Mobile telephone with function to prevent illegal use and method and system for preventing illegal use of mobile telephone using the function

• US 5,734,978 A
• Filed: 12/15/1995
• Issued: 03/31/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Hayatake, Tetsuo, Hashimoto, Kazuya
• Primary Examiner(s): Bost, Dwayne
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEGREE, TRACY MICHELLE
• Application Number:
  US08/573,132
• Time in Patent Office: 837 Days
• Field of Search: 455/410, 455/411, 455/403, 340/825.31, 340/825.34, 340/825.44, 340/825.5
• US Class Current: 455/410
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/082 using revocation of authorisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/126 Anti-theft arrangements, e.g. protection against subscriber identity module [SIM] cloning
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/245 from a network towards a terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

In order to prevent illegal use of a mobile telephone, a call is repeatedly originated from a telephone or base station to the mobile telephone over a wireless path. When the call is received by the mobile telephone over the wireless path so that a communication channel is established, a destruction code including a cryptographic data is transmitted from the telephone or base station to said mobile telephone. The mobile telephone receives the destruction code and compares the cryptographic data of the received destruction code with a preset data stored in the mobile telephone to determine whether both the data are matched. When it is determined that both the data are matched, the mobile telephone destroys a telephone functioning information stored in the mobile telephone and necessary for performing communication.

Claims

1. A method of preventing illegal use of a mobile telephone, comprising the steps of:

repeatedly originating a call to said mobile telephone over a wireless path;

when the call is received by said mobile telephone over the wireless path so that a communication channel is established, transmitting a destruction code including a cryptographic data to said mobile telephone;

said mobile telephone receiving the destruction code and comparing the cryptographic data of the received destruction code with a preset data stored in said mobile telephone to determine whether both the data are matched; and

said mobile telephone destroying a telephone functioning information stored in said mobile telephone when it is determined that both the data are matched, said telephone functioning information being information necessary for performing communication.

2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of issuing from said mobile telephone information indicating that the telephone functioning information has been destroyed.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein said call is repeatedly originated from a telephone using an automatic repeat function of the telephone via a switch of a base station, and the destruction code is inputted and transmitted from said telephone to said mobile telephone via the switch.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein said telephone is a push phone and the destruction code is transmitted to said mobile telephone in a Dual Tone Multi Frequency (DTMF) signal form, and wherein said mobile telephone includes a DTMF detector for detecting the cryptographic data from the DTMF signal.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein said step of repeatedly originating a call comprises the steps of:

(a) monitoring a traffic on a switch in a base station to determine whether a traffic level is lower than a threshold level;

(b) reading out the cryptographic data and a telephone number associated with the cryptographic data;

(c) producing the destruction code from the read out cryptographic data and originating a call from the base station to said mobile telephone via the switch based on the read out telephone number to transmit the produced destruction code to said mobile telephone via the switch; and

(d) sequentially repeating said steps (b) and (c) for the cryptographic data which are registered in a table in advance, while it is determined that the traffic level is lower than the threshold level.

6. A method according to claim 5, further comprising the steps of:

informing that the preset data has been destroyed from said mobile telephone to the base station; and

deleting the cryptographic data and the associated telephone number from the table in the base station.

7. A method according to claim 5, wherein the destruction code is transmitted to said mobile telephone in a Dual Tone Multi Frequency (DTMF) signal form, and wherein said mobile telephone includes a DTMF detector for detecting the cryptographic data from the DTMF signal.

8. A mobile telephone having an illegal use preventing function, comprising:

a storage section for storing a telephone functioning information necessary for performing communication and a preset data;

a first section for receiving a destruction code when a wireless communication channel is established and comparing the cryptographic data of the received destruction code with the preset data stored in the storing section to determine whether both the data are matched; and

a second section for destroying the telephone functioning information stored in said storing section when it is determined that both the data are matched.

9. A mobile telephone according to claim 8, wherein a first section comprises:

a receiving section for receiving a destruction code signal;

a detecting section for detecting the cryptographic data from the received destruction code signal; and

a comparing section for comparing the detected cryptographic data with the preset data stored in the storing section to determine whether both the data are matched.

10. A mobile telephone according to claim 9, wherein the destruction code signal is of a Dual Tone Multi Frequency (DTMF) signal type and said detecting section includes a DTMF detector.

11. A system according to claim 8, further comprising means for issuing an information indicating that the telephone functioning information has been destroyed.

12. A system for preventing illegal use of a mobile telephone, comprising a base station including:

a switch;

storage means for storing a plurality of sets of telephone number and cryptographic data;

destruction instructing means for repeatedly originating a call to said mobile telephone over a wireless path via the switch in accordance with a traffic load on the switch, and for transmitting a destruction code including the cryptographic data for said mobile telephone via the switch, such that a telephone functioning information of said mobile telephone is destructed based on the cryptographic data, when the call is received by said mobile telephone so that a communication channel is established over the wireless path.

13. A system according to claim 12, wherein said destruction instruction means comprises:

monitoring means for monitoring a traffic on the switch to determine whether a traffic level is lower than a threshold level;

reading means for sequentially reading out the plurality of sets of cryptographic data and telephone number for said mobile telephone from said storage means while it is determined that the traffic level is lower than the threshold level;

calling means for originating a call to said mobile telephone via the switch based on the read out telephone number; and

transmitting means for producing the destruction code from the read out cryptographic data and transmitting the produced destruction code to said mobile telephone via the switch.

14. A system according to claim 13, further comprising deleting means for deleting the set of cryptographic data and telephone number for said mobile telephone from said storage means when it is informed from said mobile telephone that the telephone functioning information has been destroyed.