FEED-FORWARD INTERACTION WITH A NETWORK INTERFACE
First Claim
1. A method for communicating between an electronic device and another electronic device, wherein the method comprises:
- determining a need to communicate information with the other electronic device at a future time, wherein the other electronic device was previously identified by the electronic device, and wherein a communication link between the electronic device and the other electronic device is currently in a power-saving mode;
providing a command to an interface circuit in the electronic device to transition the communication link to an active mode;
receiving a confirmation from the interface circuit that the communication link is in the active mode; and
providing the information to the interface circuit for communication to the other electronic device at the time without a time delay associated with transitioning the communication link from the power-saving mode to the active mode.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
In order to facilitate timely communication between electronic devices via a previously established communication link, a feed-forward technique may be used to transition the communication link from a power-saving mode to an active mode before a software application executing on one of the electronic devices attempts to communicate information. For example, if the software application determines that the information needs to be communicated to another electronic device at a future time, the software application provides a command to an interface circuit in the electronic device to transition the communication link to the active mode. After receiving a confirmation that the communication link is in the active mode, the software application provides the information to the interface circuit for communication to the other electronic device. In this way, the information can be communicated at the time without a time delay associated with the transition.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method for communicating between an electronic device and another electronic device, wherein the method comprises:
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determining a need to communicate information with the other electronic device at a future time, wherein the other electronic device was previously identified by the electronic device, and wherein a communication link between the electronic device and the other electronic device is currently in a power-saving mode; providing a command to an interface circuit in the electronic device to transition the communication link to an active mode; receiving a confirmation from the interface circuit that the communication link is in the active mode; and providing the information to the interface circuit for communication to the other electronic device at the time without a time delay associated with transitioning the communication link from the power-saving mode to the active mode. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An electronic device, comprising:
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an antenna; an interface circuit, coupled to the antenna, configured to communicate with another electronic device via a communication link; a processor; and memory, wherein the memory stores a program module, and wherein the program module is configurable to be executed by the processor to facilitate communication between the electronic device and the other electronic device, the program module including; instructions for determining a need to communicate information with the other electronic device at a future time, wherein the other electronic device was previously identified by the electronic device, and wherein the communication link between the electronic device and the other electronic device is currently in a power-saving mode; instructions for providing a command to the interface circuit to transition the communication link to an active mode; instructions for receiving a confirmation from the interface circuit that the communication link is in the active mode; and instructions for providing the information to the interface circuit for communication to the other electronic device at the time without a time delay associated with transitioning the communication link from the power-saving mode to the active mode. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A computer-program product for use in conjunction with an electronic device, the computer-program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and a computer-program mechanism embedded therein, to facilitate communication between the electronic device and another electronic device, the computer-program mechanism including:
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instructions for determining a need to communicate information with the other electronic device at a future time, wherein the other electronic device was previously identified by the electronic device, and wherein a communication link between the electronic device and the other electronic device is currently in a power-saving mode; instructions for providing a command to an interface circuit in the electronic device to transition the communication link to an active mode; instructions for receiving a confirmation from the interface circuit that the communication link is in the active mode; and instructions for providing the information to the interface circuit for communication to the other electronic device at the time without a time delay associated with transitioning the communication link from the power-saving mode to the active mode. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification