Mobile device with configurable communication technology modes and geofences
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A device comprising:
- a location-based component, wherein the location-based component provides the current location of the device;
a plurality of communication interfaces;
a control system communicatively coupled to the location-based component and the plurality of communication interfaces and comprising a hardware processor and a memory storing program codes whereby the device is operable to;
receive configuration information comprising one or more geofences, at least one associated geofence region for each of the one or more geofences;
receive input directly from a user interface for a communication interface prioritization for each geofence that specifies the order in which each of the plurality of communication interfaces is to be used for that geofence, and a geofence prioritization that specifies the order in which each of the geofences is to be used for a given geofence region;
receive an event that requires a communication activity of the device;
determine the current location of the device using the location-based component;
determine a geofence region based on the current location of the device;
determine a geofence to use according to the geofence prioritization based on the geofence region;
determine a communication interface to use according to the communication interface prioritization;
responsive to determining that at least one communication interface in the communication interface prioritization is active, use the active communication interface to complete the communication activity;
determine a second communication interface to use according to the communication interface prioritization associated with each geofence and defined by the user input by validating a retry threshold when the active communication interface fails to complete the communication activity, the retry threshold being a defined number of attempts at completing the communication activity using the firstly determined communication interface, and the retry threshold being defined in response to the user input for the communication interface prioritization associated with the geofence; and
use the second communication interface to complete the communication activity.
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Abstract
Many machine-to-machine (M2M) devices and portable user devices have the ability to switch between cellular technology and satellite technology to ensure network connectivity. While the automatic handover is useful, there are situations where it is desirable to have greater control over the configuration of the communication modes of these devices. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention describe the ability to designate a prioritized list of communication modes, the ability to manually configure communication modes directly on the device, the ability to configure communication modes remotely over the air, and the ability to configure communication modes according to a geofence.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A device comprising:
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a location-based component, wherein the location-based component provides the current location of the device; a plurality of communication interfaces; a control system communicatively coupled to the location-based component and the plurality of communication interfaces and comprising a hardware processor and a memory storing program codes whereby the device is operable to; receive configuration information comprising one or more geofences, at least one associated geofence region for each of the one or more geofences; receive input directly from a user interface for a communication interface prioritization for each geofence that specifies the order in which each of the plurality of communication interfaces is to be used for that geofence, and a geofence prioritization that specifies the order in which each of the geofences is to be used for a given geofence region; receive an event that requires a communication activity of the device; determine the current location of the device using the location-based component; determine a geofence region based on the current location of the device; determine a geofence to use according to the geofence prioritization based on the geofence region; determine a communication interface to use according to the communication interface prioritization; responsive to determining that at least one communication interface in the communication interface prioritization is active, use the active communication interface to complete the communication activity; determine a second communication interface to use according to the communication interface prioritization associated with each geofence and defined by the user input by validating a retry threshold when the active communication interface fails to complete the communication activity, the retry threshold being a defined number of attempts at completing the communication activity using the firstly determined communication interface, and the retry threshold being defined in response to the user input for the communication interface prioritization associated with the geofence; and use the second communication interface to complete the communication activity. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method for determining a communication interface to use on a device, the method comprising:
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receiving configuration information comprising one or more geofences, at least one associated geofence region for each of the one or more geofences; receiving directly from a user a communication interface prioritization for each geofence that specifies the order in which each of the plurality of communication interfaces is to be used for that geofence, and a geofence prioritization that specifies the order in which each of the geofences is to be used for a given geofence region; receiving an event that requires a communication activity of the device; determining the current location of the device using the location-based component; determining a geofence region based on the current location of the device; determining a geofence to use according to the geofence prioritization based on the geofence region; determining a communication interface to use according to the communication interface prioritization; responsive to determining that at least one communication interface in the communication interface prioritization is active, using the active communication interface to complete the communication activity; determining a second communication interface to use according to the communication interface prioritization associated with each geofence and defined by the user input by validating a retry threshold when the active communication interface fails to complete the communication activity, the retry threshold being a defined number of attempts at completing the communication activity using the firstly determined communication interface, and the retry threshold being defined in response to the user input for the communication interface prioritization associated with the geofence; and using the second communication interface to complete the communication activity.
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25. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing program instructions for causing a device to determine a communication interface to use, the method comprising:
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receiving configuration information comprising one or more geofences, at least one associated geofence region for each of the one or more geofences; receiving directly from a user a communication interface prioritization for each geofence that specifies the order in which each of the plurality of communication interfaces is to be used for that geofence, and a geofence prioritization that specifies the order in which each of the geofences is to be used for a given geofence region; receiving an event that requires a communication activity of the device; determining the current location of the device using the location-based component; determining a geofence region based on the current location of the device; determining a geofence to use according to the geofence prioritization based on the geofence region; determining a communication interface to use according to the communication interface prioritization; responsive to determining that at least one communication interface in the communication interface prioritization is active, using the active communication interface to complete the communication activity; determining a second communication interface to use according to the communication interface prioritization associated with each geofence and defined by the user input by validating a retry threshold when the active communication interface fails to complete the communication activity, the retry threshold being a defined number of attempts at completing the communication activity using the firstly determined communication interface, and the retry threshold being defined in response to the user input for the communication interface prioritization associated with the geofence; and using the second communication interface to complete the communication activity.
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Specification