Method for management of a communications module and device comprising such a module

• US 20020193098A1
• Filed: 06/15/2001
• Published: 12/19/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sagem SA (Safran SA)
• Inventors: Clerc, Emmanuel, Quentin, Pierre
• Granted Patent: US 7,082,319 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/414.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

In a method for the management of a communications module on a telephony network, the module is connected to a terminal that is incapable by itself of getting connected to the telephone network. The module has a tool kit microcircuit whose management is shared between the module and the terminal so as to limit communications on a link between the module and the terminal. The module and the terminal exchange messages in the HAYES format in order to standardize an interface between the module and the terminal. The messages exchanged are command messages, responses to commands, or general information on the state of the device.

Claims

1. A method for management of a communications module comprising means to fulfil a communications function, and a detachable microcircuit for a terminal comprising means, including a microprocessor, to set up a man/machine interface in which the microcircuit and the terminal communicate by sending messages through a module-terminal connection between the module and the terminal, wherein:

messages are sent from the microcircuit to the terminal,

in the module, messages sent by the microcircuit are distributed between the module and the terminal to limit the communications on the module-terminal connection and to limit an activity, related to a processing of a message, of the microprocessor of the terminal.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein:

a message of the microcircuit is processed in the terminal,

the results of the processing are notified to the microcircuit.

3. A method according to one of the claims 1 or 2, wherein the messages sent by the microcircuit are filtered for the transmission, to the terminal, of those messages related to a management of the man/machine interface, the other messages being processed by the means of the module.

4. A method according to one of the claims 1 to 3, wherein the messages sent out by the microcircuit are filtered to transmit those messages that correspond to a response of the microcircuit following a request sent by the terminal, the other messages being processed by means of the module.

5. A method according to one of the claims 1 to 4, wherein the messages exchanged between the microcircuit and the terminal are formatted according to a Hayes type format by formatting means of the module.

6. A method according to one of the claims 1 to 5, wherein a message sent by the microcircuit or the terminal respectively to the terminal or the microcircuit respectively is included in the following list:

+CTKC list of parameters

AT+CTKR list of parameters

+CTKE list of parameters

AT+CTKV list of parameters

+CTKER liste de paramè

tres

AT+CTKP list of parameters

AT+CTKF list of parameters.

7. A communications device comprising a terminal, comprising means to make a man/machine interface and an extension module for the terminal, the extension module comprising a microcircuit, wherein:

the terminal and the module comprise communications means to communicate with each other,

the module comprises means to filter messages sent by the microcircuit, the filtering means co-operating with the communications means.

8. A device according to claim 7, wherein the terminal comprises means for the management of the microcircuit cooperating with the communications means.