Abstract:
A technique is provided for a seamless and transparent handoff from a user&#39;s mobile device to the user&#39;s stationary terminal of a network address of a remote device for the purpose of establishing a direct communication channel between the stationary terminal and a remote device, where the remote device first contacted the user&#39;s mobile device to initiate communications with the users.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/759,950, filed Feb. 5, 2013, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/463,540, filed May 3, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,369,298, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/896,686, filed Oct. 1, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,194,632, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/288,505, filed Nov. 28, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,817,606, which is: a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/817,994, filed Apr. 5, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,961,663; a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/935,342, filed Sep. 7, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,764,637; a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/042,620 filed Jan. 24, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,773,550; a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/091,242, filed Mar. 28, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,672,255; a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/182,927, filed Jul. 15, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,502,335, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to messaging techniques for mobile devices, and more specifically, a technique for transferring network addresses from mobile devices to more stationary terminals such as laptops, desktops and workstations in order to establish communication with remote devices (i.e., either mobile devices or stationary terminals). 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Mobile data communications techniques described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/817,994, entitled “Peer-to-Peer Instant Messaging Method and Device” (the &#39;994 Application”) teach embedding an IP address into a message that is transmitted through a page-mode messaging service, such as Short Message Service (SMS), in order to establish a virtual connection, such as a TCP connection between mobile devices in order to exchange data for any purposes, including for instant messaging (IM). 
         [0004]    However, when a user is actively engaged or focused t a more stationary terminal, such as a laptop, desktop or workstation, diverting his attention from the stationary terminal in order to answer or otherwise use his mobile device (e.g., smart phone) for communications purposes or to receive or send data becomes inconvenient. 
         [0005]    From a networking perspective, as of the date of this disclosure, the bandwidth and transmission speeds of mobile networks which rely on wireless cellular telephony radio technologies such as 2.5G and 3G are still significantly less than that achieved by more traditional broadband networks such those accessed by DSL, cable modems and Wi-Fi radio technologies. As such, what is needed is a technique to utilize the broadband networks accessible by stationary terminals for communications that are initiated through mobile devices using wireless cellular telephone radio technologies in order to provide smoother integration from being mobile to being stationary. 
       SYSTEM OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    The present invention provides a technique for providing a network address from a user&#39;s mobile device to his stationary terminal during a communication attempt by a remote terminal or remote mobile device. In accordance with the present invention, when a mobile device and a stationary terminal are sufficient close to one another, the mobile device and stationary terminal automatically establish a communication link through a short-range wireless communication technology such as Bluetooth. The user&#39;s mobile device may subsequently receive an invitation message containing a network address associated with a remote device (stationary terminal or mobile) which the user&#39;s mobile device is intended to access in the event the user desires to establish a virtual connection with the remote terminal or remote mobile service. As described in the Background Section above, such as initiating message may be transmitted by the remote terminal or remote device though a page-mode messaging service, such as SMS, supported by the underlying digital cellular mobile network system. The user&#39;s mobile device forwards the network address in the invitation message to the stationary terminal through the communication link established by the short-rang wireless communication technology (e.g., Bluetooth). The stationary terminal receives the network address and establishes a direct virtual network connection (such as a TCP connection) with the remote mobile device or remote terminal. Once the virtual network connection is established, data may be exchanged between the stationary terminal and the remote device, including through IM sessions. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  depicts an environment in which an embodiment of the present invention may be deployed. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  depicts a flow chart for establishing a network connection between a stationary terminal and an initiating remote device through a mobile device. 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  depicts a flow chart for establishing a network connection between an initiating stationary terminal and a remote device through a mobile device. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]      FIG. 1  depicts one environment to deploy an embodiment of the present invention. The underlying digital cellular wireless network system  100  in this environment may be the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS). Other possible digital cellular wireless network systems would include, without limitation, all other forms of 2.5G and 3G (e.g. UMTS, CDMA2000, etc.) packet-switched cellular wireless technologies. Due to its packet-switching capability, GPRS is able to implement an IP-based network  105  that supports TCP/IP transmission protocol based communication between mobile devices, such as mobile devices  110  and  115 . A current commercial example of a mobile device (e.g., smartphone, PDA, handheld, etc.) that might be used in  FIG. 1  could be Research in Motion&#39;s (RIM) BlackBerry handheld devices, which supports cellular communication technologies and includes a QWERTY keyboard to facilitate the typing of text. Additionally, the digital cellular wireless network system  100  may also support page-mode messaging services such as SMS. The digital cellular wireless network system  100  may also provide access to the Internet  120  through its IP-based network capabilities. 
         [0011]    Mobile device  110  also supports a short-range wireless technology such as Bluetooth. For example, mobile device  110 , playing he role of a Bluetooth client or slave, discovers that a stationary terminal or laptop  125  within short-range proximity is playing the role of a Bluetooth server or master and is advertising as Bluetooth service relating to an IM communication application. In accordance with the Bluetooth specification, the mobile device  110  and the stationary terminal  125  establish a communication link or a piconet  130 . Those skilled in the art will recognize that establishing a Bluetooth communications link between the mobile device  110  and the laptop  125  may be implemented in a variety of ways (i.e., not necessarily with mobile device  110  serving as slave and the laptop  125  serving as master) that are all considered to be within the scope of the present invention. 
         [0012]    The laptop  125  also supports access to the internet  120 . In the embodiment of an environment for the present invention depicted in  FIG. 1 , the laptop&#39;s  125  access to the internet is implemented through the use of an IEEE 802.11 or Wi-Fi router  135  connected to broadband access to the Internet  120 , although those skilled in the art will recognize that the laptop&#39;s  125  access to the Internet can be implemented in a variety known techniques. 
         [0013]      FIG. 2  depicts a flow chart for establishing a network between a stationary terminal and an initiating remote device through a mobile device in accordance with the present invention. Initially, in steps  205  and  210 , when the user carrying mobile device  110  has focused his attention to his laptop  125  and the mobile device  110  is within sufficient short-range proximity to the laptop  125 , the mobile device  110  and the laptop  125  discover each other&#39;s existence and automatically establish a Bluetooth (or other short-range wireless technology) communication link in support of an IM application (or any other data transfer application) related to a particular Bluetooth service. In accordance with the Bluetooth protocol, mobile device  110  and the laptop  125  may establish (or may have already established through prior communications) a trusted relationship by learning through the user&#39;s input a shared secret or passkey. Such a trusted relationship enables mobile device  110  and the laptop  125  to cryptographically authenticate the identified of the other. Authentication is useful, for example, if the IM application residing on the laptop  125  requires verification that user of the mobile device  110  is same individual as that identified in the IP application (e.g., via a username and password protocol) as the user engaged in IM communications with third parties on the laptop  125 . 
         [0014]    A remote device (either stationary or mobile), such as remote mobile device  115  depicted in  FIG. 1  initiates a request to establish an IM session with mobile device  110  by transmitting an invitation message containing an IP address related to the remote mobile device  115  through SMS supported by the cellular wireless network system  100 . As further described and depicted in the &#39;994 Application, remote mobile device  115  opens a TCP port to listen for communications from the mobile device  110  (step  215 ). Mobile device  110  has also similarly opened an SMS listening port to receive invitation SMS text messages at a specified SMS port (step  220 ). The remote mobile device then transmits its IP address (and TCP port) in an invitation SMS text message to the telephone number and the specified SMS port of mobile device  110  (step  225 ). Mobile device  110  receives the SMS message containing remote mobile device&#39;s  115  IP address (and TCP port) at the specified SMS port (step  230 ). Mobile device  110  extracts the IP address and TCP port from the SMS text message (step  235 ). 
         [0015]    However, because the user is currently focused upon working on his laptop  125  rather than his mobile device  110 , diverting the user&#39;s attention to engage in an IM session on his mobile device  110  rather than his laptop  125  is undesirable. The live Bluetooth connection link between the mobile device  110  and the laptop  125  signals a preference of the user to engage in IM communications through the laptop  125  rather than mobile device  110  (although those skilled in the art will recognize that such user preferences could be programmed to be dynamically modifiable by the user in an envision IM application, including, for example and without limitation, providing the user the capability to actively disconnect or reject the Bluetooth link between the mobile device  110  and laptop  125  if the user prefers to use the mobile device  110  despite its proximity to the laptop  125 ). As such, in step  240  of  FIG. 2 , mobile device  110  transmits the IP address (and TCP port) received from the remote mobile device  115  to the laptop  125  through the Bluetooth link  130  to the appropriate Bluetooth service relating to the IM application residing on the laptop  125 . 
         [0016]    In step  245 , the laptop  125  receives the IP address (and TCP port) related to the remote mobile device  115  and transmits a request in step  250  to establish a TCP connection with such remote mobile device  115  though such IP address (and TCP port). As depicted in the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , such a connection is routed through the laptop&#39;s wireless connection to Wi-Fi router  135  and ultimately through the Internet  120 . Because the remote mobile device  115  is also able to access the Internet through GPRS, the remote mobile device  115  receives this request, as depicted in step  225  and a TCP connection is established between the IP addresses of the laptop  125  and the remote mobile device  115  and these devices are able to engage in an IM or other data transfer session over a reliable virtual connection directly between the two devices, without the continued participation of mobile device  110  (step  260 ). 
         [0017]    Similarly, once a user has stopped moving and is focused on a stationary terminal such as the laptop  125 , the user may nevertheless desire to initiate IM communication of other data transfers with third parties that are on a remote mobile device such as  115 .  FIG. 3  depicts a flow chart for establishing a network connection between an initiating stationary terminal and a remote device through a mobile device in accordance with the present invention. Similar to  FIG. 2 , in steps  305  and  310 , when the user carrying mobile device  110  has focused his attention to his laptop  125  and mobile device  110  is within sufficient short-range proximity to the laptop  125 , the mobile device  110  and the laptop  125  discover each other&#39;s existence and automatically establish a Bluetooth (or other short-range wireless technology) communication link in support of an IM application (or any other data transfer application) related to a particular Bluetooth service. In step  315 , the laptop  125  prepares to initiate a request to establish an IM session with remote mobile device  115  by opening a TCP port. In step  320 , the laptop  125  transmits an initiation message containing its IP address (and opened TCP port) and the cellular telephone number of the remote mobile device  115  to the mobile device  110  through the Bluetooth communication link. After mobile device  110  receives the initiation message in step  325 , in step  330 , its extracts the IP address and TCP port and transmits them in an invitation SMS message which may be directed to a specified SMS port (as in  FIG. 2 ) to the cellular telephone number of the remote device  115 . Because the remote mobile device  115  has also similarly opened the specified SMS listening port to receive invitation SMS text messages at the specified SMS port in step  335 , it is able to receive the SMS message (step  340 ) and extract the IP address and TCP port of the laptop  125  in step  345 . In step  350 , the remote mobile device  115  transmits a request is to establish a TCP connection with the IP address and TCP port of the laptop  125  and when the laptop  125  receives the request in step  355 , these devices are able to engage in an IM session over an established reliable virtual connection directly between the two devices, without the participation of mobile device  110  (step  360 ). 
         [0018]    The present invention utilizes the short-range wireless technology communication link (e.g. Bluetooth) between the mobile device and the stationary terminal as an indication as to whether the user is focused on his mobile device or his stationary terminal (e.g., laptop, desktop, workstation, etc.) in order to create more seamless and transparent interactions and handoffs between mobile devices and stationary terminals with respect to IM communications and other data transfers. For example and without limitation, when a Bluetooth communication link is between a stationary terminal and mobile device is established, the presumption is that the user is focused on the stationary terminal rather than the mobile device due to the proximity of the terminal and the mobile device. Under such presumption, communication attempts to the mobile device should be routed to the stationary terminal and dealt with using resources of the stationary terminal. In contrast, when a Bluetooth communication link is not established, the mobile device serves as the primary communications tool for the user since the user is presumed to be mobile and away from the stationary terminal. 
         [0019]    Software developed to implement the present invention in the context of IM may also integrate the techniques herein with other known IM technologies. For example and without limitation, software developed for the stationary terminal portion of this invention may also be transparently integrated with AOL&#39;s Instant Messenger, Microsoft&#39;s .NET Messenger Service, Yahoo! Messenger, Skype Chat, Google Talk, ICQ, IRC and any other commercial IM technologies or chat clients that unify the foregoing commercial technologies (e.g., Trillian, Jabber, etc.). Similarly, the user experience may also be flexible and varied depending upon the development of the software implementing the present invention. In one embodiment of the present invention, from the user experience perspective, the mobile device behaves in the same manner as if one were dialing a telephone number or answering a telephone call. For example, and without limitation, the remote mobile device  115  dials the cellular telephone number of the mobile device  110 . If the mobile device  110  was not within the proximity of the stationary terminal  125  such that a Bluetooth connection was established, then the mobile device  110  would ring, and if the user chooses, he is able to answer the call and engage in a IM, just like a typical voice call (in accordance with the teachings of the &#39;944 Application). In contrast and in accordance with the present invention, if the mobile device  110  is within the proximity of the stationary terminal  125  and a Bluetooth connection is established, the mobile device  110  would stay silent upon a call (via SMS) from the remote mobile device  115 , but the active IM application on the laptop  125  would alert the user that the remote mobile device  115  is attempting to establish an IM session with the user. If the user chooses, he may agree to establish an IM session with the remote mobile device  115 . From the perspective of the remote mobile device  115 , it need not be aware whether the user is stationary and focused on his laptop  125  or whether the user is mobile and utilizing his mobile device  110  when initiating IM communications. 
         [0020]    While the foregoing detailed description has described the present invention using SMS, GPRS, TCP/IP, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and IM, other similar services and protocols may be used in a variety of similar environments in which the present invention may be implemented. For example and without limitation, rather than using SMS as the page-mode messaging service to transmit an IP address (and port) from the mobile device  110  to the remote mobile device  115  through the devices&#39; telephone numbers, an alternative embodiment of the present invention might use a PIN-to-PIN messaging technology (as, for example, offered in RIM&#39;s Blackberry handheld devices) to transmit the IP address (and port) through unique PIN numbers associated with the mobile devices, email push technology, or an alternative paging protocol using telephone numbers. Similarly, while IM sessions have been used as the primary example for the present invention, the techniques can be applied to any type of data transfer between mobile and stationary devices that can automatically establish communication links though a short-range wireless technology such as Bluetooth, utilize digital cellular wireless technologies such as SMS, and support access to TCP/IP communication both through broadband access to the Internet and through the digital cellular wireless technologies. Furthermore, the present invention contemplates that the actual protocol used during an established IM session may also vary depending upon the preference of the implementation. For example and without limitation, Message Session Relay Protocol (MSRP) or any proprietary based protocol may be used during the IM session that is established in accordance with the present invention. Thus, various modifications, additions and substitutions and the like can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and these are therefore considered to be within the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.