Method and an arrangement relating to equipment in telecommunication networks

The present invention comprises a method and means for setting a personal communication station into a selected operational mode, which comprises a pre-selected subset of operational settings within a superset of operational settings. The station is capable of communicating in at least one communication network. The method includes a sequence of steps, which begins with initiating the station (301). A first prompting message is then presented (302) to the user who is then requested to respond to the prompting message. The response (303) is then interpreted (304), whereby a negative response entails setting the station into a stand-by mode (305) and an affirmative response entails presenting a number of prompting messages (306), which requests a user to supply a number of responses (307) which comprise the operational settings in the pre-selected subset of operational settings.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
 The present invention relates to a method and an arrangement for setting a
 personal communication station, which is capable of communicating in
 telecommunication networks, into a selected operational mode.
 DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART
 Personal communication stations, such as telephones in telephone networks
 and mobile telephones in cellular networks, often have a multitude of
 operational settings. There are settings dealing with the function of the
 station in its interaction with the network, and also settings that are
 more specific to the internal function of the station itself. Examples of
 the former are settings for handling transmission of text messages,
 barring of in- or outgoing calls and also settings for enabling and
 disabling DTMF signaling, as well as logging of the duration of calls.
 Typical examples of the latter type are volume and type of ring signal,
 internal clock setting and settings dealing with the appearance of the
 display.
 The multitude of settings and options may even reach a limit where a user
 of the communication station finds it difficult to take advantage of the
 settings. In some cases the multitude may even give the user an impression
 of the station being too complex to use.
 The difficulties pertaining to the complexity may be further accentuated by
 insufficiencies in the user interface of the communication station. A
 typical example being a small display unit unable to show more than a few
 characters of text.
 A way of improving user-friendliness of personal communication stations
 that have a multitude of operational settings, and a limited capability of
 displaying information, is to assemble the settings into small and
 logically coherent groups of settings. Groups of settings are often
 administered by way of menus displayed on the display of the station, and
 manipulated through a keypad.
 An example of prior art concerning grouping and administration of a complex
 multitude of operational settings in a mobile radio telephone can be found
 in the British patent application GB-2293951 (Sorensen et al., inventors).
 A dynamic menu system in a radio communication device includes menu items
 stored in a memory which is controlled by a controller. The memory holds a
 short menu and an extended menu. User input actuates the controller in
 order to select menu items from the extended menu and to add the items to
 the short menu.
 The menu system disclosed in GB-2293951 does not offer a user of the device
 any alleviation from the complexity of locating a specific, and fairly
 small, subset of settings from the plethora of settings available in the
 extended menu.
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 A problem solved by the present invention is how to simplify
 personalisation of a personal communication station.
 An object of the present invention is thus to enable a user of a personal
 communication station to set the station into an operational mode which
 comprises a number of operational settings.
 Another object of the invention is to enable a user of a personal
 communication station to set the station into an operational mode at the
 time of activation of the station.
 Yet another object of the invention is to enable a second user of a
 personal communication station to set the station into an operational mode
 which is different from an operational mode set by a first user.
 Yet another object of the invention is to enable a user of a personal
 communication station, which is capable of multiple network communication,
 to set the station into an operational mode when switching from being
 connected to a first network to a second network.
 The methods and means of the present invention are in essence a sequence of
 steps executed in a personal communication station, whereby a user, after
 initiation of the communication station, is prompted to select a number of
 operational settings. Alternatively, the settings are read from a user
 information unit in the station.
 More specifically, the invention comprises a method and means for setting
 the personal communication station into a selected operational mode, which
 comprises a pre-selected subset of operational settings within a superset
 of operational settings. The station is capable of communicating in at
 least one communication network. The method includes a sequence of steps,
 which begins with initiating the station. Unless the subset of operational
 settings are read from an information unit, a first prompting message is
 presented to the user who is then requested to respond to the prompting
 message. The response is then interpreted, whereby a negative response
 entails setting the station into a stand-by mode and an affirmative
 response entails presenting a number of prompting messages, which requests
 a user to supply a number of responses comprising the operational settings
 in the pre-selected subset of operational settings.
 An advantage of the present invention is that it simplifies the act of
 setting a personal communication station into an operational mode.
 Another advantage is that the invention allows a novice user of a
 communication station to immediately after activation set the station into
 a desired operational mode, while at the same time an expert user can
 easily bypass the setting procedure.
 Another advantage of the invention is that it is simple to implement in
 existing personal communication stations since it requires no hardware
 changes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
 FIG. 1 is a schematic view of three interconnected telecommunication
 networks, wherein the present invention is preferably implemented. A fixed
 telephone network TN1 includes an exchange 101 with two connected
 communication stations, a first fixed communication station 102 and a
 second fixed communication station 103. The fixed communication stations
 102,103 can be of any type known in the art, and a common example is of
 course a telephone.
 A first mobile communication network MN1 includes a first mobile switching
 center 104 which is in connection with a first radio base station
 controller 105. The first radio base station controller 105 is connected
 to a first radio transceiver 106 and a second radio transceiver 107.
 A second mobile communication network MN2 includes a second mobile
 switching center 10a which is in connection with a third radio base
 station controller 109 and a fourth radio base station controller 110. The
 third radio base station controller 109 is connected to a third radio
 transceiver 111. The fourth radio base station controller 110 is connected
 to a fourth radio transceiver 112 and a fifth radio transceiver 113.
 The two mobile communication networks MN1,MN2 may be of any type known in
 the art, analogue such as e.g. the NMT and AMPS systems, and digital as
 e.g. the GSM, D-AMPS and PDC systems. The networks MN1,MN2 may also be of
 the digital cordless type such as the DECT system.
 A geographical system overlap 170 can be also seen in FIG. 1. This overlap
 170 illustrates that an area may have radio communication coverage by a
 number of different mobile systems. This is known in the art, and can be
 exemplified by a digital cordless system, such as the DECT system, present
 within a building which in turn is located within an area with GSM system
 coverage.
 Within the two mobile communication networks MN1,MN2 are two mobile
 communication stations. A first personal communication station 114 and a
 second personal communication station 115. The first personal
 communication station 114 is capable of communicating within both the
 first mobile communication network MN1 and the second mobile communication
 network MN2 and is of a type which is known in the art as a dual-mode
 personal communication station, such as e.g. personal communication
 stations capable of communicating both in a DECT system and a GSM system.
 Communication stations capable of communicating in more than two networks
 are also known in the art. However, for the purpose of illustrating the
 invention, it is sufficient to discuss a dual-mode station. Transition
 from one mobile system to another while still upholding an established
 connection is possible and is also known in the art.
 Users of personal communication stations, mobile 114,115 and fixed 102,103,
 communicate within the networks MN1,MN2,TN1 in accordance with any method
 of communication relevant for each network. Establishing, maintaining and
 closing connections between units in the networks take place according to
 known art, and is only symbolically indicated in FIG. 1 by connections
 150,151,152 between the mobile stations 114,115 and their respective radio
 tranceivers 106,111,113. It is thus to be understood that the present
 invention is not limited to communication networks of a particular type.
 The invention is relevant to analog systems such as NMT and AMPS as well
 as digital systems with time division (e.g. GSM and D-AMPS) and code
 division (CDMA) communication systems. Also, no preference for radio
 networks vis-a-vis fixed networks is implied.
 Needless to say, mobile communication networks such as the ones illustrated
 in FIG. 1 (MN1 and MN2) usually cover large geographical areas and include
 many more units than shown here. Base stations may be counted in hundreds
 and mobile communication stations may be counted in millions.
 FIG. 2 illustrates schematically a personal communication station 200 with
 functional units known in the art. It may serve as an illustration to any
 of the mobile communication stations 114,115 in FIG. 1 and also be
 illustrative of any of the communication stations 102,103 in the fixed
 network TN1 in FIG. 1.
 The personal communication station 200 includes a control unit 201 which is
 in connection with a memory unit 202, a radio transceiver unit 203 with an
 antenna 204, a display unit 205, a keypad 206, a microphone 207, a
 loudspeaker 208 and a user information unit 209.
 The radio transceiver unit 203 with its antenna 204 is of course necessary
 for radio communication in a mobile communication network, such as the two
 networks MN1 and MN2 in FIG. 1. Radio communication between the station
 200 and a mobile communication network 250 is only illustrated
 schematically. However, when the personal communication station is used in
 a fixed network, such as the network TN1 in FIG. 1, the radio transceiver
 unit 203 is superfluous, and preferably replaced by a suitable interfacing
 unit known in the art.
 The control unit 201 controls the workings of the communication station 200
 both when in a stand-by mode of operation and when communicating in any of
 the networks MN1,MN2,TN1. In practice the function of the control unit 201
 is governed by software which can be stored in the control unit itself and
 also in the memory unit 202. The present invention is preferably
 implemented mainly by software running in the control unit 201. A detailed
 description of how the software acts on the different units in the
 communication station 200 is omitted due to the fact that it is known in
 the art. It is thus understood that the control unit 201 is capable of
 controlling information flow to and from e.g. the keypad 206, display 205,
 microphone 207, loudspeaker 208 and the memory 202 through the radio
 transceiver unit 203 to other stations in any of the communication
 networks MN1,MN2,TN1 as discussed above.
 When the communication station 200 is activated, by e.g. switching on its
 power with a power switch (not shown in the figure), the control unit 201
 initiates the station 200 and thereby prepares it for communication in a
 network MN1,MN2, TN1. A detailed discussion of the initiating procedure is
 unnecessary since it is known in the art and can be implemented in many
 different ways by the software running in the control unit 201. However,
 it should be pointed out that an initiation procedure may take place or
 command from a user of the station, by e.g. a key pressing action, at any
 time after the station 200 has been activated.
 The user information unit 209 holds information about the present user of
 the personal communication station 200, and it can be a unit which is
 physically attachable and detachable from the communication station 200.
 The user information may be of different kinds and different extent, as
 will be described below. It should be noted, however, that information
 regarding the user may be present also in the memory unit 202.
 When setting a communication station into an operational mode, which is in
 the field of the present invention, it is illustrative to exemplify an
 operational mode as being a selected combination of user settings which
 can be in the form of user information stored in the memory unit 202 and
 the user information unit 209. As is known in the art, user settings in
 personal communication stations may number in the hundreds, if not more.
 There are settings dealing with the performance of the station when
 communicating in a network, such as setting for handling transmission of
 text messages, barring of in- or outgoing calls and also settings for
 enabling and disabling DTMF signaling, as well as logging of the duration
 of calls. There are also settings that are more specifically directed to
 the station itself, and the personal preferences of the user of the
 station, such as volume and type of ring signal, internal clock setting
 and settings dealing with the appearance of the display. No exhaustive
 list of settings will be presented here, and it is thus understood that
 the present invention is applicable in personal communication stations
 regardless of which particular set of settings is available in the
 station.
 FIG. 3 illustrates a first preferred embodiment of a method according to
 the invention. The method is preferably realized in a personal
 communication station, such as the station 200 described above in
 connection with FIG. 2, using software running in the control unit 201.
 The communication station 200 is preferably used in a communication
 network such as any of the networks MN1,MN2,TN1 described in connection
 with FIG. 1.
 In an activation step 301, the personal communication station 200 is
 activated. As is known in the art the activation may simply be an action
 of switching on the station 200 using an activation key on the keyboard
 206. However, activation may also be performed by other actions known in
 the art, such as e.g. touching a touch sensitive display screen and
 activation by speaking into the microphone 207.
 A first prompting step 302 follows directly after the activation step 301.
 During this step 302 a message is displayed on the display 205 prompting a
 user of the station 200 to make a decision and to supply an answer. The
 decision to make is whether to personalize the communication station or
 not. A decision to personalize entails continuing in a sequence of steps
 of setting a number of operational settings, as exemplified above. The
 sequence is predetermined and preferably stored in the memory 202 or the
 user information unit 209. Although the sequence of settings is
 predetermined it is possible to alter the sequence at will, but such an
 alteration is outside the scope of this invention and will not be
 discussed further.
 Although the prompting message preferably is displayed on the display 205,
 other ways of prompting may be utilized. If suitably programmed, the
 control unit 201 may generate an acoustic prompting message through the
 speaker 208, such as e.g. a voice message.
 Following the first prompting step 302 is a first response step 303. During
 this step the answer based an the decision is input to the communication
 station 200. Preferably the answer is typed on the keypad 206 using one or
 more keystrokes. However, an answer may also be input by an acoustic
 signal through the microphone 207 or generated by touching a touch
 sensitive display etc.
 In the following, references to prompting and responding will be frequently
 occurring. It is to be understood that prompting can be obtained in any
 way as described in connection with the steps above.
 In step 304 the control unit 201 interprets the answer given by the user.
 An affirmative answer entails continuing with a second prompting message
 in step 306, and a negative answer entails setting tale personal
 communication station into a stand-by mode in step 305.
 A second prompting message is displayed in step 306. This step 306 is
 reached as a consequence of a decision by the user to personalize the
 communication station 200 and the message is hence prompting the user to
 set a setting to a desired value or level etc.
 A second response step 307 follows, where the user inputs the selected
 value or level etc.
 In step 308 the control unit 201 decides whether to iterate the previous
 two steps 306,307 or to finish and set the personal communication station
 go to a stand-by mode in step 309, ready for further operations.
 Preferably, when the predetermined sequence of settings is exhausted the
 stand-by mode 309 is entered. However, the user may at any iteration of
 the prompt and response steps 306 and 307 respond in such a manner that
 the stand-by mode is entered before the predetermined sequence is
 exhausted.
 FIG. 4 shows a second preferred embodiment of a method according to the
 invention. As in the previous example, a personal communication station
 200 as described in connection with FIG. 2 is preferably used. It is
 assumed that the user information unit 209 is attachable to and detachable
 from the communication station 200. An example from known art is the so
 called SIM-cards used in connection with mobile telephones and which
 contain a multitude of user information such as subscriber identity and
 subscriber phone number. It is known that a personal communication station
 in the form of a mobile phone can be used by different users, each user
 having his own personal SIM-card. The following method will illustrate how
 each user will be prompted to personalize the communication station in
 accordance with a predetermined sequence of setting steps.
 The method commences with an activation step 401 similar to the activation
 step 301 in the previous example.
 In a following step 402 the control unit 231 checks if the user information
 unit 209, i.e. the SIM-card, has been replaced.
 In step 403 information is read from the SIM-card. Preferably, information
 such as user identity is read. In a case where the SIM-card is capable of
 holding user information, such as the previously disclosed examples of
 volume and type of ring signal, the settings may be read from the SIM-card
 without further user interaction.
 Depending on which user identity read from the SIM-card, the communication
 station 200 can either be set into a stand-by mode ready for operation in
 step 405, possibly having read preferences from the SIM-card or continue
 with a setting sequence in accordance with FIG. 3, as indicated by figure
 reference A in FIGS. 4 and 3. It is assumed that the control unit 201 is
 capable of reading a previous user identity from the memory unit 202 in
 order to determine if a new user is operating the communication station
 200.
 FIG. 5 illustrates a third preferred embodiment of the present invention.
 As in the previous examples a personal communication station 200 as
 described in connection with FIG. 2 is used. The communication station 200
 is in this example of a dual-mode type capable of communication in at
 least two different communication networks. As described above, multi-mode
 units are known in the art and will not be discussed in detail. Switching
 between communication with one network to a second network can be achieved
 automatically, controlled by the control unit 201, and also on demand from
 a user of the communication station 200. In the latter case the user
 demand can be realized by e.g. a key pressing action on the keypad 206.
 The method commences with an activation step 501 similar to the activation
 steps 301,401 in the previous examples.
 Then follows a period of operation 502 during which any activities
 pertaining to communication using the personal communication station 200
 in the first mobile communication network MN1 (FIG. 1) takes place.
 At a point in time the control unit 201 switches the communication station
 200 from being in contact with the first network MN1 to be in contact with
 the second mobile communication network MN2 (FIG. 1). The switching
 between networks may occur as a consequence of a user of the station
 deciding to switch network, and pressing a key on the keypad 206. The
 switch may also occur more or less automatically as a result from a
 decision by the control unit 201, based on e.g. measured network
 parameters such as signal strength etc. The switching between networks is
 illustrated by a step 503.
 Then follows the sequence of personalisation steps as described in
 connection with FIG. 3, as indicated by the figure reference A in FIGS. 5
 and 3.
 In step 504 this third implementation of a method according to the
 invention, returns to a stand-by mode of operation in the second mobile
 network MN2 (FIG. 1).
 Another way of illustrating the present invention could be in terms of a
 more generalized environmental change, sensed by the control unit of the
 station, resulting in a personalisation sequence as described above. One
 particular example along these lines is a scenario in which a user of a
 hand-held mobile communication station connects the station to a car
 connection unit which enables the user to use the station while driving.
 In such a case, the actual connection of the communication station to the
 car connection unit initiates the station and triggers a personalisation
 sequence as described in the examples above.