METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTED COMMUNICATION USING SHORT RANGE AND WIDE RANGE COMMUNICATION LINKS

• US 20120057456A1
• Filed: 04/16/2010
• Published: 03/08/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: NearVerse, Inc.
• Original Assignee: NearVerse, Inc.
• Inventors: Bogatin, Boris, Jacobs, Drew
• Application Number:
  US13/264,903
• Publication Number:
  US 20120057456A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/230.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0958 based on metrics or performance parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/15 Setup of multiple wireless link connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/04 Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol]
• 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 method and apparatus for a wireless device comprising means for receiving first packets of an IP flow utilizing a wireless link to a cellular base station or a Wi-Fi access point during a first time interval; means for receiving second packets of an IP flow utilizing a wireless link to another wireless device during the first time interval; and means for recovering the IP flow utilizing the first and second packets are disclosed.

Claims

1. A wireless device comprising:

means for receiving first packets of an IP flow utilizing a wireless link to a first communication device during a first time interval, wherein the first communication device is a cellular base station or a Wi-Fi access point;

means for receiving second packets of the IP flow utilizing a peer-to-peer wireless link to a second communication wireless device during the first time interval; and

means for recovering the IP flow utilizing the first and second packets, wherein the first packets and second packets are associated with the same IP flow.

2. The wireless device of claim 1 wherein the peer-to-peer wireless link is a Bluetooth or peer-to-peer Wi-Fi link.

3. The wireless device of any one of claim 1 or 2 further comprising means for receiving third packets of the IP flow utilizing a wireless link to a third communication device during the first time interval and wherein the means for recovering the IP flow utilizes the first, second and third EP packets.

4. The wireless device of claim 3 further comprising means for caching the received first packets;

and means for transmitting the received first packets to another device.

9. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the IP flow originates from a single server, and

wherein the entire IP flow is transferred to the wireless device utilizing the plurality of other wireless devices and each of the other wireless devices is not sent all the data of the IP flow.

11. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the packets of the IP flow include a destination address of the wireless device and the first data and second data of the IP flow are TCP/IP packets having addresses of the plurality of wireless devices.

21. The wireless device of claim 1 comprising:

means for transferring data of the IP flow utilizing a plurality of wireless paths;

means for monitoring a quality of each of the plurality of wireless paths; and

means for adjusting a transfer rate of the data of the IP flow over each of the wireless paths in response to at least the monitored quality of that wireless path.

22. The wireless device of claim 21 wherein at least one of the wireless paths is to a cellular base station or Wi-Fi access point and at least one of the wireless paths is to another wireless device.

5. A method comprising:

a wireless device receiving first packets of an IP flow utilizing a wireless link to a first communication device during a first time interval, wherein the first communication device is a cellular base station or a Wi Fi access point;

the wireless device receiving second packets of the IP flow utilizing a wireless link to a second communication device during the first time interval; and

the wireless device recovering the IP flow utilizing the first and second packets, wherein the first and second packets are associated with the same IP flow.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the wireless link to the second communication device is a Bluetooth or peer-to-peer Wi-Fi link.

7. The method of any one of claim 5 or 6 further comprising the wireless device receiving third packets of the IP flow utilizing a wireless link to a third communication device during the first time interval and wherein the recovering of the IP flow utilizes the first, second and third IP packets.

8. The method of claim 5, further comprising the wireless device caching the received first packets;

and the wireless device transmitting the received first packets to another device.

10. (canceled)

12. The wireless device of any one of claim 9, 10 or 11 further comprising means for storing a link quality associated with each of the wireless devices.

13. The wireless device of claim 12 wherein a transfer rate of the data sent to one of the plurality of wireless devices is derived from at least the stored link quality.

14. The wireless device of claim 13 further configured to transmit an acknowledgment in response to the received first data or second data, wherein the link quality of each wireless device is derived at least from acknowledgements received from the wireless device.

15-20. -20. (canceled)

23-58. -58. (canceled)