Group creation for wireless communication terminal

• US 7,082,316 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2001
• Issued: 07/25/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: WSOU Investments, LLC (WSOU Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Ollikainen, Kimmo, Eiden, Niko
• Primary Examiner(s): Kincaid, Lester G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cho, Un C.
• Application Number:
  US10/027,501
• Publication Number:
  US 20020128030A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,678 Days
• Field of Search: 455/41.1, 455/41.2, 455/414, 455/416, 455/518, 455/519, 455/520, 455/502, 455/414.1, 340/7.46
• US Class Current: 455/519
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 13/005 Transmission systems in which the medium consists of the human body
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/246 Connectivity information discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/26 for hybrid routing by combining proactive and reactive routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/32 for defining a routing cluster membership
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/18 between terminal devices

Abstract

A method and a communication terminal for establishing a group of wireless terminals are provided. The method comprising the steps of detecting a physical contact between users of the wireless terminals using a first circuit, establishing the group identified in the previous step of physically connected users of the wireless terminals using a second circuit of the wireless terminals. The step of detecting the physical contact comprising the step of transferring a signal via the physical contact between the users of the wireless terminals using the first circuit in the wireless terminals. The step of transferring a signal comprising the steps of generating the signal in the circuit, transferring the generated signal to a body of the user and to a body of a second user the users being physically connected, and detecting the signal in the circuit of the second user. The step of establishing the group comprising the step of confirming the establishment of the group between the users of the wireless terminals using a message that is transmitted using the second circuit.

Claims

1. A method for establishing a group of at least two wireless radio terminals for wireless radio group communication between the at least two wireless radio terminals, comprising:

bringing users of the at least two wireless radio terminals into a physical contact;

detecting, by a detecting element, the physical contact between the users of the at least two wireless radio terminals; and

establishing the group of the at least two wireless radio terminals for group communication over a wireless radio link between the at least two wireless radio terminals of the established group, wherein the detecting element is located on each wireless radio terminal.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising before bringing the users into the physical contact detecting a vicinity of the at least two wireless terminals using wireless communication.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said detecting the vicinity of the at least two wireless terminals comprises:

entering the at least two wireless terminals into a group creation mode; and

inquiring the vicinity of the wireless terminals by transmitting a message from a first wireless terminal of the at least two wireless terminals to a second wireless terminal of the at least two wireless terminals over the wireless communication.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the message includes information about the first wireless terminal that initiates the process and about the group creation.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein said entering the group creation mode comprises the user of the wireless terminal performing an action on the wireless terminal, the action being one of touching an electrode, selecting said group creating mode from a menu of said wireless terminal, and pressing a button.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said detecting said physical contact between the users of the at least two wireless terminals comprises:

transferring a signal via said physical contact between the users of the wireless terminals.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said transferring said signal comprises:

generating said signal in one of the at least two wireless terminals;

transmitting said generated signal to the body of a first user, the first user being the user of the signal generating wireless terminal, and further to the body of a second user being physically connected to the first user; and

detecting the transmitted signal in the wireless terminal of the second user.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein said signal includes a low-frequency signal.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the signal frequency is less than 1 megahertz.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein said signal includes at least an address of the transmitting wireless terminal, and optionally at least one of clock offset information, and class of device.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein each wireless terminal comprises a PAN transceiver and a contact electrode for generating and transmitting said signal into the body of the user.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said physical contact includes one of a handshake and any other contact between the users allowing a signal to pass between the users.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein said establishing said group of the physically connected users of the at least two wireless terminals comprises:

confirming the establishment of said group between the users of the wireless terminals by transmitting a message to a wireless terminal of the group over the wireless communication.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein each wireless terminal comprises a low power radio transceiver for the wireless communication and an antenna.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein while the users are in the physical contact, each user is also in contact with an electrode further having a connection with the wireless terminal of each respective user.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein said group comprises at least three wireless user terminals.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein said physical contact is a chain contact where one of the users is physically connected to a second one of the users further being in physical contact with a third one of said users.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein each of the users of the group are in physical contact with each other upon forming the group.

19. A radio wireless communication terminal for group communication with at least one other wireless radio terminal, the wireless radio communication terminal comprising:

a detecting element for detecting physical contact between a user of the wireless radio terminal and a user of the at least one other wireless radio terminal;

means for participating in the establishment of the group of the wireless radio terminal and the at least one other wireless radio terminal for group communication over a wireless radio link with the at least one other wireless radio terminal of the established group; and

a transceiver for performing wireless radio group communication involving the wireless radio terminal and the at least one other wireless radio terminal of the established group;

wherein the detecting element is located on the wireless radio communication terminal.

20. The wireless communication terminal of claim 19, wherein said transceiver comprises a short-range radio transceiver and an antenna.

21. The wireless communication terminal of claim 19, wherein said detecting element comprises a PAN transceiver and an electrode for contacting the body of the user.

22. The wireless communication terminal of claim 21, wherein said detecting element further comprises a switch to trigger transmission of a signal to the body of the user when in said physical contact.

23. The terminal of claim 22, wherein said signal includes a low-frequency signal.

24. The terminal of claim 23, wherein the signal frequency includes about 100–

1000 KHz.

25. The terminal of claim 19, wherein said physical contact includes one of a handshake, any contact between the users enabling a small electrical current to flow from a first body of a first user to a second body of a second user, and any contact wherein bodies can exchange digital information coupling capacitively small currents through said body.