Portable telephone terminal device and a method for restricting pay service for using the terminal device

• US 7,263,348 B2
• Filed: 11/19/2003
• Issued: 08/28/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo Innovations Ltd Hong Kong (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Matsumoto, Tatsuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Eng; George
• Assistant Examiner(s): Afshar; Kamran
• Application Number:
  US10/717,064
• Publication Number:
  US 20040102179A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,378 Days
• Field of Search: 455/558, 455405-406, 455410-411, 4555501-553, 455 901- 903, 455/41.1, 455/421, 455/426, 235/375, 235/380, 370/328, 370/338
• US Class Current: 455/410
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/00 Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/47 Fraud detection or prevention means
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/68 Payment of value-added services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/745 Customizing according to wishes of subscriber, e.g. friends or family
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/88 Provision for limiting connection, or expenditure
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0108 Customization according to wishes of subscriber, e.g. customer preferences, friends and family, selecting services or billing options, Personal Communication Systems [PCS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0116 Provision for limiting expenditure, e.g. limit on call expenses or account
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0148 Fraud detection or prevention means
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0196 Payment of value-added services, mainly when their charges are added on the telephone bill, e.g. payment of non-telecom services, e-commerce, on-line banking
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/2026 Wireless network, e.g. GSM, PCS, TACS
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/32 Involving wireless systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing
• 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 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

To provide a portable telephone terminal device having capability of controlling and inhibiting to use pay service a payer of the telephone does not intend to use, when a user of the telephone differs from a payer. When UIM card is a slave UIM card, the control unit 11 temporarily suspends the input from the operational input unit 13. The control unit 11 reads information of a master UIM card from UIM card module 12 and transmits information of the pay service and a message to desire the entrée of the service from the radio communication unit 14. When the radio communication unit 14 can receive no response within a time limit from the terminal device with master UIM card or the response indicates no permission, the control unit 11 shows the message to have no entrée from the terminal device with master UIM card, on the display unit 15. Then the control unit 11 receives an input from the operational input unit 13, and forcibly terminates the service.

Claims

1. A portable telephone terminal device, comprising:

a recording medium adapted to record information of a subscriber, and

means for restricting execution of a service that incurs payment, except for a telephone call service, based on information indicative of a master-slave relation recorded in said recording medium;

wherein said restriction means executes restriction according to one of a permission and a restriction from a second terminal device having a second recording medium that records information indicative of the master-slave relation when the information recorded in the second recording medium of the second terminal device indicates the second terminal device is a master, and when the information recorded in the recording medium of the portable telephone terminal device indicates the portable telephone terminal device is a slave.

2. A portable telephone terminal device as defined in claim 1, wherein:

said restriction means forcibly terminates said service when no response is received or the restriction is received from the second terminal device that records the information indicative of the master.

3. A portable telephone terminal device as defined in claim 1, wherein:

said recording medium is one of a User Identity Module (UIM) card, a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card, and a Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) card.

4. A portable telephone terminal device as defined in claim 1, wherein:

the portable telephone terminal device and the second terminal device do not communicate directly.

5. A method for restricting pay service for a portable telephone terminal device, comprising:

recording in a recording medium information, of a subscriber, indicative of a master-slave relation,

deciding whether the information recorded in the recording medium indicates a master or a slave, and

restricting execution of a service that incurs payment except for a telephone call service, based on the decision;

wherein said restricting stop is performed according to one of a permission and a restriction from a second terminal device which has a second recording medium that records information indicative of the master-slave relation when the infomation recorded in the second recording medium of the second terminal device indicates the second terminal device is a master, and when the information recorded in said recording medium of the portable telephone terminal device indicates die portable telephone terminal device is a slave.

6. A method for restricting pay service as defined in claim 5, wherein:

said restriction step forcibly terminates said service when no response is received or the restriction is received from the second terminal device that records the information indicative of the master.

7. A method for restricting pay service as defined in claim 5, wherein:

said recording medium is one of a User Identity Module (UIM) card, a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card, and a Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) card.

8. A method for restricting pay service as defined in claim 5, wherein:

the portable telephone terminal device and the second terminal device do not communicate directly.

9. A system of managing mobile communication devices, comprising:

an arrangement for receiving from a mobile device a request for a special fee service;

an arrangement for querying the mobile device for an indication of a master-slave status;

an arrangement for providing the special fee service if the mobile device is a master device; and

an arrangement for receiving an authorization from a second mobile device associated with the mobile device;

wherein if the mobile device is a slave device, the special fee service is not provided unless the authorization is received from the second mobile device; and

wherein the authorization is from the second mobile device having a second recording medium which has information indicative of the master-slave status and the information indicates that the second mobile device is the master device.

10. A system of managing mobile communication devices as defined in claim 9, wherein:

the master-slave relation is between the mobile device and the second mobile device.

11. A system of managing mobile communication devices as defined in claim 9, wherein:

the mobile device and the second mobile device do not communicate directly.