JP2007258893A - Communication terminal apparatus and communicating party selection transmission method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a user to utilize an optional communicating party designation method without the need for the user to apply instruction operations of how to use a plurality of the communicating party designation methods to a communication terminal. <P>SOLUTION: Display regions separately provided for each of a plurality of communicating party designation methods are provided in a display screen, candidates of a communicating party are extracted from telephone directory data on the basis of the communicating party designation methods at the entry of ten-keys, the candidates are displayed on the display regions 320, 330 and 340 for selection by the user. The display region 320 disappears and display contents are updated for the display regions 330, 340 at the additional entry of the ten-keys. A numeral sequence of the entered ten-keys is displayed on a display region 350. As to an unregistered telephone number, when the numeral sequence of the unregistered telephone number in full digits is entered, the display regions 320, 330 and 340 display no candidate, and when the user makes a dial instruction in this state, a numeral sequence on the display region 350 is dialed as the telephone number. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication terminal device having a function for registering telephone directory data, and more particularly to a communication terminal device for extracting corresponding communication partner candidates from telephone directory data in response to a numeric keypad input by a user and the communication terminal device thereof. It is.

  In a communication terminal device such as a telephone (hereinafter also simply referred to as a communication terminal), when making a call to a communication partner, it is necessary to accurately input all the numbers of the other party's phone number.

  In order to save the trouble of inputting a telephone number and prevent erroneous calls, recent telephones are provided with an electronic telephone book that internally registers telephone book data including the name and telephone number of a communication partner. Once you have registered a communication partner, you can make a call by selecting the communication partner's data from the phone book data without entering the phone number again when trying to communicate with that partner. ing.

  In recent communication terminals such as mobile phone terminals, the number of phonebooks that can be registered is 500 or more, and there are many models that reach 1000. Therefore, when the number of registrations increases, it becomes difficult to find the telephone number of the target party from the registered contents.

  In order to solve this problem, conventionally, a frequently used telephone number is assigned to a specific key in a one-to-one correspondence, and the name of the other party and the telephone number are registered. A technique is known in which the telephone number of the other party is automatically read and transmitted when pressed.

  In Patent Document 1, when searching for a registered communication partner (telephone number), even if all the numbers from the beginning to the end of the telephone number are not entered, a part of the continuous four-digit number is entered. A technique has been proposed in which a registered telephone number including the numeric string is searched by inputting and pressing a “telephone number search key”, and the corresponding registered telephone number is selected and used.

Further, in order to input characters other than numerals (kana, alphabets, symbols, etc.), a plurality of characters are assigned to each key (mainly a numeric keypad) in the input operation unit of the telephone terminal. For example, for Kana characters, a line of 50 sounds is assigned to each key. In Patent Document 2, a key string corresponding to each letter of the name of the other party to be registered in the telephone book is registered together with each telephone number. A technology that compares a digit string obtained by inputting a number to which a line of 50 sounds including name characters is assigned with a registered digit string, extracts a corresponding registered name and telephone number, selects it, and uses it. Proposed.
JP 2001-223780 A JP 2004-248151 A

  The prior art that assigns the telephone number of the communication partner to the above-mentioned key one-to-one is convenient because a telephone number that is frequently used can be transmitted quickly. However, since the number of keys in the communication terminal is limited, the number of communication partners that can be registered is also limited. In addition, if the number of registrations increases, it becomes difficult to accurately store which number is who.

  Therefore, when selecting a target communication partner from among a large number of registered communication partners not assigned to a specific key, a search is required.

  As a method of searching the telephone directory, a method of switching the list display by dividing the name of the communication partner into groups (for example, every 50 sound lines, English letters, symbols, etc.) is adopted in many models. However, when the number of registrations is large, the number of registrations in one group also increases, and it takes a complicated operation and time to search for a target communication partner.

  The technique described in Patent Document 1 has an advantage that the telephone number can be searched by using a part of the telephone number of the target communication partner as a clue, but the telephone number in which the user stores a continuous digit string of at least a plurality of digits. Can only be used for In addition, when a small number of keys are entered, the number of applicable items increases depending on which position on the phone number the number string corresponds to (for example, when including a station number) or depending on the number of input digits (when the number of digits is small). There is a case. Also, since the search is performed by pressing the “search key”, if you enter a small number string and check the number of cases, and the result is not good, start again with a larger number string. It is necessary to input again.

  In the technique described in Patent Document 2, even if the registered name of the communication partner is various, such as kana, English letters, numbers, etc., the keys assigned to them are usually written on the key top. There is an advantage that the switching operation for the character type is not required only by pressing the key. However, this search method cannot be used when the name of the communication partner registered in the telephone directory is not accurately stored. In addition, the number of hits may be very large with a small number of keystrokes.

  Thus, the conventional telephone number designation method has advantages and disadvantages, and it is preferable that they can be used properly according to the situation and according to the user's preference.

  However, even if a plurality of telephone number designation methods as described above are adopted in one communication terminal, the user performs an operation for selecting in advance from a menu or the like which telephone number designation method to use when using the telephone. In addition, the operation becomes complicated, and if the conventional designation method cannot be used as it is, the usability is impaired.

  The present invention has been made in such a background, and enables a user to use any communication partner designation method without instructing the user to properly use a plurality of communication partner designation methods for a communication terminal. is there.

  A communication terminal device according to the present invention comprises an operation unit having a numeric keypad, a display unit for displaying information, a storage unit for storing telephone book data, a communication unit for making a call to a communication partner, and a control unit, The control unit provides a separate display area for each of the plurality of communication partner designation methods in the display screen of the display unit, and a plurality of predetermined communication partner designation methods according to a numeric keypad input from the operation unit The communication partner candidates are extracted from the telephone directory data based on the information, and the candidates are displayed in the plurality of display areas for use in user selection.

  In the present invention, a separate display area is provided for each of the plurality of communication partner designation methods in the display screen of the display unit, and the control unit selects communication partner candidates based on the plurality of communication partner designation methods. Extracted from the data, each candidate is displayed in each display area, and used for user selection. With this configuration, when specifying a communication partner, the user does not need to perform an operation for informing the apparatus of the communication partner specifying method in advance, and starts to enter a numeric keypad in accordance with the desired communication partner specifying method. It's okay. As a result, it is possible to perform a call operation by selecting a target communication partner from among communication partner candidates displayed in the corresponding display area among the separate display areas for each of the plurality of communication partner designation methods.

  The control unit displays a cursor for focusing one communication partner at a time over the entire display area on the display screen of the display unit, and displays the cursor according to an operation from the operation unit. Move. When a plurality of communication partner candidates are displayed in the target display area, the target partner can be selected with the cursor.

  At least one of the plurality of communication partner designation methods is to search the telephone directory data based on the accumulated input information every time a numeric key is entered. As a result, each time a numeric keypad is additionally input, the number of candidates for the corresponding communication partner is narrowed down.

  After the input of a plurality of numeric keys, when a “call” instruction is issued in a state where no corresponding candidate exists for all the display areas for each of the plurality of communication partner designation methods, the control unit stores the accumulated The communication unit can be transmitted using a numeric string as a telephone number. As a result, transmission to a communication partner not registered in the telephone directory can be performed as in the conventional case.

  When the cursor moves from one display area of the plurality of display areas to another display area, preferably, the control unit deletes the display area of the movement source, and the display area of the movement destination corresponding to the movement area. To enlarge. Thereby, a limited display screen can be used effectively.

  When the cursor is operated to move further in the direction from the end of the deleted source direction in the enlarged display area of the destination, the control unit restores the display of the deleted display area. The enlarged display area can be returned to the original size. This is useful as a countermeasure when the display area is deleted by moving the cursor by mistake.

  When there is no corresponding candidate for at least a specific display area among the plurality of display areas in accordance with the input of the numeric keypad, the control unit deletes the display area in which the candidate no longer exists, It is preferable to enlarge another display area by the amount. Thereby, a limited display screen can be used effectively.

  A communication partner selection and transmission method according to the present invention includes a communication unit including an operation unit having a numeric keypad, a display unit for displaying information, a storage unit for storing phone book data, and a communication unit for performing transmission to the communication partner. A communication partner selection and transmission method in a terminal, wherein a communication partner candidate is extracted from the telephone directory data based on a plurality of predetermined communication partner designation methods in response to a numeric keypad input from the operation unit; , Displaying each candidate in a display area separately provided for each of the plurality of communication partner designation methods in the display screen of the display unit, and selecting from the operation unit for any displayed candidate And a step of making a call by the communication unit to a communication partner selected in accordance with a call instruction from the operation unit.

  According to the present invention, a separate display area is provided for each of a plurality of communication partner designation methods in the display screen, and communication partner candidates are extracted from the telephone directory data based on a plurality of communication partner designation methods. Since each candidate is displayed in the display area for selection by the user, the user can use any communication partner designation method without instructing the communication terminal to properly use a plurality of communication partner designation methods. The method of the present invention is consistent with the conventional full phone number input operation. The user can select and use a communication partner designation method that is easy to use depending on the situation as appropriate. Also, a user who uses only one communication partner designation method that is familiar to him / her does not have any trouble in operation even if he / she does not know how to use another communication partner designation method.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an appearance of a mobile phone terminal (also simply referred to as a mobile terminal) 100 as an embodiment of a communication terminal according to the present invention. In this example, the mobile terminal 100 is a foldable mobile phone terminal having an upper housing 14 and a lower housing 25 that are connected to each other by a hinge portion 18 so as to be opened and closed. However, the communication terminal to which the present invention is applied is not limited to a two-fold cellular phone terminal as shown in the figure, and is not limited to a portable type.

  Although a telephone number will be described as communication partner information, other communication information such as an e-mail address may be targeted instead of or in addition to the telephone number.

  In the configuration of the mobile terminal 100 shown in FIG. 1, the speaker 12 is disposed on the inner surface of the upper housing 14, and the display unit 16 (for example, a flat display device such as a liquid crystal display) is disposed on the inner main surface. Is arranged.

  On the inner surface of the lower housing 25, a jog dial 20 is arranged at the upper center, left and right keys 26a and 26b are arranged at both ends, and soft keys 17a and 17b are arranged at both ends. The jog dial 20 is a press switch that can rotate. The soft keys 17a and 17b are operation keys to which arbitrary functions are assigned corresponding to various menus and screens, and the assigned functions are informed to the user by the display contents of the key operation display area. Regarding the left and right keys 26a and 26b, whether or not the mobile terminal can be used in each usage scene is displayed in the key operation display area. Below these operation keys, a call key 21, a clear key 22, and a power key / end key 23 are arranged. Further, a numeric keypad 28 is disposed below the memo key 30 and a manner key 31 are disposed below the numeric keypad 28. A microphone 32 is disposed at the bottom of the lower housing 25.

  As described above, a plurality of characters are assigned to each key (mainly the numeric keypad) in the input operation unit of the telephone terminal for inputting characters other than numerals (kana, alphabets, symbols, etc.) to the numeric keypad 28. It has been. For example, for Kana characters, a line of 50 sounds is assigned to each key. Alphabets are also distributed and assigned to multiple keys.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an outline of the hardware configuration of the mobile terminal 100. The mobile terminal 100 includes an antenna 201, a transmission / reception processing unit 203, a modulation / demodulation processing unit 205, a data processing unit 207, a D / A converter 209, a speaker 210, an A / D converter 211, and a microphone as elements unique to the mobile phone. 212. The portable terminal 100 also includes a control unit 225 including a CPU that controls these elements, a memory 227 that is used as a work area and a temporary storage area for data by the control unit 225, and a clock unit 229 that generates date and time information. The display unit 220 and the operation unit 223 function as a user interface.

  When an operation element such as an arbitrary operation key, button, or dial of the operation unit 223 is operated by the user, the operation is detected by the control unit 225. The memory 227 includes a read-only memory and a rewritable non-volatile ROM (flash memory, etc.), and accepts normal mobile phone operation input, communication, mail processing, web processing, display, voice input / output, telephone A control program for various operations such as book management and schedule management, a control program for performing various processes as described later in the present embodiment, and necessary data are stored. In addition to the phone book data in the present embodiment, this data may include data such as sent and received mail information and schedule information.

  Hereinafter, the operation of mobile terminal 100 in the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of three communication partner designation methods adopted by the mobile terminal 100. This figure shows an example using three communication partner designation methods.

  The first method uses a so-called “shortcut”. In the example shown in the figure, a communication partner (telephone number) can be assigned and registered on a one-to-one basis to each key assigned to the numeric keys “1” to “9” and “0”. That is, a maximum of 10 people can be registered. By pressing any of the numeric keys, the communication partner is displayed in the display area with the communication partner as a candidate, and used for user selection.

  The second method uses “key assignment characters”. This method is basically the same as the technique described in Patent Document 2, and a candidate corresponding to a character or a combination of characters designated by a plurality of numeric keypad inputs is displayed in the display area for selection by the user. Is.

  The third method uses “direct number input”. This method includes the input of the partial number sequence described in Patent Document 1 as well as the classic communication partner designation method by key-inputting all digits of the telephone number. That is, in response to an input of a digit string of an arbitrary number of digits in an arbitrary part of a target telephone number, a communication partner of a telephone number including the numeral string is displayed as a candidate in the display area for use by a user. is there.

  All of these communication partner designation methods are basically known, but the present invention is characterized by a method of using them in combination.

  That is, in the present invention, it is not necessary to notify the mobile terminal 100 in advance which communication partner designation method is used by the user, and suddenly a numeric keypad (number) can be input in accordance with one of the communication partner designation methods. it can. Further, the mobile terminal 100 executes a telephone directory search by using a plurality of communication partner designation methods available at that time, and simultaneously displays selection candidates as search results in a plurality of areas on the display screen. Except for the case of using shortcuts, the selection candidates may be zero, one, or plural. If there are a plurality of selection candidates, some selection candidates are extracted and displayed within the range allowed by the display area. In the case of using a shortcut, in this embodiment, only one selection candidate corresponding to the first key input to the numeric keypad is displayed. After the second key input, since the possibility of using the shortcut has disappeared, the selection candidate display (area) by using the shortcut is deleted. More specific operation examples will be described later.

  FIG. 4 shows a configuration example of the phone book data in the present embodiment. This telephone book data 400 stores “registration No.”, “name”, “smear”, “telephone number”, “mail address”, “shortcut”, “name-corresponding key string”, and the like for each communication partner to be registered.

  “Registration No.” is a unique number assigned to the registered partner information for each registration of the communication partner, for example, a serial number. “Name” is an arbitrary character string (real name, nickname, etc.) input by the user of the mobile terminal as identification information of the communication partner. “Yomi” is a kana character (in this case, katakana) when the name is kanji, and is an alphabet when the name is alphabetic. However, the user can rewrite the reading to an arbitrary character string. “Shortcut” is a numeric keypad assigned one-to-one to the communication partner, and is registered when the user registers the shortcut. The “name-corresponding key string” is a number string that enumerates the numbers on the numeric keypad corresponding to the character string that constitutes the reading of the name, and is generated by the portable terminal 100 when the communication partner is registered.

  A plurality of “phone numbers” and “mail addresses” may be registered for the same person.

  The configuration of the phone book data 400 shown in FIG. 4 is shown in a table format for convenience, but the data format is not limited to this. The “shortcut” and “name-corresponding key string” are included in the phone book data, but together or separately, as a data structure (for example, a data table) different from the phone book data, the corresponding phone book registration partner You may make it manage in response to information.

  Next, FIG. 5 shows an example of transition of the display screen of the display unit according to a specific example of inputting a numeric string.

  First, FIG. 5A shows a configuration example of the display screen 300 when inputting a telephone number in the present embodiment.

  The display screen 300 includes a so-called picto display area 310, shortcut use display area 320, key assigned character use display area 330, direct number input use display area 340, input character string display area 350, and key operation display area 360 from above. Have.

  The pictogram display area 310 is an area that is provided in a normal mobile phone terminal and displays icons indicating the intensity of received radio waves, the remaining battery level, and the like.

  The shortcut use display area 320 is a display area provided in the present embodiment, corresponds to the shortcut use shown in FIG. 3 (1), and is changed by a user from a predetermined state (for example, a standby state of a mobile phone terminal). When a communication partner assigned one-to-one is registered in accordance with the input first key, the registered partner information (registration No., name and phone number in this example) is displayed. It is an area to be done. If there is no registered partner information corresponding to this key, this display area 320 is not provided, and the area is absorbed by another display area (here, the key assigned character use display area 330).

  The key assignment character use display area 330 corresponds to the communication partner designation method using the key assignment character described with reference to FIG. 3 (2), and a number and a number string determined by the first key input by the user and subsequent keys. This is an area for extracting and displaying a predetermined number of registered partner information that matches a possible combination of characters in the name-corresponding key string of the phone book data 400.

  The direct number input use display area 340 corresponds to the communication partner designation method using direct number input described with reference to FIG. 3 (3), and stores registered partner information having a telephone number having at least a part of a digit string input by the user. This is the area where only the number is displayed.

  The input character string display area 350 is an area for sequentially displaying numeric keys entered by the user. This is the same display mode as the display when inputting all the numeric strings of the telephone number, which is the classic communication partner designation method of the telephone.

  FIG. 5A shows an example of the display screen 300 when the user performs the first key input (“3”) on the standby screen. In the shortcut use display area 320, the registration number, name, and telephone number of the communication partner, which is registered partner information registered as a shortcut corresponding to the key “3”, are displayed. Initially, the cursor 301 highlights (focuses) the registered partner information. The display form of the cursor 301 is arbitrary such as reverse display, highlight display, and color change.

  In the key assignment character use display area 330, a predetermined number of registered partner information having a name corresponding to the number string ("3") already input is picked up and displayed. If there is corresponding registered partner information that exceeds the number displayed, the registered partner information is selected according to a predetermined rule. The predetermined rule is, for example, a registration number order, a telephone number order, a character code order, or the like.

  In the direct number input usage display area 340, a predetermined number of registered partner information having a telephone number including a number string ("3") already input at this time is picked up and displayed. Also in this area, if there is corresponding registered partner information that exceeds the displayed number, the registered partner information is selected according to a predetermined rule.

  In the input character string display area 350, the number string ("3") already input at this time is displayed as it is.

  The key operation display area 360 is an area that is displayed to let the user know the functions assigned to the operation keys of the operation unit at that time.

  The cursor 301 can be moved to another registered partner information across the boundaries between the areas 320 to 340 by an instruction operation by the user. When the user gives a “call” instruction by operating the operation unit, the terminal automatically makes a call to the telephone number of the communication partner of the registered partner information focused by the cursor 301 at that time.

  If the target communication partner appears in any one of the area 320, the key assignment character use display area 330, and the direct number input use display area 340 in FIG. 5A, the call is placed by placing the cursor 301 on the registered partner information. It can be carried out.

  If the target communication partner does not appear, the user performs the second key input to add another digit. FIG. 5B shows an example of the display screen 300 when the second key input (“4”) is performed following the first key input (“3”). As can be seen from the input character string display area 350, the input number string up to this point is “34” of two digits. In the present embodiment, since the number string by using the shortcut is only one digit, the possibility of using the shortcut is lost at this point. Therefore, the shortcut use display area 320 deletes the area itself and changes to another area (here, the key assigned characters). The area is open to the usage display area 330).

  Since the input character string is changed from “3” to “34”, the corresponding registered partner information in the key assignment character use display area 330 and the direct number input use display area 340 is narrowed (reduced). If the target communication partner appears in the key assignment character usage display area 330 or the direct number input usage display area 340, the cursor 301 can be placed on the registered partner information to make a call.

  If the target communication partner does not appear on the display screen 300 of FIG. 5B, the user performs the third key input to add another digit. FIG. 5C shows an example of the display screen 300 when the second key input (“6”) is performed following the second key input (“4”). As a result, as can be seen from the input character string display area 350, the input number string up to this point becomes “346”.

  Since the input character string is changed from “34” to “346”, the corresponding registered partner information in the key assigned character use display area 330 and the direct number input use display area 340 is further narrowed (reduced). If the target communication partner appears in the area 330 or 340, the cursor 301 can be placed on the registered partner information to make a call.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of transition of the display screen of the display unit according to another input example of a specific numeric string.

  FIG. 6A shows an example of the display screen 300 when “0” is input as the first key input. Here, it is assumed that the user directly uses number input. Each region 310 to 360 is as described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 6B, when “3” is input as the second key input, the shortcut use display area 320 is deleted and absorbed by the key assigned character use display area 330. However, an example is shown in which the key assignment character use display area 330 is blank because there is no corresponding registered partner information in the key assignment character use display area 330. Therefore, the cursor 301 is moved to the first registered partner information in the direct number input use display area 340. Since the target registered partner information does not appear until this time, it is assumed that the user inputs “5” as the third key input. FIG. 6C shows the display screen 300 at this time. FIG. 6D shows the display screen 300 when “4” is further input as the fourth key input. The user continues key input until the desired registered partner information appears in the direct number input use display area 340. Here, an example is shown in which the telephone number is entered from the beginning when using direct number entry. In this case, since there can be a relatively large number of telephone numbers having the same station number, it is estimated that it is necessary to input a relatively large number of digits. However, if the last four digits of the phone number are used, the probability that even some of the phone numbers of the registered information will match will be very small among the hundreds or thousands of communication partners that can be registered in the phone book. Therefore, it is considered that the registered partner information is directly displayed in the number input use display area 340 if a number of 2, 3 digits, or at most 4 digits is input.

  In addition, when inputting a telephone number that is not registered in the telephone directory, it is necessary to input all the numbers of the telephone number. In this case, as shown in FIG. 7, the key assignment character use display area 330 and the direct number input use display area 340 are blank, and the cursor 301 is automatically moved with respect to the display area 350. When a user makes a call using the input character string display area 350, the user can issue a “call” instruction in a state where all digits of the telephone number are input in the area. The operation performed by the user at this time is completely different from the operation of the conventional ordinary telephone from the beginning to the end. Although the cursor 301 is displayed on the display area 350 at this time, this display is not essential.

  FIG. 8 shows an example of a display screen according to another processing example of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6B, when the key assigned character usage display area 330 becomes blank, the direct number input usage display area 340 is changed to that as shown in FIGS. 8B, 8C, and 8D. Absorb the area and use it. As a result, the number of registered partner information displayed in the direct number input usage display area 340 increases, so that the number input with a smaller number of digits can be performed in the direct number input usage display area 340 than when the number is small. The possibility that the target registered partner information is displayed increases.

  FIGS. 9A to 9D show examples of display screens according to still another processing example of this embodiment. 9 (a) and 9 (b) are the same as FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b). In this state, as shown in FIG. 9C, from the state where the cursor 301 is positioned on the lowest registered partner information in the key assigned character usage display area 330, the cursor is moved further by the user operation to move the cursor 301 downward. When the key assignment character use display area 330 is moved (cross border) from the key assignment character use display area 330 to the direct number input use display area 340, the key assignment character use display area 330 is deleted and the direct number is displayed as shown in FIG. The input usage display area 340 is enlarged by the corresponding amount. As a result, the number of registered partner information displayed in the direct number input use display area 340 increases. Therefore, compared to the case where the number of registered partner information is small, the direct number input use display area 340 can be input with a smaller number of digits. The possibility that the target registered partner information is displayed increases.

  If the cursor 301 crosses from the key assignment character use display area 330 directly to the number input use display area 340 due to an incorrect user operation, the cursor 301 is moved upward from the state of FIG. You may make it return to the state shown to 9 (c). At this time, the key assignment character use display area 330 is restored, and the direct number input use display area 340 is restored to the original size.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 9D, after the direct number input usage display area 340 is enlarged, the cursor 301 moves to the lowest level in the direct number input usage display area 340, and the user instructs to move downward. In this case, when there is registration partner information that cannot be displayed at once in the direct number input use display area 340, the display contents in the direct number input use display area 340 may be scrolled upward. After such upward scrolling, if the cursor 301 is instructed to move further upward from the uppermost stage in the direct number input use display area 340 after scrolling, the direct number input use display area 340 The display content may be scrolled downward.

  Such scrolling of registered partner information in the direct number input use display area 340 may be performed even when the direct number input use display area 340 is not enlarged as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing of the control unit from receiving a numeric input according to a user operation when the terminal is in a standby state, searching a telephone directory, and making a call.

  In the process of FIG. 10, the control unit waits for the input of the numeric keypad, and when there is an input (S11, Yes), the following process is performed.

  First, the key numbers (numbers) of the input numeric keys are accumulated as a number string and additionally displayed in the display area 350 (S12). This numeric string is initially “0” and increases by one digit each time the numeric keypad is input.

  If the key input is the first key input from the standby state (that is, the first key input) (S13, Yes), the registered partner information corresponding to the numeric keypad is displayed in the display area 320 (S15). If the numeric keypad input is not the first key input, if the display area 320 exists, the area is deleted and released for another display area (S14).

  Thereafter, the telephone directory data is searched based on the key assignment character string (S16). As a result of this search, the corresponding registered partner information is displayed in the display area 330 by a predetermined number (S17). This predetermined number is a number allowed by the display area 330.

  Subsequently, the telephone directory data is searched based on the input number string (S18). Corresponding registered partner information is displayed in the display area direct number input use display area 340 by a predetermined number (S19). This predetermined number is a number allowed by the direct number input use display area 340.

  From the No branch of step S11 or following step S19, if there is an operation for moving the cursor 301 by the user (S20, Yes), the cursor 301 is moved (S21). In this movement process, the cursor 301 is moved so that the next registered partner information is sequentially focused in the movement direction.

  If a call instruction is issued by a user operation while any registered partner information is in focus (S22, Yes), it is checked whether there is a communication partner currently focused (S23). If there is, a call is made to the telephone number of the communication partner currently focused (S24). If not, the number string in the display area 350 is transmitted as a telephone number. If there is no outgoing instruction in step S22, the process returns to the standby state in step S11.

  Next, a modified example of step S21 in FIG. 10 will be described. The movement of the cursor in step S21 is as described above. However, as described with reference to FIG. 9, another process is required to enlarge and return the display area when the cursor 301 crosses the border. Such processing is shown in FIG. However, such processing is not essential in the present invention.

  In this process, a “cross-border flag” indicating whether or not the cursor 301 has crossed from the key assignment character use display area 330 to the direct number input use display area 340 is introduced. This cross-border flag is data stored in the memory 227 and is initially “0” (non-cross-border state) in the present embodiment, and is “1” (cross-border state) when crossing the border.

  In the process of FIG. 11, if the cross-border flag is “1”, the process proceeds to step S38. If the cross-border flag is not “1”, the cursor movement for moving the focus similar to the above to one registered partner information unit is performed (S32). If the cursor 301 crosses from the key assigned character usage display area 330 to the direct number input usage display area 340 by this cursor movement (S33, Yes), the process proceeds to step S34. If it does not cross the border, the process returns to the process of FIG.

  In step S34, the cross-border flag is set to "1" (S34), the key assigned character usage display area 330 is deleted, and the direct number input usage display area 340 is enlarged accordingly (S35). At this time, if the shortcut use display area 320 exists, that area is also deleted, and the direct number input use display area 340 is enlarged accordingly. Thereafter, the processing returns to the processing of FIG.

  In step S36, the cursor 301 is moved in accordance with the cursor moving operation, and the registered partner information in the direct number input use display area 340 is scrolled as described above as required (S36).

  If there is an instruction (cursor movement operation) that the cursor 301 moves upward from the head in the direct number input usage display area 340 in the state where the cross-border flag is “1” (Yes in S37), the key assignment character usage display is performed. The area 330 is restored and displayed (S38), the cross-border flag is returned to "0" (S39), and the process returns to the process of FIG.

  Note that the position and order of the display areas are not necessarily the same as in the illustrated example. Further, the number of communication partners displayed in the key assignment character use display area 330 and the direct number input use display area 340 is not limited to the number shown.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but various modifications and changes other than those mentioned above can be made. For example, the search target is an example of the telephone number of the communication partner, but may be other information such as an e-mail address.

  Of a plurality of communication partner designation methods, the one used by the user may be selected by default. In this case, with respect to the communication partner designation method not selected in the initial setting, the corresponding display area is not displayed from the beginning, so that the other display areas can utilize the area.

It is a figure which shows the external appearance of the mobile telephone terminal (it is also only mentioned a portable terminal) as one Embodiment of the communication terminal by this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the outline of the hardware constitutions of the portable terminal shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the three communication partner designation | designated methods which the portable terminal in embodiment of this invention employ | adopts. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the telephone directory data in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the transition of the display screen of a display part by the more specific example of a numerical string input in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the other example of the transition of the display screen of a display part by the more specific example of a numerical string input in embodiment of this invention. In embodiment of this invention, it is a figure which shows the example of the display screen in the case of inputting the telephone number which is not registered into the telephone directory. It is a figure which shows the example of the display screen by the other process example of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the display screen by the further another process example of embodiment of this invention. In the embodiment of the present invention, when the terminal is in a standby state, it is a flowchart showing the flow of processing of the control unit until it accepts an input of a number in response to a user operation, searches a telephone directory, and makes a call is there. FIG. 10 is a flowchart of another process for enlarging / returning the display area when the cursor crosses the border, corresponding to the process example of FIG. 9.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 16 ... Display part, 28 ... Numeric keypad, 100 ... Portable terminal, 201 ... Antenna, 203 ... Transmission / reception processing part, 205 ... Modulation / demodulation processing part, 207 ... Data processing part, 210 ... Speaker, 212 ... Microphone, 220 ... Display part, 223 ... operation unit, 225 ... control unit, 227 ... memory, 229 ... clock unit, 300 ... display screen, 301 ... cursor, 310 ... pictogram display area, 320 ... shortcut use display area, 330 ... key assignment character use display area, 340 ... Direct number input use display area, 350 ... Input character string display area, 360 ... Key operation display area, 400 ... Phone book data

Claims (16)

An operation unit having a numeric keypad;
A display for displaying information;
A storage unit for storing telephone book data;
A communication unit for making a call to a communication partner;
A control unit,
The control unit provides a separate display area for each of the plurality of communication partner designation methods in the display screen of the display unit, and specifies a plurality of communication partner designations determined in advance according to a numeric keypad input from the operation unit. A communication terminal apparatus characterized in that a candidate of a communication partner is extracted from the telephone directory data based on a method, each candidate is displayed in the plurality of display areas, and used for user selection.   The control unit displays a cursor for focusing one communication partner at a time over the entire display area on the display screen of the display unit, and displays the cursor according to an operation from the operation unit. The communication terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the communication terminal device is moved.   At least one of the plurality of communication partner designation methods is to extract candidates by searching the telephone directory data based on the stored input information every time a numeric keypad is input. Item 2. The communication terminal device according to Item 1.   After the input of a plurality of numeric keys, when a “call” instruction is issued in a state where no corresponding candidate exists for all the display areas for each of the plurality of communication partner designation methods, the control unit stores the accumulated 4. The communication terminal apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the communication unit is transmitted using the input information as a telephone number.   When the cursor moves from one of the plurality of display areas to another display area, the control unit deletes the source display area and enlarges the destination display area by the corresponding amount. The communication terminal device according to claim 2.   When the cursor is operated to move further in the direction from the end of the deleted source direction in the enlarged display area of the destination, the control unit restores the display of the deleted display area. 6. The communication terminal apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the enlarged display area is restored to its original size.   When there is no corresponding candidate for at least a specific display area among the plurality of display areas in accordance with the input of the numeric keypad, the control unit deletes the display area in which the candidate no longer exists, 4. The communication terminal apparatus according to claim 3, wherein another display area is enlarged by an amount corresponding to the display area.   The plurality of communication partner designation methods include a first communication partner designation method in which a communication partner is assigned to a numeric keypad on a one-to-one basis, and a communication partner assigned to the numeric keypad is displayed in the display area when the numeric keypad is input. A second communication partner designation method for displaying candidates corresponding to a character or a combination of characters designated by one or more numeric keypad inputs using the character assigned to, and an arbitrary part of the target telephone number Including at least two of the third communication partner display methods for displaying in the display area the communication partner of the telephone number including the digit string as a candidate in response to an input of a numeric keypad of any number of digits. The communication terminal device according to claim 1. A communication partner selection transmission method in a communication terminal comprising an operation unit having a numeric keypad, a display unit for displaying information, a storage unit for storing phone book data, and a communication unit for performing transmission to the communication partner ,
In response to the numeric keypad input from the operation unit, extracting communication partner candidates from the telephone directory data based on a plurality of predetermined communication partner designation methods;
Displaying each of the candidates in a display area separately provided for each of the plurality of communication partner designation methods in the display screen of the display unit;
Receiving a selection from the operation unit for any displayed candidate;
A communication partner selecting and transmitting method, comprising: a step of transmitting by the communication unit to a communication partner selected according to a transmission instruction from the operation unit.   In the displaying step, on the display screen of the display unit, a cursor for focusing one communication partner at a time over the entire display area is displayed, and the cursor is displayed according to an operation from the operation unit. The communication partner selection / transmission method according to claim 9, wherein the communication partner is transmitted.   10. At least one of the plurality of communication partner designation methods extracts a candidate by searching the telephone directory data based on the accumulated input information every time a numeric keypad is entered. Communication partner selection transmission method.   After the input of a plurality of numeric keys, when a transmission instruction is issued from the operation unit in a state where there is no corresponding candidate for all the display areas for each of the plurality of communication partner designation methods, the step of performing the transmission 12. The communication partner selection and transmission method according to claim 11, wherein the communication unit is transmitted using the accumulated input information as a telephone number.   When the cursor moves from one display area of the plurality of display areas to another display area, the display step deletes the source display area and enlarges the destination display area by the corresponding amount. 11. The communication partner selection and transmission method according to claim 10, wherein:   When the cursor is operated to move further in the direction from the end of the deleted movement source direction in the enlarged display area of the destination, the display step displays the display of the deleted display area. 14. The communication partner selection transmission method according to claim 13, wherein the communication area is restored and the enlarged display area is restored to the original size.   When there is no corresponding candidate for at least a specific display area among the plurality of display areas in accordance with the input of the numeric keypad, the display area in which the candidate no longer exists is deleted in the displaying step, 12. The communication partner selection and transmission method according to claim 11, wherein the other display area is enlarged by a considerable amount.   The plurality of communication partner designation methods include a first communication partner designation method in which a communication partner is assigned to a numeric keypad on a one-to-one basis, and a communication partner assigned to the numeric keypad is displayed in the display area when the numeric keypad is input. A second communication partner designation method for displaying candidates corresponding to a character or a combination of characters designated by one or more numeric keypad inputs using the character assigned to, and an arbitrary part of the target telephone number Including at least two of the third communication partner display methods for displaying in the display area the communication partner of the telephone number including the digit string as a candidate in response to an input of a numeric keypad of any number of digits. The communication partner selection transmission method according to any one of claims 9 to 15.

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