Automatically adjusting country and area codes when doing a business card or telephone number exchange

• US 9,160,827 B2
• Filed: 04/27/2012
• Issued: 10/13/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Dave, Swapnil R., Varoglu, Devrim
• Primary Examiner(s): Magloire, Vladimir
• Assistant Examiner(s): HEIBER, SHANTELL LAKETA
• Application Number:
  US13/457,863
• Publication Number:
  US 20130288649A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,264 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/27457 Management thereof, e.g. manual editing of data
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/27485 Appending a prefix to or inserting a pause into a dialling sequence
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42348 Location-based services which utilize the location information of a target
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4931 Directory assistance systems

Abstract

A telephone number is automatically adjusted in the context a business card or other telephone number exchange. The country code, area code, or other prefix portion is added, removed, or modified based on a location associated with the telephone number and/or a location associated with the recipient. In one example, a sending device looks up location information by contacting the service provider, using locally-stored information, or otherwise, and, based on this information, includes an appropriate prefix. The sending device can also use a location associated with the recipient in determining an appropriate prefix or adjusting a received prefix, for example, based on the recipient'"'"'s own telephone number. Adjustments to telephone numbers can also be made by recipient devices, intermediary devices, and any other devices that may be involved in the exchange of telephone numbers, business card information, or related activities, and in other contexts as well.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

detecting, at a user interface of a first device, a request to send a contact information record from the first device to a second device, wherein the contact information record is stored on the first device;

determining, by the first device, a location associated with a phone number of the contact information record, wherein the phone number is assigned to the first device or assigned to a third device that is different than the second device;

determining, by the first device, a location associated with the second device;

modifying, by the first device, the phone number of the contact information record with a dialing prefix based at least in part on;

the location associated with the phone number; and

the location associated with the second device; and

sending, by the first device, the contact information record including the modified phone number to the second device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the phone number of the contact information record is a first phone number, wherein the request requests sending of the contact information record using a second phone number assigned to the second device, and wherein the second phone number is used to determine the location associated with the second device.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the prefix allows a direct call from the second device to the first device.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the first device is a phone and the phone number of the contact information record is the phone number of the phone.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein determining the location associated with the phone number is based at least in part on phone registration information for the phone received from a phone network service provider or from a home location registration (HLR) record.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein determining the location associated with the phone number is based at least in part on phone registration information for the phone stored on a subscriber identification module (SIM) card or other storage device on the phone.

7. The method of claim 4 wherein determining the location associated with the phone number is based at least in part on an IP address associated with the phone number.

8. The method of claim 4 wherein determining the location associated with the phone number comprises:

identifying whether the phone number is a home phone number or a work phone number;

identifying an address record, wherein the identified address record is a home address record when the phone number is identified as a home phone number and a work address record when the phone number is identified as a work phone number; and

determining the location based on the address record.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the phone number is assigned to the third device, wherein determining the location associated with the phone number comprises sending a request from the first device to the third device and receiving information from the third device, and wherein the information received from the third device comprises the location associated with the phone number or the prefix.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the request to send the contact information record from the first device to the second device is a request initiated by interaction with a web page to send the contact information record to the second device accessing the web page.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein determining the location associated with the phone number comprises:

identifying a phone number field on the web page; and

determining the location by identifying location information associated with the phone number field on the web page.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein determining the location associated with the phone number comprises determining the location by identifying location information associated with an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the web page.

13. A method comprising:

receiving, at a first device, a contact information record from a mobile phone device;

determining, by the first device, a location associated with a phone number of the contact information record, the phone number to be sent from the mobile phone device to a second device via the first device, wherein the phone number is assigned to the mobile phone device or assigned to a third device that is different than the first device and the second device;

determining, by the first device, a location associated with the second device;

modifying, by first the device, the phone number with a dialing prefix based at least in part on;

the location associated with the phone number; and

the location associated with the second device; and

sending, by the first device, the contact information record including the phone number modified with the dialing prefix to the second device.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the prefix allows a direct call from the second device to the mobile phone device.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein determining the location associated with the phone number is based at least in part on phone registration information for the mobile phone device received from a phone network service provider or from a home location registration (HLR) record.

16. A method comprising:

receiving, by a receiving phone device, a contact information record sent from a sending phone device;

determining, by the receiving phone device, a location associated with a phone number of the contact information record, wherein the phone number is assigned to the sending phone device or assigned to a third device that is different than the receiving phone device;

determining, by the receiving phone device, a location associated with the receiving phone device;

modifying, by the receiving phone device, the phone number based at least in part on;

the location associated with the phone number; and

the location associated with the receiving phone device; and

storing, by the receiving phone device, the contact information record including the modified phone number on the receiving phone device.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein modifying the phone number comprises removing at least a portion of a dialing prefix based on determining that the portion is not needed to call from the location associated with the receiving phone device to the location associated with the sending phone device.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein determining the location associated with the receiving phone number is based at least in part on phone registration information for the phone received from a phone network service provider or from a home location registration (HLR) record.

19. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium encoded with program instructions that, when executed by a processor in a first device, cause the processor to execute a method comprising:

detecting, at a user interface of the first device, a request to send a contact information record from the first device to a second device, wherein the contact information record is stored on the first device;

determining, by the first device, a location associated with a phone number of the contact information record, wherein the phone number is assigned to the first device or assigned to a third device that is different than the second device;

determining, by the first device, a location associated with the second device;

modifying, by the first device, the phone number of the contact information record with a dialing prefix based at least in part on;

the location associated with the phone number; and

the location associated with the second device; and

sending, by the first device, the contact information record including the modified phone number to the second device.

20. The computer program product of claim 19 wherein determining the location associated with the phone number is based at least in part on phone registration information for the first device received from a phone network service provider or from a home location registration (HLR) record.

21. The computer program product of claim 19 wherein the prefix comprises a country code and area code.

22. The computer program product of claim 19 wherein the prefix comprises an entry code or an exit code.

23. A computer device comprising:

a memory configured to store contact information records and instructions; and

a processor for executing the instructions to perform steps comprising;

receiving, by the computer device, a contact information record sent from a sending device;

determining, by the computer device, a location associated with a phone number of the contact information record, wherein the phone number is assigned to the sending device or assigned to a third device that is different than the computer device;

determining, by the computer device, a location associated with the computer device;

modifying, by the computer device, the phone number of the contact information record to add or modify a dialing prefix based at least in part on;

the location associated with the phone number; and

the location associated with the computer device; and

storing, by the computer device, the contact information record including the modified phone number on the computer device.

24. The computer device of claim 23 wherein modifying the phone number occurs in response to detecting receipt of the contact information record at the computer device.