APPARATUS, AND ASSOCIATED METHOD, FOR FACILITATING RECONNECTION OF A WIRELESS DEVICE TO A NETWORK

• US 20080248747A1
• Filed: 04/06/2007
• Published: 10/09/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: BUCKLEY, ADRIAN
• Application Number:
  US11/697,432
• Publication Number:
  US 20080248747A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/39
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/00 Connection management

Abstract

Apparatus, and associated methodology, for an I-WLAN or other wireless device. Information associated with network entities, such as an SSID or an associated PLMN, with which the wireless device communicates is buffered. In the event of subsequent loss of communication connectivity, the buffered information is retrieved and used pursuant to a reconnection attempt.

Claims

1. Apparatus for a wireless device to facilitate reconnection thereof subsequent to loss of connection of communication connectivity of the wireless device, said apparatus comprising:

a buffer configured to store an indication of an identity of a most-recent connection of the wireless device; and

an accessor configured to access said buffer responsive to the loss of the connection to retrieve a value the indication stored thereat;

the value used to attempt the reconnection of the wireless device into the communication connectivity.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the wireless device comprises an I-WLAN, Interworking Wireless Local Area Network, device and wherein the identity of the most-recent connection stored at said buffer comprises an SSID, Service Set Identifier, value.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein accessor is configured to access the SSID value, the SSID value used to attempt reconnection of the wireless device into the communication connectivity.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the identity of the most-recent connection stored at said buffer further comprises a PLMN, Public Land Mobile Network, value associated with the SSSID value.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said accessor is configured to access the PLMN value, the PLMN value used to attempt the reconnection of the wireless device into the communication connectivity.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said buffer is further configured to store identity of an access connectivity mechanism.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the access connectivity mechanism whose identity is stored at said buffer comprises the identity of a direct IP, Internet Protocol, address.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a connection loss determiner configured to determine occurrence of the loss of connection of the wireless device of the communication connectivity, accessing of said buffer by said accessor responsive to determination made by said connection loss determiner.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the communication connectivity comprises at least one of SSID connectivity and PLMN connectivity and wherein said connection loss determiner is further configured to determine loss of any of the SSID connectivity and the PLMN connectivity.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a communication connectivity determiner configured to determine existence of the communication connectivity of the wireless device;

the indication stored at said buffer stored responsive to determination made by said communication connectivity determiner.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the communication connectivity comprises at least one of:

SSID connectivity and PLMN connectivity and wherein said communication connectivity determiner is further configured to determine the at least one of the SSID connectivity and the PLMN connectivity.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said buffer comprises a removable memory element removably connectable to the wireless device.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said buffer comprises a permanent memory element of the wireless device.

14. A method for facilitating reconnection of communication connectivity of a wireless device subsequent to loss of the communication connectivity said method comprising the operations of:

storing an indication of an identity of a most-recent connection of the wireless device;

accessing the indication stored during said operation of storing responsive to the loss of the connection to retrieve a value of the indication; and

attempting to reconnect the wireless device into the communication connectivity using the value of the indication accessed during said operation of accessing.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein said operation of storing comprises storing the indication at a removable memory element, removably connectable to the wireless device.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein said operation of storing comprises storing the indication at a permanent memory element of the wireless device.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein said operation of attempting to reconnect comprises attempting to reconnect into the communication connectivity with an SSID, Service Set Identifier, entity.

18. The method of claim 14 wherein said operation of attempting to reconnect comprises attempting to reconnect into the communication connectivity with a PLMN, Public Land Mobile Network.

19. The method of claim 14 wherein said operation of attempting to reconnect comprises attempting to form a direct IP, Internet Protocol, connection.

20. I-WLAN, Interworking Wireless Local Area Network, device apparatus for facilitating reconnection thereof in communication connectivity with a network responsive to interruption of the communication connectivity, said I-WLAN device apparatus comprising:

a network-identity data store configured to store an identification of the network with which the I-WLAN device most-recently communicated in the communication connectivity prior to the interruption of the communication connectivity; and

a reconnection attempt indicator configured to initiate a reconnection attempt with the network whose identification is stored at said network-identity data store.