Wireless communication system including a Universal C-Chip and method thereof

[0001] Wireless phone systems have been implemented using a Time-Division Multiple Access (TDMA) or Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) architecture. The Electronics Industries Association (EIA) and the Telecommunications Industries Association (TIA) have set standards for an American Digital Cellular (ADC) architecture, which is a dual mode analog and digital system following EIA/TIA document IS-54B. However, different standards have been promulgated for digital cellular phone systems in Europe.

[0002] Typically, a wireless cellular telephone user subscribes to one service provider and is assigned a corresponding telephone number. Thus, when the user uses the cellular phone in one geographical location, the user is unable to use the cellular phone in another geographical location without incurring excessive costs. Further, certain cellular phones are adapted to receive a credit-card sized Subscriber Identity Module (SIM). However, the SIM card is able to operate through a specific local provider only, and is not capable of being programmed to store a protocol from a different provider. Further, the SIM cards are not re-programmable.

[0003] The user who uses the cellular phone through a telecommunications carrier (“provider”) providing telecommunications transmission services in the United States, for instance, may travel to a country in Europe where the provider in the United States does not provide service to the cellular phone in Europe. A reason why the cellular phone set up in the United States cannot work in Europe is because the CDMA architecture or the TDMA architecture used in the United States and the GSM system used in Europe use different standards of cellular architecture and are different base systems. Accordingly, the user is required to either purchase a handset that is configured to use the TDMA architecture or the SIM card. There is a need for a system that allows a user to operate a cellular phone in accordance with a protocol of a telecommunications provider corresponding to a geographical region.

[0004] Various objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description that follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

[0005] To achieve the above and other objects, the present invention may be accomplished by providing a wireless communication system, including: a processor programmed with a protocol downloaded from a network, of a telecommunications provider corresponding to a geographical region where the wireless communication system is to be used, so as to operate the wireless communication system in accordance with the protocol corresponding to the geographical region.

[0006] To achieve the above and other objects, the present invention may be accomplished by providing a wireless communication system, including: processors, each programmed with a protocol of a telecommunications provider, so as to operate the wireless communication system in accordance with the protocol corresponding to a geographical region, wherein the processors include input and output pins arranged to provide a standard connectivity to electrical components in the wireless communication system; and slots receiving the processors.

[0007] Furthermore, to achieve the above and other objects, the present invention may be accomplished by providing a wireless communication system capable of receiving a processor, including: electrical components including input and output pins arranged to provide a standard connectivity to the processor; and a slot adapted to allow insertion and removal of the processor and providing connectivity between the electrical components and the processor, wherein the wireless communication system allows the processor to be programmed with a protocol of a telecommunications provider.

[0008] Furthermore, a method of a wireless communication system is provided, including: programming a processor with a protocol downloaded from a network, of a telecommunications provider corresponding to a geographical region where the wireless communication system is to be used, so as to operate the wireless communication system in accordance with the protocol corresponding to the geographical region, wherein the processor includes input and output pins arranged to provide a standard connectivity to electrical components in the wireless communication system.

[0009] A method of installing and programming a processor for a wireless communication system includes installing the processor in the wireless communication system; connecting the wireless communication system to a computer to access a network; accessing a host provider corresponding to a telecommunications provider of a geographical region where a user needs to use the wireless communication system; transmitting an authentication code from the processor to the host provider; initializing and authenticating the processor by the host provider; downloading to the processor from the host provider a phone number and a phone network identification number; downloading to the processor a protocol of the telecommunications provider; and storing and executing the protocol to operate the wireless communication system in accordance with the protocol corresponding to the geographical region.

[0010] These together with other objects and advantages, which will be subsequently apparent, reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.

[0019] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the invention to those skilled in the art.

[0020] A cellular phone is provided including a removable and programmable chip. A standard number of pins on the chip connect the chip to electrical components of the cellular phone. The pins on the chip are arranged in a particular layout, where the electrical components in the cellular phone are arranged to correspond to the particular layout.

[0021] The chip is adapted to be programmed and re-programmed with a protocol (e.g., TDMA, CDMA, and GSM) of a telecommunications provider, which is downloaded from a network, such as the Internet, so as to operate the cellular phone in a country or countries (i.e., geographical location) using that protocol. The cellular phone unit incorporating the chip would operate in a same manner regardless of the protocol programmed into the chip.

[0022] FIG. 1 illustrates the Universal C-Chip (“C-Chip”) 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The C-Chip 10 may be a permanent or removable storage, such as MSC8101 manufactured by Motorola of Denver, Colo., or an EEPROM, RAM, or ROM on which the protocol can be stored and executed. The C-Chip 10 includes a plurality of pins arranged in a predetermined manner on at least two layers of the C-Chip 10, a base layer 12 and a projected layer 14. The base layer 12 includes core element pins 18, a first set of optional signaling pins 20, a first set of mandatory signaling pins 22, and a first set of special communication pins 24. The projected layer includes a second set of special communication pins 30, a second set of optional signaling pins 32, and a second set of mandatory signaling pins 34. By distributing the mandatory signaling pins 22, 34, the optional signaling pins 20, 32, and the special communication pins 24, 30 into two sets, a size of the C-Chip 10 may be minimized.

[0023] The core element pins 18 have sixteen pins including two pins for a power supply and two corresponding backup pins, two pins for a microphone and two corresponding backup pins, two pins for a speaker and two corresponding backup pins, and two pins for an antenna and two corresponding backup pins. The first and second sets of mandatory signaling pins 22, 34 include a total of forty pins to receive and amplify communication signals from electrical components (not shown) in the cellular phone. The special communication pins 24, 30 include a total of forty pins that may be used to receive and output audio and video signals. In the alternative, the first and second sets of the optional signaling pins 20 include a total of twelve pins that may be employed to exclusively or in combination with the special communication pins 24, 30, receive the audio and video signals and/or other types of communication signals to be used by the user of the cellular phone.

[0024] Although FIG. 1 illustrates the first and second sets of mandatory signaling pins 22, 34 equally divided between the base layer 12 and the projected layer 14, the mandatory signaling pins may be distributed in an alternative manner to minimize the size of the C-Chip 10. Further, although FIG. 1 illustrates a distribution of the special communication pins 24, 30, the core element pins 18, and the optional signaling pins 20, 32 in a predetermined manner, a manufacturer of the C-Chip is not necessarily limited to the distribution shown in FIG. 1, which may be varied. Thus, the manufacturer of the cellular phone including the C-Chip 10 would design the layout of the electrical components in the cellular phone considering the arrangement of the pins on the C-Chip 10. FIG. 2 illustrates a back view perspective of the C-Chip 10 to be plugged in the cellular phone. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, although a shape and dimension of the C-Chip may vary and the distribution of the pins may vary, a standard number of pins would be provided.

[0025] FIG. 3A illustrates a front view 40 and FIG. 3B illustrates a back view 44 of the cellular phone incorporating the C-Chip 10. The front view of the cellular phone, aside from the standard numerical pad 46 and function keys 48, further includes toggle switches 50 to toggle between the C-Chips 10 plugged into the cellular phone in order to select the C-Chip 10 in accordance with the protocol corresponding to the geographical location where the user needs to use the cellular phone. The toggle switches 50 allow the C-Chip 10 to be activated/deactivated to and from the cellular phone to start/resume or terminate/stop communication. A number of toggle switches 50 may vary depending on a number of C-Chips 10 provided in the cellular phone. In the alternative, as illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B, one toggle switch 54 may be provided to switch between C-Chips 10.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 3B, the back view 44 of the cellular phone illustrates three slots 52 on a back plane of the cellular phone for inserting the C-Chips 10. The cellular phone may include more slots to accommodate more C-Chips 10, each C-Chip 10 corresponding to a different protocol. In the alternative, the slots 52 may be provided in a battery of the cellular phone. The user would slide in the C-Chip 10, which would snap into the battery and the battery would be adapted to allow signal transmission between the C-Chip 10 and the cellular phone. The design of the battery of the cellular phone would provide enough room on a top end or a bottom end of the C-Chip 10 to remove and insert the C-Chip 10 in a secured manner. The C-Chip 10 may be designed to allow easy insert and removal from the cellular phone.

[0027] Furthermore, in an alternative embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the cellular phone may include only one slot 56 to accommodate one re-programmable C-Chip 10 to further reduce the size of the cellular phone. The C-Chip 10 would allow the user to re-program the C-Chip 10 with the protocol associated with the particular protocol of the geographical location where the user needs to use the cellular phone. In another embodiment, the re-programmable C-Chip 10 may be installed within the cellular phone, directly connected to the electrical components of the cellular phone.

[0028] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of installing and programming the C-Chip 10. At operation 70, the user installs the C-Chip 10 in the cellular phone. At operation 72, the user connects the cellular phone to a computer to access the Internet. At operation 74, the user has access to a host provider corresponding to the telecommunications carrier of the geographical location where the user needs to use the cellular phone. At operation 76, the host provider initializes and authenticates the C-Chip 10 in the cellular phone by receiving an authentication code from the C-Chip 10. Once the C-Chip 10 has been authenticated, at operation 78, the cellular phone transmits to the host provider specifications associated with the C-Chip 10 including, for instance, manufacturer information and a serial number.

[0029] At operation 80, a phone number and a phone network identification number, for example, are subsequently downloaded from the host provider to the C-Chip 10 corresponding to the cellular phone. Accordingly, the C-Chip 10 is a self-identifying device that upon providing the proper authentication code, produces the manufacturer information, the serial number, the phone number including code details and other operational information. The phone number may be different for each C-Chip 10 or may be the same for all C-Chips 10 installed in the cellular phone. At operation 82, the host provider downloads to the C-Chip 10 the protocol to be stored and executed. At operation 84, the user disconnects the cellular phone from the computer, and turns on the cellular phone. The user may re-program the C-Chip 10 each time by downloading another protocol to operate the cellular phone in a corresponding geographical location.

[0030] Further, for illustrative purposes, a following example illustrates a scenario of the user using the cellular phone including three C-Chips 10. The user is traveling to Canada, England, and Egypt and purchases first, second, and third C-Chips 10 in the United States, for instance. The user has the flexibility to either program the C-Chips 10 by using a personal laptop computer, for example, in the United States or in the countries to be visited. Further, the user may also purchase the C-Chips 10 already pre-programmed by the C-Chip manufacturer.

[0031] In this instance, the first C-Chip 10 is programmed to provide service coverage across Canada and the United States. The second C-Chip 10 is programmed to operate using British Telecom system, which provides services to Scotland, England, and parts of Western Europe. The third C-Chip 10 is programmed to provide service coverage across Egypt.

[0032] If the user travels to Toronto, the user presses the toggle switch 50 and selects the first C-Chip 10 in the cellular phone. The user is now able to make and receive telephone calls to and from Canada, the United States, and other countries. Subsequently, the user travels to England. The user selects the second C-Chip 10 using the toggle switch 50. The user is now able to make and receive telephone calls to and from England, Scotland, and parts of Western Europe. Next, the user travels to Egypt. The user selects the third C-Chip 10 using the toggle switch 50. The user is now able to make telephone calls in Egypt. Thus, the C-Chip 10 allows the user traveling to another country to have access to the local telecommunications provider of that country in order to make and receive telephone calls. The C-Chip 10 would also allow the telecommunications carrier for one country to connect to other telecommunications carriers in other countries allowing the user to make and receive telephone calls from different geographical locations. In the alternative, only one slot may be provided in the cellular phone, which would require the user to replace the C-Chip 10 with the corresponding C-Chip 10 associated with the geographical location where the user needs to use the cellular phone.

[0033] Furthermore, the user may limit to purchasing only one C-Chip 10, which would be programmed first to operate in the United States and Canada, and subsequently re-programmed to work in England. Once the user arrives in Egypt, the user would re-program the C-Chip 10 to be able to operate the cellular phone in Egypt. Thus, the C-Chip 10 and cellular phone, according to the present invention, provides the user with flexibility to have access to multiple telecommunications carriers throughout the world. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the C-Chip 10 may be implemented to other wireless units, such as PDAs and monitoring units transmitting and receiving information from users located around the world.

[0034] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.