1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of telephones and, more particularly to a method of programming telephone numbers and telephone number identifiers into a telephone.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, public use of wireless communication devices, such as wireless telephones, has increased greatly. Wireless telephones, such as cellular telephones, are typically either independently powered hand-held units or are mounted in vehicles.
Because of their mobility, wireless telephones must be light and compact. A user needs to be able to comfortably carry the telephone in a pocket, purse or briefcase. For example, it is common for a wireless telephone to have only a liquid crystal display (LCD), a numeric keypad, a very limited number of control buttons, such as a clear/end button, a send button and a power button. A personal digital assistant (PDA) incorporating a wireless telephone might include a touch sensitive or pen-based screen in addition to the above list of user-interface devices.
In recent years, wireless telephones have been manufactured with operating features identical to those found in conventional telephones. In addition, wireless telephones have been manufactured with paging and PDA features. Despite all of the technological advancements, wireless telephones are not without their shortcomings. For example, today""s wireless telephones allow a user to program their frequently dialed telephone numbers into the memory of their telephone for later rapid dialing, but this programming function must be performed manually. Manual programming of the wireless telephone can take time and requires the user to remember how to perform the steps required to carry out the programming function.
The user can refer to the wireless telephone user manual to determine the steps required to properly program telephone numbers into the telephone. This, however, is not preferred since these manuals are rarely, if ever, carried around with the telephone. Without the manual the user will not be able to manually program telephone numbers into the wireless telephone. Even if the user locates the telephone manual, the user may still have difficulty in programming telephone numbers into the wireless telephone since some users may not understand the lengthy and detailed instructions. Accordingly, there is a need and desire for a method and apparatus for automatically programming telephone numbers into a wireless telephone.
Moreover, most wireless telephones also allow the user to associate and program an alphanumeric identifier for each telephone number stored in the telephone""s memory. These alphanumeric identifiers may then be used to quickly recall and dial a stored telephone number without requiring a user to remember the called party""s telephone number. Unfortunately, this programming function must also be performed manually and suffers from at least the same drawbacks associated with the programming of dialed phone numbers. Accordingly, there is a need and desire for a method and apparatus for automatically programming a telephone number""s alphanumeric identifier into a wireless telephone.
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for automatically programming telephone numbers into a telephone.
The present invention also provides a method and apparatus for automatically programming a telephone number""s alphanumeric identifier into a telephone.
The above and other features and advantages of the invention are achieved by a method and telephone apparatus that detects an incoming telephone call and determines if the telephone number of the call""s originator has previously been stored in the memory of the telephone. If the originator""s telephone number has not been previously stored, it is stored into the memory of the telephone. In addition, if an alphanumeric identifier associated with the originator""s telephone number was received with the originator""s telephone number, it is also stored into memory. If the alphanumeric identifier was not received, the telephone automatically initiates a call to a remote computer and transmits the telephone number of the originator to the remote computer. The computer assigns an alphanumeric identifier to the telephone number and transmits the alphanumeric identifier back to the telephone which stores the alphanumeric identifier in the telephone memory in association with the telephone number. Accordingly, the telephone number can later be recalled and dialed through the use of the alphanumeric identifiers.