“I am driving/busy” automatic response system for mobile phones

• US 8,971,860 B1
• Filed: 02/15/2013
• Issued: 03/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Julia Olincy, Ronald Craig Fish
• Original Assignee: Julia Olincy, Ronald Craig Fish
• Inventors: Olincy, Julia, Fish, Ronald Craig
• Primary Examiner(s): MIZRAHI, DIANE D
• Application Number:
  US13/768,224
• Time in Patent Office: 746 Days
• Field of Search: 455/575.8, 455/414.1, 455/556, 709/206, 717/178, 345/633
• US Class Current: 455/414.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6075 adapted for handsfree use in a vehicle H04M1/6058 takes precedence; arrangements for holding telephones in a vehicle B60R11/0241
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/64 Automatic arrangements for answering calls; Automatic arrangements for recording messages for absent subscribers; Arrangements for recording conversations centralised dictation systems H04M11/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72436 for text messaging, e.g. short messaging services [SMS] or e-mails
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42382 Text-based messaging services in telephone networks such as PSTN/ISDN, e.g. User-to-User Signalling or Short Message Service for fixed networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/16 Communication-related supplementary services, e.g. call-transfer or call-hold

Abstract

A cell phone which has been modified by the addition of software which responds to the press of one or more Busy keys by automatically sending a pre-typed text message to the sender of the latest text message just received or automatically answering an incoming call immediately upon pressing the Busy key and playing a pre-recorded audio message. The outgoing text or audio message can inform the sender of the incoming text or the caller that the user is driving or otherwise engaged and cannot respond immediately. In some embodiments, one or more Busy keys can be added keys or one or more existing keys on the cell phone or on the keypad of the cell phone or on a touchscreen or a visual depiction of a keypad on a touchscreen of the cell phone.

Claims

1. A cell phone comprising:

circuitry including at least memory and transceiver circuitry to carry out cellular telephony and Short Message Service texting and a touchscreen for displaying information and receiving user inputs and a microprocessor coupled to said transceiver circuitry and said touchscreen;

software stored in said memory, said software including at least an operating system, said software structured to control said circuitry to implement said cellular telephony and said Short Message Service functions and to display a configuration menu option(s) that can be invoked by a user to configure said cell phone to select one of several predefined text messages stored in said memory as a default autoresponse text message, said software also structured to control said circuitry such that when an incoming cellular phone call is arriving, a busy key icon or area is displayed on said touchscreen, and wherein said software is further structured to control said circuitry such that when said busy key icon or area is touched, said circuitry is controlled to send said default autoresponse text message previously selected by a user of said cell phone to said caller who initiated said cellular phone call.

2. The cell phone of claim 1 wherein said software which controls said circuitry further controls said circuitry to display a choice menu option that can be either selected or deselected, and when said user touches or manipulates said busy key icon or area on said touchscreen in such a way as to indicate a desire to send a text message as a response to said incoming phone call, said software controls said circuitry to respond, when said choice menu option is selected, by not sending said default autoresponse text message previously selected by said user and, instead, displaying a plurality of predefined text messages stored in said memory which said user can send but which said user does not have to type, said software also structured to control said circuitry to sense which of said predefined text messages displayed on said touchscreen said user touched and send the selected text message to the caller who initiated said cellular phone call.

3. The cell phone of claim 1 wherein said software which controls said circuitry to respond to an incoming cellular call with a text message upon command from said user is said operating system or an application program, and wherein said operating system or said application program is structured to control said circuitry to automatically send said default autoresponse text message in response to an incoming cellular call or an incoming text message or either an incoming call or an incoming text message without need for any interaction from a user of said cell phone when an incoming call occurs and a determination is made by said software that said cell phone is moving at driving speed.

4. A cell phone comprising:

circuitry including at least memory and transceiver circuitry to carry out cellular telephony and Short Message Service texting and a touchscreen for displaying information and receiving user inputs and a microprocessor coupled to said transceiver circuitry and said touchscreen;

software stored in said memory, said software including at least an operating system, said software structured to control said circuitry to implement cellular telephony and Short Message Service texting and to send a predetermined text message that said user did not have to type as a response to occurrence of a trigger event, and wherein said trigger event is comprised of two touches of two predetermined areas of said touchscreen in a predetermined sequence in response to an incoming cellular phone call, and wherein said first touch must occur within a predetermined time of receipt of said incoming cellular phone call.

5. A cell phone comprising:

circuitry including at least memory and transceiver circuitry to carry out cellular telephony and Short Message Service texting and a touchscreen for displaying information and receiving user inputs and including a microprocessor coupled to said transceiver circuitry and said touchscreen;

software stored in said memory, said software including at least an operating system, said software structured to control said circuitry to implement cellular telephony and said Short Message Service texting and structured to control said circuitry to display on said touchscreen a busy key or icon or area representing an option to respond to an incoming cellular call by sending a text message to the caller, this option being exercised by touching said busy key or area or icon of said touchscreen as the first of two touches which must be made in a predetermined sequence, said software structured to require that said first touch occur within a predetermined time of arrival of said cellular call, and wherein software is structured to control said circuitry to display one or more predetermined text messages which can be selected by said user when said busy key or area or icon is touched within a predetermined time of receipt of said cellular phone call, said software being further structured to sense which of said predetermined text messages is touched by said user as the second of said two touches and send whichever text message was touched to the caller who placed said incoming cellular phone call.

6. The cell phone of claim 5 wherein said software is further structured to control said circuitry to automatically unlock any keys and said touchscreen for receipt of user input when a cellular phone call arrives and said cell phone is in lock mode.

7. A cell phone comprising:

circuitry including at least memory and transceiver circuitry to carry out cellular telephony and Short Message Service texting and a touchscreen for displaying information and receiving user inputs and including a microprocessor coupled to said transceiver circuitry and said touchscreen;

software stored in said memory, said software including at least an operating system, said software structured to control said circuitry to implement cellular telephony and said Short Message Service texting and structured to control said cell phone to display on said touchscreen when an incoming phone call arrives an answer area, a reject area and a plurality of predefined text messages a user of said cell phone does not have to type, and said software is further structured to control said cell phone to sense which one of said predefined text messages has been touched by a user of said cell phone in response to said incoming phone call, and send the text message which was touched to the caller who placed said cellular call.

8. A cell phone comprising:

circuitry including at least memory and transceiver circuitry to carry out cellular telephony and Short Message Service texting and user interface circuitry including a touchscreen display for displaying information and for receiving user inputs, and said circuitry including a microprocessor coupled to said memory and said transceiver circuitry and said user interface circuitry;

software stored in said memory of said cell phone and structured to control said circuitry including said microprocessor to implement said cellular telephony and said Short Message Service and structured to provide an option to respond to an incoming cellular call by sending a text message, said option being exercised by a user of said cell phone by making a first touch or manipulation of a predetermined area on said touchscreen within a first predetermined interval starting with the arrival of said incoming cellular call, and when said first touch is made within said first predetermined interval, said software being further structured to control said circuitry to display a send-a-message icon on said touchscreen representing a option to reply to said incoming cellular call with a text message, said software being further structured to sense when a second touch is made on said send-a-message icon within a second predetermined interval, and when said second touch is made within said second predetermined interval, said software being structured to control said circuitry to respond to said second touch within said second predetermined interval by displaying on said touchscreen a plurality of predetermined text messages which can be chosen by said user for sending without the need for said user to type a text message and said software further structured to control said circuitry to display a send icon with said plurality of predetermined text messages, said software being further structured to determine when one of said text messages was touched and said send icon was touched in a predetermined order within a third predetermined interval and respond by controlling said circuitry to send the text message which was touched to the caller who placed said incoming cellular call, and wherein said first, second and third predetermined intervals may all be the same duration or different durations.