Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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MANAGING SHORT RANGE WIRELESS DATA TRANSMISSIONS
BACKGROUND
Short range wireless data systems (SRWDSs) such as Bluetooth systems have
become increasingly
popular over the last decade. One type of environment in which these systems
are used is an automotive
environment. In this environment, a user generally pairs an electronic device
such as a cellular phone with
the SRWDS. The user can then, for example, transmit audio to and from the
cellular device utilizing the
SRWDS. However, many automotive manufacturers utilize different SRWDSs.
Therefore, a pairing
procedure that the user has become accustomed to for one automobile may not
apply to another
automobile. This can be very frustrating for the user. Additionally, many of
these conventional SRWDSs
usually only allow one electronic device to utilize the functionality of the
system at one time.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an operating environment according to one
example;
FIG. 2 is a functional timing diagram for communicatively coupling wireless
communication devices
with a short range communication system using a short range communication
relay electronic device
illustrated in FIG. 1 according to one example;
FIG. 3 illustrates wireless communication device pairing data according to one
example;
FIG. 4 illustrates short range communication system pairing information
according to one example;
FIG. 5 is a functional timing diagram for relaying short range communications
between a one or more
wireless communication devices and/or a short range communication system
according to one example;
1
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FIG. 6 is a flow diagram for a short range wireless communication pairing
process performed by the short range
communication relay electronic device illustrated in FIG. 1;
FIG. 7 is a flow diagram for a short range wireless communications relaying
process performed by the short range
communication relay electronic device illustrated in FIG. 1;
FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an electronic device and associated components in
which the systems and methods
disclosed herein may be implemented; and
FIG. 9 is a block diagram of another electronic device and associated
components in which the systems and
methods disclosed herein may be implemented.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
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.
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.
The term "wireless communication device" is intended to broadly cover many
different types of devices that can
wirelessly receive signals, and in most cases can wirelessly transmit signals,
and may also operate in a wireless
communication system. For example, and not for any limitation, a wireless
communication device can include any
one or a combination of the following: a two-way radio, a cellular telephone,
a mobile phone, a smartphone, a two-
way pager, a wireless messaging device, a laptop/computer, a personal digital
assistant, and other similar devices.
Described below are systems and method for relaying short range communication
data between electronic devices.
In one example, a portable short range wireless communication device
establishes a first short range wireless
communication link with a first wireless communication device. The first
wireless device maintains a wireless
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connection to a wireless telecommunications network. A second short range
wireless communication link is
established with at least a second wireless communication device. At least one
of a first set of short range wireless
communication data and a second set of short range wireless communication data
is received from the first and
second wireless communication devices, respectively, over the first and second
short range wireless communication
links, respectively. At least one of the first set of short range wireless
communication data and the second set of
short range wireless data is relayed to the second and first wireless
communication devices, respectively, over the
second the first short range wireless communication links, respectively. This
relaying forms a multi-party
connection with the first wireless communication device and the second
wireless communication device to the
wireless telecommunications network.
Operating Environment
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating one operating environment for
communication over a SRWDS according to
one example. In particular, FIG. 1 shows an operating environment 100 such as,
but not limited to, an automobile
comprising a SRWDS 102. It should be noted that an automobile is only one
example of an applicable environment
as any environment comprising a SRWDS can be used as an operating environment
as well. A SRWDS 102 can be
any type of short range communication system such as, but not limited to, a
Bluetooth system, a Zigbee system,
or the like. Alternatively, the operating environment 100 is not required to
include an SRWDS 102. For example,
the operating environment 100 can be an office, a conference room, outdoors,
or any other environment as well.
The operating environment 100 comprises a plurality of electronic devices such
as wireless communication devices
104, 106. Each wireless communication device 104, 106 comprises a
communication subsystem 108, 110 that
allows the device to communicate over one or more wireless communication
networks. For example, the wireless
communication devices 104, 106 can each communication over wireless
communication network(s) such as a Code
Division Multiple Access (CDMA); a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), a
Global System for Mobile
Communications (GSM), a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), an Evolution Data
Only (EV-D0), a Universal
Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), an Integrated Dispatch-Enhanced
Network (iDEN), a Frequency
Division Multiple Access (FDMA), other IEEE 802.16 standards, an Orthogonal
Frequency Division Multiplexing
(OFDM), an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), an LTE, a
UMB, a Wireless LAN
(WEAN), and/or a WiMax based network.
Each wireless communication device 104, 106 also comprises a short range
communication transceiver 112, 114.
The short range communication transceiver 112, 114 allows the wireless
communication devices 104, 106 to send
and receive data over a SRWDS system such as, but not limited to a Bluetooth
system, a Zigbee system, or the
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like utilizing radio frequencies. It should be noted that the short range
communication transceiver 112, 114 can also
be part of the communication subsystem 108, 110 as well. The wireless
communication devices 104, 106 also
comprises a set of user interfaces 116, 118 such as, but not limited to, a
speaker(s), a microphone(s), a keyboard(s),
a display(s), a touch-screen, a camera, and the like.
The wireless communication devices 104, 106 are communicatively coupled to the
SRWDS 102 via an electronic
device such as a short range communication relay module (SRCRM) 120. The SRWDS
102 comprises a short
range communication transceiver 122 that allows data to be transmitted and
received from other devices over a
short range communication network. The SRWDS 102 also comprises audio devices
124 such as speakers and
microphones for transmitting and receiving audio data. The system 102 can also
comprise a display 126 for
presenting data and interacting with a user in the environment 102.
The SRCRM 120 comprises a short range communication transceiver 128, a
communication manager 130, wireless
communication device pairing data 132, SRWDS pairing data 134, and optional
user interfaces 136. The SRCRM
120 may be a portable device that automatically couples the wireless
communication devices 104, 106 to the short
range communication system 102 and relays wireless data such as, but not
limited to, audio data from the wireless
communication devices 104, 106 to the SRWDS 102 and vice versa. Alternatively,
the SRCRM 120 may be
integrated within another component such as the short range wireless data
system 102. This allows, among other
things, multiple wireless communication devices 104, 106 to interact with the
short range wireless data system 102
at the same time. As will be discussed in more detail below, the SRCRM 120
also relays wireless data from one or
more wireless communication devices 104 communicatively coupled (e.g., paired)
to the SRCRM 120 to one or
more other wireless communication devices 106 communicatively coupled to the
SRCRM 120. The functions and
operations of the SRCRM 120 are discussed in greater detail below.
The short range communication transceiver 128 of the SRCRM 120 transmits and
receives radio frequency waves.
This transceiver 128 establishes a first short range wireless communication
(SRWC) link between itself and a
wireless device 104, 106 and a second SRWC link between itself and the SRWDS
102. The SRCRM 120 utilizes
these SRWC links to simultaneously couple the SRCRM 120 to the wireless
communication devices 104, 106 and
the short range wireless data system 102, thereby coupling the devices 104,
106 to the SRWDS 102. However, it
should be noted that in various other embodiments the SRCRM 120 only
establishes links between the wireless
devices 104, 106 and not a SRWDS 102. In other words, the SRWDS 102 is not
required in one or more
embodiments of the present invention. The wireless communication device
pairing data 132 comprises pairing data
for each of the wireless communication device so that SRCRM 120 and the
devices 104, 106 can be automatically
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paired with each other without a user having to manually enter pairing
information each time the user wants to
couple a device 104 to the SRCRM 120.
The SRWDS pairing data 134 comprises pairing data that allows the SRCRM 120 to
be automatically coupled with
a plurality of different SRWDS. For example, this data 134 can comprise
pairing information that allows the
5 SRCRM 120 to pair with a SRWDS in a Ford manufactured automobile, a
Toyota manufactured automobile, a
Honda manufactured automobile, and the like. These various SRWDSs are
illustrated by the SRWDS_1 102 and
the SRWDS_N 138 shown in FIG. 1. It should be noted that the SRCRM 120 is not
required to maintain pairing
information for wireless communication devices and SRWDS as this information
can be manually entered each
time pairing is desired.
The communication manager 130 manages the short range communications between
the SRCRM 120 and the
wireless devices 104, 106; the SRCRM 120 and the SRWDS 102; and the wireless
devices 104, 106 and the
SRWDS 102. The communication manager 130 also manages the pairing/coupling of
the wireless communication
devices 104, 106 and the SRWDS 102 to the SRCRM 120.
The optional user interface(s) 136 of the SRCRM 120 can include a display, a
keyboard, a speaker, and/or any other
interface that allows a user to interact with the SRCRM 120. The optional user
interface(s) 136 allows a user to
enter pairing information and/or SRCRM settings/options information directly
into the SRCRM 120 as compared to
using the wireless communication devices 104, 106. Each of the above
components of the SRCRM 120 is
discussed in greater detail below. It should be noted that although the SRCRM
120 is shown as a standalone
module in FIG. 1, the SRCRM 120 can also be implemented within a wireless
communication device 104, 106 or
the SRWDS 102 as well.
Managing Short Range Wireless Communications Via the SRCRM
As discussed above, many conventional SRWDSs 102 utilize different pairing
procedures that can make pairing a
wireless communication device to each of these systems difficult and
frustrating. For example, users who rent
automobiles may encounter many different types of automobiles, each having
their own SRWDS requiring a
different pairing method. In addition, conventional SRWDSs generally only
allow one wireless communication
device to actively participate on a call. As will be discussed in greater
detail below, the SRCRM 120 overcomes
these problems by automatically coupling a user's wireless communication
device to an SRWDS 102 of the
environment 100, such as an automobile. The user, at most, only needs to
remember how to pair his/her device
with the SRCRM 120 (this pairing process can also be performed automatically
once an initial pairing procedure is
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performed) and is not required to manually pair the device with the SRWDS 102.
This allows for easy pairing of
one or more handsets from one hands free environment of a first vehicle to
another hands free environment a second
vehicle. A user is not required to know or remember multiple pairing
procedures when switching cars or renting a
car.
In addition, the SRCRM 120 couples wireless devices with each other. This
allows for wireless data such as audio
from the wireless communication devices 104, 106 to be relayed to each other
and also to the SRWDS 102 and vice
versa. If one of the devices has established a communication link with another
communication device such as a
landline device, a VoIP device, or another wireless device, data from this
communication link can be sent to another
wireless device via the SRCRM 120. This allows a formation of a multiparty
call on a telecommunication network
using local short-range wireless communication. Two or more users in a
conference room, an automobile (or other
vehicle), or other environment can share a single telecommunications link as a
multiparty call by sharing voice and
data over short range wireless. This embodiment reduces the use of minutes and
cell tower usage. Also, the
individual handset controls, such as volume and mute, can be used during the
call as compared to the controls of a
handsfree speaker system. Another advantage is that wireless communication
devices 104, 106 can be used rather
than a speaker phone, which can pickup undesirable background noise and
echoes.
A further advantage is that users in a multiparty call can each use the
microphone and speaker of their wireless
communication device 104, 106. This is especially important in a noisy hands
free operation environment or other
environment where one or more of the participants are not near a microphone or
speaker, such as a car.
These embodiments as well as other embodiments are discussed in greater detail
below.
The following is a more detailed discussion of managing short range wireless
data transmissions utilizing the
SRCRM 120. It should be noted that even though the following discussion uses
an automobile as one example of
an operating environment, any type of environment that provides a SRWDS is
applicable hereto. It should also be
noted that audio data is only one example of data that can be managed by the
SRCRM 120. Other types of data
may include textual data and video data.
FIG. 2 is a functional timing diagram illustrating one example of pairing one
or more wireless communication
devices 104, 106 to a SRWDS 102 via the SRCRM 120. It should be noted that the
sequence of operations shown
in FIG. 2 is only used as an illustrative example. Also, the SRCRM 120 can
establish links between the wireless
communication devices 104, 106 and not the SRWDS 102. Also, the user and/or
wireless device 104, 106 can
interact with the SRCRM 120 either within the environment 100 or outside the
environment 100. For example, the
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SRCRM 120 can comprise a portable power source that allows it to be used
anywhere. Alternatively, the SRCRM
120 can be configured to accept a power source from within the environment 100
in addition to or instead of the
portable power source.
One or more wireless communication devices 104 at Ti initiate a wireless
communication link with the SRCRM
120. For example, when the wireless communication device 104 detects the SRCRM
120 it can notify the user via
the user interface 116 that the SRCRM 120 has been detected. The user is then
able to initiate a pairing process
with the SRCRM 120 via the user interface 116. Alternatively, this pairing
process can be automatically initiated
by either the wireless communication device 104 when the SRCRM 120 is detected
or by the SRCRM 120 when it
detects the wireless device 104.
The SRCRM 120 at T2 requests pairing information such as a passcode and
optional information such as a desired
connection identifier or the like. The user is then able to enter the
requested pairing information via the user
interface 136 of the SRCRM 120. The wireless communication device 104 at T3
sends the requested pairing
information to the SRCRM 120. It should be noted that if the SRCRM 120
initiates the pairing process with the
device 104 then the wireless communication device 104, in this example,
requests the pairing information. Once
the SRCRM 120 receives the pairing information (or transmits the pairing
information to the wireless
communication device 104) the SRCRM 120 stores this pairing information in the
wireless communication device
pairing data 132 and establishes a first SRWC link with the wireless
communication device 104 based on this
pairing information.
It should be noted that if the wireless communication device 104 has been
previously paired with the SRCRM 120
an automatic pairing process can be performed. For example, once the device
104 and the SRCRM 120 at Ti have
detected each other, the SRCRM 120 can analyze its wireless communication
device pairing data 132 to identify the
pairing information required to pair with the device 104. The SRCRM 120 can
then use this pairing information to
automatically establish the first SRWC link between itself and the wireless
communication device 104.
FIG. 3 shows one example of wireless communication device pairing data 132
maintained by the SRCRM 120. In
particular, FIG. 3 shows a table 300 comprising a plurality of columns and
rows. A first column 302, labeled
"Device ID", comprises a set of entries that comprises device identifiers that
uniquely identify wireless devices (an
optionally SRWDS 102, 138) that have been previously paired with the SRCRM
120. For example, a first entry
304 under the "Device ID" column 302 includes a "WCD_1" identifier. The device
identifier entries allow the
SRCRM 120 to identify a given device's pairing information and to determine
whether a device has previously been
paired with the SRCRM 120.
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A second column 306 labeled "Device Type" comprises a set of entries that
identify the type of device associated
with the respective pairing information. For example, a first entry 308 under
the "Device Type" column 306
indicates that the device associated with the pairing information in the first
row 310 of the table 300 is a cellular
phone. The device type information can be used by the SRCRM 120 to determine a
specific pairing procedure to
use (if needed) based on the device type when automatically pairing with the
wireless communication device 104.
A third column 312 labeled "Passcode" comprises a set of entries that identify
the passcode to use for pairing a
given device to the SRCRM 120. For example, a first entry 314 under the
"Passcode" column 312 indicates that a
passcode of 0123 is to be used when pairing the WCD_1 device to the SRCRM 120.
A fourth column 316 labeled
"Automatic Pairing" comprises a set of entries that indicate whether the SRCRM
120 is to automatically pair with a
given device. For example, a first entry 318 under the "Automatic Pair" column
316 indicates that the SRCRM 120
is to automatically pair with the wireless communication device 104 identified
as WCD_1. The SRCRM 120 uses
the information such as the Passcode information within the table 300 to
perform this automatic pairing process.
For example, after an initial pairing process has been completed and the
pairing information has been stored, each
time the SRCRM 120 detects the WCD_1 device (or vice versa) the SRCRM 120
automatically pairs with this
device without any user intervention. The SRCRM 120 can also be configured to
prompt the user to allow the
automatic pairing to occur. It should be noted that one or more additional
columns can be added and/or removed
from the table 300 shown in FIG. 3. It should also be noted that the user can
directly enter wireless device pairing
information into the SRCRM 120 via the optional user interface(s) 136. This
allows a user to setup the SRCRM
120 to automatically pair with a wireless device without having to first
manually pair the wireless device to the
SRCRM 120.
Returning to FIG. 2, the SRCRM 120 at T4 detects the SRWDS 102 within the
environment 100 and initiates a
pairing process between the SRCRM 120 and the SRWDS 102 (or vice versa). For
example, the SRCRM 120,
among other things, can query the SRWDS 102 to obtain a unique identifier of
the SRWDS 102. Additionally, in
an automobile or other similar environment, the SRCRM 120 can also query the
SRWDS 102 to determine the
manufacturer of the automobile, the model of the automobile, and the like.
Once the SRCRM 120 obtains this
information, it references the SRWDS pairing data 134 to automatically
establish a second SRWC link with the
SRWDS 102. It should be noted that the SRCRM 120 can establish a link with the
wireless communication device
104 first and then the SRWDS 102 or vice versa.
FIG. 4 shows one example of the SRWDS pairing data 134 maintained by the SRCRM
120. In particular, FIG. 4
shows a table 400 that comprises a plurality of columns and rows. A first
column 402 labeled "SRWDS ID"
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comprises a set of entries that comprise SRWDS identifiers that uniquely
identify a SRWDS. For example, a first
entry 404 under the "SRWDS ID" column 402 includes a "SRWDS_1" identifier that
uniquely identifies the
SRWDS 102 of FIG. 1. The SRWDS identifier entries allow the SRCRM 120 to
identify a given SRWDS' s pairing
information for automatically pairing with the system.
A second column 406 labeled "MFR" comprises a set of entries that identify the
manufacturer of the environment,
which in this example is an automobile. For example, a first entry 408 under
the "MFR" column 406 indicates that
Toyota manufactured the automobile comprising the SRWDS 102 associated with
the SRWDS_1 identifier. The
manufacturer information can be used by the SRCRM 120 to determine a specific
pairing procedure to use (if
needed) based on the manufacturer when automatically pairing with the SRWDS
102.
A third column 410 labeled "Model" comprises a set of entries that identify
the specific model of the environment.
For example, a first entry 412 under the "Model" column 410 indicates that the
automobile is a Camry model. The
model information can be used by the SRCRM 120 to determine a pairing
procedure to use (if needed) that is
specific to the model when automatically pairing with the SRWDS 102. A fourth
column 414 labeled "Pairing
Process Info" comprises a set of entries that include various pairing
procedures for the given SRWDS 102. For
example, a first entry 416 under the "Pairing Process Info" column 414
indicates a "Process_1". Since the SRWDS
102 is associated with a Toyota Camry, "Process_1" can include
instructions/procedures and data for pairing with
the SRWDS 102 as required by Toyota in general and/or for the specific model
Camry as well. This "Pairing
Process Info" can include any information that is required by the SRCRM 120 to
initiate and establish a short range
wireless communication link with the SRWDS 102. A fifth column 418 labeled
"Passcode" comprises a set of
entries that identify the passcode to use for pairing a given SRWDS 102 to the
SRCRM 120. For example, a first
entry 420 under the "Passcode" column 418 indicates that a passcode of 1111 is
to be used when pairing the
SRWDS 102 to the SRCRM 120. It should be noted that one or more additional
columns can be added and/or
removed from the table 400 shown in FIG. 4.
It should also be noted that the SRCRM 120 can be pre-populated with the short
range communication system
pairing data 134 and/or this data can be manually entered and stored within
the SRCRM 120. For example, in a
rental car environment the rental car company may have changed various
settings of the SRWDS 102. Therefore,
any pairing data obtained from the manufacturer may no longer be applicable to
the SRWDS. In this example, the
rental car company can manually enter their pairing data into the SRWDS, which
stores this data into the SRWDS
pairing data 134. This allows the SRCRM 120 to automatically maintain a link
with the SRWDS 102.
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Returning to FIG. 2, once the SRCRM 120 has established a first link between
the wireless communication
device(s) 104 and a second link between the SRWDS 102, the communication
manager 130 of the SRCRM 120
relays wireless data between the wireless communication device(s) 104 and the
SRWDS 102 as will be discussed in
greater detail below.
5 FIG. 5 is a functional timing diagram illustrating one example of
relaying wireless communication data between a
first wireless communication device, one or more additional wireless
communication devices, and the SRWDS 102.
It should be noted that the sequence of operations shown in FIG. 5 is only one
applicable example. It should be
noted that the wireless communication devices 104, 106 and the SRWDS 102 in
FIG. 5 have been paired with the
SRCRM 120 based on the processed discussed above with respect to FIGs. 1-4. In
this example, a first SRWC link
10 has been established between the first wireless communication device 104
and the SRCRM 120; a second SRWC
link has been established between the second wireless communication device 106
and the SRCRM 120; and a third
optional SRWC link has been established between the SRWDS 102 and the SRCRM
120. However, this third link
is not required. Also, the environment 100 may not comprise a SRWDS 102. In
such a scenario, the SRCRM 120
only establishes links between itself and the wireless communication devices
104, 106.
The first wireless communication device 104 establishes a wireless
communication link with another device via a
wireless communication network such as a cellular network. Audio data such as
the audio received from the other
device at Ti is transmitted from the wireless communication device 104 to the
SRCRM 120 via the first SRWC
link. The SRCRM 120 receives this audio data and at T2 sends (e.g., relays)
this received audio data to the SRWDS
102 via the second SRWC link. The SRWDS 102 then transmits this audio data
through one of the audio devices
124 such as a speaker. Alternatively, if a link is not established with a
SRWDS 102, the received audio data may be
transmitted to the second wireless communication device 104. In addition, the
SRWDS 102 at T3 receives audio
data through an audio device 124, such as a microphone, and transmits this
data to the SRCRM 120 via the second
SRWC link. The SRCRM 120 receives this audio data and at T4 sends (e.g.,
relays) this received audio data to the
wireless communication device 104 via the first SRWC link to be transmitted to
the other device through the
wireless communication network.
The SRCRM 120, via the communication manager 130, determines that one or more
additional wireless
communication devices such as the second wireless communication device 106 are
to join the current call between
the first device 104 and the other device. For example, the user of the second
wireless communication device 106
can indicate through the user interface 118 that he/she wants to join the
call. Alternatively, the first wireless
communication device 104 can act as a master device and select, via the user
interface 116, any other wireless
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communication device coupled to the SRCRM 120. The first wireless
communication device 104 can also instruct
the SRCRM 120 to begin relaying wireless communication data received by the
first wireless communication
device 104 from the other device to the second wireless communication device
106.
The SRCRM 120 at T5, in response to determining that the second wireless
communication device 106 is to join the
call, receives audio data from the second wireless communication device 106.
For example, the user of the second
wireless communication device 106 speaks into the microphone of the device
106. This audio data is transmitted
from the second wireless communication device 106 to the SRCRM 120 via the
second SRWC link. Alternatively,
the SRCRM 120 begins to transmit the wireless communication data being
received by the first wireless
communication device 104 from the other device to the second wireless
communication device 106.
The SRCRM 120 at T6 transmits (e.g., relays) the received audio data to the
first wireless communication device
104 so that it can transmit the audio from the second wireless communication
device 106 to the other device using
the wireless communication link currently established between the first
wireless communication device 104 and the
other device. It should also be noted that data received from the second
wireless communication device 106 can
also be relayed to the SRWDS 120 as well. This relaying from a multi-party
connection between the first and
second wireless communication devices 104, 106 and the other device through
the cellular or other
telecommunications network. In addition, the user of the other device and the
user of the second wireless
communication device 106 may want to have a private conversation. This can be
indicated either by the first
wireless communication device 104 or the second wireless communication 106
selecting, for example, a "private"
option on the user interface 116, 118.
The SRCRM 120 at T7, in response to determining that a "private" option has
been selected, receives audio data
from the first wireless communication device 104 corresponding to the other
device. The SRCRM 120 at T8
transmits this received audio data to the second wireless device 106, which
then transmits the audio data through
one or more of the user interfaces 118. Any audio data received by the SRCRM
120 from second wireless device
106 during this "private" option is transmitted to the first wireless
communication device similar to that already
discussed above. As can be seen in this "private" option, the SRWDS 102 (if
connected to the SRCRM 120) is
bypassed and wireless data is transmitted between the wireless communication
devices 104, 106 and the SRCRM
120. Alternatively, the "private' option can also disable the
speaker/microphone on one of the wireless
communications device 104, 106. This partially disabled wireless communication
device acts as a transport vessel
to the other wireless communication device. For example, if second wireless
communication device 106 does not
have coverage in a particular area (or the first wireless communication device
104 has better rates) and needs to
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transfer local data to a given destination, the SRCRM 120 can disable portions
of the user interface, such as the
speaker/microphone, at the first wireless communication device 104 and use the
first wireless communication
device 104 to transmit the data stored locally at the second wireless
communication device 106.
FIG. 6 is a flow diagram for a short range wireless communication pairing
process 600. The short range wireless
communication pairing process 600 automatically pairs one or more wireless
communication devices 104, 106 with
the SRCRM 120 and the SRCRM 120 with a SRWDS 102 as discussed above with
respect to FIGs. 1-5. The short
range wireless communication pairing process 600 is performed by the
communication manager 130 of the SRCRM
120.
The short range wireless communication pairing process 600 begins by
detecting, at 602, one or more wireless
communication devices 104, 106. A determination is made, at 604, that
determines whether the detected device(s)
104, 106 have already been paired with the SRCRM 120. If this determination is
negative, the wireless
communication device(s) 104, 106, at 606, is queried for pairing information.
The requested pairing information, at
608, is received from the wireless communication device(s) 104, 106 and stored
in the wireless communication
device pairing data 132. A SRWC link, at 610, is then established with the
wireless communication device(s) 104,
106 using the pairing information. The control then flows to 616.
If the result of the determination, at 604, is positive, the wireless
communication device pairing data 132, at 612, is
queried to identify pairing information associated with the wireless
communication devices(s) 104, 106. The
identified pairing data 132, at 614, is used to automatically establish a SRWC
link with the wireless device(s) 104,
106. A SRWDS 102, at 616, is detected. SRWDS pairing information, at 618, is
received for the SRWDS 102. As
discussed above, the SRWDS pairing information can be obtained from the SRWDS
pairing data 134 and/or can be
directly entered into the SRCRM 120 by an individual. The SRWDS pairing
information, at 620, is used to
establish a SRWC link with the SRWDS 102, thereby linking the wireless
communication device(s) 104, 106 to the
SRWDS 102 through the SRCRM 120. This ends the short range wireless
communication pairing process 600. It
should be noted that steps 616-620 are optional.
FIG. 7 is a flow diagram for a short range wireless communications relaying
process 700. The short range wireless
communications relaying process 700 automatically relays short range wireless
communications between one or
more wireless communication devices 104, 106 and a SRWDS 102. The short range
wireless communications
relaying process 700 also automatically relays short range wireless
communication from one or more wireless
communication devices 104, 106 to one or more other wireless communication
devices 104, 106. These relaying
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processes have been discussed above with respect to FIGs. 1-5. The short range
wireless communications relaying
process 700 is performed by the communication manager 130 of the SRCRM 120.
The short range wireless communications relaying process 700 begins by
receiving, at 702, audio data from a first
wireless communication device 104 through a first SRWC link. The audio data
being associated with a call
established between the first wireless device 104 and another device over a
wireless communication network, such
as a cellular network. The received audio data, at 704, is wirelessly
transmitted to the SRWDS 102 through a
second SRWC link. The SRWDS 102 transmits the audio data through an audio
device, such as a speaker. Audio
data, at 706, is received from the SRWDS 102 through the second SRWC link. The
received audio data, at 708, is
wirelessly transmitted to the first wireless communication device 104 through
the first SRWC link. The first
wireless communication device 104 transmits this received audio data to the
other device over the wireless
communication network.
A determination, at 710, is made that a second wireless communication device
106 coupled to the SRCRM 120 is to
join the call between the first wireless communication device 104 and the
other device. Audio data, 712, is received
from the second wireless communication device 106 through a third SRWC link.
The received audio data, at 714,
is wirelessly transmitted to the first wireless communication device 104
through the first SRWC link. The first
wireless communication device 104 transmits this received audio data to the
other device over the wireless
communication network.
A determination, at 716, is made that the communication between the second
wireless communication device and
the other device is to be private. Audio data received by the first wireless
communication device 104 from the other
device, at 718, is received through the first SRWC link from the first
wireless communication device 104. The
received audio data, at 720, is wirelessly transmitted to the second wireless
communication device 106 through the
third SRWC link. This ends the short range wireless communications relaying
process 700. It should be noted that
if a link between the SRCRM 120 and the SRWDS 102 has not been made, the SRCRM
120 transmits data only
between the wireless communication devices 104, 106.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an exemplary electronic device and associated
components 800 in which the systems
and methods disclosed herein may be implemented. In this example, an
electronic device 120 is a short range
wireless communication relay manager device discussed above with respect to
FIGs. 1-7. The illustrated electronic
device 120 is an example electronic device that includes two-way wireless
communications functions. Such
electronic devices incorporate a short range communication subsystem 802 that
comprises the short range
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communication transceiver 112, discussed above, and associated circuits and
components such as one or more
antenna elements 804.
The electronic device 120 includes a microprocessor 806 that controls the
overall operation of the electronic device
120. The microprocessor 806 interacts with the above described short range
communications subsystem elements
and also interacts with other device subsystems such as non-volatile memory
808 (e.g., flash memory), random
access memory (RAM) 810, user interfaces 136 (such as a display 812, a
keyboard 814, and other similar devices),
a power subsystem, and any other device subsystems.
A battery 816 is connected to a power subsystem 818 to provide power to the
circuits of the electronic device 120.
The power subsystem 818 includes power distribution circuitry for providing
power to the electronic device 120
and also contains battery charging circuitry to manage recharging the battery
816. The external power supply 820 is
able to be connected to an external power connection 822.
Operating system software used by the microprocessor 806 is stored in non-
volatile memory 808. Also, the
communication manager 130, wireless communication device pairing data 132,
SRWDS pairing data 134 are also
stored within the non-volatile memory 808. Further examples are able to use a
battery backed-up RAM or other
non-volatile storage data elements to store operating systems, the
communication manager 130, wireless
communication device pairing data 132, SRWDS pairing data 134, other
executable programs, or any combination
of the above. It should be noted that the communication manager 130 can also
be implemented in hardware as well.
The operating system software, device application software, or parts thereof,
are able to be temporarily loaded into
volatile data storage such as RAM 810. Data received via wireless
communication signals or through wired
communications are also able to be stored to RAM 810.
The microprocessor 806, in addition to its operating system functions, is able
to execute software applications on
the electronic device 120. A predetermined set of applications that control
basic device operations, including at
least data and voice communication applications, is able to be installed on
the electronic device 120 during
manufacture.
During wireless communication operations, a received signal such as a short
range wireless communication signal
is processed by the short range communication subsystem 802 and the
communication manager 130, and
communicated data is provided the microprocessor 806. Depending on conditions
or statuses of the electronic
device 120, one or more particular functions associated with a subsystem
circuit may be disabled, or an entire
subsystem circuit may be disabled.
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A media reader 824 is able to be connected to an auxiliary I/O device 826 to
allow, for example, loading computer
readable program code of a computer program product into the electronic device
120 for storage into flash memory
808. In one example, computer readable program code includes instructions for
performing the short range wireless
communication pairing process 600 and the short range wireless communications
relaying process 700, described
5 above. One example of a media reader 824 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
828. 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. Computer readable
program code can be alternatively
provided to the electronic device 120 through the short range communication
subsystem 802.
10 FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an exemplary electronic device and
associated components 900 in which the systems
and methods disclosed herein may be implemented. In this example, an
electronic device 104 is a wireless two-way
communication device with voice and data communication capabilities. Such
electronic devices communicate with
a wireless voice or data network 902 using a suitable wireless communications
protocol. Wireless voice
communications are performed using either an analog or digital wireless
communication channel. Data
15 communications allow the electronic device 104 to communicate with other
computer systems via the Internet.
Examples of electronic devices that are able to incorporate the above
described systems and methods include, for
example, a data messaging device, a two-way pager, a cellular telephone with
data messaging capabilities, a
wireless Internet appliance or a data communication device that may or may not
include telephony capabilities.
The illustrated electronic device 104 is an example electronic device that
includes two-way wireless
communications functions. Such electronic devices incorporate a communication
subsystem 903 comprising
elements such as a wireless transmitter 904, a wireless receiver 906, and
associated components such as one or
more antenna elements 908 and 910. A digital signal processor (DSP) 912
performs processing to extract data from
received wireless signals and to generate signals to be transmitted. The
particular design of the communication
subsystem 98 is dependent upon the communication network and associated
wireless communications protocols
with which the device is intended to operate.
The electronic device 104 includes a microprocessor 914 that controls the
overall operation of the electronic device
104. The microprocessor 914 interacts with the above described communications
subsystem elements and also
interacts with other device subsystems such as flash memory 916, random access
memory (RAM) 918, user
interfaces 116 (such as a display 920, a keyboard 922, a speaker 924, and a
microphone 926), auxiliary input/output
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(I/O) device 928, Universal Serial Bus (USB) Port 930, a short-range
communications subsystem 932, a power
subsystem 936 and any other device subsystems.
A battery 934 is connected to a power subsystem 936 to provide power to the
circuits of the electronic device 104.
The power subsystem 936 includes power distribution circuitry for providing
power to the electronic device 104
and also contains battery charging circuitry to manage recharging the battery
934. The external power supply 938 is
able to be connected to an external power connection 940 or through a USB port
930.
The USB port 930 further provides data communication between the electronic
device 104 and one or more external
devices, such as an information processing system. Data communication through
USB port 930 enables a user to
set preferences through the external device or through a software application
and extends the capabilities of the
device by enabling information or software exchange through direct connections
between the electronic device 104
and external data sources rather than via a wireless data communication
network. In addition to data
communication, the USB port 930 provides power to the power subsystem 936 to
charge the battery 934 or to
supply power to the electronic circuits, such as microprocessor 914, of the
electronic device 104.
Operating system software used by the microprocessor 914 is stored in flash
memory 916. Further examples are
able to use a battery backed-up RAM or other non-volatile storage data
elements to store operating systems, other
executable programs, or both. The operating system software, device
application software, or parts thereof, are able
to be temporarily loaded into volatile data storage such as RAM 918. Data
received via wireless communication
signals or through wired communications are also able to be stored to RAM 918.
The microprocessor 914, in addition to its operating system functions, is able
to execute software applications on
the electronic device 104. A predetermined set of applications that control
basic device operations, including at
least data and voice communication applications, is able to be installed on
the electronic device 104 during
manufacture. Examples of applications that are able to be loaded onto the
device may be a personal information
manager (PIM) application having the ability to organize and manage data items
relating to the device user, such as,
but not limited to, e-mail, calendar events, voice mails, appointments, and
task items.
Further applications may also be loaded onto the electronic device 104
through, for example, the wireless network
902, an auxiliary I/O device 928, USB port 930, short-range communications
subsystem 932, or any combination of
these interfaces. Such applications are then able to be installed by a user in
the RAM 918 or a non-volatile storage
for execution by the microprocessor 914.
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In a data communication mode, a received signal such as a text message or web
page download is processed by the
communication subsystem, including wireless receiver 906 and wireless
transmitter 904, and communicated data is
provided the microprocessor 914, which is able to further process the received
data for output to the display 920, or
alternatively, to an auxiliary I/O device 928 or the USB port 930. A user of
the electronic device 104 may also
compose data items, such as e-mail messages, using the keyboard 922, which is
able to include a complete
alphanumeric keyboard or a telephone-type keypad, in conjunction with the
display 920 and possibly an auxiliary
I/0 device 928. Such composed items are then able to be transmitted over a
communication network through the
communication subsystem.
For voice communications, overall operation of the electronic device 104 is
substantially similar, except that
received signals are generally provided to a speaker 924 and signals for
transmission are generally produced by a
microphone 926. Alternative voice or audio I/O subsystems, such as a voice
message recording subsystem, may
also be implemented on the electronic device 104. Although voice or audio
signal output is generally accomplished
primarily through the speaker 924, the display 920 may also be used to provide
an indication of the identity of a
calling party, the duration of a voice call, or other voice call related
information, for example.
Depending on conditions or statuses of the electronic device 104, one or more
particular functions associated with a
subsystem circuit may be disabled, or an entire subsystem circuit may be
disabled. For example, if the battery
temperature is low, then voice functions may be disabled, but data
communications, such as e-mail, may still be
enabled over the communication subsystem.
A short-range communications subsystem 932 provides for communication between
the electronic device 104 and
different systems or devices, which need not necessarily be similar devices as
discussed above. The short-range
communications subsystem 932 comprises the short range communication
transceiver 112 and optionally and
associated circuits and components and optionally an infrared device.
A media reader 942 is able to be connected to an auxiliary I/O device 928 to
allow, for example, loading computer
readable program code of a computer program product into the electronic device
104 for storage into flash memory
916. One example of a media reader 942 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
944. 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. Media reader 942 is
alternatively able to be connected to
the electronic device through the USB port 930 or computer readable program
code is alternatively able to be
provided to the electronic device 104 through the wireless network 902.
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Information Processing System
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 loaded and executed, controls the computer
system such that it carries
out the methods described herein.
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.
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.
Non-Limiting Examples
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
without departing from the
scope of the disclosed subject matter. The scope of protection being sought is
defined by the following
claims rather than the described embodiments in the foregoing description. The
scope of the claims
should not be limited by the described embodiments set forth in the examples
but should be given the
broadest interpretation consistent with the description as a whole.
