AUTOMATIC NETWORK AND DEVICE CONFIGURATION FOR HANDHELD DEVICES BASED ON BLUETOOTH DEVICE PROXIMITY
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method, apparatus, and system for automatically configuring Bluetooth devices for communication to an outside network is described. A Bluetooth device is paired with a “trusted” Bluetooth device. When paired devices are found, the Bluetooth device automatically configures itself to use the lowest cost connection option from the available set of paired devices that are in proximity with the Bluetooth handheld device. If no device is found, the Bluetooth device may revert to a built-in access method. The network accessed can be the internet or an office network such as an 802.11 network.
47 Citations
44 Claims
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1-22. -22. (canceled)
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23. A method of connecting a Bluetooth device to a wide area network, comprising:
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pairing a first Bluetooth device with a plurality of the second Bluetooth devices, wherein the first Bluetooth device comprises a Bluetooth-enabled cellular device, wherein at least one of the second Bluetooth devices is operatively coupled to the wide area network, wherein the Bluetooth-enabled cellular device connects to the wide area network through a second Bluetooth device that has the best network access to the wide area network, wherein the best network access is based on a respective weight given to a speed, a link type and a dollar cost for each second Bluetooth device, and wherein each respective weight is determined by user input preferences; designating communication configuration parameters for use by the first Bluetooth device in connecting to the wide area network through the second Bluetooth device; using the Bluetooth communications to determine when the first Bluetooth device is in proximity with the second Bluetooth device; and using a second wireless communications protocol in communicating with the second Bluetooth device after it is determined, using the Bluetooth communications, that the first Bluetooth device is in proximity with the second Bluetooth device. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26)
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27. A method of connecting a Bluetooth device to a wide area network, comprising:
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pairing a first Bluetooth device with a plurality of the second Bluetooth devices, wherein the first Bluetooth device comprises a Bluetooth-enabled cellular device, wherein the second Bluetooth devices are operatively coupled to the wide area network, wherein the Bluetooth-enabled cellular device connects to the wide area network through a second Bluetooth device that has a lowest virtual cost associated with connecting to the network, wherein each Bluetooth second device is characterized by a virtual cost that is a function of a link speed, a link type and a dollar cost, and wherein, once the second Bluetooth device with the lowest virtual cost is chosen, the network connection is set up as a VPN; designating communication configuration parameters for use by the first Bluetooth device in connecting to the wide area network through the second Bluetooth device, wherein the first Bluetooth device is configured to use communications facilities of the second Bluetooth device; using the Bluetooth communications to determine when the first Bluetooth device is in proximity with the second Bluetooth device; and using a second wireless communications protocol in communicating with the second Bluetooth device after it is determined, using the Bluetooth communications, that the first Bluetooth device is in proximity with the second Bluetooth device. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30)
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31. A system for connecting a first device to a network, comprising:
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a first device that includes a Bluetooth-enabled cellular device; and a plurality of second devices, wherein the second devices comprise Bluetooth-enabled wireless devices, and wherein the second devices are operatively coupled to the network, wherein the first device is paired with the second devices, wherein the first device connects to the network through a second device that has a lowest virtual cost associated with connecting to the network, wherein each second device has a respective virtual cost that is a function of a link speed, a link type and a cost, wherein, once the second device with the lowest virtual cost is chosen, the network connection is set up as a VPN, wherein the first device is configured to use a network access mode of the second device when the first device and the second device are in proximity to each other, wherein the first device uses Bluetooth communications to determine whether the second device is in proximity to the first device, and wherein the first device uses a second wireless communications protocol in communicating with the second device after it has been determined, using the Bluetooth communications, that the second device is in proximity with the first device. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34)
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35. A system for connecting a first device to a network, comprising:
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a first device that includes a Bluetooth-enabled cellular device; and a plurality of second devices, wherein the second devices comprise Bluetooth-enabled wireless devices, and wherein the second devices are operatively coupled to the network, wherein the first device is paired with the second devices, wherein the first device connects to the network through the second device that has the best network access, wherein the best network access is based on a respective weight given to a speed, a link type and a dollar cost for each second device, wherein each respective weight is determined by user input preferences, wherein the first device uses Bluetooth communications to determine whether the second device is in proximity to the first device, wherein the first device uses a second wireless communications protocol in communicating with the second device after it has been determined, using the Bluetooth communications, that the second device is in proximity with the first device, and wherein the first device uses the second wireless communications protocol to connect with the second device to facilitate connecting the first device with the network. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38)
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39. An integrated circuit that performs a method, the method comprising:
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pairing a first Bluetooth device and a plurality of second Bluetooth device, wherein the first Bluetooth device comprises a Bluetooth-enabled cellular device, wherein at least one of the second Bluetooth devices is operatively coupled to a wide area network, wherein the Bluetooth-enabled cellular device connects to the wide area network through a second Bluetooth device that has the best network access to the wide area network, wherein the best network access is based on a respective weight given to a speed, a link type and a dollar cost for each second Bluetooth device, and wherein each respective weight is determined by user input preferences; configuring the first Bluetooth device to use communications facilities of the second Bluetooth device; determining when the first Bluetooth device is in proximity with the second Bluetooth device using Bluetooth communications; and using a second wireless communications protocol in communications between the first Bluetooth device and the second Bluetooth device after it is determined, using the Bluetooth communications, that the first Bluetooth device is in proximity with the second Bluetooth device. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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Specification