Method and system for serving multiple subscriber stations under a common subscriber ID

• US 7,155,226 B1
• Filed: 04/17/2001
• Issued: 12/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sprint Spectrum LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Spectrum LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Oh, Dae-Sik, Anderson, Leo Ray Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Appiah, Charles
• Assistant Examiner(s): FOX, BRYAN J
• Application Number:
  US09/836,521
• Time in Patent Office: 2,079 Days
• Field of Search: 455/422.1, 455/445, 455/461, 455/550.1
• US Class Current: 455/445
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/04 using triggered events
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support

Abstract

A method for serving multiple mobile stations under a common mobile identification number (MIN). A service provider assigns the common MIN to multiple mobile stations and maintains a subscriber profile that associates the MIN with the electronic serial numbers (ESNs) of the mobile stations. However, the service provider allows the MIN to be associated with at most one mobile station that is arranged to respond to a MIN-based termination message. As a result, when the service provider seeks to terminate a call through signaling keyed to the MIN, only one of the mobile stations will respond (e.g., begin to ring). At the same time, all of the mobile stations having the common MIN can originate calls through signaling keyed to their MIN and ESN (since the MIN/ESN pair should uniquely identify the originating station).

Claims

1. A method comprising:

maintaining a subscriber profile that associates multiple subscriber stations with a common subscriber ID;

arranging a first subscriber station of the multiple subscriber stations to respond to a predetermined type of termination signal having the common subscriber ID included to identify an intended destination of the terminal signal;

arranging each remaining subscriber station of the multiple subscriber stations (i) with information regarding the common subscriber ID, and (ii) to ignore the predetermined type of termination signal having the common subscriber ID included to identify the intended destination of the termination signal;

using the subscriber profile to authorize an origination from any of the multiple subscriber stations; and

in response to a request to terminate a predetermined type of communication to the common subscriber ID, broadcasting the predetermined type of termination signal having the common subscriber ID included to identify the intended destination of the termination signal, wherein only the first subscriber station will respond to the termination signal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined type of communication comprises a call directed to the subscriber ID.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined type of termination signal comprises a paging channel message.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the predetermined type of termination signal comprises a general page message.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined type of termination signal includes at least one parameter indicating that it is the predetermined type of termination signal.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

programming all of the subscriber stations except the first subscriber station to ignore the predetermined type of termination signal.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising programming only the first subscriber station to respond to the predetermined type of termination signal broadcast to the subscriber ID.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the subscriber profile comprises a table having a number of records each corresponding to a respective one of the subscriber stations.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first subscriber station is a mobile station, and wherein the method further comprises:

receiving a registration message indicating that the first subscriber station is located in a particular location, wherein broadcasting the predetermined type of termination signal comprises broadcasting the predetermined type of termination signal into the particular location.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

in response to the registration message, indicating in the subscriber profile that the first subscriber station is physically located in the particular location; and

using the subscriber profile to determine that the predetermined type of termination signal should be broadcast into the particular location.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein each subscriber station of the plurality of subscriber stations is a mobile station having a respective electronic signal number (ESN), wherein the common subscriber ID comprises a mobile identification number (MIN), and wherein:

maintaining a subscriber profile that associates multiple subscriber stations with the common subscriber ID comprises maintaining a subscriber profile that associates the common MIN with the ESNs of the mobile station.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein broadcasting the predetermined type of termination signal comprises sending the predetermined type of termination signal over an air interface.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the subscriber ID comprises a telephone number and the predetermined type of communication comprises a telephone call, the method further comprising receiving the request to terminate the predetermined type of communication to the subscriber ID.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein each subscriber station includes a respective ID, wherein the subscriber profile associates the subscriber ID with the station IDs of the multiple subscriber stations, and wherein using the subscriber profile to authorize an origination from any of the subscriber stations comprises:

in response to an origination request that identifies the subscriber ID and a particular station ID, determining that the subscriber profile associates the subscriber ID with the particular station ID.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined type of termination signal comprises a MIN-based termination signal.

16. A method of facilitating operation of multiple subscriber terminals under a single subscriber account number, wherein each subscriber terminal has a respective unique serial number, the method comprising:

maintaining a profile authorizing the multiple subscriber terminals;

arranging a first subscriber station of the multiple subscriber stations to respond to a predetermined type of termination signal having a subscriber ID included to identify an intended destination of the terminal signal, wherein the subscriber ID is indicative of the single subscriber account number;

arranging each remaining subscriber station of the multiple subscriber stations to ignore the predetermined type of termination signal having the subscriber ID included to identify the intended destination of the termination signal;

responding to originations from any of the subscriber terminals, wherein an origination carries a unique combination of subscriber account number and serial number and thereby distinguishes the originating subscriber terminal; and

in response to a request to terminate a predetermined type of communication to the subscriber ID, broadcasting the predetermined type of termination signal having the subscriber ID included to identify the intended destination of the termination signal, whereby only the first subscriber station will respond to the termination signal.

17. In a communication system of they type having a serving system for serving a plurality of subscriber stations, wherein each subscriber station is associated with a respective station ID and a respective subscriber ID, and wherein (i) when a given subscriber station seeks to originate a communication, the given subscriber station transmits its associated station ID and subscriber ID to the serving system, and the serving system uses that station ID and subscriber ID cooperatively to authenticate the given subscriber station, and (ii) when the serving system seeks to terminate a call to the given subscriber station, the serving system broadcasts a termination message having the subscriber ID included that identifies an intended destination of the termination message, and the given subscriber station receives the termination message,

a method of facilitating operation of multiple subscriber stations under a common subscriber ID, the method comprising:

maintaining a subscriber profile for the given subscriber ID, the subscriber profile associating a plurality of station IDs with the given subscriber ID, wherein a first station ID of the plurality of station IDs is associated with a first subscriber station that is responsive to a termination message having the subscriber ID included to identify the intended destination of the termination message, but wherein each other station ID of the plurality of station IDs is associated with a respective subscriber station that is not responsive to such a termination message,

whereby the method is operable such that, when the serving system seeks to terminate a call to the given subscriber ID, the serving system broadcasts a termination message having the subscriber ID included to identify the intended destination of the termination message, and the first subscriber station responds to the termination message, and

whereby the method is operable such that, when any particular subscriber station associated with one of the station IDs of the plurality of station IDs seeks to originate a communication, the particular subscriber station transmits its station ID and subscriber ID to the serving system, and the serving system uses that staion DI and subscriber ID cooperatively to authenticate the particular subscriber station with reference to the subscriber profile.