Communication device and method for evaluating level of importance of missed incoming call

1. Technical Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to communication devices, and more particularly to, a method for evaluating levels of importance of missed incoming calls of a communication device.

2. Description of Related Art

Incoming calls of a communication device may be missed by a user due to various reasons. However, there is no method to evaluate the level of importance of the missed calls. Therefore, there is room for improvement in the art.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a communication device.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of one embodiment of a method for evaluating importance of missed incoming calls received by the communication device of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram shown recorded missed incoming calls with an evaluated level of importance of each missed incoming call.

The disclosure, including the accompanying drawings, is illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation. It should be noted that references to “an” or “one” embodiment in this disclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and such references mean at least one.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a communication device 1 . In the embodiment, the communication device 1 includes an evaluating system 40 , a display 10 , a processor 20 , and a storage 30 . The communication device 1 may be, for example, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant, a fixed telephone, or other similar device.

The evaluating system 40 is configured for managing incoming calls of the communication device 1 . The evaluating system 40 may include a plurality of programs in the form of one or more computerized instructions stored in the storage 30 and executed by the processor 20 to perform operations of the communication device 1 . In the embodiment, the evaluating system 40 includes a defining module 41 , a determination module 42 , and an execution module 43 .

In general, the word “module,” as used herein, refers to logic embodied in hardware or firmware, or to a collection of software instructions, written in a programming language, such as, Java, C, or assembly. One or more software instructions in the modules may be embedded in firmware, such as in an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM). The modules described herein may be implemented as either software and/or hardware modules and may be stored in any type of non-transitory computer-readable medium or other storage device. Some non-limiting examples of non-transitory computer-readable medium include CDs, DVDs, BLU-RAY, flash memory, and hard disk drives.

Referring to FIG. 2 , a flowchart of one embodiment of a method for managing incoming calls of the communication device 1 using the evaluating system 40 of FIG. 1 is shown. Depending on the embodiment, additional steps may be added, others removed, and the ordering of the steps may be changed.

In step S 1 , the defining module 41 defines one or more reference parameters in relation to incoming calls received by the communication device 1 . In the embodiment, the one or more reference parameters include a first parameter X 1 , a second parameter X 2 , a third parameter X 3 , and a fourth parameter X 4 . The first parameter X 1 represents a period of ring time of an incoming call when the incoming call is held on the line until the incoming call is processed (e.g., answered, rejected, or missed). The second parameter X 2 represents a contact group in which the incoming call number is stored. The incoming call number is defined to be a phone number of the incoming call. In one example, the communication device 1 includes a contact list that is organized in a plurality of contact groups, such as the groups of “family,” “friend,” and “others.” A value of the second parameter X 2 is selected from a plurality of predetermined constants, such as 3, 2, 1. Each of the predetermined constants represents one of the contact groups “family,” “friend,” and “others,” respectively. For example, if the incoming call number is stored in the “family” group of the contact list, the value of the second parameter X 2 in relation to the incoming call is 3. The third parameter X 3 represents how many times that the incoming call number has communicated with the communication device 1 during a predetermined time period (e.g., 15 or 30 days). The fourth parameter X 4 represents a total talk time (e.g., 30 or 50 minutes) that the communication device 1 engages with the incoming call number during answered calls within the predetermined time period. The reference information of these parameters including the first, second, third, and fourth parameters are recorded in the storage 30 .

In step S 2 , the defining module 41 defines a function for evaluating levels of importance of missed incoming calls of the communication device 1 using the one or more parameters. In the embodiment, the function is a linear function, which is Y=a 0 +a 1 X 1 +a 2 X 2 +a 3 X 3 +a 4 X 4 . The a 0 , a 1 , a 2 , a 3 , and a 4 are predetermined coefficients. In the embodiment, solution Y of the linear function is defined to be an importance value of a missed incoming call, which indicates the level of importance of the missed incoming call. The value range for the solution Y is a predetermined range, such as [0,100]. The level of importance of the missed incoming calls may be selected from a plurality of predetermined levels according to the value range for variable Y. For example, the predetermined range may be divided into a first, second, and third value intervals, which respectively are [0, 40], (40,80], (80, 100]. Correspondingly, the predetermined levels may be, for example, low level, middle level, and high level. The coefficients a 0 , a 1 , a 2 , a 3 , and a 4 are determined as follows.

First, n groups of sample values {Y i , X 1i , X 2i , X 3i , X 4i , 0≦i≦n} are determined by a user. For example, the user may determine the n groups of sample values according to reference information of a plurality of missed incoming calls recorded in the communication device 1 . Second, the n groups of sample values are applied to the function to obtain an equation Y i= (a 0 +a 1 X 1i +a 2 X 2i +a 3 X 3i +a 4 X 4i ), 0≦i≦n. Third, the generalized least squares (GLS) method is used to the obtained equation to calculate the coefficients a 0 , a 1 , a 2 , a 3 , and a 4 .

In step S 3 , when an incoming call is received by the communication device 1 , the determination module 42 determines whether the received incoming call is missed by the user. If the received incoming call is missed, the procedure goes to step S 4 . If the received incoming call is not missed, the procedure terminates.

In step S 4 , the execution module 43 obtains the one or more reference parameters including the first, second, third, fourth parameters in relation to the received incoming call. In the embodiment, the execution module 43 can obtain the one or more parameters from the storage 30 .

In step S 5 , the execution module 43 evaluates a level of importance of the missed incoming call by applying the obtained one or more reference parameters to the function Y=a 0 +a 1 X 1 +a 2 X 2 +a 3 X 3 +a 4 X 4 . In the embodiment, the execution module 43 first calculates a solution Y of the function by applying the obtained one or more reference parameters to the function Y=a 0 +a 1 X 1 +a 2 X 2 +a 3 X 3 +a 4 X 4 , and then determines the level of importance of the missed incoming call according to the solution Y of the function. For example, if the solution Y of the function is in the first value interval, the level of importance of the missed incoming call may be the low level. If the solution Y of the function is in the second value interval, the level of importance of the missed incoming call may be the middle level. If the solution Y of the function is in the third value interval, the level of importance of the missed incoming call may be the high level.

In step S 6 , the execution module 43 records the missed incoming call with the evaluated level of importance in the storage 30 , the procedure terminates. For example, as shown in FIG. 3 , the missed incoming call and the evaluated level of importance of the missed incoming call may be recorded in a communication history of the communication device 1 . Thus, when the recorded missed incoming call is displayed on the display 10 , the user can decide whether to reply to the missed incoming call after considering the level of importance of the missed incoming call.

Although certain embodiments of the present disclosure have been specifically described, the present disclosure is not to be construed as being limited thereto. Various changes or modifications may be made to the present disclosure without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.