Method and apparatus for providing information about a call recipient at a user device

• US 9,699,629 B2
• Filed: 09/21/2012
• Issued: 07/04/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Chang, Ilku, Rhee, Youngho, Jang, Youngshil, Jin, Youngkyu
• Primary Examiner(s): Phuong, Dai A
• Application Number:
  US13/624,412
• Publication Number:
  US 20130072172A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,747 Days
• Field of Search: 4554121-4143, 455415-416, 4554561-4563, 455457, 455466, 455519
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2044 Group features, e.g. closed user group
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2094 Proximity
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42102 Making use of the called party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42348 Location-based services which utilize the location information of a target
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/541 based on information specified by the calling party
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/16 Communication-related supplementary services, e.g. call-transfer or call-hold
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]

Abstract

A method and apparatus are to provide status information about a call recipient and information about other users located in a same area as the call recipient. A method for providing information about the call recipient by a user device includes initiating a call transmission to the call recipient; receiving forwarding information corresponding to the call transmission; and outputting information about the call recipient and information about users located in a same area as the call recipient, based on the forwarding information.

Claims

1. A method for identifying information about a call recipient by a calling user device, the method comprising:

initiating, by the calling user device, a telephone call transmission to a call recipient device;

receiving, by the calling user device, device information about another device connected with the call recipient device according to short-distance wireless communication and status information about the call recipient, corresponding to the telephone call transmission, wherein the status information comprises information indicating whether the call recipient is driving; and

outputting, by the calling user device, the device information about the other device connected with the call recipient device according to the short-distance wireless communication and the status information about the call recipient,

wherein the device information and the status information corresponding to the call recipient device display a first information region of a user interface,

wherein the device information and the status information corresponding to the other device connected with the call recipient device display a second information region of the user interface,

wherein the first and second information regions of the user interface comprises;

moving, when a call switch command is received, the device information and the status information corresponding to the call recipient device in the first information region to the second information region; and

moving the device information and the status information corresponding to the other device connected with the call recipient device in the second information region to the first information region.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting a new telephone call transmission to the other device selected from the received device information about the other device connected with the call recipient device according to the short-distance wireless communication.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein outputting the device information about the other device connected with the call recipient device according to the short-distance wireless communication and the status information about the call recipient comprises:

constructing a user interface using the device information about the other device connected with the call recipient device and the status information about the call recipient; and

outputting the device information about the other device connected with the call recipient and the status information about the call recipient through the user interface.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein constructing the user interface comprises:

displaying device information and the status information about the call recipient in a first information region of the user interface; and

displaying the device information and status information about the other device connected with the call recipient device in a second information region of the user interface.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

receiving a call switch command to call the other device connected with the call recipient based on the device information and the status information about the other device connected with the call recipient displayed in the second information region of the user interface; and

initiating a new telephone call transmission to the other device connected with the call recipient, based on the call switch command.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising reconstructing the first and second information regions of the user interface, based on the call switch event.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

stopping the telephone call transmission to the call recipient device, when the user interface is output or when the call switch command is received.

8. A method for providing, by a call recipient device, status information about a call recipient and device information about another device connected with the call recipient device according to short-distance wireless communication, the method comprising:

receiving a telephone call transmission from a calling user device;

acquiring the device information about the other device connected with the call recipient and the status information about the call recipient, wherein the status information comprises information indicating whether the call recipient is driving;

generating a call response message based on the device information about the other device connected with the call recipient device, and the status information about the call recipient; and

transmitting the call response message to the calling user device,

wherein the device information and the status information corresponding to the call recipient device display a first information region of a user interface,

wherein the device information and the status information corresponding to the other device connected with the call recipient device display a second information region of the user interface,

wherein the first and second information regions of the user interface comprises;

moving, when a call switch command is received, the device information and the status information corresponding to the call recipient device in the first information region to the second information region; and

moving the device information and the status information corresponding to the other device connected with the call recipient device in the second information region to the first information region.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

detecting a safety mode event; and

activating a safety mode corresponding to the safety mode event.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein generating the call response message comprises inserting an identifier into a header field and inserting forwarding information into a data field,

wherein the identifier indicates that the call response message is for call forwarding in the safety mode.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein generating the call response message comprises:

identifying device information for users having a relationship to the calling user device from the acquired device information about the other device connected with the call recipient device and the status information about the call recipient; and

inserting the device information for the users having the relationship to the calling user device into the call response message, while omitting device information for users having no relationship to the calling user device from the acquired device information about the other device connected with the call recipient device and the status information about the call recipient.

12. A system for identifying information about a call recipient, the system comprising:

a calling user device that transmits a telephone call request;

a call recipient device that receives the telephone call request from the calling user device, and transmits a call response, based on status information about the call recipient and device information about a fellow device connected with the call recipient device, to the calling user device in response to the telephone call request, wherein the status information comprises information indicating whether the call recipient is driving;

the fellow device that is connected with the call recipient device according to short-distance wireless communication; and

a vehicle management system that generates the device information about the call recipient device and the fellow device, generates status information about the call recipient device, and connects the call recipient device and the fellow device according to the short-distance wireless communication,

wherein the calling user device receives the status information about the call recipient device and the device information about the fellow device connected with the call recipient device from the call recipient device, and displays a user interface based on the received status information about the call recipient and the device information about the fellow device connected with the call recipient device,

wherein the device information and the status information corresponding to the call recipient device display a first information region of the user interface,

wherein the device information and the status information corresponding to the fellow device connected with the call recipient device display a second information region of the user interface,

wherein the first and second information regions of the user interface comprises;

moving, when a call switch command is received, the device information and the status information corresponding to the call recipient device in the first information region to the second information region; and

moving the device information and the status information corresponding to the fellow device connected with the call recipient device in the second information region to the first information region.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the user interface displays the device information and the status information about the call recipient device in a first information region, and displays the device information and status information related to the fellow device in a second information region.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein each of the calling user device and the call recipient device includes:

a communication unit;

a display unit; and

a control unit that controls a call transmitting function and a call receiving function.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the control unit of the calling user device generates a call connection message, controls the communication unit to transmit the call connection message to the call recipient device, controls the display unit to display the user interface when the call response message is received from the call recipient device, and controls the communication unit to perform a telephone call transmission process based on information about a call switch target.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the control unit of the call recipient device controls the communication unit to transmit the device information about the call recipient device and the fellow device to the vehicle management system when connected to the vehicle management system, acquires the device information about the call recipient device and the fellow device from the vehicle management system, generates the call response message including the device information about the call recipient device and the fellow device, and controls the communication unit to transmit the call response message to the calling user device.