Method and system for updating an electronic mail address book

• US 9,043,393 B2
• Filed: 11/04/2005
• Issued: 05/26/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Adams, Neil, Vander Veen, Raymond, Kuhl, Larry E.
• Primary Examiner(s): TANG, KAREN C
• Application Number:
  US11/266,198
• Publication Number:
  US 20070106728A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,490 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204, 709/224, 709/203
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

A method for updating an electronic mail (“email”) address book comprising: determining whether an email message presented to a user on a display screen of a data processing system contains address information; and, if the email message contains address information: identifying the address information in the email message; determining whether the address information is contained in one or more contact records in the email address book; and, if the address information is not contained in one or more contact records, presenting first means to the user on the display screen for generating a command to add a new contact record to the address book for the address information.

Claims

1. A method of updating an address book maintained by a data processing system, comprising:

identifying a plurality of items of address information within a message field of an email message;

determining whether one of the items is contained in more than one contact record of the address book;

if the one item is contained in more than one contact record of the address book, presenting a dialog allowing a choice of which of the more than one contact record is to be updated;

receiving an input to update a chosen contact record of the address book with an other one of the items of address information contained in the message field of the email message; and

displaying an updated contact record with the other one item hi-lighted;

wherein the identifying the plurality of items of address information comprises;

identifying a number of items of address information in the message field of the email message; and

comparing the number to a predetermined number to determine if the plurality of items comprises an address.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying an input screen for the chosen contact record; and

,

receiving input to at least one of;

update information in the chosen contact record or correct information in the chosen contact record.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying includes one of:

underlining and text coloring.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of items of address information includes at least one of:

a street type, a street type abbreviation, a street number, a street name, a city name, a province name, a province name abbreviation, a state name, a state name abbreviation, a country name, a country name abbreviation, a postal code, a ZIP code, a telephone number, a fax number, an email address, and a personal identification number (“

PIN”

).

5. The method of claim 4, wherein identifying the plurality of items of address information comprises:

searching for at least one of the plurality of items in the email message.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the email message is one of a short message system (“

SMS”

) message and a peer-to-peer message.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the data processing system is a wireless device.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising opening the email message on the display screen when the email message is selected from a list of email messages.

9. A system of updating an address book maintained by a data processing system, comprising:

a processor coupled to memory for storing the address book, to a display screen, and to an interface to a network, and adapted to;

identify a plurality of items of address information within a message field of an email message;

determine whether one of the items is contained in more than one contact record of the address book;

if the one item is contained in more than one contact record of the address book, present a dialog allowing a choice of which of the more than one contact record is to be updated;

receive an input to update a chosen contact record of the address book with an other one of the items of address information contained in the message field of the email message; and

display an updated contact record with the other one item hi-lighted;

wherein identifying the plurality of items of address information comprises;

identifying a number of items of address information in the message field of the email message; and

comparing the number to a predetermined number to determine if the plurality of items comprises an address.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the processor is further adapted to:

display an input screen for the chosen contact record, and receive input to at least one of;

update information in the chosen contact record or correct information in the chosen contact record.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the identifying includes one of:

underlining or text coloring.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the plurality of items of address information includes at least one of:

a street type, a street type abbreviation, a street number, a street name, a city name, a province name, a province name abbreviation, a state name, a state name abbreviation, a country name, a country name abbreviation, a postal code, a ZIP code, a telephone number, a fax number, an email address, and a personal identification number (“

PIN”

).

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the processor is adapted for:

searching for at least one of the plurality of items in the email message.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the email message is one of a short message system (“

SMS”

) message and a peer-to-peer message.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein the system is a wireless device.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the processor is further adapted to open the email message on the display screen when the email message is selected from a list of email messages.

17. A computer program product having a non-transitory computer readable medium tangibly embodying computer executable code stored thereon for directing a data processing system to update an address book maintained by the data processing system, the computer program product comprising code for:

identifying a plurality of items of address information within a message field of an email message;

determining whether one of the items is contained in more than one contact record of the address book;

if the one item is contained in more than one contact record of the address book, presenting a dialog allowing a choice of which of the more than one contact record is to be updated;

receiving an input to update a chosen contact record of the address book with an other one of the items of address information contained in the message field of the email message; and

displaying an updated contact record with the other one item hi-lighted;

wherein identifying the plurality of items of address information comprises;

identifying a number of items of address information in the message field of the email message; and

comparing the number to a predetermined number to determine if the plurality of items comprises an address.