User-to-user data relay systems and methods

• US 7,522,634 B2
• Filed: 10/27/2004
• Issued: 04/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qwest Communications International Incorporated (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Qwest Communications International Incorporated (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Casey, Steven M., Casey, Shawn M.
• Primary Examiner(s): LEE, CHI HO A
• Application Number:
  US10/976,015
• Publication Number:
  US 20060088004A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,637 Days
• Field of Search: 370/468, 455/452.1, 455/456.1
• US Class Current: 370/468
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0294 Trajectory determination or predictive filtering, e.g. target tracking or Kalman filtering
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/006 with additional information processing, e.g. for direction or speed determination
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/21 in the uplink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/23 in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/20 Manipulation of established connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user

Abstract

The present invention provides systems and methods for providing mobile users with requested resources. In one such method, first and second location indicators are received for a mobile user, with each of the location indicators having a time associated therewith. The method includes calculating a mobile vector of the mobile user and associating the mobile vector with a first network region. The method further includes identifying a second mobile user in the first network region having at least a portion of the requested resource, and sending a sub-resource request to the second mobile user. The sub-resource request causes the second mobile user to send at least a portion of the requested resource to the mobile user.

Claims

1. A method of responding to a resource request of a mobile user, the method comprising:

receiving first and second location indicators for the mobile user, each of the first and second location indicators having a time associated therewith;

calculating a mobile vector of the mobile user, and associating the mobile vector with a first network region;

identifying a second mobile user in the first network region having at least a portion of the requested resource; and

sending a sub-resource request to the second mobile user, the sub-resource request causing the second mobile user to send at least a portion of the requested resource to the first mobile user.

2. The method as in claim 1, wherein the mobile user and the second mobile user are stationary when the second mobile user sends the portion of the requested resource to the first mobile user.

3. The method as in claim 1, wherein the second mobile user is not stationary when the second mobile user sends the portion of the requested resource to the first mobile user.

4. The method as in claim 1, wherein the sub-resource request causes the second mobile user to send the entire requested resource to the first mobile user.

5. The method as in claim 1, wherein the sending of the portion of the requested resource from the second mobile user to the first mobile user occurs transparently to the first mobile user.

6. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a third mobile user in a second network region having at least a second portion of the requested resource; and

sending a sub-resource request to the third mobile user, the sub-resource request causing the third mobile user to send at least the second portion of the requested resource to the first mobile user.

7. The method as in claim 6, wherein the third mobile user sends the second portion of the requested resource to the first mobile user when the first mobile user is in the second network region.

8. A mobile device that connects to a remote server through a wireless network, the mobile device comprising:

a processor coupled to a memory and to a Wi-Fi connection; and

a location determination device;

the memory comprising;

code for sending a resource request to the wireless network via the Wi-Fi connection;

code for providing the network a mobile device location using the location determination device;

code for receiving a first portion of the requested resource when the mobile device is in a first network region and for receiving a second portion of the requested resource when the mobile device is in a second network region; and

code for providing the network with a list of available resources stored in the memory.

9. The mobile device as in claim 8, wherein the memory further comprises code for responding to a second resource request, the second resource request comprising a request for at least one of the available resources.

10. The mobile device as in claim 9, wherein the memory further comprises code for sending at least a portion of the at least one available resource to a second mobile device.

11. The mobile device as in claim 9, wherein the memory further comprises code for sending a content report to the wireless network.

12. The mobile device as in claim 11, wherein the content report comprises a mobile user identifier, a mobile user location, and the list of available resources.

13. A computer system for facilitating data transfer between mobile users, the system comprising:

a processor coupled to a database;

a computer readable medium coupled to the processor, the computer readable medium comprising;

code for receiving first and second location indicators for the mobile user, each of the first and second location indicators having a time associated therewith;

code for calculating a mobile vector of the mobile user, and associating the mobile vector with a first network region;

code for identifying a second mobile user in the first network region having at least a portion of the requested resource; and

code for sending a sub-resource request to the second mobile user, the sub-resource request causing the second mobile user to send at least a portion of the requested resource to the first mobile user.

14. The computer system as in claim 13 further comprising code for sending a content request to a plurality of mobile users including the second mobile user.

15. The computer system as in claim 13 further comprising code for receiving a content response from the second mobile user, the content response indicating that the second mobile user has the requested resource.

16. The computer system as in claim 15, wherein the database is adapted to store the content response from the second mobile user indicating the second mobile user has the requested resource.

17. The computer system as in claim 13, further comprising code for receiving a content response from a plurality of mobile users and storing the content responses in the database.

18. The computer system as in claim 13, further comprising code for calculating a mobile vector of the second mobile user.

19. The computer system as in claim 18, further comprising code for calculating a transfer scheme for transferring the requested resource from the second mobile user to the first mobile user through at least the first network region.

20. A method of transferring data between mobile users, the method comprising:

sending a request into a network region requesting resource reports from a plurality of mobile users;

receiving the plurality of resource reports from at least some of the plurality of mobile users;

receiving a resource request from a first mobile user of the plurality of mobile users;

identifying a second mobile user of the plurality of mobile users having the requested resource by referencing the resource reports; and

sending a transmission request to the second mobile user, the transmission request requesting that the second mobile user send the requested resource to the first mobile user.

21. The method as in claim 20, wherein a vector controller operates to send the request for resource reports into the network.

22. The method as in claim 20, further comprising receiving updated resource reports from at least some of the plurality of mobile users.

23. The method as in claim 20, wherein the resource report comprises a mobile user identifier and a mobile user location.

24. The method as in claim 23, wherein the resource report further comprises a list of available resources.

25. The method as in claim 23, wherein the resource report further comprises at least one shareable resource.

26. The method as in claim 20, wherein identifying the second user further comprises identifying the second user in a same network region as the first mobile user.

27. The method as in claim 20, wherein identifying the second user further comprises identifying a location of the first and second mobile users and comparing a transmission capability of the second mobile user with a receive capability of the first mobile user.

28. The method as in claim 20, further comprising receiving the plurality of resource reports with a vector controller.

29. The method as in claim 28, further comprising storing the plurality of resource reports in a data base in communication with the vector controller.

30. The method as in claim 28, further comprising updating the resource report associated with the second mobile user when the second mobile user sends the requested resource to the first mobile user.

31. The method as in claim 28, further comprising updating the resource report associated with the first mobile user when the second mobile user sends the requested resource to the first mobile user.

32. The method as in claim 20, further comprising sending the transmission request to a third mobile user, the transmission request requesting that the third mobile user send at least a portion of the requested resource to the first mobile user.

33. The method as in claim 32, wherein the second and third mobile users are in two different network regions when the portions of the requested resource are sent to the first mobile user.