System and method for digital communication between computing devices

• US 10,602,424 B2
• Filed: 09/01/2017
• Issued: 03/24/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gotenna, Inc
• Original Assignee: Gotenna, Inc
• Inventors: Perdomo, Jorge
• Primary Examiner(s): Cho, Un C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rahman, Shah M
• Application Number:
  US15/694,369
• Publication Number:
  US 20180014241A1
• Time in Patent Office: 935 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/745 Address table lookup; Address filtering
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/00 Arrangements affording multiple use of the transmission path
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0007 the frequencies being orthogonal, e.g. OFDM(A), DMT
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/12 based on transmission quality or channel quality
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/20 based on geographic position or location

Abstract

A wireless communication device, comprising radio frequency transceivers which transmit outbound messages to targeted receivers, and receive the inbound messages addressed to the respective transceiver; each having a processor which controls the transceiver to establish communication sessions according to a protocol, and processes targeting and address information. The transceiver communicates with a telephone device having a telephone address book containing information which defines the targets and address for a telephone network and perhaps other networks. The address book entries are human editable through a human machine user interface. The address book entries are intended for centrally controlled switch networks having hierarchically formatted address information, but since these are at least quasi-unique, they are used as address labels in an unswitched peer-to-peer network formed of the transceivers. This permits a common address scheme across the peer-to-peer network and switched network of the telephone device.

Claims

1. A communication system contained within a portable housing and powered by a self-contained electrical power source within the portable housing, comprising:

a short range radio frequency transceiver operating in a first frequency range, configured to wirelessly communicate first digital packets of information with a portable user interface device;

a long range radio frequency transceiver operating in a second frequency range non-overlapping with the first frequency range, configured to wirelessly communicate second digital packets of information having a different size from the first digital packets of information, with another long range radio frequency transceiver, the long range radio frequency transceiver having a plurality of distinct communication channels within the second frequency range comprising a control channel for group communication, and a plurality of independent private channels for point-to-point communications between different endpoints, which permit multiple wireless communications within the plurality of distinct communication channels in the second frequency range to proceed concurrently with the wireless communication of the first digital packets of information in the first frequency range, without mutual interference;

a memory, contained within the portable housing; and

at least one automated processor, configured to;

receive a transmitter identifier, a destination identifier, and a message through the short range radio frequency transceiver within the first digital packets;

store the transmitter identifier, the destination identifier, and the message in the memory;

wirelessly transmit the transmitter identifier, the destination identifier, and the message through the long range radio frequency transceiver within a stream of the second digital packets of information with overhead data, in the second frequency range, the overhead data of an initial second digital packet of information of the stream of packets comprising the transmitter identifier and the destination identifier, and at least one subsequent second digital packet of information of the stream of packets having overhead data comprising a network transaction identifier and lacking the transmitter identifier and the destination identifier;

prior to receipt of acknowledgement through the long range radio transceiver, repeatedly wirelessly transmit the message through the long range radio frequency transceiver in the second frequency range; and

after receipt of an acknowledgement of receipt of the message from the other long range radio frequency transceiver corresponding to the destination in the second frequency range, cease repeated wireless transmission of the message through the long range radio transceiver and wirelessly communicate a confirmation of message receipt in the first digital packets of information through the short range radio frequency transceiver in the first frequency range.

2. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the short range radio frequency transceiver comprises a Bluetooth radio or a WiFi radio.

3. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the long range radio frequency transceiver comprises a 900 MHz ISM band radio.

4. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the long range radio frequency transceiver comprises a MURS radio, a FRS radio, or a GMRS radio.

5. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the long range radio frequency transceiver has an active/inactive duty cycle of 0.1%.

6. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the message comprises GPS location information.

7. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the self-contained electrical power source within the portable housing comprises a rechargeable battery, further comprising an energy harvesting generator configured to recharge the rechargeable battery.

8. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the message communicated within the second digital packets of information is encrypted, and the destination identifier is unencrypted.

9. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the second digital packets of information are received through the short range radio frequency transceiver in the first frequency range encrypted with an encryption key dependent on the destination identifier.

10. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the long range radio transceiver is configured to receive the acknowledgement through the control channel for the message communicated through the plurality of private channels.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the message comprises GPS location information.

11. A communication method, comprising:

providing a portable housing, and within the portable housing, a self-contained electrical power source within the portable housing, a short range wireless radio frequency transceiver operating in a first frequency range, a long range wireless radio frequency transceiver operating in a second frequency range non-overlapping with the first frequency range, a memory, and at least one automated processor;

wirelessly communicating first digital packets of information with a portable user interface device through the short range wireless radio frequency transceiver in the first frequency range;

wirelessly communicating second digital packets of information having a different size from the first digital packets of information, with another long range wireless radio frequency transceiver, through the long range wireless radio frequency transceiver, the long range wireless radio frequency transceiver having a plurality of distinct communication channels within the second frequency range comprising a control channel for group communication, and a plurality of private channels for point-to-point communications, which permit multiple communications within the plurality of distinct communication channels in the second communication channel and the communication of the first digital packets in the first communication channel to proceed concurrently without mutual interference;

receiving a transmitter identifier, a destination identifier, and a message through the short range wireless radio frequency transceiver within the first digital packets under control of the at least one processor;

storing the transmitter identifier, the destination identifier, and the message in the memory under control of the at least one processor;

wirelessly transmitting a transmitter identifier, a destination identifier, and the message through the long range wireless radio frequency transceiver in the second frequency range as a stream of the second digital packets with overhead data under control of the at least one processor, the overhead data of an initial second digital packet of the stream of packets comprising a transmitter identifier and a destination identifier, and the overhead data of at least one subsequent second digital packet of the stream of packets comprising a network transaction identifier and lacking the transmitter identifier and the destination identifier;

repeatedly wirelessly transmitting the message through the long range wireless radio frequency transceiver in the second frequency range prior to receipt of acknowledgement through the long range wireless radio transceiver; and

ceasing repeated wirelessly transmitting of the message through the long range wireless radio frequency transceiver and wirelessly communicating a confirmation of message receipt in the first digital packets of information through the short range wireless radio frequency transceiver in the first frequency range after receipt of an acknowledgement of receipt from the other long range wireless radio frequency transceiver in the second frequency range corresponding to the destination.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the short range wireless radio frequency transceiver comprises a Bluetooth radio or a WiFi radio.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the long range wireless radio frequency transceiver comprises a 900 MHz ISM band radio, a MURS radio, a FRS radio, or a GMRS radio.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein the long range wireless radio frequency transceiver has an active/inactive duty cycle of 0.1%.

16. The method according to claim 11, wherein the self-contained electrical power source within the portable housing comprises a rechargeable battery, further comprising harvesting energy with an energy harvesting generator to recharge the rechargeable battery.

17. The method according to claim 11, further comprising receiving the acknowledgement by the long range wireless radio transceiver through the control channel for the message communicated through the plurality of private channels.

18. A communication system contained within a portable housing and powered by a self-contained electrical power source within the portable housing, comprising:

a short range radio frequency transceiver operating in a first frequency range, configured to wirelessly communicate first digital packets of information with a portable user interface device in the first frequency range;

a long range radio frequency transceiver operating in a second frequency range non-overlapping with the first frequency range, configured to wirelessly communicate second digital packets of information having a different size from the first digital packets of information, between other long range radio frequency transceivers in the second frequency range, the long range radio frequency transceiver having a plurality of distinct communication channels within the second frequency range comprising a control channel for group communication, and a plurality of private channels for point-to-point communications, which permit multiple wireless communications within the plurality of distinct communication channels in the second frequency range and the wireless communication of the first digital packets in the first frequency range to proceed concurrently without mutual interference;

a memory, contained within the portable housing; and

at least one automated processor, configured to;

wirelessly receive a device identifier through the short range radio frequency transceiver in the first frequency range within the first digital packets;

wirelessly receive overhead data comprising a transmitter identifier, a destination identifier, and data comprising an initial portion of a message through the long range radio frequency transceiver in the second frequency range within an initial packet of a stream of the second digital packets;

wirelessly receive overhead data comprising a network transaction identifier and lacking at least one of the transmitter identifier and the destination identifier, and data comprising a subsequent portion of the message through the long range radio frequency transceiver in the second frequency range within a subsequent packet of a stream of the second digital packets;

store the transmitter identifier, the destination identifier, and the message comprising the initial portion and the subsequent portion in the memory; and

compare the stored destination identifier with the device identifier, and

if a match, wirelessly transmit an acknowledgement through the long range radio frequency transceiver in the second frequency range, and wirelessly transmit the message through the short range radio frequency transceiver to the portable user interface device in the first frequency range; and

if not a match, wirelessly forward the stored transmitter identifier, destination identifier, and message to another long range radio frequency transceiver in the second frequency range after negotiating access to a private channel through the control channel.

19. The communication system according to claim 18, wherein the long range radio frequency transceiver comprises a 900 MHz ISM band radio, a MURS radio, a FRS radio, or a GMRS radio.

20. The communication system according to claim 18, wherein message in the stream of second digital packets comprises encrypted information, at least one processor is configured to decrypt the encrypted information if the destination identifier matches the device identifier.