AUTOMATIC FIND AND DIAL

Abstract: A combination wireless telephone (100) and personal digital assistant (PDA) has a touch screen (110) with text. The user selects a block of the text (112) and touches a find-and-dial soft key (116). The combination finds the first node designator (telephone number, e-mail address, etc.) in the block of text and access the node (dials the number, sets up an e-mail message, etc.).

Description: AUTOMATIC FIND AND DIAL Technical Field [1001] This invention relates to multi-media communications networks, such as a telephone network, e-mail, and the World Wide Web, and has particular relation to automatically accessing a node on such networks. Background Art [1002] Modern word processing software has the ability to scan a block of text and detect what appear to be telephone numbers, or e-mail addresses, or World Wide Web Uniform Resource Locators (URLs). Such detected items (alphanumeric data) are designators of nodes (telephones and Internet servers) of their respective networks. Such software has the ability, upon the click of a cursor, to dial the telephone number, to e-mail the address, or to browse the URL ~ that is, to access the node (which is remote) by clicking on the node's designator (which is in the block of text). Brief Disclosure of the Invention [1003] It is often inconvenient for a word-processing system to automatically scan every character of text in a document, detect (and tag) what appear to be node designators, and wait for the click of a cursor. Often the text will be printed out, or forwarded to a machine which does not support such tags. In these situations, the tag appears simply as a distraction. It is often better to leave such designators untagged, and worry about accessing the remote nodes later. [1004] This invention therefore provides a user with a way to access the remote nodes later. The user specifies a block of text and then presses a find-and-dial button. The expression "find-and-dial" is used in the broad sense herein, and includes "find-and e-mail", "find-and-browse", etc. The word-processing system, in response to the button being pressed, scans the text for the first designator and determines what type of designator it is (telephone number, e-mail address, etc.). The user has, of course, specified the block of text such that the designator which he wants is the first designator in that block of text. The present invention then, without further intervention by the user, accesses the node (dials the number, sets the e-mail address in the "To:" field of an e-mail under composition, browses the URL, etc.). [1005] This feature is particularly useful in a combined wireless-telephone/personal- digital-assistant (PDA). When an e-mail or a web page has been downloaded into the PDA, it is generally presented to the user by means of a touch-screen. The user may then touch the stylus over the text which includes the node designator, and then touch a button (typically a soft key), thereby causing the wireless telephone to access the first node whose designator appears in the text. [1006] This feature is also useful in what would otherwise be a conventional list of phone numbers. If an e-mail address appears instead of phone number, this invention sets up an e-mail to that address rather than dialing a number. Brief Description of the Drawings [1007] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wireless telephone (100) incorporating the present invention. [1008] FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating the method of the present invention. [1009] FIG. 3 shows the connectivity of the telephone (100) to a variety of networks. Detailed Description [1010] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wireless telephone (100) incorporating the present invention. It includes the conventional microphone (102), earphone (104), antenna (106), and keypad (108). It also shows a touch-screen (110) displaying text, a block of which (112) has been highlighted. The user has highlighted this block, as is conventional, by dragging a stylus (114) over it. The stylus (114) is shown in FIG. 1 in its storage position on the side of telephone (110). [1011] The highlighted text shown in FIG. 1 includes both a telephone number, 651- 5680, and an e-mail address, tstreete@qualcomm.com. The user the touches the stylus (114) to the find-and-dial soft key (116) on the touch screen. As noted above, "find- and-dial" includes "fϊnd-and-e-mail" and the like. The soft key may conveniently be structured to change its appearance depending on the type of the first designator, but this is not required. [1012] The telephone (100) responds by following software commands to scan the specified bock of text, find the first designator (in this case, the telephone number 651- 5680), and access the corresponding node on the network (in this case, dialing the number). If the e-mail address had preceded the telephone number, then the telephone (100) would have displayed an outgoing e-mail message on the touch-screen (110), with the e-mail address in the "To:" field. If a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) had been the first designator, the telephone (100) would have browsed the Internet for the node designated by that URL. [1013] A wireless telephone is the preferred embodiment of the present invention, but other embodiments are also available. A conventional personal computer, for example, could specify the block of text by using a mouse and cursor rather than a touch-screen and stylus. It could then set up an e-mail or browse the URL using the present invention, even if it had no microphone or speaker, and thus no capability of audio telephone communication. Additional embodiments will occur to the ordinarily skilled artisan. [1014] FIG. 2 is a flow chart (200) illustrating the method of the present invention. The user specified the desired text (202), and initiates a find-and-dial command (204). The telephone scans the specified text (206) and finds the first designator (208) in the specified block of text. It determines the designator's type (phone number, URL, etc.) (210), and then accesses the node (212) associated with that designator, according to the designator's type. [1015] FIG. 3 shows the connectivity of the telephone (100) to a variety of networks. If the designator is a phone number (302), the phone dials the number. If it is an e-mail address (304), the phone sets up an e-mail message. If it is a URL (306), the phone browses the Internet for the corresponding web site. Other networks will occur to the ordinarily skilled artisan. Industrial Application [1016] This invention is capable of exploitation in industry, and can be made and used, whenever is it desired to automatically access a node on a network. The individual components of the apparatus and method shown herein, taken separate and apart from one another, may be entirely conventional, it being their combination that is claimed as the invention. [1017] While various modes of apparatus and method have been described, the true spirit and scope of the invention are not limited thereto, but are limited only by the following claims and their equivalents, and such are claimed as the invention. WE CLAIM:

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A method for a user to automatically access a node on a network, wherein: (a) a designator for the node appears in a block of text; and (b) the method is characterized in that: (1) the designator is the first designator in the block of text; and (2) the method includes the steps of: (A) the user specifying the block of text; (B) the user initiating a find-and-dial function; (C) scanning the block of text for a designator of a node; (D) finding a first designator; (E) determining the type of the first designator; and (F) accessing the first designator's node in accordance with the type of the designator. 2. The method of claim 1, characterized in that the step of the user to specifying the block of text includes touching a stylus over the text on a touch screen. 3. The method of claim 1 , characterized in that the step of the user initiating a find- and-dial function includes touching a soft key on a touch screen. 4. The method of claim 1, characterized in that the node is a telephone, the designator type is a telephone number, and the step of accessing includes dialing the telephone number. 5. The method of claim 1, characterized in that the node is a web page, the designator type is a uniform resource locator (URL), and the step of accessing includes browsing the URL. 6. The method of claim 1, characterized in that the node is an e-mail location, the designator type is an e-mail address, and the step of accessing includes setting up an e-mail letter with the e-mail address in a "To:" field. 7. Apparatus for a user to automatically access a node on a network, wherein: (a) a designator for the node appears in a block of text; and (b) the apparatus is characterized in that: (1) the designator is the first designator in the block of text; and (2) the apparatus includes: (A) means for the user to specify the block of text; (B) means for the user to initiate a find-and-dial function; (C) means for scanning the block of text for a designator of a node; (D) means for finding a first designator; (E) means for determining the type of the first designator; and (F) means for accessing the first designator's node in accordance with the type of the designator. 8. The apparatus of claim 7, characterized in that the means for the user to specify the block of text includes a touch screen and software for highlighting text on the touch screen touched by a stylus. 9. The apparatus of claim 7, characterized in that the means for the user to initiate a find-and-dial function is a soft key on a touch screen. 10. The apparatus of claim 7, characterized in that the node is a telephone, the designator type is a telephone number, and the accessing is a dialing of the telephone number. 11. The apparatus of claim 7, characterized in that the node is a web page, the designator type is a uniform resource locator (URL), and the accessing is a browsing of the URL. 2. The apparatus of claim 7, characterized in that the node is an e-mail location, the designator type is an e-mail address, and the accessing is a setting up of an e-mail letter with the e-mail address in a "To:" field.

Inventors: KENAGY JASON B, PARK CHRISTINE, SPRIGG STEPHEN A, KENAGY, JASON, B., PARK, CHRISTINE, SPRIGG, STEPHEN, A.
Applicants: QUALCOMM INC, QUALCOMM INCORPORATED
Application year: 2001
Main classification: G06F17
IPC codes: G06F17, H04M1