Systems and methods for automatically activating wireless networks

• US 10,237,822 B2
• Filed: 10/21/2016
• Issued: 03/19/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Axon Enterprise, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Axon Enterprise, Inc.
• Inventors: Hanchett, Mark A., Huang, Anthony G., Conant, Tyler J., Womack, Marcus William Lee, Shekarri, Nache D., Reitz, James Norton
• Primary Examiner(s): Thompson, Jr., Otis L
• Application Number:
  US15/331,608
• Publication Number:
  US 20170367049A1
• Time in Patent Office: 879 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/60 Software deployment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/658 Incremental updates; Differential updates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• 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 52/0229 where the received signal is a wanted signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

In some embodiments, automatic selective enablement of a wireless interface is provided. In some embodiments, a first device such as a recording device broadcasts a notification via a first wireless interface. The notification may be received by a second device such as a network device, which activates a second wireless interface in response. In some embodiments, the second device may transmit a notification via the first wireless interface to indicate that the second wireless interface has been activated. In response to receiving such a notification, the first device may activate its own second wireless interface in order to complete the connection and transmit a data record to the second device. In some embodiments, the first wireless interface is a low-power wireless interface, and the second wireless interface is a high-power wireless interface.

Claims

1. A system for managing power for wireless communication, the system comprising:

a network device, the network device including;

a low-power wireless interface, a high-power wireless interface, and a first control engine; and

a recording device, the recording device including;

a low-power wireless interface, a high-power wireless interface, a second control engine, and a data store;

wherein;

the recording device captures information at a place, the recording device carried by a user while the recording device captures the information;

the recording device stores the information in the data store as a data record;

in response to capturing the information, the recording device transmits a data notification via its low-power wireless interface using a connectionless protocol, the data notification indicates that the data record is present and ready to be transmitted;

in response to the network device receiving the data notification via its low-power wireless interface, the first control engine activates the high-power wireless interface of the network device;

the second control engine activates the high-power wireless interface of the recording device; and

the recording device transmits the data record via the high-power wireless interface of the recording device.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein activating the high-power wireless interface for transmission of the data record by the second control engine includes activating the high-power wireless interface of the recording device in response to receiving a connectionless network notification via the low-power wireless interface of the recording device.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the low-power wireless interface of the recording device is a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) interface, and wherein the connectionless network notification is a BLE advertising packet.

4. The system of claim 2 wherein the first control engine is further configured to transmit the connectionless network notification via the low-power wireless interface of the network device.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the low-power wireless interface of the network device is a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) interface, and wherein the data notification is a BLE advertising packet.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein activating the high-power wireless interface by the first control engine includes activating the high-power wireless interface in response to at least one of determining that a device identifier included in the data notification is on a list of device identifiers that are associated with devices that are allowed to cause the high-power wireless interface to be activated, verifying a password included in the data notification, or establishing an encrypted data channel between the network device and the recording device.

7. The system of claim 1 further comprising an activation device separate from the network device and the recording device, wherein the activation device is configured to transmit the data notification.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the network device is a camera, a mobile data terminal (MDT), a smartphone, a tablet computing device, a communication hub device, or an evidence collection dock.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the recording device is a camera, a weapon, a biometric monitoring device, a smartphone, a tablet computing device, or a vehicle telemetry monitoring device.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the recording device is configured to transmit recorded data to the network device via the high-power wireless interface of the recording device, and wherein the network device is configured to transmit the recorded data to a storage system.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the storage system is a storage device in a vehicle, a mobile data terminal (MDT), a smartphone, a tablet computing device, another recording device, or an evidence management system.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein the high-power wireless interface of the network device is a WiFi interface, and wherein the high-power wireless interface of the recording device is a WiFi interface.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein the data notification includes at least one of an identifier that uniquely identifies the recording device, includes a type identifier that identifies a type of the recording device, a type of data in the data record, a size of the data record, a priority level, and an amount of free space remaining in the data store.

14. A method of receiving a data record from a recording device, the method performed by a network device, the method comprising:

receiving a data notification via a low-power wireless interface of the network device using a connectionless protocol, the data notification transmitted by the recording device via a low-power interface of the recording device, the data notification transmitted in response to the recording device capturing information at a place, the recording device stores the information in a data store as the data record, the data notification indicates that the data record is present in the recording device and ready to be transmitted, the recording device carried by a user while the recording device captures the information;

in response to receiving the data notification, activating a high-power wireless interface of the network device; and

receiving, via the high-power wireless interface, the data record from the recording device.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising transmitting, via the connectionless protocol, a notification indicating that the high-power wireless interface has been activated.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein receiving the data notification via the connectionless protocol includes receiving a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) advertisement packet.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein the high-power wireless interface is a WiFi interface.

18. The method of claim 14 further comprising verifying, by a wireless interface control engine of the network device, that the high-power wireless interface should be activated in response to the data notification.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein verifying that the high-power wireless interface should be activated in response to the data notification includes comparing a device identifier included in the data notification to a list of device identifiers that are allowed to activate or are restricted from activating the high-power wireless interface.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein verifying that the high-power wireless interface should be activated in response to the data notification includes comparing a description of the data record included in the data notification to a capability of the network device.

21. The method of claim 14 further comprising transmitting, by the network device, the data record to another device.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein the other device is at least one of a storage device in a vehicle, a mobile data terminal (MDT), a smartphone, a tablet computing device, another recording device, or a device of an evidence management system.

23. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

receiving a notification that transmission of the data record is complete; and

deactivating the high-power wireless interface.

24. The method of claim 14 wherein the data notification further informs the network device that the data notification is ready for transfer from the recording device to the network device.

25. The method of claim 14 wherein the data notification includes at least one of an identifier that uniquely identifies the recording device, includes a type identifier that identifies a type of the recording device, a type of data in the data record, a size of the data record, a priority level, and an amount of free space remaining in the data store.

26. A method of transmitting a data record via a wireless network, the method performed by a recording device, the method comprising:

capturing information at a place, the recording device carried by a user while capturing the information;

storing the information as the data record in a data store;

in response to storing, broadcasting via a low-power wireless interface, a first connectionless notification indicating presence of the data record and that the record data is ready for transfer;

in response to the first connectionless notification, receiving a second connectionless notification via the low-power wireless interface, the second connectionless notification indicating that communication via a high-power wireless interface is available;

activating the high-power wireless interface; and

transmitting the data record via the high-power wireless interface.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein broadcasting comprises broadcasting a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) advertising packet.

28. The method of claim 26 wherein the high-power wireless interface is a WiFi interface, and wherein the method further comprises connecting, via the WiFi interface, to a WiFi access point.

29. The method of claim 26 further comprising:

in response to determining that the data record has been successfully transmitted via the high-power wireless interface, deactivating the high-power wireless interface.

30. The method of claim 26 further comprising:

in response to determining that the data record has been successfully transmitted via the high-power wireless interface, broadcasting a notification indicating that transmission of the data record is complete.

31. The method of claim 26 wherein the first connectionless notification includes at least one of an identifier that uniquely identifies the recording device, includes a type identifier that identifies a type of the recording device, a type of data in the data record, a size of the data record, a priority level, and an amount of free space remaining in the data store.