WO2002028123A2

WO2002028123A2 - Wireless gateway capable of communicating according to a plurality of protocols

Info

Publication number: WO2002028123A2
Application number: PCT/US2001/030460
Authority: WO
Inventors: Charles Lynn Whittington
Original assignee: Lifelink, Inc.
Priority date: 2000-09-29
Filing date: 2001-09-28
Publication date: 2002-04-04
Also published as: WO2002028123A3; AU2001294879A1

Abstract

A system and method are disclosed which enable communication between devices that communicate in different communication protocols. In a preferred emdodiment, a wireless gateway is disclosed which comprises a plurality of communication modules that are each operable to receive and transmit communication in a particular communication protocol. The wireless gateway further includes a means for translating between each of the communication protocols that are utilized to communicate external to said wireless gateway and an intermediary protocol utilized to communicate internally within the gateway. Most preferably, each of the plurality of communication modules includes a translator operable to translate between its corresponding external protocol and the intermediary protocol. A message interworking unit is further included for routing, in the intermediary protocol, communication received by a communication module to at least one other of the communication modules determined to be proper for transmitting such communication to one or more target devices. The communication module to which the communication to one or more target devices. The communication module to which the communication is routed is capable of translating the intermediary protocol to its corresponding external protocol, and then transmit the communication to a target device in such external protocol. Most preferably, the wireles gateway, upon receiving communication at a module, determines one or more target devices to which such communication is to be directed. Thereafter, the wireless gateway may determine one or more protocols suitable for transmitting to the target device(s), and determine the proper communication module(s) to which the communication is to be routed for transmission in an appropriate protocol.

Description

WIRELESS GATEWAY CAPABLE OF COMMUNICATING ACCORDING TO A

PLURALITY OF PROTOCOLS

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to concurrently filed and commonly assigned U.S. Patent Application Serial Number 09/676,141 entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATION OF SENSED DATA TO A CENTRAL SERNER," the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates in general to gateways that enable communication between systems that use different communication protocols, and in specific to a multiprotocol wireless gateway that enables communication between various systems or devices using different wireless protocols.

BACKGROUND

Communication systems are becoming increasingly important to companies and individuals. Therefore, it is vital that companies and individuals have communication systems that enable them to communicate with one another. Over time, many different communication systems, as well as communication protocols, have been developed in an attempt to aid in the communication of information. For example, various communication devices, such as standard telephones, cellular telephones, personal computers (PCs), laptop computers, and personal digital assistants (PDAs) have been developed to enable communication of information. With the development of such communication devices, various communication protocols have also emerged. As examples, various computer systems and/or networks, standard telephones, and cellular telephones may each utilize different communication protocols.

To enable communication between devices that use different communication protocols, "gateways" have been developed in the prior art. In general, a gateway is a device, which may include both hardware and software, that enables communication between devices, systems, or networks that would otherwise be unable to effectively communicate because of their use of different communication protocols. Thus, gateways interconnect disparate networks or media by processing the various protocols used by each so that infonnation from the sender is intelligible to the receiver, despite differences in their networks or computing platforms. For example, as telecommunication systems have evolved over time, newer systems have been developed to augment existing systems. Because of the substantial investment required in developing and implementing the older systems, most telecommunication providers were reluctant to actually replace those systems with newer systems. Accordingly, very simple gateways commonly referred to as "translator boxes" were developed to enable communication between older telephony systems and newly developed telecommunication systems, which often utilized a different protocol than the older systems. Such translator boxes were typically developed as special purpose devices that enabled translation from one particular protocol to another particular protocol. Also, telecommunication systems of foreign countries often utilized different communication protocols, thus requiring a translator box to enable communication between a specific U.S. telecommunication system and a specific foreign telecommunication system, such as a system of Europe. Such translator boxes were often very expensive special-purpose devices, and again typically provided translation only from one specific protocol to another specific protocol. Thus, translator boxes have been developed for use in prior art telecommunication systems as special-purpose devices specifically aimed at translating from one specific protocol to another specific protocol.

With the development and increasing popularity of the Internet, further communication problems have been encountered. That is, a great number of various devices/systems having different communication protocols are coupled to the Internet. Each device may desire to communicate via the Internet with other devices that use different communication protocols. Thus, various translators have been developed for translating between a device's particular communication protocol and the suite of Internet Protocols. However, such translators have generally been developed as special-purpose devices that enable communication from a specific protocol to another specific protocol. As one example, gateways have been developed to an IP telephony network to be communicatively coupled to a public switched telephone network (PSTN) or legacy private branch exchange (PBX).

Additionally, Internet gateways are available in the prior art which implement various translators therein to enable communication via the Internet between devices that use different communication protocols. For instance, such gateways may provide slots in which translator cards may be coupled to provide translation capability from one specific protocol to another specific protocol. Narious translator cards may be coupled within the gateway, thereby resulting in a gateway that allows for communication between devices that communicate in the various different protocols for which translators have been implemented. However, such Internet gateways typically just house various special- purpose translator cards, and provide only the specific translations allowed by such special- purpose translator cards for Internet communication. For instance, an Internet gateway may include a translator card for translating between protocols A and B for Internet commumcation, and may further include a translator card for translating between protocols C and D for Internet communication. However, while such an Internet gateway may enable commumcation between protocols A and B and between protocols C and D, it is unable to provide communication between protocols A and D, for example, without a special-purpose translator card being included to perfonn such translation.

Another development in communication systems that is becoming increasingly popular is wireless communication systems. Wireless communication systems, such as cellular telephones, have been developed and various wireless communication protocols exist for such systems. For example, various analog protocols and digital protocols, such as CDPD, EDGE, and HDR are commonly utilized for cellular communications. Additionally, translators have been developed to translate from a specific cellular protocol to a different cellular protocol or wireline protocol. Typically, such translators are special- purpose devices that are capable of translating from one specific protocol to another specific protocol. Additionally, repeaters are commonly utilized in cellular and other types of communications, which work to extend the reach of communications in a particular protocol. For example, a repeater may receive communication in a particular protocol and output the communication in the same protocol, but at a different frequency or power output in order to extend the reach of such communication.

In prior art wireless communication systems, focus has generally been directed to selecting at an end point device (e.g., a cellular telephone) a proper protocol to use for communicating. For example, state-of-the-art cellular telephones are multi-mode (or multiprotocol) telephones, which are capable of selecting a particular communication protocol and then utilize the selected protocol for use in a cellular call. For example, a cellular telephone may be capable of communicating using either an analog protocol or CDMA protocol. Thus, for instance, such cellular telephone may first attempt to communicate in CDMA protocol if such protocol is available, and may choose to communicate in analog protocol if CDMA is not available. However, a multi-protocol gateway for such cellular communication is not available in the prior art. That is, a multi-protocol gateway capable of receiving one of a plurality of cellular protocols (analog or digital) and translating to one of a plurality of cellular protocols is not available in the prior art. Thus, prior art solutions have generally attempted to put protocol selection within the cellular telephone itself, rather than providing a gateway for receiving communication from a cellular telephone and translating it to a particular protocol, such as an available protocol. Gateways of the prior art have been utilized for a variety of applications. For example, gateways have been developed for facilitating LAN workstation connections to various host environments, such as IBM SNA 3270 systems and IBM midrange systems. Gateways have also been developed to facilitate connections to X.25 packet-switched networks. Other applications of gateways include the interconnection of various electronic mail ("e-mail") systems, allowing e-mail to be exchanged between normally incompatible formats. That is, e-mail gateways have been developed to enable e-mail messages to be communicated from a user of one type of e-mail service to a user of another type of e-mail service. For instance, an e-mail gateway enables a subscriber of one type of e-mail service, such as CompuServe, America Online, or Microsoft Network (MSN) to communicate an e- mail message to a subscriber of a different type of e-mail service that uses a different communication protocol. This e-mail gateway function may be provided, for example, by servers equipped with the X.400 international messaging protocol. Additionally, e-mail gateways have been developed that enable e-mail messages to be communicated between the Internet and wireless devices such as PDAs, portable computers equipped with modems, and even alphanumeric pagers.

As briefly discussed above, a relatively new type of gateway provides connections between the Internet and local telephone lines, enabling users to originate phone calls from their Internet-connected PCs to conventional telephones on the public network and vice versa (e.g., to enable voice-over-IP). At present, this arrangement allows users to leverage their existing Internet connections to save on long-distance and international call charges.

It should be recognized that many user senses/skills, such as sight, touch, hearing, and speaking, may be utilized for communication of information. Narious communication devices have been developed that attempt to enable a user to utilize one or more of these senses/skills to receive/communicate infonnation. A general division can be recognized in the development of devices that tailor to certain senses/skills. For example, devices such as PCs, laptops, and PDAs have been developed to primarily concentrate on enabling communication using sight and touch. That is, while many of such devices may include capability for communicating using speech and hearing, the devices primarily provide communication using displays for output and keyboards, pointer devices (e.g., mouse or trackball), and/or touch-screen technology for input. Other devices, such as cellular telephones, have developed to primarily concentrate on enabling coinmunication using speech and hearing. That is, while many of such devices may include displays for outputting information, the devices primarily provide communication by receiving and outputting speech. A division can be recognized between the groups of devices that have primarily enabled communication via sight and touch and those that have primarily enabled communication via speech and hearing because different communication protocols have been developed within each group.

Although a general desire for converging the groups into a common device has been recognized in the prior art, relatively little progress has been made toward truly converging the technologies of each communication group because of resistance within each group to the other's protocols. For example, proposals have been advanced for providing a device that comprises both a cellular telephone and a PDA. However, cellular companies insist that their communication protocols should be the "standard" protocol for the resulting device, and PDA companies insist that their communication protocols should be the "standard." Of course, the matter is further complicated when it is recognized that various different protocols exist for each communication device. That is, various different protocols exist for PDAs and various different protocols exist for cellular communication.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above, a desire exists for a multi-protocol wireless gateway that enables commumcation between various wireless devices that communicate in any of a plurality of different wireless protocols. A further desire exists for a multi-protocol wireless gateway that is flexible in that it enables communication between various protocols without requiring a special-purpose translator for translating between each of the various protocols. Furthermore, a desire exists for a multi-protocol wireless gateway that aids in the convergence of devices that utilize different communication protocols.

The present invention is directed to a system and method which enable communication between devices that communicate in different communication protocols. In a preferred embodiment, a wireless gateway is disclosed which comprises a plurality of communication modules that are each operable to receive and transmit communication in a particular communication protocol. For example, each communication module may be operable to communicate external to said wireless gateway in a wireless protocol different than the wireless protocol utilized by others of the plurality of communication modules. In a preferred embodiment, the wireless gateway further includes a means for translating between each of the communication protocols that are utilized to communicate external to said wireless gateway and an intermediary protocol utilized to communicate internally within said wireless gateway. For example, in a most preferred embodiment each of the plurality of communication modules include a translator operable to translate between the particular wireless communication protocol of such communication module and the intermediary protocol. Accordingly, in a most preferred embodiment, the intermediary protocol is common to all of the plurality of communication modules, such that each of the communication modules is operable to communicate in a particular communication protocol for communication external to the wireless gateway and in said intermediary protocol for communication internal to the wireless gateway.

In a preferred embodiment, the wireless gateway further includes a message interworking unit for routing, in the intermediary protocol, communication received by at least a first of the gateway's communication modules to at least a second of the gateway's communication modules. Thus, for example, in a preferred embodiment, communication may be received by a first communication module in a first protocol (e.g., Bluetooth), and the translator associated with such first communication module translates the communication from such first protocol to an intermediary protocol that is utilized for internal communication within the wireless gateway. The message interworking unit routes the communication in the intermediary protocol to a second communication module that is capable of translating the intermediary protocol to a second communication protocol that is appropriate for transmitting the communication to a target device.

The wireless gateway of a most preferred embodiment may determine one or more target devices to which communication received by one of the gateway's communication modules is to be transmitted. Such detennination may be determined, for example, on the communication received by the wireless gateway. For instance, a telephone number or other identification of a target device may be received by the wireless gateway, which the wireless gateway may utilize to detemiine one or more target devices to which the communication is to be directed. In a most preferred embodiment, the message interworking unit of the wireless gateway is operable to detennine the proper communication module(s) to which received communication is to be routed for transmission to one or more target devices. For example, in one implementation, the message interworking unit may access a database providing one or more protocols that are suitable for communicating with the target device(s) to which the communication is directed to determine one or more communication modules that may be utilized for transmitting to the target device(s).

The wireless gateway of a preferred embodiment is preferably capable of communicating in a plurality of different wireless protocols, such as different protocols included within cellular protocols (e.g., CDPD, EDGE, HDR, CDMA, or WCDMA), short- range radio protocols (e.g., Bluetooth or home RF), WLAN protocols (e.g., 802.11 or wireless medical transmission standard (WMTS)), infrared, and personal area network

("PAN") protocols. For instance, various communication modules may be included within the wireless gateway of aprefened embodiment that are each capable of communicating in a particular one of such wireless protocols, and are further capable of translating between such particular wireless protocol and the intermediary protocol utilized within the wireless gateway. Therefore, the wireless gateway of a preferred embodiment may enable communication between various devices that may communicate using different wireless communication protocols.

Additionally, the wireless gateway of a most preferred embodiment, may not only enable communication using a variety of different wireless protocols, but may also enable communication using wireline protocols. For example, the wireless gateway may include an appropriate wireline connection (e.g., an RJ-11 connector or an RJ-45 connector with a standard modem) for being communicatively coupled to a device and/or communication network, and may then enable communication via such wireline connection using the appropriate wireline protocol (e.g., Internet Protocol). In a most preferred embodiment, the wireless gateway further includes a control module that is operable to determine a most appropriate protocol (of those determined to be suitable for transmitting to one or more target devices) and/or communication module to use for transmitting a received communication to one or more target devices. For example, in one implementation such control module determines the most appropriate protocol based at least in part on at least one of the following: protocol availability, protocol reliability, protocol cost, protocol communication speed, and user preferences. Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment, the wireless gateway is operable to determine if a critical situation/condition exists, and takes appropriate responsive actions for the critical situation condition. For example, the wireless gateway may determine whether a critical situation exists based at least in part on whether a particular protocol is available for transmission. As another example, the wireless gateway may determine whether a critical situation exists based at least in part on the communication received by a communication module of the wireless gateway. Upon determining that a critical situation/condition exists, various responsive actions may be initiated, including for example, determining an appropriate target device to utilize for transmitting in such critical situation, determining an appropriate communication module for transmitting to such target device, and transmitting communication using such appropriate communication module to the target device.

It should be recognized that a technical advantage of one aspect of a preferred embodiment is that a wireless gateway is disclosed that enables communication between devices that communicate in a plurality of different protocols. Another technical advantage of one aspect of a preferred embodiment is that a wireless gateway is disclosed that enables various communication modules to be implemented therein that are each capable of communicating in a particular protocol and translate between such protocol and an intennediary protocol that is common to all of such communication modules, thereby enabling communication between devices that communicate in any of the particular protocols recognized by such communication modules. Thus, special-purpose translators for translating between each of the various communication protocols are not required to be implemented within the gateway of a preferred embodiment.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the invention, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which: Fig. 1 shows an exemplary environment in which a wireless gateway of a preferred embodiment may be implemented;

Fig. 2 shows an exemplary implementation of a wireless gateway of a preferred embodiment;

Fig. 3 shows an exemplary implementation of a wireless gateway of a prefened embodiment in greater detail;

Fig. 4 shows an exemplary, operational flow diagram for a preferred embodiment;

Fig. 5 shows an exemplary operational flow diagram for determining an appropriate communication protocol and/or communication service in a preferred embodiment;

Fig. 6 shows the well-known Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model; Fig. 7 shows an exemplary environment in which a wireless gateway of a preferred embodiment may be implemented;

Fig. 8 shows a further exemplary environment in which a wireless gateway of a preferred embodiment may be implemented;

Fig. 9 shows an exemplary implementation of a preferred embodiment, in which a wireless gateway enables a plurality of devices utilizing a plurality of different (or the same) communication protocols to communicate simultaneously; and

Fig. 10 shows an exemplary implementation of a prefened embodiment, in which a wireless gateway enables a plurality of different users to communicate utilizing the same or different communication protocols simultaneously. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Turning to Fig. 1, an exemplary environment in which wireless gateway 100 of a preferred embodiment may be implemented is shown. Such wireless gateway 100 is preferably capable of communicating in a plurality of different wireless protocols, such as different protocols included within cellular protocols (e.g., CDPD, EDGE, HDR, CDMA, or WCDMA), short-range radio protocols (e.g., Bluetooth or home RF), WLAN protocols (e.g., 802.11 or wireless medical transmission standard (WMTS)), infrared, and personal area network ("PAN") protocols. Such protocols are well-known in the art, and therefore will not be described in great detail herein. Wireless gateway 100 therefore enables communication between various devices that may communicate using different wireless communication protocols. In a most prefened embodiment, wireless gateway 100 may be implemented to resemble (in size and/or shape) a hockey puck or a typical wireless pager device, and may be easily carried by a person. For example, wireless gateway 100 of a most preferred embodiment may be attached to a person's clothing (e.g., attached with a belt clip to a belt) or carried in a person's purse or briefcase to enable a variety of types of wireless communication for the person. In alternative embodiments, as will be briefly described hereafter, wireless gateway 100 may be implemented within another device, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), cellular telephone, or laptop computer, as examples. Of course, in various other embodiments wireless gateway 100 may be implemented in any suitable manner having any shape and size, and any such embodiments are intended to be within the scope of the present invention.

As shown in Fig. 1, wireless gateway 100 enables communication between various devices that utilize different commumcation protocols. For instance, wireless gateway 100 may enable communication between various devices or communication networks, such as PDA 104, earpiece/mouthpiece 106, base 108, communication networks 110, 112, and 114, and various other devices A, B, and C. More specifically, wireless gateway 100 may enable communication with PDA 104 and earpiece/mouthpiece 106 using the well-known Bluetooth protocol (or other short-range radio protocol). Wireless gateway 100 may enable communication with base unit 108 using the well-known 802.11 protocol (or other wireless protocol). Wireless gateway 100 may enable wireless communication with a variety of other devices, shown generally as devices A, B, and C, which may be any other type of communication devices (e.g., processor-based devices) that are capable of receiving and/or transmitting information using a particular wireless protocol. Wireless gateway 100 may further enable communication with cellular network 112 using a cellular protocol, such as CDPD, EDGE, HDR, CDMA, or WCDMA. Of course, wireless gateway 100 of a most prefened embodiment is not limited to cellular, but may enable communication with any wireless communication network 114 using the appropriate wireless protocol. Thus, wireless communication network 114 may be any type of wireless communication network including without limitation cellular network, WLAN network, PAN network, and radio network. Additionally, wireless gateway 100 of a most prefened embodiment, may not only enable communication using a variety of different wireless protocols, but may also enable communication using wireline protocols. For example, wireless gateway 100 may include an appropriate wireline connection 102 (e.g., an RJ-11 connector or an RJ-45 connector with a standard modem) for being communicatively coupled to a device and/or communication network 110, and may then enable communication via such wireline connection using the appropriate wireline protocol (e.g., Internet Protocol). Communication network 110 may be any type of communication network, including without limitation a public switched telephone network (PSTN), general purpose processor- based information network, dedicated communication lines, cable system, local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), modem to modem connection, the Internet, an Intranet, an Extranet, or any combination thereof, which may further be in combination of with any suitable wireless communication network.

It should be recognized that while exemplary devices, networks, and protocols are illustrated in the implementation of Fig. 1, various implementations of wireless gateway 100 may be capable of enabling communication with additional devices, networks, and protocols, only a portion of the devices, networks, and protocols shown, or a completely different set of devices, networks, and protocols. Thus, the implementation of Fig. 1 is intended solely as an example to provide a general overview of a preferred embodiment, and thus the present invention is intended to encompass various other specific implementations. It should also be understood that one exemplary environment in which wireless gateway 100 may be implemented is that disclosed in concurrently filed and commonly assigned U.S. Patent Application Serial Number 09/676,141 entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATION OF SENSED DATA TO A CENTRAL SERNER," the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

As one example of the operation of gateway 100 of a most preferred embodiment, a user may look up a telephone number in the user' s PDA 104. The user may then indicate to PDA 104 a desire to place a call to the particular telephone number, e.g., by touching the telephone number with a pointing device (such as a stylus) or by highlighting the telephone number and pressing a button on PDA 104. As shown in the example of Fig. 1, PDA 104 may communicate the telephone number to be called in Bluetooth protocol to wireless gateway 100. Of course, in one embodiment wireless gateway 100 may be implemented within PDA 104, rather than PDA 104 communicating with an external wireless gateway 100 using a wireless protocol. Wireless gateway 100 may then place a cellular telephone call to the telephone number via cellular network 112^* using an appropriate cellular protocol. Once a connection is established with the called party, wireless gateway 100 may enable commumcation between cellular network 112 and a user's earpiece/mouthpiece 106. That is, wireless gateway 100 receives from and transmits to earpiece/mouthpiece 106 using Bluetooth protocol, and receives from and transmits to cellular network 112 using a cellular communication protocol. More specifically, a user may speak into mouthpiece 106, which transmits such speech to wireless gateway 100 using Bluetooth protocol, and wireless gateway 100 then translates the received speech from Bluetooth to a cellular protocol and transmits such translated speech to cellular network 112. Likewise, wireless gateway 100 may receive speech from the called party (i.e., from cellular network 112) in a cellular protocol, and wireless gateway 100 translates the received speech from the cellular protocol to Bluetooth and transmits such translated speech to earpiece 106. It should be recognized from the above example that wireless gateway 100 of a most preferred embodiment may enable a user to communicate via a cellular network without requiring the user to actually have a cellular telephone. Whereas it is common today for a user to have both a PDA and a cellular telephone (to which many users couple an earpiece/mouthpiece), wireless gateway 100 of a most prefened embodiment enables the same communication capabilities without requiring a user to have a cellular telephone.

Thus, wireless gateway 100 of a most prefened embodiment may enable a reduction in the number of communication devices required and/or a reduction in the complexity of communication devices.

Turning to Fig. 2, an exemplary implementation of wireless gateway 100 of a prefened embodiment is shown. As shown, in a prefened embodiment wireless gateway 100 includes processor 202, which may be any suitable processor such as, for example, a Pentium® processor available from Intel® corporation. Wireless gateway 100 further includes a translation component 210 and a control module 206 for controlling the translation functionality provided by translation component 210. As further shown in Fig. 2, in a preferred embodiment, translation component 210 includes a plurality of communication modules (e.g., communication module 1, communication module 2, . . . commumcation module N, wherein N is any number), and message interworking unit 204. Each communication module preferably enables input/output using a particular communication protocol. For example, communication module 1 may be capable of receiving/transmitting communication in Bluetooth protocol, communication module 2 may be capable of receiving/transmitting communication in CDMA protocol, and communication module N may be capable of receiving/transmitting communication in 802.11 protocol.

In a most preferred embodiment, wireless gateway 100 utilizes an intermediary protocol for sending communication between the various communication modules. That is, wireless gateway 100 of a most preferred embodiment utilizes a standard, common protocol (which may be referred to herein as an intermediary protocol, internal protocol, or standard protocol) for sending communication between the various communication modules. In a prefened embodiment, each communication module is not only capable of receiving/transmitting communication in a particular external protocol, such as Bluetooth, CDMA, 802.11 , etcetera, but each communication module is also capable of translating between such an external protocol and the internal (or intermediary) protocol of wireless gateway 100. Thus, for example, communication may be received by communication module 1 in a first external communication protocol, and communication module 1 may translate the received communication into the intermediary protocol used within wireless gateway 100. Message interworking unit 204 preferably routes the translated commumcation to the appropriate communication module for transmitting, and/or aids in establishing communication between the communication modules in an appropriate manner. Once the communication is routed to a proper communication module for transmitting, such communication module translates the communication from the intermediary protocol to its conesponding external communication protocol, and transmits the communication in such external communication protocol.

Thus, in a most prefened embodiment, wireless gateway 100 is very flexible in that it may enable commumcation between a relatively large number of devices that each communicate using a different communication protocol without requiring a separate translator for each protocol to each of the other protocols. For instance, suppose wireless gateway 100 includes four communication modules, wherein the first communication module is capable of receiving/transmitting Bluetooth protocol, the second communication module is capable of receiving/transmitting 802.11 protocol, the third communication module is capable of receiving/transmitting CDMA protocol, and the fourth communication module is capable of receiving/transmitting CDPD. Furthermore, in a most preferred embodiment, each of such communication modules are capable of translating between their respective external communication protocols and an intermediary communication protocol utilized within wireless gateway 100. Such wireless gateway 100 of a prefened embodiment enables commumcation between devices that communicate in any of such external protocols, without requiring a separate translator for translating between each of such external protocols. Thus, a separate translator for perfonning each specific translation between the external protocols is not required. That is, separate translators for translating between each of the following: (1) Bluetooth and 802.11, (2) Bluetooth and CDMA, (3) Bluetooth and CDPD, (4) 802.11 and CDMA, (5) 802.11 and CDPD, and (6) CDMA and CDPD are not required. Instead, only communication modules that are capable of communicating in a particular external protocol and are capable of translating between such external protocol and an intermediary protocol are utilized within a preferred embodiment to enable communication between any of the external protocols.

Additionally, in a most preferred embodiment, wireless gateway 100 is very flexible in that additional communication capabilities can be easily added thereto. For instance, suppose wireless gateway 100 includes four co rnunication modules as described in the above example, wherein the first communication module is capable of receiving/transmitting Bluetooth protocol, the second communication module is capable of receiving/transmitting 802.11 protocol, the third communication module is capable of receiving/transmitting CDMA protocol, and the fourth communication module is capable of receiving/transmitting CDPD. Further suppose that a user/manufacturer desires to provide the added capability of communicating in a fifth protocol, such as GSM. In a most prefened embodiment, an additional communication module that is capable of communicating in GSM and capable of translating between GSM and an intermediary communication protocol utilized within wireless gateway 100 may be implemented within wireless gateway 100. An addition of such a GSM communication module within a prefened embodiment would enable communication between a GSM device and a device that communicates in any of the other four external communication protocols supported by this exemplary wireless gateway, without requiring a specific translator for translating between GSM and each of the other four protocols be added within the wireless gateway.

In a most prefened embodiment, wireless gateway 100 is capable of intelligently determining an appropriate external communication protocol to use. For example, in a most prefened embodiment, wireless gateway 100 is capable of determining upon receiving communication in a first protocol at communication module 1 that such communication is to be translated to a second protocol to be output by communication module 2. For instance, suppose a user is utilizing earpiece/mouthpiece 106 (of Fig. 1) to communicate with a called party via cellular network 112 (of Fig. 1). Wireless gateway 100 may receive communication from earpiece/mouthpiece 106 in Bluetooth protocol (or other short-range radio protocol), which is directed to the called party's cellular device (which may be refened to herein as a "target device"). For example, control module 206 or message interworking unit 204 may determine the appropriate protocol(s) that may be used for transmitting the received communication to the target device. For instance, control module 206 or message interworking unit 204 may determine the appropriate protocol(s) that may be used for transmitting to the target device by accessing a lookup table or database that indicate the suitable protocol(s) for transmitting to such target device, or through any other suitable method for determining the proper protocol to be used. Continuing with the above example, the received Bluetooth communication may be translated to an intermediary protocol utilized within wireless gateway 100, and routed by message interworking unit 204 to the communication module for transmitting in the determined transmission protocol. For instance, suppose it is determined that the appropriate protocol to be used in transmitting the communication to the target device is CDMA. In this case, message interworking unit 204 routes the communication in the intermediary protocol to a CDMA communication module, which translates the communication from the intermediary protocol to CDMA and transmits the communication in CDMA to the target device.

Of the protocols determined to be available for transmitting, in a most prefened embodiment, control module 206 is capable of determining the appropriate protocols/communication modules to use for any given communication. As will be described in greater detail hereafter, in a prefened embodiment control module 206 may determine to utilize a particular communication protocol based on a number of factors, such as the availability, reliability, efficiency, cost, and speed of a particular protocol, as well as preferences of a user. For instance, continuing with the previous example, control module 206 may determine that service for a digital cellular protocol (such as CDMA) is not available in the area, and may therefore utilize an analog cellular protocol for the communication over cellular network 112.

Turning to Fig. 3, an exemplary implementation of a wireless gateway 100 is shown in greater detail. As shown, wireless gateway 100 again includes processor 202, to which memory 300, message interworking unit 204, and communication modules 304, 306, 308, 310, 312, 314, 316, and 318 are communicatively coupled via, for example, bus structure 320. Additionally, communication modules 304, 306, 308, 310, 312, 314, 316, and 318 and message interworking unit 204 are preferably communicatively inter-coupled via, for example, bus structure 322. In this exemplary implementation, wireless gateway 100 includes wireless communication modules 304, 306, 308, 310, 312, 314, and 316, and wireline communication module 318. Accordingly, this exemplary implementation of wireless gateway 100 enables communication between various devices that utilize any of a plurality of wireless protocols, such as CDMA, GSM, 802.11, Bluetooth, CDPD, HDR, and EDGE, as well as wireline protocols, such as Internet Protocol. More particularly, in this exemplary implementation, wireless gateway 100 includes

CDMA communication module 304, which comprises translator 304_A capable of translating between CDMA protocol and an intermediary protocol utilized within wireless gateway 100, baseband processor 304_B and radio 304_c, and is communicatively coupled to antenna 302_A for receiving/transmitting communication in CDMA protocol. Wireless gateway 100 further includes GSM communication module 306, which comprises translator 306_A capable of translating between GSM protocol and an intermediary protocol utilized within wireless gateway 100, baseband processor 306_B and radio 306_c, and is communicatively coupled to antenna 302_B for receiving/transmitting communication in GSM protocol. Further included is 802.11 communication module 308, winch comprises translator 308_A capable of translating between 802.11 protocol and an intermediary protocol utilized within wireless gateway 100, baseband processor 308_B and radio 308_c, and is communicatively coupled to antenna 302_c for receiving/transmitting communication in 802.11 protocol. Bluetooth communication module 310 is also included, which comprises translator 310_A capable of translating between Bluetooth protocol and an intermediary protocol utilized within wireless gateway 100, baseband processor 310_B and radio 310_c, and is communicatively coupled to antenna 302_D for receiving/transmitting communication in Bluetooth protocol. CDPD commumcation module 312 is further included, which comprises translator 312_A capable of translating between CDPD protocol and an intermediary protocol utilized within wireless gateway 100, baseband processor 312_B and radio 312_c, and is communicatively coupled to antenna 302_E for receiving/transmitting communication in CDPD protocol. Additionally, HDR communication module 314 is included, which comprises translator 314_A capable of translating between HDR protocol and an intermediary protocol utilized within wireless gateway 100, baseband processor 314_B and radio 314_c, and is communicatively coupled to antenna 302_F for receiving/transmitting communication in HDR protocol. EDGE communication module 316 is also included, which comprises translator 316_A capable of translating between EDGE protocol and an intermediary protocol utilized within wireless gateway 100, baseband processor 316_B and radio 316_c, and is communicatively coupled to antenna 302_G for receiving/transmitting communication in EDGE protocol. Wireless gateway 100 further includes wireline communication module 318, which comprises translator 318_A capable of translating between a wireline protocol and an intermediary protocol utilized within wireless gateway 100, baseband processor 318_B and modem 318_c, and may be communicatively coupled to a wireline connection mechanism 102, which may be an RJ-11 or RJ-45 connector, as examples, to enable wireless gateway 100 to be coupled to a wireline device/network for receiving/transmitting communication in a wireline protocol, such as Internet Protocol.

It should be understood that while a separate antenna 302_A-302_G is shown for each of the wireless communication devices, a plurality of such devices may utilize a common antenna for receiving/transmitting communication. Additionally, it should be recognized that while certain communication modules are shown as being included in this exemplary implementation, additional, fewer and/or alternative communication modules may be implemented in various alternative implementations, and any such implementations are intended to be within the scope of the present invention.

Additionally, other components not shown in this exemplary implementation may be included in various alternative implementations to further increase the functionality of wireless gateway 100. For example, a speech-to-text converter and text-to-speech converter may be included within wireless gateway 100, thereby providing further flexibility in the communication protocols/services made available to a user by wireless gateway 100. Such a speech-to-text converter may enable gateway 100 to convert received speech to text, which may then be output using an appropriate communication protocol/service, and such a text-to-speech converter may enable gateway 100 to convert received text to speech, which may then be output using an appropriate communication protocol/service. Any suitable speech-to-text converter and text-to-speech converter now known or later developed may be implemented within wireless gateway 100.

In a most prefened embodiment, memory 300 includes control software 301, which is executable by processor 202 to control the translation/communication of gateway 100, in the manner described in greater detail hereafter. Furthermore, in a most prefened embodiment, memory 300 includes target device protocol information 212, which may be stored as a lookup table, database, or in any other suitable manner. For example, control software 301 and/or message interworking unit 204 may access target device protocol infonnation 212 to determine the proper protocol(s) that are suitable for communicating with a particular target device. For instance, various types of target devices and suitable communication protocol(s) for each may be stored within a lookup table or database of 212. Memory 300 is refened to broadly herein, and is intended to encompass any suitable data storage device including without limitation random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), programmable read only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, a tape drive, a hard drive, a floppy disk, a writeable CD-ROM drive, or any other suitable data storage device now known or later developed. Furthermore different data storage devices may be utilized for control software 301 and target device protocol information 212.

As an example of the operation of wireless gateway 100, again suppose a user utilizes earpiece/mouthpiece 106 (of Fig. 1) to communicate with a called party via cellular network 112 (of Fig. 1). Communication from earpiece/mouthpiece 106 in Bluetooth protocol is received by Bluetooth communication module 310 via antenna 302_D. Translator 310_A translates the received Bluetooth communication to an intermediary protocol that is utilized within wireless gateway 100. Under the direction of control software 301, the received communication is provided to message interworking unit 204, which routes the communication to an appropriate communication module for transmission. More specifically, control software 301 and/or message interworking unit 204 access target device protocol information 212 to determine suitable protocol(s) that may be utilized for transmitting the received communication to the target device. As will be described greater detail hereafter, in one embodiment wireless gateway 100 may be capable of determining suitable protocol(s) that may be utilized for transmitting to one of a plurality of potential target devices. For instance, wireless gateway 100 may transmit the communication to a first target device in certain circumstances and to a different target device in other circumstances. Accordingly, in certain embodiments, wireless gateway 100 may determine which of a plurality of target devices to which received communication should be transmitted, and may further determine the most appropriate protocol to utilize for transmitting to such target device.

Furthermore, in a prefened embodiment, control software 301 may determine which of such suitable protocol(s) is the most appropriate to utilize for transmitting the received communication. Suppose, for instance, it is determined that various cellular protocols are suitable for transmitting the received communication to the target device, and it is determined that CDMA is a the most appropriate cellular protocol to utilize for transmitting to the target device. Message interworking unit 204 routes the received communication in the intermediary protocol to CDMA communication module 304. CDMA module 304 uses translator 304_A to translate the communication from the intermediary protocol to CDMA, and then transmits the communication in CDMA to cellular network 112. In a most prefened embodiment, message interworking unit 204 is utilized to initially establish communication between the proper communication modules, and once the routing of the commumcation is properly established between the communication modules, message interworking unit 204 is not required to be involved in the remainder of such communication. For instance, in the above example, once the routing between Bluetooth module 310 and CDMA module 304 is established for the call, message interworking unit 204 is not required to be involved with the remainder of the communication of such call. However, in alternative embodiments, message interworking unit may remain involved with the remainder of the communication of a call. For instance, in alternative embodiments, message interworking unit may be implemented such that all communication of a call is routed tlirough message interworking unit 204, or message interworking unit 204 may oversee the routing of communication for an entire call to ensure that proper routing between communication modules is utilized for the entire call.

Similarly, communication from network 112 in CDMA protocol is received by CDMA module 304 via antenna 302_A. CDMA module 304 uses translator 304_A to translate the communication from CDMA protocol to the intermediary protocol utilized within wireless gateway 100. In a most prefened embodiment, message interworking unit 204 has already established the proper routing (e.g., between CDMA module 304 and Bluetooth module 310) through the initial routing of the communication, and therefore the received communication is sent in the intermediary protocol from CDMA module 304 to Bluetooth module 310. Bluetooth module 310 uses translator 310_A to translate the communication from the intermediary protocol to Bluetooth, and then transmits the communication in Bluetooth protocol to earpiece/mouthpiece 106. Of course, in alternative embodiments, message interworking unit 204 (and/or control software 301) may be utilized to route the received communication from CDMA module 304 to Bluetooth module 310. Turning now to Fig. 4, an exemplary operational flow diagram for a prefened embodiment is shown. As shown, in a prefened embodiment, wireless gateway 100 receives communication at block 402. Wireless gateway (e.g., via control module 206) then, at block 404, determines the target device(s) to which the received communication is to be directed. Such target device may be determined in a number of ways. For example, the received communication or a received control signal may indicate the target device to which the communication is to be directed. For instance, a telephone number or other identification of a target device may be received by wireless gateway 100, from which the wireless gateway may be capable of determining the target device to which the received communication is to be directed. Of course, the received communication may be intended to be directed to a plurality of various target devices, or to any of a plurality of various target devices determined by the wireless gateway to be most appropriate. For instance, as described in greater detail hereafter, the received communication may be capable of being directed to any of a plurality of target devices, and wireless gateway 100 may determine to direct such communication to one or more of such plurality of target devices that wireless gateway 100 determines to be most appropriate. As one example, wireless gateway 100 may determine whether the received communication indicates a critical situation, and may determine to transmit the received communication to one target device if the communication indicates a critical situation and to another target device if the communication does not indicate a critical situation.

At block 406, wireless gateway 100 of a prefened embodiment determines suitable protocol(s) for such target device(s). That is, wireless gateway 100 determines protocol(s) that are capable of being utilized to communicate with the target device(s). For example, in a most prefened embodiment, wireless gateway 100 includes target protocol information 212 (e.g., as a database or lookup table), which can be accessed to determine the suitable protocol(s) for communicating with the target device(s). At block 408, wireless gateway 100 of a most prefened embodiment determines the most appropriate communication protocol(s) and/or communication module(s) to utilize in transmitting the received communication to the target device(s). That is, in a most prefened embodiment, wireless gateway 100 determines the one(s) of protocol(s) determined in block 406 to be suitable for communicating with the target device(s) that is/are most appropriate for transmitting the received communication to the target device(s). More specifically, at block 408 of a most prefened embodiment, control module 206 analyzes various selection criteria to determine the most appropriate communication protocol(s) and or communication module(s) (e.g., to determine the appropriate communication "route" within gateway 100) to utilize for forwarding the received communication, which is described in greater detail hereafter in conjunction with Fig. 5. At block 410, message interworking unit 210 establishes communication between the receiving communication module and the communication module(s) determined as being suitable and/or most appropriate for transmitting the received communication. That is, message interworking unit 210 establishes the appropriate routing of the received communication to the proper communication module(s) for transmission. At block 412, the receiving communication module translates the received communication from the external protocol in which it was received to an intermediary protocol that is utilized within wireless gateway 100. It should be understood that the exemplary blocks shown in Fig. 4 need not be performed in the sequence shown, and need not be performed sequentially. For instance, the receiving communication module may translate the received communication to the intermediary protocol simultaneously with the performance of one or more of blocks 404- 410.

At block 414, the received communication is sent along the route(s) established by the message interworking unit 204 in the intermediary protocol to the proper communication module(s) for transmission. At block 416, the communication module(s) to which the communication was routed, translates such communication from the intermediary protocol utilized within wireless gateway 100 to its respective external protocol. At block 418, wireless gateway 100 establishes the appropriate communication connection with the target device(s), if such connection is not aheady established. At block 420, the transmitting communication module transmits the communication in its respective external protocol to the target device(s).

Thereafter, in a most prefened embodiment, wireless gateway 100 determines in block 422 whether the communication session has ended. That is, wireless gateway 100 determines whether the devices have completed communicating with each other. If it is determined that the devices have completed their communication session, then the operational flow ends at block 426. Upon a new communication session being initiated thereafter, a prefened embodiment again detennines the target device(s) and protocol(s) to utilize for transmission, and the message interworking unit 204 again establishes the appropriate routing between communication modules to be utilized in such communication session.

If, on the other hand, it is detennined at block 422 that the communication session has not ended, the operational flow advances to 424 to determine whether more communication has been received by one of the communication modules being utilized for this communication session (as established by the message interworking unit 204 in block 410). If communication is not received, a prefened embodiment may loop back to block 422 to ensure that the communication session has not ended. However, once more communication is received by one of the communication modules, the operational flow loops back to block 412, whereat the receiving communication module translates the received communication from the external protocol in which it was received to the intermediary protocol utilized within wireless gateway 100. The received communication is then sent in the intermediary protocol along the established route to the other communication module(s) in block 414, and upon receiving the communication, such other communication module(s) translate it from the intermediary protocol to their respective external protocol in block 416, establish a connection (if necessary) in block 418, and transmit the communication in the proper external protocol in block 420.

In addition to, or alternative to, the above-described operational flow of a prefened embodiment, wireless gateway 100 may be implemented to determine whether a particular condition(s) exists, such as a critical situation, shown in phantom at block 428 of Fig. 4. A determination of whether a particular condition(s) exists may be based in whole or in part on the received communication, the communication protocol of the received communication, the availability of particular communication protocols/services, or other conditions. In a most prefened embodiment, control module 206 may be implemented to provide this further intelligence of determining whether particular condition(s) exist. If it is determined at block 428 that a particular condition (e.g., critical situation) does not exist, then the operational flow may proceed in a normal fashion in the manner described above for blocks 404-426. However, if it is determined at block 428 that a particular condition (e.g., critical situation) does exist, then control module 206 may cause wireless gateway

100 to take some appropriate responsive action at block 430. Such appropriate action may include, among other things, performing blocks 404-426 in a particular manner (e.g., determining a particular target device to utilize for the critical situation and/or determining a most appropriate protocol to utilize for transmitting the communication to the determined target device). While the example of Fig. 4 only shows making the determination of whether a critical situation exists upon a communication session being imtiated, it should be recognized that block 428 may additionally or alternatively be performed at any other points (e.g., at any point within operational blocks 404-426, and therefore such critical situation may be recognized during a communication session and the appropriate actions may then be taken in response to such critical situation. As an example, suppose wireless gateway 100 is utilized to receive communication from a first device in a first wireless protocol and forward the communication to a second device in a second wireless protocol. Further suppose that the second wireless protocol becomes unavailable for some reason (e.g., the wireless gateway travels outside of a designated area to which communication by such second wireless protocol is limited). Assuming that the communication of information is important, wireless gateway 100 may determine that a critical situation exists in that the second wireless protocol is not available. In response to such critical situation, wireless gateway 100 may, utilizing control module 206, determine an alternative wireless or wireline protocol available for use to communicate the information to an appropriate target device(s). For instance, wireless gateway 100 may receive in a first wireless protocol (e.g.,

Bluetooth protocol) vital sign data sensed for a patient, and may forward such vital sign data using a second wireless protocol (e.g., 802.11) to a base unit, which may forward the vital sign data on to a health care provider's computer system for monitoring. However, assume that communication of the vital sign data to the base unit using the second wireless protocol (e.g., 802.11) is interrupted. For example, assume that wireless gateway 100 is moved too far from the base unit to allow for communication with the base unit using the second wireless protocol (e.g., 802.11). hi this case, wireless gateway 100 of a most prefened embodiment may intelligently determine an alternative communication protocol/service to utilize to communicate the vital sign data (or notice of the interruption) to the health care provider's computer system. For example, wireless gateway 100 may initiate a cellular call and communicate the vital sign data to the health care provider's system using a cellular protocol. This example may be seen more clearly with reference to Fig. 7 of concunently filed and commonly assigned U.S. Patent Application Serial Number 09/676,141 entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATION OF SENSED DATA TO A CENTRAL SERVER," the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

As a further example, suppose again that wireless gateway 100 receives in a first wireless protocol (e.g., Bluetooth protocol) vital sign data sensed for a patient (e.g., heart rate data), and forwards such vital sign data using a second wireless protocol (e.g., 802.11) to a base unit, which may then forward the vital sign data on to a health care provider's computer system for monitoring. Wireless gateway 100 of a most prefened embodiment may be implemented to detect a critical situation based on the received communication. For example, control module 206 may evaluate the received vital sign data, and if an abnormality or an otherwise dangerous condition is determined from the vital sign data, confrol module 206 may cause wireless gateway 100 to initiate an appropriate action. For instance, upon determining that received vital sign data is at a dangerous level, control module 206 may cause wireless gateway 100 to initiate a cellular telephone call to 911 or other emergency care personnel, and may communicate information about the detected critical situation to such emergency care personnel to request immediate attention for the monitored patient. Turning now to Fig. 5, an exemplary operational flow diagram for determining an appropriate con__munication protocol and/or communication service in a prefened embodiment is shown. That is, Fig. 5 shows an exemplary operational flow diagram further illustrating the operational flow of block 408 of Fig. 4 for a prefened embodiment. As shown, wireless gateway 100 (using confrol module 206) determines the availability of each communication protocol/service that may be utilized for fransmitting to the target device(s) at block 502. For instance, in the exemplary implementation of Fig. 3, assuming target device(s) are capable of receiving communication in any of CDMA, 802.11, CDPD, and wireline commumcation services, wireless gateway 100 may determine which of such protocol(s)/services are available. Such availability may be determined, at least in part, on whether the connectivity required for each communication protocol is available. For instance, it may be determined whether a wireline connection enabling communication using a wireline protocol is actually available to wireless gateway 100 (i.e., whether a user has coupled the wireless gateway to a wireline interface), and it may be determined whether a particular cellular service, such as CDMA, is available in the location of wireless gateway 100. At block 504, wireless gateway 100 (using confrol module 206) detennines the reliability of each communication protocol/service (or at least the reliability of those determined to be available in block 502). The determination of reliability may be based on factors such as the rate of dropped calls, communication enors, and efficiency for communicating the information (e.g., available bandwidth), as examples. At block 506, wireless gateway 100 (using control module 206) determines the cost of connectivity for each communication protocol/service (or at least the cost of those determined to be available in block 502). The determination of cost may be based, at least in part, on a determination of whether each communication utilizes a licensed spectrum (e.g., a communication spectrum licensed to the user or to some other third party) or an un-licensed spectrum (e.g., Bluetooth or 802.11).

At block 508, wireless gateway 100 (using control module 206) determines the speed of service provided by each communication protocol/service (or at least the speed of those determined to be available in block 502). It should be recognized that the speed of service provided by each communication protocol/service is somewhat technology dependent (e.g., may be dependent on the actual technology implemented for the communication protocol/service). Speed of service may also be affected by the enor rate of each protocol/service. For instance, while a particular protocol/service may initially transmit infonnation very quickly, if it has a high enor rate requiring re-transmission of such information, then the overall service speed may be significantly reduced. Speed of service may also be affected by many other factors, which may be taken into account by control module 206, such as congestion of a particular channel.

At block 510, wireless gateway 100 (using control module 206) determines the user's preferences as to the communication protocols/services. For example, a user profile may be stored in memory 300 indicating the user's preferences. For instance, a user's preferences may indicate whether the user prefers a particular cellular protocol over another cellular protocol, or whether the user prefers to use one type of wireless protocol over another type of wireless protocol. User's preferences may further indicate which coinmunication protocols/services a user prefers to be used under certain conditions (e.g., which communication protocol/service to utilize for particular critical situations). User's preferences may further indicate the user's preferences regarding cost, reliability, speed, and other factors considered in determining an appropriate communication protocol/service to utilize. For example, a user may prefer to always utilize the least expensive protocol/service available, or a user may prefer to only utilize expensive protocols/services under particular conditions (e.g., in particular critical situations). Such user's preferences may be input to wireless gateway 100 via an input device included within wireless gateway 100 (e.g., a keyboard, pointer device, and/or touch-screen technology), and/or such user's preferences may be input to wireless gateway 100 via another device to which wireless gateway 100 is communicatively coupled (e.g., via a PDA, PC, or laptop computer to which wireless gateway 100 is communicatively coupled).

At block 512, wireless gateway 100 (using control module 206) intelligently selects the most appropriate communication protocol/service based, at least in part, on the above analysis of such factors as availability, reliability, cost, speed, and the user's preferences. It should be recognized that wireless gateway 100 may be implemented to access information about such factors in order to intelligently select an appropriate communication protocol/service in a variety of different ways. Certain information, such as statistical infonnation may be stored in memory 300 of wireless gateway 100 as, for example, a database, other information may be determined in real-time by wireless gateway 100, and still other information may be input by a user and/or a manufacturer to wireless gateway 100 (which may be stored in memory 300). For example, some information may be stored in memory 300, and may be updated from time to time by the user and/or manufacturer of wireless gateway 100, as an example. For instance, cost information for each communication protocol/service may be stored in memory 300, and may be updated from time to time by the user or manufacturer of wireless gateway 100. Other information may be gathered by wireless gateway 100. For example, as wireless gateway 100 is used over time, historical data about speed and reliability of each communication protocol/service may be gathered by wireless gateway 100. Alternatively or additionally, wireless gateway 100 may periodically test or otherwise measure the performance of each communication protocol/service to gather statistical data about such performance. Yet other information, such as availability of communication protocols/services may be determined by wireless gateway 100 in real-time (e.g., upon initiating a communication session). Still other infonnation, such as user preferences may be stored in memory 300, and may be updated from time to time by the user.

It should be recognized that a decision may be required as to which of particular factors, such as reliability, cost, and speed are most important because it will typically be impossible to utilize the fastest, most reliable, and cheapest communication protocol/service. For instance, while one protocol may be very inexpensive, it will likely not be as reliable and/or as fast as another protocol. Accordingly, a determination will often be required as to whether one factor is more important than another factor in order to select the most desirable communication protocol/service to be utilized. Wireless gateway 100 may make this determination based, for example, on the particular condition under which the communication is being made. For instance, if a critical situation is determined to exist then wireless gateway 100 may determine to use the most reliable or fastest protocol/service, frrespective of cost, whereas if a critical situation does not exist, wireless gateway 100 may detennine to use the most inexpensive protocol/service that is available. Of course, wireless gateway 100 may be implemented to utilize the user's preferences (e.g., a user profile) in order to determine which factor is to be weighted more heavily than the other factors.

It should be understood that the operational flow diagrams of Figs. 4 and 5 are intended only as examples, and one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that in alternative embodiments the order of operations for the various blocks may be varied, certain blocks of operation may be omitted completely, and additional operational blocks may be added. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited only to the operational flow diagrams of Figs. 4 and 5 for a wireless gateway 100, but rather such operational flow diagrams are intended solely as examples that render the disclosure enabling for many other operational flow diagrams for implementing such wireless gateway 100. It should be recognized from the above description, that wireless gateway 100 of a prefened embodiment is capable of performing certain operations at the application layer of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. For example, the well-known OSI model 600 is shown in Fig. 6, which includes physical layer 602, data link layer 604, network layer 606, transport layer 608, session layer 610, presentation layer 612, and application layer 614. It has generally been desirable in prior art communication systems to utilize only the lower levels of OSI model 600 to communicate information. That is, prior art communication systems are commonly implemented to utilize only physical layer 602, data link layer 604, network layer 606, and transport layer 608 to communicate information. For example, as is well known in the art, information is commonly communicated over the Internet using TCP (the transport layer 608) over IP (network layer 606). However, wireless gateway 100 of a most prefened embodiment is capable of operating at application layer 614. For example, wireless gateway 100 of a most prefened embodiment is capable of evaluating a received, assembled message, and may make intelligent decisions based on such message. For instance, as described above, wireless gateway 100 may receive vital sign data for a patient, evaluate the data, and initiate a cellular call to emergency personnel in response to such data reaching a dangerous level.

It should be recognized that wireless gateway 100 of a prefened embodiment may be implemented in various different environments to enable a variety of different wireless (as well as wireline) communications. For example, wireless gateway 100 of a prefened embodiment may be implemented in the various environments disclosed in concurrently filed and commonly assigned U.S. Patent Application Serial Number 09/676,141 entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATION OF SENSED DATA TO A CENTRAL SERNER." As further examples, wireless gateway 100 may be implemented in the exemplary environments illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8.

For instance, Fig. 7 shows an exemplary environment 700 in which wireless gateway 704 may be implemented. Wireless gateway 704 may be implemented such that it is capable of receiving communication from a transceiver 702 in a short-range radio protocol, such as Bluetooth. For example, transceiver 702 may be implemented as an earpiece/mouthpiece (shown as 106 in Fig. 1) that enables a user to transmit and receive speech to/from wireless gateway 704. Wireless gateway 704 translates communication received from transceiver 702 from the short-range radio protocol to a cellular protocol (e.g., CDPD, EDGE, HDR, CDMA, WCDMA, etc.), and communicates the translated communication to cellular network 706. Wireless gateway 704 is likewise capable of receiving communication from cellular network 706 in a cellular protocol, and translate the received communication to the proper short-range radio protocol (e.g., Bluetooth) for communication to transceiver 702. Accordingly, wireless gateway 704 enables a user of transceiver 702 (e.g., earpiece/mouthpiece) to communicate via cellular network 706 with a user of such devices as cellular telephone 708, transceiver 712, and standard telephone 716. For instance, wireless gateway 704 enables a user of transceiver 702 to communicate with a user of cellular telephone 708 via cellular network 706. Similarly, wireless gateway 704 enables a user of transceiver 702 to communicate with a user of transceiver 712. For instance, another user may utilize fransceiver 712 (e.g., an earpiece/mouthpiece), which may communicate with cellular network 706 via wireless gateway 710. Accordingly, both users may communicate with each other via cellular network 706 without either user being required to have a cellular telephone. Also, as with traditional cellular telephone implementations, the user of transceiver 702 may communicate with a user of standard telephone 716 via cellular network 706 and PSTN 714.

Fig. 8 shows a further exemplary environment 800 in which wireless gateway 804 may be implemented. Wireless gateway 804 may be implemented such that it is capable of receiving communication from PDA 802 in a short-range radio protocol, such as Bluetooth. Alternatively, wireless gateway 804 may be integrated with PDA 802 to form device 805, in which PDA 802 may communicate in a non- wireless protocol 806. Wireless gateway 804 translates communication received from PDA 802 from the short-range radio protocol (or non-wireless protocol) to a cellular protocol (e.g., CDPD, EDGE, HDR, CDMA, WCDMA etc.), and communicates the translated communication to cellular network 808. Wireless gateway 804 is likewise capable of receiving communication from cellular network 808 in a cellular protocol, and franslate the received communication to the proper short-range radio protocol (e.g., Bluetooth) or non-wireless protocol for communication to PDA 802. Accordingly, wireless gateway 804 enables a user of PDA 802 (or device 805) to communicate via cellular network 808 with such devices as PDA 812 (or device 813), web server 818, and cellular telephone 820. For instance, wireless gateway 804 enables a user of PDA 802 to communicate with a user of PDA 812 (or device 813) via cellular network 808. More specifically, PDA 812 may be capable of communicating with wireless gateway 810 in a short-range radio protocol (e.g., Bluetooth), or wireless gateway 810 may be integrated with PDA 812 to form device 813, in which PDA 812 may communicate to gateway 810 in a non- wireless protocol 814. Wireless gateway 810 may enable communication with cellular network 808, thereby enabling communication between a user of PDA 802 (or device 805) and a user of PDA 812 (or device 813) via cellular network 808. Accordingly, the PDAs 802 and 812 may be utilized similar to traditional cellular telephones to communicate voice between such users, and/or other types of data (e.g., text and image data) may be communicated between such devices via cellular network 808. Additionally, cellular network 808 may enable access to Internet 816 (which may be any other communications network, such as an Intranet or Extranet) to allow PDA 802 to communicate with web-based server 818, for example. Accordingly, wireless gateway 804 may enable PDA 802 to search and retrieve information from web servers, such as web server 818, via Internet 816. Furthermore, wireless gateway 804 may enable PDA 802 to communicate with cellular telephone 820. Accordingly, voice may be communicated between PDA 802 and cellular telephone 820 similar to traditional cellular telecoinmunication. Additionally, as described above, wireless gateway 804 may include a text-to-speech converter and speech-to-text converter, thereby enabling PDA 802 to communicate with its user via text and enabling a user of cellular telephone 820 to communicate with its user via speech, while enabling both users to communicate with each other via cellular network 808.

It should be further recognized that various embodiments of the wireless gateway disclosed herein may be implemented to operate in other environments, such as those shown in Figs. 9 and 10. For example, in Fig. 9 a user may utilize various different devices to communicate in different or the same protocols simultaneously using wireless gateway 902. That is, a user may simultaneously utilize transceivers 904, 906, 908, and 910, which may be various devices communicating in the same or different protocols. For example, wireless gateway 902 may be simultaneously communicating patient data (e.g., vital sign data) between transceiver 904 and base unit 914, audio data between earpiece/mouthpiece 906 and cellular network 912, PDA data between PDA 908 and cellular network 912, and laptop data between laptop 910 and wireline communication network 916. Thus, wireless gateway 902 may be implemented to enable a plurality of different communication sessions between a plurality of different devices simultaneously. In such an implementation, the message interworking unit of wireless gateway 902 may, for example, be utilized to ensure the proper routing for each of such communication sessions that are being conducted simultaneously. As shown in Fig. 10, wireless gateway 1002 may be implemented to enable different users to simultaneously communicate utilizing the same or different types of devices/protocols supported by such wireless gateway 1002. For example, wireless gateway 1002 may enable a first user (Userj) utilizing an earpiece/mouthpiece 1004 to communicate with another device/user over cellular network 1010. Wireless gateway 1002 may simultaneously enable a second user (User₂) utilizing an earpiece/mouthpiece 1006 to communicate with another device/user over cellular network 1010. Additionally, wireless gateway 1002 may simultaneously enable a third user (User₃) utilizing a PDA 1008 to communicate with another device/user over cellular network 1010. In such an implementation, the message interworking unit of wireless gateway 1002 may, for example, be utilized to ensure the proper routing for each of such communication sessions for the different users that are being conducted simultaneously. Furthermore, wireless gateway 1002 may be implemented, for example, such that the various user devices may "register" with the wireless gateway 1002 upon entering the range of wireless gateway 1002 in a manner similar to roaming cellular telephones registering with a service provider (e.g., within a visiting location register). For instance, wireless gateway 1002 may be implemented within a particular building, and as users enter the building, their devices register with wireless gateway 1002, and wireless gateway 1002 may then be utilized to enable communication with a variety of other target devices within or outside the building. Of course, wireless gateway 1002 may maintain usage records for each of the users, which may be utilized, for example, in billing the users for the service provided.

A manufacturer of wireless gateway 100 may select appropriate communication modules likely to be desired by a user to be included within wireless gateway 100 of a prefened embodiment. For instance, certain modules may be included in wireless gateways distributed in the U.S., and additional and/or alternative modules may be included in wireless gateways distributed in foreign countries (or those models distributed in the U.S. to persons who will also likely use such gateway in foreign countries). Additionally, or alternatively, wireless gateway 100 maybe implemented such that the various communication modules desired may be added to wireless gateway 100 by a user. For example, such communication modules may be implemented with the capability of communicating in a particular external protocol and with the capability of translating between such external protocol and a standard, intermediary protocol utilized within wireless gateway 100. Such communication modules may then be inserted within slots of gateway 100 (or otherwise coupled to gateway 100) to immediately enable communication between any of the protocols implemented within such wireless gateway 100. Additionally, any necessary software that may be desired to be implemented on gateway 100 may be installed by a user utilizing, for example, a laptop or PC that may be temporarily coupled to such gateway 100.

Accordingly, it should be understood that the wireless gateway of a most prefened embodiment is very flexible in that it enables communication between devices that utilize any of the various external protocols implemented within such wireless gateway by utilizing a standard intermediary protocol to route such communication between the various communication modules that each provide capability of communicating in a particular external protocol. That is, each communication module is preferably capable of communicating in a particular external protocol, and is also capable of translating between such external protocol and a standard, intermediary protocol utilized for routing between the communication modules included within the wireless gateway. Thus, the wireless gateway of a most prefened embodiment enables communication between devices that communicate in any of the plurality of external protocols supported by the communication modules of the wireless gateway.

Of course, in alternative embodiments, rather than performing such translation on each individual commumcation module, another component (e.g., the message interworking unit 204 and/or confrol module 206) of wireless gateway 100 may perform the translation between an external protocol and the standard, intermediary protocol. However, such an implementation may limit the flexibility of wireless gateway 100 in that if an external protocol is to be added to wireless gateway 100 which is not supported by the translation component (e.g., the message interworking unit 204 and/or control module 206), then an update may be required to such translation component to enable the additional external protocol to be implemented. If, on the other hand, each communication module also includes the capability of translating between its external protocol and the standard, intermediary protocol of wireless gateway 100 (as described above for a most prefened embodiment), then wireless gateway 100 may be much more flexible and may be expanded to included additional protocols more easily.

It should also be recognized that the present invention is not intended to be limited to the exemplary protocols shown and described in the exemplary implementations of Figs. 1-10, but instead such protocols are intended only as examples that render the disclosure enabling for any desired protocol. Although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from the disclosure of the present invention, processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing or later to be developed that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the conesponding embodiments described herein may be utilized according to the present invention. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to include within their scope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A system having a plurality of devices that communicate in different communication protocols, said system comprising: at least a first device that communicates in a first communication protocol; at least a second device that communicates in a second communication protocol; and a wireless gateway for enabling communication between devices that communicate in different communication protocols, said wireless gateway comprising a plurality of communication means, each of said communication means operable to receive and transmit communication in a particular coimnunication protocol different than communication protocols of others of said plurality of communication means; translator means for translating between each communication protocol of said plurality of communication means and an intermediary protocol; means for determining one or more target devices to which received communication is to be transmitted; means for determining one or more of said plurality of communication means suitable for transmitting received communication to said one or more target devices; and means for routing said received communication to said one or more of said plurality of communication means for transmission by said one or more of said plurality of communication means to said one or more target devices.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said particular communication protocol of each of said plurality of communication means is a protocol selected from the group consisting of: cellular protocols, short-range radio protocols, WLAN protocols, infrared, and PAN protocols.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein said cellular protocols include CDPD,

EDGE, HDR, CDMA, and WCDMA, said short-range radio protocols include Bluetooth and home RF, and said WLAN protocols include 802.11 and wireless medical transmission standard (WMTS).

4. The system of claim 1 wherein said translator means includes a translator implemented within each of said communication means for translating between said particular communication protocol of the conesponding communication means and said intermediary protocol.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein each of said communication means is operable to communicate in a particular communication protocol and in said intermediary protocol.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein each of said communication means is operable to communicate in said particular communication protocol for communication external to said wireless gateway and operable to communicate in said intermediary protocol for communication internal to said wireless gateway.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein said means for determining one or more of said plurality of commumcation means suitable for fransmittmg includes a database providing one or more protocols suitable for communicating with said at least one or more target devices.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein said wireless gateway further comprises: means for determining a most appropriate protocol to use for fransmitting the received communication.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein said means for determining a most appropriate protocol determines said most appropriate protocol based at least in part on at least one of the following: protocol availability, protocol reliability, protocol cost, protocol communication speed, and user preferences.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein said wireless gateway further comprises: means for determimng if a critical situation exists.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein said means for determining if a critical situation exists makes such determination based at least in part on whether a particular protocol is available for transmission by said wireless gateway.

12. The system of claim 10 wherein said means for determining if a critical situation exists makes such determination based at least in part on communication received by one or more of said plurality of communication means.

13. The system of claim 10 wherein said wireless gateway further comprises: means for taking appropriate actions responsive to a determination that a critical situation exists.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein said appropriate actions include: determimng an appropriate target device; determining an appropriate communication module for fransmitting to said appropriate target device; and transmitting communication using said appropriate communication module to said appropriate target device.

15. The system of claim 1 wherein said wireless gateway includes at least one communication means for communicating in a wireline protocol.

16. A wireless gateway for enabling commumcation between devices that communicate in different communication protocols, said wireless gateway comprising: a plurality of communication modules, each of said communication modules operable to receive and transmit communication in a particular wireless communication protocol that is different than wireless communication protocol of others of said plurality of communication modules; each of said plurality of communication modules comprising a translator operable to translate between the particular wireless communication protocol of the conesponding commumcation module and an intermediary protocol, wherein said intermediary protocol is common to all of said plurality of communication modules; message interworking unit for routing, in said intermediary protocol, communication received by at least a first of said plurality of communication modules to at least a second of said plurality of communication modules for transmission of the received communication to one or more target devices in the conesponding communication protocol of said at least a second of said plurality of communication modules.

17. The wireless gateway of claim 16 further comprising: control module that determines one or more target devices to which communication received by at least a first of said plurality of communication modules is to be transmitted.

18. The wireless gateway of claim 17 wherein said control module determines said one or more target devices based at least one part on communication received by said at least a first of said plurality of communication modules.

19. The wireless gateway of claim 16 wherein said message interworking unit determines said at least a second of said plurality of communication modules suitable for transmitting the received communication to said one or more target devices.

20. The wireless gateway of claim 19 wherein said message interworking unit accesses a database providing one or more protocols suitable for communicating with said at least one or more target devices to determine said at least a second of said plurality of commumcation modules based at least in part on said one or more protocols suitable for communicating with said at least one or more target devices.

21. The wireless gateway of claim 16 wherein said particular communication protocol of each of said plurality of communication modules is a protocol selected from the group consisting of: cellular protocols, short-range radio protocols, WLAN protocols, infrared, and PAN protocols.

22. The wireless gateway of claim 21 wherein said cellular protocols include

CDPD, EDGE, HDR, CDMA, and WCDMA, said short-range radio protocols include Bluetooth and home RF, and said WLAN protocols include 802.11 and wireless medical transmission standard (WMTS).

23. The wireless gateway of claim 16 wherein each of said communication modules is operable to communicate in a particular communication protocol and in said intermediary protocol.

24. The wireless gateway of claim 23 wherein each of said communication modules is operable to commumcate in said particular communication protocol for communication external to said wireless gateway and operable to communicate in said intermediary protocol for communication internal to said wireless gateway.

25. The wireless gateway of claim 16 further comprising: control module that determines a most appropriate protocol to use for transmitting the communication received by said at least a first of said plurality of communication modules.

26. The wireless gateway of claim 25 wherein said control module determines said most appropriate protocol based at least in part on at least one of the following: protocol availability, protocol reliability, protocol cost, protocol communication speed, and user preferences.

27. The wireless gateway of claim 16 further comprising: control module operable to determine if a critical situation exists.

28. The wireless gateway of claim 27 wherein said control module determines whether a critical situation exists based at least in part on whether a particular protocol is available for transmission by said wireless gateway.

29. The wireless gateway of claim 27 wherein said control module determines whether a critical situation exists based at least in part on communication received by said at least a first of said plurality of communication means.

30. The wireless gateway of claim 27 wherein said control module initiates an appropriate responsive action to take in response to a determination that a critical situation exists.

31. The wireless gateway of claim 30 wherein said appropriate responsive action includes: determining an appropriate target device; determining an appropriate communication module for transmitting to said appropriate target device; and transmitting communication using said appropriate communication module to said appropriate target device.

32. The wireless gateway of claim 16 wherein said wireless gateway further includes at least one communication module operable to communicate in a wireline protocol.

33. A method of enabling communication between wireless devices that each communicate in a different protocol, said method comprising: receiving at a wireless gateway communication from a first device in a first wireless protocol; translating, by said wireless gateway, the communication to an intermediary protocol; determining at least one of a plurality of different wireless protocols in which said wireless gateway is capable of communicating to use for transmitting said communication from said wireless gateway to at least one target device; translating, by said wireless gateway, the communication from said intermediary protocol to said at least one of a plurality of different wireless protocols; and transmitting from said wireless gateway to at least one target device the communication in said at least one of a plurality of different wireless protocols.

34. The method of claim 33 wherein said receiving step includes receiving said communication at one of a plurality of communication modules of said wireless gateway.

35. The method of claim 34 wherein each of said plurality of communication modules is operable to receive and transmit communication in a particular communication protocol that differs from the communication protocol of others of said plurality of communication modules, and each of said plurality of communication modules includes a translator for franslating between the conesponding particular communication protocol and said intermediary protocol.

36. The method of claim 34 wherein said translating steps are performed by translators associated with communication modules that perform said receiving step and said fransmitting step.

37. The method of claim 34 wherein each of said communication modules is operable to communicate in a particular communication protocol and in said intermediary protocol.

38. The method of claim 37 wherein each of said communication modules is operable to communicate in said particular communication protocol for communication external to said wireless gateway and operable to commumcate in said intermediary protocol for commumcation internal to said wireless gateway.

39. The method of claim 34 wherein at least one of said plurality of communication modules is operable to communicate in a wireline protocol.

40. The method of claim 33 wherein said plurality of different wireless protocols include protocols selected from the group consisting of: cellular protocols, short-range radio protocols, WLAN protocols, infrared, and PAN protocols.

41. The method of claim 40 wherein said cellular protocols include CDPD, EDGE, HDR, CDMA, and WCDMA, said short-range radio protocols include Bluetooth and home RF, and said WLAN protocols include 802.11 and wireless medical fransmission standard (WMTS).

42. The method of claim 33 wherein said determining step includes: determining at least one wireless protocol suitable for transmitting to said at least one target device.

43. The method of claim 42 wherein said determining at least one suitable wireless protocol includes accessing a database providing one or more protocols suitable for communicating with said at least one target device.

44. The method of claim 42 wherein said determining step includes: determimng a most appropriate protocol of the at least one wireless protocol determined to be suitable.

45. The method of claim 44 wherein said detennining a most appropriate protocol includes determining said most appropriate protocol based at least in part on at least one of the following: protocol availability, protocol reliability, protocol cost, protocol communication speed, and user preferences.

46. The method of claim 33 further comprising: determimng if a critical situation exists.

47. The method of claim 46 wherein said step of determining if a critical situation exists includes making such determination based at least in part on whether a particular protocol is available for transmission by said wireless gateway.

48. The method of claim 46 wherein said step of determining if a critical situation exists includes making such determination based at least in part on communication received by said wireless gateway.

49. The method of claim 46 further comprising: taking appropriate actions responsive to a determination that a critical situation exists.

50. The method of claim 49 wherein said appropriate actions include: determining an appropriate target device; determining an appropriate communication module for transmitting to said appropriate target device; and transmitting communication using said appropriate communication module to said appropriate target device.

51. A method of enabling communication between wireless devices that each communicate in a different protocol, said method comprising: receiving communication at a first of a plurality of communication modules included within a wireless gateway, wherein each of said plurality of communication modules included within said wireless gateway is operable to receive communication from external to said wireless gateway and transmit communication external to said wireless gateway in a particular external wireless communication protocol that is different than external wireless communication protocol of others of said plurality of communication modules, and wherein each of said plurality of communication modules comprise a translator operable to translate between the particular external wireless communication protocol of the conesponding communication module and an intermediary protocol used internal to said wireless gateway, wherein said intermediary protocol is common to all of said plurality of communication modules; utilizing the translator of said first of a plurality of communication modules to translate the received communication from the external protocol in which it was received to said intermediary protocol; determining at least a second one of said plurality of communication modules for transmitting the received communication to at least one target device; routing, in said intermediary protocol, the received communication to said at least a second of said plurality of communication modules for transmission of the received communication to said at least one target device in the conesponding external wireless communication protocol of said at least a second of said plurality of communication modules; utilizing the translator of said at least a second of said plurality of communication modules to translate the received communication from the intermediary protocol to said external wireless communication protocol of said at least a second of said plurality of communication modules; and fransmitting from said at least a second of said plurality of communication modules to said at least one target device the communication in said external wireless communication protocol of said at least a second of said plurality of communication modules.

52. The method of claim 51 wherein each of said communication modules is operable to communicate in a particular external communication protocol and in said intermediary protocol.

53. The method of claim 52 wherein each of said communication modules is operable to communicate in said particular external commumcation protocol for communication external to said wireless gateway and operable to communicate in said intermediary protocol for communication internal to said wireless gateway.

54. The method of claim 51 wherein said particular external wireless communication protocol includes a protocol selected from the group consisting of: cellular protocols, short-range radio protocols, WLAN protocols, infrared, and PAN protocols.

55. The method of claim 54 wherein said cellular protocols include CDPD, EDGE, HDR, CDMA, and WCDMA, said short-range radio protocols include Bluetooth and home RF, and said WLAN protocols include 802.11 and wireless medical transmission standard (WMTS).

56. The method of claim 51 wherein said determining step includes: determining at least one wireless protocol suitable for transmitting to said at least one target device.

57. The method of claim 56 wherein said determining at least one suitable wireless protocol includes accessing a database providing one or more protocols suitable for communicating with said at least one target device.

58. The method of claim 56 wherein said determining step further includes: determining a most appropriate protocol of the at least one wireless protocol determined to be suitable.

59. The method of claim 58 wherein said determining a most appropriate protocol includes determimng said most appropriate protocol based at least in part on at least one of the following: protocol availability, protocol reliability, protocol cost, protocol communication speed, and user preferences.

60. The method of claim 51 further comprising: determimng if a critical situation exists.

61. The method of claim 60 wherein said step of determining if a critical situation exists includes making such determination based at least in part on whether a particular external wireless communication protocol is available for fransmission by said wireless gateway.

62. The method of claim 60 wherein said step of determimng if a critical situation exists includes making such determination based at least in part on communication received by said wireless gateway.

63. The method of claim 60 further comprising: taking appropriate actions responsive to a determination that a critical situation exists.

64. The method of claim 63 wherein said appropriate actions include: determimng an appropriate target device; determining an appropriate communication module for fransmitting to said appropriate target device; and transmitting communication using said appropriate communication module to said appropriate target device.

65. The method of claim 51 wherein said wireless gateway further includes at least one communication module operable to commumcate in a wireline protocol.