WO2004030390A2

WO2004030390A2 - Apparatus and method for monitoring the time usage of a wireless communication device

Info

Publication number: WO2004030390A2
Application number: PCT/US2003/029977
Authority: WO
Inventors: Joseph Bekanich
Original assignee: Bright Star Technologies, Inc.
Priority date: 2002-09-25
Filing date: 2003-09-25
Publication date: 2004-04-08
Also published as: US20040209595A1; US20080045179A1; WO2004030390A3

Abstract

A method and apparatus for monitoring usage and activity of a wireless communication device, including a wireless telephone and a PDA device. The method and apparatus provide for detecting and monitoring each communication and displaying the remaining units available to the operator under their billing plan for the detected type of communication. Historical usage of each type of communication is maintained, and a plurality of types of available remaining communication units may be simultaneously displayed. The wireless device may monitor the usage of a type of communication and provide an alarm to the operator when less than a predetermined number of units, such as minutes or data bytes, are available to be used by the communication device in the billing period. The wireless device may also prompt the operator to call their service provider to request additional units.

Description

[001] APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MONITORING THE TIME USAGE OF A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION DEVICE

[002] This application is a continuation in part of U.S. Serial No. 10/253,715 filed

on September 25, 2002, and claims the benefit of Provisional application 60/485,128 filed on

July 8, 2003, each of these applications are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.

[003] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[004] This disclosure relates generally to wireless communication systems and more

particularly to apparatus and method for monitoring and displaying time usage data for a

cellular mobile communication device during a billing period.

[005] Mobile cellular phone technology is one of the fastest growing sectors of

today's global economy, and it is expected that the use of cell phones will continue to grow

dramatically in the future. Subscribers to cell phone service generally choose from a number

of monthly billing packages offered by the cell phone service providers, and those billing

packages normally include a combination of various services which are geared to particular

customer needs. For example, a billing plan may offer a certain amount of free time within a

local area, a certain amount of free time of long distance calling out of the local area, reduced

rates for different times of the day, graduated rates based upon volume usage and so forth.

[006] A typical mobile telephone service provides an air interface from one or more

base stations to appropriately equipped cellular telephones or the like. Such a network

provides connectivity between cellular telephones as well as between such telephones and

telephones or other landline equipment connected to the public switched telephone network

(PSTN). More modern cellular or PCS (personal communication service) networks also provide data connectivity to the Internet (or to intranets). The data connectivity allows

mobile customers to access e-mail, web pages and the like. The data connectivity may also

allow communications with home or office computers either directly or via an exchange of

messages through an intermediate server.

[007] Several carriers operate wireless data networks. In such a network, a device

such as a PDA or laptop/handheld computer has an appropriate transceiver or interface card.

Here, the wireless service provider maintains a public wireless access point (AP), which

provides the air interface for wireless data communications. The carrier network provides

packet switched data connectivity to the Internet (or to intranets), to access various

applications on servers and/or to communicate with other end user equipment as outlined in

the discussion of cellular communications. The wireless data services, however, typically

provide much higher bandwidth/bit rates.

[008] Wireless communications to and/or from these various types of mobile

devices, if provided by public carriers, incur subscription charges, which typically include

usage based charges. In cellular or PCS type services, these usage charges are time based and

often referred to as "air time minutes." The service usage for data services provided by

cellular or packet data service carriers may be billed based on similar measures of time, or the

carrier(s) may bill for such data service usage based on other measures, such as numbers of

packets.

[009] Subscribers incur substantial expenses from over usage billing of their

accounts through exceeding the usage time allowed by their basic billing plans. Clearly, a

cell phone subscriber has a primary interest in tracking the amount of time his telephone is in

use so as to avoid exceeding the time usage permitted under the basic billing plan and thereby

avoid unexpected high monthly bills due to that over usage time, which is normally billed at the highest rates.

[010] It may be to the advantage of the cellular service provider not to afford the

time usage monitoring function on the cell phones since, a substantial part of their income

may be derived from the over usage billing by subscribers who have no idea what the status

of their time usage is when they are exceeding the time allotted by their basic billing plan.

Cellular service providers have a significant influence over the cell phone manufacturers and

this may explain why the cell phones themselves, when originally manufactured, are not

programmed to provide any total time or over usage information to the subscriber.

[011] Patent No. 5,684,861 discloses a rather complex, costly system for monitoring

time usage of a cell phone but, to applicant's knowledge, neither that system nor any other

system has been successfully commercialized.

r0121 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[013] The total time monitoring system, as described herein below, was developed to

satisfy the needs of the subscriber as discussed above.

[014] An apparatus for monitoring usage of a wireless device may comprise: a

transmitter/receiver capable of transmitting and receiving a plurality of data signals; a

microprocessor connected to the transmitter/receiver and configured to detect a device event,

and provide monitoring information indicative of the usage of the wireless communication

device during the occurrence of the detected device event; and a display capable of

continuously displaying the monitoring information during the device event and after the end of the device event.

[015] In the apparatus, the microprocessor may be configured to provide historical

information indicative of the usage of the wireless communication device associated with a plurality of predetermined types of device events and instruct the display to continuously

display the historical information of at least one type of device event of the plurality of

predetermined types of device events.

[016] In the apparatus, the microprocessor may be configured to receive instructions

from an operator of the wireless device to selectively remove historical information of a

device event from the display and provide instructions to the display to selectively remove the

historical information of a device event from the display.

[017] In the apparatus, the microprocessor may be configured to instruct the display

to display the historical information at a time when a device event is not detected.

[018] In the apparatus, the microprocessor may be configured to receive instructions

from an operator of the wireless communication device to selectively remove historical

information of a device event from the display and provide instructions to the display to

selectively remove the historical information of a device event from the display

[019] In the apparatus, the microprocessor may be configured to determine usage of

the wireless communication device associated with a plurality of predetermined types of

device events, to determine the type of device event of the detected device event, and if,

during a detected device event, the usage of the wireless communication device is close to

exceeding a predetermined amount of available usage of the wireless device for the type of

device event of the detected device event, to provide an alarm to the operator indicating that

the usage of the wireless device for the type of device event of the detected device event is

close to exceeding the predetermined amount of available usage.

[020] In the apparatus, the alarm may be at least one of an audio alarm, a visual alarm and a voice alarm.

[021] In the apparatus, the microprocessor may be configured to continuously count down units indicating remaining usage available for the type of device event of the detected

device event during the occurrence of the detected device event and to provide a first alarm to

the operator of the wireless communication device when the remaining usage available for the

type of device event of the detected event is less than or equal to a first threshold.

[022] In the apparatus, the microprocessor may be configured to provide a second

alarm to the operator of the wireless communication device when the remaining usage

available for the type of device event of the detected event is less than or equal to a second

threshold, the second threshold being less than the first threshold.

[023] In the apparatus, the microprocessor may be configured to prompt the operator

to call a service provider to request additional available usage of the wireless communication

device for the type of device event of the device event when the usage of the wireless

communication device is close to exceeding a predetermined amount of available usage of the

wireless communication device for type of device event of the detected device event.

[024] In the apparatus, the plurality of predetermined types of device events may

include at least one of: a voice event, a data event, a gaming event, an Internet event, and an

operator selected internal activity event.

[025] In the apparatus, a voice event may include an audio communication during at

least one of predefined periods of: peak minutes, off peak minutes, weekday minutes, daytime

minutes, anytime minutes, evening minutes, nighttime minutes, mobile to mobile minutes,

rollover minutes, shared minutes, local minutes, long distance minutes, and roaming minutes.

[026] In the apparatus, the microprocessor may be configured to detect and monitor

voice events during at least one period of the predefined periods and to provide historical

information indicative of the usage of the wireless communication device for the at least one

period. [027] In the apparatus an operator selected internal activity may include at least one

of remaining battery charge and music played by the wireless communication device, and at

least one of minutes of remaining battery charge and music played are displayed on the

display. [028] A method of monitoring usage of a wireless communication device may

comprise the steps of: detecting a device event of the wireless communication device;

monitoring the available usage of the wireless communication device during the occurrence

of the detected device event; and continuously displaying the available usage of the wireless

communication device during the occurrence of the device event and after the termination of

the device event.

[029] The method may further comprise the steps of: providing historical

information indicative of the usage of the wireless communication device associated with a

plurality of predetermined types of device events and displaying the historical information of

at least one type of device event of the plurality of predetermined types of device events.

[030] In the method, the historical information may be displayed at a time when a

device event is not detected.

[031] The method may further comprise the step of selectively removing historical

information of a device event from the display.

[032] The method may further comprise the steps of: determining the type of device

event of the detected device event from among a plurality of predetermined types of device

events; determining if, during a detected device event, the usage of the wireless device is

close to exceeding a predetermined amount of available usage of the wireless device for the

type of device event of the detected device event; and providing an alarm to the operator

indicating that the usage of the wireless device for the detected device event is close to exceeding the predetermined amount of available usage for the type of device event of the

detected device event.

[033] The method may further comprise continuously counting down the remaining

usage available for the type of device event of the detected device event during the

occurrence of the device event, and providing a first alarm to the operator of the wireless

communication device when the remaining usage available for the type of device event of the

detected event is less than or equal to a first threshold.

[034] The method may further comprise the step of providing a second alarm to the

operator of the wireless communication device when the remaining usage available for the

type of device event of the detected event is less than or equal to a second threshold, the

second threshold being less than the first threshold.

[035] The method may further comprise the step of prompting the operator to call a

service provider to request additional available usage of the wireless communication device

for the types of device event of the detected device event when the usage of the wireless

device is close to exceeding a predetermined amount of available usage of the wireless device

for the type of device event of the detected device event.

[036] In the method, the plurality of predetermined types of device events may

operator selected internal activity event.

[037] In the method, wherein a voice event may include an audio communication

during at least one of predefined periods of: peak minutes, off peak minutes, weekday

minutes, daytime minutes, anytime minutes, evening minutes, nighttime minutes, mobile to

mobile minutes, rollover minutes, shared minutes, local minutes, long distance minutes, and roaming minutes. [038] The method may further comprise the step of detecting and monitoring at least

one period of the predefined periods, and providing historical information of the usage of

each type of voice event.

[039] In the method an operator selected internal activity may include at least one of

remaining battery charge and music played by the wireless communication device, and at

display.

[040] A computer readable medium may contain a program capable of causing a

computer to perform a method of monitoring usage of a wireless communication device

comprising the steps of: detecting a device event of the wireless commumcation device;

the device event.

[041] In the computer readable medium, the method may further comprises the steps

of: providing historical information indicative of the usage of the wireless communication

device associated with a plurality of predetermined types of device events and displaying the

historical information of at least one type of device event of the plurality of predetermined

types of device events.

[042] In the computer readable medium, the method may further comprises the steps

of: determining the type of device event of the detected device event from among a plurality

of predetermined types of device events; determining if, during a detected device event, the

usage of the wireless device is close to exceeding a predetermined amount of available usage

of the wireless device for the type of device event of the detected device event; and providing an alarm to the operator indicating that the usage of the wireless device for the detected

device event is close to exceeding the predetermined amount of available usage for the type

of device event of the detected device event.

[043] In the computer readable medium, the method may further comprises the steps

of: continuously counting down the remaining usage available for the type of device event of

the detected device event during the occurrence of the device event, and providing a first

available for the type of device event of the detected event is less than or equal to a first

threshold.

[044] In the computer readable medium, the method may comprise the step of

providing a second alarm to the operator of the wireless communication device when the

remaining usage available for the type of device event of the detected event is less than or

equal to a second threshold, the second threshold being less than the first threshold.

[045] In the computer readable medium, the method may comprise the steps of

prompting the operator to call a service provider to request additional available usage of the

wireless communication device for the types of device event of the detected device event

when the usage of the wireless device is close to exceeding a predetermined amount of

available usage of the wireless device for the type of device event of the detected device

event. [046] In the computer readable medium, the plurality of predetermined types of

device events may include at least one of: a voice event, a data event, a gaming event, an

Internet event, and an operator selected internal activity event.

[047] In the computer readable medium, a voice event may include an audio

communication during at least one of predefined periods of: peak minutes, off peak minutes, weekday minutes, daytime minutes, anytime minutes, evening minutes, nighttime minutes,

mobile to mobile minutes, rollover minutes, shared minutes, local minutes, long distance

minutes, and roaming minutes.

[048] In the computer readable medium, the method may comprise the step of

detecting and monitoring at least one period of the predefined periods, and providing

historical information of the usage of each type of voice event.

[049] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[050] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of the

specification, together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. In

the drawings:

[051] Figure 1 is a fragmentary front view of a first embodiment which includes a

self contained cover device including a battery operated programmable liquid crystal display

(LCD), the device being attachable to the outside of an existing mobile phone;

[052] Figure 2 is a side view of the device taken along line 2-2 of Figure 1;

[053] Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 illustrating the way in which the device

is attached to the mobile phone;

[054] Figure 4 is a rear view of the device taken along line 4-4 of Figure 2;

[055] Figure 5 is a schematic illustration of a flexible diaphragm switch which is

part of the device of Figure 1 and which covers the "send/talk" and "end" keys of the mobile phone;

[056] Figures 6A through 6F illustrate a second embodiment, in which a new talk

time management (TTM) keypad and TTM faceplate are substituted for the original keypad

and original, faceplate on an original conventional phone to monitor the time usage of the phone without interfering with the functions which were originally programmed into the

phone;

[057] Figure 7 schematically illustrates the switches provided in association with the

"send/talk" or "end" keys of the new TTM keypad and the flat wire assembly leading from

those switches to a battery operated programmable LCD timer and display on the TTM

faceplate;

[058] Figure 8 illustrates a third embodiment, in which a conventional mobile phone

is provided with specific software designed to selectively override the software programmed

originally into the existing mobile phone so that talk time information may be made available

to the subscriber;

[059] Figure 9 schematically illustrates a system for programming the new TTM

software into the phone illustrated in Figure 8;

[060] Figure 10 is a bottom view taken along line 10-10 of Figure 8 illustrating the

data ports normally provided on mobile phones which can be utilized to receive the

programming information in the system of Figure 9.

[061] Figure 11 illustrates an exemplary architecture of a wireless phone.

[062] Figure 12 illustrates an exemplary architecture of a PDA device.

[063] Figure 13 illustrates an operational flow of an exemplary method of

monitoring the activity of a wireless phone illustrated in Figure 11 or PDA illustrated in

Figure 12.

[064] Figures 14A-E illustrate methods for monitoring the various device events in

the method of Figure 13.

[065] Figures 15A-C illustrate mechanisms for detecting a device event in

accordance with the method of Figure 13. [066] Figure 16 illustrates an exemplary architecture for providing a program for

implementing the method of Figure 13 to a wireless phone or PDA.

[067] Figure 17 illustrates an exemplary method for providing a program for

implementing the method of Figure 13 to a wireless phone or PDA.

[068] Figure 18 illustrates various data fields for which an operator may provide

information in customizing a program for implementing the method of Figure 13.

[069] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[070] Referring now to Figures 1-5 a first example includes a talk time managing

(TTM) device 20 formed by a molded plastic cover 21 which mounts on the front faceplate

22 of a conventional standard cell phone 24. The cover 22 has side arms 26 which snap

together with a strap 28, which passes around the body of phone 24 to hold cover 21 in place

on-the phone.

[071] Mounted within cover 21 is a battery operated, programmable liquid crystal

display (LCD) 30 which has a pre-programmed microprocessor to monitor and display time

usage information such as programmable minutes, child usage minutes, billing period

information (date, month, year) minutes total, minutes remaining, minutes overage alarm,

notify the consumer of set program usage through selected tones or alarms, time/LCD clock

(date, month and year) and any other time usage information. A soft flexible diaphragm

button 32 is mounted on cover 21 and overlies each of the "send/talk" and "end" keys 33 on

the keypad of the cell phone and protruding through faceplate 22. Each of the buttons 32

includes a membrane switch 34 connected by way of a flat wire 36 to LCD 30 so as to

activate or de-activate the LCD timer 30 when the "send/talk" and/or "end" keys are

depressed to initiate or end the conversation using the phone. [072] The self-contained manually operated TTM 20 is simple in construction,

inexpensive, reliable, and quickly installed on the phone, and it does not interfere with the

existing functions or information displayed on the LCD 40 which is normally part of the cell

phone 24. [073] As a result, the TTM device 20 can be sold as an after market product and then

readily attached to a standard cell phone 24 to provide a subscriber with valuable time usage

information so that the subscriber can avoid exceeding the times allotted by his basic billing

plan and thereby avoid having to pay excessive over usage charges under that billing plan.

The only cost incurred by a subscriber is the original purchase price of device 20. There is no

charge for the continued use of the device.

[074] As already mentioned attachment of TTM device 20 onto the outside of

faceplate 22 does not interfere with or block the usage of any of the functions or features

which are normally provided on a standard cell phone 24.

[075] Each time the soft diaphragm button 32 and the normal send/talk button 33 are

depressed to activate the phone LCD the time clock is activated to record the total talk time

in minutes used until the end key is activated and the call is terminated. The total talk time is

continually added each time the talk and end keys are pushed, thus giving a running total of

talk time minutes used. The LCD display 30 is programmed to provide not only the total talk

time used but also to inform the subscriber of other desirable information such as the

programmable minutes, the billing information, minutes available minutes used, minutes

remaining and to signal an alarm to notify the subscriber when the total minutes available

under the billing plan have been exceeded.

[076] Referring now to Figures 6A through 6F and Figure 7, a second example

includes a talk time manager assembly 50 having a novel TTM keypad 52 (Figure 6D) and a novel TTM faceplate 54 (Figure 6F) which has a programmable LCD display 56 mounted

within.

[077] Keypad 52 and faceplate 54 are constructed so as to fit a particular

conventional phone, for example the Nokia phone 60 illustrated in Figure 6A. To do this, the

conventional faceplate 62 and keypad 64 are removed from base 63 of phone 60 as illustrated

in Figures 6B and 6C. The rest of the phone remains intact within base 63 including the

original display 61 and operating circuitry 66 shown in Figure 6C, so that the various

functions and features offered with the original phone 60 are not disturbed.

[078] The faceplate 54 is identical to the original faceplate 64 except for the LCD

display 56 mounted within faceplate 54.

[079] The TTM keypad 52 of Figure 6D may be identical to the original keypad 64

provided in phone 60 except that the send key 70 and end key 72 have associated therewith

switches 76 and 78 which will be connected to the LCD display 56 of the TTM faceplate 54

by way of the flat wire assembly 74 mounted directly on TTM keypad 52 when keypad 52

and faceplate 54 are assembled on base 63.

[080] Once the original faceplate 62 and keypad 64 are removed, TTM keypad 52 is

mounted in base 63 as shown in Figure 6E in place of the original keypad. Finally as shown

in Figure 6F. TTM faceplate 54 is snapped into place on base 63. As shown in Figure 7,

with TTM keypad 52 and TTM faceplate54 assembled on the base 63, the LCD timer 56 on

faceplate 54 is connected via flat wire assembly 74 to micro switches 76 and 78 mounted on

send and end keys 70 and 72, respectively.

[081 ] Consequently when the send key 70 is pushed down to initiate usage of the

phone, switch 76 is also closed to activate the LCD timer 56 which continues to run until the

end key 72 and end switch 78 are pushed down. The LCD display 56 adds up the total time minutes used for all conversations and, as in the embodiment of Figure 1, provides talk time

information to the subscriber as described herein above to avoid over usage and unexpected

high billings for the particular billing period.

[082] As with the TTM device 20 of the first example, the components 52 and 54 of

assembly 50 are quickly and easily assembled on the body of a conventional phone once the

original faceplate and keypad are removed therefrom. Assembly 50 then provides a talk time

management function without disturbing the features and functions of the phone originally

programmed into the original circuitry 66 when the phone was manufactured. Thus, the time

management information displayed to a subscriber by LCD 56 is totally separate from and

supplements the information displayed on the original display 61.

[083] Thus, the TTM assembly 50 is installed on the body 63 of an original phone

60 to provide a manually operated, enhanced phone 80 which not only provides all of the

functions of the original phone 60 but also affords the subscriber with the talk time

information accumulated and displayed by LCD 56. Assembly 50 is manually operated in

conjunction with the normal manual operation of the send and end keys of the cell phone and

it is inexpensive, reliable, quickly installed and it does not interfere with the normal operation

of the phone. It is however invaluable to a subscriber in that it enables the subscriber to keep

track of the total time used and/or remaining under his billing plan and thus enables him to

avoid additional expensive billing due to over usage. Again, the only cost borne by the

subscriber is the initial cost of the purchase of assembly 50, and there are no additional costs

for their continued use.

[084] Referring now to Figures 8 through 18, a third example includes specific talk

time and management software, which is programmed directly into a conventional cell phone

100, to provide the various time management information. Figure 8 illustrates exemplary screen shots of cellular phone 100 having of management information displayed. The

program may be installed by way of a system illustrated in Figure 9 which includes the cell

phone 100 which has at least one data port 102 connected by way or a cable 104 to a

computer 106, which is loaded with the select program that is to be installed in the cell phone

100. Figure 10 shows data port(s) 102 located on the bottom surface of cellular phone 100.

Alternatively, the program may be installed by a wireless system employing for example,

cellular towers and/or satellites as described in connection with Figure 16.

[085] As with the previous examples, cell phone 100 may be programmed to

selectively display or hide the billing period, minutes available, minutes used, minutes

remaining and to signal an alarm to notify the consumer the set usage or program usage.

[086] Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the concepts disclosed herein may

apply to any time usage devices, such as a wireless telephone and PDA devices.

[087] Figure 11 illustrates an exemplary schematic of a wireless phone 110 that may

be used. As illustrated in Figure 11, a microphone 123 may receive sound (voice) from an

operator and provide the sound as an analog signal to an audio unit 121, such as a

VOCODER, which processes the sound signal and may provide the processed information as

digitized audio data to a CPU 117. The voice data, formed by digitizing the audio signal,

may contain a spoken command information which causes the CPU 117 to perform various

functions, such as dialing a call, and displaying information such phone numbers on display

116. The CPU 117 accesses ROM 113 and RAM 114 to retrieve program information and

data to perform various functions such as, dialing a call and retrieving numbers from a phone

book. The voice data does not contain command information, the digitized audio data may

pass through (or bypass) CPU 117 to RF transmitter/receiver (transceiver) 112, for example,

once a call is established through the wireless network. [088] Clock 119 preferably provides clocking data to the CPU which may be used

by the CPU 117 to monitor and display the time of day, the time a call is initiated and/or

ended, and the duration of the call. Key pad 118 may be used by an operator to input

commands to CPU 117 to perform various functions, such as placing a phone call, storing

phone numbers in a phone book, and settings various parameters for control functions within

the CPU 117. DTMF (dual tone multiple frequency) unit 120 provides frequencies and tones

to CPU 117. RF transmitter/receiver 112 may be in the form of one or more digital

transceivers which transmit and receive data through antenna 111. The transmitted data may

include any form of data, such as voice data formed by digitizing the audio signal received

from microphone 123 and operational data that may be used to control various functions of

the CPU 117. The received data may also include any form of data, such as voice data from

another telephone and operational data that may be used to control various functions of the

CPU 117. Audio unit 121 and speaker 122 may convert received voice data to audio output

that may be heard by an operator. Battery 115 may be provided to supply electrical power to

the circuitry of the wireless phone.

[089] Operational data may also be provided to CPU 117 through data port 102

(Figure 10), as well as through key pad 118, RF transmitter/receiver unit 112 and/or

microphone 123. Display 116 may also be in the form of a touch screen display which may

enable an operator to provide operational data to CPU 117 by pressing the screen.

[090] Figure 12 illustrates an exemplary architecture of a PDA/phone hybrid

handset 129 that may be used. As illustrated in Figure 12, an operator may provide input

through keypad 140 to microprocessor 135. Backup storage 134, ROM 23 and RAM 25 may

store operational information and user information. A touch screen display 139 may display

information to the user and allow the user to provide input to CPU 135. Clock 141 preferably provides clocking data to the CPU which may be used by the CPU 135 to monitor and display

the time of day, the time a session is initiated and/or ended, and the duration of the a session.

Key pad 140 may be used by an operator to input commands to CPU 135 to perform various

functions, such as placing a phone call, storing phone numbers in a phone book, and settings

various parameters for control functions within the CPU 135. DTMF (dual tone multiple

frequency) unit 142 provides the necessary frequency and tones to CPU 117 to allow a

communication. RF transmitter/receiver (transceiver) 131 may be in the form of one or more

digital transceiver(s) which provide wireless communication through antenna 130. The

transmitted data may include any form of data, such as voice data received from microphone

123 and operational data that may be used to control various functions of the CPU 117. The

received data may also include any form of data, such as voice data from another telephone

and operational data that may be used to control various functions of the CPU 117. Audio

unit 121 and speaker 122 may convert received voice data to audio output that may be heard

by an operator. Battery 115 may be provided to supply electrical power to the wireless

phone.

[091] Figure 13 illustrates an operational flow of monitoring a mobile

communication device air time usage as may be implemented by either CPU 117 in an

exemplary wireless phone illustrated in Figure 11 or CPU 135 in an exemplary PDA device

illustrated in Figure 12. As illustrated in Figure 13, the software program is preferably

installed in wireless phone 110 or PDA 129 in step S 1. Once the software program is

installed, billing values are entered as illustrated in step S2. The billing values preferably

include the billing plan with the service provider, such as billing periods, start and stop dates

of a billing cycle; categories of billing rates, e.g. peak, off peak, weekday minutes, daytime

minutes, anytime minutes, evening minutes, nighttime minutes, mobile to mobile minutes, rollover minutes, shared minutes, local/long distance and roaming minutes, etc, and the

associated billing rates and billing times for each of the categories of billing rates. In the

preferred embodiment, the billing values used by the program are updated periodically, such

as by automatically resetting the billing parameters (e.g. minutes available) at the beginning

of a billing period or at any other time desired by the user. The CPU 117 also carries forward

any unused voice or data usage (e.g. minutes) from a previous billing period if the user's

billing plan provides for roll-over of the unused minutes. In operation, the CPU 117 or 135,

detects an event which initiates monitoring of the minutes, as illustrated in step S3. As

illustrated in step S4, the event may include: a voice event, such as placement or receipt of a

phone call; a data event, such as a SMS (text) message of data sent or received; a gaming

event, such as the initiation of a game over a wireless network; an Internet event, such as

logging on to a sever via the Internet; and/or any other internal device activity that the

operator may designate as a device event for air-time monitoring.

[092] CPU 117 and 135 preferably discriminate the type of communication being

received or sent. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that voice calls, as well as internet

calls, data calls, GPRS calls and SMS messages and calls of different types can all have

different settings associated, using the relevant "bearer code". CPU 117 and 135 preferably

recognizes the bearer code and or radio frequency associated w/the incoming or outgoing call

and activates the corresponding timer to monitor that event and record the event activity.

CPU 117 and 135 also preferably keep a log of all incoming and outgoing communications.

The log may be stored on an internal memory of CPU 117 and 135 or on 113 and 133,

respectively, or any other memory device.

[093] Once a device event is detected, the duration or quantity of the event is

monitored, as illustrated in step S6 of Figure 13. In the air-time minutes example, a countdown timer programmed within CPU 117 and 135 is activated which counts down the

remaining minutes in the billing plan according to the device event and the billing plan. In

the case of a data device event, a byte counter programmed within CPU 117 and 135 may be

used to count down available bytes remaining under a billing plan or to count up bytes

transferred. Those of skill in the art will also appreciate that a single device event may be

monitored by both the duration of the event and the quantity of the event, such as by initiating

both the timer and the byte counter.

[094] As illustrated in step S8 of Figure 13, in the preferred embodiment, the CPU

117 or 135 overrides the display to display the real time monitoring of the device event, such

as displaying the minutes remaining under the billing plan as they are counted down by the

timer. When a device event ends, as illustrated by step SI 2, the real-time event summary is

preferably displayed, which preferably informs the operator of the duration or quantity of the

device event, e.g. the length of a phone call, and of the minutes used. As shown in step S14,

the event summary remains displayed until the next device event occurs. The event summary

may be removed from the display by the operator by providing an instruction to hide the

event summary such as through a key prompt, as illustrated in step SI 5. The event summary

may be returned to the display by the operator providing an instruction such as through a key

prompt also. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the instruction to hide and view the

event summary may be provided to the CPU 117 and 135 by other mechanisms, such as a

voice prompt.

[095] The CPU 117 or 135 may also calculate daily, weekly and monthly averages

of minutes or kilobytes used in each category and display the calculated averages. The CPU

117 and 135 may also determine and display the number of days remaining in a billing cycle

and display an average number of minutes or kilobytes that can be used each remaining day or week of the billing cycle for each category of minutes or kilobytes. The CPU 117 or 135

may display several categories of minutes at the same time, such as the remaining peak

minutes, off peak minutes and mobile to mobile minutes. Displays may be textual or graphic

or both.

[096] If the device event exceeds a threshold of activity, such as less than 20 minutes

remaining in the billing plan, the wireless phone 110 or PDA 129 preferably provides an alert

to the operator, as illustrated in step S5. In the preferred embodiment, a plurality of

thresholds may be set by the operator in seconds, minutes, days, weeks, month's etc, to keep

the operator apprised of the usage of the voice and data usage. The alert may be in the form

of an audio alert and/or in the form a visual alert by a text message, or other indicator,

displayed on display 116 or 139. As illustrated in step S7, the alert preferably appears on the

display and overrides the displayed real time monitoring information. The operator may be

prompted to call the service provider to request additional units (e.g. minutes) in the billing

plan, as illustrated by steps S9, S10 and SI 1.

[097] CPU discriminates if the event being monitored is an event which incurs

charges or uses minutes. Events which do not incur charges, such as 911 and 611 calls and

calls on billing plans which offer unlimited minutes for data or voice usage, preferably are not

subtracted from the available minutes. An event may be any predefined activity of the CPU

117 or 135 which may be initiated and terminated by an internal or external activity of the

device and may include a voice event, a data event, a gaming event, and Internet event, and

an operator selected internal activity event.

[098] Figures 14A-E illustrate the monitoring activity associated with the device

events of step S4 in Figure 13. As illustrated in Figure 14A, when a voice event is detected

(step S20), in this embodiment, a timer is activated to countdown the remaining minutes in the billing plan used during the telephone call, as illustrated in step S21. For example, if a

user has 1000 minutes available under a peak billing period, if a voice device event is

detected during the peak billing period, the count down timer counts the minutes used by

counting down from 1000 minutes, e.g. if 5 minutes are used then the timer counts down to

995 minutes. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that any type of timer may be used, such

as a count up timer, which time is then subtracted from the available billing time. The real

time countdown of minutes during the monitoring process is preferably displayed during a

call, as illustrated in step S22. The timer counts down the minutes until the end of the call is

detected, such as by detecting a termination of the connection, as illustrated in step S23.

[099] Figure 14B illustrates an exemplary monitoring process performed when a

data event is detected, as illustrated in step S24. As illustrated in step S25, a data event may

be monitored by counting the number of email, multimedia or text messages sent or received

in real time from the wireless phone or PDA to another wireless phone or PDA or a computer.

The units counted (messages or bytes, etc.) correspond to the units used for billing under the

user's particular data service plan. The real time counting activity may be displayed during

the data event, as illustrated in step S26. The monitoring process stops when the end of the

data event is detected, such as by detecting a termination of the connection with the data

source or data receiver, as illustrated in step S27.

[0100] Figure 14C illustrates an exemplary monitoring process performed when a

gaming event is detected, as illustrated in step S30. A gaming event may be characterized by

connecting to a service provider network. A gaming event may be monitored by counting the

number messages sent or received and/or by monitoring the amount of time connected to a

network in real time, depending on the applicable billing units, as illustrated in step S31. The

real time counting and timer activity may be displayed during the gaming event, as illustrated in step S32. The monitoring process stops when the end of the gaming event is detected, such

as by detecting a termination of the connection with the service provider network, as

illustrated in step S33.

[0101] Figure 14D illustrates an exemplary monitoring process performed when an

Internet event is detected, as illustrated in step S40. An Internet event may be characterized

by connecting to one or more of a plurality of servers through website addresses. For

example, the mobile station may start counting when the user logs in to an Internet access

service. An Internet event may be monitored by the amount of time connected to the Internet

and or counting the number of kilobytes of data sent and received from the Internet, in real

time, as illustrated in step S41. The real time counting and timer activity may be displayed

during the Internet event, as illustrated in step S42. The monitoring process stops when the

end of the data event is detected, such as by detecting a termination of the Internet session

with the service provider network, as illustrated in step S43.

[0102] Figure 14E illustrates an exemplary monitoring process performed to monitor

internal activity of the wireless phone 110 or PDA 129, as illustrated in step S50. Examples

of internal activities which may be monitored may be the remaining power in battery 115 or

138; amount of memory space available in RAM 114 or 133 for downloads; or minutes of

music played (MP3) in a given period of time. As illustrated in step S51, the internal activity

may be monitored by the counting down the amount of time remaining for the device activity

in real time or by counting up the usage, such as minutes of battery remaining and/or music

played are displayed, respectively. The real time timer activity may be displayed during the

monitoring process, as illustrated in step S52. The monitoring process stops when the end of

the internal activity is detected, as illustrated in step S53.

[0103] Figures 15A-C illustrate exemplary techniques for detecting a device event by an exemplary wireless phone 110. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the discussion

herein applies equally to exemplary PDA device 129. As illustrated in Figure 15 A, a device

event may be detected by CPU 117 when RF transmitter/receiver 112 initiates the sending or

receiving of a signal 1101. Figure 15B illustrates CPU 117 detecting a device event by

activation of a switch 1102 upon opening of flip type wireless phone 110. Figure 15C

illustrates CPU 117 detecting a device event when any key on key pad 118 is pressed to

answer an incoming communication to wireless phone 110 or when DTMF tones are

prompted in CPU 117. Figure 15C illustrates CPU 117 detecting a device event when a voice

command is received from microphone 123 to answer or send a communication. Those of

skill in the art will appreciate that other mechanisms may be used to detect a connection or

communication with a wireless device, for example, the device event may be detected by a

motion activated switch which detects a connection or communication with the wireless

device.

[0104] Figures 16-18 illustrate an exemplary architecture method for receiving and

installing a minute counter program capable of performing the operations illustrated in Figure

13. As illustrated in Figure 16 and in step SI 701 of Figure 17, customers preferably use a

home computer 1601 to communicate with a server 1602 via a website of a vendor carrying a

suitable program to implement the steps of Figure 13. The customer may also call the vendor

using a telephone and speak to a customer service representative. The website or customer

service representative of the vendor preferably prompts the customer to enter necessary

personal information into a database of the vendor, as illustrated in step SI 702. The customer

preferably pays for the program by providing appropriate billing information, such as a credit

card account, as illustrated in step SI 703. An authentication server 1603 may be employed to

authenticate the validity of the customer's purchasing information, such as credit card information. The customer may enter their billing plan information of their wireless phone or PDA service provider, as illustrated in step SI 704 of Figure 17. The vendor preferably enters the billing plan information into the program and recompiles the program to be customized to the customer's needs, as illustrated in step SI 705. The program may be sent to the customer by email in which case the customer may enter the program in their wireless phone or PDA as illustrated in Figures 9 and 10. Alternatively, the vendor may transmit the program to an over the air provisioning (OTA) server 1605 which transmits the program through a PSTN 1606 or public data network, through the cellular network to a cellular phone tower 1607, which wirelessly transmits the program to the wireless phone or PDA 1608 of the customer. As illustrated in step S 1707 of Figure 17, a confirmation email 1604 is preferably sent from the authentication server 1603 to the customer which preferably provides additional set up information necessary for the customer to install and/or activate the program in their wireless phone or PDA. Once the customer enters the remaining setup information (step SI 708), the program preferably prompts the CPU in wireless phone or PDA 1608 to install the program and to overwrite conflicting portions of other programs already installed. Once the program is installed in the wireless phone or PDA 1608, the installation process is complete, as illustrated in step SI 709. The illustrated servers may be operated by a carrier or a communication service provider, or other parties, for example, the website server and/or the provisioning server may be operated by the manufacture of the mobile communication device or even by a third party software vendor.

[0105] Figure 18, illustrates various information fields in which the customer may be asked to provide information in entering their billing information. As illustrated in Figure 18, the customer may be asked to enter the billing period 1801, including the day of the month in which a new period starts; the number of peak minutes 1802 available under the billing plan; the number of off peak minutes available 1803; and the number of mobile to mobile minutes

1804. The customer may also be asked to define peak minutes 1805 by identifying the start

time 1806 and end time 1807 of the peak minutes period. Likewise, the customer may be

asked to define off peak minutes 1808 by identifying the start time 1809 and end time 1810 of

the off peak minutes. The customer may set the type of alert desired 1811 and one or more

threshold(s) 1812 of remaining minutes when an alert should be made. The customer may

also define their service provider's call initiation charge 1813, if any, and identify the amount

of the charge 1814. Carrier initiation charges may include various specific charges from the

carrier such as: billing from the time a call connects with the carrier's network; billing for the

first minute of the ringing time regardless if a call is answered; billing for the first minute if

the call rings for 30 seconds; and billing for the first minute from the first ring. The customer

may also specify if rollover minutes 1815 are available under their billing plan by selecting

YES 1816 or NO 1817.

[0106] The software embodiment can be particularly useful for businesses having a

large number of employees who have been provided with cell phones and who normally have

very little understanding of control over the time usage of the phone until the bills are

received at the end of the billing period. A business may periodically use the computer 106

to check each of the cell phones 100 that are in the field to gain knowledge of the actual usage

within a billing period and therefore try to cut down on the actual usage during the remaining

period and thereby avoid outrageous bills at the end of the period.

[0107] The CPU 117 or 135 may be further programmed to, at a predetermined time

(e.g., once a day, week, month, or the end of a billing cycle) automatically send usage

information to a computer or another wireless device using, for example, SMS (text)

messages or a report file of all activity of the device. The usage information may be sent by a wireless transmission or may be sent through a wire connection to the wireless phone or PDA

and the computer or other wireless device. The usage information may include the number of

minutes used in each category of minutes, the quantity of data sent or received and/or device

activity information for a given period of time, such as a day, week or a month. The wireless

phone or PDA may be prompted to send the usage information by receiving a signal from the

computer. The SMS messages or report file may preferably be used to display the usage of

the wireless phone or PDA by the computer or other wireless device, and may be forwarded

to another computer or wireless device by email, saved, or printed by the computer or

wireless device. In this manner, a business may monitor the usage of several wireless and

PDA devices and plan their budget accordingly.

[0108] CPU 117 and 135 may also be programmed to provide an audio message of

the remaining minutes or kilobytes in each category. The audio message may be in the form

of a computer generated voice which advises the operator of the remaining minutes or

kilobytes in each category. The voice message may be integrated with a visual and/or other

audio alert. The audio message may occur between the time of the call and the connection to

the network; after the call is completed; or during the call which may be based on a prompt

by the operator at any time. The voice message may selectively be activated or deactivated

by the operator. The audio and voice message provides a method of monitoring data and

voice usage as well as internal device activity in real time in a manner convenient and safe to

the operator while involved in other tasks, such as driving a vehicle.

[0109] The architecture illustrated in the wireless telephone 110 in Figure 11 and the

PDA handset 129 in Figure 12, may be entirely contained on one circuit board or a single

integrated circuit chip and the functions may be performed by programmable software.

Moreover, the operations illustrated in Figures 13-14 may be performed by programmable software on the ROM 113 or 132 or memory internal to CPU 117 or 135 or any other

memory in the wireless telephone or PDA, respectively. The software that performs the

operations illustrated in Figures 13 and 14 may be embodied in the form of data in a

computer readable medium. A computer readable medium within the scope of this disclosure

includes any medium, physical or metaphysical, which is capable of carrying information in a

form which can be read by an appropriately configured computer or mobile communication

device and associated peripheral devices of the computer or station, including, but not limited

to: an optical readable/writeable disc, a magnetic disk, a readable/writeable card, a magnetic

tape, an electrical transmission signal for wireline or wireless transmission or optical

transmission of data using electrical and/or electromagnetic signals. The data associated with

the programmable software may be in the form of packetized digital data.

[0110] Accordingly, the exemplary embodiments provide a monitoring or talk time

managing system that can be readily incorporated into standard cellular phones to provide a

variety of time usage information to the subscriber at any time during a normal billing period.

The system also enables wireless commumcation subscribers to monitor usage,

programmable minutes, child usage, billing period information, minutes available, minutes

used, minutes remaining, and to signal an alarm to notify the consumer approaching over

usage. The novel systems operate without disrupting normal phone functions and 911 dialing

which are initially programmed into the circuitry of the cell phone when the phone is

manufactured.

[0111] The examples provide the above novel systems which are manually operated,

inexpensive, quickly installed into the phone and reliable in operation, to provide a time

usage feature which supplements the various other features programmed originally into the

phone. Examples also provide the above novel systems as after market devices which can be readily installed into standard commercial cell phones without interfering with or disrupting

normal phone functions. The only cost borne by a subscriber is the initial cost of the

purchase of the devices or software, and there are no additional costs for their continued use.

[0112] It is apparent that the various embodiments of the invention as described above

satisfy the objectives initially set forth herein above and provide cell phone subscribers with

time usage systems that help avoid excessive over billing at the end of a billing period.

[0113] The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing

from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to

be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being

indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description and all changes

which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended

to be embraced therein.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A wireless communication device comprising:

a transmitter/receiver capable of transmitting and receiving a plurality of data signals;

a microprocessor connected to the transmitter/receiver and configured to detect a

device event, and provide monitoring information indicative of the usage of the wireless

communication device during the occurrence of the detected device event; and

a display capable of continuously displaying the monitoring information during the

device event and after the end of the device event.

2. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein the microprocessor is

configured to provide historical information indicative of the usage of the wireless

communication device associated with a plurality of predetermined types of device events

and instruct the display to continuously display the historical information of at least one type

of device event of the plurality of predetermined types of device events.

3. The wireless communication device of claim 2, wherein the microprocessor is

configured to instruct the display to display the historical information at a time when a device

event is not detected.

4. The wireless communication device of claim 2, wherein the microprocessor is

configured to receive instructions from an operator of the wireless commumcation device to

selectively remove historical information of a device event from the display and provide

instructions to the display to selectively remove the historical information of a device event

from the display.

5. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein the microprocessor is

configured to determine usage of the wireless communication device associated with a

plurality of predetermined types of device events, to determine the type of device event of the

detected device event, and if, during a detected device event, the usage of the wireless

wireless device for the type of device event of the detected device event, to provide an alarm

to the operator indicating that the usage of the wireless device for the type of device event of

the detected device event is close to exceeding the predetermined amount of available usage.

6. The wireless communication device of claim 5, wherein the alarm is at least

one of an audio alarm, a visual alarm and a voice alarm.

7. The wireless communication device of claim 5, wherein the microprocessor is

configured to continuously count down units indicating remaining usage available for the

type of device event of the detected device event during the occurrence of the detected device

event and to provide a first alarm to the operator of the wireless communication device when

the remaining usage available for the type of device event of the detected event is less than or

equal to a first threshold.

8. The wireless communication device of claim 7, wherein the microprocessor is

configured to provide a second alarm to the operator of the wireless communication device

when the remaining usage available for the type of device event of the detected event is less

than or equal to a second threshold, the second threshold being less than the first threshold.

9. The wireless communication device of claim 5, wherein the microprocessor is

configured to prompt the operator to call a service provider to request additional available

usage of the wireless communication device for the type of device event of the device event

when the usage of the wireless communication device is close to exceeding a predetermined

amount of available usage of the wireless communication device for type of device event of

the detected device event.

10. The wireless communication device of claim 5, wherein the plurality of

predetermined types of device events include at least one of: a voice event, a data event, a

gaming event, an Internet event, and an operator selected internal activity event.

11. The wireless communication device of claim 10, wherein a voice event

includes an audio communication during at least one of predefined periods of: peak minutes,

off peak minutes, weekday minutes, daytime minutes, anytime minutes, evening minutes,

nighttime minutes, mobile to mobile minutes, rollover minutes, shared minutes, local

minutes, long distance minutes, and roaming minutes.

12. The wireless communication device of claim 11, wherein the microprocessor

is configured to detect and monitor voice events during at least one period of the predefined

periods and to provide historical information indicative of the usage of the wireless

communication device for the at least one period.

13. The wireless communication device of claim 10, wherein an operator selected internal activity includes at least one of remaining battery charge and music played by the

wireless communication device, and at least one of minutes of remaimng battery charge and

music played are displayed on the display.

14. A method of monitoring usage of a wireless communication device

comprising the steps of:

detecting a device event of the wireless communication device;

monitoring an available usage of the wireless communication device during the

occurrence of the detected device event; and

continuously displaying the available usage of the wireless communication device

during the occurrence of the device event and after the termination of the device event.

15 The method of claim 14 further comprising the steps of:

providing historical information indicative of the usage of the wireless

and displaying the historical information of at least one type of device event of the plurality

of predetermined types of device events.

16 The method of claim 15 wherein the historical information is displayed at a

time when a device event is not detected.

17 The method of claim 16 further comprising the step of:

selectively removing historical information of a device event from the display.

18 The method of claim 14 further comprising the steps of:

determining the type of device event of the detected device event from among a

plurality of predetermined types of device events;

determining if, during a detected device event, the usage of the wireless device is

type of device event of the detected device event; and

providing an alarm to the operator indicating that the usage of the wireless device for

the detected device event is close to exceeding the predetermined amount of available usage

for the type of device event of the detected device event.

19 The method of claim 18 wherein the alarm is at least one of an audio alarm, a

visual alarm and a voice alarm.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein the method further comprises continuously

counting down the remaining usage available for the type of device event of the detected

device event during the occurrence of the device event, and providing a first alarm to the

operator of the wireless communication device when the remaimng usage available for the

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising providing a second alarm to the

second threshold being less than the first threshold.

22. The method of claim 18, further comprising prompting the operator to call a

for the type of device event of the detected device event.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein the plurality of predetermined types of

device events include at least one of: a voice event, a data event, a gaming event, an Internet

event, and an operator selected internal activity event.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein a voice event includes an audio

communication during at least one of predefined periods of: peak minutes, off peak minutes,

weekday minutes, daytime minutes, anytime minutes, evening minutes, nighttime minutes,

minutes, and roaming minutes.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising the step of detecting and

monitoring at least one period of the predefined periods, and providing historical information

of the usage of each type of voice event.

26. The method of claim 18, wherein an operator selected internal activity

includes at least one of remaining battery charge and music played by the wireless

communication device, and at least one of minutes of remaining battery charge and music

played are displayed on the display.

27. A computer readable medium containing a program capable of causing a

comprising the steps of: detecting a device event of the wireless communication device;

monitoring an available usage of the wireless communication device during the

occurrence of the detected device event; and

28. The computer readable medium of claim 27, wherein the method further

comprises the steps of:

providing historical information indicative of the usage of the wireless

of predetermined types of device events.

29. The computer readable medium of claim 28, wherein the historical

information is displayed at a time when a device event is not detected.

30. The computer readable medium of claim 29, wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

selectively removing historical information of a device event from the display.

31. The computer readable medium of claim 27, wherein the method further

comprises the steps of:

determine the type of device event of the detected device event from among a

plurality of predetermined types of device events;

deteraiining if, during a detected device event, the usage of the wireless device is

type of device event of the detected device event, and

the detected device event is close to exceeding the predetermmed amount of available usage

for the type of device event of the detected device event.

32. The computer readable medium of claim 31 , wherein the alarm is at least one

of an audio alarm, a visual alarm and a voice alarm.

33. The computer readable medium of claim 31 , wherein the method further

comprises continuously counting down the remaining usage available for the type of device

event of the detected device event during the occurrence of the device event, and providing a

first alarm to the operator of the wireless communication device when the remaining usage

threshold.

34. The computer readable medium of claim 33, wherein the method comprises

the steps of providing a second alarm to the operator of the wireless communication device

when the remaining usage available for the type of device event of the detected event is less than or equal to a second threshold, the second threshold being less than the first threshold.

35. The computer readable medium of claim 31 , wherein the method comprises

the steps of prompting the operator to call a service provider to request additional available

usage of the wireless communication device for the types of device event of the detected

device event when the usage of the wireless device is close to exceeding a predetermined

amount of available usage of the wireless device for the type of device event of the detected

device event.

36. The computer readable medium of claim 31 , wherein the plurality of

37. The computer readable medium of claim 36, wherein a voice event includes an

audio communication during at least one of predefined periods of: peak minutes, off peak

minutes, weekday minutes, daytime minutes, anytime minutes, evening minutes, nighttime

minutes, mobile to mobile minutes, rollover minutes, shared minutes, local minutes, long

distance minutes, and roaming minutes.

38. The computer readable medium of claim 37, wherein the method further

comprising the step of detecting and monitoring at least one period of the predefined periods,

and providing historical information of the usage of each type of voice event.

39. The computer readable medium of claim 31 , wherein an operator selected internal activity includes at least one of remaining battery charge and music played by the wireless communication device, and at least one of minutes of remaining battery charge and

music played are displayed on the display.