Method and apparatus for reformatting dialed numbers

• US 20050105497A1
• Filed: 11/14/2003
• Published: 05/19/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Motorola Solutions, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Belkin, Anotoly S., Dorenbosch, Jheroen P., Merchant, Zaffer S., Idnani, Ajaykumar R., Segal, Niranjan N., Hux, Peter P.
• Granted Patent: US 7,146,158 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/27485 Appending a prefix to or inserting a pause into a dialling sequence
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/44 Additional connecting arrangements for providing access to frequently-wanted subscribers, e.g. abbreviated dialling at the subscriber's set H04M1/27; automatic redialling H04M3/424
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/183 Processing at user equipment or user record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals

Abstract

A wireless communication unit (101) is operable to reformat dialed numbers according to dialing plans for a plurality of communication networks (103, 107, 109), where the unit comprises a transceiver (201) for communicating with any of the plurality of communication networks; a user interface (211) operable to provide a number corresponding to a target unit (102, 102′) to be called; and a controller (209) implementing a corresponding method to provide a reformatted number (FIG. 3) corresponding to the number and according to a preference that is specific to the wireless communication unit, where the reformatted number is compatible with a dialing plan for a communication network that will be used to place a call to the target unit.

Claims

1. A wireless communication unit operable to reformat dialed numbers according to dialing plans for a plurality of communication networks, the wireless communication unit comprising:

a transceiver configured to communicate over a wireless local area network (LAN) and a wireless wide area network (WAN);

a user interface operable to provide a number corresponding to a target unit to be called; and

a controller, coupled to the transceiver and the user interface, configured;

to select one of the wireless LAN and the wireless WAN as a communication network that will be used to place a call to the target unit;

to obtain reformatting rules corresponding to a dialing plan for the communication network; and

to reformat the number according to the reformatting rules to provide a reformatted number that is compatible with the dialing plan for the communication network that will be used to place the call to the target unit.

2. The wireless communication unit of claim 1 wherein the controller provides the reformatted number according to the reformatting rules where the reformatted number further comprises the number with one of a digit deleted, a digit added, and a digit substituted.

3. The wireless communication unit of claim 1 further including a memory that is arranged to store the reformatting rules, wherein the controller provides the reformatted number by applying the reformatting rules to the number.

4. The wireless communication unit of claim 3 wherein the reformatting rules are obtained in part by one of a user entry at the user interface, a table of rules provided during configuration of the wireless communication unit, and a configuration file provided by the communication network.

5. The wireless communication unit of claim 3 wherein the memory is further arranged to store an identifier corresponding to a set of the reformatting rules, wherein the identifier can be chosen from the user interface.

6. The wireless communication unit of claim 3 wherein the controller selects a set of reformatting rules from a plurality of sets of reformatting rules, the set of reformatting rules corresponding to the communication network.

7. The wireless communication unit of claim 6 wherein the controller prompts a user for an input and based on the input selects the corresponding set of reformatting rules.

8. The wireless communication unit of claim 6 wherein the controller further selects the communication network from a plurality of communication networks, where the communication network is one of the plurality of communication networks that is available to provide service for the wireless communication unit and selects the set of reformatting rules corresponding to the communication network.

9. The wireless communication unit of claim 6 wherein the communication network is a home wireless LAN and when the number is an abbreviated number that is compatible with the dialing plan for the home wireless LAN, the controller provides one of the number and the number with appended home network digits as the reformatted number.

10. The wireless communication unit of claim 6 wherein the communication network is an external wireless network and when the number is an abbreviated number that is compatible with the dialing plan of an other wireless communication network, the controller appends digits to the number so the reformatted number can be used to route the call to the other wireless communication network.

11. The wireless communication unit of claim 6 wherein the communication network is an external wireless network and when the number is an abbreviated number that is compatible with the dialing plan of a recently visited wireless LAN and is further compatible with a dialing plan for a home wireless LAN, the controller relies on a preference to provide the reformatted number according to one of the dialing plan of the recently visited wireless LAN and the dialing plan of the home wireless LAN so the reformatted number can be used to route the call to a respective one of the recently visited wireless LAN and the home wireless LAN.

12. The wireless communication unit of claim 11 wherein the preference is further based on one of a rule stored in the memory, an indication from a user as a result of a prompt generated by the controller, an elapsed time since the recently visited wireless LAN was the communication network, and the proximity of the recently visited wireless LAN.

13. The wireless communication unit of claim 6 wherein the communication network is a visited wireless LAN;

when the number is an abbreviated number that is compatible with a dialing plan of an other wireless communication network and not compatible with a dialing plan of the visited wireless LAN, the controller appends digits to the number so the reformatted number can be used to route the call to the other wireless communication network; and

when the abbreviated number is compatible with a dialing plan of the visited wireless LAN and is further compatible with the dialing plan of the other wireless communication network, the controller relies on a preference to provide the reformatted number according to one of the dialing plan of the visited wireless LAN and the dialing plan of the other wireless communication network so the reformatted number can be used to route the call within a respective one of the visited wireless LAN and the other wireless communication network.

14. The wireless communication unit of claim 13 wherein the preference is one of programmed in the memory, obtained from a user as a result of a prompt generated by the controller, based on a rule stored in the memory, and based on a time of duration for the preference.

15. The wireless communication unit of claim 1 wherein the number is an abbreviated number and when the abbreviated number is not compatible with a dialing plan for the communication network, the controller operates to provide the reformatted number by one of a) applying an algorithm to the abbreviated number, b) retrieving an access number and appending the abbreviated number as an over dial suffix, and c) retrieving a stored number from a look up table that is indexed according to the abbreviated number.

16. A wireless communication unit operable to reformat dialed numbers according to dialing plans for a plurality of communication networks, the wireless communication unit comprising:

a transceiver for communicating with any of the plurality of communication networks;

a user interface operable to provide a number corresponding to a target unit to be called; and

a controller, coupled to the transceiver and the user interface, to provide a reformatted number corresponding to the number and according to a preference that is specific to the wireless communication unit, where the reformatted number is compatible with a dialing plan for a communication network that will be used to place a call to the target unit.

17. The wireless communication unit of claim 16 further comprising a memory arranged to store the preference and formatting rules, wherein the preference corresponds to a set of the formatting rules that are chosen and wherein the controller provides the reformatted number by applying the set of the formatting rules that are chosen to the number.

18. The wireless communication unit of claim 17 wherein the formatting rules are obtained by one of a user entry at the user interface, a table of rules provided during configuration of the wireless communication unit, and a configuration file provided via the communication network.

19. The wireless communication unit of claim 17 wherein the preference is further based on one of a rule stored in the memory, an indication from a user as a result of a prompt generated by the controller, an elapsed time since a recently visited network was the communication network, and the proximity of the recently visited network.

20. The wireless communication unit of claim 16 wherein the communication network is an external network and when the number is an abbreviated number that is compatible with a dialing plan of a recently visited network and is further compatible with a dialing plan for a second network, the controller relies on the preference to provide the reformatted number according to one of the dialing plan of the recently visited network and the dialing plan of the second network so the reformatted number can be used to route the call to a respective one of the recently visited network and the second network.

21. The wireless communication unit of claim 16 wherein the communication network is a visited network;

when the number is an abbreviated number that is compatible with a dialing plan of an other communication network and not compatible with a dialing plan of the visited network, the controller appends digits to the number so the reformatted number can be used to route the call to the other communication network; and

when the abbreviated number is compatible with a dialing plan of the visited network and is further compatible with the dialing plan of the other communication network, the controller relies on the preference to provide the reformatted number according to one of the dialing plan of the visited network and the dialing plan of the other communication network so the reformatted number can be used to route the call within a respective one of the visited network and the other network.

22. The wireless communication unit of claim 16 wherein the controller provides the reformatted number further comprising the number with one of a digit deleted, a digit added, and a digit substituted.

23. The wireless communication unit of claim 16 wherein the controller prompts a user for an input corresponding to the preference and based on the input selects a corresponding set of formatting rules.

24. The wireless communication unit of claim 16 wherein the controller further comprises a selector, operating in accordance with the preference, (a) to select the communication network from a portion of the plurality of communication networks, where the communication network is one of the portion of the plurality of communication networks that is available to provide service for the wireless communication unit and (b) to select a set of formatting rules corresponding to the communication network.

25. The wireless communication unit of claim 16 wherein the communication network is a home network and when the number is an abbreviated number that is compatible with the dialing plan for the home network, the controller provides one of the number and the number with appended home network digits as the reformatted number.

26. The wireless communication unit of claim 16 wherein the communication network is an external network and when the number is an abbreviated number that is compatible with the dialing plan of an other communication network, the controller appends digits to the number so the reformatted number can be used to route the call to the other communication network.

27. The wireless communication unit of claim 16 wherein the number is an abbreviated number and when the abbreviated number is not compatible with a dialing plan for the communication network, the controller operates to provide the reformatted number by one of a) applying an algorithm to the abbreviated number, b) retrieving an access number and appending the abbreviated number as an over dial suffix, and c) retrieving a stored number from a look up table that is indexed according to the abbreviated number.

44. The method of claim 16 wherein the communication network is a visited network;

when the number is an abbreviated number that is compatible with a dialing plan of an other communication network and not compatible with a dialing plan of the visited network, the controller appends digits to the number so the reformatted number can be used to route the call to the other communication network; and

when the abbreviated number is compatible with a dialing plan of the visited network and is further compatible with the dialing plan of the other communication network, the controller relies on the preference to provide the reformatted number according to one of the dialing plan of the visited network and the dialing plan of the other communication network so the reformatted number can be used to route the call within a respective one of the visited network and the home network.

28. A method of reformatting dialed numbers according to dialing plans for a plurality of communication networks, the method comprising:

providing, at a wireless communication unit suitable for operation over a wireless local area network (LAN) and a wireless wide area network (WAN), a number corresponding to a target unit to be called;

selecting one of the wireless LAN and the wireless WAN as a communication network that will be used to place a call to the target unit;

obtaining formatting rules corresponding to a dialing plan for the communication network; and

reformatting the number according to the reformatting rules to provide a reformatted number that is compatible with the dialing plan for the communication network that will be used to place the call to the target unit.

29. The method of claim 28 wherein the reformatting the number further comprises providing the reformatted number according to reformatting rules that are applied to the number, where the reformatted number further comprises the number with one of a digit deleted, a digit added, and a digit substituted.

30. The method of claim 28 wherein the obtaining the formatting rules further comprises obtaining the formatting rules in part from one entering the formatting rules at a user interface, configuring the wireless communication unit with a table of rules, and downloading a configuration file from the communication network.

31. The method of claim 28 wherein the obtaining the formatting rules further comprises selecting a set of formatting rules from a plurality of sets of formatting rules, the set of formatting rules corresponding to the communication network.

32. The method of claim 28 wherein the selecting one of the wireless LAN and the wireless WAN as the communication network further comprises selecting the communication network from a plurality of communication networks, where the communication network is one of a portion of the plurality of communication networks that is available to provide service for the wireless communication unit and the obtaining comprises selecting a set of formatting rules corresponding to the communication network.

33. The method of claim 28 wherein the communication network is a home wireless LAN and when the number is an abbreviated number that is compatible with the dialing plan for the home wireless LAN, the reformatting the number comprises providing one of the number and the number with appended home network digits as the reformatted number.

34. The method of claim 28 wherein the communication network is an external wireless network and when the number is an abbreviated number that is compatible with the dialing plan of an other wireless communication network, the reformatting the number comprises appending digits to the number so the reformatted number can be used to route the call to the other wireless communication network.

35. The method of claim 28 wherein the communication network is an external wireless network and when the number is an abbreviated number that is compatible with the dialing plan of a recently visited wireless LAN and is further compatible with a dialing plan for a second wireless LAN, the reformatting the number relies on a preference to provide the reformatted number according to one of the dialing plan of the recently visited wireless LAN and the dialing plan of the second wireless LAN so the reformatted number can be used to route the call to a respective one of the recently visited wireless LAN and the second wireless LAN.

36. The method of claim 28 wherein the communication network is a visited wireless LAN;

when the number is an abbreviated number that is compatible with a dialing plan of an other wireless communication network and not compatible with a dialing plan of the visited wireless LAN, the reformatting the number comprises appending digits to the number so the reformatted number can be used to route the call to the other wireless communication network; and

when the abbreviated number is compatible with a dialing plan of the visited wireless LAN and is further compatible with the dialing plan of the other wireless communication network, the reformatting the number relies on a preference to provide the reformatted number according to one of the dialing plan of the visited wireless LAN and the dialing plan of the other wireless communication network so the reformatted number can be used to route the call within a respective one of the visited wireless LAN and the other wireless communication network.

37. The method of claim 28 wherein the number is an abbreviated number and when the abbreviated number is not compatible with a dialing plan for the communication network, the reformatting the number comprises one of a) applying an algorithm to the abbreviated number, b) retrieving an access number and appending the abbreviated number as an over dial suffix, and c) retrieving a stored number from a look up table that is indexed according to the abbreviated number.

38. A method of reformatting dialed numbers in a wireless communication unit according to dialing plans for a plurality of communication networks, the method comprising:

providing a number corresponding to a target unit to be called; and

processing the number, according to a preference that is specific to the wireless communication unit, to provide a reformatted number that is compatible with a dialing plan for a communication network that will be used to place a call to the target unit.

39. The method of claim 38 wherein the processing the number to provide the reformatted number further comprises processing the number by one of deleting a digit, adding a digit, substituting a digit, applying an algorithm to the number, retrieving an access number and appending the number as an over dial suffix, and retrieving a stored number from a look up table that is indexed according to the number.

40. The method of claim 38 further including obtaining formatting rules from one of a user entry at a user interface for the wireless communication unit, a table of rules provided during configuration of the wireless communication unit, and a configuration file provided by one of the plurality of communication networks and using a portion of the formatting rules for the processing the number.

41. The method of claim 38 further comprising selecting a set of formatting rules from a plurality of sets of formatting rules, the set of formatting rules corresponding to the communication network.

42. The method of claim 38 wherein the preference is further based on one of a rule stored in the memory, an indication from a user as a result of a prompt generated by the controller, an elapsed time since a recently visited network was the communication network, and the proximity of the recently visited network.

43. The method of claim 38 wherein the communication network is an external network and when the number is an abbreviated number that is compatible with a dialing plan of a recently visited network and is further compatible with a dialing plan for a home network, the processing relies on the preference to provide the reformatted number according to one of the dialing plan of the recently visited network and the dialing plan of the home network so the reformatted number can be used to route the call to a respective one of the recently visited network and the home network.