MULTIPLE NETWORK ACCESS SYSTEM AND METHOD

• US 20080182616A1
• Filed: 01/26/2007
• Published: 07/31/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Quarterhill Inc. (f/k/a Wi-LAN Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Wi-LAN Inc.
• Inventors: Marsh, Gene W., CONNORS, DENNIS P.
• Granted Patent: US 8,548,520 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/552.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/18 for broadcast or conference , e.g. multicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/14 Reselecting a network or an air interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/144 over a different radio air interface technology

Abstract

Methods and devices for operating a wireless communication device that can communicate with at least two different wireless networks using a single radio frequency modem are described. The communication device attaches to a first wireless network through the radio frequency (RF) modem, and then detaches from the first wireless network at a predetermined time before a start time of a selected event on a second wireless network. The device attaches to the second wireless network using the same RF modem before the start time of the selected event and collects at least a portion of event data associated with the selected event. After collecting at least a portion of event data, the device detaches from the second wireless network and re-attaches to the first wireless network.

Claims

1. A method of operating a wireless communication device to communicate with at least two different wireless networks using a single radio frequency modem, comprising:

attaching the wireless device to a first wireless network through the radio frequency (RF) modem;

detaching the wireless device from the first wireless network at a predetermined time before a start time of a selected event on a second wireless network;

attaching the wireless device to the second wireless network using the same RF modem before the start time of the selected event;

collecting, at the wireless device, at least a portion of event data associated with the selected event that is transmitted from the second wireless network after the start time of the selected event;

detaching the wireless device from the second wireless network after collection of the at least a portion of event data in the collecting step; and

re-attaching the wireless device to the first wireless network after detachment from the second wireless network.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein, in the collecting step, all of the event data is collected before the wireless device detaches from the second wireless network in the detaching step.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the collecting step further comprises:

collecting, from an aggregate data stream of interleaved time slices associated with one or more events, a plurality of successive data packets during each of a plurality of time slices associated with the selected event;

detaching the wireless device from the second wireless network and re-attaching the wireless device to the first wireless network during at least one time slice that is not associated with the selected event,; and

.

detaching the wireless device from the first wireless network and re-attaching the wireless device to the second wireless network at a predetermined time before a start time of a next time slice associated with the selected event.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein, in the collecting step, a plurality of successive data packets are collected during each of a plurality of time slices associated with each of a plurality of selected events, and the wireless device is attached to the first wireless network during time slices that are not associated with any of the plurality of selected events.

5. The method as claimed in claim 3, further comprising sending time slice timing information from an upper layer application module in the wireless device to a media access control (MAC) module in the RF modem, wherein the MAC module controls the timing of the collecting and detaching steps in accordance with the time slice timing information.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the first wireless network is a bidirectional wireless network and the second wireless network is a unidirectional broadcast wireless network.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of the at least two wireless networks is a broadband wireless network.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of the at least two wireless networks is a unidirectional broadcast network.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the steps of attaching and re-attaching to the first wireless network comprise providing first network state information stored at the wireless device to the RF modem and using the first network state information to facilitate communication with the first wireless network.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of attaching to the second wireless network comprises providing second network state information stored at the wireless device to the RF modem and using the second network state information to facilitate communication with the second wireless network.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein each of the stored first network state information and second network state information comprises at least one of a network frequency, a base station identifier (BSID), a connection identifier (CID), and waveform timing information for the respective network.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least two wireless networks operate over different network frequencies and the network frequencies are stored by the wireless device and used by the RF modem to tune to the respective wireless network frequency when attaching to a corresponding one of the first and second wireless networks.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising downloading and storing, at the wireless device, electronic service guide (ESG) information associated with the second network from an ESG server while the device is attached to the first network.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein downloading and storing the ESG information further comprises sending an ESG query from the wireless device to the ESG server.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the ESG query includes the base station identifier (BSID) of a base station of the first wireless network currently serving the wireless device.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising receiving user input corresponding to at least one selected event of a plurality of events identified in the ESG information, storing event timing information for the at least one selected event, and using the selected event timing information to attach to the second network at a predetermined time in order to collect event data associated with the at least one selected event.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising re-establishing paging and location parameters for the wireless device with the first wireless network each time the wireless device re-attaches to the first wireless network.

18. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising sending a preferred roaming list (PRL) query to a PRL server associated with the second wireless network prior to detaching from the first wireless network, receiving a PRL associated with the second network from the PRL server, and using network information in the PRL to facilitate attaching to the second network.

19. The method as claimed in claim 18, wherein the PRL query includes the base station identifier (BSID) of a base station of the first wireless network currently serving the wireless device.

20. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second wireless network is a unidirectional broadcast wireless network comprised of at least one base station that transmits an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex (OFDM) signal.

21. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the event data is transmitted from a base station in the second wireless network and comprises digitized video data in accordance with a standardized protocol.

22. A wireless communication device for operating on at least two different wireless networks, comprising:

a radio frequency (RF) modem configured to attach to a first wireless network and a second wireless network;

a network attachment arbitrator module configured to store timing information of event data bursts associated with a selected event of the second wireless network, and to control the RF modem to attach to the first wireless network during times when the data bursts associated with the selected event do not occur and to attach to the second wireless network during times when the data bursts associated with the selected event occur; and

an application module which collects at least a portion of event data by collecting event data from the event data bursts associated with the selected event when the RF modem is attached to the second wireless network.

23. The wireless communication device as claimed in claim 22, wherein the application module collects all of the event data and then the RF modem detaches from the second wireless network.

24. The wireless communication device as claimed in claim 22, wherein the application module collects the event data by collecting, from an aggregate data stream of interleaved time slices associated with one or more events, a plurality of successive data packets during each of a plurality of time slices associated with the selected event, wherein the network attachment arbitrator module controls the RF modem to detach from the second wireless network and re-attach to the first wireless network during at least one time slice that is not associated with the selected event, and wherein the network attachment arbitrator module controls the RF modem to detach from the first wireless network and re-attach to the second wireless network at a predetermined time before a start time of a next time slice associated with the selected event.

25. The wireless communication device as claimed in claim 24, wherein the application module collects a plurality of successive data packets during each of a plurality of time slices associated with each of a plurality of selected events, and wherein the network attachment arbitrator module controls the RF modem to attach to the first wireless network during time slices that are not associated with any of the plurality of selected events.

26. The wireless communication device as claimed in claim 24, wherein time slice timing information is sent from the application module to the network attachment arbitrator module which controls the timing of the attachment of the RF modem to the first and second wireless networks in accordance with the time slice timing information.

27. The wireless communication device as claimed in claim 22, wherein the first wireless network is a bidirectional wireless network and the second wireless network is a unidirectional broadcast wireless network.

28. The wireless communication device as claimed in claim 22, wherein at least one of the at least two wireless networks is a broadband wireless network.

29. The wireless communication device as claimed in claim 22, wherein at least one of the at least two wireless networks is a unidirectional broadcast network.

30. The wireless communication device of claim 22, wherein the network attachment arbitrator module controls the RF modem to attach to the first wireless network by providing first network state information to the RF modem which uses the first network state information to facilitate communication with the first wireless network.

31. The wireless communication device of claim 30, wherein the network attachment arbitrator module controls the RF modem to attach to the second wireless network by providing second network state information to the RF modem which uses the second network state information to facilitate communication with the second wireless network.

32. The wireless communication device of claim 31, wherein each of the first network state information and second network state information comprises at least one of a network frequency, a base station identifier (BSID), a connection identifier (CID), and waveform timing information for the respective network.

33. The wireless communication device of claim 22, wherein the at least two wireless networks operate over different network frequencies and the network frequencies are stored by the wireless communication device and provided to the RF modem to tune the RF modem to the respective wireless network frequency when attaching to a corresponding one of the first and second wireless networks.

34. The wireless communication device of claim 22, wherein the at least two wireless networks operate on orthogonal codes which are stored by the wireless communication device and used to facilitate attaching the wireless device to a corresponding one of the first and second wireless networks.

35. The wireless communication device of claim 22, wherein the application module downloads, and stores in a memory, electronic service guide (ESG) information associated with the second network from an ESG server while the wireless communication device is attached to the first wireless network.

36. The wireless communication device of claim 35, wherein the download of the ESG information is in response to an ESG query sent from the application module to the ESG server via the first wireless network.

37. The wireless communication device of claim 36, wherein the ESG query includes a base station identifier (BSID) of a base station of the first wireless network currently serving the wireless communication device.

38. The wireless communication device of claim 35, wherein the application module receives user input corresponding to at least one selected event of a plurality of events identified in the ESG information, stores event timing information for the at least one selected event, and sends the event timing information to the network attachment arbitrator module which uses the event timing information to control the RF modem to attach to the second network at a predetermined time in order to collect event data associated with the at least one selected event.

39. The wireless communication device of claim 22, wherein the RF modem establishes paging and location parameters for the wireless communication device with the first wireless network each time the RF modem attaches to the first wireless network.

40. The wireless communication device of claim 22, wherein the application module sends a preferred roaming list (PRL) query to a PRL server associated with the second wireless network prior to detaching from the first wireless network, receives a PRL associated with the second network from the PRL server, and sends the network information in the PRL to the network attachment arbitrator module which uses the network information to control the RF modem to facilitate attachment to the second network.

41. The wireless communication device of claim 40, wherein the PRL query includes a base station identifier (BSID) of a base station of the first wireless network currently serving the wireless communication device.

42. The wireless communication device of claim 22, wherein the second wireless network is a unidirectional broadcast wireless network comprised of at least one base station that transmits an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex (OFDM) signal.

43. The wireless communication device of claim 22, wherein the event data is transmitted from a base station in the second wireless network and comprises digitized video data in accordance with a standardized protocol.

44. One or more processor-accessible media comprising processor-executable instructions that, when executed, direct a wireless device to perform actions comprising:

attaching the wireless device to a first wireless network through the radio frequency (RF) modem;

detaching the wireless device from the first wireless network at a predetermined time before a start time of a selected event on a second wireless network;

attaching the wireless device to the second wireless network using the same RF modem before the start time of the selected event;

collecting, at the wireless device, at least a portion of event data associated with the selected event that is transmitted from the second wireless network after the start time of the selected event;

detaching the wireless device from the second wireless network after collection of the at least a portion of event data in the collecting step; and

re-attaching the wireless device to the first wireless network after detachment from the second wireless network.

45. A method of operating a communication device to communicate with at least two different networks using a single modem, the method comprising:

establishing a first connection with a first wireless network via the modem;

receiving, via the first connection with the first wireless network, second network state information associated with a second wireless network; and

establishing, with the use of the second network state information, a second connection with the second wireless network via the modem.

46. The method of claim 45, further including storing the second network state information associated with a second wireless network;

and storing first network state information associated with the first wireless network and re-establishing the first connection with the first wireless network with the use of the first network state information.

47. The method of claim 45, further comprising using the second network state information to re-establish communication with the second wireless network at a predetermined time before the start of a selected event on the second wireless network.

48. The method of claim 47, further comprising collecting at least a predetermined portion of event data from the second network at the communication device during the selected event on the second network, and then using first network state information to re-establish the first connection with the first wireless network.

49. The method of claim 46, further comprising updating the stored first network state information each time the communication device is attached to the first wireless network and updating the stored second network state information each time the communication device is attached to the second wireless network.

50. The method of claim 45, wherein the first wireless network is a bidirectional network and the second wireless network is a unidirectional broadcast network.

51. The method of claim 45, wherein at least a portion of the second network state information is received via the first connection from an electronic service guide (ESG) server and the second network state information includes ESG information that is associated with a plurality of events scheduled for transmission on the second wireless network.

52. The method of claim 45, wherein the second network state information is received via the first connection from a server and includes at least one of a second network frequency, a base station identifier (BSID), a connection identifier (CID), and waveform timing information associated with the second wireless network.

53. The method of claim 45, wherein the second network state information is received from a server via the first connection and the second network state information includes program specific information (PSI) which maps data address information to each of a plurality of events scheduled for transmission on the second wireless network.

54. A wireless communication device for communication over at least two wireless networks, comprising:

a radio frequency (RF) modem;

a network attachment arbitrator module which is linked to the RF modem and which controls the RF modem to establish a first connection with a first wireless network and a second connection with a second wireless network on an alternating basis; and

an application module which is linked to the RF modem and to the network attachment arbitrator module and which receives second network state information associated with the second wireless network via the first connection with the first wireless network and sends the second network state information to the RF modem for use in the establishment of the second connection with the second wireless network.

55. The wireless communication device of claim 54, wherein the application module stores the second network state information associated with a second wireless network and stores first network state information associated with the first wireless network, and wherein the network attachment arbitrator module controls the RF modem to re-establish the first connection with the first wireless network with the use of the first network state information.

56. The wireless communication device of claim 55, wherein the network attachment arbitrator module controls the RF modem to use the second network state information to re-establish the second connection with the second wireless network at a predetermined time before the start of a selected event on the second wireless network.

57. The wireless communication device of claim 56, wherein the application module collects at least a predetermined portion of event data from the second network during the selected event on the second network.

58. The wireless communication device of claim 55, wherein the application module updates the stored first network state information each time the communication device is attached to the first wireless network and updates the stored second network state information each time the communication device is attached to the second wireless network.

59. The wireless communication device of claim 54, wherein the first wireless network is a bidirectional network and the second wireless network is a unidirectional broadcast network.

60. The wireless communication device of claim 54, wherein at least a portion of the second network state information is received via the first connection from an electronic service guide (ESG) server and the second network state information includes ESG information that is associated with a plurality of events scheduled for transmission on the second wireless network.

61. The wireless communication device of claim 54, wherein the second network state information is received via the first connection from a server and the second network state information includes at least one of a second network frequency, a base station identifier (BSID), a connection identifier (CID), and waveform timing information associated with the second wireless network.

62. The wireless communication device of claim 54, wherein the second network state information is received from a server via the first connection and the second network state information includes program specific information (PSI) which maps data address information to each of a plurality of events scheduled for transmission on the second wireless network.

63. One or more processor-accessible media comprising processor-executable instructions that, when executed, direct a wireless device to perform actions comprising:

establishing a first connection with a first wireless network via the modem;

receiving, via the first connection with the first wireless network, second network state information associated with a second wireless network; and

establishing, with the use of the second network state information, a second connection with the second wireless network via the modem

64. A multiple network system, comprising:

a first wireless network having a plurality of base stations;

a second wireless network having a plurality of base stations; and

at least one wireless communication device comprising;

a radio frequency (RF) modem configured to attach to the first wireless network and the second wireless network;

a network attachment arbitrator module configured to store timing information of event data bursts associated with a selected event of the second wireless network, and to control the RF modem to attach to the first wireless network during times when the data bursts associated with the selected event do not occur and to attach to the second wireless network during times when the data bursts associated with the selected event occur; and

an application module which collects at least a portion of event data by collecting event data from the event data bursts associated with the selected event when the RF modem is attached to the second wireless network.

65. The system of claim 64, wherein the wireless communication device is a subscriber station.

66. The system of claim 65, wherein the subscriber station is one of a personal media player, a handset, a personal digital assistant, or a computer.

67. The system of claim 64, wherein the first wireless network is a bidirectional network.

68. The system of claim 64, wherein the second wireless network is a unidirectional broadcast network.