HK1127831B - A method and system for data communication - Google Patents

Description

Data communication method and system

Technical Field

More particularly, some embodiments of the invention relate to a method and system for a handheld portable communication device to configure connections and use local and remote resources.

Background

Wireless communication technology has evolved rapidly over the last several years. In today's society, most people own their own mobile devices, such as mobile phones, palm top computers, notebook computers, etc., for business or private use. Society is gradually moving towards mobilization. A large number of mobile communication solutions are emerging and are incorporated into people's daily lives.

For example, among many applications, Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs) are becoming increasingly popular because the connections that such networks can provide are very flexible and convenient to use. WPAN systems replace bulky cables and wires, since conventional cables and wires can only connect devices and mobile terminals in a certain area using short-distance (typically 10 m) connections. The WPAN may be built based on already standardized technologies, such as class 2 Bluetooth (BT) technology. While some applications may benefit from WPANs, other applications may require a larger service area and/or capacity.

To meet this need, technicians have developed other techniques to provide better wireless service. For example, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) system may operate within a 100 meter range. In contrast to WPAN systems, WLANs are capable of providing connectivity to devices within a larger geographic area, such as an area within a building or campus, for example. WLAN systems are typically based on a particular standard, such as the IEEE 802.11 standard specification, and typically operate within a 100 meter range, typically to supplement communication capacity for a conventional wired Local Area Network (LAN) within the same geographic area (e.g., a WLAN system).

Other types of wireless solutions have evolved from conventional terrestrial communication technologies. Such as cellular telephones, have become a necessity in daily life in today's world. Although cellular technology was originally aimed only at providing mobility to the services of the traditional technology, it has evolved beyond its original purpose. Many modern cellular technologies add substantial data capabilities, including GSM/GPRS/EDGE, UMTS, and CDMA 2000. Most of today's cellular services include such feature services as text messaging, audio/video streaming, web browsing, etc.

The consolidation of various wireless technologies is another trend in the wireless world. For example, a WLAN system may be used in conjunction with a WPAN system to provide better overall functionality to the user. For example, bluetooth technology may be used to connect laptop computers or handheld wireless terminals to peripheral devices such as keyboards, mice, headsets and/or printers, which in turn are connected to a campus wide WLAN network through an Access Point (AP) in a building. Likewise, cellular technology also allows mobile phones to be used as wireless modems, which allows notebook computers to be connected to the internet through a cellular network.

In short, wireless networks have emerged that support Handheld Wireless Communication Devices (HWCDs). However, despite the ongoing development of HWCDs in terms of complexity and performance convenience, these HWCDs still suffer from certain major limitations, particularly physical limitations and electrical quantities.

HWCDs, like other electronic devices, have also made great advances in operational capabilities and operational speeds. As such, mobile communication technology is attempting to enter into other fields than providing mobile phone services to users. Such fields include microcomputers, multimedia players, GPS devices, and other applications. As more and more applications are added to mobile devices, the need for service integration becomes greater and greater.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.

Disclosure of Invention

A system and/or method is provided for a handheld portable communication device to configure connections and use local and remote resources, substantially as shown in and/or described in connection with at least one of the figures, as set forth more completely in the claims.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data communication method, the method comprising:

discovering, within a handheld wireless communication device, available networks and resources available via the available networks;

establishing a route between the handheld wireless communication device and a selected one or more of the available resources via a selected one or more of the available networks based on user preference criteria stored within the handheld wireless communication device;

multimedia data is communicated between the handheld wireless communication device and the selected one or more available resources via the established route.

Preferably, the method comprises: dynamically adjusting the established route.

Preferably, the dynamically adjusting is made based on a change in availability of the available networks.

Preferably, the dynamically adjusting is made based on a bandwidth of the available network.

Preferably, the handheld wireless communication device communicates using a plurality of wireless protocols.

Preferably, the method comprises: dynamically adjusting the preference criteria stored within the handheld wireless communication device.

Preferably, the resource is a local resource of the handheld wireless communication device.

Preferably, the resource is a remote resource of the handheld wireless communication device.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data communication system, the system comprising:

one or more circuits within a handheld wireless communication device for discovering available networks and resources available via the available networks;

the one or more circuits establish a route between the handheld wireless communication device and a selected one or more of the available resources via a selected one or more of the available networks based on user preference criteria stored within the handheld wireless communication device;

the one or more circuits communicate multimedia data between the handheld wireless communication device and the selected one or more available resources via the established route.

Preferably, the one or more circuits dynamically adjust the established route.

Preferably, the dynamically adjusting is made based on a change in availability of the available networks.

Preferably, the dynamically adjusting is made based on a bandwidth of the available network.

Preferably, the one or more circuits enable communication by the handheld wireless communication device using a plurality of wireless protocols.

Preferably, the one or more circuits dynamically adjust the preference criteria stored within the handheld wireless communication device.

Preferably, the resource is a local resource of the handheld wireless communication device.

Preferably, the resource is a remote resource of the handheld wireless communication device.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a machine-readable storage, having stored thereon, a computer program having at least one code section for data communication, the at least one code section being executable by a machine for causing the machine to perform the steps of:

discovering, within a handheld wireless communication device, available networks and resources available via the available networks;

establishing a route between the handheld wireless communication device and a selected one or more of the available resources via a selected one or more of the available networks based on user preference criteria stored within the handheld wireless communication device;

multimedia data is communicated between the handheld wireless communication device and the selected one or more available resources via the established route.

Preferably, said at least one code segment comprises code for dynamically adjusting said established route.

Preferably, the dynamically adjusting is made based on a change in availability of the available networks.

Preferably, the dynamically adjusting is made based on a bandwidth of the available network.

Preferably, the at least one code segment comprises code for enabling communication by the handheld wireless communication device using a plurality of wireless protocols.

Preferably, said at least one code segment comprises code for dynamically adjusting said preference criteria stored in said handheld wireless communication device.

Preferably, the resource is a local resource of the handheld wireless communication device.

Preferably, the resource is a remote resource of the handheld wireless communication device.

Various advantages, aspects and novel features of the invention, as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof, will be more fully described with reference to the following description and drawings.

Drawings

The invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples, in which:

fig. 1A is a schematic diagram of a WLAN infrastructure network employing a general Distribution System (DS) integrated Basic Service Set (BSS) according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1B is a block diagram of a WLAN infrastructure network including a Basic Service Set (BSS) having workstations supporting WLAN/Bluetooth coexistence in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1C is a diagram illustrating a usage model of a coexistence terminal equipped with WLAN and Bluetooth radios in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1D is a diagram illustrating a usage model of a coexistence terminal equipped with WLAN and Bluetooth radios in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a network connection configured by a mobile wireless communications device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a flow chart of a method for configuring a peer-to-peer network connection using a handheld wireless communication device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Some embodiments of the invention relate to a method and system for a handheld portable communication device to configure connections to and use local and remote resources. The method of the present invention includes discovering available networks and resources and establishing a route between the handheld portable communication device and a selected resource. The route may be established over a selected one or more available networks based on user preference criteria stored within the handheld portable communication device. Once the route is established, multimedia data may be communicated between the handheld wireless communication device and the selected one or more available resources. The established routes may be dynamically adjusted based on network availability and bandwidth. The handheld wireless communication device may communicate using a plurality of wireless protocols. The preference criteria stored in the handheld wireless communication device may be dynamically adjusted. The resource may be a local or remote resource of the handheld wireless communication device.

Fig. 1A is a schematic diagram of a WLAN infrastructure network employing a general Distribution System (DS) integrated Basic Service Set (BSS) according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 1A, the WLAN infrastructure network 100 includes a first BSS102a, a second BSS102 b, a DS 104, a wired network 106, a portal (porta1)108, a first Access Point (AP)112a, a second access point 112b, and a plurality of WLAN stations 110a and 110 b. BSSs 102a and 102b may be considered the bottom infrastructure of an IEEE 802.11(WLAN) architecture, which may be defined as a set of base stations directly controlled by a single coordination function. The geographical area covered by the BSS is referred to as a Basic Service Area (BSA). The DS 104 may be used to integrate the BSS102a with the BSS102 b and may comprise suitable hardware, logic, circuitry and/or code to act as a backbone network responsible for Medium Access Control (MAC) layer transport in the WLAN infrastructure network 100. DS 104 may be used independently as described in the IEEE 802.11 standard. For example, DS 104 may be implemented using an IEEE 802.3 Ethernet Local Area Network (LAN), an IEEE 802.4 token Ring local area network, an IEEE 802.5 token Ring local area network, a distributed fiber data interface metropolitan area network (FDDI), Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), or other IEEE 802.11 wireless transmission medium. The DS 104 may also be implemented using the same physical medium as the first BSS102a or the second BSS102 b. However, the DS 104 may be logically different from the BSS, and the DS 104 can only be used to transmit data packets between BSSs and/or between BSSs and the wired network 106.

The wired network 106 may comprise suitable hardware, logic, circuitry, and/or code that may be operable to provide wired network operations. The wired network 106 may be accessed from the WLAN infrastructure network 100 through a portal 108. The portal 108 may comprise suitable hardware, logic, circuitry and/or code that may be operable to integrate the WLAN infrastructure network 100 with a non-IEEE 802.11 network. In addition, the portal 108 may also function as a bridge, such as range extension and/or format conversion between different frame formats, also to enable integration of the WLAN infrastructure network 100 with IEEE 802.11 based networks.

The Access Points (APs) 112a and 112b may comprise suitable hardware, logic, circuitry, and/or code that may support range extension of the WLAN infrastructure network 100 by providing the necessary points of attachment for network connections between BSSs. The WLAN stations 110a and 110b correspond to WLAN-enabled terminals that include suitable hardware, logic, circuitry, and/or code to connect to the WLAN infrastructure network 100 via APs. WLAN workstation 110a is a laptop computer corresponding to a mobile station or terminal in the BSS, and WLAN base station 110b is a desktop computer corresponding to a fixed or stationary terminal in the BSS. Each BSS includes a large number of mobile or fixed stations and is not limited to the application shown in fig. 1A.

The HWCD user may wish to use resources within the BSA to perform desired tasks while using home-based resources, or wish to access other WLAN workstations within the BSA. Connections established using HWCDs will require dynamic routing capabilities and built-in user preference information and access rights.

Fig. 1B is a schematic diagram of a WLAN infrastructure network including a Basic Service Set (BSS) with stations supporting WLAN/bluetooth coexistence according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 1B, the WLAN infrastructure network 120 is different from the WLAN infrastructure network 100 in fig. 1A in that at least one BSS has at least one station or terminal supporting bluetooth technology. In this regard, the second BSS102 b includes other mobile terminals or workstations such as a PDA 110c and a mobile phone 110d, and the laptop 110a is bluetooth enabled. The illustrated external device 114 may be part of a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) supported by a bluetooth enabled laptop computer. For example, the laptop 110a may communicate via bluetooth technology with a keyboard, mouse, printer, mobile phone, PDA, and/or a set of headphones or speakers, which devices and the laptop 110a may form a peer-to-peer bluetooth piconet. In general, a bluetooth piconet may include a master device or terminal and up to seven slave devices or terminals. In this exemplary implementation, laptop 110a corresponds to a master bluetooth terminal and external device 114 corresponds to a slave bluetooth device.

The bluetooth enabled laptop 110a shown in fig. 1B may include a WLAN radio and a bluetooth radio to communicate with the WLAN infrastructure network 100 and with a bluetooth piconet via the AP 112B. Because of the size of the laptop 110a, the WLAN and bluetooth radios being located in the same terminal may cause signal interference between WLAN and bluetooth communications. When both PDA 110c and/or mobile phone 110d are bluetooth enabled, the small form factor of these co-located terminals will result in a small Radio Frequency (RF) path loss between the WLAN and bluetooth devices and may cause interference between WLAN and bluetooth communications.

The HWCD user may wish to use home-based resources in an area with multiple wireless networks and protocols, or may wish to access devices using other wireless protocols in the same area. Such connections established using a single HWCD require dynamic routing capabilities, multi-protocol capabilities, and built-in user preference and access rights information.

Fig. 1C is a diagram illustrating a usage model of a coexistence terminal equipped with WLAN and bluetooth radios according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 1C, the mobile phone 110d may have a WLAN radio to communicate with the AP 112C. The mobile phone 110d may also be bluetooth enabled and have a bluetooth radio to communicate with, for example, a bluetooth headset 122 and/or a home gateway 124 having bluetooth cordless telephone capabilities. Due to the small form factor of the mobile phone 110d, the WLAN and bluetooth radios are very close to each other within the same co-existing terminal and thus are very isolated from each other such that one radio is desensitized by the transmission of the other radio.

The bluetooth enabled mobile phone 110d may have two maximum transmission power levels. For example, the mobile phone 110d may operate as a class 1 power class terminal with a maximum transmission power level of 20dBm to communicate with the home gateway 124. In another example, the mobile phone 110d may operate as a class 2 power class terminal with a maximum transmission power level of 4dBm to communicate with the bluetooth headset 122. The bluetooth headset 122 may comprise suitable hardware, logic, circuitry, and/or code that may be operable to receive and/or transmit audio information. For example, the bluetooth headset 122 may receive and/or transmit Continuously Varying Slope Delta (CVSD) modulated voice from the mobile phone 110d, or A2DP, such as MP3, from the mobile phone 110 d. The home gateway 124 may comprise suitable hardware, logic, circuitry, and/or code that may be operable to receive and/or transmit data and/or audio information. For example, the home gateway 124 may receive and/or transmit 64kb/s CVSD modulated voice.

In operation, the mobile telephone 110d receives voice or audio content from the WLAN infrastructure network via the AP 112c and may transmit the voice or audio content to the bluetooth headset 122 or the home gateway 124. Similarly, the bluetooth headset 122 and the home gateway 124 may transmit voice content to the bluetooth enabled mobile phone 110d, which in turn may be transmitted by the mobile phone 110d to other users via the WLAN infrastructure network.

The HWCD user may wish to use devices that are located in multiple wireless networks and that use multiple protocols. Establishing such a connection using a single HWCD requires multi-protocol capabilities and built-in user preference and access rights information.

Fig. 1D is a diagram illustrating a usage model of a coexistence terminal equipped with WLAN and bluetooth radios according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Shown in fig. 1D are an Access Point (AP)130, a Handheld Wireless Communication Device (HWCD)132, and a bluetooth headset 134.

The AP 130 may comprise suitable hardware, logic, circuitry, and/or code that may enable range extension of a WLAN infrastructure network by providing an integration point required for network connectivity between base stations. The HWCD132 may have a WLAN radio to communicate with the AP 130. The HWCD132 may also be bluetooth enabled and have a bluetooth radio to communicate with, for example, a bluetooth headset 134. The bluetooth headset 134 may comprise suitable hardware, logic, circuitry, and/or code that may be operable to receive and/or transmit audio information.

The HWCD132 may be coupled to the AP 130 via an 802.11(WLAN) based wireless connection. The HWCD132 may also be coupled to a bluetooth headset 134 through a bluetooth connection between the HWCD132 and the bluetooth headset 134. WLANs may be used to transport voice traffic, which is grouped into 5 to 30 millisecond (ms) voice frames. These packetized frames may be encapsulated into standard real-time transport protocol (RTP) packets. The data packets may be transmitted over the network and reassembled to form a synchronous voice stream. The bluetooth interface may be used to carry voice traffic in the form of packet frames, but the data is processed by the voice processor as a synchronous Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) stream.

The HWCD132 may comprise suitable hardware, logic, circuitry, and/or code for interfacing with a speech processor and a bluetooth controller. Command and control data may be transferred over a serial interface, also known as a Host Controller Interface (HCI). The HCI may be a USB or UART interface. Voice data may be transferred through a PCM interface or through a HCI interface.

The HWCD132 may comprise suitable hardware, logic, circuitry, and/or code for communicating with a bluetooth controller. At the bottom level, software is used to control the UART and control the data lines such as the reset line and power control line to the bluetooth controller. By allowing execution of a bluetooth profile (profile), such as a headset profile, software may be utilized to communicate with the bluetooth controller. The bluetooth controller may communicate with lower level software through an abstraction layer, such as an Operating System (OS) independent kernel interface. The application code may be used to control the headset provided by the headset profile.

In one embodiment of the invention, application code may be used to translate commands from a user interface to an Application Program Interface (API) call to implement a headset profile, pair a headset, establish or disconnect a Synchronous Connection Orientation (SCO) connection to a headset, and change the volume of a headset. The application code may pass back an event from the bluetooth controller, such as a success or failure to establish an SCO connection. In one embodiment of the invention, voice processing software may be used to determine where to send and receive voice samples based on whether the Bluetooth headset 134 is in use. For example, samples may be routed to the PCM result port when the bluetooth headset 134 is in use, and otherwise passed to the internal audio block.

The typical usage model shown in FIG. 1D is an example of a HWCD that uses multiple communication protocols. The HWCD user may wish to use devices that are located in multiple wireless networks and that use multiple protocols. Establishing such a connection using a single HWCD requires multi-protocol capabilities and built-in user preference and access rights information.

Fig. 2 is a diagram of a network connection configured by a mobile wireless communication device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 2, a network connection 200 for a handheld communication device configuration is shown, which includes a local network 201 and a home network 230. The local network 201 may communicate with the home network 203 through the internet 216. The local network 201 includes a Handheld Wireless Communication Device (HWCD)202, an audio system 204, an HDTV monitor 206, a printer/scanner/fax machine 208, and a wireless base station or access point 210.

The home network 203 may include a wired PC host 218, a PC host 222, a storage device 224, a wireless base station or access point 220, and a Digital Video Recorder (DVR) 226. Devices connected to the local network 201 and the home network 203 may connect wirelessly using a variety of protocols such as bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or wireless LAN

802.11 to connect to their respective base station or access point 210/220. The number of devices is not limited to the number shown in fig. 2. Thus, the number of networked multimedia devices that can be used is arbitrary.

The HWCD202 may include devices capable of wireless communication over multiple networks using multiple methods and/or protocols. The HWCD202 may be used as, for example, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant, and/or a handheld computing device. Further, the HWCD202 may act as a router, in which case it configures itself to use and connect local and remote resources to perform multimedia and communication tasks by using standardized protocols to automatically discover local devices and capabilities. The HWCD202 may be located near a wired and/or wireless router and establish a route to the requested destination. The HWCD202 may establish multiple routes based on user preferences, such as available bandwidth and quality of service (QoS). These routes may be stored in routing tables that are stored locally or remotely from the HWCD202, such as on the memory 224.

In operation, when the HWCD202 enters the operating range of some device and discovers the wired or wireless network connecting the devices, the devices local to the handheld device may advertise their capabilities and availability. In another embodiment of the invention, the HWCD202 may poll the available networks and resources. In this manner, the handheld device may maintain a local resource inventory listing the local resources with which the handheld device may communicate and their capabilities.

The HWCD202 may maintain a list of available resources in its home network and update the list over the locally available network along with information regarding the bandwidth capabilities of the connection between the HWCD202 and the home network 203. When a user of a handheld device desires to complete a multimedia or communication task, HWCD202 may configure local and remote resources to complete the multimedia or communication task.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the resources in the home network 203 may include powerful PCs, such as the wired PC host 218, configured with a large amount of storage and computing resources, with transcoding and local digital video storage capabilities. In addition, the HWCD202 may also be connected to a wireless network, including an available HDTV monitor 206b, which is connected to the home network 203 through a high bandwidth connection implemented via the internet. The HWCD202 may create a peer-to-peer virtual network of devices from the home network 203 to the local network 201. This provides a route for the data stream to be transferred from a home video storage device, such as DVR 226, to the cable PC host 218 for conversion to a different display format. These data may be transmitted over the internet 216 to the local network 201 and to the local HDTV monitor 206 for display. The HWCD202 may also configure the peer-to-peer virtual network and audio system 204 to play audio corresponding to video played by the HDTV monitor 206 b.

The above-described connection of peer-to-peer networks and resources may be implemented by HWCD202 creating its local and remote resource inventory and updating it as network locations change. Local resources may be discovered by listening and recording announcement messages (in which details of the resources and their capabilities are listed) or querying a new local network for available resources. All of the above functions can be accomplished by standardized protocols.

In one exemplary aspect of the invention, the HWCD202 may be located within range of a WLAN, such as the local network 201. The user of the HWCD202 may want to send a video stream to the HDTV monitor 206 and audio corresponding to the video to the audio system 204, both from a data source, such as the memory 224 or DVR 226, on the home network 203. The HWCD202 determines whether the WLAN, i.e., the local network 201, is included in its list of accessible networks. The HWCD202 may also store, for example, a username, password, and wireless protocol for the local network 201. When the network and resource databases stored by the HWCD202 do not include the local network 201, the HWCD202 may receive information broadcast by the local network 201, such as a network system ID, which may include information about, for example, wireless protocols, rates, and access rights.

The HWCD202 may establish a route that starts at the HWCD202, travels through the BS or AP210, the internet 216, to the BS or AP 220, to the memory 224 and/or DVR 226, back to the local network 201, HDTV monitor 206 and audio system 204. The HWCD202 may determine that the format of the video stored on the memory 224 and/or DVR 226 is not appropriate for the HDTV monitor 206. In this case, the HWCD202 may forward the data to the PC host 218, which may transcode the video file to a format suitable for playback on the HDTV monitor 206.

The HWCD202 may store information in the available resources on the local network 201 and home network 203 or, if not, it may poll or discover the network for resources and their characteristics. In this way, the stored network and resource data will be constantly updated. In addition to storing a list of available networks and resources, the HWCD202 may also store preference information, such as the type of network the user may access, a protocol that is preferred if multiple protocols are available. In the case where the HWCD202 is using a cellular network, such as a cellular tower 214, and the HWCD202 enters an area where a WLAN is available, such as via the BS or AP210 b, and the preference information stored by the HWCD202 indicates that the WLAN is preferred over the cellular network, the HWCD202 will switch to the WLAN.

The HWCD202 may build a peer-to-peer network based on user requests for particular functions and resource availability. For example, there may be multiple display devices in the local network, such as a small display screen on the HWCD202, and a large networked display, such as an HDTV monitor 206. The HWCD device 202 may select the best way to display the content to be displayed based on the bandwidth of the various heterogeneous networks over which the content to be displayed is transmitted, the coding resource requirements and availability, and the available battery capacity of the handheld device battery. The HWCD202 may choose to perform transcoding (transcoding) locally when the HWCD202 has sufficient available power and CPU resources. When the encoding function is not available, the HWCD202 may display the content on a display suitable for displaying the content.

Fig. 3 is a flow chart of a method for configuring a peer-to-peer network connection using a handheld wireless communication device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 3, after the start step 301, the HWCD202 searches for one or more available networks in step 303. If, at step 305, no available networks are found, the HWCD202 jumps back to step 303 and continues to poll for available networks. If one or more networks are available, in step 307, the HWCD202 determines whether the network is in a stored list of preferred networks. If the one or more networks found are not in the stored list, processing jumps to step 309, where the HWCD202 determines whether access rights are established. If not, processing jumps back to step 303 to search for further available networks. In the case where access rights are established, processing jumps to step 311 to establish access rights before proceeding to step 313 to poll for available resources.

If one or more networks found are in the stored list, processing jumps to step 313 where the HWCD202 polls all available resources. The available resources include an HDTV monitor 206, an audio stream 204, a printer/scanner/fax machine 208, or other computing and/or multimedia devices. If no resources are found in step 315, the process returns to step 313 and the HWCD202 continues to poll for available resources. If one or more resources are found in step 315, processing jumps to step 317. If, at step 317, the one or more resources found are not in the stored list of resources, the process skips to step 319 where the HWCD202 determines if access rights are available. If access rights are not available, process flow skips to step 313 and the HWCD202 continues to poll the available resources. In step 319, if access rights are obtained for one or more available resources, the process jumps to step 321, and the HWCD202 establishes access rights and stores the device in the resource list. Next, in step 323, a virtual network between the home network 203 and the home network 201 is established.

If one or more resources are found in the stored list of preferred devices in step 317, the process skips to step 323, the HWCD202 configures the virtual network from the home network 201 to the home network 203, then proceeds to step 325 for data transfer between the home network 201 and the home network 203, and then ends at step 327.

Embodiments of the present invention disclose a method and system for discovering available networks 201 and 203 and resources 204, 206, and 208, establishing a route between a Handheld Wireless Communication Device (HWCD)202 and a selected one or more available resources 204, 206, and 208 via a selected one or more available networks 201 and 203 based on user preference criteria stored in the HWCD202, and communicating multimedia data between the HWCD202 and the selected one or more available resources 204, 206, and 208 via the established route. The established routes may be dynamically adjusted based on network availability and bandwidth. The HWCD202 may communicate using a variety of wireless protocols. The preference criteria stored in the HWCD202 may be dynamically adjusted. The resources may be local to the HWCD202 or remote.

Certain embodiments of the present invention also include a machine-readable storage, having stored thereon, a computer program having at least one code section for data communication, the at least one code section being executable by a machine for causing the machine to perform a method as described herein.

Accordingly, the present invention may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or various combinations thereof. The present invention can be realized in a centralized fashion in at least one computer system, or in a distributed fashion where different elements are spread across several interconnected computer systems. Any kind of computer system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methods described herein is suited. A typical combination of hardware, software and firmware may be a general purpose computer system with a computer program that, when being loaded and executed, controls the computer system such that it carries out the methods described herein.

One embodiment of the invention may be implemented as a board level product, as a single chip, as an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or as separate components integrated on a single chip with different degrees of integration with other parts of the system. The degree of integration of the system will depend primarily on speed and cost considerations. Due to the mature processor technology today, it is possible to utilize an existing commercially available processor that can be implemented external to the ASIC implementation of the present invention. Alternatively, if the processor is present as an ASIC core or logic block, then an existing commercial processor may be implemented as part of an ASIC device, with its various functions implemented in firmware.

The present invention can also be embedded in a computer program product, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation of the methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer system is able to carry out these methods. The computer program in this document refers to: any expression, in any programming language, code or notation, of a set of instructions intended to cause a system having an information processing capability to perform a particular function either directly or after either or both of the following: a) conversion to other languages, codes or symbols; b) reproduced in a different format. However, other meanings of computer program that can be understood by those skilled in the art are also encompassed by the present invention.

While the invention has been described with reference to several particular embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from its scope. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (9)

1. A method of data communication, the method comprising:

discovering, within a handheld wireless communication device, available networks and resources available via the available networks;

establishing a route between the handheld wireless communication device and a selected one or more of the available resources via a selected one or more of the available networks based on user preference criteria stored within the handheld wireless communication device;

communicating multimedia data between the handheld wireless communication device and the selected one or more available resources via the established route;

the available networks include a local network and a remote network;

the available resources include local resources available via the local network and remote resources available via the remote network;

the remote resource may convert the multimedia data.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises: dynamically adjusting the established route.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the dynamically adjusting is made based on a change in availability of the available networks.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the dynamically adjusting is made based on a bandwidth of the available network.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the handheld wireless communication device communicates using a plurality of wireless protocols.

6. A data communication system, the system comprising:

one or more circuits within a handheld wireless communication device for discovering available networks and resources available via the available networks;

said one or more circuits establishing a route between said handheld wireless communication device and a selected one or more of said available resources via a selected one or more of said available networks based on user preference criteria stored within said handheld wireless communication device; and

the one or more circuits communicate multimedia data between the handheld wireless communication device and the selected one or more available resources via the established route;

the available networks include a local network and a remote network;

the available resources include local resources available via the local network and remote resources available via the remote network;

the remote resource may convert the multimedia data.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein said one or more circuits dynamically adjust said established route.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the dynamically adjusting is made based on a change in availability of the available networks.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the dynamically adjusting is made based on a bandwidth of the available networks.