MANAGING LICENSED AND UNLICENSED COMMUNICATIONS USING CELLULAR PROTOCOLS

• US 20170325097A1
• Filed: 05/03/2016
• Published: 11/09/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Motors LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: General Motors LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: CHEN, Bonnie
• Granted Patent: US 10,327,149 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/14 Spectrum sharing arrangements between different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/042 Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

A system and method of identifying licensed and unlicensed communications over a cellular protocol includes: wirelessly transmitting a communication session request from a wireless device to a wireless carrier system using the LTE cellular protocol; receiving a response at the wireless device from the wireless carrier system indicating that the wireless carrier system is providing a communication session using a licensed communications frequency band or an unlicensed communications frequency band; and establishing communications from the wireless device via the wireless carrier system based on whether the wireless carrier system is providing cellular communications via the licensed communications frequency band or the unlicensed communications frequency band.

Claims

1. A method of managing licensed and unlicensed communications over a cellular protocol, comprising the steps of:

(a) wirelessly transmitting a communication session request from a wireless device to a wireless carrier system using the cellular protocol;

(b) receiving a response at the wireless device from the wireless carrier system indicating that the wireless carrier system is providing a communication session using a licensed communications frequency band or an unlicensed communications frequency band; and

(c) establishing communications from the wireless device via the wireless carrier system based on whether the wireless carrier system is providing cellular communications via the licensed communications frequency band or the unlicensed communications frequency band.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless device further comprises a vehicle telematics unit.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the cellular protocol further comprises 4G LTE.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein steps (a)-(c) further comprise wireless communications between the wireless device and a cell tower.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the unlicensed communications frequency band further comprises the frequencies identified by a specification set forth in IEEE 802.11.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of determining whether to establish communications via the licensed communications frequency band or the unlicensed communications frequency band based on the content of the communications.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of storing an indication of a licensed communications frequency band in usage records at the wireless carrier system.

8. A method of managing licensed and unlicensed communications over cellular protocol, comprising the steps of:

(a) wirelessly transmitting a communication session request from a wireless device to a wireless carrier system using the cellular protocol;

(b) receiving a response at the wireless device from the wireless carrier system indicating that the wireless carrier system is providing a communication session using a licensed communications frequency band or an unlicensed communications frequency band;

(c) determining from the response whether the wireless carrier system is providing cellular communications via the licensed bandwidth or the unlicensed bandwidth;

(d) identifying a node the wireless device contacted via the communication session;

(e) establishing communications via the wireless carrier system when the wireless device contacted a first node; and

(f) ending communications via the wireless carrier system when the wireless device contacted a second node.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the wireless device further comprises a vehicle telematics unit.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the cellular protocol further comprises 4G LTE.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein steps (a)-(e) further comprise wireless communications between the wireless device and a cell tower.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the unlicensed communications frequency band further comprises the frequencies identified by a specification set forth in IEEE 802.11.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of determining whether to establish communications via the licensed communications frequency band or the unlicensed communications frequency band based on the content of the communications.

14. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of storing an indication of a licensed communications frequency band in usage records at the wireless carrier system.