Method And System For Advertising Bluetooth Multicast Feature

• US 20090232041A1
• Filed: 03/11/2008
• Published: 09/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Smith, Sherry
• Granted Patent: US 8,014,392 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/312
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1867 Arrangements specially adapted for the transmitter end
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2001/0093 Point-to-multipoint
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/101 Access control lists [ACL]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/041 Key generation or derivation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/0433 Key management protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/08 Access restriction or access information delivery, e.g. discovery data delivery signalling during connection H04W76/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

Aspects of a method and system for advertising a Bluetooth multicast feature are provided. A master device may provide a multicast service to active slave devices during a Bluetooth piconet connection. A Bluetooth multicast packet addressed to a specific slave device may be transmitted over a point-to-point connection. The multicast packet may be decoded and acknowledged by each of the slave devices on the piconet. The master device may re-transmit the multicast packet addressed to the specific slave device over the same point-to-point connection when an acknowledgment or response indicating a reception of the multicast packet from each of active slave devices may not be detected. The point-to-point connection may be associated with a L2CAP channel identified by a determined unique channel identifier (M-CID). The point-to-point connection may be secured by assigning a common authentication key shared among the slaves of the piconet.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication, the method comprising:

transmitting from a master device, a multicast packet addressed to a specific one of a plurality of slave devices over a point-to-point connection; and

detecting a plurality of receive acknowledgements, each responsive to said multicast packet and from one of said plurality of slave devices.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising retransmitting said multicast packet addressed to said specific one of said plurality of slave devices over said point-to-point connection when an acknowledgment is not detected from each of the plurality of slaves.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said multicast data packet is a Bluetooth data packet.

4. The method according to claim 1, comprising identifying said point-to-point connection by a determined unique channel identifier.

5. The method according to claim 1, comprising assigning a common authentication key to said point-to-point connection.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of slave devices belong to the same piconet.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein each of said plurality of slave devices decodes a payload of said received multicast packet.

8. A method for wireless communication, the method of comprising:

receiving from a master device over a point-to-point connection, a multicast data packet addressed to a specific one of a plurality of slave devices;

in response to said receiving of said multicast data packet, transmitting an acknowledgment packet from each of said plurality of slave devices to said master device.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein said multicast data packet is a Bluetooth data packet.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein said point-to-point connection is identified by a determined unique channel identifier.

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein said point-to-point connection is assigned a common authentication key.

12. The method according to claim 8, wherein said specific slave and said plurality of slaves belong to the same piconet.

13. The method according to claim 8, comprising decoding a payload of received multicast packet.

14. A system for wireless communication, the system comprising:

one or more circuits within a master device, wherein said one or more circuits enables transmission of a multicast packet addressed to a specific one of a plurality of slave devices over a point-to-point connection; and

said one or more circuits enables detection of a plurality of receive acknowledgements, each responsive to said multicast packet and from one of said plurality of slave devices.

15. The system according to claim 14, wherein said one or more circuits enables retransmission of said multicast packet addressed to said specific one of said plurality of slave devices over said point-to-point connection when an acknowledgment is not detected from each of the plurality of slaves.

16. The system according to claim 14, wherein said multicast data packet is a Bluetooth data packet.

17. The system according to claim 14, wherein said one or more circuits enables identification of said point-to-point connection by a determined unique channel identifier.

18. The method according to claim 14, wherein said one or more circuits enables assignment of a common authentication key to said point-to-point connection.

19. The method according to claim 14, wherein said plurality of slave devices belong to the same piconet.

20. The system according to claim 14, wherein said one or more circuits enables each of said plurality of slave devices to decode a payload of said received multicast packet.

21. A system for wireless communication, the system comprising:

one or more circuits in each of a plurality of slave devices, wherein said one or more circuits enables receiving from a master device over a point-to-point connection, a multicast data packet addressed to a specific one of said plurality of slave devices; and

in response to said receiving of said multicast data packet, said one or more circuits enables transmission of an acknowledgment packet from each of said plurality of slave devices to said master device.

22. The system according to claim 21, wherein said multicast data packet is a Bluetooth data packet.

23. The system according to claim 21, wherein said one or more circuits enables identification of said point-to-point connection by a determined unique channel identifier.

24. The method according to claim 21, wherein said one or more circuits enables assignment of a common authentication key to said point-to-point connection.

25. The method according to claim 21, wherein said plurality of slave devices belong to the same piconet.

26. The system according to claim 21, wherein said one or more circuits enables each of said plurality of slave devices to decode a payload of said received multicast packet.