Method and system for controlling software loads on a third-party mobile station

• US 20060135141A1
• Filed: 12/22/2004
• Published: 06/22/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Research In Motion Limited (Blackberry Limited)
• Inventors: Wilson, Nicholas Bryson, Landry, Paul Edward, Hodgson, John Stuart
• Granted Patent: US 7,412,232 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/418
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72406 by software upgrading or downloading
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42178 by downloading data to substation equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/22 Processing or transfer of terminal data, e.g. status or physical capabilities

Abstract

A system and method for allowing a licensee having mobile station hardware to support its own set of carriers and software demands of these carriers, the software including licensor software, the method comprising the steps of: assigning a unique third party identifier to the licensee; assigning a range of carrier identifiers for the licensee; allowing the licensee to create a unique identifier by combining the unique third party identifier with an identifier chosen from the range of carrier identifiers; and associating, in a gateway program, the unique identifier with one or more software versions acceptable by a carrier for download onto the mobile station hardware.

Claims

1. A method of providing a unique identifier to a gatekeeper program prior to uploading software onto the mobile station, the method comprising the steps of:

storing on the mobile station a vendor identifier having a third party identifier field and

a carrier identifier field, the third party identifier field storing one of a plurality of third party identifiers and the carrier identifier field storing one of a plurality of carrier identifiers; and

providing the vendor identifier to the gatekeeper program prior to uploading software onto the mobile station.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

storing on the mobile station a model identifier identifying a model of the mobile station;

providing the model identifier to the gatekeeper program prior to uploading software onto the mobile station.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the software being uploaded includes software created by a licensor.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the plurality of third party identifiers includes an identifier for the licensor.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the providing step occurs over a serial interface.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the serial interface is selected from the group consisting of:

a universal serial bus interface, an IrDA interface and a Bluetooth™

interface.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the providing step occurs over a radio interface from a server through a basestation.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the gateway program releases software to be uploaded to the mobile station only if the vendor identifier corresponds within the gateway program to a version number of software being uploaded.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the third party identifier field comprises 8 bits.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the carrier identifier field comprises 24 bits.

11. An improved mobile station communicating over a wireless network and having a processor, a communications subsystem for communicating with the network, a user interface and memory, the improvement comprising:

a third party identifier memory field for storing a third party identifier; and

a carrier identifier memory field for storing a carrier identifier;

wherein said mobile station, prior to uploading software, passes the third party identifier to a gateway program and can only received the upload if the gateway program matches the third party identifier and carrier identifier with a version number for the software upload.

12. The improved mobile station of claim 11, further comprising:

a model identifier memory field for storing a model identifier,

wherein said mobile station further passes the model identifier to the gateway program.

13. The improved mobile station of claim 11, wherein the mobile station further includes a serial port to pass the third party identifier and the carrier identifier and to receive the software upload.

14. The improved mobile station of claim 11 further comprising an identifier module for obtaining the third party identifier and unique carrier identifier and passing these to the gateway program.