Protocols for facilitating broader access in wireless communications

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9866706-B2
Application number	US-201313954574-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 30, 2013
Priority date	Mar 15, 2013
Publication date	Jan 9, 2018
Grant date	Jan 9, 2018

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.).

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A communication management system comprising:
one or more articles of manufacture including at least:
a first transistor-based circuit configured to obtain an identification of a first unsubscribed mobile device;
a second transistor-based circuit configured to obtain an indication of an account associated with a first currently-subscribed mobile device; and
a third transistor-based circuit configured to signal a decision whether to post a cost component to the account associated with the first currently-subscribed mobile device conditionally, partly based on whether the first unsubscribed mobile device had access to wireless local area network (WLAN) service and partly based on a communication between the first unsubscribed mobile device and one or more communication devices that include the first currently-subscribed mobile device, including at least
transistor-based circuitry configured to cause first content of a wireless signal to pass either through a first memory of the first currently-subscribed mobile device or through a second memory of the first currently-subscribed mobile device selected as an automatic and conditional response to whether second content of the wireless signal satisfies a first criterion.

2. The communication management system of claim 1 wherein the third transistor-based circuit configured to signal the decision whether to post the cost component to the account associated with the first currently-subscribed mobile device conditionally partly based on whether the first unsubscribed mobile device had the access to the WLAN service and partly based on the communication between the first unsubscribed mobile device and the one or more communication devices that include the first currently-subscribed mobile device includes
an electrical node set upon which a voltage configuration manifests the decision whether to post the cost component to the account associated with the first currently-subscribed mobile device.

3. The communication management system of claim 1 wherein the second transistor-based circuit configured to obtain an indication of an account associated with a firth currently-subscribed mobile device includes:
transistor-based circuitry configured to obtain from a user of the first currently-subscribed mobile device a network access authorization temporarily associating the first unsubscribed mobile device with the account associated with the first currently-subscribed mobile device
wherein the authorization includes an explicitly defined duration of at most a day.

4. The communication management system of claim 1 wherein the second transistor-based circuit configured to obtain an indication of an account associated with a first currently-subscribed mobile device includes:
transistor-based circuitry configured to obtain from a user of the first currently-subscribed mobile device a network access authorization temporarily associating the first unsubscribed mobile device with the account associated with the first mobile device
wherein the network access authorization includes an explicitly defined duration specified by the user of the first currently-subscribed mobile device.

5. The communication management system of claim 1 wherein the first currently-subscribed mobile device includes firmware including at least transistor-based circuitry configured to obtain from a user of the first currently-subscribed mobile device a network access authorization temporarily associating the first unsubscribed mobile device with the account associated with the first currently-subscribed mobile device.

6. The communication management system of claim 1 further comprising:
a fourth transistor-based circuit configured to establish the communication between the first unsubscribed mobile device and the one or more communication devices that include the first currently-subscribed mobile device, the communication being a telephone call originating at a second unsubscribed mobile device.

7. The communication management system of claim 1 further comprising:
the first currently-subscribed mobile device, including a processor; wherein
the first transistor-based circuit includes a first medium containing a first instruction set that when executed by the processor obtains the identification of the first unsubscribed mobile device;
the second transistor-based circuit includes a first medium containing a first instruction set that when executed by the processor obtains the indication of the account associated with the first currently-subscribed mobile device; and
the third transistor-based circuit includes a first medium containing a first instruction set that when executed by the processor signals the decision whether to post the cost component to the account associated with the first currently-subscribed mobile device conditionally partly based on whether the first unsubscribed mobile device had access to the WLAN service and partly based on the communication between the first formerly-subscribed mobile device and the one or more communication devices that include the first currently-subscribed mobile device.

8. The communication management system of claim 1 further comprising
the first currently-subscribed mobile device including at least a nonvolatile memory, the nonvolatile memory containing an antenna configuration data structure.

9. The communication management system of claim 1 further comprising
the first currently-subscribed mobile device including at least a field programmable gate array (FPGA), the FPGA implementing a position estimation module.

10. The communication management system of claim 1 further comprising:
the first unsubscribed mobile device, wherein the first unsubscribed mobile device is a jailbroken communication device.

11. The communication management system of claim 1 further comprising:
a wearable assembly including the first unsubscribed mobile device, the wearable assembly configured to indicate some or all of a wireless connectivity map after a decision whether to update the wireless connectivity map automatically and conditionally partly based on a first location estimate describing a first location of the first unsubscribed mobile device and partly based on first provenance data indicating a protocol by which the first unsubscribed mobile device apparently obtained the first location estimate.

12. The communication management system of claim 1 further comprising:
a second unsubscribed mobile device configured to indicate some of a wireless connectivity map indicating the WLAN service provided within a region as a response to an indication from the first unsubscribed mobile device of the WLAN service being operative within the region.

13. The communication management system of claim 1 further comprising:
the first unsubscribed mobile device, configured to generate an audible indication of whether the first unsubscribed mobile device is available to participate in a bidirectional interpersonal communication conditionally, partly based on an indication whether the first unsubscribed mobile device exceeded a wireless service boundary crossing rate threshold within a recent time interval and partly based on an indication of the first unsubscribed mobile device having the WLAN service.

14. The communication management system of claim 1 further comprising:
a fourth transistor-based circuit, configured to obtain a first location estimate describing a first location of a second unsubscribed mobile device by receiving the first location estimate from the second unsubscribed mobile device; and
a fifth transistor-based circuit, configured to obtain firs

Assignees

• Elwha Llc

Inventors

• Hyde Roderick A
• Levien Royce A
• Lord Richard T
• Lord Robert W
• Malamud Mark A
• Tegreene Clarence T

Classifications

• H04M15/80 Primary

  Rating or billing plans; Tariff determination aspects · CPC title

• H04M15/39

  Arrangements for preventing metering, charging or billing · CPC title

• H04W4/24

  Accounting or billing · CPC title