HK1035982B - A portable intelligent communications device and a method of handling incoming calls in meeting mode by the device - Google Patents

Description

Portable intelligent communication device and method for processing incoming call received in meeting period

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to portable intelligent communications devices, and more particularly to devices and methods for handling incoming calls received by such intelligent communications devices during a meeting.

Background

A new type of communication device has been developed that includes a complete computer with integrated communication hardware and software. These devices are known as portable intelligent communicators and differ primarily from Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and hand-Held Personal Computers (HPCs) in that they are widely used as communicators rather than merely "mobile computers". For example, the main features of communication devices are telephony, enhanced telephony, telegraph and information services. To enable at least some of these features, the portable intelligent communications device is connected to the internet by means of a wired or wireless link. It will also be appreciated that certain software programs are provided within the portable intelligent communications device for assisting in implementing the above-described features and other desired features, such as Personal Information Manager (PIM) games and the like. An example of a portable intelligent communications device is disclosed In WO0007345, entitled "Switching of analog signals In mobile Computing Devices", filed 28/7/1998, which is owned by the assignee of the present invention.

It should be understood that the users of the portable intelligent communications devices described above are business personnel on the way. Because these users often attend meetings and other activities during which it is inconvenient to operate the portable intelligent communications device, it is desirable for the portable intelligent communications device to have a manner of operation that is suitable for such situations. This involves configuring a series Of settings (e.g., handling And/or switching incoming Communications, disarming an alarm, etc.) For a portable intelligent Communications device, as disclosed in PCT patent application published under international publication number WO99/21101, 1999, 4, 29, entitled "Apparatus And Method For configuring settings Of a portable intelligent Communications device a Meeting". This patent application relates to setting and releasing such a conference mode by manual and automatic means, but it relates to maintaining the same settings for all incoming calls when using the conference mode. Because the portable intelligent communications device may need to handle some incoming calls outside of the meeting and easily identify the source of each incoming call, the mode of operation used during the meeting may need to provide a choice of handling each incoming call in a different manner.

Another radio communication system and portable radio terminal are disclosed in european patent application 0399520 a 2. Among them, the radio portable telephone has a plurality of communication modes which can be automatically switched according to information specified in a schedule and current personal information. Only limited information entered by the user before the call is received is specified in the schedule. It is proposed to define based on the location of the signal from the base station. All incoming telephone calls are handled in the same manner. Thus, incoming calls cannot be distinguished as such, and thus cannot be handled differently according to different incoming call sources.

Disclosure of Invention

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for handling incoming calls received while a user is participating in a meeting or performing similar activities.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for handling each incoming call received while the user is participating in a meeting or performing similar activities in a different manner.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for handling incoming calls received by a portable intelligent communications device that provides several options for incoming calls received while the user is engaged in a meeting or other activity.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for handling incoming calls received by a portable intelligent communications device that is automatically initiated when a user is engaged in a meeting or similar activity and automatically deactivated when the meeting or activity is completed.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for handling incoming calls received by a portable intelligent communications device that can be manually initiated when a user is engaged in a meeting or other activity and manually deactivated when the meeting or activity is completed.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for handling incoming calls received by a portable intelligent communications device that is capable of identifying the source of each incoming call when the user is engaged in a meeting or other activity.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for handling an incoming call received by a portable intelligent communications device that is capable of notifying a user when an incoming call is received while the user is engaged in a meeting or other activity.

These objects and other features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a method is disclosed for handling incoming calls received by a portable intelligent communications device during a mode of operation when a user of the portable intelligent communications device is engaged in a meeting, wherein the portable intelligent communications device is configured such that each incoming call can be handled in a different manner. When each incoming call is received during this mode of operation, a graphical user interface is generated on the display screen containing a plurality of options for handling the incoming call. The user of the portable intelligent communications device then initiates one of the selections for handling each incoming call. The method may also include the steps of identifying the source of each incoming call and notifying the user of the portable intelligent communications device when an incoming call is received.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a portable intelligent communications device is disclosed, comprising circuitry for performing telephone operations, a display screen, and processor circuitry coupled to the display screen. When each incoming call is received by the portable intelligent communications device during the conference mode of operation, the processor circuit generates a graphical user interface on the display screen, wherein the graphical user interface contains a plurality of selections for handling each of the incoming calls in different manners.

Brief Description of Drawings

While the specification concludes with claims illustrating the scope of the invention, it is believed that the invention will be better understood from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portable intelligent communications device of the present invention having a mode of operation for a meeting or other similar activity in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a simplified high-level block diagram of the portable intelligent communications device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the software results of the portable intelligent communications device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 including a certain software application according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a screen display of the portable intelligent communications device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 when operating with a calendar application;

FIG. 5 is a screen display provided by a graphical user interface for configuring certain default settings of a portable intelligent communications device in accordance with a manner of operation used by a user while participating in a meeting or other similar activity;

FIG. 6 is a screen display provided by a graphical user interface when an incoming call is received that provides several options for handling incoming calls received by a portable intelligent communications device when the user is engaged in a meeting or other similar activity; and

fig. 7 is a flowchart of the processing steps taken when an incoming call is received by a portable intelligent communications device operating in a conferencing mode of operation.

Detailed description of the preferred embodiments

Referring now to the drawings in which like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, FIG. 1 illustrates a portable intelligent communications device, generally designated by the numeral 10. It should be understood that portable intelligent communications device 10 is primarily a communications device and includes circuitry and components for communicating via cellular means, over-the-air-line means, infrared data association (IrDA), phone card means, and other means. The portable intelligent communications device 10 also includes circuitry that enables it to function as a computer and various software applications. Because of this combination, portable intelligent communications device 10 is uniquely suited for interfacing software applications and communications hardware and software. In this regard, it should be understood that the portable intelligent communications device 10 generally operates In accordance with the device described In patent application number WO0007345 entitled "Switching Of Analog Signals In Mobile computing devices", filed on 28.7.1998, which is also assigned to the assignee Of the present invention.

As shown in fig. 1, portable intelligent communications device 10 includes a housing 12 for housing communications circuitry and other circuitry that will be described in detail later. The handset 14 is located at the top of the housing 12 and preferably includes a built-in speaker 18 for use in operation of the handset 14. A rotatable antenna 20 (shown in fig. 1 in an open or deployed state) is provided for performing communication functions when in a cellular mode. It should be appreciated that various jacks, receptacles, and interfaces are also provided to further enhance communication functionality. Also shown are control buttons 21 and 23 located on the top 16 of the housing 12.

The portable intelligent communications device 10 also includes a display screen 22, which is preferably a display screen on which the user interacts with the user by touching designated areas thereon. It should be understood that the stylus 24 may alternatively be used to indicate a specific area that is smaller than the area indicated by the finger, although most of the area designated is the same size as the finger. Because the portable intelligent communications device 10 is preferably no larger than a standard commercial desktop telephone, the size of the display screen 22 is approximately 8 inches measured diagonally. This allows the display screen 22 to have a unique size rating because it is smaller than the standard display of a personal computer or portable computer, but larger than the display screens of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), calculators, and other similar personal electronic devices.

Referring now to fig. 2, the internal circuitry of portable intelligent communications device 10 includes a processor circuit 26, which may be a motorola microprocessor PC 821. As can be seen, the processor circuit 26 is coupled to Read Only Memory (ROM)28 and Random Access Memory (RAM)30, in which are stored two operating systems and software applications. An optional mass storage 32 is also provided for storing the database. The processor circuit 26 is also connected to the display screen 22 through standard drivers (not shown) to control the images displayed on the display screen and to receive information through a graphical user interface where a user of the portable intelligent communications device 10 can indicate the selected image. The communication functions of the portable intelligent communications device 10 are also handled by the processor circuit 26 via serial and/or parallel ports 34 connected to specific circuits of the communication means indicated by reference numeral 36. As mentioned above, there are several alternative communication modes, including cellular, overhead line, IrDA and phone card modes, and it should be understood that more than one such option may be utilized at a given time. A keyboard 38 may also be connected to the processor circuit 26, wherein the keyboard 38 may be disposed on the display screen 32 or a separate physical component that may be utilized by the portable intelligent communications device 10, for example, through a keyboard IR port 40 (FIG. 1).

Fig. 3 illustrates a block diagram of a software configuration of portable intelligent communications device 10. As shown, the software is divided into 3 basic regions: application software 42, desktop software 44, and system operating software 46 (which includes all programs except the level library up to the device driver of portable intelligent communications device 10). It should be understood that neither the application software 42 nor the desktop software 44 interact with any program outside of the top level of the system operating software 46. An exemplary software application is shown within application software 42, the particular reference number of which is calendar/listing software 48 in accordance with the present invention.

It should be understood that there are certain circumstances, such as during a meeting, where a user of portable intelligent communications device 10 wishes to operate differently than during normal conditions. In response to this need, a mode Of operation is disclosed in PCT patent application having International publication No. WO99/21101, published as 1999, 4, 29, entitled "Apparatus And Method For Configuring Settings Of Intelligent Communications Device During Meeting A Meeting". This mode of operation, also referred to as a conference mode, involves different settings of portable intelligent communications device 10 configured in relation to this mode of operation, thus enabling the settings to be performed at the start, i.e. when a conference or other similar activity is started. The meeting mode of operation of the portable intelligent communications device 10 may be initiated manually (e.g., via a graphical user interface) or automatically (e.g., via a software application such as the calendar/listings software application 48). The various settings of the portable intelligent communications device 10 are constructed under a file specifying the manner of operation in a graphical user interface, see figures 5A-5C of PCT patent application WO99/21101, in which certain sets of settings are configured using separate screen displays. It should be understood that the configuration of these settings may be performed before or after the manual initiation of the mode of operation, although it is preferred that the configuration of these settings be completed before the automatic initiation of such mode of operation. Likewise, the deactivation of these modes of operation may be performed manually or automatically upon termination of a meeting or other activity.

To better understand how the meeting mode is performed manually or automatically, FIG. 4 shows a screen display 50 with respect to a calendar/listing software application. It should be noted that the screen display 50 includes a name bar 51 at the top of the window, and standard control buttons along the right side of the name bar 51. The main control screen 53 is shown to include a plurality of tabulated regions from which the second level menu selects the control button (collectively indicated by reference numeral 55) that appears after selection of one of the tables in the main control screen 53. The bottom rectangular area of the screen display 50 is preferably used to display status information and may include one or more mouse-style control buttons 59.

It is also noted that the mouse mode control button 59 is the conference mode control button 52, which is best seen in FIG. 7 of the above-mentioned PCT application WO99/21101 patent application. Control button 52 may be depressed when manual initiation and release of the conference mode of operation is desired. Actuation of the control button 52 not only causes the button to illuminate (or be depressed), but also preferably causes a message to appear in the status bar 57 indicating that the conference mode is actuated. Otherwise, the control button 52 remains normal and no information is present in the status bar 57. It should be understood that for any software application, the control buttons 52 and the execution of the meeting mode may be provided within the screen display such that the corresponding information is represented using a status bar. This can be achieved by Using control Drag And Drop, as described in patent application number WO9921084 entitled "System To Association Controls having applications Using Drag And Drop Interface", filed on 1.10.1998, which is also assigned To the assignee of the present invention.

One example of accomplishing this task, with respect to automatic initiation and deactivation of the operational mode, is based on an appointment in the calendar/listing software application 48 of the portable intelligent communications device 10. As shown in FIG. 4, appointments and/or meetings may be scheduled within a workspace 61 (with a vertical scroll bar 63) of the screen display 50, preferably with a specified time frame (as represented by a lighted area 65 within the workspace 61). Of course, within the lighted area 65, some required information for identifying a meeting or appointment may be included. Accordingly, the mode of operation is initiated at the start of such an appointment and then automatically deactivated at the end of the appointment.

As mentioned above, the above-mentioned PCT patent application WO99/21101 handles all incoming calls in the same way during the conference mode, because the setting of the conference operation mode is selected before receiving an incoming call. However, it has been found that this constitutes some limitation to the user of portable intelligent communications device 10 who wishes to handle incoming calls in different ways depending on the source of the incoming call. Accordingly, fig. 5 is a screen display similar to that of fig. 5A of said PCT patent application WO99/21101, but in which a screen display 56 is generated for providing certain default settings for the handling of calls and other inbound communications to the portable intelligent communications device 10 during a conference mode of operation. The screen display 56 also includes disarming some of the alarms. It will be appreciated that the default settings are configured such that, when selected, each incoming call is handled in accordance with the default settings.

More specifically, a Bubble (Bubble)66 is provided for deactivating the ring alert to further prevent interruption during the meeting or appointment. An additional option is to disengage the tactile and/or visual alert by means of air bubbles 68 and 70, respectively, so that the user's attention is not distracted in a non-audible manner when an incoming call is received by the portable intelligent communications device 10. It should be appreciated that one or more of the available alarms may be deactivated by the bubbles 66, 68 and 70 in the default setting.

In addition, screen display 56 includes several default setting options for handling incoming calls to portable intelligent communications device 10. These options include diverting incoming calls to the assistant (bubble 72), diverting incoming calls to voice mail (bubble 74), and diverting incoming calls to some other location designated in block 78 or determined by search button 80 (bubble 76). Another option is to answer the call and stay connected with the caller so that the information displayed at block 84 can be played. A search button 86 is preferably provided so that the user of portable intelligent communications device 10 has several selectable pieces of information, such as information immediately available to the caller.

It should be understood that the screen display 56 may be the first of a series of screen displays for various default settings related to configuration and mode of operation. Thus, separate control buttons 88 and 90 may be provided along the bottom area of the screen display 56 for controlling access to another screen display or for deleting the default configuration of the conference mode, respectively. In this way, additional default settings for the mode of operation may be configured (see fig. 5B and 5C of PCT patent application WO99/21101, for example, where settings relating to the work area and the power supply of portable intelligent communications device 10 are provided).

In accordance with the present invention, an on-screen display 92 (FIG. 6) is generated upon receipt of an incoming call by portable intelligent communications device 10. In this way, each incoming call can be handled in a different way by diverting the incoming call to one of several different locations by means of the fill bubble 94 (assistant), bubble 96 (voice mail), bubble 98 (other location specified in block 100 or determined by search button 102). Another method is to fill the bubble 104, at which point the call is answered and held on hold with the caller so that the caller can hear the information represented in block 108 (bubble 106). This latter option enables the user of portable intelligent communications device 10 to delegate participation in a conference and to process calls at a predetermined time. It will be appreciated that the process of selecting the appropriate option for a particular incoming call is preferably enhanced by using the caller ID function implemented in the communication circuit 36, whereby the source of the incoming call is determined and displayed on the display screen 22. The screen display 92 preferably has buttons 110 and 112 for selecting settings for a particular incoming call, or implementing default settings pre-selected in the screen display 56, respectively.

Of course, some of the status indications of the above-described modes of operation (e.g., status bar 57 of screen display 50 described above) may be given on display 22 of portable intelligent communications device 10. As described above, the initiation of the operational mode can be easily accomplished through a graphical user interface and automatically through other software applications. When done automatically, this has the advantage that the mode of operation will be automatically de-activated when the appointment or meeting is ended, so that subsequent inbound communications are not diverted or lost. It is desirable to be able to provide some indication on the display screen 22 when an incoming call is received by the portable intelligent communications device 10. This may be done iconically by way of an indicator 114 located near the control button 59 in the screen display 50 and/or by way of a text legend within a rectangular area 57 at the bottom of the screen display 50 (FIG. 4).

To better illustrate how incoming call processing is performed during a meeting mode of operation or other similar active mode of operation, FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of steps taken depending on whether a new calendar event or an incoming call first occurred. However, it will be seen that when in the conference mode of operation, the processing described is in each case relevant to the processing of incoming calls received by the portable intelligent communications device 10.

As shown in FIG. 7, the first step is to determine whether a new calendar event has expired (decision block 114). The idea of this step is to assume that the mode of operation has been automatically initiated, for example by using the calendar/listing software application 48 described above. If the answer is in the affirmative, a determination is made as to whether the event is a meeting start (decision block 116). If the answer is in the affirmative, then a conference mode of operation is initiated (block 118). Thus, processing returns to decision block 114 via feedback loop 120. It should be appreciated that if the expired new calendar event is not a meeting start (i.e., the determination at decision block 116 is negative), the logic determines whether the calendar event is a meeting end (decision block 122). If the answer is negative, the logic returns to decision block 114 via feedback loop 120. If the answer is in the affirmative, the logic determines whether the conference mode is enabled (decision block 124). If the conference mode is initiated, it is first deactivated and then returns to decision block 114 via feedback loop 120. If the conference mode is not enabled, the state remains and also returns to decision block 114 through feedback loop 120.

In the event that the new calendar event has not expired (i.e., the answer to decision block 114 is negative), then the logic determines whether an incoming call has been received by portable intelligent communications device 10 (decision block 128). If the answer is negative, the logic returns to decision block 114 via feedback loop 132. If the answer is in the affirmative, a determination is made as to whether the conference mode has been initiated (decision block 130). This query is required because the conference mode may have been manually initiated.

With respect to the inquiry of decision block 130, when the conference mode is not initiated (block 134), then the incoming call is processed in the usual manner. However, when the conference mode is initiated, the user input is focused on the desired settings for handling such incoming calls (block 136) and such settings are then initiated (block 138). After the incoming call is terminated (block 140), whether processed in conference mode or not, processing returns to the start step of decision block 114 via feedback loop 142. It will be appreciated that processing will continue with appropriate action taken in accordance with the answers to the queries of decision blocks 114 and 128.

The embodiments of the present invention that have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings may be subject to many suitable modifications by those skilled in the art for an apparatus and method for handling incoming calls received by a portable intelligent communications device during a meeting without departing from the inventive concept.

Claims (30)

1. A method for handling incoming calls received by a portable intelligent communications device (10) while a user of the portable intelligent communications device (10) is engaged in a meeting, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) entering a conference working mode;

(b) configuring said portable intelligent communications device (10) to handle each incoming call in a single different manner in said conference mode of operation;

(c) generating a graphical user interface (92) on a display screen (22) when each incoming call is received by the portable intelligent communications device (10) in the conference mode of operation, wherein the graphical user interface (92) contains a plurality of options (94, 96, 98, 104, 112) for handling each of the incoming calls and

(d) one of the plurality of options (94, 96, 98, 104, 112) is activated in response to a user selection.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of identifying the source of each incoming call.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of notifying a user of said portable intelligent communications device (10) when an incoming call is received.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of options is an option to divert the incoming call to voice mail.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of options is an option to divert the incoming call to an assistant.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of options is an option to forward the incoming call to another phone number.

7. The method of claim 6, the option having a plurality of stored telephone numbers among which can be specified.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of options is an option to answer the incoming call.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the options for answering the incoming call further comprise an option for holding the incoming call on for a predetermined time.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein said option to answer said incoming call further comprises an option to play a pre-recorded message.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the pre-recorded information option has a plurality of stored information available for selection.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the conference mode of operation is initiated automatically.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the conference mode of operation is initiated manually.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of selecting default settings for handling incoming calls received by said portable intelligent communications device (10).

15. The method of claim 14, wherein one of the options for handling incoming calls is an option to initiate the default setting.

16. A portable intelligent communications device (10), comprising:

(a) a circuit (36) for performing telephone operations;

(b) a display screen (22); and

(c) a processor circuit (26) coupled to said display screen (22), said processor circuit (26) generating a graphical user interface (92) on said display screen (22) when each incoming call is received by said portable intelligent communications device (10) during a conference mode of operation, characterized in that said graphical user interface (92) contains a plurality of options (94, 96, 98, 104) for handling each of said incoming calls in a single manner.

17. The portable intelligent communications device (10) of claim 16, wherein said circuitry for telephony (36) and said processor circuit (26) are capable of identifying each source of incoming call.

18. The portable intelligent communications device (10) of claim 16, further comprising means for notifying the user when an incoming call is received.

19. The portable intelligent communications device (10) of claim 16, further comprising a user interface interacting with said processor circuit (26) for automatically initiating said conference mode of operation at the start of a conference.

20. The portable intelligent communications device (10) of claim 16, further comprising a user interface interacting with said processor circuit (26) for manually initiating said conference mode of operation via a screen display (50).

21. The portable intelligent communications device (10) of claim 16, wherein one of said plurality of options contained in said graphical user interface (92) is for forwarding said incoming call to voicemail.

22. The portable intelligent communications device (10) of claim 16, wherein one of said plurality of options contained in said graphical user interface (92) is for forwarding said incoming call to an assistant.

23. Portable intelligent communications device (10) according to claim 16, wherein an option of said plurality of options contained in said graphical user interface (92) is used to divert said incoming call to another telephone number.

24. Portable intelligent communications device (10) according to claim 23, further comprising an interface for specifying said forwarded telephone number.

25. Portable intelligent communications device (10) according to claim 16, wherein a first option of said plurality of options contained in said graphical user interface (92) causes said portable communications device to answer said incoming call.

26. The portable intelligent communications device (10) of claim 25, wherein said first option further causes said portable intelligent communications device to hold the incoming call on for a predetermined time.

27. The portable intelligent communications device (10) of claim 25, wherein a second one of said plurality of options contained in said graphical user interface (92) causes said portable intelligent communications device to play a prerecorded message.

28. The portable intelligent communications device (10) of claim 27, further comprising an interface included in said graphical user interface (92) for marking pre-recorded information.

29. Portable intelligent communications device (10) according to claim 16, further comprising a user interface for configuring default settings for handling incoming calls to said portable intelligent communications device (10).

30. The portable intelligent communications device (10) of claim 29, further comprising an interface used to select said default settings.