Dual mode mobile communication terminal and method for automatically recognizing card information and selecting a drive mode

• US 20060095600A1
• Filed: 10/19/2005
• Published: 05/04/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Sang-Ho, Lee, Jae-Min
• Granted Patent: US 7,814,237 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 710/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724 User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/08 between user and terminal device

Abstract

A dual-mode mobile communication terminal and a method, which automatically recognize a card and select a drive mode. The dual-mode mobile communication terminal includes a first slot and a second slot into which a first card or a second card having subscriber information for a first communication or a second communication are inserted, and a control unit for automatically selecting a drive mode according to a type of a card inserted into the first slot or the second slot.

Claims

1. A dual-mode mobile communication terminal operating in a first communication mode and a second communication mode, the dual-mode mobile communication terminal comprising:

a first slot into which one of a first card and a second card having subscriber information for the first communication mode and the second communication mode, respectively, is inserted;

a second slot into which one of the first card and the second card having the subscriber information for the first communication mode and the second communication mode, respectively, is inserted; and

a control unit for automatically selecting a drive mode according to which of the first and second cards are inserted into at least one of the first slot and the second slot, and determining if the selected drive mode corresponds with a communication mode of a current system.

2. The dual-mode mobile communication terminal as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control unit selects a predetermined initial mode as the drive mode when both the first and second slots include one of the first and second cards, selects a mode corresponding to one of the first and second cards inserted into the first slot as the drive mode when no card exists in the second slot, and selects a mode corresponding to one of the first and second cards inserted into the second slot as the drive mode when no card exists in the first slot.

3. The dual-mode mobile communication terminal as claimed in claim 2, wherein the control unit performs mode change into another mode when a signal of the initial mode is not received until a predetermined period of time elapses in the initial mode.

4. The dual-mode mobile communication terminal as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a means for reporting at least one of a type of the inserted card and a selected drive mode to a user.

5. The dual-mode mobile communication terminal as claimed in claim 4, wherein said means is a display unit.

6. The dual-mode mobile communication terminal as claimed in claim 4, wherein a message advising a user to insert another card is output through said means when a signal of the drive mode is not received for a predetermined period of time.

7. The dual-mode mobile communication terminal as claimed in claim 1, wherein when the first communication mode corresponds to a GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) scheme and the second communication mode corresponds to a CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) scheme, the first card is an SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card and the second card is a UIM (User Identity Module) card.

8. A method for automatically recognizing a card and selecting a drive mode in a dual-mode mobile communication terminal, which has a first slot and a second slot, the method comprising the steps of:

determining if a card exists in the first slot and the second slot;

when cards exist in both the first slot and the second slot, reading the cards, notifying a user of relevant modes of the read cards, driving the dual-mode mobile communication terminal in an initial mode, and entering another mode when a signal of the initial mode is not received until a predetermined period of time elapses;

when a card exists in only the first slot, reading the card, notifying the user of a relevant mode of the read card, and driving the dual-mode mobile communication terminal in the relevant mode; and

when a card exist in only the second slot, reading the card, notifying the user of a relevant mode of the read card, and driving the dual-mode mobile communication terminal in the relevant mode.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the step of determining if a card exists comprises the steps of:

determining if a first card exists by searching the first slot;

determining if a second card exists by searching the second slot when the first card exists in the first slot; and

determining if the second card exists by searching the second slot when the first card does not exist in the first slot.

10. The method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a step of notifying a user in advance that the terminal is going to drive in the initial mode.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the initial mode is selected according to a main system of a provider.

12. The method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a step of notifying a user of mode change into another mode before entering another mode.

13. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the first and second cards include at least one of an SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card and a UIM (User Identity Module) card.

14. The method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a step of notifying a user in advance that the terminal is going to drive in a relevant mode, when a card exists in any one of the first and second slots.

15. The method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a step of outputting a message advising a user to insert another card when a signal of the drive mode is not received until a predetermined period of time elapses.

16. A method for automatically recognizing a card and selecting a drive mode in a dual-mode mobile communication terminal having a first slot and a second slot, the method comprising the steps of:

automatically selecting a drive mode according to a type of a card that exists in at least one of the first slot and the second slot;

determining a communication mode being provided in a current system; and

determining if the selected drive mode corresponds with the communication mode of the system.

17. The method as claimed in claim 16, further comprising a step of notifying a user of the communication mode provided in the current system when the selected drive mode does not correspond with the communication mode of the system.

18. The method as claimed in claim 17, further comprising the step of determining if a signal of the selected drive mode is received until a predetermined period of time elapses.

19. The method as claimed in claim 16, wherein a predetermined initial mode is selected as the drive mode when cards exist in both the first and second slots.