Method for enabling communications between a communication device and a wireless access point
First Claim
1. A multimode communication device (MCD), comprising:
- a controller for managing operations of a multimode wireless transceiver supporting communications on a plurality of wireless access technologies, wherein the controller is programmed to;
scan for a wireless access point over a first wireless access technology;
detect the wireless access point;
detect no broadcasting over the first wireless access technology of configuration information associated with the wireless access point;
transmit to a network management system (NMS) over a second wireless access technology a request for configuration information associated with the wireless access point;
receive the configuration information from the NMS, the configuration information being retrieved by the NMS directly from the wireless access point without centrally storing the configuration information; and
communicate with the wireless access point over the first wireless access technology according to the configuration information.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and methods (300, 500) are disclosed for enabling communications between a communication device and a wireless access point. A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a multimode communication device (MCD) (106) having a controller (214) for managing operations of a multimode wireless transceiver (202) supporting communications on a plurality of wireless access technologies (103). The controller can be programmed to transmit (324) to a network management system (NMS) (100) over a first wireless access technology a request for configuration information associated with a wireless access point, receive (326) the configuration information from the NMS, and enable (320) communications with the wireless access point over a second wireless access technology according to the configuration information. Embodiments for the NMS are also disclosed.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A multimode communication device (MCD), comprising:
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a controller for managing operations of a multimode wireless transceiver supporting communications on a plurality of wireless access technologies, wherein the controller is programmed to; scan for a wireless access point over a first wireless access technology; detect the wireless access point; detect no broadcasting over the first wireless access technology of configuration information associated with the wireless access point; transmit to a network management system (NMS) over a second wireless access technology a request for configuration information associated with the wireless access point; receive the configuration information from the NMS, the configuration information being retrieved by the NMS directly from the wireless access point without centrally storing the configuration information; and communicate with the wireless access point over the first wireless access technology according to the configuration information. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A network management system (NMS), comprising:
a controller for managing operations of a communications interface for exchanging messages with multimode communication devices (MCDs) capable of accessing a plurality of wireless access technologies, wherein the controller is programmed to; receive from an MCD over a first wireless access technology a request for configuration information associated with a wireless access point; monitor a location of the MCD; transmit a vicinity indication to the MCD when it is near the wireless access point for enabling in the MCD a process for scanning said wireless access point over a second wireless access technology; obtain the configuration information associated with the wireless access point according to the request directly from the wireless access point and without accessing the configuration information from a central storage location not located at the access point; and transmit the configuration information to the MCD using a WiFi or Bluetooth access technology. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A computer-readable storage medium encoded with computer executable instructions operating in a multimode communication device (MCD), the computer instructions for:
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scanning for a wireless access point using a first wireless access technology; disabling the scanning when a signal associated with the wireless access point is below a threshold; transmitting over a second wireless access technology a request for configuration information associated with the wireless access point from a network management system (NMS); communicating over the first wireless access technology with the wireless access point according to the configuration information received from the NMS, wherein the configuration information associated with the wireless access point is transmitted directly from the wireless access point to the NMS and then transmitted over the second wireless access technology from the NMS to the MCD without the configuration information being stored centrally by the NMD; and transmitting to the NMS over the second wireless access technology subsequent requests for configuration information associated with other wireless access points.
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20. A computer-readable storage medium encoded with computer executable instructions operating in a network management system, the computer instructions for:
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obtaining configuration information associated with a wireless access point in response to a request received from a multimode communication device (MCD) over a first wireless access technology, wherein the request is based on a response by an end user to a prompt by the MCD, wherein the configuration information is transmitted directly from the wireless access point to the NMS and then transmitted over the second wireless access technology from the NMS to the MCD without the configuration information being stored centrally by the NMD; transmitting the configuration information to the MCD; and receiving at the NMS subsequent requests for configuration information associated with other wireless access points, each of the subsequent requests being in response to a prompt by the MCD provided to an end user of the MCD.
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Specification