SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PIN-TO-PIN NETWORK COMMUNICATIONS

• US 20100241720A1
• Filed: 05/20/2010
• Published: 09/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Onset Technology Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Onset Technology Incorporated
• Inventors: Mazor, Gadi
• Application Number:
  US12/784,267
• Publication Number:
  US 20100241720A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/18 Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols

Abstract

A system and method is provided for enabling wireless access to a computer network via communication between a remote (client) wireless device and a wireless device physically linked to the computer network. A bank of one or more wireless gateway devices may be cradled and connected to a network server. The wireless gateway devices may then act as a node on the wireless network, and remote wireless devices may send and receive messages to and from the wireless gateway devices using PIN-to-PIN messaging. The wireless gateway devices, when cradled, may communicate with any attached server or other network equipment, and may therefore act as a wireless gateway to the server or other network equipment.

Claims

1. A method for communicating between a remote wireless device and one or more back-end devices on a computer network using wireless PIN-to-PIN messages, comprising:

cradling one or more wireless gateway devices to the computer network, wherein cradling the one or more wireless gateway devices to the computer network facilitates communication with the back-end devices on the computer network in a manner that bypasses one or more gateway devices on the computer network that are unavailable;

determining a unique PIN identifier for the remote wireless device and one or more unique PIN identifiers for the one or more cradled wireless gateway devices, wherein the remote wireless device uses the unique PIN identifiers for the cradled wireless gateway devices and the cradled wireless gateway devices use the unique PIN identifier for the remote wireless device to communicate over a wireless data network using PIN-to-PIN messages in a manner that bypasses the unavailable gateway devices on the computer network;

sending the one or more unique PIN identifiers for the one or more cradled wireless gateway devices to the remote wireless device over the wireless data network; and

communicating information between the back-end devices on the computer network and the remote wireless device over the wireless data network, wherein communicating the information over the wireless data network includes;

sending a first PIN-to-PIN message from at least one of the cradled wireless gateway devices to the remote wireless device over the wireless data network, wherein the at least one cradled wireless gateway device uses the unique PIN identifier for the remote wireless device to send the first PIN-to-PIN message to the remote wireless device over the wireless data network; and

receiving, at the at least one cradled wireless gateway device, a second PIN-to-PIN message from the remote wireless device over the wireless data network, wherein the remote wireless device uses the unique PIN identifier for the at least one cradled wireless gateway device to send the at least one second PIN-to-PIN message to the at least one cradled wireless gateway device over the wireless data network.

2. A system for communicating between a remote wireless device and one or more back-end devices on a computer network using wireless PIN-to-PIN messages, comprising:

the remote wireless device, wherein the remote wireless device has a first unique PIN identifier for communicating over a wireless data network using PIN-to-PIN messages in a manner that bypasses one or more unavailable gateway devices on the computer network; and

a wireless gateway device cradled to the computer network, wherein cradling the wireless gateway device to the computer network facilitates communication with the back-end devices on the computer network in a manner that bypasses the unavailable gateway devices on the computer network, and wherein the wireless gateway device has a second unique PIN identifier for communicating over the wireless data network using PIN-to-PIN messages in a manner that bypasses the unavailable gateway devices on the computer network, wherein the cradled wireless gateway device is configured to;

send the unique PIN identifier for the cradled wireless gateway device to the remote wireless device over the wireless data network;

send a first PIN-to-PIN message to the remote wireless device over the wireless data network, wherein the cradled wireless gateway device uses the unique PIN identifier for the remote wireless device to send the first PIN-to-PIN message to the remote wireless device over the wireless data network; and

receive a second PIN-to-PIN message from the remote wireless device over the wireless data network, wherein the remote wireless device uses the unique PIN identifier for the cradled wireless gateway device to send the second PIN-to-PIN message to the cradled wireless gateway device over the wireless data network, wherein the first PIN-to-PIN message and the second PIN-to-PIN message communicate information between the back-end devices on the computer network and the remote wireless device over the wireless data network.

3. A method for providing a remote wireless device access to one or more back-end devices on a computer network over a wireless data network, comprising:

receiving, at the remote wireless device, one or more unique PIN addresses for one or more wireless gateway devices physically connected to the computer network, wherein the one or more wireless gateway devices physically connected to the computer network facilitate communication with the back-end devices on the computer network in a manner that bypasses one or more gateway devices on the computer network that are unavailable, and wherein the one or more unique PIN addresses uniquely identify the one or more wireless gateway devices on the wireless data network;

sending a first PIN-to-PIN message to at least one of the wireless gateway devices over the wireless data network, wherein the remote wireless device uses the unique PIN address for the at least one wireless gateway device to send the first PIN-to-PIN message to the at least one wireless gateway device over the wireless data network; and

receiving, at the remote wireless device, a second PIN-to-PIN message from the at least one wireless gateway device over the wireless data network, wherein the wireless gateway device uses a unique PIN address that uniquely identifies the remote wireless device on the wireless data network to send the second PIN-to-PIN message to the remote wireless device over the wireless data network, and wherein the first PIN-to-PIN message and the second PIN-to-PIN message communicate information between the back-end devices on the computer network and the remote wireless device over the wireless data network.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the one or more wireless gateway devices communicate their one or more unique PIN addresses to the unique PIN address for the remote wireless device in response to one or more predetermined events occurring, thereby enabling the communication of the information between the remote wireless device and the back-end devices on the computer network over the wireless data network.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the predetermined events include at least one of an emergency or disaster scenario.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the one or more wireless gateway devices include a plurality of redundant wireless gateway devices, and the remote wireless device sends the first PIN-to-PIN message to more than one of the redundant wireless gateway devices.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the back-end devices on the computer network include one or more wireless servers connected to the redundant wireless gateway devices, and wherein at least one of the redundant wireless gateway devices provides the remote wireless device access to information on the computer network through at least one of the wireless servers.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the one or more wireless servers include a plurality of redundant wireless servers connected to the computer network in different locations.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein one or more of the redundant wireless gateway devices or the redundant wireless servers are served on different wireless data networks to provide further redundancy.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the remote wireless device can access the information on the computer network through one or more of the redundant wireless servers or one or more devices connected to the redundant wireless servers.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising receiving, at the remote wireless device, a notification that indicates an availability for the redundant wireless gateway devices.

12. The method of claim 6, wherein a user selects one of the redundant wireless gateway devices with which the remote wireless device communicates.

13. The method of claim 6, wherein the remote wireless device automatically selects one of the redundant wireless gateway devices with which the remote wireless device communicates.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the remote wireless device automatically selects the wireless gateway device with which to communicate based on at least one of a type of the wireless gateway devices or the availability of the wireless gateway devices.

15. The method of claim 3, wherein the remote wireless device can access data resources associated with the back-end devices on the computer network via the first PIN-to-PIN message sent to the at least one wireless gateway devices and the second PIN-to-PIN message received from the at least one wireless gateway device.

16. The method of claim 3, wherein the wireless gateway devices act as nodes on the computer network when physically connected to the computer network, and wherein the remote wireless device can send and receive PIN-to-PIN messages to and from the wireless gateway devices to access data resources associated with the back-end devices on the computer network.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the wireless gateway devices further act as nodes on the wireless data network and communicate with one or more resources physically connected to the computer network to access the data resources associated with the back-end devices on the computer network.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the wireless gateway devices provide a direct link from the remote wireless device to network equipment attached to the computer network, wherein the direct link bypasses the unavailable gateway devices between the remote wireless device and the back-end devices on the computer network.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the remote wireless device can access the data resources associated with the back-end devices on the computer network in either a PIN-to-PIN messaging mode or a normal mode, wherein the remote wireless device communicates with the wireless gateway devices over the wireless data network to access the data resources associated with the back-end devices on the computer network in the PIN-to-PIN messaging mode, and wherein the remote wireless devices communicates with the gateway devices over the computer network to access the data resources associated with the back-end devices on the computer network in the normal mode.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein a user manually switches the remote wireless device to the PIN-to-PIN messaging mode in response to receiving a PIN-to-PIN message that notifies the user to initiate PIN-to-PIN messaging.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the wireless gateway device sends the PIN-to-PIN message that notifies the user to initiate PIN-to-PIN messaging on the remote wireless device in response to determining that the one or more gateway devices between the remote wireless device and the back-end devices on the computer network are unavailable.

22. The method of claim 3, wherein the remote wireless device automatically switches to a PIN-to-PIN messaging mode in response to receiving a PIN-to-PIN message that includes the unique PIN addresses for the wireless gateway devices.

23. The method of claim 3, further comprising receiving, at the remote wireless device, an update to the unique PIN addresses for one or more of the wireless gateway devices.

24. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

sending, by the remote wireless device, a request to one or more of the wireless gateway devices to retrieve one or more unique PIN addresses for one or more other remote wireless devices associated with the computer network;

receiving, at the remote wireless device, the one or more requested unique PIN addresses; and

sending a third PIN-to-PIN message to at least one of the other remote wireless devices over the wireless data network, wherein the remote wireless device uses the unique PIN address for the at least one other remote wireless device to send the third PIN-to-PIN message to the at least one other remote wireless device over the wireless data network.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the remote wireless device has access to information relating to the one or more unique PIN addresses requested for the one or more other remote wireless devices dependent upon at least one of network access rights or a security protocol.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the remote wireless device has access to information relating to the one or more unique PIN addresses requested for the one or more other remote wireless devices dependent upon a configuration of a wireless server connected to the wireless gateway device.

27. The method of claim 24, wherein the request identifies one or more entries in an address book of the remote wireless device.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the request includes one or more of a partial name, initials, or other information for the entries in the address book.

29. The method of claim 24, wherein the request identifies every user associated with the computer network.

30. The method of claim 24, further comprising sending a plurality of PIN-to-PIN messages to a plurality of the other remote wireless devices associated with one or more groups of users associated with the computer network, wherein the remote wireless device uses the unique PIN addresses for the plurality of other remote wireless devices to send the plurality of PIN-to-PIN messages to the plurality of other remote wireless devices over the wireless data network.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the groups of users include one or more of addresses in a group that an administrator of the computer network has defined, addresses in a group defined on the remote wireless device, or addresses in a group that a user has defined manually.

32. The method of claim 30, further comprising establishing a conference call through a voice gateway communicatively coupled to the wireless gateway device, wherein the instant conference call includes the remote wireless device and voice-enabled remote wireless devices associated with at least one of the groups of users.

33. A method for communicating between a remote wireless device and one or more back-end devices on a computer network over a wireless data network to bypass one or more gateway devices on the computer network that are unavailable, the method comprising:

communicating, to the remote wireless device, a unique PIN address that uniquely identifies a wireless gateway device on the wireless data network, wherein the wireless gateway device has a physical connection to the computer network;

receiving, at the wireless gateway device, a PIN-to-PIN message from the remote wireless device, wherein the remote wireless device uses the unique PIN address for the wireless gateway device to send the PIN-to-PIN message to the wireless gateway device over the wireless data network; and

communicating, by the wireless gateway device, information retrieved from the one or more back-end devices on the computer network to a unique PIN address that uniquely identifies the remote wireless device on the wireless data network, whereby the wireless gateway device facilitates communication between the remote wireless device and the one or more back-end devices on the computer network over the wireless data network in a manner that bypasses the unavailable gateway devices on the computer network.