VEHICLE WIRELESS HUB

• US 20130045683A1
• Filed: 08/15/2011
• Published: 02/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/15/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Micro Mobio Corporation
• Original Assignee: Micro Mobio Corporation
• Inventors: Wang, Adam James, Filipovic, Zlatko Aurelio, Wang, Brian Michael
• Granted Patent: US 9,866,277 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/41.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/72 for local intradevice communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/79 for data transfer in combination with power transfer

Abstract

A vehicle wireless hub includes a vehicle power connector that can draw power from a vehicle battery on a vehicle, a first wireless transmission circuit that can send or receive data with base stations in a long-range wireless network, a second wireless transmission circuit that can provide a short-range wireless network and to transfer data to and from electronic devices, and a network processor that can process data in the first wireless transmission circuit and the second wireless transmission circuit. The vehicle power connector can supply power to the first wireless transmission circuit, the second wireless transmission circuit, and the network processor.

Claims

1. A vehicle wireless hub, comprising:

a vehicle power connector configured to draw power from a vehicle battery on a vehicle;

a first wireless transmission circuit configured to send or receive data or commands with base stations in a long-range wireless network;

a second wireless transmission circuit configured to provide a short-range wireless network capable of sending or receiving data and commands to and from electronic devices in the short-range wireless network; and

a network processor configured to process data in the first wireless transmission circuit and the second wireless transmission circuit, wherein the vehicle power connector is configured to supply power to the first wireless transmission circuit, the second wireless transmission circuit, and the network processor.

2. The vehicle wireless hub of claim 1, wherein the vehicle power connector is configured to be plugged into a cigarette lighter receptacle equipped in the vehicle to draw power from the vehicle battery.

3. The vehicle wireless hub of claim 1, wherein the vehicle power connector is configured to be plugged into an I/O port equipped in the vehicle to draw power from the vehicle battery.

4. The vehicle wireless hub of claim 1, wherein the second wireless transmission circuit is configured to transfer data to and from electronic devices in the short-range wireless network in a plurality of different wireless standards.

5. The vehicle wireless hub of claim 1, wherein the second wireless transmission circuit is configured to communicate in the short-range wireless network in at least one of the wireless standards:

WiFi, Bluetooth™

, or Zigbee.

6. The vehicle wireless hub of claim 1, wherein the first wireless transmission circuit is configured to send or receive data in the long-range wireless network in at least one of the wireless standards:

Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), WiMax, WiBro, 3GPP, LTE, or IMT-2000.

7. The vehicle wireless hub of claim 1, wherein the second wireless transmission circuit comprises a base band processor, an RF transceiver, and an RF front-end circuit.

8. The vehicle wireless hub of claim 1, wherein the first wireless transmission circuit comprises a base band processor, an RF transceiver, and an RF front-end circuit.

9. The vehicle wireless hub of claim 1, wherein the network processor is configured to connect to an electronic control unit in the vehicle, which allows users of the electronic devices to monitor and/or control the vehicle.

10. The vehicle wireless hub of claim 1, further comprising:

a power management unit configured to modify the voltage or current received from the vehicle power connector to supply power to the first wireless transmission circuit, the second wireless transmission circuit, and the network processor.

11. The vehicle wireless hub of claim 1, further comprising at least one of a global positioning system (GPS), an accelerometer, and an environmental sensor, which are in communication with the network processor and allow the electronic devices to monitor the location, the acceleration, temperature, safety, or security of the vehicle.

12. The vehicle wireless hub of claim 11, wherein the environmental sensor is configured to detect gestures or voice instructions of a driver or a passenger, wherein the network processor and the second transmission circuit are configured to allow the driver or the passenger to control the vehicle.

13. The vehicle wireless hub of claim 1, further comprising:

a personal server connected to the short-range wireless network and configured to store or send data received by the electronic devices.

14. The vehicle wireless hub of claim 13, further comprising:

an application processor in communication with the network processor, wherein the application processor is configured to control the writing and retrieval of data in the personal server.

15. The vehicle wireless hub of claim 1, further comprising:

a rechargeable battery configured to be charged from a wall outlet or by the vehicle battery via the vehicle power connector, wherein the rechargeable battery is configured to supply power to the first wireless transmission circuit, the second wireless transmission circuit, and the network processor when the vehicle wireless hub is disconnected from the vehicle battery.

16. The vehicle wireless hub of claim 1, wherein the network processor and the second transmission circuit are configured to provide the short-range wireless network to electronic devices in the vehicle.

17. The vehicle wireless hub of claim 1, wherein the network processor and the second transmission circuit are configured to provide the short-range wireless network to electronic devices outside the vehicle.

18. The vehicle wireless hub of claim 1, wherein the network processor and the second transmission circuit are configured to provide the short-range wireless network to electronic devices in other vehicles or in a building.

19. The vehicle wireless hub of claim 1, wherein the network processor and the second transmission circuit are configured to provide the short-range wireless network to electronic devices while stationary or in motion.

20. The vehicle wireless hub of claim 1, wherein the network processor and the second transmission circuit are configured to communicate with the second short-range wireless transmission circuit in another vehicle to form a network mesh.

21. The vehicle wireless hub of claim 1, wherein the network processor and the long-range transmission circuit are configured to communicate with a wireless device in a long-range wireless network, wherein the network processor and the short-range transmission circuit are configured to allow the wireless device to access or control the electronic devices connected to the short-range wireless network.

22. The vehicle wireless hub of claim 21, further comprising:

a personal server connected to the short-range wireless network and configured to store data received from or sent to the electronic devices, wherein the network processor and the short-range transmission circuit are configured to allow the wireless device to access the personal server connected to the short-range wireless network.

23. The vehicle wireless hub of claim 21, wherein the vehicle wireless hub is configured to connect to an electronic control unit in the vehicle, wherein the network processor and the second transmission circuit are configured to allow the wireless device to monitor or control the vehicle.

24. The vehicle wireless hub of claim 1, wherein the second wireless transmission circuit is configured to provide communication between the electronic devices.

25. The vehicle wireless hub of claim 1, wherein the long-range wireless network includes terrestrial based wireless wide area network.

26. The vehicle wireless hub of claim 1, wherein the long-range wireless network includes satellite based wireless wide area network.