Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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MESSAGE RELAY HOST FOR DELIVERING MESSAGES TO OUT OF COVERAGE
COMMUNICATION DEVICES (/
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to wireless communication and
more particularly
to relaying messages through devices via at least one short range wireless
link.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Mobile communication devices exchange data, such as text messages and e-
mails, with
messaging servers over long range wireless data links or over long range
communication links
that consist of shorter range wireless links, such as Wi-Fi hot spots
accessing the Internet. An
example of wireless data communication links through which wireless
communication devices
communicate with base stations include cellular-like data networks. When a
wireless data
communication link is not available to the mobile device, messages addressed
to that mobile
device are generally held by the messaging server until the mobile device
regains communication
with the messaging server. In some instances, a mobile device may be out of
wireless data
communication coverage for some time, and the user of that device will not be
able to receive
messages addressed to him or her. The effectiveness of mobile communication
devices can be
affected by the ready availability of wireless communication links.
[0003] Therefore, the effectiveness of wireless message communication is
limited by periods
during which mobile devices are not in communication with messaging servers,
and therefore
cannot receive messages.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0004] The accompanying figures where like reference numerals refer to
identical or
functionally similar elements throughout the separate views, and which
together with the detailed
description below are incorporated in and form part of the specification,
serve to further illustrate
various embodiments and to explain various principles and advantages all in
accordance with the
present disclosure, in which:
[0005] FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless communication coverage map in accordance
with one
example;
[0006] FIG. 2 illustrates a messaging relay association creation scenario
according to one
example;
[0007] FIG. 3 is a messaging relay association list as maintained by a
messaging server depicted
in FIG 1, in accordance with one example;
[0008] FIG. 4 illustrates a sending message to target device process,
according to an example;
[0009] FIG. 5 illustrates a request messaging relay association process, in
accordance with one
example;
[0010] FIG. 6 illustrates a messaging relay association receipt request
process, in accordance
with one example;
[0011] FIG. 7 illustrates host device message relay process, in accordance
with one example;
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,
_
[0012] FIG. 8 illustrates a message cache maintenance process, in accordance
with one example;
[0013] FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an electronic device and associated
components in which the
_
systems and methods disclosed herein may be implemented; and
[0014] FIG. 10 illustrates a motion observation based messaging relay
association determination
process, according to one example.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0015] As required, detailed embodiments are disclosed herein; however, it is
to be understood
that the disclosed embodiments are merely examples and that the systems and
methods described
below can be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and
functional details
disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis
for the claims and as a
representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ
the disclosed subject
matter in virtually any appropriately detailed structure and function.
Further, the terms and
phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting, but rather, to provide an
understandable
description.
[0016] The terms "a" or "an", as used herein, are defined as one or more than
one. The term
plurality, as used herein, is defined as two or more than two. The term
another, as used herein, is
defined as at least a second or more. The terms "including" and "having," as
used herein, are
defined as comprising (i.e., open language). The term "coupled," as used
herein, is defined as
"connected," although not necessarily directly, and not necessarily
mechanically.
[0017] In the following discussion, the term "message" is used broadly and
includes any data
being sent from one electronic device to another. Examples of messages
include, but are not
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limited to, e-mail messages, calendar synchronization data, contact
symbolization data, instant
messaging messages and the like.
[0018] Described below are systems and methods that extend message delivery to
electronic
devices that are not currently in data communication with a messaging server.
In one example, a
messaging server has a data message to send to a target wireless communication
device that is
not currently in data communication with that messaging server. In this
example, one or more
other wireless communication devices serve as hosts or carrier devices to
relay the message from
the messaging server to the target device. When these one or more host
wireless communication
devices are in data communication with the messaging server, the messaging
server sends the
message to one or more host wireless communication devices. These one or more
devices then
receive and store the message to be relayed to the target device from the
messaging server.
When a host device is sufficiently close to the target wireless communication
device, the host
device establishes a short range wireless link with the target wireless
communication device and
transmits the message to the target wireless communication device. In an
example, the messages
sent to and stored by the host electronic device are encrypted so they are not
able to be read by a
user of the host electronic device.
[0019] One example of an application of these systems and methods includes a
scenario where a
cellular data communication base station on the outskirts of a city becomes
inoperable and
creates a wireless data blackout zone. Office workers in the blackout zone can
no longer receive
emails on their wireless communication devices. Some workers live near the
office and
consequently their homes and office have no wireless coverage. In this
example, another worker
from the same office commutes to work every day from a more distant home and
has wireless
data communication coverage for most of his journey into the office. While
commuting to work,
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this other worker's wireless communication device receives encrypted emails
for the workers
who live and work in the blackout area. This other worker's wireless
communication device acts
as a message host or carrier for the workers who are in the blackout area.
When the commuting
worker arrives in the office, his or her wireless communication device
transmits, via short range
wireless communication, such as via a Bluetooth connection, the hosted
messages to the
devices of the workers who remained in the blackout area.
[0020] The following describes systems and methods used to establish messaging
relay
associations that are used to determine which wireless communication devices
should be used as
host or carrier electronic devices to receive and relay messages that are
addressed to particular
target electronic devices. Selectively identifying and prioritizing wireless
communication
devices to be used as host devices for particular target devices is used in
some examples to
reduce overall resource consumption. For example, if fewer than all eligible
host devices are
sent copies of each message to be delivered to one target device, the number
of messages each
host device receives and is required to store is reduced. Further, wireless
communication
resources are also conserved, resulting in more efficient wireless bandwidth
utilization and
reductions in power pack energy consumption for the mobile relay devices.
[0021] FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless communication coverage map 100 in
accordance with one
example. The wireless communication coverage map 100 depicts one wireless
communication
base station 104 that communicates wirelessly with a number of wireless
communication
devices. The wireless communication base station 104 has a wireless coverage
area 110.
Wireless communication devices within the wireless coverage area 110 are able
to communicate
with the wireless communication base station 104. As is understood by
practitioners of ordinary
skill in the relevant arts in light of the present discussion, multiple
wireless communication base
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stations are able to be networked together to form a wireless communication
network, such as a
cellular network, that allows wireless communication with wireless
communication devices
within the coverage area of any of the multiple wireless communication base
stations.
[0022] The wireless communication base station 104 of this example is
associated with and in
communication with a messaging server 102. In one example, the messaging
server 102 accepts
messages that are effectively addressed to particular wireless communication
devices and
transmits those messages to the proper wireless communication device. In one
example, the
messages are e-mail messages and each wireless communication device is
associated with one or
more e-mail address. Other mappings between message destination addresses and
target devices
associated with those addresses are able to be used. In the following
discussion, the wireless
communication device to which a particular message is addressed is referred to
as the target
device. Because the messaging server 102 communicates through the wireless
communication
base station 104, wireless communication devices within the wireless coverage
area 110 are in
wireless communication with the messaging server 102. In this simplified
example of one
wireless communication base station 104, once the wireless communication
device leaves the
wireless coverage area 110, it is not in communication with the messaging
server 102.
[0023] The wireless communication coverage map 100 further depicts three
wireless
communication devices, a wireless communication device A 112, a wireless
communication
device B 114 and a wireless communication device C 106. As shown in the
wireless
communication coverage map 100, wireless communication device C 106 is within
the wireless
coverage area 110 of the wireless communication base station 104. The wireless
communication
device A 112 and the wireless communication device B 114 are not within the
wireless coverage
area 110 and therefore are not in wireless communication with the messaging
server 102.
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Assuming that wireless communication device B 114 had been in the wireless
coverage area 110,
the wireless communication device B 114 has left communication with the
messaging server
102. As described in further detail below, wireless communication device B 114
is able to have
been designated as a host device for messages addressed to wireless
communication device A
112. Because wireless communication device B 114 is a host for wireless
communication device
A 112, messaging server 102 transmitted messages to the wireless communication
device B 114
that were addressed to wireless communication device A 112 while the wireless
communication
device B 114 was in the coverage area 110. After wireless communication device
B 114 leaves
the coverage area and has established a short range wireless link 116 with
wireless
communication device A 112, wireless communication device B 114 is able to
transfer the
message to wireless communication device A 112.
[0024] The messaging server 102 of one example includes a relay association
processor 130, a
relay processor 132 and a message transmitter 134. The messaging server 102
further maintains
messaging logs 136. As described in further detail below, the message
transmitter 134 is
configured to transmit messages to a plurality of wireless communication
devices. The relay
association processor 130 is configured to determine, based upon data received
from the plurality
of wireless communication devices, at least one messaging relay association
between a
respective host device within the plurality of wireless communication devices
and a respective
target device within the plurality of wireless communication devices. The
respective host device
being a wireless communication device that is different from and able to
accept messages
addressed to the respective target device. The relay processor 132 is
configured to determine
that a target device of a messaging relay association within the at least one
messaging relay
associations is not in communicative contact with the message transmitter and
to send to a host
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device of the messaging relay association, in response to determining that the
target device is not
in communicative contact with the message transmitter, a message addressed to
the target device.
The status of pending messages, messages being relayed, and of completed
message deliveries
are maintained in the messaging logs 136. The wireless communication base
station 104
performs various processing to determine if a particular wireless
communication device, such as
the target device, is in communicative contact with the message transmitter
134. In one example,
the messaging server 102 receives this status from the wireless communication
base station 104.
[0025] FIG. 2 illustrates a messaging relay association creation scenario 200
according to one
example. The messaging relay association creation scenario 200 creates
messaging relay
associations between host devices and target devices. In the following
discussion, a target device
refers to a device to which a message is addressed and a host device refers to
a device that is
designated to receive a message for a target device when that target device is
not in
communication with a messaging server.
[0026] In the messaging relay association creation scenario 200, a target
device 202 is shown in
short range wireless communication with three candidate host devices,
candidate host device 1
204, candidate host device 2 206 and candidate host device 3 208. In this
example, the target
device 202 has established a short range wireless communication link with each
of these host
devices. The target device 202 establishes a first short range wireless link
210 with the candidate
host device 1 204. The target device 202 also establishes a second short range
wireless link 212
with the candidate host device 2 206 and a third short range wireless link 214
with the candidate
host device 3 208. The first short range wireless link 210, second short range
wireless link 212
and the third short range wireless link 214 are able to be maintained either
simultaneously or in a
serial time fashion where the target device 202 is in short range wireless
communication with
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only one or two candidate host devices at a time. In one example, the short
range wireless
communication link is a Bluetooth communication link.
[0027] Various techniques are used to select devices between which messaging
relay
associations are created. In establishing messaging relay associations, it is
possible for a single
device to be both a target device and also be a host device for other devices.
It is further possible
for each of two devices to both be a target device as well as a host device
for the other device. In
one example with a first device A and a second device B, device A is able to
be a host device for
device B, which is a target device relative to device A. Device B is
simultaneously able to also
be a host device for device A, which is a target device relative to device B.
In this example,
when device A is in communication with the messaging server, it is a host for
device B and
receives messages to relay to device B when device B is not in communication
with the
messaging server. Device B similarly receives messages for device A when
device B is in
communication with the messaging server and device A is not. Examples of
several techniques
to create messaging relay associations are described below.
[0028] In one example, when a wireless communication device is out of wireless
coverage with
a messaging server and has a short range wireless communication link with
another suitable
wireless communication device, these two wireless communication devices will
attempt to create
a messaging relay association with each other. In this case, each wireless
communication device
will be defined to be a host device for the other wireless communication
device.
[0029] In one example, the user of the wireless communication device is
presented with a
number of options when prompted to create a messaging relay association.
Examples of
presented options include:
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[0030] A) Decline creation of messaging relay association for this time only;
[0031] B) Always decline creation of messaging relay association with this
wireless
communication device;
[0032] C) Always decline creation of messaging relay associations (i.e. do not
participate in
message relaying);
[0033] D) Accept creation of messaging relay association for this time only;
[00341 E) Always accept creation of messaging relay association with this
wireless
communication device; and
[0035] F) Always accept creation of messaging relay associations (i.e. always
participate in
message relaying).
[0036] In one example, when a user declines the creation of a messaging relay
association for
this time only, the processing will not re-attempt to create a messaging relay
association until
after one of the wireless communication devices re-establishes communication
with the
messaging server.
[0037] In one example, wireless communication devices will not attempt to
create a messaging
relay association for a configurable period of time after leaving
communication with a messaging
server. Waiting for this time period operates to prevent unnecessary prompting
of the user for
short periods of time when the target wireless communication devices go in and
out of coverage
(e.g., by driving through a concrete tunnel and briefly losing coverage, etc).
This configurable
time in one example is set to a period of approximately one hour.
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[0038] In one example, when wireless communication devices create a messaging
relay
association, statistics associated with one or both of the wireless
communication devices are
communicated between the wireless communication devices. These statistics are
also able to be
communicated once the messaging relay association is established. These
statistics include, for
example, data to indicate the time interval between the most recent
communication between host
device and the messaging server and the time of short range wireless
communication with the
target device.
[0039] In one example, it is assumed that wireless communication devices often
move
throughout the day in a generally repetitive pattern. For example, a candidate
host wireless
device could be in communication with a messaging server while its user is at
home, but then at
a work location there may be no communication with the messaging server. A
target device that
is located at that work location comes into contact with the candidate host
device. The time
interval or difference in time between the candidate host device's
encountering the target device
after the host device's most recent communication with the messaging server is
an indication of
how recent messages for the target device will be on a subsequent day when
that candidate host
device would deliver relayed messages obtained during its last communication
with the central
communication server on that day.
[0040] The time between a host device's last communication with the messaging
server and its
subsequent contact with a target device is used in some examples to select or
prioritize with
which of several candidate host devices a messaging relay association should
be created. In
addition to providing this information during an initial attempt to create a
messaging relay
association, some host devices are configured to exchange the time since its
last communication
with the messaging server each time it encounters a target device after
leaving communication
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with the messaging server. The target devices in this example assemble these
statistics and
identify which candidate host device has a statistically shortest time between
its last
communication with the messaging server and that target device. As described
below, the
messaging server also receives this information and is able to prioritize host
devices to use when
the messaging server is not in communication with a particular target device.
[0041] Each target device is able to create messaging relay associations with
multiple host
devices. This results in each target device having a number of host devices to
which the
messaging server 102 is able to send messages to be relayed to the target
device when the target
device is not in wireless communication with the messaging server 102. In some
examples, the
host devices for each target device are prioritized according to one or more
metrics. One metric
used to prioritize host devices is a statistic indicating the time between the
host device's
communicating with the messaging server and encountering the target device.
Other metrics
include a number of messages delivered by a particular host device to a
particular target device
and the frequency of recent encounters between a particular host device and
target device. In
one example, both the host device and the target device accumulate these
metrics and
communicate these accumulated metrics to the messaging server 102 when
communication
between the messaging server and any of the devices is restored.
[0042] FIG. 3 is a messaging relay association list 300 as maintained by a
messaging server 102
of one example. The messaging relay association data accumulated by the
wireless
communication devices is uploaded to the messaging server when the wireless
communication
device is in communication with the messaging server. The messaging server
accumulates that
data into the messaging relay association list 300. The messaging relay
association list 300 is
maintained in one example by the messaging server 102 by accumulating metrics
reported by
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wireless communication devices acting as both host devices and target devices.
In one example,
the wireless communication devices each maintain similar tables without a
target column 302
since the target device is the device maintaining the table.
= [0043] The exemplary messaging relay association list 300 has a target
column 302, a host
column 304, an elapsed time column 306 and a time of encounter column 308. The
messaging
relay association list 300 has a number of rows with one row each
corresponding to a first
encounter of the target device listed in the target column 302 and the host
device listed in the
host column 304. In one example, only the first encounter that occurs after a
host device leaves
communication with the messaging server is maintained in the messaging relay
association list
300. Thus, subsequent encounters between two devices before the host device re-
establishes
communication with the messaging server are not recorded.
[0044] After a particular wireless communication device loses communication
with the
messaging server, that wireless communication device begins to record
encounters with other
wireless communication devices. Each of these encounters is then recorded in
the messaging
relay association list 300. The encounters stored in the messaging relay
association list 300 in
one example correspond to a short range wireless communication link data
exchange between
the target device and the candidate host device contained in the messaging
relay association list
300. In one example, these short range wireless communication link data
exchanges correspond
to the wireless communication devices encountering another wireless
communication device
with which it has created a messaging relay association.
[0045] The target column 302 of the messaging relay association list 300
contains an identifier
of the target device for the encounter. The identifier is able to be any
unique identifier to
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= identify the particular wireless communication device to the messaging
server 102. For example,
the identifier is able to be an identifier based upon one or more of an
Electronic Serial Number
(ESN), a Mobile Equipment Identifier (MEID), an International Mobile Equipment
Identity
(IMEI), or a Mobile Identification Number (MIN) of a wireless communication
device.
[0046] The host column 304 contains identifiers of the candidate host device
for each messaging
relay association. The identifiers in the candidate host column 304 are
similar to those described
above that are used in the target column 302. The elapsed time column 306
indicates the number
of minutes after the candidate host device's most recent communication with
the messaging
server that the target device encountered the candidate host device. As
discussed above,
statistics derived from these time intervals are used as metrics for
prioritizing host device(s) to
use for a particular target device. The time of encounter column 308 specifies
a time and date of
the encounter between the candidate host device and the target device
specified by a row in the
messaging relay association list 300. The time and date of the encounter is
able to be used to
weight or exclude entries in the messaging relay association list 300 based
upon the age of the
data. In one example, older data is weighted less than more recent data.
Further, data older than
a threshold is optionally discarded. Furthermore, a prioritization of
messaging relay associations
within the messaging relay association list 300 for a particular target device
is able to be based
upon the frequency of encounters between a particular pair of wireless
communication devices,
how recently those encounters occurred, and also how much time elapsed, as
indicated in the
elapsed time column 306.
[0047] In the messaging relay association list 300, the first line 320
indicates that wireless
communication device identified by identifier "1" encountered a wireless
communication device
identified by identifier "2" on April 1, 2010 at 1:09 PM. In this entry,
device "1" is designated
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as a target device and device "2" is designated as the candidate host device.
At the time of this
encounter, the time between that encounter and the last communication between
the candidate
host device (i.e. device "2" in this example) and the messaging server was 55
minutes. This
indicates that the candidate host device (i.e. device "2") was in
communication with the
messaging server at 12:14 PM on April 1, 2010, 55 minutes before the encounter
at 1:09 PM.
[0048] A second line 322 indicates a subsequent encounter between wireless
communication
device "1" as the target device and wireless communication device "2" as the
candidate host
device. The encounter associated with the second line 322 of the messaging
relay association list
300 occurred on April 3, 2010 at 11:01 AM. As indicated by the elapsed time
column 306 of the
second line 322, at the time of this encounter, the time between this
encounter and the last
communication between the candidate host device (i.e. device "2" in this
example) and the
messaging server was 109 minutes.
[0049] As illustrated by the first line 320 and the second line 322, the
messaging relay
association list 300 includes each encounter between candidate host devices
and target devices
that occur after the candidate host device leaves communication with the
messaging server 102.
Storing multiple encounters between the same devices allows, for example,
statistics to be
developed regarding the frequency of contacts between those devices and other
metrics that are
able to be used to prioritize host devices for particular target devices. As
described above for
this example, only the first encounter that occurs after a host device leaves
communication with
the messaging server is maintained in the messaging relay association list
300.
[0050] A third line 324 depicts an encounter between wireless communication
device "1" as the
target device and wireless communication device "3" as the candidate host
device.= The
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encounter associated with the third line 324 of the messaging relay
association list 300 occurred
on April 4, 2010 at 3:07 PM and had an elapsed time between this encounter and
the last
= communication between the candidate host device and the messaging server
of 12 minutes. A
fourth line 326 depicts an encounter between wireless communication device "1"
as the target
device and wireless communication device "2" as the host device. The encounter
associated
with the fourth line 326 of the messaging relay association list 300 occurred
on April 5, 2010 at
6:44 AM and had an elapsed time between this encounter and the last
communication between
the candidate host device and the messaging server of 15 minutes. A fifth line
328 depicts an
encounter between wireless communication device "1" as the target device and
wireless
communication device "4" as the host device. The encounter associated with the
fifth line 328 of
the messaging relay association list 300 occurred on April 1, 2010 at 8:53 AM
and had an
elapsed time between this encounter and the last communication between the
candidate host
device and the messaging server of 18 minutes. All of these encounters involve
the same
wireless communication device as the target device with different wireless
communication
devices as candidate host devices. The data in these lines of the messaging
relay association list
300 are able to be used to determine which wireless communication devices are
preferred to be
used as host devices for a particular target device.
[0051] The following lines of the messaging relay association list 300 involve
another target
device. A sixth line 330 depicts an encounter between wireless communication
device "10" as
the target device and wireless communication device "2" as the candidate host
device. The
encounter associated with the sixth line 330 of the messaging relay
association list 300 occurred
on April 5, 2010 at 3:09 PM and had an elapsed time between this encounter and
the last
communication between the candidate host device and the messaging server of 11
minutes. A
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= seventh line 332 depicts an encounter between wireless communication
device "10" as the target
device and wireless communication device "3" as the candidate host device. The
encounter
= associated with the seventh line 332 of the messaging relay association
list 300 occurred on April
5, 2010 at 3:53 PM and had an elapsed time between this encounter and the last
communication
between the candidate host device and the messaging server of 15 minutes.
[0052] FIG. 4 illustrates a sending message to target device process 400,
according to an
example. The sending message to target device process 400 is able to be
performed by a
messaging server, such as the messaging server 102, to send wirelessly relayed
messages for a
target device. The wirelessly relayed messages are able to include an
addressed message to the
target device when the target device is not in communication with the
messaging server.
[0053] The sending message to target device process 400 begins by the
messaging server
receiving, at 402, messaging relay association lists. In one example, message
relay association
lists are obtained from the target device, from candidate host devices, or
from either of those
wireless communication devices. As described above, messaging relay
association lists contain
specifics regarding relay associations between wireless communication devices.
For example,
messaging relay association lists specify target devices and candidate host
devices for each
messaging relay association along with various metrics for each association.
As discussed
above, messaging relay association lists include an elapsed time between when
a candidate host
device leaves communication with the messaging server and the time that the
candidate host
device is in short range wireless communication with the target device of the
messaging relay
association.
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[0054] In one example, data to create, update and revise message association
lists is received at
= various times by the messaging server. Messaging relay associations are
able to be created by
= wireless communication devices at any time two wireless communication
devices encounter each
other through a short range wireless communication link while they are not in
communication
with the messaging server. Upon creating a messaging relay association, an
indication of that
messaging relay association is sent to the messaging server when either
wireless communication
device re-establishes communication with the messaging server.
[0055] The messaging relay association data that is depicted as being received
at 402 is able to
be received at various points during the operation of the messaging server. In
one example, the
following processing is performed after receipt of at least one set of
messaging relay association
data. This initially received data in one example is continuously updated and
modified as
messaging relay associations are created, modified, or cancelled.
[0056] The sending messaging to target device process 400 continues with the
messaging server
102 receiving, at 404, a message that is addressed to be delivered to a
specific wireless
communication device. In various examples, messages are addressed according to
various
techniques. For example, messages may be addressed according to a telephone
number of a
wireless communication device. Other messages are able to be addressed to an
internet e-mail
address or various other identifiers, such as but not limited to, a personal
identification number
(PIN), an instant messaging identifier, an Internet Protocol (IP) address, a
Media Access Control
(MAC) address, etc. In a case of messages addressed to an internet e-mail
address, the
messaging server 102 of various embodiments contains a mapping between
internet e-mail
addresses and target wireless communication devices that are to receive
messages addressed to
such internet e-mail addresses.
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[0057] The processing continues by determining, at 406, if the messaging
server 102 is in
communication with the target wireless communication device. If it is
determined that the
messaging server 102 is in communication with the target wireless
communication device, the
message is sent, at 420, to the target wireless communication device. In the
case of the
messaging server 102 being in communication with the target device itself, the
message delivery
processing of one example follows conventional message delivery and tracking
techniques and
does not utilize host devices.
[0058] If, however, it is determined that the messaging server 102 is not in
communication with
the target wireless communication device, host devices are used to assist in
the delivery of the
message to the target device. It is to be noted that some examples of the
present method utilize
various criteria to determine when, for purposes of using host devices to
deliver messages, a
target device is not in communication with the messaging server 102. In one
example, a
distinction is made between a device that is turned off or powered down and a
device that simply
leaves communication with the messaging server. For example, wireless
communication devices
are configured to transmit a message to the messaging server 102 when the user
has powered
down the device. If the messaging server receives such a "powered down"
message, the
messaging server does not determine, for purposes of using host devices to
deliver messages, that
the messaging server is not in communication with the target device.
[0059] Further examples wait for a delay to pass after the target device's
last communication
with the messaging server. In one example, the messaging server waits for a
predetermined
amount of time after its last communication with a target device before
attempting to send
messages to that target device via a host device. This delay reduces the use
of host devices by
not using host devices when the target device is only out of communication
with the messaging
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server for short periods of time, such as when driving through a concrete
tunnel and briefly
losing coverage. In one example, this delay is set to a period of
approximately 1 hour.
[0060] In one example, the processing proceeds by determining, at 408, if the
messaging server
is in communication with any host device associated with the target device. As
described above,
one or more host devices are defined according to messaging relay associations
that were created
by the devices and received in messaging relay association lists. If the
messaging server 102 is
not in communication with any host device for the target device, the
processing proceeds to
queuing, at 410, the message to be sent to either the target device or a host
device associated with
the target device. After queuing this message, the processing returns to
receiving, at 404, a
message to be sent to a target device.
[0061] If it is determined that the messaging server 102 is in communication
with a host device
associated with the target device, the processing proceeds by identifying, at
412, a host device or
a number of host devices that are to be sent the message to be delivered to
the target device.
[0062] In a case where the messaging server is not in communication with the
target device,
various examples are able to be configured to send messages for the target
device to a limited
number of host devices that are associated with the target device. The number
of host devices to
which the message is to be sent is limited in order to, for example, not
overburden the
communication system and distribute an overly large number of messages to host
devices. As
described above, the messaging relay association lists contain metrics that
allow the ordering of
the messaging relay association lists. In examples that limit the number of
hosts to which
messages are sent, the processing selects the host to receive the message
according to the
prioritized list. For example, only the three highest priority hosts on the
messaging relay
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association list 300 for a particular target device may be selected by the
messaging server to
receive messages for that target device.
[0063] The sending messaging to target device process 400 continues by
sending, at 414, the
message to one or more host devices according to the prioritization of the
messaging relay
association list.
[0064] Once the message is sent to one or more host devices associated with
the target device,
the messaging server of one example continues to determine if the target
device has received the
message. In one example, the messaging server determines, at 416, if
communication has been
re-established with the target device. Communication can be re-established
with the target
device, for example, if the target device re-enters wireless data
communication coverage. Once
communication is re-established with the target device, the processing
determines, at 418, if the
target device received the message from a host device. If the target device
did not receive the
message from the host device, the messaging server sends, at 420, the message
to the target
device. If the target device did receive the message from a host device, the
processing marks, at
422, the message within the messaging logs 136 of the messaging server as
delivered.
[0065] Referring back to decision block 416, if communication has not been re-
established with
the target device, the processing of one example determines, at 426, if an
indication has been
received from a host device that the message was successfully delivered to the
target device.
One example of such a scenario is when a host device leaves communication with
the messaging
server after receiving a message for the target device and then encounters the
target device.
Once the message is successfully delivered by the host device to the target
device, the host
device records the successful delivery. If that host device re-establishes
communication with the
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messaging server before the target device, the host device sends an indication
to the messaging
server of the successful delivery to the target device. In that case, the
processing marks, at 422,
the message as delivered within the logs of the messaging server.
[0066] After either the message has been sent to the target device, at 420, or
the message has
been marked as delivered by receiving notification from the target device or a
host device
indicating successful delivery by a host device, the processing of the
messaging server notifies,
at 424, the host devices to discard the message. The message may be discarded
because the
target device has already received the message. The processing then ends.
[0067] FIG. 5 illustrates a request messaging relay association process 500,
in accordance with
one example. The request messaging relay association process 500 is performed
by a wireless
communication device to establish a messaging relay association between that
wireless
communication device, referred to as a "local device," and another wireless
communication
device, referred to as a "remote device." In such an association, each device
may operate as a
host for the other. In a further example, the devices may operate to limit the
role assumed in the
association, such as having only one device operate as a host for the other.
[0068] The request messaging relay association process 500 begins by
determining, at 502, if the
local device is in communication with the messaging server. If the local
device is in
communication with the messaging server, the processing repeats that
determination.
[0069] If the wireless communication device is not in communication with the
messaging server,
the processing proceeds to determine, at 504, an occurrence of an encounter
with a remote device
through a short range wireless link. In one example, such an occurrence of an
encounter with a
remote device is determined if the local establishes a paired Bluetooth
communication session
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with a remote device. In further examples, establishing or maintaining any
suitable short range
wireless link with a remote device is able to cause the determination of the
encounter. If no
encounter is determined, the processing returns to determine, at 502, if the
local wireless
communication device is in communication with the messaging server.
[0070] If an encounter with a remote device through a short range wireless
link is determined,
the processing of one example sends, at 508, a messaging relay association
request and message
relay related metrics to the remote device. In one example, the messaging
relay association
request is communicated over a short range wireless communication link.
[0071] In one example, a local device includes messaging related metrics along
with each
messaging relay association request. The messaging related metrics of one
example include an
elapsed time indicator that reflects the amount of time between the last
contact the local device
had with the messaging server and the time of this encounter. Such information
is used, as is
described above, to evaluate which wireless communication devices are best
selected to be host
devices for a particular target device. It is to be understood that the above
describes one set of
criteria for exchanging messaging related metrics. Other criteria are able to
be used to determine
when to exchange messaging related metrics and other metrics are also able to
be communicated.
For example, metrics may be exchanged upon inquiry by the remote device.
Further, messaging
relay associations are able to be created in some examples without exchanging
messaging related
metrics between the wireless communication devices.
[0072] After sending the messaging relay association request, either with or
without messaging
related metric data, the processing continues by determining, at 510, if the
remote device
accepted the request. In various embodiments, messaging related metrics are
able to be sent by
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the remote device in response to a messaging relay association request along
with an indication
of acceptance of the request. In one example, the remote device responds to
messaging relay
association requests by sending a message over a short range wireless link
that indicates either
acceptance or rejection of the request. If the request is rejected, the
processing returns to
determining, at 502, if an encounter with a remote device occurs, as is
described above.
[0073] If the remote device accepts the messaging relay association request,
the processing
continues by adding, at 512, the messaging relay association to the messaging
relay association
list of the local device. In various examples, local devices retain a list of
messaging relay
associations that were created. Such messaging relay association lists
specify, for example, an
identifier of the associated remote device, messaging relay metrics for that
remote device, the
time that the association was created, the time that the particular remote
device was last
encountered, or combinations of these values.
[0074] The processing next determines, at 514, if the local device is in
communication with the
messaging server. If the local device is not in communication with the
messaging server, the
processing waits, at 516, for communication with the messaging server. If or
when the local
device is in communication with the messaging server, the processing sends, at
518, the
messaging relay association list for the local device from the local device to
the messaging
server. The processing then completes.
[0075] FIG. 6 illustrates a messaging relay association receipt request
process 600, in accordance
with one example. The messaging relay association receipt request process 600
is performed by
a wireless communication device in response to receiving a messaging relay
association request
as part of the process of establishing a messaging relay association between
that wireless
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communication device, referred to below as the "local device," and another
wireless
communication device, referred to below as the "remote device."
[0076] The messaging relay association receipt request process 600 begins by
determining, at
602, an encounter with a remote device through a short range wireless link. As
described above
with regards to the request messaging relay association process 500, an
encounter between
wireless communication devices is determined by an established paired
Bluetooth relationship
with one another or by establishing or maintaining any suitable short range
wireless link with a
remote device. If no encounter is determined, the processing repeats the
determination.
[0077] If an encounter is determined, the processing receives, at 604 a
messaging relay
association request from the remote device. If a messaging relay association
request has not
been received, the processing returns to determining an encounter, at 602.
[0078] If a messaging relay association has been received, at 604, the
processing determines, at
605, if the wireless communication device is able to act as a host device. In
various examples, a
wireless communication device is not able to act as a host device under
certain conditions, for
example, if the wireless communication device has insufficient available
storage space or
remaining power pack energy. If it is determined that the wireless
communication device is
unable to serve as a host, the process sends, at 607, a response to the remote
device indicating
that the wireless communication device is unavailable to act as a host device.
The process then
returns to determining, at 602, an encounter with a remote device, as
described above.
[0079] If the wireless communication device is able to serve as a host, at
605, the processing
continues to prompt, at 606, the user to accept the association. As described
above, a user is able
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to be prompted with a variety of options, such as to accept or reject the
request for this request
only, accept or reject for all requests from this remote device, or accept or
reject all requests.
[0080] The processing then determines, at 610, if the user accepts the
association request. If the
user does not accept the association request, the processing rejects, at 612,
the request. Rejecting
the request generally results in a response message being sent to the remote
device indicating
that the messaging relay association request is rejected. The processing then
returns to
determining an encounter, at 602.
[0081] If the user accepts the association request, at 610, the processing
transmits, at 613, an
association acceptance to the remote device in response to the messaging relay
association
request. In one example, an association acceptance is a data message sent to
the requesting
remote device accepting the messaging relay association request. The
processing then adds, at
614, the messaging relay association to the messaging relay association list
of the local device.
In various examples, local devices retain a list of messaging relay
associations that were created.
Such messaging relay association lists specify, for example, an identifier of
the associated
remote device, messaging relay metrics for that remote device, the time that
the association was
created, the time that the particular remote device was last encountered, or
combinations of these
values.
[0082] The processing next determines, at 616, if the local device is in
communication with the
messaging server. If the local device is not in communication with the
messaging server, the
processing waits, at 618, for communication with the messaging server. If or
when the local
device is in communication with the messaging server, the processing sends, at
620, the
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= messaging relay association list for the local device from the local
device to the messaging
server. The processing then completes.
[0083] FIG. 7 illustrates host device message relay process 700, in accordance
with one
example. The host device message relay process 700 is performed in one example
by a host
device that is relaying a message from a messaging server to a target device
when the target
device is not in communication with the messaging server. With respect to the
host device that is
executing the host device message relay process, the target device is a remote
wireless device.
[0084] The host device message relay process 700 begins by receiving from the
messaging
server, at 702, a message for a remote target device. The processing continues
by storing, at 704,
that received message on the host device. In one example, messages sent to a
host device that
are to be relayed to a remote target device are stored with an indicator
depicting that the message
is a hosted message, i.e. to be delivered to another device. For example, a
received message list
on the local device is able to have a special icon to indicate that the
message is destined for
another device. In some examples, hosted messages that are messages to be
delivered to another
device are encrypted so as to prevent the hosted messages from being read by a
user of the host
device. In one example, such hosted messages are encrypted with keys only
available to the
target device so that the hosted messages are only able to be decrypted and
read by a user of the
target device to which the hosted message is addressed.
[0085] The host device message relay process 700 continues by determining, at
706, an
encounter with a wireless communication device that is the target device for
the received
message. As described above, encounters with wireless communication devices
are able to be of
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any suitable type, such as by establishment of access through a short range
wireless
communication link or subsystem.
[0086] If an encounter with the target device is not determined, at 706, the
processing of one
example determines if the local device is able to continue to receive hosted
messages by
determining, at 710, if the message cache is "full." A message cache can be
determined to be
full if the memory for storing messages contains more than a threshold amount
of data. One
example of the message cache being full is when memory used to store messages
is over 90%
used. If the message cache is not determined to be full, the processing
continues to determine, at
712, if the local device's power pack energy or battery is low or if available
storage space
memory is low. If these conditions are determined to not exist, the processing
returns to
determining, at 706, an encounter with a wireless communication device that is
the target device
for a received hosted message.
[0087] If it is determined that the message cache is full, the local device's
power pack energy or
battery is low, or if the available storage space memory is low, the
processing reports, at 714, to
the messaging server that this local device is unavailable to act as a host
device. In one example,
the device further configures itself to not initiate and reject messaging
relay associations with
other devices, until such time as its battery or storage space is sufficient
again. After
determining that the local device is unavailable to act as a host device, the
local device in one
example continues to monitor the conditions that caused the local device to
declare that it is
unavailable to act as a host device. Once those conditions return to a state
to allow the local
device to again act as a host device, the local device then reports to the
messaging server that the
local device is available to act as a host device. In one example, once the
message cache is no
longer determined to be full, or the local device's power pack recharges, or
if the available
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storage memory space is no longer low, the local device reports that it is
again available to act as
a host device. The local device then continues to configure itself to again be
able to initiate and
fully process messaging relay association requests from other devices, as
described above, based
on the configuration of the local device.
[0088] When it is determined, at 706, that the target device is encountered,
the processing
proceeds to deliver, at 720, the message to the target device. As part of
delivering the message
to the target device, the host device may receive an indication from the
target device that the
target device has already received that message and that the host device can
abort the delivery
and delete this message from the host device's message cache.
[0089] Once the message is delivered to the target device, various examples
use indicators on the
user interface of the target device, the host device, or both to indicate that
the message was
delivered by a host device. The target device is able to display a special
icon to indicate that the
message was delivered by a host device. Similarly, the host device is able to
display an icon
indicating that the message carried by the host device was delivered to the
target device.
[0090] The processing continues to report, at 722, delivery of the message to
the messaging
server once communication is again established with the messaging server.
Reporting of actual
message delivery by the host device allows the messaging server to, for
example, indicate to
other host devices that the message should be deleted. Further, the messaging
server is able to
prioritize the messaging relay association list for a particular target device
according to which
host device actually delivers more messages to that target device. The message
is then deleted,
at 724, and the processing ends.
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[0091] FIG. 8 illustrates a message cache maintenance process 800, in
accordance with one
example. The message cache maintenance process 800 may be periodically
performed by a host
device in one example to determine if hosted messages should be deleted the
host device's
message cache or if the host device should report to the messaging server that
it is no longer able
to serve as a host device.
[0092] The message cache maintenance process 800 determines, at 802, if the
host device has
received a command, such as from the messaging server, to delete a message or
messages. Such
a command could be sent in response to the messaging server determining that
the target device
has received the message. If a command to delete a message has been received,
the processing
deletes, at 804, the message or messages specified by that command.
[0093] The processing then determines, at 806, if any hosted message has
expired. In one
example, a specified time threshold is defined and a message that has been
stored for longer than
the specified time threshold is determined to have expired. Expiration of
messages stored on a
host is configured by some examples to limit the number of messages stored on
the host devices.
If messages are determined to have expired, the processing deletes, at 808,
the expired messages
from the host message storage.
[0094] The processing proceeds to determine, at 810, if 1) the message cache
is "full" or 2) a
battery reserve of the host device is low. A message cache can be determined
to be full if the
available memory for storing messages contains more than a threshold amount of
data. One
example of the message cache being full is when memory used to store messages
is over 90%
used. Low battery reserve is able to be declared if, for example, the
remaining battery capacity is
less than 10% of full capacity. If any of these conditions is true, the
processing reports, at 812,
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to the messaging server that this host device is unavailable to act as a host
device. In one
example, the device further configures itself to not initiate and reject
messaging relay
associations with other devices, until such time as these conditions are not
true.
= [0095] The processing then delays, at 814, for the next iteration of the
message cache
maintenance process 800. In one example, the message cache maintenance process
800 is
performed every ten (10) minutes, so the delay at 814 lasts for ten minutes in
that example. The
message cache maintenance process 800 then returns to determine, at 802, if a
command to
delete a message has been received.
[0096] In addition to the above described messaging relay association creation
techniques,
further example systems support alternative methods of creating messaging
relay associations
between wireless communication devices. Examples of alternative messaging
relay association
creation techniques include manual creation, reverse message sending hosting
based creations,
and motion observation based association creations.
[0097] Manual messaging relay association creation techniques allow a user of
a wireless
communication device to explicitly define other wireless messaging devices
with which to create
messaging relay associations. In one example, a wireless messaging device is
paired with a
number of other wireless messaging devices. In this example, a user of that
device is able to
create messaging relay associations by selecting wireless communication
devices from that list of
paired devices. Further examples allow any other suitable technique to allow a
user to specify
other wireless communication devices with which to create messaging relay
associations. Such
associations may be instantly created upon uploading messaging relay
association data from the
creating wireless communication device to the messaging server or may require
acceptance by
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the user of the other wireless communication device. For example, the
originating wireless
communication device is able to upload a specification of the manually created
messaging relay
association and the messaging server responds by sending a prompt to the other
wireless
messaging device of that association to accept or reject the manually created
messaging relay
association.
[0098] Some wireless communication devices include processing to send messages
when that
device is out of communication with the messaging server. When such a wireless
communication device has a message to send and is not in communication with
the messaging
server, the device identifies nearby wireless communication devices to act as
host devices that
will relay the message to the messaging server. The wireless communication
device uses various
techniques to identify and determine which nearby wireless communication
devices are best
suited to be a host relay for the message to be sent, and communicates the
message to be sent to
the best device or devices. Messaging relay associations as described above to
be used by the
messaging server to send messages to the wireless communication device are
able to be created
by using the same wireless communication devices selected to be hosts for
sending of the
messages from the wireless communication device to the messaging server.
[0099] FIG. 10 illustrates a motion observation based messaging relay
association determination
process 1000, according to one example. Motion observation based association
creations are
based upon time correlating motion observation measurements received from each
of multiple
wireless communication devices. In one example, accelerometer data is recorded
by each
wireless communication device along with a time of observation to determine
the motions
experienced by the wireless communication device. In various examples,
accelerometer data is
recorded at all times or only when the wireless communication device is not in
communication
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with a messaging server. These wireless communication devices report the
recorded
accelerometer data along with the time of each observation when in
communication with the
messaging server. The messaging server receives, at 1002, the motion
observation data reported
by each wireless communication device along with the time of each of those
observations. These
motion observation data and the time of their observation is then recorded by
the messaging
server, at 1004. The messaging server then correlates, at 1006, these motion
observations to
identify at least two wireless communication devices that experience common
movement by
identifying time correlated movement data. Motion observation based messaging
relay
associations are then determined, at 1008, based upon these identifications of
at least two
wireless communication devices that experience common movement. The process
then ends.
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=
[0100] In one example, the recorded accelerometer data is sent as a hash value
after being passed
through a hash function to allow a simpler comparison of data reported by
different wireless
communication devices. Analysis of the time correlated hashed accelerometer
data from the
multiple wireless communication devices allows identification of two or more
wireless
communication devices that underwent similar motions, which indicate common
movements by
those devices. One example of such a similar set of motions is when a bunch of
users are sitting
in the same car or bus and go over a series of bumps. Messaging relay
associations are then be
crated by the messaging server for devices that are carried by users who ride
in the same car or
bus. These messaging relay associations that are automatically created by the
messaging server
are then added to the messaging relay association list 300, described above,
and processed in a
manner similar to other entries in that list.
[0101] The automatic creation of messaging relay associations by the messaging
server enhances
a user's probability of receiving a message when out of communication with the
messaging
server. In a situation where long range wireless communication is unavailable
to some of those
people, others in the car or bus would operate as host devices when they are
in long range
wireless coverage and deliver messages when they are in that car or bus for a
future commute.
[0102] The amount of data to be analyzed by the messaging server is able to be
reduced by
several techniques. A messaging server could be configured to only correlate
motion data for
wireless communication devices that are communicating to the same base tower
or set of base
towers. This would provide a geographical correlation element as well.
Geographical data as
reported by the wireless communication device, such as geo-location
information obtained by a
Global Positioning System (GPS) or other suitable component of the wireless
communication
device, is also able to be used to limit the number of wireless communication
devices whose
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= motion data are compared to and correlated with each another. The motion
data that is analyzed
= by or even communicated to the messaging server is also able to be
limited by applying a
threshold value. Only motion data that exceeds a threshold, such as
encountering bumps of a
certain magnitude, are reported to or analyzed by the messaging server.
[0103] FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an electronic device and associated
components 900 in
which the systems and methods disclosed herein may be implemented. In this
example, an
electronic device 952 is a wireless two-way communication device that is able
to provide one or
both of voice and data communication capabilities. Such electronic devices
communicate with a
wireless voice or data network 950 via any suitable wireless communication
protocol or
protocols. Wireless voice communication is performed using either analog or
digital wireless
communication protocols according to the network 950 to which the wireless
communication
device is connected. Data communication to and from the electronic device 952
support
exchanging data with other computer systems through any suitable network, such
as the Internet.
Examples of electronic devices that are able to incorporate the above
described systems and
methods include data pagers, data messaging devices, cellular telephones, or a
data
communication device that may or may not include telephony capabilities.
[0104] The illustrated electronic device 952 is an example electronic wireless
communication
device includes two-way wireless communication components to provide wireless
data
communication with a wireless data network, a wireless voice network, or both.
Such electronic
devices incorporate communication subsystem elements such as a wireless
transmitter 910, a
wireless receiver 912, and associated components such as one or more antenna
elements 914 and
916. A digital signal processor (DSP) 908 performs processing to extract data
from received
wireless signals and to generate signals to be transmitted. The particular
design of the
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communication subsystem is dependent upon the communication network and
associated
wireless communication protocols with which the device is intended to operate.
[0105] Data communication with the electronic device 952 generally includes
receiving data,
such as a text message or web page download, through the receiver 912 and
providing that
received data to the microprocessor 902. The microprocessor 902 is then able
to further process
the received data for output to the display 934 or to other devices such as an
auxiliary I/0 device
938 or through the Universal Serial Bus (USB) port 932. The electronic device
952 also allows a
user to create data items, such as e-mail messages, using the keyboard 936 in
conjunction with
the display 934 and possibly with data received through an auxiliary I/0
device 938. Such
composed items are then able to be transmitted over a communication network
through the
transmitter 910.
[0106] The electronic device 952 performs voice communications by providing
received signals
from the receiver 912 to the audio subsystem 928 for reproduction by speakers
926. A user's
voice is able to be converted to electrical signals from microphone 930 for
transmission by
transmitter 910.
[0107] A short-range communication subsystem 920 provides communication
between the
electronic device 952 and different systems or devices. Examples of short-
range communication
subsystems 920 include an infrared device and associated circuits and
components, or a Radio
Frequency based communication subsystem such as a Bluetooth , Zigbee8,Wi-Fi or
Wi-MAX
communication subsystem to provide for communication with similarly-enabled
systems and
devices.
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[0108] The electronic device 952 includes a microprocessor 902 that controls
device operations
for the electronic device 952. The microprocessor 902 interacts with the above
described
communication subsystem elements to implement and control wireless
communication with the
network 950. The microprocessor 902 further performs control and data exchange
functions by
interacting with, for example, flash memory 906, random access memory (RAM)
904, auxiliary
input/output (I/0) device 938, USB Port 932, display 934, accelerometer 918,
keyboard 936,
audio subsystem 928, microphone 930, a short-range communication subsystem
920, a power
subsystem 922, an accelerometer 918, and any other device subsystems.
[0109] An internal power pack, such as a battery 924, is connected to a power
subsystem 922 to
provide power to the circuits of the electronic device 952. The power
subsystem 922 includes
power distribution circuitry to supply electric power to the various
components of the electronic
device 952 and also includes battery charging circuitry to support recharging
the battery 924. An
external power supply 954 is able to be connected to the power subsystem 922.
The power
subsystem 922 includes a battery monitoring circuit that provide a status of
one or more battery
conditions, such as remaining capacity, temperature, voltage, current draw,
and the like.
[0110] The USB port 932 provides data communication between the electronic
device 952 and
one or more external devices. Data communication through USB port 932 enables
various user
data, such as data files or configuration parameters for the electronic device
952 to be exchanged
between the electronic device 952 and an external device. The USB port 932 is
also able to be
used to convey external power to the power subsystem 922 from a suitable
external power
supply.
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[0111] Operating system software used by the microprocessor 902 is stored in
flash memory
906. In addition to, or in place of, flash memory 906, a battery backed-up RAM
or other non-
volatile storage data elements are able to store operating systems, other
executable programs, or
both. As an example, a computer executable program configured to perform the
request
messaging relay association process 500, messaging relay association receipt
request process
600, host device message relay process 700, the message cache maintenance
process 800, and
described above, is included in a software module stored in flash memory 906.
[0112] RAM memory 904 is used to store data produced or used by microprocessor
902. RAM
memory is further able to temporarily store program data from flash memory 906
or from other
storage locations. RAM 904 is also used to store data received via wireless
communication
signals or through wired communication.
[0113] The microprocessor 902 in some examples executes operating system
software as well as
various other software applications such as user applications, small, special
purpose applications
referred to as "apps," and the like. Some software, such as operating system
and other basic user
functions such as address books are able to be provided as part of the
manufacturing process for
the electronic device.
[0114] In addition to loading applications as part of a manufacturing process,
further
applications are able to be loaded onto the electronic device 952 through, for
example, the
wireless network 950, an auxiliary I/0 device 938, USB port 932, short-range
communication
subsystem 920, or any combination of these interfaces. Once these applications
are loaded into
the electronic device 952, these applications are executed by the
microprocessor 902.
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[0115] A media reader 960 is able to be connected to an auxiliary I/0 device
938 to allow, for
example, loading computer readable program code of a computer program product
into the
electronic device 952 for storage into flash memory 906. One example of a
media reader 960 is
an optical drive such as a CD/DVD drive, which may be used to store data to
and read data from
a computer readable medium or storage product such as computer readable
storage media 962.
Examples of suitable computer readable storage media include optical storage
media such as a
CD or DVD, magnetic media, or any other suitable data storage device. The
media reader 960 is
alternatively able to be connected to the electronic device through the USB
port 932 or computer
readable program code is alternatively able to be provided to the electronic
device 952 through
the wireless network 950.
[0116] The electronic device 952 includes an accelerometer 918 to determine
physical device
motion observations that are reported to and stored by the microprocessor 902.
As described
above, motion observations are able to be encoded, filtered or both by
microprocessor 902 and
then reported to a messaging server.
[0117] Information Processing System
[0118] The present subject matter can be realized in hardware, software, or a
combination of
hardware and software. A system can be realized in a centralized fashion in
one computer
system, or in a distributed fashion where different elements are spread across
several
interconnected computer systems. Any kind of computer system - or other
apparatus adapted for
carrying out the methods described herein - is suitable. A typical combination
of hardware and
software could be a general purpose computer system with a computer program
that, when being
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CA 02762477 2011-12-19
loaded and executed, controls the computer system such that it carries out the
methods described
herein.
[0119] The present subject matter can also be embedded in a computer program
product, which
comprises all the features enabling the implementation of the methods
described herein, and
=
which - when loaded in a computer system - is able to carry out these methods.
Computer
program in the present context means any expression, in any language, code or
notation, of a set
of instructions intended to cause a system having an information processing
capability to
perform a particular function either directly or after either or both of the
following a) conversion
to another language, code or, notation; and b) reproduction in a different
material form.
[0120] Each computer system may include, inter alia, one or more computers and
at least a
computer readable medium allowing a computer to read data, instructions,
messages or message
packets, and other computer readable information from the computer readable
medium. The
computer readable medium may include computer readable storage medium
embodying non-
volatile memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, disk drive
memory, CD-
ROM, and other permanent storage. Additionally, a computer medium may include
volatile
storage such as RAM, buffers, cache memory, and network circuits. Furthermore,
the computer
readable medium may comprise computer readable information in a transitory
state medium such
as a network link and/or a network interface, including a wired network or a
wireless network,
that allow a computer to read such computer readable information.
[0121] Non-Limiting Examples
[0122] Although specific embodiments of the subject matter have been
disclosed, those having
ordinary skill in the art will understand that changes can be made to the
specific embodiments
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,
,
without departing from the scope of the disclosed subject matter. The scope of
the disclosure is
not to be restricted, therefore, to the specific embodiments, and it is
intended that the appended
claims cover any and all such applications, modifications, and embodiments
within the scope of
the present disclosure.
[0123] What is claimed is:
41
