Patent Abstract:
An apparatus and method for displaying a telephone directory. A main menu is used to display the names of a telephone directory, and each of the names is associated with a primary number. A sub menu is used to display the numbers associated with each of the names in the main menu. The primary number is denoted and automatically selected in the second menu.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates generally to displaying a name directory on a screen, and, more specifically, to displaying a name directory containing a plurality of directory names with each of them being associated with a plurality of numbers. 
     2. Related Art 
     A state of art telephone has the capability of storing a telephone directory containing a plurality of names, and displaying these names on the display screen of the telephone. Frequently, a name in a telephone directory may contain several numbers (including a home number, an office number, a fax number, a page number, and a cellular number, for example). Using control buttons on the control panel of a telephone, a user can select a number from a telephone directory to dial the selected number. 
     Conventionally, a typical available telephone displays all names and the associated numbers of a telephone directory together on a display screen. Such an approach makes it difficult for a user to locate a number of interest from the display screen, because the user may see several numbers under an identical name. Furthermore, when a telephone directory is displayed on a relatively small region, such as an LCD screen on a cellular telephone, it is even more difficult for a user to locate a particular number of interest. 
     There is, therefore, a need for a method and apparatus to display a plurality of names, which facilitates a user to select a specific number from the multiple numbers associated with the names. 
     There is another need for a method and apparatus to display a plurality of names on a relatively small display region, which facilitates a user to select a specific number from the multiple numbers associated with the names. 
     The present invention provides a method to meet these two needs. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a novel method and a corresponding apparatus to display a telephone directory. 
     To address the shortcomings of the available art, the present invention provides a novel method for displaying a telephone directory. The method comprises the steps of: on a first display screen, displaying a plurality of names, each of the names being associated with a primary number; from the first display screen, selecting one of the names; on a second display screen, displaying a primary number associated with the selected name and at least one secondary number; and on the second display screen, automatically selecting the primary number. 
     The present invention also provides an apparatus capable of performing the steps in the method described above. 
     The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of certain preferred embodiments of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1A is the front view of a cellular telephone, which can be used to implement the present invention; 
     FIG. 1B is the side view of the cellular telephone shown in FIG. 1A; 
     FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating some components of the cellular telephone shown in FIG. 1A; 
     FIG. 3 shows the steps illustrating a sequence of displays on a display region, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIGS. 4A-E show the steps illustrating a sequence of displays on a display region, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 5 shows a flowchart illustrating the steps of entering a name and the numbers that are associated with the name into the cellular telephone, in accordance with the present invention; and 
     FIG. 6 shows a flowchart illustrating the steps of displaying the numbers that are associated with a name in a name directory, in accordance with the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to FIG. 1A, there is shown the front view of a cellular telephone  100 , which can be used to implement the present invention. 
     As shown in FIG. 1A, the cellular telephone  100  includes a display screen  102 , an antenna  104 , and a control panel  106 . The control panel  106  includes a jog dial wheel  108  and a key panel  110  including twelve alpha/numeric keys (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, *, 0, and #). The jog dial wheel  108  can be moved in three directions (turn-up, turn-down, and press-in) as indicated by the three arrows. The menu items displayed on the display screen  102  can be scrolled up and down by turning the jog dial wheel  108  up and down, respectively. And a selected menu item displayed on the display screen  102  can be activated by pressing in the jog dial wheel  102 . 
     Referring to FIG. 1B, there is shown the side view of the cellular telephone  100  to illustrate the side view of the jog dial wheel  108 . 
     Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a block diagram  200 , illustrating some components of the cellular telephone  100  shown in FIG. 1A, in accordance with the present invention. 
     As shown in FIG. 2, the block diagram  200  includes a processor  204 , an I/O (input and output) interface circuit  205 , a graphic I/O interface circuit  206 , a memory  208 , and a bus  210 . 
     The processor  204 , the I/O interface circuit  205 , the graphic I/O interface circuit  206 , and the memory  208  are all coupled to the bus  210 . 
     The memory  208  includes: (1) a name output buffer  212  for storing directory names to be displayed, (2) a number output buffer  214  for storing the numbers to be displayed, (3) a name memory  216  for storing the directory names, (4) a number memory  218  for storing the numbers associated with the directory names, and (5) an application memory  220  for storing an application that includes a data entry routine, a display routine, and a dialing routine. 
     The processor  204  controls the operations of the I/O interface circuit  205 , the graphic the I/O interface circuit  206 , the memory  208 , and the display region  102 . More specifically, the processor  204  is able to: (1) get access to the data stored in the name output buffer  212 , the number output buffer  214 , the name memory  216 , and the number memory  218 , (2) execute the application stored in the application memory  220 , (3) interact with the control panel  106  via the I/O interface circuit  205 , and (4) display the data stored in the output buffers  212  and  214  on the display region  102  via the graphic I/O interface circuit  206 . All these operations are performed in a conventional manner, except as otherwise described herein. 
     Since to the cellular system  100 , the display screen  102  is an output mechanism, the name output buffer  212  and the number output buffer  214  are especially set to store the data to be displayed on the display screen  102 . 
     Using the jog dial wheel  108 , a user can invoke the data entry routine (stored in the application memory  20 ). And using the nine alpha/numeric keys on the key panel  110 , a user can input names to the name memory  216  and numbers to the number memory  218 . The names and numbers can then be loaded from the name memory  216  and the number memory  218  to the name output buffer  212  and the number output buffer  214 , respectively. A name may associate with several numbers. Among the several numbers, the user can define a primary number for the name. 
     Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a name directory stored in the name output buffer  212  and the number output buffer  214 , in accordance with the present invention. 
     As shown in FIG. 3, the name output buffer  212  stores nine names. The number output buffer  214  stores the numbers associated with each of the nine names stored in the name output buffer  212 . In particular, FIG. 3 shows that the number output buffer  214  stores five numbers that are associated with the seventh name (07 John Smith) stored in the name output buffer  212 . 
     Since the display screen  102  has a relatively small area, not all the data items stored in the name output buffer  212  or the number output buffer  214  can be displayed on the display screen  102  at a certain point of time. Hence, a start pointer and an end pointer are set to mark an active section in the name output buffer  212  (or in the number output buffer  214 ). Even though all the data items stored in the name output buffer  212  (or in the number output buffer  214 ) are linked with the display screen  102 , only the data items contained in the active section are being displayed on the display screen at a certain point of time. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, for the name output buffer  212 , a start pointer  312  points to the fifth name (05 Henry Marx), and an end pointer  314  points to the seventh name (07 John Smith). Hence, the active region of the name output buffer  212  contains three names (05 Henry Marx, 06 Jack Kelley, and 07 John Smith). When the start and end pointers  312  and  314  are moved down or up by turning up or down the jog dial wheel  108 , the active section of the name output buffer  212  is also being moved up or down, causing the names stored in the name output buffer  212  to scroll up or down on the displaying screen  102  accordingly. 
     Referring to FIGS. 4A-E, there are shown the screen displays on display screen  102 , in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 4A shows a screen display  402  on the display screen on  102 , corresponding to the active region marked by the start pointer  312  and the end pointer  314  shown in FIG.  3 . As shown in FIG. 4A, the screen display  402  includes three names (05 Henry Marx, 06 Jack Kelley, and 07 John Smith). An icon is displayed beside each of the names, denoting a primary number for a respective name. Specifically, the building icon beside “ 05  Henry Marx” denotes that the office number is the primary number for Henry Marx. The house icons beside “06 Jack Kelley” and “07 John Smith” denote that the home numbers are the primary numbers for Jack Kelley and John Smith. The rectangle in the middle of the display screen  102  indicates a selecting region  403 , meaning that the name displayed in the selecting region  403  is currently selected. In FIG. 4A, the screen display  402  indicates that “06 Jack Kelley” is selected. 
     FIG. 4B shows a screen display  404  time sequentially to the screen display  402  of FIG.  4 A. To select the name “07 John Smith”, a user turns up the jog dial wheel  108  while the screen display  402  is being displayed on display screen  102 . In response, the control panel  106  sends a request to the processor  204  via the I/O interface circuit  205 . In response to the request, the processor  204  executes the display routine (stored in the application memory  220 ) to move the start pointer  312  from “05 Henry Marx” to “06 Jack Kelley”, and the end pointer  314  from “ 07  John Smith” to “ 08  Mike Turner”. Consequently, the name entry “05 Henry Marx” is moved out and the name entry “08 Mike Turner” is moved into the active section of the name output buffer  212 . Via the graphic I/O interface circuit  206 , the processor  204  then displays the names currently contained in the active section of the name output buffer  212 , as shown in the display screen  404 . 
     FIG. 4C shows a screen display  406  time sequentially to the screen display  404  of FIG.  4 B. To retrieve the numbers associated with the name “07 John Smith”, the user presses in the jog dial wheel  108  while the screen display  404  is being displayed on the display screen  102 . In response, the control panel  106  sends a request to the processor  204  via the I/O interface circuit  205 . In response to the request, the processor  204  executes the display routine (stored in the application memory  220 ) to retrieve the numbers associated with the name entry “07 John Smith” from number output memory  214 . Since the home number of John Smith has been defined as a primary number, the processor  204  automatically displays the home telephone number (510-284-3292) in the selecting region  403  without requiring any interaction from the user. As shown in the screen display  406 , a dot  407  denotes that the home telephone number is the primary number. To dial the primary number, the user simply presses in the jog dial wheel  108  on the control panel  106 . In response, the processor  204  executes the dialing routine (stored in the application memory  220 ) to generate a dialing signal for the primary number. 
     FIG. 4D shows a screen display  408  time sequentially to the screen display  406  of FIG.  4 C. To select the fax number “415-356-7241”, a user turns up the jog dial wheel  108  while the screen display  406  is being displayed on display screen  102 . In response, the control panel  106  sends a request to the processor  204  via the I/O interface circuit  205 . In response to the request, the processor  204  executes the display routine (stored in the application memory  220 ) to move the fax number “415-356-7241” to the selecting region  403 . To dial the fax number, the user then presses in the jog dial wheel  108  on the control panel  106 . In response, the processor  204  executes the dialing routine (stored in the application memory  220 ) to generate a dialing signal for the fax number. 
     FIG. 4E shows a screen display  410  time sequentially to the screen display  406  of FIG.  4 C. To select the office number “415-356-7272”, a user turns down the jog dial wheel  108  while the screen display  406  is being displayed on the display screen  102 . In response, the control panel  106  sends a request to the processor  204  via the I/O interface circuit  205 . In response to the request, the processor  204  executes the display routine (stored in the application memory  220 ) to move the office number “415-356-7272” to the selecting region  403 . To dial the office number, the user then presses in the jog dial wheel  108  on the control panel  106 . In response, the processor  204  executes the dialing routine (stored in the application memory  220 ) to generate a dialing signal for the office number. 
     Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown a flowchart illustrating the steps of entering a name and the numbers that are associated with the name into the cellular telephone  100 , in accordance with the present invention. 
     As shown in FIG. 5, at step  502 , in response to a data entry menu selection from the display screen  102 , the processor  204  executes the data entry routine (stored in the application memory  220 ) to display a prompt on the display screen  102 , instructing a user to enter a name to the cellular telephone  100 . Upon receiving the name entered by the user using the alpha/numeric keys on the key panel  110 , the processor  204  stores the name to the name memory  216 . 
     At step  504 , the processor  204  executes the data entry routine (stored in the application memory  220 ) to display a prompt on the display screen  102 , repeatedly instructing the user to input the numbers that are associated with the name. Upon receiving a number, the processor  204  also display a prompt on the display screen  102 , instructing the user to input the title for the number (such as home, office, fax, pager, or cellular). Upon receiving the title of the number, the processor  204  assigns a pre-designed icon (that matches the title) to the number. Upon receiving all the numbers that are associated with the name, the processor  204  stores the number into the number memory  218 . 
     At step  506 , in response to a display menu selection from the display screen  102 , the processor  204  executes the data entry routine (stored in the application memory  220 ) to display a prompt on the display screen  102 , instructing the user to defme a primary number for the name. Upon receiving a definition input from the user, the processor  204  associates the primary number and the associated icon with the name. 
     Referring to FIG. 6, there is shown a flowchart illustrating the steps of displaying the numbers that are associated with a name in a name directory, in accordance with the present invention. 
     As shown in FIG. 6, at step  602 , the processor  204  executes the display routine (stored in the application memory  220 ) to present a screen display for a name directory on the display screen  102 . The screen display contains a selecting region and a plurality of name entries. As an exemplary screen display  404 , FIG. 4B shows a name directory containing a selecting region  403  and three names (06 Jack Kelley, 07 John Smith, and 08 Mike Turner). The name “07 John Smith” is displayed within the selecting region  403 . 
     At step  604 , a user activates the name entry “07 John Smith” by pressing in the jog dial wheel  108 . 
     At step  606 , in response to the activation, the processor  204  executes the display routine (stored in the application memory  220 ) to retrieve the number entries associated with the name entry “ 07  John Smith” from the number output memory  214  and display them on a screen display. As an example, FIG. 4C shows the screen display  406  containing a selecting region  403  and three number entries (415-365-7272 (office), 415-284-3293 (home), and 415-327-7241 (fax)). Each of the three number entries is associated with an icon, and the dot  407  displayed beside the number entry “415-284-3293” denotes that the number entry is a primary number. Since the home number is defined as the primary number for the name entry “07 John Smith”, the processor  204  automatically displays it in the selecting region  403  without requiring any interaction from the user. Following the step  606 , the user has two options. If the user wishes to dial the primary number, the operation is led to step  608 ; if the user wishes to dial a secondary number, the operation is led to step  610 . 
     At step  608 , to dial the primary number, the user simply presses in the jog dial wheel  108  on the control panel  106 , which in turn sends a request to the processor  204 . In response to the request, the processor  204  executes the dialing routine (stored in the application memory  220 ) to generate a dialing signal for the primary number. 
     At step  610 , to dial the fax number (415-356-7241), the user first turns up the jog dial wheel  108  to move the fax number into the selecting region  403  (as shown in FIG.  4 D). The user then presses in the jog dial wheel  108 , which in turn generates a request to the processor  204 . In response to the request, the processor  204  executes the dialing routine (stored in the application memory  220 ) to generate a dialing signal for the fax number. 
     As an alternative, at step  610 , to dial the office number (415-356-7272), the user first turns down the jog dial wheel  108  to move the office number into the selecting region  403  (as shown in FIG.  4 E). The user then presses in the jog dial wheel  108 , which in turn generates a request to the processor  204 . In response to the request, the processor  204  executes the dialing routine (stored in the application memory  220 ) to generate a dialing signal for the office number. 
     Although the present invention has been shown and described with respect to preferred embodiments, various changes and modifications are deemed to lie within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Technology Classification (CPC): 7