US5894596A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Method and apparatus for establishing activation date for a cellular telephone
Assignee: Ericsson Inc
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Filing: 1996-08-16
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Granted: 1999-04-13
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Expires: 2016-08-16
Abstract
Abstract An apparatus and method to determine the warranty period for a cellular telephone based on the date on which the telephone was first activated for use in a cellular telephone network. The apparatus includes a cellular telephone having a non-volatile memory, and a section allocated for activation data within that memory. Within the memory area allocated for activation data is stored the first date on which the telephone was activated. The memory location for receiving the first date of activation is protected from being rewritten during subsequent activations of the cellular telephone by a date.
Inventors
- 👤 John Joseph Hayes, Jr.
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 15:01
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04W; H04W8/00; H04W8/22
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 22
Claim 1
Independent Claim
286 words
A method for establishing a first activation date of a cellular telephone having a processor and an associated volatile and a non-volatile memory comprising the following steps: (a) conveying to a first cellular telephone network service provider a request to activate the cellular telephone; (b) inputting to the cellular telephone from the cellular telephone network service provider information for activating the telephone for operation in a first cellular telephone network of the first cellular telephone network service provider; (c) writing an activation data at a predetermined address or addresses of the non-volatile memory of the cellular telephone; (d) writing a current date at the predetermined address or addresses of the non-volatile memory used for the activation data and designating the current date as the activation date; (e) communicating with the cellular telephone via the first cellular telephone network; (f) deactivating the cellular telephone from the first cellular telephone network; (g) conveying to a second telephone network service provider a request to reactivate the cellular telephone; (h) inputting to the cellular telephone information for reactivating the telephone received from the second telephone network service provider; (i) writing a reactivation data at the predetermined address or addresses accessed in step (c); (j) determining whether the predetermined address or addresses being accessed to write the reactivation data corresponds to a location in non-volatile memory having the activation date stored in step (d); (k) if the activation date is determined to be present in non-volatile memory step (j), then not overwriting a new date in the non-volatile memory; (l) if the activation date is determined to not be present in non-volatile memory in step (j), then writing the current date at the predetermined address or addresses of the non-volatile memory.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
286 words
A method for establishing a first activation date of a cellular telephone having a processor and an associated volatile and a non-volatile memory comprising the following steps: (a) conveying to a first cellular telephone network service provider a request to activate the cellular telephone; (b) inputting to the cellular telephone from the cellular telephone network service provider information for activating the telephone for operation in a first cellular telephone network of the first cellular telephone network service provider; (c) writing an activation data at a predetermined address or addresses of the non-volatile memory of the cellular telephone; (d) writing a current date at the predetermined address or addresses of the non-volatile memory used for the activation data and designating the current date as the activation date; (e) communicating with the cellular telephone via the first cellular telephone network; (f) deactivating the cellular telephone from the first cellular telephone network; (g) conveying to a second telephone network service provider a request to reactivate the cellular telephone; (h) inputting to the cellular telephone information for reactivating the telephone received from the second telephone network service provider; (i) writing a reactivation data at the predetermined address or addresses accessed in step (c); (j) determining whether the predetermined address or addresses being accessed to write the reactivation data corresponds to a location in non-volatile memory having the activation date stored in step (d); (k) if the activation date is determined to be present in non-volatile memory step (j), then not overwriting a new date in the non-volatile memory; (l) if the activation date is determined to not be present in non-volatile memory in step (j), then writing the current date at the predetermined address or addresses of the non-volatile memory.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
52 words
A method as in claim 1 comprising the additional steps of: (m) returning the cellular telephone to a manufacturer; (n) refurbishing the cellular telephone by the manufacturer for resale; (o) clearing the activation date from non-volatile memory; (p) reselling the cellular telephone to a consumer; and (q) repeating steps (a) to (l).
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
22 words
A method as in claim 1 wherein in step (d) the current date is input to the cellular telephone in step (b).
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
26 words
A method as in claim 1 wherein in step (g) the second telephone network service provider is the same as the first telephone network service provider.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
49 words
A method as in claim 1 wherein in step (d) a date flag is set in non-volatile memory when the activation date is stored in memory, and in step (k) the determination of whether an activation date is stored is made by checking whether the date flag is set.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
155 words
A cellular telephone for communicating with a radio cellular telephone network comprising: a processor for executing program instructions related to operating the cellular telephone; a non-volatile memory accessible by the processor for storing the program instructions, the non-volatile memory having a predetermined memory location for storing activation data regarding the telephone and the predetermined memory location having a preselected location for receiving information indicative of an activation date; and an input for receiving activation information from a source outside of the cellular telephone; wherein the processor executes the program instructions to write the activation information to the predetermined memory location upon detecting the receipt of the activation information at the input; and the processor writes information indicative of a current date to the preselected memory location for storing information indicative of the activation date only if the processor determines that no information indicative of the activation date is already stored at the preselected memory location.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
155 words
A cellular telephone for communicating with a radio cellular telephone network comprising: a processor for executing program instructions related to operating the cellular telephone; a non-volatile memory accessible by the processor for storing the program instructions, the non-volatile memory having a predetermined memory location for storing activation data regarding the telephone and the predetermined memory location having a preselected location for receiving information indicative of an activation date; and an input for receiving activation information from a source outside of the cellular telephone; wherein the processor executes the program instructions to write the activation information to the predetermined memory location upon detecting the receipt of the activation information at the input; and the processor writes information indicative of a current date to the preselected memory location for storing information indicative of the activation date only if the processor determines that no information indicative of the activation date is already stored at the preselected memory location.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
62 words
A cellular telephone as in claim 6 wherein the preselected memory location for storing information indicative of the activation date has a corresponding settable flag, and the processor sets the flag when writing the current date to the preselected memory location, and checks the flag to determine whether information indicative of the activation date is already stored at the preselected memory location.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
106 words
A method for establishing an activation date of a radio telephone terminal, comprising the steps of: (a) requesting activation of the terminal by a subscriber; (b) downloading activation data into a predetermined memory location of the terminal; (c) determining if the activation data includes an activation date; (d) storing the activation date in a non-volatile memory location, if the activation data includes an activation date; and (e) performing one of externally entering the activation date or calculating in a processor of the terminal the activation date, and storing the activation date in the non-volatile memory location, if the activation data does not include the activation date.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
106 words
A method for establishing an activation date of a radio telephone terminal, comprising the steps of: (a) requesting activation of the terminal by a subscriber; (b) downloading activation data into a predetermined memory location of the terminal; (c) determining if the activation data includes an activation date; (d) storing the activation date in a non-volatile memory location, if the activation data includes an activation date; and (e) performing one of externally entering the activation date or calculating in a processor of the terminal the activation date, and storing the activation date in the non-volatile memory location, if the activation data does not include the activation date.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
43 words
The method of claim 8, further comprising the steps of: determining whether a valid activation date has been previously stored in the non-volatile location before step (d); and preventing the previously stored activation date from being written over, if valid, until properly authorized.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of setting a flag in a predetermined memory location in response to a valid activation date being stored in the non-volatile memory location.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of preventing a previously stored activation date from being written over in the non-volatile memory location if the flag is set.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
64 words
The method of claim 8, further comprising the steps of: determining whether a previously stored activation date is a valid activation date by comparing the previously stored activation date to a predetermined range of activation dates; and preventing the previously stored activation date from being written over in a non-volatile memory location if the previously-stored activation date is within the predetermined range of dates.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 8, wherein step (e) comprises the step of prompting the subscriber to enter the present date as the activation date.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 8, wherein step (e) comprises the step of using a timer in the terminal to calculate the activation date.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
50 words
The method of claim 8, wherein step (b) comprises the step of downloading the activation data into a predetermined volatile memory location, and the method further comprising the step of confirming the activation data before transferring the activation data without any activation date information to a predetermined non-volatile memory location.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 8, further comprising the authorizing the activation date to be reset.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of inputting a proprietary reset signal into the terminal.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of resetting the activation date in the non-volatile memory to a value known to be invalid.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of resetting a flag to indicate that no valid activation date is stored in the non-volatile memory location.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2002-04-12 | 2002-10-12 | 2003-04-13 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2006-04-12 | 2006-10-12 | 2007-04-13 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2010-04-12 | 2010-10-12 | 2011-04-13 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |