ESTABLISHING CONNECTIONS AMONG ELECTRONIC DEVICES

• US 20130134212A1
• Filed: 05/25/2012
• Published: 05/30/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Arthur Chang
• Original Assignee: Arthur Chang
• Inventors: Chang, Arthur
• Granted Patent: US 8,998,076 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/375
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0742 in a data processing system embedded in a mobile device, e.g. mobile phones, handheld devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0769 Readable error formats, e.g. cross-platform generic formats, human understandable formats
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0772 Means for error signaling, e.g. using interrupts, exception flags, dedicated error registers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context

Abstract

The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for establishing connections among electronic devices. Embodiments of the invention can use a context code, such as, for example, a QR code to facilitate electronic device networking. The connection process between electronic devices is automated. For example, upon snapping a picture, a communication application establishes connection between devices and also serves as a port between the connected devices. Networking code can be greatly simplified, permitting application developers to devote more resources to developing application code.

Claims

1. At an electronic device, the electronic device including a processor and system memory, a method for processing a command related to network connectivity between electronic devices, the method comprising:

receiving an application command from an application at the electronic device, the application command related to establishing electronic device connectivity based on a context code;

translating the application command into an equivalent set of at least one context code command, each context code command in the set being compatible with an operating system of the electronic device;

queuing the at least one equivalent set of at least one context code command for use by a router service, the router service configured to route context code commands to corresponding communication processing services;

dequeuing a context code command to the router service, the context code command selected from among the at least one context code command in the set;

the router service routing the dequeued context code command to at least one appropriate corresponding communication processing service for processing;

determining a processing status of processing the context code command; and

indicating the processing status back to the application.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein receiving an application command from an application at the electronic device comprises receiving an application command to encode a context code.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein receiving an application command to encode a context code comprises receiving an application command to encode a machine-readable code with parameters that can be used to establish network connectivity between electronic devices.

4. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein receiving an application command to encode a machine-readable code with parameters comprises receiving an application command to encode a two-dimensional optically-readable code.

5. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein receiving an application command to encode a machine-readable code with parameters comprises receiving an application command to encode a machine readable code for transmission via at least one of:

Near Field Communication (NFC); and

Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID).

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein receiving an application command from an application at the electronic device comprises receiving an application command to decode a context code.

7. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein receiving an application command to decode a context code comprises receiving an application command to decode a machine-readable code, the machine-readable code having encoded parameters that can be used to establish network connectivity between electronic devices.

8. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein receiving an application command to decode a machine-readable code comprises an act of receiving an application command to decode a two-dimensional optically-readable code.

9. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein receiving an application command to decode a machine-readable code comprises an act of receiving at least one application command to decode a context code via at least one of:

Near Field Communication (NFC); and

Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID).

10. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein receiving an application command from an application at the electronic device comprises receiving a JSON object.

11. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein translating the application command into an equivalent set of at least one context code command comprises translating the application command into an equivalent set of at least one intent compatible with an Android operating system.

12. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein translating the application command into an equivalent set of at least one intent compatible with an Android operating system comprises translating at least one of:

(a) an encode context code command; and

(b) a decode context code command

into an equivalent set of at least one intent compatible with an Android operating system.

13. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein translating the application command into an equivalent set of at least one context code command comprises translating the application command into an equivalent set of at least one URL parameter compatible with an iOS operating system.

14. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein translating the application command into an equivalent set of at least one URL parameter compatible with the iOS operating system comprises translating at least one of:

(a) an encode context code command; and

(b) a decode context code command

into an equivalent set of at least one URL parameter compatible with the iOS operating system.

15. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the router service routing the dequeued context code command to the at least one appropriate corresponding communication processing service for processing comprises the router service routing the dequeued context code command to at least one of:

a Bluetooth processing service; and

a QR code processing service.

16. At a first electronic device, the first electronic device including a processor and system memory, the first electronic device also including an input device, a method for configuring a connection between the first electronic device and a second electronic device, the method comprising:

activating the input device to capture a context code, the context code storing encoded parameters for configuring a communication connection between electronic devices;

decoding the encoded parameters into decoded parameters;

using at least a first portion of the decoded parameters to establish a communication connection between the first electronic device and the second electronic device; and

sending at least a second portion of the decoded parameters over the established communication connection to the second electronic device, the second portion of decoded parameters for initializing the second electronic device into an appropriate state to operate in conjunction with the first electronic device.

17. The method as recited in claim 16, further comprising:

using at least a third portion of the decoded parameters to obtain a user interface for interfacing with an application resident at the second electronic device; and

using at least a fourth portion of the decoded parameters to initialize the user interface to a compatible state with the application resident at the second electronic device.

18. The method as recited in claim 17, wherein using at least a third portion of the decoded parameters to obtain a user interface comprises:

identifying decoded parameters that identify the application resident at the second electronic device;

sending the identified decoded parameters to a platform server; and

receiving the user interface from the platform server.

19. The method as recited in claim 17, wherein using at least a third portion of the decoded parameters to obtain a user interface comprises:

requesting the user interface from the second electronic device; and

receiving the user interface from the second electronic device.

20. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein activating the input device to capture a context code comprises activating a camera to capture an optically-readable barcode.

21. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein activating the input device to capture a context code comprises capturing a context code using at least one of:

Near Field Communication (NFC); and

Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID).

22. At a first electronic device, the electronic device including a processor and system memory, a method for synchronizing an application at the first electronic device with an application at a second electronic device so that both applications can establish network connectivity to one another using a context code, the method comprising:

an application at the first electronic device attempting to interact with a context code in a desired manner, the context code encoding parameters used for establishing network connectivity with other electronic devices;

detecting that the first electronic device lacks at least one component for interacting with the context code in the desired manner;

prompting for installation of the at least one component at the first electronic device;

installing the at least one component at the first electronic device in response to the prompt; and

utilizing the installed at least one component to interact with the context code in the desired manner.

23. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein:

an application at the first electronic device attempting to interact with a context code in a desired manner comprises an application attempting to interact with a context code; and

detecting that the first electronic device lacks at least one component for interacting with the context code comprises detecting that the first electronic device lacks a communication application configured to process context codes.

24. The method as recited in claim 23, wherein an application attempting to interact with a context code comprises the application attempting to scan an optically-readable code.

25. The method as recited in claim 24, wherein the application attempting to scan an optically-readable code comprises the application attempting to scan a QR code.

26. The method as recited in claim 24, wherein installing the at least one component at the first electronic device in response to the prompt comprises installing the communication application.

27. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein an application attempting to interact with a context code comprises the application attempting to display an optically-readable code.

28. The method as recited in claim 27, wherein the application attempting to display an optically-readable code comprises the application attempting to display a QR code.

29. The method as recited in claim 27, wherein installing the at least one component at the first electronic device in response to the prompt comprises installing the communication application.

30. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein an application attempting to interact with a context code comprises the application attempting to interact with a context code via at least one of:

Near Field Communication (NFC); and

Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID).

31. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein an application at the first electronic device attempting to interact with a context code in a desired manner comprises the communication application attempting to process a context code for an application, the communication application configured to process context codes for establishing network connectivity between electronic devices;

and

wherein detecting that the first electronic device lacks at least one component for interacting with the context code comprises detecting that the electronic device lacks the application.

32. The method as recited in claim 31, wherein a communication application attempting to process a context code for a third party application comprises the communication application attempting to process an optically scanned code for the application.

33. The method as recited in claim 32, where installing the at least one component at the electronic device in response to the prompt comprises installing the application.

34. A computer program product for use at an electronic device, the computer program product for implementing a method for processing a command related to network connectivity between electronic devices, the computer program product comprising at least one computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the first electronic device to:

receive at least one context code command from a third-party application, the at least one context code command being compatible with an operating system of the electronic device;

queue the at least one context code command for use by a router service, the router service configured to route context code commands to corresponding communication processing services;

dequeue a context code command to the router service, the context code command selected from among the at least one context code command;

route the dequeued context code command to at least one appropriate corresponding communication processing service for processing;

determine a processing status of processing the context code command; and

indicate the processing status back to the application.

35. The computer program product as recited in claim 34, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the electronic device to receive at least one context code command comprise computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the electronic device to receive at least one intent compatible with an Android operating system.

36. The computer program product as recited in claim 35, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the electronic device to receive at least one intent compatible with an Android operating system comprise computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the electronic device to receive at least one of:

(a) an encode context code command; and

(b) a decode context code command.

37. The computer program product as recited in claim 34, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the electronic device to receive at least one context code command comprise computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the electronic device to receive at least one URL parameter compatible with an iOS operating system.

38. The computer program product as recited in claim 37, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the electronic device to receive at least one URL parameter compatible with an iOS operating system comprise computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the electronic device to receive at least one of:

(a) an encode context code command; and

(b) a decode context code command.

39. The computer program product as recited in claim 34, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the electronic device to route the dequeued context code command to the at least one appropriate corresponding communication processing service for processing comprise computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the electronic device to route the dequeued context code command to at least one of:

a Bluetooth processing service; and

a QR code processing service.

40. A computer program product for use at a first electronic device, the first electronic device also including an input device, the computer program product for implementing a method for configuring a connection between the first electronic device and a second electronic device, the computer program product comprising at least one computer storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the first electronic device to:

activate the input device to capture a context code, the context code storing encoded parameters for configuring a communication connection between electronic devices;

decode the encoded parameters into decoded parameters;

use at least a first portion of the decoded parameters to establish a communication connection between the first electronic device and the second electronic device; and

send at least a second portion of the decoded parameters over the established communication connection to the second electronic device, the second portion of decoded parameters for initializing the second electronic device into an appropriate state to operate in conjunction with the first electronic device.

41. The computer program product as recited in claim 40, further comprising computer executable-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the first electronic device to:

use at least a third portion of the decoded parameters to obtain a user interface for interfacing with an application resident at the second electronic device; and

use at least a fourth portion of the decoded parameters to initialize the user interface to a compatible state with the application resident at the second electronic device.

42. The computer program product as recited in claim 41, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the first electronic device to use at least a third portion of the decoded parameters to obtain a user interface comprise computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the first electronic device to:

identify decoded parameters that identify the application resident at the second electronic device;

send the identified decoded parameters to a platform server; and

receive the user interface from the platform server.

43. The computer program product as recited in claim 41, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the first electronic device to use at least a third portion of the decoded parameters to obtain a user interface comprise computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the first electronic device to:

request the user interface from the second electronic device; and

receive the user interface from the second electronic device.

44. The computer program product as recited in claim 40, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the first electronic device to activate the input device to capture a context code comprise computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the first electronic device to activate a camera to capture an optically-readable barcode.

45. The computer program product as recited in claim 40, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the first electronic device to activate the input device to capture a context code comprise computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the first electronic device to capture a context code using at least one of:

Near Field Communication (NFC); and

Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID).

46. A computer program product for use at a first electronic device, the computer program product for implementing a method for synchronizing an application at the first electronic device with an application at a second electronic device so that both applications can establish network connectivity to one another using a context code, the computer program product comprising at least one computer storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the first electronic device to:

attempt to interact with a context code in a desired manner, the context code encoding parameters used for establishing network connectivity with other electronic devices;

detect that the first electronic device lacks at least one component for interacting with the context code in the desired manner;

prompt for installation of the at least one component at the first electronic device;

install the at least one component at the first electronic device in response to the prompt; and

utilize the installed at least one component to interact with the context code in the desired manner.

47. The computer program product as recited in claim 46, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the first electronic device to attempt to interact with a context code comprise computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the first electronic device to attempt to scan an optically-readable code.

48. The computer program product as recited in claim 47, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the first electronic device to attempt to scan an optically-readable code comprises computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the first electronic device to attempt to scan a QR code.

49. The computer program product as recited in claim 46, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the first electronic device to attempt to interact with a context code comprise computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the first electronic device to attempt to display an optically-readable code.

50. The computer program product as recited in claim 49, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the first electronic device to display an optically-readable code comprise computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the first electronic device to attempt to display a QR code.

51. The computer program product as recited in claim 46, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the first electronic device to attempt to interact with a context code comprise computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the first electronic device to attempt to interact with a context code via one of:

Near Field Communication (NFC); and

Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID).

52. The computer program product as recited in claim 46, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the first electronic device to attempt to interact with a context code comprise computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the first electronic device to attempt to process a context code for an application, the application configured to process context codes for establishing network connectivity between electronic devices;

and

wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the first electronic device to detect that the first electronic device lacks at least one component for interacting with the context code comprise computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the first electronic device to detect that the electronic device lacks the application.

53. A system for processing a command related to network connectivity between electronic devices, comprising:

at least one processor;

system memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor;

a communication include package for operation in connection with the at least one processor, configured to;

receive an application command from an application at an electronic device, the application command related to establishing electronic device connectivity based on a context code;

translate the application command into an equivalent set of at least one context code command, each context code command in the set being compatible with an operating system of the electronic device; and

send the at least one context code command to a communication application; and

a communication application for operation in connection with the at least one processor, the communication application comprising a preload activity, a queue service, and a router service;

wherein the preload activity is configured to;

receive the at least one context code command from the communication include package; and

forward the at least one context code command to the queue service for queuing;

wherein the queue service is configured to;

receive the at least one context code command from the preload activity;

queue the at least one context code command for use by the router service; and

dequeue a context code command to the router service, the context code command selected from among the at least one context code command; and

wherein the router service is configured to route the at least one dequeued context code command to at least one appropriate corresponding communication processing service for processing.

54. The system as recited in claim 53, wherein the communication application further comprises a callback, the callback configured to:

determine a processing status from processing at least one context code command at the at least one appropriate corresponding communication service; and

indicate the processing status back to the communication include package.

55. The system as recited in claim 54, wherein the communication include package further comprises a response handler, the response handler configured to:

receive at least one processing status indicated by the callback; and

translate the received at least one processing status into at least one application function for the application.

56. The system as recited in claim 53, wherein the communication include package is configured to receive an application command related to establishing electronic device connectivity based on scanning a two-dimensional optical code.

57. The system as recited in claim 53, wherein the communication include package is configured to receive an application command related to establishing electronic device connectivity based on at least one communication received at the electronic device via at least one of:

Near Field Communication (NFC); and

Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID).

58. The system as recited in claim 53, wherein the router is configured to route the at least one dequeued context code command to at least one appropriate corresponding communication processing service by routing the at least one dequeued context code command to at least one of:

at least one macro function;

at least one QR function; and

at least one Bluetooth function.