Radio communications device, universal integrated circuit card and related method and communications device

• US 8,437,801 B2
• Filed: 12/12/2008
• Issued: 05/07/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo Innovations Ltd Hong Kong (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Dong, Olivier
• Primary Examiner(s): CAI, WAYNE HUU
• Application Number:
  US12/742,010
• Publication Number:
  US 20100248748A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,607 Days
• Field of Search: 455/558, 4554561-4563, 455/550.1, 455/551, 4554322-4323
• US Class Current: 455/558
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/03 Cooperating elements; Interaction or communication between different cooperating elements or between cooperating elements and receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/08 between user and terminal device

Abstract

The present invention provides for a UICC interface and related interfacing method, for use in a mobile radio communications device and including an element enabling the UICC to provide an indication that at least one service requiring location data is present in the UICC, an element for UICC to receive notification that a source of location data is available, an element for allowing the UICC to initiate transfer of location data thereto, an element for the actual transfer of the location data to the UICC, and an element enabling the UICC to terminate the transfer of the location data, and wherein the location data can be provided from a GPS module or remotely in a contact-less manner.

Claims

1. A mobile radio communications device comprising:

a source of geographical location data;

a notifier configured to notify a universal integrated circuit card that a source of geographical location data is present by modifying at least one bit of a terminal profile;

a receiver receiving, from the universal integrated circuit card, when the terminal profile has indicated that the source of geographical location data is present, a signal indicating that said universal integrated circuit card requires geographical location data;

a retriever configured to retrieve the geographical location data from said source of geographical location data, and to generate a signal carrying the retrieved geographical location data, in response to receipt of said signal indicating that said universal integrated circuit card requires geographical location data; and

a transmitter sending the generated signal carrying the retrieved geographical location data to the universal integrated circuit card.

2. The mobile radio communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said source of geographical location data is adapted to provide geographical location data acquired from a device which is external to the mobile radio communications device.

3. The mobile radio communications device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said signal indicating that said universal integrated circuit card requires geographical location data comprises an activation command and said mobile radio communications device comprises an activation processor activating said device or module in response to said activation command.

4. The mobile radio communications device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the receiver is adapted to receive a further signal indicating that the device or module should be deactivated, and

said mobile radio communications device comprises a deactivation processor deactivating said device or module in response to receipt of said signal indicating that the device or module should be deactivated.

5. The mobile radio communications device as claimed in claim 4, wherein said signal indicating that the device or module should be deactivated comprises a further deactivation command.

6. The mobile radio communications device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the source of geographical location data comprises a wireless retriever configured to retrieve said geographical location data in a wireless manner from said external device.

7. The mobile radio communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said source of geographical location data is adapted to provide geographical location data acquired using a positioning module in the mobile radio communications device.

8. The mobile radio communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the notifier is configured to provide a static notification that a source of geographical location data is present.

9. The mobile radio communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the signal carrying the retrieved geographical location data comprises an envelope command.

10. The mobile radio communications device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the envelope command comprises a data object carrying said geographical location data, and

the envelope command comprises a tag indicating the envelope command carries geographical location data.

11. The mobile radio communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said receiver is configured to receive a signal indicating that an application requiring geographical location data is present within the universal integrated circuit card.

12. The mobile radio communications device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the signal indicating that an application requiring geographical location data is present within the universal integrated circuit card uses an interface byte of an Answer To Reset.

13. The mobile radio communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mobile radio communications device is configured to use a Universal Subscriber Identity Module Application Toolkit based interface for communication with said universal integrated circuit card, and the signal indicating that said universal integrated circuit card requires geographical location data comprises a Universal Subscriber Identity Module Application Toolkit.

14. The mobile radio communications device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the signal carrying the retrieved geographical location data comprises a Universal Subscriber Identity Module Application Toolkit envelope command.

15. The mobile radio communications device as claimed in claim 1, comprising means for informing the universal integrated circuit card regarding the availability of the source of geographical information.

16. The mobile communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the signal indicating that said universal integrated circuit card requires geographical location data serves as a request to the mobile radio communications device to send geographical location data to the universal integrated circuit card.

17. A method, performed by a mobile radio communications device having a source of geographical location data, of providing said geographical location data to a universal integrated circuit card, the method comprising:

notifying the universal integrated circuit card that said source of geographical location data is present by modifying at least one bit of a terminal profile;

receiving, from the universal integrated circuit card, when the terminal profile has indicated that the source of geographical location data is present, a signal indicating that said universal integrated circuit card requires geographical location data;

retrieving geographical location data from said source of geographical location data, and generating a signal carrying the retrieved geographical location data, in response to receipt of said signal indicating that said universal integrated circuit card requires geographical location data; and

sending the generated signal carrying the retrieved geographical location data to the universal integrated circuit card.

19. A computer program product comprising computer implementable instructions which when implemented on a programmable computer device realise a method according to claim 17.

18. A method of facilitating transmission of geographical location data with a universal integrated circuit card interface for use in a mobile radio communications device, the method comprising:

enabling, by the universal integrated circuit card interface, the mobile radio communications device to notify the universal integrated circuit card that a source of geographical location data is present in said mobile radio communications device by modifying at least one bit of a terminal profile;

enabling, by the universal integrated circuit card interface, the mobile radio communications device to receive, when the terminal profile has indicated that the source of geographical location data is present, a signal indicating that said universal integrated circuit card requires geographical location data; and

enabling, by the universal integrated circuit card interface, the mobile radio communications device to send a signal carrying said geographical location data to said universal integrated circuit card.

20. A computer program product comprising computer implementable instructions which when implemented on a programmable computer device realize a method of facilitating transmission of geographical location data with the universal integrated circuit card interface according to claim 18.