JP2008216097A - Cellular phone device, time search method and program, and communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method capable of searching easily and quickly a time in a city in a foreign country, when ringing up an international telephone call by a cellular phone. <P>SOLUTION: The city belonging to each country is stored while correlated with a time difference of the city from a reference point, in every country number of international telephones allocated to respective countries, in a city database 21 provided in a storage part 16 of the cellular phone. A control part 18 of the cellular phone searches the city and the time difference corresponding to the country number, in the database 21, based on the input country number, when the country number is input from an input part 11 in response to an operation of a user, calculates a current time based on the searched time difference, and displays the current time of the calculated city on a display part 17. The control part 18 displays a list of the cities correlated with the country number conformed with a numeral of higher ranking figure, on the display part 17, even under the condition where the numeral of higher ranking figure is input, and makes the user select the objective city out of the list of the displayed cities. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a mobile phone device, a time search method, a time search program, and a communication device that can search for the time in an overseas city.

  Some mobile phones have a world clock function that can display the current time in cities around the world. In such a mobile phone, when selecting a city for which time is to be displayed, a method in which the user selects a city while displaying a city list on a screen and sequentially tracing the city one by one. However, this method has a problem that it takes time to search for a target city when there are a large number of selectable cities in the list.

  Therefore, Patent Document 1 proposes a telephone that can easily search for and display the time of an overseas city. In this telephone, the storage unit stores the time difference between the overseas standard (overseas name) corresponding to the number input in advance from the dial button and the domestic standard time in the city and the domestic standard time at the place where the telephone is used. Is remembered. When the user wants to know the current time of a predetermined city, when the user inputs a predetermined number from the dial button, the control unit reads out the city in the area corresponding to the input number and its time difference from the storage unit, and reads it out. The time of a predetermined city is calculated from the time difference and displayed. According to such a configuration, the user can know the standard time of the overseas called party when making an international call, and can make a call at a time convenient for the called party.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 1-107241

  However, in the telephone set described in Patent Document 1, the number “11” is New York and its time difference, the number “12” is San Francisco and its time difference, and the number “21” is London and its time difference as data stored in the storage unit. Although illustrated, these numbers are not associated with each city. Therefore, for example, when the user wants to know the current time in New York, the user must remember the number “11” associated with New York.

  In addition, if a list of cities narrowed down by the entered number is displayed before the user inputs all the numbers associated with the cities, the target city and its time can be selected from the list of narrowed cities. You can select and display quickly.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides a mobile phone device, a time search method, a time search program, and a communication device that can easily and quickly search the time in an overseas city. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to achieve the above object, the mobile phone device according to the present invention stores, for each country code assigned to each country, the city belonging to each country and the time difference of the city from the reference location in association with each other. A database, an input unit for inputting data in accordance with user operations, a display unit for displaying various data, and a city and time difference corresponding to the country code in the database based on the country code input from the input unit. And a control unit that calculates the current time of the city from the time difference and displays the calculated current time of the city on a display unit.

  Country codes in the database are arranged in the order of the first digit number. For numbers with the same first digit number, they are arranged in the order of the second digit number, and the first and second digit numbers are also the same number. Are arranged in the order of the third digit number, and when the upper digit of the country code is input, the control unit displays a list of cities associated with the country code that matches the upper digit digit. The current time of the city selected from the city list may be calculated according to the operation of the input unit by the user.

  The control unit may be configured to start searching for the city and the time difference based on the country code in response to the input of the international call access number from the input unit.

  In the time search method according to the present invention, the control unit in the mobile phone device inputs the country code assigned to each country from the input unit according to the operation of the user according to the control program, and based on the input country code. For each country code, a city and a time difference corresponding to the country code are searched in a database in which a city belonging to each country and a time difference of the city from the reference location are stored in association with each other. The present time is calculated, and the calculated current time of the city is displayed on the display unit.

  Country codes in the database are arranged in the order of the first digit number. For numbers with the same first digit number, they are arranged in the order of the second digit number, and the first and second digit numbers are also the same number. Are arranged in the order of the third digit number, and when the upper digit of the country code is input, the control unit displays a list of cities associated with the country code that matches the upper digit digit. The current time of the city selected from the city list may be calculated according to the operation of the input unit by the user.

  A time search program according to the present invention is a time search program for causing a communication device to search for a time in an overseas city, and a country code assigned to each country from an input unit according to a user operation. And the city corresponding to the country code in the database in which the city belonging to each country and the time difference of the city from the reference location are associated with each other based on the input country code The communication device is configured to execute processing for searching for a time difference, processing for calculating the current time of the city from the searched time difference, and processing for displaying the calculated current time of the city on a display unit.

  Furthermore, the communication device according to the present invention includes a database in which, for each country code assigned to each country, a city belonging to each country and a time difference of the city from the reference location are associated and stored, and a user's Based on the country code input from the input unit for inputting data according to the operation, the display unit for displaying various data, and the country code input from the input unit, the city and the time difference corresponding to the country code are searched. And a control unit that displays the calculated current time of the city on a display unit.

  As described above, in the present invention, the country code assigned to each country is input from the input unit in accordance with the operation of the user, and the city belonging to each country for each country code based on the input country code. In the database stored in association with the time difference of the city from the reference location, the city and the time difference corresponding to the country code are searched, the current time of the city is calculated from the searched time difference, and the calculated current time of the city is calculated. Since it is displayed on the display unit, it is possible to search and display the time of an overseas city easily and efficiently.

  Further, in the present invention, when the upper digit of the country code is input, a list of cities associated with the country code matching the upper digit is displayed on the display unit, and input by the user Since the current time of the city selected from the city list is calculated according to the operation of the department, it is possible to quickly select the target city and display the time.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a cellular phone device according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile phone of the present invention includes a key input unit 11, a storage unit 16, a display unit 17, and a control unit 18.

  In the configuration shown in FIG. 1, the key input unit 11 receives a key input from the user, and outputs the input interrupt and data to the control unit 18. The key input unit 11 selects the confirmation key 12 for confirming the selected display content (for example, the city selected from the city list in this embodiment) and the display content (for example, the city in the city list in this embodiment). An arrow key 13 for inputting, a CLR key (clear key) 14 for canceling input data (for example, a number in this embodiment), and “0” to “0” for inputting data (for example, a number in this embodiment) Numeric keys 15 of “9”, “*”, “#” are provided.

  The storage unit 16 is a storage medium such as a RAM, a ROM, or a flash memory that stores a control program executed by the control unit 18 and various setting data to realize various functions of the mobile phone. As shown in FIG. 1, the storage unit 16 also stores a city database 21. The city database 21 is stored in a memory (for example, ROM) whose stored contents cannot be changed.

  The display unit 17 displays various data on the liquid crystal display screen in accordance with instructions from the control unit 18. For example, in this embodiment, the country code of the international call input by the user, the list of cities that can be selected by the user, the time of the overseas city that has been selected and confirmed, and the like are displayed.

  The control unit 18 is an arithmetic processing unit such as a CPU that executes control of each unit of the mobile phone in accordance with a control program stored in the storage unit 16. Specifically, the control unit 18 executes processing for realizing general functions of the mobile phone such as calls and mail transmission / reception and data communication according to the control program. The control unit 18 also executes a process of recognizing the current time in Japan based on time information included in control data exchanged with a base station (not shown) and displaying the current time on the display unit 17. To do. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the control unit 18 analyzes the input data from the key input unit 11 and executes processing unique to the present invention according to the analysis result. For example, the control unit 18 refers to the data stored in the city database 21 according to the analysis result of the input data from the key input unit 11, extracts cities that can be selected by the user, and cities in the city list And processing such as calculation (calculation) of the current time of the overseas city where the selection is confirmed. In addition, the control unit 18 executes a process of displaying the processing result on the process unique to the present invention on the display unit 17.

  Although not shown in FIG. 1, the mobile phone of the present invention also includes a general mobile phone configuration such as an antenna, a microphone, a speaker, and a transmission / reception unit.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the data structure of the city database stored in the storage unit. In the city database 21 shown in FIG. 2, a country code 22, a city name 23, and time difference information 24 are stored in association with each other.

  The country code 22 is a country code of an international call for identifying a country necessary for making an international call. The country code 22 is assigned to each country or region by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). The country code is a three-digit number at the maximum, but a one-digit number and a two-digit number are also assigned.

  Specifically, Zone 1 is defined as the country code for the North America, the Caribbean and the Mariana Islands. For example, “1” is the country code of the United States / Canada. Zone 2 is mainly defined as the country code of the African continent. For example, “20” is Egypt, “212” is Morocco, and “254” is Kenya's country code. Zone 3 is defined as the country code for European countries. For example, “30” is Greece, “33” is France, and “34” is Spain country code. Zone 4 is also defined as the country code for European countries. For example, “40” is Romania and “44” is the country code of England. Zone 5 is defined as the country code for Mexico, Latin America, and the West Indies. For example, “52” is Mexico and “55” is the country code of Brazil. Zone 6 is defined as the country code for countries in Southeast Asia, South Pacific, and Oceania. For example, “61” is Australia, “62” is Indonesia, and “66” is Thailand. Zone 7 is defined as the country code of Russia (former Soviet Union). For example, “7” is the country code of Russia and Kazakhstan. Zone 8 is defined as a country code of international mobile communication using a country of East Asia and a communication satellite. For example, “81” is Japan, “82” is Korea, and “86” is the country code of the mainland of the People's Republic of China. Zone 9 is defined as the country code for Southwest Asia and the Middle East. For example, “90” is Turkey, “91” is India, and “966” is the country code of Saudi Arabia.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the city database 21, country codes are first arranged in the first digit number order (ascending order, ie, 1, 2, 3,...), And the first digit number. Are arranged in the second digit number order (ascending order), and the first and second digit numbers are also arranged in the third digit number order (ascending order). That is, a group of country codes roughly divided for each number (zone) in the first digit is arranged in numerical order, and for the country codes in the group, groups of the same number up to the second digit are arranged in numerical order (for example, zone 3, “30”, “31”, “32”... Are arranged, and the country codes in the same number group up to the second digit are arranged in the order of the third digit number (for example, zone 8). In this case, “850”, “851”, “852”,.

  The city name 23 is a name (name) of a city in each country in the world. In the example shown in FIG. 1, “Washington” is the city of the United States, “Athens” is the city of Greece, “Tokyo” is the city of Japan, “Hanoi” is the city of Vietnam, “Pyongyang” is the city of North Korea, etc. Has been. In the case of a large country, multiple major cities are set for the same country. For example, in the case of the United States of America, “New York”, “Chicago”, “Atlanta”, “Los Angeles” and the like are set in addition to “Washington”.

  The city name 23 is associated with the country code of the country to which the city belongs. For example, in the case of the United States of America, city names 23 such as “Washington”, “New York”, “Chicago”, “Atlanta”, and “Los Angeles” are associated with the country code “1”. Since Canada has the same country code as the United States, Canadian cities (such as “Toronto” and “Vancouver”) are also associated with the country code “1”. When a plurality of city names 23 are associated with the same country code, the arrangement order of the city names 23 in the city database 21 is arbitrary. However, they may be arranged in an order such as an eye way.

  The time difference information 24 is information indicating the time difference between London, which is the standard of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), and cities in the world. As shown in FIG. 2, for example, “Washington” is −5 hours, “Athens” is +1 hour, and “Tokyo” is +9 hours. The time difference information 24 is associated with the city name 23.

  In FIG. 2, in addition to the data structure of the city database 21, a head pointer 25 and a tail pointer 26 are also shown. These two pointers 25 and 26 respectively indicate the first city and the last city in the range of the city list determined based on the currently input number information.

  Specifically, the head pointer 25 points to the first city in the city database 21 in the initial state. When the number information (for example, the first digit of the country code) is input, the control unit 18 moves the leading pointer 25 in ascending order (backward) and the registered country number. And compare. Then, the movement of the head pointer 25 is stopped at the country code that matches the input number information. The tail pointer 26 points to the last city in the city database 21 in the initial state. When the number information (for example, the first digit number of the country code) is input, the control unit 18 moves the tail pointer 26 in descending order (forward) and registers the number information input and the registered country. Compare the numbers. Then, the movement of the tail pointer 26 is stopped at the country code that matches the input number information. Thus, the last pointer 26 points to the first city in the city list corresponding to the currently input number information, and the last pointer 26 points to the last city in the city list. For example, when “85” is input as the country code, as shown in FIG. 2, the head pointer 25 indicates “Pyongyang” of the head country code “850” of “85”, and the tail pointer 26 indicates “ “Vientiane” of the country code “856” at the end of “85” is indicated.

  When a country code that is not registered in the city database 21 is input as number information, the control unit 18 searches for a country code that matches the number information while moving the head pointer 25 in ascending order. I can't find the country code I want. Similarly, the control unit 18 searches the country code that matches the number information while moving the tail pointer 26 in descending order, but cannot search the country code that matches the number information. In this case, the movement of the leading pointer 25 and the trailing pointer 26 is stopped when the upper digit number information of the newly input number information does not match the registered country code. For example, “854” is not registered as a country code. When such a number is input as number information, the control unit 18 searches for a country code that matches the number information “854” while moving the head pointer 25 in ascending order, but searches for a country code that matches the number information. The movement of the head pointer 25 is stopped when the position of the head pointer 25 becomes “86” (the number information of the upper two digits of “854” no longer matches). Similarly, the control unit 18 searches for a country code that matches the number information “854” while moving the tail pointer 26 in descending order, but cannot search for a country code that matches the number information. The movement of the last pointer 26 is stopped when the value becomes “84” (when the number information of the upper 2 digits of “854” no longer matches).

  Next, the operation of the mobile phone device of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing city selection processing in the present invention. When the user wants to know the time of the overseas city that he / she wants to call, the user activates the world clock function. Then, in response to the activation of the world clock function, the control unit 18 starts a city selection process (also referred to as a time search process). As an operation for activating the world clock function, when the user selects the world clock function preset on the menu screen of the mobile phone of the present invention by operating the arrow key 13 or the enter key 12, A case where the user presses and activates a button for activating the world clock function provided in the mobile phone of the present invention can be considered.

  When the city selection process is started (step S1), the control unit 18 initially sets a state in which number information has not yet been input (step S2). Specifically, the first pointer 25 is set to point to the first city in the city database 21 and the last pointer 26 is set to point to the last city in the city database 21 (that is, the two pointers 25 and 26 are set to the city database 21). Set all cities in to selected). The display state of the city list at this time is the city list on the left side in FIG.

  Next, the control unit 18 executes a check process of presence / absence of a corresponding city to confirm whether there is a corresponding city in the currently input number information (nothing is input at this time) (step S3). In the check process for the presence / absence of the corresponding city, the control unit 18 compares the city indicated by the head pointer 25 with the city indicated by the tail pointer 26. Then, the control unit 18 determines that there is a corresponding city if the city pointed to by the head pointer 25 is before or the same as the city pointed to by the tail pointer 26. On the other hand, if the city pointed to by the head pointer 25 is behind the city pointed to by the tail pointer 26, the control unit 18 determines that there is no corresponding city. As described above, when number information that is not registered as a country code in the city database 21 is input, the number information of the upper digits of the newly input number information does not match the registered country code. Since the movement of the first pointer 25 and the last pointer 26 is stopped at this point, the city pointed to by the first pointer 25 is behind the city pointed to by the last pointer 26, and it is determined that there is no corresponding city.

  If it is determined that there is a corresponding city in the check process of the corresponding city (Y in step S3), the control unit 18 then lists a city range (city list) pointed to by the first pointer 25 and the last pointer 26 at that time. ) Is displayed on the display unit 17 (step S4), and key input is waited (step S5).

  When the user presses the numeric key 15 and enters numeric data from the key input unit 11 while waiting for key input, the control unit 18 first determines that the number of digits currently entered is three digits. That is, it is checked whether it is the maximum number of digits of the country code (step S6). If the current number of input digits is 3 (Y in step S6), since 3 digits have already been input and numeric data (number information) of 3 digits or more has been input, the control unit 18 Discards the numeric data (number information) input this time and waits for the next key input with the current list displayed (step S5). If the current number of input digits is less than 3 (N in step S6), the control unit 18 accepts the input of numeric data and adds the digit data as number information (step S7). And the control part 18 searches a city list based on new number information (step S8).

  In this search method, as described above, the head pointer 25 is sequentially advanced to the rear of the city database 21 and the tail pointer 26 is sequentially advanced to the front of the city database 21. Then, the new number information is compared with the number of upper digits of the same country code. The head pointer 25 and the tail pointer 26 are advanced backward and forward, respectively, until they match. If they match, the search process ends. At that time, the city pointed to by the head pointer 25 is the head city of the city list, and the city pointed to by the tail pointer 26 is the tail city of the city list. For example, in the display state of the city list on the left side in FIG. 4, when the “8” numeric key 15 is depressed (when “8” numeric data is input), the head of the country code “81” is “ This is a city list (city list in the middle of FIG. 4) that is “Taipei” with the country code “886” at the end.

  When the search of the city list is completed, the process returns to step S3, and it is confirmed again whether there is a corresponding city. At this time, if the city list is in the middle of FIG. 4, it is determined that there is a corresponding city (Y in step S3), and the city list at that time is displayed on the display screen of the display unit 17 (step S4). Then, it again waits for key input (step S5). If the “5” numeric key 15 is depressed in the display state of the middle city list in FIG. 4 (when the numeric data “5” is input), the process proceeds to step S6 again. It is determined whether or not three digits have already been entered. At this time, since the input data is 2 digits of “85”, it is determined that the current input digit number is less than 3 digits, and the numeric data “5” is newly input and 1 digit is added ( Step S7). Then, the search of the city list based on the new number information is performed again (step S8).

  FIG. 5 shows a search processing procedure when the number information is changed from “8” to “85”. As shown in FIG. 5, the city that the first pointer 25 points to before the start of search is “Tokyo”, and the city that the last pointer 26 points to before the start of search is “Taipei”. Then, in response to the input of the numeric data “5”, the head pointer 25 sequentially proceeds to the rear of the city database 21, and the tail pointer 26 sequentially proceeds to the front of the city database 21. Then, the input number information is compared with the registered country code, and it is determined whether or not they match. In the example shown in FIG. 5, for the first pointer 25, the number information “85” and the upper two digits “85” of the country code “850” match, so the first pointer 25 points to “Pyongyang”. For the last pointer 26, the number information “85” and the upper two digits “85” of the country code “856” match, so the tail pointer 26 indicates “Vientiane”. The display state of the city list at this time is the city list in the upper right in FIG.

  When the search of the city list is completed, the process returns to step S3, and it is confirmed again whether there is a corresponding city. At this time, if the city list in the upper right of FIG. 4 is in the state, it is determined that there is a corresponding city (Y in step S3), and the city list at that time is displayed on the display screen of the display unit 17 (step S4). Then, it again waits for key input (step S5).

  When the CLR key 14 is depressed while waiting for key input, the control unit 18 first checks whether or not the number information is currently input (step S9). If the CLR key 14 is pressed when no digit information is currently input (N in step S9), the control unit 18 discards the input of the CLR key 14 and displays the current list display. The next key input is awaited (step S5). If the CLR key 14 is pressed in a state in which even one digit of the number information is currently being input (Y in step S9), the control unit 18 accepts the input of the CLR key 14 and starts from the current number information. The digit is deleted (step S10), and the city list is searched based on the new number information (step S11).

  In the search method at this time, contrary to the case of step S8, the head pointer 25 is sequentially advanced to the front of the city database 21 and the tail pointer 26 is sequentially advanced to the rear of the city database 21. Then, the new number information is compared with the number of upper digits of the same country code. The head pointer 25 and the tail pointer 26 are advanced forward and backward, respectively, until the new number information does not match the registered country code. If they do not coincide with each other, the position of the head pointer 25 is moved backward by one, the position of the tail pointer 26 is moved forward by one, and then the process ends. At that time, the city pointed to by the head pointer 25 is the head city of the city list, and the city pointed to by the tail pointer 26 is the tail city of the city list.

  FIG. 6 shows the search processing procedure when the number information is changed from “85” to “8”. As shown in FIG. 6, the city pointed to by the start pointer 25 before the search start is “Pyongyang”, and the city pointed to by the end pointer 26 before the search start is “Vientiane”. Then, in response to the deletion of the numeric data “5”, the leading pointer 25 sequentially proceeds forward in the city database 21, and the last pointer 26 sequentially proceeds backward in the city database 21. Then, the current number information and the registered country code are compared, and it is determined whether or not they match. In the example shown in FIG. 6, when the head pointer 25 becomes “Russia” of the country code “7”, it does not match the number information “8”. Then, the position of the head pointer 25 is moved backward by one. At this time, the head pointer 25 points to “Tokyo”. Further, when the last pointer 26 becomes “Istanbul” of the country code “90”, it does not coincide with the number information “8”. Then, the position of the tail pointer 26 is moved forward by one. At this time, the last pointer 26 points to “Taipei”. The display state of the city list at this time is the center city list in FIG.

  When the search of the city list (step S11) is completed, the process returns to the process of step S3, and it is confirmed again whether there is a corresponding city. At this time, if the city list is in the middle of FIG. 4, it is determined that there is a corresponding city (Y in step S3), and the city list at that time is displayed on the display screen of the display unit 17 (step S4). Then, it again waits for key input (step S5).

  When the arrow key 13 is pressed while waiting for key input, the control unit 18 selects a city for which the current time is to be displayed within the range of the city list currently displayed on the display screen of the display unit 17. (For example, the selected city is displayed by changing the display area surrounding the character of the city name to a color different from the background color) is moved by one according to the direction of the pressed arrow key 13. (Step S12). Then, it again waits for key input (step S5). Each time the arrow key 13 is depressed, the process of step S12 is repeatedly executed.

  When the enter key 12 is depressed in the key input waiting state, the control unit 18 determines the city currently selected in the city list as the city for which the time is to be displayed, and stores the city from the city database 21. The city time difference information 24 is read. Then, the control unit 18 calculates the current time of the city based on the read time difference information 24. For example, the time difference between the city and Japan is calculated from the time difference information of the city whose time is to be displayed and the time difference information of Japan, and the current time of the city is calculated from the calculated time difference and the current time in Japan. Then, the control unit 18 outputs the calculated current time of the desired overseas city to the display unit 17 and displays the information on the city name of the city on the display screen of the display unit 17 (step S13). And a city selection process is complete | finished (step S14).

  If it is determined in step S3 that there is no applicable city (N in step S3), the control unit 18 displays “no city list” on the display unit 17 (step S15), and CLR. The key 14 is awaiting input (step S16). In this state, only key input from the CLR key 14 is accepted, and all other key inputs are discarded. When the CLR key 14 is input while waiting for the input of the CLR key 14 (Y in step S16), the control unit 18 deletes the last one digit from the currently input number information (step S10). The city list is searched based on the new number information (step S11).

  As described above, in this embodiment, since it is possible to search for an overseas city based on the country code of an international call, it is possible to easily search for an overseas city and display the current time of that city. Can do. In other words, in the telephone described in Patent Document 1, since the number assigned to each overseas city is a number that is not related to each overseas city, the user wants to know the time of the overseas city. I had to enter a unique number assigned to that city. On the other hand, in the mobile phone in the above embodiment, the country code of the international call is assigned to each overseas city. And in a situation where the user wants to call an overseas city, he should know the country code of the international call for that city. For example, if you have called many times, you may remember the country code, or you may have written the country code on a business card or memo with the other party's phone number. Also, since the country code is necessary for making international calls, even if you do not know the country code, you should at least check it in advance. Under these circumstances, the user can display the city time just by entering the country code of the international call required when making an international call before the user makes an international call to an overseas city. Convenience when selecting the city and displaying the time is high.

  In this embodiment, a list of the corresponding cities at the time when the upper digit of the country code with a maximum of three digits is input is displayed as a city list, and the cities in the city list are displayed using the arrow keys 13. Since it is possible to select, it is possible to select an overseas city without inputting all digits of the country code, and it is possible to quickly select a target city and display the time.

  In addition, it may be configured to automatically search for the time in an overseas city while entering a telephone number for making an international call. That is, in the above embodiment, the city selection process shown in FIG. 3 is started based on an operation (such as selection of a menu screen or depression of a start button) performed by the user to activate the world clock function. However, the city clock processing shown in FIG. 3 may be started by automatically activating the world clock function while inputting the telephone number of the international call. For example, when making an international call from Japan to overseas, it is necessary to make a call (call) by entering "international access number + country code + area code + phone number", but "international access number" is entered Based on the fact that the control unit 18 detects this, the world clock function is activated to start the city selection process. The “international access number” varies depending on the international telephone service used by the user. For example, only “010” may be input, or an international telephone service company designated number may need to be input before “010”. Also, when making an international call using a mobile phone company, it is necessary to input a number designated by the mobile phone company before “010”. In order for the control unit 18 to recognize the input of the “international access number”, the “international access number” is stored in the storage unit 16.

  In contrast to the above case, the “international access number” may be automatically input based on an operation performed by the user to activate the world clock function. In this case, the user performs an operation to activate the world clock function without entering an “international access number”, enters a “country code”, confirms the current time in an overseas city, and then continues to “ You can make an international call to an overseas city simply by entering "the other party's domestic number (area number + phone number)", and you can save time and effort to enter the international phone number.

  Further, based on the fact that an overseas city is selected and the time of the city is displayed, the “region number” of the city may be automatically input. For example, if it is determined uniquely (one-to-one) such as the area number “3” in Tokyo and the area number “212” in New York, the “region” is associated with each city in the city database 21. Information of “number” is also stored. When the city selected in step S13 of FIG. 3 is confirmed, the name and time of the city are displayed, and the area number of the city is automatically read from the city database 21 and input. Thereby, it is possible to further reduce the trouble of inputting the telephone number of the international call.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the configuration of searching for the time in an overseas city based on the country code is applied to a mobile phone device has been described, but the mobile terminal device such as a PHS that can be carried by the user is also described. Applicable. Further, the present invention is not limited to a portable device, and can also be applied to a fixed telephone device, a calculation processing device (communication device) such as a personal computer having a communication function (particularly a call function), and the like.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used for a communication device such as a mobile phone device that can display the time of cities in the world.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the mobile telephone apparatus of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the data structure of the city database stored in the memory | storage part. It is a flowchart which shows the city selection process in this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the procedure which searches a city according to a user's input operation. It is explanatory drawing which shows the procedure of the search process when narrowing down the range of a city list. It is explanatory drawing which shows the procedure of the search process when expanding the range of a city list.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Key input part 12 Confirmation key 13 Arrow key 14 CLR key 15 Number key 16 Memory | storage part 17 Display part 18 Control part 21 City database

Claims (7)

A database in which, for each country code assigned to each country, a city belonging to each country and a time difference of the city from the reference location are associated and stored;
An input unit for inputting data according to a user's operation;
A display unit for displaying various data;
Based on the country code input from the input unit, the city and the time difference corresponding to the country code are searched in the database, the current time of the city is calculated from the time difference, and the calculated current time of the city is displayed on the display unit. A mobile phone device comprising a control unit for display. Country codes in the database are arranged in the order of the first digit number. For numbers with the same first digit number, they are arranged in the order of the second digit number, and the first and second digit numbers are also the same number. Are arranged in the order of the third digit number,
When the upper digit of the country code is input, the control unit displays a list of cities associated with the country code matching the upper digit on the display unit, The mobile phone device according to claim 1, wherein a current time of a city selected from a list of cities is calculated according to an operation. The mobile phone device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit starts searching for the city and the time difference based on the country code in response to the input of the international call access number from the input unit. The control unit in the mobile phone device follows the control program,
Enter the country code assigned to each country from the input section according to the user's operation,
Based on the entered country code, the city and the time difference corresponding to the country code are searched in the database in which the city belonging to each country and the time difference of the city from the reference location are stored in association with each country code,
Calculate the current time of the city from the searched time difference,
A time search method, comprising: displaying the calculated current time of the city on a display unit. Country codes in the database are arranged in the order of the first digit number. For numbers with the same first digit number, they are arranged in the order of the second digit number, and the first and second digit numbers are also the same number. Are arranged in the order of the third digit number,
When the upper digit of the country code is input, the control unit displays a list of cities associated with the country code matching the upper digit on the display unit, The time search method according to claim 4, wherein the current time of a city selected from the city list is calculated according to an operation. A time search program for causing a communication device to search for a time in an overseas city,
A process of inputting the country code assigned to each country from the input unit according to the operation of the user,
Processing for searching for a city and a time difference corresponding to the country code in a database in which the city belonging to each country and the time difference of the city from the reference location are associated with each other and stored based on the input country code When,
A process of calculating the current time of the city from the searched time difference;
A time search program for causing the communication device to execute a process of displaying the calculated current time of the city on a display unit. A database in which, for each country code assigned to each country, a city belonging to each country and a time difference of the city from the reference location are associated and stored;
An input unit for inputting data according to a user's operation;
A display unit for displaying various data;
Based on the country code input from the input unit, the city and the time difference corresponding to the country code are searched in the database, the current time of the city is calculated from the time difference, and the calculated current time of the city is displayed on the display unit. A communication device comprising: a control unit for displaying.

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