Systems and methods for communication management

• US 9,980,114 B2
• Filed: 06/03/2013
• Issued: 05/22/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Hyde, Roderick A., Levien, Royce A., Lord, Richard T., Lord, Robert W., Malamud, Mark A., Tegreene, Clarence T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Figueroa, Marisol
• Application Number:
  US13/908,658
• Publication Number:
  US 20140273934A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,814 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1457 using an account
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8033 location-dependent, e.g. business or home
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/82 Criteria or parameters used for performing billing operations
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup

Abstract

Structures and protocols are presented for signaling a status or decision concerning a wireless service or device within a region to a communication device (smartphone or wearable device, e.g.) or other wireless communication participant (motor vehicle having a wireless communication capability, e.g.).

Claims

1. A communication management system comprising:

circuitry configured for obtaining a first preference indication via a first mobile device, the first preference indication being either a first option or a second option, an account being associated with the first mobile device;

circuitry configured for signaling, via the first mobile device, a decision whether to cause a unidirectional communication at least between the first mobile device and a second mobile device as a conditional response to whether a user preferred the first option;

circuitry configured for signaling, via the first mobile device, a decision whether to establish a bidirectional communication at least between the first mobile device and the second mobile device responsive to whether the user preferred the second option;

circuitry configured for signaling, via the first mobile device, a decision whether to assign a communication cost component to the account associated with the first mobile device responsive to whether the user preferred the second option; and

the first mobile device configured for generating at least one of an audible or a vibratory indication of whether the second mobile device is available to participate in a bidirectional interpersonal communication conditionally, partly based on an indication whether the second mobile device exceeded a wireless service boundary crossing rate threshold within a recent time interval and partly based on an indication of the second mobile device having WLAN service, the bidirectional communication being a part-cellular telephone call.

2. The communication management system of claim 1 further comprising:

circuitry configured for receiving a location estimate from the first mobile device; and

circuitry configured for receiving provenance data from the first mobile device.

3. The communication management system of claim 1 further comprising:

circuitry configured for causing at least some of a wireless connectivity map to be displayed, the wireless connectivity map indicating a service boundary relating to a prospective interpersonal communication at least between the second mobile device and the first mobile device.

4. The communication management system of claim 1 further comprising:

circuitry configured for causing a data component of a wireless signal to be processed by a special-purpose module in the first mobile device as an automatic and conditional response to a control component of the wireless signal.

5. The communication management system of claim 1 wherein:

the first mobile device is a handheld device.

6. The communication management system of claim 1 wherein:

the first mobile device is configured for communicating via a first nominal uplink frequency of at least about 2.4 GHz and of at most about 5 GHz.

7. The communication management system of claim 1 further comprising:

circuitry configured for causing a wireless connectivity map to indicate WLAN service provided within a region as a conditional response to an indication from the second mobile device of the WLAN service being operative within the region.

8. The communication management system of claim 1 further comprising:

circuitry configured for causing at least some of a wireless connectivity map to be displayed via the second mobile device after a decision whether to update the wireless connectivity map automatically and conditionally at least partly based on a location estimate describing a location of the first mobile device and partly based on provenance data indicating a protocol by which the first mobile device obtained the location estimate.

9. The communication management system of claim 1 wherein:

at least one of the first mobile device or the second mobile device is configured for presenting an audible notification of a WLAN service boundary, the WLAN service boundary being a component of a wireless connectivity map after a decision whether to update the wireless connectivity map automatically and conditionally at least partly based on a location estimate describing a location of the first mobile device and at least partly based on provenance data indicating a protocol by which the first mobile device obtained the location estimate.

10. The communication management system of claim 1 further comprising:

circuitry configured for signaling a decision whether to adjust a latency threshold for user data used at the second mobile device.

11. The communication management system of claim 1 further comprising:

circuitry configured for comparing a data block delivery failure rate against a threshold used at the second mobile device.

12. The communication management system of claim 1 further comprising:

circuitry configured for causing the second mobile device to present some of a wireless connectivity map including a positional model that represents an isotropic radiator and an anisotropic radiator.

13. The communication management system of claim 1 further comprising:

circuitry configured for causing a data component of a wireless signal to be processed by a special-purpose module in the first mobile device as an automatic and conditional response to a charging state of a battery in the first mobile device.

14. The communication management system of claim 1 further comprising:

circuitry configured for causing a configurable core in a first core operating mode to draw data from a first data queue of the first mobile device; and

circuitry configured for signaling a decision whether to cause the configurable core to draw data from the first data queue of the first mobile device in a second core operating mode as an automatic and conditional response to an indication of a data volume of the first data queue crossing a volume threshold.

15. The communication management system of claim 1 further comprising:

circuitry configured for handing off an interpersonal communication from a WLAN access point to a cellular base station, a usage of the cellular base station resulting in the communication cost component to the account associated with the first mobile device, the interpersonal communication including the bidirectional communication at least between the first mobile device and the second mobile device.

16. The communication management system of claim 1 further comprising:

circuitry configured for automatically determining one or more wireless communication parameters via experimentation, wherein the one or more wireless communication parameters include at least one of (i) sets of antenna elements, (ii) directionality of beams, (iii) shape of beams, (iv) signal phases of antenna elements, (v) signal delays of antenna elements, or (vi) power levels; and

circuitry configured for invoking the one or more wireless communication parameters determined automatically at least partially via experimentation.

17. A communication management system comprising:

means for obtaining a first preference indication via a first mobile device, the first preference indication being either a first option or a second option, an account being associated with the first mobile device;

means for signaling, via the first mobile device, a decision whether to cause a unidirectional communication at least between the first mobile device and a second mobile device as a conditional response to whether a user preferred the first option;

means for signaling, via the first mobile device, a decision whether to establish a bidirectional communication at least between the first mobile device and the second mobile device as a first conditional response to whether the user preferred the second option;

means for signaling, via the first mobile device, a decision whether to assign a communication cost component to the account associated with the first mobile device as a second conditional response to whether the user preferred the second option; and

the first mobile device configured for generating at least one of an audible or a vibratory indication of whether the second mobile device is available to participate in a bidirectional interpersonal communication conditionally, at least partly based on an indication whether the second mobile device exceeded a wireless service boundary crossing rate threshold within a recent time interval and at least partly based on an indication of the second mobile device having WLAN service, the bidirectional communication being a part-cellular telephone call.

18. A communication management method comprising:

obtaining a first preference indication via a first mobile device, the first preference indication being either a first option or a second option, an account being associated with the first mobile device;

signaling, via the first mobile device, a decision whether to cause a unidirectional communication at least between the first mobile device and a second mobile device as a conditional response to whether a user preferred the first option;

signaling, via the first mobile device, a decision whether to establish a bidirectional communication at least between the first mobile device and the second mobile device as a first conditional response to whether the user preferred the second option;

signaling, via the first mobile device, a decision whether to assign a communication cost component to the account associated with the first mobile device as a second conditional response to whether the user preferred the second option; and

generating, via the first mobile device, an audible indication of whether the second mobile device is available to participate in a bidirectional interpersonal communication conditionally, at least partly based on an indication whether the second mobile device exceeded a wireless service boundary crossing rate threshold within a recent time interval and at least partly based on an indication of the second mobile device having WLAN service, the bidirectional communication being a part-cellular telephone call.

19. The communication management method of claim 18 further comprising:

causing a configurable core in a first core operating mode to draw data from a first data queue of the first mobile device; and

signaling a decision whether to cause the configurable core to draw data from the first data queue of the first mobile device in a second core operating mode as an automatic and conditional response to a thermal state of a temperature sensor in the first mobile device.

20. An article of manufacture comprising:

one or more non-transitory signal bearing storage media bearing at least;

one or more instructions for obtaining a first preference indication via a first mobile device, the first preference indication being either a first option or a second option, an account being associated with the first mobile device;

one or more instructions for signaling, via the first mobile device, a decision whether to cause a unidirectional communication at least between the first mobile device and a second mobile device as a conditional response to whether a user preferred the first option;

one or more instructions for signaling, via the first mobile device, a decision whether to establish a bidirectional communication at least between the first mobile device and the second mobile device as a first conditional response to whether the user preferred the second option;

one or more instructions for signaling, via the first mobile device, a decision whether to assign a communication cost component to the account associated with the first mobile device as a second conditional response to whether the user preferred the second option;

one or more instructions for generating at least one of an audible or a vibratory indication of whether the second mobile device is available to participate in a bidirectional interpersonal communication conditionally, partly based on an indication whether the second mobile device exceeded a wireless service boundary crossing rate threshold within a recent time interval and partly based on an indication of the second mobile device having WLAN service, the bidirectional communication being a part-cellular telephone call; and

one or more instructions for handing off an interpersonal communication from a WLAN access point to a cellular base station, a usage of the cellular base station resulting in the communication cost component to the account associated with the first mobile device, the interpersonal communication including the bidirectional communication at least between the first mobile device and the second mobile device.

21. The article of manufacture of claim 20 wherein the one or more non-transitory physical media further comprises:

one or more instructions configured for authorizing the communication cost component to be posted to a user account conditionally, at least partly based on a portion of a wireless communication using WLAN access, the user account being the account associated with the first mobile device.