Abstract:
A computer is connected to a base station through a server and several networks. A web page on the computer is utilized to set configuration data of a mobile phone. The server receives the configuration data from the computer and communicates the configuration data to a base station. The base station transmits the configuration data to the mobile phone as a text message. The mobile phone is responsive to the configuration data and adjusts its operating configuration accordingly. The mobile phone includes a parser controlled by a processor for parsing the text message, the parser outputting parsed configuration data to the processor to effect the configuration.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to telecommunications, and more specifically, to a system for configuring a mobile phone.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0004]     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 games.  
         [0005]     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 phones 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.  
         [0006]     Both of these methods of configuration have drawbacks. Applying the user interface is limited by the capabilities of interface itself and can be very inconvenient. For example, manipulating a menu structure with a 12-key phone key-pad may prove to be impossible, and is at the very least tiresome. Also, preventing certain functionality from being modified though the phone interface is sometimes required for security reasons. Using a PC-based application requires the user to install the application onto a PC. In some circumstances, this may be inconvenient or impossible, such as in a secure office environment where installation of outside applications is prohibited. Also, the requirement of physically connecting the phone to the PC via the cable is inconvenient.  
         [0007]     One solution to the above drawbacks is presented in U.S. Pat. No. 6,356,543 to Hall et al., which is incorporated herein by reference. Hall et al., system employs a PC, the Internet, and a wireless network base station. A user can make changes to a mobile phones services via the PC interface. Information relating changes in services is sent from the PC through the Internet and to the base station. The base station then transmits this information, which is described as service applications, to the mobile phone. While this is an improvement over the conventional methods described above, Hall et al.&#39;s system also has disadvantages. First, application transfer occurs over a specialized Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) path. Such a path is not available to a majority of mobile phones, and thus these phones would not be useable in the system. Second, Hall et al.&#39;s PC emulates the user interface of the mobile phone with the aim of customizing the look and feel. While emulating the phones user interface certainly has advantages, doing so introduces the precise limitations of the mobile phone&#39;s interface that it is desirable to avoid. Finally, Hall et al.&#39;s system sends functional applications to the mobile phone, which is time consuming and may require waiting until the phone is not in use (i.e. late at night) to download.  
         [0008]     As such, an improved system of configuring a mobile phone with a PC is required.  
       SUMMARY OF INVENTION  
       [0009]     It is therefore a primary objective of the claimed invention to provide a mobile phone configuration system, mobile phone, and related method that allow a user to configure a mobile phone with a PC via existing text messaging systems.  
         [0010]     Briefly summarized, the claimed invention mobile phone configuration system includes a computer, a server connected to the computer, and a base station connected to the server. The computer is applied by a user to set configuration data of a mobile phone. The server receives the configuration data from the computer and communicates the configuration data to a base station. The base station transmits the configuration data to the mobile phone as a text message. The mobile phone is responsive to the configuration data and adjusts its operating configuration accordingly.  
         [0011]     According to the claimed invention, a mobile phone includes a housing, a processor disposed inside the housing for controlling the mobile phone, a transmitter electrically connected to the processor for transmitting signals to a base station, a receiver electrically connected to the processor for receiving signals from the base station, an input device electrically connected to the processor for receiving user input, a display device electrically connected to the processor, and a power supply for providing electrical power to the mobile phone. The mobile phone further includes a parser controlled by the processor for parsing a text string of configuration data received at the receiver, the parser outputting the parsed configuration data to the processor. Operations of the mobile phone are governed by a configuration, and the processor is capable of adjusting the configuration of the mobile phone based on the parsed configuration data.  
         [0012]     According to the claimed invention, a method for configuring a mobile phone includes steps of: constructing a configuration data corresponding to a target configuration of the mobile phone, wirelessly transmitting the configuration data to the mobile phone as a text message, parsing the configuration data with the mobile phone, and configuring the mobile phone based on the parsed configuration data.  
         [0013]     According to the claimed invention, the text message is sent through an established short message service (SMS) system.  
         [0014]     It is an advantage of the claimed invention that text message infrastructure is widely in place and new hardware and software required to implement the invention is minimal.  
         [0015]     It is a further advantage of the claimed invention limitations in the user interface of the phone can be avoided when configuring the phone.  
         [0016]     These and other objectives of the claimed 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 DRAWINGS  
       [0017]      FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of a mobile phone configuration system according to the present invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 2  is a table of configuration data according to the present invention.  
         [0019]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram of a mobile phone according to a first embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0020]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram of a mobile phone according to a second embodiment the present invention.  
         [0021]      FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of a configuration web page according to the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0022]     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 , 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 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 .  
         [0023]     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 configuration stored in the database  18  of the mobile phone  30 . The database  18  stores 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 configurations of a plurality of mobile phones  30 .  
         [0024]     The computer  12  sends a selected 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 . Referring to  FIG. 2 , examples of the SMS configuration message  26  are illustrated. Both SMS messages  26   a ,  26   b  comprise a header and a body as indicated. The SMS message  26   a  follows the form of a hypertext transfer protocol link commonly used in the Internet. As such, the SMS message  26   a  can be formed at the computer  12  and simply forwarded to the base station  22  by the server  16 . Then, the base station  22  then transmits the SMS message  26   a  (after shortening the header if desirable) to the mobile phone  30 . The SMS message  26   b  follows another form in which “X” represents a placeholder. This form can be constructed at the computer  12 , the server  16 , or even at the base station  22 . As illustrated, both SMS messages  26   a ,  26   b  instruct the mobile phone  30  to set a menu structure variable “menu=12574” and set a user profile variable “profile=17”, as examples of respectively configuring the menu structure and personal profile information of the mobile phone  30 . In addition, the SMS message  26   a  identifies a user “user19275” of the target phone, while this information in the SMS message  26   b  has been trimmed. Regardless of the exact form of the SMS message  26 , it must comprise recognized text characters used in common SMS systems. For example, such messages could comprise selected characters of the ASCII character set.  
         [0025]     In order to successfully pass a configuration to the mobile phone  30  via the SMS message  26  ( 26   a ,  26   b ), 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.  
         [0026]     The parser circuit  44  is activated by the processor  32  when an SMS message having a specific header identifying it as configuration information is received by the receiver  36 . That is, when a message is received at the receiver  36 , the processor  32  begins to decode it in the conventional way until the processor  32  fully decodes the header ( FIG. 2 ). Once the processor  32  decodes the header and determines that configuration information is in the body, the processor forwards the body to the parser circuit  44  rather than displaying the message to the user on the display  40 . Then, the parser circuit  44  interprets the body of the message and sends instructions to the processor  32  to effect the configuration stored in the body of the message. The specific design of the parser circuit  44  depends 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.  
         [0027]      FIG. 4  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.  
         [0028]      FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of a 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 configuration system, the web page  60  includes a profile selector  66 , a menu configuration control  68 , a ring tone configuration control  70 , a games configuration control  72 , and a network configuration button  74 . It is important to note 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 . The profile selector  66  allows the web page  60  to support multiple configurations for a given user. The menu configuration control  68  lets the user manipulate the internal menu structure of the mobile phone  30  by easy drag-and-drop functionality, for example. The ring tone control  70  allows the user to select active tones and upload or delete custom tones. Similarly, the games configuration control lets the user determine which games are present on the phone  30 , and configure settings for these games. The network configuration button  74  loads a dialog box that allows the user to make changes to the operation of the mobile phone  30 .  
         [0029]     After the user modifies the mobile phone configuration presented on the web page  60 , the user can save the changes to the database  18  and effect the configuration of the phone  30  by pressing a save and send button  76 . At this time, an SMS message  26  of predetermined format  26   a ,  26   b  containing text codes relevant to the changes made is sent from the computer  12  or server  16  to the mobile phone  30  via the base station  22 . If the user makes an error, they need only cancel changes made with a cancel button  78 . Note that the address in the address field  64  is part of the SMS configuration message  26   a , and subsequent configuration options need only be appended to the address when the format of the SMS message  26   a  is used. Naturally, any other type of SMS configuration message, such as the SMS message  26   b , can be used in conjunction with the web page  60 .  
         [0030]     In contrast to the prior art, the present invention uses established text-messaging systems to pass configuration data to mobile phones. The present invention includes a computer for generating a text message containing configuration data, and a parser circuit or program in a mobile phone that interprets configuration data of effect changes on the mobile phone. Limitations in the user interface of the phone are minimized by a web page.  
         [0031]     Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device 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.