Communication terminal

• US 7,120,472 B2
• Filed: 03/24/2006
• Issued: 10/10/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/25/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hera Wireless S.A. (Fineur International S.A.)
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation), Tottori Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Okagaki, Mitsunori
• Primary Examiner(s): YANG, RYAN R
• Application Number:
  US11/387,980
• Publication Number:
  US 20060164433A1
• Time in Patent Office: 200 Days
• Field of Search: 455/566, 715/810, 715/819, 715/823, 715/821
• US Class Current: 455/566
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/145 related to small screens
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/00 Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators image data processing or generation, in general G06T
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/04 Supports for telephone transmitters or receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/57 Arrangements for indicating or recording the number of the calling subscriber at the called subscriber's set at the operator set in a manual exchange H04M5/20
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6041 Portable telephones adapted for handsfree use
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6505 storing speech in digital form
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/7243 with interactive means for internal management of messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72433 for voice messaging, e.g. dictaphones for answering incoming calls H04M1/64
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72436 for text messaging, e.g. short messaging services [SMS] or e-mails
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72469 for operating the device by selecting functions from two or more displayed items, e.g. menus or icons

Abstract

The control circuit 11 causes display of messages received through the communication unit 1 in the display unit 14 in list form. A cursor for making selections from the messages displayed in list form has different patterns. The control circuit 11 associates the cursor patterns with message types. In another embodiment, the control circuit 11 groups received messages into new messages not yet reproduced by a user and old messages already reproduced, causes display of the number of the new messages in a predetermined area of the display unit when the new messages are stored in RAM 13, and display of the number of the old messages in said predetermined area when the new messages are not stored in RAM 13.

Claims

1. A cellular telephone, comprising:

a display unit which displays an original selection screen for selecting at least one of a plurality of upper layer options displayed on said original selection screen;

display control structure which causes a display of the upper layer options on said display unit, by scroll; and

a key for selecting an upper layer option not currently displayed on the original selection screen;

said display control structure (i) causing, when an upper layer option not currently displayed on said original selection screen has been selected by said key, a display on said display unit of a lower layer option screen, which is associated with the selected upper layer option, and (ii) causing a display of the selected upper layer option in reverse when displaying said original selection screen thereafter.

2. A cellular telephone according to claim 1, further comprising telecommunication structure for carrying out telecommunications.

3. A cellular telephone according to claim 1, wherein said telecommunications structure comprises an antenna, a speaker, a microphone, a keypad, function keys, and a voice codec.

4. A cellular telephone according to claim 1, wherein said display unit comprises an LCD display.

5. A cellular telephone according to claim 1, wherein said display structure causes, in response to activation of said key, immediate display on said display unit of a plurality of lower layer options associated with the selected upper layer option.

6. A cellular telephone according to claim 5, wherein said display structure causes, in response to activation of another key while the plurality of lower layer options is displayed on said display unit, immediate display on said display unit of a plurality of upper layer with the selected upper layer option in reverse.

7. A cellular telephone, comprising:

telecommunications structure for carrying out telecommunications;

an LCD display unit which displays a plurality of upper layer options;

display control structure which causes a display of the plurality of upper layer options on said display unit, by scroll; and

a key for selecting an upper layer option not currently displayed on said LCD display unit;

said display control structure (i) causing, when an upper layer option not currently displayed on said LCD display unit has been selected by said key, a display on said display unit of a lower layer option screen, which is associated with the selected upper layer option, and (ii) causing a display on said LCD display unit of the selected upper layer option in reverse when displaying said plurality of upper layer options thereafter.

8. A cellular telephone according to claim 7, wherein sad display control structure causes the display of the selected upper layer option in reverse when displaying said plurality of upper layer options in response to activation of another hardware key while said LCD display unit is displaying the lower layer option screen.

9. A cellular telephone according to claim 7, wherein sad display control structure causes the display of the lower layer option screen immediately upon activation of said hardware key while said LCD display unit is displaying upper layer options which do not correspond to said hardware key.

10. A cellular telephone according to claim 7, wherein said display control structure causes a display of a selected upper layer option word in reverse.

11. A cellular telephone according to claim 7, wherein said key for selecting an upper layer option not currently displayed comprises an alphanumeric key.

12. A cellular telephone according to claim 7, wherein said telecommunications structure comprises an antenna, a speaker, a microphone, a keypad, function keys, and a voice codec.

13. A cellular telephone according to claim 7, further comprising another hardware key for causing said display control structure to display all of the upper layer options with a scroll function.

14. A method of selecting cellular telephone options, comprising the steps of:

using a cellular telephone hardware key to cause sequential display, on a cellular telephone LCD display unit, a plurality of upper layer options, using a scroll function;

using another cellular telephone hardware key to select an upper layer option not currently displayed on said LCD display unit;

when an upper layer option not currently displayed on said LCD display unit has been selected by said another cellular telephone hardware key, immediately display on said LCD display unit a lower layer option screen, which is associated with the selected upper layer option; and

causing a display on said LCD display unit of the selected upper layer option in reverse when using a further cellular telephone hardware key while said LCD display unit is displaying the lower layer option screen.

15. A method according to claim 14, wherein said causing step causes the reverse display of a word corresponding to the selected upper layer option.

16. A method according to claim 14, wherein said causing step causes the display of plural upper layer options together with the reverse display of the selected upper layer option.

17. A method according to claim 16, wherein the selected upper layer option is reversed, but the other displayed upper layer options are not reversed.

18. A method according to claim 14, wherein said step of using another cellular telephone hardware key comprises the step of using an alphanumeric key.

19. A method according to claim 14, wherein said step of using a cellular telephone hardware key comprises the step of using a function key.

20. A method according to claim 14, wherein said immediate display step includes the step of displaying the lower layer option screen in reverse.