GB2347318A

GB2347318A - Selecting functions from an ordered list on a mobile phone

Info

Publication number: GB2347318A
Application number: GB9928851A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Woo-Sun Yoon
Original assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 1998-12-17
Filing date: 1999-12-07
Publication date: 2000-08-30
Also published as: KR20000040297A; JP2000184036A; GB9928851D0; CN1260683A; KR100283180B1

Abstract

A method of selecting the functions of a mobile phone with a memory, comprises the steps of firstly calculating the use frequency of each of the functions by counting the number of times at which each of the functions has been used for a given duration. The use frequency is stored into the memory and the functions are sorted according to the use frequencies by reading the memory upon entering a preset function selective key. A predetermined number of the functions are displayed in order of descending use frequencies, and a user can select one of the displayed functions to activate.

Description

METHOD OF SELECTING MOBILE TELEPHONE FUNCTIONS AND APPARATS THEREFOR Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of selecting one of the functions provided by a mobile telephone and apparatus for use in such a method.

Description of the related art Nowadays, a mobile phone usually provides many additional functions together with the basic functions of radio communication. These functions are programmed in a tree structure so that they may be selectively activated by using a menu key or a combination of keys. For example, the sequential entering of keys"menu""1"--"1" may represent the selection of the"sending control set/release"function, or the sequential entering of keys "memory"o"hold"o"ln the selection of the"voice dial record"function. However, such a method of selecting a function is complicated and hence inconvenient and timeconsuming because of the numerous functions available in a typical mobile phone.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of activating quickly and conveniently the functions of a mobile telephone which are frequently used by the user.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of selecting the functions of a mobile phone with a memory, comprising the steps of calculating a use frequency of each of the functions by counting the number of times each of the functions has been used during a given period of time, the use frequency being stored into the memory, sorting the functions according to the use frequencies by reading the memory upon entering a preset function selective key, displaying concurrently or sequentially, a predetermined number of the functions in order of descending use frequencies, and receiving an input from a user identifying a selected one of the displayed functions to be activated.

By sorting and displaying the functions according to the use frequencies, the invention provides a method of quickly and conveniently selecting one of the mobile telephone functions to activate.

Preferably, the step of displaying includes the further step of numbering said functions according to use frequency.

Preferably, the method further includes the step of revising the use frequency of the selected function stored in said memory after activation. In this way, the record of the use frequencies is constantly updated after each function is activated.

Preferably, the step of displaying further comprises the step of sequentially displaying said functions one by one in order of descending use frequency whenever said present function selective key is entered. In this way, the user can easily scroll through the functions having the highest use frequencies and select one using-the shortcut key.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a mobile telephone adapted to operate in accordance with a method as described above.

The present invention will now be described more specifically with reference to the drawings attached only by way of example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of a mobile telephone with which the inventive method mav' be applied; Fig. 2 is a flow chart showing the calculation of the use frequency of each of the mobile telephone functions according to the present invention; Fig. 3 is a flow chart showing the selection of one of the mobile telephone functions according to an embodiment of the present invention; and Fig. 4 is a flow chart showing the selection of one of the mobile telephone functions according to another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to Fig. 1, a CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) mobile telephone comprises a memory device 102, keypad 104, display 106, RF (Radio Frequency) Module 110, baseband processor 112, codec (coder-decoder) 114, and controller 100 for controlling them. The controller 100 is to process an ordinary telephone communication and data communication. An example of the controller 100 may be an MSM (Mobile System Modem) chip made by Qualcomm Co., which comprises a microprocessor, CDMA processor, vocoder, etc.

The memory device 102 comprises an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable ROM), flash memory and RAM to serve as the working memory to store the program and various data for controlling and processing of the controller 100. The keypad 104 consists of alphanumeric keys and various functional keys to generate key data supplied to the controller 100. The display 106 usually consists of an LCD to display the information concerning the operation of the mobile phone.

The RF module 110 exchanges RF signals through an antenna 108 with a base station to convert the received RF signals into corresponding IF (Intermediate Frequency) signals applied to the baseband processor 112, or the IF signals from the baseband processor 112 into corresponding RF signals.

The baseband processor 112 is a kind of BBA (Baseband Analog ASIC) to interface the controller 100 with the RF module 110 by converting the baseband digital signals from the controller 100 into corresponding analog IF signals applied to the RF module 110 or vice versa.

The codec 114 is to encode using PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) the sound signals from a microphone 118 into sound data applied to the controller 100 or decode the sound data from the controller 100 into sound signals applied to a speaker 120. An amplifier 116 is provided to amplify the sound signals inputted from the microphone 118 or outputted to the speaker 120 under the control of the controller 100. There are also provided a ringer 122 to generate ringing sounds and a vibrator 124 to generate vibrations under the control of the controller 100.

With reference to Figure 2, the method of determining the use frequency of each of the functions provided by the mobile phone is as follows. If one of the functions is selected in step 200 through the keypad 104 according to a menu or a combination of keys, the controller 100 performs the selected function in step 202. Then, the controller 100 calculates, in step 204, the use frequency of the selected function by counting the number of times at which the selected function has been used in a given duration, which may be arbitrarily determined, for example, 5 days, 10 days or a month, etc.

Thereafter, the controller 100 stores the use frequency into a nonvolatile memory such as EEPROM of the memory device 102 in step 206, returning to the ordinary routine.

The use frequencies of the frequently used functions thus stored in the memory may be displayed on the screen of the display 106 by a shortcut key suitably arranged for selecting the functions, so that the user may directly select one of the functions displayed without complicated key operations. For example, the shortcut key may be the key marked with"#". Referring to Fig. 3, if the function selective shortcut key (for example"#") is entered in step 300, the controller 100 sorts the functions stored in the memory 102 in order of descending frequency of use in step 302. Then, in step 304, the controller 100 displays a predetermined number of the sorted functions numbered according to their frequency of use. For example, if three functions are predetermined so as to be displayed in order of descending use frequency, and they are sequentially"speaker volume adjustment", "bell/vibration selection"and"voice dial record", they are displayed in the form of"1. speaker volume adjustment","2. bell/vibration selection"and"3. voice dial record". Then, the user may select one of the displayed functions by a simple key operation through the keypad 104. If one of the displayed functions is selected in step 306, the controller 100 performs it in step 310, and sequentially the steps 312 and 314 as in the steps 204 and 206 of Fig. 2, finally returning to the ordinary routine. However, if the user terminates the process in steps 306 and 308, it returns to the ordinary routine.

Thus, the user may quickly and conveniently select a desired function by using the shortcut key.

Alternatively, the sorted functions may be displayed one by one in order of descending frequency of use whenever the shortcut key is entered, as shown in Fig. 4.

Namely, the steps 400 and 402 are the same as the steps 300 and 302 of Fig. 3, but in step 404 the controller 100 displays only one of the sorted functions in order of descending frequency of use whenever the shortcut is entered. In this state, if the displayed function is selected in step 406, the controller 100 performs the same steps 412 to 416 as the steps 310 to 314 of Fig. 3, returning to the ordinary routine. However, if the shortcut key is entered, the controller 100 displays the function of the next higher use frequency through the display 106 in step 418, returning to step 406. In this case, a search key may be arranged to search the sorted functions forwards and backwards. If the user terminates the process in step 410, the process returns to the ordinary routine. Thus, the invention provides a mobile telephone with means of quickly and conveniently selecting one of the functions.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A method of selecting the functions of a mobile phone with a memory, comprising the steps of: calculating a use frequency of each of said functions by counting the number of times each of said functions has been used during a given period of time, said use frequency being stored into said memory; sorting said functions according to the use frequencies by reading said memory upon entering a preset function selective key; displaying, concurrently or sequentially, a predetermined number of said functions in order of descending use frequencies; and receiving an input from a user identifying a selected one of said displayed functions to be activated.
2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of displaying includes the further step of numbering said functions according to use frequency.
3. A method as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 further including the step of revising the use frequency of the selected function stored in said memory after activation.
4. A method as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein: the step of displaying comprises the step of sequentially displaying said functions one by one in order of descending use frequency whenever said preset function selective key is entered.
5. A method of selecting the functions of a mobile phone with a memory substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.
6. A mobile telephone adapted to operate in accordance with a method as claimed in any of the preceding claims.