Protocols for facilitating charge-authorized connectivity in wireless communications

• US 9,843,917 B2
• Filed: 06/28/2013
• Issued: 12/12/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• 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:
  US13/931,285
• Publication Number:
  US 20140269443A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,628 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1421 Indication of expected costs
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1435 volume-based
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1457 using an account
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/18 Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/09 Third party charged communications
• 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 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

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 management system comprising:

at least one network device including one or more electronic devices, the one or more electronic devices including at least;

circuitry configured for obtaining at least one account-specific criteria defined by a cellular carrier;

circuitry configured for determining whether to establish a communication via at least a first mobile device and a second mobile device including at least (1) determining whether a charge authorization has been associated with the first mobile device according to the at least one account-specific criteria, (2) determining whether the second mobile device has wireless local area network (WLAN) service, (3) automatically and conditionally authorizing the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device when the at least one account-specific criteria indicates the charge authorization has been associated with the first mobile device and the second mobile device has WLAN service, and (4) responsive to failure to authorize the communication, authorizing the communication automatically and conditionally when the at least one account-specific criteria indicates the charge authorization has been associated with the first mobile device and an indication of at least one communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device having been in progress when the second mobile device crossed a WLAN service space boundary wherein authorizing the communication includes at least allocating to an account associated with the first mobile device at least one communication service cost component specified by the account-specific criteria that depends upon when the second mobile device crossed the WLAN service space boundary; and

circuitry configured for signaling the determination whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device wherein authorization of the communication enables the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device to be established.

2. The communication management system of claim 1 further comprising:

the first mobile device including at least firmware, wherein the firmware includes at least;

the circuitry configured for determining whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device; and

the circuitry configured for signaling the determination whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device.

3. The communication management system of claim 1 further comprising:

an integrated circuit (IC) chip including at least;

a first portion including at least the circuitry configured for determining whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device; and

a second portion including at least the circuitry configured for signaling the determination whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device.

4. The communication management system of claim 1, wherein the one or more electronic devices further includes:

circuitry configured for obtaining a first location estimate describing a first location of the second mobile device by receiving the first location estimate from the second mobile device; and

circuitry configured for obtaining first provenance data indicating a protocol by which the second mobile device apparently obtained the first location estimate by receiving the first provenance data from the second mobile device.

5. The communication management system of claim 1, wherein the one or more electronic devices further includes:

circuitry configured for causing at least some of a wireless connectivity map to be displayed via the second mobile device after a decision whether to update the wireless connectivity map automatically and conditionally at least partly based on a first location estimate describing a first location of a third mobile device and at least partly based on first provenance data indicating a protocol by which the third mobile device apparently obtained the first location estimate.

6. The communication management system of claim 1, wherein the circuitry configured for determining whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device further includes:

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

circuitry configured for determining a decision whether to cause the configurable core to draw from the first data queue of the first mobile device in a second core operating mode as an automatic and conditional response to a charging state of a battery in the first mobile device.

7. The communication management system of claim 1, wherein the circuitry configured for determining whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device further includes:

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

8. The communication management system of claim 1, wherein the circuitry configured for determining whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device further includes:

circuitry configured for assigning a cost component of the communication to an account associated with a third mobile device conditionally, in response to receiving the charge authorization from the third mobile device before receiving any charge authorization from the first mobile device.

9. The communication management system of claim 1, wherein the circuitry configured for determining whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device further includes:

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

29. The communication management system of claim 1, wherein the circuitry configured for determining whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device further includes:

circuitry configured for iteratively determining whether a charge authorization has been associated with the first mobile device in response to at least one of changes in the at least one account-specific criteria or changes in at least one condition of the communication, and establishing one or more wireless linkages directly between the second mobile device and a cell tower upon receiving at least one indication that the second mobile device has entered a cell-only zone.

10. A communication management system comprising:

at least one network device including one or more electronic devices, the one or more electronic devices including at least;

circuitry configured for obtaining at least one account-specific criteria defined by a cellular carrier;

circuitry configured for determining whether to establish a communication via at least a first mobile device and a second mobile device including at least (1) determining whether a charge authorization has been associated with the first mobile device according to the at least one account-specific criteria, (2) determining whether the second mobile device has wireless local area network (WLAN) service, (3) automatically and conditionally authorizing the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device when the at least one account-specific criteria indicates the charge authorization has been associated with the first mobile device and the second mobile device has WLAN service, and (4) responsive to failure to authorize the communication, iteratively determining whether a charge authorization has been associated with the first mobile device in response to at least one of changes in the at least one account-specific criteria or changes in at least one condition of the communication, and authorizing the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device automatically and conditionally when the at least one account-specific criteria indicates the charge authorization has been associated with the first mobile device; and

circuitry configured for signaling the determination whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device wherein authorization of the communication enables the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device to be established.

11. The communication management system of claim 10 further comprising:

the first mobile device including firmware, wherein the firmware includes at least;

the circuitry configured for determining whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device; and

the circuitry configured for signaling the determination whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device.

12. The communication management system of claim 10 wherein the circuitry configured for signaling the determination whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device includes:

circuitry configured for signaling the determination by establishing the communication, the communication originating at the first mobile device.

13. The communication management system of claim 10, wherein the circuitry configured for determining whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device further includes:

circuitry configured for responding to the charge authorization and to an indication of the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device having been in progress when the second mobile device crossed a WLAN service space boundary by allocating a communication service cost component that depends upon when the second mobile device crossed the WLAN service space boundary to a wireless service zone associated with an account associated with the first mobile device.

14. The communication management system of claim 10 wherein the circuitry configured for signaling the determination whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device includes:

circuitry configured for signaling the determination via a wireless signal.

15. The communication management system of claim 10 wherein the circuitry configured for signaling the determination whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device includes:

circuitry configured for signaling the determination by establishing the communication, the communication being a telephone call to a user of the first mobile device and to a user of a third mobile device.

16. The communication management system of claim 10 wherein the one or more electronic devices further includes:

a first electrical node set upon which a first voltage configuration manifests the first determination whether the second mobile device has WLAN service, the first determination whether the second mobile device has WLAN service having been received as a wireless transmission from the second mobile device; and

a second electrical node set upon which a second voltage configuration manifests the second determination whether the second mobile device has WLAN service, the second determination whether the second mobile device has WLAN service having been received as a wireless transmission from the second mobile device.

17. The communication management system of claim 10, wherein the circuitry configured for determining whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device further includes:

circuitry configured for determining whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device automatically and conditionally, according to the at least one account-specific criteria defined by a cellular carrier at least partly based on whether the charge authorization has been associated with the first mobile device wherein the charge authorization identifies the second mobile device and the communication.

18. The communication management system of claim 10, wherein the circuitry configured for determining whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device further includes:

circuitry configured for determining whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device automatically and conditionally, according to the at least one account-specific criteria defined by a cellular carrier at least partly based on whether the charge authorization has been associated with the first mobile device wherein the communication is established as a real-time response to the charge authorization having been received from a user at the first mobile device.

19. The communication management system of claim 10 wherein:

the first mobile device is configured to have a first nominal downlink frequency of at least about 59 GHz and of at most about 64 GHz; and

the first mobile device is configured to have a second nominal downlink frequency of at least about 2.4 GHz and of at most about 5 GHz.

20. The communication management system of claim 10, wherein the one or more electronic devices further includes:

at least one of;

circuitry configured for causing at least some of a wireless connectivity map to be displayed via the second mobile device after a decision whether to update the wireless connectivity map automatically and conditionally at least partly based on a first location estimate describing a first location of a third mobile device and at least partly based on first provenance data indicating a protocol by which the third mobile device apparently obtained the first location estimate;

circuitry configured for causing at least some of a wireless connectivity map to be displayed, the wireless connectivity map indicating a service boundary prospectively relating to the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device, the communication being a prospective interpersonal communication;

a third mobile device configured as a wearable assembly and configured for presenting an audible notification of a WLAN service boundary, the WLAN service boundary being a component of a wireless connectivity map after a decision whether to update the wireless connectivity map automatically and conditionally at least partly based on a first location estimate describing a first location of a fourth mobile device and at least partly based on first provenance data indicating a protocol by which the fourth mobile device apparently obtained the first location estimate;

circuitry configured for causing the second mobile device to present some of a wireless connectivity map including a specific positional model that represents both an isotropic radiator and an anisotropic radiator;

or

circuitry configured for displaying via a third mobile device at least some of a wireless connectivity map depicting a cost-indicative service boundary prospectively relating to the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device.

21. The communication management system of claim 10, wherein the circuitry configured for determining whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device further includes:

circuitry configured for iteratively determining whether a charge authorization has been associated with the first mobile device in response to at least one of changes in the at least one account-specific criteria or changes in at least one condition of the communication, and authorizing the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device automatically and conditionally when at least one subscriber indicates a charge authorization to sponsor participation of other devices.

22. The communication management system of claim 10, wherein the circuitry configured for determining whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device further includes:

iteratively determining whether a charge authorization has been associated with the first mobile device in response to at least one of changes in the at least one account-specific criteria or changes in at least one condition of the communication, and authorizing the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device automatically and conditionally when at least one user who does not have a contractual relationship with a cellular carrier is permitted to park on a communication linkage until establishment of the communication wherein the at least one user would otherwise have to forego the communication or continuously repeat a communication request.

23. The communication management system of claim 10 wherein the circuitry configured for determining whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device includes:

circuitry configured for iteratively determining whether a charge authorization has been associated with the first mobile device in response to at least one of changes in the at least one account-specific criteria or changes in at least one condition of the communication, and authorizing the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device automatically and conditionally when multiple users call a hub apparatus to establish a conference call among a plurality of devices including at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device implementing a telephone call among the plurality of devices.

24. The communication management system of claim 10 wherein the circuitry configured for determining whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device includes:

circuitry configured for iteratively determining whether a charge authorization has been associated with the first mobile device in response to at least one of changes in the at least one account-specific criteria or changes in at least one condition of the communication, and authorizing the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device automatically and conditionally upon receipt of one or more authorizations from at least one user to establish one or more interpersonal communications via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device.

25. The communication management system of claim 10 wherein the circuitry configured for signaling the determination whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device includes:

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

26. The communication management system of claim 10 wherein the circuitry configured for signaling the determination whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device includes:

circuitry configured for establishing a conference call among several devices as the communication, the several devices including the first mobile device and the second mobile device.

27. The communication management system of claim 10, wherein the circuitry configured for determining whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device includes:

circuitry configured for iteratively determining whether a charge authorization has been associated with the first mobile device, responsive to failure to authorize an initial communication, and authorizing the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device automatically and conditionally upon receipt of one or more authorizations from a third mobile device before receiving a charge authorization from the first mobile device including at least assigning a cost component of the communication to an account associated with the third mobile device.

28. The communication management method of claim 10, wherein the circuitry configured for determining whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device further includes:

iteratively determining whether a charge authorization has been associated with the first mobile device in response to at least one of changes in the at least one account-specific criteria or changes in at least one condition of the communication, and authorizing the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device automatically and conditionally upon entry of a third mobile device to the communication wherein at least one user of the third mobile device has pre-authorized cost component assignments in advance.

30. The communication management system of claim 10, wherein the circuitry configured for determining whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device further includes:

circuitry configured for iteratively determining whether a charge authorization has been associated with the first mobile device in response to at least one of changes in the at least one account-specific criteria or changes in at least one condition of the communication, and establishing one or more wireless linkages directly between the second mobile device and a cell tower upon receiving at least one indication that the second mobile device has entered a cell-only zone as a real-time response to a third party entering an authorization.

31. The communication management system of claim 10, wherein the circuitry configured for determining whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device further includes:

circuitry configured for iteratively determining whether a charge authorization has been associated with the first mobile device in response to at least one of changes in the at least one account-specific criteria or changes in at least one condition of the communication, and establishing one or more wireless linkages directly between the second mobile device and a cell tower upon receiving at least one pre-authorization and at least one user of the second mobile device requesting to establish the communication in a free-ride zone.

32. The communication management system of claim 10, wherein the circuitry configured for determining whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device further includes:

circuitry configured for iteratively determining whether a charge authorization has been associated with the first mobile device in response to at least one of changes in the at least one account-specific criteria or changes in at least one condition of the communication, and authorizing the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device automatically and conditionally upon entry into the communication of at least one device that is authorized to post charges to an account according to the account-specific criteria.

33. The communication management system of claim 10, wherein the circuitry configured for determining whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device further includes:

circuitry configured for iteratively determining whether a charge authorization has been associated with the first mobile device in response to at least one of changes in the at least one account-specific criteria or changes in at least one condition of the communication, and authorizing the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device automatically and conditionally upon passage of the second mobile device from a free-ride zone wherein a current user of the first mobile device incurs a surcharge for linkage to at least one base transceiver station to a WLAN zone.

34. The communication management system of claim 10, wherein the at least one network device includes:

at least one of the first mobile device or the second mobile device.

35. The communication management system of claim 10, wherein the at least one network device includes:

at least one of a mobile switching center, a base transceiver station, a wireless access point, a wireless router, a wireless LAN router, a network access control unit, a mobile hotspot, a firewall, a supervisor unit, a communication-enabled vehicle, a vehicle, a handheld device, or a server.

36. A communication management system comprising:

one or more articles of manufacture including at least;

means for obtaining at least one account-specific criteria defined by a cellular carrier;

means for determining whether to establish a communication via at least a first mobile device and a second mobile device including at least (1) determining whether a charge authorization has been associated with the first mobile device according to the at least one account-specific criteria, (2) determining whether the second mobile device has wireless local area network (WLAN) service, (3) automatically and conditionally authorizing the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device when the at least one account-specific criteria indicates the charge authorization has been associated with the first mobile device and the second mobile device has WLAN service, and (4) responsive to failure to authorize the communication, iteratively determining whether a charge authorization has been associated with the first mobile device in response to at least one of changes in the at least one account-specific criteria or changes in at least one condition of the communication, and authorizing the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device automatically and conditionally when the at least one account-specific criteria indicates the charge authorization has been associated with the first mobile device; and

means for signaling the determination whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device wherein authorization of the communication enables the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device to be established.

37. A communication management method comprising:

obtaining at least one account-specific criteria defined by a cellular carrier;

determining whether to establish a communication via at least a first mobile device and a second mobile device including at least (1) determining whether a charge authorization has been associated with the first mobile device according to the at least one account-specific criteria, (2) determining whether the second mobile device has wireless local area network (WLAN) service, (3) automatically and conditionally authorizing the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device when the at least one account-specific criteria indicates the charge authorization has been associated with the first mobile device and the second mobile device has WLAN service, and (4) responsive to failure to authorize the communication, iteratively determining whether a charge authorization has been associated with the first mobile device in response to at least one of changes in the at least one account-specific criteria or changes in at least one condition of the communication, and authorizing the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device automatically and conditionally when the at least one account-specific criteria indicates the charge authorization has been associated with the first mobile device; and

signaling the determination whether to establish the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device wherein authorization of the communication enables the communication via at least the first mobile device and the second mobile device to be established.