System and method for servicing communications using both fixed and mobile wireless networks

Abstract

Mobile wireless device(s) roam within and between premises and a vehicle or other mobile platform and interface to wireless local area networks within the premises or vehicle. When using the intra-vehicular network, a communication relay within the vehicle routes communications from the wireless device to a wide area wireless network such as cellular network or satellite network. This allows the power consumption of the mobile wireless device to be greatly reduced as the mobile device need only communicate with the local intra-vehicular WLAN. The vehicle acts as the power supply for the relay. When the coverage area of the intra-vehicular WLAN overlaps that of another WLAN, seamless handoff allows continuous data or voice connectivity between the overlapping wireless networks.

1 . A method to service communications with a mobile wireless devices, comprising: 
 establishing a communication pathway between the mobile wireless device and a premises based wireless network, wherein the communication pathway allows the mobile wireless device to communicate with resources available through the premises based wireless network;    moving the mobile wireless device to an area wherein coverage of the premises based wireless network overlaps an intra-vehicular wireless network;    establishing a parallel communication pathways that comprise: 
 a first communication path between the mobile wireless device and the premises based wireless network; and  
 a second communication path between the mobile wireless device and an extravehicular wireless network via a vehicular wireless interface, a vehicular mountable relay, and an extra-vehicular wireless interface; and  
 handing the wireless device from the premises based wireless network to the intra-vehicular wireless network, wherein the parallel communication pathways allows continuous communications between the mobile wireless device and the resources.  
   
   
   
       2 . The method of claim  33 , wherein the premises based wireless network and the vehicular wireless network are short-range digital radio networks and wherein the parallel communication pathway is a cellular network.  
   
   
       3 . The method of claim  33 , wherein establishing a parallel communication pathway further comprises: 
 communicating with the mobile wireless device via a vehicular wireless interface operable to communicate with the mobile wireless device over the vehicular wireless network; and    relaying communications between the mobile wireless device and the resources from the vehicular wireless interface, through a mobile network relay, and to an extravehicular wireless interface operable to establish a communication pathway with an external network.    
   
   
       4 . The method of claim  35 , wherein the mobile wireless device is a telephone hand set.  
   
   
       5 . The method of claim  35 , wherein the mobile wireless device is a Personal Data Assistant or computing device.  
   
   
       6 . The method of claim  35 , further comprising servicing handoff from a first premises based wireless network to a cellular network to a second premises based wireless network.  
   
   
       7 . The method of claim  38 , wherein the first premises based wireless network and the second premises based wireless networks have non-contiguous service coverage areas.  
   
   
       8 . The method of claim  33 , wherein the extravehicular wireless network is a satellite based wireless communication network.  
   
   
       9 . The method of claim  33 , further comprising determining capabilities of the mobile wireless device.  
   
   
       10 . The method of claim  41 , further comprising making handoff decisions based upon the mobile wireless device.  
   
   
       11 . The method of claim  42 , wherein the mobile wireless device has Bluetooth®, 802.11, and/or cellular interfaces.  
   
   
       12 . The method of claim  43 , further comprising directing that the mobile wireless device be serviced according to a comparison of a cellular connection though the mobile wireless device's cellular interface's quality of signal and the quality of signal of a communication pathway through the extravehicular wireless network.  
   
   
       13 . The method of claim  43 , further comprising directing that the mobile wireless device be serviced by the Bluetooth®, 802.11, or cellular interfaces based on power consumption associated with the Bluetooth®, 802.11, and cellular interfaces.  
   
   
       14 . The method of claim  43 , further comprising initiating handoff to the extravehicular wireless network when the signal strength compares unfavorably to a handoff threshold.  
   
   
       15 . The method of claim  33 , further comprising registering the mobile wireless device with the vehicular wireless network.  
   
   
       16 . A method to service communications with a mobile wireless devices, comprising: 
 establishing a communication pathway between the mobile wireless device and a second extravehicular wireless network, wherein the communication pathway allows the mobile wireless device to communicate with resources available through the second extravehicular wireless network;    moving the mobile wireless device to an area wherein coverage of the second extravehicular wireless network overlaps an intra-vehicular wireless network;    establishing a parallel communication pathways that comprise: 
 a first communication path between the mobile wireless device and the second extravehicular wireless network; and  
 a second communication path between the mobile wireless device and an first extravehicular wireless network via a vehicular wireless interface, a vehicular mountable relay, and an extra-vehicular wireless interface; and  
   handing the wireless device from the second extravehicular wireless network to the intra-vehicular wireless network, wherein the parallel communication pathways allows continuous communications between the mobile wireless device and the resources, and wherein the first communication path is terminated after a favorable handoff.    
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the premises based wireless network and the vehicular wireless network are short-range digital radio networks and wherein the parallel communication pathway is a cellular network.  
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein establishing a parallel communication pathway further comprises: 
 communicating with the mobile wireless device via a vehicular wireless interface operable to communicate with the mobile wireless device over the vehicular wireless network; and    relaying communications between the mobile wireless device and the resources from the vehicular wireless interface, through a mobile network relay, and to an extravehicular wireless interface operable to establish a communication pathway with an external network.    
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising servicing handoff from a first premises based wireless network to a cellular network to a second premises based wireless network.  
   
   
       20 . A mobile network relay device mounted within a vehicle the mobile network relay device operable to facilitate a wireless device handoff that includes existing wireless communications, wherein the handoff of the wireless device and existing communications occurs between an intra-vehicular wireless network and a first extravehicular wireless network, comprising: 
 a first wireless interface operable to communicate with a wireless device over an intra-vehicular wireless network, wherein the intra-vehicular wireless network is a short-range digital radio network, the wireless device operable to communicate through a second extravehicular wireless network;    a second wireless interface operable to establish an communication pathway with an first extravehicular wireless network, wherein the first extravehicular wireless network is a cellular network or a satellite based network; and    a vehicular mountable relay that communicatively couples the first wireless interface and the second wireless interface and that routes communications between the wireless device and the first extravehicular wireless network    wherein a coverage area of the intra-vehicular wireless network overlaps with a coverage area of the second extravehicular wireless network; and    the vehicular mountable relay controls and services the wireless device handoff between the second extravehicular wireless network and the first extravehicular wireless network, and wherein a prior communication path is terminated after a favorable handoff to a new communication path.