a user to change the bell mode if it reaches a threshold time range, and a character UI image informing a user to use a corresponding recommended program if the phone use frequency is low.

10. A method for processing system-related events in a portable terminal, the method comprising the steps of:

storing system-related events generated in the portable terminal;

determining specialists corresponding to the system-related events among a plurality of specialists;

selecting a specialist that is most relevant to the received event, if more than two specialists are selected with respect to one event;

calling the determined specialists to process the system-related events and generate processing results; and

displaying the processing results with at least one of a text and an avatar according to the system-related events.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the system-related events comprise at least one of a battery state changing event, a signal state changing event, an available memory capacity changing event, a bell mode changing event, and a timer event set by a specialist performing the system-related operations.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein, of first and second specialists which process the battery state changing events, the first specialist confirms whether the battery is fully charged and displays a text/avatar informing a user that the battery is fully charged if the battery is determined to be fully charged, by the first specialist, and the second specialist confirms whether the residual amount of the battery power is less than a threshold value and displays at least one of a text and an avatar informing a user that the residual amount of battery power is low if the residual amount of battery power determined to be less than the threshold value by the second specialist.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein a third specialist processing the wave state changing event confirms whether the signal strength is less than a threshold value and displays at least one of a text and an avatar informing a user that the signal strength is weak if the signal strength is determined to be less than the threshold value by the third specialist.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein a fourth specialist processing the available memory capacity changing event confirms whether the memory capacity is less than a threshold value and displays at least one of a text and an avatar informing a user that the available memory capacity is low if the memory capacity is determined to be less than the threshold value by the fourth specialist.

15. The method according to claim 11, wherein a fifth specialist processing a fifth timer event of the timer events set by the specialists performing the system-related operations resets the fifth timer event, confirms whether the bell sound changing day exceeds a threshold day, and displays at least one of a text and an avatar recommending a user to change the bell sound if the bell sound changing day is determined to exceed the threshold day by the fifth specialist.

16. The method according to claim 11, wherein a sixth specialist processing a sixth timer event of the timer events set by the specialists performing the system-related operations resets the sixth timer event, confirms whether the background changing day exceeds a threshold day, and displays at least one of a text and an avatar recommending a user to change the background if the background changing day is determined to exceed the threshold day by the sixth specialist.

17. The method according to claim 11, wherein a seventh specialist processing the bell mode changing event confirms whether the bell mode has been changed at more than a threshold number of times in a threshold time range and sets the timer, and displays at least one of a text and an avatar recommending the change of the bell mode if the timer set by the seventh specialist is generated.

18. The method according to claim 11, wherein a eighth specialist processing a eighth timer event of the timer events set by the specialists performing the system-related operations, resets the eighth timer event, confirms a recommended application program item preset per the lowest item of the phone use frequency and the avatar state value and the lowest item of the avatar state value, and displays at least one of a text and an avatar recommending use of the recommended application program preset per the lowest item of the avatar state value in the case in which the phone use frequency is determined to be less than a threshold value by the eighth specialist.

19. The method according to claim 10, wherein the step of processing the system-related events comprises:

checking a battery state of the portable terminal;

displaying at least one of a text and an avatar informing a user that the battery of the portable terminal is fully charged if the battery of the portable terminal is fully charged; and

displaying at least one of a text and an avatar informing a user that the residual amount of the battery is low if the residual amount of the battery is less than a threshold value.

20. The method according to claim 10, wherein the step of processing the system-related events comprises:

checking a signal state of the portable terminal; and

displaying at least one of a text and an avatar informing a user that a signal received by the portable terminal is weak if the intensity of a signal received by the portable terminal is less than a threshold value.

21. The method according to claim 10, wherein the step of processing the system-related events comprises:

checking an available memory capacity of the portable terminal; and

displaying a text/avatar informing a user that the available memory capacity of the portable terminal is low if the memory capacity of the portable terminal is less than a threshold value.

22. The method according to claim 10, wherein the step of processing the system-related events comprises:

checking a bell sound changing day by a threshold period; and

displaying at least one of a text and an avatar recommending a change of the bell sound if the bell sound changing day exceeds a threshold day.

23. The method according to claim 22, further comprising the step of converting the mode of the portable terminal to a bell sound changing mode, if the change of the bell sound is selected.

24. The method according to claim 10, wherein the step of processing the system-related events comprises:

checking a background changing day by a threshold period; and

displaying at least one of a text and an avatar recommending a change of the background if the background changing day exceeds a threshold day.

25. The method according to claim 24, further comprising the step of:

converting the mode of the portable terminal to a background changing mode, if the change of the background is selected.

26. The method according to claim 10, wherein the step of processing the system-related events comprises:

determining whether a bell mode change has been performed at more than a threshold number of times within a threshold time range, if the bell mode change is performed in the portable terminal;

setting a bell mode changing timer, if the bell mode change has been performed at more than a threshold number of times within a threshold time range;

determining whether the bell mode change is performed within the threshold time range, if the bell mode changing timer is set; and

displaying a text/avatar recommending a change of the bell mode, if the bell mode change is performed within the threshold time range.

27. The method according to claim 26, further comprising the step of:

converting the mode of the portable terminal to a mode in which the bell mode change is performed, if the bell mode change is selected.

28. The method according to claim 26, wherein the threshold time range is from a first threshold time earlier than the time at which the bell mode was changed to the time at which the bell mode was changed, or from the time at which the bell mode was changed to a second threshold time later than the time at which the bell mode was changed.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein the threshold time range is from the first threshold time to the second threshold time.

30. The method for processing system-related events in a portable terminal according to claim 10, the method comprising the steps of:

checking the phone use frequency by a threshold period in the portable terminal; and

displaying at least one of a text and an avatar recommending use of a corresponding recommended program, if the phone use frequency is lower than a threshold value.

31. The method according to claim 30, further comprising the step of:

converting the mode of the portable terminal to a mode in which the corresponding recommended program is performed, if the corresponding recommended program is selected.