Patents Examined by Steve D Agosta
  • Patent number: 9125013
    Abstract: Methods and systems for modifying a preferred roaming list (PRL) of a subscriber user equipment (UE) are provided. In a wireless communication system, a first wireless service provider is associated with a first radio access network (RAN) and maintains a subscriber account associated with a given UE. When the first RAN receives a registration request from the UE, the first RAN responsively (i) attempts to authenticate the UE, and (ii) upon a failure to authenticate the UE, the first RAN updates the PRL to then list a second RAN associated with a second wireless service provider as the highest priority network in the PRL.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2015
    Assignee: Sprint Spectrum L.P.
    Inventors: Raymond E. Reeves, Simon Youngs, Mark D. Peden
  • Patent number: 9119076
    Abstract: The invention is a system and method for registering and authenticating a user using a mobile communication device, such as a mobile phone. An authentication server has access to a stored list of authorized mobile phone numbers. Each authorized mobile phone number is associated with a string of text or numeric characters. The server provides a OTP when the user calls or sends a SMS message request from the authorized mobile phone to the server. The verbal or SMS request must contain the stored string, which the server will match against the stored list in order to confirm that the mobile phone is authorized. Once a OTP is provided to the authorized mobile phone, it must be used within a predetermined time limit, or the OTP will expire. The OTP will also be discarded once the server is notified that the OTP has been used.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2015
    Assignee: EMC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Rajath Gubbi
  • Patent number: 9112993
    Abstract: A shower transmitter/receiver speaker system is an electronic device that is able to be paired to a cell phone, a lap top, or a tablet and is able to receive voice and streaming music transmissions from the cell phone. The shower transmitter/receiver speaker system is also able to place phone calls or transmit voice commands to the cell phone. The shower music receiver assembly is able to receive and amplify the audio to a user preferred volume using the control button volume adjustment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2015
    Inventor: Joe A. Rivera
  • Patent number: 9107030
    Abstract: Disclosed is a wireless communication system that is used with a wireless communication device and a position location system, the wireless communication device being capable of communicating with the position location system. The wireless communication system includes a memory device for storing position locations of the wireless communication device and for storing transactions made relating to the wireless communication device, a processor for determining trends by recalling stored information from the memory device and processing the recalled information, and a transmitter for transmitting targeted broadcasts to the wireless communication device based on the current location of the communication device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2015
    Inventor: Thomas E. Coverstone
  • Patent number: 9094822
    Abstract: An apparatus comprising a transmitter, a receiver, and a processor coupled to the transmitter and the receiver, wherein the apparatus comprises communication settings not associated with a user, and wherein the processor is configured to receive user information associated with the user, cause the user information to be transmitted via the transmitter to a profile server for authentication, receive user profile data associated with the user from the profile server, and update the communication settings to include the user profile data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2015
    Assignee: Futurewei Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Francis Kurupacheril, Martin Leima
  • Patent number: 9088954
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a wireless communication system. In particular, for the transmission of a locating zone configured across one or more superframes for transmitting a locating synchronizing signal for determining the location of a terminal in a wireless communication system, the wireless communication system of the present invention transmits, to a terminal, a superframe header including information indicating whether or not to transmit the locating zone. Thus, the terminal can discern a terminal belonging to the location zone form among superframes received by the terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2015
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Jin Soo Choi, Han Gyu Cho, Jin Sam Kwak, Seung Hee Han
  • Patent number: 9084181
    Abstract: Motion adaptive wireless user equipment (UE) in a wireless network are provided. Kinetic information is leveraged to select a preferred radio (or radio technology) or adapt a reselection scanning interval. This can serve to improve the performance of a UE by reducing the amount of power expended in maintaining an adequate level of connectedness to the wireless network components in the face of UE movement. In a further aspect, kinetic power generators can be employed as a source of UE transit data. Kinetic fingerprints can be compared to UE transit data, e.g., that acquired from a kinetic generator of the UE, to facilitate selection of preferred radios and reselection intervals. In this aspect, radio selection schema and reselection scanning schema can effectively be selected with little to no drain on a UE power source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2015
    Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC
    Inventor: Arthur Brisebois
  • Patent number: 9084194
    Abstract: A method of improving frequency accuracy of a clock unit adapted to clock a femtocell local cellular communication home base station is provided. The method comprising: providing a local cellular communication home base station having an oscillator adapted to operate as a clock therein, wherein at least one cellular communication device is camped thereto, and wherein the at least one camped cellular communication device is further in communication with at least one neighboring cellular communication base station which is associated with an oscillator adapted to operate as a clock therein; periodically applying a derivative operator over periodically obtained local communication parameters and periodically obtained neighboring communication parameters thereby generating derivative communication parameters over time; and correcting the accuracy of the frequency of the clock in the femtocell local cellular communication home base station using the derivative communication parameters over time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2015
    Assignee: BROADCOM SEMICONDUCTORS ISRAEL LTD.
    Inventors: Rafy Carmon, Yoav Volloch, Amir Appel, Sharon Levy
  • Patent number: 9075716
    Abstract: A user of a mobile station can report a mobile station issue by transmitting a report including a description of the mobile station issue and other information for rapid troubleshooting and resolution by a manufacturer, through a wireless mobile communication network, to the manufacturer of the mobile station or its software, via a life cycle management tool program at a network. The report sent by the user of the mobile station may include information relating to the description of the mobile station issue, mobile station device information, device operation information, diagnostic logs, or captured screenshots. The life cycle management tool program stores the report including the information and sends an electronic notification to a technical center of a carrier and/or the manufacturer of the mobile station or its software for review and resolution of the reported mobile station issue in real time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2015
    Assignee: Cellco Partnership
    Inventors: David Raymond Dempski, Jesus Ramos
  • Patent number: 9054847
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention exploit the reciprocity of radio channels in TDD, and longer-term correlation between average uplink and downlink path losses in FDD wireless communication systems to enable distributed schedulers in an enhanced uplink system to allocate uplink transmission resources while preemptively managing intercell interference levels. Each cell's base station transmits a downlink reference signal at a known transmission power level. A mobile station monitors the received signal strength of the downlink reference signals from multiple base stations. The transmitted and received signal strength levels can be used by the mobile station to estimate the amount of intercell interference that the mobile station's uplink transmissions cause, and the mobile station's uplink transmission parameters are adjusted accordingly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2015
    Assignee: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventor: Nicholas William Anderson
  • Patent number: 9037134
    Abstract: Aspects describe communications environments in which femtocell capability is provided to devices within the communications network. A non-femto enabled device and/or a femto enabled device can communicate with a femto enabled device in the same geographical area for femto-enabled peer-to-peer communication. Two non-femto enabled devices can be provided femto functionality through utilization of a femto enabled device, which operates as a hub between the two devices. Other aspects relate to enhanced position determination, adaptive coverage enhancement, local mobile networks, open access femtocells without a backhaul, and local broadcast of media though utilization of femto enabled devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2015
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Matthew S. Grob, Mehmet Yavuz, Sanjiv Nanda
  • Patent number: 9031614
    Abstract: An electronic business card is provided with voice data associated with the card owner. In some embodiments, the voice data is a digitized voice sample; in other embodiments, the voice data is a selection of pre-processed voice recognition data associated with a voice sample. In some implementations, the electronic business card can be transferred to other parties using a Bluetooth personal network. A user application can then make use of the voice sample or pre-processed voice recognition data for security or user identification.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 12, 2015
    Assignee: Unify, Inc.
    Inventors: Rami Caspi, William J. Beyda
  • Patent number: 9026180
    Abstract: A portable electronic apparatus has a display, keypad, sensor and controller. Keys of the keypad are distributed within a keypad area in at least a first plane and are arranged for user actuation transversally to the first plane to provide a first type of user input. The sensor is positioned to sense navigating user actuation at the keypad area in or coincident with the first plane to provide a second type of user input. The controller is configured to control a focus position on the display in response to the second type of user input; associate a plurality of display subareas of the display with respective keys of the keypad; and accept, for user input of the second type, user actuation of an actuated key among the keys as a selection of a selectable item presented at the focus position in a particular display subarea associated with the actuated key.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2015
    Assignee: Unwired Planet, LLC
    Inventor: Jacob Strom
  • Patent number: 9008683
    Abstract: Described are a system and method of managing a real-time communication initiated to a mobile communications device. A communication from an originating communications device is sensed as being directed to a first destination address corresponding to a mobile communications device. Location information of the mobile communications device is determined. The communication is directed to a second destination address based on the determined location of the mobile communications device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2015
    Assignee: Mitel Networks Corporation
    Inventors: Paul Andrew Erb, Peter Hillier
  • Patent number: 8995963
    Abstract: Methods, systems, apparatus and computer program products are described for controlling content presented on user-controlled wireless device assets and/or features, such as ringtone, wallpaper, wireless device memory and the like. In present aspects, a user-requested control state change is undertaken from a user-controlled state to an advertisement-control state. In this regard, once the user has conceded control of the wireless device asset over to an advertiser or advertisement provider, the advertiser is allowed to provide advertisements to the designated wireless device asset for a predetermined period of time. From the advertiser or advertisement provider perspective present aspects provide for advertisements to be presented on novel platforms. Additionally, by gaining control over the wireless device asset the advertisers or advertisement providers are assured that their advertisements will be executed for the duration of the control period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Daniel H. Agre, Nakul Duggal, Vikram Yashpal
  • Patent number: 8996047
    Abstract: This invention concerns a messaging service in a wireless communications network. In a first aspect, the invention is a method for providing a messaging service on a wireless device in a wireless communications network; the method comprising the steps of: Retrieving the destination address of an outgoing message on the device. Verifying whether the destination address is capable of receiving the message via a packet-switched bearer. If verification is affirmative, then automatically sending the message to the destination address via a packet-switched bearer, but otherwise, automatically sending the message to the destination address via an SMS bearer. In another aspect, the invention is a mobile device programmed to perform the method. In a further aspect, the invention is a software program to implement the method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignee: Rembrandt Messaging Technologies, LP
    Inventor: Graham Merrett
  • Patent number: 8971953
    Abstract: In a method for dialing phone numbers using a portable communication device, the device includes a keypad including numeric keys and an LED driver. Each of the numeric keys is equipped with a first color LED light and a second color LED light. The LED driver drives the first LED light under each of the numeric keys to emit a first color light. The LED driver turns off the first LED light under the numeric key and turns on the second LED light under the numeric key to emit a second color light according to an LED control signal. The LED driver further turns off the second LED light and turns on the first LED light to emit the first color light when the digit input from the keypad is in a digital group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2015
    Assignees: Shenzhen Futaihong Precision Industry Co., Ltd., Chi Mei Communication Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Kai-Bo Qu
  • Patent number: 8971843
    Abstract: A system for billing communications between a subscriber and a verified professional comprising a verified professional repository and a central tracking system. The central tracking system is configured to receive a communication request targeting the registered device ID, determine an applied billing rate using a value set by the verified professional, and transmit the applied billing rate to the subscriber. The central tracking system is further configured to track the connection, generate a communication data file comprising the registered device ID, the subscriber ID, the applied billing rate, the communication duration, and the billing signal. The central tracking system is further configured to obtain a billable duration by parsing the communication data file using the billing signal and the communication duration, calculate a communication charge using the applied billing rate and billable duration, and pay the verified professional a portion of the communication charge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2015
    Assignee: Amana Future, LLC
    Inventor: Ibrahim N. Al-Zaben
  • Patent number: 8971932
    Abstract: An apparatus, system or method for use of encrypted or confidential location or position, time, and unique identifier information (LPTI Information) comprising mobile device encoded unique identifiers (UIs), to register the presence of one or more persons in a retail or service store or outlet, vehicle, financial, educational, governmental, transportation, shipping, cargo, residential, vacation, travel, power generation or distribution, water or food supply or storage, or data storage location or position, for use in identifying potential suspects, conspirators, participants or witnesses for criminal, regulated, tort, or prohibited activity for use by law enforcement or a court, and which information is kept encrypted until authorized access is granted to law enforcement or a court by issuance or a warrant or other appropriate legal authorization.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2015
    Assignee: Secure Sigint, LLC
    Inventor: Michael Mapes
  • Patent number: 8965339
    Abstract: A method and article of manufacture to reactivate a user identity card for a mobile station that communicates with a network is described. The user identity card is initially activated with the network. The user identity card has a unique identifier. Activation includes communicating with the mobile station from the network and programming the user identity card with network parameters. The network parameters programmed on the user identity card are then cleared after a preset period of time. The user identity card is reset to an unactivated state and then the user identity card can be reactivated with the network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2015
    Assignees: Verizon Patent and Licensing Inc., Cellco Partnership
    Inventors: Ruben Cuadrat, Praveen Venkataramu, Rama Yaddanapudi, Warren Hojilla Uy, Xuming Chen