Abstract:
A privacy stamp for preventing the automatic display of private data items stored in a memory of a mobile telecommunications apparatus. The telecommunications apparatus is provided with user operable means to selectively associate a privacy stamp with the stored data items such that a processor prevents the data items associated with the privacy stamp from being automatically displayed on a user interface.

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a privacy stamp and, in particular, a privacy stamp for a mobile telephone. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A well-known feature of mobile telephones is so called caller-identification, or caller-ID, whereby the caller&#39;s telephone number is displayed on the user interface (UI) of a telephone receiving a call. In order to do this, the receiving telephone decodes a signal, which is associated with the call, containing the caller&#39;s number. If the caller&#39;s details are stored in the memory of the receiving phone, the UI may also display the caller&#39;s name. Caller-ID enables the user of a telephone receiving a call to check as to who is calling them, before they decide to answer. 
     The UI of a mobile telephone also commonly displays prompts to events stored in the telephone&#39;s memory, such as events entered in the telephone&#39;s calendar. 
     The disadvantage of a telephone&#39;s UI displaying such information is that the information can be read, not only by the telephone&#39;s owner, but also by any other person in the telephone&#39;s near vicinity. Hence the telephone&#39;s owner is not provided with the privacy he or she may desire. In attempting to protect their privacy, the owner may be constrained into not using some of the features offered by their telephone, such as alerts to private events recorded in the calendar. Alternatively, the user may decide to leave the telephone hidden from view, thus potentially missing calls and other types of alert altogether. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According the present invention, there is provided mobile telecommunications apparatus comprising a user interface, a processor, a memory operable to store user defined data items, the processor being operable to feed the stored data items to the user interface automatically for display in response to a triggering event, user operable means to associate a privacy stamp selectively with the stored data items, and the processor being responsive to the privacy stamp to prevent data items associated with the privacy stamp from being displayed by the user interface. 
     The data items may comprise the identity of contacts in association with a caller ID, and the triggering event may comprise an incoming call with a call ID corresponding to a call ID stored in the memory, such that the identity of the contact for the incoming call is displayed automatically except when said privacy stamp is associated therewith. 
     The data items may alternatively comprise diary entries associated with particular times, and the triggering event may comprise a time corresponding to the time associated with a diary entry stored in the memory, such that the diary entry is displayed automatically except when said privacy stamp is associated therewith. 
     The user interface may be operable to provide an output signifying the occurrence of the triggering event, without displaying the associated data item, in the event that a privacy stamp is associated with the data item. 
     Further, according to the present invention, display of a data item associated with a privacy stamp may be selected by user operable means in response to the output signifying the occurrence of the triggering event. 
     The user interface may comprise first and second displays, wherein the first display is operable to display the data item selectively depending on whether a privacy stamp is associated therewith upon the occurrence of the triggering event, and the second display is operable to display the data item irrespective of whether a privacy stamp is associated therewith. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is an illustration of a mobile flip-telephone, having a base and a lid connected together by a hinge joint, where the hinge joint is in a closed position. 
         FIG. 2  is an illustration of a mobile flip-telephone having a base and a lid connected together by a hinge joint, where the hinge joint is in an open position. 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram of a mobile telephone including a main UI  5  and a cover UI  6 . 
         FIG. 4  is a diagram showing the structure of the mobile telephone&#39;s operating software  19 . 
         FIG. 5  is a flow diagram showing the steps associated with the operation of a privacy stamp in relation to an incoming telephone call. 
         FIG. 6  is an illustration of a mobile telephone receiving a call and displaying the caller-ID on a cover UI. 
         FIG. 7  is an illustration of a mobile telephone receiving a call from a private contact, whereby caller-ID is prevented from being displayed. 
         FIG. 8  is a flow diagram showing the steps associated with the operation of a privacy stamp in relation to the activation of a diary entry in the telephone&#39;s calendar. 
         FIG. 9  is an illustration of a main UI displaying a personal phone book. 
         FIG. 10  is an illustration of a main UI displaying a personal option menu within a personal phone book. 
         FIG. 11  is an illustration of a main UI displaying a personal phone book, in which one contact is marked with a privacy stamp P. 
         FIG. 12  is an illustration of a monoblock mobile telephone. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a mobile telecommunications apparatus, according to the present invention, comprises a mobile telephone handset  1 . The handset  1  comprises first and second body parts, comprising a base  2  and a lid  3 . The base  2  and the lid  3  are connected together and are movable from a first, closed position to a second, open position by means of a hinge joint  4 . The base  2  and the lid  3  are approximately equal in size and are substantially flat, having a depth much less than their length and width. The hinge joint  4  is provided such that the base  2  and the lid  3  are able to hinge apart, approximately doubling the telephone&#39;s length. There is a stop provided such that the hinge is not able to open past a predetermined point (not shown). 
     When the telephone handset  1  is not in use, the hinge joint  4  is kept closed. In this position, the lid  3  lies on top of the base  2 , substantially covering it. With the hinge joint  4  closed, the telephone handset  1  is more compact and is easier to carry in a pocket or bag. 
     The telephone handset  1  is configured to operate in a cellular radio network, such as a GSM network, although it could be configured for use with other networks such as a 3G network or I-mode. 
     The telephone handset  1 , referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , is provided with two user interfaces (UIs), for example in the form of liquid crystal display (LCD) panels. The UIs comprise a main UI  5  and a cover UI  6 . The two UIs are located on opposite surfaces of the lid  3  of the telephone handset  1 , such that they lie back to back. The telephone handset  1  is additionally provided with a loudspeaker  7 , which is located in the lid  3  and is on the same surface as the main UI  5 . The base  2  of the telephone handset  1  houses the remainder of the telephone&#39;s principal components, including a keypad  8 , an antenna  9  and a microphone  10 . 
     The keypad  8  is located on the surface of the base  2  such that, when the hinge joint  4  is in the closed position, the keypad  8  directly faces the main UI  5 . The microphone  10  is located on the same surface as the keypad  8 . The antenna  9  is located inside the base  2  of the telephone handset  1  such that it does not form part of the handset&#39;s exterior. 
     Again referring to  FIG. 1 , when the hinge joint  4  of the telephone handset  1  is in the closed position, the main UI  5 , located in the handset&#39;s lid  3 , lies face down on the handset&#39;s base  2 , such that it faces the keypad  8 . Thus, the main UI  5  and keypad  8  are not visible to the user when the hinge  4  is closed. The cover UI  6  is located on the opposite side of the lid  3  to the main UI  5  and faces outwardly. It is fully visible in both the open and closed positions of the hinge  4 . 
     The purpose of the cover UI  6  is to provide a supplementary UI which is visible to the user when the hinge joint  4  of the telephone handset  1  is closed. The cover UI  6  idly displays information such as the time, the date, the network signal strength and the battery level. Additionally, upon the telephone receiving a call, the cover UI  6  displays caller-ID. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , the mobile telephone handset  1  comprises the main user interface  5 , the cover user interface  6 , the loudspeaker  7 , the keypad  8 , the antenna  9 , the microphone  10 , a SIM card  11 , a SIM card reader  12 , amplifiers  13  and  14 , an rf subsystem  15 , a codec  16 , a micro-controller  17  and a memory  18 . 
     The rf subsystem  15  contains the circuits of the telephone&#39;s transmitter and receiver. The rf subsystem  15  is coupled to the antenna  9  for the reception and transmission of radio waves. 
     The antenna  9  is connected through the rf subsystem  15  to the codec  16 , which is configured to process signals under the control of the micro-controller  17 . 
     The micro-controller  17  operates according to a program stored in the memory  18  and controls the operation of the mobile telephone handset  1 . It is coupled to the rf subsystem  15  for supplying tuning instructions to a frequency synthesizer. 
     The cover UI  6  and main UI  5  are connected to the micro-controller  17  for receiving control data and the keypad  8  is connected to the micro-controller  17  for supplying user input data. In  FIG. 3 , the memory  18  is shown separately from the micro-controller  17 . However, the memory  18  and the controller  17  may also be included together in an integrated unit. 
     The amplifier  14  amplifies demodulated audio from the codec  16  and applies it to the loudspeaker  7 . Acoustic signals, detected by the microphone  10 , are pre-amplified by the amplifier  13  and sent to the codec  16  for coding. 
     Information concerning the identity of the user is held on the smart card  11  in the form of a GSM SIM card which contains the usual GSM international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) and an encryption key K i  that is used for encoding the radio transmission in a manner that is well known. The SIM card is removably received in the SIM card reader  12 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , the memory  18  contains software  19 , through which the user operates the telephone handset  1 . The software  19  comprises a main process  20  and a plurality of auxiliary processes. The main process  20  controls all of the operations associated with the transmitting, receiving and processing of the rf communication through the network, and additionally acts as a hub for the auxiliary processes. The main process  20  also receives inputs from a keypad process  21 , which is responsive to the actuation of the keypad  8 , and instructs display processes  22  and  23 . 
     The auxiliary processes provide additional features of the telephone handset  1 , and include a personal phone book process  24 , a calendar process  25 , a caller-ID process  26  and a privacy stamp process  27 . 
     A personal phone book  28 , provided by auxiliary process  24 , allows the user to define data items, relating to individual contacts, and store them in the telephone&#39;s memory  18 . Each contact entry will commonly include information such as the contact&#39;s name, telephone numbers, fax number, postal address and email address. 
     A calendar  29 , provided by auxiliary process  25 , works in conjunction with the telephone&#39;s clock  30  and allows the user to define data items, such as diary events, and to record them in the telephone&#39;s memory  18 . The calendar  25  is provided with an automatic reminder system, which prompts the user at a set time close to, or on the day of, the diary event. 
     The caller-ID process  26  decodes a signal, associated with an incoming call, which contains the caller&#39;s telephone number. The caller&#39;s telephone number can then be displayed on the cover UI  6 . 
     The privacy stamp process  27  enables the user to mark certain memory content as “private” by attaching a privacy stamp  31 . Memory content marked “private” is prevented from being displayed on the telephone&#39;s cover UI  6 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , according to an embodiment of the present invention, the privacy stamp  31  is provided such that particular contacts in the telephone&#39;s personal phone book  28  can be marked “private”. According to this embodiment, when a triggering event occurs, such as the mobile telephone handset  1  receiving a telephone call at step S 5 . 1 , the controller  17  decodes the caller-ID signal and communicates with the memory  18  to ascertain as to whether the caller&#39;s number is stored under a contact name in the personal phone book  28 , as shown in step S 5 . 2 . Referring to step S 5 . 3   a , if the caller&#39;s number is not stored in the personal phone book  28 , then the controller  17  instructs the cover UI  6  to display the caller-ID, as shown by  FIG. 6 . 
     If the caller&#39;s number is stored under a contact name in the personal phone book  28 , the controller  17  further checks, in step S 5 . 3   b  of  FIG. 5 , as to whether the contact in question is marked “private”. Referring to step S 5 . 4   a , if the contact is not marked “private”, then the controller  17  instructs the cover UI  6  to display the contact&#39;s name. The display will thus be as shown in  FIG. 6 , but with the addition of the contact&#39;s name being displayed, the name having been retrieved from the contact information stored in the personal phone book  28  of the memory  18 . 
     Referring to step S 5 . 4   b  of  FIG. 5 , if the contact is marked “private”, then the controller  17  instructs the cover UI  6  to display an alert to the user that the incoming call is “private”, as shown by  FIG. 7 . In order to view the caller-ID, the telephone&#39;s user opens the hinge joint  4  of the telephone  1  and views the main UI  5 , where the caller-ID is always displayed. In doing this, the user can be sure that it is only they who see the caller&#39;s details. The user is then able to answer the call by pressing a key on the telephone&#39;s keypad  8 . 
     If the caller&#39;s number does not correspond to a contact marked “private”, the call is automatically answered upon the user opening the hinge joint  4  of the telephone handset  1 . 
     In addition, the privacy stamp  31  can be provided such that events stored in the telephone&#39;s calendar  29  can be marked “private”. Referring to  FIG. 8 , in steps S 8 . 1  and S 8 . 2 , when a triggering event occurs, such as a reminder alarm set for a particular calendar event being activated, the controller  17  communicates with the memory  18  to ascertain as to whether the calendar event is marked “private”. 
     If the event is marked “private”, the controller  17  instructs the cover UI  6  to display an alert to the user indicating a “private calendar event”, as shown in step S 8 . 3   b . In order to view the calendar event, the telephone&#39;s user opens the hinge joint  4  of the telephone handset  1  and views the main UI  5 , where the calendar event is displayed. 
     If the calendar event is not marked private, the controller  17  instructs the cover UI  6  to display the calendar event, as shown in step S 8 . 3   a.    
     Privacy stamps  31 , according to the present invention, are set via the operating software  19  contained within the memory  18  of the mobile telephone  1 . The software  19  takes the form of user menus, operated via the telephone&#39;s keypad  8 , which are displayed by the main UI  5  of the mobile telephone  1 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 9 , the personal phone book  28  is accessed via the user menus of the software  19 . The personal phone book  28  takes the form of a list of contact names. The personal details of each contact can be edited via a personal option menu  32 , which is accessed by moving a cursor  33  to select the desired contact. 
     Referring to  FIG. 10 , the personal option menu  32  provides an option to set a privacy stamp  31 . The privacy stamp  31  is set by moving the cursor  33  to select “privacy stamp”. 
     Referring to  FIG. 11 , a privacy stamp  31  is then attached to the specified contact name and is stored in the mobile telephone&#39;s personal phone book  28 . Privacy stamps  31  can also be attached to diary events stored in the mobile telephone&#39;s calendar  29  by a similar method. 
     Referring to  FIG. 12 , in an alternative embodiment of the invention, the mobile telecommunications apparatus comprises a monoblock mobile telephone  34  having a single user interface  35 . As with the previously described handset  1 , the monoblock handset  34  is additionally provided with a loudspeaker  7 , a keypad  8 , an antenna  9 , a microphone  10 , a SIM card  11 , a SIM card reader  12 , amplifiers  13 , 14 , an rf subsystem  15 , a codec  16 , a micro-controller  17  and a memory  18 . 
     It will be appreciated that the scope of the invention is not restricted to mobile telephones, but is also applicable to other types of telecommunications apparatus such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) and personal computers operating peer-to-peer internet applications such as Skype. Furthermore, the filtering action of the privacy stamp is applicable to all types of receiving station having user interfaces.