Data Communications Between Short-Range Enabled Wireless Devices Over Networks and Proximity Marketing to Such Devices
First Claim
1. A computer-based method for providing communication between short-range wireless devices over the Internet or other digital communication network, comprising:
- providing first and second servers communicatively linked to a digital communication network, each of the servers being adapted for communicating wirelessly with the short-range wireless devices within a first cell and a second cell, respectively, about the first and second servers;
detecting with the first server a user device adapted for short-range wireless communication within the first cell including determining an identifier of the user device;
based on the identifier, retrieving a contact list from memory listing a set of users of communication devices adapted for short-range wireless communication;
receiving a request from the detected user device to communicate with a target one of the user devices on the contact list; and
establishing a communication session between the detected user device and the target user device, wherein the communication session includes transferring data between the detected user device and the target user device via the first server, the communication network, and the second server.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for allowing short-ranged communication devices to communicate with each other using the Internet. Cell servers are provided in a first and second zones linked to the Internet and adapted for transmitting voice and other digital data over the Internet such as using VoIP. The method includes registering users of short-range enabled devices, such as Bluetooth cell phones, with a communication system and storing a device identifier along with a user ID and password. A contact list is stored for each registered user. The method includes a registered user entering a cell serviced by a server, the server discovering the user'"'"'s device, logging the user into the system based on the device identifier and an entered user ID and password, receiving a communication request to chat with one of the listed contacts, and establishing a communication session using time previously awarded to the user for receiving marketing content.
133 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A computer-based method for providing communication between short-range wireless devices over the Internet or other digital communication network, comprising:
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providing first and second servers communicatively linked to a digital communication network, each of the servers being adapted for communicating wirelessly with the short-range wireless devices within a first cell and a second cell, respectively, about the first and second servers; detecting with the first server a user device adapted for short-range wireless communication within the first cell including determining an identifier of the user device; based on the identifier, retrieving a contact list from memory listing a set of users of communication devices adapted for short-range wireless communication; receiving a request from the detected user device to communicate with a target one of the user devices on the contact list; and establishing a communication session between the detected user device and the target user device, wherein the communication session includes transferring data between the detected user device and the target user device via the first server, the communication network, and the second server. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A proximity marketing system, comprising:
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a data structure storing user account data for a plurality of users of short-range communication devices, the user account data including user identification information, an identifier for one of the communication devices, and an amount of talk time; and a plurality of cell servers positioned in spaced apart locations and communicating with each other over a digital communication network, wherein each of the cell servers functions to discover proximate ones of the short-range communication devices including obtaining the communication device identifiers, to log the discovered ones of the short-range communication devices onto the proximity marketing system based on a comparison of the obtained communication device identifiers and user identification information received with the user account data in the data structure, and to provide communication services to the logged-on devices including transmitting voice data from one of the logged-on devices to another one of the logged-on devices over the digital communication network. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A communication method for remote voice communication between short-ranged devices, comprising:
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operating a cell server with a short-range transceiver to discover a first client device enabled to communicate with the cell server transceiver; transmitting media contents to the first client device; when the media contents are received by the first client device, providing the first client device with an amount of free talk credit time; receiving a request from the first client device to initiate a chat session with a second client device; and establishing the chat session including communicatively linking the first and second client devices for a period less than about the amount of free talk credit time, wherein the chat session comprises the first client device wirelessly transmitting data to the cell server and the cell server transmitting the transmitted data in digital form over a network to the second client device. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21)
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Specification