Wireless communication system
AssigneeTurning Technologies, LLC
InventorKevin G. Adkins
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A wireless communication system is disclosed herein. The wireless communication system may include transmitter units and a receiver. In one embodiment, each transmitter has an address and logic programmed to perform the steps of receiving a user selection and, responsive to the receiving, repeatedly transmitting a wireless selection signal until a wireless acknowledgment signal is received. The wireless selection signal may include the address and the user selection. The receiver may include means to receive a wireless selection signal and logic programmed to transmit a wireless acknowledgment signal in response to the receipt of each wireless selection signal.
Claims20
An audience response system comprising:
- a base unit;
- a plurality of handheld devices that are like in kind and perform a same function, each handheld device including:
- a handheld device transceiver,
- a user interface,
- a unique address that distinguishes the handheld device from others of the plurality of handheld devices, and
- handheld device logic configured to:
- receive a user selection from the user interface, and
- instruct the handheld device transceiver to transmit a wireless selection signal encoding the unique address and the user selection, without receiving a wireless signal from the base unit to initiate transmission,
- wherein the base unit includes:
- a base unit transceiver configured to receive the wireless selection signal, and
- base unit logic configured to:
- place the base unit in a non-transmission mode and retain the base unit in the non-transmission mode until the wireless selection signal is received by the base unit transceiver,
- decode the wireless selection signal into the unique address and the user selection,
- generate a wireless acknowledgment signal, and
- instruct the base unit transceiver to transmit the wireless acknowledgment signal.
A handheld device configured to communicate with a base unit in an audience response system having a plurality of handheld devices that are like in kind and perform a same function, the handheld device comprising:
- a transceiver;
- a user interface;
- a unique address that distinguishes the handheld device from others of the plurality of handheld devices;
- logic configured to:
- generate a wireless response signal encoding a user response entered into the user interface, and the unique address,
- instruct the transceiver to repeatedly transmit the wireless response signal according to a transmission interval, without receiving a signal from the base unit, and
- cease the repeated transmission of the wireless response signal upon occurrence of a termination event.
A base unit configured to communicate with a plurality of handheld devices in an audience response system, the base unit comprising:
- a transceiver;
- and
- logic configured to:
- place the transceiver in a non-transmission mode and retain the transceiver in the non-transmission mode, and
- after wireless receipt of a response signal by the transceiver from one of the plurality of handheld devices in the audience response system:
- decode the response signal into address data that identifies one of the plurality of handheld devices and response data that identifies a user response,
- generate an acknowledgment signal including acknowledgment data,
- place the transceiver in a transmission mode,
- instruct the transceiver to transmit the acknowledgment signal, and
- place the transceiver in the non-transmission mode and retain the transceiver in the non-transmission mode.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.