Multi-user mobile telephone

• US 20050107114A1
• Filed: 09/29/2004
• Published: 05/19/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Ocock, Timothy John
• Application Number:
  US10/953,850
• Publication Number:
  US 20050107114A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/550.100
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/57 Arrangements for indicating or recording the number of the calling subscriber at the called subscriber's set at the operator set in a manual exchange H04M5/20
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/7243 with interactive means for internal management of messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72445 for supporting Internet browser applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72448 with means for adapting the functionality of the device according to specific conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/183 Processing at user equipment or user record carrier

Abstract

A mobile telephone is designed to be used by several different end-users at different times. A first end-user can alter the mobile telephone so that it operates in a manner specific to that first end-user and a subsequent end-user can alter the mobile telephone so that it operates in a manner specific to that subsequent end-user; each end-user has only to respond to prompts displayed on a screen in order to alter the mobile telephone so that it operates in a manner specific to that end-user.

Claims

1. A mobile telephone designed to be used by several different end-users at different times, in which a first end-user can alter the mobile telephone so that it operates in a manner specific to that first end-user and a subsequent end-user can alter the mobile telephone so that it operates in a manner specific to that subsequent end-user;

wherein each end-user has only to respond to prompts displayed on a screen in order to alter the mobile telephone so that it operates in a manner specific to that end-user.

2. The mobile telephone of claim 1 which allows an end-user to enter identifying information or gain access to a menu of names of end-users displayed on the device so that it can then select its name from the menu.

3. The mobile telephone of claim 1 in which the prompts are part of an access control interaction.

4. The mobile telephone of claim 1 which uses a single SIM card, which is shared by all of the different end-users.

5. The mobile telephone of claim 1 in which each end-user can have the following application or function of the mobile telephone specific or personal to itself:

Address book.

6. The mobile telephone of claim 1 in which each end-user can have the following application or function of the mobile telephone specific or personal to itself:

Messages.

7. The mobile telephone of claim 1 in which each end-user can have the following application or function of the mobile telephone specific or personal to itself:

Access control to games and applications

8. The mobile telephone of claim 1 in which each end-user can have the following application or function of the mobile telephone specific or personal to itself:

Record of time used (for billing purposes).

9. The mobile telephone of claim 1 in which each end-user can have the following application or function of the mobile telephone specific or personal to itself:

Indication of who incoming calls are for.

10. The mobile telephone of claim 1 in which each end-user can have the following application or function of the mobile telephone specific or personal to itself:

Use of (and log in details for) Internet services such as voice over internet, email, and mobile web browsing.

11. The mobile telephone of claim 1 in which the end-user is an individual, or a family, or any other kind of social or commercial entity.

12. The mobile telephone of claim 1 which stores and displays data that is common to several end-users.

13. The mobile telephone of claim 2 in which the access control process also serves as the access control process for a web service.

14. The mobile telephone of claim 1 further programmed with an application that can show reports and summaries for each end-user of one or more of the following for billing purposes:

(i) usage of voice and data and messaging services;

(ii) offline time;

(iii) which applications were run and for how long to support charging for gameplaying or other offline activities.

15. The mobile telephone of claim 14 further programmed to generate a database for storing the reports and summaries which is then securely stored.

16. The mobile telephone of claim 1 in which incoming calls are handled by a voice mail service.