Function limiting method for telephone communication terminal, telephone communication method, telephone communication terminal and repeating center equipment

• US 6,771,955 B2
• Filed: 01/03/2001
• Issued: 08/03/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Sanpei, Masaru, Imura, Shigeru
• Primary Examiner(s): Gary, Erika
• Assistant Examiner(s): Farkhondar, Farima
• Application Number:
  US09/753,796
• Publication Number:
  US 20010016491A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,308 Days
• Field of Search: 455/432.1, 455/435, 455/456.1, 455/565, 455/450, 455/422, 455/412.1, 455/435.1, 455/414.1, 379/67.1, 379/88.27, 379/357, 379/88.19, 379/88.22
• US Class Current: 455/420
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/258 Service state indications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42221 Conversation recording systems at the subscriber's set H04M1/656
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

An information signal processing function of a telephone communication terminal can be limited taking regulations applied to the other party or an input of the other party into consideration. A base station that repeats a radio wave of a call originating portable telephone terminal transmits a country code thereof to a telephone terminal. Based on a region identification code such as a state code (international number) or a country code included in information received upon origination of the call, the called terminal refers to a status table in a ROM thereof to specify presence or absence of limitations to recording of conversation during communication applied to a state or a region in which the call originating terminal is used. In accordance with the specified limitation contents, use of the conversation recording function during communication is controlled such that a warning sound generator transmits warning sound or a voice decoding section disables recording of the conversation.

Claims

1. A function limiting method for limiting an information signal recording function of a telephone communication terminal, comprising the steps of:

detecting a region identification code used for identifying a state or a region in which a call originating terminal is located, the region identification code being included in information received upon origination of a call from the call originating terminal; and

performing limitation control on the information signal recording function based on the region identification code detected in the step of detecting.

2. The function limiting method for a telephone communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein, in the step of detecting, a state code transmitted together with a telephone number allocated to the call originating terminal is detected as the region identification code.

3. The function limiting method for a telephone communication terminal according to claim 2, wherein, when it is designated by a user of the call originating terminal that the telephone number allocated to the call originating terminal should not be conveyed or when the region identification code is not detected successfully by the step of detecting, limitation to the information signal recording function is executed in the step of performing limitation control.

4. The function limiting method for a telephone communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the call originating terminal is a portable telephone communication terminal, and the region identification code is added by a base station.

5. The function limiting method for a telephone communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the information signal recording function includes recording a conversation during communication, and recording a conversation during communication is inhibited in the step of performing limitation control.

6. The function limiting method for a telephone communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the information signal recording function includes recording a conversation during communication, and in the step of performing limitation control, when recording a conversation is performed, an other party is notified that the conversation is being recorded.

7. The function limiting method for a telephone communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the information signal recording function includes recording an information signal transmitted from an other party, and in the step of performing limitation control, recording of the information signal transmitted from the other party is inhibited.

8. A function limiting method for limiting an information signal recording function of a telephone communication terminal, comprising the steps of:

detecting control information used to limit the information signal control information that is included in information received upon origination of a call from a call originating terminal, wherein the control information is a region ID code used for identifying a state or region in which the call originating terminal is located; and

performing limitation control on the information signal recording function based on the control information detected in the step of detecting.

9. The function limiting method for a telephone communication terminal according to claim 8, wherein the information signal recording function includes recording a conversation during communication, and the recording of conversation during communication is inhibited in the step of performing limitation control.

10. The function limiting method for a telephone communication terminal according to claim 8, wherein the information signal recording function includes recording a conversation during communication, and in the step of performing limitation control, when the recording of the conversation is performed during communication, an other party is notified that the conversation is being recorded.

11. The function limiting method for a telephone communication terminal according to claim 8, wherein the information signal recording function includes recording an information signal transmitted from the an other party, and in the step of performing limitation control, recording of the information signal transmitted from the other party of the communication is inhibited.

12. A telephone communication method, comprising the steps of:

transmitting control information used to control a call terminating terminal to limit an information signal recording function of the call terminating terminal from a call originating terminal, wherein the control information is a region ID code used for identifying a state or region in which the call originating terminal is located; and

receiving the control information at the call terminating terminal and controlling the information signal recording function of the call terminating terminal based on the received control information.

13. The telephone communication method according to claim 12, wherein the control information from the call originating terminal side is produced in response to instruction input information from a user of the call originating terminal and is transmitted to the call terminating terminal.

14. The telephone communication method according to claim 12, wherein the information signal recording function includes recording a conversation during communication, and the control information indicates an inhibition of the recording of a conversation during communication.

15. The telephone communication method according to claim 12, wherein the information signal recording function includes recording a conversation during communication, and the control information is an instruction to notify an other party that the conversation is being recorded when the recording of a conversation during communication is performed.

16. The telephone communication method according to claim 12, wherein the information signal recording function includes recording an information signal transmitted from an other party of the communication, and the control information is an instruction to inhibit recording of the information signal transmitted from the other party of the communication.

17. A telephone communication method for a plurality of telephone communication terminals wherein at least one of the telephone communication terminals is a portable telephone communication terminal, the method comprising the steps of:

producing, by a repeating center that manages position information of the portable telephone communication terminal, control information used to control a call terminating terminal to limit an information signal recording function of the call terminating terminal based on information included in call origination information transmitted from a call originating terminal side, and transmitting the control information to the call terminating terminal, wherein the control information is a region ID code used for identifying a state or region in which the call originating terminal is located; and

receiving, by the call terminating terminal, the control information and controlling the call terminating terminal to limit the information signal recording function based on the received control information.

18. The telephone communication method according to claim 17, wherein the repeating center produces the control information based on a state code transmitted together with a telephone number allocated to the call originating terminal from the call originating terminal.

19. The telephone communication method according to claim 17, wherein the call originating terminal is a portable telephone communication terminal, and the repeating center produces the control information based on a country code added by a base station in an area where the call originating terminal is located.

20. The telephone communication method according to claim 17, wherein the repeating center produces the control information based on instruction information that a user of the call originating terminal inputted into the call originating terminal.

21. The telephone communication method according to claim 17, wherein the information signal recording function includes recording a conversation during communication, and the control information indicates inhibition of the recording of the conversation during communication.

22. The telephone communication method according to claim 17, wherein the information signal recording function includes recording a conversation during communication, and the control information is an instruction to notify when recording of conversation during communication is performed.

23. The telephone communication method according to claim 17, wherein the information signal recording function includes recording an information signal transmitted from an other party, and the control information is an instruction to inhibit recording of the information signal transmitted from the other party of the communication.

24. A telephone communication terminal, comprising:

information signal recording means for recording received information signal;

detection means for detecting a region identification code used for identification of a state or a region in which a call originating terminal is used, the region identification code being included in information received upon origination of a call from the call originating terminal; and

control means for performing limitation control of information signal recording performed by the information signal recording means based on the region identification code detected by the detection means.

25. The telephone communication terminal according to claim 24, wherein the detection means further detects a state code transmitted together with a telephone number allocated to the call originating terminal as the region identification code.

26. The telephone communication terminal according to claim 25, wherein, when it is designated by a user of the call originating terminal that the telephone number allocated to the call originating terminal should not be conveyed or when the state code transmitted together with a telephone number is not detected by said detection means, the control means executes limitation control over the information signal recording means.

27. The telephone communication terminal according to claim 24, wherein the detection means detects a country code added by a base station in an area where the call originating terminal is located as the region identification code.

28. The telephone communication terminal according to claim 24, wherein the information signal recording means records a conversation during communication, and said control means controls the information signal recording means to inhibit the recording of the conversation during communication.

29. The telephone communication terminal according to claim 24, wherein the information signal recording means records a conversation during communication, and when the recording of a conversation is performed during communication.

30. The telephone communication terminal according to claim 24, wherein the information signal recording means records an information signal transmitted from the another party, and the control means controls the information signal recording means to disable recording of information signal transmitted from the other party.

31. A telephone communication terminal, comprising:

information signal recording means for recording received information signal;

detection means for detecting control information included in information received upon origination of a call and used for information signal recording executed by the information signal recording means, wherein the control information is a region ID code used for identifying a state or region in which the call originating terminal is located; and

control means for performing limitation control of information signal recording performed by the information signal recording means based on the control information detected by the detection means.

32. The telephone communication terminal according to claim 31, wherein the information signal recording means records a conversation, and the control means controls the information signal recording means to inhibit the recording of the conversation.

33. The telephone communication terminal according to claim 31, wherein the information signal recording means records a conversation, and when the recording of the conversation is performed.

34. The telephone communication terminal according to claim 31, wherein the information signal recording means records an information signal transmitted from an other party, and the control means controls the information signal recording means to disable recording of the information signal transmitted from the other party of the communication.

35. A telephone communication terminal, comprising:

instruction input acceptance means for accepting an instruction input regarding control information for limiting an information signal recording function of a call terminating terminal;

control information production means for producing control information used to control the call terminating terminal to limit the information signal recording function of the call terminating terminal in response to the instruction input accepted by the instruction input acceptance means, wherein the control information is a region ID code used for identifying a state or region in which the telephone communication terminal is located; and

control information transmission means for transmitting the control information produced by the control information production means to the call terminating terminal.

36. A telephone communication terminal, comprising:

instruction input acceptance means for accepting instruction input information regarding control information for limiting an information signal recording function of a call terminating terminal, wherein the control information is a region ID code used for identifying a state or region in which the telephone communication terminal is located; and

transmission means for transmitting the instruction input information accepted by the instruction input acceptance means.

37. A repeating center equipment connected to a communication network for managing location information of a portable telephone communication terminal connected to the communication network, comprising:

control information production means for producing control information used to control a call terminating portable telephone to limit an information signal recording function of the call terminating portable telephone based on information included in call origination information from a call originating terminal, wherein the control information is a region ID code used for identifying a state or region in which the call originating terminal is located; and

control information transmission means for transmitting the control information to the call terminating terminal.

38. The repeating center equipment according to claim 37, wherein the control information production means produces the control information based on a state code transmitted together with a telephone number allocated to the call originating terminal.

39. The repeating center equipment according to claim 37, wherein the call originating terminal is a portable telephone communication terminal, and the control information production means produces the control information based on a country code added by a base station in an area where the call originating terminal is located.

40. The repeating center equipment according to claim 37, wherein the call originating terminal accepts an instruction input regarding control information for limiting a predetermined function of a terminal of an other party and transmits the call origination information in which information based on the instruction input is included, and the control information production means produces the control information based on instruction input information from a user of the call originating terminal included in the call origination information from the call originating terminal.