Mobile telephone using subscriber card

• US 7,151,922 B2
• Filed: 04/02/2002
• Issued: 12/19/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Fujiwara, Ryuhei, Sashihara, Toshiyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Feild, Joseph
• Assistant Examiner(s): Desir, Pierre-Louis
• Application Number:
  US10/113,561
• Publication Number:
  US 20020165008A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,722 Days
• Field of Search: 455/33.1, 455/89, 455/54.1, 455/90, 455/410, 455/411, 455/435, 455/558, 455/412.2, 709/217, 235/441, 439/159
• US Class Current: 455/412.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

Private data in an EEPROM (14) is erased in a data erasing procedure when pulling out an SIM card (2) from a mobile telephone (1). Before being erased, the private data is encrypted in an encryption procedure and it is transferred and recorded to an external memory (3). The private data encrypted and recorded to the external memory can be reused when the SIM card is used in another mobile telephone. Furthermore, it is possible to prevent the external memory from being left behind when the SIM card is pulled out by interfacing a lock mechanism of a card mounting section (16) with that of a memory mounting section (17).

Claims

1. A mobile telephone, comprising:

a CPU;

an internal memory in which data is stored; and

a removable subscriber card on which an identification code is stored;

a lock mechanism which prevents the removal of the subscriber card; and

a lock release mechanism which disengages the lock mechanism, thereby enabling the removal of the subscriber card from the mobile telephone;

wherein, upon the detection of a lock release instruction for the subscriber card from a user, the CPU first erases data stored in the internal memory and then enables the lock release mechanism when the data erasing has been completed.

2. A mobile telephone, comprising:

a CPU;

an internal memory in which data is stored;

a removable subscriber card on which an identification code is stored;

a lock mechanism which prevents the subscriber card from falling out of the mobile telephone; and

a lock release mechanism which disengages the lock mechanism, thereby enabling the removal of the subscriber card from the mobile telephone;

wherein, upon the detection of a lock release instruction for the subscriber card from a user, the CPU first transfers data stored in the internal memory to an external memory, such that the transferred data is erased from the internal memory, and upon the completion of the data transfer, enables the lock release mechanism.

3. A mobile telephone according to claim 2, wherein the data stored in the internal memory is encrypted, using the identification codes stored on the subscriber card, before the data is transferred to the external memory.

4. A mobile telephone according to claim 2, wherein:

the data stored in the internal memory is encrypted, using the identification code stored on the subscriber card, before the data is transferred to the external memory; and

when a new subscriber card is inserted into the mobile phone, the use of the new subscriber card is only permitted when the identification code stored on the new subscriber card is the same as the identification code with which the data on the was encrypted.

5. A mobile telephone according to claim 2, wherein:

the data stored in the internal memory is encrypted, using the identification code stored in the subscriber card, before the data is transferred to the external memory; and

when the external memory is re-inserted into the mobile phone, the encrypted data stored thereon is transferred to the internal memory using the identification codes stored on the subscriber card, such that the encrypted data stored on the external memory is only decrypted and transferred to the internal memory when the identification code on the subscriber card is the same as the identification code with which the data was encrypted.

6. A mobile telephone according to claim 2,

wherein the external memory is embodied on a removable card;

and

wherein the mobile telephone further comprises;

a first lock mechanism which prevents the removal of the subscriber card;

a second lock mechanism which prevents the removal of the external memory; and

means for detecting the inserting and removal of the subscriber card and the external memory; and

wherein the CPU controls the first lock mechanism and the second lock mechanism such that the first lock mechanism is released, permitting the removal of the subscriber card, after the second lock mechanism is released and the removal of the external memory has been detected.

7. A mobile telephone according to claim 2, wherein the external memory is comprised on the subscriber card.

8. A mobile telephone according to claim 2, wherein the external memory is comprised on a server of a network to which the mobile telephone is connectable.

9. A mobile telephone according to claim 2, wherein:

the external memory is comprised in at least one of

the subscriber card,

a dedicated memory medium directly mounted on the mobile telephone, and

a server of a network to which the mobile telephone is connectable; and

the CPU transfers data from the internal memory to the external memory in a pre-determined order.