Patent Abstract:
The disclosed embodiments provide a method and system for connecting a mobile device to multiple other devices, allowing an application to use a specific wireless channel from a list of more than one wireless channel, and performing methods where a mobile device connects simultaneously to multiple other devices. In some embodiments, a mobile device operates with multiple Wi-Fi (wireless communication) networking devices, IoT devices, or other Wi-Fi enabled devices, and has multiple hardware Wi-Fi channels available. Each channel can be assigned to an executable application on the mobile device.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/364,785 which was filed on Jul. 20, 2016, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field 
       [0002]    The disclosed embodiments relate to networking devices. More specifically, the disclosed embodiments relate to mobile devices with multiple wireless channels and methods of using mobile devices with multiple wireless channels. 
       2. Related Art 
       [0003]    Traditional mobile devices, or other devices that have a physical wireless communication channel, such as an “Internet of Things” (“IoT”) device, have a single channel that is used by any applications developed or running on the device. A typical mobile device, for example an Apple iPhone or an Android phone, has a shared single Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or other wireless channel that any applications developed on the device must use to establish a wireless connection. With the proliferation of Wi-Fi connected devices, this presents a technical challenge of connecting to all the desired devices from a mobile device to run various applications on the mobile device. 
         [0004]    Accordingly, methods and systems are needed to allow users to easily connect to multiple other devices and to perform tasks where the mobile device simultaneously connect to multiple other devices. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    The disclosed embodiments provide a method and system for connecting a mobile device to multiple other devices, allowing an application to use a specific wireless channel from a list of more than one wireless channel, and performing methods where a mobile device connects simultaneously to multiple other devices. In some embodiments, a mobile device operates with multiple Wi-Fi (wireless communication) networking devices, IoT devices, or other Wi-Fi enabled devices, and has multiple hardware Wi-Fi channels available. Each channel can be assigned to an executable application on the mobile device. 
         [0006]    Prior to having multiple wireless channels on a mobile device, applications were forced to make a connection to a single available channel. For example, if an application needed to use an external device using a Wi-Fi channel, the settings on the mobile device had to be changed in a settings menu to assign the Wi-Fi channel to that external device (e.g. a Wi-Fi router, or IoT device). This was a cumbersome operation. If another application needed to connect to a separate external device, the settings on the mobile device had to be changed again to assign the Wi-Fi channel to the other external device (e.g. a Sonos controller). This warrants unnecessary overhead by the operator of the device if an application needs to connect to a specific Wi-Fi device. 
         [0007]    With multiple wireless channels, for example multiple Wi-Fi channels, a specific software application can be assigned to a wireless channel. Another application can be assigned to a second wireless channel. Other applications may be assigned to a different wireless channel. And the mobile device itself can have a community wireless channel that any applications can use when running. 
         [0008]    In one embodiment, a casino floor or each gaming machine can implement a Wi-Fi connection point that is meant to be used by a specific mobile application. The mobile application connects to the casino floor Wi-Fi connection point through one of the Wi-Fi channels available on the mobile device. The mobile application communicates to the casino floor through the specified mobile channel while all other applications on the mobile device use one or more of the remaining mobile channels for wireless communication. 
         [0009]    In another embodiment, two applications on a mobile device may need to execute at the same time where one application may be in the foreground and the other application is running in the background. For example, the foreground application may be an application that operates a drone or accesses the Internet while the background application is a music application that plays music from a cloud source. Both applications require a Wi-Fi connection with the background application requiring use of a generic Wi-Fi connection (connection A) and the foreground application requiring a specific Wi-Fi connection (connection B) to a Wi-Fi router built into the drone. This can only be accomplished with more than a single Wi-Fi channel or multiple radios on the mobile device. 
         [0010]    Other systems, methods, features and advantages of the invention will be or will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  illustrates an example embodiment of a mobile device. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  illustrates multiple Wi-Fi connections on a mobile device, according to an exemplary embodiment. 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  shows a method of connecting to a network and a remote device simultaneously, according to one exemplary embodiment. 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  shows a method of using simultaneous dedicated connections, according to an exemplary embodiment. 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  shows a method of sending control instructions to a remote device using simultaneous connections, according to an exemplary embodiment. 
       
    
    
       [0016]    The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the figures, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
       [0017]      FIG. 1  illustrates an example embodiment of a mobile device. This is but one possible mobile device configuration and as such it is contemplated that one of ordinary skill in the art may differently configure the mobile device. The mobile device  100  may comprise any type of mobile communication device capable of performing as described below. The mobile device may comprise a PDA, cellular telephone, smart phone, tablet PC, wireless electronic pad, an IoT device, a “wearable” electronic device, or any other computing device. 
         [0018]    In this example embodiment, the mobile device  100  is configured with an outer housing  104  configured to protect and contain the components described below. Within the housing  104  is a processor  108  and a first and second bus  112 A,  112 B (collectively  112 ). The processor  108  communicates over the buses  112  with the other components of the mobile device  100 . The processor  108  may comprise any type processor or controller capable of performing as described herein. The processor  108  may comprise a general-purpose processor, ASIC, ARM, DSP, controller, or any other type of processing device. The processor  108  and other elements of the mobile device  100  receive power from a battery  120  or other power source. An electrical interface  124  provides one or more electrical ports to electrically interface with the mobile device, such as with a second electronic device, computer, a medical device, or a power supply/charging device. The interface  124  may comprise any type electrical interface or connector format. 
         [0019]    One or more memories  110  are part of the mobile device  100  for storage of machine readable code for execution on the processor  108  and for storage of data, such as image data, audio data, user data, medical data, location data, accelerometer data, or any other type of data. The memory  110  may comprise RAM, ROM, flash memory, optical memory, or micro-drive memory. The machine-readable code as described herein is non-transitory. 
         [0020]    As part of this embodiment, the processor  108  connects to a user interface  116 . The user interface  116  may comprise any system or device configured to accept user input to control the mobile device  100 . The user interface  116  may comprise one or more of the following: keyboard, roller ball, buttons, wheels, pointer key, touch pad, and touch screen. A touch screen controller  130  is also provided which interfaces through the bus  112  and connects to a display  128 . 
         [0021]    The display  128  comprises any type display screen configured to display visual information to the user. The screen may comprise a LED, LCD, thin film transistor screen, OEL CSTN (color super twisted nematic), TFT (thin film transistor), TFD (thin film diode), OLED (organic light-emitting diode), AMOLED display (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode), capacitive touch screen, resistive touch screen or any combination of these technologies. The display  128  receives signals from the processor  108  and these signals are translated by the display  128  into text and images as is understood in the art. The display  128  may further comprise a display processor (not shown) or controller that interfaces with the processor  108 . The touch screen controller  130  may comprise a module configured to receive signals from a touch screen which is overlaid on the display  128 . 
         [0022]    Also part of this exemplary mobile device is a speaker  134  and microphone  138 . The speaker  134  and microphone  138  may be controlled by the processor  108 . The microphone  138  is configured to receive and convert audio signals to electrical signals based on processor  108  control. Likewise, the processor  108  may activate the speaker  134  to generate audio signals. These devices operate as is understood in the art and as such are not described in detail herein. 
         [0023]    Also connected to one or more of the buses  112  is two or more Wi-Fi transceivers  140  with respective antennas  148 . One or more additional wireless transceivers  144  are also provided with respective antennas  152 . The transceivers  140 ,  144  are configured to receive incoming signals from a remote transmitter and perform analog front-end processing on the signals to generate analog baseband signals. The incoming signal maybe further processed by conversion to a digital format, such as by an analog to digital converter, for subsequent processing by the processor  108 . Likewise, the transceivers  140 ,  144  are configured to receive outgoing signals from the processor  108 , or another component of the mobile device  108 , and up convert these signal from baseband to RF frequency for transmission over the respective antenna  148 ,  152 . 
         [0024]    It is contemplated that the mobile device  100 , and hence the Wi-Fi transceivers  140  and additional wireless transceiver  144  may be configured to operate according to any presently existing or future developed wireless standard. For example, the Wi-Fi transceiver may operate according standards including, but not limited to Wi-Fi such as IEEE 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac wireless LAN. The wireless transceiver may operate according to standards including, but not limited to, Bluetooth, NFC, WMAN, broadband fixed access, WiMAX, any cellular technology including CDMA, GSM, EDGE, 3G, 4G, 5G, TDMA, AMPS, FRS, GMRS, citizen band radio, VHF, AM, FM, and wireless USB. 
         [0025]    Also part of the mobile device is one or more systems connected to the second bus  112 B which also interface with the processor  108 . These devices include a global positioning system (GPS) module  160  with associated antenna  162 . The GPS module  160  is capable of receiving and processing signals from satellites or other transponders to generate location data regarding the location, direction of travel, and speed of the GPS module  160 . GPS is generally understood in the art and hence not described in detail herein. A gyroscope  164  connects to the bus  112 B to generate and provide orientation data regarding the orientation of the mobile device  104 . A magnetometer  168  is provided to provide directional information to the mobile device  104 . An accelerometer  172  connects to the bus  112 B to provide information or data regarding shocks or forces experienced by the mobile device. 
         [0026]    One or more cameras (still, video, or both)  176  are provided to capture image data for storage in the memory  110  and/or for possible transmission over a wireless or wired link or for viewing at a later time. The one or more cameras  176  may be configured to detect an image using visible light and/or near-infrared light. The cameras  176  may also be configured to utilize image intensification, active illumination, or thermal vision to obtain images in dark environments. 
         [0027]    A flasher and/or flashlight  180 , such as an LED light, are provided and are processor controllable. The flasher or flashlight  180  may serve as a strobe or traditional flashlight. The flasher or flashlight  180  may also be configured to emit near-infrared light. A power management module  184  interfaces with or monitors the battery  120  to manage power consumption, control battery charging, and provide supply voltages to the various devices which may require different power requirements. 
         [0028]      FIG. 2  illustrates multiple Wi-Fi connections on a mobile device, according to an exemplary embodiment. In  FIG. 2 , the mobile device  100  is shown to have three Wi-Fi transceivers  140 . This allows the mobile device  100  to connect simultaneously with several Wi-Fi enabled remote devices. In this example, the mobile device  100  is simultaneously connected to a router  210  to access a network or other device connected to the router, a drone  220  that is operated via a Wi-Fi connection with the mobile device  100 , and an internet connected thermostat  230 . 
         [0029]    In some embodiments, software modules or applications running on the processor  108  may control the connection and/or data transmitted over the connection for each of the Wi-Fi transceivers  140 . In this example, a module A  202  may control the connection to the router  210 , module B  204  may control the connection to the drone  220 , and module C may control the connection to the thermostat  230 . 
         [0030]    Stated more generally, the plurality of Wi-Fi transceivers allow the mobile device to connect to several Wi-Fi dedicated devices simultaneously to allow for multi-tasking or other new functionality of the mobile device. Such Wi-Fi devices may include devices controlled directly via a Wi-Fi connection such as the drone  220  controlled via the mobile device  100 . Typically, a user of a mobile device  100  would be required to disconnect from a network (such as from the router  210 ) to connect to the drone  220  to control the drone. With the configuration described herein, the mobile device  100  may maintain a connection with the network while controlling the drone  220 . This may facilitate a more user-friendly experience because the user does not need to change any Wi-Fi settings on the mobile device  100  to connect to the drone  220 . Other operations such as firmware updates for the drone  220  may easily be facilitated through the mobile device  100  connected to both a network and the drone  220 . 
         [0031]    The configuration may also aid in a more user-friendly adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Typically, to set up an IoT device, a user must transfer network information to the IoT device so that the IoT device can access the network. This requires the user to disconnect from the network to connect the mobile device&#39;s Wi-Fi to the IoT device in order to set up the IoT device. Such a process may be difficult for a person who is not confident using technology. However, with the present configuration, the user may simply connect to the IoT device without the need to disconnect from a network. This may even be controlled by an application to easily set up an IoT device on a network. 
         [0032]    Other types of functionality using multiple Wi-Fi connections is facilitated. For example, simultaneous connections to public and secure networks, peer to peer networks, and other various connections may be achieved. 
         [0033]    Examples of methods facilitated through the above-described configurations will be described with reference to  FIGS. 3-5 . These methods are not an exhaustive list of novel methods, and the methods may be modified and adapted for various applications. 
         [0034]      FIG. 3  shows a method of connecting to a network and a remote device simultaneously, according to one exemplary embodiment. In step  302 , a mobile device connects to a network via a first Wi-Fi channel with a first Wi-Fi transceiver. For example, mobile device  100  may connect to a router  210  to gain access to a network. While connected to the network, the mobile device connects to a remote device via a second Wi-Fi channel on a second Wi-Fi transceiver. By utilizing the multiple transceivers, the mobile device  100 , for example, connects to both the router  210  and smart thermostat  230  simultaneously. As a result, in step  306 , the mobile device may send network information to the remote device via the second Wi-Fi transceiver. 
         [0035]    The method above may provide several advantages. For example, when setting up an IoT device, such as the smart thermostat  230 , the smart thermostat  230  needs to be provided with network access information to connect to the Internet via the network. In order to do this, the mobile device  100  must connect to the thermostat using a Wi-Fi connection. With the above-described method, the mobile device  100  simply uses the second transceiver to connect to the thermostat  210  to provide network information to the thermostat  210 . This makes the process simple and intuitive for the user because the user does not need to disconnect from the network (e.g. router  210 ) to begin the process. 
         [0036]    Other benefits are also possible. For example, the mobile device  100  may deliver firmware updates to the remote device through the simultaneous connection. The mobile device  100  may also serve as a Wi-Fi signal extender to increase the range of the router  210  to other remote devices. The remote device may also be second router connecting the mobile device to a second network. Additionally, the remote device may be another mobile device or other computing device allowing the mobile device to be connected to a router and to a peer-to-peer network simultaneously. 
         [0037]      FIG. 4  shows a method of using simultaneous dedicated connections, according to an exemplary embodiment. In step  402 , the mobile device connects to a first network via a first Wi-Fi channel with a first Wi-Fi transceiver. In step  404 , the mobile device connects to a second network via a second Wi-Fi channel using a second Wi-Fi transceiver. 
         [0038]    As an example, an establishment such as a casino, an amusement park, or other resort, may have different networks available for different purposes. A public Wi-Fi may be provided that allows access to the Internet for visitors of the establishment. Other networks may also be provided so serve specific purposes and may have additional security measures such as encryption, geofencing, password protection, and the like. For example, a casino may provide a secure network in a gaming area of the casino that allows wagers to made via the mobile devices on game outcomes being played or observed in the gaming area. Such a network may be encrypted and may require the mobile device to be within a certain distance of the gaming area. For security, such a network may not be connected to the Internet. 
         [0039]    In step  406  of  FIG. 4 , the mobile device assigns data communication from a first application to the first network, and in step  408 , the mobile device assigns data communication from a second application to the second network. 
         [0040]    In the above example, the mobile device  100  may control communication from software module A  202  to be dedicated to the first network, and communication from software module B  204  to be dedicated to the second network. Software module A  202 , for example, may be an Internet browser and the processor  108  dedicates the data communication from the browser through the first network, which may be a public Wi-Fi network for accessing the Internet. Software module B may be gaming software provided by a casino. The processor  108  may run the gaming software such that data communication for the gaming software is through the second network. This allows a visitor of a casino, for example, to access email and websites via general public Wi-Fi while simultaneously connecting to a secured gaming network or to a specific casino gaming device for placing bets or playing a game in a gaming area of a casino. 
         [0041]    Other functionality that is carried out on designated networks may be executed by the above method. The above method may allow a specific application to automatically connect to the second network without a user accessing Wi-Fi settings on his/her mobile device. Such other designated networks that may utilize the method include accounting networks, employee networks, game networks, etc. 
         [0042]      FIG. 5  shows a method of sending control instructions to a remote device using simultaneous connections, according to an exemplary embodiment. In step  502 , a mobile device connects to a network via a first Wi-Fi channel through a first Wi-Fi transceiver. In step  504 , the mobile device connects to a remote device via a second Wi-Fi channel on a second Wi-Fi transceiver. 
         [0043]    In one example, the mobile device  100  connects via a router  210  to a network, and then simultaneously connects to a dedicated Wi-Fi device such as a drone  220 . This allows the user to simply and easily connect to the drone  220  without accessing Wi-Fi settings in the mobile device  100  to disconnect from the network. 
         [0044]    In step  506 , the mobile device sends control instructions to the remote device via the second Wi-Fi transceiver. The mobile device may also receive data from the remote device via the second Wi-Fi transceiver. The mobile device also sends and receives data from the network via the first Wi-Fi transceiver. 
         [0045]    For example, the user may access an application from a mobile device  100  that controls a drone  220  and/or receives a video feed from a drone  220 . The application may control a connection to the drone  220  without disconnecting the mobile device  100  from a network, such as to a connection to router  210 . This allows the mobile device to send and receive information over the network and to and from the drone  220  simultaneously. An application controlling the drone  220  may also update drone firmware via the connection from the mobile device  100  to the network. 
         [0046]    Other features are also possible. In one embodiment, an application with a user interface is provided to manage the two or more Wi-Fi connections to the various devices. The application may assign processor cores of the processor of the mobile devices to control data communication for each of the Wi-Fi transceivers. The application may also manage power consumption of each of the connections to prevent battery loss on the mobile device. 
         [0047]    A user may use the application to create connection rules for each saved device. Such rules may be based on geolocation, time, or software accessed at the mobile device. The application may provide reports for data speed, security, and activity history for each of the connections via the Wi-Fi transceivers. 
         [0048]    In the above description, reference is made throughout to a mobile device, such as a smart phone or tablet computing device. However, other Wi-Fi connected devices may operate similarly such as a laptop or desktop computer, a kiosk, a casino gaming machine, or the like. Additionally, the above description outlines systems and methods for utilizing multiple Wi-Fi transceivers in a mobile device. The description may also be applied to using multiple transceivers of other wireless protocols, such as Bluetooth, LTE, WiMAX, etc. 
         [0049]    While various embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible that are within the scope of this invention. In addition, the various features, elements, and embodiments described herein may be claimed or combined in any combination or arrangement.

Technology Classification (CPC): 7