Patent Publication Number: US-2005122940-A1

Title: Method for wireless network communication in dual mode

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to a method for wireless network communication, and in particular, to dual mode linking processes by activating an ad-hoc mode and an infrastructure mode simultaneously.  
      2. Description of the Prior Art  
      There are two different ways to transmit data or communicate through a network environment. The first way is a wired communication with a cable, and the second way is a wireless communication with an infrared ray, radio frequency or the like. However, due to the convenience in installation and its mobility in use, wireless communication is becoming increasingly popular.  
      The wireless network can be further classified according to its range of data transmission. Examples include a wireless wide area network (WWAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), and a wireless personal area network (WPAN). The WLAN is a network which can be transmitted in a range of about hundred meters, and is usually applied in a single building or in an office. In practical use, WLAN will adopt an Access Point to combine with a wired network so as to promote flexibility in use and to enlarge the transmission range. WLAN protocol is now governed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), which essentially introduces several wireless communication protocol standards, such as 802.11 serial, HIPERLAN, HOMERF and 1394, etc. Ad-hoc mode and Infrastucture mode are further defined in 802.11 serial. The ad-hoc mode discloses a peer-to-peer (computer to computer, or computer to device) wireless communication, and the infrastructure mode discloses a wireless communication between a wired network and a wireless network via an Access Point.  
       FIG. 1A  illustrates communication in an ad-hoc mode. A wireless communicating device  200  that is coupled to a computer  100  will conduct a wireless data communication with a peripheral device  400  that is located a short distance within a wireless network  10 , using the same service set identifier (SSID) and service network channel.  FIG. 1B  illustrates communication in an infrastructure mode. A wireless communicating device  200  that is coupled to a computer  100  will conduct a wireless data communication with a remote-end sever  350  within a wireless network  10  through an Access Point (AP)  300  of a wired network  20 , using the same service set identifier (SSID). Unfortunately, the ad-hoc mode and the infrastructure mode cannot coexist in a wireless communicating device  200  that uses a sole SSID.  
      Therefore, there still remains a need for a dual mode communication which will enable a computer to link different peripheral devices, or to different computers or servers connected to a wired network.  
     SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE  
      It is an object of the present invention to provide a dual mode communication between a computer and peripheral devices in a wireless network environment.  
      It is another object of the present invention to allow a computer to simultaneously communicate with a near-end device and a remote-end device.  
      In order to accomplish the objects of the present invention, the present invention provides a method of communicating in a wireless network with a wireless communicating device of a computer. According to the method, a network-setting list is received by the wireless communicating device from the computer, with the network setting list having a list of service set identifiers (SSID). The wireless communicating device then locates a linking request based on an acceptable SSID that is found in the network setting list. Thereafter, the linking request is processed in the ad-hoc mode with a near-end device or in the infrastructure mode with a remote-end device, depending on whether the acceptable SSID is found in the network setting list. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1A  is a block diagram illustrating communication in an ad-hoc mode.  
       FIG. 1B  is a block diagram illustrating communication in an infrastructure mode.  
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a communication system according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 3A-3B  is a flow chart of a communication method according to the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      The following detailed description is of the best presently contemplated modes of carrying out the invention. This description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating general principles of embodiments of the invention. The scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.  
      The present invention relates to dual mode linking processes by simultaneously activating an ad-hoc mode and an infrastructure mode for receiving a near-end linking request and a remote-end linking request, respectively.  
      Referring to  FIG. 2 , a computer  100   a  is coupled to a wireless communicating device  200   a . If the computer  100   a  wishes to communicate with a peripheral device  400   a  that is located a short distance within a wireless network  10   a  (i.e., at a short distance away), the wireless communicating device  200   a  can communicate in the ad-hoc mode. If the computer  100   a  wishes to communicate with a server  350   a  at a remote-end (i.e., at a far-away location), the wireless communicating device  200   a  can communicate in the infrastructure mode via the access point (AP)  300   a  of a wired network  20   a.    
       FIGS. 3A-3B  illustrate a flow chart for a communication mode that can be used by the system in  FIG. 2 . When the computer  100   a  is in the wireless network environment, the wireless communicating device  200   a  receives a network-setting list from the computer  100   a  (step  500 ). The network setting list records some acceptable data relating to the service set identifier (SSID) and the service network channel. The wireless communicating device  200   a  then initializes a firmware within the communicating device  200   a  to simultaneously activate the ad-hoc mode and the infrastructure mode (step  510 ). The firmware is usually stored in a control unit of the communicating device  200   a  according to techniques known in the art.  
      The wireless communicating device  200   a  then conducts a linking detection (step  520 ) so as to locate a linking request (step  530 ). In this regard, a linking request is a wireless signal that is generated by the computer  100   a , the server  350   a  or the peripheral device  400   a  when they wish to establish a wireless connection. This is known as a “linking detection”. The linking request is generated by the computer  100   a  as a transmitting request, or is received from the server  350   a  via the AP  300   a  or the peripheral device  400   a  as a receiving request, and each linking request also has a specific SSID.  
      Returning to  FIG. 3A , if a linking detection is not established, the wireless communicating device  200   a  will keep conducting the linking detection (step  520 ) until a linking detection is established, at which time processing proceeds to step A.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 3B , in step  531 , the wireless communicating device  200   a  will analyze the linking request to retrieve an SSID, and search the network-setting list to see if the SSID from the linking request exists in the network setting list (step  532 ). If the SSID from the linking request matches one of the SSIDs on the network-setting list (step  533 ), the wireless communicating device  200   a  processes the linking request in ad-hoc mode according to the service network channel of the SSID (step  534 ). On the other hand, if the SSID of the linking request is not on the network-setting list, then the wireless communicating device  200   a  processes the linking request in the infrastructure mode (step  535 ).  
      After either step  534  or  535 , the communicating device  200   a  will determine if the linking request has already been completed (step  536 ). A linking request is completed when the communication between the communicating device  200   a  and he peripheral device  400   a  has been built in either the ad hoc mode or the infrastructure mode. If the linking request has been completed, then processing proceeds to step B to determine if the wireless network linking should be ended (step  540  in  FIG. 3A ). This decision is made by the communicating device  200   a . If the linking request has not been completed, then the method continues to wait until the linking request has been completed (step  537 ). If the user does not wish to end the linking of the wireless network in step  540 , then processing returns to step  520  to conduct the linking detection again.  
      The wireless communicating device  200   a  can be a wireless network card which complies with a standard wireless network communication protocol, such as the 802.11 serial, but is not limited to that which is enacted by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). In addition, the peripheral device  400   a  can be a computer mouse, trackball, keyboard, joystick, tablet, touch pad, game controller, scanner, printer, or other similar device.  
      While the description above refers to particular embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereof. The accompanying claims are intended to cover such modifications as would fall within the true scope and spirit of the present invention.