US007260381B2
`
`(12) United States Patent
`Lipsit
`
`(10) Patent N0.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 7,260,381 B2
`*Aug. 21, 2007
`
`(54) METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR STORING
`ACTIVATION DATA IN A CELLULAR
`TELEPHONE
`
`(75) Inventor: James Mason Lipsit, Lake Worth, FL
`(Us)
`(73) Assignee: Cingular Wireless II, LLC, Atlanta,
`GA (US)
`
`( * ) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 493 days.
`
`This patent is subject to a terminal dis-
`Claimer'
`
`(21) Appl, NQ; 10/805,247
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`Mar. 22, 2004
`
`(65)
`
`Pnor Pubhcatlon Data
`US 2004/0176133 A1
`Sep. 9, 2004
`
`Related US. Application Data
`
`(63) Continuation of application No. 09/924,613, ?led on
`Aug. 9, 2001, noW Pat. No. 6,748,209, Which is a
`continuation of application No. 09/219,872, ?led on
`_
`_
`Dec'_ 24> _1 998’ nOW_Pat_' NO' 6,650,893’ Whlch 1S a
`Connnuanon of apphcanon NO- 08/901,827’ ?led on
`Jul- 28, 1997, HOW Pat NO~ 5,974,311, Which is a
`Continuation of application N0~ 08/550,274, ?led on
`Oct. 30, 1995, HOW abandOned-
`
`(51) Illt- Cl-
`(2006.01)
`H04M 3/16
`(2006.01)
`H04M 3/00
`(2006.01)
`H04M 1/00
`(52) US. Cl. ...................... .. 455/411; 455/418; 455/419
`(58) Field of Classi?cation Search .............. .. 455/419,
`455/ 41 8, 41 1
`See application ?le for complete search history.
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`3,764,915 A 10/1973 Cox et a1.
`(Continued)
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`92106582
`ll/l992
`
`EP
`
`(Continued)
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`“BCC’s Revolutionary New Device Simpli?es Cellular Phone Pro
`gmmming,” Cellular Today, Aug 7, l995~
`(Continued)
`
`Primary ExamineriWilliam D. Cumming
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or F irmiKenyon & Kenyon LLP
`
`ABSTRACT
`(57)
`A method and apparatus for programming a cellular tele
`phone With activation parameters. A cellular telephone to be
`programmed is connected to a computer via a communica
`tions interface. A user input device is provided to alloW a
`user to provide programming information, including a cel
`lular telephone type, to the computer. A visual representation
`of the cellular telephone type is displayed on a display
`monitor to allow the user to interactively verity the inputted
`programming information. Upon such user veri?cation, the
`computer determines activation parameters and transmits
`the activation parameters to the cellular telephone. ln accor
`dance With another aspect of the invention, certain activation
`parameters are dynamically computed based on the user
`provided programming information In one embodiment, the
`user enters a cellular telephone number to be assigned to the
`cellular telephone. The computer looks up a system identi
`?cation associated With the cellular telephone number in a
`memory unit. Certain activation parameters are dynamically
`computed based on the cellular telephone number and
`system identi?cation
`
`13 Claims, 4 Drawing Sheets
`
`104
`S
`
`CPU
`
`102
`S
`
`110
`\
`DISPLAY
`MONHOR
`I
`
`I
`TEXTUAL
`INPUT DEVICE
`8
`10a
`
`106
`S
`
`MEMORY
`I
`
`I
`GRAPHICAL
`INPUT DEVICE
`5
`112
`
`114
`S
`
`150
`)
`SERIAL
`" PORT T INTERFACE
`
`135
`
`1
`
`TIKTOK 2003
`Triller v. TikTok
`IPR2022-00180
`
`

`

`US 7,260,381 B2
`Page 2
`
`US. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`6/1985 Mears
`4,525,865 A
`9/1989 Saegusa
`4,864,599 A
`8/1990 Bishop
`4,951,308 A
`7/1991 McKernan
`5,031,204 A
`9/1991 Zicker
`5,046,082 A
`2/1992 Lawrence et a1. ..... .. 455/1861
`5,086,513 A
`4/1992 Sutphin
`5,109,403 A
`5,155,860 A 10/1992 McClure
`5,220,593 A
`6/1993 Zicker et a1.
`5,249,218 A
`9/1993 59mm
`5276729 A
`V1994 Hlguchl eta1~
`5,297,191 A
`3/1994 Gerszberg
`5,297,192 A
`3/1994 Gerszberg
`5301223 A
`4/1994 Amadon er 91-
`5315638 A
`5/1994 Mukari
`5,325,418 A
`6/1994 McGregoret a1~
`5349697 A
`9/1994 Pelkonen
`5367563 A 11/1994 Salmon
`5381346 A
`V1995 Monahmn-Mitchell er 91-
`5386455 A
`V1995 C<_>_<>Per
`5,400,389 A
`3/1995 NIB/2191119t a1~
`5,414,751 A
`5/1995 Yam?da
`5,414,753 A
`5/1995 Ehm
`5,418,837 A
`5/1995 191191188011
`5,465,288 A 11/1995 Falvey et a1. ............. .. 455/418
`5,485,505 A
`1/1996 Norman et a1.
`
`5,588,042 A 12/1996 Comer
`5,590,373 A 12/1996 Whitley et :11.
`5,592,535 A
`1/1997 Klontz
`5,603,084 A
`2/1997 Henry, Jr. et a1. ..... .. 455/186.1
`5,606,597 A
`2/1997 Newland .................. .. 379/355
`5,610,973 A
`3/1997 Comer
`5,625,669 A
`4/1997 McGregor et 211.
`5,628,055 A
`571997 Stein
`5,631,947 A
`5/1997 Wittstein et a1.
`5,657,371 A
`8/1997 Suomi et a1.
`5,673,306 A
`9/1997 Amadon et 31‘
`5,684,861 A 11/1997 Lewis et al.
`5,722,084 A
`2/1998 Chakrin et a1. ........... .. 455/551
`5,761,618 A
`6/1998 Lynch et a1.
`455/419
`5,812,953 A
`9/1998 Grif?th et a1. ............ .. 455/550
`5,854,978 A 12/1998 Heidari ..................... .. 455/403
`5,887,249 A
`3/1999 Schmid
`.455/411
`5,887,254 A
`3/1999 Halonen ..
`.455/419
`5,974,311 A 10/1999 Lipsit
`.455/418
`6,026,293 A
`2/2000 Osborn
`.455/411
`6,178,324 B1
`1/2001 Choquet et al.
`455/422
`6,178,336 B1
`1/2001 CroZat ......... ..
`.455/558
`6,195,546 B1
`2/2001 Leung et a1.
`455/419
`6,243,574 B1
`6/2001 McGregor et a1. .
`455/418
`6,650,893 Bl* 11/2003 Lipsit ....... ..
`.455/419
`6,748,209 B2* 6/2004 Lipsit ....................... .. 455/411
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`5,491,740 A
`
`2/1996 Ellis et a1. ................ .. 379/358
`
`GB
`
`2 249 923 A
`
`5/1992
`
`3/1996 Chiu et :11.
`5,500,888 A
`6/1996 Urasaka et a1.
`5,530,745 A
`9/1996 Tepdler .
`5’555’286 A
`5,566,226 A 10/1996 Mlzoguchlet al.
`.
`5,568,536 A 10/1996 Tlller et :11.
`.
`.
`5,572,571 A 11/1996 Shlral
`5,577,100 A 11/1996 McGregoret al.
`5,583,933 A 12/1996 Mark
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`“Shifting CellularDistribution PatternszACall for Change,” C-TAC
`C [II Tl h
`A t.
`t. C t ORA El tr
`.
`1994
`e u ar e 617 one C‘ lVa Z0” en er,
`6C OIllCS,
`.
`L . Slb
`“ORAS t
`t S dc 11 1 A t.
`,, HFD
`t.
`urle l erg,
`yS em 0 pee
`e 1.131‘
`C 1V3 lOIl,
`,
`A r U 1994
`148
`p‘ ’
`’p'
`'
`* cited by examiner
`
`2
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 21, 2007
`
`Sheet 1 of4
`
`US
`7,260,381 B2
`
`FIG. 1
`
`‘I60
`
`150
`S
`SERIAL
`INTERFACE
`
`114
`S
`
`PORT
`
`__
`
`s
`135
`
`102
`I
`
`110
`J
`DISPLAY
`MONITOR
`
`106
`L
`
`MEMORY
`
`104
`S
`
`c?“
`
`GRAPHICAL
`INPUT DEVICE
`S
`112
`
`TEXTUAL
`INPUT DEVICE
`S
`108
`
`FIG. 2
`
`200 f
`
`220
`210
`78
`5
`AREA CODE + PREFIX SYSTEM [0
`240w (407)-346
`00037
`(407)-353
`0017s
`(407)-371
`00037
`(407)-373
`00037
`(407)-374
`00037
`(407)-379
`00037
`(407)-399
`D0175
`(401)-421
`0017s
`
`230
`S
`LOCATION
`WEST PALM BEACH FL
`ORLANDO FL
`WEST PALM BEACH FL
`WEST PALM BEACH FL
`BOYNTON BEACH FL
`WEST PALM BEACH FL
`ORLANDO FL
`ORLANDO FL
`
`3
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 21, 2007
`
`Sheet 2 of4
`
`US 7,260,381 B2
`
`START
`
`300
`
`USER ENTERS TELEPHONE TYPE
`
`308
`
`310
`
`1
`RETRIEVE A GRAPHICS FILE STORED IN MEMORY
`I
`DISPLAY PICTURE OF SELECTED PHONE TYPE \304
`I
`DISPLAY INSTRUCTIONS FOR SELECTED PHONE TYPE \ 306
`I
`USER ENTERS CELLULAR TELEPHONE NUMBER
`‘I
`USER INITIATES PROGRAMMING
`I
`LOOK UP SYSTEM ID IN SYSTEM IDENTIFICATION DATATABLE
`I
`DISPLAY SYSTEM ID AND LOCATION \ 314
`I
`READ ELECTRONIC SERIAL NUMBER FROM TELEPHONE \316
`I
`DISPLAY ELECTRONIC SERIAL NUMBER \318
`I
`READ SOFTWARE VERSION FROM TELEPHONE \ 320
`I
`DISPLAY SOFTWARE VERSION
`I
`CALCULATE REMAINING NAM PARAMETERS \324
`
`312
`
`\322
`
`FIG. 3A
`
`4
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 21, 2007
`
`Sheet 3 of4
`
`US 7,260,381 B2
`
`FIG. 33
`
`FROM FIG. 3A R
`1
`
`PROGRAM TELEPHONE w 326
`
`CHECK FOR SUCCESSFUL w 328
`PROGRAMMING
`
`If
`
`DISPLAY PROGRAMMING STATUS $330
`
`1
`
`UPDATE PROGRAMMING LOG $332
`
`I
`PROVIDE VERIFICATION w 334
`INSTRUCTIONS
`
`5
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 21, 2007
`
`Sheet 4 of4
`
`US 7,260,381 B2
`
`FIG. 4
`
`PROGRAM
`
`PHONE NUMBER:
`
`(407) 346-1111 I402
`
`SYSTEM 10;
`
`00037
`
`412
`
`1000100;
`
`WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA
`
`PHONE TYPE:
`
`AT&T 3010 M404
`
`INSTRUCTIONS/
`$TATU5=
`
`FIRST POWER TELEPHONE ON,
`THEN 001mm TELEPHONE
`T0 INTERFACE
`
`_, 406
`
`ENTER PHONE NUMBER AND
`THEN PRESS PROGRAM ICON
`
`ESN:
`
`15701146829 w 416
`
`SOFTWARE VERSION:
`
`V2.0 @418
`
`6
`
`

`

`US 7,260,381 B2
`
`1
`METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR STORING
`ACTIVATION DATA IN A CELLULAR
`TELEPHONE
`
`This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/924,613,
`?led Aug. 9, 2001 now US. Pat. No. 6,748,209, Which is a
`continuation of application Ser. No. 09/219,872, ?led Dec.
`24, 1998, noW Pat. No. 6,650,893, Which is a continuation
`of application Ser. No. 08/901,827, ?led Jul. 28,1997, now
`US. Pat. No. 5,974,311, Which is a continuation of appli
`cation Ser. No. 08/550,274, ?led Oct. 30, 1995 (abandoned).
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`
`The present invention relates generally to the program
`ming of cellular telephones. More particularly, the present
`invention relates to the automated programming of a cellular
`telephone.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`Cellular telephones are becoming increasingly popular. In
`the past, the sale of cellular telephones Was limited to
`specialized cellular telephone dealers. Today, due to the
`increased popularity of cellular telephones, such telephones
`may be purchased from a variety of retailers, including
`electronic specialty stores, electronic chain stores, depart
`ment stores, and cellular service provider retail outlets.
`Upon the purchase of a cellular telephone, the telephone
`must be activated before it can be used With a particular
`cellular service provider in a geographic location. Such
`activation generally requires the programming (i.e. storing)
`of activation parameters into the memory of the cellular
`telephone.
`The cellular telephone memory Which stores the activa
`tion parameters is called a Number Assignment Module
`(NAM), and the data Which is stored in the NAM is called
`NAM parameters. Such NAM parameters include the tele
`phone number associated With the cellular telephone and an
`identi?cation of the cellular service provider Which Will
`provide the cellular telephone service associated With that
`telephone. There are other NAM parameters Which must be
`programmed in order to activate the telephone. These
`parameters Will be discussed in more detail beloW in the
`detailed description.
`The programming of NAM parameters is a time consum
`ing and error prone process. Each manufacturer’s
`telephone(s) has different programming requirements and
`procedures. As a result, point-of-sale personnel must have
`access to large amounts of programming reference material
`for each of the different types of phones. The actual pro
`gramming is generally done through the cellular telephone
`keypad. The ?rst step in the programming is to enter a
`programming code into the keypad Which Will instruct the
`telephone to enter a programming mode. Once in the pro
`gramming mode, each of the NAM parameters is entered
`through the keypad. Such keypad programming is prone to
`errors and a small mistake in programming renders the
`phone unusable until correctly programmed.
`The complexity of NAM parameter programming has
`made the sale of cellular telephones less pro?table for retail
`stores Which do not specialize in such sales, because point
`of sale personnel must be trained to program the cellular
`telephones. In addition to the training expense, such sales
`personnel must dedicate a substantial amount of time in
`programming the phones, time Which could be otherWise
`spent With customers in the sale of neW phones. In addition,
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`60
`
`65
`
`2
`programming by inexperienced sales personnel often results
`in an incorrectly programmed telephone. In many instances,
`such incorrect programming is not discovered until the
`customer has left the store and has attempted to use the
`telephone. As a result, the customer must return to the store
`to have the phone reprogrammed. This results in both more
`time required by sales personnel, and reduced customer
`satisfaction.
`US. Pat. No. 5,386,455 entitled System and Method for
`Automatic Activation of Cellular Telephones discloses a
`system for programming NAM parameters in a cellular
`telephone. In accordance With the technique described
`therein, a local computer is connected to both a cellular
`telephone and an authorizing computer of a selected cellular
`carrier. User information, such as credit information, is
`manually entered into the local computer. The local com
`puter interrogates the cellular telephone to determine certain
`data stored in the cellular telephone. The user information
`and cellular telephone data is sent to the authorizing com
`puter of the selected cellular carrier via a modem. Upon
`approval by the local carrier, the authorizing computer sends
`to the local computer the data required for programming the
`cellular telephone. Upon receipt of the data, the local
`computer programs the cellular telephone With the received
`data. Thus, in accordance With this technique, the activation
`data to be stored in the cellular telephone is not stored or
`computed locally in the local computer, but is stored at a
`remote authorizing computer, and the data must be trans
`ferred from the remote authorizing computer to the local
`computer prior to programming the cellular telephone. In
`addition, there is no disclosure of user interaction With the
`programming function apart from the entering of user infor
`mation.
`UK Patent Application GB 2256113-A, entitled “Pro
`gramming A Cellular Radio Telephone” also discloses a
`system and method for programming activation data into a
`cellular telephone. The system includes a remote computer
`Which is coupled to an acoustic converting device (eg an
`acoustic coupler) thus providing communication betWeen
`the cellular telephone and the remote computer. The pre
`ferred embodiment shoWs the link betWeen the computer
`and the acoustic converting device being a netWork (i.e.
`telephone netWork). In operation, the computer ascertains
`the type, serial number, and other basic data from the
`telephone, and using this data, selects the appropriate set-up
`data for the telephone from a stored table. The data is then
`sent to the mobile telephone via the link and the acoustic
`converting device. There is no interactive communication
`betWeen a user and the remote computer Which controls the
`programming.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`In accordance With the present invention, a method and
`apparatus for storing activation parameters in a cellular
`telephone is provided. A cellular telephone to be pro
`grammed is connected to a local computer. The computer
`includes a user input device Which alloWs a user to input
`programming information, including the cellular telephone
`type, to the computer. Upon the receipt of the user pro gram
`ming information, a visual representation of the user input
`ted cellular telephone type is displayed on a display screen
`to alloW the user to interactively verify the inputted pro
`gramming information. Upon user veri?cation of the pro
`gramming information, the computer determines appropri
`ate
`activation parameters based on the inputted
`
`7
`
`

`

`US 7,260,381 B2
`
`3
`programming information, and transmits the activation
`parameters to the telephone for storage in the cellular
`telephone memory.
`In accordance With another aspect of the invention, certain
`activation parameters are neither stored in the computer
`memory, nor are they supplied by the user, but instead they
`are computed dynamically by the computer based on the
`user inputted programming information. In one embodi
`ment, the user inputted programming information includes a
`cellular telephone number to be assigned to the telephone.
`The computer retrieves from memory a stored system iden
`ti?cation Which is associated With the area code and pre?x
`of the user inputted cellular telephone number. Certain
`activation parameters are dynamically computed based on
`the cellular telephone number and the system identi?cation.
`Thus, in accordance With the present invention, a method
`and apparatus for programming a cellular telephone is
`provided With a level of user interaction Which provides
`advantages over the prior systems. The user may interac
`tively verify inputted programming information prior to an
`attempt to store activation parameters in the cellular tele
`phone. In addition, computer memory requirements are
`reduced by dynamically computing certain activation
`parameters, thus saving the memory space Which otherWise
`Would be taken up by stored activation parameters. These
`advantages are provided in a method and apparatus Which
`may be implemented on a computer system Which is local to
`the cellular telephone programming location.
`These and other advantages of the invention Will be
`apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reference to
`the folloWing detailed description and the accompanying
`drawings.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`FIG. 1 shoWs a block diagram of an apparatus for pro
`gramming a cellular telephone in accordance With the
`present invention.
`FIG. 2 shoWs an example of a system identi?cation data
`table.
`FIGS. 3A and 3B shoW a ?owchart of the steps for
`programming a cellular telephone in accordance With the
`present invention.
`FIG. 4 illustrates an example user interface Which is
`displayed to a user in accordance With the present invention.
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION
`
`FIG. 1 shoWs a block diagram of an apparatus for pro
`gramming a cellular telephone in accordance With the
`present invention. Computer 102 is shoWn, Which in an
`advantageous embodiment is a personal computer of the
`type Which is Well knoWn in the art. The overall functioning
`of the computer 102 is controlled by a central processing
`unit (CPU) 104 executing computer program instructions.
`CPU 104 is connected to a memory unit 106 Which contains
`the computer program instructions Which are executed by
`the CPU 104. In addition, memory unit may contain data,
`other than computer program instructions, Which is accessed
`by CPU 104 during execution of the program instructions.
`Memory unit 106 may be any type of machine readable
`storage device. For example, memory unit 106 may be a
`random access memory (RAM), a read only memory
`(ROM), a programmable read only memory (PROM), an
`erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), an
`electronically erasable programmable read only memory
`(EEPROM), a magnetic storage media (i.e. a magnetic disk),
`
`50
`
`55
`
`60
`
`65
`
`4
`or an optical storage media (i.e. a CD-ROM). Further, the
`computer 102 may contain various combinations of machine
`readable storage devices, Which are accessible by the CPU
`104, and Which are capable of storing a combination of
`computer program code and data CPU 104 is also connected
`to a textual input device 108, such as a keyboard, and a
`graphical input device 112, such as a mouse. Such user input
`and output devices are Well knoWn in the art and Will not be
`discussed in further detail herein. CPU 102 is also connected
`to a display monitor 110, Which displays information to a
`user. In addition, CPU 104 is connected to a data I/O port
`114 Which alloWs the computer 102 to communicate With
`external devices. In accordance With an advantageous
`embodiment, the data I/O port 114 is a serial data port.
`The computer 102 is connected to a serial interface 150
`via a cable 135 Which connects the serial port 114 of the
`computer 102 to the serial interface 150. The serial interface
`150 is connected to a data interface port 162 of a cellular
`telephone 160, via cable 155. Cellular telephone 160 is of
`the type Which contains a microprocessor Which controls the
`functioning of the cellular telephone 160. The data interface
`port 162 alloWs the microprocessor of the cellular telephone
`160 to communicate With external devices. Thus, cable 135,
`serial interface 150, and cable 155 alloW the computer 102
`to communicate With the cellular telephone 160. The cellular
`telephone 160 may be one of a variety of telephones sold by
`various manufacturers. For example, cellular telephones
`Which may be programmed by the present invention are
`made by, Motorola, Nokia, AT&T, Ericsson, Oki, and others.
`Each of these telephones may require a someWhat different
`interface in order to connect the serial port 114 of the
`computer 120 to the data interface port 162 of the cellular
`telephone 160. As a result, the details for the cable 135,
`serial interface 150, and cable 155 Will vary depending on
`the type of cellular telephone 160 being programmed. The
`appropriate connecting cables, interfaces, and adapters are
`available from the cellular telephone manufacturers, and
`Will not be described in further detail herein.
`It is noted that if the computer 120 has a single serial port
`114, then the interface hardWare for connecting to the
`cellular telephone 160 may need to be sWapped When
`different types of cellular telephones are to be programmed.
`If computer 120 has multiple serial ports, then the different
`interface hardWare required for different telephone types
`may be connected to the multiple serial ports. In this
`con?guration, the CPU under control of the computer pro
`gram instructions may select the appropriate serial port to be
`active based on the cellular telephone type entered by the
`user. Various interface con?gurations may be implemented
`by one skilled in the art.
`The cellular telephone 160 is of the type Which contains
`a Number Assignment Module (NAM) Which stores data
`required for the operation of the cellular telephone 160
`under control of the telephone’s microprocessor. As
`described above, a cellular telephone must be activated prior
`to use. Such activation requires the storing of certain param
`eters in the NAM. The most common NAM parameters,
`along With exemplary data, are shoWn beloW in Table 1.
`
`TABLE 1
`
`DESCRIPTION
`
`PHONE NUMBER (MIN)
`SYSTEM IDENTIFICATION (SID)
`ACCESS OVERLOAD CLASS
`GROUP ID MARK
`
`DATA
`
`407-346-1111
`00037
`01
`10
`
`8
`
`

`

`US 7,260,381 B2
`
`TABLE l-continued
`
`DESCRIPTION
`
`DATA
`
`INITIAL PAGING CHANNEL
`SECONDARY PAGING CHANNEL
`WAKE UP MES SAGE
`
`LOCK CODE
`
`333
`708
`AT&T WIRELESS
`SERVICES
`1111
`
`6
`to indicate the type of cellular telephone 160 being pro
`grammed. In step 304 a picture of the telephone selected by
`the user in step 306 is displayed in area 408 of the user
`interface 400. A set of telephone image ?les Which represent
`graphical images of the di?ferent telephone types Which may
`be programmed With the system are stored in the memory
`106. When the user selects a telephone type in step 306 the
`appropriate graphics ?le is accessed and the image of the
`selected telephone is presented to the user. In one embodi
`ment, these graphics ?les are stored as bitmap (.BMP) ?les,
`in a manner Which is Well knoWn in the art of computer
`graphics.
`At this point, the user can verify that an image of the
`cellular telephone 160 Which is to be programmed is dis
`played in area 408 of the use interface 400. If the image in
`area 408 does not match that of the cellular telephone 160 to
`be programmed, the user may re-enter the phone type in area
`404 of the display screen 104. In response, the system Will
`display an image of the neWly entered telephone type. Thus,
`the display of an image of the telephone type provides a
`veri?cation mechanism so that the user can verify that the
`telephone type entered in step 302 corresponds to the
`cellular telephone 160 Which is to be programmed. Such
`veri?cation takes place prior to any attempt to store data in
`the NAM of the cellular telephone 160. In accordance With
`the interactive veri?cation feature of the invention, the
`display monitor 110 is located proximate to the input devices
`108 and 112, such that the user may verify the input by
`vieWing the information displayed on the display monitor
`110.
`In step 306, instructions for the selected telephone type
`are displayed in area 406 of the user interface 400. As shoWn
`in FIG. 4, these instructions set forth the next steps to be
`taken by the user in order to program the cellular telephone.
`In step 308, the user enters the cellular telephone number in
`area 402 of the user interface 400. As described above, a
`cellular provider is supplied With a plurality of telephone
`numbers from a local telephone company. In the embodi
`ment described herein, the list of such phone numbers is
`external to the computer, and the phone number to be
`assigned to the cellular telephone is chosen from the external
`list and is provided to the computer as user input. In an
`alternate embodiment, the list of phone numbers is stored in
`the memory of the computer and the particular telephone
`number to be assigned to the cellular telephone is chosen
`from the stored list. In such an embodiment, a user may enter
`an area code and pre?x combination, and an appropriate
`telephone number having such an area code and pre?x
`combination Would be selected and used to program the
`telephone.
`In step 310, the user initiates the programming of the
`cellular telephone 160 by pointing and clicking on a pro
`gram icon 410 using the graphical input device 112. Thus,
`the programming of the cellular telephone is only initiated
`upon an action by the user after the user has veri?ed the user
`supplied input data. In an alternate embodiment, the user
`could be provided With an abort icon to stop the program
`ming of the cellular telephone. In such an embodiment, the
`programming of the telephone Would occur unless the user
`abor‘ts the programming. In this embodiment, the user veri
`?es the input data by not clicking on the abort icon.
`In step 312, the system identi?cation is looked up in the
`system identi?cation table 200 (FIG. 2). The area code+
`pre?x combination entered by the user in area 402 is
`(407)-346. This corresponds With entry 240 in the system
`identi?cation table 200, Which indicates that the system ID
`is 00037, and that the location is West Palm Beach, Fla. In
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`The phone number (i.e. MIN), is the telephone number
`Which is to be associated With the cellular telephone 106. In
`accordance With convention practices, a cellular service
`provider Will be supplied With a plurality of telephone
`numbers from the local telephone company in a particular
`geographic location. These telephone numbers are then
`assigned to various cellular telephones, such as cellular
`telephone 160, When the telephone is purchased. In the
`present example, assume that the cellular service provider
`Was assigned the telephone number 407-346-1111, and that
`this is the telephone number Which is to be assigned to the
`cellular telephone 160.
`The second NAM parameter is the system identi?cation
`(i.e. SID). The system identi?cation identi?es the cellular
`service provider Which Will provide cellular service to the
`cellular telephone 160. Since there may be more than one
`cellular service provider in a given geographic location, this
`parameter identi?es the system With Which the cellular
`telephone 160 Will communicate. In accordance With one
`aspect of the invention, a system identi?cation data table is
`stored in memory 160 and is used to determine the appro
`priate system identi?cation to be assigned to the telephone
`160. This determination is based upon the telephone number
`assigned to the telephone 160.
`An exemplary system identi?cation data table 200 is
`shoWn in FIG. 2. The table 200 associates a system identi
`?cation 220 and location 230 With a given area code+pre?x
`combination 210. Thus, given an assigned telephone num
`ber, the system can determine the appropriate system ID. In
`the presently described embodiment, all telephones to be
`programmed are to use the same cellular service provider,
`and therefore, only one system ID 220 is required for each
`area code+pre?x pair 210. In this embodiment, the system
`IDs 220 are those that are assigned to the single cellular
`service provider in each of the locations 230 shoWn in FIG.
`2.
`As described above, the computer 102 operates according
`to stored computer program instructions (i.e. control pro
`gram) to carry out the functions of the present invention. A
`?owchart of the steps to be carried out by the computer 102
`50
`as de?ned by the control program is shoWn in FIGS. 3A and
`3B. An example of the user interface 400 Which is presented
`to the user on display monitor 110 is shoWn in FIG. 4.
`The program is initiated in step 300. In step 302 the
`cellular telephone type is requested from the user. The
`cellular telephone type identi?es the manufacturer of the
`telephone, and the particular model of the telephone. As
`shoWn in FIG. 4, the user enters the telephone type in area
`404 of the user interface using the graphical input device 112
`and/or the textual input device 108. The user may be
`provided With a menu of telephone types from Which one
`type may be chosen using the graphical input device 112, or
`the user may enter a telephone type using the textual input
`device 114. Such various means for receiving user input
`from a user interface are Well knoWn in the art and Will not
`be described further herein. Assume for the purposes of this
`example, that the user has entered “AT&T 3810” in area 404
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`US 7,260,381 B2
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`step 314, the system ID and location are displayed in areas
`412 and 414 respectively, in the user interface 400. In step
`316 the electronic serial number (ESN) is read from the
`telephone. The ESN is displayed in area 416 of the user
`interface 400 in step 318. In step 320 the software version
`of the telephone ?rmware is read from the telephone. The
`software version is displayed in area 418 of the user inter
`face 400 in step 322. The steps of reading and displaying the
`software version of the cellular telephone ?rmware is useful
`in the event that a more recent version of the software has
`been released. The control program could check for such an
`occurrence and provide the user with a message to the effect
`that a software upgrade may be appropriate. It is noted that
`steps 316 through 322 are optional and provide additional
`information to the user. One skilled in the art would recog
`niZe that other optional information could also be provided
`to the user.
`In step 324 the remaining NAM parameters are calcu
`lated. Certain remaining NAM parameters are computed
`according to NAM parameter derivation rules, as described
`below. Certain other NAM parameters are predetermined
`and may be hard-coded into the control program or other
`wise stored in memory. It is noted that the below described
`NAM parameters are well known to those skilled in the art
`of cellular telephone systems. As such, only a brief descrip
`tion of each of the parameters will be given here. The access
`overload class controls the telephone’s access to the cellular
`system when the system is overloaded, and is generally
`derived as 0+the last digit of the MIN. Thus, in the present
`example, the access overload class is “01”. The Group Id
`Mark can be used to de?ne groupings of cellular systems.
`Generally, the Group Id Mark is set to 10. The Initial Paging
`Channel is the primary dedicated control channel. Control
`channels may vary depending on the cellular service pro
`vider. Thus, the control channel is computed based upon the
`system identi?cation parameter. In the present embodiment,
`the Initial Paging Channel is set to 333 if the system
`identi?cation is odd, and to 334 if the system identi?cation
`is even. In the present example, the Initial Paging Channel
`is 333. The Secondary Paging Channel is the secondary
`dedicated control channel. In the present embodiment, the
`Secondary Paging Channel is set to 708 if the system
`identi?cation is odd, and to 737 if the system identi?cation
`is even. In the present example, the Secondary Paging
`Channel is 708. The Wake Up Message is the message which
`appears on the telephone when the telephone is powered on.
`In the present example, the Wake Up Message is “AT&T
`WIRELESS SERVICES”. The Lock Code is a code which
`enables or disables use of the telephone, and is generally
`derived as the last 3 or 4 digits of the MIN. In the present
`example, the Lock Code is the last 4 digits of the MIN. Thus,
`the Lock Code is set to 1111.
`It is noted that the telephone number (MIN) is the only
`NAM parameter which is supplied by the user, and that the
`system identi?cation (SID) is the only NAM parameter
`which is stored in the system identi?cation data table 200.
`The Group Id Mark and the Wake Up Message are prede
`termined and are hard-coded into the control program or
`otherwise stored in memory. The remaining NAM param
`eters are computed dynamically as described above based on
`the MIN and SID. Thus, the dynamically generated param
`eters are not stored in memory. They are