Methods and systems of blocking and/or disregarding data and related wireless terminals and wireless service providers

• US 20030021244A1
• Filed: 07/26/2001
• Published: 01/30/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ericsson, Inc. (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Original Assignee: Ericsson, Inc. (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Inventors: Anderson, David R.
• Granted Patent: US 6,975,602 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72403 with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/183 Processing at user equipment or user record carrier

Abstract

When receiving digital data at a wireless terminal, sources from which received digital data will be processed can be designated at a wireless terminal. When a packet of digital data is received at the wireless terminal, it can be determined if the packet is from an acceptable source designated at the wireless terminal. If the packet of digital data is from an acceptable source, the packet of digital data can be processed, and if the packet of digital data is not from an acceptable source, the packet of digital data can be blocked from processing. Alternate methods of transmitting and receiving digital data and related wireless terminals and wireless service providers are also discussed.

Claims

1. A method of receiving digital data at a wireless terminal, the method comprising:

designating at the wireless terminal acceptable sources from which received digital data will be processed;

receiving a packet of digital data at the wireless terminal;

determining if the packet of digital data is from an acceptable source designated at the wireless terminal;

if the packet of digital data is from an acceptable source, processing the packet of digital data; and

if the packet of digital data is not from an acceptable source, blocking the packet of digital data from processing.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein designating at the wireless terminal acceptable sources from which packets of digital data will be processed comprises accepting user input of the acceptable sources.

3. A method according to claim 1 wherein designating at the wireless terminal acceptable sources from which packets of digital data will be processed comprises designating at least one class of sources from which packets of digital data will be processed.

4. A method according to claim 1 wherein designating at the wireless terminal acceptable sources from which packets of digital data will be processed comprises designating at least one specific source from which packets of digital data will be processed.

5. A method according to claim 1 further comprising:

accepting user input of blocking mode enable and blocking mode disable commands;

in response to a blocking mode enable command, processing the packet of digital data only if information in the packet of digital data is required to maintain a communications link, and blocking processing of the packet of digital data if information in the packet of digital data is not required to maintain a communications link even when the packet of digital data is from an acceptable source; and

in response to a blocking mode disable command, processing the packet of digital data if the received packet of digital data is from an acceptable source.

6. A method according to claim 5 wherein information required to maintain a communications link comprises synchronization information.

7. A method according to claim 5 further comprising:

processing radiotelephone pages when the blocking mode is enabled and when the blocking mode is disabled.

8. A method according to claim 1 further comprising:

accepting user input of external request mode enable and external request mode disable commands;

in response to an external request mode enable command, executing external requests for data transfer at the wireless terminal; and

in response to an external request mode disable command, disregarding external requests for data transfer at the wireless terminal.

9. A method according to claim 8 further comprising:

executing user initiated tasks when the external request mode is enabled and when the external request mode is disabled.

10. A method according to claim 8 further comprising:

receiving radiotelephone pages when the external request mode is enabled and when the external request mode is disabled.

11. A method of transmitting digital data from a wireless service provider to a wireless terminal, the method comprising:

designating at the wireless service provider acceptable sources from which packets of digital data will be transmitted to the wireless terminal;

providing a packet of digital data at the wireless service provider to be transmitted to the wireless terminal;

determining if the packet of digital data is from an acceptable source;

if the packet of digital data is from an acceptable source, transmitting the packet of digital data to the wireless terminal; and

if the packet of digital data is not from an acceptable source, blocking the packet of digital data from transmission to the wireless terminal.

12. A method according to claim 11 wherein designating at the wireless service provider acceptable sources from which packets of digital data will be transmitted to the wireless terminal comprises receiving the acceptable sources from the wireless terminal.

13. A method according to claim 11 wherein designating at the wireless service provider acceptable sources from which packets of digital data will be transmitted to the wireless terminal comprises designating at least one class of sources from which packets of digital data will be transmitted to the wireless terminal.

14. A method according to claim 11 wherein designating at the wireless service provider acceptable sources from which packets of digital data will be transmitted to the wireless terminal comprises designating at least one specific source from which packets of digital data will be transmitted to the wireless terminal.

15. A method according to claim 11 further comprising:

accepting blocking mode enable and blocking mode disable commands for the wireless terminal;

in response to a blocking mode enable command, transmitting the packet of digital data only if information in the packet of digital data is required to maintain a communications link, and blocking transmitting of the packet of digital data if information in the packet of digital data is not required to maintain a communications link even when the packet of digital data is from an acceptable source; and

in response to a blocking mode disable command, transmitting the packet of digital data if the packet of digital data is from an acceptable source.

16. A method according to claim 15 wherein information required to maintain a communications link comprises synchronization information.

17. A method according to claim 15 further comprising:

transmitting radiotelephone pages when the blocking mode is enabled and when the blocking mode is disabled for the wireless terminal.

18. A method according to claim 11 further comprising:

accepting external request mode enable and external request mode disable commands for the wireless terminal;

in response to an external request mode enable command, transmitting external requests for data transfer to the wireless terminal; and

in response to an external request mode disable command, disregarding external requests for data transfer for the wireless terminal.

19. A method according to claim 18 further comprising:

transmitting radiotelephone pages to the wireless terminal when the external request mode is enabled and when the external request mode is disabled.

20. A wireless terminal for communicating digital data with a wireless communications system, the wireless terminal comprising:

a controller that designates acceptable sources from which packets of digital data will be processed; and

a receiver that receives a packet of digital data;

wherein the controller determines if the packet of digital data is from an acceptable source, wherein the controller processes the packet of digital data if the packet of digital data is from an acceptable source, and wherein the controller blocks the packet of digital data from further processing if the packet of digital data is not from an acceptable source.

21. A wireless terminal according to claim 20 wherein the controller designates acceptable sources based on user input of the acceptable sources.

22. A wireless terminal according to claim 20 wherein the controller designates at least one class of sources from which packets of digital data will be processed.

23. A wireless terminal according to claim 20 wherein the controller designates at least one specific source from which packets of digital data will be processed.

24. A wireless communications system for communicating digital data with a wireless communications system, the wireless communications system comprising:

a controller that designates sources from which packets of digital data will be transmitted to the wireless terminal, that provides a packet of digital data for the wireless terminal, and that determines if the packet of digital data is from an acceptable source; and

a transmitter that transmits the packet of digital data to the wireless terminal if the packet of digital data is from an acceptable source, and that blocks the packet of digital data from transmission to the wireless terminal if the packet of digital data is not from an acceptable source.

25. A wireless communications system according to claim 24 further comprising:

a receiver that receives the acceptable sources from the wireless terminal.

26. A wireless communications system according to claim 24 wherein the controller designates at least one class of sources from which packets of digital data will be transmitted to the wireless terminal.

27. A wireless communications system according to claim 24 wherein the controller designates at least one specific source from which packets of digital data will be transmitted to the wireless terminal.

28. A method of receiving digital data at a wireless terminal, the method comprising:

accepting user input of a blocking mode enable and blocking mode disable commands;

receiving a packet of digital data at the wireless terminal;

in response to a blocking mode enable command, processing the packet of digital data only if information in the packet of digital data is required to maintain a communications link, and blocking processing of the packet of digital data if information in the packet of digital data is not required to maintain a communications link; and

in response to a blocking mode disable command, processing the packet of digital data if information in the packet of digital data is required to maintain a communications link or if information in the packet of digital data is desired at the wireless terminal.

29. A method according to claim 28 wherein information required to maintain a communications link comprises synchronization information.

30. A method according to claim 28 further comprising:

processing radiotelephone pages when the blocking mode is enabled and when the blocking mode is disabled.

31. A method according to claim 28 further comprising:

designating at the wireless terminal acceptable sources from which packets of digital data will be processed;

determining if the packet of digital data is from an acceptable source designated for the wireless terminal;

if the packet of digital data is from an acceptable source and the blocking mode is disabled, processing the packet of digital data; and

if the received packet of digital data is not from an acceptable source, blocking processing of the packet of digital data even when the blocking mode is disabled.

32. A method according to claim 31 wherein designating at the wireless terminal acceptable sources from which packets of digital data will be processed comprises accepting user input of the acceptable sources.

33. A method according to claim 31 wherein designating at the wireless terminal acceptable sources from which packets of digital data will be processed comprises designating at least one class of sources from which packets of digital data will be processed.

34. A method according to claim 31 wherein designating at the wireless terminal acceptable sources from which packets of digital data will be processed comprises designating at least one specific source from which packets of digital data will be processed.

35. A method according to claim 28 further comprising:

accepting user input of external request mode enable and external request mode disable commands;

in response to an external request mode enable command, executing external requests for data transfer at the wireless terminal; and

in response to an external request mode disable command, disregarding external requests for data transfer at the wireless terminal.

36. A method according to claim 35 further comprising:

executing user initiated tasks when the external request mode is enabled and when the external request mode is disabled.

37. A method according to claim 35 further comprising:

processing radiotelephone pages when the external request mode is enabled and when the external request mode is disabled.

38. A method of transmitting digital data from a wireless service provider to a wireless terminal, the method comprising:

accepting blocking mode enable and blocking mode disable commands from the user terminal;

providing a packet of digital data at the wireless service provider;

in response to a blocking mode enable command, transmitting the packet of digital data only if information in the packet of digital data is required to maintain a communications link between the wireless service provider and the wireless terminal, and blocking transmitting of the packet of digital data if information in the packet of digital data is not required to maintain a communications link; and

in response to a blocking mode disable command, transmitting the packet of digital data if information in the packet of digital data is required to maintain a communications link or if information in the packet of digital data is desired at the wireless terminal.

39. A method according to claim 38 wherein information required to maintain a communications link comprises synchronization information.

40. A method according to claim 38 further comprising:

transmitting radiotelephone pages when the blocking mode is enabled and when the blocking mode is disabled.

41. A method according to claim 38 further comprising:

designating at the wireless service provider acceptable sources from which received digital data will be processed at the wireless terminal;

determining if the packet of digital data is from an acceptable source for the wireless terminal;

if the packet of digital data is from an acceptable source and the blocking mode is disabled, transmitting the packet of digital data to the wireless terminal; and

if the packet of digital data is not from an acceptable source, blocking transmitting of the packet of digital data even when the blocking mode is disabled.

42. A method according to claim 41 wherein designating at the wireless service provider acceptable sources from which packets of digital data will be processed comprises accepting the acceptable sources from the wireless terminal.

43. A method according to claim 41 wherein designating at the wireless service provider acceptable sources comprises designating at least one class of sources from which packets of digital data will be transmitted to the wireless terminal.

44. A method according to claim 41 wherein designating at the wireless service provider acceptable sources comprises designating at least one specific source from which received digital data will be transmitted to the wireless terminal.

45. A method according to claim 38 further comprising:

accepting external request mode enable and external request mode disable commands for the wireless terminal;

in response to an external request mode enable command, transmitting external requests for data transfer for the wireless terminal; and

in response to an external request mode disable command, disregarding external requests for data transfer for the wireless terminal.

46. A method according to claim 45 further comprising:

transmitting radiotelephone pages to the wireless terminal when the external request mode is enabled and when the external request mode is disabled for the wireless terminal.

47. A wireless terminal for communicating digital data with a wireless communications system, the wireless terminal comprising:

a user interface that accepts user input of a blocking mode enable and blocking mode disable commands;

a receiver that receives a packet of digital data; and

a controller that processes the packet of digital data in response to a blocking mode enable command only if information in the packet of digital data is required to maintain a communications link, and that blocks processing of the packet of digital data if information in the packet of digital data is not required to maintain a communications link, and wherein the controller processes the packet of digital data in response to a blocking mode disable command if information in the packet of digital data is required to maintain a communications link or if information in the packet of digital data is desired at the wireless terminal.

48. A wireless terminal according to claim 47 wherein information required to maintain a communications link comprises synchronization information.

49. A wireless terminal according to claim 47 wherein the controller processes radiotelephone pages when the blocking mode is enabled and when the blocking mode is disabled.

50. A wireless communications system for communicating digital data with a wireless terminal, the wireless communications system comprising:

a controller responsive to blocking mode enable and blocking mode disable commands from the wireless terminal wherein the controller provides a packet of digital data at the wireless service provider, wherein the controller allows transmission of the packet of digital data in response to a blocking mode enable command only if information in the packet of digital data is required to maintain a communications link between the wireless communications system and the wireless terminal, wherein the controller blocks transmitting of the packet of digital data in response to a blocking mode enable command if information in the packet of digital data is not required to maintain a communications link, and wherein the controller allows transmission of the packet of digital data in response to a blocking mode disable command if information in the packet of digital data is required to maintain a communications link or if information in the packet of digital data is desired at the wireless terminal.

51. A wireless communications system according to claim 50 wherein information required to maintain a communications link comprises synchronization information.

52. A wireless communications system according to claim 50 further comprising:

a transmitter that transmits radiotelephone pages when the blocking mode is enabled and when the blocking mode is disabled.

53. A method of receiving digital data at a wireless terminal, the method comprising:

accepting user input of external request mode enable and external request mode disable commands;

in response to an external request mode enable command, executing external requests for data transfer at the wireless terminal; and

in response to an external request mode disable command, disregarding external requests for data transfer at the wireless terminal.

54. A method according to claim 53 further comprising:

executing user initiated tasks when the external request mode is enabled and when the external request mode is disabled.

55. A method according to claim 53 further comprising:

processing radiotelephone pages when the external request mode is enabled and when the external request mode is disabled.

56. A method according to claim 53 further comprising:

designating at the wireless terminal acceptable sources from which received digital data will be processed;

receiving a packet of digital data at the wireless terminal;

determining if the packet of digital data is from an acceptable source designated at the wireless terminal;

if the packet of digital data is from an acceptable source, processing the packet of digital data; and

if the packet of digital data is not from an acceptable source, blocking the packet of digital data from processing.

57. A method according to claim 56 wherein designating at the wireless terminal acceptable sources from packets of digital data will be processed comprises accepting user input of the acceptable sources.

58. A method according to claim 56 wherein designating at the wireless terminal acceptable sources from which packets of digital data will be processed comprises designating at least one class of sources from which packets of digital data will be processed.

59. A method according to claim 56 wherein designating at the wireless terminal acceptable sources from which packets of digital data will be processed comprises designating at least one specific source from which packets of digital data will be processed.

60. A method according to claim 53 further comprising:

accepting user input of a blocking mode enable and blocking mode disable commands;

receiving a packet of digital data at the wireless terminal;

in response to a blocking mode enable command, processing the packet of digital data only if information in the packet of digital data is required to maintain a communications link, and blocking processing of the packet of digital data if information in the packet of digital data is not required to maintain a communications link; and

in response to a blocking mode disable command, processing the packet of digital data if information in the packet of digital data is required to maintain a communications link or if information in the packet of digital data is desired at the wireless terminal.

61. A method according to claim 60 wherein information required to maintain a communications link comprises synchronization information.

62. A method according to claim 60 further comprising:

processing radiotelephone pages when the blocking mode is enabled and when the blocking mode is disabled.

63. A method of transmitting digital data from a wireless service provider to a wireless terminal, the method comprising:

accepting external request mode enable and external request mode disable commands for the wireless terminal;

in response to an external request mode enable command for the wireless terminal, transmitting external requests for data transfer to the wireless terminal; and

in response to an external request mode disable command for the wireless terminal, disregarding external requests for data transfer at the wireless terminal.

64. A method according to claim 63 further comprising:

supporting tasks initiated at the wireless terminal when the external request mode is enabled and when the external request mode is disabled.

65. A method according to claim 63 further comprising:

transmitting radiotelephone pages to the wireless terminal when the external request mode is enabled for the wireless terminal and when the external request mode is disabled for the wireless terminal.

66. A method according to claim 63 further comprising:

designating at the wireless service provider acceptable sources from which packets of digital data will be processed for the wireless terminal;

providing a packet of digital data for the wireless terminal;

determining if the packet of digital data is from an acceptable source designated for the wireless terminal;

if the packet of digital data is from an acceptable source, transmitting the packet of digital data; and

if the packet of digital data is not from an acceptable source, blocking transmitting of the packet of digital data.

67. A method according to claim 66 wherein designating at the wireless service provider acceptable sources from which digital data will be processed at the wireless terminal comprises receiving the acceptable sources from the wireless terminal.

68. A method according to claim 66 wherein designating at the wireless service provider acceptable sources from which received digital data will be processed at the wireless terminal comprises designating at least one class of sources from which received digital data will be processed at the wireless terminal.

69. A method according to claim 66 wherein designating at the wireless service provider acceptable sources from which digital data will be processed at the wireless terminal comprises designating at least one specific source from which digital data will be processed at the wireless terminal.

70. A method according to claim 63 further comprising:

accepting blocking mode enable and blocking mode disable commands for the wireless terminal;

receiving a packet of digital data for the wireless terminal;

in response to a blocking mode enable command for the wireless terminal, transmitting the packet of digital data only if information in the packet of digital data is required to maintain a communications link, and blocking transmitting of the packet of digital data if information in the packet of digital data is not required to maintain a communications link; and

in response to a blocking mode disable command for the wireless terminal, transmitting the packet of digital data if information in the packet of digital data is required to maintain a communications link or if information in the packet of digital data is desired at the wireless terminal.

71. A method according to claim 70 wherein information required to maintain a communications link comprises synchronization information.

72. A method according to claim 70 further comprising:

transmitting radiotelephone pages to the wireless terminal when the blocking mode is enabled and when the blocking mode is disabled for the wireless terminal.

73. A wireless terminal for communicating digital data with a wireless communications system, the wireless terminal comprising:

a user interface that accepts user input of external request mode enable and external request mode disable commands; and

a controller that executes external requests for data transfer in response to an external request mode enable command, and that disregards external requests for data transfer in response to an external request mode disable command.

74. A wireless terminal according to claim 73 wherein the controller executes user initiated tasks when the external request mode is enabled and when the external request mode is disabled.

75. A wireless terminal according to claim 73 wherein the controller allows processing of radiotelephone pages when the external request mode is enabled and when the external request mode is disabled.

76. A wireless communications system for communicating digital data with a wireless terminal, the wireless communications system comprising:

a controller that provides external request mode enable and external request mode disable commands for the wireless terminal; and

a transmitter that transmits external requests for data transfer to the wireless terminal in response to an external request mode enable command for the wireless terminal, and that disregards external requests for data transfer at the wireless terminal in response to an external request mode disable command for the wireless terminal.

77. A wireless communications system according to claim 76 wherein the transmitter transmits radiotelephone pages to the wireless terminal when the external request mode is enabled for the wireless terminal and when the external request mode is disabled for the wireless terminal.