FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the management and control of communicating devices within a radio communication network.

BACKGROUND

Nowadays, a central control of mass scale appliances in a radio communication network requires huge number of IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber ID) associated to devices, each device having a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card associated to a unique IMSI.

Currently, there is no efficient solution for controlling many devices over the radio communication network, without using the IMSI corresponding to each device.

SUMMARY

To remedy the problems referred to hereinabove, a method according one embodiment of the invention for controlling a set of communicating equipments through a radio communication network comprises the following steps:

receiving a message sent from a terminal toward a call number, the message comprising a set of instructions,

retrieving in a lookup table an user identifier corresponding to the call number and a set of communicating equipment identifiers associated to the user identifier, and

sending commands to the set of communicating equipments identified by communicating equipment identifiers retrieved in the lookup

table, as a function of the set of instructions comprised in the received message.

Advantageously, current mobile infrastructure can be utilized to control devices which are distributed across an area like a city by sending an SMS to a single number. An important space for the mobile numbers can be saved as thousands of devices can be controlled with a single mobile number, leaving more mobile numbers for mobile terminals used by people.

Additionally, the system according to the invention improves the utilization factor of the existing radio communication network for device control applications and earns additional revenues to the operator of the network.

In an embodiment, the message further comprises at least one communicating equipment identifier, and the device commands the communicating equipments whose identifiers are comprised in the message.

According to another feature of the invention, the message is a SMS message.

According to another features of the invention, the user terminal is a radio communication mobile terminal or a server.

According to another feature of the invention, commands to the set of communicating equipments are sent through a service server

The invention relates also to a device able to communicate with a home location register in a radio communication network for controlling a set of communicating equipments, comprising :

means for receiving a message sent from a terminal toward a call number, the message comprising a set of instructions,

means for retrieving in a lookup table an user identifier corresponding to the call number and a set of communicating equipment identifiers associated to the user identifier, and

means for sending commands to the set of communicating equipments identified by communicating equipment identifiers retrieved in the lookup table, as a function of the set of instructions comprised in the received message.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Some embodiments of the present invention are now described, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

- FIG. 1 is a schematic block-diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the invention, and

- FIG. 2 is a schematic block-diagram of an example of management of communicating equipment in a radio communication network.

The same reference number represents the same element or the same type of element on all drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIG. 1, a communication system according to the invention comprises a radio communication network RN connected to a core network CN, a control device CD, a user terminal UT and a plurality of communicating equipments CE which are capable of operating within the network RN without a subscriber identification module and which can be respectfully included within service entities.

For example, the radio communication network RN is a GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) or UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) digital cellular radio communication network. The GSM network may be coupled with a GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) network for the transmission of data by packets with mobility and access management via radio. The core network CN can be a high-speed IP network, such as the Internet. By way of example, the radio communication network RN is capable of allowing a communicating equipment, such as a mobile terminal, to send and receive data over the network CN whenever the communicating equipment's user is identified with the network by means of a subscriber identification module associated with the communicating equipment.

FIG. 1 depicts components of the localization area of the GSM network RN where the communicating equipment is situated. The location area comprises an MSC (Mobile service Switching Center) which is connected by means of a BSC (Base Station Controller) to a base station BTS (Base Transceiver Station) connected by means of a radio link to the user terminal UT, in case the terminal is a radio communication terminal.

The network RN comprises a nominal location register HLR (Home Location Register) and one or more VLR (Visitor Location

Register) location registers connected to the switch MSC. The HLR register is similar to a database containing an international identity IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity) associated with a subscription profile for each user in the network RN. The register VLR is a relay of the register HLR and contains characteristics of the users located in the location area to manage their mobility.

Within the GSM/GPRS network RN, the base station controller BSC and switch MSC are respectively connected to a service node SGSN (Serving GPRS Support Node) and a gateway-node GGSN (Gateway GPRS Support Node). All of the SGSN and GGSN nodes constitute a gateway connecting the radio communication network RN and the core network CN.

The server SMSC comprises an access gateway for communicating with a service server through the core network and another access gateway for communicating with at least one mobile service switch MSC through a packet network.

According to the invention, the control device CD is able to use a common mobile user identifier, like a IMSI number, for all communicating equipments CE that can be attached to different appliances like lights, machines, or motors, for a given user.

According to an embodiment, the control device CD is connected directly or indirectly to the register HLR through a packet network. According to another embodiment, the control device CD is included in the register HLR. Alternatively, the control device CD and the register HLR are merged into an unique entity.
The control device CD comprises a processing unit PU and is linked to a database BD, which is integrated into that device CD or incorporated into a database management server linked to the device CD by a local or remote link.

The database BD comprises lookup tables LT comprising a mobile user identifier IdMU associated with communicating equipment identifiers IdCE. Each lookup table LT is dedicated to the user owning the terminal UT. Each lookup table LT may further be associated with an identifier of the company managing a fleet of communicating equipments whose respective identifications are included in the table LT.

For example, the communicating equipment identifier can be a serial number, and the mobile user identifier IdMU can be a call number.

It is considered that a user owning the user terminal UT manages a set of communicating equipments EC. For clarity purpose, only two communicating equipments EC are represented in FIG. 1.

The communicating equipments EC register to the network using the same mobile user identifier IdMU or IMSI number. The register HLR identifies the IMSI which are used for appliance control purposes (could be special set of IMSI reserved for this application) and allows multiple communicating equipments to be registered with the same IMSI number. Also, the register HLR maintains the mapping of multiple communicating equipment identifiers against a single IMSI number apart from the location (at cell level) of each of the communicating equipment sharing the same IMSI. This allows the user to send an SMS message to a single mobile number which will get forwarded to all the equipments mapped to that IMSI.

The user terminal UT can be a radio communication mobile terminal. For example, the terminal UT is a mobile terminal of cellular radio communications, or is a communicating Personal Digital Assistant PDA, or an intelligent telephone like SmartPhone. In alternative, the user terminal UT can be an entity like a server able to send message SMS through the network.

The communicating equipment CE can be included within a service entity which belongs to a company. Such a company may possess one or more service entities each equipped with at least one communicating equipment. By way of example, the service entity ES may be a motor vehicle belonging to a taxi company, or an automatic counter of a particular energy, such as water, gas, or electricity belonging to a company in the energy sector, or a beverage vending machine belonging to a company specializing in food vending. The service entity is therefore a land-line or mobile device that can communicate with the radio communication network RN by means of the communicating equipment.

The communicating equipment CE, and consequently the service entity, is capable of operating within the radio communication network RN without using the subscriber identification module, unlike with a conventional mobile telephone which contains a card reader into which a subscriber identification module specific to the user is inserted. In particular, the communicating equipment CE comprises a radio interface and a processing unit containing a processor and memories in which are stored all of the radio parameters needed for the operation of the communicating equipment CE. According to the invention, the communicating equipment may contain a subscriber identification module, but does not use this module for communicating with the radio communication network RN.
With reference to FIG. 2, a method for controlling communicating equipment through a radio communication network according to one embodiment of the invention comprises steps SI to S3 executed automatically within the communication system.

In a preliminary step SOI, the control device CD predefines lookup tables LT which each comprises a mobile user identifier IdMU associated with a set of communicating equipment identifiers IdCE. Each lookup table is associated to a user managing a set of communicating equipments via a single mobile user identifier.

For example, a communicating equipment identifier IdCE is an international mobile equipment identity EVIEI (International Mobile Equipment identity) representative of a serial number specific to the communicating equipment, or is representative of the serial number specific to the service entity corresponding to the communicating equipment, such as a motor vehicle's license plate number.
In particular, each communicating equipment CE registers to the network using the same mobile user identifier IdMU or EVISI number, and the register HLR identifies the lookup table LT associated to mobile user identifier IdMU and stores the identifier IdCE of the communicating equipment CE in the lookup table LT.
In step SI, the user terminal UT sends a message Mes, SMS type for example, to a call number associated to the IMSI related to the mobile user identifier IdMU. The message is sent to the short message service center SMSC, via the mobile switching center MSC, the base station BTS covering the area where the mobile terminal is situated and the base station controller BSC connected to the center MSC.
The message Mes comprises the mobile user identifier IdMU, a set of instructions, and optionally a communicating equipment identifier IdCE.

In step S2, the short message service center SMSC interrogates the register HLR, by means of the mobile user identifier IdMU. The register HLR collaborates with the control device CD to identify the lookup table LT associated to the identifier IdMU and the communicating equipment identifiers IdCE included in the table.
In step S3, the center SMSC request a service server to command the communicating equipments CE previously identified as a function of instructions comprised in the message Mes.
In a first embodiment, the message Mes does not comprise an equipment identifier IdCE. In this case, the set of instructions concerns all the communicating equipments CE whose identifiers IdCE are included in the lookup table LT.

In a second embodiment, the message Mes comprises at least an equipment identifier IdCE. In this case, the set of instructions concerns the communicating equipments CE whose identifiers IdCE are included in the lookup table LT and in the message Mes.
For example, the control device CD triggers a procedure like the procedure called "GPRS Attach" which makes it possible to establish a logic link between the communicating equipment CE and the node SGSN and to activate a PDP context (Packet Data Network) to send and receive data from the communicating equipment CE. A PDP context is a set of information describing a multimedia service and comprising parameters for communicating with an service server, using a specific protocol, such as the IP or X.25 protocol, and with a determined quality of service. An activation procedure called "PDP Context Activation" enables the communicating equipment CE to be known to the node-gateway GGSN which connects the

radio communication network RR serving the communicating equipment CE with the core network CN comprising the service server.
As an example, it is considered a city corporation wanting to control and manage street lights in a city through communicating equipments respectively attached to the street lights. A single IMSI, as mobile user identifier, is allocated to that customer and all communicating equipments are given respective unique serial numbers, as communicating equipment identifiers, and the mapping between the equipment serial numbers and the IMSI is stored in the control device CD. Whenever a particular light needs to be switched off, the customer's server sends a single SMS message to the call number corresponding to the IMSI. The HLR collaborates with the control device CD to identify all the devices mapped to that IMSI. A message comprising a set of instructions previously included in the SMS message is then forwarded to all the communicating equipments which might be located in different cells. Any device specific commands can be sent by embedding the communicating equipment identifier within the SMS content. This way the customer can either send a broadcast message to all the lights to switch them off or address a particular light and turn it on or off.

The application example can be expanded to the following areas.

1. Transport network wanting to communicate to their fleet and want to send either broadcast or specific messages using a single mobile number. Also the current location of the buses can be tracked by the customer by retrieving the current cell id of each communicating equipment from the HLR.

2. Electronic display boards on roads can be controlled to display traffic info using communicating equipments attached to each display board.

WE CLAIM :

1. A method for controlling a set of communicating equipments (CE)
through a radio communication network (RN), comprising the following
steps in a device (CD) linked to a home location register (HLR):

receiving a message (Mes) sent from a terminal (UT) toward a call number, the message comprising a set of instructions

retrieving in a lookup table (LT) an user identifier (IdMU) corresponding to the call number and a set of communicating equipment identifiers (IdCE) associated to the user identifier (IdMU), and

sending commands to the set of communicating equipments (CE) identified by communicating equipment identifiers (IdCE) retrieved in the lookup table, as a function of the set of instructions comprised in the received message (Mes).

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the message (Mes) further comprises at least one communicating equipment identifier (IdCE), and the device (CD) commands the communicating equipments (CE) whose identifiers are comprises in the message.

3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the message (Mes) is a SMS message.

4. A method according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the user terminal (UT) is a radio communication mobile terminal.

5. A method according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the user terminal (UT) is a server.

6. A method according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein commands to
the set of communicating equipments are sent through a service server.

7. A device (CD) able to communicate with a home location register
(HLR) in a radio communication network (RN) for controlling a set of communicating equipments (CE), comprising :

means (PU) for receiving a message (Mes) sent from a terminal (UT) toward a call number, the message comprising a set of instructions

means (PU) for retrieving in a lookup table (LT) an user identifier (IdMU) corresponding to the call number and a set of communicating equipment identifiers (IdCE) associated to the user identifier (IdMU), and

means (PU) for sending commands to the set of communicating equipments (CE) identified by communicating equipment identifiers (IdCE) retrieved in the lookup table, as a function of the set of instructions comprised in the received message (Mes).