Method and apparatus for computer communication using audio signals

• US 7,706,548 B2
• Filed: 08/29/2003
• Issued: 04/27/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: GlobalFoundries, Inc.
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kanevsky, Dimitri, Zilca, Ran D., Zlatsin, Alexander
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin; Vivian
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kurr; Jason R
• Application Number:
  US10/650,878
• Publication Number:
  US 20050049732A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,433 Days
• Field of Search: 700/80, 700/94, 381 77- 85, 381/2, 709/200, 455/11.1, 455/20, 455/22, 714/4, 714/13
• US Class Current: 381/77
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 11/00 Transmission systems employing sonic, ultrasonic or infrasonic waves

Abstract

An acoustic communication device includes a computer device having an acoustic transmitter and/or an acoustic receiver. A signal processing module processes sound signals such that the transmitter and/or receiver are employed to permit acoustic communication between computer devices using sound signals.

Claims

1. An acoustic communication device comprising:

a computing device including an acoustic transmitter and an acoustic receiver; and

a signal processing module configured to process sound signals such that the transmitter and the receiver are employed to permit at least one computer device to share its resources with another computer device via acoustic communication using the sound signals, wherein the computing device acts as a repeater by receiving, boosting and acoustically transmitting the sound signals without demodulating the sound signals.

2. The communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein the transmitter includes a speaker and the receiver includes a microphone.

3. The communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein the sound signals are converted at a receiving computer into one of stored data and commands, which are performed, by the receiving computer.

4. The communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein the signal-processing module translates sound into digital information to communicate with one or more external computer devices.

5. The communication device as recited in claim 1, further comprising one or more transceiver devices for propagating the sound signals to remote computer devices.

6. The communication device as recited in claim 5, wherein the transceiver devices are incorporated into a computer device.

7. The acoustic communication device of claim 1, wherein the sound signals are transmitted at a frequency that is within a frequency range audible by humans.

8. A device network comprising:

a plurality of computers;

each computer including a signal-processing module for processing sound signals such that an ambient environment surrounding the computers is employed to propagate compression waves to acoustically communicate between the computers using sound signals, wherein at least one of the computers shares its resources with another computer via acoustic communication and wherein at least one of the computers serves as a repeater by receiving, boosting and acoustically transmitting the sound signals without demodulating the sound signals.

9. The network as recited in claim 8, wherein each computer device includes at least one of a receiver and a transmitter.

10. The network as recited in claim 8, wherein the sound signals are converted at a receiving computer into one of stored data and commands, which are performed, by the receiving computer.

11. The network as recited in claim 8, wherein at least one computer includes an administration computer, and the administration computer provides acoustic commands to other computer devices within an acoustic range area of the administration computer.

12. The network as recited in claim 11, wherein the administration computer diagnoses and recovers malfunctioning computer systems and computer networks using wireless acoustic communication.

13. The network as recited in claim 8, further comprising one or more transceiver devices for propagating the sound signals to remote computer devices.

14. The network as recited in claim 13, wherein the transceiver devices are incorporated into a computer device.

15. The network as recited in claim 8, wherein the network includes at least one of personal computers, personal digital assistants and handheld electronic devices having one of a receiver and a transmitter.

16. The network as recited in claim 8, wherein the computer devices perform backups using wireless audio communication.

17. The network as recited in claim 8, wherein the ambient environment includes one of air and water.

18. The network as recited in claim 8, further comprising a service machine, which receives data transmitted by sound to catch signals and record content from computer devices in an emergency to thereby save the content of the computer devices.

19. The network as recited in claim 18, wherein the service machine is portable and carried by one or more emergency personnel.

20. The network as recited in claim 8, further comprising emergency sirens acoustically discernable by the computer devices, the sirens playing data encoded in sound to alert the computer devices of an event.

21. The device network of claim 8, wherein said acoustic communication and said sound signal transmission are within a frequency range audible by humans.

22. A method for communicating between computer devices, comprising the steps of:

providing a transceiver device that acts as a repeater, including an acoustic transmitter and a receiver, and a signal-processing module for processing sound signals;

transmitting acoustic vibrations;

receiving and transmitting the acoustic vibrations such that the transmitter and the receiver are employed to permit acoustic communication between computer devices by receiving and propagating the sound signals to remote computer devices without demodulating the sound signals.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising the step of:

converting the sound signals into one of stored data and commands, which are performed by a receiving computer device.

24. The method as recited in claim 22, further comprising the steps of diagnosing and recovering malfunctioning computer systems and computer networks using wireless acoustic communication.

25. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein the transmitter and the receiver are employed to permit at least one computer device to share its resources with another computer device via acoustic communication.

26. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein the transceiver device is incorporated into a computer device.

27. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein the transceiver devices functions as a repeater without translating received signals.

28. The method as recited in claim 22, further comprising the step of performing backups of computer devices using wireless audio communication.

29. The method as recited in claim 22, further comprising the step of providing a service machine, which receives data transmitted by sound to catch signals and record content from computer devices in an emergency to thereby save the content of the computer devices.

30. The method as recited in claim 29, wherein the service machine is portable and carried by one or more emergency personnel.

31. The method of claim 22, wherein the acoustic vibrations and said sound signals are received and transmitted within a frequency range audible by humans.

32. The method of claim 22, wherein the computer devices are personal computer devices.

33. A method for acoustically communicating between computer devices, comprising the steps of:

providing a computing device including at least an acoustic receiver, and a signal-processing module for processing sound signals;

establishing an acoustic communication link between computer devices in lieu of a different communication medium in response to the different communication medium becoming unavailable; and

receiving information acoustically from at least one other computing device.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising the step of converting the information received acoustically into digital data.

35. The method as recited in claim 33, further comprising the step of:

recording the information to provide a back-up service.

36. The method as recited in claim 35, wherein the step of recording the information to provide a back-up service includes providing a pay service.

37. The method as recited in claim 33, further comprising the step of providing a service machine, which receives data transmitted by sound to catch signals and record content from computer devices in an emergency to thereby save the content of the computer devices.

38. The method as recited in claim 37, wherein the service machine is portable and carried by one or more emergency personnel.

39. The method of claim 33, wherein said acoustic communication link is within a frequency range audible by humans.

40. A device network comprising:

a plurality of computers including an administration computer;

each computer including a signal-processing module for processing sound signals such that an ambient environment surrounding the computers is employed to propagate compression waves to acoustically communicate between the computers using sound signals,

wherein the administration computer provides acoustic commands to other computer devices and thereby diagnoses and recovers malfunctioning computer systems and computer networks using wireless acoustic communication.