Unified message delivery between portable electronic devices

• US 10,064,026 B2
• Filed: 09/14/2016
• Issued: 08/28/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Pollack, Daniel B., De Filippis, Pierre Jonathan, Jeong, Hyeonkuk, Tung, Berkat S., Yang, Yan, Johar, Gobind, Wood, Justin, Garcia, Roberto, Thirumalai, Gokul
• Primary Examiner(s): Murillo Garcia, Fabricio R
• Application Number:
  US15/265,696
• Publication Number:
  US 20170006441A1
• Time in Patent Office: 713 Days
• Field of Search: 455466
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/22 Alternate routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/28 using route fault recovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1087 using cross-functional networking aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/11 Allocation or use of connection identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/15 Setup of multiple wireless link connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user

Abstract

A unified message delivery between multiple devices is disclosed. Sending messages through a local communications link, such as but not limited to at least one of a Bluetooth connection and a peer-to-peer WiFi connection, can lead to faster transmission times and reduced server load. When the local communications link is unavailable or not suitable, the messages can be sent through a network and a push server. In some examples, messages can be sent through both the local communications link and through the network and the push server. Duplicates of a received message can be avoided by utilizing indicators. In some examples, one or more devices can include queue(s) to ensure ordered delivery of a plurality of messages when a local communications link and network connection become unavailable.

Claims

1. A wearable device comprising:

a first transceiver configured to communicate data with an electronic device through a local peer-to-peer (P2P) connection when the local P2P connection is available;

a second transceiver configured to communicate the data with the electronic device through a WiFi connection via an intermediary device when the WiFi connection is available, wherein the wearable device, the electronic device, and the intermediary device are separate devices; and

a processor configured to;

associate with the electronic device using the first and second transceivers,

determine whether the local P2P connection is available,

default to communicate the data to the electronic device through the local P2P connection using the first transceiver when the local P2P connection is available, and

communicate the data to the electronic device through the WiFi connection via the intermediary device using the second transceiver when the local P2P connection is unavailable.

2. The wearable device of claim 1, further comprising:

a third transceiver configured to communicate the data over a cellular network when the cellular network is available,

wherein the processor is further configured to communicate the data through the cellular network using the third transceiver when the local P2P connection is unavailable.

3. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the local P2P connection comprises a Bluetooth connection, and wherein the WiFi connection comprises an infrastructure connection.

4. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the wearable device is associated with the electronic device via device association data, and the intermediary device comprises at least one of a remote server or a wireless access point.

5. The wearable device of claim 4, wherein the device association data by which the wearable device is associated with the electronic device comprises a phone number.

6. The wearable device of claim 1, further comprising:

a storage medium configured to store an identifier associated with the WiFi connection, wherein the identifier corresponds to an identifier stored on the electronic device.

7. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the first transceiver is further configured to communicate through a second local P2P connection to a second electronic device when the second local P2P connection is available.

8. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the wearable device is configured to connect to the electronic device through the local P2P connection and the WiFi connection simultaneously.

9. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the data includes one or more of a phone call, an email, or a text message.

10. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:

switch from a sleep or standby state to an active state when the data is received from the electronic device.

11. An electronic device comprising:

a first transceiver configured to communicate with a wearable device through a local peer-to-peer (P2P) connection when the local P2P connection is available;

a second transceiver configured to communicate with the wearable device through a WiFi connection via an intermediary device when the WiFi connection is available, wherein the wearable device, the electronic device, and the intermediary device are separate devices;

a third transceiver configured to communicate over a cellular network when the cellular network is available; and

a processor configured to;

associate with the wearable device using the first and second transceivers,

determine whether the local P2P connection is available,

default to communicate data to the wearable device through the local P2P connection using the first transceiver when the local P2P connection is available,

communicate the data to the wearable device through the WiFi connection via the intermediary device using the second transceiver when the local P2P connection is unavailable, and

store device association data, the device association data including an association of the electronic device with the wearable device.

12. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to:

automatically communicate the data to the wearable device when the data is received.

13. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive second data, and

generate the data, wherein the data includes a notification associated with the second data.

14. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein when the local P2P connection is unavailable, the processor is further configured to:

receive a data item through a communications network, wherein the data item corresponds to the data received by the wearable device.

15. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein when the local P2P connection becomes available, the processor is configured to automatically connect to the wearable device through the local P2P connection.

16. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the electronic device is configured to connect to the wearable device through the local P2P connection and the WiFi connection simultaneously.

17. A method of communicating using a first electronic device, the method comprising:

receiving data through a first communications link using one of a plurality of transceivers included in the first electronic device when the first communications link is available;

associating the first electronic device with a second electronic device using device association data stored on the first electronic device;

defaulting to forward the data received through the first communications link to the second electronic device through a second communications link using an other of the plurality of transceivers included in the first electronic device when the second communications link is available, wherein the second communications link comprises a local peer-to-peer (P2P) connection; and

forwarding the data received through the first communications link to the second electronic device through a third communication link via an intermediary device when the second communication link is unavailable, wherein the third communication link comprises a WiFi connection, and the first electronic device, the second electronic device, and the intermediary device are separate devices.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the first communications link comprises a cellular connection and the second communications link comprises a Bluetooth connection.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

associating the first electronic device to a third electronic device using a Bluetooth connection.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein associating the first electronic device with the second electronic device includes:

receiving an inquiry at the first electronic device from the second electronic device; and

transmitting connection information from the first electronic device to the second electronic device in response to the received inquiry.