Digest of biographical information for an electronic device with static and dynamic portions

• US 9,712,999 B1
• Filed: 03/14/2016
• Issued: 07/18/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile Innovations LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Communications Company LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Mantel, Brian D., Cordes, Kevin R., Loman, Clinton H., Paczkowski, Lyle W., Steele, Kenneth R.
• Primary Examiner(s): King, Curtis
• Application Number:
  US15/069,921
• Time in Patent Office: 491 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0727 the arrangement being a circuit facilitating integration of the record carrier with a hand-held device such as a smart phone of PDA
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10297 arrangements for handling protocols designed for non-contact record carriers such as RFIDs NFCs, e.g. ISO/IEC 14443 and 18092 cryptographic protocols H04L9/00; network security protocols H04L63/00; real-time communication protocols in data switching networks H04L65/00; network protocols for data switching network services H04L67/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/30 Administration of product recycling or disposal
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/01 Customer relationship services
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/016 After-sales
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/018 Certifying business or products
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/77 for interrogation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/24 Transfer of terminal data
• CPC Class Codes: Y02W 90/00 Enabling technologies or technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions mitigation

Abstract

A method of managing a lifecycle of a mobile communication device. The method comprises storing a biographical digest in a radio frequency identity chip of the mobile communication device at the time of manufacture of the communication device, wherein the biographical digest comprises information about the device and comprises a static portion and a dynamic portion. The method further comprises activating the device for wireless communication service; after activating the device, deactivating the device for wireless communication service; and after deactivating the device, writing a device status of the dynamic portion of the biographical digest in the radio frequency identity chip of the device to a value of dead, whereby the device is prevented from being activated for wireless communication service after once having the device status of the dynamic portion of the biographical digest in the radio frequency identity chip of the device written to the dead value.

Claims

1. A method of obtaining information about a mobile communication device from a radio frequency identity (RFID) chip in the mobile communication device, the method comprising:

reading, by a near field communication (NFC) scanner, a biographical digest from the RFID chip in the mobile communication device, wherein the RFID chip comprises non-transitory memory areas corresponding to a static portion and a dynamic portion of the biographical digest, and wherein information in the static portion cannot be altered but information in the dynamic portion is alterable prior to a device status of the dynamic portion indicating a value of dead or terminated;

based on reading the biographical digest from both the static portion and dynamic portion, determining, by a computer system that is communicatively coupled to the NFC scanner, at least three items of information about the mobile communication device selected from;

a location where the mobile communication device was manufactured, an initial software version installed in the mobile communication device by a manufacturer, a current preferred roaming list (PRI) stored in the mobile communication device, a current software version installed in the mobile communication device, an activation date of the mobile communication device, a phone number of the mobile communication device, an international mobile station equipment identity (IMEI) of the mobile communication device, and a mobile equipment identity (MEID) of the mobile communication device; and

providing, by the computer system to a display, the at least three items of information about the mobile communication device determined by the computer system.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising energizing, by providing an energizing radio field radiated by the NFC scanner, the RFID chip such that the biographical digest is readable irrespective of the mobile communication device having a dead battery, having no battery installed, or being turned off.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the dynamic portion of the biographical digest comprises error codes indicating functional deficiencies experienced by the mobile communication device, and wherein customer service to a user of the mobile communication device is based at least in part on the error codes.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

writing, by the computer system to the dynamic portion on the RFID chip of the mobile communication device, to instruct one of deleting the error codes or resetting the error codes.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the computer system writes to the RFID chip of the mobile communication device via a communication link that does not include a NFC antenna of the RFID chip.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein reading the biographical digest by the NFC scanner comprises the NFC scanner providing an authorization code is associated with a wireless communication service provider, and wherein the RFID chip of the mobile communication device does not expose the biographical digest to the NFC scanner responsive to the authorization code not passing an authorization validation conducted by the RFID chip of the mobile communication device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the phone number of the mobile communication device is one of the items of information determined by the computer system and a name identifying a user is determined based on an association with the phone number.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein write access to the non-transitory memory areas corresponding to the static portion of the biographical digest is blocked by the RFID chip after being written to by the manufacturer of the mobile communication device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein write access to the static portion is disabled due to a write line on the RFID chip being disabled independently from a write line for the dynamic portion.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein information in the non-transitory memory areas corresponding to the static portion of the biographical digest cannot be altered due to a write line on the RFID chip being disabled, and wherein information in the non-transitory memory areas corresponding to the dynamic portion is unalterable in response to a device status indicating a value of dead or terminated.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to providing the at least three items of information, transmitting a software update to the mobile communication device.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

based on the software update, writing data about the software update only to the dynamic portion of biographical digest while the static portion remains unaltered.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to providing the at least three items of information, altering, by transmitting a write input along an execution path corresponding to the dynamic portion, only the dynamic portion of biographical digest while the static portion remains unaltered.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

in response to providing the at least three items of information, determining, by the computer system, an authorization key associated with the non-transitory memory areas corresponding to the dynamic portion in the RFID chip.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein altering only the dynamic portion is based on the authorization key being validated by the RFID chip.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing an authentication key to a logic processor of the RFID chip, wherein write access to only the dynamic portion is based on the authentication key.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

changing, by transmitting write input to the dynamic portion, a device status value associated with a lifecycle of the mobile communication device.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the RFID chip at least actively or passively blocks write access and alteration to the static portion while permitting read access from the static portion.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising altering the non-transitory memory areas corresponding to the dynamic portion to become unwriteable based on a device status being written to a value of dead.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the dynamic portion becomes unwritable based on a fuse in a write line associated with the dynamic portion being blown.