Method for locking to the user's card in a portable radio telephone

• US 4,868,846 A
• Filed: 07/19/1988
• Issued: 09/19/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/1987
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nokia-Mobira Incorporated (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Kemppi, Yrjo
• Primary Examiner(s): Lev, Robert
• Application Number:
  US07/221,079
• Time in Patent Office: 427 Days
• Field of Search: 379/144, 379/91, 235/380, 235/382, 235/486, 340/825.31, 340/825.33, 340/825.34
• US Class Current: 379/114.19
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/675 the user being required to insert a coded card, e.g. a smart card carrying an integrated circuit chip
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724 User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/126 Anti-theft arrangements, e.g. protection against subscriber identity module [SIM] cloning
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for the use of a portable radio telephone, which has a processor (4) controlling and supervising the operation, a keyboard (7) and a display (6), and a card reader (3), in which case, when the radio telephone is being used, the user identification data required by the radio telephone system are read from the card (1). The identification data (21) of the card (1) of the user authorized to use the radio telephone concerned are recorded in the non-erasable memory (5) of the processor (4), whereupon the radio telephone shifts into a mode locked to this card in such a way that its use is possible with only a certain card (1). By means of this method, protection is achieved against unauthorized use of the radio telephone.

Claims

1. A method for use in a mobile radio telephone operable in a general telephone network having radio telephone parts, a processor, a non-erasable read/write memory which controls and supervises operation, a keyboard, a display, a card reader, and a readable card, said method comprising the steps of:

setting up said radio telephone for a call;

reading user identification data required by said telephone into said card reader from said card;

recording said identification data of said card of a specific user authorized to use said radio telephone into said memory of said processor;

shifting said radio telephone to a locked mode;

locking said card into said radio telephone, wherein said step of locking of said card is such that the use of said radio telephone in said locked mode is possible only with the use of said card which is specifically designated for said radio telephone; and

shifting to an unlocking mode, wherein the step of shifting to said unlocking mode is possible with said card having said identification data having been recorded in said memory at the time of shifting to said locked mode.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of shifting to the locked mode and out of it comprises the step of pressing a locking key arranged in the keyboard.

3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the step of shifting to the locked mode and out of it further comprises the step of keying in a several-digit code.