Abstract:
An automatic call control method includes the steps of: receiving a mobile terminated call; checking whether the mobile terminated call matches a call rule; and if the mobile terminated call matches the call rule, rejecting the mobile terminated call, and then performing a callback according to a predetermined call approach corresponding to the call rule.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The disclosure generally relates to an automatic call control method, and more particularly, to an automatic call control method for selection of call approaches. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    Nowadays, preferential call services, such as unlimited call services, are available from many telecommunication suppliers. However, these preferential call services are often restricted to a specific condition, and it is not convenient for a user to always check whether the specific condition is satisfied before the user answers incoming calls. For example, when receiving a phone call from a caller, the user may first determine whether the phone call is directed to the right SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card with a preferential call service; otherwise, the caller may accrue expensive phone bills. Accordingly, there is a need to design a new call control method to solve the above problem. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    In one exemplary embodiment, the disclosure is directed to an automatic call control method for use in an electronic device, including the steps of: receiving a mobile terminated call; checking whether the mobile terminated call matches a call rule; and if the mobile terminated call matches the call rule, rejecting the mobile terminated call, and then performing a callback according to a predetermined call approach corresponding to the call rule. 
         [0006]    In another exemplary embodiment, the disclosure is directed to an electronic device, including: a storage device, storing at least one call rule and at least one corresponding predetermined call approach; a transceiver, receiving a mobile terminated call; and a processor, checking whether the mobile terminated call matches the call rule, wherein if the mobile terminated call matches the call rule, the processor further call rejects the mobile terminated call and then performs a callback according to the predetermined call approach. 
         [0007]    In one exemplary embodiment, the disclosure is directed to a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a computer program product operable to cause an electronic device to perform operations including: receiving a mobile terminated call; checking whether the mobile terminated call matches a call rule; and if the mobile terminated call matches the call rule, rejecting the mobile terminated call, and then performing a callback according to a predetermined call approach corresponding to the call rule. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    The invention can be more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  is a diagram for illustrating an electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention; 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart for illustrating an automatic call control method related to an electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention; 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart for illustrating some optional steps of an automatic call control method related to an electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart for illustrating some optional steps of an automatic call control method related to an electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention; and 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart for illustrating some optional steps of an automatic call control method related to an electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0014]    In order to illustrate the purposes, features and advantages of the invention, the embodiments and figures of the invention will be described in detail as follows. 
         [0015]      FIG. 1  is a diagram for illustrating an electronic device  100  according to an embodiment of the invention. The electronic device  100  may be a smartphone, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, or any electronic device with a wireless communication function. A user may use the electronic device  100  to communicate with another user (e.g., a caller). In the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , the electronic device  100  includes a storage device  110 , a transceiver  120 , a processor  130 , and one or more SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards  150 . The operations of the above components will be described in the following embodiments. It is understood that the storage device  110 , the transceiver  120 , and the processor  130  of the electronic device  100  may be implemented with hardware, such as physical integrated circuits, or with software, such as computer program products stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium. In some embodiments, the electronic device  100  further includes other components, such as a touch control panel, a processor, a speaker, a battery, and a housing. 
         [0016]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart for illustrating an automatic call control method related to the electronic device  100  according to an embodiment of the invention. Please refer to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  together. The storage device  110  is configured to store at least one call rule and at least one corresponding predetermined call approach. In step S 202 , the transceiver  120  receives a mobile terminated call (MT call) from a caller. The mobile terminated call may be a CS (Circuit Switched) call using a 2G/3G communication system, a VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) call using a 4G communication system, or a networked call using a communication software product, but it is not limited thereto. The communication software product may be, for example, Line, What&#39;s app, Facetime, or Skype. In step S 204 , the processor  130  checks whether the mobile terminated call matches the call rule stored in the storage device  110 . If the mobile terminated call does not match the call rule, the procedure proceeds to step S 250 , and the electronic device  100  operates normally (e.g., the user may answer the mobile terminated call normally). If the mobile terminated call matches the call rule, in step S 206 , the processor  130  notifies the user of the predetermined call approach corresponding to the call rule. For example, a first alert window may pop up on a touch control panel of the electronic device  100  to notify the user of the predetermined call approach. In step S 208 , the processor  130  checks whether the user accepts the predetermined call approach. For example, the user may accept or reject the predetermined call approach by touching an “OK” button or a “NO” button on the first alert window, and the processor  130  may obtain the user&#39;s response by analyzing the aforementioned user input signal. If the user does not accept the predetermined call approach, the procedure proceeds to step S 250 , and the electronic device  100  operates normally (e.g., the user may answer the mobile terminated call normally). If the user accepts the predetermined call approach, in step S 210 , the processor  130  rejects the mobile terminated call. Then, in step S 214 , the processor  130  further performs a callback to the caller according to the predetermined call approach. 
         [0017]    In some embodiments, the storage device  110 , the transceiver  120 , and the processor  130  are respectively implemented with multiple circuits. In some embodiments, the storage device  110 , the transceiver  120 , and the processor  130  are integrated into a single circuit. In some embodiments, the storage device  110 , the transceiver  120 , and the processor  130  are implemented with program codes stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and are executed by a processor. 
         [0018]    In some embodiments, the storage device  110  stores one or more call rules and one or more corresponding predetermined call approaches, and they are described in Table I. 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE I 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Call Rules and Predetermined Call Approaches 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                   
                 ID of SIM 
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Telephone 
                 Card of 
                 Status of 
               
               
                   
                 Number of 
                 Electronic 
                 Electronic 
                 Predetermined 
               
               
                   
                 Caller 
                 device 
                 device 
                 Call Approach 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 Call 
                 0987-423- 
                 SIM Card 1 
                 At Office 
                 CS Call using 
               
               
                 Rule (1) 
                 XXX 
                   
                   
                 SIM Card 1 
               
               
                 Call 
                 0918-911- 
                 SIM Card 2 
                 Not Roaming 
                 CS Call using 
               
               
                 Rule (2) 
                 XXX 
                   
                   
                 SIM Card 2 
               
               
                 Call 
                 0987-913- 
                 Don&#39;t Care 
                 Don&#39;t Care 
                 VoIP 
               
               
                 Rule (3) 
                 XXX 
               
               
                 Call 
                 0911-XXX- 
                 SIM Card 2 
                 Don&#39;t Care 
                 Networked Call 
               
               
                 Rule (4) 
                 XXX 
                   
                   
                 using 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Communication 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Software Product 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0019]    In the embodiment of Table I, each of the call rules (1) to (4) includes three conditions, such as a telephone number of the caller, identification (ID) of the SIM card of the electronic device  100 , and a status of the electronic device  100 . More particularly, the identification of the SIM card may be ICCID (Integrated Circuit Card Identifier). The processor  130  may compare information of the mobile terminated call with all of these conditions, and may determine whether the mobile terminated call matches any one of the call rules (1) to (4) accordingly. For example, the processor  130  may determine that the call rule (1) is matched if the telephone number of the caller is “0987-423-XXX”, the mobile terminated call is directed to a first SIM card of the electronic device  100 , and the electronic device  100  is positioned at an office. Moreover, for example, the processor  130  may determine that the call rule (2) is matched if the telephone number of the caller is “0918-911-XXX”, the mobile terminated call is directed to a second SIM card of the electronic device  100 , and the electronic device  100  is not roaming abroad. It is understood that in Table I, “Don&#39;t Care” means that the condition is always satisfied, and “XXX” means specific numbers or any numbers. For example, the processor  130  may determine that the call rule (3) is matched if the telephone number of the caller is “0987-913-XXX”, regardless of the identification of the SIM card and the status of the electronic device  100 . According to the matched call rule, the processor  130  may further determine the corresponding predetermined call approach and notify the user (as mentioned above in steps S 204  and S 206 ). The corresponding predetermined call approach may indicate a CS call, a VoIP call, or a networked call using a communication software product as the callback, but it is not limited thereto. The communication software product may be, for example, Line, What&#39;s app, Facetime, or Skype. The voice data may be transmitted between the user and the caller through a Wi-Fi network or a mobile communication network. For example, if the call rule (4) is matched, the processor  130  may select the corresponding predetermined call approach which indicates a networked call as the callback because the user and the caller may both have Wi-Fi networks. On the other hand, for the electronic device  100  with multiple SIM cards, the corresponding predetermined call approach may further indicate a specific one of the SIM cards. For example, if the call rule (2) is matched, the processor  130  may select the corresponding predetermined call approach which indicates a CS call using the second SIM card as the callback because the second SIM card may have a preferential call service of a free CS call from the user to the caller. Although there are only four call rules and four predetermined call approaches displayed in Table I, it is understood that the above settings are just exemplary, and the storage device  110  may store more, less, or different call rules and corresponding predetermined call approaches in other embodiments. The user may also adjust the above setting according to different requirements. 
         [0020]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart for illustrating some optional steps of the automatic call control method related to the electronic device  100  according to an embodiment of the invention. Please refer to  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 2 , and  FIG. 3  together. In the embodiment of  FIG. 3 , the automatic call control method further includes step S 212  arranged after step S 210  and before step S 214 . In step S 212 , when the mobile terminated call is rejected, the processor  130  notifies the caller that a callback is going to be initiated. The aforementioned notification may be performed by sending a message including specific content, such as “I&#39;ll call back soon”. Therefore, the caller will know why the user has rejected the mobile terminated call and will not call again. In other embodiments, the processor  130  can notify the caller in different ways; for example, some specific emoticons or pictures may be sent to the caller, but it is not limited thereto. 
         [0021]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart for illustrating some optional steps of the automatic call control method related to the electronic device  100  according to an embodiment of the invention. Please refer to  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 2 , and  FIG. 4  together. In the embodiment of  FIG. 4 , the automatic call control method further includes steps S 216  to S 220  following step S 214 . After the callback is performed, in step S 216 , the processor  130  checks whether the callback is successful. If the callback is not successful, through steps S 214  to S 218 , the processor  130  continuously retries the callback (the procedure may go back to step S 214  and be executed several times) until the callback is successful (step S 216 , Yes) or performed more than a predetermined number of times (step S 218 , Yes). For example, the predetermined number of times may be 3, 4, or 5. If the callback is successful or performed more than the predetermined number of times (step S 216 , Yes, or step S 218 , Yes), the procedure proceeds to step S 220 , and the processor  130  stops the callback. In such a design, the callback procedure does not become an infinite loop, and therefore it does not affect other normal operations of the electronic device  100 . 
         [0022]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart for illustrating some optional steps of the automatic call control method related to the electronic device  100  according to an embodiment of the invention. Please refer to  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 2 , and  FIG. 5  together. In the embodiment of  FIG. 5 , the automatic call control method further includes steps S 222  to S 230 . In step S 222 , the transceiver  120  receives a mobile terminated call from a caller, and then the mobile terminated call ends (e.g., the user may answer or reject the mobile terminated call, and then it ends). In step S 224 , the processor  130  checks whether the mobile terminated call matches any call rule stored in the storage device  110 . If the mobile terminated call does not match any call rule (i.e., information of the mobile terminated call has not yet been stored in the storage device  110 ), in step S 226 , the processor  130  notifies the user to add information of the mobile terminated call into the storage device  110  as a new call rule. For example, a second alert window may pop up on the touch control panel of the electronic device  100  to notify the user. In step S 228 , the processor  130  checks whether the user accepts the suggestion of adding the information of the mobile terminated call. For example, the user may accept or reject the suggestion by touching an “OK” button or a “NO” button on the second alert window, and the processor  130  may obtain the user&#39;s response by analyzing the aforementioned user input signal. In addition, the second alert window may further include a “Don&#39;t remind me again” button for the user to permanently stop the reminding procedure. If the user accepts the suggestion, in step S 230 , the information of the mobile terminated call is added into a database of the storage device  110 , and therefore the database of the storage device  110  is updated. The storage device  110  may further display a setting window on the touch control panel of the electronic device  100  for the user to input a new condition of the new call rule and a new predetermined call approach corresponding to the new call rule. In addition, the user can edit the database of the storage device  110  in different ways; for example, the user may use a phonebook application to add some contact information into the storage device  110  as another new call rule. In such a design, the user can easily update and edit the database of the storage device  110 , such that the storage device  110  can provide the latest call rules and predetermined call approaches. It is understood that if the mobile terminated call match a call rule or the user does not accept the suggestion of adding the information of the mobile terminated call, the procedure proceeds to step S 250 , and the electronic device  100  operates normally. 
         [0023]    The invention provides a novel automatic call control method for selection of call approaches. By using the automatic call control method, a electronic device can automatically determine the optimized call approach while a mobile terminated call is coming With such a design, inappropriate incoming calls can be rejected, and the best approach of callback can be automatically selected and performed. The invention at least has the advantages of saving call charges and improving user experience, and it is suitably applied to a variety of electronic devices with one or more SIM cards. 
         [0024]    The above embodiments are just exemplary, rather than limitations of the invention. It is understood that the automatic call control method and the electronic device of the invention are not limited to the configurations of  FIGS. 1-5  and Table I. The invention may merely include any one or more features of any one or more embodiments of  FIGS. 1-5  and Table I. In other words, not all of the features shown in the figures and tables should be implemented in the automatic call control method and the electronic device of the invention. 
         [0025]    The method of the invention, or certain aspects or portions thereof, may take the form of a program code (i.e., executable instructions) embodied in tangible media, such as floppy diskettes, CD-ROMS, hard drives, or any other machine-readable storage medium, wherein, when the program code is loaded into and executed by a machine; such as a computer, the machine thereby becomes an apparatus for practicing the methods. The methods may also be embodied in the form of a program code transmitted over some transmission medium, such as electrical wiring or cabling, through fiber optics, or via any other form of transmission, wherein, when the program code is received and loaded into and executed by a machine; such as a computer, the machine becomes an apparatus for practicing the disclosed methods. When implemented on a general-purpose processor, the program code combines with the processor to provide a unique apparatus that operates analogously to application specific logic circuits. 
         [0026]    Use of ordinal terms such as “first”, “second”, “third”, etc., in the claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another or the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed, but are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain name from another element having a same name (but for use of the ordinal term) to distinguish the claim elements. 
         [0027]    While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of the preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. To the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements (as would be apparent to those skilled in the art). Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.