FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates broadly to mobile telecommunications and mobile stations and specifically to a mobile station (and an associated method) comprising a mobile device and a SIM which is configured to present tasks which may be completed by users or subscribers.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

While a mobile device (like a mobile phone, tablet computer, etc.) can operate as a stand-alone device, much functionality is enabled when it is connected to a mobile telecommunications network and specifically a cellular telephone network. In order to identify a user or subscriber to the network, a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) is used. The mobile device in combination with the SIM is known as a Mobile Station (MS) or as User Equipment (UE) in some implementations. In this specification, the term mobile station includes user equipment.

Many modern day smart phones of which the Applicants are aware permit installation of software applications referred to as mobile applications or simply apps. Apps may be installed via "App Stores" such as iTunes™ in the case of Apple™ phones and Google Play™ in the case of Android™ phones. Some smart phones also permit manual downloading and installation of apps. Most apps of which the Applicants are aware interact only with the mobile device even though the apps may require a working data connection to function properly. SIMs, usually in the form of SIM cards having a smart chip, permit users to access cellular network services like making and receiving phone calls and data transfer. Usually, a SIM is issued by a network provider to permit users to access its telecommunications network. In some cases, mobile devices are also locked or modified to work with a specific cellular network. However, the network providers usually have more control over SIM cards which it issues and maintains, compared with mobile devices which are usually manufactured by OEMs independently of the service provider.

Accordingly, the Applicants desire a Mobile Station which enables a service provider like a network provider or third party to provide certain information, in the form of tasks, to mobile users/subscribers. However, it is an object of the invention to provide a measure of control over which users have access to such tasks based on the SIM which the user has, rather than the mobile device.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Accordingly, there is provided a mobile station which is configured to present tasks which may be completed by a user, the mobile station comprising a mobile device and a SIM, wherein: the SIM has stored thereon a task-enable flag; and the mobile device has stored thereon a mobile application which is configured to provide: an enablement module which is operable to interrogate the SIM to determine whether or not the task-enable flag is stored on the SIM; and a task provision module which is operable to present, via the mobile device, at least one task in response to the enablement module determining that the task-enable flag is on the SIM. It will be appreciated that if the mobile application is executed on a mobile station having a SIM without the task-enable flag, then the application will not provide any tasks for completion.

The task provision module may be configured to allocate the tasks dynamically. The task provision module may be configured to communicate with a remote task server, thereby to receive tasks from the remote task server. The task provision module may be configured to receive a task in the form of a task message sent from the remote task server. The task message may include details of the task which may be displayed on the mobile device by the mobile application.

The task may be a task performed using, or via, the mobile station. Examples of tasks may include: market surveys, opinion polls, purchase of a specified product, input of a barcode (e.g., relating to a product). The tasks may be location-based. The task provision module may be operable to determine a location of the mobile station (and accordingly of the user) using location services of the mobile device (if available). The task may be in the form of a job or an employment opportunity. The task may be learning or education based. The task may be to complete a learning or study module. The task may be to answer questions (e.g., a test or quiz) relating to educational (or other) subject matter.

The mobile station may be further configured to provide a reward in response to completion of the task. The mobile station may be configured to provide reward module which is operable to facilitate a reward in response to completion of the task. The reward may be a monetary reward or a non-monetary reward having a value. The reward may be in the form of vouchers, discounts, pre-paid phone credit (also known as airtime), free products or services (e.g., US$5 of free phone calls). The reward may be in the form of credit provided to an e-wallet or virtual account. The reward module may provide the reward automatically in response to the task being completed. Instead of providing a reward module, the mobile application may be configured to receive a reward message indicative of details of the reward. The SIM may be a card-based SIM including a smart chip. The SIM may be a virtual SIM which is integral with the mobile device.

The flag may be stored in a secure portion of the SIM. The flag may be a simple flag in the form of a single bit, e.g., 0 or 1 , true or false. The flag may be a more complex flag in the form of a unique code, PIN, key, or other string of data. The flag may be non-editable or non-erasable. The flag may be provided on the SIM during manufacture of the SIM.

The flag may be a global or generic flag, not uniquely associated with a particular user. The flag may be a specific flag, uniquely associated with a particular user.

The mobile application may be downloadable onto the mobile device. The mobile device may be a conventional mobile device and need not necessarily be modified to function in accordance with the invention.

The mobile application may include an encryption module. The encryption module may be configured to encrypt/decrypt messages (or any communications) between the mobile station and another communicating party. The encryption module may be configured to use the task enable flag as part of encryption/decryption.

In a simpler implementation, where the flag in a simple flag, the encryption module may be configured to encrypt/decrypt messages only if the flag is present. In other words, the messages may be encrypted using an encryption key not specifically associated with the flag but the flag may serve as a trigger to permit encryption or decryption. If the flag is absent, the encryption module may not encrypt/decrypt messages, even if the encryption key matches. In a more complex implementation, where the flag is a unique code, PIN, key, or other string of data, the flag may actually serve as the encryption key. Accordingly, the encryption module may be configured to use the flag itself as the encryption key to encrypt/decrypt messages. The encryption may be done using existing encryption methodologies, e.g., Seecrypt™, Pfortner™, etc.

The mobile application may permit other messages, e.g., text or social messages, to be sent and received. The other messages may be encrypted or unencrypted.

The enablement module, the task provision module, and (if present) the reward module may be conceptual modules corresponding to functional tasks performed by the mobile station. To this end, the mobile station may include a processor and a computer- readable medium having stored thereon a computer program to direct the operation of the processor, the computer program being in the form of the mobile application. It is to be understood that the processor may be one or more microprocessors, controllers, or any other suitable computing device, resource, hardware, software, or embedded logic.

The invention extends to the SIM, as defined above, having stored thereon the task- enable flag, for use with the mobile device and the mobile application.

The invention extends to a mobile system which includes: the mobile station, as defined above; and a task server in communication with the mobile station.

The task server may be configured to provide the reward module. In other words, the reward module may be provided on the mobile station, on the task server, or a combination thereof. According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of presenting tasks which may be completed by a user, using a mobile station comprising a mobile device and a SIM, the method comprising: interrogating, by an enablement module provided by a mobile application stored on the mobile device, the SIM to determine whether or not a task-enable flag is stored thereon; and presenting, by a task provision module provided by the mobile application, at least one task in response to the enablement module determining that the task-enable flag is stored on the SIM.

The method may include providing a reward module which is operable to facilitate a reward in response to completion of the task. Instead, the method may include receiving, from a reward module of the remote task server, a reward message indicative of the reward.

The method may include receiving, from a remote task server, a task message indicative of the task.

The method may include encrypting/decrypting, by an encryption module provided by the mobile application stored on the mobile device, messages and other communications between the mobile station and another communicating party. The encrypting/decrypting may be done using the task-enable flag. The encrypting/decrypting may be done using an encryption key not specifically associated with the flag but using the flag to serve as a trigger to permit encryption or decryption. The encrypting/decrypting may be done using the flag as the decryption key.

The invention extends to a non-transitory computer-readable medium which, when executed by a processor, performs the method as defined above.

The processor may be integrated with the mobile device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The invention will now be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a system configured to present tasks which may be completed, in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a mobile station configured to present tasks which may be completed, in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 3 shows a flow diagram of a method of presenting tasks which may be completed, in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram of a method of using a task-enable flag of the system of FIG. 1 in a decryption method; and

FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of a computer within which a set of instructions, for causing the computer to perform any one or more of the methodologies described herein, may be executed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENT

The following description of the invention is provided as an enabling teaching of the invention. Those skilled in the relevant art will recognise that many changes can be made to the embodiment described, while still attaining the beneficial results of the present invention. It will also be apparent that some of the desired benefits of the present invention can be attained by selecting some of the features of the present invention without utilising other features. Accordingly, those skilled in the art will recognise that modifications and adaptations to the present invention are possible and can even be desirable in certain circumstances, and are a part of the present invention. Thus, the following description is provided as illustrative of the principles of the present invention and not a limitation thereof.

FIG. 1 shows a system 100 configured to present tasks which may be completed by a user 1 16 (or subscriber). The tasks in this example are in the form of product-related tasks or jobs, like surveys, opinion polls, and the like. The system 100 comprises a mobile station 1 10 which is composed of two elements: and mobile device 1 12 and a SIM 1 14. In this example, the mobile device 1 12 is a cell phone 1 12 and the SIM 1 14 is a chip-enabled SIM card which is inserted into a matched socket provided in the cell phone 1 12 (in conventional fashion).

The mobile station 1 10 is communicatively coupled to a task server 130 via a telecommunications network 120. The telecommunications network 120 may include a mobile network including cell towers and/or the internet including fixed line communication channels. The task service 130 may be hosted and maintained by a network provider or by a third party. The cell phone 1 12 communicates via the telecommunications network using its built-in communication radios, e.g., cellular and/or Wi-Fi radios.

FIG. 2 illustrates the mobile station 1 10 in more detail and illustrates the inventive elements which enable the presentation of tasks which may be completed by the user 1 16. The cell phone 1 12 has a processor 202 and a computer-readable medium 210 having stored thereon a mobile application 212. The mobile application 212 is a computer program which is configured to direct the operation of the processor 202 and to cause the processor 202 to embody various conceptual modules 204, 206 208.

More specifically, the processer 202 comprises an enablement module 204 and a task provision module 206. The enablement module 204 is configured to interrogate or query the SIM 1 14 to determine whether or not a task-enable flag 224 is present. The task provision module 206 is configured to provision or present at least one task to the user 1 16 in response to a determination that the task-enable flag 224 is present. The processor 202 also comprises an encryption module 208 (see below).

The SIM 1 14 may comprise conventional hardware but having stored securely thereon the task-enable flag 224 in accordance with the invention. While the flag 224 could merely be a single bit of data, in this example, it is in the form of a secure or encrypted code. Also, the flag 224 is stored on a secure portion of the SIM 1 14 which cannot be edited using the cell phone (unlike, for example, a contacts list which can be stored on the SIM 1 14 and edited using the cell phone 1 12).

FIG. 3 illustrates a method 300 presenting tasks in accordance with the invention. The invention will now be further described with reference to FIG. 3 and a practical example. The user 1 16 has a task-enabled SIM card 1 14 installed in his cell phone 1 12. This SIM 1 14 has been provided to him by his network provider. The user 1 16 downloads and installs the mobile application 212 from the app store associated with the OS running on the cell phone 1 12. The mobile application 212 may be freely downloadable and installable on a multitude of mobile devices.

The user runs the mobile application 212 which then directs the operation of the processor 202. The enablement module 204 interrogates (at block 302) the SIM 1 14 to determine (at block 304) whether or not the task-enable flag 304 is present. If the user 1 16 had a SIM provided by a different network provider without the task-enable flag 224, the enablement module 202 would cause the cell phone 1 12 to display (at block 306) an error message, along the lines of "Your SIM card is not enabled for this application. Please obtain an enabled SIM card from a participating network provider." The mobile application 212 would then terminate, without presenting any tasks to the user 1 16.

Instead, if the enablement module 202 determined that the SIM 1 14 did have the task- enable flag 224, then the task provision module 206 will present (at block 308) the user 1 16 with at least one task, and optionally with a selection of tasks, which the user 1 16 may complete if he so wishes. A list of tasks is stored on the task server 130. The mobile application 212 downloads the list of tasks, either at periodic intervals, e.g., once a week, or in response to running of the mobile application 212 on the cell phone 1 12 or a refresh request from the mobile application 212. More specifically, the task server 130 sends a plurality of task messages to the mobile application 212, each task message indicative of a task.

The nature of the tasks may be varied. Tasks may, for example, include: taking a photo with a camera of the cell phone 1 12 of a product barcode; answering one or more questions about a product or service, the answers of which might only be available in-store; making a purchase of a product or service; answering a survey or opinion poll; performing a cellular network-related function, like buying cellular credit, etc.

The nature of the tasks may be varied and is not germane to the technical process of the invention.

Further, the user 1 16 may be rewarded for completing a task. The system may include a reward module (not illustrated). The reward module may be provided on the cellular phone 1 12 or on the tasks server 130 and is operable to determine (at block 310) when a task has been completed. Once a task has been completed, the task provision module 206 can upload details of the completed task to the task server 130. The reward module would then provide (at block 312) an associated reward to the user 1 16 for completing the task. The reward may be in the form of prepaid credit for a cell phone account, discounts or vouchers at a participating retailer, money deposited into a bank account, etc. Again, the precise nature of the reward is not germane to this invention.

FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram of a method 350 for encrypting/decrypting a message (e.g., decrypting a task message). The message may be related to the task, e.g., a task message or a reward message. Instead, the message could be unrelated to the task, e.g., a social message.

The mobile station 100 receives (at block 352) the encrypted message. In this example, the encrypted message is a task message sent from the task server 130 and contains details of a task. The encryption module 208 attempts to decrypt (at block 356) the encrypted message using the task-enable flag as a decryption key. If successful, the message or task is displayed (at block 358). If not, an error is displayed, at block 360.

The encryption module 208 ensures secures communication between the mobile station 1 10 and the task server 130. This may be particularly important for communicating financial information, like details of a reward.

FIG. 5 shows a diagrammatic representation of a computer 400 within which a set of instructions, for causing the computer 400 to perform any one or more of the methodologies described herein, may be executed. In a networked deployment, the computer 400 may operate in the capacity of a server or a client machine in server- client network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The computer 400 may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a web appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any computer 400 capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that computer 400. Further, while only a single computer 400 is illustrated, the term "computer" shall also be taken to include any collection of computers that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

The example computer system 400 includes a processor 402 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU) or both, a main memory 404 and a static memory 406, which communicate with each other via a bus 408. The computer 400 may further include a video display unit 410 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD)). The computer 400 also includes an alphanumeric input device 412 (e.g., a keyboard), a touch-sensitive input device 413 (e.g., a touchscreen), a graphical user interface (GUI) navigation device 414 (e.g., a mouse), a disk drive unit 416, a signal generation device 418 (e.g., a speaker) and a network interface device 420.

The disk drive unit 416 includes a computer-readable medium 422 on which is stored one or more sets of instructions and data structures (e.g., software 424) embodying or utilized by any one or more of the methodologies or functions described herein. The software 424 may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 404 and/or within the processor 402 during execution thereof by the computer system 400, the main memory 404 and the processor 402 also constituting computer-readable media.

The software 424 may further be transmitted or received over a network 426 via the network interface device 420 utilizing any one of a number of well-known transfer protocols (e.g., HTTP, FTP).

While the computer-readable medium 422 is shown in an example embodiment to be a single medium, the term "computer-readable medium" should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets of instructions. The term "computer-readable medium" shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by the computer 400 and that cause the computer 400 to perform any one or more of the methodologies of the present embodiments, or that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying data structures utilized by or associated with such a set of instructions. The term "computer-readable medium" shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to, solid-state memories and optical and magnetic media. The mobile station 1 10 and/or the task server 130 may include at least some of the components of the computer 400.

The Applicants believe that the invention as exemplified will enable network providers to exercise tighter control over the services which are offered on cell phones 1 12 and other mobile devices using their network. This will also promote network loyalty and customer retention.