System and method for connecting to a voice network, such as wirelessly connecting to a UMA network

• US 20080004009A1
• Filed: 06/30/2006
• Published: 01/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile USA, Inc. (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: T-Mobile USA, Inc. (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Hsu, James, Linkola, Janne, Senour, Jelena, Caldwell, Christopher, Hendrick, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 7,623,486 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/434
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4588 containing mobile subscriber information, e.g. home subscriber server [HSS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals

Abstract

Systems and methods for connecting a mobile device to an alternate wireless network are disclosed. The method includes determining alternate ireless networks available to access by the mobile device, ordering the available alternate wireless networks by signal strength, connecting the mobile device to the alternate wireless network with a highest signal strength, measuring a quality of the connected alternate wireless network and, when the quality of the connected alternate wireless network is above a predetermined threshold, operating the mobile device over the connected alternate wireless network.

Claims

1. In a mobile device capable of communicating with a cellular telephone network over a licensed spectrum, and capable of accessing alternate wireless access networks, a system comprising:

a connection subsystem capable of connecting the mobile device to an alternate wireless network, wherein the wireless network operates on a licensed, semilicensed or unlicensed wireless spectrum, and wherein the connection subsystem comprises;

a connection invocation component configured to receive a connection request from a user and initiate a connection to an alternate wireless network;

a scanning component configured to determine one or more available alternate wireless networks to be connected to the mobile device after the connection invocation component receives a connection request from a user and initiate a connection to an alternate wireless network; and

a network ordering component configured to order the determined one or more alternate wireless networks based on a measure of signal strength, wherein the network ordering component also measures respective signal strengths for the determined alternate wireless networks;

wherein the connection subsystem connects to a one of the alternate wireless networks highest in the order of alternate wireless networks; and

a quality measurement subsystem, wherein the quality measurement subsystem is configured to initially check a connection to a determined alternate wireless network to determine if a quality of the connection is above a pre-determined threshold value, and is configured to periodically check the connected network to determine if the quality of the connected network remains above the pre-determined threshold value;

wherein the mobile device operates in a alternate wireless network mode when the quality of the connection is above the pre-determined threshold value, and wherein the mobile device, in the alternate wireless network mode, communicates with the core network through the one alternate wireless network.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the connection subsystem connects to an alternate wireless network below the alternate wireless network highest in the order of alternate wireless networks when the quality measurement subsystem determines the quality of the alternate wireless network highest in the order of alternate wireless networks to be below the pre-determined threshold value.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the connection subsystem further comprises:

a reconnection component configured to automatically attempt to reconnect to the connected one alternate wireless network when the mobile device leaves the range of the connected one alternate wireless network;

wherein the reconnection component automatically attempts to reconnect to the connected one alternate wireless network only within a pre-determined time period.

4. A method of connecting a mobile device to a core network via an alternate wireless network, comprising:

determining alternate wireless networks available to access by the mobile device;

ordering the available alternate wireless networks by signal strength;

connecting the mobile device to the available alternate wireless network with a highest signal strength;

measuring a quality of the connected alternate wireless network; and

when the quality of the connected alternate wireless network is above a pre-determined threshold, operating the mobile device on the core network via the connected alternate wireless network.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the mobile device is one of a mobile handset, personal digital assistant, or laptop computer.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the connected alternate wireless network is an IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g or IEEE 802.11n network

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the connected alternate wireless network is one of an IEEE 802.16 network, an IEEE 802.20 Mobile Broadband Wireless Access network, an Ultra Wideband network, or a Bluetooth network.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the signal strengths of determined available alternate wireless networks are measured by the mobile device.

9. The method of claim 4, wherein at least one of the determined alternate wireless networks available to access by the mobile device is stored in a database within the mobile device.

10. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

connecting the mobile device to an alternate wireless network with the next highest signal strength when the quality of the alternate wireless network with the highest signal strength is below the pre-determined threshold.

11. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

automatically attempting to reconnect to the connected alternate wireless network for a predetermined time period when the mobile device moves out of a range of the connected alternate wireless network.

12. A portable apparatus for establishing communications with at least one cellular telephone system and with an access point of an alternative wireless network, the apparatus comprising:

an antenna;

at least one wireless transceiver, coupled to the antenna, for wirelessly exchanging signals between the apparatus and at least one access point of one or more alternative wireless networks, and between the apparatus and the cellular telephone system;

memory for storing data;

portable power generation subsystem;

audio portion for processing voice signals;

processor means, coupled among the transceiver, the audio portion, the portable power generation subsystem and the memory, for permitting wireless communication with the alternate wireless network;

a housing configured to carry the antenna, transceiver, portable power generation subsystem, memory, audio portion and processor means; and

a user interface means, carried by the housing and coupled to the processor means, for providing a user interface to permit user activation of an alternate wireless connection process, and

wherein the processor means includes;

means for automatically identifying any available alternate wireless network in response to manual activation of the alternate wireless connection process;

means for automatically establishing a predetermined connection with an access point of an identified available alternate wireless network;

means for automatically determining if the identified available alternate wireless network provides a connection of acceptable quality; and

means for automatically establishing voice communications over the identified available alternate wireless network.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the user interface means is either a physical button carried by and at least partially accessible at a portion of the housing, or is a touch-sensitive screen associated with a default software switch controlled by the processor means.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the processor means further comprises:

means for automatically establishing a direct connection to the cellular telephone system when the connection to the identified available alternate wireless network is of unacceptable quality;

means for automatically determining if the identified available alternate wireless network again provides a connection of acceptable quality; and

means for automatically reestablishing the predetermined connection with the identified available alternate wireless network, or maintaining the direct connection with the cellular telephone system.

15. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the identified available alternate wireless network is an IEEE 802 version WLAN, wherein the predetermined connection is an Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) connection, and wherein the means for automatically identifying any available WLAN provides a list of available list of unsecured WLANs ordered from strongest to weakest signal strength.

16. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising output means for providing a user-perceptible indication that an access point of an available alternate wireless networks is within wireless range.

17. A computer-readable medium whose contents cause at least one mobile device to perform a method to automatically establish communications with at least one cellular telephone system through at least one alternate wireless network, the method comprising:

at the mobile device, automatically identifying any available alternate wireless network while the mobile device has a connection with the cellular telephone system;

at the mobile device, automatically establishing a predetermined connection with an access point of an identified available alternate wireless network;

at the mobile device, automatically determining if the identified available alternate wireless network provides a connection of acceptable quality; and

at the mobile device, automatically establishing voice communications through the identified available alternate wireless network as opposed to directly over the cellular telephone system.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 wherein the method further comprises:

at the mobile device, automatically establishing a connection to the cellular telephone system when the connection is of unacceptable quality;

at the mobile device, periodically determining if the identified available alternate wireless network again provides a connection of acceptable quality; and

at the mobile device, automatically reestablishing the predetermined connection with the identified available alternate wireless network, or maintaining the connection with the cellular telephone system, after a predetermined time.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 wherein the method further comprises:

at the mobile device, automatically establishing a connection to the cellular telephone system when the connection is of unacceptable quality; and

at the mobile device, automatically determining if the identified available alternate wireless network again provides a connection of acceptable quality while the mobile device is

(1) within a predetermined distance from a location when the predetermined connection was established, or

(2) is in communications range of a cell site while the mobile device has the wireless connection with the cellular telephone system.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 wherein the method further comprises, at the mobile device, automatically applying business rules to manage the established voice connection if the quality of the connection changes.

21. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 wherein the automatically identifying is in response to manual user input.

22. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 wherein the automatically identifying is in response to a voice prompt received from a user.

23. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 wherein the automatically identifying is in response to the mobile device losing the connection with the cellular telephone system.

24. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 wherein the automatically identifying is in response to a timer within the mobile device.