Protocols for facilitating third party authorization for a rooted communication device in wireless communications

• US 9,781,554 B2
• Filed: 06/28/2013
• Issued: 10/03/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• 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:
  US13/931,236
• Publication Number:
  US 20140269442A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,558 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information

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 service management system comprising:

one or more electronic devices including at least;

circuitry configured for obtaining at least one third-party authorization for a rooted communication device to present geographical wireless local area network (WLAN) connectivity data, the circuitry configured for obtaining at least one third-party authorization including at least a first node set upon which a first voltage configuration manifests the third-party authorization for a rooted communication device to present geographical WLAN connectivity data;

circuitry configured for obtaining a first position estimate of the rooted communication device, the circuitry configured for obtaining a first position estimate including at least a second node set upon which a second voltage configuration manifests first position estimate of the rooted communication device;

circuitry configured for automatically determining whether to present at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate wherein the automatic determination includes at least determining one or more conditions associated with the third-party authorization, determining at least status information associated with the rooted communication device, and determining whether to present the at least one positional indication based at least partly on compliance of at least the status information with the one or more conditions; and

circuitry configured for signaling the automatic determination whether to present the at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate at the rooted communication device, the circuitry configured for signaling the automatic determination including at least a third node set upon which a third voltage configuration manifests the automatic determination whether to present the at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate at the rooted communication device.

2. A communication service management system comprising:

one or more electronic devices including at least;

circuitry configured for obtaining at least one third-party authorization for a rooted communication device to present geographical wireless local area network (WLAN) connectivity data;

circuitry configured for obtaining a first position estimate of the rooted communication device;

circuitry configured for automatically determining whether to present at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate wherein the automatic determination includes at least determining one or more conditions associated with the third-party authorization, determining at least status information associated with the rooted communication device, and determining whether to present the at least one positional indication based at least partly on compliance of at least the status information with the one or more conditions; and

circuitry configured for signaling the automatic determination whether to present the at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate at the rooted communication device.

3. The communication service management system of claim 2 wherein the circuitry configured for signaling the automatic determination whether to present the at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate at the rooted communication device includes at least:

circuitry configured for causing the rooted communication device to visibly indicate a segment of the wireless connectivity map that includes at least automatically curated map data.

4. The communication service management system of claim 2 wherein:

the rooted communication device includes at least an unlocked communication device.

5. The communication service management system of claim 2 wherein:

the rooted communication device includes at least a jailbroken communication device.

6. The communication service management system of claim 2 wherein the circuitry configured for signaling the automatic determination whether to present the at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate at the rooted communication device includes at least:

circuitry configured for signaling at least one decision whether to adjust a latency threshold for user data used at the rooted communication device.

7. The communication service management system of claim 2 wherein the circuitry configured for signaling the automatic determination whether to present the at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate at the rooted communication device includes at least:

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

8. The communication service management system of claim 2 wherein the circuitry configured for signaling the automatic determination whether to present the at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate at the rooted communication device includes at least:

circuitry configured for causing first content of a wireless signal to pass either through a first memory of the rooted communication device or through a second memory of the rooted communication device selected as an automatic and conditional response to whether second content of the wireless signal satisfies a first criterion.

9. The communication service management system of claim 2 wherein the circuitry configured for signaling the automatic determination whether to present the at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate at the rooted communication device includes at least:

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

circuitry configured for signaling at least one decision whether to cause the configurable core to draw from the first data queue of the rooted communication 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.

10. The communication service management system of claim 2 wherein the circuitry configured for signaling the automatic determination whether to present the at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate at the rooted communication device includes at least:

circuitry configured for handling off at least one interpersonal communication service from a cellular base station to a WLAN access point, a usage of the cellular base station resulting in a communication service cost component to an account associated with a first mobile device and not with the rooted communication device, the interpersonal communication service being bidirectional and being a communication service via at least the first mobile device and the rooted communication device, the rooted communication device being a second mobile device.

11. The communication service management system of claim 2 wherein the circuitry configured for signaling the automatic determination whether to present the at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate at the rooted communication device includes at least:

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

12. The communication service management system of claim 2 wherein the circuitry configured for signaling the automatic determination whether to present the at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate at the rooted communication device includes at least:

circuitry configured for signaling at least one indication of a communication service via at least a first mobile device and the rooted communication device, the rooted communication device being a second mobile device, the communication service being a telephone call to a user of the rooted communication device and to a user of a third mobile device.

13. The communication service management system of claim 2 wherein the circuitry configured for signaling the automatic determination whether to present the at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate at the rooted communication device includes at least:

circuitry configured for signaling at least one indication of a communication service via at least a first mobile device and the rooted communication device, the rooted communication device being a second mobile device, the communication service being a telephone call from a user of the rooted communication device.

14. The communication service management system of claim 2 wherein the circuitry configured for obtaining at least one third-party authorization for a rooted communication device to present geographical wireless local area network (WLAN) connectivity data includes at least:

circuitry configured for obtaining at least one third-party authorization for the rooted communication device to present geographical WLAN connectivity data from a user of a first mobile device via the first mobile device, the user of the first mobile device being a subscriber of a wireless communication service provider, the rooted communication device being a second mobile device.

15. The communication service management system of claim 2 further comprising:

the rooted communication device, wherein the circuitry configured for signaling the automatic determination whether to present the at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate at the rooted communication device includes at least firmware.

16. The communication service management system of claim 2 wherein the circuitry configured for automatically determining whether to present at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate includes at least:

circuitry configured for establishing at least one communication service via at least a first mobile device and the rooted communication device in response to a request from the first mobile device, the rooted communication device being a second mobile device.

17. The communication service management system of claim 2 wherein the circuitry configured for signaling the automatic determination whether to present the at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate at the rooted communication device includes at least:

circuitry configured for authorizing at least one charge to an account associated with a first mobile device wherein the at least one charge identifies the rooted communication device and at least one communication service, the rooted communication device being a second mobile device.

18. The communication service management system of claim 2 further comprising:

circuitry configured for receiving wireless service status data at least indicating availability of wireless services associated with the first location estimate;

circuitry configured for receiving data identifying at least one protocol by which the first location estimate is obtained;

circuitry configured for evaluating whether the at least one protocol by which the location estimate is obtained is adequate for automatic updating of a wireless connectivity map; and

circuitry configured for updating the wireless connectivity map according to the wireless service status data at least indicating availability of wireless services associated with the location estimate responsive to whether the protocol by which the location estimate is obtained is adequate for automatic updating of the wireless connectivity map.

19. The communication service management system of claim 2 wherein the circuitry configured for signaling the automatic determination whether to present the at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate at the rooted communication device includes at least:

circuitry configured for causing the rooted communication device to present at least one segment of a wireless connectivity map including at least a specific positional model that represents both an isotropic radiator and an anisotropic radiator, the positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate including at least the segment of the wireless connectivity map.

20. The communication service management system of claim 2 wherein the circuitry configured for signaling the automatic determination whether to present the at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate at the rooted communication device includes at least:

circuitry configured for causing a data component of a wireless signal to be processed by a special-purpose module in a handheld device as an automatic and conditional response to a thermal state of a temperature sensor in the handheld device, the handheld device being the rooted communication device.

21. The communication service management system of claim 2 wherein the circuitry configured for signaling the automatic determination whether to present the at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate at the rooted communication device includes at least:

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

22. The communication service management system of claim 2 wherein the circuitry configured for signaling the automatic determination whether to present the at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate at the rooted communication device includes at least:

circuitry configured for manifesting the communication by establishing a direct wireless linkage between a cell tower and the rooted communication device partly based on receiving a charge authorization and partly based on the rooted communication device not having WLAN service.

23. The communication service management system of claim 2 wherein the circuitry configured for automatically determining whether to present at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate comprises:

circuitry configured for automatically determining whether to present at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate wherein the automatic determination includes at least determining one or more time conditions associated with the third-party authorization, determining at least one time at which the rooted communication device attempts to update at least one connectivity map segment associated with the at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate, and determining whether to present the at least one positional indication based at least partly on compliance of at least the at least one time at which the rooted communication device attempts to update at least one connectivity map segment associated with the at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate with the one or more time conditions.

24. The communication service management system of claim 2 wherein the circuitry configured for automatically determining whether to present at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate comprises:

circuitry configured for automatically determining whether to present at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate wherein the automatic determination includes at least determining one or more data reporting conditions associated with the third-party authorization, determining at least user reporting information associated with the rooted communication device, and determining whether to present the at least one positional indication based at least partly on compliance of at least the user reporting information with the one or more reporting conditions.

25. The communication service management system of claim 2 wherein the circuitry configured for automatically determining whether to present at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate comprises:

circuitry configured for automatically determining whether to present at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate wherein the automatic determination includes at least determining one or more multiple-party agreement conditions associated with the third-party authorization, determining at least multiple-party authorization information associated with the rooted communication device, and determining whether to present the at least one positional indication based at least partly on compliance of at least the multiple-party authorization information with the one or more multiple-party agreement conditions.

26. The communication service management system of claim 2 wherein the circuitry configured for automatically determining whether to present at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate comprises:

circuitry configured for automatically determining whether to present at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate wherein the automatic determination includes at least accessing one or more account-specific criteria defined by at least one communication service provider specifying one or more conditions associated with the third-party authorization, determining at least status information associated with the rooted communication device, and determining whether to present the at least one positional indication based at least partly on compliance of at least the status information with the one or more conditions.

27. The communication service management system of claim 2 wherein the circuitry configured for automatically determining whether to present at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate comprises:

circuitry configured for automatically determining whether to present at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate wherein the automatic determination includes at least determining one or more conditions associated with the third-party authorization including at least location of the rooted communication device in a cell-only zone, determining at least location information associated with the rooted communication device, and determining whether to present the at least one positional indication based at least partly on compliance of at least the location information with the one or more conditions including at least location of the rooted communication device in a cell-only zone.

28. The communication service management system of claim 2 wherein the circuitry configured for automatically determining whether to present at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate comprises:

circuitry configured for automatically determining whether to present at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate wherein the automatic determination includes at least determining one or more charge authorizations associated with the third-party authorization, determining at least status information associated with the rooted communication device, and determining whether to present the at least one positional indication based at least partly on compliance of at least the status information with the one or more charge authorizations.

29. The communication service management system of claim 2 wherein the circuitry configured for automatically determining whether to present at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate comprises:

circuitry configured for automatically determining whether to present at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate wherein the automatic determination includes at least determining one or more conditions associated with the third-party authorization;

determining at least status information associated with the rooted communication device including at least one of availability of wireless services within a region, availability of wireless services within a region depicted by one or more maps, at least one estimated position of one or more access points, at least one estimated position of one or more access points determined by Global Positioning System (GPS), at least one estimated position of one or more access points determined by triangulation, timing data, timing data derived from a signal from the rooted communication device traveling across WLAN zones, or latest wireless service status in multiple zones near a most-recent estimated position of at least one access point; and

determining whether to present the at least one positional indication based at least partly on compliance of at least the status information with the one or more conditions.

30. The communication service management system of claim 2 wherein:

the circuitry configured for obtaining a first position estimate of the rooted communication device includes circuitry configured for obtaining a first position estimate of the rooted communication device internal to at least one building; and

the circuitry configured for automatically determining whether to present at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate includes circuitry configured for automatically determining whether to present at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity internal to at least one building.

31. The communication service management system of claim 2 wherein:

the circuitry configured for obtaining a first position estimate of the rooted communication device includes circuitry configured for obtaining a first position estimate of the rooted communication device internal to at least one building; and

the circuitry configured for automatically determining whether to present at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate includes circuitry configured for automatically determining whether to present at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity indicating which floors of the at least one building have WLAN service suitable for use by one or more mobile devices.

32. The communication service management system of claim 2 wherein:

the circuitry configured for obtaining a first position estimate of the rooted communication device includes circuitry configured for obtaining a first position estimate of the rooted communication device in at least one geographical region; and

the circuitry configured for automatically determining whether to present at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate includes circuitry configured for automatically determining whether to present at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity in the in at least one geographical region.

33. The communication service management system of claim 2 wherein:

the circuitry configured for obtaining a first position estimate of the rooted communication device includes circuitry configured for determining a first position estimate of the rooted communication device in at least one geographical region via at least one of a triangulation protocol or a timing protocol to compute two or more scalar values quantitatively describing at least a past or present position of the rooted communication device; and

the circuitry configured for automatically determining whether to present at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate includes circuitry configured for automatically determining whether to present at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity in the in at least one geographical region.

34. The communication service management system of claim 2 wherein:

the circuitry configured for obtaining a first position estimate of the rooted communication device includes circuitry configured for obtaining a first position estimate of the rooted communication device in at least one geographical region; and

the circuitry configured for automatically determining whether to present at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate includes circuitry configured for automatically determining whether to present at least one positional indication of connectivity in the in at least one geographical region, the at least one positional indication of connectivity including one or more of WLAN connectivity, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) connectivity, Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS) connectivity, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) connectivity, Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) connectivity, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) connectivity, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UTRA) connectivity, 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) connectivity, Long-Term Evolution (LTE) connectivity, LTE Advanced connectivity, Bluetooth connectivity, or Near Field Communication (NFC) connectivity.

35. A communication service management system comprising:

one or more articles of manufacture including at least;

means for obtaining a third-party authorization for a rooted communication device to present geographical wireless local area network (WLAN) connectivity data;

means for obtaining a first position estimate of the rooted communication device;

means for automatically determining whether to present at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate wherein the automatic determination includes at least determining one or more conditions associated with the third-party authorization, determining at least status information associated with the rooted communication device, and determining whether to present the at least one positional indication based at least partly on compliance of at least the status information with the one or more conditions; and

means for signaling the automatic determination whether to present the at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate at the rooted communication device.

36. A communication service management method comprising:

obtaining a third-party authorization for a rooted communication device to present geographical wireless local area network (WLAN) connectivity data;

obtaining a first position estimate of the rooted communication device;

invoking circuitry configured for automatically determining whether to present at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate wherein the automatic determination includes at least determining one or more conditions associated with the third-party authorization, determining at least status information associated with the rooted communication device, and determining whether to present the at least one positional indication based at least partly on compliance of at least the status information with the one or more conditions; and

signaling the automatic determination whether to present the at least one positional indication of WLAN connectivity relative to the first position estimate at the rooted communication device.