JP2003219065A - Mobile phone and information management method in the mobile phone - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a user interface by which a user can easily select/search area information and easily operate such as erasure of data of the area information in a mobile phone with a function of receiving area information through an area information distribution service. <P>SOLUTION: The area of received area information is discriminated and the information is stored in a directory whose name is equal to the name of the area. The information is further classified into directories by each category under the directory and stored. In the case of displaying the area information onto a display section for the selection/searching, first a list of the directories by each area and then a list of directories by categories is displayed in a next step. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mobile phone and an information management method for a mobile phone, and more particularly to a mobile phone having a function of receiving area (region) information and an area information management method for the mobile phone. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, mobile phones have been remarkably advanced, and not only telephone functions but also various services such as mail services and information distribution services are provided. In particular, information distribution services are becoming more substantial than those of telephones, and for mobile phone terminals, depending on the area (region) in which the terminal is currently located, information content related to that area (hereinafter,
Area information) and other services.

In the service for distributing the area information (hereinafter referred to as area information distribution service), various information such as weather forecast, shopping information, meal information, amusement information, etc. are distributed as the area information. The distribution information is provided by a predetermined distribution method such as regular / irregular.
When a user (carrier of a mobile phone terminal) moves between areas, the area information of the area is similarly obtained in the area to which the user has moved.

FIG. 8 shows the configuration of a general wireless communication system and distribution of area information. A mobile terminal device 1 such as a mobile phone includes a base station 2 and a base station control device 3.
Can communicate with another mobile terminal device 1 through. Each base station 2 controls multiple access with the terminal device 1 in the covered wireless zone (cell). Terminal device 1
, The communication with other networks 5 such as a fixed telephone network and an IP network is provided via the exchange 4. Terminal device 1
For example, the area information is distributed from a predetermined content distribution server (not shown) as a transmission source. An area is a predetermined geographical division, and each area has unique area information as contents.

In the conventional area information distribution service, the area information received is classified and managed in the folder (directory) according to the content, type, and field (category) of the information on the mobile phone terminal side. There is. FIG. 9 shows the directory structure of this conventional area information classification. Folders for each category (hereinafter, category folders) are provided under the root. Specific categories include, for example, "news", "sports", and "meals". Each category folder is
It has the name of the category as the folder name.

Upon receiving the area information, the mobile phone terminal determines the category to which the area information belongs and stores / arranges it in the corresponding category folder. Each area information is organized by category, but information is stored in each category folder regardless of the area. Within each category folder, individual area information is organized in the order of arrival. In the mobile phone terminal, the category determination process for each area information can be performed by identifying a category code attached to the area information, for example.

Further, the following method is generally used as a user interface for allowing a user to select area information stored in a memory in a mobile phone. First, a list of category folders is displayed on the display unit according to a predetermined operation input on the operation input unit by the user. Next, when a user selects a desired category (folder), a list of individual area information in the category folder is displayed.
The individual area information is displayed side by side in the order of arrival time, for example. Next, when the user selects desired area information from the area information list, a process of displaying the area information (main body) is performed. FIG. 10 shows a display example for selecting the conventional area information.

In the conventional area information distribution service and mobile phone, when moving between a plurality of areas such as a business trip, a trip, or a long-distance commute, the area information of the plurality of areas is distributed. As a result, although the area information received on the side of the mobile phone is classified into each category, the individual area information in each category becomes disjoint and the area information of a plurality of areas is mixed.

As a result, although the content information unique to each area is received, it is difficult for the user to find desired information in a certain area, which is inconvenient.

Further, due to the movement of the user and the mobile phone between a plurality of areas, it may occur that the user receives area information of an area that the user does not need or is not interested in. When erasing data, there is a problem that the erasing process becomes complicated because each area information is classified into each category.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and in a mobile phone having a function of receiving area information through an area information distribution service, a user selects and retrieves area information. Another object of the present invention is to provide a mobile phone having a user interface that facilitates operations such as erasing data for area information, and an information management method.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 determines the area for the received area information in a mobile phone having a function of receiving the area information, and It is characterized in that it has means for storing and organizing in an area name directory.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the received area information is stored in a directory for each area, and is further stored in a directory for each category in the directory for each area. It is characterized by that.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the second aspect, as a process in the display unit when the user selects and retrieves the area information, a list of directories for each area is displayed at a higher level and a directory is displayed at a lower level. It is characterized by having a means for displaying a list of directories for each category.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, when area information of an unregistered area is newly received, it has an area name corresponding to the area. The feature is that the directory is automatically created and stored.

The invention of claim 5 is characterized in that, in the invention of any one of claims 1 to 4, there is provided means for erasing data in units of a directory for each area.

The invention according to claim 6 is an information management method in a mobile phone having a function of receiving area information, which comprises a step of discriminating an area for the received area information, and having the discriminated area name as a name. The step of searching or creating a directory, the step of determining a category for area information, the step of searching or creating a directory having the determined category name as a name, and the area received in the directory searched or created in the above step And a step of storing information.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information management method in a mobile phone having a function of receiving area information, wherein the processing is performed by the display unit when the user selects and searches the area information. And a step of displaying a directory list for each category in a lower level.

[0019]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a directory structure for area information classification in the mobile phone of this embodiment.

The mobile phone and the information management method of the present invention are configured to classify the received area (region) information into folders for each area for management. Further, as a user interface for the user to select / search area information, processing for displaying a list of folders having the area name as a folder name is performed on the display unit. In addition, when the mobile phone side newly receives area information of an unregistered area (not registered as a folder for each area), a process of automatically creating and storing a folder having a corresponding area name is performed. It also provides means for performing data erasing processing in units of folders in each area.

In the mobile phone of this embodiment, as a directory (folder) structure for classifying area information, not only conventional classification by category but also directory (folder) by area further above the category hierarchy. Is provided to classify by area.

The area division in the area information and the communication service area division in the wireless communication system are associated with each other in a predetermined relationship, but here they are conceptually considered different. Further, in the present invention, the configuration of the mobile phone terminal side that receives the area information is mainly used, and the configuration of the system on the area information distribution side is not particularly limited. As an example of the configuration of the distribution side system,
For example, the content delivery server is used as a transmission source to deliver to contract users on a regular / irregular basis.

The mobile phone 1 of this embodiment includes a radio unit 11,
Control unit 12, speaker (voice output unit) 13, microphone (voice input unit) 14, operation input unit (various keys, etc.) 1
5, a display driver 16, a display unit (such as a liquid crystal display) 17, a memory 18, and the like, and further includes an area information determination unit 101, an area information table unit 102, and an area information management unit 103 that perform processing characteristic of the present invention. Consists of

The radio section 11 performs hardware and software radio communication processing (modulation / demodulation, encoding / decoding, etc.). The control unit 12 is a control device such as a CPU and controls the entire mobile phone 1. Each program including a program that realizes the information management processing of the present invention is stored in a ROM (not shown) or the like, and is loaded into the main memory as needed and sequentially executed by the control unit 12 to perform the processing of the present invention. I do. The memory 18 is a device such as a semiconductor memory that stores and saves message information such as mail, telephone number information, and various data such as received area information. As a telephone function, the user inputs a voice through the microphone 14 and obtains a voice output through the speaker 13.

Various operation inputs by the user are performed by the operation input unit 15. Pressing a telephone number and composing / sending mail are performed by operating a ten-key or a dedicated key to which each function is assigned. Further, selection / search of each folder storing the area information or individual area information, or erasing data for the area information is performed based on the input in the operation input unit 15. Display processing of the area information (main body) and various information for selecting / searching the area information is performed on the display unit 17. Display driver 16
Performs display processing on the display unit 17.

When the area information discriminating unit 101 receives the area information via the radio unit 1, the area information discriminating unit 101 reads the header information of the area information and discriminates to which area the area information belongs. This is done by reading the area code included in the header information. The area information discriminating unit 101 includes an area information table unit 102 described later.
Refer to the table managed by and obtain the area name and other information from the area code.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the format of area information distributed by the area information distribution service. In the example of this format, the area information includes the area information ID (content I) as header information in addition to the data body.
D), area code, category code, and base station information. The area information ID is an identifier uniquely determined for the area information (content) in the area information distribution system. This may include the name of the area information (character string format) or the like. The area code is a code assigned to each area for identification. The category code is also a code assigned to each category for identification. In addition to the header information, a code indicating that the transmission data is area information, information about the base station and the base station control device with which the mobile phone 1 is communicating, or sender information (source address), etc. There is various information.

The area information table section 102 manages a table describing the correspondence between the area code and the area name and other information. This table (referred to as the area information table)
Is shown in FIG. The area information table has at least the attributes of area code and area name. When the area information has only the area code as the information for discriminating the area, the area information table has all correspondences between the area code and the area name in the area information distribution service. As a result, the mobile phone 1 can know the area name and other information from the area code in the reception area information and this table, and can create the corresponding area folder. If the area information has the area name as well as the area code as information for discriminating the area, it is not necessary to describe all correspondences in the area information table.

The area information management unit 103 manages a directory (folder) structure for area information as shown in FIG. The area information data itself is
It is stored at a predetermined address on the memory 18. The area information management unit 103, when a need arises to change the directory structure such as adding a new folder or area information,
The change process is performed.

The basic operation of the mobile phone 1 will be described. In the telephone function, the demodulated signal received via the wireless unit 11 is converted into a voice signal via the control unit 12. Further, the audio signal is modulated by the wireless unit 11 and transmitted. The user has a speaker 13 and a microphone 14.
Make a call using.

In the cellular phone 1, when the area information is received via the base station (demodulated by the radio section 11 and converted into readable data), the area information discrimination section 10 is obtained.
The area code included in the area information is detected by 1 and the area information table unit 102 or the like is referred to, so as to determine the area to which the received area information belongs. Based on this determination processing, the area information management unit 103 performs processing for storing the area information in an area folder having the corresponding area name as a folder name. In the above determination process, if the reception area information is new area information from an area that has not been registered (that is, not created as an area folder) in the mobile phone 1, the area information management unit 10
In step 3, the area folder corresponding to the new area is automatically created, the receiving area information is stored in the area folder, and the newly created area folder is added to the existing directory structure.

After the area information is classified into each area folder, it is further stored / arranged in the folder for each category in the order of arrival time.

Next, a method of displaying information on the display unit 17 for the user to select / search area information will be described. An example of this display is shown in FIG. When the area information is displayed on the display unit 17 of the mobile phone 1, first, the user inputs a predetermined operation on the operation input unit 15,
A list of area folders is displayed (a). When the user selects the desired area (folder), a list of category folders is displayed (b). When the user selects a desired category (folder), a list of individual area information in it is displayed (c). The user
The desired area information can be selected and the contents can be viewed (d).

Next, in the mobile phone 1, a process for editing area information stored in a folder (erasing data) for organizing information will be described.
FIG. 6 shows a display example on the display unit 17. First, a list of area folders is displayed by a predetermined operation input by the user through the operation input unit 15 (a). The user
If you want to erase the area information from the memory 18,
"Delete one", "Delete all" displayed on the screen of display 17
A desired one is selected from the ("folder deletion") command to execute the deletion process. For example, when wanting to delete all of the area folders of "Chiba" (collective deletion), the user selects the cursor to "Chiba" on the screen a and clicks "Delete all".
Select a command. When this is executed, the area information management unit 103 performs processing to delete the designated area folder. As a result, the screen becomes b. The item "Chiba" has been deleted, and the cursor is located at the next "Shizuoka". Similarly, the "delete one item" command can delete one item of area information.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation at the time of receiving area information in the mobile phone 1 and the information management method according to the embodiment of the present invention. First, the mobile phone 1 is in a standby state, and the mobile phone 1 is connected via the base station.
The area information of the area where is located is received (step S
1).

The area information discriminating section 101 detects an area code or the like from the received area information, and refers to the area information table section 102 or the like to perform area discriminating processing (step S2).

As a result of the discrimination processing, the area name of the reception area information is acquired. Next, the directory structure managed by the area information management unit 103 is referred to,
It is determined whether or not an area folder corresponding to the area of the reception area information already exists (step S3).

When the corresponding area folder already exists (step S3, YES), the receiving area information is
Next, we move on to the determination of categories. If the corresponding area folder does not exist (step S3, NO), the area information management unit 103 automatically creates a corresponding new area folder and shifts to the determination of the next category (step S4).

After the area is determined, the category is determined next. This is done by referring to the category code and the like (step S5).

As a result of the judgment processing, the category name of the reception area information is acquired. Next, the directory structure managed by the area information management unit 103 is referred to, and it is determined whether or not a category folder corresponding to the category of the reception area information already exists (step S6).

When the category folder already exists (step S6, YES), the area information management unit 103
Stores the receiving area information in the corresponding category folder (step S8). If the corresponding category folder does not exist (step S6, NO), the area information management unit 103 automatically creates a corresponding new category folder (step S7), and stores the reception area information in this category folder (step S8). ).

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above. The above-described embodiment shows an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. .

[0043]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, in a mobile phone, received area information is classified and managed in a folder for each area, and when a user selects and retrieves area information. Also in the above, since the list of folders for each area is displayed on the display unit, the user can select and search the area information for each desired area, and the usability is improved. Further, since the area folder is automatically created, the user can save the trouble of registering the folder having the area name and organizing the information. In addition, when users and mobile phones move between areas and receive and store unnecessary area information, unnecessary area information can be collectively deleted in area folder units. It improves operability and helps to effectively use memory resources.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a directory structure in a mobile phone of the present embodiment and an information management method in the mobile phone.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a format of area information distributed in an area information distribution service.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a table managed by an area information table unit 102.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of display on a display unit for a user to select / search area information.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of display on a display unit for erasing data for area information.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation at the time of receiving area information in the mobile phone and the information management method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional general wireless communication system and distribution of area information.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a directory structure for area information classification in a conventional mobile phone.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of display on a display unit for selecting and searching area information in a conventional mobile phone.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 mobile phone 11 radio section 12 Control unit 13 speakers 14 microphone 15 Operation input section 16 Display driver 17 Display 18 memory 101 Area information discriminator 102 area information table section 103 Area Information Management Department 1 Mobile terminal devices (mobile phones) 2 base stations 3 Base station controller 4 exchanges 5 Other networks

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A mobile phone having a function of receiving area information, further comprising means for discriminating an area in the received area information and storing it in a directory having an area name for each area as a name. Mobile phone. 2. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the received area information is stored in a directory for each area, and the directory for each area is further classified and stored in a directory for each category. Telephone. 3. A means for displaying a directory list for each area at a higher level and displaying a directory list for each category at a lower level as processing in the display unit when a user selects and searches the area information. The mobile phone according to claim 2, further comprising: 4. When the area information of an unregistered area is newly received, a directory having an area name corresponding to the area is automatically created and stored. The mobile phone according to item. 5. The mobile phone according to claim 1, further comprising means for erasing data in units of the directory for each area. 6. A method for managing information in a mobile phone having a function of receiving area information, the method comprising: determining an area for the received area information; and searching or creating a directory having the determined area name as a name. A step of determining a category for the area information, a step of searching or creating a directory having the determined category name as a name, the received area information in the directory searched or created in the step. And a step of storing the information management method in a mobile phone. 7. A method for managing information in a mobile phone having a function of receiving area information, wherein a list of directories for each area is displayed at a higher level as processing in a display unit when a user selects and searches area information. And a step of displaying a directory list for each category at a lower level, the method for managing information in a mobile phone.