Communication system

• US 8,670,759 B2
• Filed: 06/26/2009
• Issued: 03/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/03/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Lenovo Innovations Ltd Hong Kong (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Shinada, Satoru
• Primary Examiner(s): Wendell, Andrew
• Assistant Examiner(s): Soltanzadeh, Maryam
• Application Number:
  US12/999,977
• Publication Number:
  US 20110189990A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,719 Days
• Field of Search: 455/426.1, 455/41.1, 455/41.2, 455/15, 455/20, 455/22, 455/456.2, 455/16, 455/11.1
• US Class Current: 455/426.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/00 Near-field transmission systems, e.g. inductive or capacitive transmission systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/16 Multipoint routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/18 wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0063 where the network is a peer-to-peer network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user

Abstract

A communication system, which makes possible to carry out wide area communication between terminals, includes a mobile communication terminal which has a mobile communication means to carryout communication via a mobile communication network and a near field wireless communication means to carry out communication via a near field wireless communication network, and a near field wireless communication terminal which has a near field communication means to carry out communication via the near field communication network. Moreover, the mobile communication terminal comprises a communication repeating means to connect, as a repeater, other mobile communication terminal which is connected to the mobile communication terminal via the mobile communication network, and the near field wireless communication terminal which is connected to the mobile communication terminal via the near field communication network, by use of a communication path between the mobile communication terminal and the other mobile communication terminal.

Claims

1. A communication system, comprising:

a first mobile communication terminal which includes a broadcast communication unit which functions to establish a broadcast communication path for wide area communication through a mobile communication network to simultaneously connect to a plurality of second mobile communication terminals which are grouped and registered in advance in the mobile communication network and a push to talk function to simultaneously send packet data to the plurality of second mobile communication terminals, like a transceiver, for providing a data communication path;

a first near field wireless communication terminal which includes a wireless communication unit which establishes ad hoc wireless communication to said first mobile communication terminal only within a range of near field wireless communication;

a plurality of second mobile communication terminals, each connects to the first mobile communication terminal and other second mobile communication terminals through the broadcast communication path; and

a plurality of second near field wireless communication terminals, each corresponds to the second mobile communication terminals respectively and capable of carrying out ad hoc wireless communication to the corresponding second mobile communication terminal only within a range of near field wireless communication, and

wherein, when said first near field wireless communication terminal sets up a first ad hoc communication path to connect to the first mobile communication terminal existing nearby through the use of the near field wireless communication with a request to connect to the second near field wireless communication terminals which are arranged outside a range of the near field wireless communication, the first mobile communication terminal responding to the request connects the first ad hoc communication path to the broadcast communication path and repeats the request to the second mobile communication terminals through the broadcast communication path, and

wherein, each of the second mobile communication terminals, responding to the request received through the broadcast communication path, establishes a second ad hoc communication path to the corresponding second near field wireless communication terminal using the near field wireless communication, connects the broadcast communication path to the second ad hoc communication path, and carries out data communication among the first near field wireless communication terminal and the second near field wireless communication terminals by use of the push to talk function.

2. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the near field wireless communication is implemented by any one of wireless Local Area Network (LAN) communication, Infrared communication, Bluetooth®

and non-contact type IC card communication.

3. A mobile communication terminal which is connected to a near field wireless communication terminal which is capable of carrying out communication only within a range of near field wireless communication, comprising:

a near field communication unit which establishes an ad hoc communication path to the near field wireless communication terminal existing nearby by use of the near field wireless communication;

a broadcast communication unit which functions to establish a broadcast communication path for wide area communication through a mobile communication network to simultaneously connect to a plurality of other mobile communication terminals which are grouped and registered in advance in the mobile communication network and a push to talk function to simultaneously send packet data to the plurality of second mobile communication terminals, like a transceiver, for providing a data communication path; and

a communication repeating unit which connects the ad hoc communication path and the broadcast communication path, and

wherein, when the mobile communication terminal is a requesting side, the communication repeating unit repeats a connection request of the near field wireless communication terminal of the requesting side to the other mobile communication terminals of a requested side through the broadcast communication path in response to the connection request, and

wherein, when the mobile communication terminal is the requested side, the communication repeating unit establishes the ad hoc communication path to the corresponding near field wireless communication terminal of the requested side in response to the connection request received through the broadcast communication path, and connects the broadcast communication path to the established ad hoc communication path, and carries out data communication among the near field wireless communication terminal of the requesting side and the near field wireless communication terminals of requested side by use of the push to talk function.

4. A method of a communication system, the method comprising:

establishing a broadcast communication path for wide area communication through a mobile communication network by a first mobile communication terminal to simultaneously connect to a plurality of second mobile communication terminals which are grouped and registered in advance in the mobile communication network;

setting up a first ad hoc communication path to the first mobile communication terminal by a first near field wireless communication terminal which is capable of carrying out communication only within a range of near field wireless communication, along with sending a request to connect to a plurality of second near field wireless communication terminals which are arranged outside a range of the near field wireless communication, each of which respectively corresponds to the second mobile communication terminals;

connecting the first ad hoc communication path to the broadcast communication path and repeating the request to the second mobile communication terminals through the broadcast communication path by the first mobile communication terminal in response to the request;

establishing a second ad hoc communication path by each of the second mobile communication terminals to the corresponding second near field wireless communication terminal using the near field wireless communication and connecting the broadcast communication path to the second ad hoc communication path in response to the request being received through the broadcast communication path; and

carrying out data communication among the first near field wireless communication terminal and the second near field wireless communication terminals by use of a push to talk function which simultaneously sends packet data like a transceiver for providing a data communication path.

5. A method of a mobile communication terminal which is connected to a near field wireless communication terminal which is configured to carry out communication only within a range of near field wireless communication, the method comprising:

establishing a broadcast communication path for wide area communication through a mobile communication network in order to simultaneously connect to a plurality of other mobile communication terminals which are grouped and registered in advance in the mobile communication network;

establishing, as a requesting side, an ad hoc communication path to the near field wireless communication terminal on the basis of a request by the near field wireless communication terminal;

connecting, as the requesting side, the ad hoc communication path to the broadcast communication path when requested by the near field wireless communication terminal, and repeating a connection request of the near field wireless communication terminal to the other mobile communication terminals through the broadcast communication path;

establishing, as the requesting side, the ad hoc communication path to the near field wireless communication terminal in response to the connection request received through the broadcast communication path, and connecting the broadcast communication path to the established ad hoc communication path; and

carrying out data communication among the near field wireless communication terminals corresponding to each of the mobile communication terminals of the requesting side and the requested side by use of a push to talk function which simultaneously sends packet data, like a transceiver, for providing a data communication path.