Dynamic secondary phone book

1. Field

The disclosed embodiments generally relate to communications by a mobile device using a locally accessible phone directory and in particular to accessing contact information for a specific location, business entity, network, or the like.

2. Brief Description of Related Developments

Phone directories and contact information stored on a mobile telephone are limited by useable memory and the need to continuously add and update numbers. Although this may be accomplished by downloading from available data bases located on a personal computer, network server or other source, it becomes cumbersome when there is a need for local contact data that is temporary. For example, a sales executive visiting the head office, needs to have access to contact details for important people in the office. Similarly, a patient in a hospital needs to have access of important contacts to access services, make appointments, check on bills, etc.

In the current state of the art, users need to manually pull the details of the contacts and feed them to an address book or other contact application on the mobile device. Later these entries will need to be deleted when the user finds that he/she no longer needs these contact details to avoid overwhelming available memory.

The problem to which this application is directed is different from the dynamic phonebook entries that might be automatically be updated based on available data sources. For example, phone numbers for taxi service, pizza service, or some other local services which users widely expect to be available, but the details are location dependent. In these cases it is possible to define a dynamic phonebook entry that could be automatically updated by communicating with a local operator, or local service provider when visiting or anticipating a visit to a new or infrequently visited locale, business, facility, or network, but would be automatically deleted after a period of time or when the user is no longer in the relevant locality.

It would be advantageous to provide a mobile communications device with the ability to access a local phone directory to obtain contact information related to a particular location. In an embodiment of this application, a phonebook is provided that is different from location to location. Its utility for the user is limited by the location, and the time duration of the visit or need. For example, hospital phone book may be useful only if somebody is staying at the hospital or has business with the hospital and therefore would expire after a period of the time, during the stay or business dealings. Therefore this local phone book is dynamic and limited by the location and the time of the need.

It would be also advantageous that this dynamic local phone directory incorporate a secure access. Local phone book data would not be transferred to a user without authentication, and also such temporary users would not be given access to all the information. For example, a client visiting an office might be allowed to have access to the phone book entries of his host(s,) reception, helpdesk, or some other relevant people, but not to all the information in the phone book. Similarly a user would need to authenticate the service, and set the limits of the need in scope and duration.

According to one aspect of this application, a communication network is provided with a server, which at least in part is constructed to store a local phone directory having contact information pertinent to the network location. A communications interface is equipped to allow incoming calls for the purpose of accessing the local directory. A mobile communication device is adapted to establish a communication link with the server and provide the server with the necessary identification as an authorized user of the local phone directory. After the link is established and authentication is accomplished, the user of the mobile communication device may obtain contact data from the local phone directory while in the locality or for a predetermined limited time period.

In another aspect of this application, a user\'s mobile communications device may be automatically contacted by a local network and the user provided with the opportunity to acquire local contact information. This can be prompted by sensing the location of the user equipment (UE) and initiating a link via wlan, bluetooth, ultrawide banc, WiFi, WiMax, referred to as secondary local communications. The user could autheticate and accept or reject the offer of local contact data.

In another aspect of this application, the local communications network server includes an accessible local telephone directory with contact information for the associated business, organization, school, hospital, building, or other facility or locale with associated local directory of contact information. The local telephone directory includes a communications interface that provides a portal to the directory for users visiting the locale. A user would provide identification sufficient to authenticate the request for access and then would be permitted to download the contact information. The network server would then provide the communication interface to allow the user to access the local network using the contact information and thereby become a virtual internal phone.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing aspects and other features of the embodiments are explained in the following description, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of a cellular telecommunication system, as an example of an environment in which aspects of the embodiments may be applied;

FIG. 2a shows a perspective view of one embodiment of a mobile communication device in which aspects of the disclosed embodiments may be applied;

FIG. 2b shows a perspective view of another embodiment of a mobile communication device in which aspects of the disclosed embodiments may be applied;

FIG. 3 shows a user interface for an embodiment of a mobile communication device in which aspects of the disclosed embodiments may be applied;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the mobile communications device of FIG. 3 associated with a local network;

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Method to collect and manage smart dialplan for session initiation protocol devices
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Technique for effectively providing a personalized information assistance service
Industry Class:
Telephonic communications

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