Patent Publication Number: US-9426641-B1

Title: Multiple carrier partition dynamic access on a mobile device

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     None. 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not applicable. 
     REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
     Not applicable. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Mobile communication devices are prevalently used internationally and locally. These devices are supported by carriers that provide coverage for calls originating in a local area. When a user of a mobile device subscribing to a plan in a country travels internationally, the user may switch to a local carrier in the region of travel for the period of time they would use the mobile device internationally. Alternately the user may enter a roaming agreement that their current carrier has with another carrier internationally. 
     SUMMARY 
     In an embodiment, a mobile communication device is disclosed. The mobile communication device comprises a radio transceiver wherein the memory is apportioned into a plurality of partitions, a first carrier identity stored in a first partition of the memory, wherein a carrier identity comprises a network access identity, a brand identity, a list of device capabilities, a list of application configurations and a specific user experience associated to the carrier identity, a second carrier identity stored in a second partition of the memory, wherein the second wireless communication identity is different from the first wireless communication identity, a system partition and a user partition wherein an operating system of the mobile communication device restricts write access to the system partition based on an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) access password and restricts write access to the carrier partition based on a wireless communication service carrier access password; a processor, an application stored in the memory that, when executed by the processor, detects a triggering event and in response to the triggering event changes the active carrier identity of the mobile communication device to one of the carrier identities stored in the partitions of the memory and applies configurations associated with the carrier identity, where the mobile communication device conducts wireless communication via the radio transceiver based on the active carrier identity and the associated device capability, application configuration and user experience. 
     In an embodiment, a method for virtualizing a carrier sub-partition on a mobile communication device is disclosed. The method comprises storing plurality of carrier identities into corresponding carrier sub-partitions in the memory of the mobile communication device, detecting a triggering event; and dynamically activating one of the carrier identities stored in the carrier sub-partitions of the memory in response to the detection of the triggering event, where the mobile communication device conducts wireless communication via a radio transceiver based on the active carrier identity. 
     In an embodiment, a method of virtualizing a carrier identity module on a mobile communication device is disclosed. The method comprises allocating and storing one carrier identity into a single carrier sub-partition in a memory of the mobile communication device, storing brand information associated with each carrier identity into the corresponding carrier sub-partition of the memory on the mobile communication device, storing network access identifiers associated with each carrier identity into the corresponding carrier sub-partition of the memory on the mobile communication device, storing device capabilities associated with each carrier identity into the corresponding carrier sub-partition of the memory on the mobile communication device, storing application configurations associated with each carrier identity into the corresponding carrier sub-partition of the memory on the mobile communication device, storing the user experience associated with each carrier identity into the corresponding carrier sub-partition of the memory on the mobile communication device, sending the carrier identity and at least two of corresponding brand information, application configurations, device capabilities, user experience or associated user data to a remote server and retrieving the carrier identity and at least two of corresponding brand information, application configurations, device capabilities, user experience or associated user data from the remote server under predefined circumstances. 
     These and other features will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure, reference is now made to the following brief description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and detailed description, wherein like reference numerals represent like parts. 
         FIG. 1  is an illustration of a communication system according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a flow chart illustrating a method according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is flow chart illustrating another method according to an embodiment of disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is an illustration of a mobile communication device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  is a block diagram of a mobile communication device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 6A  is a block diagram of a software architecture of a mobile communication device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 6B  is a block diagram of another software architecture of a mobile communication device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 7  is a block diagram of a computer system according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     It should be understood at the outset that although illustrative implementations of one or more embodiments are illustrated below, the disclosed systems and methods may be implemented using any number of techniques, whether currently known or not yet in existence. The disclosure should in no way be limited to the illustrative implementations, drawings, and techniques illustrated below, but may be modified within the scope of the appended claims along with their full scope of equivalents. 
     Mobile communications are singularly tied to the carrier that the mobile device communication device is provisioned for in a network. Depending on the device capability, when a user of a mobile communication device wants to travel out of the coverage of the current carrier, the mobile communication device could be provisioned in a local network different from the current carrier for the period of time of use. In current systems, however, a user may not be able to trigger a switch between different carrier networks, thus experiencing different brands and different customizations associated with the brands, when the user desires. The present disclosure teaches a system and method for installing multiple carrier identities into a carrier partition on the mobile communication device and activating the carrier identity based on user selection. 
     For example, the memory of the mobile communication device may be partitioned into a system partition, a carrier partition and a user partition. Each of these memory partitions are intended for specific usage, and the access rights to read or write into the partitions may be restricted such as when an operating system of the mobile communication device restricts write access to system partition based on an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) access password or when an operating system of the device restricts write access to the carrier partition based on a wireless communication service carrier access password. A carrier identity may comprise a network access identifier (NAI) and a brand customization. The network access identifier may be used to establish a wireless communication link into a communication network. It is understood that other information, such as roaming lists, preferred roaming lists, and the like, may also be part of the carrier identity and may also be used in establishing a wireless communication link. The brand customization, hereinafter referred to simply as customization and/or customization information, may identify a brand or comprise a brand name, define device capabilities such as roaming, hotspot, tethering, contacts, etc., application configurations such as visual voicemail, mobile ID, and display or hide zone, etc., and user experience elements such as start-up animation, wallpaper, browser home page, etc. As used herein, the user experience may comprise one or more of a start-up animation, a power-down animation, alert tones, wallpaper, browser home page, application store link, voicemail link, customer care link, and style of icons. The user experience may comprise interfaces to communication services such as phone, text messaging, email, and the like. These customizations are typically downloaded from the network at the time of provisioning a mobile communication device. 
     In an embodiment, the carrier partition may be subdivided into a plurality of sub-partitions, and a different carrier identity may be pre-loaded into each carrier sub-partition. In an embodiment, when a triggering event is detected by an application on the mobile communication device, an optimal or preferred carrier identity is selected and activated for use by the mobile communication device. As used herein, the activation by a mobile communication device of a carrier identity is distinct from activation of the device on a carrier network. Activation of the device on a carrier network may take place when a device is first purchased and first powered on. Activation of the device on a carrier network may involve a process of the network granting restricted communication services while the device is activated and/or provisioned for service on the carrier network. By contrast, activation by the mobile communication device of a carrier identity may be completed by the device on its own, without entailing changes in the carrier network and may be carried out while the device is authorized to receive full, unrestricted communication services from at least one possibly multiple carrier networks. 
     A triggering event may be a user input, a detected change of location of the mobile communication device, the change of wireless communication services providers, a radio signal incident, a scheduled event, a time of day, or another triggering event. Based on the triggering event, the carrier identity may be downloaded into the carrier sub-partition when no other carrier identity exists in the sub-partition. Alternately, the carrier identity may be pre-loaded and stored in a carrier sub-partition and activated by the mobile communication device in response to the triggering event. This allows a user to utilize their optimum service carrier for their location, time of day, or usage requirements of current activity. 
     The application can switch the mobile communication device between different carrier identities stored in carrier sub-partitions thereby changing the behavior of the mobile communication device and/or changing the communication services delivered by the mobile communication device. For example, a user who often travels between countries may be required to purchase and carry two mobile devices each provisioned to a different carrier identity for use based on which country the user is in. In an embodiment of the disclosed invention, a user may have both carrier identities provisioned into the same mobile device and upon entering the country where the second carrier identity is useable a switch is triggered to activate the appropriate carrier identity for that country. 
     In addition, multiple-carrier sub-partitions each containing different carrier identities can co-exist in the mobile communication device thereby allowing access for the mobile communication device to be provisioned in multiple networks simultaneously. Therefore a single mobile communication device may be concurrently provisioned for wireless communication services in two or more different networks and may establish a wireless communication link with a first wireless network when a first carrier identity is active and establish a wireless communication link with a second wireless network when a second carrier identity is active. When the alternate carrier identity is activated by the mobile device, the mobile device registers with a BTS using the different carrier&#39;s identity credentials and hence receives service via an alternate network or carrier over an overlapping network. For example, a user may choose to subscribe to a promotional rate from a service carrier for a specific time of day, (i.e., nights or weekends) but wish to utilize a different service carrier rate or plan during other times of day (i.e., a pre-paid plan). In an embodiment of the disclosure, a mobile device may be concurrently provisioned for both carriers and a time of day may serve as a triggering event to switch from the pre-paid carrier identity to the promotional rate carrier identity, via the carrier sub-partitions, to allow the user optimum usage of his device. This change may occur over a short period of time, for example over minutes or seconds, and may occur while the mobile communication device remains located in substantially the same place, for example where two or more wireless networks provide overlapping radio access network (RAN) coverage. 
     In scenarios when the customization for each carrier is preloaded, the customization is not required to be downloaded from a network device through the radio transceiver at the time that the application switches the mobile communication device to a different carrier identity which enhances the user experience by having faster access times. Additionally, when a system reset is desired for the purposes of updating software patches on the mobile communication device, the carrier identities may be maintained without changing the information loaded in a carrier identity, because the carrier identities are stored in carrier sub-partitions of memory, and the carrier partition of memory is generally protected from alteration during system resets. When there is a switch needed from a current carrier to a new carrier, the application would choose the appropriate carrier identity and start the activation process. 
     In a scenario when a user customizes their brand experience and applications, the changes are stored in the user partition of the memory of the mobile configuration device. When the carrier identities change, an application may be used to copy the changes of the user partition to the carrier sub-partition to which the mobile communication device is switched. Alternately, when a triggering event is detected to switch the carriers, an application utilizes a reference to the user partition from the switched carrier sub-partition and executes user preferences after the initial load of the carrier sub-partition customization is complete. The separation of the user partition and the carrier sub-partitions allows a user&#39;s customized settings, contacts, application, and other personal data to be used and accessed regardless of which carrier partition is activated resulting in no loss of personalized utilization of the mobile device from switching between service carrier partitions and therefore service carriers. For example, a user may access saved locations or settings on a global-positioning application regardless of which carrier identity is activated and regardless of which carrier identity was active when the application was last used or updated. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 1 , a communication system  100  is described. In an embodiment, the system  100  comprises a plurality of mobile communication devices  102 . The device  102  may comprise a radio transceiver  104 , a processor  106 , and a memory  108 . The memory  108  may comprise an application  110 , a system partition  112 , a user partition  114  and carrier sub-partitions  116  and  132 . A first carrier sub-partition  116  comprises a first carrier identity  118  with its own network access identifier  120  and its own customization  122  comprising brand ID  124 , device capability  126 , application configuration  128  and user experience  130 . A second carrier sub-partition  132  may comprise a second carrier identity  134 , with its own network access identifier  136 , its own customization  138  comprising brand identifier  140 , device capability  142 , application configuration  144  and user experience  146 . It is understood that there may be many more carrier sub-partitions each comprising a carrier identity. The limit of the maximum number of partitions in which to store the carrier identities may be determined by the total portion of memory  108  allocated for the carrier identities. The portion of memory  108  allocated for the carrier identities may comprise internal memory and file memory. Partitions for different carrier identities may be of different sizes. For example, the first carrier sub-partition  116  may be larger in size than the second carrier sub-partition  132 . It is also understood that there may be more than two carrier sub-partitions or carrier identities depending on the size of the memory of the mobile communication device. 
     The device  102  is configured to use the radio transceiver  104  to establish a wireless communication link with a base transceiver station (BTS)  152 , and the base transceiver station  152  provides communications connectivity of the device  102  to a first network  148  and a second network  150 . Networks  148  and  150  represent separate carrier networks that are associated with the first and second carrier sub-partitions  116  and  132  respectively. It is understood that there may be multiple networks that the carrier identities may connect to with the appropriate network configuration to access the network. The networks  148 ,  150  may comprise any combination of public and private networks. Additionally, while the first and second networks  148 ,  150  are illustrated as separate clouds in  FIG. 1 , it is understood different networks may share some network nodes and/or infrastructure. Likewise, while the base transceiver station  152  is illustrated as one device, it is understood that considered as an element or package of functionality, the base transceiver station  152  may be embodied as a first base transceiver station functionality associated with the first network  148  and a second base transceiver station functionality associated with the second network  150 . 
     It is understood that the system  100  may comprise any number of mobile communication devices  102  and any number of base transceiver stations  130 . The collectivity of base transceiver stations  152  may be said to comprise a radio access network, in that these base transceiver stations  152  may provide a radio communication link to the mobile communication devices  102  to provide access to the first network  148  and the second network  150 . The radio access network may be abstracted in different ways and may comprise, in addition to the base transceiver stations  152 , servers and data stores such as home location registers (HLRs) or servers that implement the functionality of home location registers, visitor location registers (VLRs) or servers that implement the functionality of visitor location registers, base station controllers (BSCs), mobile switching centers (MSCs), and other network nodes that are specifically associated with providing wireless access and connectivity to the mobile communication devices  102 . 
     The radio transceiver  104  may communicate with the base transceiver station  152  using any of a variety of wireless communication protocols including a code division multiple access (CDMA) wireless communication protocol, a global system for mobile communication (GSM) wireless communication protocol, a long-term evolution (LTE) wireless communication protocol, a world-wide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) wireless communication protocol, or another wireless communication protocol. The device  102  may be any of a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a media player, a wireless enabled computer, or other mobile communication device. The device  102  may be a laptop computer, a table computer, a notebook computer, a wearable computer, or a headset computer. In an embodiment, the mobile communication device  102  may have other components (not shown) such as a near field communication (NFC) radio transceiver, a wireless local area network (WLAN) radio transceiver, or other components. 
     In an embodiment, the mobile communication device  102  may be a generic device that may operate with different wireless communications service providers with different wireless communications technologies. For example, a generic mobile communication device may be able to operate with code division multiple access (CDMA) networks with a first wireless communications service provider in a first country and also with mobile communications (GSM) networks with a second wireless communications service provider in a second country. 
     In an embodiment, the system partition  112 , the user partition  114 , the carrier sub-partitions  116  and  132  may be implemented by partitioning both hardware and software resources of the electronic device  102  into two segments: a secure portion/segment and a normal portion/segment. The secure segment may be implemented by a distinct, separate, or dedicated physical processor, usually the first processor, from the processor by which the normal segment may be implemented, usually the second processor. Alternatively, the secure segment may be implemented by a distinct, separate, or dedicated virtual processor from the virtual processor by which the normal segment may be implemented. 
     The first carrier identity  118  comprises the customization  122  for a certain carrier and may be loaded at the time of fulfillment of the device  102 . The first carrier identity  118  is bound to a single brand, and the customization  122  defines the device capabilities associated with that single brand such as whether the device  102 , when activated by the device  102  to that brand, has the ability to roam, what contacts it can store, whether the device  102  can serve as a hotspot for other wireless fidelity (WiFi) networks etc. The second carrier identity  134  is bound to a brand that is not the same as the brand to which the first carrier identity  118  is bound but the customization  138  of whose device capabilities, application configuration and user experience may comprise a subset or similar configurations as the customization  122 . During the activation of the device  102 , both the carrier identities  118  and  134  may be able to communicate with the networks  148  and  150  as long the mobile communication device  102  is provisioned in the networks  148  and  150 . For example, device  102  may communicate via BTS  152  over network  148  when the first carrier identity  118  is active and may communication via BTS  152  over network  150  when the second carrier identity  134  is active. 
     In an embodiment, the carrier identities may be activated by an application  110  that dynamically allocates the carrier identity based on a triggering event, for example the location of the mobile communication device  102 . The triggering event may also be user driven wherein the user is provided with a user interface selection of different brands that are tied to the carrier identities  118  and  134 . The selection may also arise from a third or other carrier identity that may be stored on the mobile communication device  102 . In a scenario, when the user selects to switch brands, for example, second carrier identity  134  from the first carrier identity  118 , the application  110  applies the corresponding customization  138  comprising brand identifier, device capabilities, application configurations and user experience to the mobile communication device  102 . The application  110  then references the user partition  114  to apply the user preferences to the customization  138  and applies changes to the device  102 . The mobile communication device  102  then transmits through the radio transceiver  104  the appropriate network identity to use the corresponding network that the second carrier identity  138  is associated with for wireless communications. 
     In an embodiment, when the mobile communication device  102  is in need of a system reset, the carrier sub-partitions  116  and  132  and the related carrier identities  118  and  134  may remain intact with the customizations  122  and  138 . The carrier sub-partitions  116  and  122  are preserved with the carrier identities and their customizations that enable the mobile communication device  102  to communicate with a radio access network through a radio transceiver  104 . When there is a switch between the first carrier identity  118  and the second carrier identity  134 , the customization information is updated but there is no need for re-provisioning carrier identity  118  in the network if it is already provisioned as part of the initial load. The same is true of the switch back between identity  118  to  134  or any other number of carrier identities. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 2 , a method  200  for virtualizing a carrier sub-partition is described. At block  202 , store a plurality of carrier identities into corresponding carrier sub-partitions in the memory of the mobile communication device. At block  204 , detect a triggering event. At block  206 , dynamically activate one of the carrier identities stored in one of the carrier sub-partitions of the memory in response to the triggering event, where the mobile communication device conducts wireless communication via the radio transceiver based on the active carrier identity. When the application in the mobile communication device, in response to a triggering event, selects a carrier identity stored in the carrier sub-partition with its network access identity and its customizations, the carrier identity is considered activated. The mobile communication device will communicate with the network that is associated with the network access identifier of the active carrier identity, and the device may exhibit the customizations associated with the carrier identity such as brand identity, device capability, application configuration and user experience. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 3 , a method  300  of virtualizing a carrier identity on a mobile communication device is described. At block  302 , allocate and store one carrier identity into a carrier sub-partition in a memory of the mobile communication device. At block  304 , store brand information associated with each carrier identity into the corresponding carrier sub-partition of the memory of the mobile communication device. At block  306 , store network access identifiers associated with each carrier identity into the corresponding carrier sub-partition of the memory of the mobile communication device. At block  308 , store device capabilities associated with each carrier identity into the corresponding carrier sub-partition of the memory of the mobile communication device. At block  310 , store application configurations associated with each carrier identity into the corresponding carrier sub-partition of the memory of the mobile communication device. At block  312 , store the user experience associated with each carrier identity into the corresponding carrier sub-partition of the memory of the mobile communication device. At block  314 , send the carrier identity and at least two of corresponding brand information, application configurations, device capabilities, user experience, or associated user data to a remote server. At block  316 , fetch the carrier identity and at least two of corresponding brand information, application configurations, device capabilities, user experience, or associated user data from the remote server under predefined circumstances. 
       FIG. 4  depicts a mobile device  400 , which is operable for implementing aspects of the present disclosure, but the present disclosure should not be limited to these implementations. Though illustrated as a mobile phone, the mobile device  400  may take various forms including a wireless handset, a pager, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a gaming device, or a media player. The mobile device  400  includes a display  402  and a touch-sensitive surface and/or keys  404  for input by a user. The mobile device  400  may present options for the user to select, controls for the user to actuate, and/or cursors or other indicators for the user to direct. The mobile device  400  may further accept data entry from user, including numbers to dial or various parameter values for configuring the operation of the handset. The mobile device  400  may further execute one or more software or firmware applications in response to user commands. These applications may configure the mobile device  400  to perform various customized functions in response to user interaction. Additionally, the mobile device  400  may be programmed and/or configured over-the-air, for example from a wireless base station, a wireless access point, or a peer mobile device  400 . The mobile device  400  may execute a web browser application which enables the display  402  to show a web page. The web page may be obtained via wireless communications with a base transceiver station, a wireless network access node, a peer mobile device  400  or any other wireless communication network or system. 
       FIG. 5  shows a block diagram of the mobile device  400 . While a variety of known components of handsets are depicted, in an embodiment a subset of the listed components and/or additional components not listed may be included in the mobile device  400 . The mobile device  400  includes a digital signal processor (DSP)  502  and a memory  504 . In an embodiment, the memory  504  has a system partition, a carrier partition, and a user partition, wherein an operating system of the mobile device  400  restricts write access to system partition based on an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) access password and restricts write access to the carrier partition based on a wireless communication service carrier access password. As shown, the mobile device  400  may further include an antenna and front end unit  506 , a radio frequency (RF) transceiver  508 , a baseband processing unit  510 , a microphone  512 , an earpiece speaker  514 , a headset port  516 , an input/output interface  518 , a removable memory card  520 , a universal serial bus (USB) port  522 , an infrared port  524 , a vibrator  526 , a keypad  528 , a touch screen liquid crystal display (LCD) with a touch sensitive surface  530 , a touch screen/LCD controller  532 , a camera  534 , a camera controller  536 , and a global positioning system (GPS) receiver  538 . In an embodiment, the mobile device  400  may include another kind of display that does not provide a touch sensitive screen. In an embodiment, the DSP  502  may communicate directly with the memory  504  without passing through the input/output interface  518 . Additionally, in an embodiment, the mobile device  400  may comprise other peripheral devices that provide other functionality. 
     The DSP  502  or some other form of controller or central processing unit operates to control the various components of the mobile device  400  in accordance with embedded software or firmware stored in memory  504  or stored in memory contained within the DSP  502  itself. In addition to the embedded software or firmware, the DSP  502  may execute other applications stored in the memory  504  or made available via information carrier media such as portable data storage media like the removable memory card  520  or via wired or wireless network communications. The application software may comprise a compiled set of machine-readable instructions that configure the DSP  502  to provide the desired functionality, or the application software may be high-level software instructions to be processed by an interpreter or compiler to indirectly configure the DSP  502 . 
     The DSP  502  may communicate with a wireless network via the analog baseband processing unit  510 . In some embodiments, the communication may provide Internet connectivity, enabling a user to gain access to content on the Internet and to send and receive e-mail or text messages. The input/output interface  518  interconnects the DSP  502  and various memories and interfaces. The memory  504  and the removable memory card  520  may provide software and data to configure the operation of the DSP  502 . Among the interfaces may be the USB port  522  and the infrared port  524 . The USB port  522  may enable the mobile device  400  to function as a peripheral device to exchange information with a personal computer or other computer system. The infrared port  524  and other optional ports such as a Bluetooth® interface or an IEEE 802.11 compliant wireless interface may enable the mobile device  400  to communicate wirelessly with other nearby handsets and/or wireless base stations. 
     The keypad  528  couples to the DSP  502  via the input/output interface  518  to provide one mechanism for the user to make selections, enter information, and otherwise provide input to the mobile device  400 . Another input mechanism may be the touch screen LCD  530 , which may also display text and/or graphics to the user. The touch screen LCD controller  532  couples the DSP  502  to the touch screen LCD  530 . The GPS receiver  538  is coupled to the DSP  502  to decode global positioning system signals, thereby enabling the mobile device  400  to determine its position. 
       FIG. 6A  illustrates a software environment  602  that may be implemented by the DSP  502 . The DSP  502  executes operating system software  604  that provides a platform from which the rest of the software operates. The operating system software  604  may provide a variety of drivers for the handset hardware with standardized interfaces that are accessible to application software. The operating system software  604  may be coupled to and interact with application management services (AMS)  606  that transfer control between applications running on the mobile device  400 . Also shown in  FIG. 6A  are a web browser application  608 , a media player application  610 , and JAVA applets  612 . The web browser application  608  may be executed by the mobile device  400  to browse content and/or the Internet, for example when the mobile device  400  is coupled to a network via a wireless link. The web browser application  608  may permit a user to enter information into forms and select links to retrieve and view web pages. The media player application  610  may be executed by the mobile device  400  to play audio or audiovisual media. The JAVA applets  612  may be executed by the mobile device  400  to provide a variety of functionality including games, utilities, and other functionality. 
       FIG. 6B  illustrates an alternative software environment  620  that may be implemented by the DSP  502 . The DSP  502  executes operating system kernel (OS kernel)  628  and an execution runtime  630 . The DSP  502  executes applications  622  that may execute in the execution runtime  630  and may rely upon services provided by the application framework  624 . Applications  622  and the application framework  624  may rely upon functionality provided via the libraries  626 . 
       FIG. 7  illustrates a computer system  380  suitable for implementing one or more embodiments disclosed herein. The computer system  380  includes a processor  382  (which may be referred to as a central processor unit or CPU) that is in communication with memory devices including secondary storage  384 , read only memory (ROM)  386 , random access memory (RAM)  388 , input/output (I/O) devices  390 , and network connectivity devices  392 . The processor  382  may be implemented as one or more CPU chips. 
     It is understood that by programming and/or loading executable instructions onto the computer system  380 , at least one of the CPU  382 , the RAM  388 , and the ROM  386  are changed, transforming the computer system  380  in part into a particular machine or apparatus having the novel functionality taught by the present disclosure. It is fundamental to the electrical engineering and software engineering arts that functionality that can be implemented by loading executable software into a computer can be converted to a hardware implementation by well-known design rules. Decisions between implementing a concept in software versus hardware typically hinge on considerations of stability of the design and numbers of units to be produced rather than any issues involved in translating from the software domain to the hardware domain. Generally, a design that is still subject to frequent change may be preferred to be implemented in software, because re-spinning a hardware implementation is more expensive than re-spinning a software design. Generally, a design that is stable that will be produced in large volume may be preferred to be implemented in hardware, for example in an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), because for large production runs the hardware implementation may be less expensive than the software implementation. Often a design may be developed and tested in a software form and later transformed, by well-known design rules, to an equivalent hardware implementation in an application specific integrated circuit that hardwires the instructions of the software. In the same manner as a machine controlled by a new ASIC is a particular machine or apparatus, likewise a computer that has been programmed and/or loaded with executable instructions may be viewed as a particular machine or apparatus. 
     The secondary storage  384  is typically comprised of one or more disk drives or tape drives and is used for non-volatile storage of data and as an over-flow data storage device if RAM  388  is not large enough to hold all working data. Secondary storage  384  may be used to store programs which are loaded into RAM  388  when such programs are selected for execution. The ROM  386  is used to store instructions and perhaps data which are read during program execution. ROM  386  is a non-volatile memory device which typically has a small memory capacity relative to the larger memory capacity of secondary storage  384 . The RAM  388  is used to store volatile data and perhaps to store instructions. Access to both ROM  386  and RAM  388  is typically faster than to secondary storage  384 . The secondary storage  384 , the RAM  388 , and/or the ROM  386  may be referred to in some contexts as computer readable storage media and/or non-transitory computer readable media. 
     I/O devices  390  may include printers, video monitors, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), touch screen displays, keyboards, keypads, switches, dials, mice, track balls, voice recognizers, card readers, paper tape readers, or other well-known input devices. 
     The network connectivity devices  392  may take the form of modems, modem banks, Ethernet cards, universal serial bus (USB) interface cards, serial interfaces, token ring cards, fiber distributed data interface (FDDI) cards, wireless local area network (WLAN) cards, radio transceiver cards such as code division multiple access (CDMA), global system for mobile communications (GSM), long-term evolution (LTE), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), and/or other air interface protocol radio transceiver cards, and other well-known network devices. These network connectivity devices  392  may enable the processor  382  to communicate with the Internet or one or more intranets. With such a network connection, it is contemplated that the processor  382  might receive information from the network, or might output information to the network in the course of performing the above-described method steps. Such information, which is often represented as a sequence of instructions to be executed using processor  382 , may be received from and outputted to the network, for example, in the form of a computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave. 
     Such information, which may include data or instructions to be executed using processor  382  for example, may be received from and outputted to the network, for example, in the form of a computer data baseband signal or signal embodied in a carrier wave. The baseband signal or signal embedded in the carrier wave, or other types of signals currently used or hereafter developed, may be generated according to several methods well known to one skilled in the art. The baseband signal and/or signal embedded in the carrier wave may be referred to in some contexts as a transitory signal. 
     The processor  382  executes instructions, codes, computer programs, scripts which it accesses from hard disk, floppy disk, optical disk (these various disk based systems may all be considered secondary storage  384 ), ROM  386 , RAM  388 , or the network connectivity devices  392 . While only one processor  382  is shown, multiple processors may be present. Thus, while instructions may be discussed as executed by a processor, the instructions may be executed simultaneously, serially, or otherwise executed by one or multiple processors. Instructions, codes, computer programs, scripts, and/or data that may be accessed from the secondary storage  384 , for example, hard drives, floppy disks, optical disks, and/or other device, the ROM  386 , and/or the RAM  388  may be referred to in some contexts as non-transitory instructions and/or non-transitory information. 
     In an embodiment, the computer system  380  may comprise two or more computers in communication with each other that collaborate to perform a task. For example, but not by way of limitation, an application may be partitioned in such a way as to permit concurrent and/or parallel processing of the instructions of the application. Alternatively, the data processed by the application may be partitioned in such a way as to permit concurrent and/or parallel processing of different portions of a data set by the two or more computers. In an embodiment, virtualization software may be employed by the computer system  380  to provide the functionality of a number of servers that is not directly bound to the number of computers in the computer system  380 . For example, virtualization software may provide twenty virtual servers on four physical computers. In an embodiment, the functionality disclosed above may be provided by executing the application and/or applications in a cloud computing environment. Cloud computing may comprise providing computing services via a network connection using dynamically scalable computing resources. Cloud computing may be supported, at least in part, by virtualization software. A cloud computing environment may be established by an enterprise and/or may be hired on an as-needed basis from a third party provider. Some cloud computing environments may comprise cloud computing resources owned and operated by the enterprise as well as cloud computing resources hired and/or leased from a third party provider. 
     In an embodiment, some or all of the functionality disclosed above may be provided as a computer program product. The computer program product may comprise one or more computer readable storage medium having computer usable program code embodied therein to implement the functionality disclosed above. The computer program product may comprise data structures, executable instructions, and other computer usable program code. The computer program product may be embodied in removable computer storage media and/or non-removable computer storage media. The removable computer readable storage medium may comprise, without limitation, a paper tape, a magnetic tape, magnetic disk, an optical disk, a solid state memory chip, for example analog magnetic tape, compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM) disks, floppy disks, jump drives, digital cards, multimedia cards, and others. The computer program product may be suitable for loading, by the computer system  380 , at least portions of the contents of the computer program product to the secondary storage  384 , to the ROM  386 , to the RAM  388 , and/or to other non-volatile memory and volatile memory of the computer system  380 . The processor  382  may process the executable instructions and/or data structures in part by directly accessing the computer program product, for example by reading from a CD-ROM disk inserted into a disk drive peripheral of the computer system  380 . Alternatively, the processor  382  may process the executable instructions and/or data structures by remotely accessing the computer program product, for example by downloading the executable instructions and/or data structures from a remote server through the network connectivity devices  392 . The computer program product may comprise instructions that promote the loading and/or copying of data, data structures, files, and/or executable instructions to the secondary storage  384 , to the ROM  386 , to the RAM  388 , and/or to other non-volatile memory and volatile memory of the computer system  380 . 
     In some contexts, the secondary storage  384 , the ROM  386 , and the RAM  388  may be referred to as a non-transitory computer readable medium or a computer readable storage media. A dynamic RAM embodiment of the RAM  388 , likewise, may be referred to as a non-transitory computer readable medium in that while the dynamic RAM receives electrical power and is operated in accordance with its design, for example during a period of time during which the computer specification  380  is turned on and operational, the dynamic RAM stores information that is written to it. Similarly, the processor  382  may comprise an internal RAM, an internal ROM, a cache memory, and/or other internal non-transitory storage blocks, sections, or components that may be referred to in some contexts as non-transitory computer readable media or computer readable storage media. 
     While several embodiments have been provided in the present disclosure, it should be understood that the disclosed systems and methods may be embodied in many other specific forms without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. The present examples are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the intention is not to be limited to the details given herein. For example, the various elements or components may be combined or integrated in another system or certain features may be omitted or not implemented. 
     Also, techniques, systems, subsystems, and methods described and illustrated in the various embodiments as discrete or separate may be combined or integrated with other systems, modules, techniques, or methods without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Other items shown or discussed as directly coupled or communicating with each other may be indirectly coupled or communicating through some interface, device, or intermediate component, whether electrically, mechanically, or otherwise. Other examples of changes, substitutions, and alterations are ascertainable by one skilled in the art and could be made without departing from the spirit and scope disclosed herein.