SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ENABLING STATIONS TO CONNECT TO WIRELESS HOTSPOTS USING NON-UNICODE SERVICE SET IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION
First Claim
1. A method of encoding character set information, comprising:
- retrieving character set information identifying a character set for an access point broadcasting a wireless beacon, the wireless beacon comprising a service set identification for the access point;
identifying at least one field in the wireless beacon associated with the service set identification in which to encode the character set information; and
embedding the character set information in the at least one field of the wireless beacon for decoding by one or more wireless stations receiving the wireless beacon to display the character set.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Embodiments relate to systems and methods for enabling stations to connect to wireless hotspots using non-Unicode service set identification information. A WiFi™ wireless router or other access point can broadcast beacon information to smart phones or other stations within wireless range of that device. In existing access point implementations, the character set in which the access point broadcasts this information, including a service set identification indicating the connection services available from the access point, are assumed to be encoded in Unicode format, specifically, UTF-8 format. While English-language options are properly displayed, character sets and/or languages which are not encoded in Unicode (UTF-8) format are translated into unintelligible characters using this approach. According to embodiments, access point hardware can be configured to broadcast the type of character set encoding in the beacon information itself, for instance, in existing SSID information elements, vendor-specific information elements, and/or other locations in the beacon data.
30 Citations
80 Claims
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1. A method of encoding character set information, comprising:
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retrieving character set information identifying a character set for an access point broadcasting a wireless beacon, the wireless beacon comprising a service set identification for the access point; identifying at least one field in the wireless beacon associated with the service set identification in which to encode the character set information; and embedding the character set information in the at least one field of the wireless beacon for decoding by one or more wireless stations receiving the wireless beacon to display the character set. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 40)
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11. A wireless system, comprising:
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a wireless interface to at least one wireless station in wireless range of an access point; and a processor, communicating with the at least one station via the wireless interface, the processor being configured to— retrieving character set information identifying a character set for the access point, the access point being configured to broadcast a wireless beacon, the wireless beacon comprising a service set identification for the access point; identifying at least one field in the wireless beacon associated with the service set identification in which to encode the character set information; and embedding the character set information in the at least one field of the wireless beacon for decoding by at least one wireless station receiving the wireless beacon to display the character set. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A wireless system, comprising:
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wireless interface means to at least one wireless station means in wireless range of access point means; and processor means, communicating with the at least one station via the wireless interface, the processor means being configured to— retrieving character set information identifying a character set for the access point means, the access point means being configured to broadcast a wireless beacon, the wireless beacon comprising a service set identification for the access point means; identifying at least one field in the wireless beacon associated with the service set identification in which to encode the character set information; and embedding the character set information in the at least one field of the wireless beacon for decoding by at least one wireless station means receiving the wireless beacon to display the character set. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A computer program product, comprising:
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computer-readable medium comprising; at least one instruction for causing a computer to retrieve character set information identifying a character set for an access point broadcasting a wireless beacon, the wireless beacon comprising a service set identification for the access point; at least one instruction for causing a computer to identify at least one field in the wireless beacon associated with the service set identification in which to encode the character set information; and at least one instruction for causing a computer to embed the character set information in the at least one field of the wireless beacon for decoding by one or more wireless stations receiving the wireless beacon to display the character set. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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41. A method of decoding character set information, comprising:
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locating character set information identifying a character set for an access point in a wireless beacon broadcast by the access point, the wireless beacon comprising a service set identification for the access point encoded in the character set; decoding the service set identification broadcast by the access point based on the character set information; and presenting the service set identification to a user of at least one station receiving the wireless beacon to select a network connection. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
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51. A wireless station, comprising:
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a wireless interface to at least one wireless access point in wireless range of the wireless station; and a processor, communicating with the at least one access point via the wireless interface, the processor being configured to— locate character set information identifying a character set for the access point in a wireless beacon broadcast by the access point, the wireless beacon comprising a service set identification for the access point encoded in the character set, decode the service set identification broadcast by the access point based on the character set information, and present the service set identification to a user of the wireless station to select a network connection. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60)
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61. A wireless station, comprising:
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wireless interface means to at least one wireless access point in wireless range of the wireless station means; and processor means, communicating with the at least one access point means via the wireless interface means, the processor means being configured to— locate character set information identifying a character set for the access point in a wireless beacon broadcast by the access point means, the wireless beacon comprising a service set identification for the access point means encoded in the character set, decode the service set identification broadcast by the access point means based on the character set information, and present the service set identification to a user of the wireless station means to select a network connection. - View Dependent Claims (62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70)
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71. A computer program product, comprising:
computer-readable medium comprising; at least one instruction for causing a computer to locate character set information identifying a character set for an access point in a wireless beacon broadcast by the access point, the wireless beacon comprising a service set identification for the access point encoded in the character set, at least one instruction for causing a computer to decode the service set identification broadcast by the access point based on the character set information, and at least one instruction for causing a computer to present the service set identification to a user of at least one station receiving the wireless beacon to select a network connection. - View Dependent Claims (72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80)
Specification