Methods and systems for determining local device proximity
First Claim
1. A method of discovering local devices or services comprising:
- associating at least one unique identifier with at least one location;
associating one or more device or service with said at least one unique identifier; and
providing an indication of said one or more device or service that are associated with said at least one unique identifier.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and systems enable devices to discover each other when the devices are in a common location. Unique identifiers (UIDs) are associated with one or more location and each UID uniquely identifies a location. Devices that are located in a particular location that has a UID can register to create an association between the device and the UID. In turn, this creates an association between the device and a location. Subsequently, when another device (e.g. a laptop computer or PDA) enters the location, the device can discover the UID of the location and then ascertain which other devices are associated with that location.
14 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method of discovering local devices or services comprising:
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associating at least one unique identifier with at least one location;
associating one or more device or service with said at least one unique identifier; and
providing an indication of said one or more device or service that are associated with said at least one unique identifier. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. One or more computer-readable media having computer-readable instructions thereon which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
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associate at least one unique identifier with at least one location;
associate one or more device or service with said at least one unique identifier; and
provide an indication of said one or more device or service that are associated with said at least one unique identifier by;
receiving a message containing at least one unique identifier;
ascertaining said one or more device or service based upon said at least one unique identifier; and
replying to a sender of the message with a list of available devices or services for a location corresponding to said at least one unique identifier. - View Dependent Claims (8)
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9. A method of discovering local devices or services comprising:
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associating multiple unique identifiers with multiple related locations, each related location having a unique identifier;
associating one or more device or service with one or more of the unique identifiers, the one or more device or service being accessible from a location that corresponds to a unique identifier;
receiving a message from a client device that contains a unique identifier of one or more of the locations;
ascertaining from said unique identifier any devices or services that are associated with a location that corresponds to said unique identifier; and
replying to said client device with a list of available devices or services for the location. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11)
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12. A method of facilitating discovery of local devices or services comprising:
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providing a registry configured to maintain entries that associate unique identifiers with respective locations; and
registering one or more devices or services in the registry to provide one or more registrations, each registration defining an association between a device or service and a unique identifier. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. One or more computer-readable media having computer-readable instructions thereon which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
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provide a registry configured to maintain entries that associate unique identifiers with respective locations; and
register one or more devices or services in the registry to provide one or more registrations, each registration defining an association between a device or service and a unique identifier.
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18. A method of discovering local devices comprising:
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acquiring a unique identifier that is associated with a location for which one or more corresponding devices or services are desired to be discovered;
sending a message containing the unique identifier over a network and to an entity from which the devices or services can be discovered; and
receiving a reply from the entity, the reply containing a list of available devices or services for the location. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21)
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22. One or more computer-readable media having computer-readable instructions thereon which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
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acquire a unique identifier that is associated with a location for which one or more corresponding devices or services are desired to be discovered;
send a message containing the unique identifier over the Internet and to an entity from which the devices or services can be discovered; and
receive a reply from the entity, the reply containing a list of available devices or services for the location. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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24. A system comprising:
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one or more servers configured to receive and reply to messages from client devices;
a database operably associated with the one or more servers;
a registry maintained in the database and managed by the one or more servers;
the registry containing an association between unique identifiers and devices or services, each unique identifier being associated with a location from which corresponding associated devices or services can be accessed;
the one or more servers being configured to;
receive messages from client devices that contain one or more unique identifiers for a given location;
perform a database lookup operation on the registry using the unique identifier to ascertain which devices or services are associated with the unique identifier; and
reply to the messages with a list of available devices or services for a given location. - View Dependent Claims (25)
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Specification