ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND METHOD FOR OPERATING AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE

• US 20120309309A1
• Filed: 01/14/2011
• Published: 12/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Cho, Jihoon, Son, Juhyung
• Granted Patent: US 8,942,626 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/41.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/14 Relay systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0016 Hand-off preparation specially adapted for end-to-end data sessions
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 Direct-mode setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electronic device and a method of operating the same. The electronic device and the method of operating the electronic device may effectively form a connection between two or more electronic devices by allowing a relaying device to transfer connection information between the electronic devices to a counterpart.

Claims

1. A method of operating a third device to establish a new communication link between a first device and a second device, the method comprising the steps of:

obtaining first communication link information associated with a communication link other than a communication link established through tagging with the third device from the first device; and

transferring the first communication link information to the second device such that the new communication link is established between the first device and the second device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first communication link information includes at least one of information to identify a communication means and environment information to generate a communication link.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein before the obtaining, a request message of requesting the first communication link information to be sent to the first device is transferred through the communication link established through the tagging.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the request message includes at least one of instruction information of requesting information associated with all communication means supported by the first device and instruction information of requesting information associated with a communication means designated by the third device.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising outputting a guide message of instructing a move toward a device to establish a communication link with the first device when the first communication link information is obtained.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first communication link information sequentially includes information on a plurality of communication links supported by the first device according to priorities.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining further comprises establishing a second communication link between the first and third devices, wherein the second communication link is different from the communication link established through the tagging.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the transferring further comprises transferring second communication link information associated with a communication link supported by the second device to the first device through the second communication link.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the transferring further comprises establishing a third communication link between the second and third devices, wherein the third communication link is different from the communication link established through the tagging.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the transferring further comprises transferring the first communication link information to the second device through the third communication link.

11. A third device of establishing a new communication link between a first device and a second device, wherein the third device comprises:

a communication unit that establishes a communication link through tagging; and

a controller that obtains first communication link information associated with a communication link other than a communication link established through tagging with the third device from the first device and transfers the first communication link information to the second device such that the new communication link is established between the first device and the second device.

12. The third device of claim 11, wherein the first communication link information includes at least one of information to identify a communication means and environment information to generate a communication link.

13. The third device of claim 11, wherein the controller transmits a request message of requesting the first communication link information to the first device through the communication unit to obtain the first communication link information.

14. The third device of claim 13, wherein the request message includes at least one of instruction information of requesting information associated with all communication means supported by the first device and instruction information of requesting information associated with a communication means designated by the third device.

15. The third device of claim 11, further comprising an output device, wherein the controller enables the output device to output a guide message of instructing a move toward a device to establish a communication link with the first device when the first communication link information is obtained.

16. The third device of claim 11, wherein the first communication link information sequentially includes information on a plurality of communication links supported by the first device according to priorities.

17. The third device of claim 11, wherein the controller establishes a second communication link different from the communication link established through the tagging with the first device.

18. The third device of claim 17, wherein the controller transfers second communication link information associated with a communication link supported by the second device to the first device through the second communication link.

19. The third device of claim 11, wherein the controller establishes a third communication link different from the communication link established through the tagging with the second device.

20. The third device of claim 19, wherein the controller transfers the first communication link information to the second device through the third communication link.