Techniques to share multimedia and enable cellular phone conference calling using ad-hoc wireless networks

• US 8,284,740 B2
• Filed: 12/11/2006
• Issued: 10/09/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tahoe Research Limited (f/k/a Learndale Limited) (Vector Capital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: O'Connor, Dennis M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bost, Dwayne
• Assistant Examiner(s): WOO, KUO-KONG
• Application Number:
  US11/637,269
• Publication Number:
  US 20080139239A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,129 Days
• Field of Search: 370/338, 370/329, 370/401, 370/337, 370/442, 455/445, 455/552.1, 455/435.1, 455/11.1, 455/41
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1836 with heterogeneous network architecture
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/189 in combination with wireless systems selective distribution or broadcast in wireless communication networks H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/18 wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/567 Multimedia conference systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0027 Collaboration services where a computer is used for data transfer and the telephone is used for telephonic communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/30 Resource management for broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus, comprising a wireless handset operable in a wireless wide area network (WWAN) and a wireless local area network (WLAN) and wherein the wireless handset is adapted to transmit and receive voice and/or data communications from at least one voice or data communication device via the WLAN and incorporate the voice or data communications into communications over the wireless wide area network.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a wireless handset simultaneously operable in a wireless wide area network (WWAN) and at least one short-range wireless network,

wherein said wireless handset is adapted to transmit and receive voice and/or data communications from at least one voice or data communication device via said at least one short-range wireless network and incorporate said voice or data communications into a single transmission over said (WWAN), wherein wireless handset mixes audio from said at least one voice or data communications device and sends it upstream into a WWAN as a single WWAN transmission,

wherein said wireless handset is adapted to share voice or data communications from said (WWAN) to at least one voice or data communication device via said at least one short-range wireless network, and

wherein said wireless handset distributes audio or data communications from the WWAN to said at least one voice or data communication device over said at least one short-range wireless network, to create a conference call environment.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said wireless wide area network (WWAN) is a cellular network.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said at least one short-range wireless network is a network conforming to the Institute for Electronics and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) wireless local area network (WLAN) 802.11 standard.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said at least one voice or data communications device is at least one additional wireless handset operable in said 802.11 WLAN.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said at least one short-range wireless network is a network conforming to the Bluetooth wireless personal area network (WPAN) standard.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein joining the conference call by additional voice or data communication devices would be controlled a pass-phrase distributed by a person hosting the conferencing, or by a host wireless handset prompting its user with an identifier for at least one additional voice or data communications device attempting to connect to the call and asking if it should be allowed to join.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein security of the conference from electronic eavesdropping would be accomplished by encrypting the voice traffic.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said voice or data communications is transmission of multimedia.

9. A method, comprising:

operating a wireless handset that is simultaneously operable in a wireless wide area network (WWAN) and at least one short-range wireless network; and

transmitting and receiving voice and/or data communications by said wireless handset from at least one voice or data communication device via said at least one short-range wireless network and incorporating said voice or data communications into a single transmission over said (WWAN), mixing audio from said at least one voice or data communications device and sending it upstream into WWAN as a single WWAN transmission,

wherein said wireless handset distributes audio or data communications from the WWAN to said at least one voice or data communication device over said at least one short-range wireless network, to create a conference call environment.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said wireless wide area network (WWAN) is a cellular network.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein said at least one short-range wireless network is a network conforming to the Institute for Electronics and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein said at least one voice or data communications device is at least one additional wireless handset operable in said 802.11 WLAN.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein said at least one short-range wireless network is a network conforming to the Bluetooth wireless personal area network (WPAN) standard.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising controlling joining the conference call by additional voice or data communication devices by using a pass-phrase distributed by a person hosting the conferencing, or by a host wireless handset prompting its user with an identifier for at least one additional voice or data communications device attempting to connect to the call and asking if it should be allowed to join.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising encrypting said voice or data communications.

16. A non-transitory machine-accessible medium that provides instructions, which when accessed, cause a machine to perform operations comprising:

operating a wireless handset that is simultaneously operable in a wireless wide area network (WWAN) and at least one short-range wireless network; and

transmitting and receiving voice and/or data communications by said wireless handset from at least one voice or data communication device via said WLAN and incorporating said voice or data communications into a single transmission over said (WWAN), instructions causing said machine to perform operations further comprising mixing audio from said at least one voice or data communications device and sending it upstream into said WWAN as single WWAN transmission,

wherein said wireless handset distributes audio or data communications from the WWAN to said at least one voice or data communications device over said at least one short-range wireless network, to create a conference call environment.

17. The machine-accessible medium of claim 16, wherein said wireless wide area network (WWAN) is a cellular network.

18. The machine-accessible medium of claim 16, wherein said at least one short-range wireless network is a network conforming to the Institute for Electronics and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 wireless local area network (WLAN) standard.

19. The machine-accessible medium of claim 16, wherein said at least one voice or data communications device is at least one additional wireless handset operable in said 802.11 WLAN.

20. The machine-accessible medium of claim 16, wherein said at least one short-range wireless network is a network conforming to the Bluetooth wireless personal area network (WPAN) standard.

21. The machine-accessible medium of claim 16, further comprising said instructions causing said machine to perform operations further comprising controlling joining the conference call by additional voice or data communication devices by using a pass-phrase distributed by a person hosting the conferencing, or by a host wireless handset prompting its user with an identifier for at least one additional voice or data communications device attempting to connect to the call and asking if it should be allowed to join.

22. A system, comprising:

a first wireless handset simultaneously operable in a wireless wide area network (WWAN) and at least one short-range wireless network;

a second wireless handset adapted to communicate voice or data to said first wireless handset via at least said at least one short-range wireless network,

wherein said first wireless handset incorporates said voice or data from said second wireless handset into a single transmission over said WWAN, said wherein first wireless handset mixes audio from said second wireless handset and sends it upstream into said WWAN as a single WWAN transmission, and

wherein said wireless handset distributes audio or data communications from the WWAN to said at least one voice or data communications device over said at least one short-range wireless network, to create a conference call environment.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein said wireless wide area network (WWAN) is a cellular network.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein said wireless at least one short-range wireless network is a network conforming to the Institute for Electronics and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 wireless local area network (WLAN) standard.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein said first and second wireless handsets are further operable in a Bluetooth standard wireless personal area network (WPAN) and wherein said first and second wireless handsets are adapted to communicate voice and/or data communications via said WPAN and incorporate said voice or data communications into communications over said WWAN.

26. The system of claim 22, wherein said voice or data communications is transmission of multimedia.