Patent Application
20240147269
Next Generation mobile networks, such as Fifth Generation (5G) mobile networks, are being deployed as the next evolution of mobile wireless networks. 5G mobile networks are designed to increase data transfer rates, increase spectral efficiency, improve coverage, improve capacity, and reduce latency. Under the general classification of “5G,” mobile networks may use different radio frequency bands with different capabilities. For example, mid-band and-high band 5G service (referred to herein as “5G premium service”) can provide greater data-transfer speeds than low-band 5G service. As 5G networks are being deployed and evolving, user devices may be configured to support 5G premium service, 5G low-band service, and/or legacy networks, such as 4G/Long Term Evolution (LTE) service. Cells for 5G premium service, 5G low-band service, and LTE service may have different and/or overlapping coverage areas.
The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements. Also, the following detailed description does not limit the invention.
Fifth Generation (5G) wireless service may include certain categories of radio frequency bands, such as high-band (e.g., above 6 Gigahertz (GHz), also referred to as mmWave), mid-band (e.g., between 3 GHz and 6 GHz), and low-band (e.g., below 3 GHz), although different categories and terminology may be used. Generally, low-band 5G service provides widespread signal coverage. Mid-band and high-band 5G service (collectively referred to herein as “5G premium service” and also known as Ultra-Wideband (UW) service) can provide faster data transfer speeds than low-band 5G service, but with less signal range than low-band 5G service.
Mobile networks typically have multiple radio access types (RATs) and multiple layers with capabilities that can vary from cell to cell. User equipment (UE) devices typically display an icon (referred to herein as a “network icon”) that indicates to a user the current type of network service available. For example, the UE device may display a 5G premium network icon when connected to a wireless network that provides 5G premium service and a 5G standard network icon when connection to a wireless network that provides low-band 5G service. However, the UE device typically has limited information to determine whether to display the 5G premium network icon or the 5G standard network icon. For example, the UE device is only able to measure channels it is active on.
Currently, decisions for displaying a network icon are made by a UE device based on measured connection data. For example, a UE device may display the 5G premium network icon when it detects an active 5G connection using mid-band or high-band frequencies. Although displaying the 5G premium network icon may accurately reflect the type of network service for an active network connection, network icons are typically perceived by users as an indicator of network coverage even when the UE device does not have an active connection. For example, when not actively transmitting and/or receiving data, the UE device in 5G non-standalone (NSA) architectures will typically default to listen over a legacy (4G or Long-Term Evolution (LTE)) service. Alternatively, when in a 5G standalone (SA) environment, the UE device could listen over either a low-band 5G service or a mid-band 5G service. Thus, there is currently no way for the UE device to guarantee 5G premium service availability when the UE device is in idle mode. The UE device can currently only estimate/predict 5G premium service availability when idle.
In contrast with the UE device, the mobile network is consistently aware of its capabilities and coverage areas. According to implementations described herein, communications from a serving cell of the mobile network (e.g., a wireless access station or base station that supports 5G premium service) can be used to instruct whether a UE device should display a 5G premium network icon. Network signals (referred to as “premium icon signaling”) may be in the form of broadcast messages for all UE devices in a cell or direct signals to individual UE devices.
The premium icon signaling may be static or may be dynamically adjusted based on network conditions (e.g., the currently ability of a cell to support 5G premium service). Furthermore, the premium network icon signaling may work in conjunction with rules stored by UE devices to appropriately display a 5G premium network icon. As described further herein, wireless access stations may receive a common configuration and/or parameters for the premium icon signaling that can be tuned (or self-configured) by each access station based on the access station's 5G capabilities.
Thus, systems and methods described herein improve a customer experience by enabling a UE device to accurately display a 5G premium network icon based on network signaling. According to an implementation, a network device stores configuration thresholds for supporting a premium cellular service by the network device and monitors network conditions against the configuration thresholds. When the network conditions meet the configuration thresholds, the network device provides to the UE device a signal for the UE device to present a premium network icon to a user. In one aspect, the signal may be broadcast via a system information block (SIB). In another aspect, the signal may be a direct signal via a radio resource control (RRC) message.
Environment 100 includes links between the networks and between the devices. Environment 100 may be implemented to include wired, optical, and/or wireless links among the devices and the networks illustrated. A communication connection via a link may be direct or indirect. For example, an indirect communication connection may involve an intermediary device and/or an intermediary network not illustrated in
In the configuration of
UE device 110 may include any type of mobile device having coverage mode capabilities for 5G low-band service and 5G premium service. UE device 110 may thus communicate with different access stations (e.g., access stations 120) using different wireless channels (e.g., channels 170) corresponding to the different 5G services. UE device 110 may include, for example, a cellular radiotelephone, a smart phone, a tablet, any type of internet protocol (IP) communications device, a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) device, a laptop computer, a wearable computer, a gaming device, a media player device, or a digital camera that includes communication capabilities. In other implementations, UE device 110 may be implemented as a machine-type communications (MTC) device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, etc. According to implementations described herein, UE device 110 may be provisioned to recognize specific signals (e.g., Public Land Mobile Network identifiers (PLMN IDs), SIB information elements (IEs), RRC messages, etc.) from access stations 120 that indicate instructions or criteria for displaying 5G premium network icons. UE device 110 may support wireless communications using 4.5G, 4G, LTE, and other air interfaces. Additionally, UE device 110 may support simultaneous carrier aggregation of different RAT types (e.g., 4G, 5G low-band, 5G premium, etc.).
RAN 130 may enable end devices (e.g., UE devices 110) to connect to core network 140 for mobile telephone service, Short Message Service (SMS), Multimedia Message Service (MMS), Internet access, cloud computing, and/or other types of data services. RAN 130 may include access stations 120 that service UE devices 110 within a geographic area. Access station 120 may include a 5G base station (e.g., a gNodeB or gNB) that includes one or more radio frequency (RF) transceivers configured to send and receive 5G New Radio (NR) wireless signals. According to an implementation, access station 120 may include a gNB or its equivalent with multiple distributed components, such as a virtualized central unit (vCU), a virtualized distributed unit (vDU), a remote unit (RU), or a remote radio unit (RRU), or another type of component to support distributed arrangements. In other implementations, access station 120 may include a 4G base station (e.g., an eNodeB or eNB) in combination with a 5G base station. Furthermore, in some implementations, access station 120 may include a Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) system that performs cloud computing and/or provides network processing services for UE devices 110. One or more of access stations 120 may support multiple RAT types. For example, access stations 120 may be configured to support communications via two or more of low-band, mid-band, or high-band frequencies.
Core network 140 may include one or multiple networks of one or multiple types. For example, core network 140 may include a terrestrial network and/or a satellite network. According to an implementation, core network 140 includes a network pertaining to RAN 130. For example, core network 140 may include the core part of a 5G network, an LTE network, an LTE-A network, a legacy network, and so forth.
Depending on the implementation, core network 140 may include various network elements that may be implemented in network devices 150. Such network elements may include a mobility management entity (MME), a user plane function (UPF), a session management function (SMF), a core access and mobility management function (AMF), a unified data management (UDM), as well other network elements pertaining to various network-related functions, such as billing, security, authentication and authorization, network polices, subscriber profiles, network slicing, and/or other network elements that facilitate the operation of core network 140.
DN 160 may include one or more networks, such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a telephone network, the Internet, etc., capable of communicating with UE device 110. In one implementation, DN 160 includes a network that provides data services (e.g., via packets or any other Internet protocol (IP) datagrams) to UE device 110.
The number and arrangement of devices in environment 100 are examples. According to other embodiments, environment 100 may include additional devices and/or differently arranged devices, than those illustrated in
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Although one 5G low-band cell 210 and one 5G premium cell 220 are shown for simplicity in
Bus 310 may include a path that permits communication among the components of device 300. Processor 320 may include a processor, a microprocessor, or processing logic that may interpret and execute instructions. Memory 330 may include any type of dynamic storage device that may store information and instructions, for execution by processor 320, and/or any type of non-volatile storage device that may store information for use by processor 320. Input component 340 may include a mechanism that permits a user to input information to device 300, such as a keyboard, a keypad, a button, a switch, etc. Output component 350 may include a mechanism that outputs information to the user, such as a display, a speaker, one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs), etc. For example, in the context of UE device 110, output component 350 may include an icon display to selectively present network icons (e.g., network icons 202 and 204), as described herein.
Communication interface 360 may include a transceiver that enables device 300 to communicate with other devices and/or systems via wireless communications, wired communications, or a combination of wireless and wired communications. For example, communication interface 360 may include mechanisms for communicating with another device or system via a network. Communication interface 360 may include an antenna assembly for transmission and/or reception of RF signals. For example, communication interface 360 may include one or more antennas to transmit and/or receive RF signals over the air. In one implementation, for example, communication interface 360 may communicate with a network and/or devices connected to a network. Alternatively, or additionally, communication interface 360 may be a logical component that includes input and output ports, input and output systems, and/or other input and output components that facilitate the transmission of data to other devices.
Device 300 may perform certain operations in response to processor 320 executing software instructions contained in a computer-readable medium, such as memory 330. A computer-readable medium may be defined as a non-transitory memory device. A memory device may include space within a single physical memory device or spread across multiple physical memory devices. The software instructions may be read into memory 330 from another computer-readable medium or from another device. The software instructions contained in memory 330 may cause processor 320 to perform processes described herein. Alternatively, hardwired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to implement processes described herein. Thus, implementations described herein are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software.
Although
Access station 120 may include cell status logic 410, broadcast signaling logic 420, dedicated signaling logic 430, and communication logic 440. In alternative implementations, these components or a portion of these components may be located externally with respect to access station 120. For example, a network device 150 in core network 140 may include logic to assist components in
Cell status logic 410 may monitor status of access station 120 capabilities. For example, cell status logic 410 may store static setting and dynamic conditions relating to capabilities of access station 120 to support 5G premium service. Static settings may include, for example, frequency bands, channel bandwidths, multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) layers on each band, carrier aggregation (CA) and dual connectivity (DC) combinations supported, etc. Dynamic conditions may include current/projected backhaul conditions (e.g., between access station 120 and core network 140) and current/projected loading conditions (e.g., 5G high-band and/or 5G mid-band wireless spectrum usage within a cell).
Broadcast signaling logic 420 may configure/generate broadcast signals for premium icon signaling 230 in the serving area (or cell) of access station 120. In one implementation, broadcast signaling logic 420 may configure a broadcast signal (herein referred to as a System Information Block 1 (SIB1)) to indicate the availability of 5G premium service. The SIB1 may include a “dummy” PLMN ID. In 5G NR SA, access station 120 (e.g., a gNB) can broadcast multiple PLMN IDs with dedicated tracking areas, RAN area codes, and cell identities for each PLMN ID. According to an implementation, the presence of a specific dummy PLMN ID (e.g., which would be used as an indicator and not be associated with a functional PLMN), when detected by a UE device 110 that is configured for 5G premium service, may cause the UE device 110 to display 5G premium icon 202.
In another implementation, broadcast signaling logic 420 may configure a broadcast signal with a dedicated SIB information element (IE) to indicate when or whether to present 5G premium icon 202. For example, the dedicated SIB IE may be added to existing wireless network standards (e.g., 3GPP standards) for implementation. The dedicated SIB IE may include a single or multiple bits that may function to indicate the availability of 5G premium service in a similar manner to the dummy PLMN ID described above (e.g., each bit or bit combination may indicate a certain 5G premium service criteria).
In another implementation, broadcast signaling logic 420 may use the presence of specific dummy PLMN IDs or dummy PLMN ID plus tracking area codes (TACs) (e.g., broadcast in SIB1) or a dedicated SIB IE to communicate criteria to UE device 110 for displaying 5G premium icon 202. For example, as illustrated in table 600 of
According to still another implementation, broadcast signaling logic 420 may dynamically start, stop, or adjust broadcasting of a SIB1 or a dedicated SIB IE based on network conditions that impact availability of 5G premium service. For example, access station 120 may temporarily stop broadcasting a dummy PLMN ID or dedicated SIB IE when network loads are too high (e.g., above a usage level threshold) to support additional 5G premium service connections. According to an implementation, broadcast signaling logic 420 may apply configuration thresholds such as described below in connection with table 700 of
Dedicated signaling logic 430 may configure/generate direct network signals associated with premium icon signaling 230, such as signals to UE devices 110 that are connected to access station 120. In one implementation, dedicated signaling logic 430 may configure a new IE in one or more Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages to indicate the availability of 5G premium service. In a standalone architecture, RRC messages that may be used to transport the new IE may include RRCSetup, RRCReconfiguration, RRCReestablishment, and RRCRelease. In a non-standalone architecture, LTE RRC messages that may be used to transport the new IE may include RRCConnectionSetup, RRCConnectionReconfiguration, RRCConnectionReestablishment, and RRCConnectionRelease. In another implementation, dedicated signaling logic 430 may configure a new type of dedicated signaling message, such as RRCOperatorDefinedConfig.
Using either the new IE or the new RRC message, dedicated signaling logic 430 may provide to a UE device 110 (a) an indication as to whether the 5G premium icon 202 should be displayed, (b) any criteria UE device 110 should apply to display 5G premium icon 202, and/or (c) persistence criteria. UE device 110 may include similar criteria described below in connection with table 600 of
According to still another implementation, dedicated signaling logic 430 may determine to not send the RRC IEs or RRC messages based on network conditions that impact availability of 5G premium service. For example, access station 120 may elect to not send direct signaling for 5G premium icons when network loads are too high (e.g., above a usage level threshold) to support additional 5G premium service connections. Similar to broadcast signaling logic 420 described above, dedicated signaling logic 430 may apply configuration thresholds such as described below in connection with table 700 of
Communication logic 440 may include logic to communicate premium icon signaling 230 with elements in environment 100 directly or indirectly. For example, communication logic 440 may transmit broadcast communications that include dummy PLMN IDs or new SIB IEs from broadcast signaling logic 420. Additionally, communication logic 440 may transmit and receive communications associated with establishing an RRC connection with UE devices 110 and which include new IEs or the new RRC messages from dedicated signaling logic 430. Communication logic 440 may also transmit and receive communications associated with establishing a connection with another access station 120 or network device 150.
Although
UE device 110 may include cell monitoring logic 510, connection logic 520, communication logic 530, and icon display logic 540. In alternative implementations, these components or a portion of these components may be located externally with respect to UE device 110. For example, an access station 120 or a network device 150 in core network 140 may include logic to assist components in
Cell monitoring logic 510 may include logic to detect and/or monitor the signals associated with certain cells (e.g., 5G low-band cell 210, 5G premium cell 220, etc.). For example, UE device 110 illustrated in
Connection logic 520 may include logic to identify and interpret premium icon signaling 230, such as new IEs in RCC messages or new RRC messages, from dedicated signaling logic 430, that provide instructions for displaying 5G premium icon 202. For example, connection logic 520 may detect when an RRC message from access station 120 includes instructions for presenting 5G premium icon 202
Communication logic 530 may include logic to communicate with elements in environment 100 directly or indirectly. For example, communication logic 530 may transmit and receive communications associated with establishing an RRC connection with the appropriate access stations 120 in environment 100, such as a gNodeB (e.g., access station 120-2) that provides 5G premium service. Communication logic 530 may also transmit and receive communications associated with establishing a connection with a gNodeB (e.g., access station 120-1) that provides 5G low-band service.
Icon display logic 540 may include logic to implement display of network icons (e.g., network icons 202/204) on UE device 110. For example, icon display logic 540 may implement instructions from access stations 120 (e.g., broadcast signaling logic 420, dedicated signaling logic 430, etc.), received via cell monitoring logic 510 and/or connection logic 520, to provide the indication and/or perception of 5G premium service under certain conditions, as described herein. According to an implementation, icon display logic 540 may store and apply a set of rules, such as those summarized in
Although
Rule field 610 may provide a rule identifier and/or order of precedence for a record in table 600. Network signaling field 615 may indicate a network signal obtained from an access station 120 by UE device 110. For example, entries in network signaling field 615 may correspond to broadcast signals (e.g., a dummy PLMN ID or a SIB IE) or directed signals (e.g., an RRC message including an IE or a new RRC message) related to 5G iconography. Thus, entries in network signaling field 615 are shown as “dummy” PLMN IDs (e.g., “Dummy PLMN ID A,” “Dummy PLMN ID X,” etc.), which may be extracted by UE devices 110 from SIB1 broadcasts. Different PLMN IDs may correspond to different criteria for displaying a 5G premium icon. In other implementations, entries for network signaling field 615 may include bit values (e.g., one-bit or two-bit values) from SIB IEs for 5G premium icons, bit values from IEs in RCC messages, or other terms from dedicated RRC signaling messages for 5G premium icons.
As shown in the record associated with rule 5 of entries 690, a dummy PLMN ID may also include one or more dummy TACs (e.g., “TAC 0,” “TAC 1”) to indicate additional criteria for displaying a 5G premium icon. In the example of
Service criteria field 620 may identify a service criteria associated with a corresponding entry in network signaling field 615. For example, service criteria field 620 may indicate if one or more particular frequency bands (e.g., n77 band, n48 band, mmWave band, etc.) are needed to support 5G premium service from an access station 120 (e.g., the access station 120 that broadcasts or sends the network signal).
UE behavior field 625 may identify a behavior of UE device 110 to present a 5G premium icon. For example, UE device 110 may detect network signaling corresponding to one of the entries in network signaling field 615, identify a corresponding criteria in service criteria field 620, and present 5G premium icon 202 according to entries in behavior field 625 when the criteria is met.
Parameter field 710 may indicate a parameter or key performance indicator (KPI) for which a threshold is indicated. As illustrated in
Threshold field 720 may indicate a particular threshold value or definition for a corresponding parameter in parameter field 710. For example, threshold field 720 may indicate minimum values, such a minimum band support or bandwidth, needed for an access station 120 to effectively provide 5G premium service. In the example of
In one implementation, values in table 700 may be provisioned with a common configuration for a group of access stations 120 via a provisioning system (e.g., a network device 150). In another implementation, the configuration and thresholds may be adjusted individually for a given access station using manual or push methods. Each access station 120 may dynamically apply the parameters/thresholds to determine when to signal instructions to UE devices 110 to present the 5G premium service icon. In some implementations, access stations 120 may also use advertised RRC capabilities from UE devices 110 as an additional criteria for dedicated signaling.
Referring to
Process 800 may further include receiving icon signaling from a RAN device (block 810). For example, UE device 110 may receive premium icon signaling 230 from an access station 120. In one example, an access station 120 that supports 5G premium service may broadcast SIB signals that may be received by UE device 110. In one implementation, the broadcast signals may include a SIB1 with a dummy PLMN ID or a dummy PLMN ID and TACs that can be interpreted by UE device 110 as display criteria for 5G premium icon 202. In another implementation, the broadcast signals may include a new SIB IE that provides display criteria for 5G premium icon 202.
In another example, an access station 120 that supports 5G premium service may provide premium icon signaling 230 as direct signals that may be received by UE device 110. In one implementation, the direct signals may include one or more types of RRC messages that include a new IE that provides display criteria for 5G premium icon 202. In another implementation, the direct signals may include a new dedicated RRC message that provides display criteria for 5G premium icon 202.
Process 800 may also include presenting display of a 5G premium icon based on the display rules and the 5G icon signaling (block 815). For example, UE device 110 may receive the broadcast signaling or direct signaling (e.g., from access station 120) that includes criteria for displaying 5G premium icon 202. UE device 110 may apply the criteria to the display rules in, for example, table 600 to present 5G premium icon 202.
Process 900 may include receiving and storing 5G premium configuration thresholds (block 905) and monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs) for the configuration thresholds (block 910). For example, a network device 150 may be used to provision a group of access stations 120 with a common configuration and thresholds for supporting 5G premium service, such as the sample configurations illustrated in table 700. In one implementation, each access station 120 may store the common configuration and thresholds. The thresholds may individually or in combination indicate minimum requirements for offering 5G premium service. In some implementations, the common configuration and thresholds may be individually tailored/optimized for specific access stations 120. Each access station 120 may individually monitor KPIs corresponding to the thresholds.
If the KPIs meet a threshold (block 915—Yes), process 900 may include broadcasting and/or sending a 5G premium icon signal to UE devices 110 (block 920). For example, if one or a required combination of the configuration thresholds are met at an access station 120 that supports 5G premium service, the access station may broadcast SIB signals to its respective cell. Additionally, or alternatively, an access station 120 that supports 5G premium service may provide direct signals (e.g., RRC messages with 5G premium icon signals) to certain UE devices 110 within its cell.
If the KPIs do not meet a threshold (block 915—No), process 900 may include not broadcasting and/or not sending a 5G premium icon signal to UE devices 110 (block 925). For example, if an access station 120 determines that a required combination of the configuration thresholds are not met (or predictively will not be met), access station 120 may stop broadcasting SIB signals for 5G premium icons and/or not send direct signals for 5G premium icons to connected UE devices 110.
Process 1000 may include receiving and storing 5G icon display criteria (block 1005) and determining whether the UE device 110 is in an idle state (block 1010). For example, UE device 110 may receive 5G premium icon display rules, such as a signal corresponding to one of the sample rules illustrated in table 600. In one implementation, the 5G premium icon display rules may be provided as part of a provisioning process or device initialization process. UE device 110 may store the 5G premium icon display rules in a local memory component.
If the UE device 110 is in an idle mode (block 1010—Yes), process 1000 may further include detecting a SIB broadcast with 5G premium icon display criteria (block 1015) and determining if the criteria is supported by the UE device 110 (block 1020). For example, UE device 110 may determine if broadcast signals for a 5G premium icon are detected. In one implementation, the broadcast signals may include a SIB1 with a dummy PLMN ID or a dummy PLMN ID and TACs that can be interpreted by UE device 110 as display criteria for 5G premium icon 202. In another implementation, the broadcast signals may include a new SIB IE that provides display criteria for 5G premium icon 202. UE device 110 may apply the criteria to determine if UE device 110 could support 5G premium service (e.g., when in an active state on the current cell).
If the criteria is supported by the UE device (block 1020—Yes), process 1000 may include presenting a 5G premium icon based on the broadcast criteria (block 1025). For example, UE device 110 may present 5G premium icon 202 to the user while in an idle state.
If the criteria is not supported by the UE device 110 (block 1020—No), process 1000 may include presenting a default icon (block 1030). For example, UE device 110 may present a 5G standard icon 204 (e.g., for SA architecture) or a 4G/LTE icon (e.g., for NSA architecture) while in an idle state.
Returning to process block 1010, if the UE device 110 is not in an idle state (block 1010—No), process 1000 may further include receiving 5G premium icon display criteria via direct signaling from a RAN (block 1035) and determining if the criteria is supported (block 1040). For example, UE device 110 may receive 5G premium icon display rules provided directly to the UE device, such as rules similar to one of the sample rules illustrated in table 600. According to an implementation, logic in UE device 110 may be configured such that the direct signals supersede any contemporaneous broadcast signals for premium icon signaling. In one implementation, the direct signals from access station 120 may include one or more types of RRC messages that include a new IE that provides display criteria for 5G premium icon 202. In another implementation, the direct signals may include a new dedicated RRC message that provides display criteria for 5G premium icon 202. UE device 110 may apply the criteria to determine if UE device 110 can currently support 5G premium service. In an active/connected state, in another implementation, UE device 110 may continue to use the broadcast signals for premium icon signaling.
If the criteria is supported by the UE device (block 1040—Yes), process 1000 may include presenting a 5G premium icon based on the direct signaling criteria (block 1045). For example, UE device 110 may present 5G premium icon 202 to the user while in an active state.
If the criteria is not supported by the UE device (block 1040—No), process 1000 may include presenting a fallback icon (block 1050). For example, UE device 110 may present a 5G standard icon 204 (e.g., for SA architecture), a 4G/LTE icon (e.g., for NSA architecture), or another network indicator while in an active state on the RAN.
The foregoing description of implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of the invention. Also, while a series of blocks have been described with regard to
Certain features described above may be implemented as “logic” or a “unit” that performs one or more functions. This logic or unit may include hardware, such as one or more processors, microprocessors, application specific integrated circuits, or field programmable gate arrays, software, or a combination of hardware and software.
To the extent the aforementioned embodiments collect, store or employ personal information of individuals, it should be understood that such information shall be collected, stored and used in accordance with all applicable laws concerning protection of personal information. Additionally, the collection, storage and use of such information may be subject to consent of the individual to such activity, for example, through well known “opt-in” or “opt-out” processes as may be appropriate for the situation and type of information. Storage and use of personal information may be in an appropriately secure manner reflective of the type of information, for example, through various encryption and anonymization techniques for particularly sensitive information.
Use of ordinal terms such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., in the claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another, the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed, the temporal order in which instructions executed by a device are performed, etc., but are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain name from another element having a same name (but for use of the ordinal term) to distinguish the claim elements.
No element, act, or instruction used in the description of the present application should be construed as critical or essential to the invention unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the article “a” is intended to include one or more items. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise.
In the preceding specification, various preferred embodiments have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto, and additional embodiments may be implemented, without departing from the broader scope of the invention as set forth in the claims that follow. The specification and drawings are accordingly to be regarded in an illustrative rather than restrictive sense.
All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects set forth in this disclosure that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims.
