Communication terminal, information management apparatus, and program

• US 8,825,647 B2
• Filed: 07/24/2008
• Issued: 09/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamada, Eiju, Yamada, Kazuhiro, Kamiya, Dai, Onda, Yasushi, Kano, Izua, Murakami, Keiichi
• Primary Examiner(s): BROWN, SHEREE N
• Application Number:
  US12/670,155
• Publication Number:
  US 20110276571A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,231 Days
• Field of Search: 707/737
• US Class Current: 707/737
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/27453 Directories allowing storage of additional subscriber data, e.g. metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2746 Sorting, e.g. according to history or frequency of use
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/10 including a GPS signal receiver

Abstract

A terminal device in which basic information and detailed information of each a plurality of application programs are stored in a different storage area for each application program, and that prohibits access to each storage area by other application programs, is caused to execute the processes of displaying a window that includes the basic information of each application program, and, if a cursor is moved to the display position of one of the pieces of basic information, reading out, from the appropriate storage areas, the detailed information of a first application program corresponding to the basic information where the cursor is positioned and the detailed information of a second application program whose basic information is displayed adjacent to the basic information of the first application program, and displaying the detailed information of the first application program.

Claims

1. A mobile communication terminal comprising:

a communication unit that communicates with a plurality of other mobile communication terminals using communication addresses respectively allocated to each of the plurality of other mobile communication terminals;

a memory in the mobile communication terminal that stores one or more pairs of the communication addresses allocated to each of the plurality of other mobile communication terminals with identification names for identifying users of each of the plurality of other mobile communication terminals;

a computer in the mobile communication terminal, the computer configured to;

acquire a first position and at least a second position of the mobile communication terminal at predetermined intervals of time during a day,

acquire a first position and at least a second position of at least one of the plurality of other mobile communication terminals to which the communication addresses stored in the memory are allocated, wherein the first position and the at least second position of the at least one of the plurality of other mobile communication terminals are acquired at the predetermined intervals of time,

compute a distance between the mobile communication terminal and the at least one of the plurality of other mobile communication terminals, the distance computed based on at least one of the positions of the mobile communication terminal and at least one of the positions of the at least one of the plurality of other mobile communication terminals at the predetermined intervals of time;

the computer including a sorting algorithm to categorize the mobile communication terminal into one of a plurality of groups based on the acquired first position and the at least second position of the mobile communication terminal, and to categorize each of the pairs of communication addresses and identification names into the plurality of groups, at least one of the groups being indicative of a relationship between a user of the mobile communication terminal and a user of the at least one of the plurality of other mobile communications terminals, the groups based upon at least one of the positions of the at least one of the plurality of other mobile communication terminals and the distance between the mobile communication terminal and the at least one of the plurality of other mobile communications terminals at the predetermined intervals of time; and

a display that displays at least the identification names, out of the communication addresses and identification names stored in the memory, the computer configured to display at least the identification names in association with at least one of the plurality of groups.

2. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1,

wherein the computer sorts the pairs of communication addresses and identification names into the plurality of groups, based on dates/times on which or periods for which the positions or distances were specified by the computer, in addition to the positions or distances.

3. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1,

wherein the computer sorts the pairs of communication addresses and identification names into the plurality of groups, and further determines, in each of the groups, a ranking for when the display is caused to display the identification names based on the positions or distances specified by the computer, and

the computer is configured to cause the display to display the identification names in accordance with the ranking determined by the computer, in a case of causing the display to display at least the identification names, out of the communication addresses and identification names stored in the memory, by the groups.

4. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1,

wherein the computer stores types of facilities installed in a prescribed range in correspondence with positions of the facilities, specifies the types of facilities installed in the positions specified by the computer, by comparing the positions specified by the computer with the positions of the facilities, and sorts the pairs of communication addresses and identification names into a plurality of groups based on the specified types of facilities.

5. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, further comprising:

operation means for receiving an operation by a user; and

changing means for changing the group to which a pair of a communication address and an identification name sorted by the computer belong, in accordance with the operation received by the operation means,

wherein the computer does not perform sorting based on the positions or distances specified by the computer, with regard to the pair of the address and the identification name whose group was changed by the changing means.

6. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined intervals of time are once every four hours.

7. An information management apparatus comprising:

a memory that stores one or more pairs of communication addresses respectively allocated to a plurality of mobile communication terminals with identification names for identifying a user of at least one of the plurality of mobile communication terminals;

a computer in the information management apparatus, the computer configured to;

acquire a first position and at least a second position of the at least one of the plurality of mobile communication terminals at predetermined intervals of time during a day,

acquire a first position and at least a second position of at least another one of the plurality of mobile communication terminals to which the communication addresses stored in the memory are allocated, wherein the first position and the at least second position of the at least one of the plurality of other mobile communication terminals are acquired at the predetermined intervals of time,

compute a distance between the at least one of the plurality of mobile communication terminals and the at least another one of the plurality of mobile communication terminals, the distance computed based on at least one of the positions of the at least one of the plurality of mobile communication terminals and at least one of the positions of the at least another one of the plurality of other mobile communication terminals at the predetermined intervals of time;

the computer including a sorting algorithm to categorize the at least one of the plurality of mobile communication terminals into one of a plurality of groups based on the acquired first position and the at least second position of the at least one of the plurality of mobile communication terminals, and to categorize each of the pairs of communication addresses and identification names into the plurality of groups, at least one of the groups being indicative of a relationship between the user of the at least one of the plurality of mobile communication terminals and a user of the at least another one of the plurality of mobile communications terminals, the groups based upon at least one of the positions of the at least one of the plurality of the mobile communication terminals and the distance between the at least one of the plurality of mobile communications terminals and the at least another one of the plurality of mobile communications terminals at the predetermined intervals of time; and

a display that displays at least the identification names, out of the communication addresses and identification names stored in the memory, the computer configured to display at least the identification names in association with at least one of the plurality of groups.

8. The information management apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the predetermined intervals of time are once every four hours.

9. A computer program product operable with software for causing a computer that uses communication addresses respectively allocated to a plurality of mobile communication terminals to perform communication with at least one prescribed mobile communication terminal to execute the steps of:

causing a memory to store one or more pairs of the communication addresses allocated to each of the plurality of mobile communication terminals with identification names for identifying users of at least one of the plurality of mobile communication terminals;

acquiring a first position and at least a second position of the at least one prescribed mobile communication terminal at predetermined intervals of time during a day;

acquiring a first position and at least a second position of the at least one of the plurality of mobile communication terminals to which the communication addresses stored in the memory are allocated, wherein the first position and the at least second position of the at least one of the plurality of other mobile communication terminals are acquired at the predetermined intervals of time;

computing a distance between the at least one of the plurality of mobile communication terminals and the at least one prescribed mobile communication terminal, the distance computed based on at least one of the positions of the prescribed mobile communication terminal and at least one of the positions of the at least one of the plurality of other mobile communication terminals at the predetermined intervals of time;

categorizing the at least one prescribed mobile communication terminal into one of a plurality of groups based on the acquired first position and at least second position of the at least one prescribed mobile communication terminal;

categorizing each of the pairs of communication addresses and identification names into the plurality of groups, at least one of the groups being indicative of a relationship between a user of the at least one prescribed mobile communication terminal and the user of the at least one of the plurality of mobile communications terminals, the groups based upon at least one of the position of the at least one of the plurality of mobile communication terminals and the distance between the at least one prescribed mobile communication terminal and the at least one of the plurality of mobile communications terminals at the predetermined intervals of time; and

causing a display to display at least the identification names, out of the communication addresses and identification names stored in the memory, in association with at least one of the plurality of groups.

10. The computer program product according to claim 9, wherein the predetermined intervals of time are once every four hours.

11. A computer program product operable with software for causing a computer to execute the steps of:

causing a memory to store one or more pairs of communication addresses respectively allocated to a plurality of mobile communication terminals with identification names for identifying a user of at least one of the plurality of mobile communication terminals;

acquiring a first position and at least a second position of the at least one of the plurality of mobile communication terminals to which the communication addresses stored in the memory are allocated, wherein the first position and the at least second position of the at least one of the plurality of mobile communication terminals are acquired at predetermined intervals of time during a day;

acquiring a first position and at least a second position of a prescribed mobile communication terminal at the predetermined intervals of time;

computing distances between the at least one of the plurality of mobile communication terminals and the prescribed mobile communication terminal, the distance computed based on at least one of the positions of the plurality of mobile communication terminals and at least one of the positions of the prescribed mobile communication terminal at the predetermined intervals of time;

categorizing the at least one of the plurality of mobile communication terminals into one of a plurality of groups based on the acquired first position and at least second position of the at least one of the plurality of mobile communication terminals;

categorizing each of the pairs of communication addresses and identification names into the plurality of groups, at least one of the groups being indicative of a relationship between a user of the prescribed mobile communication terminal and the user of the at least one of the plurality of mobile communications terminals, the groups based upon at least one of the position of the at least one of the plurality of mobile communication terminals and the distance between the prescribed mobile communication terminal and at least one of the plurality of mobile communications terminals at the predetermined intervals of time; and

causing a display to display at least the identification names, out of the communication addresses and identification names stored in the memory, in association with at least one of the plurality of groups.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the predetermined intervals of time are once every four hours.