Unified pairing for wireless devices

• US 20090240814A1
• Filed: 03/18/2008
• Published: 09/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Michaud, Alain L., Raden, Gary P. II, Ayala, Ronald J., Brubacher, Douglas K., Roth, David J.
• Application Number:
  US12/077,304
• Publication Number:
  US 20090240814A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/227
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/50 Secure pairing of devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data

Abstract

A framework for users to connect to wireless devices, regardless of the underlying wireless technology. The framework has a modular structure, including discovery handlers, pairing handlers, and pairing ceremony modules. Discovery and pairing handlers are specific to each wireless technology, enabling discovery of wireless devices, and connection to the device. Pairing ceremony modules are technology independent, and may be invoked by any pairing handler, regardless of the wireless technology employed by a device. The framework provides an aggregation of wireless technologies into a common user interface, improving the user'"'"'s experience and expanding possibilities for use of wireless technologies.

Claims

1. A computer storage medium comprising computer executable modules, the modules comprising:

a plurality of ceremony modules, each ceremony module for interacting with a user during at least a portion of a pairing ceremony; and

at least one pairing handler module, each pairing handler module for performing a pairing ceremony by communicating with a wireless device and communicating with a user through a designated ceremony module of the plurality of ceremony modules.

2. The computer storage medium of claim 1, wherein the plurality of ceremony modules comprises a PIN entry and/or PIN display ceremony module.

3. The computer storage medium of claim 1, wherein the plurality of ceremony modules comprises a Just Works ceremony module.

4. The computer storage medium of claim 1, wherein the plurality of ceremony modules comprises a numeric compare ceremony module.

5. The computer storage medium of claim 1, wherein:

the at least one pairing handler modules comprises a first pairing handler module and a second pairing handler module; and

the designated ceremony module is designated by the first pairing handler and the second pairing handler module.

6. The computer storage medium of claim 1, wherein:

the designated ceremony module is a first designated ceremony module; and

the at least one pairing handler modules comprises a pairing handler module that designates the first designated ceremony module and designates a second designated ceremony module.

7. The computer storage medium of claim 1, wherein each ceremony module comprises a programming interface for communicating with the at least one pairing handler module and/or a user experience component.

8. The computer storage medium of claim 1, wherein the at least one pairing handler module comprises a plurality of pairing handler modules and the computer storage medium further comprises:

an error mitigation module for receiving an error code from each of the plurality of pairing handler modules and presenting the user proposed mitigation steps.

9. A method of operating a computer to connect to a wireless device, the method comprising:

receiving a selection of the wireless device, the wireless device connectable to the computer using a wireless technology;

invoking a pairing hander based on the wireless technology of the wireless device;

invoking by the pairing handler at least one pairing ceremony; and

executing the at least one invoked pairing ceremony, the executing comprising presenting a user interface to a user.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

mapping a technology specific error code to a unified pairing error code.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

presenting and/or performing mitigation steps corresponding to the unified pairing error code.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

validating a user input received during the execution of the at least one pairing ceremony.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein:

the at least one pairing ceremony comprises a first pairing ceremony and a second pairing ceremony; and

the pairing handler invokes the second pairing ceremony in response to the validating.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein invoking the at least one ceremony comprises invoking a plurality of ceremonies in succession.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein invoking the at least one ceremony comprises invoking a ceremony module from a set of ceremony modules, the set comprising a PIN entry ceremony module and a PIN display ceremony module.

16. A method comprising:

displaying, in response to a first selection of a first wireless device utilizing a first wireless technology, a first dialog box, the first user interface having a configuration for exchanging information with a user relating to a pairing ceremony; and

displaying, in response to a second selection of a second wireless device utilizing a second wireless technology, a second user interface, the second dialog box having the configuration.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the configuration comprises a wireless technology element.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the configuration comprises a device type element.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the configuration comprises a validation element.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein:

the displaying, in response to the first selection, a first content of the validation element is designated by a first pairing handler, the first pairing handler corresponding to the first wireless technology and the displaying, in response to the second selection, a second content of the validation element is designated by a second pairing handler, the second pairing handler corresponding to the second wireless technology.