System and method for transmitting data between communication terminals

• US 9,008,579 B2
• Filed: 07/16/2010
• Issued: 04/14/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hoccer Betriebs GmbH
• Original Assignee: ART+COM AG
• Inventors: Mayer, Pavel, Lusebrink, Dirk, Trappe, Rodja, Siegel, David
• Primary Examiner(s): AKINYEMI, AJIBOLA A
• Application Number:
  US13/383,659
• Publication Number:
  US 20120282859A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,733 Days
• Field of Search: 455/41.2
• US Class Current: 455/41.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel

Abstract

A system and method for transmitting data between at least two communication terminals includes handling useful address data by a switching unit and handling useful data records by a data exchange node. A spatial distance of the at least two communication terminals is calculated. A time interval of communication inquiries to the switching unit in order to initiate a data transmission between the at least two communication terminals is determined. The data transmission is controlled depending on predeterminable threshold values of the spatial distance of the at least two communication terminals and the at least one time interval between the communication inquiries.

Claims

1. A system for transmitting data between at least two communication terminals comprising:

a) at least one first communication terminal and at least one second communication terminal, wherein at least one communication terminal of the at least one first communication terminal and the at least one second communication terminal comprises at least one mobile device

b) a switching unit connectable via a data network to each of the at least one first communication terminal and the at least one second communication terminal, wherein the switching unit is configured to handle useful data address data,

c) a data exchange node connectable via the data network to each of the at least one first communication terminal and the at least one second communication terminal, wherein the data exchange node is at least logically separated from the switching unit, and wherein the data exchange node is configured to handle useful data records, and

d) at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium in communication with at least one processor and having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations comprising;

at least one of calculating and evaluating a spatial distance of the at least one first communication and the at least one second communication terminal,

at least one of determining and evaluating at least one time interval of communication inquiries to the switching unit in order to initiate a data transmission between the at least two communication terminals, and

controlling the data transmission depending on predeterminable threshold values of the spatial distance of the at least two communication terminals and the at least one time interval between the communication inquiries.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one processor performs operations comprising:

determining a location of the at least one communication terminal of the at least one first communication terminal and the at least one second communication terminal as an area or spatial volume, and wherein the spatial distance is determined by inclusion of the location or inclusion or overlapping of the areas or spaces.

3. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein a time of signaling of a communication inquiry is measured by a clock in the at least one communication terminal of the at least one first communication terminal and the at least one second communication terminal, and wherein a deviation of the clock in the at least one communication terminal of the at least one first communication terminal and the at least one second communication terminal from a clock in the at least one other communication terminal of the at least one of the at least one first communication terminal and the at least one second communication terminal is compensated by a communication process.

4. The system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the at least one processor performs operations comprising:

measuring the time of the signaling of the communication inquiry based at least partly on a time of arrival of the useful data records in the data exchange node.

5. The system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the at least one communication terminal of the at least one first communication terminal and the at least one second communication terminal is configured to enable triggering of the communication inquiry in response to at least one of actuation of at least one key on the at least one communication terminal, a movement of the at least one communication terminal in the space, an audible signal of the at least one communication terminal, a voice input of the at least one communication terminal, and touching of a touch-sensitive display screen of the at least one communication terminal, and wherein the at least one communication terminal is configured to store a corresponding coding in at least one of the communication inquiry and the inquiry data record.

6. The system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the at least one processor performs operations comprising:

selecting a useful data record to be transmitted before the signaling of the communication inquiry.

7. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the useful data record is automatically selected from a predefined quantity of useful data records based at least partly on specific characteristics of the signaling of the communication inquiry, and wherein the specific characteristics comprise at least the coding of the inquiry data record.

8. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one communication terminal of the at least one first communication terminal and the at least one second communication terminal is configured to transfer an inquiry data record uniquely identifying communication partners to the switching unit.

9. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein a multidirectional connection is set up between more than two communication terminals and configured for the subsequent transmission and reception of a plurality of useful data records between the more than two communication terminals.

10. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein, due to a signaling of a communication inquiry by the switching unit, connections are restrictable to a single communication terminal as a transmitter and a single communication terminal as a receiver, and wherein, in the event of a plurality of transmitters or receivers being eligible on the basis of spatial and temporal proximity, switching is prevented by the switching unit.

11. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein switching is restricted to a single receiver by signaling by a user, and wherein, in the event of a plurality of receivers being spatially and temporally eligible, the switching is prevented by the switching unit.

12. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein switching is restricted by signaling by a user to a single transmitter, and wherein, in the event of a plurality of transmitters being spatially and temporally eligible, the switching is prevented by the switching unit.

13. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one useful data record is exchanged exclusively between the at least two communication terminals and the exchange is signaled to the switching unit by a physical knocking together of the at least two communication terminals.

14. The system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the knocking together of the at least two communication terminals is registered by at least one of acceleration sensors, distance sensors, and microphones of the at least two communication terminals.

15. The system as claimed in claim 1, further including a gesture interpretation configured to evaluate a movement of the at least one communication terminal of the at least one first communication terminal and the at least one second communication terminal.

16. The system as claimed in claim 15, wherein a movement of a transmitting communication terminal is interpretable as a throw or transmit gesture.

17. The system as claimed in claim 15, wherein a movement of a receiving communication terminal is interpretable as a receive or catch gesture.

18. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one of calculating and evaluating the spatial distance of the at least two communication terminals evaluates at least one of data of at least one WLAN network, data of at least one mobile network, data of a Bluetooth network, and data of at least one GPS system.

19. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein, due to movement of an object on a display screen of the at least one first communication terminal, a data connection to the at least one second communication terminal is set up such that the object is movable from the display screen of the first communication terminal onto a display screen of the second communication terminal.

20. A method for transmitting data between at least two communication terminals comprising at least one first communication terminal and at least one second communication terminal, wherein at least one communication terminal of the at least one first communication terminal and the at least one second communication terminal comprises a mobile device, wherein data are exchangeable via a data network between the at least one first communication terminal and the at least one second communication terminal and a switching unit connectable thereto, the method comprising:

a) at least one of calculating and evaluating a spatial distance between the at least two communication terminals,

b) at least one of determining and evaluating time intervals of communication inquiries made to the switching unit,

c) initiating a data transmission between the at least two communication terminals based at least partly on the spatial distance and the time intervals, wherein the data transmission is controlled based at least partly on predetermined threshold values of the spatial distance of the at least two communication terminals and the time intervals of the communication inquiries,

d) handling, by a switching unit connected via the data network to each of the at least two communication terminals, useful data address data, and

e) handling, by a data exchange node connected via the data network to each of the at least two communications terminals, useful data records, wherein the data exchange node is at least logically separated from the switching unit.