Relaying third party wireless communications through a portable wireless system
US8027635B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 22, 2002 |
| Grant date | Sep 27, 2011 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 8, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04W4/24
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A portable wireless system is described. The portable wireless system has a controller that is operable to selectively configure the portable wireless system as a personal electronic appliance or a third party wireless repeater that is configured to relay wireless signals between a third party electronic appliance and a wireless network. Accordingly, the portable wireless system (e.g., a cellular telephone, a pager or a personal digital assistant) may act as a wireless repeater for third party wireless communications when the portable wireless system otherwise is not in use. In this way, the portable wireless system increases the utilization of existing wireless network infrastructures (e.g., a cellular telephone network) by making one or more unused wireless channels available to other devices. A novel incentives-based business model that encourages owners of portable electronic appliances to fully utilize existing wireless network capacity also is described.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.