Abstract:
A method includes wirelessly receiving a text string at a mobile phone and parsing the text string to obtain security configuration data of the mobile phone. The method determines whether a code in the security configuration data matches a corresponding code in the mobile phone. The method further includes locking or unlocking a predetermined feature of the mobile phone when the code in the security configuration data matches the corresponding code in the mobile phone.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 10/605,741, filed Oct. 22, 2003, which is included in its entirety herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to telecommunications, and more specifically, to a method and device for securing a mobile phone.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0005]     Currently, mobile (wireless) phones are undergoing much development in advanced functionality. In addition to core hardware improvements such as the development of third generation (3G) wireless phones, auxiliary functionality is also undergoing great improvement. Auxiliary functions typically include such things as: phone books, ring tones, network settings, short message services, and security features.  
         [0006]     Configuring these auxiliary functions is conventionally performed in two ways. First, for minor adjustments, a user simply employs the mobile phone user interface. For example, such an adjustment could be adding a new phone book entry or setting the preferences for a game. Second, for major adjustments, which are usually beyond the capabilities of the phone&#39;s user interface, a PC based system is conventionally used. The user must physically connect the mobile phone to a PC by way of a connecting cable, load configuration software onto the PC, and use the configuration software to change settings in the phone. This type of adjustment could be manipulating a menu structure or uploading a ring tone. Moreover, many major adjustments can only be performed at specialized service centers by trained personnel, as they sometimes involve use of complex or proprietary software.  
         [0007]     A popular security function of mobile phones is a personal identification number (PIN). A user has a PIN number that can be used to lock or unlock the mobile phone, that is, it is a means of configuring the security function. This is usually performed by the user manually keying in the PIN on the phone&#39;s keypad. The purpose of the PIN is that if the phone is stolen or misplaced while locked, another person cannot access the functions of the phone (e.g. to make costly long distance calls or to access private information). However, if the phone is stolen or misplaced while unlocked, there is nothing that can be done to prevent unauthorized access.  
         [0008]     Thus, there is a need for an improved security system for mobile phones.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     It is therefore a primary objective of the invention to provide a mobile phone security method, a mobile phone, and related system that allow a user to secure a mobile phone with a text message.  
         [0010]     According to the invention, a method includes wirelessly receiving a text string at a mobile phone and parsing the text string to obtain security configuration data of the mobile phone. The method determines whether a code in the security configuration data matches a corresponding code in the mobile phone. The method further includes locking or unlocking a predetermined feature of the mobile phone when the code in the security configuration data matches the corresponding code in the mobile phone.  
         [0011]     These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]      FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of a mobile phone security configuration system according to the present invention.  
         [0013]      FIG. 2  is a diagram of security configuration data according to the present invention.  
         [0014]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram of a mobile phone according to a first embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0015]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart illustrating a security method according to the present invention.  
         [0016]      FIG. 5  is a block diagram of a mobile phone according to a second embodiment the present invention.  
         [0017]      FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram of a security configuration web page according to the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0018]     Please refer to  FIG. 1  illustrating a schematic diagram of a mobile phone configuration system  10  according to the present invention. The system  10  includes a computer  12 , a network  14 , a server  16  storing a database  18 , another network  20 , a cellular base station  22 , a mobile phone network  21 , and a mobile phone  30 . The network  14  connects the computer  12  to the server  16 , and can be a wired or wireless local area intranet, or a larger network such as the Internet for example. The network  20  connects the server  16  to the base station  22 . The network  20  can comprise a wired or wireless local area intranet, the Internet, and/or specialized mobile phone service provider systems (e.g. mobile services switching center, message center, etc). Moreover, the networks  14  and  20  can share components and can even be entirely the same network. The server  16  is a computer capable of communicating with the computer  12  and base station  22  via the networks  14  and  20  respectively, and further capable of storing and manipulating the database  18 . The mobile phone network  21  is a network such as a GSM, GPRS, or WCDMA network, that allows mobile phones to communicate with each other. The base station  22  is for transmitting (and receiving) information to the mobile phone  30 , and specifically, for transmitting a short message service (SMS) message  26  comprising configuration information to the mobile phone  30 .  
         [0019]     The computer  12  can access a web page  24  stored on the server  16 . The web page  24 , which will be described in detail later, allows a user of the computer  12  to manipulate a security configuration of the mobile phone  30 , which can be stored in the database  18 . The optional database  18  can be used to store security configurations and related web page information for a plurality of users of the present invention system  10 . That is, a plurality of computers  12  can be connected to the server  16  through the network  14  to change security configurations of a plurality of mobile phones  30 .  
         [0020]     The computer  12  can send a selected security configuration through the network  14 , the server  16 , and the network  20  to the base station  22  for transmission to the mobile phone  30  as the SMS message  26 . Equally, another mobile phone  31 can be used to directly send the security configuration as the SMS message  26  across the mobile phone network  21 .  
         [0021]     Referring to  FIG. 2 , an example of an SMS security configuration message  26  is illustrated. The SMS message  26   a  comprises VENDOR, ID, PASSWORD, PIN, and PIN 2  codes as indicated. The SMS message  26   a  can be formed at the computer  12  and simply forwarded to the base station  22  by the server  16 . The SMS message  26   s  can also just as easily be formed on the other mobile phone  31 , by a user keying in the codes for example, and be sent by that mobile phone  31  to the mobile phone  30  across the mobile phone network  21 .  
         [0022]     The VENDOR code can include the mobile phone&#39;s vendor company identification (such as the company&#39;s name, e.g., “BENQ”), the ID code can include a unique ID number of the phone  30  (such as the phone&#39;s serial number), the PASSWORD code can be a vendor supplied master password, and the PIN and PIN 2  codes can be end user created security numbers or can be provided by a security identity module (SIM) card vendor. Regardless of the exact form of the SMS message  26 , it should comprise recognized text characters used in common SMS systems. For example, such messages could comprise selected characters of the ASCII character set. After the SMS message  26   a  is formed, the base station  22  transmits the SMS message  26   a  to the mobile phone  30 .  
         [0023]     In order to successfully pass a security configuration to the mobile phone  30  via the SMS message  26  ( 26   a ), the mobile phone  30  requires a parser to interpret the SMS message.  FIG. 3  illustrates a block diagram of the mobile phone  30  according to the first embodiment. The mobile phone  30  includes a processor  32 , a transmitter  34 , a receiver  36 , an input device (keypad)  38 , a display  40 , a battery  42 , and a parser circuit  44  all contained within a housing  46 . The processor  32  is connected to all components and controls all components as is well known in the art. The transmitter  34  is for transmitting call or message information to the base station  22 , and the receiver  36  is for receiving call or message information from the base station  22 . The keypad  38  and display  40  constitute the user interface of the mobile phone  30 . The battery  42  supplies power to all components requiring it.  
         [0024]     Referring to  FIG. 4 , the parser circuit  44  is activated by the processor  32  when an SMS message received by the receiver  36  (step  402 ) has the VENDOR code, which identifies the SMS message as security configuration information. That is, when a message is received at the receiver  36 , the parser  44  and processor  32  parse the beginning of the SMS message to check for the VENDOR code (step  404 ). If the processor  32  determines that there is a VENDOR code present, meaning that security configuration information is in the remainder of the SMS message, the processor  32  instructs the parser circuit  44  to parse the remainder of the message (step  408 ) rather than displaying the entire message to the user on the display  40  (step  406 ). Then, the parser circuit  44  interprets the remainder of the message (step  408 ), and the processor  32  checks for a match of the ID, PASSWORD, PIN, and PIN 2  codes (any or all of these codes) to those within the mobile phone  30  (step  410 ) and effects the security configuration if a match is detected (step  412 ). If the parsed codes do not match those within the phone  30 , then the SMS message is ignored. The specific designs of the parser circuit  44  and processor  32  depend on exactly what format is used for the SMS message  26 , and is well within the skill of one familiar with digital electronics and mobile phone architecture.  
         [0025]     According to the present invention, the security configuration that is activated by the SMS message is a locked condition of the mobile phone  30 . The locked condition is effected in the processor  32  of the mobile phone  30 . In a preferred embodiment, such locking prevents calls from being placed via the mobile phone  30 . In another embodiment, such locking prevents other user access to the phone (e.g. viewing a phonebook, looking up contact information, changing settings, etc). In another embodiment the locked condition can be removed by keying in the PIN code and/or PIN 2  code on the mobile phone  30  itself. In still another embodiment, only another remotely sent SMS message, similar to the SMS message  26 , can unlock the mobile phone  30 .  
         [0026]      FIG. 5  illustrates a mobile phone  50  according to the second embodiment. The mobile phone  50  is identical to the mobile phone  30  except that the parser is a software parser  54  stored in a memory  52  of the processor  32 . The parser  54  is code executable by the processor  32  that realizes the above functions. The memory  52  is preferably a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory. Operation of the mobile phone  50  is the same as that of the mobile phone  30  according to the first embodiment. The specific design of the parser code  54  depends on exactly what format is used for the SMS message  26 , and is well within the skill of one familiar with programming and mobile phone architecture in general.  
         [0027]      FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram of a security configuration web page  60  according to the present invention. The web page  60  is an example of the previously described web page  24 . The web page  60  is stored on the server  16  and available to the user on the computer  12 . The web page  60  includes common features such as browser buttons  62  and an address field  64 . In addition, specific to the present invention mobile phone security configuration system, the web page  60  includes fields for entering the SMS message codes VENDOR (optional), ID, PASSWORD, PIN, and PIN 2 , as well as “LOCK” and “UNLOCK” buttons  68 ,  70  to effect the security configuration. After the user modifies the mobile phone security configuration presented on the web page  60 , the user can optionally save the changes to the database  18  after effecting the security configuration of the phone  30 . It is also notable that the web page  60  is formatted in a way that is easy to use on the computer  12 , rather than emulating the user interface of the mobile phone  30 . That is, controls are designed and presented to overcome limitations of the user interface of the phone  30 . Once the SMS message codes VENDOR, ID, PASSWORD, PIN, and PIN 2  are entered into the web page  60 , a user can press the “LOCK” button  68  to effecting the security locking of the mobile phone  30 . At this time, an SMS message  26  of predetermined format  26   a  is sent from the computer  12  or server  16  to the mobile phone  30  via the base station  22 . Similarly, pressing the “UNLOCK” button  70  deactivates the security locking of the mobile phone  30 .  
         [0028]     On the other hand, when sending the security configuration SMS message from the other mobile phone  31 , the interface used on the other mobile phone  31  is the well-known SMS message interface, and so, is not discussed further. The user need only manually key in and send the SMS message  26  ( 26   a ) from the other mobile phone  31  to the mobile phone  30  to be locked or unlocked.  
         [0029]     In contrast to the prior art, the present invention uses established text-messaging systems to pass security configuration data, and specifically a security lock feature, to mobile phones. The present invention includes a computer for generating a text message containing security configuration data, and a parser circuit or program in a mobile phone that interprets security configuration data of effect changes on the mobile phone. Limitations in the user interface of the phone are minimized by a web page.  
         [0030]     Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.