Abstract:
To facilitate calling from a mobile station, a method and a device have been invented by means of which the selection of the phone number of a subscriber B has been made easier. When using a mobile station as a navigation device or in connection with one, a connection for one or more records to phone numbers in an abbreviated dialling memory of the mobile station is defined in a geographical point of interest (POI) database of the navigation device. In this way, after the user has first selected his navigation POI, he can make a call to the POI by using a specific ‘call POI’ switch without having to search the abbreviated dialling memory for a phone number corresponding to the navigation POI at hand and without himself having to dial the phone number. The connection of the navigation POI database to elements of the intercom dialling memory, according to the invention, is preferably implemented by including, in the navigation POI database, a field for the records for an intercom dialling element index.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to mobile stations, especially, to making a call from a mobile station. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In mobile phones, an abbreviated dialling memory has commonly been used, wherein a mobile phone user can enter phone numbers used by him and the names that correspond to them. Thus, the user does not need a traditional paper phone book when making a call to the most commonly used phone numbers even if he did not remember them by heart if he once has input the number and the corresponding name in his phone. 
     As mobile phones have developed, an increasing number of different kinds of functions have been started to be connected to them, the purpose of which is to offer their users useful functions. For example, various kinds of terminals have been designed for a car, which besides functioning as a traditional car phone also function as a navigation and guiding device. Such a terminal can guide its user to a point of interest (POI). A position can also be transmitted from one mobile station to another as described in patent application DE 19601334. It is true that when navigating to a POI, the user can be guided to and receive information on the POI but if he should make a call to the POI, e.g. to inform that he will be late for a meeting, he must first search his phone book for a number on the basis of the name of a person or a target company at the POI, and call it. Especially in a car environment, drawing a driver&#39;s attention away from traffic should be avoided for safety reason s. Therefore, there exists a need for a method, which would make it easier to make a call to a point of interest. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Now, a method and a device have been invented by means of which the name of and the position data on a point of interest, as well as the phone number or several phone numbers relating to the POI are connected to a single title and the item established in this manner is used for both navigation and making it easier to call the POI. The user can be offered a uniform means to call his POI, independent of the name and number of a subscriber B, whereupon the user does not necessarily have to take his eyes off traffic at all when wanting to call the POI. 
     A device according to the invention preferably has a normal phone book used in mobile phones, each record of which comprises a phone number and possibly a name corresponding to it, and a database comprising the positions of POIs, which has the coordinations of each POI and/or address, as well as the index(es) of one or more phone numbers located at the POI, input in a first phone book. 
     It is characteristic of a method according to the invention for retrieving a phone number with a mobile station that it comprises 
     allowing a user to select a specific geographical target by means of a mobile station, 
     retrieving from a memory data on the selected target, the data comprising at least its position and phone number, 
     allowing the user to initiate a call to the selected target using said phone number known to the mobile station. 
     It is characteristic of a mobile station according to the invention, comprising a memory for storing phone numbers and means for connecting a name to a phone number to be stored in the memory, that it comprises 
     means for storing data on at least one geographical target, 
     means for connecting the data on said geographical target to the stored phone number, 
     means for browsing data on at least one geographical target, and 
     means for making a call to the phone number connected to the data on the geographical target presented each time. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In the following, the present invention will be discussed in detail by referring to the enclosed drawings, in which 
     FIG. 1 is a block diagram of parts of a mobile station according to the invention, 
     FIG. 2 is a block diagram of parts of a user interface of a mobile station according to the invention, 
     FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of the operation of a mobile station according to the invention as for making a call on the basis of the position of a POI, 
     FIG. 3 b  is a flow diagram of the operation of a mobile station, according to the invention, for finding out the phone number of a POI using an external directory inquiry server; 
     FIG. 4 shows a view from a display unit of a mobile station according to the invention, 
     FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a mobile communication network according to the invention, 
     FIG. 6 shows a structure of a POI database used for navigation, and 
     FIG. 7 shows a structure of a database that functions as a phone book of a mobile station according to the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the most important parts of a mobile station, according to the invention, suitable for use as a navigation device. The mobile station is otherwise a device constructed for use on a normal mobile communication network, e.g. GSM but, in addition, it has a positioning device PD  110  or it has been or can be connected thereto. By means of the positioning device, the mobile station can also be used for navigation, whereupon it makes it easier to locate the POI. The mobile station also has a processor  100 , a radio part  120 , an antenna  121 , a RAM and ROM  130 , as well as a user interface UI. Instead of a positioning device that is in connection with the mobile station, it is also possible to use, e.g. the position determined by the mobile communication network for positioning the mobile station. 
     FIG. 2 is a block diagram of parts of a user interface UI of a mobile station according to the invention. These include input devices  210  and output devices  220 . By means of the input devices, a user can control his mobile station. The input devices include different kinds of switches  211 , such as a numeric keypad, as well as a microphone  212  and possibly speech recognition devices connected thereto by means of which the mobile station can be controlled by speech. The output devices, by means of which the mobile station can present data to its user, include a display  221  and a speaker  222 . The speaker can be used, e.g. to tell about new instructions and other such data with a sound signal or, if the mobile station also comprises a speech synthesiser, it can present to the user with its speaker instructions in the form of speech and responses to the user&#39;s controls. 
     FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of the operation of a mobile station, according to the invention, for making a call on the bases of the position of a POI. The performance begins from a block  30 , i.e. the start. A user selects, in a block  31 , a navigation object, i.e. the POI where he is going. It will be checked, in a block  32 , whether the user wants to add a new phone number for the POI. If this is the case, it will be read, e.g. from the keypad in a block  33 , and it will then be continued from a block  34 , otherwise, it will be proceeded directly to the block  34 . In the block  34 , the mobile station checks, e.g. by means of a positioning device, whether the POI has been reached. If this is the case, it will ask again for a new POI in the block  31 , otherwise it will check, in a block  35 , whether it knows any phone number for the POI. If not, it preferably turns grey the legend of a button ‘Call POI’, presented to the user on the display, which will be explained later, and returns to the block  32  to check whether the user would like to input the phone number of the POI. In the contrary case, the mobile station indicates its user that it is allowed to make a call to the POI by presenting, in a normal way, the above-mentioned legend ‘Call POI’ and checks, in a block  36 , whether the user has used a switch reserved for making a call to a POI in order to make the call. If he has not, it will be returned to the block  32 , otherwise, the mobile station will try to initiate, in a block  37 , a call to the phone number found for the POI or, if there are several numbers, it preferably lets the user select the most suitable of them before it tries to initiate a call to the POI. 
     Because the user may, during the journey, add to the memory of his mobile station a number that the POI lacked, it will preferably be returned to the block  32  later to check the existence of the number even if it had not existed before. In can also be checked, in the block  32 , whether a phone number for the POI, based on a position, is available through a mobile communication network, preferably one with the name corresponding to it already in the phone book although without any position data. 
     FIG. 3 b  shows a method where a mobile station connects to a POI its phone number by using an external directory inquiry server. Thus, while the user is navigating, e.g. towards the Empire State Building, he can get the phone number of his acquaintance working there from among a large number of other phone numbers in the same building. The figure begins from a block ba, normal function. When the mobile station receives, in a block bb, information or data on a new POI, the mobile station checks, in a block bc, whether the data on the POI also include its phone number. If not, the mobile station will automatically send once in a block bd, for example, by using a short message service, a directory inquiry request concerning the POI. In a block be, the directory inquiry server looks for numbers the address of which, with a certain accuracy, is the same as that of the POI, e.g. the address is the same town, sector, street or co-ordinates. In addition to the data provided by the POI itself, it can use, as a further specifier, a cross-reference to the numbers that are in the mobile station&#39;s phone book. The acquaintance, in the example, may well have a home number somewhere else, but the directory inquiry will find, on the basis of the phone number, first a full name and then, on the basis of the name and the address used as the POI, a second, desired phone number. If the POI is presented in the mobile station as co-ordinates without a street address, the directory inquiry or the external server must first find out the street address on the basis of the coordinates, e.g. by using a digital vector map drawn of the area. In a block bf, it will be checked whether a phone number was found for the POI. If not, the procedure will return to the block ba, otherwise it will move to a block bg. The block bg checks whether exactly one phone number was found for the POI and, if this is the case, the number will be sent to the mobile station for being stored in a block bh, after which the mobile station returns to its normal state to the block ba. Otherwise, the server will preferably send the mobile station, in a block bi, a question “Will several numbers be retrieved” and preferably also the number of the phone numbers to be retrieved. Alternatively, the number of the phone numbers to be retrieved may also be requested from the user and read here. If the user does not want more than one number to be transmitted to him, the procedure will proceed to the mobile station&#39;s block normal state ba, otherwise it will send the server a request to transmit the numbers found or, of these, the numbers indicated by the number selected by the user, and the server, in a block bj, transmits the requested numbers to the mobile station which, in a block bk, stores them and connects them to the data on the POI. Then, the procedure will again return to the block normal state ba. 
     FIG. 4 shows a view from the display unit  221  of a mobile station according to the invention. The display shows a POI name  42  and roughly an indicator arrow  43  indicating the direction of the position, as well as a function key  41  and its legend  40  ‘Call POI’. The display also has function keys  45  and  46  and, on the side of the display, patterns that correspond to them for selecting the next and the previous POI. If the display  221  is a touch screen, it itself functions then as the key ‘Call POI’ when pressed at the point of the legend. The user is always offered for calling a POI, in a uniform manner, a key the pressing of which initiates a call to a POI. Alternatively, speech recognition can be used for this, whereupon with some standard phrase, e.g. ‘Call POI’, the user may call the POI if his mobile station knows at least one phone number belonging to it. 
     If there are more than one phone numbers for the POI, the user may preferably be offered by the pressing of the key ‘Call POI’ a list of the available alternatives. Preferably still, one of these alternatives can be set as default and then the default alternative is preferably indicated by the cursor when the list is presented to the user. From the list, the user can select a suitable number, e.g. by using the arrow keys. Preferably, the alternative selected from the list is accepted in the same way as the selection ‘Call POI’ was originally implemented, e.g. by re-pressing the key intended for this. Alternatively, if the user does not attempt to change the place of the cursor, after a specific delay, the mobile station will automatically initiate a call to the default POI. 
     By using the function key  45 , the user can select data on the next POI known to the mobile station for being presented and, with the function key  46 , data on the previous POI for being presented. 
     FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a mobile communication network according to the invention. A mobile services switching centre  540  controls a base station controller or controllers  530  and each base station controller controls at least one base station  520 . Each mobile phone  510  and mobile station  500 , according to the invention, connects to the mobile communication network through one base station. Because the coverage area of the base stations&#39; radio transmission is limited, the base station used indicates the device connected to the mobile communication network at least at the accuracy of its coverage area. In densely populated areas, it is economical to use a lower base station transmission power, whereupon the coverage area is even smaller and radio frequencies can be used more effectively. In this case, the positioning of a mobile station connected to the network through a base station is more accurate. For example, with the present GSM networks it is possible to achieve an accuracy in the range of one kilometre. A mobile communication network can be developed to also send the position of a mobile station determined by it to the mobile station itself, whereupon it does not need a positioning device for determining its position. Preferably, such a feature will also be built in a mobile communication network that when a call is made to a mobile station connected thereto, in addition to the phone number of a subscriber A, the position and name of the subscriber A will also be transmitted to it. In this way, the mobile station will be provided with these data on its POI immediately when his mobile station is called for the first time from the POI. If the subscriber A has a GSM phone, his position at any given time during the call is in the GSM network&#39;s VLR (visitor Location Register) database and this information can be used as the position and name of the subscriber A when he makes a call to a mobile station according to the invention. 
     Alternatively, the terminal can be, e.g. an ordinary GSM mobile phone which, when connected to a specific server, can function as a navigator and, in this case, the server can have the necessary logic and memory for making a call to the POI. The terminal can be a hand-held device or it can be a fixed device intended to be installed in a vehicle (e.g. car, lorry or boat). 
     The mobile communication network is preferably connected to a public telecommunication network whereupon, in addition to mobile phones, calls can be made with a mobile station according to the invention, connected to the network, to different types of wired telephones, fax machines, answering services, etc. 
     FIG. 6 shows the structure of a POI database  60  used for navigation. The database  60  has a set of records R 1 , R 2 , R 3  . . . Rn each comprising fields: index  631 , POI name  632 , POI data  633 , and POI position  634 . The function of the index is only to speed up the operation of the database, but it can also be omitted. The records also preferably comprise a field  635  for the phone number of a POI and/or a field  636  for being used as a pointer when combining the database  60  and the phone book of the mobile station as presented below. The database  60  can be, e.g. in a memory  130  of the mobile station. 
     FIG. 7 shows a database structure that functions as a phone book  70  of a mobile station according to the invention. The phone book is preferably stored in the phone&#39;s own memory  130  (see FIG.  1 ), but it can alternatively be located, e.g. in a memory of a positioning device  110  or in some external server whereto the mobile station connects, e.g. through a mobile communication network. The phone book  70  comprises a set of phone numbers PN 1 , PN 2 , PN 3 , PN 4 , PN 5  . . . PNn and, for each number, at least a field  7 nu for a phone number and preferably also a field  7 na for a name that corresponds to the phone number. The figure also shows that, with a mobile station according to the invention, it is possible to link the records of the phone book  70  and the database  60 , used for navigation, that correspond to one another. The definition of the records of the phone book and the POI database that correspond to one another can be implemented, e.g. by the user by means of the input devices shown in FIG.  2 . Alternatively, the mobile station can try to determine, on the basis of the name of each record of the database  60  and the phone book  70 , fields that belong together, e.g. by suggesting to the user that such fields be connected of the names of which a specific number of first letters are similar. To each other, the phone number known corresponding to each POI is preferably connected to the database  60  so that the number or index of the memory location of the phone book record that corresponds to the record is stored in a field  636 , if the phone book records comprise such. The purpose of linking the database  60  and the phone book is to arrange for the use of the mobile station a phone number that corresponds to the position of at least one POI so that the user can select it when the POI is at hand. 
     The advantage of the invention is that with a mobile communication device used for navigation purposes, it is possible to establish a call to a POI considerably easier than today. This is particularly advantageous when used in a car, when the user does not have to take his eyes off traffic unnecessarily. The user can call his current POI with a single button, if the number of the POI has been input in the mobile station. This is particularly beneficial when a person who should be attending a meeting notices that he will be late and wants to inform others of the delay or, for example, if he finds that he needs additional data in order to find his way to the POI or to ask for advice to find a parking place. The fact is that usually persons at a place of destination know more about the place that a person who is possibly going there for the first time. 
     A mobile station according to the invention is also preferably arranged to remember the POIs, which have been visited last. Thus, the user of the mobile station can easily call, e.g. the last ten places he has visited by using the buffer memory of the last places. 
     This paper presents the implementation and embodiments of the present invention with the help of examples. It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that the present invention is not restricted to details of the embodiments presented above, and that the invention can also be implemented in another form without deviating from the characteristics of the invention. The embodiments presented should be considered illustrative, but not restricting. For example, adding new POIs to the memory of a mobile station according to the invention can be implemented by the user using the input means of the mobile station, by means of a message received from a mobile communication network or another mobile station, e.g. as a message received through an infrared connection. Thus, the possibilities of implementing and using the invention are only restricted by the enclosed claims. Consequently, the various options of implementing the invention as determined by the claims, including the equivalent implementations, also belong to the scope of the invention.