(19)
(11)EP 2 615 869 B1

(12)EUROPEAN PATENT SPECIFICATION

(45)Mention of the grant of the patent:
09.04.2014 Bulletin 2014/15

(21)Application number: 12001242.2

(22)Date of filing:  24.02.2012
(51)International Patent Classification (IPC): 
H04W 48/10(2009.01)

(54)

Systems for facilitating wireless communication and related methods

Systeme zur Bereitstellung von drahtloser Kommunikation und zugehörige Verfahren

Systèmes pour faciliter la communication sans fil et procédés associés


(84)Designated Contracting States:
AL AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU LV MC MK MT NL NO PL PT RO RS SE SI SK SM TR

(30)Priority: 10.01.2012 US 201261584926 P
30.01.2012 US 201261592556 P
14.02.2012 US 201213372701

(43)Date of publication of application:
17.07.2013 Bulletin 2013/29

(73)Proprietor: HTC Corporation
Taoyuan County 330 (TW)

(72)Inventor:
  • Wang, Huaiyuan
    Cary, NC27519 (US)

(74)Representative: Wimmer, Hubert 
WAGNER & GEYER Gewürzmühlstrasse 5
80538 München
80538 München (DE)


(56)References cited: : 
EP-A1- 1 895 713
US-A1- 2010 141 400
  
      
    Note: Within nine months from the publication of the mention of the grant of the European patent, any person may give notice to the European Patent Office of opposition to the European patent granted. Notice of opposition shall be filed in a written reasoned statement. It shall not be deemed to have been filed until the opposition fee has been paid. (Art. 99(1) European Patent Convention).


    Description

    TECHNICAL FIELD



    [0001] The present disclosure generally relates to Wi-Fi communication.

    BACKGROUND



    [0002] An electronic device, such as mobile phone or tablet computer, may be configured to scan for a Wi-Fi-capable device, such as a Wi-Fi access point (AP) or a peer device (e.g., Wi-Fi speakers, Wi-Fi dongles, Wi-Fi printers, etc.) with Wi-Fi capability. Scanning for a Wi-Fi-capable device may be performed by the electronic device in a passive manner. For instance, in the U.S., there are currently 12 and 23 operating channels in the 2.4 and 5GHz bands, respectively. For each scan cycle, the device typically scans for all 35 channels and monitors for beacon transmission on each of the channels for up to the duration of the beacon interval, which is typically 100ms. Assuming Wi-Fi passive scanning is performed every 5 minutes, this translates to a 3500ms passive scanning time every 5 minutes, which corresponds to a duty cycle of 1.167%. Assuming 70mA power consumption for the Wi-Fi receiver of the device, this corresponds to power consumption of over 0.8mAh for each scan cycle.

    [0003] US 2010/141400 A1 discloses processes to achieve low power discovery and wake-up in the presence of desired 802.11 coverage. In one aspect, probabilistic scanning for 802.11 SSID triggers is provided. In another aspect, the 802.11 Access Point (AP) is equipped with a Bluetooth inquiring device, which initiates the wake-up process with a special inquiry access code (IAC). The special IAC can comprise the AP's 802.11 channel. Additional optional sensors (GPS, Gyroscope, odometer, etc) are provided such that probabilistic scanning reduces power consumption and improves the likelihood that an 802.11 channel scan will find a desired SSID. A Bluetooth inquiry allows a discovery process to either wake-up immediately, or ascertain the need for host wake-up by exchanging further information with the AP. Probabilistic scanning allows the use of sensors and historical or pre-loaded information to improve the probability that 802.11 scanning is not required on individual channels, further driving down power needs.

    [0004] EP 1 895 713 A1 discloses methods and a mobile terminal capable of selecting a wireless network from a Bluetooth network to a WLAN, wherein the terminal includes a Bluetooth module; a WLAN module; a storage device; and a controller cooperating with the Bluetooth module, the WLAN module and the storage device such that the Bluetooth module is configured to be activated in the mobile terminal; a Bluetooth connection is established with the access point; the WLAN module is configured to be activated and to scan to search the access point; and a WLAN connection is established between the access point and the mobile terminal.

    [0005] Integration of Bluetooth Low Eneregy, BLE, with the Core Specification of Bluetooth is described in Core Package version: 4.0, publication date: 30 June 2010.

    SUMMARY



    [0006] Systems for facilitating wireless communication and related methods are provided. According to one embodiment of the present invention, a system is provided as set forth in claim 1. Another embodiment is a method as set forth in claim 7.

    [0007] Preferred embodiments of the present invention may be gathered from the dependent claims.

    [0008] Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will be or may become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description.

    BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS



    [0009] Many aspects of the disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

    FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an example embodiment of a system for facilitating wireless communication.

    FIG. 2 is a flowchart depicting an example embodiment of a method for facilitating wireless communication.

    FIG. 3 is a flowchart depicting another example embodiment of a method for facilitating wireless communication.

    FIG. 4 is a communication flow diagram depicting functionality that may be performed by the embodiment of FIG. 1.

    FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an example embodiment of an electronic device.

    FIG. 6 is a flowchart depicting functionality that may be performed by an example embodiment of an electronic device, such as that depicted in FIG. 5.

    FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an example embodiment of a Wi-Fi access point.

    FIG. 8 is a flowchart depicting functionality that may be performed by an example embodiment of a Wi-Fi access point, such as that depicted in FIG. 7.


    DETAILED DESCRIPTION



    [0010] Having summarized various aspects of the present disclosure, reference will now be made in detail to that which is illustrated in the drawings. While the disclosure will be described in connection with these drawings, there is no intent to limit the scope of legal protection to the embodiment or embodiments disclosed herein. Rather, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents included within the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims.

    [0011] In this regard, systems for facilitating wireless communication and related methods are provided, some embodiments of which involve the use of Bluetooth transmitters associated with Wi-Fi-capable devices (i.e., devices capable of Wi-Fi communication). By way of example, in some embodiments, a Bluetooth transmitter may be collocated (e.g., provided within a common housing) with a Wi-Fi capable device, such as a Wi-Fi access point (AP) or Wi-Fi peer device. In an example embodiment, a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) transmitter transmits Wi-Fi information associated with the Wi-Fi-capable device. An electronic device monitors for such information using a BLE receiver and, responsive to detecting the Wi-Fi information, may begin authentication and association or peer-to-peer connection procedures for facilitating communication with the Wi-Fi-capable device. Notably, use of the BLE receiver for monitoring for Wi-Fi information uses less energy than may be required for such scanning using standard Wi-Fi scanning procedures.

    [0012] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an example embodiment of a system for facilitating wireless communication. As shown in FIG. 1, system 100 includes a Wi-Fi capable device 102 and an electronic device 104, which may be configured as a smartphone or tablet computer, among others, for communicating with the Wi-Fi-capable device. The Wi-Fi-capable device incorporates a Bluetooth transceiver 106 and a Wi-Fi transceiver 108. It should be noted that the communication components in the embodiment of FIG. 1 (or any other disclosed embodiments) should be understood to alternatively refer to components that are only able to perform the functionality described. Thus, in this embodiment, reference to a transceiver, for example, may also be understood to refer to a transmitter when functionality only involving transmitting of signals is required. It should also be noted that the box surrounding the transceivers 106 and 108, although intended to indicate a physical structure such as a housing in FIG. 1, may merely indicate proximity of the enclosed components in other embodiments.

    [0013] Electronic device 104 incorporates a Bluetooth transceiver 110 (e.g., a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) receiver), a Wi-Fi monitoring system 112 and a Wi-Fi transceiver 114. In operation, Bluetooth transceiver 110 scans (e.g., passively scans) for information in the form of Bluetooth advertisement packets (e.g., ADV_IND or ADV_NONCONN_IND packets) that contain Wi-Fi information, which is specific to the Wi-Fi-capable device. The transmission of a BLE advertisement packet is represented by the single arrowed line directed toward the electronic device. Notably, the Wi-Fi information carried by the BLE advertisement packets may include, but is not limited to, SSID, BSSID, operating band, channel number, and other predefined information elements for the Wi-Fi-capable device.

    [0014] Responsive to detection of Wi-Fi information, Wi-Fi monitoring system 112 may optionally instruct the Bluetooth transceiver 110 to establish a data connection with Bluetooth transceiver 106 (represented by the double arrowed line) to further exchange information with the Wi-Fi-capable device 102. Upon receiving required information, Wi-Fi monitoring system 112 then enables Wi-Fi transceiver 114 to initiate authentication and association or peer-to-peer connection procedures with the Wi-Fi-capable device (represented by the double arrowed line) in order to establish communication between the electronic device and the Wi-Fi-capable device using appropriate Wi-Fi protocol.

    [0015] While operating in this manner, energy typically consumed by performing Wi-Fi-based scans may be avoided, resulting in a corresponding reduction in energy usage of the electronic device. By way of example, if electronic device 104 sniffs for BLE packets for 11.25ms in every 1.28s, the duty cycle of such scanning is 0.88%. Based on a Bluetooth receiver power consumption of approximately 18mA, only 0.158mAh of power is consumed during each sniffing cycle (compared to 70mA power consumption for a Wi-Fi receiver and power consumption of over 0.8mAh for each scan cycle as described previously).

    [0016] FIG. 2 is a flowchart depicting an example embodiment of a method for facilitating wireless communication, which may be performed by Wi-Fi-capable device 102 of FIG. 1, for example. As shown in FIG. 2, the method involves transmitting BLE Advertisements containing Wi-Fi information (and optionally predefined proprietary information elements) on a BLE advertising channel (block 120). In block 122, a Wi-Fi signal (which exhibits characteristics referenced in the Wi-Fi information, is transmitted from the Wi-Fi-capable device.

    [0017] FIG. 3 is a flowchart depicting another example embodiment of a method for facilitating wireless communication, which may be performed by an electronic device. As shown in FIG. 3, the method involves monitoring BLE advertising channels for BLE Advertisement packets carrying Wi-Fi information (block 130). In block 132, Wi-Fi information is received. Then, as depicted in block 134, Wi-Fi communication is established with a Wi-Fi-capable device using the Wi-Fi information that was received via the BLE Advertisement packets. It should be noted that, in some embodiments, an optional function may be involved in which a BLE data connection is established to further exchange Wi-Fi-capable device information.

    [0018] FIG. 4 is a communication flow diagram depicting functionality that may be performed by the embodiment of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 4, electronic device 104 enters a BLE Advertisement scanning state. Meanwhile, Wi-Fi-capable device 102 transmits BLE Advertisement packets, which are detected by Bluetooth transceiver 110. Responsive to the detection, a BLE Advertisement report is communicated to Wi-Fi monitoring system 112, after which an optional state is entered.

    [0019] In the optional state, the Wi-Fi monitoring system enters a BLE Initiating State, in which the Bluetooth transceiver transmits a connection request to the Wi-Fi-capable device. Thereafter, an exchange of BLE data channel PDU is conducted. This optional state may end after the completion of the exchange of BLE information. It should also be noted that an optional information exchange may take place that involves an exchange of information corresponding to BLE baseband/host and Wi-Fi baseband/host.

    [0020] After appropriate information exchanges are completed, the Wi-Fi monitoring system switches to Wi-Fi channel via the Wi-Fi transceiver 114 for communicating with the Wi-Fi-capable device. This is accomplished through a Wi-Fi connection set-up information exchange. Thereafter, the Wi-Fi-capable device may suspend BLE Advertisement, such as until the Wi-Fi connection is terminated, for example.

    [0021] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an example embodiment of an electronic device that may form a portion of a system for facilitating wireless communication. As shown in FIG. 5, device 140 (which in this embodiment is configured as a smartphone) includes a processing device (processor) 150, input/output interfaces 152, a display device 154, a touchscreen interface 156, a network/communication interface 158, a memory 160, and an operating system 162, with each communicating across a local data bus 164. Additionally, the system incorporates a Bluetooth Low Energy transceiver 166, a Wi-Fi monitoring system 168 and a Wi-Fi transceiver 170.

    [0022] The processing device 150 may include a custom made or commercially available processor, a central processing unit (CPU) or an auxiliary processor among several processors, a semiconductor based microprocessor (in the form of a microchip), a macroprocessor, one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), a plurality of suitably configured digital logic gates, and other electrical configurations comprising discrete elements both individually and in various combinations to coordinate the overall operation of the system.

    [0023] The memory 160 may include any one of a combination of volatile memory elements (e.g., random-access memory (RAM, such as DRAM, and SRAM, etc.)) and nonvolatile memory elements. The memory typically comprises native operating system 162, one or more native applications, emulation systems, or emulated applications for any of a variety of operating systems and/or emulated hardware platforms, emulated operating systems, etc. For example, the applications may include application specific software which may comprise some or all the components of the system. In accordance with such embodiments, the components are stored in memory and executed by the processing device. Note that although depicted as being resident separate from memory 160, Wi-Fi monitoring system 168 may be stored in memory. The memory 160 may also be configured to exchange information between BLE transceiver 166, Wi-Fi monitoring system 168 and/or Wi-Fi transceiver 170.

    [0024] Touchscreen interface 156 is configured to detect contact within the display area of the display 154 and provides such functionality as on-screen buttons, menus, keyboards, soft keys, etc. that allows users to navigate user interfaces by touch. Notably, navigating via the touchscreen interface may facilitate various functions associated with displayed content items such as searching and downloading.

    [0025] One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the memory may, and typically will, comprise other components which have been omitted for purposes of brevity. Note that in the context of this disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores one or more programs for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

    [0026] With further reference to FIG. 5, network/communication interface 158 comprises various components used to transmit and/or receive data over a networked environment. By way of example, such components may include a wireless communications interface. When such components are embodied as an application, the one or more components may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executed by the processing device. Although capable of being depicted in association with the network/communication interface 158, BLE transceiver 166 and Wi-Fi transceiver 170 are depicted separately in this embodiment to facilitate description.

    [0027] In particular, BLE transceiver 166 monitors for and receives information in the form of BLE Advertisement packets (e.g., ADV_IND or ADV_NONCONN_IND packets) that may contain Wi-Fi information. Such Wi-Fi information may include SSID, BSSID, operating band and channel number, as well as other proprietarily encoded information. Responsive to detection of Wi-Fi information, Wi-Fi monitoring system 168, which may optionally instruct Bluetooth transceiver 166 to establish a BLE data connection for further information exchange, enables Wi-Fi transceiver 170 to initiate authentication and association or peer-to-peer connection procedures with the Wi-Fi-capable device in order to establish communication between the electronic device and the Wi-Fi-capable device using appropriate Wi-Fi protocols.

    [0028] FIG. 6 is a flowchart depicting functionality that may be performed by an example embodiment of an electronic device, such as device 140 of FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 6, the functionality (or method) may be construed as beginning at block 180, in which BLE advertising channels are monitored. In block 182, a determination is made as to whether BLE Advertisement packets containing Wi-Fi information has been received. If such information has been received, the process may proceed to block 184, in which communication may be established with the Wi-Fi-capable device using the received information. If, however, the BLE Advertisement packets containing Wi-Fi information have not been received, the process may proceed to block 186.

    [0029] In block 186, a determination is made as to whether a BLE monitoring threshold has been met. By way of example, if sniffing for BLE packets has occurred for a predetermined period of time, number of cycles, etc., the threshold may be determined to have been met, responsive to which the process may proceed to block 188. In block 188, Wi-Fi channels are monitored by invoking appropriate Wi-Fi scanning procedures. Notably, this may allow access to a Wi-Fi-capable device that is only capable of communicating via Wi-Fi protocols. However, if it determined in block 186 that a threshold has not been met, the process may return to block 182 and proceed as previously described.

    [0030] After monitoring of Wi-Fi channels in block 188, the process may proceed to block 190, in which Wi-Fi information is received via appropriate Wi-Fi scanning. Thereafter, such as depicted in block 184 (and regardless of whether the Wi-Fi information was obtained via Wi-Fi or BLE), communication may be established with a Wi-Fi-capable device.

    [0031] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an example embodiment of a Wi-Fi-capable device. As shown in FIG. 7, Wi-Fi-capable device (or system) 200 incorporates a BLE transceiver 202, a Wi-Fi control system 204 and a Wi-Fi transceiver 206. In operation, the BLE transceiver 202 selectively transmits packets (e.g., ADV_IND or ADV_NONCONN_IND packets, for example) that contain Wi-Fi information. Wi-Fi control system 204 communicates with BLE transceiver 202 and Wi-Fi transceiver 206 to coordinate the transmission of the Wi-Fi information so that it corresponds to the operating parameters of the Wi-Fi transceiver. This coordination permits devices to establish Wi-Fi communication with the Wi-Fi-capable device.

    [0032] In this regard, FIG. 8 is a flowchart depicting functionality that may be performed by an example embodiment of a Wi-Fi-capable device, such as by the Wi-Fi control system 204 depicted in FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 8, the functionality (or method) may be construed as beginning at block 210, in which Wi-Fi operating parameters are set. For example, one or more of SSID, BSSID and channel number, among others, may be set. In block 212, a determination is made as to whether any changes are to be made to the Wi-Fi operating parameters. If changes are to be made, the process may return to block 210. If, however, changes are not to be made, the process may proceed to block 214, in which operating parameters of a BLE transceiver are set. The process may then proceed to block 216.

    [0033] In block 216, a determination is made as to whether any changes are to be made to the BLE operating parameters. If changes are to be made, the process may return to block 214. If, however, changes are not to be made, the process may proceed to block 218, in which transmission of BLE Advertising packets containing Wi-Fi information on a BLE advertising channel is enabled. Optionally, proprietary information may be encoded into the BLE Advertisement packets prior to transmission. Then, as depicted in block 220, transmission of a Wi-Fi signal exhibiting the selected Wi-Fi operating parameters is enabled.

    [0034] If embodied in software, it should be noted that each block depicted in the flowchart of FIG. 8 (or any of the other flowcharts) represents a module, segment, or portion of code that comprises program instructions stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium to implement the specified logical function(s). In this regard, the program instructions may be embodied in the form of source code that comprises statements written in a programming language or machine code that comprises numerical instructions recognizable by a suitable execution system. The machine code may be converted from the source code, etc. If embodied in hardware, each block may represent a circuit or a number of interconnected circuits to implement the specified logical function(s). Additionally, although the flowcharts show specific orders of execution, it is to be understood that the orders of execution may differ.

    [0035] It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments are merely examples of possible implementations. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. By way of example, the systems described may be implemented in hardware, software or combinations thereof.


    Claims

    1. A system (100) for facilitating wireless communication comprising:

    an electronic device (104, 140) operative to communicate using Bluetooth® and Wi-Fi, the device having a Wi-Fi monitoring system (112, 168) operative to:

    monitor Bluetooth® Low Energy, BLE, advertising channels;

    receive Wi-Fi information, including at least one of Service Set Identification, SSID, Basic Service Set Identification, BSSID, operating band, channel number, and other predefined information elements, corresponding to a Wi-Fi-capable device (102) in a BLE Advertisement packet communicated on at least one of the BLE advertising channels; and

    establish a Wi-Fi communication with the Wi-Fi-capable device (102) using the received Wi-Fi information provided by the BLE Advertisement packet.


     
    2. The system of claim 1, wherein the Wi-Fi monitoring system (112, 168) is further operative to selectively monitor Wi-Fi operating bands and channels for presence of a Wi-Fi-capable device (102).
     
    3. The system of claim 1, wherein the Wi-Fi monitoring system (112, 168) is further operative to selectively establish communication with the Wi-Fi-capable device (102) via Wi-Fi protocol and without using the information provided by the BLE Advertisement packets.
     
    4. The system of claim 1, further comprising the Wi-Fi-capable device (102) which has a Wi-Fi transceiver (108) and a BLE transceiver (106).
     
    5. The system of claim 1, wherein:

    the electronic device (104, 140) has a BLE transceiver (110, 166) and a Wi-Fi transceiver (114, 170); and

    the Wi-Fi monitoring system (112, 168) is further operative to facilitate monitoring of signals associated with a Wi-Fi-capable device (102) such that monitoring for the signals is alternately performed by the BLE transceiver (110, 166) and the Wi-Fi transceiver (114, 170).


     
    6. The system of claim 4, wherein the electronic device (140) has a BLE transceiver (166), a Wi-Fi transceiver (170) and embedded memory (160) for exchanging information among the BLE transceiver (166), the Wi-Fi transceiver (170) and the Wi-Fi monitoring system (168).
     
    7. A method for facilitating wireless communication comprising:

    monitoring (130) Bluetooth® Low Energy, BLE, advertising channels with an electronic device (104, 140);

    receiving (132), at the electronic device (104, 140), Wi-Fi information, including at least one of Service Set Identification, SSID, Basic Service Set Identification, BSSID, operating band, channel number, and other predefined information elements, corresponding to a Wi-Fi-capable device (102) in a BLE Advertisement packet associated with at least one of the BLE advertising channels; and

    establishing (134) a Wi-Fi communication between the electronic device (104, 140) and the Wi-Fi-capable device (102) via appropriate Wi-Fi protocol using the received Wi-Fi information provided by the BLE Advertisement packet.


     
    8. The method of claim 7, further comprising suspending BLE advertisement transmission upon establishment of a Wi-Fi connection between the electronic device (104, 140) and the Wi-Fi-capable device (102).
     
    9. The method of claim 7, further comprising establishing a BLE data connection between the electronic device (104, 140) and the Wi-Fi-capable device (102) to further exchange information for facilitating communication via Wi-Fi.
     
    10. The method of claim 7, wherein receiving (132) information corresponding to a Wi-Fi-capable device (102) comprises receiving information corresponding to operating band and channel of the Wi-Fi-capable device (102).
     
    11. The method of claim 10, further comprising monitoring the operating band and channel of the Wi-Fi-capable device (102) responsive to receiving the information corresponding to the Wi-Fi-capable device (102).
     
    12. The method of claim 10, further comprising monitoring only the operating band and channel of the Wi-Fi-capable device (102) identified by the BLE advertising channel responsive to receiving the information corresponding to the Wi-Fi-capable device (102).
     
    13. The method of claim 7, further comprising selectively monitoring Wi-Fi operating bands and channels for presence of a Wi-Fi-capable device (102).
     
    14. The method of claim 13, wherein selectively monitoring Wi-Fi comprises:

    monitoring BLE advertising channels for information corresponding to a Wi-Fi-capable device (102) unsuccessfully for a predetermined time period; and

    monitoring for Wi-Fi operating bands and channels associated with a Wi-Fi-capable device (102) responsive to the predetermined time period having elapsed.


     
    15. The method of claim 13, wherein selectively monitoring Wi-Fi comprises alternately monitoring for BLE and Wi-Fi signals.
     


    Ansprüche

    1. System (100) zur Bereitstellung drahtloser Kommunikation, das Folgendes aufweist:

    eine elektronische Vorrichtung (104, 140), die betriebsbereit ist, um unter Verwendung von über Bluetooth® und Wi-Fi zu kommunizieren, wobei die Vorrichtung ein Wi-Fi-Überwachungssystem (112, 168) besitzt, das betriebsbereit ist, um:

    Bluetooth® Low Energy bzw. BLE-Ankündigungskanäle zu überwachen; Wi-Fi-Informationen zu empfangen, einschließlich einer Dienstsatzkennung bzw. SSID (SSID = Service Set Identification), einer Basisdienstsatzkennung bzw. BSSID (BSSID = Basis Service Set Identification), des Betriebsbandes, der Kanalnummer und anderer vordefinierter Informationselemente, die zu einer Wi-Fi-fähigen Vorrichtung (102) in einem BLE Ankündigungspaket gehören, mit dem auf zumindest einem der BLE-Ankündigungskanäle kommuniziert wird; und

    eine Wi-Fi-Kommunikation mit der Wi-Fi-fähigen Vorrichtung (102) unter Verwendung der empfangenen W-Fi-Information aufzubauen, die durch das BLE-Ankündigungspaket geliefert wird.


     
    2. System gemäß Anspruch 1, wobei das Wi-Fi-Überwachungssystem (112, 168) ferner betriebsbereit ist, um selektiv die Wi-Fi-Betriebsbänder und - kanäle hinsichtlich der Anwesenheit bzw. Präsenz einer Wi-Fi-fähigen Vorrichtung (102) zu überwachen.
     
    3. System gemäß Anspruch 1, wobei das Wi-Fi-Überwachungssystem (112, 168) ferner betriebsbereit ist, um selektiv die Kommunikation mit der Wi-Fi-fähigen Vorrichtung (102) über ein Wi-Fi-Protokoll und ohne Verwendung der Information aufzubauen, die durch die BLE-Ankündigungspakete vorgesehen werden.
     
    4. System gemäß Anspruch 1, das ferner die Wi-Fi-fähige Vorrichtung (102) aufweist, die einen Wi-Fi-Sendeempfänger bzw. -Transceiver (108) und einen BLE- Sendeempfänger bzw. -Transceiver (106) aufweist.
     
    5. System gemäß Anspruch 1, wobei:

    die elektronische Vorrichtung (104, 140) einen BLE-Transceiver (110, 166) und einen Wi-Fi-Transceiver (114, 170) aufweist; und

    das Wi-Fi-Überwachungssystem (112, 168) ferner betriebsbereit ist, um die Überwachung der Signale bereitzustellen, die mit einer Wi-Fi-fähigen Vorrichtung (102) assoziiert sind, so dass die Überwachung der Signale abwechselnd durch den BLE-Transceiver (110, 166) und den Wi-Fi-Transceiver (114, 170) ausgeführt wird.


     
    6. System gemäß Anspruch 4, wobei die elektronische Vorrichtung (140) einen BLE-Transceiver (166), einen Wi-Fi-Transceiver (170) und einen eingebetteten Speicher (160) für den Austausch von Informationen zwischen dem BLE-Transceiver (166), dem Wi-Fi-Transceiver (170) und dem Wi-Fi-Überwachungssystem (168) besitzt.
     
    7. Verfahren zur Bereitstellung drahtloser Kommunikation, das Folgendes aufweist:

    Überwachen (130) der Bluetooth® Low Energy- bzw. BLE-Ankündigungskanäle mit einer elektronischen Vorrichtung (104, 140);

    Empfangen (132) bei der elektronischen Vorrichtung (104, 140) von Wi-Fi-Information einschließlich von zumindest der Dienstsatzkennung bzw. SSID (SSID = Service Set Information), der Basisdienstsatzkennung bzw. BSSID (BSSID = Basic Service Set Identification), dem Betriebsband, der Kanalnummer und/oder anderer vordefinierter Informationselemente zugehörig zu einer Wi-Fi-fähigen Vorrichtung (102) in einem BLE-Ankündigungspaket, das mit zumindest einem der BLE-Ankündigungskanäle assoziiert ist; und

    Aufbauen (134) einer Wi-Fi-Kommunikation zwischen der elektronischen Vorrichtung (104, 140) und der Wi-Fi-fähigen Vorrichtung (102) über ein geeignetes Wi-Fi-Protokoll unter Verwendung der empfangenen Wi-Fi-Information, die durch das BLE-Ankündigungspaket geliefert wird.


     
    8. Verfahren gemäß Anspruch 7, das ferner das Aussetzen der BLE-Ankündigungsübertragung beim Aufbau einer Wi-Fi-Verbindung zwischen der elektronischen Vorrichtung (104, 140) und der Wi-Fi-fähigen Vorrichtung (102) aufweist.
     
    9. Verfahren gemäß Anspruch 7, das ferner das Aufbauen einer BLE-Datenverbindung zwischen der elektronischen Vorrichtung (104, 140) und der Wi-Fi-fähigen Vorrichtung (102) aufweist, um weiterhin Informationen auszutauschen, um die Kommunikation über Wi-Fi zu ermöglichen bzw. bereitzustellen.
     
    10. Verfahren gemäß Anspruch 7, wobei das Empfangen (132) von Information zugehörig zu einer Wi-Fi-fähigen Vorrichtung (102), das Empfangen von In-formation zugehörig zu dem Betriebsband und dem -kanal der Wi-Fi-fähigen Vorrichtung (102) aufweist.
     
    11. Verfahren gemäß Anspruch 10, das ferner das Überwachen des Betriebsbandes und des -kanals der Wi-Fi-fähigen Vorrichtung (102) ansprechend auf den Empfang der Information zugehörig zu der Wi-Fi-fähigen Vorrichtung (102) aufweist.
     
    12. Verfahren gemäß Anspruch 10, das ferner das Überwachen von nur dem Betriebsband und dem -kanal der Wi-Fi-fähigen Vorrichtung (102) aufweist, die durch den BLE-Ankündigungskanal identifiziert werden, und zwar ansprechend auf den Empfang der Information zugehörig zu der Wi-Fi-fähigen Vorrichtung (102).
     
    13. Verfahren gemäß Anspruch 7, das ferner das selektive Überwachen der Wi-Fi-Betriebsbänder und -kanäle hinsichtlich der Präsenz einer Wi-Fi-fähigen Vorrichtung (102) aufweist.
     
    14. Verfahren gemäß Anspruch 13, wobei das selektive Überwachen des Wi-Fi Folgendes aufweist:

    unerfolgreiches Überwachen der BLE-Ankündigungskanäle hinsichtlich In-formation zugehörig zu einer Wi-Fi-fähigen Vorrichtung (102) für eine vorbestimmte Zeitperiode; und

    Überwachen hinsichtlich der Wi-Fi-Betriebsbänder und -kanäle, die mit einer Wi-Fi-fähigen Vorrichtung (102) assoziiert sind, ansprechend darauf, dass eine vorbestimmte Zeitperiode abgelaufen ist.


     
    15. Verfahren gemäß Anspruch 13, wobei das selektive Überwachen des Wi-Fi das abwechselnde Überwachen hinsichtlich von BLE- und Wi-Fi-Signalen aufweist.
     


    Revendications

    1. Système (100) pour faciliter des communications sans fil comprenant :

    un dispositif électronique (104, 140) actionnable pour communiquer en utilisant les technologies Bluetooth® et Wi-Fi, le dispositif comportant un système de surveillance Wi-Fi (112, 168) actionnable pour :

    surveiller des canaux d'annonces Bluetooth® à faible énergie, BLE ;

    recevoir des informations Wi-Fi, comprenant au moins un élément parmi une identification d'ensemble de services, SSID, une identification d'ensemble de services de base, BSSID, une bande de fonctionnement, un numéro de canal, et d'autres éléments d'informations prédéfinis, correspondant à un dispositif à capacité Wi-Fi (102) dans un paquet d'annonce BLE communiqué sur au moins l'un des canaux d'annonces BLE ; et

    établir une communication Wi-Fi avec le dispositif à capacité Wi-Fi (102) en utilisant les informations Wi-Fi reçues fournies par le paquet d'annonce BLE.


     
    2. Système selon la revendication 1, dans lequel le système de surveillance Wi-Fi (112, 168) est en outre actionnable pour surveiller sélectivement des bandes et des canaux à fonctionnements Wi-Fi pour détecter la présence d'un dispositif à capacité Wi-Fi (102).
     
    3. Système selon la revendication 1, dans lequel le système de surveillance Wi-Fi (112, 168) est en outre actionnable pour établir sélectivement une communication avec le dispositif à capacité Wi-Fi (102) par l'intermédiaire du protocole Wi-Fi et sans utiliser les informations fournies par les paquets d'annonces BLE.
     
    4. Système selon la revendication 1, comprenant en outre le dispositif à capacité Wi-Fi (102) qui comporte un émetteur-récepteur Wi-Fi (108) et un émetteur-récepteur BLE (106).
     
    5. Système selon la revendication 1, dans lequel :

    le dispositif électronique (104, 140) comporte un émetteur-récepteur BLE (110, 166) et un émetteur-récepteur Wi-Fi (114, 170) ; et

    le système de surveillance Wi-Fi (112, 168) est en outre actionnable pour faciliter la surveillance de signaux associés à un dispositif à capacité Wi-Fi (102) de sorte que la surveillance des signaux est réalisée alternativement par l'émetteur-récepteur BLE (110, 166) et l'émetteur-récepteur Wi-Fi (114, 170).


     
    6. Système selon la revendication 4, dans lequel le dispositif électronique (140) comporte un émetteur-récepteur BLE (166), un émetteur-récepteur Wi-Fi (170) et une mémoire intégrée (160) pour échanger des informations entre l'émetteur-récepteur BLE (166), l'émetteur-récepteur Wi-Fi (170) et le système de surveillance Wi-Fi (168).
     
    7. Procédé pour faciliter des communications sans fil comprenant :

    surveiller (130) des canaux d'annonces Bluetooth® à faible énergie, BLE, à l'aide d'un dispositif électronique (104, 140) ;

    recevoir (132), au niveau du dispositif électronique (104, 140), des informations Wi-Fi comprenant au moins un élément parmi une identification d'ensemble de services, SSID, une identification d'ensemble de services de base, BSSID, une bande de fonctionnement, un numéro de canal, et d'autres éléments d'informations prédéfinis, correspondant à un dispositif à capacité Wi-Fi (102) dans un paquet d'annonce BLE associé à au moins l'un des canaux d'annonces BLE ; et

    établir (134) une communication Wi-Fi (entre le dispositif électronique (104, 140) et le dispositif à capacité Wi-Fi (102) par l'intermédiaire d'un protocole Wi-Fi approprié en utilisant les informations Wi-Fi reçues fournies par le paquet d'annonce BLE.


     
    8. Procédé selon la revendication 7, comprenant en outre la suspension de la transmission d'annonces BLE lors de l'établissement d'une connexion Wi-Fi entre le dispositif électronique (104, 140) et le dispositif à capacité Wi-Fi (102).
     
    9. Procédé selon la revendication 7, comprenant en outre l'établissement d'une connexion de données BLE entre le dispositif électronique (104, 140) et le dispositif à capacité Wi-Fi (102) pour échanger davantage d'informations pour faciliter la communication par l'intermédiaire du Wi-Fi.
     
    10. Procédé selon la revendication 7, dans lequel la réception (132) d'informations correspondant à un dispositif à capacité Wi-Fi (102) comprend la réception d'informations correspondant à une bande et un canal de fonctionnement du dispositif à capacité Wi-Fi (102).
     
    11. Procédé selon la revendication 10, comprenant en outre la surveillance de la bande et du canal de fonctionnement du dispositif à capacité Wi-Fi (102) en réponse à la réception des informations correspondant au dispositif à capacité Wi-Fi (102).
     
    12. Procédé selon la revendication 10, comprenant en outre la surveillance de seulement la bande et le canal de fonctionnement du dispositif à capacité Wi-Fi (102) identifiés par le canal d'annonces BLE en réponse à la réception des informations correspondant au dispositif à capacité Wi-Fi (102).
     
    13. Procédé selon la revendication 7, comprenant en outre une surveillance sélective de bandes et de canaux à fonctionnement Wi-Fi pour détecter la présence d'un dispositif à capacité Wi-Fi (102).
     
    14. Procédé selon la revendication 13, dans lequel la surveillance Wi-Fi sélective comprend :

    surveiller sans succès des canaux d'annonces BLE pour détecter des informations correspondant à un dispositif à capacité Wi-Fi (102) pendant une période de temps prédéterminée ; et

    surveiller des bandes et des canaux à fonctionnement Wi-Fi associés à un dispositif à capacité Wi-Fi (102) en réponse au fait que la période de temps prédéterminée soit écoulée.


     
    15. Procédé selon la revendication 13, dans lequel la surveillance Wi-Fi sélective comprend une surveillance alternative pour détecter des signaux BLE et des signaux Wi-Fi.
     




    Drawing




















    Cited references

    REFERENCES CITED IN THE DESCRIPTION



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    Patent documents cited in the description




    Non-patent literature cited in the description