U.S. patent application number 13/231476 was filed with the patent office on 2012-01-05 for mobile communications device, and method of updating telephone directory of mobile communications device.
This patent application is currently assigned to NEC CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Richard ORMSON.
Application Number | 20120003963 13/231476 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34639968 |
Filed Date | 2012-01-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120003963 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
ORMSON; Richard |
January 5, 2012 |
MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE, AND METHOD OF UPDATING TELEPHONE
DIRECTORY OF MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE
Abstract
A mobile communications device includes: a telephone directory
storage unit for storing a telephone directory; a comparator for
comparing a service identifier included in a received message with
a service identifier stored in the telephone directory; and an
update unit for updating the telephone number stored in the
telephone directory. If the service identifier corresponding to the
telephone number received in the message matches the service
identifier stored in the telephone directory, the update unit
updates the telephone number stored in the telephone directory with
the received telephone number.
Inventors: |
ORMSON; Richard; (Reading,
GB) |
Assignee: |
NEC CORPORATION
Toyko
JP
|
Family ID: |
34639968 |
Appl. No.: |
13/231476 |
Filed: |
September 13, 2011 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
11910189 |
Sep 28, 2007 |
8036649 |
|
|
PCT/JP2006/308449 |
Apr 21, 2006 |
|
|
|
13231476 |
|
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
455/412.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M 1/72457 20210101;
H04M 1/2757 20200101 |
Class at
Publication: |
455/412.1 |
International
Class: |
H04L 12/58 20060101
H04L012/58 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 22, 2005 |
GB |
0508180.7 |
Claims
1. A network transmitter for use in a mobile communications system,
comprising: a message generator for generating messages each of
which comprises at least one telephone number and at least one
associated service identifier; and a transmitter coupled to the
message generator for transmitting messages generated by the
message generator.
2. The network transmitter according to claim 1, wherein said
message further comprises a message identifier.
3. The network transmitter according to claim 1, wherein the
message generated by the message generator is a GSM cell broadcast
message.
4. The network transmitter according to claim 1, wherein the
message generated by the message generator is a 3G service area
broadcast message.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a Divisional application of U.S.
application Ser. No. 11/910,189 filed Sep. 28, 2007, which is
National Stage of International Application No. PCT/JP2006/308449
filed Apr. 21, 2006, which claims priority from Great Britain
Patent Application No. 0508180.7 filed Apr. 22, 2005, which
applications are incorporated herein by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] This invention relates to a mobile communications device,
which is preferably a mobile telephone handset or a mobile
telephone, a method of updating a telephone directory of a mobile
communications device, and a computer program for implementing the
method.
BACKGROUND ART
[0003] When the user of a mobile communications device such as a
mobile telephone or a portable telephone is away from the user's
usual location, entries stored in the user's phone book that relate
to local services, for example the local police station, taxi firm,
or takeaway, have limited use. Therefore, a system whereby the
number is updated to give a service appropriate to the user's
location is helpful to the user.
[0004] There are already location-based information services
available on a number of networks. These services are generally
accessed through WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) or
i-Mode.RTM., and require the users to perform a relatively complex
operation to reach the telephone number for which they are looking.
This deters many users from making use of location-based services
at all and for others, it limits their use to when there is no
other choice.
[0005] Furthermore, for users to take advantage of such services,
they must have relatively advanced handsets (portable telephones),
which many users do not have, and also be happy to use more complex
features, which many users are not.
[0006] Modern communications devices include a facility, typically
known as a phone book, for users to store frequently used telephone
numbers. Usually the phone book is provided with a "number" and
corresponding "name" field. The user can easily find the desired
number by using the phone book. The phone book data can either be
stored in the mobile telephone itself, or in the SIM (Subscriber
Identity Module) card which is in the mobile telephone, or in both.
The data from these different sources are typically presented to
the user in a single display, the data being combined into a
standard format by the mobile communications device.
[0007] Following the implementation of phase 2 of the GSM (Global
System for Mobile Communications) standard, many modern mobile
communications devices allow for the broadcast of short message
strings which uses the short message service (SMS) cell broadcast
channels. The SMS cell broadcast channels are designed to enable
the simultaneous delivery of messages to multiple users in a
particular area. A message is only delivered to a mobile
communications device if it is within a predetermined range of one
of the network communications antennas. A similar service has been
provided for in 3G (third generation) systems, known as the service
area broadcast message, and those skilled in the art will
appreciate the applicability of an embodiment of the invention to
both GSM and 3G systems.
[0008] The cell broadcast and service area broadcast services are
different from the traditional SMS service because the SMS
broadcast services are geographically-restricted, one-to-many
services whereas the traditional SMS service is a one-to-one or
one-to-few service.
[0009] Although these channels are optional, they are widely
implemented. At present, most carry information describing the area
in which the cell broadcasting signal is located, for example the
name of the nearest town, the local dialing code, weather
conditions, or traffic reports and the like. The information is
formatted and broadcast to the user in exactly the same way as the
conventional point-to-point SMS.
[0010] The broadcast message includes formatting that indicates the
intended message destination within the mobile station. For
example, it can sent a message explicitly to the SIM card rather
than the mobile telephone handset.
[0011] Finally, following the implementation of phase 2 of the GSM
standard, SIM or universal subscriber identity module (USIM) cards
can carry their own applications (application programs). This
enables SIMs to have a "SIM toolkit application." SIM toolkits
provide additional functionality to mobile phones. For example,
they allow the user to pay for utility bills such as electricity
bills or to access internet banking accounts. These may run
automatically, or may be called by the user by accessing a special
menu in the handset user interface. If such a menu is supported by
the handset, the contents of the menu are provided by the SIM by
way of the standards-defined SIM toolkit interface.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
Problem to be Solved by the Invention
[0012] The object of the present invention is to provide a method
and system for updating a telephone directory of a mobile
communications device.
[0013] In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention,
a mobile communications device comprises: a telephone directory
storage unit for storing a telephone directory comprising one or
more service identifiers, each service identifier being associated
with a telephone number stored in the telephone directory storage
unit; a receiver for receiving a message comprising at least one
telephone number and at least one associated service identifier; a
comparator coupled to the telephone directory storage unit and the
receiver for comparing the or each service identifier of the
received message with the or each service identifier stored in the
telephone directory in the telephone directory storage unit; and an
update unit coupled to the comparator for updating the or each
telephone number stored in the telephone directory. In this mobile
communications device, if the comparator determines that the
service identifier corresponding to the telephone number received
in the message matches the service identifier stored in the
telephone directory, the update unit updates the telephone number
stored in the telephone directory with the telephone number
received in the message which is associated with the service
identifier.
[0014] In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention,
a mobile communications device comprises: a telephone directory
storage unit for storing a telephone directory comprising one or
more service identifiers, each service identifier being associated
with a telephone number stored in the telephone directory storage
unit; a message identifier storage unit for storing one or more
message identifiers; a look-up table storage unit for storing a
message identifier and associated service identifier; a first
comparator coupled to the telephone directory storage unit and the
look-up table storage unit; a receiver for receiving a message
comprising at least one telephone number, at least one associated
service identifier and a message identifier; a second comparator
coupled to the message identifier storage unit and the receiver;
and an update unit coupled to the comparator and the telephone
directory storage unit for updating the or each telephone number
stored in the telephone directory. The first comparator compares
the or each service identifier stored in the look-up table storage
unit with the or each service identifier stored in the telephone
directory, and if the first comparator determines that the service
identifier stored in the telephone directory matches the service
identifier stored in the look-up table, the first comparator
assigns the message identifier associated with the matching service
identifier stored in the look-up table to the service identifier
stored in the telephone directory by storing the associated message
identifier in the message identifier storage unit. The second
comparator compares each message identifier of the received message
with the or each message identifier stored in the message
identifier storage unit. In this mobile communications device, if
the comparator determines that at least one of the message
identifiers stored in the message identifier storage unit is
determined to match the message identifier of the received message,
the or each associated service identifier of the received message
is compared with the or each service identifier having a matching
message identifier. If the service identifier corresponding to the
telephone number received in the message is determined to match the
service identifier stored in the telephone directory, the update
unit updates the telephone number stored in the telephone directory
with the telephone number received in the message which is
associated with the service identifier. Instead of separately
providing the first comparator and the second comparator, it is
possible to provide a comparator which is coupled to the telephone
directory storage unit, the look-up table storage unit and the
comparator, and has both functions of the first comparator and the
second comparator.
[0015] In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention,
a mobile communications device comprises: a telephone directory
storage unit for storing a telephone directory comprising one or
more service identifiers, each service identifier being associated
with a telephone number stored in the telephone directory storage
unit; a message identifier storage unit for storing one or more
message identifiers; a receiver for receiving one or more messages,
each message comprising at least one telephone number, at least one
associated service identifier and a message identifier; a first
comparator coupled to the telephone directory storage unit and the
receiver; a second comparator coupled to the message identifier
storage unit and the receiver; and an update unit coupled to the
comparator and the telephone directory storage unit for updating
the or each telephone number stored in the telephone directory. The
first comparator compares the or each service identifier stored in
the telephone directory with the or each service identifier of the
received message, and if the first comparator determines that the
service identifier stored in the telephone directory matches the
service identifier of the received message, the first comparator
assigns the message identifier associated with the matching service
identifier in the received message to the service identifier stored
in the telephone directory by storing the associated message
identifier in the message identifier storage unit. The second
comparator compares each message identifier of the received message
with the or each message identifier stored in the message
identifier storage unit. In this mobile communications system, if
the comparator determines that at least one of the message
identifiers stored in the message identifier storage unit is
determined to match the message identifier of the received message,
the or each associated service identifier of the received message
is compared with the or each service identifier having a matching
message identifier. If the service identifier corresponding to the
telephone number received in the message is determined to match the
service identifier stored in the telephone directory, the update
unit updates the telephone number stored in the telephone directory
with the telephone number received in the message which is
associated with the service identifier. Instead of separately
providing the first comparator and the second comparator, it is
possible to provide a comparator which is coupled to the telephone
directory storage unit, the message identifier storage unit and the
comparator, and has both functions of the first comparator and the
second comparator.
[0016] In accordance with a fourth aspect of the present invention,
a method of updating a telephone directory of a mobile
communications device comprises steps of: storing one or more
service identifiers in a telephone directory, each service
identifier being associated with a telephone number stored in the
telephone directory; receiving a message, the message comprising at
least one telephone number and at least one associated service
identifier; comparing the or each service identifier of the
received message with the or each service identifier stored in the
telephone directory; and if the service identifier corresponding to
the telephone number received in the message is determined in the
comparing step to match the service identifier stored in the
telephone directory, updating the telephone number stored in the
telephone directory with the telephone number received in the
message which is associated with the service identifier for the or
each matching service identifier in the received message.
[0017] In accordance with a fifth aspect of the present invention,
a method of updating a telephone directory of a mobile
communications device comprises steps of: storing one or more
service identifiers in a telephone directory, each service
identifier being associated with a telephone number stored in the
telephone directory; assigning a message identifier to each service
identifier stored in the telephone directory by comparing the or
each service identifier stored in the telephone directory with the
or each service identifier stored in a look-up table to output an
associated message identifier to a message identifier storage unit
if the service identifiers match; receiving a message, the message
comprising at least one telephone number, at least one associated
service identifier and a message identifier; comparing the message
identifier associated with each service identifier stored in the
telephone directory with the message identifier of each the
received message; and if at least one of the message identifiers
stored in the message identifier storage unit is determined to
match the message identifier of the received message, comparing the
or each associated service identifier of the received message with
the or each service identifier having a matching message identifier
stored in the telephone directory; and if the service identifier
corresponding to the telephone number received in the message is
determined to match the service identifier stored in the telephone
directory, updating the telephone number stored in the telephone
directory with the telephone number received in the message which
is associated with the service identifier for the or each matching
service identifier in the received message.
[0018] In accordance with a sixth aspect of the present invention,
a method of updating a telephone directory of a mobile
communications device comprises steps of: storing one or more a
service identifiers in a telephone directory, each service
identifier being associated with a telephone number stored in the
telephone directory; assigning a message identifier to each service
identifier stored in the telephone directory by receiving a
message, the message comprising at least one telephone number, at
least one associated service identifier and one message identifier,
and by comparing the or each service identifier stored in the
telephone directory with the or each service identifier in the
received message to output an associated message identifier to a
message identifier storage unit if the received and stored service
identifiers match; repeating the assigning step until each service
identifier stored in the telephone directory has been assigned a
message identifier; receiving a message, the message comprising at
least one telephone number, at least one associated service
identifier and one message identifier; comparing the message
identifier associated with each service identifier stored in the
telephone directory with the message identifier of each received
message; if at least one of the message identifiers stored in the
message identifier storage unit matches the message identifier of
the received message, comparing the or each associated service
identifier of the received message with the or each service
identifier having a matching message identifier stored in the
telephone directory; and if the service identifier corresponding to
said telephone number received in the message is determined to
match the service identifier stored in the telephone directory,
updating the telephone number stored in the telephone directory
with the telephone number received in the message which is
associated with the or each matching service identifier in the
received message.
[0019] Preferably the telephone directory storage unit is the
existing phone book provided in mobile communications handsets or
mobile telephones, and the service identifier is a specific
combination of characters stored in the identifying text that the
existing phone book function stores for each telephone number.
[0020] The inventor has appreciated that a location-based service
can advantageously be provided within the existing cellular
infrastructure by using a largely unused channel, preferably the
Cell Broadcast channel, which has the advantage that it operates
transparently to the user and does not require the handset to have
any location services or mobile internet capability.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing main functional components
of a mobile communications device and base station in a first
exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
[0022] FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing main steps performed by the
first exemplary embodiment;
[0023] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing main functional components
of a mobile communications device and base station in a second
exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
[0024] FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing main steps performed by the
second exemplary embodiment;
[0025] FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the continuation of the flow
chart of FIG. 4;
[0026] FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing main functional components
of a mobile communications device and base station in a third
exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and
[0027] FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing main steps performed by the
third exemplary embodiment.
EXPLANATIONS OF THE REFERENCE NUMERALS
[0028] 11 Mobile communications device; [0029] 13 Base station;
[0030] 15, 28 Antenna; [0031] 17 Transmitter/receiver; [0032] 19
Comparator (CPU); [0033] 21, 31 Update unit; [0034] 23 Telephone
directory storage unit; [0035] 25 Display; [0036] 27 Network
transmitter/receiver; [0037] 29 Message generator; and [0038] 51
Message identifier storage unit.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0039] The preferable exemplary embodiments of the present
invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0040] In the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention
shown in FIG. 1, a mobile communications system comprises mobile
communications terminal or device 11, and base station 13 which is
a network transmitter.
[0041] Mobile communications device 11 comprises antenna 15,
transmitter/receiver 17 to transmit and receive signals to or from
base station 13 via antenna 15, comparator 19, update unit 21,
telephone directory storage unit 23, and display 25. Telephone
directory storage unit 23 has a function to hold the telephone
directory data. Display 25 has a function to display a message,
telephone number and the like to a user. Comparator 19 has a
function to compare data such as a message received via
transmitter/receiver 17 and identifier with data stored in
telephone directory storage unit 23. Update unit 21 has a function
to update the data in telephone directory storage unit 23 in
accordance with the comparison result at comparator 19. Base
station 13 comprises antenna 28, network transmitter/receiver 27 to
transmit and receive signals to or from mobile communications
device 11 via antenna 28, and message generator 29 which generates
a message to be transmitted to mobile communications device 11.
These functional components are described in further detail
below.
[0042] Referring to FIG. 1 and to the flow chart in FIG. 2, when
the network operator (telecommunications carrier) ships a new SIM
(not shown), it pre-programs a number of entries in telephone
directory storage unit 23, as shown in step 31. Alternatively,
storage unit 23 may be a separate store in the body of the
telephone. These entries include a completed name or service
identifier (SI) field and an associated default telephone number
field for each of the services that the network operator wishes to
define. The service identifier is preferably an alphanumeric
string. Examples of the service identifier field could be the
"Local police," "Local hospital" and the like, with a default
number corresponding to the national emergency code for the country
in question. For example, the default number corresponding to the
national emergency code is "999" in the United Kingdom, or "911" in
the United States. Other fields could be specified such as "Local
taxi," "Local bus company," "Local train company," "Local Chinese
takeaway" or "Local Indian takeaway." In these cases, the default
number could be the directory enquiries number.
[0043] Preferably, for the example illustrated in FIG. 2, as shown
in step 33, when the SIM is first used in the handset, or in the
case that the telephone directory storage unit exists in the mobile
communications device, when the mobile communications device is
first turned on, the SIM toolkit application detects the presence
of these entries starting with the word "Local." This enables the
telephone directory to have both "Local" entries which will be
updated, and non-local entries which will not be altered or
updated. Therefore, the word "Local" acts as a service update
identifier which indicates an entry to be updated. However, those
skilled in the art will appreciate that any other service update
identifier can be used instead of the word "Local" to indicate that
the entries in the telephone directory should be updated.
[0044] In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 2, mobile
communications device 11 then receives at step 35 from base station
13 and downloads all broadcast messages containing telephone number
information and associated service identifiers. The SIM application
then instructs comparator 19 to compare the text strings stored in
the SIM phone book with the text strings in the received message,
preferably in an SMS cell broadcast message, at step 37. Comparator
19 is preferably constituted by a CPU processor in the mobile
communications device. A separate comparator could be used, but
this requires modification of the mobile communications device.
[0045] At step 39, comparator 19 determines a match of the text
strings, that is the presence or absence of the match in the
service identifiers. If comparator 19 detects a match at this time,
it notifies update unit or updater 21 that the entry in telephone
directory storage unit 23 is to be updated with the received local
service number, as shown in step 41. As the results, the received
local service number is now stored in the SIM card phone book as
the local number for that local service in place of the default
number. When there is no match in step 39, comparator 19 checks if
there are more local numbers in the received message to be compared
with the text entries stored in the phone book, at step 43. When
the match has been detected in step 39, the operation also goes to
step 43 after step 41.
[0046] If the local number to be compared remains in step 43, the
operation goes back to step 37 to compare and update the telephone
number in the phone book as necessary. When all local numbers in
that received message have been compared, the comparator passes or
waits for the next message.
[0047] Once all telephone numbers in the address book have been
updated, the process of steps 35, 37, 39, 41 and 43 can be repeated
each time the handset moves to a new cell, or a timer expires, as
shown in step 45, Alternatively, the process can be repeated each
time the user edits the "local" entries in the SIM phone book, as
shown in step 47.
[0048] The operation is illustrated by Table 1. This shows a part
of the phone book in a mobile telephone according to the first
exemplary embodiment.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Part of a phone book in a mobile
communications device embodying the invention. Service identifier
Name Number Default number Home 01987 654321 Office 020 7123 4567
Local taxi firm 020 118 500 Local hospital 020 999 Local Chinese
118 500 118 500
[0049] It will be seen that in the phone book name field there are
three service identifiers beginning "Local." For these entries, the
phone book is extended by the inclusion of a default field. If the
entry is updated by the method described with reference to FIG. 2,
the number field will contain the updated number. If the entry has
not been updated it will contain the default number, as shown for
the Local Chinese takeaway, or alternatively it will be blank and
the telephone will move to the default field to select the default
number when making a call.
[0050] Using the SMS cell broadcast message, if the text and number
fields are both 16 characters in length, up to five service numbers
can be carried in each 160-character broadcast message.
[0051] Base station 13 includes the similar components as the
conventional base station, and particularly includes network
transmitter/receiver 27 and message generator 29, as shown in FIG.
1. The message generator is adapted to generate messages each of
which comprises one or more telephone numbers and at least one
associated service identifier. Network transmitter/receiver 27 in
its transmitter function is coupled to message generator 29 for
transmitting such messages generated by message generator 29 via
antenna 28.
[0052] However, the first exemplary embodiment described above has
the disadvantage that the mobile communications device must decode
all messages, preferably GSM SMS cell broadcast, and compare the
text strings of each local service in order to determine whether
the local numbers are required. This must be performed every time
the handset moves to a new cell or upon expiry of a timer, as shown
in step 45, or each time the user edits the "local" entries in the
SIM phone book, as shown in step 47. The exemplary embodiments
described below seek to overcome these problems.
[0053] In the second exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 3, mobile
communications device 11 shares some common components as in the
mobile communications device of the first exemplary embodiment
shown in FIG. 1, and those are therefore not described again.
However, in the second exemplary embodiment, mobile communications
device 11 includes the additional functional components of storage
unit 49 for a look-up table and message identifier (MI) storage
unit 51, both connected to comparator (CPU) 19. Message identifier
storage unit 51 can be provided in the phone book. Alternatively,
message identifier storage unit 51 can be provided separately in
the SIM or handset. These features allow additional steps to be
provided in order to avoid the need to download all messages each
time the phone book needs to be updated, for example when the user
edits the "local" entries in the SIM phone book. To this end,
additional steps 53, 55. 57, 59. 61, 63 and 65 are provided to the
process shown in FIG. 2, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Steps 31, 33
and 35 are the same as in the first exemplary embodiment, and will
not be described further.
[0054] In steps 53, 55, 57 and 59, the phone book entries are
mapped to particular broadcast messages. This involves mapping of
either each telephone number or each associated text string
(service identifier) to a non-unique message identifier (service
type identifier) number, i.e., associating each telephone number or
service identifier with one of a number of possible message
identifier numbers. This step is performed by comparator 19. The
message identifier numbers identify the type of information. For
example, message identifier 1 could relate to the local police or
local hospital fields, transportation numbers such as local taxis,
trains or buses could be assigned message identifier 2, while
fields relating to local restaurants such as the local Chinese,
Italian or Indian restaurants or takeaways could be assigned
message identifier number 3.
[0055] The message identifier serves to indicate which messages
need to be decoded for each assigned information type, but is not
intended as an identifier for the information itself. Providing
identifiers in this way allows new information types to be added
later. Preferably, when the SIM is first used in the mobile
communications device, the SIM toolkit application detects the
presence of those entries starting with the word "Local" or with
another service update identifier if such a service update
identifier has been used. The SIM toolkit application then maps
these entries to message identifier numbers for the type of
information and thus makes a note of the information type that
needs to be downloaded.
[0056] Accordingly, as shown in step 45, when the handset moves to
a new cell, or when a timer expires, steps 61 onward are repeated.
In particular, the relevant broadcast messages, which are
identified by their message identifiers, are received and the local
service numbers are updated by performing a string comparison of
the service identifiers in each broadcast message with the service
identifiers of each entry stored in the telephone directory storage
unit which has a matching message identifier. This cycle is then
repeated to keep the local numbers up-to-date. Additionally, when
the user edits the "local" entries in the SIM phone book at step
47, it is once again necessary to repeat steps 35 onwards. This is
because the user may have edited the phone book to include new
entries, which do not have a mapped message identifier associated
with them.
[0057] The mapping of the service identifier or telephone number
field to the message identifier using look-up table storage unit 49
will now be described in further detail, referring to FIGS. 3, 4
and 5. The look-up table stores a service identifier and an
associated message identifier. The mapping process is performed by
comparator 19, which compares the service identifier in the look-up
table with those in the phone book at step 53. The result of the
comparison of the service identifier in the look-up table with the
service identifier in the phone book is evaluated at step 55. If it
is determined that there is a match between the two entries
(identifiers), then the message identifier associated with the
received message is assigned to the matching service identifier by
storing the value of the message identifier in the message
identifier storage unit. This process is repeated, as shown in step
59, until all service identifiers in the phone book have been
mapped the associated message identifiers. Once this process is
complete, for each of the message identifiers required by the
pre-programmed phone book entries, the SIM toolkit requests the
handset to download the relevant messages. This is achieved by
receiving a message at step 61, and comparing the message
identifier of each service identifier in the phone book with the
message identifier of each message at step 63.
[0058] As the result of evaluating at step 65 the comparison result
of step 63, when there is no match between message identifies,
comparator 19 passes or waits for the next message. If there is a
match at step 55, then comparator 19 compares the service
identifier corresponding to one of the telephone numbers in the
received message with the service identifier in the phone book at
step 37, in order to determine whether the entry in the phone book
needs to be updated. This step 37 and following steps 39, 41 and 43
are the same as in the first exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 1
and 2, and so will not be described in further detail.
[0059] Next, a mobile communications system according to the third
exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described. In
the mobile communications system of the third exemplary embodiment
shown in FIG. 6, the mapping of the service identifier fields to
the message identifier codes can be achieved by direct reference to
the information being broadcast on the messages, preferably "local
number" SMS cell broadcast messages. Since the signal sent can be
changed at any time in this system, this system is much more
flexible than the system described above The mobile communications
device in the third exemplary embodiment is identical to that of
the second exemplary embodiment except that a look-up table storage
unit is not required, and the common components as in the second
exemplary embodiment are therefore not described again. Once again,
in the third exemplary embodiment, message identifier storage unit
51 can be provided in the phone book. Alternatively, it can be
provided separately in the SIM or handset.
[0060] In the third exemplary embodiment, each SMS cell broadcast
message comprises the following: a channel number, a message code,
an update number, a language identifier and a message body. The
channel number can contain the message identifier indicating the
type of message contained in the message block. The message code is
the ID of the specific message instance, for example a serial
number. The update number is a version of a specific message, that
is to say the update number differentiates between older and newer
versions of the same message, within the indicated geographical
area. The language identifier simply indicates which language the
message is in, for example English, French or German. Finally, the
message body is a text field, preferably an ASCII text field
containing up to 160 characters. The message body can be formatted
in the following way as shown in Table 2, allowing five service
numbers and associated service identifiers to be stored in each
message, provided that each is not longer than 16 characters in
length.
TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 The message body of a received message
formatted to store five service numbers and associated service
identifiers, each up to 16 characters in length. Local service 1x
012345678901xxxx Local service 2x 023456789012xxxx Local service 3x
034567890123xxxx Local service 4x 045678901234xxxx Local service 5x
056789012345xxxx The x indicates additional space for further
characters to be added.
[0061] FIG. 7 illustrates the process in the third exemplary
embodiment. Note that the process after circle 50 is the same as in
that shown in FIG. 5, and see FIG. 5. In the third exemplary
embodiment, steps 31, 33 and 35 of the mapping process are the same
as in the second exemplary embodiment and these will not be
described in further detail here.
[0062] In the third exemplary embodiment, it is preferable to
provide an additional step as shown in step 67, where the SIM is
pre-programmed with the message identifier codes of all SMS cell
broadcast channels that can contain local numbers, but with no
information on which local numbers are contained within each. The
pre-programmed message identifier codes can be stored in message
identifier storage unit 51, since this storage unit is empty before
the mapping process occurs.
[0063] As in the second exemplary embodiment, the mapping is
performed by an initial reception and decoding of all broadcasts
with the identifiers indicated. However, instead of using a look-up
table, the contents of the received messages are then compared with
the telephone numbers, preferably local telephone numbers needed by
the phone book, at step 69.
[0064] For example, if the phone book contains entries for the
local taxi firm, local train company and local bus company, then
the received messages are searched until the text strings for these
services are found at step 71, i.e., the service identifier in the
telephone directory matches one of the service identifiers in the
received message. The message identifiers for the messages
containing those strings are then stored in message identifier
storage unit 51. In future, only messages with these message
identifiers need to be decoded in order to update the telephone
number of the taxi firm, train company and bus company. This
procedure allows a service to be mapped to a message identifier,
and is repeated until all telephone numbers in the telephone
directory have an associated message identifier. Preferably, each
telephone number has an associated service update identifier stored
in the telephone directory, for example the word "Local" can be
used as a service update identifier, and this prefixes the entries
in the service identifier field of the phone book. The mapping
process is then repeated until all telephone numbers with a service
update identifier have an associated message identifier. Once this
process has been performed, the telephone numbers can be updated
following steps 61, 63, 65, 37, 39, 41 and 43 as in the second
exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 5, and so this process will not
be describe in further detail here.
[0065] However, in the third exemplary embodiment, as in the second
exemplary embodiment, each time the user edits the entries with a
service update identifier, for example the "local" entries in the
SIM phone book, it is necessary to re-perform the mapping process
according to steps 35, 69, 71, 57 and 59.
[0066] Using this method, the appropriate local number can be
updated on the SIM phone card.
[0067] The mapping of the fields to the message identifier codes by
direct reference to the information being broadcast on the
messages, preferably "local number" SMS cell broadcast messages,
has the advantage that the service provider may later notify the
user of new message identifiers that can be supported. Then the
user may enter the appropriate new phone book entry beginning with
"Local," and these will automatically be picked up from the SMS
cell broadcast signals.
[0068] The SIM application can be configured to request the handset
to receive a message in order to update the phone book whenever the
handset moves or changes to a new cell, step 45, or whenever the
handset changes the routing/location area. These exemplary
embodiments are preferred since they minimize power consumption by
the mobile communications device. The mobile communications device
is aware of which cell it is currently connected to as a result of
normal handset operation.
[0069] Alternatively or additionally, the telephone numbers can be
updated periodically even if no change of location occurs. The
periodic update in time is the standard mode of operation of SMS
cell broadcast messages, and so the handset would not require any
change in order to implement this. Performing the update when the
handset changes the routing/location area is not preferred since
this would require changes to the handset operation.
[0070] The SIM application can also be configured to request the
handset to receive an SMS cell broadcast message every time the
relevant message occurs on the air interface. However, this option
is power inefficient and is therefore not preferred.
[0071] Furthermore, a periodic or dynamic update without a change
in location could be advantageous for a number of reasons.
[0072] Firstly, if a number of providers of the same service in the
same area are paying a network operator to provide their numbers,
then the operator will need to cycle between several numbers. This
can be achieved by cycling the provided number after a period of
time has elapsed. Alternatively, the number provided can be varied
according to the number of calls that have been made to the
currently indicated service provider (by call volume) or to provide
a particular balance of calls between providers. This would allow
the network operator to bill the service provider by call volume.
Also the telephone number supplied can be varied if, for example,
the number relates to a service which is time limited. For example,
certain hospitals only offer accident and emergency cover during
core hours. The correct number to call for the service is then time
dependent and the broadcast message must reflect this.
[0073] It will thus be seen that this system provides a method for
networks to find new sources of revenue. The system provides two
possible new income sources by charging the users for use of the
system and by charging companies to have their number to be the one
provided by the system.
[0074] Preferably, a number of mechanisms can be provided to ensure
a robust operation of the system.
[0075] Firstly, if the number entered as "Local" cannot be mapped
to an entry in the cell broadcast signals currently being received,
then the default number is used, and no updated number is
present.
[0076] Secondly, if the local numbers are not already set to their
default values when the handset is powered up, then the power-up
operation can include a step to do this. However, this step may be
omitted if the first cell found by the handset is the same as the
last cell onto which it was camped before power off.
[0077] Thirdly, the user is free to delete the pre-programmed
entries. This may be useful in order to free memory in the SIM or
mobile communications device or to reduce the number of SMS cell
broadcast receptions performed in order to save power.
[0078] Finally, if the message identifiers are assigned by
comparing the service identifier strings in the received messages
and those in the phone books as described above, the same service
provider may later notify the user of new message identifiers that
can be supported. Then the user may enter the appropriate phone
book entry beginning with a service update identifier or the word
"Local" and these will also be picked up from the broadcast
messages.
[0079] Although the system has been describe with reference to a
SIM phone book and a SIM toolkit, so that the telephone directory
storage unit is in fact the SIM card mounted in the mobile
telephone, those skilled in the art will appreciate the
applicability of an embodiment of the invention to a handset phone
book and handset applications.
[0080] Additionally, in the second and third exemplary embodiments,
both the storage unit for the took-up table and that for the
message identifier can be provided either in the mobile
communications device itself or in the SIM card. Having the storage
unit in the SIM has the advantage that it is simple, but it is
relatively inflexible, since once the SIM is in the user's handset,
updates to the table could only be achieved through updates to the
SIM software, which is a procedure that is not undertaken on a
regular basis. However, implementation in the SIM is preferable
since it makes the system easier to roll out when each SIM is sold
rather than with each handset.
* * * * *