User interface and method of viewing unified communications events on a mobile device

ES 2 396 560 T3

DESCRIPTION

User interface and method of viewing unified communications events on a mobile device.

This invention relates generally to a user interface for messaging. More particularly, the invention relates to user interfaces for displaying a communications event in context with the selected stored communications events.

Most cellular networks such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and Global Mobile Service (GSM) networks support data services in addition to standard telephony-based services. Short Message Service (SMS) and Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) are data centric services available on many cellular networks. Data networks, such as Mobitex^®, Datatac^®, as well as advanced networks such as General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Enhanced Data for GSM Enhancement (EDGE) and 1X that overlap cellular networks, allow a mobile device properly configured offer data services such as email, web browsing, as well as SMS and Multimedia messaging service (MMS) and WAP data sessions

Communications events include phone calls, both sent and received, SMS messages both sent and received, email correspondence both sent and received, and wireless application protocol sessions, among other data-driven transactions. Each communications event has at least two parties, the user of the mobile device and at least one interlocutor. Each caller can have multiple contact addresses, such as a work phone number, a home phone number, a mobile phone number, an SMS address, and a variety of email addresses.

Mobile devices were originally intended to provide telephone services and they became, with the addition of data-centric features, complicated to manipulate. Currently available user interfaces for viewing the history of one type of communication event on a mobile device typically only allow the user to view the history of one type of communication event, or a subset thereof, and from that history view the contents of a communications event. This makes sense in a voice-only environment, but the addition of data services has exposed this interface paradigm as insufficient.

Figure 1 illustrates a user interface 10 according to the prior art. The user interface 10 displays a notification 12 that a new message, such as an email or an SMS message, has been received. The user of the mobile device is given the option of exiting the notification 14, or reading the received message 16. This user interface does not allow you to see the context according to which the received message should be interpreted.

Figure 2 illustrates a second user interface 18 according to the prior art. User interface 18 illustrates a list of recent telephone calls. The user is again presented with the option to exit 14, and additionally is given the option of making a call 22 to one of the recent parties, or deleting a party from the recent calls list.

Call lists of this type provide separate lists of sent and received calls, or provide a built-in list of sent and received calls.

Currently, when a mobile device receives an incoming communications event, such as an SMS message, the only information that is provided to the user is that an SMS message has been received. This notification may indicate the original address of the SMS. The user can then view the SMS message, or scroll through a collective block of incoming SMS messages to find the last SMS message received from the same originating address. If the user wants to see the last SMS message sent to the originator of the incoming SMS message, the user must check the block of outgoing SMS messages on the mobile device. Additionally, if the user wishes to check when the last call was made to the original SMS address, or when the original SMS address was received, the user must check the log of incoming or outgoing calls. If email services are integrated into the mobile device, an additional list should be browsed. This provides a plurality of different lists that the user must examine to determine the history of communication events that pertain to a party. If a caller has multiple contact addresses, viewing all communication events with the caller is also difficult.

Therefore, it is desirable to provide a method and a system for managing communication events such that the user of a mobile device is provided with the context of the communication event by presenting the history of communication events associated with a given party.

EP 0 967 773 (NEC Corporation, Tokyo) describes a telephone terminal with means for managing a communication history. The telephone terminal includes a memory section for storing a number of telephone calls made as the number of telephone calls made and for storing a number of calls received as the number of phone calls received. The memory section also memorizes the communication information in correspondence with the number of communications

ES 2 396 560 T3 telephone numbers and both the communication information and the telephone number are presented in a display section.

In a first aspect, the present invention provides a method of handling a communications event on a mobile device having a user interface. The method includes identifying, in a communication event database, a peer associated with the communication event, obtaining, from the communication event database, a communication event history associated with the peer, and controlling the user interface to provide the user with the communication event history obtained. In an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, the identification step is preceded by the step of determining a communications event type for the communications event, in which the communications event type of the communications event is selected from a list that includes telephony-based voice communication events, email communication events, short message service communications events and wireless application protocol communications events. In another embodiment of the present invention, the communications event is an incoming communications event, and the method further includes the step of receiving the incoming communications event before identifying the correspondent. In another embodiment of the present invention, the user interface is a display and the step of controlling the user interface includes displaying the obtained communication event history. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the method includes adding the incoming communications event to the communications event history in the communications event database. In embodiments of the present intent, receiving an incoming communications event and identifying the correspondent includes any one of receiving a phone call and extracting a phone number from the displayed information of the call, receive an incoming e-mail message and extract an e-mail address from the header of an e-mail message, and receive an incoming message from the short message service (SMS) and extract an originating address from an SMS message. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, identifying the correspondent further includes cross-referencing the extracted telephone number, the extracted email address, and the originating address, extracted with entries in a phonebook accessible to the mobile device. In yet another embodiment of the present invention the method includes the step of controlling the user interface to provide the user with options for managing communications events, wherein controlling the user interface may include providing the user with an option to ignore or answer a call. phone or to read or ignore any one of the incoming emails and incoming SMS messages. Another embodiment of the present invention includes updating the communication event database to reflect the status of incoming communication events after providing communication event management options to the user.

In a second aspect of the present invention, a mobile device is provided, which has a user interface and a transceiver for transmitting and receiving communication events. The mobile device includes a communications event database and a communications event manager. The communications event database is used to store a history of communications events associated with a correspondent. The communications event manager is in communication with the communications event database to obtain from the communications event database the history of communications events in response to a communications event, and to control the user interface to provide the user with the history obtained from the communication event.

In an embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, the communications event manager includes a communications event type identifier to identify the type of communications events from a list that includes voice telephone communications events, voice communications events, email, short message service communications events, and wireless application protocol communications events. In another embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, the user interface is a display, and the communications event manager includes a display controller for controlling the display displaying the obtained history of communication events. In another embodiment of the present invention, the communications event manager includes a caller identifier to identify the caller of an incoming communications event, and the caller identifier is connected to the transceiver to receive call information on the display, and includes means for identifying the caller of an incoming communications event based on the on-screen information of the received call, and includes header analysis means for analyzing the header of a received email message and a received SMS message to extract an originating address, and includes means for identifying the caller of an incoming communications event based on the extracted originating address. In another embodiment, the caller identifier includes a phonebook interface for cross-referencing between the on-screen information of the received call and the extracted originating address with entries in a phonebook accessible to the mobile device to identify the caller. In another embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, the communications event manager includes a user interface controller that controls the user interface to provide the user with communications event management options and also includes means for updating the database. communications event data that reflects the status of an incoming call.

ES 2 396 560 T3

In a third aspect of the present invention, a communications event manager is provided for integration into a communication device having a user interface. The communications event manager includes a database interface and a user interface handler. The database interface is for communicating with a communications event database to obtain a communications event history associated with a peer in response to a communications event. The user interface controller is to receive the obtained history of communication events from the database interface, and to control the user interface to provide the user with the obtained history of communication events.

Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art after reviewing the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the enclosed figures, in which:

Figure 1 illustrates communication event management system according to the prior art;

Figure 2 illustrates a listing of a communication event history according to the prior art;

Figure 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method of the present invention;

Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating an alternative method of the present invention;

Figure 5 illustrates an example system of the present invention;

Figure 6 illustrates a data stream for a mobile device of the present invention; Y

Figure 7 illustrates a data stream for a mobile device of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In general, the present invention provides a method and system for tracking communication events originated and received on a mobile device. By tracking received and transmitted communication events, a mobile device can provide the user with the context of communication with any interlocutor.

In the present invention a mobile device provides an integrated user interface by means of which a user can view the communication events in which a particular party has intervened. A mobile device of the present invention uses a communication event database to keep track of all incoming and outgoing communication events with different parties.

The present invention provides a unified view of communications events, so that a user can determine the context of any received communications event, or can determine how to place the context of a communications event. Therefore, after receiving an SMS message, or other communications events, after identifying the type of communications event, in addition to notifying the user that a message has been received, the mobile device will present the user with a list of the Most recent communication events associated with the original address of the message. The user is also given the option to view information about past communication events, which could include viewing past SMS messages, viewing information about data received in a wireless application protocol browsing session, or the duration of the call and the dates of any calls made or received. This information will allow the user to better contextualize the content of the new message. In a currently preferred embodiment, the user can set the criteria that the properties of an incoming communications event must meet in order to obtain the communications event history to begin with. This gives the user the ability to present only a history of communications events for the selected parties, and the selected types of communications events.

Figure 3 illustrates an exemplary method of the present invention. In step 100, the mobile device receives a communications event. Preferably, as a part of receiving the communications event in step 100, the mobile device identifies the communications event as one of a set of known types of communications events including a phone call, an email message, and a SMS message, among other known types of communication events. Upon receipt of the communications event, the mobile device identifies the interlocutor in the communications event in step 102. The identification of the interlocutor is preferably carried out using the call display, a characteristic of the signaling system type 7 (SS7) if the communications event is a telephone call, by analyzing the header of an email if the communications event is a email message or by analyzing the header information in an SMS message. After identifying the interlocutor in step 102, the mobile device uses the interlocutor identification to obtain and display a history of communication events detailing the communication events in which the interlocutor has intervened in step 104. The history of communications events obtained in step 104 is typically obtained from a database or on the mobile device or accessible to the mobile device, which is used to track the events of

ES 2 396 560 T3 communications. After retrieving the communication event history from the database, the mobile device displays the communication event history to the user. Preferably, the display of the information allows the user to preview SMS and email messages to determine the context of a received message. Additionally, the user can preferably see a list of all the calls sent and received in which the interlocutor has intervened with the time and date in which the call took place, the duration of the call if the call was answered, and an indication whether or not the call was answered. In a currently preferred embodiment of the present method of the invention, the mobile device displays a summary of communications events with the interlocutor both originated and received by the mobile device. However, it is fully contemplated that in certain embodiments only the incoming communication events or only the outgoing communication events are presented to the user in the summary. It is preferable that the user is provided with an option to view incoming and outgoing messages on a single screen, only incoming messages, or only outgoing communication events.

Anyone skilled in the art will appreciate that when the mobile device of the present invention receives a communications event in step 100, the communications event can be any of a number of event types. Typically, after receiving a communications event in step 100, the mobile device analyzes the incoming event and determines its specific type. This determination of the type of communications event can be accomplished in numerous ways understood by those skilled in the art. One such method involves determining the type of communications event based on the channel on which the communications event was received. For example, if the device supports GSM communications as well as GPRS communications, and the mobile device is capable of supporting voice, SMS, email and WAP communications events, a communications event received over a GPRS communications channel will be either a WAP-based or email-based communication, whereas a communications event received on a GSM communications channel will be either an SMS-type communications event or a voice event. After narrowing the selection of the two possibilities based on the communication channel, the mobile device can analyze the header associated with the incoming communication event to determine its specific type. For example, a WAP data session and an email message are typically conformed to different standard formats, and based on an analysis of the format, a determination can be made. The differentiation between an SMS message and a voice telephony communications event is known in the art, and can be easily implemented. It is contemplated that in advanced networks all data and voice traffic is carried out on the same channel; most of both voice and data is carried over a Voice over IP data network. In such a network, the information in the header associated with datagrams or other data units provides identification of the different types of communication events. Anyone skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous alternative methods can be implemented without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Figure 4 illustrates another embodiment of the method of Figure 3. In the method illustrated in Figure 4, steps 100, 102 and 104 remain the same. Additionally, in step 106 after a communications event has been received, the communications event is added to the mobile device database. This stage can be carried out at any point in the process, and it is shown that it follows the reception of the communications event as a preferred topic. In step 108, the mobile device presents a user interface that allows it to ignore or answer an incoming phone call, or alternatively to read a message or exit the notification in the case of a received SMS or an email message. It is preferable that these actions are presented together with the obtained communication event history, so that the user can make a decision about what to do with the received communication event based on the event history. In step 110 the database is updated to reflect the status of the communications event.

As described above, the user interface preferably indicates to the user whether or not an SMS or an e-mail message has been read, or whether it has been answered, and whether or not a call has been answered. These factors are collectively described as the status of a message. In step 110, the database is updated to reflect whether the user chooses to ignore or answer a call in step 108, or if the user chooses to read the message or exit the notification in step 108. In a currently preferable embodiment, the identification of the caller in step 102 is performed by cross-referencing the information obtained through the display of the call, the analysis of the email header, or the analysis of the SMS message to determine the address. originating from which the communications event was generated, with the information contained in an agenda accessible to the mobile device. It is common for many callers to have a variety of contact addresses, including phone numbers for cell phones, home phones, and office phones, as well as a plurality of email and SMS addresses. By crossing links of the interlocutor identification information obtained in step 102 with the mobile device phonebook, it is possible to provide the mobile device user with a history of communications events that includes all correspondence, and telephone calls made to or from answered from an identified party.

Figure 5 illustrates one embodiment of mobile device 112 in accordance with the present invention. Mobile device 112 preferably includes database 116, transceiver 118, processor 122, and display 120. In embodiments

In alternatives to the present invention, mobile device 112 does not include database 116, and instead accesses a central server with host database 116 via a wireless link. In a further embodiment, mobile device 112 includes an address book that has a plurality of contact addresses for a variety of parties, or has access to such address book using a wireless connection. Communications event software interface module 126 is preferably a software application run by processor 122, and is a specific example of a communications event manager in accordance with the present invention. It is contemplated that the communications event handler may be implemented as a separate hardware component, which may or may not implement software-based routines. In yet another embodiment, the communications event manager may be hardware enabled and integrated into processor 122.

Database 116 is preferably structured to have at least one table 128. In table 128, four data fields are identified. The first data field identified is status 130. Status field 130 indicates whether or not an email or SMS message has been read, or whether or not a phone call has been answered. Type field 132 describes the type of registry communications events. Type 132 is used to identify whether a communications event was an email message, a phone call, or an SMS message. In a currently preferred embodiment, the types field also indicates whether the communications event originated from or was received by mobile device 112. The third entry in table 128 is data field 134. Data field 134 contains information about the communications event of this record. In a currently preferred embodiment, the data field for an SMS message or an email would include the body of the message. For a telephone call, in a presently preferred embodiment, data field 134 would indicate the time the call took place and the duration of the call. The final field of table 128 is index 138. Anyone skilled in the art will readily appreciate that a number of indexing mechanisms can be employed in relational or flat file type databases. The use of the index 138 is to allow a record relating to a specific call to be easily identified and found. Anyone skilled in the art will recognize that a number of entries will be entered into this table as mobile device 112 begins communication events with multiple parties. One skilled in the art will recognize that in conjunction with an address book accessible by mobile device 112, index field 138 and status field 130 may be correlated to determine a history of communications events for a number of different parties. Transceiver 118 is used for both transmitting and receiving communication events. Upon receiving a communications event, transceiver 118 begins passing data to processor 122. In conjunction with the communications event software interface module 126, the processor 122 performs the method illustrated in Figure 3. As a result, the processor 122 interacts with the display 120 upon receipt of a communications event and after interrogating database 116. Thus, processor 122 uses display 120 to provide interface 124. The interface 124 displays a date and time, as well as the number of communication events such as email, SMS, WAP, and telephone calls between the mobile device and the interlocutor. As illustrated in interface 124, the status field, 130 type field 132, and data field 134 of table 128 are used to provide the user with an indication that there are unread email messages, email messages Emails sent, e-mails received and calls made between the mobile device and the interlocutor.

Transceiver 118 can be replaced with separate transmitters and receivers, and it is intended to allow the mobile device to receive communications over a wireless link. Currently preferred embodiments of the present invention employ transceivers capable of receiving CDMA voice communication as well as 1X data communication, and in an alternative embodiment, the transceiver is designed to receive GPRS and GSM voice and data services, respectively. Anyone skilled in the art will appreciate that a transceiver capable of receiving a variety of other combinations of voice and data protocols is contemplated by the present invention.

The screen 120 is preferably a liquid crystal screen and may optionally be a touch sensitive liquid crystal screen, so that recognition buttons can be provided to the user interface on the screen of the device itself. Graphical interface implementations on liquid crystal displays and touch sensitive liquid crystal displays will be well understood by those skilled in the art of mobile device design. It is fully contemplated that although mobile device 112 has been described herein as having a display 120, that display 120 may be replaced by other user interfaces. Examples of such user interfaces include audio interfaces and dynamic Braille plates for use by visually impaired individuals.

Processor 122 is connected to database 116, and is capable of performing database queries on database 116 to obtain information from call event database 116. Additionally, processor 122 is connected to an agenda so that the identified interlocutor from step 102 can be cross-referenced with the agenda to match some name in the agenda. This will allow mobile device 112 to provide the user with a call event history from call event database 116 that includes all communication events in which the identified caller has participated, regardless of the communication address used by the caller. interlocutor. After identifying the interlocutor through the cross-references with the phonebook, the processor 122 interrogates the database 116 of communications events to obtain a list of all communications events between the user of the device.

ES 2 396 560 T3 mobile and the identified interlocutor. The results of this interrogation are then formatted and presented to the user on screen 120.

In a preferred embodiment of the system illustrated in FIG. 4, the communications event software interface module 126 includes a communications event type identifier. The identifier is to determine the type associated with the communications event. The identified type is stored in type field 122 in database 116. In the illustrated embodiment, the identifier is preferably a software routine, and in a more generic implementation it is a module in the communications event manager.

Figure 6 illustrates an example embodiment of a data stream of the present invention. A preset trigger event 140, such as an incoming sMs message, is used as a preset criteria 142. At least one criterion 144 is established in the preset criteria 142. At least one of the criteria 144 can be the communication of a specific interlocutor. In this case, the preset criteria 142 would correspond to both the triggering event and the receipt of an SMS message, and the at least one criterion 144 would correspond to a given individual. This would set the preset criteria 142 in correspondence with a certain individual via an SMS message. Preset criteria 142 are used, in a presently preferred embodiment, such that only communication events that meet a defined profile will result in obtaining a history of communication events from database 116. In alternate embodiments of the present invention, all communications events will result in obtaining a history of communications events from database 116 using a method such as that illustrated in Figure 3. Mobile device 112 uses transceiver 118 to receive a communications event. Upon receipt of any communications event, the pre-established criteria are compared with the received communications event. If the preset criteria 142 and the communications event received from transceiver 118 match, the process continues to flow to decision 148, where a determination is made as to whether or not the communications event matches the preset criteria. If the communications event matches the preset criteria, the mobile device 112 continues to step 150 in which the selected communications event is added to the unified list of communications events in step 156, which is stored in the database. 116. At this point, mobile device 112 marks the communications event as processed in step 152. If the next communications event did not match the criteria pre-established in decision 148, the mobile device 112 would proceed to mark the communications event as processed 152 without selecting the communications event and adding it to the unified list 156 of communications events. By continuing to mark the communications event as processed in step 152, a decision is made as to whether or not all communications events have been processed in decision 154. If all highlighted communications events have not been processed, the mobile device 112 returns to step 148. Otherwise, in conjunction with the unified list 156 of communications events, which is obtained from the database 116, the screen 120 shows the user interface 124.

The comparison as illustrated, in FIG. 6, to determine whether or not a set of criteria has been matched, will now be illustrated in FIG. 7 in greater detail with reference to the embodiment of table 128 as shown in FIG. 5. Figure 7 illustrates database 116 containing table 128 that has fields for status 130, for types 132, for data 134, and for an index 138. The at least one criterion 144 is preset by the user. Upon receipt of an incoming communications event, the at least one criterion is compared to status 130, types 132, data 134, and index 138 of the incoming communications event. If the event matches the status criteria in 158, then it is compared to the type criteria in step 160. If in step 160, the event matches the criteria of types, is further compared with the criteria of data in 162, and pending the successful completion of the event that matches the criteria of data, the event matches the criteria of index at step 164. If in any of comparisons 158, 160, 162, or 164, the event does not match one of the criteria, mobile device 112 proceeds to a no-match state 168. If all of these comparisons are successful, the mobile device 112 proceeds to a match state 166. After reaching a match state 166, the processor 122 interrogates the database 116 to obtain the history of communications events. If the mismatch state 168 is reached, processor 122 waits for the next communications event. The order as shown in figure 7 is not a precise order, and comparisons can be made in any order or in parallel. The presently illustrated order has been selected for simplicity, and is to be considered merely exemplary in nature.

As described above, a currently preferred embodiment of the present invention crosses the corresponding identification information with the information contained in an address book accessible to the mobile device 112. This allows phonebook information to be used to link SMS addresses, cell phone numbers, home and work phones, a plurality of email addresses, and accessible WAP sites associated with a single individual or entity, to each other. . This cross-linking of address-based information allows the user to appropriately put all communication with the individual from whom a message has been received in context.

In many mobile devices 112, the ability to integrate with a centralized email server, using such standardized protocols as the Point of Presence (POP) protocol is used to provide a seamless transition between the mobile device 112 and the central email account. email. In this case, a user

ES 2 396 560 T3 of the mobile device 112 is capable of answering e-mail messages without interruptions from a desktop computer or from a mobile device 112. In a currently preferred embodiment, the mobile device 112 is updated by contacting a central server to reflect that emails answered from the desktop computer have been answered. Thus, the user of the mobile device 112 will be able to fully determine the context of a received message.

In an example embodiment, all communication events including messages and calls originated from the mobile device, messages received and sent from a desktop computer, and all other communication events accessible by the mobile device are stored in a database. 116. Database 116 is preferably integrated into mobile device 112, although it is fully contemplated that database 116 may reside on a central server and be wirelessly accessible by mobile device 112. The implementation of such a system will be well understood by those skilled in the art.

The database 112 preferably tracks the type 132 of communications event, the data 134 contained in the communications event, and preferably a state 130 of the event. The type of event 132 typically indicates whether it was a phone call, SMS message, email message, WAP data transmission, or other data-based transaction. Type field 132 also indicates whether the communication was received by the user of the mobile device or originated from the user of the mobile device. Data field 134 typically contains the body of an email message, the body of an SMS message, information regarding the transmission of WAP data, or the duration of the call, as appropriate. Message status 130 typically indicates whether a sent or received call was answered, or whether a received message was answered. Any person skilled in the art will appreciate that it is preferable to index this data with an index field 138; however, the implementation of an index is purely optional, something understood nonetheless by one of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, during operation, a mobile device 112 according to the present invention will receive a communications event and before displaying the notification of this event on the screen, be it an email message, an SMS message, or a telephone call, the The mobile device's processor interrogates the database 116 using the calling number as the key. The calling number is typically transmitted to the processor of the mobile device using services such as displaying the call or displaying call waiting, which are well understood by those skilled in the art. The query to the database 116 using the incoming number or address as a search limitation will result in a response to the query containing a list of communications events between the mobile device 112 or any account associated with the mobile device 112 already the incoming address. This information is then presented to the user on the screen 120 of the mobile device so that before answering a telephone call the user will know the date of the last communication. Alternatively, if a received SMS message is generating the notification, the user is provided with the context of the SMS message as a result of being able to view the incoming SMS messages and previous emails and is also presented with the dates of the last call. initiated to the original address of the SMS.

In a currently preferred embodiment, the communication event history obtained from database 116 is ordered chronologically so that the most current information is displayed at the top of the list. Additionally, a summary of the numbers of e-mail messages, SMS messages, WAP sessions and telephone calls between the mobile device 112 or any account associated with it and the interlocutor originating the message is presented.

Anyone skilled in the art will appreciate that the database 116 can be a relational database or a flat file database. Although the use of a relational database provides numerous benefits that are understood by those skilled in the art, it is conceivable that an implementation of the present invention could be provided through the use of a flat file database. Additionally, one skilled in the art will appreciate that there are a variety of methods of implementing the present invention using a relational database. For the purpose of example, one such method is presented. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the presented method is intended to serve as an example, and not limit the scope of the present invention.

In a non-illustrated embodiment, any event, regardless of whether it is a communications event or any other event detectable by mobile device 112, can trigger the Message Software Interface module to use particular preset criteria 142 to display the messages. communication events selected in the communication event history. For example, in a mobile device 112 that has an integrated calendar, when a scheduled conference call takes place on the calendar, the processor 122 activates the Communication Software Interface module 126 with preset criteria 142 to select and preferably represent a conference call communications event pending to go out with higher priority than other selected communications events. Alternatively, when mobile device 112 receives a communication, such as email message, SMS message, WAP page response, voice / video call, processor 122 activates Communication Software Interface module 126 with preset criteria 142 for preferably selecting and representing the received communications event with the highest priority than other selected communications events.

ES 2 396 560 T3

The preset criteria can also match the communications event data. For example, to view all communication events sent to or received from a particular contact, the preset criteria can include selected communication event data that matches all contact-specific information found in a calendar entry for the contact. As an example, consider all communications events sent to or received from a broker. Contact information for the broker is preferably kept on the agenda. Preferably, each address book entry contains a variety of fields that can be mapped to one or more communications addresses supported by the mobile device. In the entry for the stockbroker, for example, if the following fields are defined: phone number, mobile phone number, fax number, email address and URL; then preferably an example of mapping to message types follows. Telephone, mobile and fax numbers are mapped to voice and / or video communication events. The mobile number is additionally mapped to an SMS address for SMS type communication events. The email address is mapped to the email communication events. The email address is mapped to the email communication events. The URL addresses are mapped to the corresponding types of communication events. For example, an http URL can be mapped to the web and / or WAP, where an FTP URL (File Transfer Protocol) can be mapped to an ftp communications event. All communications events, including phone calls, SMS communications events, emails, web communications events, WAP communications events, or other communications events that match in at least one field in the contact entry of the Stockbroker's agenda would then be selected by the communications event software interface module 126, and would be displayed on the screen. Preferably, the presentation of the data obtained from the database 116 would show on behalf of the contact, such as a broker as defined by the preset criteria 142.

In another embodiment, the communications event software interface module 126 may identify the related stored communications events by comparing the communications event data for each stored communications event 128 with the keywords selected by the user. This alternative method of matching the current communications event to the stored communications events 128 may be implemented by itself, or as a means of further limiting the selected communications events identified by the other methods described above. To continue with the previous example of the stockbroker, more preset criteria can be added to create a filter that also operates, for example, on the selected communication events. Communications event data in the new filter can include stock quotes obtained via WAP using a URL, as well as notes taken during phone conversations with the broker. The user can therefore decide to choose preset criteria that, as well as the contact's matching information, also match a regular expression, such as the keywords buy or sell. By allowing the user to configure preset criteria, communications event software interface module 126 unifies communications events based on preset criteria that are important to the user at a specific point in time, for example, by allowing the user to unify the purchase of shares provided by a stockbroker by means of a phone call or an email with a price of the shares subsequently obtained by the user through WAP in order to make a decision to communicate a purchase , a sale or keep the guideline to your broker or to a transaction system.

Until now, the system of the present invention has been described as integrated into a mobile device 112; It will be understood by those skilled in the art that a software implementation of the present invention can be run on a number of different platforms, or as part of a package for use on different platforms. In one such example, a desktop computer may be configured to use the communication event manager of the present invention to provide a communication event history for received email messages. Additionally, the desktop computer may be connected to an SMS modem so that it is capable of receiving SMS messages and can then provide a communication event history to a user that enables the user to determine the context of a received SMS message. Additionally, the desktop computer may be configured to be in communication with a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone, so that all incoming and outgoing calls are logged in the communications event database 116. In such an implementation, the communications event manager would use a communications event database interface to communicate with a local or remote communications event database 116 to obtain the communications event histories associated with the identified callers using the call information on the screen, or by addressing the information extracted from the header of an incoming email or SMS message.

The above-described embodiments of the present invention are only intended as examples. Alterations, modifications, and variations to the particular embodiments may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined only by the appended dependent claims.

ES 2 396 560 T3

According to a first embodiment, a method of managing a communications event in a mobile device having a user interface is provided, the method comprising: identifying, in a communications event database, an interlocutor associated with the event of communications; obtaining from the communications event database a history of communications events associated with the interlocutor; and controlling the user interface to provide the user with the obtained communication event history.

Optionally, for said method, the identification stage is preceded by the stage of determining a type of communications event for the communications event, and optionally furthermore the type of communications event determined from the communications event is selected from a list that includes telephony-based voice communications events, email communications events, short message service communication events and wireless application protocol communication events. Optionally the user interface is a screen and the step of controlling the user interface includes the step of displaying the history of communications events obtained on the screen. Optionally, the step of identifying the caller includes some of: extracting a telephone number from the call information on the screen; extract an email address from the header of an email message; and extracting an original address from an SMS message, and optionally furthermore the identification step also includes crossing references between one of the extracted telephone numbers, between the extracted email address and between the extracted original address, with entries to a directory accessible by the mobile device.

Optionally, the communications event is an incoming communications event, and the method further includes the step of receiving the incoming communications event before identifying the caller, and the method optionally further includes the step of adding the incoming communications event to the history. of communications events in the communications event database. Optionally, the step of receiving an incoming communications event includes any of: receiving a telephone call; receiving an incoming email message and receiving an incoming message from the short message service (SMS), and optionally the method further includes a step of controlling the user interface to provide the user with communication event handling options. Optionally, the step of controlling the user interface includes providing the user the option to ignore or answer an incoming telephone call and optionally further includes the step of updating the communications event database to reflect the status of incoming calls. Optionally, the stage of presenting the communication event management options on the screen includes presenting on the screen the option to read or ignore some of the incoming emails and incoming SMS messages and optionally also includes the stage of updating the database. of communications event data to reflect the status of some of the incoming email messages and incoming SMS messages.

According to a second embodiment a mobile device is provided, having a user interface and a transceiver for transmitting and receiving communication events, the mobile device comprising: a communication event database, for storing a history of communication events. communications associated with an interlocutor; and a communications event manager in communication with the communications event database to obtain from the communications event database the history of communications events in response to a communications event and to control the user interface to provide you with the communications event history obtained.

Optionally, the communications event manager for said mobile device includes an identifier of types of communications events to identify the type of communications event from a list that includes voice telephone communications events, email communications events, communications events from the short message service and wireless application protocol communications events. Optionally the user interface is a display, and the communications event manager includes a display controller that controls the display to display the history of extracted communications events. Optionally the communications event manager includes a caller identifier to identify the caller of an incoming communications event, and also optionally the caller identifier connects to the transceiver to receive call information on the screen, and includes means to identify the caller. caller of an incoming communications event based on the call information received on the screen, and furthermore the caller identifier optionally includes a phone book interface to cross-reference the information of the call received on the screen with entries to a phone book accessible to the mobile device to identify the caller.

Optionally, the caller identifier includes for the mobile device means of analyzing the header to analyze the header of one of the received e-mail messages and of one of the received SMS messages to extract an originating address, and includes means for identifying the caller of an incoming communications event based on the source address extracted, and optionally furthermore the caller identifier includes a phonebook interface for cross-referencing the extracted original address with entries to a phonebook accessible to the mobile device to identify the caller. Optionally, the communications event manager includes a user interface controller to control the user interface to provide it with communications event management options, and the user interface event manager.

ES 2 396 560 T3 communications optionally further includes means for updating the database of communications events reflecting the status of an incoming call.

According to a third embodiment, a communications event manager is provided for integration into a communication device having a user interface, the communications event manager comprising: a database interface for communicating with a database communications event to obtain a communications event history associated with a caller in response to a communications event; and a user interface controller for receiving the communication event history obtained from the database interface and for controlling the user interface to provide it with the obtained communication event history.

According to a fourth embodiment a wireless device is provided, comprising: a display screen; a processor; a memory device that stores the communication events that have been transmitted or received by the wireless device and a communication event software interface module executed by the processor that (a) filters each of the communication events stored in the memory device to identify one or more selected communication events that meet pre-established criteria, and (b) displays the one or more selected communication events.

Optionally, the communications events for said wireless positive include at least one communications event of a type selected from the group comprised of: email, SMS, WAP, voice call, instant messaging session, SIP, calendar events, game shifts, notes, tasks and business cards. Optionally, the communication events include at least one communication event identifier selected from the group comprised of: email address, MSISDN, URI, IP address, PIN, and name. Optionally the preset criteria for one or more of the selected communication events are configurable by the user of the wireless device. Optionally the preset criteria for one or more of the selected communication events comprise a condition that the user has disregarded the communication events. Optionally, the communications event software interface module executed by the processor represents and displays the preset criteria on the screen, and optionally furthermore the representation of the preset criteria comprises the number of unattended messages, or optionally the representation of the preset criteria comprises the type of neglected messages. Optionally, the preset criteria are a contact match condition between a contact in a calendar and one or more selected communication events.

According to a fifth embodiment a wireless device is provided comprising: a display screen; a processor; a memory device that stores the communication events that have been transmitted or received by the wireless device and a communications event software interface module executed by the processor that (a) locates one or more selected communication events by filtering each event communication stored in the memory device to identify the stored communication events that meet preset criteria and (b) displays the one or more selected communication events.

Optionally the communication events for said wireless device include at least one communication event of a type selected from the group comprising: email, SMS, WAP, voice call, instant messaging session, SIP, calendar events, game turns, notes, tasks and business cards. Optionally, the communication events include at least one communication event identifier selected from the group comprised of: email address, MSISDN, URI, IP address, PIN, and name. Optionally, the preset criteria are configurable by the user of the wireless device. Optionally each stored communication event comprises ordinal values ​​indicating the sequence in which the stored communication events were transmitted or received by the wireless device. Optionally, each stored communication event comprises a time stamp that indicates the date on which the stored communication events were transmitted or received by the mobile device, and optionally also the time stamp indicates the time that the stored communication events were transmitted. or received by the wireless device. Optionally, the communications event interface module represents and displays the pre-established criteria on the screen.

According to a sixth embodiment there is provided a method for displaying communication events on a wireless device by unifying one or more of a plurality of stored communication events, comprising the steps of: filtering each stored communication event to identify one or more selected communication events meeting preset criteria and displaying the one or more selected communication events meeting preset criteria. Optionally the communication events include at least one communication event of the selected type from the group comprising: email, SMS, WAP, voice call, instant messaging session, SIP, calendar events, game turns, notes, tasks and cards visiting. Optionally the communication events include at least one communication event identifier selected from the group comprised of: email address, MSISDN, URI, IP address, PIN, and name. Optionally the

ES 2 396 560 T3 Preset criteria for one or more selected communication events are configurable by the user of the wireless device. Optionally the preset criteria require that the one or more selected communication events have each been transmitted or received by a contact selected by the user of the wireless device. Optionally the preset criteria require that the one or more selected communication events have each been neglected by the user.

According to a seventh embodiment there is provided a method for displaying one or more communication events in a wireless device, comprising the steps of: identifying by indexing the data for each stored communication event; identify current indexed data for pre-established criteria; comparing the current indexed data with the indexed data for each stored communication event to identify the selected communication events that have indexed data that falls within a preset storage proximity range of the current indexed data; and displaying selected communications events identified as having indexed data that falls within the preset storage proximity range. Optionally the communication events include at least one communication event of a selected type from the group comprising: email, SMS, WAP, voice call, instant messaging session, SIP, calendar events, game turns, notes, tasks and business cards. Optionally the communication events include at least one communication event identifier selected from the group comprised of: email address, MSISDN, URI, IP address, PIN, and name. Optionally, the preset storage proximity interval is configurable by the user of the wireless device. Optionally the current indexed data and the indexed data for each stored communication event are ordinal values. Optionally the current indexed data and the indexed data for each stored communication event are time stamped.

According to an eighth embodiment there is provided a method for displaying a current communication event on a unified wireless device with one or more of a plurality of stored communication events, comprising the steps of: providing preset criteria; compare each stored communication event with the preset criteria; and displaying the current communication event along with each of the stored communication events meeting the preset criteria. Optionally the communication events include at least one communication event of a selected type of group comprising: email, SMS, WAP, voice call, instant messaging session, SIP, calendar events, game turns, notes, tasks and card visiting. Optionally the communication events include at least one communication event identifier selected from the group comprised of: email address, MSISDN, URI, IP address, PIN, and name. Optionally, the method further comprises the step of: displaying a representation of the pre-established criteria on the screen.