1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method and a system of searching accounts by arranging phone numbers, and particularly to a method and a system for integrated management of phone numbers and accounts.
2. Description of Related Art
In the age where the applications of network technology have been popularized, email communication and instant messaging applications are widely used as mainstream communication tools in addition to telephonic devices, for their advantages of being fast, accurate and free from limitations in time and space.
There are many Internet-based service providers allotting email addresses to their users for free and there are many people who maintain business email addresses apart from their personal email addresses. Thus, it is normal that one person will have more than two email addresses. When sending an email to such a person, the addresser has to input each of the email addresses, creating more work and inconvenience. In the meantime, as typos will occur from time to time, once the wrongly input email addresses are applied as accesses in business emails, the addresser can not only lose time, but also irredeemably damage the integrity of confidential information.
On the other hand, instant messaging applications are also a popular form of internet-based communication service as described above, such as MSN, YAHOO Messenger, SKYPE or QQ which is popular in China. When a user of such an application intends to incorporate an individual's communicating account into his/her contact list, the conventional approach is to directly input the account information to the application. However, an incorrect input may cause an unknown third party to be unintentionally incorporated into the contact list, leading to trouble for both parties. Alternatively, a name or a nickname may be used for a search. However, when there is a plurality of accounts with the same name or nickname shown as the search result, careful identification has to be made in order to prevent mistaking certain people with others. Furthermore, if a person uses different accounts in different messaging applications, the search could be even harder.
In addition, there are many social community service means, such as blogs, FACEBOOK, and so on, which give users a platform to publish and share with others images, videos or articles made by himself/herself. The search for users in this kind of social community service can be also achieved by inputting accounts or nicknames. However, similar to the foregoing instant messaging applications, when a user intends to add another user to his/her contact list, incorrect input is still a problem, not to mention the problems that occur when one person uses varying accounts in different social community services.
The present invention provides a method and a system of searching accounts by arranging phone numbers. Thereby, an inquiring user can input a phone number of a user to be searched and easily obtain the corresponding email address, instant messaging account or social community service account, and can directly apply the search result to an appointed field in an associated application, without the need of searching and typing in the account information one by one. Hence, the problems related to the incorrect input of account information can be eliminated and the search can be more efficient. To people who have trouble in reading the alphabet, the present invention is user-friendly because the inquiring user only has to key in phone numbers which are more visually recognizable as compared with other characters, thereby saving time and energy. Additionally, the present invention allows an inquiring user to search a phone number with a known account, so as to enhance operational convenience.
For achieving the above effects, the present invention provides a method of searching accounts by arranging phone numbers, which comprises steps of providing a general user database that has at least one individual user table that includes a plurality of predetermined phone numbers and a plurality of predetermined accounts, wherein each said predetermined phone number has at least one corresponding said predetermined account; inputting a phone number or an account for a search; and searching the phone number or the account in the general user database and showing at least one said predetermined account or at least one said predetermined phone number.
Therein, the predetermined phone number corresponding to the shown predetermined account is identical to the phone number previously input for a search, and the predetermined account corresponding to the shown predetermined phone number is identical to the account previously input for search.
For achieving the above effects, the present invention further provides a system of searching accounts by arranging phone numbers, which comprises an inquiring user interface including an input unit; a general user database storing at least one individual user table, which includes a plurality of predetermined phone numbers and a plurality of predetermined accounts, wherein each said predetermined phone number has at least one corresponding said predetermined account; and a search unit connected to the general user database and including at least one search field, wherein, when a phone number or an account for search is input to the search field of the input unit, the search unit searches in the general user database and shows at least one said predetermined account or at least one said predetermined phone number.
Therein, the predetermined phone number corresponding to the shown predetermined account is identical to the phone number previously input for search, and the predetermined account corresponding to the shown predetermined phone number is identical to the account previously input for search.
In addition, the present invention may further be connected to an authorization unit for security management where only authorized inquiring users are allowed to have access, and where a notice is issued by the authorization unit to an account provided by a user who has previously input his/her data, and the setting of the general user database will only be completed when the user acknowledges this notice, so as to prevent problems related to unintentional incorrect input of the account.
By implementing the present invention, at least the following progressive effects can be achieved:
1. By merely inputting the phone number to be searched, the desired account information can be obtained, so as to eliminate problems involving incorrect input of accounts or other contacting information.
2. The present invention can work with applications where search of accounts is required for building a contact list. When the phone number to be searched is input to the associated application, search in the general user database of the present invention is conducted and the result is shown in the associated application, thereby simplifying the process of adding contacts.
3. The inquiring user can input an account for searching the phone number corresponding thereto, so as to allow convenient inquiry.
4. The present invention can incorporate security management, so as to limit users' access and ensure information security.
5. The information is maintained and updated by individual users. When there is a change to be made, the user can simply modify the information stored in the general user database and other users can be updated without separate notification, thus rendering the system to be far more convenient.
The invention as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Referring to
Therein, the inquiring user interface 21 has an input unit 211 that allows an inquiring user to input contents therethrough for a search.
Please see
The search unit 22 is connected to the general user database 23 and has at least one search field 221. According to a corresponding condition input to the search field 221 through the input unit 211 by an inquiring user, the search unit 22 searches in the general user database 23 for corresponding said phone number(s) or account(s), and then shows the corresponding said phone number(s) or account(s). The inquiring user directly can obtain the corresponding said phone number(s) or account(s) without the need to input account information one by one. The general user database 23 may be built in a host or connected to the system 20 through a network, so as to allow update made by the individual users and in turn maintain good authenticity of the data therein.
As shown in
The general user database 23 is further connected to an authorization unit 24, so that when a user uploads information to the individual user table 231 for a registration process or an update process, the authorization unit 24 issues a confirmation to an account previously provided by the user, and the general user database 23 will only complete the registration process or update process until the user acknowledges the confirmation. Thereby, problems related to incorrect account input can be eliminated. In addition, the user may previously build a list of persons who are desired to be authorized inquiring users for search, and then a notice is issued to each said person. In such a case, when the person receives and confirms the notice, he/she is allowed to conduct search in the general user database 23 as an authorized inquiring user. Similarly, if a user intends to perform search for another user's information, he/she may issue a request and the authorization unit 24 can send a notice to the account registered by the user to be found. After the user to be found agrees to give the authorization, the system 20 will allow the inquiring user to conduct the requested search.
Furthermore, referring to
Referring to
Referring to
As shown in
Additionally, referring to
Moreover, the open-up setting field, the priority setting field, and the open-up priority setting field may be in the form of a drop-down menu, or may provide multiple check boxes or other applicable input means, which is not limited to the one shown in the drawings.
Furthermore, when the system 20 shows multiple accounts in the email system B according to the input conditions, the inquiring user may again check the applied account before sending an email, or the inquiring user may adopt all the shown accounts in order to ensure successful delivery even when one or some of the searched accounts are overloaded or invalid.
Hereinafter, an embodiment of a method of searching accounts by arranging phone numbers according to the present invention is illustrated. Referring to
Therein, the phone number to be searched corresponds to the predetermined account in the general user database 23 and is identical to the predetermined phone number in the general user database 23, while the account to be searched corresponds to the predetermined phone number in the general user database 23 and is identical to the predetermined account in the general user database 23.
In the step of providing the general user database (S11), the general user database 23 is stored in at least one individual user table 231, which is in the form of a mapping table. Referring to
In the step of inputting the phone number or account to be searched (S12), a condition may be input by an inquiring user for searching any corresponding phone number or account in the general user database 23.
In the step of showing at least one predetermined account or predetermined phone number (S13), in response to the input of the phone number to be searched, search is conducted in the general user database 23 and the corresponding predetermined account is shown. Similarly, in response to the input of the account to be searched, the corresponding predetermined phone number is shown for the inquiring user to use.
Therein, the phone number to be searched is corresponding to the predetermined account in the general user database 23 and is identical to the predetermined phone number in the general user database 23, while the account to be searched is corresponding to the predetermined phone number in the general user database 23 and is identical to the predetermined account in the general user database 23.
In the above-disclosed method, by using a user's phone number for search, an inquiring user can obtain the corresponding predetermined one or more accounts. The predetermined account may be an email address, so as to eliminate problems related to inputting incorrect letters in the email address. In addition, the general user database 23 may be in a host or connected to the system 20 through a network, so as to enable updates and by the users and in turn to maintain good authenticity of the data therein.
Furthermore, the present embodiment is further connected to an account search field of an interconnection system A. The interconnection system A may be an instant messaging application or a social community service (e.g. MSN, FACEBOOK, etc.). When a phone number is input into the account search field of the interconnection system A, search is conducted in the general user database 23, and the corresponding at least one predetermined account is directly shown in the interconnection system A. Thereby, the inquiring user can promptly be informed of the searched account for his/her use.
Furthermore, the present embodiment is further connected to an account search field of an email system B (e.g. MS Outlook etc.). When a phone number is input to the account search field of the email system B, search is conducted in the general user database 23, and the corresponding at least one predetermined account is directly shown in the email system B. Thereby, the inquiring user can directly apply the searched account to the addressee field of an email, so as to prevent mistyping of the email address.
As shown in
In addition, if it is desired to allow other inquiring users to access the individual user's information, the individual user may previously set up a list of persons who are desired to be authorized inquiring users for search, and then a notice is issued to each said person. In such a case, when the person receives and confirms the notice, he/she is allowed to conduct a search as an authorized inquiring user in the general user database 23. Similarly, if the user intends to perform search as an inquiring user for another individual user's information, he/she may request so and the authorization unit 24 sends a notice to the email address registered by said individual user. After the contacted individual user agrees to give the authorization, the system 20 will allow the requested search in the general user database 23. This is for ensuring information security.
Referring to
Additionally, the individual user table 231B may further have a priority setting field for the user to set the order of his/her accounts while inputting the accounts, so that the predetermined accounts will be shown in the priority order set by the user. For easy operation, the user may only allow the predetermined account of the first priority to be shown. Furthermore, the individual user table 231C may have both the open-up setting field and the priority setting field, so as to allow setting for specific accounts are to be shown and in a specified order.
In addition, the individual user table 231D or 231E may also have an open-up priority setting field, which is configured to work with the foregoing priority setting field. The priority setting field set allows the user, while in the open-up priority setting field, to set up his/her system to display accounts bearing a priority status up to the nth priority (n is a natural number greater than 1). This way, the user can also determine the extent or degree of privacy desired while setting up his/her account.
To sum up, the present invention allows an inquiring user to search and obtain an account of phone number by inputting a phone number or account to be searched, so as to prevent problems related to incorrect input of accounts or other contacting information. The present invention can work with other applications, such as the email system or the interconnection system as described above, so as to simplify input of accounts. Also, the individual user table 231 may be modified or updated according to the use's need, so other inquiring users can be free from the trouble of inputting the modified or updated accounts.
The present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments and it is understood that the embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Moreover, as the contents disclosed herein should be readily understood and can be implemented by a person skilled in the art, all equivalent changes or modifications which do not depart from the concept of the present invention should be encompassed by the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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099116563 | May 2010 | TW | national |