System and method for short-range electronic communication

• US 20130029648A1
• Filed: 07/26/2011
• Published: 01/31/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitel Networks Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitel Networks Corporation
• Inventors: Soundrapandian, Suriyaprakash, Midtun, James Dean
• Granted Patent: US 8,958,783 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/416
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/02 including a Bluetooth interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/04 including near field communication means, e.g. RFID

Abstract

A system and method for transferring information over a short range are disclosed. The system and method can be used for a variety of applications, including administrative provisioning of information to particular users, providing information relating to a user during a conference call, handing off calls to or from another phone, for other application deployment, for pass of control, and similar applications. The system includes a first device capable of short-range communication and having a client application thereon and a second device capable of short-range communication and having a client or an administrator application thereon. Information is passed between the first device and the second device using short range communication.

Claims

1. A system for short-range communication, the system comprising:

a first mobile device comprising a short-range communication device and client application software;

a receiver/transmitter device; and

a network, comprising a server comprising user information, the network coupled to the receiver/transmitter device;

wherein the receiver/transmitter device communicates the user information and server credentials from the server to the first mobile device using short-range communication.

2. The system for short-range communication of claim 1, wherein the short-range communication uses a protocol selected from the group consisting of Near Field Communication, Bluetooth, and Infrared technology.

3. The system for short-range communication of claim 1, wherein the server credentials comprise one or more of:

server name, user name, and password.

4. The system for short-range communication of claim 1, wherein client application software instructs a user to visit a manager for verification.

5. The system for short-range communication of claim 1, wherein the server includes an organizational chart, identifying managers.

6. The system for short-range communication of claim 1, wherein the receiver/transmitter comprises administrator client software that prompts for user verification.

7. The system for short-range communication of claim 1, further comprising a second mobile device comprising client application software, wherein the first mobile device and second mobile device communicate using short-range communication.

8. A method of communication on a conference call having a mobile device and a transmitter/receiver device, both devices comprising short-range communication components, the method comprising the steps of:

initiating a conference call with the mobile device; and

establishing a user participant list using short-range communication by placing the mobile device proximate the transmitter/receiver device.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of updating the user participant list using information transmitted using short-range communication.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of installing a client program on the mobile device.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the transmitter/receiver device comprises one of a telephone or a computer.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the short-range communication is a distance of about two feet or less.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the short-range communication is a distance of about 4 cm or less.

14. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of transferring a call between the first mobile device and another device.

15. A method of provisioning information, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a first mobile device capable of short-range communication;

providing a second device capable of short-range communication;

provisioning user information on a server to the first mobile device; and

automatically provisioning the user information from the first mobile device to the second device using short-range communication.

16. The method of provisioning information of claim 15, wherein the first mobile device and the second device are authorized to the same user.

17. The method of provisioning information of claim 15, wherein the information includes local data.