GB2492059A

GB2492059A - Remote programming of a Radioterminal with SMS to program the terminal to make calls within pre-set limits

Info

Publication number: GB2492059A
Application number: GB1109995.9A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David C Robson; Nigel Slater; Brian King
Original assignee: BURNSIDE TELECOM Ltd
Current assignee: BURNSIDE TELECOM Ltd
Priority date: 2011-06-14
Filing date: 2011-06-14
Publication date: 2012-12-26
Also published as: GB201109995D0

Abstract

The radioterminal comprises: message receiving means for receiving (in an initial programming mode 410) a short message service message (SMS) including a command and a sequence of digits forming at least a partial telephone number and storage means 132 for storing the sequence of digits in response to the command. The terminal has user input means 134, 135, 136 and dialling means for dialling in response to user input (in an operational mode 420), an outbound telephone number including the sequence of digits. The arrangement has the advantage that it allows an operator (e.g. supermarket) to deploy a plurality of fixed cellular terminals (radioterminals) across a wide area, and to program each terminal to make calls within pre-set limits, for example, to end terminals within the geographical area of the fixed cellular terminal.

Description

RADIOTELEPHONE WITH REMOTE PROGRAMMING FEATURES

Field of the Invention

This invention relates, in general, to the field of wireless telephones and in particular fixed cellular terminals.

Background to the Invention

There is a growing demand for fixed cellular terminals such as the BumsideTM T94OTM fixed cellular terminal. These terminals are particularly useful for users in a location where there are no landlines or where installing a landline is expensive or not feasible or simply inconvenient. A fixed cellular terminal provides ease of installation and is often an inexpensive alternative to landline telephones.

For outdoor use, the BumsideTM model P415 GSM Tough PhoneTM provides a ruggedized fixed cellular terminal with a 15-key keypad.

The point-to-point Short Message Service (SMS-PP) is defined in GSM recommendation 03.40. Messages are sent to a Short Message Service Centre (SMSC) which provides a "store and forward" mechanism. It attempts to send messages to the SMSC's recipients. If a recipient is not reachable, the SMSC queues the message for later retry. (Some SMSCs also provide a "forward and forget" option whereby transmission is tried only once.) Transmission of short messages between the SMSC and the mobile (or fixed) terminal is defined by the Mobile Application Part (MAP) of the SS7 protocol. Messages are sent with the MAP MO-and MT-ForwardSM operations, whose payload length is limited by the constraints of the signalling protocol to precisely 140 octets (140 octets = 140 * 8 bits = 1120 bits). Short messages can be encoded using a variety of alphabets: the default GSM 7-bit alphabet, the 8-bit data alphabet, and the 16-bit UTF-16 alphabet. (The latter is used for characters in languages such as Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Japanese or Cyrillic alphabet languages). GSM 7-bit alphabet support is mandatory for GSM handsets and network elements. Depending on which alphabet the subscriber has configured in the handset, this leads to the maximum individual short message sizes of 160 7-bit characters, 140 8-bit characters, or 70 16-bit characters (including spaces). Routing data and other metadata is additional to the payload size.

Larger content (concatenated SMS, multipart or segmented SMS, or "long SMS") can be sent using multiple messages, in which case each message will start with a user data header (UDH) containing segmentation information.

Summary of the Invention

In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, a radioterminal is provided comprising: message receiving means for receiving a short message service message including a command and a sequence of digits forming at least a partial telephone number; storage means for storing the sequence of digits in response to the command; user input means; and dialling means for dialling, in response to user input, an outbound telephone number including the sequence of digits.

Preferably the user input means comprises a keypad and the sequence of digits comprises at least one area code and the dialling means dials a number input by a user through the keypad automatically preceded by the pre-stored area code.

The sequence of digits may comprise at least two area codes and the dialling means may dial a number input by a user only if the number begins with one of the pre-stored two area codes.

The user input means may include a dedicated button or switch. In this case the sequence of digits is a complete telephone number and the dialling means automatically dials the telephone number in response to activation of the dedicated button or switch.

The user input means may include at least first and second dedicated buttons or switches. In this case the sequence of digits includes first and second complete telephone numbers and wherein the dialling means automatically dials the first telephone number in response to activation of the first dedicated button or switch and the second telephone number in response to activation of the second dedicated button or switch.

The message receiving means may be adapted to receive a first indicator associated with the first telephone number and a second indicator associated with the second telephone number.

Means may be provided for indicating to a user that the first button corresponds to the first indicator and the second button corresponds to the second indicator. The first and second indicators are, for example, names in text form and the radiotelephone comprises display means for displaying the names and their associations with the buttons or switches.

In accordance with a second aspect of the invention, a radiotelephone control centre is provided having means for sending, to selected radioterminals, short message service messages each message comprising a command and a sequence of digits forming at least a partial telephone number, for receipt by the selected radioterminals and for storage at the selected radioterminals of the sequence of digits in response to the command for subsequent dialling, in response to user input at any one of the radioterminals, of an outbound telephone number including the sequence of digits.

In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, a method of operation of a radioterminal comprises: receiving a short message service message including a command and a sequence of digits forming at least a partial telephone number; storing the sequence of digits at the radioterminal in response to the command; and dialling, in response to user input, an outbound telephone number including the sequence of digits.

Preferred embodiments of the invention are now described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Fig. 1 is a message flow diagram illustrating the steps in operation of a standard mobile terminated SMS message delivery.

Fig. 2 illustrates the elements of a system in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 3 is a message flow diagram illustrating operation of the system of Fig. 2.

Figs. 4 and 5 are respectively a process diagram and a flow diagram illustrating operation of the terminal of Fig. 2.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments

Referring to Fig. 1, a short message is submitted from a Service Centre (SC) 10, which is an application part of a Short Message Service Centre (SMSC) 15 to a Gateway MSC part 16.

After completing some internal processing, the SMSC interrogates a Home Location Register (HLR) 20 and receives routing information for the User Entity (UE) 30. The SMSC sends the short message to the serving Mobile Switching Centre (MSC) 32 using the forward short message operation. The MSC retrieves the subscriber information from the Visitor Location Register (VLR) 35. This operation may include an authentication procedure. The MSC transfers the short message to the UE. The MSC returns to the SMSC the outcome of the forwardShortMessage operation. If required, the SMSC returns a status report indicating delivery of the short message.

Referring to Fig. 2, a terminal 100 is illustrated in radio communication over a radio channel 101 with a wireless network 102 and, through that network with a control centre 110 and through a public switched telephone network 120 it is connectable to remote telephones 121 and 122.

The terminal 100 comprises a GSM module 130 and, connected to the module 130 is a processor 131, controlling operation of the terminal 100. The processor 131 is connected to a memory 132 and a user interface 133 comprising keys 134-136 and a display 137. In one embodiment, the user interface 133 is a keypad (for example a twelve-button keypad). In another embodiment (as illustrated), the user interface 133 comprises less than twelve buttons, for example just one, two or three buttons, each having a dedicated function.

Operation of the system of Fig. 2 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. In a set-up phase, the control centre 110 (e.g. under manual or programmed control) sends an SMS message to the terminal 100. The SMS message comprises a pre-determined command, such as "STO" (meaning "store"), followed by an argument in the form of a sequence of digits (for example 01252). The sequence of digits, in this example, represents an area code (for example the area code for Famham in Surrey, UK).

The SMS message is sent from the call centre 110 through the GSM network 102 to the terminal 100 in accordance with the process illustrated in Fig. 1. On receipt at the terminal 100, the message is parsed and the command "STO" is recognised by the parser in the processor 13 1. This causes the processor 131 to store in the memory 132 the argument, viz.

the sequence of digits 01252. An acknowledgement 301 is returned from the terminal 100 to the centre 110. At this point, the terminal 100 is ready to initiate a call 310 through the PSTN to a remote terminal 121.

Referring to Fig. 4, the relevant software 400 in the processor 131 of the terminal 100 has a standby state 401 and a program process 410 and a dial process 420. When the "STO" command is received in an SMS message, the process proceeds from standby state 401 to program state 410. Other SMS messages can be received which do not have this command and do not cause the program state 410 to be initiated. Upon storing of the relevant argument in the memory 312, the process returns to the standby state 401. From state 401, a user of the terminal 100 can dial a number using the user interface 133. The user does not have to dial the local area code. The user merely dials the digits that follow the area code (e.g., in the case of a UK telephone number, the five or six digits in the Farnham area code that complete the eleven-digit telephone number).

The user is not able to dial any telephone number other than a number that has the pre-programmed local area code. If the user dials a five-digit number, the process proceeds to process 420 and the terminal causes that number to be dialled by the GSM module 130 and the call is switched through the wireless network 102 and through the PSTN 120 to the relevant remote telephone 121. When the call is completed and one or other party hangs up, the program returns from process 420 to standby process 401.

Note that if the user attempts to dial a complete telephone number in another local area code (e.g. London) and attempts to dial remote terminal 122 in that other area code, such a call is not permitted and the process does not proceed to dial process 420 and instead an error message is displayed on display 137 at the terminal 100, for example "Calls to this area code are not permitted", or "You may only dial local numbers from this telephone".

Figure 5 illustrates this part of the process in standby process 401. In step 500, a user dials a number in the keypad of the user interface 133 and in step 502 a check is made to match the number dialled against the parameters of a permitted call. For example if the number dialled exceeds six digits or is less than six digits, or if it begins with the numeral "0" indicating somc area code other than the prestored area code, the program proceeds to step 504 and an error message is displayed. If, on the other hand, the user dials the appropriate number of digits, the program prefixes the dialled digits with the pre-stored area code and the entirc telephone number is dialled in step 504. Note there may be variations in this scheme. For example, the user may be permitted to dial the entire eleven-digit telephone number and, provided the first five digits match the pre-stored area code, the call can proceed.

The arrangement has the advantage that it allows an operator (e.g. a supermarket chain) to deploy a plurality of fixed cellular terminals 100 across a wide area and, from a centre 110, to program each terminal to make calls within pre-set limits, for example to end terminals within the geographic area of the fixed cellular terminal.

The arrangement is particularly useful if the party deploying the fixed cellular terminals has an agreement with the operator of the wireless network 102 that allows cheap or free calls to local numbers, i.e. PSTN numbers in the vicinity of the serving MSC. Such calls do not have to be routed over long distances through the PSTN. They need only be routed from the serving MSC to the local number. Such calls do not incur charges that are typically charged by operators of PSTNs to mobile phone operators for long distance calls. The arrangement is, for example, useful for a supermarket that is also a mobile telephone operator.

Another variation is one which permits more than one local area code to be dialled. For example it may be that from a particular location (e.g a particular supermarket served by a particular MSC) calls to area code 01252 (Farnham) and 01256 (Basingstoke) are both considered "local" calls and are on a low tariff In these circumstances, the SMS message 300 may contain the command "STO 01252 OR 01256". In this case, the user must dial the entire eleven-digit telephone number, and the test in step 502 is a test as to whether the first five digits match one or other of the pre-stored local area codes.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the user interface 133 of the terminal 100 is less than a full twelve-key keypad and merely comprises a small number of dedicated buttons, for example one, two or three dedicated buttons 134-136. In this embodiment, the user does not have the ability to dial a number of the user's selection. The centre 110 sends an SMS message to the terminal 100 with the command "STO" followed by a complete telephone number. On receipt of the SMS message, the complete telephone number is stored in memory 132. For example, in the case of a no-button (or single-button) user interface 133, lifting of the handset to activate the off-hook switch (or subsequent pressing of the single button) by a user will cause the dedicated telephone number to be dialled and an outbound call routed through to a destination terminal such as terminal 121. This service may be used, for example, on motorways for dedicated dialling of a particular vehicle recovery service or, for example, in a supermarket for dedicated dialling to a taxi service. There are many such uses.

In a case where the user interface 133 comprises, for example, two or three buttons 134-136, the centre 110 sends a concatenated store command, that is to say the command "STO" followed by a sequence of two or three dedicated telephone numbers. There may be a separator character (e.g. #) between the respective numbers to be stored. The numbers are stored in the memory 132 and they are associated with buttons of the user interface in sequence. Thus, for example where there are three buttons and three numbers, the first button 134 is associated with the first number received in the sequence, the second button 135 with the second number and third button 136 with the third number. Thus, for example, a user may press 1 for a taxi service, 2 for a pizza delivery service and 3 for a dry cleaning service.

The SMS message may include text associated with each number, indicating the nature of the service offered by that number, e.g. a number for a taxi service followed by "ABC Taxi Service". The text can be stored in the memory 132 and displayed on the display 137 of the user interface 133. E.g., the various dedicated buttons may be located on the user interface 133 adjacent respective lines of an LCD display 137, allowing the user to identify how each button is associated with the respective text and therefore the respective service.

Alternatively, the display may simply display the text "press 1 for taxi, press 2 for pizza and press 3 for dry cleaning". If the display is of limited size, this text may scroll across the display.

If there is no display 137, the same effect can be achieved by playing a pre-recoded message through the earpiece (not shown) of the terminal 100 upon lifting of the handset off hook. A text-to-speech converter may be provided to convert text received in the SMS message in association with a stored dedicated number (e.g. "ABC Taxi Service") and convert it to speech output through the earpiece. Alternatively, the respective text or speech may be displayed or enunciated upon pressing the respective button.

The SMS message may be an MMS message, i.e. it may contain a link to further content such as a sound file, e.g. a sound file describing the service that is associated with the predetermined number.

It will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the above description has been given by way of example only and that modifications of detail can be made within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

Claims 1. A radioterminal comprising: message receiving means for receiving a short message service message including a command and a sequence of digits forming at least a partial telephone number; storage means for storing the sequence of digits in response to the command; user input means; and dialling means for dialling, in response to user input, an outbound telephone number including the sequence of digits.
2. The radioterminal of claim 1, wherein the user input means comprises a keypad and the sequence of digits comprises at least one area code and wherein the dialling means dials a number input by a user through the keypad automatically preceded by the pre-stored area code.
3. The radioterminal of claim 2, wherein the user input means comprises a keypad and the sequence of digits comprises at least two area codes and wherein the dialling means dials a number input by a user only if the number begins with one of the pre-stored two area codes.
4. The radioterminal of claim 1, wherein the user input means includes a dedicated button or switch and the sequence of digits is a complete telephone number and wherein the dialling means automatically dials the telephone number in response to activation of the dedicated button or switch.
5. The radioterminal of claim 2, wherein the user input means includes at least first and second dedicated buttons or switches and the sequence of digits includes first and second complete telephone numbers and wherein the dialling means automatically dials the first telephone number in response to activation of the first dedicated button or switch and the second telephone number in response to activation of the second dedicated button or switch.6. The radioterminal of claim 5, wherein the message receiving means arc adapted to receive a first indicator associated with the first telephone number and a second indicator associated with the second telephone number and means for indicating to a user that the first button corresponds to the first indicator and the second button corresponds to the second indicator.
6. The radioterminal of claim 5, wherein the first and second indicators are names in text form and the radiotelephone comprises display means for displaying the names and their associations with the buttons or switches.
7. The radioterminal of claim 5, wherein the first and second indicators are names in text form and the radiotelephone comprises a text-to-speech converter for enunciating the names to a user and their associations with the respective buttons or switches.
8. The radioterminal of claim 5, wherein the first and second indicators are names in speech form and the radiotelephone comprises means for storing and recalling the speech form of the names and enunciating to a user the names and their associations with the respective buttons or switches.
9. A radiotelephone control centre having means for sending, to selected radioterminals, short message service messages each message comprising a command and a sequence of digits forming at least a partial telephone number, for receipt by the selected radioterminals and for storage at the selected radioterminals of the sequence of digits in response to the command for subsequent dialling, in response to user input at any one of the radioterminals, of an outbound telephone number including the sequence of digits.
10. A method of operation of a radioterminal comprising: receiving a short message service message including a command and a sequence of digits forming at least a partial telephone number; storing the sequence of digits at the radioterminal in response to the command; dialling, in response to user input, an outbound telephone number including the sequence of digits.