Method and system for establishing a connection outside a mesh by including network connectivity information in router configuration messages

• US 9,198,096 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2013
• Issued: 11/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Quigley, Thomas, MacInnis, Alexander Garland, Behzad, Arya Reza, Karaoguz, Jeyhan, Walley, John, Buer, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): WILLIAMS, JENEE LAUREN
• Application Number:
  US14/143,507
• Publication Number:
  US 20140112196A1
• Time in Patent Office: 694 Days
• Field of Search: 370/338
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0072 of resource information of target access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/246 Connectivity information discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/248 Connectivity information update
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A Wireless mobile communication (WMC) device may maintain user preference information, which is unique to the WMC device capabilities and the device user. WMC devices located in near proximity of each other may be enabled to form an ad hoc wireless network wherein each WMC device within the network may function as a router for other devices. Utilizing such routing capability within an ad hoc wireless network may allow WMC devices that are out of their wireless coverage area to use other WMC devices within such ad hoc wireless network to route any impending communication through such other WMC devices wherein these devices may have wireless connectivity to their coverage networks. WMC devices that are may have external connectivity may be enable to be selective in routing information and/or data from other WMC devices in the ad hoc network.

Claims

1. A method for improving wireless devices, the method comprising:

establishing a mesh network among wireless peer mobile communication devices when the wireless peer mobile communication devices are in proximity of each other;

sharing routing scheduling data among the wireless peer mobile communication devices in the mesh network, wherein the shared routing scheduling data advertises a communication path to an external network outside of the mesh network via a subset of the wireless peer mobile communication devices when a first wireless peer mobile communication device is communicatively coupled to an external network; and

selectively forwarding data received from a second wireless peer mobile communication device to a node in the external network by the first wireless peer mobile communication device through the communication path based on a content of the data.

2. The method according to claim 1, comprising updating the routing scheduling data whenever there is a change in connectivity to the external network within the mesh network.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the external network comprises a wireless wide area network (WAN).

4. The method according to claim 1, comprising generating routing paths in an individual one of the wireless peer mobile communication devices based on the shared routing scheduling data, the routing paths including more than one wireless peer mobile communication device as intermediate nodes.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second wireless peer mobile communication device is configured to store forwarded data when none of the wireless peer mobile communication devices is communicatively coupled to an external network.

6. A non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with computer-readable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method comprising:

establishing a mesh network among wireless peer mobile communication devices when the wireless peer mobile communication devices are in proximity of each other;

sharing routing scheduling data among the wireless peer mobile communication devices in the mesh network, wherein the shared routing scheduling data advertises a communication path to an external network outside of the mesh network via a subset of the wireless peer mobile communication devices when a first wireless peer mobile communication device is communicatively coupled to an external network; and

selectively forwarding data received from a second wireless peer mobile communication device to a node in the external network by the first wireless peer mobile communication device based on a content of the data.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 6, comprising updating the routing scheduling data whenever there is a change in connectivity to the external network within the mesh network.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 6, wherein the external network comprises a wireless wide area network (WAN).

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 6, comprising generating routing paths in an individual one of the wireless peer mobile communication devices based on the shared routing scheduling data, the routing paths including more than one wireless peer mobile communication device as intermediate nodes.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 6, wherein the second wireless peer mobile communication device is configured to store forwarded data when none of the wireless peer mobile communication devices is communicatively coupled to an external network.

11. A system for routing data in wireless devices, the system comprising:

circuitry configured to

establish a mesh network among wireless peer mobile communication devices when the wireless peer mobile communication devices are in proximity of each other,

share routing scheduling data among the wireless peer mobile communication devices in the mesh network, wherein the shared routing scheduling data advertises a communication path to an external network outside of the mesh network via a subset of the wireless peer mobile communication devices when a first wireless peer mobile communication device is communicatively coupled to an external network, and

selectively forward data received from a second wireless peer mobile communication device to a node in the external network by the first wireless peer mobile communication device based on a content of the data.

12. The system according to claim 11, wherein the circuitry updates the routing scheduling data whenever there is a change in connectivity to the external network within the mesh network.

13. The system according to claim 11, wherein the external network comprises a wireless wide area network (WAN).

14. The system according to claim 11, wherein the circuitry generates routing paths in individual ones of the wireless peer mobile communication devices based on the shared routing scheduling data, the routing paths including more than one wireless peer mobile communication device as intermediate nodes.

15. The system according to claim 11, wherein the circuitry is configured to resolve access competition between forwarded data.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein the circuitry resolves the access competition based on priority.

17. The system according to claim 16, wherein the priority is based on an identity of a wireless peer mobile communication device that sent the forwarded data.

18. The system according to claim 16, wherein the priority comprises traffic priority based on type of the forwarded data.

19. The system according to claim 11, wherein the second wireless peer mobile communication device is configured to store forwarded data when none of the wireless peer mobile communication devices is communicatively coupled to an external network.

20. The system according to claim 11, wherein the first wireless peer mobile communication device discards the data when a priority of the data is not granted access to the external network, and

the first wireless peer mobile communication device forwards the data to the external network when the priority of the data is granted access to the external network.