Method for managing information in a telephone and telephone for managing information

• US 8,280,021 B2
• Filed: 08/07/2008
• Issued: 10/02/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Naxos Finance SA
• Original Assignee: Naxos Finance SA
• Inventors: Sanchez, Andres
• Primary Examiner(s): DEANE JR, WILLIAM J
• Application Number:
  US12/187,935
• Publication Number:
  US 20090041218A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,517 Days
• Field of Search: 379/201.01, 379/199, 379/200, 379/196, 379/356.01, 379/354, 379/355.01, 455/463, 455/554, 455/555, 455/518, 455/519
• US Class Current: 379/201.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/56 Arrangements for indicating or recording the called number at the calling subscriber's set
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/57 Arrangements for indicating or recording the number of the calling subscriber at the called subscriber's set at the operator set in a manual exchange H04M5/20
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/66 with means for preventing unauthorised or fraudulent calling verifying user identity or authority in secret or secure digital communications H04L9/32
• 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

Method for managing lists stored in a mobile telephone includes automatically storing telephone numbers of incoming and outgoing calls in a first or second list. The first list is accessible to any use, the second list contains code protected telephone numbers. A telephone number stored in a temporary register is verified to whether it'"'"'s contained within the second list. Method includes limiting a user'"'"'s access to only telephone numbers in first list until a code is input by user. After inputting code, telephone numbers in first and second lists are accessible by user. Both first and second lists are stored in mobile phone, and telephone numbers associated with second list are not stored in first list, and second list is at least one of accessible and displayable only after inputting code.

Claims

1. A method for managing pieces of information and data relating to telephone numbers, organized in telephone number lists, the telephone number lists being stored in a mobile phone, the method comprising:

a) automatically storing, under control of a microprocessor, telephone numbers of incoming and outgoing telephone calls in a first-telephone number list or in second telephone number list, such that the first telephone number list is accessible, under the control of the microprocessor, by any user during operation of the mobile phone, wherein the automatic storing includes storing in a temporary register the telephone number input by the user or the telephone number corresponding to the incoming call; and

verifying whether the telephone number in the temporary register is included in the second telephone number list, which is code-protected, the second telephone number list of code-protected telephone numbers being previously defined by the user, such that, in an affirmative case, the code-protected telephone number is stored in the second telephone number list, accessible by a personal secret access code and, in a negative case, the not code-protected telephone number is stored in the first telephone number list of the outgoing or incoming calls;

b) limiting the user'"'"'s access to only the telephone numbers in the first telephone number list until the user of the mobile phone inputs the personal secret access code, and then the user has access to the telephone numbers in the first telephone number list and to telephone numbers in the second telephone number list;

c) wherein the telephone numbers of the first and the second telephone number list are stored in the mobile phone and the telephone numbers stored in the second telephone number list are not stored in the first telephone number list; and

d) inputting the personal secret access code, whereby the second telephone number list is accessible by the mobile phone user and displayed.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising at least one of refusing incoming calls from telephone numbers contained in the second telephone list and preventing the mobile phone from emitting an audible and/or visual indication of an incoming calls from telephone numbers contained in the second telephone list when the mobile phone is operated in a public mode, in which the personal secret access code has not yet been input.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the mobile phone is operable in two operating modes, in which a public mode is accessible, without access restrictions, to all users, and a private mode accessible, with access restrictions, to predetermined users, and

wherein, when the mobile phone is in the public mode, the method further includes at least one of rejecting an incoming call and blocking of any visual and/or sound signals from a call originating from one of the code protected telephone numbers.

4. The method according to claim 2, further comprising switching from the public mode to the private mode via a keyboard command.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein the keyboard command comprises at least one of a predefined sequence of commands and/or a predefined plurality of contemporary commands having a predetermined duration.

6. The method according to claim 3, wherein, after the input of the keyboard command, the switching to the private mode is completed after the input of the personal secret access code.