System and method for controlling device usage

• US 20070245026A1
• Filed: 04/13/2006
• Published: 10/18/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Wilson, John, Hassan, Ahmed, Martin, Daryl
• Granted Patent: US 7,929,960 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/227
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/629 to features or functions of an application
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2141 Access rights, e.g. capability lists, access control lists, access tables, access matrices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2149 Restricted operating environment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/108 when the policy decisions are valid for a limited amount of time
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/126 the source of the received data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/62 Establishing a time schedule for servicing the requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2072 Schedules, e.g. personal calendars
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42153 by subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/37 Managing security policies for mobile devices or for controlling mobile applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/61 Time-dependent

Abstract

Mobile device usage may be monitored and restricted by pushing enabling/disabling events from an administrator the device. The events impose a certain set of rules that can “lock” certain features provided by the device, according to permissions and pre-established policies, for a certain period of time. Such restricted periods may coincide with meetings or other events in which distractions should be kept to a minimum. Preferably, the rules include conditional locks that allow a user to use a feature a reasonable number of times before the lock is activated to place the onus on the user for minimizing such distractions, while enabling the user to maintain access to such a vital communication tool. Cancel packets may also be used to not only control but to monitor the application of the rule sets and when certain conditions are breaches, which provides an employer with sufficient information to use in auditing device usage or in reprimanding users for misuse of a privilege such as the use of mobile data communications devices.

Claims

1. A method for controlling usage of features provided by a device in a communication system, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a policy to said device for controlling usage of said device during a restricted period, said policy containing a set of rules for inhibiting a selected one or more of said features, and a trigger for initiating said rules in order to inhibit said selected one or more of said features;

implementing said trigger in said device for applying said rules during said restricted period; and

initiating said trigger upon commencement of said restricted period and applying said set of rules to inhibit said selected ones of said features for the duration of said restricted period according to said rules.

2. A method according to claim 1 further comprising a step of said device authenticating said policy to validate the origin of said policy.

3. A method according to claim 1 wherein said policy is generated in response to a scheduled time period for a user of said device.

4. A method according to claim 1 wherein during said restricted period, said set of rules comprises an option to cancel the others of said rules to thereby enable one or more features that have been inhibited by said trigger.

5. A method according to claim 4 wherein upon selection of said option, said device generates a cancel indicator and sends said cancel indicator to an administrator for monitoring usage.

6. A method according to claim 1 wherein at least one of said set of rules is a conditional rule, said conditional rule allowing a predetermined amount of usage of a conditional feature associated with said conditional rule, wherein if said predetermined amount is exceeded, said conditional feature is disabled thereafter and a conditional indicator is provided to an administrator for monitoring said usage.

7. A method according to claim 1 wherein said policy is generated by an administrator in response to a request by a first user to restrict the use of said device, said device being operated by a second user, said request being sent to said second user and monitored by an administrator.

8. A method according to claim 7 wherein said administrator comprises a rules database, said policy being generated according to at least one rule set contained in said rules database.

9. A method according to claim 7 wherein said administrator monitors usage by updating an administration log.

10. A method according to claim 1 wherein said policy is generated by another user in response to a request thereby to inhibit said selected ones of said features, said request being sent to said device by said another user using another device.

11. A system for controlling usage of features provided by a device in a communication system, said system comprising an entity for providing a policy to said device to inhibit a selected one or more of said features of said device during a restricted period, said policy containing a set of rules for inhibiting said selected one or more of said features and a time sensitive trigger for initiating said rules;

said entity employing a connection between itself and said device to deploy said trigger in said device using said policy, and to inhibit said selected one or more of said features upon initiation of said trigger for the duration of said restricted period according to said rules.

12. A system according to claim 11, said device and said entity comprising a security key for use by said device to authenticate said policy.

13. A system according to claim 11 wherein said entity is arranged to generate said policy in response to a scheduled time period for said user of said device.

14. A system according to claim 11 wherein said set of rules comprises an option to cancel the others of said rules to thereby enable one or more of said selected one or more of said features that have been inhibited by said trigger.

15. A system according to claim 14 wherein said device is arranged, upon selection of said option, to generate a cancel indicator and sends said cancel indicator to said entity.

16. A system according to claim 11 wherein at least one of said set of rules is a conditional rule, said conditional rule allowing a predetermined amount of usage of a conditional feature associate with said conditional rule, wherein if said predetermined amount is exceeded, said conditional feature is disabled thereafter by said device and a conditional indicator is provided to said entity for monitoring said usage.

17. A system according to claim 11 wherein said entity is arranged to generate said policy in response to a request by a first user to restrict the use of said device, said device being operated by a second user, said request being sent to said second user and monitored by said entity.

18. A system according to claim 11 further comprising a rules database, said policy being generated according to at least one rule set contained in said rules database.

19. A system according to claim 11 further comprising an administration log, wherein an administrator monitors usage by updating said administration log.

20. A system according to claim 11 wherein said entity is another user having another device, said policy being generated by said another user in response to a request thereby to inhibit said selected ones of said features, said request being sent to said device by said another user.