WO1999057880A1

WO1999057880A1 - Programmable time-controlled functions in mobile terminal handsets

Info

Publication number: WO1999057880A1
Application number: PCT/US1999/008510
Authority: WO
Inventors: Raymond C. Henry, Jr.
Original assignee: Ericsson Inc.
Priority date: 1998-05-01
Filing date: 1999-04-22
Publication date: 1999-11-11
Also published as: WO1999057880A8; AU3651699A

Abstract

A mobile communications handset such as a cell telephone has a keypad-actuated menu of operational functions and modes. A software module allows the user to define times (13) for automatic activation (13), deactivation (9, 15, 17) and set intervals (13) for the functions and modes.

Description

FEATURE TIMERS FOR MOBILE TERMINAL HANDSETS

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to mobile communications devices such as cell telephones and to a method and apparatus whereby programmed features or modes of the phone have a defined time for activation and operation. Cell telephones can therefore be programmed to enable or disable incoming voice, data, facsimile or Short Message Service (SMS) calls at selected times. The time of operation of privacy features, a keypad lockout, caller name profiles or power activation can also be defined.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Commercially available handsets such as cell telephones can be programmed in many different operating modes to provide various desirable features for the user. For example, a cell telephone handset can be programmed to reject incoming voice calls so that the phone does not ring and therefore interrupt the user during a business meeting or like activity. Some cell telephones can also be programmed to receive or to reject incoming data or fax communications. Cell telephones can also lock the keypad so that it cannot be inadvertently activated, for example when the cell telephone is packed in a bag. The user can also set name profiles, including telephone numbers, in order to allow automatic dialing of selected individuals. The cell telephone may also have voice privacy features whereby the transmitted signals are selectively encrypted. In known cell telephones, the desired features are selected by the user and are manually turned on or off as desired. The utility and convenience of these features would be greatly enhanced if they could be selectively activated or deactivated by a timer or if selected features could be programmed to function for only a particular defined interval of time. This operation would give the user a great deal of control over the use of programmed functions for the telephone, without requiring the user to stop and manually program such features at the time they are required.

Prior telecommunication systems have utilized timer-based call blocking in a network environment. In such systems the network has enabled a timer, for example to turn on a ringer of a cordless handset or to provide a connection between a wired telephone and a wall jack. Such systems have required the timed feature to be set by calling the network. In such systems the user must therefore initiate a call to set the timed sequence. This operation is time consuming, relatively expensive in that it requires a call to be placed and also unnecessarily uses the allocated bandwidth for the network. Also such prior art systems have tended to deal only with disabling or enabling incoming calls and have not provided general timers for other features of the phone. Moreover, such prior systems have either enabled or disabled all incoming calls and have not allowed selected timed enabling or disabling of particular types of calls such as data, SMS, fax and voice. Finally, prior cell telephone users have been limited to turning the phone off or on manually and there has been no timing feature provided to control this function. It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a software module that is included in the user interface menu system of a handheld terminal and that provides timing for menu features selected for the phone.

It is another object of the invention to provide such a software module that will allow any programmable feature of the cell telephone to be turned on or off. It is a further object of the invention to provide such a software module that will allow the user to assign a timeout interval for any selected feature of the menu.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a software module that allows a selected feature to return to its original value after a selected value for the feature times out.

A further object of the invention is to provide a set of programmable timers for a cell telephone that are selectively programmed to activate or deactivate features of the phone and define time intervals for the operation of such features.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from a review of the following description, drawings and claims.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the invention, a set of software or hardware feature timers are provided for a handheld terminal such as a cellular telephone. The cellular telephone includes software that is used to select operational features such as turning on and off the phone, operating the phone to receive voice, data or fax messages and controlling locking of the keypad or encryption of voice transmissions. The feature timers are used to program a selected time for turning on or off any such features and to select a desired activation time for selected features. The timers may therefore be activated to turn on a feature at a particular time, maintain the feature for a selected time interval and thereafter turn off the feature and return the phone to its original configuration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a flowchart of program steps that define timed parameters for a selected menu function of a cell telephone.

Figure 2 is a chart that illustrates an example of keystrokes and displayed functions that are used to select a particular feature and to set time conditions for the feature. THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Modern commercially available mobile terminal handsets such as cellular telephones are typically programmed in a manner that allows the user to select particular operational features. The user may press certain buttons on a data input device such as a keypad for defined periods of time to manually turn on and off the cell telephone. For example, in the Ericsson DH338 handset (not shown), the unit is turned on or off by holding down an "on/off" key for a predefined interval. The operation of the handset is determined by features that are selected from a menu that is displayed when a menu button of the keypad is pressed. The menu button can then be repeatedly activated to scroll through a menu of functions or function categories. A function or function category is selected by pressing a "yes" button. The scrolling menu button and feature select button may be repeatedly activated to step through and select various functions and modes of operation of the handset.

When the menu function is enabled, various feature parameters of the terminal handset are selected. For example, the user may activate the handset so that it can receive voice calls, data messages, fax messages or SMS messages. The menu may also be used to select particular tones that indicate the operational condition of the handset. For example, the ring tone or a tone designated to indicate setting up of a call may be turned on or off. The user may also utilize the menu to encrypt the signals transmitted from the handset or select between different naming profiles for individuals. For example, different profiles could be used to contact an individual at home, at the office or while travelling. The menu can also be used to selectively turn off the keypad of the handset in instances where it is desired not to activate the handset, such as when it is placed in a bag.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the handset has a set of feature timers implemented, for example, in a software module. The timers define the activation, deactivation and interval for the selected menu features, modes or events. Thus, for example, a feature timer could be used to disable incoming voice calls for a selected period of time in order to allow the user to attend a business meeting without disrupting the meeting. The handset could also enable receiving fax or data messages if these are deemed sufficiently important. Alternatively, fax and/or data messages could be either activated or deactivated for a selected time that is different than the activation or deactivation time for voice messages. This independent timing function gives the user a great deal of control over the operation of the handset.

A user could also activate feature timers to enable receiving data or fax messages only during a particular time at which the user is in an area with local rates sufficiently low to justify data or fax operation. As an example, the user might elect to deactivate and not receive certain kinds of calls when he is out of his local call area and is in a roaming situation wherein the rates for calls are higher. The timers could be utilized to disable certain kinds of calls only for a particular time interval and thereafter the calls would be automatically enabled in accordance with an original feature profile. The user could also select the keypad lockout feature of the handset and set a feature timer so that the keypad is locked for only a particular period of time, for example when the handset is packed in a bag for airplane travel. The keypad would therefore be automatically activated again at the termination of the trip. The user could also activate a voice privacy encryption feature for a particular time when the user is in an area that may require additional privacy. After the termination of the timed interval, the handset would return to operation in a non-encrypted mode. Finally, the user could use a feature timer to turn the handset on at a particular selected time and turn the handset off at another time.

Figure 1 illustrates a flowchart of the steps of a program module that implements the feature timers of the invention. With reference to this figure, the handset is turned on as previously described and a button is pressed to scroll through the feature menu. A selected button, for example a "yes" button, is activated to select a particular feature operation or characteristic of a feature operation at 1 of the flowchart. The software module of the handset then presents a timeout option for the selected feature at 3. The response of the user with respect to the timeout option is tested at 5 and, if the timer is not selected, the software module returns the user to the menu at 7.

If the user selects a timeout option, the software module next requests that the user either enter a timeout value or cancel the timeout request at 9. The module then tests to determine the timeout value at 11 and, if the timeout request is canceled, the module returns control to the menu at 7. If the check of the timeout request at 11 detects a value, the data value is collected, for example in a register internal to the handset as indicated at 13. Thereafter the software module asks the user to confirm the selected timeout value at 15. The user then confirms or rejects the timeout data and the user's response is tested at 17. If the user approves the data, the timer is set and the program module returns control to the menu at 7. If the user does not confirm the data, the program module asks the user at 9 to specify a timeout value or to cancel the selection of a timeout value. The software module generally described with respect to Figure 1 can be used in association with any desired number of software or hardware timers to define the time at which features or modes of the menu are enabled or disabled. The module may also be used to define timed intervals for enabling or disabling features or modes. Figure 2 illustrates a chart that shows a series of keypresses on the left and an associated series of displayed values on the right. These keypresses and displayed values are provided to illustrate one example of the way in which the software module of Figure 1 applies a timed value to a "sounds" feature selection of the menu. With reference to Fig. 2, the user initially selects the menu at 18 and the menu displays various menu options or features at 19, for example, memory operations, services operations or sound operations for the handset. In the example of Fig. 2, at 21 the user next selects the "sounds" feature of the menu. The menu then displays at 23 the various modes that may be selected for the sound feature. In the example, the user selects the silent mode at 25. This mode turns off any sounds such as ringing of the handset. After selecting the silent mode, the handset displays the on/off options for this mode at 27. The user then selects "on" at 29 to turn on the silent mode of the handset. The display then shows at 31 the selection of on for the silent mode and thereafter the user selects "yes" at 33 to confirm selection of the silent mode. The control module of Fig. 1 is then automatically activated to implement the feature timing function of the invention.

At 35, the display allows the user to select a timeout function for the silent mode. In the example, the user selects yes at 37 and the display then asks the user at 39 to designate a time for the timeout. The user then selects a two hour timeout at 41. The display at 43 indicates operation of the silent mode for a selected time of two hours. The user then at 45 responds with a "yes" command to accept the selected timed operation of the silent mode. The display then indicates "ready" at 47 to demonstrate that the timed silent mode feature is activated. When the handset is operated as described with respect to Fig. 2, all sounds such as ringing from the handset will be disabled for two hours. After this time, the handset will return to its original mode which is to again operate with particular selected sounds.

An embodiment of the invention has been described with respect to certain features and timeout functions of a disclosed software module. It should be understood that the invention includes within its scope selective enabling and disabling of timed events and intervals for any feature that may be used for the handset. The software module may be implemented with or without verifying commands entered by the keypad. The timed functions may be achieved by software, hardware or a combination of software and hardware, without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Moreover, although a keypad has been disclosed as the data input device for the handset, it should be understood that any other data input device could be used without departing from the invention. For example, a touch sensitive stylus, a computer, a modem or any other suitable data input accessory could be used. All such variations that come within the scope of the appended claims also come within the scope of the invention.

Claims

I CLAIM AS MY INVENTION:

1. A mobile communications handset, comprising: a data input device; a menu with handset functions and modes selected by the data input device; and an operational module having timers controlled by the data input device and providing selected times for activation, deactivation and intervals for the menu functions and modes.

2. The handset of Claim 1 , wherein the operational module defines an activation interval during which a function or mode is operational.

3. The handset of Claim 1 , wherein the operational module defines a time of activation for a function or mode.

4. The handset of Claim 1 , wherein the operational module defines a time of activation and a time of deactivation for a function or mode.

5. The handset of Claim 1 , wherein the menu defines the types of calls that are received by the handset and the operational module defines the time interval during which the types of calls are received.

6. The handset of Claim 1 , wherein the menu defines types of calls that include voice, data, facsimile, and SMS and the operational module defines the time intervals during which these types of calls are received.

7. The handset of Claim 1 , wherein the menu defines the sounds made by the handset in response to defined events and the operational module defines the time interval during which the sounds are operative or inoperative.

8. The handset of Claim 1 , wherein the menu defines a plurality of information sets for identifying a person to be called, and the operational module defines the times during which each particular information set is operative for the person.

9. The handset of Claim 1 , wherein the menu defines a privacy operation of the handset and the operational module defines the time interval during which the privacy operation is activated or deactived.

10. The handset of Claim 1 , wherein the menu defines a keypad lockout condition and the operational module defines the time interval during whch the keypad lockout is activated or deactivated.

11. The handset of Claim 1 , wherein the menu defines the on or off state of the handset and the operational module defines the time at which the handset is turned on or off.

12. A system for timing the features and modes of a mobile communications handset, comprising the steps of: selecting a feature or mode of operation of the handset; and selecting a time for the interval during which the feature or mode is activated or deactived.

13. The system of Claim 12, wherein the feature or mode is the type of call that can be received by the handset.

14. The system of Claim 12, wherein the feature or mode includes voice, data, facsimile and SMS types of calls.

15. The system of Claim 12, wherein the feature or mode includes the sounds made by the handset in response to defined events.

16. The system of Claim 12, wherein the feature or mode includes at least one of a plurality of information sets that identify a person to be called.

17. The system of Claim 12, wherein the feature or mode defines a privacy operation for the handset.

18. The system of Claim 12, wherein the feature or mode is a lockout of a keypad of the handset.

19. The system of Claim 12, wherein the feature or mode is the on or off state of the handset.

20. A mobile communications handset, comprising: means for selecting menu functions or modes of operation for the handset; and means for defining a time interval during which the functions or modes are activated or deactivated.