Telecommunications – Radiotelephone system – Message storage or retrieval
Reexamination Certificate
1998-01-30
2001-02-06
Le, Thanh Cong (Department: 2749)
Telecommunications
Radiotelephone system
Message storage or retrieval
Reexamination Certificate
active
06185417
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the start-up operation of devices using smart cards, or more precisely, to the initialization operations of smart cards used in mobile stations during the start-up procedure of the mobile station.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The GSM mobile station system uses text messages (Short Message Service, SMS). Using the numerical keypad of the mobile station, for example, the user of the mobile station can write a short text message and send it to another mobile station user. The mobile station receives text messages independently without the user's control, and so it is possible to receive messages even when the user is not near the mobile station, when the user for some other reason cannot pay attention to the mobile station or during a call. The general structure of the GSM system and the text message functions have been described in Michel Mouly, Marie-Bernadette Pautet, “The GSM System for Mobile Communications”, ISBN 2-9507190-0-7, Palaiseau 1992.
If the mobile station is switched off, the incoming message does not disappear but stays in a Short Message Service Centre, SMSC, to wait for the starting of the mobile station. The Home Location Register, HLR, of the mobile station gets the information that there are messages waiting for contact by the mobile station in the Short Message Service Centre. When the mobile station is switched on, it contacts the network via the nearest base station and performs the initialization operations mentioned in the recommendation GSM 11.11, among other things. When the mobile station informs the network of its starting up, the Home Location Register sends a notice of this to the Short Message Service Centres, which have messages waiting. When the Short Message Service Centres have received the notice, they send the text messages to the mobile station.
The mobile station saves the incoming messages and messages written by the user to a SIM card in the mobile station, on which SIM card they remain even when the mobile station is switched off. The messages are saved in a certain file intended for text messages, one message in one record of the file. The first byte of the record is a so-called STATUS byte, which contains, among other things, information about whether the record is empty, whether it has a received or transmitted message, and if the message has been received from the network, whether the user has read the message or not. The meaning and contents of the information and files to be saved on the SIM card are described in the GSM recommendation GSM 11.11 and the corresponding standard proposal of ETSI, ETS 300 608 (August 1996) and the recommendation GSM 03.40.
There is one special type of SMS messages, the REPLACE type, which is treated by the mobile station differently from other SMS messages. Ordinary, received SMS messages are saved in a suitable, empty record on the SIM card, but messages of the REPLACE type are saved in the place of another REPLACE-type of message, if another message of the same REPLACE type and sent by the same user has been saved on the SIM card. Operations like this make it possible to use automatic status notices, for example when the user of the mobile station needs real-time information of the status of a production process. Then the production control system can send at desired intervals a text message which gives the values of certain important parameters. Thus the user can check the status of the process by reading the newest message in his mobile station. By using messages of the REPLACE type in an application like this, the memory of the SIM card is prevented from being filled up by frequently occurring messages, of which only the latest is necessary.
When a mobile station receives a text message, it checks the type of the message. An SMS message includes a group of parameters, of which the TP-PID byte (TP-Protocol-Identifier) is described here. The TP-PID byte identifies whether the message in question is of the REPLACE type, and if it is, what the more precise REPLACE type is. The various REPLACE types of messages have been described in the recommendation GSM 03.40, which describes all the different meanings and coding methods of the TPPID byte. In this document, the concept REPLACE-type message means a message which is of one of the REPLACE types mentioned in the GSM recommendations. If the message is not of the REPLACE type, it is saved in the usual manner in a suitable, empty record. If the message is of the REPLACE type, the mobile station must check if any of the earlier saved messages has the same identifying information, which includes the ID of the sender and the REPLACE type. If a message like this is found, the mobile station saves the newly arrived message in the place of the old message, and otherwise the mobile station saves the message arrived as normally on the SIM card and saves the information of the message arrived in its own memory for possible later reception of a REPLACE message of the same type.
When in operation, the mobile station typically retains in its memory some of the identification data of REPLACE-type messages as required by the recommendations. When the use of the mobile phone is started and power is switched on, the mobile station must determine whether there are REPLACE-type messages on the SIM card and read the identification data of such messages in its memory. In the prior art technique, this requires reading all the records of the SMS message file in order to find out the contents of the TPPID byte of each record. However, reading all the records takes a lot of time. The slowness of this stage can cause problems when a SMSC has messages waiting. As was described above, the HLR informs all SMSCs which have messages waiting when the mobile station is started, whereupon these SMSCs send these messages to the mobile station. If the mobile station is still reading the messages saved on the SIM card when these messages arrive, an error may occur, resulting in a loss of messages.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the object of the invention to implement a system by which the initialization process of the SMS messages saved on the SIM card takes less time than in the prior art technique. Another object of the invention is to implement a system by which the information of REPLACE-type messages that may exist in the memory of the SIM card can be found out more quickly when the mobile phone is started than is possible with the established techniques.
The objects are achieved by adding to the STATUS byte of a REPLACE-type message a marking that the message is of the REPLACE type, using this information in the starting up by seeking by a certain command of the SIM card records which have this marking in their STATUS byte, and by reading only these records.
The system according to the invention is characterized in that which is specified in the characterizing part of the independent system claim. The method according to the invention is characterized in that which is specified in the characterizing part of the independent method claim. The mobile communication means according to the invention is characterized in that which is specified in the characterizing part of the independent claim directed to a mobile communication means. The dependent claims describe further advantageous embodiments of the invention.
The invention is based on the realization that information contained in REPLACE-type of messages can be dealt with more quickly if the information of the type of the message that already occurs once in the TP-PID byte of the record is added to the STATUS byte of the record, whereby the REPLACE-type of messages can be ought by the SEEK command of the SIM card. If this procedure is used in the starting-up, there is no need to read all the records of the SMS message file on the SIM card.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5842141 (1998-11-01), Vaihoja et al.
patent: 5956653 (1999-09-01), Lahti
patent: WO 96/03723 (1996-02-01), None
Digital celluar telecommunications system (Phase 2); Specfication of the Subscriber Identity M
Cong Le Thanh
Nokia Mobile Phones Limited
Perman & Green LLP
LandOfFree
System for saving and reading text messages does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with System for saving and reading text messages, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and System for saving and reading text messages will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2574628