Wireless area network enabled mobile device accessory

• US 10,158,391 B2
• Filed: 10/14/2013
• Issued: 12/18/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Altman, Steven R.
• Primary Examiner(s): CHAKRABORTY, RAJARSHI
• Application Number:
  US14/053,441
• Publication Number:
  US 20140106677A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,891 Days
• Field of Search: 455 411, 455 412
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/004 Alarm propagated along alternative communication path or using alternative communication medium according to a hierarchy of available ways to communicate, e.g. if Wi-Fi not available use GSM
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3827 Portable transceivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/385 Transceivers carried on the body, e.g. in helmets
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2001/3855 carried in a belt or harness
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2001/3861 carried in a hand or on fingers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/02 including a Bluetooth interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/06 including a wireless LAN interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion telephones including GPS signal receivers H04M2250/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• 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: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A wearable wireless portable device (“WWPD”) includes cellular/WAN communications circuitry for establishing a direct connection to a telecommunication network and a low-power short range radio for establishing an indirect connection to the telecommunication network via the communications circuitry of the more feature-rich mobile device. The WWPD may be configured to deactivate its cellular/WAN communications circuitry (and other resource such as GPS) to communicate with a more feature-rich mobile device (e.g., a smartphone) via low-power short range communication technologies when it is in close proximity to the mobile device, and activate its cellular/WAN circuitry to provide cellular and/or network connectivity when it is not in close proximity to the mobile device. The WWPD does not require the bulky battery systems, which enables the WWPD to be packaged into a small and lightweight device, such as a wrist watch or pendant and enables longer battery life for the battery of the WWPD.

Claims

1. A first device capable of mobile operation, said first device being operable to communicate information, wirelessly, directly to a wide area network (WAN) or indirectly, via a wireless connection to a second device capable of mobile operation and connected wirelessly to said WAN,

said first device being further operable to determine whether a low-power short range wireless link can be established to the second device and selectively power-down duplicate functionality including WAN communication functionality and at least one additional functionality on said first device likewise found on said second device in response to the low-power short range wireless link being established between said first and second devices,

wherein the first device uses one or more resources of the second device to provide the powered-down duplicate functionality on the first device via the established low-power short range wireless link between the first and second devices, and

wherein the first device activates the WAN communication functionality to communicate with the WAN in response to determining that the low-power short range wireless link between the first and second devices cannot be established.

2. The first device of claim 1, wherein the at least one additional functionality is selected from the group consisting of position location functionality, heart rate sensor functionality, blood pressure sensor functionality, gyroscope functionality, accelerometer functionality, pedometer functionality, thermometer functionality, glucometer functionality and a combination thereof.

3. The first device of claim 1 which further comprises powering-up the duplicate functionality on said first device in connection with a low-power short range wireless link not being established between said first device and said second device.

4. The first device of claim 1 wherein said low-power short range wireless link is a Wi-Fi link.

5. The first device of claim 1 wherein said low-power short range wireless link is a Bluetooth®

link.

6. A method of communicating information between a wearable wireless portable device and a telecommunication network through a mobile device, comprising:

determining whether a low-power short range communication link can be established to the mobile device;

establishing a low-power short range communication link to the mobile device in response to determining that the low-power short range communication link can be established;

in response to establishing the low-power short range communication link with a mobile device, de-energizing wide area network (WAN) communications circuitry and at least one additional duplicate functionality in the wearable wireless portable device and communicating bi-directionally with the telecommunication network through the mobile device via the low-power short range communication link;

providing the de-energized at least one additional duplicate functionality using one or more resources of the mobile device via the low-power short range communication link; and

activating WAN communications circuitry in the wearable wireless portable device and communicating with the telecommunication network via the activated WAN communications circuitry when a low-power short range communication link cannot be established between the mobile device and the wearable wireless portable device.

7. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein determining whether a low-power short range communication link is performed by a processor of the wearable wireless portable device.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein communicating bi-directionally with the telecommunication network via the low-power short range communication link comprises:

generating in the wearable wireless portable device a control message configured to cause the mobile device to establish a network connection to the telecommunication network;

sending the control message to the mobile device over the low-power short range communication link;

receiving in the wearable wireless portable device a response message indicating that the mobile device has established the network connection to the telecommunication network;

communicating with the mobile device over the low-power short range communication link; and

receiving, in the wearable wireless portable device, content sent from the telecommunication network to the mobile device over the network connection, the content being received in the wearable wireless portable device via the low-power short range communication link.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein:

sending the control message to the mobile device over the low-power short range communication link comprises sending a control message configured to cause the mobile device to establish the network connection to the telecommunication network; and

transmitting data to the mobile device over the low-power short range communication link and receiving content sent from the telecommunication network to the mobile device over the network connection comprises the wearable wireless portable device accessing the telecommunication network via the network connection of the mobile device by transmitting and receiving data via the low-power short range communication link.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein:

determining whether the low-power short range communication link can be established to the mobile device comprises determining whether the wearable wireless portable device is within communication range of the mobile device; and

activating WAN communications circuitry in the wearable wireless portable device and communicating with the telecommunication network via the activated WAN communications circuitry when a low-power short range communication link cannot be established between the mobile device and the wearable wireless portable device comprises activating the WAN communications circuitry when the wearable wireless portable device determines that the wearable wireless portable device is not within communication range of the mobile device.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising controlling one or more features of the mobile device by the wearable wireless portable device over the low-power short range communication link.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving in the wearable wireless portable device an incoming communication of the mobile device via the low-power short range communication link; and

generating in the wearable wireless portable device a user notification to inform a user of the incoming communication.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein generating the user notification comprises displaying a message on an electronic display of the wearable wireless portable device.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein generating the user notification comprises outputting an audible sound or a vibration from the wearable wireless portable device.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising registering with a server configured to route communications to and from the mobile device, wherein:

sending the control message to the mobile device over the low-power short range communication link comprises sending the control message to the server; and

receiving the response message indicating that the mobile device has established the network connection to the telecommunication network comprise receiving the response message from the server.

16. The method of claim 6, wherein determining whether the low-power short range communication link can be established to the mobile device comprises determining whether the low-power short range communication link can be established in a processor that is included in one of:

a wrist display;

a bracelet;

a belt buckle;

a medallion;

a pendent;

a pen; and

a key chain.

17. The method of claim 6, further comprising de-energizing a resource in response to establishing the low-power short range communication link to the mobile device.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein de-energizing the resource comprising de-energizing a global positioning system receiver in response to establishing the low-power short range communication link to the mobile device.

19. A wearable wireless portable device, comprising:

means for determining whether a low-power short range communication link can be established to a mobile device;

means for establishing the low-power short range communication link to the mobile device in response to determining that the low-power short range communication link can be established;

means for de-energizing wide area network (WAN) communications circuitry and at least one additional duplicate functionality of the wearable wireless portable device and communicating bi-directionally with a telecommunication network via the low-power short range communication link in response to establishing the low-power short range communication link to the mobile device;

means for providing the de-energized at least one additional duplicate functionality using one or more resources of the mobile device via the low-power short range communication link; and

means for activating WAN communications circuitry and communicating with the telecommunication network via the activated WAN communications circuitry in response to determining that the low-power short range communication link cannot be established.

20. The wearable wireless portable device of claim 19, wherein means for communicating bi-directionally with the telecommunication network via the low-power short range communication link comprises:

means for generating a control message configured to cause the mobile device to establish a network connection to the telecommunication network;

means for sending the control message to the mobile device over the low-power short range communication link;

means for receiving a response message indicating that the mobile device has established the network connection to the telecommunication network;

means for transmitting data to the mobile device over the low-power short range communication link; and

means for receiving information that includes content sent from the telecommunication network to the mobile device over the network connection.

21. The wearable wireless portable device of claim 20, wherein:

means for sending the control message to the mobile device over the low-power short range communication link comprises means for sending a control message configured to cause the mobile device to establish the network connection to the telecommunication network; and

means for transmitting data to the mobile device over the low-power short range communication link and means for receiving content sent from the telecommunication network to the mobile device over the network connection comprise means for accessing the telecommunication network via the network connection of the mobile device by transmitting and receiving data via the low-power short range communication link.

22. The wearable wireless portable device of claim 20, wherein:

means for determining whether the low-power short range communication link can be established to the mobile device comprises means for determining whether the mobile device is within communication range; and

means for activating WAN communications circuitry in response to determining that the low-power short range communication link cannot be established comprises means for activating the WAN communications circuitry in response to determining that the mobile device is not within communication range.

23. The wearable wireless portable device of claim 20, further comprising means for controlling one or more features of the mobile device over the low-power short range communication link.

24. The wearable wireless portable device of claim 20, further comprising:

means for receiving an incoming communication of the mobile device via the low-power short range communication link; and

means for generating a user notification to inform a user of the incoming communication.

25. The wearable wireless portable device of claim 24, wherein means for generating the user notification comprises means for displaying a message on an electronic display of the wearable wireless portable device.

26. The wearable wireless portable device of claim 24, wherein means for generating the user notification comprises means for outputting an audible sound or a vibration.

27. The wearable wireless portable device of claim 20, further comprising means for registering with a server configured to route communications to and from the mobile device, and wherein:

means for sending the control message to the mobile device over the low-power short range communication link comprises means for sending the control message to the server; and

means for receiving the response message indicating that the mobile device has established the network connection to the telecommunication network comprise means for receiving the response message from the server.

28. The wearable wireless portable device of claim 19, comprises one of:

a wrist display;

a bracelet;

a belt buckle;

a medallion;

a pendent;

a pen; and

a key chain.

29. The wearable wireless portable device of claim 19, further comprising means for de-energizing a resource of the wearable wireless portable device in response to establishing the low-power short range communication link to the mobile device.

30. The wearable wireless portable device of claim 29, wherein means for de-energizing a resource of the wearable wireless portable device comprising means for de-energizing a global positioning system receiver in response to establishing the low-power short range communication link to the mobile device.

31. A wearable wireless portable device, comprising:

wide area network (WAN) communications circuitry;

low-power short range communication circuitry; and

a processor coupled to the WAN communications circuitry and the low-power short range communication circuitry, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations comprising;

determining whether a low-power short range communication link can be established to a mobile device;

establishing the low-power short range communication link to the mobile device via the low-power short range communication circuitry in response to determining that the low-power short range communication link can be established;

de-energizing the wide area network (WAN) communications circuitry and at least one additional duplicate functionality and communicating bi-directionally with a telecommunication network via the low-power short range communication link;

providing the de-energized at least one additional duplicate functionality using one or more resources of the mobile device via the low-power short range communication link; and

activating the WAN communications circuitry and communicating with the telecommunication network via the activated WAN communications circuitry in response to determining that the low-power short range communication link cannot be established to the mobile device.

32. The wearable wireless portable device of claim 31, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that communicating bi-directionally with the telecommunication network via the low-power short range communication link comprises:

generating a control message configured to cause the mobile device to establish a network connection to the telecommunication network;

sending the control message to the mobile device over the low-power short range communication link;

receiving a response message indicating that the mobile device has established the network connection to the telecommunication network;

transmitting data to the mobile device over the low-power short range communication link; and

receiving content sent from the telecommunication network to the mobile device over the network connection via the low-power short range communication link.

33. The wearable wireless portable device of claim 32, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that:

sending the control message to the mobile device over the low-power short range communication link comprises sending a control message configured to cause the mobile device to establish the network connection to the telecommunication network; and

transmitting data to the mobile device over the low-power short range communication link and receiving the content sent from the telecommunication network to the mobile device over the network connection comprises accessing the telecommunication network via the network connection of the mobile device by transmitting and receiving data via the low-power short range communication link.

34. The wearable wireless portable device of claim 32, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that:

determining whether the low-power short range communication link can be established to the mobile device comprises determining whether the mobile device is within communication range; and

activating the WAN communications circuitry in response to determining that the low-power short range communication link cannot be established comprises activating the WAN communications circuitry in response to determining that the mobile device is not within communication range.

35. The wearable wireless portable device of claim 32, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising controlling one or more features of the mobile device over the low-power short range communication link.

36. The wearable wireless portable device of claim 32, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising:

receiving an incoming communication for the mobile device via the low-power short range communication link; and

generating in the wearable wireless portable device a user notification to inform a user of the incoming communication.

37. The wearable wireless portable device of claim 36, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that generating the user notification comprises displaying a message on an electronic display of the wearable wireless portable device.

38. The wearable wireless portable device of claim 36, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that generating the user notification comprises outputting an audible sound or a vibration.

39. The wearable wireless portable device of claim 32, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising registering with a server configured to route communications to and from the mobile device, and wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that:

sending the control message to the mobile device over the low-power short range communication link comprises sending the control message to the server; and

receiving the response message indicating that the mobile device has established the network connection to the telecommunication network comprises receiving the response message from the server.

40. The wearable wireless portable device of claim 31, wherein the wearable wireless portable device comprises one of:

a wrist display;

a bracelet;

a belt buckle;

a medallion;

a pendent;

a pen; and

a key chain.

41. The wearable wireless portable device of claim 31, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising de-energizing a resource of the wearable wireless portable device in response to establishing the low-power short range communication link to the mobile device.

42. The wearable wireless portable device of claim 41, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that de-energizing the resource of the wearable wireless portable device comprises de-energizing a global positioning system receiver in response to establishing the low-power short range communication link to the mobile device.

43. A communication device capable of mobile operation, comprising:

a first transceiver suitable for communicating information, wirelessly, directly to a wide area network (WAN);

a second transceiver suitable for communicating information indirectly to the WAN via a wireless connection to a second communication device capable of mobile operation and connected wirelessly to the WAN; and

a processor coupled to the first and second transceivers, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations comprising;

determining whether a low-power short range wireless connection can be established to the second communication device;

selectively powering down duplicate functionality including the first transceiver and at least one additional functionality of the communication device in response to determining that the low-power short range wireless connection has been established to the second communication device;

using one or more resources of the second communication device to provide the powered-down duplicate functionality on the first device via the established low-power short range wireless connection; and

activating the first transceiver in response to determining that the low-power short range wireless connection cannot be established.

44. The communication device of claim 43, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that selectively powering down at least one additional functionality of the communication device comprises powering down a position location functionality of the communication device.

45. The communication device of claim 44, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that powering down the position location functionality of the communication device comprises powering down a global positioning system receiver of the communication device.

46. The communication device of claim 43, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that selectively powering down at least one additional functionality of the communication device comprises powering down one or more of:

a heart rate sensor;

a blood pressure sensor;

a gyroscope;

an accelerometer;

a pedometer;

a thermometer; and

a glucometer.

47. The communication device of claim 43, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that selectively powering down duplicate functionality including the first transceiver and at least one additional functionality of the communication device in response to determining that the low-power short range wireless connection has been established to the second communication device comprises:

powering down duplicate functionality in response to determining that a low-power short range communication link has been established to the second communication device.

48. A communication device capable of mobile operation, comprising:

means for wirelessly communicating information directly to a wide area network (WAN);

means for communicating information indirectly to the WAN via a wireless connection to a second communication device capable of mobile operation and connected wirelessly to the WAN;

means for determining whether a low-power short range wireless connection can be established to the second communication device;

means for selectively powering down duplicate functionality including the means for wirelessly communicating information directly to the WAN and at least one additional functionality of the communication device in response to determining that the low-power short range wireless connection has been established to the second communication device;

means for using one or more resources of the second communication device to provide the powered-down duplicate functionality on the first device via the established low-power short range wireless connection; and

means for activating the means for wirelessly communicating information directly to the WAN in response to determining that the low-power short range wireless connection cannot be established.

49. The communication device of claim 48, wherein means for selectively powering down at least one additional functionality of the communication device comprises means for powering down a position location functionality of the communication device.

50. The communication device of claim 49, wherein means for selectively powering down the position location functionality of the communication device comprises means for powering down a global positioning system receiver of the communication device.

51. The communication device of claim 48, wherein means for selectively powering down at least one additional functionality of the communication device comprises means for powering down one or more of:

a heart rate sensor;

a blood pressure sensor;

a gyroscope;

an accelerometer;

a pedometer;

a thermometer; and

a glucometer.

52. The communication device of claim 48, wherein means for selectively powering down duplicate functionality in response to determining that the low-power short range wireless connection has been established to the second communication device comprises:

means for selectively powering down duplicate functionality in response to determining that a low-power short range communication link has been established to the second communication device.