Abstract:
A consumer and a cableless provider may quickly establish connections with one another by setting up certain profiles within the consumer. When the cableless provider is identified, the profiles stored within the consumer may be utilized to quickly establish a communication protocol without the need to repeatedly exchange this information between the consumer and cableless provider. As a result, communications may be established more quickly, saving time and reducing power consumption.

Description:
BACKGROUND  
         [0001]    This invention relates generally to wireless communication protocols and, particularly, to connection establishment in wireless communication protocols.  
           [0002]    One widely adopted communication protocol is the Bluetooth Specification (Specification of the Bluetooth System, Version 1.1, Feb. 22, 2001). The Bluetooth Specification involves 2.4 gigahertz signals over the Instrumentation Scientific and Medical band. The signals have a ten meter range, but may be extended to one hundred meters.  
           [0003]    A device coming into a Bluetooth piconet may enter the inquiry mode. The device, upon reaching the new environment, initiates an inquiry to find out what access points are available within its range. Any in-range access points respond with their addresses and the device may eventually pick out a responding access point with which to establish communication.  
           [0004]    The device then begins the paging protocol. Paging enables the initiating device and the access point to synchronize in terms of clock offset and phase in the frequency hop, for example. Thereafter, the link management protocol (LMP) establishes a link with the access point. In the course of establishing a link, a responding slave or non-initiating device may ask for a role switch with the access point in some cases. The access point then responds with the appropriate packet accepting (or not accepting) the role switch request.  
           [0005]    The device that starts the paging procedure is generally called the master and remains the master of the piconet consisting of itself and the paged device, if the paged device accepts the connection. However, before starting actual data communication, the master and slave devices may exchange roles.  
           [0006]    In some cases, access is restricted by particular access points to particular types or groups of users. To enforce the access restriction, an access point may send a security request for pairing. In order to be paired, the device seeking access must provide a code, such as a personal information number (PIN) to access the service. If a secure mode is being utilized for communications, encryption may also be invoked.  
           [0007]    In a number of cases, the establishment of a connection tends to be somewhat onerous. In devices that repeatedly seek to communicate with one another in a rapid fashion, these connection establishment protocols may tend to bog down the operation of devices in such circumstances. For example, when using a keyboard, mouse or printer that communicates over a wireless protocol with a personal computer, a number of high-speed communications may be needed. Many of the involved devices may also be battery powered. Completing the extended connection establishment protocol with each communication, results in unnecessary time delays and increased power consumption.  
           [0008]    Thus, where one device frequently wirelessly communicates with another device, there is a need for better ways to enable connections using wireless protocols. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]    [0009]FIG. 1 is a schematic depiction of one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 2 is a flow chart for software in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 3 is a flow chart for software in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 4 is a flow chart for setup software in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0013]    Referring to FIG. 1, two devices  10  and  12  may implement a wireless communication protocol  14  to exchange information. In one embodiment, the device  10  may be called a consumer, because it needs a service from another device called a provider device  12 . Conventionally, the consumer device  10  may be coupled by a cable to the provider device  12 . However, by using a wireless communication protocol, the devices  10  and  12  may communicate without the need to physically connect the two devices  10  and  12 .  
         [0014]    The cableless provider device  12  may be a wireless mouse or keyboard, to mention a few examples. Typical consumer devices  10  include laptop computers, desktop computers, and handheld processor-based devices, again to mention only a few examples.  
         [0015]    A cableless provider device  12  needs to be connected to the consumer device  10  without increasing the time needed to establish a link as well as power consumed in establishing a link. In such transactions, the consumer device  10  may always be designated as the master device.  
         [0016]    Cableless provider devices  12  may be identified by an indication bit. For example, class of device field in an FHS packet may be utilized to identify cableless provider devices  12 . An FHS packet is a special control packet revealing the Bluetooth device address and the clock of the sender. The FHS packet includes eleven fields including a 24 bit class of device field. See Bluetooth specification, version 1.1 at p. 56.  
         [0017]    The consumer device  10  may maintain profiles or profile types for cableless provider devices  12 . Different types of cableless provider devices  12  may be assigned identifiers. Certain characteristics of the cableless provider device  12  necessary to establish a link connection may be stored on the consumer device  10  (and vice versa) so that it is not necessary for the cableless provider device  12  (or the consumer device  10 ) to provide that information during the connection establishment protocol.  
         [0018]    Instead, a communications initiating cableless provider device  12  may simply identify itself as a cableless provider, provide its profile identifier, and the consumer device  10  may have sufficient information to begin the establishment of a link. Alternatively, where the consumer device  10  initiates the communication it may already have the information needed to connect with the selected provider device  12 . For example, the consumer device  10  may store the address and packet type information of each cableless provider device  12  or of each type of cableless provider device  12 . Pairing and authentication may be eliminated to speed the fast connection when the device seeking to establish the connection or the device to which a connection is being made is a cableless provider device  12 .  
         [0019]    Thus, referring to FIG. 2, when a cableless provider device  12  is the target of a communication, a fast connect protocol  20  may be utilized. It may begin with a connection request, as indicated in block  22 . The connection request may come from the consumer device  10  seeking to provide information to the cableless provider device  12  or from the cableless provider device  12  seeking information from the consumer device  10 . In the course of the connection request, the fact that the communication involves a cableless provider device  12  may be determined. For example, the consumer device  10  may know that the data transmission is directed to a cableless provider device  12 . Conversely, if the cableless provider device  12  is initiating the communication, it may identify itself as a cableless provider device  12  to the consumer device  10 . In such case, the consumer device  10  automatically acquires the stored profile for the subject cableless provider device  12 . Using this profile, the consumer device  10  can establish the connection without the need to exchange identity information with the cableless provider device  12 .  
         [0020]    Moreover, the consumer device  10  always assumes the master role in any communication with a cableless provider device  12 . These master/slave assignments may be preprogrammed into the devices  10  and  12 .  
         [0021]    In response to a connection request, as indicated in block  22 , the consumer and cableless provider devices  10  and  12  may implement a page mode, as indicated in block  24 , in which the consumer device  10  is always the master device. Once the page mode has been completed, the setup and establishment of the communication channel may be completed, as indicated in block  26 .  
         [0022]    Referring to FIG. 3, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, an encryption step  28  may be included if desired. Thus, encryption may be completed after paging in some embodiments.  
         [0023]    In the case of the fast connect protocol  20  or the modified fast connect protocol  20   a , unnecessary operations including role changes, pairing and authentication may be eliminated in order to speed the connection process.  
         [0024]    Referring finally to FIG. 4, in order to setup a cableless provider device  12  for communication with a consumer device  10 , a consumer device  10  may provide the cableless provider device  12  with an indication bit that identifies the cableless provider device  12  as a cableless provider, as indicated in block  32 . The cableless provider device  12  may thereafter accept the role of being a slave device, this information having been programmed into the cableless provider device  12 , as indicated in block  34 . In addition, the cableless provider device  12  may have a profile bit that identifies the type of cableless provider and includes information such as the address, packet type, and the like, needed to establish a communication protocol, as indicated in block  36 .  
         [0025]    Any information needed to establish the connection is exchanged on the establishment of the first connection. Thereafter upon learning of a device&#39;s identity, its profile may be automatically called up. Each device&#39;s master/slave status is also predetermined.  
         [0026]    Basically, the flow  30  may be implemented either in the consumer device  10  for the benefit of one or more provider devices  12 , or in the cableless provider devices  12  themselves.  
         [0027]    While the present invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate numerous modifications and variations therefrom. It is intended that the appended claims cover all such modifications and variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of this present invention.