Systems and methods for providing long-range network services to short-range wireless devices

• US 9,565,513 B1
• Filed: 03/02/2015
• Issued: 02/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Thirdwayv Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Thirdwayv Incorporated
• Inventors: Malek, Bola, AlToukhy, Faisal
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Hai V
• Application Number:
  US14/635,528
• Time in Patent Office: 708 Days
• Field of Search: 455/41.2, 455/41.3
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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

Abstract

Systems and methods relating to providing long-range network service to short-range wireless devices are disclosed. The system includes a short-range wireless device, a remote server, and a long-range wireless device for establishing a data path between the short-range wireless device and the remote server. The system performs a described method by using the short-range wireless device to alternate the transmission and concealment of an incitation signal so as to allow the long-range wireless device to establish and maintain the data path without any intervention, supervision, or inputs from a human user.

Claims

1. A short-range wireless device comprising:

a memory configured to store a subscription identifier used to cause a long-range wireless device that is subscribed to establish a data path between a server and the short-range wireless device; and

a processor circuitry coupled with the memory, and configured to;

generate an incitation signal based on the subscription identifier, the incitation signal identifying a subscription zone of the short-range wireless device,

direct a short-range transceiver to transmit the incitation signal to the long-range wireless device, during a notification period, to cause the long-range wireless device to establish the data path between the server and the short-range wireless device, and

conceal the incitation signal, from the long-range wireless device and during a reset period, to cause a logical exit of the long-range wireless device from the subscription zone while the long-range wireless device is physically within the subscription zone of the short-range wireless device, the reset period being distinctive from and alternating with the notification period.

2. The short-range wireless device of claim 1, wherein the processor circuitry is configured to:

cause the long-range wireless device to establish, through a background thread, a data path between the server and a peer short-range wireless device located within a proximity of the subscription zone; and

cause the long-range wireless device to relay, through the background thread, data from the peer short-range wireless device to the server via the established data path between the server and the peer short-range wireless device.

3. The short-range wireless device of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to:

cause the long-range wireless device to establish, through a background thread, the data path between the server and the short-range wireless device; and

cause the long-range wireless device to relay, through the background thread, data from the short-range wireless device to the server via the established data path between the server and the short-range wireless device.

4. The short-range wireless device of claim 1, wherein to conceal the incitation signal the processor circuitry is configured to stop transmission of the incitation signal.

5. The short-range wireless device of claim 1, wherein the reset period is calibrated to track a policy of the long-range wireless device for exiting and reentering the subscription zone.

6. The short-range wireless device of claim 1, wherein the notification period is calibrated to track a policy of the long-range wireless device within the subscription zone.

7. The short-range wireless device of claim 1, wherein:

the memory is configured to store an auxiliary subscription identifier used to cause the long-range wireless device that is subscribed to establish the data path between the server and the short-range wireless device during the reset period;

the processor circuitry is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) configured to;

generate an auxiliary incitation signal based on the auxiliary subscription identifier, wherein the auxiliary incitation signal identifies an auxiliary subscription zone of the short-range wireless device, and

direct the short-range transceiver to transmit the auxiliary incitation signal during the reset period, and

conceal the auxiliary incitation signal during the notification period; and

the auxiliary subscription zone spatially overlaps with the subscription zone.

8. The short-range wireless device of claim 7, wherein:

the auxiliary subscription identifier is a first auxiliary subscription identifier;

the memory is configured to store a second auxiliary subscription identifier;

the processor circuitry is configured to generate the auxiliary incitation signal including a first auxiliary incitation signal based on the first auxiliary subscription identifier and a second auxiliary incitation signal based on the second auxiliary subscription identifier, and direct the short-range transceiver to transmit the first auxiliary incitation signal at a first interval and the second auxiliary incitation signal at a second interval; and

the first and second intervals are calibrated to dynamically track a policy of the long-range wireless device for exiting and reentering the subscription zone.

9. A nontransitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions to cause a short-range wireless device to perform operations comprising:

retrieving a subscription identifier that is used to cause a long-range wireless device that is subscribed to establish a data path between a server and the short-range wireless device;

generating an incitation signal that identifies a subscription zone based on the subscription identifier;

transmitting the incitation signal to the long-range wireless device, during a notification period, to cause the subscribed long-range wireless device to establish the data path between the server and the short-range wireless device; and

halting the incitation signal, from the long-range wireless device and during a reset period, to cause a logical exit of the long-range wireless device from the subscription zone while the long-range wireless device is physically within the subscription zone of the short-range wireless device, the reset period being distinctive from and alternating with the notification period to periodically renounce the subscription zone.

10. The nontransitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise:

causing the long-range wireless device to establish, through a background thread, a data path between the server and a peer short-range wireless device located within a proximity of the subscription zone; and

causing the long-range wireless device to relay, through the background thread, data from the peer short-range wireless device to the server via the established data path between the server and the peer short-range wireless device.

11. The nontransitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise:

causing the long-range wireless device to establish, through a background thread, the data path between the server and the short-range wireless device; and

causing the long-range wireless device to relay, through the background thread, data from the short-range wireless device to the server via the established data path between the server and the short-range wireless device.

12. The nontransitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the reset period is calibrated to track a policy of the long-range wireless device for exiting and reentering the subscription zone.

13. The nontransitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the notification period is calibrated to track a policy of the long-range wireless device within the subscription zone.

14. The nontransitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise:

retrieving an auxiliary subscription identifier used to cause the long-range wireless device that is subscribed to establish the data path between the server and the short-range wireless device during the reset period;

generating an auxiliary incitation signal based on the auxiliary subscription identifier;

transmitting the auxiliary incitation signal during the reset period to periodically identify an auxiliary subscription zone within a proximity of the subscription zone; and

halting the auxiliary incitation signal during the notification period to periodically renounce the auxiliary subscription zone.

15. The nontransitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein

retrieving the auxiliary subscription identifier includes retrieving a first auxiliary subscription identifier and a second auxiliary subscription identifier, each used to cause the long-range wireless device that is subscribed to establish the data path between the server and the short-range wireless device during the reset period,

generating the auxiliary incitation signal includes generating a first auxiliary incitation signal based on the first auxiliary subscription identifier and a second auxiliary incitation signal based on the second auxiliary subscription identifier, and

transmitting the auxiliary signal includes transmitting the first auxiliary incitation signal at a first interval and the second auxiliary incitation signal at a second interval, wherein the first and second intervals are calibrated to dynamically track a policy of the long-range wireless device for exiting and reentering the subscription zone.

16. A nontransitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions to cause a long-range wireless device to perform operations for establishing a data path between a server and the short-range wireless device, the operations comprising:

receiving an incitation signal that identifies a subscription zone via a short-range transceiver of the long-range wireless device that is located within the subscription zone and subscribed to establish the data path between the server and the short-range wireless device;

retrieving an identifier from the incitation signal;

comparing the retrieved identifier against a subscription registry associated with the short-range wireless device;

autonomously communicating with the short-range wireless device via the short-range transceiver if and only if the subscription registry includes a subscription identifier matching with the retrieved identifier;

logically entering, during a notification period, the subscription zone to establish the data path between the server and the short-range wireless device; and

logically exiting the subscription zone, during a reset period and while the long-range wireless device is physically within the subscription zone of the short-range wireless device, to prevent the long range wireless device from expiring the subscription zone.

17. The nontransitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise:

deactivating an application registered with the subscription identifier before receiving the incitation signal.

18. The nontransitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein autonomously communicating includes:

activating a background thread of the application while keeping a foreground thread of the application deactivated upon locating the matching subscription identifier in the subscription registry;

transmitting, through the background thread, a scan request signal via the short-range transceiver; and

establishing, through the background thread, a short-range wireless connection with the short-range wireless device upon detecting a valid scan respond signal transmitted from the short-range wireless device.

19. The nontransitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein autonomously communicating includes:

locating, in the subscription registry, the subscription identifier matching with the retrieved identifier;

upon the subscription identifier is located, generating a scan request signal without human intervention; and

transmitting the scan request signal via the short-range transceiver.

20. The nontransitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein autonomously communicating includes:

receiving, via the short-range transceiver, a scan respond signal transmitted by the short-range wireless transceiver;

verifying the scan respond signal with the server via a remote connection; and

relaying data from the short-range wireless device to the server if and only if the server validates the scan respond signal.