US-12627741-B2 - Enhanced curfew and protection associated with a device group

Abstract

A method comprising obtaining, from a master user, a device usage allocation applicable to two or more devices, the two or more devices being associated with another user, the another user being different from the master user, obtaining an aggregate measure of device usage associated with the two or more devices, if the aggregate measure of device usage associated with the two or more devices satisfies a condition relative to the device usage allocation, managing an activity of the two or more devices, and sending a notification to at least one of the two or more devices, the notification for presentation to the another user through a user interface of the at least one of the two or more devices.

Inventors

• Gregory G. Raleigh
• Jose Tellado
• Jeffrey Green
• James Lavine
• Russell Bertrand Carter, III

Assignees

• HEADWATER RESEARCH LLC

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20221024

Claims (18)

1. 1 . A method comprising: obtaining a total data usage allocation applicable to a plurality of devices, each of the plurality of devices being associated with a respective one of a plurality of users; obtaining a measure of a respective data usage by each of the plurality of devices; aggregating the measure of the respective data usage by each of the plurality of devices to provide an aggregate measure of data usage by the plurality of devices; when the aggregate measure of data usage by the plurality of devices meets a condition relative to the total data usage allocation, managing one more service activities of at least one of the plurality of devices; and wherein the condition is the total data usage allocation during a service plan cycle by the plurality of devices, and wherein managing the one more service activities of the at least one of the plurality of devices includes: evaluating a current data usage by the at least one of the plurality of devices during the service plan cycle against a permitted data usage, to determine a match status between the permitted data usage and the current data usage; and in response to determining the match status, terminating at least one of the one or more service activities of the at least one of the plurality of devices during the service plan cycle.
2. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one of the plurality of devices execute a common operating system type.
3. 3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: receiving a credential from a network service controller to authorize a distribution of a management profile to the at least one of the plurality of devices.
4. 4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the permitted data usage is a data usage amount.
5. 5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the permitted data usage is a data usage count.
6. 6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the data usage count is a number of permitted messages.
7. 7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one of the plurality of devices is subject to control by another device of the plurality of devices.
8. 8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: in response to determining the match status, sending a notification to the at least one of the plurality of devices, the notification for presentation through a user interface of the at least one of the plurality of devices.
9. 9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the aggregate measure of data usage is a data usage amount defined based on a number of bytes.
10. 10 . A device comprising: a hardware processor configured to: obtain a total data usage allocation applicable to a plurality of devices, each of the plurality of devices being associated with a respective one of a plurality of users; obtain a measure of a respective data usage by each of the plurality of devices; aggregate the measure of the respective data usage by each of the plurality of devices to provide an aggregate measure of data usage by the plurality of devices; when the aggregate measure of data usage by the plurality of devices meets a condition relative to the total data usage allocation, manage one more service activities of at least one of the plurality of devices; and wherein the condition is the total data usage allocation during a service plan cycle by the plurality of devices, and wherein managing the one more service activities of the at least one of the plurality of devices includes: evaluating a current data usage by the at least one of the plurality of devices during the service plan cycle against a permitted data usage, to determine a match status between the permitted data usage and the current data usage; and in response to determining the match status, terminating at least one of the one or more service activities of the at least one of the plurality of devices during the service plan cycle.
11. 11 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the at least one of the plurality of devices execute a common operating system type.
12. 12 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the hardware processor is further configured to: receive a credential from a network service controller to authorize a distribution of a management profile to the at least one of the plurality of devices.
13. 13 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the permitted data usage is a data usage amount.
14. 14 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the permitted data usage is a data usage count.
15. 15 . The device of claim 14 , wherein the data usage count is a number of permitted messages.
16. 16 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the at least one of the plurality of devices is subject to control by another device of the plurality of devices.
17. 17 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the hardware processor is further configured to: in response to determining the match status, send a notification to the at least one of the plurality of devices, the notification for presentation through a user interface of the at least one of the plurality of devices.
18. 18 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the aggregate measure of data usage is a data usage amount defined based on a number of bytes.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Various embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 illustrates a representative system of interconnected network elements communicatively coupled to a mobile wireless communication device in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 2 illustrates a representative screen for a mobile wireless communication device that is not yet associated with a master service account in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 3 illustrates a representative screen providing a choice between a prepay account and a post-pay account in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 4 illustrates a representative “Home” screen on the mobile wireless communication device in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 5 illustrates a representative screen prompting for a password associated with a master service account in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 6 illustrates a representative screen providing access to account information in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 7 illustrates a representative screen for entering payment information associated with an account in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 8 illustrates a representative screen summarizing payment information associated with an account in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 9 illustrates a representative screen providing options for replenishing an account balance in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 10 illustrates a representative screen providing options for replenishing an account balance in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 11 illustrates a representative screen summarizing information for mobile wireless communication devices in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 12 illustrates a representative screen displayed for a child device that is not associated with an account in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 13 illustrates a representative screen for associating a child device with an account in accordance with some embodiments. FIGS. 14 and 15 illustrate a representative screen providing for entering information to associate a child device with an account in accordance with some embodiments. FIGS. 16 and 17 illustrate representative screens displaying information following successful association of a child device with an account in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 18 illustrates a representative screen displaying devices associated with a master service account in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 19 illustrates a representative screen for selecting device permissions in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 20 illustrates a representative screen presenting an example of a service plan subscribed to by the user of the mobile wireless communication device in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 21 illustrates a representative screen for sharing voice service plans of the mobile wireless communication device in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 22 illustrates a representative screen providing account usage details for a specific voice service plan of the mobile wireless communication device in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 23 illustrates a representative screen presenting an example of plan sharing options available to the user of the mobile wireless communication device in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 24 illustrates a representative screen displaying full sharing of a voice service plan by two mobile wireless communication devices in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 25 illustrates a representative screen displaying a voice service plan allocated entirely to one of two mobile wireless communication devices in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 26 illustrates a representative screen displaying a voice service allocated differently to each of two mobile wireless communication devices in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 27 illustrates a representative screen displaying account usage details for a voice service plan shared by two mobile wireless communication devices in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 28 illustrates a representative screen displaying service plan sharing for a set of data service plans for two mobile wireless communication devices in accordance with some embodiments. FIGS. 29 and 30 illustrate representative screens displaying sharing of a specific service plan among two mobile wireless communication devices in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 31 illustrates a representative screen displaying service usage details arranged by application for a shared service plan in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 32 illustrates a representative screen displaying service usage details arranged by network end-point for a shared service plan in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 33 illustrates a representative screen displaying service usage details arranged by time of day categories for a shared service plan in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 34 illustrates a rep