Abstract:
A communication terminal, comprising: first transceiver means for transmitting to and receiving from at least one communication terminal directly; second transceiver means for transmitting to and receiving from at least one communication terminal via a communications network; and selecting means for selecting the transceiver means in order to communicate with the at least one communication terminal.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a telecommunications system, in particular but not exclusively a telecommunications system in a cellular wireless system. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Wireless cellular communication networks and their operation are generally well known. In such a system the area covered by the network is divided into cells. Each cell is provided with a base station, which is arranged to communicate with a plurality of mobile stations or other user equipment in a cell associated with the base station. 
   In the last few years the processing capability of user equipment has allowed network multiplayer (i.e. two or more players) games to be stored and played on user equipment. 
   There is also demand for other user equipment network applications. An example of such network applications include group messaging, where users in a group of users using user equipment can transmit text and images to one or more users in the group. A further example of such a network application is for conference calling between selected groups of users using user equipment. 
   In the attempt to reduce fixed or “wired” connections between user equipment and other ancillary equipment, for example a mobile phone and a hands-free headset, a series of short range, low power, wireless communication system have been developed and typically embedded within user equipment. 
   One of the best known examples of such wireless communication systems is the one known as Bluetooth. 
   Bluetooth uses a low power radio frequency signal, typically in the order of mW transmitted power, to communicate between two entities. It has a range of up to 100 m and is capable of transmitting data rates of approximately 1 Mbit per second with an omni-directional transmission pattern. The latest specification of which is version 1.2 which can be found on the Bluetooth web site. 
   Another low power short range wireless communication protocol is that known as IrDA or Infrared Data Association. The IrDA protocol uses an infrared transceiver to communicate between entities. The IrDA specification documents are available on the IrDA web site. 
   IrDA differs from Bluetooth in many aspects such as in terms of range, data capacity and architecture. One important difference between the two is that IrDA is a line of sight wireless communication system. In other words both transmitting user equipment and receiver user equipment must be able to see each other in order to communicate. Bluetooth being a radio frequency system can pass through barriers and does not necessarily rely on line of sight. 
   To date the network games and network applications that are currently available for use on user equipment in a cellular telecommunication system have been applications which are accessible either purely over the cellular telecommunications network or purely over a short distance using the short range communication link, such as a cable data link or a wireless communication link such as Bluetooth. 
   Network applications developed for use over the cellular network are typically costly for the user as they require the same number of cellular network links as the number of users attached to the application. Furthermore due to the relatively slow data links used over the cellular network only low bandwidth applications can be supported. The one advantage of such systems however is that provided the user can be located by the cellular network there is no limit on the range of operation of the network application. 
   Network applications developed for use over the short range wireless communications systems are effectively cost free for the users and have a relatively large bandwidth over which to communicate. However the short range nature of the communication system limits the network application range of operation. 
   There is therefore a problem of operating and setting up a network application which has no effective limit of range, unlike the purely short range systems, and is cheaper for the user and capable of transmitting at a faster rate and with shorter delays than the pure cellular network applications. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   It is an aim of the embodiments of the present invention to address or partially mitigate the problems discussed previously. 
   There is provided according to the present invention a communication terminal, comprising: first transceiver means for transmitting to and receiving from at least one communication terminal directly; second transceiver means for transmitting to and receiving from at least one communication terminal via a communications network; and selecting means for selecting said transceiver means in order to communicate with said at least one communication terminal. 
   The communications terminal may further comprise scanning means for determining whether at least one of said communication terminals are contactable via said first transceiver means. 
   The selecting means may be arranged to select said first or second transceiver means in dependence on said scanning means determining whether at least one of said communication terminals is contactable via said first transceiver means. 
   The communications terminal may further comprise a memory, said memory may comprise a list identifying at least one communication terminal, and wherein said scanning means is arranged to determine whether at least one of said communications terminals in said memory is contactable via said first transceiver means. 
   The list may comprise at least one of; telephone numbers; user identifiers; user nicknames. 
   The list may further comprise detection information, said detection information identifying whether said at least one communication terminal identified in said list is contactable. 
   The list may further comprise acceptance information, said acceptance information identifying whether said communication terminal identified in said list has accepted an invite to communicate. 
   The list may further comprise network information, said network information identifying whether said communication terminal identified in said list is contactable by said first or said second transceiver and from which other communication terminal said communication terminal is contactable from. 
   The selection means may further comprise copying and updating means for passing copies of said list to each of said communication terminal on the list. 
   The communication terminal may be one of: a personal communications device; a personal digital assistant; a personal computer. 
   The first transceiver means may comprise first wireless transceiver means. 
   The first wireless means may be one of: a Bluetooth transceiver; a IrDA transceiver; a 802.11 transceiver. 
   The second transceiver means may comprise wireless cellular transceiver means. 
   The wireless cellular transceiver means may be one of: a GPS transceiver; a UMTS transceiver; a WCDMA transceiver; a CDMA 2000 transceiver. 
   The area of coverage of said first transceiver means may be less than the area of coverage of said second transceiver means. 
   The selection means may be arranged to select said first transceiver means if said at least one communication terminal is contactable by said first transceiver means. 
   According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for operating a communications terminal comprising the step of: selecting either a first transceiver for communicating directly to at least one communications terminal, or a second transceiver for communicating to at least one communications terminal via a communications network. 
   The method may further comprise the step prior to selecting of: detecting whether at least one of said communication terminals are contactable via said first transceiver means. 
   The step of selecting may comprise the step of: selecting either said first or second transceiver in dependence on the result of said detecting step. 
   The method may further comprise the step of; identifying said at least one communications terminal from a list stored in a memory. 
   The step of identifying may comprise at least one of the steps of; identifying said at least one communications terminal by a telephone number stored in said memory; identifying said at least one communications terminal by a user identifier stored in said memory; and identifying said at least one communications terminal by a user nickname stored in said memory. 
   The step of identifying may further comprise the step of: storing detection information, said detection information identifying whether said at least one communication terminal identified in said list is contactable. 
   The step of identifying may further comprise the step of: storing acceptance information, said acceptance information identifying whether said communication terminal identified in said list has accepted an invite to communicate. 
   The step of identifying may further comprise the step of: storing network information, said network information identifying whether said communication terminal identified in said list is to be contacted by said first or said second transceiver and from which other identified communication terminal said communication terminal is contactable from. 
   The step of identifying may further comprise the step of: copying said list to each of said identified communication terminals. 
   The communication terminal may be one of: a personal communications device; a personal digital assistant; a personal computer. 
   The first transceiver may be one of: a Bluetooth transceiver; a IrDA transceiver; a 802.11 transceiver. 
   The second transceiver may be a wireless cellular transceiver being one of: a GPS transceiver; a UMTS transceiver; a WCDMA transceiver; a CDMA 2000 transceiver. 
   The area of coverage of said first transceiver may be less than the area of coverage of said second transceiver. 
   The step of selecting may further comprise the step of: selecting said first transceiver means if said at least one communication terminal is contactable by said first transceiver means. 
   The method may further comprise the steps of: detecting whether at least one further communications terminal is contactable using first transceiver means from said at least one detected communications terminal; selecting said first transceiver means of said at least one detected communications terminal if said at least one further communications terminal is contactable by said first transceiver means from said detected communications terminal. 
   The method may further comprise the steps of: determining if said at least one communications terminal is able to communicate using said first transceiver means with at least one other communications terminal for which said second transceiver means have been selected; and selecting said first transceiver means for communicating directly to at least one other communications terminal if said at least one other communications terminal is contactable from said at least one communications terminal via said first transceiver means. 
   The method may further comprise the steps of: determining if said at least one communications terminal is able to communicate using said first transceiver means with at least one other communications terminal for which said first transceiver means have been selected; and selecting said second transceiver means for communicating to said at least one other communications terminal via a communications network if said at least one other communications terminal is not contactable from said at least one communications terminal via said first transceiver means. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
     For a better understanding of the present invention and how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made by way of example only to the accompanying drawings in which: 
       FIG. 1  shows a schematic view of a typical cell layout of a cellular network, in which embodiments of the present invention can be implemented; 
       FIG. 2  shows a schematic view of user equipment, in which embodiments of the present invention can be implemented; 
       FIG. 3  shows a schematic view of an example of the user equipment units shown in  FIG. 2  and how they can be configured according to an embodiment of the present invention; and 
       FIG. 4  shows a flow diagram view of the method used in an embodiment of the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
   Reference is made to  FIG. 1 , which shows part of a cellular telecommunications network  1  in which embodiments of the present invention can be implemented. The area covered by the network is divided into a plurality of cells  51 . Further cells bordering these cells are not shown for clarity. Each cell has associated therewith a base transceiver station  2  also known as a base station. The base transceiver station  2  is arranged to communicate with mobile devices or other user equipment  3  associated with the base transceiver station  2 . Examples of user equipment  3  include mobile telephones, personal digital assistants (PDA) with transceiver capabilities, and laptops with transceiver capabilities. These user equipment devices  3  are also known as mobile stations. 
   The cells may overlap at least partially or totally. In some systems these cells  51  may have a different shape to that illustrated. In some embodiments the base transceiver stations  2  may communicate with user equipment  3  outside their associated cell. In other embodiments user equipment  3  may communicate with user equipment  3  directly and without recourse to the base transceiver station  2 . In other embodiments of the invention, base transceiver stations  2  may communicate with another base transceiver stations  2  directly. 
   The base transceiver stations  2  from the cells  51  are in turn typically connected to a base station controller (BSC) or radio network controller (RNC)  5 . These controllers are then connected to the core network  7 . The core network is then capable of routing communication from the user equipment  3  received via the base transceiver stations  2 , and the base station controller  5 . The core network  7  shown in  FIG. 1  is shown connected to the public switched telephone network (PSTN)  9 , a second core network  11 , and the computer network known as the Internet  13 . 
   With reference to  FIG. 2  user equipment, such as for example used within cellular network described above and within which embodiments of the present invention can be used is shown. The user equipment  101  comprises a first antenna  103 , a second antenna  107 , a Bluetooth transceiver  105 , a cellular network transceiver  109 , and a network scanner/selector  111 . 
   The first antenna  103  is connected to the Bluetooth transceiver  105 . The Bluetooth transceiver  105  is connected to the network scanner/selector  111 . The second antenna  107  is connected to the cellular transceiver  109 . The cellular transceiver  109  is connected to the network scanner/selector  111 . 
   The first antenna  107  and the cellular network transceiver  109  are configured in order to communicate with a base station known in the art. 
   The second antenna  103  and the Bluetooth transceiver  105  are arranged to communicate with other Bluetooth compatible devices. 
   The network scanner/selector is arranged to control and monitor the Bluetooth transceiver and the cellular transceiver and is capable of requesting the Bluetooth transceiver to transmit a message requesting any Bluetooth compatible devices with a specific address or series of addresses to respond thus performing a scanning of the Bluetooth environment about the user equipment  101 . In practice the scanning of the bluetooth environment is carried out by the bluetooth transceiver receiving the addresses or identifiers of other bluetooth transceivers within range and detecting those with specific addresses among the received addresses. 
   The network scanner/selector is further capable of communicating via the cellular transceiver  109  with the cellular network to determine if a specific device is contactable via the cellular network 
   The network scanner/selector  111  in some embodiments of the present invention comprises memory arranged to store a list of identification values. The identification values are able to identify either individual user equipment or groups of user equipments. 
   In some embodiments of the present invention the network scanner/selector  111  is capable of reading these identification values from a memory elsewhere in the user equipment or input by the user. 
   In some embodiments of the invention the two antennas may be housed within the same physical volume or a single antenna used to perform the same role as the two antennas described. 
   The user equipment  101  further comprises components as known by the skilled person required in order that the user equipment is able to carry out its designated tasks as user equipment. These additional elements, unrelated directly to the embodiments of the present invention have been omitted in order to simplify the description in terms of the embodiments of the invention. 
     FIG. 3  shows a part of the telecommunications network as shown in  FIG. 1  in embodiments of the present invention are illustrated. The telecommunications network  201  shows a first local region  203 , a second local region  205 , and a cellular communications network  207 . 
   The first local region  203  comprises a first user equipment  209 , and a second user equipment  211 . The first user equipment is connected to the second user equipment  211  via a first Bluetooth communications link  221 . The first user equipment  209  is further connected to the cellular communications network  207  via a cellular wireless link  217 . 
   The second local region  205  comprises a third user equipment  213  and a fourth user equipment  215 . The third user equipment  213  is connected to the fourth user equipment  215  via a second Bluetooth communications link  223 . The third user equipment is further connected to the cellular telecommunications network  207  via a cellular communications link  219 . 
   With reference to  FIG. 4  in combination with  FIGS. 3 and 2  the method used in the first embodiment of the present invention is further described. 
   In the first step  301  of the method the user selects a guest list containing a list of identification values which can be used to contact other user equipment. This list can also be defined as a list of candidates with which the user wishes to communicate. 
   In a first embodiment of the present invention this list may be a buddy list containing details such as nicknames and/or phone numbers of friends of the user. In other embodiments of the present invention these identification values can be unique bluetooth addresses set by the manufacturer or bluetooth identifiers such as nicknames set by the users of other user equipment to identify their user equipment. 
   In other embodiments of the present invention this list may be selected from the users user equipment address book. In other embodiments the list may be selected from a list of user equipment having subscribed to a directory list. In further embodiments the list may be selected from a list of user equipment stored in a directory as being capable of operating a specific network application. These lists in some embodiments of the present invention contain the Bluetooth address of the candidate. The list may be one or more groups of users. 
   In the next step the user equipment network scanner/selector  111  of the user receives the guest list and proceeds to scan for local candidates or candidates using the Bluetooth low power wireless communications link. As described earlier this scanning is the result of receiving bluetooth addresses or identifiers transmitted by other bluetooth transceivers within range of the user equipment and comparing the received guest list with the received addresses or identifiers. 
   With reference to  FIG. 3  if the user is that operating the first user equipment  209  within the first local region  203  and the guest list includes the candidates using the second user equipment  211 , the third user equipment  213  and the fourth user equipment  215 , then the only candidate within local Bluetooth range as indicated by the coverage of the first local region  203  is the second user equipment  211 . 
   The network scanner/selector further in step  303  invites any local candidates that have been found using the Bluetooth scan to participate in the network application. 
   In the example stated previously the first user equipment  209  network scanner/selector invites the second user equipment over the first Bluetooth link  221  to participate. If for the purpose of the example the second user equipment  211  accepts the invite an acceptance message is passed back to the first user equipment  209  also via the Bluetooth communications link  221 . 
   In the final part of the second step  303  the network scanner/selector  111  then updates the selected list. The list or memory associated with the candidates on the guest list is updated to indicate whether the candidate has been detected or found. In other embodiments of the present invention the selected guest list or associated memory can be updated to contain information on whether the candidate has accepted the invite. In further embodiments the guest list or associated memory can be updated to indicate on which network or communications link the candidate on the list is contactable. In some embodiments other details relating to the location of the user equipment and bandwidth of the connection between the two user equipment elements can also be stored. In some embodiments of the present invention more than one of the above updated values are stored. 
   In the current example shown in  FIG. 3  the network scanner/selector for the first user equipment  209  updates the guest list to indicate that the second user equipment  211  has been found, has accepted the invite and is available on the Bluetooth network from the user equipment  209 . 
   In the next step  305  the network scanner/selector  111  determines if all the candidates on the guest list have been found. If all the candidates have been found then the network candidate finding process halts and the method passes to step  307 . 
   In step  307  the application is run. The guest list stored within the network scanner/selector  11  is capable of indicating which of the candidates have accepted and also how to communicate to each of the accepted candidates. The data passed to each of the members that have accepted on the guest list is dependent on the application. In some applications supported by the embodiments of the invention, the application is hosted by a sole user equipment terminal. The sole user equipment terminal transmits and receives networking data acting as the control network node. With such an application the hosting user equipment terminal has all of the information required. In other words the controlling user equipment has information to which candidate user terminal is contactable via which system, with the candidate user equipment terminals having the information on how to contact the hosting user equipment terminal. 
   In other applications supported by embodiments of the invention, the application hosting is handled by several or all of the networked user equipment terminals. The networked terminals communicate with each other to maintain a consistent application. Such applications require each of the handling user equipment terminals to store information containing the network details of all other user terminals. The non-handling user equipment terminals contain the network details of at least one of the handling terminals. 
   If all of the candidates have not been found the method proceeds to step  309 . In step  309  the user equipment network scanner/selector  311  selects the next unfound candidate on the guest list. The user equipment network scanner/selector  311  using the cellular transceiver  109  attempts to contact the next unfound candidate via the cellular telecommunications network. If the candidate is found using the cellular telecommunications network, the user equipment network scanner/selector  111  invites the contacted candidate. 
   In the example as shown in  FIG. 3  the network scanner/selector at the end of step  305  has only found the second user equipment  211  using the local Bluetooth communications system. Therefore the network scanner/selector of the first user equipment  209  in step  309  selects the next unfound candidate on the guest list, the third user equipment  213 . The first user equipment  209  then attempts to contact the third user equipment  213  (located in the second local region  205 ) via the cellular telecommunications system  207  and the wireless cellular links  217  and  219 . Having contacted the third user equipment  217  the first user equipment  209  invites the second user equipment  213  to participate in the network application. 
   In the next step  311  the network scanner/selector  111  determines whether or not the invite has been accepted from the candidate contacted in step  309  using the cellular network. If the invite is rejected then the method passes to step  313 . In this step the network scanner/selector  111  updates the guest list to indicate that the candidate has been found but has rejected the invite. The method then passes back to step  309  whereby the user equipment network scanner/selector  111  selects the next unfound candidate. 
   If the invite is accepted the method passes to step  315 . Step  315  is optional and may be omitted. If omitted the next step would be step  305 . In step  315  the accepted user equipment network scanner/selector  111  performs a scan to attempt to find candidates local to the cellular found candidate. In some embodiments of the present invention the scan is carried out using the Bluetooth communications system. In some embodiments the scan is carried out after receiving a request from the user equipment terminal that transmitted the original invite after receiving the acceptance receipt from the candidate. 
   This scan in some embodiments of the invention can be triggered in the candidate network scanner/selector before an acceptance receipt is passed back and as part of the acceptance step carried out by candidate. 
   Furthermore the accepted candidate network scanner/selector invites any other candidates found local to the candidate to participate in the network application using the same Bluetooth communication system used to perform the scan. 
   The results of the accepted candidate scan and any consequent invite receipts are then passed back to the user equipment terminal network scanner/selector  111  in order that the network scanner/selector  111  can update its guest list to indicate which candidates have been found or accepted or on which communications network the candidates are found. 
   After each update the method passes back to step  305  to check whether all of the invited candidates have been invited. If they have the application is run as described above, if not the next unfound candidate is attempted via the cellular network as also described above. 
   In the example shown in  FIG. 3  the third user equipment  213  accepts the invite from the fist user equipment  209  to participate in the network application. The third user equipment performs a Bluetooth scan to find further candidates local to the third user equipment  213 . The fourth user equipment  215  is local to the third user equipment  213  as indicated by the second region  205 . The third user equipment  213  would therefore invite the fourth user equipment  215  to participate in the network application using the Bluetooth communications link  223 . 
   For this example the fourth user equipment  215  accepts the invite and transmits an acceptance message to the third user equipment  213  using the Bluetooth communications link  223 . This information can be further transmitted back to the first user equipment  209  via the cellular telecommunications system  207  and communication links  217  and  219 . 
   The first user equipment  209  therefore updates its guest list to indicate which candidates have been found or accepted invites or which network the candidates can be found on. In this example therefore all of the candidates on the guest list have been found and therefore the application can start using the communication links set up during the method as described in the present invention. 
   In one embodiment of the present invention the network application is a game such as a network multiplayer game. Such a game would be required to be capable of supporting a specific application program interface (API). For an example a user equipment terminal without Bluetooth support or one with Bluetooth support but without the Bluetooth application program interface would not be able to play a game requiring a Bluetooth communication link. 
   In a further embodiment of the invention the network application could be for instance a network application where text, pictures, voice or a combination of any of the three are communicated via the network of user equipment terminals as set up in the method of the invention. This type of application can be considered to be similar to that of a private chat room on the internet as is known in the art, or a multimedia conference call but without the need to use a cellular link for each of the candidates. 
   Furthermore in an additional embodiment of the present invention an IrDA communications link is used instead of or additionally to the Bluetooth communication system to detect and communicate with the local user equipment. Other wireless or wired communications systems as known in the art to the skilled man can also be used to supplement or replace the Bluetooth communications system as described previously. 
   In an additional embodiment of the present invention, network communications between the user equipments are monitored to determine if the connections between the invited candidates is still optimal. In such an embodiment if a candidate user equipment terminal connected via the short range communications system becomes unreachable then the host network scanner/selector attempts to contact the candidate user equipment via another short range communications system or via a cellular communications link. Such equipment can become unreachable either by moving out of range of the wireless communications link, by moving into a reception shadow or out of line of sight of the other party. 
   Similarly the network scanner/selector  111  can in some embodiments perform a refresh of the communications links between the user equipment whilst the application is running in order to determine whether any of the user equipment is within non-cellular telecommunication range of each other. If so the network scanner/selector switches the network connection from a cellular communications link to a Bluetooth or other communications link within range of operation. 
   With reference to an additional embodiment of the present invention the handling of the guest list and thus the network communications list can be distributed among the accepted user equipment. In such a system a copy of the guest list is passed to all user equipment that has accepted the original invite. 
   In further embodiments of the invention iterative scanning of user equipment terminals can occur. In such an embodiment once the user equipment has accepted the invite, it automatically performs a scan to determine if there are any candidates on the guest list within range of the Bluetooth communications link (or other non-cellular communications system link). If any candidates are found and these other candidates accept the invite these additional candidates further scan using their Bluetooth (or other) communications link. This continues until no additional candidates are found. The results of these scans are then passed back down the chain and the guest list and/or associated memory is updated to contain all of the found candidates information. 
   In such an embodiment user terminals can connect to form a series of partially overlapping communication pico-nets connected via a chain of Bluetooth communication links. Thus user equipment out of range of each other&#39;s Bluetooth transceivers can communicate via a chain of communication links. 
   For example with reference to  FIG. 3 , a fifth user equipment terminal  253  is shown (by a dotted box). The fifth user equipment terminal  253  is a candidate on the guest list but is outside of the range of the Bluetooth region  203  of the first user equipment terminal  209 . However the fifth user equipment terminal  253  is within the range Bluetooth connection range of the from the second user equipment terminal  211 . This is shown in  FIG. 3  by the dotted region  251 . 
   In such an embodiment of the invention the second user equipment  211 , having accepted the invite from the first user equipment  209  via the Bluetooth communications link  221  performs a scan to detect any further candidates. During its scan it detects the fifth user equipment terminal  253  via the Bluetooth communication link  255 . The fifth user equipment  253  accepts and performs its own scan of its local area to detect any other candidates. The fifth user equipment  253  is unable to detect either the third  213  or fourth  215  user equipment and so reports back to the second user equipment  211 , which reports back to the first user equipment terminal  209 . Thus the requirement for an additional cellular link is removed. 
   In all of the embodiments of the invention the advantages can be clearly seen in that wherever possible the faster local communication system such as Bluetooth is used to pass the network application data, the number of cellular telecommunications links being kept to a minimum. Furthermore in keeping the cellular telecommunications links to a minimum the cost of using the network application is reduced. In the example shown in  FIG. 3  four (or five) separate users only require a single cellular telecommunications link in order to complete the network application communications net.