NO-COST MOBILE DEVICE MESSAGING, SUCH AS FOR PROVISIONING AN APPLICATION ON A MOBILE DEVICE

• US 20120071152A1
• Filed: 09/22/2010
• Published: 03/22/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Roundtree, Brian, Shelton, Tim, Waddell, Gordon, Meurs, Pim van, Witort, Jon, Zeppenfeld, Torsten
• Granted Patent: US 8,649,783 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/419
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/60 Subscription-based services using application servers or record carriers, e.g. SIM application toolkits

Abstract

An application stored in a mobile device is provisioned using provisioning data received from remote data storage via a network. Provisioning data is obtained at no cost to a user of the mobile device. In some implementations, the provisioning data is received after the mobile device requests to establish a data channel with a data network. The data network is identified using a predetermined identifier that the network recognizes. If the network does not recognize the special identifier, no data channel is established. After a data channel is established, the mobile device requests provisioning data from the remote data storage. In some implementations, the mobile device receives a provisioning message through a predetermined port. The provisioning message either includes provisioning data or prompts the mobile device to obtain provisioning data.

Claims

1. A wireless mobile device configured to communicate wirelessly with a wireless cellular telephone network employing a wireless communications protocol, and wherein the mobile device is configured to activate an application at the mobile device after receiving provisioning data received from a remote data store over the wireless network, the mobile device comprising:

a mobile communication component configured to receive provisioning data from the wireless network and from the remote data store; and

a mobile provisioning component configured to at least initiate execution of the application using the received provisioning data, wherein the mobile provisioning component is configured to at least initiate activation of the application after;

(i) the mobile communication component provides a request, under the wireless communications protocol, to establish a data channel with a data network or resource of the data network,

wherein the data network or data resource is represented by a predetermined network address, and

wherein the request to establish the data channel employs the predetermined network address;

when the wireless network recognizes or accepts the predetermined network address, then the data channel is established under the wireless communications protocol, between the mobile device and the data network or data resource,

but if the wireless network does not recognize or accept the predetermined network address, then the data channel is not established with the mobile device and the wireless network does not assess a charge to the mobile device;

the mobile communication component requests that the provisioning data be transferred from the remote data store to the mobile device; and

the provisioning data is transferred from the remote data store to the mobile device;

the mobile communication component initiates execution of the application using the received provisioning data;

or,

(ii) the mobile communication component receives a provisioning message from the wireless network, wherein the provisioning message is received at a predetermined port of the mobile device;

wherein the provisioning message includes the provisioning data, and

wherein the providing data was retrieved from the remote data store, or the provisioning message includes instructions for permitting the mobile device to obtain the provisioning data from the remote data store; and

the mobile communication component initiates execution of the application using the received provisioning data.

2. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein:

the wireless network is a GSM or GPRS network;

the request to establish the data channel corresponds to a request to activate a packet data protocol (PDP) context;

the predetermined network address corresponds to an access point name (APN) and the APN is specified by the application; and

the provisioning message is a binary SMS message.

3. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the mobile communication component is further configured to receive the provisioning message after the mobile communication component sends a request to establish a data channel with a data network identified by the network address but a data channel is not established.

4. A method of provisioning an application stored in a mobile device, the method performed by a mobile device having a processor, a radio, and a memory, the method comprising:

sending a request to a network to establish a data channel with a data network, wherein the data network is represented by a special identifier, and wherein the request to establish a data channel with the data network identifies the data network using the special identifier;

receiving an indication that the data channel has been established;

requesting provisioning data from a remote data store;

receiving provisioning data from the remote data store; and

provisioning an application using the provisioning data received from the remote data store.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein:

the network is a GPRS network;

the request to establish the data channel corresponds to a request to activate a PDP context; and

the special identifier corresponds to an APN.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the special identifier is specified by the application.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the application specifies the special identifier and includes an address for obtaining the provisioning data.

8. A network-based system for provisioning applications for multiple mobile devices, the system comprising:

means for receiving a request from the mobile device to establish a data channel between the mobile device and a data network resource, wherein the data network resource is represented by a predetermined identifier, and wherein the mobile device identifies the data network resource using the predetermined identifier;

means for establishing a data channel between the mobile device and the data network resource when the predetermined identifier corresponds to the data stored in the data storage area;

means for identifying provisioning data for provisioning the application; and

,

means for providing the identified provisioning data to the mobile device, wherein the provisioning data is for provisioning an application stored or to be stored in the mobile device.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the request from the mobile device to establish the data channel between the mobile device and the data network resource comprises a request to activate a PDP context, the predetermined identifier corresponds to an APN, and the data channel is established with the data network resource when the PDP context is activated.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the provisioning data comprises configuration settings for the application, and wherein the application was stored on the mobile device before sale of the mobile device.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the system further comprises means for recording a unique identifier for a mobile device when a mobile device sends a request to establish a data channel identifying the data channel using the unique identifier but a data channel is not established.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the means for providing comprises means for sending a provisioning message to the mobile device, wherein the provisioning message contains provisioning data or instructions for obtaining the provisioning data.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium whose contents cause a mobile device, wirelessly coupled to a network, to perform a method to provision an application, the method comprising:

at the mobile device, wirelessly receiving, at a predetermined port, a message via the wireless network;

at the mobile device, identifying the received message as a provisioning message; and

,

provisioning the application using provisioning data, wherein;

the provisioning data is included in the provisioning message;

or

the provisioning data is received from a network location identified in the provisioning message, and wherein the network location is accessible by the mobile device via the wireless network.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the message is a binary SMS message.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the received message is identified as the provisioning message because it was received at the predetermined port.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the application identifies to the mobile device the predetermined port for receiving the provisioning message.

17. A method to permit communications between a wireless mobile device and a fee-based wireless cellular telephone network without incurring charges for the mobile device, wherein the wireless cellular telephone network employs a wireless communications protocol, the method comprising:

communicating information to the mobile device over the fee-based wireless cellular telephone network without incurring charges for the mobile device by either;

(i) at the wireless cellular telephone network, receiving at least one request signal, under the wireless communications protocol, to establish a data channel with a data network or resource of the data network,

wherein the data network or data resource is represented by at least one predetermined network address, and

wherein the request to establish the data channel includes the predetermined network address;

when the wireless cellular telephone network recognizes or accepts the predetermined network address, then providing to the mobile device an affirmative message,

wherein the wireless cellular telephone network does not assess a charge to the mobile device for either the provided affirmative message or the received request signal, and

wherein the mobile device, in response to receiving the affirmative message, performs a specific local action on the mobile device based on data stored at the mobile device;

or,

(ii) at the wireless cellular telephone network, providing to the mobile device at least one port-specific message addressed to at least one predetermined port of the mobile device;

wherein the mobile device, in response to receiving the port-specific message, performs a specific local action on the mobile device based on data stored at the mobile device.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the request signal under the wireless communications protocol is for an initial data channel set up message.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the wherein the mobile device, in response to receiving another affirmative message or another port-specific message addressed to another predetermined port, performs another specific local action on the mobile device.