ROUTING OF DATA INCLUDING MULTIMEDIA BETWEEN ELECTRONIC DEVICES

• US 20110231884A1
• Filed: 05/30/2011
• Published: 09/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: S.M.R Innovations Ltd, Y.M.R Tech Ltd
• Original Assignee: Benny Yehezkel, Oded Shmueli
• Inventors: Yehezkel, Benny, SHMUELI, Oded
• Granted Patent: US 8,711,866 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/114
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/60 Network streaming of media packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/60 Medium conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/1091 Fixed mobile conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2066 Call type detection of indication, e.g. voice or fax, mobile of fixed, PSTN or IP
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2094 Proximity
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/30 Determination of the location of a subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42263 where the same subscriber uses different terminals, i.e. nomadism
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/543 Call deflection

Abstract

Rerouting apparatus for rerouting data including multimedia data. The apparatus is for association with electronic equipment and allows for routing the data to a device regarded as the most convenient for playing the media. The apparatus comprises an announcer device for indicating to surrounding equipment that associated equipment is available for rerouting, thereby to enable receipt of rerouted communications therefrom, and a scout device for scanning surroundings of the associated equipment to find out about compatible equipment in the vicinity, thereby to reroute communications thereto. The apparatus may be attached to any device having data processing capability, to enable rerouting of data and communications therebetween.

Claims

1. Apparatus for routing audio-video data, comprising a streaming device which comprises (1) an announcer device being capable of indicating to surrounding equipment that said streaming device is available to receive rerouting audio-video data;

and (2) a scout device being capable of scanning surroundings of said streaming device to identify surrounding equipment as being compatible and thereby determine availability of compatible equipment in said surroundings for said rerouting of said audio-video data from said streaming device to at least a selected one of said compatible equipment, said scout device being operable to determine media type requirements of said compatible equipment;

wherein said rerouting comprises setting up a bidirectional communication link between said streaming device and said compatible equipment said bidirectional link carrying said streaming audio-video data over both directions of said bidirectional communication link.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said mobile communication device is a smartphone or a tablet or a iPod touch and said streaming data is a—

audio-video data directed to or from surrounding devices.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said mobile communication device is a game console or Wii, Xbox, PlayStation, or game enabling device or iPod touch, and said streaming data is game data or video or audio and said streaming data being directed to surrounding devices, said surrounding devices comprising one member of the group consisting of TV, tablet computers, and smartphones, to be displayed and played from such devices as well as or instead of on said mobile communication device.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said mobile communication device is a smartphone, mobile handset, a computer, a computer equipped with Skype, a tablet, said mobile communication device configured to receive or generate a call and to redirect said call to said surrounding equipment.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said mobile communication device comprises a smartphone or tablet computer and said data is a barcode promotion information, the mobile device directing the barcode data to a surrounding device or to a point of sale device, or wherein said barcode data is transformed by said surrounding device.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a user interface associated with said scout device for allowing a user to select between available compatible equipment to reroute data thereto.

7. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said scout device is operable to determine media type requirements of said compatible equipment, the apparatus further comprising a media transformer, associated with said scout device, for transforming media into a form that accords with said determined media type requirements.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a plurality of types correspond to said media type requirements, and further comprising a user interface for allowing a user to select one of said media type requirements for transforming at said media transformer.

9. Apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a media cloner for making multiple copies of streaming data, thereby to enable said apparatus to redirect said incoming or own generated data to a plurality of locations, said streaming data being one member of the group comprising incoming streaming data and own generated streaming data.

10. Apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a media cloner, associated with said media transformer, for making multiple copies of said streaming data, thereby to enable said apparatus to redirect a single incoming communication, to a plurality of locations, at least one of said multiple copies being redirected via said media transformer, said streaming data being one member of the group comprising incoming streaming data and own generated streaming data.

11. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said announcer is an active device, operable to transmit at least status information to respective surroundings.

12. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said announcer comprises a passive device, carrying at least device identification information for reading by an active scout device.

13. Apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said passive device further carries status information of said device.

14. Apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said announcer comprises barcode data and wherein said scout is a barcode reader.

15. Apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising control functionality operable to inform a communication service provider of a desired rerouting, thereby to enable said communication service provider to reroute said data.

16. Apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising control functionality operable to carry out said rerouting through locally available infrastructure.

17. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said audio/video data is one member of the group consisting of an incoming multimedia communication received from a communication network and an incoming multimedia communication received from a cellular communication network.

18. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said streaming data in said first link direction is directable via multiple channels to each of a plurality of surrounding devices of said surrounding equipment.

19. Apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a device database for storing compatibility data of different equipment types.

20. Apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a cloner for making multiple copies of said streaming data, thereby to enable said apparatus to redirect single incoming data to a plurality of respective target devices, and

a transformer, associated with said cloner, for receiving at least one of said multiple copies of said incoming data, and transforming said data into a form that accords with a determined media type requirement of a respective target device, said streaming data being one member of the group consisting of incoming data and own-generated data.

21. A method of routing streaming data comprising:

carrying out one member of the group consisting of receiving and generating streaming data at a mobile streaming device,

scouting a vicinity of said mobile streaming device with a scanning device, said scanning device being associated with said mobile streaming device,

through said scanning device determining availability of other devices in said vicinity, wherein the availability is determined based, at least partly, on media type requirements of said compatible equipment, and

rerouting said data from said mobile streaming device to at least one target device selected from devices in said scanned vicinity found to be available, said rerouting comprising setting up a bidirectional data link between said target device and said mobile streaming device, said bidirectional link being capable of carrying a multimedia streaming data in both directions of said bidirectional data link;

transforming media into forms respectively that accord with said determined media type requirements,

allowing a user to select one of said determined media type requirements for transforming at said media transformer; and

making multiple copies of incoming streaming data to redirect a single incoming communication to a plurality of locations, at least some of said multiple copies being redirected via said media transformer.

22. A method of routing streaming data comprising:

scouting a vicinity of a first mobile device with a scanning device, said scanning device being associated with said first mobile device,

through said scanning device determining compatibility and availability of other devices in the vicinity of said first mobile device for receiving of bidirectional streaming data directed from said mobile device via a bidirectional link set up between said mobile device and said target device, wherein the availability is determined based, at least partly, on media type requirements of said compatible equipment, and media type of said streaming data, the method further comprising streaming data in both directions over said bidirectional data link.

23. Apparatus for rerouting streaming data, comprising:

a streaming device comprising;

an announcer device configured for indicating to surrounding equipment that said apparatus is available to receive streaming data, thereby to enable receipt of rerouted streaming data from said surrounding equipment;

a scout device configured for scanning surroundings of said apparatus to identify surrounding devices which are compatible and determine availability of said identified compatible equipment in said surroundings, thereby to reroute streaming data from said streaming device to a selected one of said surrounding equipment, wherein said rerouting comprises setting up a bidirectional communication link between said selected one of said surrounding equipment and said streaming device, said bidirectional link being capable of carrying said streaming data in both directions of said bidirectional data link, and wherein said scout device is operable to determine media type requirements of said compatible equipment.

24. Apparatus for rerouting streaming data, comprising:

a streaming device comprising;

an announcer device configured for indicating to surrounding equipment that said streaming device is available to receive streaming data, thereby to enable receipt of rerouted data from said surrounding equipment, and

a scout device configured for scanning surroundings of said streaming device to identify surrounding equipment as being compatible and determine availability of said identified compatible equipment in said surroundings, thereby to reroute streaming data from said streaming device to a selected one of said surrounding equipment, said scout device further being configured to determine media type requirements of said compatible equipment wherein said rerouting comprises setting up a bidirectional communication link between said streaming device and said selected surrounding equipment, said bidirectional link carrying streaming data over both directions of said bidirectional data link;

a media transformer, configured to transform media into a form that accords with said determined media type requirements, wherein a plurality of types correspond to said media type requirements,

a user interface for allowing a user to select one of said media type requirements for transforming at said media transformer, and

a media cloner, associated with said media transformer, for making multiple copies of a single incoming data stream, thereby to enable said apparatus to redirect said single incoming data stream to a plurality of locations, at least some of said multiple copies being redirected via said media transformer.

25. Apparatus for rerouting media data, comprising:

a media data transfer device comprising;

an announcer device configured for indicating to surrounding equipment that said media data transfer device is available to receive media data, thereby to enable receipt of rerouted data from said surrounding equipment, and

a scout device configured for scanning surroundings of said streaming device to identify surrounding equipment as being compatible and determine availability of said identified compatible equipment in said surroundings, thereby to reroute media data from said media data transfer device to a selected one of said surrounding equipment, said scout device further being configured to determine media type requirements of said compatible equipment;

a media transformer, configured to transform media into a form that accords with said determined media type requirements, wherein a plurality of types correspond to said media type requirements,

a user interface for allowing a user to select one of said media type requirements for transforming at said media transformer, and

a media cloner, associated with said media transformer, for making multiple copies of said media data, thereby to enable said apparatus to redirect said media data to a plurality of locations, at least some of said multiple copies being redirected via said media transformer.