Patent Publication Number: US-2016224218-A1

Title: Access To Contacts

Description:
FIELD 
     The present application relates to a user interface, a device and a method for improved access to contacts, and in particular to a user interface, a device and a method for improved access to contacts and groups stored in a device. 
     BACKGROUND 
     More and more electronic devices such as mobile phones, MP3 players, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) are becoming smaller and smaller while having more and more information stored and/or accessible through them. Users are relying on these devices and becoming all the more dependant on them. The environments in which these devices are used are also becoming more and more hectic with higher demands on fast access and multitasking, and not only in a professional environment but also in private and social environments. 
     A device that allows fast and easy access to the contacts stored or accessible through the device or user interface would thus be useful in modern day society 
     SUMMARY 
     On this background, it would be advantageous to provide a user interface, a device and a method that overcomes or at least reduces the drawbacks indicated above by providing a device having an improved access to the contacts according to the claims. 
     It is an object of this application to provide easy access to contacts and functions related to the contacts or vice versa, that is to allow easy access to contacts from applications, in a manner that is easy and intuitive to use and learn and which employs a graphical visualization that purports the underlying functionality. 
     Further objects, features, advantages and properties of device, method and computer readable medium according to the present application will become apparent from the 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In the following detailed portion of the present description, the teachings of the present application will be explained in more detail with reference to the example embodiments shown in the drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is an overview of a telecommunications system in which a device according to the present application is used according to an embodiment, 
         FIG. 2  is a planar front view of a device according to an embodiment, 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating the general architecture of a device of  FIG. 2  in accordance with the present application, 
         FIG. 4  is a screen shot view of a device according to an embodiment, 
         FIG. 5  is a screen shot view of a device according to an embodiment, 
         FIG. 6  is a screen shot view of a device according to an embodiment, 
         FIGS. 7 a , 7 b  and 7 c    are screen shot views of a device according to an embodiment, 
         FIG. 8  is a screen shot view of a device according to an embodiment, and 
         FIG. 9  is a flow chart describing a method according to an embodiment of the application. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the following detailed description, the user interface, the device, the method and the software product according to the teachings for this application in the form of a cellular/mobile phone will be described by the embodiments. It should be noted that although only a mobile phone is described the teachings of this application can also be used in any electronic device such as in portable electronic devices such as laptops, PDAs, mobile communication terminals, electronic books and notepads and other electronic devices offering access to information. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an example of a cellular telecommunications system in which the teachings of the present application may be applied. In the telecommunication system of  FIG. 1 , various telecommunications services such as cellular voice calls, www or Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) browsing, cellular video calls, data calls, facsimile transmissions, music transmissions, still image transmissions, video transmissions, electronic message transmissions and electronic commerce may be performed between a mobile terminal  100  according to the teachings of the present application and other devices, such as another mobile terminal  106  or a stationary telephone  132 . It is to be noted that for different embodiments of the mobile terminal  100  and in different situations, different ones of the telecommunications services referred to above may or may not be available; the teachings of the present application are not limited to any particular set of services in this respect. 
     The mobile terminals  100 ,  106  are connected to a mobile telecommunications network  110  through Radio Frequency, RF links  102 ,  108  via base stations  104 ,  109 . The mobile telecommunications network  110  may be in compliance with any commercially available mobile telecommunications standard, such as Group Spéciale Mobile, GSM, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, UMTS, Digital Advanced Mobile Phone system, D-AMPS, The code division multiple access standards CDMA and CDMA2000, Freedom Of Mobile Access, FOMA, and Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access, TD-SCDMA. 
     The mobile telecommunications network  110  is operatively connected to a wide area network  120 , which may be Internet or a part thereof. An Internet server  122  has a data storage  124  and is connected to the wide area network  120 , as is an Internet client computer  126 . The server  122  may host a www/wap server capable of serving www/wap content to the mobile terminal  100 . 
     A public switched telephone network (PSTN)  130  is connected to the mobile telecommunications network  110  in a familiar manner. Various telephone terminals, including the stationary telephone  132 , are connected to the PSTN  130 . 
     The mobile terminal  100  is also capable of communicating locally via a local link  101  to one or more local devices  103 . The local link can be any type of link with a limited range, such as Bluetooth, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) link, a Wireless Universal Serial Bus (WUSB) link, an IEEE 802.11 wireless local area network link, a Radio Standard link for example an RS-232 serial link, etc. The local devices  103  can for example be various sensors that can communicate measurement values to the mobile terminal  100  over the local link  101 . 
     An embodiment  200  of the mobile terminal  100  is illustrated in more detail in  FIG. 2 . The mobile terminal  200  comprises a speaker or earphone  202 , a microphone  206 , a main or first display  203  and a set of keys  204  which may include a keypad  204   a  of common ITU-T type (alpha-numerical keypad representing characters “0”-“9”, “*” and “#”) and certain other keys such as soft keys  204   b,    204   c  and a joystick  205  or other type of navigational input device. 
     The internal component, software and protocol structure of the mobile terminal  200  will now be described with reference to  FIG. 3 . The mobile terminal has a controller  300  which is responsible for the overall operation of the mobile terminal and may be implemented by any commercially available CPU (“Central Processing Unit”), DSP (“Digital Signal Processor”) or any other electronic programmable logic device. The controller  300  has associated electronic memory  302  such as Random Access Memory (RAM) memory, Read Only memory (ROM) memory, Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM) memory, flash memory, or any combination thereof. The memory  302  is used for various purposes by the controller  300 , one of them being for storing data used by and program instructions for various software in the mobile terminal. The software includes a real-time operating system  320 , drivers for a man-machine interface (MMI)  334 , an application handler  332  as well as various applications. The applications can include a phonebook application  350 , a notepad application  360 , as well as various other applications  370 , such as applications for voice calling, video calling, sending and receiving Short Message Service (SMS) messages, Multimedia Message Service (MMS) messages or email, web browsing, an instant messaging application, message text editor application, a calendar application, a control panel application, a camera application, one or more video games, a notepad application, etc. It should be noted that two or more of the applications listed above may be executed as the same application 
     The MMI  334  also includes one or more hardware controllers, which together with the MMI drivers cooperate with the first display  336 / 203 , and the keypad  338 / 204  as well as various other Input/Output devices such as microphone, speaker, vibrator, ringtone generator, LED indicator, etc. As is commonly known, the user may operate the mobile terminal through the man-machine interface thus formed. 
     The software also includes various modules, protocol stacks, drivers, etc., which are commonly designated as  330  and which provide communication services (such as transport, network and connectivity) for an RF interface  306 , and optionally a Bluetooth interface  308  and/or an IrDA interface  310  for local connectivity. The RF interface  306  comprises an internal or external antenna as well as appropriate radio circuitry for establishing and maintaining a wireless link to a base station (e.g. the link  102  and base station  104  in  FIG. 1 ). As is well known to a man skilled in the art, the radio circuitry comprises a series of analogue and digital electronic components, together forming a radio receiver and transmitter. These components include, band pass filters, amplifiers, mixers, local oscillators, low pass filters, Analog to Digital and Digital to Analog (AD/DA) converters, etc. 
     The memory  302  is one example of a computer readable medium. Other examples of computer readable mediums are diskettes, CD-ROMs (Compact Disc ROMS), DVDs (Digital Video Discs), Universal Serial Bus (USB) memory sticks, and memory cards such as Secure Digital (SD) memory cards. A computer readable medium can also be at least a portion of a storage device such as a hard drive or other used in a server for storing software to be downloaded to a client. 
     The mobile terminal also has a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card  304  and an associated reader. As is commonly known, the SIM card  304  comprises a processor as well as local work and data memory. 
       FIG. 4  shows a screen shot view  403  of a device ( 200 ) which in this embodiment is a mobile device but can be any electronic device as discussed above. 
     A number of icons  410  representing each a contact stored in a memory ( 302 ) for use with for example a phonebook application ( 350 ) is displayed on the display ( 403 ) visible in this screen shot. In this embodiment the number of icons  410  shown is 6, but any number would be plausible and the number of contacts shown can be dependant on display size, number of contacts stored or the number of contacts repeatedly or most frequently used or accessed. In various embodiments anywhere from four through twelve contacts may be shown. 
     In this embodiment each contact icon  410  is visually displayed as a picture of the contact with the contacts name displayed under it. It should be noted that any combination of the contact information including pictures may be used as the representing icon. Other plausible icons representations are trademarks associated with the contact. 
     In one embodiment each icon  410  may represent a group of contacts. 
     A controller ( 300 ) is configured to receive user input through a navigation key ( 205 ) for alternatively selecting or highlighting an icon  410 . 
     It should be noted that even if the description below is given with references to a physical keypad the teachings of this application may just as well be implemented with touch sensitive input means such as a touch display and/or a touch pad. 
     Upon marking or highlighting an icon  410  the contact represented with the icon  410  is selectable for further actions or options such as initiating a call to the contact, starting a text editor for composing a text message to the contact, launching an instant messaging application for setting up a chat session with the contact or any other action associated with the contact. A contact is selected by marking it and then pressing a select key. In one embodiment the select key is the middle key of the navigation key ( 25 ) and in one embodiment it is a softkey ( 204   b, c ). 
     In one embodiment the contacts displayed are dynamic and change upon content and/or access to said contact. 
     Also displayed and visible in this screen shot view  403  is a control icon  412 . This control icon  412  may also be selected and upon selection an associated function is executed by the controller. 
     In one embodiment the control icon  412  may represent a contact group, i.e. a list of contacts. In one embodiment the contacts are belonging to this group are represented by the contact icons  410  surrounding the control icon  412 . In one embodiment only the most recently contacted contacts are represented. In one embodiment only a portion of the contacts belonging to the group are represented. 
     In one embodiment where the control icon  412  represents a group a group of a user&#39;s most important people (i.e. persons that are contacted often and/or need to be able to be contacted quickly) and they are gathered around the a diamond symbol representing the control icon  412 . This symbol representing the control icon could also be a football, a golf bat, an image of a cat, a face or any other symbol which represents a group for the user. Thus, any action that can be done on an individual contact may also be done on the whole group very easily by highlighting the control icon  412  and activate a function that will be applied to all contacts belonging to the group being represented by the control icon  412 . 
     In  FIG. 4  the control icon  412  is arranged in the middle of a circle made up of the contact icons  410 . This provides a visual indication of an intuitive linking or association of the control icon  412  to the contacts and a user is thereby intuitively made aware of the connection of the control icon and the contacts making it highly intuitive and easy to learn and to use the control icon  412 . 
     In one embodiment the associated function is to change the displayed contact icons  410  to another group of contact icons  410 . 
     In one embodiment the associated function is to update the icons  410  displayed to represent the most frequently accessed contacts or groups. 
     In one embodiment the associated function is to select the icons currently being marked or highlighted. 
     In one embodiment the associated function is to execute a function associated with a contact being represented by an icon  410 . Examples of such functions are to establish a call, start to compose a message to the contact or other functions available for the contact. 
     In one embodiment the controller ( 300 ) is configured to receive user input through a navigation key ( 205 ) for alternatively selecting or highlighting an icon  410  or the control icon  412 . 
     In one embodiment the selected or highlighted icon is brought into focus by rotating the ring of icons  410 . 
     For example: If the current focus is on Kathy, and a user clicks the joystick or navigation key “right”, the contacts around the control icon  412  rotate on the display  403  clockwise so that Mick comes to the place of focus. This way the user has the opportunity to either rotate the contact icon ring clockwise or anti-clockwise by clicking the joystick left or right, or to move the focus upwards to the control icon  412  (and also downwards to the bottom-row as shown in  FIG. 5 ). In  FIG. 4 , this enables the user to select either one member of the group or the group symbol represented by the control icon  412 . 
     An example action is a voice call: If the user focuses a member of the group and presses the a key associated with activating a call (such as the green key on Nokia™ mobile phones) on the phone, a voice call is initiated with that specific member. If the user focuses the group symbol and presses the Green key a voice conference is established between all the members of the group. Instead of calling, any other function may be initiated. Calling is just an example. 
     In one embodiment each contact may have a preferred action associated with it, which action is executed upon selection of the control icon  412  when the icon  410  representing a contact is marked. 
     The arrangement of the contact icons  410  and the control icon  412  is displayed in an idle mode of the user interface in one embodiment. 
     In another embodiment the arrangement  410 + 412  is displayed as a controller receives a specific input, such as through a specific key  204  or through the navigation key  205  being pressed in a certain direction, for example up, down, left or right. 
     In one embodiment the controller ( 300 ) is further arranged to receive an input implicating that the full list of contacts should be shown. In one embodiment such input is to press a select key. 
     In one embodiment where the arrangement  410 + 412  is displayed after receipt of a specific input, repeating that input may display the full list of contacts. 
       FIG. 5  shows another screen shot view  503 . In this screen shot view both the arrangement of contact icons  510  and the control icon  512  is shown along with a scrollable list representation of the full list contact. The list is in this embodiment made up of icons  514  representing each contact. And in this embodiment the icons  514  are pictures of the contacts. It should be noted that any information associated with the contact may be used as an icon  514 . 
     In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 5  the arrangement  510 + 512  is displayed in an upper portion of a display ( 203 ) and the full list of contacts is shown in a lower portion of the display ( 203 ). However it should be noted that the arrangement  510 + 512  and the list  514  can be arranged in other layouts as well depending on cultural influences and display size. 
     In one embodiment the control icon  512 ,  412  is in the form of a graphical object. In the examples shown the graphical object is in the form of a diamond. However, in alternative embodiments the control icon  512  may be an icon representing the associated function. For example as an icon  410 ,  510  representing a contact for which the associated function is to establish a voice call, the control icon  412 ,  512  may be represented as a picture of a phone or as an icon  410 ,  510  representing a contact for which the associated function is to compose and send a text message, the control icon  412 ,  512  may be represented as an envelope picture. 
     In one embodiment (not shown) the control icon ( 412 ) is represented by the image to be sent and icons ( 410 ) representing the recipients are arranged around the control icon ( 412 ). Actions can then be made to either a recipient solely or to the whole recipient list by either selecting a contact icon (for an individual contact) or the control icon (for the whole list). An example of a function to be applied to a single recipient is to edit the telephone number. An example of a function to be applied to the whole list is to send the message. 
     In one embodiment a controller is arranged to display the arrangement  410 + 412  ( 510 + 512 ) upon receipt of a specific input as also discussed above. In one embodiment the input may be a press on an up key or by a specific gesture for example an upwards swipe if touch input means are employed. In one embodiment the controller is arranged to display the arrangement irrespective of the current mode of operation when detecting or receiving the specific input. If for example a gallery application is currently being executed and the controller receives the specific input to display the arrangement  410 + 412  ( 510 + 512 ) the control icon  412  ( 512 ) would be associated with associating the currently selected gallery item with a contact also selected (or to be selected).  FIG. 6  shows a screen shot view  603  in which a gallery item  620  is displayed and a contact to which the gallery item will be communicated to has been selected and an icon  610  representing this contact is displayed. The gallery item is in one embodiment a control icon. Should several contacts be selected their associated icons are arranged in a circular pattern around the gallery or control item. 
     In one embodiment the arrangement  410 + 412  ( 510 + 512 ) is displayed as a contact is to be selected for an application currently being executed by the controller. For example as a text editor application is being executed and a recipient of the message being input is to be selected the arrangement  410 + 412  ( 510 + 512 ) is displayed. 
     As discussed for the embodiments above the controller may be arranged to display a full list of contacts  514  upon receipt of (further) specific input. 
     It should be noted that the full list of contacts need not be displayed in full, but only a portion of it is displayed at a time and the other portions are scrolled to upon user input. 
     In one embodiment contacts are added to be associated with the icon arrangement  410  by individually selecting them from the full list of contacts. In one embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 7 a  and 7 b    which show screen shot views  703  of an empty icon arrangement with only a control icon  712  in  FIG. 7 a    with a full list of contacts  714  displayed under the display portion  718  where the arrangement  710 + 712  will be displayed. In this display portion  718  an informative text  719  is displayed. As a user selects contacts from the full list of contacts  714  a controller is arranged to create icons  710  representing these contacts and add them to the arrangement  710 + 712  as is shown in  FIG. 7 b   . 
     In one embodiment the controller ( 300 ) is arranged to upon receipt of the specific input while a call or other communication is in session display the arrangement  410 + 412  and upon user selection of a contact to add tat contact to the communication session by opening a communication channel to that contact too. 
       FIG. 8  shows another screen shot view  803 . In this screen shot view  803  an array of application icons  816  are displayed on the display ( 203 ). One of these application icons is an icon  812  representing the control icon ( 412 ,  512 ) and upon selection of this icon  812  the arrangement  410 + 412  ( 510 + 512 ) is displayed. 
     In one embodiment several control icons may be available each represented by a different graphical symbol. In one embodiment these graphical images are of different gem stones, like rubies, topaz, diamonds etc. Each control icon is associated with a specific function or group of functions. In one embodiment each control icon is associated with a specific group of contacts. This enables a user to efficiently select a different contact database by simply selecting the corresponding control icon to be used. A controller is in one embodiment arranged to display a list of control icons upon receipt of a specific input as the control icon currently being shown is marked. 
     In one embodiment the control icons visual representation is representative of a feature associating the contacts being displayed in the arrangement with each other. For example for an arrangement showing contacts that missed calls have been received from the control icon may be a bent arrow. For an arrangement showing contacts that text messages have been received from the control icon may be an envelope. For an arrangement showing contacts that have been recently communicated with the control icon may be a double ended arrow. 
     In one embodiment (not shown) the controller is arranged to receive navigation commands and to navigate between the full contact list, the individual contacts, the groups of contacts and the control icon(s) accordingly. For example, assuming that the current view is that of  FIG. 5 or 7   b  and the control icon  712  is currently focused a down command would shift focus to the full list. An up command would result in a view of a list of other control icons. A sideways command would navigate among the contacts. An up command following such contact navigation would shift focus to the group that the contact belongs to (if any). In one embodiment the available groups are listed in a list being displayed instead of the arrangement or in alternative embodiments instead of the full list or adjacent the arrangement. 
     In one embodiment a plurality of control icons  712   a - c  are displayed for user selection in either a list or a ring. The control icon  712   a  currently in focus is then the control icon  712   a  currently active and any action taken such as adding a contact to a group will be done for the group represented by the control icon  712   a.    
     In one embodiment a list of contacts are shown on the bottom of the display or along any other side depending on design choice. Any contact selected form this list  714  is added to the group represented by the control icon  712   a.    
     In one embodiment a list of the contacts  715  that belong to a group being represented by a control icon  712  is shown under the control icon  712   a  instead of as a ring around the control icon  712   a  to save display space for the list or ring of other control icons  712   a  and  712   b,  see  FIG. 7   c.    
       FIG. 9  is a flowchart describing a method according to the teachings herein. In a first step  910  a specific input is received by a controller. In response there to the controller is arranged to display an arrangement of icons representing contacts and a control icon in a second step  920 . The controller is further arranged to receive navigational input in a third step  930  navigating among the displayed icons. If touch input means are used the navigational input is represented by the touch input. In a fourth step  940  a select input is received of said control icon and the controller is arranged to in response thereto execute a function associated with the control icon in a step  950 . 
     The various aspects of what is described above can be used alone or in various combinations. The teaching of this application may be implemented by a combination of hardware and software, but can also be implemented in hardware or software. The teaching of this application can also be embodied as computer readable code on a computer readable medium. It should be noted that the teaching of this application is not limited to the use in mobile communication terminals such as mobile phones, but can be equally well applied in Personal digital Assistants (PDAs), game consoles, MP3 players, personal organizers or any other device designed for providing information while maintaining low power consumption. 
     The teaching of the present application has numerous advantages. Different embodiments or implementations may yield one or more of the following advantages. It should be noted that this is not an exhaustive list and there may be other advantages which are not described herein. For example, one advantage of the teaching of this application is that a user interface allows a fast and easy access to contacts and functions associate with said contacts in a manner that is easy to learn and intuitive to use. 
     Although the teaching of the present application has been described in detail for purpose of illustration, it is understood that such detail is solely for that purpose, and variations can be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the teaching of this application. 
     For example, although the teaching of the present application has been described in terms of a mobile phone, it should be appreciated that the teachings of the present application may also be applied to other types of electronic devices, such as music players, palmtop computers and the like. It should also be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing the methods and apparatuses of the teachings of the present application. 
     Features described in the preceding description may be used in combinations other than the combinations explicitly described. 
     Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that the Applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon. 
     The term “comprising” as used in the claims does not exclude other elements or steps. The term “a” or “an” as used in the claims does not exclude a plurality. A unit or other means may fulfill the functions of several units or means recited in the claims.