Intermediate networking devices

• US 10,492,102 B2
• Filed: 05/18/2016
• Issued: 11/26/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Headwater Research LLC (Greg Raleigh)
• Original Assignee: Headwater Research LLC (Greg Raleigh)
• Inventors: Raleigh, Gregory G., Nguyen, Vien-Phuong, Stark, Lisa, Tellado, Jose
• Primary Examiner(s): Li, Guang W
• Application Number:
  US15/158,526
• Publication Number:
  US 20170078922A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,287 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/18 Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/02 Traffic management, e.g. flow control or congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/10 Flow control between communication endpoints
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/04 Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals

Abstract

A wireless communication device comprising: one or more network modems enabling the wireless communication device to communicate over a first wireless network; one or more network modems enabling the wireless communication device to communicate with two or more end-point devices over a second wireless network; one or more processors configured to execute one or more instructions; and memory coupled to the one or more processors and configured to provide the one or more processors with the one or more instructions. The one or more instructions, when executed by the processors, cause processors to: establish a first connection between the wireless communication device and a first end-point device; establish a second connection between the wireless communication device and a second end-point device; apply a first control to traffic transmitted by or to the first end-point device; and apply a second control to traffic transmitted by or to the second end-point device.

Claims

1. A first wireless end-user device, comprising:

a wireless wide-area network (WWAN) modem to communicate Internet data over at least a first WWAN;

a wireless local area network (WLAN) modem to directly communicate Internet data with a plurality of other wireless end-user devices not in direct communication with the first WWAN;

a physical user interface; and

a processor to execute one or more stored instructions that cause the processor to

execute a plurality of interactive data applications via the physical user interface with a user of the first wireless end-user device, at least some of the interactive applications accessing Internet data over the at least a first WWAN via the WWAN modem;

determine whether a device forwarding policy, set by a network element within a network system associated with the first WWAN, allows the first wireless end-user device to forward Internet data between the first WWAN and the plurality of other wireless end-user devices connected to the first wireless end-user device via the WLAN modem,

provide via the physical user interface, a forwarding controls interface to a user of the first wireless end-user device, to allow the user to specify and store on the first wireless end-user device, for second and third wireless end-user devices, respectively, second and third network usage controls applicable to connecting the second and third wireless end-user devices as ones of the plurality of other wireless end-user devices,

based at least in part on determining that the device forwarding policy allows forwarding, apply the second network usage control to Internet data traffic forwarded by the first wireless end-user device between the first WWAN and the second wireless end-user device, at a first time when the first and second wireless end-user devices are directly connected via the WLAN modem, and

based at least in part on determining that the device forwarding policy allows forwarding, apply the third network usage control to Internet data traffic forwarded by the first wireless end-user device between the first WWAN and the third wireless end-user device, at a second time when the first and third wireless end-user devices are directly connected via the WLAN modem.