Peer-to-peer sharing of network resources

• US 9,313,816 B2
• Filed: 02/26/2015
• Issued: 04/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/10/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation, University College Dublin
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Dunne, Jonathan, French, Paul B., Galvin, James P. Jr., Han, Yi, O'Sullivan, Patrick J.
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, DANH C
• Application Number:
  US14/632,612
• Publication Number:
  US 20160014832A1
• Time in Patent Office: 411 Days
• Field of Search: 455/450, 455/452.1, 455/550.1, 370/329
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0876 Network utilisation, e.g. volume of load or congestion level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1074 for supporting data block transmission mechanisms file transfer H04L67/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/14 Spectrum sharing arrangements between different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/51 based on terminal or device properties
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/563 of the wireless resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 Direct-mode setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/18 between terminal devices

Abstract

A first mobile device receives, from each of a plurality of other mobile devices, information related to the availability of at least one network resource provided by at least a first network offered for sharing by the respective other mobile device. The first mobile device also receives a request from a second mobile device to access the network resource provided by the first network shared by at least one of the plurality of other mobile devices. The first mobile device selects at least one of the other mobile devices to share the network resource provided by the first network with the second mobile device. The first mobile device communicates to the second mobile device peer-to-peer network connection information of the selected at least one of the other mobile devices.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a first mobile device, from each of a plurality of other mobile devices, information related to the availability of at least one network resource provided by at least a first network offered for sharing by the respective other mobile device;

receiving, by the first mobile device, a request from a second mobile device to access the network resource provided by the first network shared by at least one of the plurality of other mobile devices;

selecting, by the first mobile device, using a processor, at least one of the other mobile devices to share the network resource provided by the first network with the second mobile device; and

communicating, from the first mobile device to the second mobile device, peer-to-peer network connection information of the selected at least one of the other mobile devices, wherein the peer-to-peer network connection information is configured to be processed by the second mobile device to establish a peer-to-peer communication link between the second mobile device and each of the selected at least one of the other mobile devices via a second network and access the network resource of the first network shared by the selected at least one of the other mobile devices via the peer-to-peer communication link.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the peer-to-peer network connection information is configured to be processed by the second mobile device to establish an ad-hoc peer-to-peer communication link between the second mobile device and each of the selected at least one of the other mobile devices via the second network and access the network resource of the first network shared by the selected at least one of the other mobile devices via the ad-hoc peer-to-peer communication link.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the peer-to-peer network connection information is configured to be processed by the second mobile device to establish a peer-to-peer communication link between the second mobile device and each of the selected at least one of the other mobile devices via a personal area network and access the network resource of the first network shared by the selected at least one of the other mobile devices via the peer-to-peer communication link.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting, by the first mobile device, using the processor, at least one of the other mobile devices to share the network resource provided by the first network with the second mobile device comprises:

selecting, by the first mobile device, at least one of the other mobile devices to share the network resource provided by the first network with the second mobile device at least based on a level of security reliability between the at least one of the other mobile devices and the first network.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting, by the first mobile device, using the processor, at least one of the other mobile devices to share the network resource provided by the first network with the second mobile device comprises:

selecting, by the first mobile device, at least one of the other mobile devices to share the network resource provided by the first network with the second mobile device at least based on a level of sharing points assigned to the second mobile device.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

assigning the sharing points to the second mobile device based at least on a level of network resources shared by the second mobile device.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

assigning the sharing points to the second mobile device based at least on a level of network resources, shared by the other mobile devices, previously used by the second mobile device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving, by the first mobile device, from each of the plurality of other mobile devices, information related to the availability of at least one network resource provided by at least the first network offered for sharing by the respective other mobile device comprises:

receiving, by the first mobile device, from each of the plurality of other mobile devices, information related to the availability of at least one network resource provided by at least a first mobile network offered for sharing by the respective other mobile device.