Abstract:
A method for controlling the communications of a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) in a wireless network using presence and situation information begins by generating presence and situation information pertaining to the WTRU. The presence and situation data is stored and, subsequently, retrieved upon receipt of a communication at the WTRU. The communication settings of the WTRU are adjusted by using the presence and situation information.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/739,496 filed Dec. 18, 2003, which claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/517,657, filed Nov. 5, 2003, which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention generally relates to wireless communication systems, and more particularly, to a system and method for adjusting the operating parameters of a wireless device based upon its presence and situation. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Present wireless phones do not include mechanisms to determine a user&#39;s location, who the user is with, what the user is doing, or how the user would prefer to be communicated to. This type of knowledge is known as presence and situation information. Presence information relates to both the networks and services that a device is present for (i.e., currently available to utilize). Situation information relates to the situation that the device is currently experiencing, including the physical location of the device, the proximity to other wireless devices, and the environment the user is in. 
     An example of presence information is “buddy lists” in instant messaging applications. When one of the users in User A&#39;s buddy list connects to a network with the instant messaging application, User A receives an indication on his or her screen that the other user has connected to the network (is “present”) and may be available for communication. The buddy list also contains information such as when a user is connected to the network, but is not accepting communications. 
     Situation information is desirable, since wireless phones can be intrusive and sometimes become dangerous distractions by ringing at inappropriate times, such as when the phone owner is engaged in an important conversation, in a meeting, attending religious services, driving in bad weather conditions, or during an airplane takeoff/landing situation (assuming that the phone has been inadvertently left on). It is therefore desirable to incorporate presence and situation information into a wireless phone. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A method for adjusting the operating parameters of a wireless device for use in a wireless communication network begins by generating and storing situation settings. When a communication is received at the network for the wireless device, the presence of the wireless device is determined. The situation settings are applied based upon the presence of the wireless device. The wireless device is informed of the communication via the applied situation settings. 
     The presence and situation information for one or more wireless devices is determined by the wireless device itself, by the network, or by a combination of both the device and the network. For example, the presence and situation information may be entered into the wireless device manually, automatically, or semi-automatically. Alternately, the network may determine the location of the wireless device either by itself or in concert with the wireless device. The presence and situation information or part thereof, is then stored in the device, in the network, or in both the device and the network. 
     A system for adjusting the operating parameters of a wireless device in a wireless communication network includes entering means for entering situation settings; storing means for storing the situation settings; receiving means for receiving a communication at the network for the wireless device; presence means for determining the presence of the wireless device; applying means for applying the situation settings based upon the presence of the wireless device; and informing means for informing the wireless device of the communication via the applied situation settings. 
     A method for controlling the communications of a wireless device in a wireless network using presence and situation information begins by generating presence and situation information pertaining to the wireless device. The presence and situation information is stored in the wireless device and/or the wireless network. The presence and situation information is retrieved from its stored location and is used to control the communications of the wireless device. 
     A method for controlling the communications of a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) in a wireless network using presence and situation information begins by generating presence and situation information pertaining to the WTRU. The presence and situation data is stored and, subsequently, retrieved upon receipt of a communication at the WTRU. The communication settings of the WTRU are adjusted by using the presence and situation information. 
     A wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) for use in a wireless communication system includes a presence and situation generator for generating presence and situation information relating to the WTRU, a means for adjusting the operating parameters of the WTRU based on the presence and situation information, and a memory for storing the presence and situation information. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       A more detailed understanding of the invention may be had from the following description of preferred embodiments, given by way of example, and to be understood with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a diagram showing an overview of a system using the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram showing a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) constructed in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a flowchart showing a method in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a diagram showing the exchange of messages during an information update in accordance with the present invention; and 
         FIG. 5  is a block diagram showing a user&#39;s personal area network operating in a system constructed in accordance with the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The following discussion uses wireless transmit/receive units (WTRUs) to illustrate the functionality of the present invention. However, it is noted that the present invention can be used with any type of wireless communication device that is capable of connecting to a network. These devices include, but are not limited to, those that contain cellular network capability, wireless local area network (WLAN) capability, Bluetooth connectivity, and the like. Hereafter, a WTRU includes, but is not limited to, a user equipment, a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a pager, or any other type of device capable of operating in a wireless environment. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a presence and situation (P&amp;S) management system  100  includes a number of wireless devices, such as a WTRU  102 , a hand-held computer  104 , and a laptop computer  106 . It is noted that these devices are merely examples of the types of devices that can be used in the system  100 ; any device capable of wirelessly accessing a network can be used with the system  100 . The devices  102 ,  104 ,  106  communicate via a wireless link  108  with a network  110 . The network  110  includes a presence and situation (P&amp;S) management server  112 . 
     The P&amp;S management system  100  has knowledge of a user&#39;s current presence and situation information. From this knowledge, the system  100  can determine the availability of the user. For example, if the user is in a meeting and has indicated to the P&amp;S management system the he/she does not want to receive incoming calls, the caller would receive an indication that the user is unavailable. 
     A preferred embodiment of a WTRU  102  constructed in accordance with the present invention is shown as a the simplified block diagram in  FIG. 2 . A WTRU  102  receives and transmits signals using an antenna/antenna array  202  and a transceiver  204 . The transceiver  204  is one component in the WTRU processing circuitry  206 . A P&amp;S generator  208  automatically generates the presence and situation information, without manual input by the user. A memory  210  is used to store the P&amp;S related information. Alternatively, the P&amp;S information can be stored in the network  110 , in a record associated with the user. A GPS device  212  is an optional device that can be included with the WTRU  102  and used to provide location information for the phone. 
     The P&amp;S information can be populated in one of three ways: manually entered by the user; automatically determined by the user&#39;s WTRU  102  (via the P&amp;S generator  208 ); or detected by the network  110 . The manual entering of the information may be done into the WTRU or directly into the P&amp;S management system via a Web-based utility program. In addition, the WTRU  102  can act as a conduit to the network  110  for a group of devices belonging to a single user. 
     The situation information includes information such as whether the user does not want to receive any incoming calls, no calls except emergencies, or only calls from a list of “buddies/bosses”. For example, the user may wish to block all incoming calls when his/her phone is either lost or lent to someone else. Such information can be manually input by the user (e.g., set up a situation management profile). The devices connected to the network  110  have user interfaces that suitably display this information via icons, text, or audio signals. 
     The location information includes information such as whether the user is in a hospital, in a theater, driving, or in an airplane. This information may be obtained by: 
     (1) Location-aware phones and map data. The present location of the WTRU  102  can be determined by GPS (by the GPS device  212 ) or other location technology, such as network-assisted GPS or triangulation techniques utilizing the cellular network. The map data can be stored in either the WTRU  102  or on the network  110 . 
     (2) Learned automatically via peer-mode connections to other peer entities. For example, hospitals may have Bluetooth transponders, which constantly broadcast their own information, which can be picked up by a WTRU  102  that roams into the hospital. 
     (3) Alternately, the phone network, which is capable of knowing the phone location, may send a message to the WTRU  102  to update the situation information. 
       FIG. 3  shows a flowchart of a method  300  utilizing the P&amp;S information in accordance with the present invention. The method  300  begins (step  302 ) by entering the situation settings desired by the user via the user&#39;s wireless device (step  304 ). The situation settings are then stored in the device or on the network (step  306 ). When the network receives a communication for the device (step  308 ), the presence of the device is determined (step  310 ). 
     After the presence of the device is determined, the situation settings are applied, based upon the presence information (step  312 ). The situation settings can be applied at either the device or the network. After the situation settings are applied, the device is informed of the communication by the network (step  314 ), and the method terminates (step  316 ). 
       FIG. 4  shows a series of message exchanges  400  between the device  402  and the network  404 , which is used to synchronize the P&amp;S information of the user between the device  402  and the network  404 . When the P&amp;S information is updated at the device (block  410 ), an update trigger  412  is sent by the device  402 . The network  404  receives the update trigger, verifies the identity of the device  402 , and begins the update process (block  414 ). 
     The network  404  request the P&amp;S information from the device  402  (block  416 ). The device  402  receives the update request and verifies the identity of the network (block  418 ). The device  402  then sends the P&amp;S information to the network (block  420 ). The network  404  receives the P&amp;S information (block  422 ) and stores the P&amp;S information (block  424 ). 
     The verification steps performed at blocks  414  and  418  are designed to add a level of security to the synchronization process, by ensuring that the information transfer between the device  402  and the network  404  is authorized, and that neither the device  402  nor the network  404  are communicating with any unauthorized devices. Based on the synchronized P&amp;S information, the network appropriately handles the signaling and traffic flow to and from the user. Since the network has knowledge of the user&#39;s current P&amp;S information, it can properly signal the user according to the situation settings previously established. The network may restrict incoming calls if the user is in a hospital or library. It may send a short message service (SMS) message instead of a ring tone. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 5 , a system  500  includes a user&#39;s personal area network (PAN)  502  having several devices  504 ,  506 ,  508 , and  510 . The devices  504 - 510  can communicate with each other through any available medium in an ad hoc manner; the connections between the devices  504 - 510  are shown as dashed lines to indicate the non-permanent nature of these connections. The PAN  502  communicates with a network  512  via a wireless link  514 . While the wireless link  514  is shown connecting the network  512  and device  506 , the network can communicate with any device  504 - 510  of the PAN  502 . 
     When the network  512  is communicating with a PAN  502 , it can take actions not available when communicating with a single device, such as sending the call to a different device  504 - 510  (i.e., call forwarding) or communicating generally with the user&#39;s PAN  502 , with the PAN routing the communication to the appropriate device. For example, if an audio file is being sent to the user, the audio file could be routed to the user&#39;s standalone audio player, instead of their phone. Similarly, the network  512  may disable the user from making or receiving any calls (for example, if he is in airplane). The configuration options available for the situation settings are only limited by the capabilities of the devices  504 - 510  in the user&#39;s PAN  502 . 
     While the present invention has been described above in connection with wireless mobile devices, it is also applicable to nomadic wired devices, such as a laptop that is attached to different subnets. The only differences between the operation of the invention in the “nomadic wired” setting is that the situation information is likely to be different; otherwise, the invention operates in the same manner as described above. 
     The present invention can also be used by soldiers. In such an embodiment, the general operation of the invention is the same, but the P&amp;S information is updated with greater frequency, as this information can be crucial in a military setting. For example, the invention can be used in a military setting with an ad hoc network, where there are multiple moving devices that need to be in communication with each other. The P&amp;S information is exchanged between devices connected to the ad hoc network before being passed to the main network. It is also possible to use a mesh network in this setting, in which each device connected to the mesh network receives at least some of the information, but perhaps not all of the information. In order to obtain a complete P&amp;S picture of all of the devices connected to the mesh network, the information will need to be fused together from the different devices. 
     It is noted that the present invention can be used with both packet-switched (used with certain types of services) and circuit-switched (“always connected”) technologies. While specific embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, many modifications and variations could be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. The above description serves to illustrate and not limit the particular invention in any way.