Patent · US Expired

Method and system for using a cellular phone as a network gateway in an automotive network

US6246688A · kind A · utility

66Cited by
10References
22Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJan 29, 1999
Grant dateJun 12, 2001
Priority date
Expiry dateJan 29, 2019

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04W40/02
  • WIPO fieldDigital communication
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A method, system, and computer-readable code for using a cellular phone as a network gateway in an automotive network. The proposed technique defines a novel way for using the phone's protocol stack and transmission capabilities (together with an adapter) to enable devices on a network in a vehicle to communicate with an external network, while still allowing the phone to work in "stand-alone" mode (i.e. not connected to the vehicle network) where it can communicate to a remote computer as a network client. Further, while the phone is plugged into the automotive network, it retains the ability to operate as a first-class network client. Devices in the vehicle no longer need to include transmission capabilities, thereby reducing their cost. The vehicle owner no longer needs to have a separate wireless subscription for both the phone and the automotive network devices, reducing costs even further.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.