U.S. patent application number 13/931925 was filed with the patent office on 2014-12-04 for sonic communication system and method.
This patent application is currently assigned to Verifone, Inc.. The applicant listed for this patent is Verifone, Inc.. Invention is credited to Brett Paulson.
Application Number | 20140355386 13/931925 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 45697145 |
Filed Date | 2014-12-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140355386 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Paulson; Brett |
December 4, 2014 |
SONIC COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND METHOD
Abstract
Implementations are provided for wirelessly transmitting and
receiving data through sonic communication. A transmit device
having a sonic transducer transmits a sonic carrier signal through
the air with a digital representation of the data with a modulation
protocol using sonic transmission frequencies in accordance with
present invention. The sonic transducer operates to transmit the
one or more sonic carrier signals carrying the modulated data over
the air with sufficient gain to carry the signal to a receiver
device where the data is demodulated using at least one sonic
transducer of a receive device. The receive device may be
configured to perform the demodulation of the data at one or more
sonic transmission frequencies and in accordance with a sonic
modulation protocol to provide a binary representation of the data.
Ambient noise captured by the receiver device is processed along
with the data transmitted over the sonic carrier signals.
Inventors: |
Paulson; Brett; (Austin,
TX) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Verifone, Inc. |
San Jose |
CA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Verifone, Inc.
San Jose
CA
|
Family ID: |
45697145 |
Appl. No.: |
13/931925 |
Filed: |
June 30, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
12870767 |
Aug 27, 2010 |
8514662 |
|
|
13931925 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
367/137 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04B 1/06 20130101; H04B
11/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
367/137 |
International
Class: |
H04B 11/00 20060101
H04B011/00 |
Claims
1. A processor implemented method of wirelessly transmitting data,
comprising: receiving data suitable for digital signal processing
on a transmit device having a sonic transducer to transmit a sonic
carrier signal through air to a receive device; modulating the data
at using one or more sonic carrier signals; and transmitting the
one or more sonic carrier signals modulated with the data through
the sonic transducer and over the air with sufficient gain to carry
the sonic carrier signal to the receive device where the data from
the one or more sonic carrier signal frequencies can be
demodulated.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving data suitable for
digital signal processing further comprises, receiving one or more
symbols on a transmit device to be transmitted to the receive
device; and converting the symbols to be transmitted to the receive
device into a digital stream of data.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein modulating the data over the sonic
carrier signal further comprises: encoding the data over one or
more frequencies of the sonic carrier signal in accordance with a
frequency-shift keying (FSK) protocol.
4. The method of claim 1 further comprising performing a sonic
transmission strategy for transmitting a sonic carrier signal
through the air that avoids existing noise in a geographic
location.
5. The method of claim 4 wherein performing the sonic transmission
strategy further comprises: initializing a sonic transmission
frequency for transmitting the sonic carrier signal through the air
at the highest sonic frequency available in a communication system;
creating a noise characteristic over a predetermined time period
that reflects a range of sonic frequencies and their gain in a
geographic location; determining whether the data from the sonic
carrier signal could be demodulated at the sonic transmission
frequency in consideration of the noise indicated from the noise
characteristic; and suspending transmission of the sonic carrier
signal for a time interval when the determination indicates that
the noise may interfere with demodulating data from the sonic
carrier signal.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein the noise characteristic in the
geographic location changes during the time interval.
7. The method of claim 1 further comprising identifying a sonic
transmission frequency for transmitting a sonic carrier signal
through the air to increase usability of the system.
8. The method of claim 7 wherein identifying the sonic transmission
frequency further comprises: initializing a sonic transmission
frequency for transmitting the sonic carrier signal through the air
at the highest sonic frequency available in a communication system;
determining whether reducing the sonic transmission frequency for
the sonic carrier signal increases the usability of the sonic
communication system; reducing the sonic transmission frequency by
a predetermined frequency interval to increase the usability of the
communication system.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein the increased usability of the
communication system reduces the amount of irritation to a person
hearing the sonic carrier signal transmission.
10. An apparatus for wirelessly transmitting data, comprising: a
processor capable of executing instructions; memory having stored
instructions when executed by the processor, causes the processor
to transmit data suitable for digital signal processing on a
transmit device having a sonic transducer to transmit a sonic
carrier signal through air to a receive device, modulate the data
at using one or more sonic carrier signals, transmit the one or
more sonic carrier signals modulated with the data through the
sonic transducer and over the air with sufficient gain to carry the
sonic carrier signal to the receive device where the data from the
one or more sonic carrier signal frequencies can be
demodulated.
11. The apparatus of claim 10 further comprising instructions when
executed, perform a sonic transmission strategy for transmitting a
sonic carrier signal through the air that avoids existing noise in
a geographic location.
12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the instructions that perform
the sonic transmission strategy further comprise instructions that,
initialize a sonic transmission frequency for transmitting the
sonic carrier signal through the air at the highest sonic frequency
available in a communication system, create a noise characteristic
over a predetermined time period that reflects a range of sonic
frequencies and their gain in a geographic location; determine
whether the data from the sonic carrier signal could be demodulated
at the sonic transmission frequency in consideration of the noise
indicated from the noise characteristic; and suspending
transmission of the sonic carrier signal for a time interval when
the determination indicates that the noise may interfere with
demodulating data from the sonic carrier signal.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This Divisional application claims the benefit of U.S.
application Ser. No. 12/870,767, filed Aug. 27, 2010, entitled,
"SONIC COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND METHOD" by Brett L. PAULSON,
assigned to the assignee of this application and incorporated by
reference herein for all purposes.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Aspects of the present invention relate to mobile
communication and electronic commerce using a mobile communication
device.
[0003] Widespread availability and popularity of mobile devices
have made them indispensible in both business and everyday use.
These mobile devices include portable computing devices such as
laptops, netbooks and tablets that provide mobile computing power
as well as access to the information on the Internet, text
messaging, email and other functions. Other mobile devices such as
wireless phone devices not only provide the aforementioned portable
computing functions but further include wireless voice capabilities
along with applications using features such as built-in cameras,
global positioning satellite (GPS) services and others.
[0004] The functionality of these mobile devices has converged on a
similar set of features in a variety of different form factors. For
example, wireless phone devices classified as smartphones tend to
have powerful processors and multitasking operating systems
previously available only on portable or desktop computing devices.
These smartphone devices generally fit in a pocket or purse and
have a virtual touchscreen keyboard or miniature "thumb" keyboard
for easy entry of data. In comparison, portable computers not only
offer general purpose computing power but also operate more like a
phone device delivering phone calls and voice capabilities with
protocols/services such as voice-over-IP (VOIP) and Skype (Skype is
a registered trademark in the United States and other countries of
Skype Technologies S.A.).
[0005] Despite these advances, mobile devices still have difficulty
communicating directly with each other or, for that matter, desktop
computers or workstations. When people wish to exchange
information, they still generally send an email or text message
with their mobile device to the mobile device of the person they
are trying to reach. Likewise, mobile devices attempting
communication with a desktop computer have little choice but to
send the user of the desktop computer a brief email or text message
as well. Unfortunately, manually entering information needed for
emails or text messages is time consuming, prone to error and often
dissuades people from interacting altogether.
[0006] Indeed, attempts to establish direct communication between
mobile devices has been met with failure for a variety of reason.
In many cases, too few devices have the specialized hardware
required for communication. For example, infrared transceivers are
not found on all mobile devices or computers and therefore lack the
scale required to permit reliable communication. Moreover, infrared
communication is not only slow but requires a line-of-sight between
the transceivers of the devices to operate.
[0007] Bluetooth communication is another interesting wireless
protocol shared by many mobile devices but it takes too long to
sync or "pair" before any communication can take place. The time
delay for pairing not only frustrates users but also makes the data
transmitted more susceptible to interception. Accordingly,
Bluetooth communication may be seen as a security risk and not
suited for transmitting sensitive information.
[0008] Yet another approach for mobile communication involves
displaying and reading bar codes from the display of a mobile
device. The bar codes can generally be displayed on a mobile device
and then read by another device or computer having a camera or bar
code scanner. However, processing bar codes in this manner can be
difficult as each display device may need to be configured with
different display parameters, aspect ratios, display resolutions
and other factors to ensure the bar codes can be read reliably.
[0009] Another approach places RFID tags on a mobile device to
facilitate quick identification of the phone and promote mobile
communication. Indeed, RFID works quickly to identify the mobile
device but requires each vendor to purchase a potentially expensive
specialized reader device. Given the added expense of the reader
and the complexity of accepting payments in this manner, RFID tags
and readers have not been widely adopted.
SUMMARY
[0010] Aspects of the present invention provide a method and system
for devices to exchange data over the air using a sonic carrier
signal. The data to be exchanged may be received on a transmit
device and converted, as needed, to a digital representation
suitable for digital signal processing. For example, binary data on
the transmit device may be processed immediately while text or
other symbolic data may need to be converted into a digital
representation for further processing. The transmit device has at
least one sonic transducer that transmits a sonic carrier signal
through the air in accordance with aspects of the present
invention. The digital representation of the data is modulated
consistent with a modulation protocol using one or more sonic
transmission frequencies in accordance with present invention. The
sonic transducer transmits the one or more sonic carrier signals
carrying the modulated data over the air. Each sonic carrier signal
has sufficient gain to carry the signal to a receiver device where
the data from the one or more sonic carrier signals is
demodulated.
[0011] Yet another aspect of the present invention concerns a
method and system of wirelessly receiving data modulated over one
or more sonic carrier signals. Aspects of the present invention
receive modulated data through the air using at least one sonic
transducer of the receive device. The sonic transducer may also
receive ambient noise within the geographic location of the receive
device in addition to the one or more sonic carrier signals. Prior
to demodulation, aspects of the present invention may configure the
receive device to perform the demodulation of the data at one or
more sonic transmission frequencies. Sonic carrier signals at these
sonic transmission frequencies are demodulated in accordance with a
sonic modulation protocol providing a binary representation of the
data. Ambient noise captured by the receiver device is processed
along with the data transmitted over the sonic carrier signals. In
certain cases, the ambient noise may be used to enhance the
transmitted data with increased functions such as authentication
and security, or it may be eliminated using various filters.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a communication
network in accordance with aspects of the present invention;
[0013] FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of the systems and
methods for implementing aspects of sonic communication services in
accordance with the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 3 is a flowchart representation of the operations for
wirelessly transmitting data modulated over a sonic carrier signals
in accordance with implementations of the present invention;
[0015] FIG. 4 is a flowchart representation of the operations for
implementing sonic transmission strategies that reduce the
probability of interference from noise in accordance with aspects
of the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 5 is a one exemplary graph illustrating a sonic
frequency response as received by a receive device in accordance
with one implementation of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 6 is yet another flowchart representing the operations
for wirelessly receiving the sonic carrier signals and data on a
receiver device in accordance with one implementation; and
[0018] FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram of a device capable of
sonically transmitting and receiving data in accordance with
implementations of the present invention.
[0019] Like reference numbers and designations in the various
drawings indicate like elements.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0020] Aspects of the present invention provide one or more of the
following advantages. Use of sonic communication of the present
invention scales quickly as it is compatible across a wide range of
computers and mobile devices. Sound components and other supporting
hardware necessary to perform sonic communication in accordance
with the present invention are generally available and already
installed on most of these devices. For example, many computers and
mobile devices may already include CODECS, filters, digital signal
processors (DSP), memory and other components necessary for
processing sound. These sound components may be built directly into
the computer or mobile device or may be added afterwards using an
after market sound card or an externally connected peripheral sound
device.
[0021] Method and systems designed in accordance with the present
invention take advantage of these sound components to modulate data
on a sonic carrier signal. The sonic carrier signal can be
processed by mobile devices and computers from different
manufacturers provided the sound components on each device operate
at a sufficient sample rate and frequency response. This makes it
possible for various devices to communicate together over a wide
range of carrier frequencies while running on dissimilar hardware
platforms and otherwise incompatible operating systems. For
example, a wireless device running the Android operating system can
readily communicate sonically with a computer device running
Microsoft Windows, the Apple OS X operating system or an Apple
iPhone or iPad (Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft
Corporation of Redmond, Wash., Android is a registered trademark of
Google, Inc. of Mountain View Calif., iPhone and iPad are
registered trademarks of Apple, Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.).
[0022] Sonic communication implemented in accordance with the
present invention has considerable economic advantages. As
previously described, a majority of the hardware required for sonic
communication is already installed on the computers and mobile
devices of interest. Software designed in accordance with the
present invention can be installed on most devices without
requiring additional hardware or even a hardware upgrade. In some
cases, there may be a nominal cost associated with attaching a
microphone or speaker to the sound components already installed on
the device. Even if the sound components are not already installed
on these devices, there are many after market manufacturers of
sound components and sound cards that can be combined with or added
to existing hardware at a relatively low-cost. In some cases, it
may even be cost-effective to create custom or semi-custom sound
card designs using codecs and processors available from companies
such as Texas Instruments.
[0023] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a communication
network 100 in accordance with aspects of the present invention. In
one implementation, sonic communication services 104, sonic
stations 108 and sonic enabled businesses 106 are operatively
coupled together over a data network 102. Data network 102 can be
the Internet or any other network.
[0024] Sonic enabled businesses 106 include any business
implementing the sonic communication methods and systems designed
in accordance with the present invention. These sonic enabled
businesses may implement sonic communication services 104 to enable
communication between computers and mobile devices in the course of
selling their products or services. For example, sonic enabled
businesses 106 may include social networking sites that implement
aspects of the present invention and allow mobile devices to
directly transmit their contact details to each other. Sonic
enabled businesses 106 might also include retail businesses using
sonic communication methods and systems of the present invention to
accept payments, process gift cards, coupons, loyalty awards and
other programs.
[0025] Sonic stations 108 represent one or more fixed points for
distributing or receiving sonic communication in accordance with
the present invention. Illustrative examples of sonic stations 108
may include point-of-sale (POS) registers for the sale of goods or
services, kiosks distributing information at malls, museums or
other public areas as well as any terminal used to facilitate any
transaction of value with a mobile device or computer. The term
value is meant to broadly include points in loyalty programs,
prepaid telecommunications minutes, prepaid gift cards, airline
mileage, digital music downloads, streaming music, streaming video,
streaming multimedia as well as any other service or product of
some worth to one or more parties.
[0026] Sonic communication services 104 facilitate processing
certain portions of the sonic communications for sonic enable
businesses 106 and any of the various devices coupled to wireless
network 118. Implementations of sonic communication services 104
may include a combination of computers, servers, communications
equipment and software designed, configured and created in
accordance with the present invention. For instance, there may be
software applications installed on servers encoding/decoding data
modulated over sonic carrier signals in accordance with the present
invention. It is also contemplated that communication equipment may
be specially configured and/or embedded with firmware to support
using sonic communication of the present invention and prioritize
high value transactions such as involving electronic commerce. For
example, the firmware may enable high-availability (HA) protocols
for ensuring an orderly completion or roll-back of transactions
when an unexpected communication failure occurs anywhere along the
communication path downstream from the sonic communication services
104, between the devices coupled to the wireless network 118 or
within systems supporting sonic communication services 104.
Additional measures may also be taken to prioritize electronic
commerce transactions above non-commercial transactions within
sonic communication services 104 to ensure a more rapid processing
of the data and resultant transactions among sonic stations 108 and
devices coupled to wireless network 118.
[0027] In one aspect, sonic communication services 104 may include
a set of preliminary or front-end services for managing the initial
creation of data to be sent between devices. These front-end
services may include authoring media such as audio files embedded
with data modulated over one or more sonic carrier signals. Sonic
communication services 104 can be used to author media with
modulated data when it is not desirable to perform the modulation
directly on a device or devices using sonic communication. For
example, it might be advantageous to use sonic communication
services 104 to install an audio file with modulated data on a
device during manufacture. The data may be used to identify the
device when the audio file is played back and demodulated by
another device in accordance with the present invention. Depending
on the device, sonic communication services 104 may store the audio
file in non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM) during
manufacture such as flash memory, read-only memory (ROM),
programmable ROM (PROM), or erasable PROM.
[0028] Further aspects of sonic communication services 104 may
include back-end services that help facilitate more complex
transactions between two or more devices using sonic communication
of the present invention. Devices registered with sonic
communication services 104 receive identifiers sonically
transmitted to each other during a transaction. Sonically enabled
devices receive the identifiers then forward to sonic communication
services 104 over data network 102 where the identifiers are
further processed and associated with their respective registered
devices. For example, these sonically enabled devices may include
any combination of sonic stations 108 and the various devices
coupled to wireless network 118 illustrated in FIG. 1. Once devices
are positively identified, various types of transactions can be
performed securely and robustly in a variety of circumstances.
[0029] Some sonic enabled businesses 106 may choose to utilize
sonic communication services 104 over data network 102 based upon a
software as a service (SaaS) model. The SaaS model can be used to
deliver sonic communication services 104 in accordance with aspects
of the present invention on a subscription basis. Typically,
pricing depends on the time period and volume of use with respect
to sonic communication services 104. Delivering sonic communication
services 104 over a network in this manner can also be referred to
as a "cloud computing" solution as the local devices take advantage
of software services and processing power located remotely on
computers across a network.
[0030] Instead of the SaaS or cloud computing model, alternate
implementations may instead install sonic communication services
104 on a dedicated computer or appliance located on the business
premises. The locally installed appliance solution gives businesses
more direct access and control over the computers and software
running sonic communication services 104. Advantageously, the
appliance solution enables businesses to better control the
reliability and availability of sonic communication services 104
with redundant systems, virtualization and increased monitoring.
Moreover, the locally installed appliance with sonic communication
services 104 might save money for a business provided the annual
license fee and appliance costs are less than equivalent
subscription fees.
[0031] Yet another implementation delivers sonic communication
services 104 partially using a cloud computing model and partially
as an appliance. Frequently used functions requiring higher
performance from sonic communication services 104 may be preloaded
on the locally installed appliance. Less frequently used functions
not available locally are accessed from sonic communication
services 104 in the cloud. The sonic communication services 104
delivered partially as an appliance and partially in the cloud has
the optimal combination of benefits from both modalities of
delivery.
[0032] A wireless provider may provide a data/voice bridge 120
connecting various devices over wireless network 118 to data
network 102. In general, wireless network 118 provides voice
communication capability between some or all of the devices
registered on the wireless network 118. Data services like Internet
or intranet access and SMS text messaging may pass through a data
channel portion of the data/voice bridge 120. Data/voice bridge 120
can also serve to connect wireless network 118 to other data and
wireless networks (not shown).
[0033] In this example, devices on wireless network 118 may include
wireless smartphones 110, conventional mobile phones 112 (also
referred to as mobile feature phones), laptops 114 and smartbooks
116. In addition to transmitting voice, some of the more
sophisticated mobile devices such as smart phones 110 have powerful
processors, larger data storage capacity and the ability to display
high resolution images and text in various fonts and point sizes on
larger screens. Mobile devices provisioned on wireless network 118
generally have a phone number and the ability to place a voice call
to other mobile devices. Wireless phone providers for wireless
network 118 may implement any one or more different wireless
protocols including Global System for Mobile (GSM), Code Division
Multiple Access (CDMA) and variants compatible with one or more
features of these technologies.
[0034] Mobile devices on wireless network 118 such as smartphones
110 may use a data protocol such as TCP/IP to access data network
102 through data/voice bridge 120. These mobile devices have
built-in modems to access wireless network 118 and sufficient
computing power to process the associated data protocol for
accessing data network 102. Certain other devices such as laptops
114 and smartbooks 116 have also been equipped with modems to both
wireless network 118 and data network 102.
[0035] Alternatively, aspects of the present invention also works
with mobile devices such as laptop 126 connected directly to data
network 102. Laptop 126 bypasses wireless network 118 and accesses
data network 102 directly using either a wired connection such as
Ethernet over a physical medium such as CAT5/6 or a wireless medium
such as Wi-Fi, Wi-MAX or others. It is also contemplated that any
or all of the devices on wireless network 118 may also communicate
directly with data network 102 if they are further equipped with
Wi-Fi, Wi-MAX or other wireless data communication and
protocols.
[0036] Sound components and capabilities are essential to making
sonic communication of the present invention operate. Fortunately,
laptops 114/126, smartphones 110, conventional mobile phones 112,
and smartbooks 116 generally have sound components that digitally
process sound at high-sample rates and a wide frequency response.
Indeed, even a wireless headset 124 can use aspects of sonic
communication in accordance with the present invention provided the
codec in the headset has a sufficiently high sample rate and
reproduces sound over a wide enough frequency response.
[0037] In general, sonic stations 108 have built-in sound
components that enable these devices to perform sonic communication
in accordance with the present invention. For example, many retail
point-of-sale registers and kiosk systems are based upon computer
platforms with sound components that digitally process sound with
high sampling rates and wide frequency response. To sonically
communicate with sonic stations 108, it may be necessary to install
sonic transducers on sonic stations 108 to either transmit or
receive signals over a speaker or microphone respectively.
[0038] It should be appreciated that aspects of the present
invention allow a wide range of communication to take place between
the devices depicted in FIG. 1. In one example, sonic stations 108
can send data encoded in accordance with the present invention and
mixed in with an audio stream that plays a recognizable "jingle" or
music 120. People recognizing the music 120 playing in the audible
range may then expect a decode application running on their mobile
device and designed in accordance with the present invention to
capture the music and decode the data sent by sonic stations 108.
Depending on the design, it is possible for a single POS register
to transmit the audio stream embedded in music 120 to more than one
of laptops 114/126, smart phones 110, conventional mobile phones
112, and smartbooks 116 (i.e., a one-to-many communication).
Likewise, alternate designs may limit similar communications
between a single POS register and a single mobile device (i.e.,
one-to-one communication).
[0039] Smartphones 110 and other devices coupled to wireless
network 118 may also transmit and receive data encoded within an
audio stream to each other in accordance with the present
invention. These sonic communications may occur "silently" by
omitting the audible musical cue or "jingle" and selecting a
frequency and gain for the sonic carrier signal 122 inaudible to
most people. Nonetheless, while the signal may not be detected by a
person, microphones on the devices actively listening for sound
will readily capture the sonic carrier signal 122 and decode the
data for further processing.
[0040] FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of the systems and
methods for implementing aspects of sonic communication services
104 in accordance with the present invention. Since FIG. 2 is an
illustrative schematic design, the actual organization of the
functions could be combined or separated in a different manner
other than how presented in this example. It is also contemplated
that greater or fewer functions than those illustrated and
described in conjunction with FIG. 2 could be included in
accordance with systems and methods of the present invention.
[0041] Accordingly, sonic communication services 104 includes a
dispatcher 200 that distributes processing of tasks to one or more
areas of operations including a sonic application store 202, sonic
marketing systems 204, sonic authoring systems 206, accounting
systems 208, financial transaction systems 210 and sonic security
systems 212. Each of these systems may be implemented with a
combination of computers, communication equipment and software to
distribute tasks and results.
[0042] Application store 202 includes applications implementing
sonic communication designed in accordance with aspects of the
present invention. Applications can be downloaded onto smartphones,
feature phones, computers or other devices that communicate and
transact with other sonically enabled devices. It is contemplated
that sonic communication of the present invention will greatly
enhance existing websites and applications as well as spawn the
creation of entirely new functions and applications.
[0043] In general, the software in application store 202 can be
divided into sonic application shims 226 and discrete sonic
applications 228. Sonic application shims 226 provide developers
with libraries and application programming interfaces (API) to add
sonic communication features to their existing applications. Some
sonic application shims 226 may provide general purpose APIs while
other sonic application shims 226 may be tailored to the
requirements of a certain class of applications. In comparison to a
shim, discrete sonic applications 228 may be entirely new
applications developed around the sonic communication features of
the present invention.
[0044] Specifically, one sonic application shim 226 may include
APIs for integrating sonic communications of the present invention
with a particular social network platform such as Facebook,
MySpace, Ning, Twitter, or Four-Square. Such sonic application shim
226 may allow in-person exchange of social network ids and data
rather than over the Internet. Accordingly, mobile versions of
these social websites enhanced with the present invention can allow
subscribers to exchange personal information and contact
information from their various social networks directly using their
mobile devices.
[0045] In addition, APIs for social networking would further enable
microlocation vis a vis strategically placed sonic stations 108.
For example, a sonic station 108 placed in a supermarket would
enable a mobile device user to accurately identify their location
and then broadcast their location to other members of the social
network. Microlocation facilitated by sonic communication of the
present invention could be designed to work at various distances
between the sonic station and a mobile device thus providing more
accuracy than alternate solutions such as GPS (global positioning
satellite) systems.
[0046] A further subset of the applications contemplated using
sonic communications of the present invention include
coupon-clipping, point-of-sale (POS) systems and paperless
receipts, sonic payment systems, ringtone exchange, sonic voting,
sonic data transfer and cloud-based storage, sonic dating matchup,
sonic vending, video sharing, audio sharing, in-store discount
systems, loyalty programs, gift-card management and redemption, and
kiosk systems for information delivery.
[0047] In one implementation, coupon-clipping is an application on
a mobile device that collects coupons sent sonically from a
personal computer in accordance with aspects of the present
invention. For example, a mobile device positioned near the
speakers of a computer receives sonic codes encoded in the various
articles, banner ads, display ads and click-thru advertisements
found on websites on the Internet. As people visit these websites,
the advertisements play audio modulated with the sonic codes. The
audio is demodulated on the mobile device where the sonic codes may
be exchanged for coupons or promotional items.
[0048] Alternatively, coupons may be delivered to the mobile
devices in-store through sonic stations 108 strategically placed
within a store. These sonic codes are also decoded on the mobile
device and exchanged for electronic coupons and discounts
downloaded into a coupon clipping application running on the mobile
device. To redeem coupons, the mobile device may send corresponding
sonic signals associated with the coupons to a POS system. The POS
securely processes the coupons and payment information and returns
a paperless receipt to the mobile device once the product or
service purchase is completed.
[0049] Sonic payment systems can also use sonic communication to
transmit payment or value using debit, credit, cash, or other forms
of monetary exchange such as with PayPal.RTM. (PayPal is a
registered trademark of Ebay, Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif.) These
payments may take place between a mobile device and point-of-sale
(POS) register, between mobile devices or between various
combinations of other types of sonically enabled devices.
[0050] Ringtone exchange uses sonic communication to send ringtone
codes representing downloadable ringtones to sonically enabled
devices. For example, a mobile device may receive a sonic code over
a speaker for downloading a ringtone onto the mobile device. The
mobile device would then decode the sonic code and use it to access
and download the ringtone over the Internet.
[0051] Sonic voting transmits sonic codes through a speaker and
onto a mobile device whereupon the voting is initiated. These sonic
codes for voting are decoded on the mobile device where the voters
place their votes and send over the Internet. Sonic voting could be
used in numerous contexts from local/state/federal elections to
television shows having audience participation and voting. In the
case of television broadcasts, the sonic codes can be transmitted
during the broadcast over the television speakers to the mobile
devices and users who then place their votes or voice their opinion
as requested.
[0052] Sonic data transfer and cloud-based storage allows the
storage and exchange of general data between two or more sonically
enabled devices. For example, people can use sonic data transfer to
move data from a work computer to a mobile device, cloud-storage or
to some other location using sonic communication of the present
invention.
[0053] Sonic dating matchup of the present invention allows people
to opt-in or opt-out of sending personal information via a sonic
carrier signal to other individuals in the geographic vicinity of a
nightclub, supermarket or elsewhere. If they do opt-in, these
individuals could then also selectively share more personal contact
information such as a home address/phone number, on-line contact
information, or email addresses.
[0054] Sonic vending applications would allow sonically enabled
vending machines to receive sonic communication from a mobile
device and dispense certain products or services. For example, a
mobile device might send a sonic signal to a vending machine that
gives the vending machine the ability to access a limited amount of
money from a checking account or credit card and pay for the
product or service. It is contemplated that the vending machine
would use the Internet, a dial-up telephone line or other networks
to securely access bank accounts, credit cards and other sources of
money.
[0055] In one implementation, sonic marketing systems 204 manage
marketing campaigns and placement of advertisements using sonic
communication associated with aspects of the present invention. The
sonic marketing systems 204 in this example include a sonic
advertising server 220, advertising content 222 and coupons/loyalty
programs 224. Advertising content 222 includes videos with audio,
images with audio and also stand-alone audio authored with sonic
codes. In one example, advertising content 222 and audio would be
delivered when certain websites were accessed, when certain
selectable elements on the websites are accessed by a user or from
certain search results. Upon these or other similar events, sonic
advertising server 220 would ensure delivery of the audio portion
of the multimedia advertising content 222 authored with sonic codes
embedded therein. Playing the audio back through the speakers of a
computer or other system causes advertisements, coupons or other
marketing materials to appear on the mobile device demodulating
data from the sonic signal.
[0056] Coupons/loyalty programs 224 would be delivered in a similar
manner to advertising content 222 except that a user would register
in advance with a website in and opt-in to receiving coupons or
loyalty bonus points. For example, a user might register with a
retail website such as Starbucks.RTM. to receive coupons and be a
member of their loyalty program (Starbucks is a registered
trademark of Starbucks Corporation of Seattle, Wash.). Upon
visiting certain websites, sonic advertising server 220 would
deliver a retail ad for display that also sends an audio code to
the user's mobile phone and gives them loyalty points and/or a
coupon that they can redeem at a retail store such as
Starbucks.RTM.. For example, loyalty points at a Starbucks could be
redeemed for a free drink or possibly other benefits for obtaining
a certain amount of points. Coupons from multiple vendors can be
collected using single coupon clipping application stored on the
mobile phone and redeemed on a POS register sonic communication of
the present invention.
[0057] Authoring system 206 provides tools and applications that
modulate sonic codes within a digital stream in accordance with
aspects of the present invention. These tools and applications
convert data into digital codes and modulate them over a sonic
carrier signal within various types of multimedia content 218. In
some implementations, authoring system 206 executes on a mobile
device allowing the mobile device to directly modulate data over
the sonic carrier signal in accordance with the present invention.
Other implementations allow the mobile device to send data over a
network like the Internet to a server where a server such as sonic
media authoring platform 216 performs the authoring on behalf of
the mobile device.
[0058] Accounting system 208 performs functions related to
enrollment and generation of revenue for a sonic communication
system in accordance with aspects of the present invention. In one
implementation, accounting system 208 includes an administrative
server 268, membership and demographics 270, advertising revenue
272 and financial resolution data 274. Administrative server 268
coordinates tasks between the various subsystems and updates one or
more respective databases.
[0059] Membership and demographics 270 manages registration of
members and also produces demographic information useful for
selling marketing and advertising products and services.
Microlocation information can also be collected if a sonic enabled
mobile device is used to "check in" to a location with a fixed
sonic device such as a sonically enabled POS register. In this
context, membership and demographics 270 may not only provide
detailed and updated purchase information on transactions but the
location of a sonically enabled device and possibly how long the
sonically enabled device is within a particular store or location
before making a purchase. Financial resolution data 274 contains
information for collecting revenue and payment to business partners
using the sonic communication system.
[0060] Financial system 210 involves collection of revenue from
advertising placement and other sonic communication services in
accordance with aspects of the present invention. The financial
system 210 includes a transaction server 276 for keeping track of
financial events and transaction clearance process 278 to debit and
credit funds from financial institutions 280. In one
implementation, transaction clearance process 278 has the authority
to securely interact with financial institutions 280 using
automated clearing house (ACH) transfers, wire transfers, and
credit cards to ensure a proper transfer of funds.
[0061] Sonic security processing 212 includes computers,
communication devices and software for providing various types of
security along with securely implementing aspects of sonic
communication of the present invention. In one implementation,
sonic security processing 212 uses sonic codes to implement
public-private key management. For example, mobile devices can
exchange public keys by modulating a public key as data exchanged
through one or more sonic communication signals. Authentication of
transactions may be implemented though a comparison of sound
samples taken from the locale when and where the transaction
occurs. Any or all parties to a transaction may be required to
provide comparable sound samples if the transaction is to be
honored. Conversely, if parties to the transaction have sound
samples that differ beyond a threshold, the transaction between the
two or multiple parties may be considered void.
[0062] FIG. 3 is a flowchart representation of the operations for
wirelessly transmitting data modulated over a sonic communication
signal in accordance with one implementation. Aspects of the
present invention provide sonic transmission strategies for
transmitting a sonic carrier signal while avoiding existing noise
in a geographic location (302). Since sound transmission is
unregulated, the full spectrum of sonic frequencies is generally
available for use by the sonic communication system. For example,
in a quiet environment a sonic communication system and method of
the present invention aspects may be able to transmit over a sonic
frequency range starting as low as 20 Hz and as high as 60 KHz.
With a low level of noise, aspects of the present invention may
achieve robust sonic communication using most if not all of the
frequencies from within this sample range of sonic transmission
frequencies.
[0063] In noisier environments, aspects of the present invention
continue to achieve robust communication through careful selection
of the sonic transmission frequencies and timing of the
transmission. Samples of the ambient sound in the area are used to
create a noise characteristic indicative of the most prevalent
sounds. If the noise characteristic indicates that the desired
sonic transmission frequencies are unavailable, aspects of the
present invention may decide to delay transmission of the sonic
signal a random interval of time, resample and then retransmit. A
variant of this strategy may also determine that aspects of the
present invention not only delay transmission but transmit sonic
carrier signals multiple times in an effort to overcome a temporary
use of the desired sonic frequencies in the area. For example, the
noise of a coffee grinder in a coffee shop may fill a wide range of
available sonic frequency spectrum for a very short period of time.
Aspects of the present invention may delay one or more intervals of
time until a subsequent sample of the sound indicates that the
grinder has stopped and the sonic transmission frequencies are
available. Details associated with the strategy process are
described in further later herein with respect to FIG. 4.
[0064] Next, a transmit device receives data to be transmitted
through air using the sonic carrier signals over the sonic
transmission frequencies (304). The data may be binary information
suitable for immediate signal processing or may be symbols such as
alphanumeric data submitted through applications associated with
short messaging service (SMS) communications, emails, or
communications within social network services such as twitter,
Facebook, MySpace, FourSquare and others. Generally, the transmit
device receives data from these applications or others through a
set of application programming interfaces (APIs) incorporated into
the sonic transmission method and system. Alternatively, it is also
possible for a user to enter data directly into the sonic
transmission method and system of the present invention through
keystrokes captured by a data entry interface.
[0065] Data received on the transmit device may further include
sonic codes that indirectly access data in databases and other
lookup-type services. For example, data transmitted from the
transmit device to the receive device might be a sonic code
corresponding to a credit card or bank account entry in a database
located on one or more servers in accordance with aspects of the
present invention. If alphanumeric or other symbols are used for
these sonic codes, the symbols may first be converted into a
digital stream of data for further processing.
[0066] To send and receive the sonic communication signal, both the
transmit device and the receive device should each have at least
one and possibly two or more sonic transducers. For example, the
sonic transducer on the transmit device for sending the sonic
communication signal can be a speaker and the sonic transducer on
the receive device can be a microphone. It is also possible that a
single sonic transducer could be used for sending and receiving the
sonic communication signal depending on the implementation and
overall system requirements.
[0067] Next, aspects of the present invention determine if the data
should be modulated over the sonic carrier signal locally on the
transmit device or remotely using a server (306). To conserve
processing on the transmit device, aspects of the present invention
may send the data to the server for processing and modulation
(306--No). Modulation on the server may be necessary if the
transmit device has limited storage or processing power such as
with a basic mobile phone or feature phone. In one implementation,
the transmit device sends the data over a network for modulation on
the server at one or more sonic transmission frequencies (308).
Once the server completes the modulation, the transmit device
receives data back from the server modulated in accordance with a
sonic modulation protocol designed in accordance with the present
invention (310).
[0068] The server modulates the data on a sonic carrier signal
using the specified sonic transmission frequencies in accordance
with a sonic modulation protocol. For example, the server may use
multiple sonic transmission frequencies to implement a protocol
based upon frequency shift key modulation (FSK). In accordance with
one implementation, the FSK protocol generally transmits over at
least two different frequencies--a "1" may be transmitted on one
sonic transmission frequency while a "0" may be transmitted on
another sonic transmission frequency. While FSK is one useful
modulation protocol, alternate modulation protocols may also be
used including minimum shift keying (MSK), quadrature phase shift
keying (QPSK) and others.
[0069] If the transmit device has sufficient processing and storage
capabilities, the data may be modulated on the transmit device
(306--Yes). In this implementation, the transmit device modulates
the data using the sonic carrier signals at one or more sonic
transmission frequencies (312). As described later herein, the
sonic transmission frequencies used by the sonic carrier signals
may avoid interference with the noise in the locale using one or
several different sonic communication strategies.
[0070] Next, the transmit device transmits the modulated data over
the sonic carrier signals through the sonic transducer and over the
air to the receive device (314). The present invention provides
robust sonic communication even in the presence of noise. It is
contemplated that gain of the sonic carrier signals should be
adjusted to carry them the requisite distance to the receive device
where data from the sonic carrier signal is demodulated.
[0071] Further details on strategies to reduce the impact of noise
on sonic carrier signals are provided by the flowchart in FIG. 4.
Accordingly, aspects of the present invention initially set the
sonic transmission frequencies to the highest frequencies available
in a communication system (402). These frequencies are initially
determined by the highest frequencies the transmit device can send
and the receive device can detect and decode. This means that the
transmit device must be able to modulate the data at these
frequencies as well as have the output stage and transducer, such
as a speaker, to reproduce these signals. For example, the transmit
device should be equipped with a codec or functional equivalent
that samples at least twice the sonic frequency being transmitted.
Likewise, the receive device needs to be equipped with a similar
type codec as well as a transducer, such as a microphone, sensitive
enough to detect the sonic carrier signal and demodulate the data.
Once again, the receive device sample rate should be at least twice
the transmission frequency to accurately reproduce the sonic
carrier signal.
[0072] Next, aspects of the present invention creates a noise
characteristic over a predetermined time period that reflects a
range of sonic frequencies and their gain in a geographic location
(404). In one implementation, the noise characteristic is created
by recording or "sniffing" a sample of the sound in a geographic
location. Samples may be recorded once or multiple times over a
period of seconds, minutes hours, days, or longer periods. FIG. 5
illustrates one example noise characteristic displaying gain and
frequency along with sonic carrier signals of the present
invention.
[0073] Using the noise characteristic, the present invention
determines whether a receive device could potentially demodulate
data from sonic carrier signals and sonic transmission frequencies
(406). In one implementation, the noise characteristics are first
analyzed to determine what sonic transmission frequencies, if any,
are available within the sample or samples of the sonic spectrum.
For example, a noise characteristic may reflect an absence of sonic
noise in the range of 15 Khz to 22 Khz. Second, aspects of the
present invention evaluates the sample rate and sensitivity of the
receive device in light of the available sonic transmission
frequencies. To demodulate the transmitted signals, the receive
device must have a sample rate of at least twice the sonic
transmission frequency. It is contemplated that the sample rate and
other characteristics of the receive device are either known in
advance or discoverable in accordance with aspects of the present
invention.
[0074] It may be determined that the receive device is incapable of
demodulating data transmitted over the set of sonic transmission
frequencies (406--Yes). In one instance, the sonic transmission
frequencies available according to the noise characteristic may be
too high for the receive device to sample and demodulate.
Alternatively, it is also possible that noise in the area covers a
wide sonic spectrum leaving no sonic transmission frequencies
available even at the highest frequencies of the communication
system. In either of these or other situations, one implementation
of the present invention suspends transmission of the sonic carrier
signals for a time interval (408). During this interval, the
present invention considers that the noise characteristic in the
geographic location will change and make more sonic transmission
frequencies available for the receive device to demodulate. In
particular, it may be expected that the noise characteristic will
change over the time interval making the higher sonic transmission
frequencies available for sonic communication. It is contemplated
that this time interval can be a predetermined period of time or
may be a random or pseudo-random period of time. Once the time
interval expires, aspects of the present invention samples the
noise characteristic yet another time (404) and processing
continues.
[0075] Eventually, a set of sonic transmission frequencies are
identified that the receive device is capable of demodulating
(406--No). In one implementation, the present invention checks if
the noise floor at these particular frequencies in the noise
characteristic is low enough to not interfere with the transmission
of sonic carrier signals at the sonic transmission frequencies. If
the signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio at these frequencies is higher than
a predetermined threshold, it is probable that the receive device
could demodulate data when the sonic carrier signals are
transmitted. In most instances, it is desirable to not reduce the
sonic transmission frequencies as the higher frequencies may
transmit with less interference from noise and other sound in the
lower frequency range (410--No). For example, sonic carrier signals
at the higher sonic transmission frequency may experience less
interference from the audible sound in the lower frequency
range.
[0076] In other instances, however, a reduction in the sonic
transmission frequencies increases the usability of the sonic
communication system and method (410--Yes). In particular, lowering
the sonic transmission frequencies might be more comfortable for
people hearing the signal transmitted between transmit and receive
devices. For example, a person might be disturbed hearing a 17.5
kHz signal modulated with data, yet have no discernable reaction
hearing a 15 kHz signal with the same modulated data. Decreased
sonic transmission frequencies might also increase the usability as
it affects the distance and direction a sonic signal may travel
(412).
[0077] Once identified, aspects of the present invention then
associates a set of sonic transmission frequencies for transmitting
a sonic carrier signal with a geographic location (414). It is
contemplated that the set of sonic transmission frequencies could
be one or more frequencies needed to perform sonic communication in
accordance with the present invention. For example, two or more
sonic transmission frequencies might be used to implement an FSK
protocol in accordance with the present invention.
[0078] FIG. 5 is a graphical representation of a noise
characteristic 500 for a particular location in accordance with one
implementation of the present invention. Four regions of this graph
have been enumerated to better understand sonic communication of
the present invention. Region I depicts the frequency and gain
associated with noise sampled in the geographic area and generally
includes the audible range of sound people can hear. Region II
reflects the sonic transmission frequencies suitable for sending
sonic carrier signals in accordance with the present invention. In
this example, sonic carrier signals 504 and 506 may be used for
modulating data according to a sonic protocol such as FSK.
Harmonics 508 are also within Region II and should also be
considered when identifying and analyzing the sonic transmission
frequencies used by the system. Indeed, while higher sonic
transmission frequencies in Region II may be available, the
sampling rate of the communication system may limit the highest
frequency to a sonic frequency limit 502 as illustrated.
[0079] Region III reflects a noise floor associated with ambient
noise generally considered above the audible frequency range. Many
of frequencies in Region III are available for use by the sonic
communication system and method of the present invention. In
contrast, Region IV shows a more active region of sound and a noise
floor within the audible range of sound. Fewer sonic transmission
frequencies may be available for use by aspects of the present
invention given the higher gain associated with the audible noise
in Region IV.
[0080] FIG. 6 is yet another flowchart representing the operations
for wirelessly receiving the sonic carrier signals and data on a
receive device in accordance with one implementation. In this
implementation, the receive device receives the modulated data over
the sonic carrier signal from the transmit device along with noise
in the geographic location (602). A sonic transducer such as a
microphone picks up the sonic carrier signal and noise in the area
then provides it to a codec on the receive device. Noise may
include ambient noise present in the area as well as any injected
noise intentionally added to the sonic carrier signal. For example,
a "jingle" or song may be injected into the audible range of
frequencies that a person may hear and recognize. The codec samples
the sound at a sufficiently high sample rate to accurately recover
the transmitted sonic carrier signal. In general, the codec
operates at a frequency of at least twice the frequency of the
sonic carrier signal. For example, a codec operating at sample rate
of at least 40 Khz can sample sonic frequencies up to the typical
audible frequency range of 20 Khz.
[0081] To recover the modulated data, aspects of the present
invention may need to determine what sonic frequencies to
demodulate. In one implementation, a determination is made whether
there is a sonic carrier signal associated with a geographic
location (604). For example, a busy retail location may need to use
a higher sonic frequency for communication so as to avoid audible
noise at lower frequencies from loud music, conversations,
electrical appliances, doors shutting or other changes in the noise
level at the location. As a result, one implementation may prepare
a receive device to demodulate data from sonic carrier frequencies
associated with a particular geographic location (606). For
example, the GPS built into a phone can be used to identify a
geographic location and then determine the sonic transmission
frequencies registered for use at the particular location.
[0082] In yet another implementation, the data may be modulated on
a predetermined sequence of sonic carrier frequencies (608).
Transmitting the modulated data over duplicate sonic carrier
frequencies provides multiple alternative frequencies for the
receiver to demodulate. Accordingly, a receive device may be
configured to demodulate data using multiple predetermined sonic
carrier frequencies (610). The receive device can select one or
more of these sonic carrier frequencies or may demodulate the sonic
carrier frequencies in a predetermined order. It is also
contemplated that the receive device may select to demodulate the
sonic carrier frequencies starting with the highest signal-to-noise
ratio.
[0083] Alternatively, a sample of the ambient sound may be used to
identify the sonic carrier frequencies with the least probable
amount of interference (612) A sampling of the ambient sound may
identify certain unused sonic frequencies available for the sonic
carrier frequencies carrying the modulated data. Generally (614)
unused frequencies are above the audible range of sound.
Accordingly, aspects of the present invention would then prepare
the receive device to perform demodulation of the data using these
unused sonic frequencies (614). For example, if the data is
modulated over multiple different sonic carrier signals than
aspects of the present invention would first attempt to demodulate
data from the unused frequencies.
[0084] Once the frequencies of the sonic carrier signal are
determined, the receiver device proceeds to demodulate the data
received from the transmitter device in accordance with the sonic
modulation protocol (616). As previously described, one sonic
modulation protocol may be compatible with FSK while others may
include MSK, QPSK or other protocols. The demodulated data appears
as a binary sequence and is then converted into appropriate symbols
for the application requesting the processing of the data
(618).
[0085] FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram of a device 700 capable
of sonically transmitting and receiving data in accordance with
implementations of the present invention. Device 700 includes a
memory 702, sound components 704 with speaker 706 and/or microphone
708, a processor complex 710, a broadband interface 712, data/voice
interface 714 and system storage 716 capable. It is contemplated
that aspects of the invention described herein with respect to
device 700 may apply to any type of wireless phone, computer
enabled devices (i.e., point-of-sale terminals, electronic
billboards, kiosks) or general-purpose computers capable of
performing sonic communication in accordance with the present
invention. To that end, device 700 may also be broadly, and
alternatively, referred to as a mobile device, wireless phone,
smart phone, feature phone, computer, laptop computer, or smart
book. Moreover, various aspects of the invention may include the
same or similar components despite the particular implementation
illustrated in FIG. 7. For example, some implementations may use a
central interconnect 718 for communication among the components
while other implementations may use multiple direct paths between
each of the components. Also, it is contemplated that different
implementations may combine one or more of these components into a
single component or may separate them into different combinations
of components. Functionality provided by device 700 may be
implemented in hardware, software or in various combinations
thereof depending on the design and implementation details.
[0086] In the illustrative implementation in FIG. 7, memory 702
includes storage locations that are addressable by the processor
and adapters for storing software program code and data. For
example, memory 702 may include a form of random access memory
(RAM) that is generally cleared by a power cycle or other reboot
operation and classified as "volatile" memory. Processor complex
710 and various adapters may, in turn, comprise processing elements
and logic circuitry configured to execute the software code and
manipulate the data stored in the memory 702. System storage 716
may be a form of non-volatile storage for storing a copy of
run-time environment 720, applications and other data used by
device 700.
[0087] Memory 702 includes run-time environment 720 portions of
which typically reside in memory and are executed by the processing
elements. Run-time environment 720 may be based upon a
general-purpose operating system, such as Linux, UNIX.RTM. or
Windows.RTM., the AppleOS.RTM. or any other general-purpose
operating system. It may also be based upon more specialized
operating systems such as the Blackberry Operating system from RIM,
Inc., the Symbian OS from Nokia, Inc., the iPhone OS or iOS from
Apple, Inc., the Android operating system from Google, Inc. of
Mountain View Calif., the Web OS or Palm OS from Palm, Inc. or any
other operating system designed for the mobile market place.
[0088] Sonic transmission strategy component 722 includes functions
and datasets necessary for identifying the sonic transmission
frequencies and timing to transmit and receive data sonically in
accordance with aspects of the present invention. For example,
sonic transmission strategy component 722 may identify the sonic
frequencies for transmitting data and to determine an optimal time
for sonically transmitting the data. Sonic communication
demodulation component 724 includes functions and datasets
necessary to demodulate data from sonic carrier signals sent over
various sonic transmission frequencies in accordance with a sonic
communication protocol such FSK modulation. Likewise, sonic
communication modulation component 726 includes functions and
datasets that encode data and modulate it over sonic transmission
frequencies using a sonic carrier signal in accordance with the
present invention.
[0089] Sound components 704 include codecs and other components for
converting sound transmitted through microphone 708 into a digital
format such as PCM (pulse-code modulation). These codecs are also
capable of converting the digital information back into a sonic
analog signal and then broadcasting through speaker 706.
[0090] Processor complex 710 may be a single processor, multiple
processors or multiple processor cores on a single die. It is
contemplated that processor complex 710 represents the one or more
computational units available in device 700. Processor complex 710
may also be a physical aggregation of multiple individual
processors that each individually process and transfer data over
interconnect 718. Alternate implementations of processor complex
710 may be a single processor having multiple on-chip cores that
may partition and share certain resources also on the processor die
such as L1/L2 cache. For at least these reasons, aspects of the
present invention may be described as using a processor or multiple
processors for convenience however it is contemplated that the term
"processor" could also be applied to designs utilizing one core or
multiple cores found on a single chip or die. Likewise, the term
process is used to describe the act of executing a set of related
instructions on one or several processors but it is also
contemplated that alternate implementations could be performed
using single or multiple threads executing the same or similar
instructions on one or several processors each capable of
multi-threaded execution.
[0091] Broadband interface 712 may be a WiFi, WiMAX or other
connection to a network such as the Internet. The broadband
interface 712 may also include wired connections to the Internet
using CAT 5/6, Fiber Channel or similar methods. Data/voice
interface 714 includes functions and datasets for transmitting data
and voice over a wireless network. Protocols used for data/voice
interface 714 may include one or more of GSM, CDMA, TDMA, FDMA or
other wireless protocols. The data portions of data/voice interface
714 may carry data at 2G. 2.5G, 3G, 4G and beyond implemented using
various wireless protocols including EDGE, EV-DO, HSPA, and
others.
[0092] System storage 716 includes an area for storing
applications, operating system portions, and data. It is
contemplated that system storage 716 may be on a removable SD
(secure digital) storage or other similar device and that the SD
storage may include security features for holding critical pieces
of information such as credit card numbers and other similar
information. Alternatively, system storage 716 may include
conventional magnetic tapes or disks, optical disks such as CD-ROM,
DVD, magneto-optical (MO) storage or any other type of non-volatile
storage devices suitable for storing large quantities of data.
These latter storage device types may be accessed locally through a
direct connection or remotely in the "cloud" through broadband
interface 712 or data/voice interface 714 type network
connections.
[0093] While examples and implementations have been described, they
should not serve to limit any aspect of the present invention.
Accordingly, implementations of the invention can be implemented in
digital electronic circuitry, or in computer hardware, firmware,
software, or in combinations of them. Apparatus of the invention
can be implemented in a computer program product tangibly embodied
in a machine readable storage device for execution by a
programmable processor; and method steps of the invention can be
performed by a programmable processor executing a program of
instructions to perform functions of the invention by operating on
input data and generating output. The invention can be implemented
advantageously in one or more computer programs that are executable
on a programmable system including at least one programmable
processor coupled to receive data and instructions from, and to
transmit data and instructions to, a data storage system, at least
one input device, and at least one output device. Each computer
program can be implemented in a high level procedural or object
oriented programming language, or in assembly or machine language
if desired; and in any case, the language can be a compiled or
interpreted language. Suitable processors include, by way of
example, both general and special purpose microprocessors.
Generally, a processor will receive instructions and data from a
read only memory and/or a random access memory. Generally, a
computer will include one or more mass storage devices for storing
data files; such devices include magnetic disks, such as internal
hard disks and removable disks; magneto optical disks; and optical
disks. Storage devices suitable for tangibly embodying computer
program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile
memory, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices,
such as EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks
such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto optical
disks; and CD ROM disks. Any of the foregoing can be supplemented
by, or incorporated in, ASIC's.
[0094] While specific embodiments have been described herein for
purposes of illustration, various modifications may be made without
departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly,
the invention is not limited to the above-described
implementations, but instead is defined by the appended claims in
light of their full scope of equivalents.
* * * * *