Method and apparatus for storing telephone numbers in a portable terminal

• US 9,973,605 B2
• Filed: 11/14/2016
• Issued: 05/15/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/13/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Lim, Heui-Do, Park, Yun-Seon
• Primary Examiner(s): Hwa, Shyue Jiunn
• Application Number:
  US15/351,363
• Publication Number:
  US 20170064061A1
• Time in Patent Office: 547 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/22 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/23 Updating
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24 Querying
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/27457 Management thereof, e.g. manual editing of data
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72469 for operating the device by selecting functions from two or more displayed items, e.g. menus or icons
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/60 logging of communication history, e.g. outgoing or incoming calls, missed calls, messages or URLs

Abstract

A method and apparatus for storing a telephone number in a portable terminal. The method includes the steps of providing a user with a name input request message; determining whether or not the inputted name exists in a phone book list of the portable terminal; and generating a new entry including the inputted name and its associated telephone number and adding the new entry to the phone book list when the inputted name does not exist in the phone book list.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

displaying, at a portable terminal, the portable terminal including a touch display screen, a memory and a processor configured to store a phone book list in the memory, a call history list on a touch display screen;

detecting a touch input selecting a telephone number on the call history list, wherein the selected telephone number is not included in a phone book list of a portable terminal;

displaying a screen for entering characters of a name for the selected telephone number, via a sequence of keyboard inputs on a keyboard displayed on the touch display screen, each keyboard input corresponding to at least one of a letter, a number, a symbol, or a space between characters;

after detecting the touch input selecting the telephone number on the call history list and while the characters of the name are being entered, performing a determination whether at least one entry corresponding to one or more names containing the currently entered characters is included in the phone book list of the portable terminal, the determination comprising detecting, by the processor, a match between the currently entered characters and characters of one or more names containing the currently entered characters;

when at least one entry corresponding to one or more names containing the currently entered characters is included in the phone book list, displaying the at least one entry of the phone book list corresponding to one or more names containing the currently entered characters; and

in response to a request for adding the selected telephone number into an entry among the displayed at least one entry, while displaying the at least one entry of the phone book list corresponding to one or more names containing the currently entered characters, adding the selected telephone number into the corresponding entry; and

in response to a request for generating a new entry in the phone book list, while displaying the at least one entry of the phone book list corresponding to one or more names containing the currently entered characters, generating the new entry having the name for the selected telephone number in the phone book list,

wherein the at least one entry of the phone book list corresponding to one or more names containing the currently entered characters is displayed on an area of the touch display screen separate from an area where the keyboard is displayed.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating the new entry comprising the name associated with the selected telephone number and the selected telephone number to store in the phone book list in response to there not being at least one entry in the phone book list corresponding to one or more names containing the currently entered characters.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the at least one entry of the phone book list corresponding to one or more names containing the currently entered characters includes a respective telephone number.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one entry of the phone book list corresponding to one or more names containing the currently entered characters is displayed in a list on the touch display screen.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the at least one entry of the phone book list corresponding to one or more names containing the currently entered characters is an entry corresponding to the same name as the name for the selected telephone number.

6. A portable terminal comprising:

a touch display screen;

a memory; and

a controller configured;

to store a phone book list in the memory;

to display a call history list via the touch display screen;

to detect a touch input selecting a telephone number on the call history list displayed on the touch display screen, wherein the selected telephone number is not included in the phone book list of the portable terminal;

to display, via the touch display screen, a screen for entering characters of a name for the selected telephone number, via a sequence of keyboard inputs on a keyboard displayed on the touch display screen, each keyboard input corresponding to at least one of a letter, a number, a symbol, or a space between characters;

after detecting the touch input selecting the telephone number on the call history list and while the characters of the name are being entered, to perform a determination whether at least one entry corresponding to one or more names containing the currently entered characters is included in the phone book list of the portable terminal, the determination comprising detecting, by the controller, a match between the currently entered characters and characters of one or more names containing the currently entered characters;

when the at least one entry corresponding to one or more names containing the currently entered characters is included in the phone book list, to display, via the touch display screen, the at least one entry corresponding to one or more names containing the currently entered characters;

in response to a request for adding the selected telephone number into one among the displayed at least one entry, while displaying the at least one entry corresponding to one or more names containing the currently entered characters, add the selected telephone number into the corresponding entry; and

in response to a request for generating a new entry in the phone book list, while displaying the at least one entry corresponding to one or more names containing the currently entered characters, to generate the new entry having the name for the selected telephone number in the phone book list,

wherein the at least one entry of the phone book list corresponding to one or more names containing the currently entered characters is displayed on an area of the touch display screen separate from an area where the keyboard is displayed.

7. The portable terminal of claim 6, wherein the controller is configured to:

generate the new entry comprising the name associated with the selected telephone number and the selected telephone number to store in the phone book list in response to there not being at least one entry in the phone book list corresponding to one or more names containing the currently entered characters.

8. The portable terminal of claim 6, wherein each of the at least one entry of the phone book list corresponding to one or more names containing the currently entered characters includes a respective telephone number.

9. The portable terminal of claim 6, wherein the at least one entry of the phone book list corresponding to one or more names containing the currently entered characters is displayed in a list on the touch display screen.

10. The portable terminal of claim 6, wherein each of the at least one entry of the phone book list corresponding to one or more names containing the currently entered characters is an entry corresponding to the same name as the name for the selected telephone number.

11. A non-transitory computer readable medium embodying a computer program that, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to:

store a phone book list in a memory of a portable terminal;

display a call history list on a touch display screen of the portable terminal;

detect a touch input selecting a telephone number on the call history list displayed on the touch display screen, wherein the selected telephone number is not included in a phone book list of the portable terminal;

display, on the touch display screen, a keyboard for inputting characters of a name for the selected telephone number, via a sequence of keyboard inputs, each keyboard input corresponding to at least one of a letter, a number, a symbol, or a space between characters;

after detecting the touch input selecting the telephone number on the call history list and while the characters of the name are being entered, perform a determination whether at least one entry corresponding to one or more names containing the currently entered characters is included in the phone book list of the portable terminal, the determination comprising detecting, by the processor, a match between the currently entered characters and characters of one or more names containing the currently entered characters;

when at least one entry corresponding to one or more names containing the currently entered characters is included in the phone book list, display, via the touch display screen, the at least one entry corresponding to one or more names containing the currently entered characters;

in response to a request for adding the selected telephone number into one among the displayed at least one entry, while displaying the at least one entry corresponding to one or more names containing the currently entered characters, add the selected telephone number into a corresponding entry; and

in response to a request for generating a new entry in the phone book list, while displaying the at least one entry corresponding to one or more names containing the currently entered characters, generate the new entry having the name for the selected telephone number in the phone book list,

wherein the at least one entry of the phone book list corresponding to one or more names containing the currently entered characters is displayed on an area of the touch display screen separate from an area where the keyboard is displayed.

12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the computer program further causes, when executed by the processor, the processor to:

generate the new entry comprising the name associated with the selected telephone number and the selected telephone number to store in the phone book list in response to there not being at least one entry in the phone book list corresponding to one or more names containing the currently entered characters.

13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein each of the at least one entry of the phone book list corresponding to one or more names containing the currently entered characters includes a respective telephone number.

14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the at least one entry of the phone book list corresponding to one or more names containing the currently entered characters is displayed in a list on the touch display screen.

15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein each of the at least one entry of the phone book list corresponding to one or more names containing the currently entered characters is an entry corresponding to the same name as the name for the selected telephone number.