(19) United States
`(12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2002/0142758 A1
`Abiko et al.
`(43) Pub. Date:
`Oct. 3, 2002
`
`US 2002O142758A1
`
`Publication Classification
`(51) Int. Cl. ................................................ H04M 11/10
`(52) U.S. Cl. ........................... 455/412; 455/414; 455/564
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`A message communication device, typically a mobile tele
`phone, includes menu information creating means that cre
`ates menu information including received message Sender
`identification information listed in a prescribed order for
`display to the user and accept means that accepts user
`designation of items among the Sender identification infor
`mation to be Subjected to prescribed processing.
`
`(54) MESSAGE COMMUNICATION DEVICE
`(76) Inventors: Hajime Abiko, Tokyo (JP); Tokuji
`Yoneyama, Tokyo (JP)
`Correspondence Address:
`WENDEROTH, LIND & PONACK, L.L.P.
`2033 K STREET N. W.
`SUTE 800
`WASHINGTON, DC 20006-1021 (US)
`
`(21) Appl. No.:
`(22) Filed:
`
`10/036,427
`Jan. 7, 2002
`9
`Foreign Application Priority Data
`
`(30)
`
`Mar. 30, 2001 (JP)...................................... 2001-099839
`
`4.
`
`Operation uni
`
`1
`
`
`
`MY
`
`2
`
`Wireless unit
`
`Facebook's Exhibit No. Ex. 1109
`001
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Oct. 3, 2002. Sheet 1 of 10
`
`US 2002/0142758A1
`
`
`
`
`
`?un tIo?emodo
`
`
`
`8Iqen lopuos e oiporo
`
`Z
`
`No.
`
`Facebook's Exhibit No. Ex. 1109
`002
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Oct. 3, 2002 Sheet 2 of 10
`
`US 2002/0142758 A1
`
`taro Gabc.or.jp.
`Satoh (defior.jp
`
`
`
`Satoh (defior.jp
`
`O9012341234
`
`0901234:1234
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Fig.2
`
`Facebook's Exhibit No. Ex. 1109
`003
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Oct. 3, 2002 Sheet 3 of 10
`
`US 2002/0142758 A1
`
`Clear sender table
`
`-N1 S
`
`Check No - 1
`
`S2
`
`S3
`
`Check No Y
`No of received messages?
`
`Y
`
`N
`Acquire sender address from
`Check. No received message
`
`S4
`
`S
`5
`Y
`
`Address in
`sender table?
`
`Add sender address to
`address column of Sender table
`
`
`
`
`
`Sender in
`phone directory
`
`Y
`
`S8.
`
`
`
`Add name registered in phone directory
`to name column of sender table
`
`Add sender address to
`name column of sender table
`
`Check No. - 1
`
`S9
`
`C ENDC
`
`Fig.3
`
`Facebook's Exhibit No. Ex. 1109
`004
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Oct. 3, 2002. Sheet 4 of 10
`
`US 2002/0142758A1
`
`If
`Received messages
`10/9 Hello
`10/9 How are you doing?
`0/8 Made up your mind?
`f0/7. About the job
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Received message screen
`
`
`
`
`
`(c) (IYI
`Received messages
`YAMADA, Taro
`10/8 Made up your mind?
`10/i Thanks
`8/8 Long time no see
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Display sender selection menu
`
`(b)
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`3. KAWADA, Hanako
`4. 0901234 1234
`
`Select “1.YAMADA, Taro
`
`
`
`Received message selection screen
`
`Fig.4
`
`Facebook's Exhibit No. Ex. 1109
`005
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Oct. 3, 2002 Sheet 5 of 10
`
`US 2002/0142758A1
`
`taro Gabc.or.jp
`satoh G defior.jp
`0902345678
`4 09012341234
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Satoh 0 def.or.jp
`
`0901234 1234
`
`2001/01/03
`2001/01/03
`2000/12/31
`2000/12/30
`
`Facebook's Exhibit No. Ex. 1109
`006
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Oct. 3, 2002 Sheet 6 of 10
`
`US 2002/0142758A1
`
`C start D
`
`Clear sender table sorted by date
`
`S
`
`Check No (
`
`)
`
`S12
`
`S3
`Y
`
`Check No >
`No of received messages?
`N
`Acquire sender address from
`Check No received message
`S15
`
`Address in sender table
`
`Y
`
`N
`Add sender address to address column
`of sender table sorted by date
`S 7
`
`us
`a Sender in phone directory?
`
`
`
`N
`
`S4
`
`SS
`
`Add name registered in phone directory
`to name column of sender table sorted by date
`
`Add sender address to name column
`of sender table sorted by date
`
`S23
`
`S 9
`N
`
`O
`Newer than. In Date in
`ras, table sorted by date?
`Y
`Update latest In Date
`
`S2
`
`S2
`
`Check No. + 1
`
`Sort sender table sorted
`by date in order of latest In Date
`C END C
`
`S22
`
`Fig.6
`
`Facebook's Exhibit No. Ex. 1109
`007
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Oct. 3, 2002 Sheet 7 of 10
`
`US 2002/0142758 A1
`
`(e)
`
`III. Y.
`Received messages
`O /O3 Hello!
`O1/03 How are you doing?
`12/31 Made up your mind?
`12/30 About the job
`
`h
`Received message screen
`
`Display sender selection
`by date menu
`
`(b)
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`C2
`
`Sender selection by date menu
`: YAMADA. Taro::01.2012O3:
`2. satch defor.ip 01/01/03
`3. KAWADA, Hanako 00/12/31
`4. O9012341234 01/12/30
`
`t
`
`
`
`(
`
`ill Y
`Received messageS
`YAMADA, Taro
`O 1/C3 Made up your mind?
`12/30 Thanks
`12/29 Long time no see
`
`Received message Selection Screen
`
`Select “1.YAMADA, Taro'
`
`Fig.7
`
`Facebook's Exhibit No. Ex. 1109
`008
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Oct. 3, 2002. Sheet 8 of 10
`
`US 2002/0142758 A1
`
`
`
`
`
`Kawaa, to
`logo12345678
`2 satoho defore satchedeforip
`3 aroebeorge I won
`4 09012341234
`09012341234
`
`13
`to
`5
`
`
`
`Facebook's Exhibit No. Ex. 1109
`009
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Oct. 3, 2002 Sheet 9 of 10
`
`US 2002/0142758 A1
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Clear sender table sorted by mail volume
`
`S31
`
`Check No - 1
`
`S3
`
`Check Nos.
`-e
`No of received messages?
`
`
`
`
`
`N
`Add sender address to address column
`of sender table sorted by mail volume
`S37
`as sender in phone directory?
`
`N
`
`Y
`
`S38
`
`S42
`
`Add sender address to name column
`Add name registered in phone directory to
`name column of sender table sorted by mail vohme of sender table sorted by mail volume
`
`Increment mail volume of Sender
`
`S39
`
`Check No. + 1
`
`S4
`
`Sort sender table sorted by mail volume
`in order of largest volume
`
`S4
`
`Fig.9
`
`Facebook's Exhibit No. Ex. 1109
`010
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Oct. 3, 2002 Sheet 10 of 10 US 2002/0142758A1
`
`III. Y.
`Received messages
`01/03 Hello!
`01/03 How are you doing?
`2/31 Made up your mind?
`12/30 About the job
`
`s
`
`e
`
`Received message screen
`
`(b)
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`ill Y
`
`Received messages
`KAWADA, Hanako
`O 1/03 Made up your mind?
`1 2/27. It's been a long time
`12/26 Saturday OK?
`
`Display sender selection
`by mail volume menu
`
`Sender selection by mail volume menu
`1. KAWADA, Hanako 13
`:
`2. Satoh G def.or.ip 10
`3. YAMADA, Taro
`9
`4 0901234,234.
`5
`
`C3
`
`Select “1, KAWADA, Hanako”
`
`Received message selection Screen
`
`Fig.10
`
`Facebook's Exhibit No. Ex. 1109
`011
`
`

`

`US 2002/0142758 A1
`
`Oct. 3, 2002
`
`MESSAGE COMMUNICATION DEVICE
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`0001) 1. Field of the Invention:
`0002 This invention relates to message communication
`device Such as a mobile telephone that receives messages,
`particularly to a message communication device that facili
`tates user utilization of information identifying the Senders
`of received messages.
`0003 2. Description of the Prior Art:
`0004 Mobile telephones and the like have become ubiq
`uitous in recent years. Mobile telephones are commonly
`used not only for telephone calls but also for Sending and
`receiving mail messages. In the conventional mobile tele
`phone, all received mail messages are Stored in a folder
`created beforehand (the received message folder). The
`mobile telephone user can by a manual input read the
`numerous mail messages Stored in the received mail mes
`Sage folder one by one or Search for a required mail message.
`0005 With the conventional mobile telephone, however,
`a user who wishes, for example, to create a list of all
`received mail messages from a particular Sender must Search
`through numerous messages one by one by means of a
`manual input operation. Some received messages required
`are therefore likely to be overlooked and many operations
`are needed to find the messages. Moreover, with the con
`ventional mobile telephone, a user who desires to record the
`address etc. of a person who sent a received mail message
`(the Sender) in the mobile telephone is required to do So by
`a troublesome manual operation.
`0006 The present invention was accomplished to over
`come these problems of the prior art and has as its object to
`provide a message communication device that facilitates
`user utilization of information identifying the Senders of
`received messages.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`0007. In order to achieve this object, the present inven
`tion provides a message communication device whose mes
`Sage receiving System configuration includes menu infor
`mation creating means that creates menu information
`including information identifying Senders of received mes
`Sages (received message Sender identification information).
`0008 Since menu information including information
`identifying received message SenderS is therefore automati
`cally created, the information identifying received message
`SenderS is easy for the user to utilize.
`0009. The messages may be of various kinds. For
`example, use can be made of mail messages or ordinary call
`messages in a mobile telephone or the like.
`0.010 The information constituting the messages can also
`be of various kinds, including text information composed of
`characters, numerals, Symbols and So forth, Voice informa
`tion, graphic information and combinations of these.
`0.011 The received messages used to create the menu
`information including information identifying SenderS may
`include all received messages or only received messages that
`Satisfy prescribed conditions. Taking mail messages as a
`concrete example, it is possible to use messages received
`
`and Stored in memory. Specifically, regarding call messages
`in a mobile telephone or the like, for example, it is possible
`to use those among received calls that the user accepted (by
`going off-hook).
`0012 Various kinds of information can also be used as
`information identifying Senders. Such information can
`include, for instance, address information, information
`regarding telephone numbers of mobile telephones and the
`like, Sender name information, and So on.
`0013 The menu information including information iden
`tifying Senders of received messages can, for example,
`include only information identifying received message Send
`erS or can include information identifying other perSons.
`0014. The menu information created by the menu infor
`mation creating means can be menu information relating
`exclusively to received message SenderS or menu informa
`tion including Such information in common with other
`information like that in the telephone directory of a mobile
`telephone or the like.
`0015 The menu information creating means can create
`the menu information at any of various times. For example,
`it can create the menu information when the users carries out
`a prescribed operation or when a new message is received.
`0016.
`In the message communication device according to
`the present invention, the menu information creating means
`creates menu information listing the Sender identification
`information in a prescribed order.
`0017. The listing of the sender identification information
`in a prescribed order in the menu information improves
`ease-of-use because it permits the user to readily find
`required Sender information.
`0018. The prescribe order can be any of various orders. It
`can, for example, be alphabetical order, date order, order of
`number of messages received from the same Sender, or the
`like. In the case of alphabetical order, it can be in ascending
`order (A, B, C . . . ) or descending order (Z, Y, X. . . ); in
`the case of date order, it can be from newest to oldest or Vice
`Versa; and in the case of message number order, it can be
`most to least or Vice versa.
`0019. In the message communication device according
`the present invention, display means displays the menu
`information created by the menu information creating means
`for the user to View, accept means accepts user designation
`of Sender identification information among the displayed
`menu information, and processing means executeS pre
`Scribed processing related to the accepted Sender identifica
`tion information.
`0020. The user can therefore designate sender identifica
`tion information from among the menu information created
`by the menu information creating means So as to Subject the
`designated Sender identification information to prescribed
`processing. Since the operations for designating Sender
`identification information and executing prescribed proceSS
`ing are therefore made simple for the user, ease-of-use is
`enhanced.
`0021 Any of various methods can be used for accepting
`designated Sender identification information among the dis
`played menu information. To give an example, a method can
`be adopted in which a cursor is displayed in the menu
`
`Facebook's Exhibit No. Ex. 1109
`012
`
`

`

`US 2002/0142758 A1
`
`Oct. 3, 2002
`
`information and Sender identification information corre
`sponding to a position to which the user move the cursor is
`accepted.
`0022. The prescribed processing can be any of various
`kinds. Examples include processing for display of message
`titles and the like, processing for Saving received messages,
`processing for deleting received messages, processing for
`Setting parties to receive broadcast messages, and processing
`for editing or deleting the Sender identification information
`per Se. AS regards processing for displaying the titles etc. of
`received messages, batch processing of designated Sender
`identification information can be achieved by a configura
`tion that, for instance, collectively displays the titles and the
`like of all messages received from Senders identified by the
`designated Sender identification information.
`
`BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE DRAWINGS
`0023 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of
`a mobile telephone that is an embodiment of the present
`invention.
`FIG. 2 is an exemplary sender table.
`0024
`0.025
`FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the
`Sequence of processing StepS used in a first embodiment of
`the present invention to acquire Sender addresses from
`received messages and enter them in a Sender table.
`0.026
`FIG. 4 is a diagram showing examples of screens
`displayed when Selecting Senders.
`0027 FIG. 5 shows an example of a sender table sorted
`by date.
`0028 FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the
`Sequence of processing StepS used in a Second embodiment
`of the present invention to acquire Sender addresses from
`received messages and enter them in a Sender table Sorted by
`date.
`0029 FIG. 7 is a diagram showing examples of screens
`displayed when Selecting Senders.
`0030 FIG. 8 is an example of a sender table sorted by
`mail Volume.
`0031 FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the
`Sequence of processing StepS used in a third embodiment of
`the present invention to acquire Sender addresses from
`received messages and enter them in a Sender table Sorted by
`mail Volume.
`0.032
`FIG. 10 is a diagram showing examples of screens
`displayed when Selecting Senders.
`
`DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED
`EMBODIMENTS
`0.033 Embodiments of the present invention will now be
`explained with reference to the drawings.
`0034. The embodiments set out in the following represent
`applications of the present invention to mobile telephones of
`a mobile telephone system or Personal Handy phone System
`(PHS), and to messages that are "mail messages.”
`0.035 A mobile telephone that is a first embodiment of
`the present invention will now be explained with reference
`to the drawings.
`
`0036 FIG. 1 schematically illustrates the hardware cir
`cuitry configuration of the mobile telephone of this embodi
`ment. The mobile telephone is equipped with an antenna 1,
`wireleSS unit 2, memory unit 3, operation unit 4, display unit
`5, speaker 6, microphone 7 and control unit 8.
`0037. The wireless unit 2 transmits and receives mail
`messages, call voice information and the like as wireleSS
`Signals using the antenna 1.
`0038. The memory unit 3 consists of a memory for
`Storing information. It Stores a control program for control
`ling the processing operations of the control unit 8 described
`below and also conducts processing (T1) for storing mail
`messages received via the wireleSS unit 2 and processing
`(T2) for recording and storing information received from the
`operation unit 4 etc. described below as phone directory data
`asSociated with telephone numbers, names and the like.
`0039 The operation unit 4 is, for example, composed of
`keys or the like for inputting characters, numerals and So
`forth. It accepts input of message information and the like
`composed of characters, numerals and other Symbols in
`response to an operation of the perSon using the mobile
`telephone of this embodiment (the user).
`0040. The display unit 5 has a screen for displaying
`characters, numerals and So forth. It conducts processing
`(T3) for displaying information Such as the content of mail
`messages received from the wireleSS unit 2 on the Screen and
`processing for displaying information Such as the content of
`messages input through the operation unit 4.
`0041. The speaker 6 converts voice information and other
`electric Signals received from the wireleSS unit 2 to Sound
`that it reproduces for the user.
`0042. The microphone 7 converts the user's voice and
`other Sounds to electrical Signals for input.
`0043. The control unit 8 is equipped with a CPU (Central
`Processing Unit) and the like capable of loading the control
`program stored in the memory unit 3 into RAM (Random
`Access Memory) and carrying out various processing opera
`tions. It conducts processing (T4) associated with message
`reception, processing (T5) for creating a Sender table includ
`ing information identifying the Senders of received mes
`Sages, processing for reading information Stored in the
`memory unit 3, and processing for controlling display in the
`display unit 5.
`0044) The so-configured mobile telephone of this
`embodiment acquires Sender address information from
`received mail messages and effects processing for entering
`the addresses in a Sender table.
`004.5
`FIG. 2 shows an example of a sender table created
`by the mobile telephone of this embodiment. Each of the
`numbers (No) 1,2,3 ... in the sender table is associated with
`address information entered in a “Sender address' column
`and with registered name information or address information
`entered in a "Sender name” column. In the illustrated
`example, Specific address information Such as taro(a/ab
`c.or.jp or 09012341234 is entered in the “Sender address”
`column and, in association there with, registered name infor
`mation Such as “YAMADA, Taro” or address information
`Such as “O9012341234 is entered in the “Sender name’
`column.
`
`Facebook's Exhibit No. Ex. 1109
`013
`
`

`

`US 2002/0142758 A1
`
`Oct. 3, 2002
`
`FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the
`0.046
`Sequence of processing StepS used for acquiring Sender
`address information from received messages and entering
`the information in the Sender table. An example of the
`processing procedure will now be explained with reference
`to this drawing. The following explanation is made on the
`assumption that all mail messages received by the mobile
`telephone have been stored in the memory unit 3 and that
`each received message has been assigned a number Such as
`1, 2, 3 . . .
`. In the mobile telephone, at the start of the
`processing, the Sender table is cleared (Step S1), the Check
`No is set to an initial value of 1 (step S2) and, until the Check
`No becomes larger than the total number of messages (Step
`S3), Sender identification information entry processing is
`executed as set out below (step S3-step S9).
`0047 The sender identification information entry pro
`cessing Starts with extraction from the received message
`asSociated with the Check No of information regarding the
`address of the person (party) who sent the received message
`(step S4). It is then checked whether the extracted address
`information has already been recorded and is present in the
`sender table (step S5).
`0.048 When it is found that the extracted address infor
`mation is already present in the Sender table, the Check No
`is incremented by 1 (step S9) and sender identification
`information entry processing is conducted with respect to
`the incremented Check No (step S3-step S9).
`0049. On the other hand, when it is found that the
`extracted address information is not present in the Sender
`table, the address information is recorded in (added to) the
`“Sender address” column of the sender table (step S6). It is
`then checked whether the address information is recorded
`and present in the phone directory (step 7).
`0050. When it is found that the extracted address infor
`mation is present in the phone directory, information regard
`ing the name (registered name) recorded in the phone
`directory in association with the address information is read
`and the registered name information is entered in the
`"Sender name' column of the Sender table in association
`with the address information in the “Sender address' column
`of the sender table (step S8)
`0051) On the other hand, when it is found that the
`extracted address information is not present in the phone
`directory, the address information is entered in the “Sender
`name' column of the Sender table in association with the
`address information in the “Sender address' column of the
`sender table (step S10).
`0.052 When the processing for recording sender identi
`fication information in the Sender table has been completed
`(step S8, step S9), the Check No is incremented by 1 (step
`S9) and Sender identification information entry processing is
`conducted with respect to the incremented Check No (Step
`S3-step S9). The sender identification information entry
`processing is thus performed as many times as the total
`number of received messages.
`0053. In addition, the mobile telephone of this embodi
`ment is configured So that if, at a time when received
`message titles and the like are displayed on the Screen of the
`display unit 5, the user manipulates the operation unit 4 to
`perform a prescribed operation for displaying "Sender Selec
`tion menu' information, the control unit 8 creates a Sender
`
`table and displays information derived from the created
`sender table on the display unit 5 as “Sender selection menu.”
`information.
`0054 An example of the processing and the like for
`displaying the "Sender Selection menu' information is
`shown in FIG. 4.
`0055 At (a) in the drawing is shown an example of a
`Screen displayed to show received messages in order of date
`Starting from the most recent (received message Screen). The
`Screen displayS multiple lines, one for every received mes
`Sage, each composed of a Set including the date the message
`was received (10/9 etc.) and the title (Hello etc.).
`0056. At a time when a received message screen is being
`displayed, if the user performs a prescribed operation for
`displaying "Sender Selection menu' information, the control
`unit 8 executes the processing shown in FIG. 3 to create a
`sender table like that shown in FIG. 2 and displays a list of
`the information entered in the “Sender name” column of the
`created sender table on the screen of the display unit 5.
`0057. An example of a screen displaying such “Sender
`name' information in the form of “Sender selection menu.”
`information (a Sender Selection menu Screen) is shown at (b)
`in FIG. 4. This screen displays, for example, multiple items
`of "Sender name' information derived from the “Sender
`name” column of the Sender table shown in FIG. 2
`(“YAMADA, Taro,” Satoh(a)defior.jp” etc.) in association
`with the numbers thereof (1,2,3 . . . )
`0058. The sender selection menu screen shown at FIG.
`4(b) also displays a cursor C1 for Selecting, a single item of
`“Sender name' information from among the multiple items
`of “Sender name' information displayed. The cursor C1
`moves in response to a prescribed operation for moving it
`performed by the user through the operation unit 4. The user
`can then designate (confirm Selection of) the item of "Sender
`name' information selected by the cursor C1 by a prescribed
`designation operation input through the operation unit 4. In
`other words, the user can manipulate the operation unit 4 to
`Select a desired item of "Sender name' information with the
`cursor C1 and can then manipulate the operation unit 4 to
`designate the selected “Sender name' information. In the
`example shown at (b) in the drawing, “1. YAMADA, Taro”
`is selected by the cursor C1.
`0059. In the mobile telephone of this embodiment, when
`an item of "Sender name' information is designated in the
`Sender Selection menu screen shown at (b) in the drawing,
`the control unit 8 conducts processing for displaying the title
`and the like of received messages associated with the
`designated item of “Sender name' information in the form
`of a list on the screen of the display unit 5.
`0060. The received messages associated with the desig
`nated item of “Sender name' information that are selected
`are those received messages among all received messages
`whose Sender address information is the same as the address
`information entered in the “Sender address' column of the
`sender table sorted by date in association with the number of
`the designated item of "Sender name' information. AS a
`concrete example, when the item of “Sender name' infor
`mation “YAMADA, Taro” is designated, all received mes
`Sages whose Sender address information is the address
`information "taro(G)/abc.or.jp' associated with the desig
`nated item of “Sender name' information are selected.
`
`Facebook's Exhibit No. Ex. 1109
`014
`
`

`

`US 2002/0142758 A1
`
`Oct. 3, 2002
`
`0061 FIG. 4(c) shows an example of the screen
`(received message Selection Screen) displaying in the form
`of a list all received message titles etc. whose Sender address
`information is the address information associated with the
`designated item of "Sender name' information in the case
`where the selected and designated item of “Sender name”
`information is “YAMADA, Taro” appearing on the sender
`selection menu screen shown in FIG. 4(b). The received
`message Selection Screen shown in FIG. 4(c) displays mul
`tiple lines, one for every received message considered to
`have been received from the perSon associated with the
`designated item of “Sender name' information “YAMADA,
`Taro, each composed of a Set including the date the
`message was received (10/8 etc.) and the title (Made up your
`mind? etc.). The messages are listed in the received message
`Selection Screen in, for instance, order of date received (In
`Date) starting from the most recent.
`0.062. As explained in the foregoing, the mobile tele
`phone of this embodiment automatically creates a Sender
`table and a Sender Selection menu, and enables the user to
`Select and designate desired items of "Sender name' infor
`mation from among the displayed Sender Selection menu
`information. The user can therefore display and read a list of
`received messages from the Sender associated with the
`designated item of “Sender name' information.
`0.063. The mobile telephone of this embodiment can be
`configured So that the user can designate a desired item of
`"Sender name' information merely by a single operation
`Such as clicking or double clicking a key for designating the
`item of "Sender name' information in the Sender selection
`menu Screen. This eliminates the need to perform a com
`plicated character input operation or other Screen operations
`in order to designate a desired item of "Sender name’
`information.
`0064. Since the mobile telephone of this embodiment is
`configured to create a Sender table only when the Sender
`Selection menu Screen is displayed, the memory unit 3 can
`be efficiently utilized because it is not required to constantly
`store a sender table. It should be noted, however, that a
`mobile telephone can be configured differently from that of
`this embodiment So as to constantly Store the created Sender
`table in the memory unit 3 and rewrite the content of the
`Stored Sender table whenever required.
`0065. Although the mobile telephone of this embodiment
`was explained for the case where processing is conducted
`for Selectively extracting and listing received messages from
`SenderS Separately for each Sender, a configuration can also
`be adopted which enables simple designation of “Sender
`name' information in a Sender Selection menu Screen as in
`this embodiment to be also applied to any of various other
`processing operations.
`0.066
`Specifically, a configuration can be adopted that,
`for example, executeS processing for Saving or deleting
`received messages from Senders associated with designated
`items of "Sender name' information as a separate batch
`operation for each Sender.
`0067 Moreover, by adopting a configuration that enables
`items of “Sender name” information to be designated in the
`Sender Selection menu Screen as transmission addresses in
`the case of, for example, making a broadcast transmission of
`messages of identical content to multiple parties, it becomes
`
`possible to designate parties not recorded in the phone
`directory as recipients of the transmission.
`0068 While in the present embodiment, the sender table
`is created as Separate data from the phone directory data, the
`phone directory and the Sender table can instead share
`common data. In this case, a Sender table can be created to
`include, for instance, not only parties that the user recorded
`by, for example, manually inputting phone directory data but
`also all other parties from which messages were received.
`0069. In this embodiment, the registered name informa
`tion and address information entered in the “Sender name’
`column of the sender table shown in FIG. 2 correspond to
`the Sender identification information of the present inven
`tion.
`0070. In this embodiment, the “Sender name” and other
`information displayed on the Sender Selection menu Screen
`shown in FIG. 4(b), for example, correspond to the menu
`information including information identifying received mes
`Sage Senders of the present invention.
`0071. In this embodiment, the function of the control unit
`8 that creates the menu information including information
`identifying Senders constitutes the menu information creat
`ing means of the present invention.
`0072. In this embodiment, the function of the display unit
`5 that displays the created menu information on a Screen for
`user viewing constitutes the display means of the present
`invention.
`0073. In this embodiment, the function of the operation
`unit 4 that accepts user designation of Sender identification
`information from among displayed menu information in
`response to a movement operation and a designation opera
`tion of the cursor C1 constitutes the accept means of the
`present invention.
`0074.
`In this embodiment, the function of the control unit
`8 that executeS prescribed processing including processing
`for batch display of received messages associated with
`accepted Sender identification information constitutes the
`processing means of the present invention.
`0075. A mobile telephone that is a second embodiment of
`the present invention will now be explained with reference
`to the drawings.
`0076. The configuration and operation of the mobile
`telephone of the Second embodiment are similar to the
`configuration and operation of the mobile telephone of the
`first embodiment except for the point that the mobile tele
`phone of the Second embodiment, in listing and displaying
`the information identifying Senders of received messages for
`user viewing, gives priority to the Senders whose messages
`were most recently received. In the following, therefore,
`only the points of difference in configuration and operation
`from the first embodiment will be explained in detail. For
`convenience of explanation, reference numerals identical to
`the reference numerals 1 to 8 assigned to the constituent
`elements of the mobile telephone shown in FIG. 1 will also
`be used to designate the corresponding constituent elements
`of the mobile telephone according to this Second embodi
`ment.
`0077. The mobile telephone of this embodiment acquires
`Sender address information from received mail messages
`
`Facebook's Exhibit No. Ex. 1109
`015
`
`

`

`US 2002/0142758 A1
`
`Oct. 3, 2002
`
`and effects processing for entering the addresses in a Sender
`table sorted by date starting with the sender who sent the
`most recently received message.
`0078 FIG. 5 shows an example of a sender table sorted
`by date created by the mobile telephone of this embodiment.
`Each of the numbers (No) 1, 2,3 . . . in the sender table
`Sorted by date is associated with address information entered
`in a "Sender address' column, registered name information
`or address information entered in a "Sender name”