Patent Application
20080068138
The above and other exemplary objects, features and advantages of certain exemplary embodiments the present invention will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Throughout the drawings, the same drawing reference numerals will be understood to refer to the same elements, features and structures.
The matters defined in the description such as a detailed construction and elements are provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of the embodiments of the invention. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Also, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions are omitted for clarity and conciseness.
According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the term “intrinsic information” means all information, for example, a production date, model name, serial number, Bluetooth authentication number, and electronic serial number (ESN), among others, related to a terminal stored within a memory of a mobile communication terminal. The term “intrinsic information providing server” means a server in which the intrinsic information is stored, and when a mobile communication terminal requires its own intrinsic information, the mobile communication terminal can download the intrinsic information by requesting the information to the intrinsic information providing server.
Referring to
The mobile communication terminal 100 includes a memory 101, a display unit 105, a controller 107, and an RF unit 109.
The memory 101 stores programs and information required to perform general operations of the mobile communication terminal 100. The memory 101 may include an intrinsic information storage 103 for storing information about the mobile communication terminal 100.
The display unit 105 displays information output by the controller 107. The display unit 105 may display intrinsic information that has been stored or is received in the mobile communication terminal 100 with a bar code. A bar code displayed in the display unit 105 may be recognized by a device such as a bar code reader.
The controller 107 controls general operations of the mobile communication terminal 100. The controller 107 may include a data processor with a transmitter for encoding and modulating a signal for transmission and a receiver for decoding and demodulating a received signal. The data processor may include a modem and a codec. The controller 107 may perform a function of a receiver for receiving intrinsic information of the mobile communication terminal 100 and a verification unit for verifying whether the intrinsic information is stored. The controller 107 may include a bar code generating module 115. The bar code generating module 115 generates intrinsic information, received from the intrinsic information providing server 130, with a bar code, and the generated bar code is recognized by a bar code reader.
The RF unit 109 performs a series of communication functions such as mobile phone communication, an SMS service or a multimedia messaging service, and data communication. The RF unit 109 transmits by converting voice and sound data and control data to a radio signal, and receives a radio signal to output by converting the radio signal to voice and sound data and control data. Therefore, the RF unit 109 includes an RF transmitter for up-converting and amplifying a signal for transmission and an RF receiver for low-noise amplifying and down-converting a received signal.
The intrinsic information providing server 130 may provide intrinsic information to the mobile communication terminal 100. When the intrinsic information providing server 130 receives an intrinsic information request signal from the mobile communication terminal 100, the intrinsic information providing server 130 transmits intrinsic information corresponding to the signal.
Referring to
Next, the controller 107 verifies whether there is a bar code generating module 115 (S203). According to an exemplary implementation, the bar code generating module 115 generates intrinsic information with a bar code, and the generated bar code is recognized by a bar code reader. If a bar code generating module 115 does not exist, the bar code generating module 115 is downloaded by the controller 115 (S215).
The controller 107 verifies whether there is a request for intrinsic information from a user (S205). A user can request intrinsic information to verify information about the mobile communication terminal 100.
If intrinsic information is requested, the controller 107 verifies whether the intrinsic information is stored in the intrinsic information storage 103 of the memory 101 (S207). The intrinsic information is generally stored in the memory 101.
If the intrinsic information is stored, the controller 107 generates the information with a bar code using the bar code generating module 115 (S209). A one-dimensional bar code, a two-dimensional bar code, or a three-dimensional bar code may be used as the bar code.
A bar code is a machine-readable language encoded to facilitate the easy reading of a character, number, and special symbol, among others with a specific arrangement pattern of black bars having various widths and white spaces. The bar code is widely used for expression, collection, and reading of various information. The bar code is classified as a one-dimensional bar code, a two-dimensional bar code, or a three-dimensional bar code.
A one-dimensional bar code is a linear code consisting of a series of vertical bars arranged in a horizontal direction for expressing a number or a simple character with combination and arrangement of bars and spaces. Because information is contained in only a horizontal direction (X direction) of the linear code, storage capacity of information is limited.
A two-dimensional bar code is a Braille type code or a mosaic code in which information is arranged in a plane by arranging the information in both directions (X direction and Y direction). The Braille type code has been developed to compensate for the limitation of information expression, which is a disadvantage of the existing one-dimensional bar code. The two-dimensional bar code allows at least one hundred times more information than the one-dimensional bar code to be expressed with two-dimensional symbols within a small quadrangular space. The two-dimensional bar code may contain various types of information such as a text of a character and a number, a graphic, a picture, a voice, a fingerprint, and a signature.
A three-dimensional bar code is a special code called a color code and an iconact. The color code uses a high-technology computer recognition method, and can contain about ten times more information than the existing two-dimensional bar code. The color code may also store various information using 16 billion possible combinations that can be generated by combining four colors of red, green, black, and blue within a quadrangular space having a width and a length of 3 mm. The iconact is a code in which 19 circles are arranged in a hexagonal shape and is a pattern recognition code that can store information with a size difference of each circle. The color code and the iconact can store various information about goods and various data such as Internet addresses, words, and numerals and thus allow a user to connect to a website and to watch moving images.
The controller 107 displays the generated bar code in the display unit 105 (S211). The bar code displayed in the display unit 105 is displayed with a one-dimensional bar code as illustrated in
In the step S207, if intrinsic information is not stored, the controller 107 connects to the intrinsic information providing server 130 (S217).
The controller 107 transmits an intrinsic information request signal to the intrinsic information providing server 130 (S219) and verifies whether the intrinsic information is received according to the request (S221).
When the intrinsic information is received, the controller 107 proceeds to the step S209.
In the method and apparatus for providing intrinsic information in a mobile communication terminal according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention, when information about the mobile communication terminal is provided, information about the terminal is displayed on a screen with a bar code, so that it is easy to verify and recognize the information.
A method of providing intrinsic information in a mobile communication terminal according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention is similar to that of the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention, but is characterized by generating intrinsic information with a bar code in a intrinsic information providing server and then transmitting the bar code to the terminal. This is different from the method of generating intrinsic information of the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention with a bar code in the terminal.
Referring to
The mobile communication terminal 400 includes a memory 401, a display unit 405, a controller 407, and an RF unit 409.
The intrinsic information providing server 430 may include a bar code generating module 435. The bar code generating module 435 generates intrinsic information of the mobile communication terminal 400 with a bar code. If the intrinsic information providing server 430 receives an intrinsic information request signal from the mobile communication terminal 400, the intrinsic information providing server 430 generates and transmits the intrinsic information corresponding to the signal with a bar code.
Referring to
Next, the controller 407 verifies whether there is a request for intrinsic information from a user (S503). A user can request intrinsic information in order to verify information about the mobile communication terminal 400.
If intrinsic information is requested, the controller 407 verifies whether the intrinsic information converted to a bar code is stored in the intrinsic information storage 403 of the memory 401 (S505).
If the intrinsic information converted to a bar code is stored, the controller 407 displays the bar code in the display unit 405 (S507).
In the step S505, if the intrinsic information is not stored, the controller 407 connects to the intrinsic information providing server 430 (S511) and transmits an intrinsic information request signal (S513).
The controller 407 verifies whether the intrinsic information is received according to the request (S515). When the intrinsic information is received, the controller 407 proceeds to the step S507.
A method of providing intrinsic information according to the third exemplary embodiment of the present invention is similar to those of the first and second exemplary embodiments, but is characterized by storing intrinsic information of the terminal in an RFID tag and verifying the intrinsic information with an RFID reader.
Referring to
The mobile communication terminal 600 includes a memory 601, a display unit 605, a controller 607, an RF unit 609, and an RFID tag 615.
The RFID tag 615 includes a micro integrated circuit chip (IC chip) and an antenna and is a tag that can provide information about goods without direct contact. The IC chip of the RFID tag 615 permanently stores information about the mobile communication terminal 600 to which the tag is attached.
The RFID tag 615 can be a passive type or an active type, and is generally a mutual induction passive tag. In the passive tag, a separate power source is not required since energy required for operating the chip is supplied by a reader. The active tag generates and transmits a strong response signal even in an area in which a transmitting frequency of a reader is weak by using an additional energy source such as an external power source. This is advantageous because an active RFID tag can be sensed in a wider area than a passive tag.
The RFID reader 630 sends an information providing instruction to the RFID tag 615, and receives and reads the provided information. The RFID tag 615 is a transponder that automatically sends a response when the RFID tag 615 receives a signal from the RFID reader 630. Since the RFID reader 630 can read several RFID tags 615 simultaneously, the RFID reader 630 can store intrinsic information of the mobile communication terminal 600 in a bundle with only one read operation.
The RFID reader 630 sends a read instruction to the RFID tag 615 to acquire information stored in the RFID tag 615 and receives a signal from the RFID tag 615. In general, the RFID reader 630 includes an RF module, a control unit, and a coupling element and is connected to an information processing system.
Referring to
If the RFID tag 615 is provided in the step S701, the controller 607 verifies whether a request for intrinsic information is received from a user (S703). A user can request intrinsic information in order to verify information about the mobile communication terminal 600.
If the intrinsic information is requested, the RFID reader 630 reads the intrinsic information (S705).
In the method and apparatus for providing intrinsic information in a mobile communication terminal according to the third exemplary embodiment, when information about the mobile communication terminal is requested from the outside, even if the mobile communication terminal is turned off, information about the terminal stored in the RFID tag is read by the RFID reader, so that it is easy to verify and recognize the information about the terminal.
The intrinsic information can be displayed in a display unit in other forms, for example, a character or a picture, instead of a bar code. This will be easily understood by those skilled in the art.
As described above, in the method and apparatus for providing intrinsic information in a mobile communication terminal according to the present invention, when a user wants to verify information about the mobile communication terminal, the information about the terminal is displayed on a screen with a bar code, a character, or a picture, so that it is easy to verify and recognize the information about the terminal.
Further, when information about the mobile communication terminal is requested from the outside, the information about the terminal stored in the RFID tag is read by the RFID reader even if the mobile communication terminal is turned off so that it is easy to verify and recognize the information about the terminal.
While the present invention has been shown and described with reference to certain exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-80355 | Aug 2006 | KR | national |
