Apparatus, and associated method, for broadcasting short codes for use in directing a call to a service center during operation of a mobile communication system

• US 7,515,915 B2
• Filed: 02/04/2004
• Issued: 04/07/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Buckley, Adrian
• Primary Examiner(s): SHARMA, SUJATHA R
• Application Number:
  US10/772,024
• Publication Number:
  US 20050003803A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,889 Days
• Field of Search: 455/414.1, 455/404.1, 455/466, 455/515, 455/422.1, 455/561, 455/521, 455/456.1, 455/452, 455/432.1, 455/517, 455/507, 379/37, 379/45, 379/46
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2757 by data transmission, e.g. downloading
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72418 for supporting emergency services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/04 for emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42178 by downloading data to substation equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/44 Additional connecting arrangements for providing access to frequently-wanted subscribers, e.g. abbreviated dialling at the subscriber's set H04M1/27; automatic redialling H04M3/424
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4931 Directory assistance systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/28 Number portability ; Network address portability

Abstract

Apparatus (58), and an associated method, for facilitating delivery of network-specific dialing codes to a mobile node (12). Broadcasts of the network-specific dialing codes are scheduled by a broadcast scheduler 64 embodied at a cell broadcast center (38). Signals containing the codes are broadcast and detected by the mobile node (12), thereby to download the values to the mobile node. And, the downloaded dialing codes are indexed (88) together with the dialing codes normally used by the mobile node (12) to call the corresponding service centers (44). Subsequently, when a call is placed to a service center, the dialing codes are transposed (94), if necessary, to permit the call to a designated service center (44) to be completed.

Claims

1. Apparatus for a radio communication system operating pursuant to a GSM/3GPP (Global System for Mobile Communications/3^rd Generation Partnership Project) operating specification having a mobile node operable to communicate with a network part of a communication network, and the radio communication system having a plurality of service centers to which a call, originated at the mobile node, is routable by way of the network part, said apparatus for facilitating placement of the call to a selected service center said apparatus comprising:

an application server having a database wherein area-dependent short dialing codes for a plurality of service centers are stored and wherein a plurality of mnemonics that identify names associated with short dialing codes are stored, the application server storing each mnemonic for a short dialing code in a plurality of different languages;

a network-positioned code-delivery detector adapted to receive from the application server, an area-dependent short dialing code for the selected service center and to receive from the application server, the mnemonic, in a plurality of different languages, that identifies the name associated with the short dialing code received from the application server, and

an identifier-code broadcast scheduler coupled to said network-positioned code-delivery detector to receive the area-dependent short dialing code and the mnemonic in the plurality of different languages, said identifier-code broadcast scheduler for scheduling the broadcast of the area-dependent short dialing code and the received mnemonic in the plurality of different languages throughout areas encompassed by the network part, said broadcast being upon a cell broadcast channel associated with the network part for delivery to a mobile node, the area-dependent short dialing code and mnemonic in the plurality of different languages when delivered thereto, for being indexed together with permanently stored values maintained at the mobile node.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said network-positioned code-delivery detector is embodied at the network part through which the call to the selected service center is routable.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said identifier-code broadcast scheduler is further embodied at the network part through which the call to the selected service center is routable.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

a computer-network-positioned retriever for retrieving the area-dependent short dialing code that identifies the selected service center and for providing values thereof to said network-positioned code-delivery detector.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 further comprising a data base element at which the values of the area-dependent short-dialing code are stored and wherein said retriever retrieves the area-dependent short dialing code by accessing the values stored at said data base element.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the network-part further comprises at least a first base transceiver station and a base station controller, and wherein said identifier-code broadcast scheduler provides indicia of the scheduling scheduled thereat to the base station controller to cause effectuation of the at least the selected broadcast of the values throughout the at least the portion of the area encompassed by the network part.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the at least the selected broadcast scheduled by said identifier-code broadcast scheduler is scheduled for broadcast at selected intervals.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the radio communication system operates pursuant to an operating specification that defines a cell broadcast channel and wherein the at least the selected broadcast scheduled by said scheduler is caused to be broadcast upon the cell broadcast channel.

9. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising, at the mobile node:

a mobile node-positioned code-broadcast detector for detecting values of the at least the selected broadcast caused to be broadcast responsive to the scheduling scheduled by said identifier-code broadcast scheduler.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 further comprising an indexer embodied at the mobile node and coupled to said mobile node-positioned cell-broadcast detector, said indexer for indexing values of the area-dependent short dialing code forming the network part identifier code detected by said mobile node-positioned code-broadcast detector together with values of at least a first mobile-node identifier code that forms the permanently stored values maintained at the mobile node.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the mobile node further comprises a user input actuator actuable by a user of the mobile node, wherein said apparatus further comprises a transposer coupled to the user actuator and to said indexer, said transposer operable responsive to actuation of the user input actuator with values of a mobile-node identifier for transposing the values into corresponding values of a network-part identifier code.

12. A method of communicating in a radio communication system operating pursuant to a GSM/3GPP (Global System for Mobile Communications/3^rd Generation Partnership Project) operating specification having a mobile node operable to communicate with a network part of a communication network, and the radio communication system having at least a first service center to which a call, originated at the mobile node, is routable by way of the network part, said method for facilitating placement of the call to a selected service center of the at least the first service center, said method comprising:

maintaining values, at the network-part, an area-dependent short dialing code that identifies the selected service center and storing in a plurality of different languages, a mnemonic that identifies a name associated with the area-dependent short dialing code for the selected service center; and

scheduling the broadcast of the short dialing code and the broadcast of the mnemonic in the plurality of different languages, through-out areas encompassed by the network part for delivery to a mobile node, the broadcast values and the broadcast mnemonic in a plurality of different languages, when delivered to the mobile node being indexed together with permanently stored values maintained at the mobile node, the different languages of the mnemonic being displayable on a user display of the mobile node.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising the operation of detecting, at the mobile node, the area-dependent short dialing code and mnemonics in different languages, broadcast during said operation of broadcasting.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising the operation of:

indexing, at the mobile node, the area-dependent short dialing code together with a corresponding first network-part identifier code, values of which are detected during said operation of detecting.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising the operations of:

entering, at the mobile node, values of a selected mobile-node identifier code of the at least the first mobile-node identifier code; and

transposing the values into a corresponding network-part identifier code indexed together therewith.

16. Apparatus for a radio communication system operating pursuant to a GSM/3GPP (Global System for Mobile Communications/3^rd Generation Partnership Project) operating specification having a mobile node operable to communicate with a network part of a communication network, and the radio communication system having at least a first service center to which a call, originated at the mobile node is routable by way of the network part, said apparatus for facilitating placement of the call to a selected service center of the at least the first service center, said apparatus comprising:

a mobile node-positioned code-broadcast detector for detecting area-dependent short dialing codes and a mnemonic in a plurality of different languages, the mnemonic identifying a name associated with the detected area-dependent short dialing code, the area-dependent short dialing code identifying the first selected service center, the mnemonics being displayable on a user display of the mobile node whereby the language of the mnemonics to be displayed can be selected; and

an indexer coupled to said mobile node-positioned code-broadcast detector, said indexer for indexing values of the area-dependent short dialing code detected by said mobile node-positioned code-broadcast detector together with values of at least a first mobile-node identifier code.