User interface technique for selection and activation of wireless services from among multiple transport carriers

• US 7,359,516 B1
• Filed: 12/07/2000
• Issued: 04/15/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Access Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Palmsource Incorporated (Access Company Limited)
• Inventors: Wong, William Shu-woon, Kuhn, Brian Gerald, Skinner, Craig
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, ELLEN C
• Application Number:
  US09/732,066
• Time in Patent Office: 2,686 Days
• Field of Search: 455/411, 455/419, 455/422, 455/432, 455/456, 455/515, 455/435.2, 455/461, 455/3.04, 455/435.1, 455/17, 455/552, 455/433, 455/414, 455/435, 709/219, 709/227, 709/228, 713/169, 713/171, 726/3, 380/247, 380/270
• US Class Current: 380/270
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/00 Affiliation to network, e.g. registration; Terminating affiliation with the network, e.g. de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/245 from a network towards a terminal

Abstract

A method and device are provided for handling network activation between a computer and a carrier. In one example, the method involves receiving a command to initiate network activation procedures. The network activation status of the computer is then determined. If the computer is network enabled, a request is sent to a device having network activation information. The network activation information is received from the device. The computer is then configured with the network activation information in order to establish network activation with the carrier.

Claims

1. A method in a computer of handling network activation, the method comprising:

receiving at a plurality of plug-in devices a command from a driver to initiate network activation procedures with a selected telecommunications carrier, wherein said driver is generic to various telecommunications carriers and said plug-in device includes components that are tailored to activate the computer with a selected telecommunications carrier and register the computer with a selected service provider;

determining at one of the plurality of plug-in device a network activation status of the computer;

sending, by one of the plurality of plug-in device, a request to a device having network telecommunications carrier activation information in a registration file provided by said selected service provider;

receiving, at one of the plurality of plug-in device, the network telecommunications carrier activation information from the device; and

configuring the computer with the network telecommunications carrier activation information in order to establish network activation with the telecommunications carrier,

wherein said plurality of plug-in devices can be tailored to multiple carriers in any language;

wherein the plug-in device components step through a setup process comprising;

retrieving the appropriate screens, entering user information, submitting the information to the driver device, writing the personal data in memory, and submitting the data to the service provider; and

wherein said plurality of plug-in devices are compatible with each other of said plurality of plug-in devices.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the received command includes a launch code to initiate a particular network telecommunications carrier activation procedure.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the device having network telecommunications carrier activation information is a single in-line memory module (SIMM) card configured to be compatible with the telecommunications carrier.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining a network telecommunications carrier activation status comprises determining if the computer has a current single in-line memory module (SIMM) card that is compatible with the telecommunications carrier.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the step determining a network telecommunications carrier activation status further comprises:

determining if the computer was previously network activated with a previous single in-line memory module (SIMM) card; and

determining if the previous SIMM card is the current SIMM card.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining a network telecommunications carrier activation status comprises:

receiving an activation security key from a user of the computer; and

determining if the activation security key is valid for the telecommunications carrier.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the device having the network telecommunications carrier activation information is a server of the telecommunications carrier.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the steps of sending and receiving are carried out in a protocol specific to the telecommunications carrier.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the network telecommunications carrier activation information that is received includes an access number that allows the computer to access network services of the telecommunications carrier.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of configuring the computer comprises storing an access number that allows the computer to access network services of the telecommunications carrier.

11. The component configured to be operable in a generic activation framework with multiple carriers in any language comprising:

a plurality of plug-in devices installable and removable from a processing unit;

an application program interface (API) tailored to a particular telecommunications carrier, wherein the API is configured to receive a network telecommunications carrier activation command from a driver device in a computer that is generic to various telecommunications carriers; and

an API tailored to a particular service provider in a registration file provided by said particular service provider, wherein the API is configured to receive a service provider activation command from the driver device;

wherein said plurality of plug-in devices can be tailored to multiple carriers in any language;

wherein the API steps through a setup process comprising;

retrieving the appropriate screens, entering user information, submitting the information to the driver device, writing the personal data in memory, and submitting the data to the service provider; and

wherein said plurality of plug-in devices are compatible with each other of said plurality of plug-in devices.

12. The component of claim 11, wherein the component is an application configured to be initiated in a personal digital assistant.

13. The component of claim 11, further comprising a user interface configured to query a user for an activation security key to access services of a telecommunications carrier.

14. The component of claim 11, wherein upon receiving a particular network telecommunications carrier activation command from the generic driver device, the application program interface (API) is configured to cause the plug-in device to determine a network telecommunications carrier activation status of the computer.

15. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions for handling a network telecommunications carrier activation, the one or more sequences of one or more instructions including instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

receiving at a plurality of plug-in devices a command from a driver to launch network activation procedures with a selected telecommunications carrier, wherein said driver is generic to various telecommunications carriers and said plurality of plug-in devices includes components that are tailored to activate the computer with the selected telecommunications carrier and register the computer with the selected service provider;

determining at one of the plurality of plug-in device a network activation status of the computer;

sending, by one of the plurality of plug-in device, a request to a device having network telecommunications carrier activation information;

receiving, at one of the plurality of plug-in device, the network telecommunications carrier activation information from the device in a registration file provided by said selected service provider; and

configuring the computer with the network telecommunications carrier activation information in order to establish network activation with the telecommunications carrier,

wherein said plurality of plug-in devices can be tailored to multiple carriers in any language;

wherein the plug-in device components step through a setup process comprising;

retrieving the appropriate screens, entering user information, submitting the information to the driver device, writing the personal data in memory, and submitting the data to the service provider; and

wherein said plurality of plug-in devices are compatible with each other of said plurality of plug-in devices.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the received command includes a launch code to initiate a predefined network telecommunications carrier activation routine.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the device having network telecommunications carrier activation information is a single in-line memory module (SIMM) card configured to be compatible with the telecommunications carrier.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the step of determining a network telecommunications carrier activation status further causes the processor to carry out the step of determining if the computer has a current single in-line memory module (SIMM) card that is compatible with the telecommunications carrier.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the step of determining a network telecommunications (carrier) activation status furthermore causes the processor to carry out the steps of:

determining if the computer was previously network telecommunications carrier activated with a previous single in-line memory module (SIMM) card; and

determining if the previous SIMM card is the current SIMM card.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the step of determining a network telecommunications carrier activation status further causes the processor to carry out the steps of:

receiving an activation security key from a user of the computer; and

determining if the activation security key is valid for the telecommunications carrier.

21. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the device having the network telecommunications carrier activation information is a server of the telecommunications carrier.

22. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the steps of sending and receiving are carried out in a protocol specific to the telecommunications carrier.

23. The computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the network telecommunications carrier activation information that is received includes an access number that allows the computer to access network services of the telecommunications carrier.

24. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the step of configuring the computer further causes the processor to carry out the step of storing an access number that allows the computer to access network services of the telecommunications carrier.