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Mobile Phone Patent Abstract
An apparatus and method for managing a mobile phone answering mode
and outgoing message or other indicator based on a location of the
mobile phone are provided. The apparatus and method make use of
a location system to ascertain the current location of a mobile
telephone being carried by a user. Based on the current location,
the apparatus and method determine whether operation of the mobile
telephone to receive and/or send calls should be restricted. In
addition, the apparatus and method determine an appropriate outgoing
message to be provided to calling parties while the mobile telephone
is located in an area where use of the mobile telephone to receive
calls is prohibited. The particular outgoing message provided is
customized to the current location of the mobile telephone and optionally,
the caller ID of the calling party.
Mobile Phone Patent Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method of managing operation of a portable device, comprising:
determining a geographical location of the portable device, in response
to receiving a communication destined for the portable device; determining
if the geographical location of the portable device is within a
geographical area of restricted use of the portable device; restricting
use of the portable device based on the determination of whether
the geographical location of the portable device is within a geographical
area of restricted use; and sending an outgoing message to a source
of the communication if use of the portable device is restricted,
wherein the outgoing message includes content automatically determined
based on the geographical location of the portable device, first
preferences of a user of the portable device and second preferences
of an owner/operator of an establishment at the geographical location
of the portable device.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining if the geographical
location of the portable device is within a geographical area of
restricted use includes: looking up the geographical location of
the portable device in a geographical information database; and
retrieving restriction information associated with the geographical
location of the portable device.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the restriction information includes
at least one of completely prohibiting use of the portable device,
vibration call notification only, restricting all incoming calls
except emergency calls, allowing incoming text messages only, allowing
use of the portable device in certain areas of the geographical
location, prohibiting transmission of control information from the
portable device, and prohibiting voice transmission from the portable
device.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the portable device is one of
a mobile telephone, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant,
a pager, a portable computer, and a portable communication device.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining a geographical location
of the portable device includes using a Global Positioning System
associated with the portable device to determine a geographical
location of the portable device.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining a geographical location
of the portable device includes receiving the geographical location
from a geographical location determination device associated with
the portable device.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein a language of the outgoing message
is selected based on a geographic location of the source of the
communication.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the outgoing message includes
a menu of selectable options.
9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: not restricting use
of the portable device if the call is indicated to be an emergency
call.
10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: redirecting the
call to an alternative device if use of the portable device is restricted.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein if the first preferences of
the user of the portable device and the second preferences of the
owner/operator of the establishment at the geographical location
of the portable device conflict, a combination of more restrictive
preferences from the first preferences of the user and the second
preferences of the owner/operator is used to determine the outgoing
message.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the outgoing message includes
an identity of the establishment if the first preferences of the
user permit the identity of the establishment to be included in
the outgoing message.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein the outgoing message includes
an emergency contact number for a communication device associated
with the establishment if the second preferences of the owner/operator
of the establishment includes an emergency contact number for a
communication device associated with the establishment.
14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: redirecting the
communication to the communication device associated with the establishment
and associated with the emergency contact number if the call is
indicated to be an emergency call.
15. An apparatus for managing operation of a portable device, comprising:
a controller; a portable unit database coupled to the controller;
and a geographical database coupled to the controller, wherein the
controller retrieves a geographical location of the portable device
from the portable unit database, in response to receiving a communication
destined for the portable device, determines if the geographical
location of the portable device is within a geographical area of
restricted use of the portable device based on geographical information
in the geographical database, restricts use of the portable device
based on the determination of whether the geographical location
of the portable device is within a geographical area of restricted
use, and sends an outgoing message to a source of the communication
if use of the portable device is restricted, wherein the outgoing
message includes content automatically determined based on the geographical
location of the portable device, first preferences of a user of
the portable device and second preferences of an owner/operator
of an establishment at the geographical location of the portable
device.
16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the controller determines
if the geographical location of the portable device is within a
geographical area of restricted use by looking up the geographical
location of the portable device in the geographical database, and
retrieving restriction information associated with the geographical
location of the portable device.
17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the restriction information
includes at least one of completely prohibiting use of the portable
device, vibration call notification only, restricting all incoming
calls except emergency calls, allowing incoming text messages only,
allowing use of the portable device in certain areas of the geographical
location, prohibiting transmission of control information from the
portable device, and prohibiting voice transmission from the portable
device.
18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the portable device is one
of a mobile telephone, a cellular telephone, a personal digit assistant,
a pager, a portable computer, and a portable communication device.
19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the geographical location
of the portable device is reported to the portable device database
using a Global Positioning System associated with the portable device.
20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the geographical location
of the portable device is reported to the portable device database
by a geographical location determination device associated with
the portable device.
21. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein a language of the outgoing
message is selected based on a geographic location of the source
of the communication.
22. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the outgoing message includes
a menu of selectable options.
23. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the controller does not
restrict use of the portable device if the call is indicated to
be an emergency call.
24. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the controller redirects
the call to an alternative device if use of the portable device
is restricted.
25. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein if the first preferences
of the user of the portable device and the second preferences of
the owner/operator of the establishment at the geographical location
of the portable device conflict, the controller uses a combination
of more restrictive preferences from the first preferences of the
user and the second preferences of the owner/operator to determine
the outgoing message.
26. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the outgoing message includes
an identity of the establishment if the first preferences of the
user permit the identity of the establishment to be included in
the outgoing message.
27. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the outgoing message includes
an emergency contact number for a communication device associated
with the establishment if the second preferences of the owner/operator
of the establishment includes an emergency contact number for a
communication device associated with the establishment.
28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the controller redirects
the communication to the communication device associated with the
establishment and associated with the emergency contact number if
the call is indicated to be an emergency call.
29. A computer program product in a computer readable medium for
managing operation of a portable device, comprising: first instructions
for determining a geographical location of the portable device,
in response to receiving a communication destined for the portable
device; second instructions for determining if the geographical
location of the portable device is within a geographical area of
restricted use of the portable device; third instructions for restricting
use of the portable device based on the determination of whether
the geographical location of the portable device is within a geographical
area of restricted use; and fourth instructions for sending an outgoing
message to a source of the communication if use of the portable
device is restricted, wherein the outgoing message includes content
automatically determined based on the geographical location of the
portable device, first preferences of a user of the portable device
and second preferences of an owner/operator of an establishment
at the geographical location of the portable device.
30. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein the second
instructions for determining if the geographical location of the
portable device is within a geographical area of restricted use
include: instructions for looking up the geographical location of
the portable device in a geographical information database; and
instructions for retrieving restriction information associated with
the geographical location of the portable device.
31. The computer program product of claim 30, wherein the restriction
information includes at least one of completely prohibiting use
of the portable device, vibration call notification only, restricting
all incoming calls except emergency calls, allowing incoming text
messages only, allowing use of the portable device in certain areas
of the geographical location, prohibiting transmission of control
information from the portable device, and prohibiting voice transmission
from the portable device.
32. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein the portable
device is one of a mobile telephone, a cellular telephone, a personal
digital assistant, a pager, a portable computer, and a portable
communication device.
33. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein the first
instructions for determining a geographical location of the portable
device include instructions for using a Global Positioning System
associated with the portable device to determine a geographical
location of the portable device.
34. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein the first
instructions for determining a geographical location of the portable
device include instructions for receiving the geographical location
from a geographical location determination device associated with
the portable device.
35. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein a language
of the outgoing message is selected based on a geographic location
of the source of the communication.
36. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein the outgoing
message includes a menu of selectable options.
37. The computer program product of claim 29, further comprising:
fifth instructions for not restricting use of the portable device
if the call is indicated to be an emergency call.
38. The computer program product of claim 29, further comprising:
fifth instructions for redirecting the call to an alternative device
if use of the portable device is restricted.
39. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein if the first
preferences of the user of the portable device and the second preferences
of the owner/operator of the establishment at the geographical location
of the portable device conflict, a combination of more restrictive
preferences from the first preferences of the user and the second
preferences of the owner/operator is used to determine the outgoing
message.
40. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein the outgoing
message includes an identity of the establishment if the first preferences
of the user permit the identity of the establishment to be included
in the outgoing message.
41. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein the outgoing
message includes an emergency contact number for a communication
device associated with the establishment if the second preferences
of the owner/operator of the establishment includes an emergency
contact number for a communication device associated with the establishment.
42. The computer program product of claim 41, further comprising:
fifth instructions for redirecting the communication to the communication
device associated with the establishment and associated with the
emergency contact number if the call is indicated to be an emergency
call.
Mobile Phone Patent Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention is directed to an improved data processing
system. More specifically, the present invention is directed to
an apparatus and method for managing a mobile phone answering mode
and outgoing message based on a location of the mobile phone.
2. Description of Related Art
While traveling with a mobile phone, a phone user frequently gets
calls at inconvenient locations/times. Often this inconvenience
is caused by being at a location where use of the phone is not allowed,
e.g., a movie theatre, a play house, an opera house). This results
in the requirement that the phone user manually turns off his phone
or his phone ringer, and cannot take calls at that time.
In addition, with the current implementation of mobile phone messaging,
the caller usually receives a preset outgoing message which the
phone user has previously set up as the announcement for not being
able to answer the call. This phone message is a typically a general
message that does not give any specific details as to why the user
is unable to answer the call. Customizing of this message by the
phone user is possible, but requires extra, and often inconvenient,
effort.
Thus, it would be beneficial to have an apparatus and method by
which a mobile telephone may be automatically disabled when the
user carries the mobile telephone to a location where use of the
mobile telephone is inappropriate or prohibited. In addition, it
would be beneficial to have an apparatus and method by which an
outgoing message is customized based on the user's current location
to thereby inform the caller why the user is unable to answer the
call. In addition, it would be beneficial to inform the caller of
the whereabouts of the called party based on the called party's
current location.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an apparatus and method for managing
a mobile phone answering mode and outgoing message, or other type
of indicator, based on the location of the mobile phone. The apparatus
and method of the present invention makes use of a location system
to ascertain the current location of a mobile telephone being carried
by a user. Based on the current location, the present invention
determines whether various operations of the mobile telephone to
receive and/or send calls should be inhibited.
In addition, the present invention determines an appropriate outgoing
message, or other type of indicator, to be provided to selected
calling parties while the mobile telephone is located in an area
where use of the mobile telephone to receive calls is prohibited.
The particular outgoing message or indicator provided is customized
to the current location of the mobile telephone. Other features
and advantages of the present invention will be described in, or
will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view
of, the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are
set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however,
as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages
thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed
description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction
with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is an exemplary block diagram illustrating a mobile telephone
network according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an exemplary diagram illustrating the primary operational
components of a mobile telephone in accordance with the present
invention;
FIG. 3 is an exemplary diagram illustrating the primary operational
components of a base station control system in accordance with the
present invention; and
FIG. 4 is a flowchart outlining an exemplary operation of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The present invention provides an apparatus and method for managing
a mobile phone answering mode and outgoing message, or other type
of indicator, based on the location of the mobile phone. While the
principle preferred embodiment is directed to a mobile telephone,
the present invention is not limited to such. Rather, the present
invention is applicable to any mobile or stationary device whose
operation may be restricted based on a location of the device. Such
devices may include mobile telephones, cellular telephones, personal
digital assistants (PDAs), pagers, computers, portable computers,
portable communication devices, wireless stationary telephones,
and the like.
The present invention is particular advantages when the communication
device is a mobile communication device, however, the present invention
may also be applied to stationary devices. The preferred embodiments
of the present invention will be described in terms of a cellular
telephone network only for illustrative purposes. The use of a cellular
telephone in the following description is not intended to place
any limitations on the present invention with regard to the type
of communication device or communication network in which the present
invention may be implemented.
Referring now to FIG. 1, a cellular telephone network is illustrated
in accordance with the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, cellular
telephone network 100 is comprised of a plurality of cells 110 and
base stations 120. Each cell 110 in the cellular telephone network
100 includes a base station 120 with which cellular devices in the
cell communicate.
When a cellular telephone 130 is present in the cellular network
100 and is made active, such as by powering on the cellular telephone,
the cellular telephone 130 performs a handshake operation with a
base station 120 corresponding to the cell in which the cellular
telephone 130 is present. The handshake operation informs the base
station 120 of the identity of the cellular telephone 130 and allows
the base station 120 to assign a frequency on which the cellular
telephone 130 is to communicate, in a manner generally known in
the art. In addition, the handshake operation allows for the initialization
of billing account management and other functions performed by the
base station 120.
In addition to the cellular telephone network 100, the present
invention makes use of a location system present in the cellular
telephone 130 to identify the current geographical location of the
cellular telephone 130. The cellular telephone 130 periodically
updates its current location information by making use of the location
system to identify its current position. The location system may
take the form of any appropriate location system including a Global
Positioning System (GPS), mobile telephone system triangulation,
and the like.
The cellular telephone 130 may report its current location to the
base station 120 associated with the cell 110 in which the cellular
telephone 130 is located. The current location of the cellular telephone
130 is then stored by the base station 120 in a data structure associated
with an identifier for the cellular telephone, such as a mobile
identification number (MIN), electronic serial number (ESN), or
the like. This location information is updated each time the cellular
telephone 130 transmits a new current location to the base station
120. If the cellular telephone 130 travels outside the cell areas
supported by the base station 120, the data structure may be removed
or may be updated with projected analytical data based on the projected
movement.
The cellular telephone 130 may update this current location information
on a periodic or continuous basis. In a preferred embodiment, the
cellular telephone 130 uses a global positioning system (GPS) to
determine its current location on a periodic basis and reports this
location to the base station 120. A periodic update of the current
location is preferred because it reduces the amount of data that
is being transmitted to and processed by the base station 120.
When a call is routed to the base station 120 associated with the
cell 110 in which the cellular telephone 130 is present, the base
station 120 retrieves the current location of the cellular telephone
130 that was last reported to the base station 120. The routing
of calls through a cellular network is well known in the art and
thus, a detailed description of the routing is not provided here.
After retrieving the current location of the cellular telephone
130, the base station 120 compares the current location to a geographical
database that identifies geographical locations and cellular telephone
restrictions for these various geographical locations. For example,
the geographical database may identify theatres, restaurants, churches,
hospitals, and the like, in which cellular telephone use is restricted
or prohibited.
Based on the comparison of the current location to the geographical
database, the present invention is able to determine if the cellular
telephone is in a geographical location where cellular telephone
usage is restricted or prohibited and what the restrictions or prohibitions
are. The determination of what restrictions or prohibitions are
present at a particular geographical location is based on the restriction
information stored in the geographical database in association with
the geographical location.
The restrictions are established by the owners and/or operators
of the facilities at the various geographical locations. Such owners
and operators of these facilities may subscribe to the automatic
ring mode and outgoing message management service offered by the
present invention. In subscribing to the present invention, the
owner/operator provides various information about the facility and
the owner/operator's preferences with regard to the services provided,
to the mechanism of the present invention.
The base station 120 may store geographical locations and associated
restriction policy information for the various subscribers in the
geographical area handled by the base station 120, in a database
associated with the base station 120. Alternatively, the geographical
location information and restriction policy information may be stored
in a centralized database and information for the geographical locations
may be retrieved from this centralized database for use with the
present invention.
For example, a theatre owner may register with the cellular network
100, provide its geographical location and the restrictions that
the theatre owner wishes to enforce in his/her establishment. Such
restrictions may be, for example, cellular telephone usage is completely
prohibited while within the theatre, i.e. cellular telephone calls
cannot be received or sent using a cellular telephone within the
geographical location of the theatre. Such restrictions may alternatively
be that cellular usage is limited to vibration ring notification
of an incoming call. Other restrictions may include restricting
all incoming calls except those identified to be emergency calls,
allowing calls to be received with vibration ring notification but
not allow the cellular telephone to transmit control information,
voice or voice signals back to the base station, allowing incoming
text messages or mail without audio enable/disable, allowing certain
uses of the cellular telephone in particular areas of the premises
but not in other areas of the premises (such as a lobby versus a
theatre), and the like.
In the case where incoming calls to a cellular telephone are blocked
by the restrictions set by the owner/operator of the establishment,
the call may be automatically handled by the base station to thereby
notify the calling party of the called party's inability to receive
the call using a prerecorded or customized message and optionally
to record a message for the called party. In addition, the called
party's cellular telephone may be equipped with a vibration ring
notification, different from a standard vibration ring notification
that identifies an incoming call, to indicate to the called party
that a call was received and handled by the base station due to
the called party being in a location that does not permit receipt
of cellular telephone calls.
As noted above, based on the restrictions for the location in which
the cellular telephone is currently located, the base station may
return a prerecorded message to the calling party indicating that
the called party is unavailable. Such messages may be of various
types depending on the particular location in which the cellular
telephone is located and the preferences of the owner/operator of
the establishment at that location, the status and preferences of
the called party, the identity of the calling party (as obtained
from a caller-id device, for example), and possibly the geographical
location of the calling party (as obtained from an area code of
the calling party's telephone number, for example). The type of
message that is provided to the calling party is designated in the
data structure identifying the geographical location and cellular
telephone restrictions.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the called party may
establish a caller-id database indicating which types of outgoing
messages or indicators are to be provided to calling parties based
on the calling party's identity. For example, the called party may
wish a first outgoing message or indicator to be provided to a calling
party that is a personal friend of the called party and a second
outgoing message or indicator to be provided to calling parties
that are business associates or co-workers. While the present invention
may use different indicators with various calling parties, the principle
embodiments of the present invention are described in terms of providing
outgoing messages based on the identity of the calling parties for
illustration purposes.
The present invention may lookup the identity of a calling party,
as determined using a caller-id apparatus, in the called party's
caller-id database. From this lookup, the present invention may
determine which outgoing message is preferred by the called party
and that message may be provided to the calling party when the called
party is not able to receive the call due to location restrictions.
Of course, the outgoing message provided to the calling party may
also be based on the particular location and restrictions imposed
by the location of the called party. For example, if the cellular
telephone is in a hospital where cellular telephone usage is prohibited,
the calling party may be provided with a message indicating that
the called party is in a location where cellular telephone usage
is prohibited. If the cellular telephone is located in a theatre
where cellular telephone usage is generally prohibited with the
exception of emergency calls, the prerecorded message may be of
the type that informs the calling party that the called party is
in a location where cellular telephone usage is prohibited but that
if the call is an emergency, the calling party may press "*"
and the call will be sent through to the called party's cellular
telephone.
In addition, the owner or operator of the establishment may provide
a contact telephone number to the cellular network that may be used
in emergencies for contacting individuals who are present in the
establishment. For example, if a calling party attempts to contact
another party's cellular telephone while he is in an establishment
that does not permit cellular telephone use, the base station may
return a prerecorded message that indicates that the called party
is in a location that does not permit him/her to receive cellular
telephone calls but that if the call is an emergency, the calling
party may reach the called party at an alternative telephone number
as set for or provided by the establishment.
In still a further embodiment, the present invention may provide
a prerecorded message that indicates the actual location of the
called party. For example, if the called party is present in Baylor
Richardson Hospital, the called party may be provided with a prerecorded
message that states that the calling party is currently in Baylor
Richardson Hospital and cannot be reached by his/her cellular telephone.
If the call is an emergency, the calling party may reach the called
party by calling the alternate telephone number for Baylor Richardson
Hospital. A menu system may also may be provided for giving other
contact options to the caller (like voicemail).
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, if the call
cannot be received by the called party due to the restrictions imposed
by the called party's current location, if the call is an emergency
call, the call may be redirected to another telephone number by
which the called party may be reached. Using the previous example,
the called party may be provided with a prerecorded message that
states that the calling party is currently in Baylor Richardson
Hospital and cannot be reached by his/her cellular telephone. If
the call is an emergency, the calling party may press "*"
to be automatically connected to Baylor Richardson Hospital. Such
an embodiment assumes that the owner/operator of the establishment
provides the cellular telephone network with a contact telephone
number to which the call may be redirected.
As previously mentioned, the particular message that is provided
to the calling party may be determined based on the particular location
in which the cellular telephone is located and the preferences of
the owner/operator of the establishment at that location, the status
and preferences of the called party, the identity of the calling
party, and possibly the geographical location of the calling party.
The location and owner/operator preferences information may be obtained
from the geographical location database previously mentioned above.
The called party preferences and status may be obtained from a called
party database in which information about the called party is stored
including the status of the called party, i.e. a preferred customer
or non-preferred customer, preferences for messages to be provided
to calling parties, and the like. The identity and geographical
location information of the calling party may be obtained from a
caller-id functionality in the base station.
Whether to provide an indication of the called party's location,
whether to forward the call to another telephone number associated
with the called party, and the like, may be determined based on
personal preferences of the called party as set forth in a called
party database associated with the cellular network. Likewise, whether
to provide an outgoing message, whether to provide a current location
of the called party, whether to allow emergency override options
to a calling party, in what language to provide the prerecorded
messages, and the like, may be determined based on the identity
of the calling party and the location of the calling party as determined
from caller-id information.
The particular message to be provided to the calling party may
be determined based on the geographical location and preferences
of the owner/operator in order to determine whether to announce
the called party's location, what location to announce to the calling
party, whether to provide an emergency override option to the calling
party, whether to offer an alternative telephone number to the calling
party, what the alternative telephone number is, whether to provide
automatic forwarding of the call to a telephone number associated
with the called party's current location, and the like.
As an example of the operation of the present invention, assume
that a cellular telephone user goes to a theatre that subscribes
to the service of the present invention. The theatre owner has provided
the geographical location of the theatre and the restriction information
that the theatre owner wishes to enforce. For example, the theatre
owner indicates that he does not wish cellular telephones to be
used to receive or send calls while within the theatre. However,
if a call is an emergency call, the theatre owner wishes the call
to be forwarded to a landline telephone number associated with the
theatre. Moreover, the theatre owner has stated that outgoing messages
to calling parties may include the name of the theatre and the alternate
telephone number to which calls may be forwarded.
In a further embodiment, the message provided to the calling party
may include a menu of options that may be selected by the calling
party to perform various functions. The selection of the menu options
may be performed using the keypad of the calling party's telephone
unit, as is generally known in the art. The particular menu options
provided is dependent on the particular implementation of the present
invention. However, in the present example, the theatre owner may
establish a menu of options for listing movies currently showing,
show times, special sales currently going on at the establishment,
and the like.
In addition to the subscription from the theatre owner, the cellular
network has obtained information from the user of the cellular telephone
indicating the user's preferences for outgoing messages. Such preferences
may be obtained from the user, for example, when the user first
subscribes to cellular telephone usage or the like. In the present
example, it is assumed that the user does not wish his current location
to be broadcast in an outgoing message to calling parties.
Thus, the preferences of the theatre owner and the preferences
of the user conflict to a certain degree in that the user does not
wish his location provided in the outgoing message and the theatre
owner has indicated that the theatre name may be provided in the
outgoing message. In such a case, the preferences of the user will
override the preference of the theatre owner. If the conflict were
reversed, the preferences of the theatre owner to not provide the
theatre name will override the preferences of the user. Thus, the
more restrictive preference will generally override the less restrictive
preference.
The cellular telephone of the user periodically determines its
current location using a location determination system, such as
GPS, mobile phone triangulation, or the like. The cellular telephone
reports this current location to the cellular network, and particularly
to the base station associated with the cell in which the cellular
telephone is current located. The base station stores this information
in a database in association with an identifier for the cellular
telephone. In addition, the base station retrieves the personal
preferences of the user of the cellular telephone from a subscriber
database associated with the cellular network.
When a call is received by the base station destined for the cellular
telephone, the base station identifies the called party from header
information in the call signals received. Based on this called party
identification, the base station retrieves the current location,
i.e. the last reported current location, of the cellular telephone.
Based on this current location, the base station performs a comparison
with its geographical database to determine if the cellular telephone
is in the same location as a subscriber facility that has restricted
cellular telephone usage. If so, the restricted cellular telephone
usage information is retrieved for the geographical location. Otherwise,
the call is routed to the called party's cellular telephone.
If a restricted cellular telephone policy applies, the base station
correlates the restricted cellular telephone policy with the preferences
of the user and applies the combination to the received call. In
the present example, since the theatre prohibits cellular telephone
usage, and the called party has indicate that he does not wish his
current location to be broadcast, the base station will send a signal
to the cellular telephone that deactivates the cellular telephone's
audible ringer and enables a vibration notification. In addition,
the calling party's caller id information may be provided to the
cellular telephone for display.
In addition, the base station sends an outgoing message to the
calling party indicating that the called party is unavailable to
receive the call but does not provide the called party's current
location. The outgoing message may further include an option, if
the call is an emergency, to reroute the call to another telephone
number where the called party may be reached. If the calling party
elects to use this option, the call is rerouted to the designated
emergency telephone number.
In addition to the above, if the called party is in a first country
having a first native language, and the calling party is in a second
country having a second native language, it would be inconvenient
to present the prerecorded outgoing messages in the first language
when the calling party most likely speaks the second language. With
the mechanism of the present invention, based on caller id information,
such as the area code or country code of the telephone number, a
language of the prerecorded message may be identified so that an
outgoing message in an appropriate language may be selected and
provided to the calling party. Thus, for example, if the calling
party is in Mexico and the called party is in the United States,
rather than providing the outgoing message in English, the outgoing
message will be provided in Spanish based on the country or area
code of the calling party's telephone number. Alternatively, the
outgoing message may include a menu of options, selectable by the
calling party, for the particular language to use with the outgoing
message.
FIG. 2 is an exemplary block diagram illustrating the primary operational
components of the cellular telephone in accordance with the present
invention. The elements shown in FIG. 2 may be implemented in hardware,
software, or a combination of hardware and software. For example,
many elements may be implemented as software executed by a processor.
As shown in FIG. 2, the cellular telephone 200 includes a controller
210, a memory 220, a transceiver 230, a ring activation/deactivation
device 240, a transmitter activation/deactivation device 250, and
a location determination system 260. These elements 210-260 are
coupled to one another by control/data signal bus 270. Although
a bus architecture is shown in FIG. 2, the present invention is
not limited to such and any architecture that facilitates the communication
of control/data signals between the elements 210-260 may be used
without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
The keypad, microphone speaker and other standard parts of the cellular
telephone are not shown in this diagram for simplicity.
The controller 210 controls the overall operation of the cellular
telephone 200 and orchestrates the operation of the other elements
220-260. The memory 220 stores control programs and other information
necessary for the operation of the cellular telephone 200. The controller
210 operates under the control programs stored in the memory 220.
The transceiver 230 is used for sending and receiving cellular
telephone calls as well as control data for performing handshake
operations with base stations, and the like. In addition, the transceiver
230 is used to report current location information obtained from
the location determination system 260, to the base station.
The ring activation/deactivation device 240 activates the ringer
on the cellular telephone such that the telephone provides an audible
ring output, such as a musical chime, indicating the receipt of
a telephone call. Alternatively, the ring activation/deactivation
device 240 deactivates the audible ring when instructed to by way
of input from the user or when instructed by messages received from
a base station.
In addition, the ring activation/deactivation device 240 may activate
vibration notification for notifying the user of an incoming call
by vibrating the cellular telephone. Such vibration notification
may include a first vibration notification for incoming calls when
the user has selected to deactivate the audible ringer and a second
vibration notification for incoming calls that are automatically
handled by the base station due to the deactivation of the audible
ringer based on the current location of the cellular telephone 200.
Moreover, there may be a different vibration notification provided
for emergency telephone calls. The deactivation of the audible ring
notification and the activation of the vibration notification may
be performed based on header information of signals received from
the base station, for example.
The transmitter activation/deactivation device 250 activates the
transmission functionality of the transmitter 230 when power is
supplied to the cellular telephone 200 and when the cellular telephone
200 is located in an area where transmission of telephone calls
by the cellular telephone 200 is permitted.
Alternatively, the transmitter activation/deactivation device 250
deactivates the transmission functionality of the cellular telephone
200 when the cellular telephone 200 is in an area where transmission
of telephone calls from the cellular telephone 200 is prohibited.
The deactivation of the transmission functionality may be based
on header information of signals received from the base station
via the transceiver 230, for example.
The location determination system 260 determines a current location
of the cellular telephone 200 and provides this information to transceiver
230 for reporting to the base station. The location determination
system 260 may operate on a continuous or periodic basis. The location
determination system 260 may include a GPS, a mobile telephone triangulation
system, or the like. The location reported by the location determination
system 260 is used by the base station to determine if the cellular
telephone 200 is present in a geographical location where restricted
cellular telephone usage is indicated.
FIG. 3 is an exemplary block diagram illustrating the primary operational
components of a base station control system in accordance with the
present invention. The elements shown in FIG. 3 may be implemented
in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.
For example, many elements may be implemented as software executed
by a processor.
As shown in FIG. 3, the base station control system 300 includes
a control system 310, a memory 320, a transceiver 330, a cellular
telephone unit database 340, a geographical location database 350,
a prerecorded message device 360, a network interface 370, and a
user preferences database 390. The elements 310-390 are coupled
to one another via the control/data signal bus 380. Although a bus
architecture is shown in FIG. 3, the present invention is not limited
to such and any architecture that facilitates the communication
of control/data signals between the elements 310-390 may be used
without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
The control system 310 controls the overall operation of the base
station controller 300 and orchestrates the operation of the other
elements 320-390. The controller 310 operates based on control programs
stored in the memory 320. The memory 320 may also store other information
used by the base station control system.
The transceiver 330 is used to send and receive calls, control
signals, and data to and from cellular telephones located within
the cell served by the base station. The mobile unit database 340
stores information regarding the cellular telephones located within
the cells serviced by the base station, their identification, such
as a MIN, and user preference information retrieved for the users
of the cellular telephones in the cell serviced by the base station.
The mobile unit database 340 also stores the current location information
reported by the various cellular telephones located in the cells
serviced by the base station.
The geographical location database 350 stores geographical location
information for subscribers to the services of the present invention.
For example, the geographical location database 350 stores geographical
locations of subscribers, preferences of the owners/operators of
facilities at these geographical locations regarding cellular telephone
usage, and preferences of the owners/operators of the facilities
regarding information included in outgoing messages to calling parties.
The geographical location database 350 may further include information
regarding forwarding numbers to which emergency calls may be transferred,
for example.
The prerecorded message device 360 stores one or more prerecorded
messages in one or more languages that may be provided as outgoing
messages to calling parties when calls are unable to be completed
to the called party. The prerecorded message device 360 may provide
these messages to the calling party via the transceiver 330 based
on the preferences of the user of the cellular telephone as obtained
from the user preferences database 390 and the preferences of the
owner/operator of the facilities at the cellular telephone's current
location as obtained from the geographical location database 350.
The network interface 370 provides a communication interface between
the base station control system 300 and the cellular and/or land
line telephone network. Calls to cellular telephones within the
cell serviced by the base station may be routed to the base station
control system 300 via the network interface 370.
With the present invention, when a call is received by the base
station control system 300 via the network interface 370, for example,
the controller 310 receives the header information in the call signals
and forwards this information to the mobile unit database 340. The
mobile unit database 340 retrieves the entry for the called party
and determines the last current location reported to the base station
control system 300. This last current location is then forwarded
to the geographical location database 350. In addition, the preferences
of the called party are retrieved from the user preferences database
390 and temporarily stored in memory 320 for use by the controller
310.
The geographical location database 350 receives the last current
location of the called party and correlates that geographical location
with information stored in the geographic location database 350.
If the called party is located in a non-restricted geographic area,
the geographical location database 350 reports to the controller
310 that the call should be allowed to go through in a normal fashion.
If the called party is located in a restricted geographic area,
the geographical location database 350 retrieves the restriction
policies and location preferences and stores them temporarily in
memory 320 for use by the controller 310.
The controller 310 then uses the information retrieved from the
mobile unit database 340 and the geographical location database
350 to process the received call. This may include instructing the
prerecorded message device 360 to provide a prerecorded message
to the calling party in accordance with the preferences indicated
by the owner/operator of the facilities at the called party's current
location and/or the preferences of the called party.
In addition, a caller-id functionality may be provided in controller
310 to thereby identify the approximate geographical location of
the calling party and use this information for selection of a language
for the prerecorded messages provided by the prerecorded message
device 360.
It should be noted that there may be times when communication between
the cellular telephone and the base station is interrupted. During
such times, the present invention may operate as normal and assume
that the cellular telephone is located in the last reported location.
Alternatively, if communication is interrupted, the present invention
may disable the operations of the present invention until communication
is re-established. In such a case, calls will not be completed to
the called party due to the lack of a communication connection,
however the present invention will not operate either and thus,
the calling party will not be provided with an erroneous outgoing
message.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart outlining an exemplary operation of the present
invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the operation starts with the calling
party placing a call to the user of a mobile telephone (step 410).
The mobile service provider identifies the called party and a corresponding
current location of the called party as well as called party preferences
are retrieved (step 420). The called party current location is then
compared to geographical information in a geographical location
database (step 430).
A determination is made as to whether there are any restrictions
on the usage of mobile telephones in the called party's current
location (step 440). If not, the call is handled in a normal fashion
(step 450) and the operation of the present invention ends. If there
are restrictions, the restriction policies are retrieved along with
facility preferences for the called party's current location (step
460). The call is then handled by applying the restriction policies,
called party preferences, and the facility preferences to the call
(step 470). This may result in an outgoing message being provided
to a calling party. The language of the outgoing message may be
selected based on the approximate geographical location of the calling
party as determined from caller id information, for example.
Thus, the present invention provides an apparatus and method by
which the answering mode of a mobile telephone may be automatically
modified based on the restrictions imposed by an owner/operator
of facilities at the mobile telephone's current location. In addition,
the outgoing message that is provided to the calling party may be
automatically selected based on the preferences of the called party,
the preferences of the owner/operator of the facilities, and caller
id information obtained for the calling party.
While the present invention has been described in terms of changing
the answering mode and outgoing message based on the current location
of the mobile telephone, these are not the only attributes of the
mobile telephone that may be modified using the present invention.
For example, in addition to, or in replacement of, these attributes,
other attributes including display contrast, backlighting, volume
control, noise filtering and the like may be modified based on the
current location of the mobile telephone. For example, if it is
determined that the mobile telephone is located in a noisy restaurant,
the present invention may provide functionality wherein the mobile
telephone is instructed to increase noise filtering and increase
the speaker volume on the mobile telephone.
It is important to note that while the present invention has been
described in the context of a fully functioning data processing
system, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that
the processes of the present invention are capable of being distributed
in the form of a computer readable medium of instructions and a
variety of forms and that the present invention applies equally
regardless of the particular type of signal bearing media actually
used to carry out the distribution. Examples of computer readable
media include recordable-type media, such as a floppy disk, a hard
disk drive, a RAM, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, and transmission-type media,
such as digital and analog communications links, wired or wireless
communications links using transmission forms, such as, for example,
radio frequency and light wave transmissions. The computer readable
media may take the form of coded formats that are decoded for actual
use in a particular data processing system.
The description of the present invention has been presented for
purposes of illustration and description, and is not intended to
be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed.
Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary
skill in the art. The embodiment was chosen and described in order
to best explain the principles of the invention, the practical application,
and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand
the invention for various embodiments with various modifications
as are suited to the particular use contemplated. |