Telecommunications – Transmitter and receiver at same station – Radiotelephone equipment detail
Reexamination Certificate
1997-09-19
2001-02-27
Hunter, Daniel S. (Department: 2749)
Telecommunications
Transmitter and receiver at same station
Radiotelephone equipment detail
C455S575100, C455S466000, C455S554100, C370S335000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06195564
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates generally to the field of communications systems, and more particularly to a communication link between a device such as a computer and a wireless modem linked to a data network.
Electronic mail (e-mail), voice mail and facsimile (FAX) have become very popular communications services. In providing such communications it is desirable to improve the mobility of the end user: i.e., to allow the user to connect to a data network anywhere, anytime, without wires or cables. It is also desirable to enable the user to easily send and receive e-mail, voice mail and video mail messages, and to receive “info-casts”. Info-casts provide information such as stock quotes, weather forecasts, and sporting scores, and are commercially available through such companies as Pointcast.
An early solution to the challenge of enhancing user mobility included attaching an internal or external modem to a portable computer such as a lap-top computer. This solution required the user to locate a telephone jack or other cable connection, and then physically connect the computer to the data network by attaching a cable between the modem and the telephone jack. However, physically connecting the computer to the data network is not always possible or desirable.
More recently, wireless modems, usually in the form of a Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) card, have been introduced to allow users access to the Internet via cellular and personal communication system (PCS) networks. In some cases technology such as Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) is used.
FIG. 1
illustrates a typical configuration of this kind.
In
FIG. 1
, a laptop computer
100
having an internal PCMCIA card (not shown) connects to an Internet service provider
140
. The PCMCIA card is linked to a wireless network
110
via a wireless link
105
. The network
110
can be, for example, a cellular or PCS network, and is linked to a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)
130
via a link
120
, and the PSTN
130
connects to the Internet service provider
140
. This arrangement allows electronic messages to be transferred between the laptop computer
100
and the Internet service provider
140
.
Automatic retrieval and batch transmission of queued e-mail or voice mail messages generated “off-line” using a portable computer (i.e., when the computer was not connected to the data network) with a PCMCIA wireless modem are commercially available. Text-to-speech technology allows the user to create voice mail messages by typing a message into the portable computer.
Commercially available systems can automatically transfer electronic messages by providing a software program for the laptop computer
100
that, when started, automatically checks for new mail if a connection to an Internet service provider has been established. The software can also be configured to automatically and periodically check for new mail according to a predetermined schedule.
Electronic messages can be sent immediately or queued for later sending when the user's terminal is in contact with the data network. For example, any unsent but queued messages can be sent the next time the program checks for incoming messages. The benefits of such features to the user include reduced tedium and greater convenience.
The primary shortcoming of PCMCIA wireless modems is that they reside inside the portable computer. Therefore, even if the user wants to send or receive only voice, he must carry around the portable computer. To overcome this difficulty, users have little choice but to buy a separate wireless phone.
Users who buy a separate wireless phone and wish to connect it to a computer encounter still other difficulties. The most common approach, a direct-connect cable between the computer and the phone, requires the user to manually connect the cable each time access to a wireless data service network is desired. IR links between a mobile phone and a portable computer such as a notebook computer are commercially available and partially overcome this difficulty. However, such links require a clear line of sight transmission path which is not always available or convenient.
Furthermore, commercially available solutions do not provide for automatic resynchronization and reestablishment or reactivation of the wireless link when the computer and the phone are brought within range of the wireless link after having been outside the range of the wireless link. Accordingly, commercially available solutions fail to transfer electronic messages as the computer and phone move in and out of range of the wireless link or each other.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention solves the foregoing problems and provides other advantages by providing for a system and method for automatically establishing or activating a wireless link between a communication device and a wireless modem, so that electronic messages can be easily and automatically transferred between the communication device and a data network.
The invention is especially useful in the situation where the communication device and the wireless modem move in and out of range of the wireless link or each other.
After the wireless link between the wireless modem and the communication device has been established or activated, electronic messages are automatically transferred between the communication device and the data network. This message transfer is accomplished via the wireless link and a link between the wireless modem and a data network in a manner that can be transparent to the user.
In particular, when one of the communication device and the wireless modem determines that an electronic message is to be communicated, it sends a page signal to the other one of the communication device and the wireless modem. When the other one of the communication device and the wireless modem receives the page signal and responds, a first wireless link between the communication device and the wireless modem is established or activated. The electronic message is then transferred between the communication device and the data network using the established wireless link and a second link between the wireless modem and the data network. The second link between the wireless modem and the data network can include a PSTN.
The communication device can be, for example, a portable computer such as a laptop computer, and the wireless modem can reside in a wireless phone. Accordingly, the invention allows automatic transfer of electronic messages between a portable computer and a data network via a wireless phone, in a manner that is convenient and transparent to the user. In addition, the computer and the wireless phone are separately operable. The wireless phone can be a cellular phone, PCS phone, satellite phone, or other suitable wireless phone.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5533019 (1996-07-01), Jayapalan
patent: 5537097 (1996-07-01), Eriksson et al.
patent: 5596318 (1997-01-01), Mitchell
patent: 5628379 (1997-05-01), Mahany et al.
patent: 5714943 (1998-02-01), Rasor
patent: 5726893 (1998-03-01), Shuchman et al.
patent: 5862474 (1999-01-01), Kimball
patent: 5878038 (1999-03-01), Willey
patent: 19614925A1 (1997-10-01), None
patent: 0748 139A2 (1996-12-01), None
patent: 97/24829 (1997-07-01), None
International Search report dated Dec. 16, 1998.
Croft Thomas M.
Rydbeck Nils
Burns Doane Swecker & Mathis L.L.P.
Ericsson Inc.
Gantt Alan T.
Hunter Daniel S.
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