Abstract:
A method for selectively rejecting a call in a mobile station, includes the steps of registering the information of the subscribers selected by the user of the mobile station for rejecting their calls in a mobile communications system, and dismissing a call for the mobile station when the call is generated by one of the subscribers registered in the mobile communications system. The calls of the registered subscribers may be automatically switched to a call switching phone number or a user&#39;s private sound box registered by the user in the mobile communications system. Preferably, the mobile communications system sends a message to notify the caller of rejecting the call.

Description:
CLAIM OF PRIORITY  
         [0001]    This application makes reference to, incorporates the same herein, and claims all benefits accruing under 35 U.S.C. §119 from my application entitled METHOD FOR REJECTING SELECTIVE CALL OF MOBILE COMMUNICATION SET filed with the Korean Industrial Property Office on Dec. 13, 1999 and there duly assigned Ser. No. 57092/1999.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    The present invention relates to a method for selectively rejecting a call in a mobile station, and more particularly a method for registering the phone numbers of the subscribers selected for rejecting their calls.  
           [0004]    2. Description of the related art  
           [0005]    Conventionally, the mobile station or phone is provided with a means for rejecting calls when the user wants not to receive the calls. However, the conventional means can only reject all calls without any selection of the subscribers with whom the user does not want to communicate.  
           [0006]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,085,080 entitled Rejection of Incoming and Outgoing Calls in WLL Terminal to Rahikainen et al. discloses a method and apparatus for registering telephone numbers to be screened in a wireless communication system. What is still needed is a method for switching a telephone call to another number or to a private sound box if the call originates from one of the numbers on the registry. What is further needed is a method of informing the caller that his or her call has been rejected.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for rejecting the calls from the subscribers selected by the user of a mobile station.  
           [0008]    It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for switching the calls from the subscribers selected for rejection to a registered call switching phone number.  
           [0009]    It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method for dismissing the calls from the selected subscribers after sending a message to notify them of the rejecting the calls.  
           [0010]    It is further another object of the present invention to provide a method for switching the calls from the subscribers selected by the user of a mobile station to the user&#39;s private sound box.  
           [0011]    It is yet another object of the present invention to notify a caller that his or her call has been rejected by the called party in a cellular system.  
           [0012]    According to an aspect of the present invention, a method for selectively rejecting a call in a mobile station, includes the steps of registering the information of the subscribers selected by the user of the mobile station for rejecting their calls in a mobile communications system, and dismissing a call for the mobile station when the call is generated by one of the subscribers registered in the mobile communications system. The calls of the registered subscribers may be automatically switched to a call switching phone number or auser&#39;s private sound box registered by the user in the mobile communications system. Preferably, the mobile communications system sends a message to notify the caller of rejecting the call.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]    A more complete appreciation of the invention, and many of the attendant advantages thereof, will be readily apparent as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference symbols indicate the same or similar components, wherein:  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1 is a block diagram for illustrating the fundamental structure of a mobile communications system for which the inventive method is applied;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 2 is a flow chart for illustrating the procedure of activating the selective call rejection in a mobile communications system according to the present invention;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 3 is a flow chart for illustrating the procedure of deactivating the selective call rejection in a mobile communications system according to the present invention;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 4 is a flow chart for illustrating the procedure of registering a call switching phone number to which the calls selectively rejected calls are switched in a mobile communications system according to the present invention;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 5 is a flow chart for illustrating the procedure of deleting a call switching phone number in a mobile communications system according to the present invention;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 6 is a flow chart for illustrating the procedure of registering the information of the subscribers selected by the user of a mobile station for rejecting their call in a mobile communications system according to the present invention;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 7 is a flow chart for illustrating the procedure of deleting the information of the subscribers selected by the user of a mobile station for rejecting their call from a mobile communications system according to the present invention;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram for showing a list containing the information of the subscribers registered for selective call rejection in a mobile communications system according to the present invention;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 9 is a flow chart for illustrating the procedure of dismissing a call from one of the subscribers registered for selective rejection in a mobile communications system according to the present invention;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 10 is a flow chart for illustrating the procedure of connecting a call from a subscriber not registered for selective rejection in a mobile communications system according to the present invention; and  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 11 is a flow chart for illustrating the procedure of switching a call from one of the subscribers registered for selective rejection to a call switching phone number registered in a mobile communications system according to the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0025]    Referring to FIG. 1, a mobile communications system comprises mobile station (MS)  100 , base station (BS)  110 , base station control (BSC)  120 , mobile switching control (MSC)  130 , and home location register (HLR)  140 . The user presses the selected keys of MS  100  to activate/deactivate selective call rejection, to register/delete a call switching phone number, and to register/delete the list of the subscribers selected for rejecting their calls, so that the key signals are sent through BSC  120  to MSC  130 . Then, MSC  130  causes HLR  140  to register the data concerning the functions selected by MS  100 .  
         [0026]    Describing the procedure of activating the selective call rejection with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, MS  100  sends the feature code (string+SEND) to MSC  130  on the user&#39;s request in step  210 . For example, pressing keys *65+SEND of MS  100  may activate the selective call rejection. Then, MSC  130  sends the selective call rejection activation data FEATREQ[DGTSDIAL] to HLR  140  in step  220 . Then, HLR  140  registers the activation of the selective call rejection, sending its registration data FEATREG[FEATRESULT, ANNLIST] to MSC  130  in step  230 . Then, MSC  130  sends the feature confirmation to inform the user of the selective call rejection being activated in step  240 . The MS  100  displays the activation of the selective call rejection on the display screen in step  250 , then ending the call.  
         [0027]    Describing the procedure of deactivating the selective call rejection with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3, MS  100  sends the feature code (string+SEND) to MSC  130  on the user&#39;s request in step  310 . For example, pressing keys *650+SEND of MS  100  may deactivate the selective call rejection. Then, MSC  130  sends the selective call rejection deactivation data FEATREQ[DGTSDIAL] to HLR  140  in step  320 . Then, HLR  140  registers the deactivation of the selective call rejection, sending its registration data FEATREG[FEATRESULT, ANNLIST] to MSC  130  in step  330 . Then, MSC  130  sends the feature confirmation to inform the user of the selective call rejection being deactivated in step  340 . The MS  100  displays the deactivation of the selective call rejection on the display screen in step  350 , then ending the call.  
         [0028]    Describing the procedure of registering a call switching phone number to which the calls of the subscribers selected for rejection are switched with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4, MS  100  sends the feature code (string+SEND) to represent the call switching phone number and registration code to MSC  130  on the user&#39;s request in step  410 . Then, MSC  130  sends the call switching phone number data FEATREQ[DGTSDIAL] to HLR  140  in step  420 . Then, HLR  140  registers the call switching phone number, sending its registration data FEATREG[FEATRESULT, ANNLIST] to MSC  130  s in step  430 . Then, MSC  130  sends the feature confirmation to inform the user of registration of the call switching phone number in step  440 . The MS  100  displays the registration of the call switching phone number on the display screen in step  450 , then ending the call.  
         [0029]    Describing the procedure of deleting the call switching phone number with reference to FIGS. 1 and 5, MS  100  sends the feature code (string+SEND) to represent the call switching phone number and deletion code to MSC  130  on the user&#39;s request in step  510 . Then, MSC  130  sends the call switching phone number deletion data FEATREQ[DGTSDIAL] to HLR  140  in step  520 . Then, HLR  140  deletes the call switching phone number, sending its deletion data FEATREG[FEATRESULT, ANNLIST] to MSC  130  in step  530 . Then, MSC  130  sends the feature confirmation to inform the user of deletion of the call switching phone number in step  540 . The MS  100  displays the deletion of the call switching phone number on the display screen in step  550 , then ending the call.  
         [0030]    Describing the procedure of registering the phone numbers of the subscribers selected for rejecting their calls in the call rejection list as shown in FIG. 8, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 6, MS  100  sends the feature code (string+SEND) to represent the phone numbers subjected to the call rejection and registration code to MSC  130  on the user&#39;s request in step  610 . Then, MSC  130  sends the rejected phone number data FEATREQ[DGTSDIAL] to HLR  140  in step  620 . Then, HLR  140  registers the rejected phone numbers, sending its registration data FEATREG[FEATRESULT, ANNLIST] to MSC  130  in step  630 . Then, MSC  130  sends the feature confirmation to inform the user of the registration of the rejected phone numbers in step  640 . The MS  100  displays the registration of the rejected phone numbers on the display screen in step  650 , then ending the call.  
         [0031]    Describing the procedure of deleting the phone numbers of the rejected subscribers from the call rejection list as shown in FIG. 8, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 7, MS  100  sends the feature code (string+SEND) to represent the phone numbers selected by the user from the call rejection list and deletion code to MSC  130  in step  710 . Then, MSC  130  sends the selected phone number deletion data FEATREQ[DGTSDIAL] to HLR  140  in step  720 . Then, HLR  140  deletes the selected phone numbers from the call rejection list, sending its deletion data FEATREG[FEATRESULT, ANNLIST] to MSC  130  in step  730 . Then, MSC  130  sends the feature confirmation to inform the user of the deletion of the selected phone numbers from the call rejection list in step  740 . The MS  100  displays the deletion of the selected phone numbers on the display screen in step  750 , then ending the call.  
         [0032]    Describing the procedure of rejecting a call from one of the subscribers registered for rejecting their calls with reference to FIGS. 1 and 9, MSC  130  requests HLR  140  to check a received call whether the caller is registered in the call rejection list of the receiver in step  910 . Then, HLR  140  sends the result of the checking to MSC  130  in step  920 . If the caller is registered in the call rejection list, MSC  130  sends a message notifying the caller of connection denied in step  940 , then terminating the call.  
         [0033]    Describing the procedure of connecting a call of a caller not registered in the selective call rejection of the receiver with reference to FIGS. 1 and 10, MSC  130  sends the phone numbers of the caller and receiver to HLR  140  in step  1010  as shown in FIG. 10. Then, HLR  140  checks the caller&#39;s phone number with the call rejection list of the receiver in step  1020 . If the caller is not included in the call rejection list, HLR request the receiving MSC  150  of the routing information of the receiver in  1030 . Then, the receiving MSC  150  sends the routing information of the receiver to HLR  140  in step  1040 . Finally, the sending MSC  130  connects the call with receiver.  
         [0034]    Describing the procedure of switching a call of a caller registered in the call rejection list to a call switching phone number with reference to FIGS. 1 and 11, MSC  130  sends the phone number information of the caller and receiver to HLR  140  in step  1110 . Then, HLR  140  checks the call with the call rejection list of the receiver, sending the result to MSC  130  in step  1120 . If the caller is included in the call rejection list, MSC  130  switches the call to the call switching phone number or private sound box registered by the receiver.  
         [0035]    While the present invention has been described in connection with specific embodiments accompanied by the attached drawings, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing the gist of the present invention.