Systems and methods for enhanced over-the-air programming

• US 7,359,698 B2
• Filed: 09/08/2003
• Issued: 04/15/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kyocera Wireless Corporation (Kyocera Corporation)
• Inventors: Sanding, Anthony N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kincaid; Lester G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHEDRICK, CHARLES TERRELL
• Application Number:
  US10/657,476
• Publication Number:
  US 20050054336A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,681 Days
• Field of Search: 455/418, 455/419, 455/420, 455/414.1, 375/260
• US Class Current: 455/418
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/30 Connection release
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/245 from a network towards a terminal

Abstract

Embodiments of this invention supplement the termination process having the mobile subscriber unit to terminate the call upon completion of an OTA programming session. In one embodiment, the termination is initiated by the mobile subscriber unit after every session. In another embodiment, the termination is initiated after the network fails to terminate the call. In another embodiment, the termination is only initiated in circumstances where it is known that the service provider has failed to terminate the call.

Claims

1. A method for terminating an over-the-air (OTA) programming call comprising the steps of:

a network initiating the OTA programming call to a mobile subscriber unit, the OTA programming call comprising an OTA programming session;

the mobile subscriber unit receiving the over-the-air programming call;

the mobile subscriber unit for detecting an expected termination of the OTA programming call by the network upon the end of the OTA programming session; and

the mobile subscriber unit terminating the OTA programming call if the expected termination of the OTA programming call by the network is not detected, wherein the expected termination of the OTA programming call is detected without a prior request from the mobile subscriber unit for an expected end of session indicator.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the over-the-air programming session is an over-the-air service provisioning session.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the over-the-air programming session is an over-the-air service parameter administration session.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein a failure to receive an expected termination of the OTA programming call is a result of a communication error.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of detecting a failure of the network to terminate the OTA programming further comprises detecting that a time-out period has lapsed without receiving an over-the-air message that the over-the-air session has ended.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

the mobile subscriber unit detecting a condition associated with a failed over-the-air call release.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of detecting a condition associated with the failed over-the-air call release comprises detecting a transition from a digital network to an analog network while engaged in the associated over-the-air programming call.

8. A mobile subscriber unit, comprising:

a processor connected to a wireless communication interface, the processor receiving an over-the-air programming session in an over-the-air call initiated by a network and received via the wireless communication interface;

an end of session detector connected to the processor configured to detect an expected end of session indicator sent by the network, wherein the expected end of session indicator is detected without a prior request from the mobile subscriber unit for the expected end of session indicator; and

a call terminator coupled to the end session detector, the call terminator configured to terminate the over-the-air call when the end of session detector fails to detect the expected end of session indicator.

9. The mobile subscriber unit of claim 8, wherein the expected end session indicator is an end of session message.

10. The mobile subscriber unit of claim 8, wherein the end session detector comprises a timer configured to timeout after a time-out period if the expected end of session indicator is not detected.

11. The mobile subscriber unit of claim 8, further comprising a circumstance evaluator configured to detect a condition associated with a failure of the end of session detector to detect the expected end of session indicator.

12. The mobile subscriber unit of claim 11, wherein the circumstance evaluator is configured to detect a transition from a digital network to an analog network while the mobile subscriber unit is engaged in the over-the-air call.

13. A wireless communications system comprising:

a plurality of base stations;

a system server configured to send an over-the-air programming call to a plurality of mobile subscriber units via the plurality of base stations, the system server configured to terminate the over-the-air programming call, the over-the-air programming call comprising an over-the-air programming session and an expected end of session indicator; and

each mobile subscriber unit of the plurality of mobile subscriber units comprising;

a transceiver circuit configured to receive the over-the-air programming call;

an end of session detector connected to the transceiver circuit and configured to detect the expected end of session indicator received from the system server, wherein the expected end of session indicator is received from the server without a prior request from the mobile subscriber unit for the expected end of session indicator, and

a call terminator connected to the transceiver circuit and the end session detector, the call terminator configured to terminate the over-the-air programming call when the end session detector fails to detect the expected end of the session indicator.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the plurality of base stations includes a digital base station.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the plurality of base stations includes an analog base station.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the expected end session indicator is an end of session message sent by the system server.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the end session detector of the each mobile subscriber unit comprises a timer configured to timeout after a time-out period if the expected end of session indicator is not received from the system server.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein the each mobile subscriber unit further comprises a circumstance evaluator connected to the transceiver circuit and configured to detect a condition associated with a failure to receive the expected end of session indicator.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the plurality of base stations comprises a digital base station and an analog base station, and wherein the circumstance evaluator of the each mobile subscriber unit is configured to detect a transition from a digital network associated with the digital base station to an analog network associated with the analog base station.

20. A method for an over-the-air programming session, comprising:

a mobile subscriber unit receiving an over-the-air programming call on a communication channel to begin an over-the-air programming session, the over-the-air programming call initiated by a wireless network, the over-the-air programming call comprising an expected end-of-session indicator;

the mobile subscriber unit transitioning from a digital network to an analog network while engaged in the over-the-air programming session;

the mobile subscriber unit determining that the expected end-of-session indicator has not been received from the wireless network, wherein the determining step of occurs without a prior request for the expected end-of-session indicator from the mobile subscriber unit; and

the mobile subscriber unit terminating the over-the-air programming call by releasing the communication channel upon the determination that the expected end-of-session indicator has not been received.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the over-the-air programming session is an over-the-air service provisioning session.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the over-the-air programming session is an over-the-air service parameter administration session.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein the expected end-of-session indicator comprises an over-the-air end of session message received from the wireless network.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein the step of determining that the expected end-of-session indicator has not been received further comprises detecting that a time-out period has lapsed without receiving an over-the-air end of session message from the wireless network.

25. A mobile subscriber apparatus with OTA programming call handling, comprising:

a memory containing software instructions;

a user interface configured to display information to a subscriber;

a microprocessor coupled to the memory and the user interface;

a transceiver coupled to the microprocessor, the transceiver comprising a receiver configured to receive a wireless communication signal from an antenna coupled to the transceiver and to filter, amplify, and demodulate the received wireless communication signal and to provide the received wireless communication signal to the processor, the transceiver further comprising a transmitter configured to modulate a wireless communication signal generated by the microprocessor and to send the modulated wireless communication signal to the antenna for transmission;

an end of session detector connected to the processor configured to detect an expected end of session message sent by the network, the expected end of session message being received by the antenna and processed by the microprocessor before being detected by the end of session detector, the expected end of session message being an expected message indicating a normal termination of an OTA programming call, wherein the expected end of session message is expected to be detected without a prior request sent via the antenna or without an occurrence of a fault condition; and

a call terminator coupled to the end session detector, the call terminator configured to terminate the OTA programming call when the end of session detector detects the expected end of session message or fails to receive the expected end of session message within a time out period.