METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR TRANSMITTING SERVICE INFORMATION IN A NEIGHBORHOOD OF PEER-TO-PEER COMMUNICATION GROUPS

• US 20140280585A1
• Filed: 12/27/2013
• Published: 09/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola Mobility LLC (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Smith, Dwight R., Halasz, David E., Salkintzis, Apostolis K.
• Granted Patent: US 10,165,047 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1068 Discovery involving direct consultation or announcement among potential requesting and potential source peers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1093 Some peer nodes performing special functions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 Direct-mode setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for transmitting service information in a neighborhood of peer-to-peer communication groups are disclosed. A peer-to-peer client device connects to a peer-to-peer communication group via a peer-to-peer group owner. The peer-to-peer client generates a service notification including a category and a sub-category and transmits the service notification to the first peer-to-peer group owner. The first peer-to-peer group owner then forwards the service notification (a) to a first group member that is associated with the category and the sub-category, and (b) to a second group member that is identified as a first bridge and is associated with the category.

Claims

1. A method of transmitting service information in a neighborhood of peer-to-peer communication groups, the method comprising:

connecting a first peer-to-peer client to a first peer-to-peer communication group via a peer-to-peer group owner;

generating a service notification including a category and a sub-category;

transmitting the service notification from the first peer-to-peer client to the peer-to-peer group owner;

forwarding the service notification from the peer-to-peer group owner to a first group member that is associated with the category and the sub-category in the service notification; and

forwarding the service notification from the peer-to-peer group owner to a second group member that is identified as a first bridge and is associated with the category in the service notification.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second group member adds addressing information to the service notification and forwards the service notification to a neighboring group owner that is associated with the category in the service notification.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the neighboring group owner removes duplicate service notifications.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the neighboring group owner forwards the service notification to a second group member that is associated with the category and the sub-category in the service notification.

5. The method of claim 2, including forwarding the service notification from the neighboring group owner to a third group member that is identified as a second bridge and is associated with the category in the service notification.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein a second peer-to-peer client receives the service notification including the addressing information.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the second peer-to-peer client generates a response message including the addressing information and transmits the response message to the first peer-to-peer client via a return path identified by the addressing information.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the service notification includes an action associated with at least one of the category and the sub-category.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the service notification includes a group identifier and a device identifier.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein connecting to the first peer-to-peer communication group includes connecting to a Wi-Fi peer-to-peer communication group.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the bridge interface includes a Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) Routing Bridge (RBridge) interface.

12. An apparatus for transmitting service information in a neighborhood of peer-to-peer communication groups, the apparatus comprising:

a service notification generator structured to generate a service notification including a category and a sub-category;

a peer-to-peer connector operatively coupled to the service notification generator, the peer-to-peer connector being structured to connect a first peer-to-peer client to a first peer-to-peer communication group via a peer-to-peer group owner and transmit the service notification from the first peer-to-peer client to the peer-to-peer group owner; and

a message forwarder operatively coupled to the peer-to-peer transmitter, the message forwarder being structured to (a) forward the service notification from the peer-to-peer group owner to a first group member that is associated with the category and the sub-category in the service notification, and (b) forward the service notification from the peer-to-peer group owner to a second group member that is identified as a first bridge and is associated with the category in the service notification.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the second group member is structured to add addressing information to the service notification and forward the service notification to a neighboring group owner that is associated with the category in the service notification.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the neighboring group owner is structured to forward the service notification to a second group member that is associated with the category and the sub-category in the service notification.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the neighboring group owner is structured to forward the service notification to a third group member that is identified as a second bridge and is associated with the category in the service notification.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein a second peer-to-peer client is structured to generate a response message including the addressing information and transmits the response message to the first peer-to-peer client via a return path identified by the addressing information.

17. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the service notification includes an action associated with at least one of the category and the sub-category.

18. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the service notification includes a group identifier and a device identifier.

19. An apparatus for transmitting service information in a neighborhood of peer-to-peer communication groups, the apparatus comprising:

a plurality of radio frequency transceivers; and

at least one controller, operatively coupled to the plurality of radio frequency transceivers, the at least one controller being structured to;

connect a first peer-to-peer client to a first peer-to-peer communication group via a peer-to-peer group owner;

generate a service notification including a category and a sub-category;

transmit the service notification from the first peer-to-peer client to the peer-to-peer group owner;

forward the service notification from the peer-to-peer group owner to a first group member that is associated with the category and the sub-category in the service notification; and

forward the service notification from the peer-to-peer group owner to a second group member that is identified as a first bridge and is associated with the category in the service notification.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the second group member is structured to add addressing information to the service notification and forward the service notification to a neighboring group owner that is associated with the category in the service notification.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the neighboring group owner is structured to remove duplicate service notifications.

22. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the neighboring group owner is structured to forward the service notification to a second group member that is associated with the category and the sub-category in the service notification.

23. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the neighboring group owner is structured to forward the service notification to a third group member that is identified as a second bridge and is associated with the category in the service notification.

24. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein a second peer-to-peer client is structured to receive the service notification including the addressing information.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the second peer-to-peer client is structured to generate a response message including the addressing information and transmits the response message to the first peer-to-peer client via a return path identified by the addressing information.

26. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the service notification includes an action associated with at least one of the category and the sub-category.

27. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the service notification includes a group identifier and a device identifier.

28. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the at least one controller is structured to connect to the first peer-to-peer communication group by connecting to a Wi-Fi peer-to-peer communication group owner.

29. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the at least one controller is structured to instantiate the bridge interface by instantiating a Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) Routing Bridge (RBridge) interface.