Abstract:
An improved user interface for a telephone dialer application in a portable device and a method for implementing a display area for the device are provided. Existing telephone dialer application in a portable device is less user friendly as it obscures an entire display area of a portable device. The present invention allows a user to simultaneously access both the dialer and other applications. Further, the dialer user interface has an input display section for displaying an input received through a user&#39;s initiation or transmitted from a separate application.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to an improved user interface for a dialer application in a portable device. More particularly, it relates to a method of implementing a display area of the portable device with a soft input panel for the dialer application.  
           [0003]    2. Description of Background Information.  
           [0004]    In the quest for connectivity and information accessibility, portable computing devices are increasingly bundled with communication capabilities. A typical example is the Wireless Digital Assistant (WDA), essentially a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), where computing and communication tasks are performed within a single device.  
           [0005]    An existing user interface provided by Microsoft® Merlin platform for a telephone application in a WDA is illustrated in FIG. 1. Typically, when a user wishes to initiate a call from his WDA, he activates the Merlin telephone application to display the user interface on a display device. The user enters his input primarily by tapping a stylus or a finger on various buttons displayed in the user interface.  
           [0006]    From FIG. 1, one notes that the prior art user interface demands almost a full display area of the WDA. Since display area is a precious asset in such portable devices and accessibility to information is also a necessity, the full display phone application clearly denies a user of access to other applications and information unless he minimizes the display of the user interface or switches between applications.  
           [0007]    Hence, an improved user interface and a method of implementing a display area of a portable device having a soft input panel for a dialer application are needed.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    The present invention provides an improved user interface utilizing a soft input panel (SIP) in a dialer application and a method of implementing a display area of a portable device with the soft input panel.  
           [0009]    The soft input panel interface is displayed on a first part of a display area of the portable computer. In a second part of the display area, a separate application is displayed and is simultaneously accessible to a user. The user may tap on soft button sections displayed on the first part to enter his input. The results from this action will be displayed in an input display section within the first part of the display. Alternatively, a user may block-select an appropriate input from the application displayed in the first part of the display area. The selected input is automatically transmitted to the dialer and displayed in the input display section. In another alternative, an appropriate input may be automatically located by a search algorithm. Thereafter, the input is transmitted to the dialer application and displayed in the input display section.  
           [0010]    The input may be handled differently according to the mode of the dialer, namely, phone mode or messaging mode, viz., the Short Message Service (SMS) mode. Additionally, a soft button section may switch from a first function to a second function when a call status changes, such as when a call is connected or disconnected and when an incoming second call is received during a first call. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]    The present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 shows a prior art user interface.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 shows a first example of the input display section according to the present invention, including an input display section.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 3 shows a first example of the present invention, where the function of a soft button section switches in the user interface.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 4 shows a first example of the present invention, where the function of another button switches in the user interface.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 5 shows a second example of the user interface according to the present invention.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 6 shows a flow sequence of a first embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 7 shows a flow sequence of a second embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0019]    The present invention is particularly suited to portable devices, where display area is generally palm-size. Such portable devices include Wireless Digital Assistants (WDAs), palmtop organizers and portable computing devices.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 2 shows a full screen or display area according to the present invention of a WDA when a user activates both the dialer  10  and a separate application  20 , viz., “Notes.” The soft input panel of the dialer  10  is located on a first part of the display area. The user interface of the “Notes” application  20  is arranged on a second part of the display area to allow simultaneous access to both the dialer  10  and the “Notes” application  20 , such as a contiguous arrangement shown in FIG. 2. To initiate a call, a user may tap on the soft button sections defined on the display area to select and enter a telephone number for dialing. The user input is immediately displayed in an input display section  12  within the first display area. To initiate connection after input is complete, a user taps on the “Talk” button section  13 .  
         [0021]    While the call is connecting or connected, the “Talk” button section  13  switches function to an “End” function (shown in FIG. 3), which also indicates that an active call is in progress. The “End” button section  15  may be tapped during an active call to disconnect it. If there is an incoming second call during the active call, the “Clear” button section  14  switches function to a “Swap” function (shown in FIG. 4). The “Swap” button section  16  may be tapped to put the current active call on hold to allow the user to switch to the second call. The user may tap on the “Swap” button section  16  again to revert to the first call. When the user switches back to the first call, the “Swap” button section  16  still displays as “Swap” to allow the user to switch between the two calls if the second call is still connected. To disconnect one of the calls, the user simply taps on the “End” button section  15 . The call then disconnects and the “Swap” button section  16  switches to a “Clear” function. The “Clear” button section  14  can be tapped to clear an input displayed in the input display section  12  (FIG. 3). The user can now resume with the remaining call until the user taps on the “End” button section  15  to disconnect the call. When this call is disconnected, the “End” button section  15  then switches to a “Talk” function.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 5 illustrates a screen, where both the dialer  10  and an electronic mail application  21  are active. In the screen illustrated in FIG. 5, an electronic mail message  22  contains a telephone number, which the user is able to access simultaneously with the dialer  10 . According to a first aspect of the present invention, the user may view the number in the electronic mail application  21  displayed on the second part of the display area and tap on the soft button sections  11  accordingly to input the numerals into the dialer application.  
         [0023]    According to a second aspect of the invention, the user may enter his input into the dialer by block-selecting the numbers or text from the electronic mail application  21  in the second display area. If the dialer application  10  is active, text selection made by a user in the second display area is automatically transmitted to the dialer  10 . The dialer  10  receives and displays the input in the input display section  12 .  
         [0024]    According to a third aspect of the invention, a search algorithm may be used to auto-locate a relevant number for input to the dialer  10 . One way to locate and identify a relevant number is by searching for a string of numbers, or searching for an identifier, such as “phone” and “tel.” preceding a string of numbers. When such information is located, the string of numbers is transmitted to the dialer  10  and displayed in the input display section  12  of the dialer interface.  
         [0025]    In some cases, telephone numbers are expressed by a character sequence or by a combination of numerals and characters, for example, “1800-HOTLINE” which translates into its numeric form “1800-4685463.” Each character is pre-associated with a numeral as illustrated in FIGS.  2 - 5 . For example, an “H” character is associated with and thus translates to a digit “4”. During translation, the numeral pre-associated with each character is determined and replaces the character as the input. When such an input is received by the dialer  10  and if the dialer  10  is in a phone mode, the dialer  10  then displays the input display section  12 . The displayed input may be translated or untranslated; it may be translated when a call is initiated or when a user initiates a translation.  
         [0026]    Optionally, when the “SMS” button section  17  has been tapped, the received input from the separate application ( 20  or  21 ) is used to compose a Short Message Service (SMS) message whether the input comprises numerals or characters or a combination of both.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 6 illustrates a first flow sequence  600  describing a first aspect of the invention. A portable device is in an IDLE state  601  awaiting the user&#39;s instructions. When a user activates the dialer application  10 , an IS SIP DIALER SELECTED? decision step  602  proceeds to an IS SIP DIALER INTIALIZED? decision step  603 . The SIP dialer is initialized if resources have been created for radio communication. If the dialer  10  has been initialized, it will be de-initialized in a DEINITIALIZE DIALER step  603   a . If the dialer  10  is not yet initialized, the sequence  600  proceeds to an INTIALIZE DIALER AND DISPLAY BITMAP step  604 . In this INITIALIZE DIALER AND DISPLAY BITMAP step  604 , if the dialer  10  has not been initialized, it is initialized and the dialer bitmap, which includes the soft button sections  11  and the input display section  12 , is displayed on a first part of a display area of the portable device. If the dialer  10  has been initialized, the sequence  600  proceeds to a DEINITIALIZE DIALER step  603   a.    
         [0028]    After the INITIALIZE DIALER AND DISPLAY BITMAP step  604 , the sequence  600  proceeds to wait for the user&#39;s input in an IS INPUT A NUMERAL OR CHARACTER? decision step  605 . The user can tap on the soft button sections or select text from a separate application  20  displayed on a second part of the display area described earlier. If the user selects text from the application  20 , the selected text is automatically transferred to the dialer  10 . The dialer receives the selected input and displays it in the first input display section  12 . If the user&#39;s input relates to a function or an action, such as “Talk”  13  and “Clear”  14 , the sequence  600  proceeds to a PERFORM ACTION step  605   a  to execute the user-instructed action. If the input contains a numeral or a character or both, the sequence  600  proceeds to an IS THERE AN ACTIVE CALL? decision step  608 , to determine whether there is any current active call. If a call is active, the sequence  600  proceeds to a SEND DTMF TONE &amp; DISPLAY INPUT step  609 . Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) tones are sent to a callee, i.e., the recipient of the call. If the callee is an automated answering service, the DTMF tones may be recognized as a user-input. If the callee is a person, the DTMF tones are merely played. If there is no active call, the sequence proceeds to a DISPLAY INPUT step  610 . Both the SEND DTMF TONE &amp; DISPLAY INPUT step  609  and the DISPLAY INPUT step  610  proceed to the IS SIP DIALER SELECTED? decision step  602  to await further instructions or de-initialization.  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 7 shows a second flow sequence  600   a  according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The second sequence  600   a  is substantially similar to the first sequence  600 , except on the handling of input according to a numeral and/or character input. At IS INPUT A NUMERAL OR CHARACTER? decision step  605 , it is determined whether the input is a numeral or a character or a combination of both. If the input does not contain a numeral or a character, it is identified as an action and the sequence  600   a  proceeds to a PERFORM ACTION step  605   a . If the input contains a numeral or a character, the sequence  600   a  proceeds to a TELEPHONE MODE? decision step  606 . If the dialer  10  is in a phone mode for making voice calls, the sequence  600   a  proceeds to a TRANSFER INPUT &amp; TRANSLATE step  607 , where the input is automatically transmitted to the dialer  10  and displayed in the input display section  12  of the dialer interface. If the dialer  10  is not in a phone mode, the sequence  600   a  proceeds to an SMS MODE? decision step  606   a . The input is automatically transmitted to the dialer  10  for composing an SMS message in a TRANSFER INPUT step  607   a . The dialer application receives the message, which is displayed in the input display section  12  and can be further edited by the user. In the SMS mode, the soft button sections may accordingly be configured to allow character input. Alternatively, a soft keyboard panel may be activated at a user&#39;s instruction for editing the message.