Dynamically linked wireless networks

• US 20040219878A1
• Filed: 04/29/2003
• Published: 11/04/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Raji, Vijaye G.
• Granted Patent: US 7,092,713 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/11.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 Inter-networking arrangements

Abstract

A mechanism that allow one wireless computing system to communicate with another even though they are out of range of each other transmitter/receiver circuitry, and without requiring dedicated external equipment to facilitate the communication. Instead, intermediary wireless computing system may facilitate the communication. Upon receive a request to communicate with a destination wireless device, each intermediary computing system discovers available wireless communications, and forwards the communication to them. The next intermediary computing system does the same, and so on and so forth, until the destination wireless device receives the wireless communication. The response is returned via the same path in reverse. Accordingly, the source wireless computing system may discover a possible wireless path to the destination wireless device. Possible wireless paths may be added and deleted as those wireless paths are destroyed and created, respectively, due to the mobility of the wireless computing systems.

Claims

1. In a network environment that includes a source wireless computing system and a remote wireless computing system that communicate with each other over a wireless path of one or more intermediary wireless computing systems including a proximate wireless computing system that is most proximate the source wireless computing system in the wireless path, a method for the proximate wireless computing system facilitating wireless communication between the source wireless computing system and the remote wireless computing system over the wireless path despite the source and remote wireless computing systems being out of range of each other'"'"'s transmitter/receiver circuitry, the method comprising the following:

an act of receiving a wireless communication from the source wireless computing system, the wireless communication specifying either the remote wireless computing system or a computing system that is communicatively coupled to the remote wireless computing system as a destination of the wireless communication;

an act of determining that the proximate wireless computing system is not the destination of the wireless communication;

an act of identifying a next wireless computing system in the wireless path; and

system an act of transmitting the wireless communication to the next wireless computing system in the wireless path.

2. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the next wireless computing system in the wireless path is another intermediary computing system in the wireless path.

3. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the next wireless computing system in the wireless path is the remote wireless computing system.

4. A method in accordance with claim 3, further comprising the following performed by the proximate wireless computing system:

an act of determining that the next wireless computing system is no longer within range of the proximate wireless computing system; and

an act of notifying the source wireless computing device that the wireless path is no longer available for communication between the source wireless computing system and the destination wireless computing system.

5. A method in accordance with claim 1, further comprising the following performed by the proximate wireless computing system:

an act of identifying the wireless path.

6. A method in accordance with claim 5, wherein the act of identifying the wireless path comprises the following performed by the proximate wireless computing system:

an act of determining that the remote wireless computing system is within range of the proximate wireless computing system; and

an act of determining that the wireless path is through the proximate wireless computing system and then to the remote wireless computing system.

7. A method in accordance with claim 5, wherein the one or more intermediary wireless computing system include a plurality of intermediary wireless computing systems in the wireless path, wherein the act of identifying the wireless path comprises the following performed by the proximate wireless computing system:

an act of identifying at least one wireless computing system that is within range of the proximate wireless computing system;

an act of transmitting the request to one or more of the at least one wireless computing systems including the next wireless computing system in the yet-to-be-identified wireless path;

an act of receiving a response from the destination of the wireless communication via the next wireless computing system, the response identifying a path between the next wireless computing system and the remote wireless computing system; and

an act of identifying the wireless path as being through the proximate wireless computing system to the next wireless computing system and further along the path identified in the response.

8. A method in accordance with claim 7, wherein the destination of the wireless communication is the remote wireless device.

9. A method in accordance with claim 8, wherein the wireless communication is a first wireless communication and the source wireless computing system is a first source wireless computing system, the method further comprising the following performed by the proximate computing system:

an act of receiving a second communication from a second source wireless computing system;

an act of determining that the second communication is destined for the remote wireless computing system; and

an act of using the path identified in the response to route the second communication to the next wireless computing system.

10. A method in accordance with claim 9, further comprising the following performed by the proximate wireless computing system:

an act of determining that the wireless path is no longer available for wireless communication to the destination wireless computing device; and

an act of notifying the source wireless computing device that the wireless path is no longer available for wireless communication between the source wireless computing system and the destination of the wireless communication.

11. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the wireless communication is a first wireless communication, the method further comprising the following performed by the proximate wireless computing system:

an act of receiving a second wireless communication from the source wireless computing system;

an act of determining that the next wireless computing system is no longer within range of the proximate wireless computing system; and

an act of identifying a new wireless path from the proximate wireless computing system to the remote wireless computing system.

12. A method in accordance with claim 11, further comprising the following performed by the proximate wireless computing system:

an act of notifying the source wireless computing system of the new wireless path.

13. A method in accordance with claim 12, further comprising the following performed by the proximate wireless computing system:

an act of transmitting the second communication to the remote intermediary wireless computing system over the new wireless path.

14. A method in accordance with claim 11, further comprising the following performed by the proximate wireless computing system:

an act of transmitting the second communication to the remote intermediary wireless computing system over the new wireless path.

15. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the destination of the wireless communication is a computing system that is communicatively coupled to the remote wireless computing system.

16. A computer program product for use in a network environment that includes a source wireless computing system and a remote wireless computing system that communicate with each other over a wireless path of one or more intermediary wireless computing systems including a proximate wireless computing system that is most proximate the source computing system in the wireless path, the computer program product for implementing a method for the proximate wireless computing system facilitating wireless communication between the source wireless computing system and the remote wireless computing system over the wireless path despite the source and remote wireless computing systems being out of range of each other'"'"'s transmitter/receiver circuitry, the computer program product comprising one or more computer-readable media having stored therein the following:

computer-executable instructions for detecting receipt of a wireless communication from the source wireless computing system, the wireless communication specifying either the remote wireless computing system or a computing system that is communicatively coupled to the remote wireless computing system as a destination of the wireless communication;

computer-executable instructions for determining that the proximate wireless computing system is not the destination of the wireless communication;

computer-executable instructions for identifying a next wireless computing system in the wireless path; and

computer-executable instructions for causing the wireless communication to be transmitted to the next wireless computing system in the wireless path.

17. A computer program product in accordance with claim 16, wherein the one or more computer-readable media are physical storage media.

18. A computer program product in accordance with claim 17, wherein the physical storage media is volatile system memory.

19. A computer program product in accordance with claim 17, wherein the physical storage media is non-volatile memory.

20. A computer program product in accordance with claim 16, wherein the one or more computer readable media further have stored thereon the following:

computer-executable instructions for identifying the wireless path.

21. A computer program product in accordance with claim 20, wherein the computer-executable instructions for identifying the wireless path comprise the following:

computer-executable instructions for determining that the remote wireless computing system is within range of the proximate wireless computing system; and

computer-executable instructions for determining that the wireless path is through the proximate wireless computing system and then to the remote wireless computing system.

22. In a network environment that includes a source wireless computing system and a remote wireless computing system that communicate with each other over a wireless path of one or more intermediary wireless computing systems including a proximate wireless computing system that is most proximate the source wireless computing system in the wireless path, a method for the proximate wireless computing system facilitating wireless communication between the source wireless computing system and the remote wireless computing system over the wireless path despite the source and remote wireless computing systems being out of range of each other'"'"'s transmitter/receiver circuitry, the method comprising the following:

an act of receiving a wireless communication from the source wireless computing system, the wireless communication specifying either the remote wireless computing system or a computing system that is communicatively coupled to the remote wireless computing system as a destination of the wireless communication; and

a step for routing the wireless communication to the next wireless computing system in the wireless path.

23. A method in accordance with claim 22, wherein the step for routing the wireless communication to the next wireless computing system in the wireless path comprises the following:

an act of determining that the proximate wireless computing system is not the destination of the wireless communication;

an act of identifying a next wireless computing system in the wireless path; and

an act of transmitting the wireless communication to the next wireless computing system in the wireless path.

24. In a network environment that includes a source wireless computing system and a remote wireless computing system that communicate with each other over a wireless path of one or more intermediary wireless computing systems including a proximate wireless computing system that is most proximate the source wireless computing system in the wireless path, a method for the source wireless computing system to communicate with the remote wireless computing system over the wireless path despite the source and remote wireless computing systems being out of range of each other'"'"'s transmitter/receiver circuitry, the method performed by the source wireless computing system comprising the following:

an act of identifying a plurality of wireless devices within range of the source wireless computing system;

an act of transmitting a first wireless communication to each of at least some of the plurality of wireless devices including the proximate wireless computing system in the wireless path, the first wireless communication specifying the remote wireless computing system or a computing system that is communicatively coupled to the remote wireless computing system as the destination of the wireless communication;

an act of receiving a response to the first wireless communication from the proximate wireless computing system, the response specifying the wireless path; and

an act of transmitting a second wireless communication to the destination of the wireless communication, the second wireless communication specifying the wireless path.

25. A method in accordance with claim 24, wherein the wireless path is a first wireless path, the method further comprising the following:

an act of transmitting the first wireless communication to a first intermediary computing system in a second wireless path that leads to the remote wireless computing system; and

an act of receiving a response to the first wireless communication from the first intermediary computing system in the second wireless path.

26. A method in accordance with claim 25, further comprising the following:

an act of identifying that the first wireless path is more efficient than the second wireless path.

27. A method in accordance with claim 26, wherein the act of identifying that the first wireless paths is more efficient than the second wireless path comprises the following:

an act of comparing performance statistics received in the response from the proximate computing system in the first wireless path with performance statistics received in the response from the first intermediary computing system in the second wireless path.

28. A method in accordance with claim 26, further comprising the following:

an act of determining that the first wireless path is no longer available for communication with the remote wireless device; and

after the act of determining that the first wireless path is no longer available, an act of using the second wireless path to communicate with the remote wireless computing system.

29. A computer program product for use in a network environment that includes a source wireless computing system and a remote wireless computing system that communicate with each other over a wireless path of one or more intermediary wireless computing systems, the computer program product for implementing a method for the source wireless computing system to communicate with the remote wireless computing system over the wireless path despite the source and remote wireless computing systems being out of range of each other'"'"'s transmitter/receiver circuitry, the computer program product comprising one or more computer-readable media having therein the following:

computer-executable instructions for identifying a plurality of wireless devices within range of the source wireless computing system;

computer-executable instructions for causing a first wireless communication to be transmitted to each of at least some of the plurality of wireless devices including a first intermediary wireless computing system in the wireless path, the first wireless communication specifying the remote wireless computing system as the destination of the wireless communication;

computer-executable instructions for detecting receipt of a response to the first wireless communication from the first intermediary computing system, the response specifying the wireless path; and

computer-executable instructions for causing a second wireless communication to transmitted to the remote wireless device, the second wireless communication specifying the wireless path.

30. A computer program product in accordance with claim 29, wherein the one or more computer-readable media are physical storage media.

31. A computer program product in accordance with claim 30, wherein the physical storage media is volatile system memory.

32. A computer program product in accordance with claim 30, wherein the physical storage media is non-volatile memory.

33. A computer program product in accordance with claim 29, wherein the wireless path is a first wireless path, the one or more computer-readable media further having thereon the following:

computer-executable instructions for causing the first wireless communication to be transmitted to a first intermediary computing system in a second wireless path that leads to the destination wireless computing system; and

computer-executable instructions for detecting receipt of a response to the first wireless communication from the first intermediary computing system in the second wireless path.

34. A computer program product in accordance with claim 30, wherein the one or more computer-readable media further having thereon the following:

computer-executable instructions for identifying that the first wireless path is more efficient than the second wireless path.

35. A computer program product in accordance with claim 31, wherein the computer-executable instructions for identifying that the first wireless paths is more efficient than the second wireless path comprise the following:

computer-executable instructions for comparing performance statistics received in the response from the first intermediary computing system in the first wireless path with performance statistics received in the response from the first intermediary computing system in the second wireless path when executed by the source wireless computing system.

36. A computer program product in accordance with claim 31, wherein the one or more computer-readable media further have thereon the following:

computer-executable instructions for determining that the first wireless path is no longer available for communication with the remote wireless computing system; and

computer-executable instructions for using the second wireless path to communicate with the remote wireless computing system after executing the computer-executable instructions for determining that the first wireless path is no longer available.