Communication terminal apparatus and computer program

• US 7,974,641 B2
• Filed: 10/27/2006
• Issued: 07/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Japan Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Inukai, Tetsuro
• Primary Examiner(s): Matar; Ahmad F
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pope; Kharye
• Application Number:
  US11/553,756
• Publication Number:
  US 20070123204A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,712 Days
• Field of Search: 455/461, 455/456.6, 455/456.1, 707/102, 707/5, 379/211.01, 379/201.12, 345/753
• US Class Current: 455/456.6
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2746 Sorting, e.g. according to history or frequency of use
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/27475 using interactive graphical means or pictorial representations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/576 associated with a pictorial or graphical representation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/663 Preventing unauthorised calls to a telephone set
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72427 for supporting games or graphical animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/60 logging of communication history, e.g. outgoing or incoming calls, missed calls, messages or URLs logging of telephone numbers H04M1/56, H04M1/57

Abstract

A communication terminal apparatus includes: a communication unit performing communication; a storage unit collecting and storing history information on communication; a registration unit registering at least communication address information on communicating parties and image information that represents the communicating parties; a display unit displaying images, which represent the registered communicating parties, on a display screen; and an arrangement position determining unit determining arrangement positions of the images, which represent the communicating parties, based on the history information on communication with the communicating parties.

Claims

1. A communication terminal apparatus comprising:

communication means for performing communication;

storage means for collecting and storing history information on communication;

registration means for registering at least communication address information on communicating parties and image information that represents the communicating parties;

display means for displaying images, which represent the registered communicating parties, on a display screen; and

arrangement position determination means for determining arrangement positions of the images, which represent the communicating parties, based on the history information including numbers of communication times with the communicating parties, wherein

the arrangement position determination means determines a distance between a position, where an image representing a communicating party is displayed, and a base position on the display screen based on a number of communication times with the communicating party.

2. The communication terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the arrangement position determination means determines a rank based on a number of communication times with the communicating party, and determines a position on one of concentric circles where the image is displayed, the concentric circles corresponding to a plurality of ranks, one for each circle, with the base position in a center, the concentric circles having different distances from the base position.

3. The communication terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the registration means further stores an image representing a user of the communication terminal apparatus; and

the arrangement position determination means arranges an image representing the user in the base position.

4. The communication terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

a specific rank is used for rejecting a reception of phone calls and/or mails and,

for a communicating party represented by an image moved to the rank, the rejection of the reception of phone calls and/or mails is set.

5. The communication terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

a plurality of images are prepared in advance for use as a background image that is displayed when the images representing the registered communicating parties are displayed on the display screen;

the communication terminal apparatus further includes;

means for selecting the background image based on a number of communicating parties registered by the registration means.

6. The communication terminal apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

means for classifying statistical information on a communicating party into a plurality of categories based on communication history information on the communicating party, for assigning one of nicknames to the communicating party, the nickname being prepared in advance for each category, and for displaying the nickname on the display screen.

7. The communication terminal apparatus according to claim 2, wherein:

a level of familiarity between a communicating party and a user is calculated as the communication frequency based on the communication history information on the communicating party and

the level of familiarity is compared with a predetermined threshold to determine to which rank the communicating party belongs.

8. The communication terminal apparatus according to claim 7, wherein:

if the level of familiarity is updated based on new communication history information on a communicating party, the level of familiarity is updated using a calculation expression that makes it easy for the level of familiarity to increase but difficult to decrease if the rank is low and that makes it difficult for the level of familiarity to increase but easy to decrease if the rank is high.

9. The communication terminal apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

means for switching between a screen on which communicating parties are represented by images and a screen on which communicating parties are represented in a list format in response to an instruction from a user.

10. The communication terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the display means displays the communication address information on the communicating party in response to an instruction from a user issued to the image of the communicating party.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium including a computer program executed by a communication terminal apparatus having at least registration unit configured to register communication address information on communicating parties and image information representing the communicating parties, the computer program causing a computer in the communication terminal apparatus to execute a method comprising:

collecting and storing history information on communication;

displaying images that represent the registered communicating parties on a display screen; and

determining arrangement positions of the images, which represent the communicating parties, at the display time based on the history information including number of communication times with the communicating parties, wherein

determining arrangement positions of the images includes determining a distance between a position, where an image representing a communicating party is displayed, and a base position on the display screen based on a number of communication times with the communicating party.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 11, further comprising:

determining a rank based on a number of communication times with the communicating party; and

determining a position on one of concentric circles where the image is displayed, the concentric circles corresponding to a plurality of ranks, one for each circle, with the base position in a center, the concentric circles having different distances from the base position.

12. A communication terminal apparatus comprising:

a communication unit performing communication;

a storage unit collecting and storing history information on communication;

a registration unit registering at least communication address information on communicating parties and image information that represents the communicating parties;

a display unit displaying images, which represent the registered communicating parties, on a display screen; and

an arrangement position determining unit determining arrangement positions of the images, which represent the communicating parties, based on the history information including number of communication times with the communicating parties, wherein

the arrangement position determination unit is configured to determine a distance between a position, where an image representing a communicating party is displayed, and a base position on the display screen based on a number of communication times with the communicating party.

14. The communication terminal apparatus according to claim 12, wherein

the arrangement position determination unit is configured to determine a rank based on a number of communication times with the communicating party, and determines a position on one of concentric circles where the image is displayed, the concentric circles corresponding to a plurality of ranks, one for each circle, with the base position in a center, the concentric circles having different distances from the base position.