Wireless terminal interface management

[0001] The invention relates to the general field of telecommunications.

[0002] It particularly relates to the activation of a wireless communication interface on a terminal, such as, for example, a Bluetooth ™ interface, WiF ™ (Wireless Fidelity). An example is found in WO 01/97543.

[0003] By activating (respectively deactivating) a wireless interface, it is meant herein to enable or activate (respectively disable) the interface. In other words, according to the invention, the wireless interface does not emit any signal (even presence signal) until it is activated.

[0004] In general, Bluetooth ™ or WLAN wireless interfaces allow the terminal to connect to a home network or to a private or public communication network via an access point. This connection is only possible when the communication interface is activated.

[0005] Currently, the activation and deactivation of the wireless interface are performed manually by the terminal user: the user selects, via the appropriate menu of his terminal, the interface he intends to activate or deactivate, and then indicates which action he intends to perform (i.e. activation or deactivation) .

[0006] To avoid repeated activations and deactivations, the user has the option of leaving the wireless interfaces of his terminal in a state of constant activation.

[0007] However, this solution is energy consuming and therefore has a negligible impact on the battery life of the terminal.

Subject matter and brief description of the invention [0008] The present invention specifically overcomes this drawback by proposing a method for managing at least one wireless terminal interface, including:

- the stage of receiving information showing the geographical location of the terminal;

- a step of searching in the terminal database for at least one terminal wireless interface identifier associated with this information and

- if applicable, the step of automatically activating the wireless interface corresponding to at least one identifier.

[0009] Accordingly, the invention also relates to a terminal equipped with at least one wireless interface, comprising:

- means of receiving information showing the geographical location of the terminal;

- 2 - searching means in the terminal database for at least one terminal wireless interface identifier associated with this information;

- means of automatic activation, where appropriate, of a wireless interface corresponding to at least one identifier.

[0010] The invention results from the finding that the user often activates the wireless interfaces of his terminal in the same places (e.g. a WLAN interface in an apartment or workplace or at a railway station or at a frequently visited airport etc.). It preferably proposes storing in the database of the communication terminal between the geographical location of the terminal and one or more wireless communication interfaces to be activated.

[0011] The invention thus allows the automatic activation of appropriate interfaces depending on the geographical location of the terminal. Therefore, it frees the user from the need to manually activate these interfaces, using the appropriate menu. Activation of these interfaces is thus made transparent to the terminal user.

[0012] The invention not only allows manual procedures to be minimized when activating the terminal's wireless communication interfaces, but also offers significant battery savings because there is no longer the need to have permanently activated communication interfaces.

[0013] According to a first embodiment of the invention, the receiving step comprises receiving a message transmitted by a GPS system including information showing the geographical location of the terminal.

[0014] This information consists, for example, of the geographical coordinates of the terminal.

[0015] In a second embodiment of the invention, the receiving step comprises receiving a signaling message broadcast by the cellular telecommunications network to which the terminal is connected (e.g. GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) or UMTS (Universsal Mobile Telecommunications system)) wherein this message contains information showing the geographical location of the terminal.

[0016] In this second embodiment, this information is, for example, the cell identifier of the cellular telecommunications network (i.e. the cell in which the terminal is located or to which it is connected).

[0017] Thus, the invention makes it possible to rely on data received in a classical manner from a cellular telecommunications network by a terminal. It is not required to use specific messages between the terminal and the cellular network, but to use information that the terminal usually has when connecting to the cellular network, namely the identifier of the cell with which it is connected or in which it is located.

[0018] The information showing the geographical location of the terminal may also consist of the geographical coordinates of the terminal transmitted in a message originating from a cellular network.

[0019] In a particular embodiment, the method of management according to the invention further comprises:

- the stage of detecting a change in the geographical location of the terminal and

- the stage of automatic deactivation of the interface or interfaces previously activated.

[0020] The invention thus also allows to automatically deactivate the terminal's wireless interfaces depending on the geographical location of the terminal, especially when it has changed. In this way, the battery life of the terminal is favored.

[0021] To avoid inadequate deactivation of the interface, the automatic deactivation step can only be used after a predetermined duration has elapsed, during which time we make sure that the communication interface is no longer used by the terminal.

[0022] The invention also relates to a terminal database equipped with at least one wireless communication interface, comprising at least one information showing the geographical location of the terminal, associated with at least one identifier of one of the wireless communication interfaces.

[0023] In a particular embodiment, the individual steps of the management method are determined by the instructions of the computer programs.

[0024] Accordingly, the invention also relates to a computer program on an information medium, the program may be used in a terminal or more generally in a computer, including instructions adapted to perform the steps of the management method described above.

[0025] This program may use any programming language and be in the form of source code, result code, or intermediate code between the source code and the result code, such as in partially compiled form or in any other acceptable form.

[0026] The invention also relates to an information medium readable by a computer and containing instructions of a computer program such as described above.

[0027] The information carrier may be any unit or device capable of storing the program. For example, the medium may contain storage means, such as a ROM, e.g. a CD ROM or microelectronic circuit ROM, or magnetic recording means, e.g. a floppy disc or hard disk.

[0028] In addition, the information carrier may be a transmission medium, such as an electric or optical signal, which may be sent by an electric or optical cable, by radio or other means. The program of the invention may, in particular, be downloaded from an Internet-type network.

[0029] Alternatively, the information carrier may be an integrated circuit in which the program may be embedded, the circuit being adapted to be performed or used in carrying out this method.

[0030] It can also be assumed, in other embodiments, that the management method

And the terminal according to the invention together have all or part of the features discussed.

Brief Description of the Drawings [0031] Other features and advantages of the invention will emerge from the following description, with reference to the accompanying drawings, which show an embodiment without limitation. On the figures:

- figure 1 shows a terminal according to the invention in its surroundings in a particular embodiment;

- figure 2 shows, in block diagram form, the main steps of a method for managing the wireless interface of the terminal shown in figure 1, in a particular embodiment of the invention and

- figure 3 shows an example of a database according to the invention, in a particular embodiment.

Detailed description of the embodiment [0032] Figure 1 shows the terminal 10 according to the invention in its environment, in a particular embodiment.

[0033] In the example considered here, terminal 10 is a multi-tasking cell phone. This assumption is by no means limiting, but the invention may be applicable to other types of terminals, such as a laptop, PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), etc.

[0034] Terminal 10 has communication means 11 to connect to the NW cellular telecommunications network. These communications means 11 include a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card and a radio interface compatible with the NW cellular network.

[0035] The term cellular network is understood to mean a wireless communication network in which terminals connect to each other via the appropriate infrastructure, using stations (or base stations) located in the territory covered by the network, each station covering in advance a specific geographical zone, called a cell.

[0036] The NW cellular network is here the UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) telecommunications network. However, the invention also applies to other cellular networks, such as, for example, second generation networks (GSM (Global System for Mobile communications), GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution), and other third generation networks (HSDPA (High Speed ​​Data Packet Access), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), etc.), in the fourth generation LTE networks (Long Term Evolution), etc.

[0037] Terminal 10 is furthermore equipped with a short range Bluetooth ™ wireless interface 12 and a medium range wireless WLAN interface 13.

[0038] The interface 12 allows the terminal 10 to establish wireless communication with the NWD home network device 21 equipped with a Bluetooth ™ interface. Device

For example, a maintenance-free set, another terminal, etc., then local communication between terminal 10 and device 21 within the home NWD network can be established.

[0039] In a similar manner, the interface 13 allows the terminal 10 to establish wireless communication with the access point 22 to the NWP public network (e.g., the Internet), in accordance with a WLAN protocol. In an embodiment, the NWP network may be a private network or a home network.

[0040] The example considered here contemplates the management of wireless communication interfaces 12 and 13 of terminal 10. Of course, other wireless communication interfaces may be considered, and the invention can easily be used to manage a different number of interfaces.

[0041] It should be noted that the wireless communication interfaces 12 and 13 and the communication means 11 in the NW cellular telecommunications network are independent of each other. In particular, they can be activated or deactivated independently of each other.

[0042] In the example considered here, terminal 10 has the material architecture of a computer. It contains a processor 14, RAM 15 memory, ROM 16 solid memory and 17 non-volatile memory.

[0043] The permanent memory 16 is a recording medium according to the invention, read by the processor 14 of the terminal 10 on which the computer program according to the invention is stored, containing instructions for performing the steps of the method of managing communication interfaces 12 and 13 according to the invention.

[0044] The main steps of this method are illustrated in a particular embodiment of the invention in Fig. 2 now described.

[0045] Here it is assumed that terminal 10 is connected to the NW cellular network. This connection is kept active so that the terminal can receive and / or send phone calls or messages via the NW network.

[0046] In a known manner, when such a connection is established, the cellular network transmits signaling messages to the terminal via the BCCH channel (Broadcast Control CHannel), particularly via base stations (or Node B). These messages are intended to allow the terminal 10 to establish communication through the NW network.

[0047] Terminal 10 can determine, based on these signaling messages, in which cell it is or at least which cell it is connected to.

More specifically, it is assumed here that the terminal 10 receives, via its communication means 11, an M message transmitted by the base station associated with the cell in which it is located via the BCCH (Broadcast Control CHannel) channel of the NW network (step E10) .

[0049] According to the UMTS standard, this message has system information blocks or SIBs (System Information Block). Namely, the SIB1 block has the CId identifier of this cell (also known as CeIIID).

[0050] For more details on system information transmitted on the BCCH, see, for example, 3GPP TS25.331 entitled "Radio Resource Control: Protocol Specification", Issue 6.

[0051] The CId cell identifier creates information representing the geographical location of the terminal 10 in the sense of the invention because it allows to locate, even "roughly" the terminal. Indeed, by a known method, each cell is identified in the network in a unique way and each cell corresponds to a predefined geographical zone. In this way, the identifier makes it possible to determine, for a particular cell, the geographical location of the terminal.

[0052] The processor 14 of the terminal 10 extracts the cell identifier CId from the message M and stores it in the main memory 15.

[0053] Then he looks for this identifier in the database 17A of terminal 10 (step E20). According to the invention, a database means a set or arrangement of data (e.g., table).

[0054] The database 17 A is stored in the terminal non-volatile memory 17. It connects, with the identifiers of the cells covered by the NW network, the identifier of one or more wireless interfaces of the terminal 10 that the user intends to activate when he is in those cells.

[0055] An example of such a base is shown in Figure 3. According to this example:

- the ID (12) of the communication interface 12 is associated with the cell IDs of the CId and CId2 of the NW network;

- the ID of the NW network CId3 is associated with the ID (13) of the communication interface 13;

- the IDs of the NW network CId4 are associated with the IDs (12) and ID (13) of the communication interfaces 12 and 13;

- etc.

[0056] This base may be pre-determined and sent to the terminal, for example via one or the other communication interface 12 or 13.

[0057] In an embodiment, it can be enriched each time the user of terminal 10 manually activates communication interfaces 12 and 13.

[0058] For example, with each activation performed manually by the terminal user, the user indicates whether or not he intends to save the identifier of the activated interface in database 17A. In a given case, if the terminal 10 is within the range of the NW cellular network, it retrieves from one of the signaling messages sent by the network, the identifier of the cell in which it is located, and combines, in the 17A database, this identifier with the identifier of the activated interface.

[0059] As the example in Fig. 3 shows, several cell communication interfaces may be connected to the same cell identifier. In a similar manner, the communication interface may be connected to several cell identifiers.

[0060] Search step E20 in base 17A thus seeks to determine whether the CId is in the base and, in a given case, to determine which communication interface of terminal 10 it is connected to (step E30). This step is triggered by a query from database 17A using a CId identifier, according to conventional means known to the skilled person and not listed here.

[0061] If the CId identifier is not in database 17A, the method stops (step E40). Communication interfaces 12 and 13 are not automatically activated by the processor 14, but the user can start them manually if he wishes.

[0062] It is assumed here that the cell identifier CId is equal to CId3. Therefore, according to Fig. 3, the database query 17A by the processor 14 makes it possible to determine that the interface 13 identified by the ID (13) is connected to the cell in which it is located terminal 10.

[0063] After receiving the ID (13), the processor 14 automatically activates (in other words, activates) the interface 13 (step E50) thanks to the appropriate software application, known and not listed here.

[0064] Activation of the interface 13 is then activated automatically, i.e. without requiring the intervention of the user of the terminal 10.

[0065] With the interface 13 activated, it is possible to connect to the NWP public network as soon as terminal 10 is sufficiently close to access point 22 to cooperate with it and connect. It should be noted that the cooperation parameters with access point 22 can also be saved in the 17A database.

[0066] In the embodiment described here, as a result of automatic activation of the interface 13, the processor 14 of the terminal 10 continues to analyze the cell identifiers received in signaling messages transmitted by the NW cell network to detect the change of the geographical location of the terminal 10.

[0067] More specifically, continuously or at various predetermined times (e.g., periodically), processor 14 extracts each cell identifier (denoted by CId ') received in these messages and compares it with the CId identifier stored in non-volatile memory 13 (step E60).

[0068] If the CId 'identifier is different from the CId identifier, a change in the geographical location of the terminal 10 is detected. In other words, the previously activated interface 13 can no longer be accepted.

[0069] After detecting this geographical location change, processor 14 turns on the time relay for a predetermined delay period Ttempo (step E70).

[0070] If during this Ttempo delay period (step E80) none of the messages received by terminal 10 from the NW cellular network makes it possible to determine that it is back in the cell identified by CId, the communication interface 13 is automatically deactivated by the processor 14 ( stage E90) thanks to the appropriate software application, known and not specified here.

[0071] It should be noted that steps E20 to E50 can be restarted with a new identifier CId 'to identify in the database 17A another interface to be activated in a given case. These steps will preferably be applied before the interface 13 is deactivated to guarantee the continuity of the connection offered to the terminal 10.

[0072] In contrast, if, before the end of the Ttempo delay, the terminal 10 receives a signaling message from the NW cell network indicating that the cell in which it is located is again the cell identified by CId, the communication interface 13 is now activated and the time relay off.

[0073] In another embodiment of the invention, instead of checking if the terminal 10 is again in the cell identified by the CId, the processor 14 analyzes for a delay period whether the connection to the NW network is active. It then deactivates interface 13 automatically if the connection to the NWP network is inactive during the entire duration of the delay.

[0074] In another embodiment of the invention, the steps E60 to E90 are not implemented and the user manually deactivates the interface 13 when he wishes.

[0075] In the example under consideration, the information showing the geographical location of the terminal 10 used by the method of the invention is the identifier of the NW network cell in which or near which the terminal is located or to which it is connected. This assumption is not limiting and the invention may also apply to other information representing the geographical location of terminal 10, such as, for example, geographical coordinates showing the location of terminal 10.

[0076] These geographical coordinates can be obtained in particular on the basis of a message sent by the cellular network to which the terminal 10 is connected, or a message received from the GPS system if the terminal is equipped with a GPS receiver. Thus, the invention also applies when terminal 10 is not connected to a cellular network.

Prepared and verified

Grażyna Palka Patent Attorney