Portable terminal, response message transmitting method and server

• US 20050233766A1
• Filed: 04/13/2005
• Published: 10/20/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo Innovations Ltd Hong Kong (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Futami, Toshiyuki
• Granted Patent: US 7,657,252 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/556.100
• 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 1/663 Preventing unauthorised calls to a telephone set
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72427 for supporting games or graphical animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/7243 with interactive means for internal management of messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72436 for text messaging, e.g. short messaging services [SMS] or e-mails
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72439 for image or video messaging
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72448 with means for adapting the functionality of the device according to specific conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72454 according to context-related or environment-related conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/50 Telephonic communication in combination with video communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/4581 Sending message identifiers instead of whole messages notification of incoming messages in packet-switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion telephones including GPS signal receivers H04M2250/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/52 including functional features of a camera constructional features concerning the integration of cameras in portable phones H04M1/0264
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/50 Centralised arrangements for answering calls; Centralised arrangements for recording messages for absent or busy subscribers H04M3/487 takes precedence; centralised dictation systems H04M11/10; Centralised arrangements for recording messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/12 for working between exchanges having different types of switching equipment, e.g. power-driven and step by step or decimal and non-decimal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00307 with a mobile telephone apparatus constructional features of portable telephone sets H04M1/0202; mobile radio systems H04W84/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00381 Input by recognition or interpretation of visible user gestures manual input means, e.g. digitisers, writing tablets H04N1/00392; gesture input to computers G06F3/017; recognition algorithms G06V40/20
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0084 Digital still camera

Abstract

A portable terminal with a telephone or radio communication function, a call response message transmitting method and a server for, when the user cannot answer an incoming call, enabling the user of the portable terminal to inform the caller of his/her situation that does not allow him/her to answer the call. A portable terminal comprises a storage for storing information on different types of messages each being associated with an image in a prescribed pose or gesture and a camera section for shooting an image when a call is received. The portable terminal recognizes the pose or gesture from an image shot by the camera section, and selecting a message corresponding to the recognized pose or gesture from the storage, and transmits the selected message to a calling terminal.

Claims

1. A portable terminal comprising:

a motion instruction information storage for storing information on motion instructions in association with information on forms;

a shooting means for shooting an image;

a motion instruction information selecting means for recognizing a form from the image shot by the shooting means, and selecting a motion instruction corresponding to the recognized form from the motion instruction information storage; and

a controller for controlling the portable terminal according to the motion instruction selected by the motion instruction information selecting means.

2. The portable terminal claimed in claim 1, wherein the motion instruction information storage stores an image of body parts as an image containing the form information.

3. A portable terminal comprising:

a radio communication means;

a transmission instruction information storage for storing information on transmission instructions in association with information on forms;

a shooting means for shooting an image when a call is received;

a transmission instruction information selecting means for recognizing a form from the image shot by the shooting means, and selecting a transmission instruction corresponding to the recognized form from the transmission instruction information storage; and

a controller for transmitting prescribed information to a calling source according to the transmission instruction selected by the transmission instruction information selecting means.

4. The portable terminal claimed in claim 3, wherein the transmission instruction information storage stores an image of body parts as an image containing the form information.

5. A portable terminal comprising:

a radio communication means;

a message information storage for storing information on different types of messages in association with information on forms;

a shooting means for shooting an image when a call is received;

a message information selecting means for recognizing a form from the image shot by the shooting means, and selecting a message corresponding to the recognized form from the message information storage; and

a message information transmitter for transmitting the message selected by the message information selecting means to a calling source.

6. The portable terminal claimed in claim 5, wherein the message information storage stores an image of body parts as an image containing the form information.

7. The portable terminal claimed in claim 6, wherein the message information storage stores an image of body parts of the user of the portable terminal as an image containing the form information.

8. The portable terminal claimed in claim 5, wherein the message information storage stores an image of a characteristic feature of a place where it is difficult for the user to talk on the phone as an image containing the form information.

9. The portable terminal claimed in claim 5, wherein the message information storage stores a static image as an image containing the form information.

10. The portable terminal claimed in claim 5, wherein the message information storage stores a moving image as an image containing the form information.

11. The portable terminal claimed in claim 5, further comprising:

a character string information storage for storing character string information in association with time information; and

an information extracting means for extracting information indicating a location and/or a situation from the character string information stored in the character string information storage;

wherein the message information transmitter transmits the information extracted by the information extracting means in addition to the message selected by the message information selecting means to the calling source.

12. The portable terminal claimed in claim 11, wherein the information extracting means extracts information corresponding the time of an incoming call from the character string information stored in the character string information storage.

13. The portable terminal claimed in claim 5, wherein the message information transmitter transmits text information as a message.

14. The portable terminal claimed in claim 5, wherein the message information transmitter includes a voice synthesizer for synthesizing voice sounds corresponding to a message, and transmits audio signals as a message.

15. The portable terminal claimed in claim 5, wherein the message information transmitter transmits an image shot by the shooting means in addition to a message.

16. The portable terminal claimed in claim 5, further comprising:

a display;

an operating section by which the user provides input; and

a display control means for displaying a message on the display before the message information transmitter transmits the message to the calling source;

wherein the message information transmitter transmits a message after the user provides confirmatory input.

17. The portable terminal claimed in claim 5, further comprising:

a positional information outputting means for outputting positional information indicating the current location of the portable terminal; and

a position message transmitter for, when an image shot by the shooting means is input, transmitting a message corresponding to the positional information output from the positional information outputting means.

18. A portable terminal comprising:

a radio communication means;

a message information storage for storing information on different types of messages in association with information on forms;

a message information selecting means for recognizing a form from an image received from an opposite portable terminal, and selecting a message corresponding to the recognized form from the message information storage; and

a message outputting means for outputting the message selected by the message information selecting means.

19. A call response message transmitting method applied to a portable terminal with a shooting means and a radio communication means, comprising the steps of:

storing beforehand information on different types of messages in association with information on forms;

shooting an image by the shooting means of the portable terminal when a call is received;

recognizing a form from the image shot by the shooting means;

selecting a message corresponding to the recognized form; and

transmitting the selected message to a calling source.

20. The call response message transmitting method claimed in claim 19, wherein the method is applied to the condition that does not allow the output of a ring tone.

21. A server that communicates with a portable terminal via a communication network, comprising:

a message information storage for storing information on different types of messages in association with information on forms;

a message information selecting means for recognizing a form from an image transmitted from the portable terminal which has received an incoming call from a calling source, and selecting a message corresponding to the recognized form from the message information storage; and

a message information transmitter for transmitting the message selected by the message information selecting means to the calling source.