Self-configuring wireless personal area network
First Claim
1. An apparatus for forming a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) from a plurality of Personal Area Network (PAN) devices, comprising:
- a location determinator configured to determine a location for each of said plurality of PAN devices;
a comparator coupled to the determinator and configured to compare said location for each of said plurality of PAN devices with a WPAN association criteria in order to determine an identification of each of said plurality of PAN devices that at least partially satisfy said WPAN criteria; and
a communication link coupled to the comparator configured to transmit said identification of each of said plurality of PAN devices that at least partially satisfy said WPAN criteria to such devices.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and apparatus are provided for forming a wireless personal area network (WPAN) from an array of intercommunicating personal area network (PAN) devices. The system comprises a location determinator configured to determine a location for each of the PAN devices, a comparator coupled to the determinator for comparing the location of each of the PAN devices with WPAN association criteria to choose a subset meeting the WPAN criteria at least in part, and a communication link coupled to the comparator to transmit identification data of the subset to some or all of the subset of PAN devices. When received, the information causes the subset to form the WPAN, which then intercommunicate substantially ignoring the non-WPAN devices. In a preferred embodiment, the comparator selects the WPAN from those of the plurality of PAN devices that are within a predetermined distance of each other and/or move as a group.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. An apparatus for forming a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) from a plurality of Personal Area Network (PAN) devices, comprising:
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a location determinator configured to determine a location for each of said plurality of PAN devices;
a comparator coupled to the determinator and configured to compare said location for each of said plurality of PAN devices with a WPAN association criteria in order to determine an identification of each of said plurality of PAN devices that at least partially satisfy said WPAN criteria; and
a communication link coupled to the comparator configured to transmit said identification of each of said plurality of PAN devices that at least partially satisfy said WPAN criteria to such devices. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN), comprising:
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a plurality of electronic devices each having a Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) tag function;
a remote communication node wirelessly coupled to at least two of said plurality of electronic devices; and
a base station coupled to said remote communication node and said RFID tag function of said plurality of electronic devices, wherein said base station is configured to;
determine a location for each of said plurality of electronic devices with at least partial utilization of said RFID tag function;
compare said location for each of said plurality of electronic devices with a WPAN association criteria in order to determine an identification of each of said plurality of electronic devices that at least partially satisfies said WPAN association criteria; and
transmit said identification of each of said plurality of electronic devices that at least partially satisfy said WPAN association criteria to said remote communication node for distribution to at least two of said plurality of electronic devices. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for forming a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) with a plurality of Personal Area Network (PAN) devices, comprising the steps of:
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determining a location for each of said plurality of PAN devices;
comparing said location for each of said plurality of PAN devices with a WPAN association criteria;
determining an identification of a subset of said plurality of PAN devices based at least in part upon said comparing step; and
transmitting said identification of said subset of said plurality of PAN devices that at least partially satisfy said WPAN criteria to at least said subset of PAN devices. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for forming a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) from a plurality of Personal Area Network (PAN) devices, comprising:
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determining a location for each of the plurality of PAN devices;
comparing the location determined for each of the PAN devices with WPAN association criteria;
choosing a subset of the PAN devices whose locations at least partially satisfy the WPAN criteria; and
transmitting identification of the devices in the subset to at least the subset of PAN devices. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification