METHOD, APPARATUS, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT FOR MANAGEMENT OF CONNECTED DEVICES, SUCH AS IN A WIRELESS DOCKING ENVIRONMENT- INTELLIGENT AND AUTOMATIC CONNECTION ACTIVATION

• US 20160174020A1
• Filed: 12/15/2015
• Published: 06/16/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: HUTTUNEN, Juhani, MOSTAFA, Miraj, AARNIO, Ari
• Granted Patent: US 9,763,030 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/26 at least one of which is mobile
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• 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 8/22 Processing or transfer of terminal data, e.g. status or physical capabilities

Abstract

Method, apparatus, and computer program product embodiments enable a wireless docking center device to manage one or more wireless and/or wired peripheral devices on behalf of a wireless dockee device. In an example embodiment, a wireless docking system may automatically provide only those peripherals to user'"'"'s attention, which are in direct relation to user'"'"'s activity and are meaningful to the user at each point in time. The set of offered peripherals may depend on the application, for example, video playing or web browsing, running in user'"'"'s dockee device, such as a smartphone. An example embodiment may automatically take into account known user preferences/habits, location, etc. The selection of peripherals offered may automatically provide the best technical performance, for example, best quality display for a video. An example embodiment also enables the docking solution to allocate optimum peripheral resources on a dynamic usage basis for each user.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a wireless docking center device, from one or more wireless peripheral devices, capability-related information characterizing the one or more wireless peripheral devices;

receiving, by the wireless docking center device, from a wireless dockee device, an identification of an application to be executed by the wireless dockee device; and

analyzing, by the wireless docking center device, the received capability-related information and identification of the application to be executed by the wireless dockee device, and performing an action with respect to one or more wireless peripheral devices capable of performing services required by the identification of an application to be executed by the wireless dockee device, based on the analysis.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting, by the wireless docking center device, to the wireless dockee device, information resulting from the analysis, for user notification/information by a user interface of selected ones of the one or more wireless peripheral devices capable of performing services required by the identified application.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

analyzing, by the wireless docking center device, the received capability-related information and received identification of the application; and

providing, by the wireless docking center device, information resulting from the analysis, for performing an action with respect to the one or more wireless peripheral devices capable of performing services required by the identified application.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the wireless docking center device, from the wireless dockee device, user preferences associated with the identified application;

analyzing, by the wireless docking center device, the received capability-related information, the received identification of the application, and the received user preferences; and

providing, by the wireless docking center device, information resulting from the analysis, to the one or more wireless peripheral devices and the wireless dockee device, for automatically performing an action with respect to one or more of the wireless peripheral devices capable of performing services required by the identified application and capable of providing the user preferences associated with the identified application.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting by the wireless docking center device, a status request to the one or more wireless peripheral devices, based on the identified application; and

receiving, by the wireless docking center device, from one or more wireless peripheral devices, in response to the status request, information characterizing the one or more wireless peripheral devices.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting by the wireless docking center device, a request to the one or more wireless peripheral devices, to activate and announce its availability to the user according to the identified application;

receiving, by the wireless docking center device, from one or more wireless peripheral devices, in response to the request, an acknowledgement of the request; and

transmitting, by the wireless docking center device, to the dockee device, an identity of one or more wireless peripheral devices that can satisfy the request.

7. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor;

at least one memory including computer program code;

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to;

receive from one or more wireless peripheral devices, capability-related information characterizing the one or more wireless peripheral devices;

receive from a wireless dockee device, an identification of an application to be executed by the wireless dockee device; and

analyze the received capability-related information and identification of the application to be executed by the wireless dockee device, and performing an action with respect to one or more wireless peripheral devices capable of performing services required by the identification of an application to be executed by the wireless dockee device, based on the analysis.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising:

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to;

transmit to the wireless dockee device, information resulting from the analysis, for user notification/information by a user interface of selected ones of the one or more wireless peripheral devices capable of performing services required by the identified application.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising:

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to;

analyze the received capability-related information and received identification of the application; and

provide information resulting from the analysis, for performing an action with respect to the one or more wireless peripheral devices capable of performing services required by the identified application.

10. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising:

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to;

receive from the wireless dockee device, user preferences associated with the identified application;

analyze the received capability-related information, the received identification of the application, and the received user preferences; and

provide information resulting from the analysis, to the one or more wireless peripheral devices and the wireless dockee device, for automatically performing an action with respect to one or more of the wireless peripheral devices capable of performing services required by the identified application and capable of providing the user preferences associated with the identified application.

11. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising:

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to;

transmit a status request to the one or more wireless peripheral devices, based on the identified application; and

receive from one or more wireless peripheral devices, in response to the status request, information characterizing the one or more wireless peripheral devices.

12. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising:

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to;

transmit a request to the one or more wireless peripheral devices, to activate and announce its availability to the user according to the identified application;

receive from one or more wireless peripheral devices, in response to the request, an acknowledgement of the request; and

transmit to the dockee device, an identity of one or more wireless peripheral devices that can satisfy the request.

13. A computer program product comprising computer executable program code recorded on a computer readable non-transitory storage medium, the computer executable program code comprising:

code for receiving, by a wireless docking center device, from one or more wireless peripheral devices, capability-related information characterizing the one or more wireless peripheral devices;

code for receiving, by the wireless docking center device, from a wireless dockee device, an identification of an application to be executed by the wireless dockee device; and

code for analyzing, by the wireless docking center device, the received capability-related information and identification of the application to be executed by the wireless dockee device, and performing an action with respect to one or more wireless peripheral devices capable of performing services required by the identification of an application to be executed by the wireless dockee device, based on the analysis.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, further comprising:

code for transmitting, by the wireless docking center device, to the wireless dockee device, information resulting from the analysis, for user notification/information by a user interface of selected ones of the one or more wireless peripheral devices capable of performing services required by the identified application.

15. The computer program product of claim 13, further comprising:

code for analyzing, by the wireless docking center device, the received capability-related information and received identification of the application; and

code for providing, by the wireless docking center device, information resulting from the analysis, for performing an action with respect to the one or more wireless peripheral devices capable of performing services required by the identified application.

16. The computer program product of claim 13, further comprising:

code for receiving, by the wireless docking center device, from the wireless dockee device, user preferences associated with the identified application;

code for analyzing, by the wireless docking center device, the received capability-related information, the received identification of the application, and the received user preferences; and

code for providing, by the wireless docking center device, information resulting from the analysis, to the one or more wireless peripheral devices and the wireless dockee device, for automatically performing an action with respect to one or more of the wireless peripheral devices capable of performing services required by the identified application and capable of providing the user preferences associated with the identified application.

17. The computer program product of claim 13, further comprising:

code for transmitting by the wireless docking center device, a status request to the one or more wireless peripheral devices, based on the identified application; and

code for receiving, by the wireless docking center device, from one or more wireless peripheral devices, in response to the status request, information characterizing the one or more wireless peripheral devices.

18. The computer program product of claim 13, further comprising:

code for transmitting by the wireless docking center device, a request to the one or more wireless peripheral devices, to activate and announce its availability to the user according to the identified application;

code for receiving, by the wireless docking center device, from one or more wireless peripheral devices, in response to the request, an acknowledgement of the request; and

code for transmitting, by the wireless docking center device, to the dockee device, an identity of one or more wireless peripheral devices that can satisfy the request.

19. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a wireless dockee device, from a wireless docking center device, capability-related information characterizing one or more wireless peripheral devices;

analyzing, by the wireless dockee device, the capability-related information characterizing the one or more wireless peripheral devices and an identification of an application to be executed by the wireless dockee device; and

performing, by the wireless dockee device, an action with respect to one or more wireless peripheral devices capable of performing services required by the application to be executed by the wireless dockee device, based on the analysis.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

presenting, by the wireless dockee device, information resulting from the analysis, for user notification/information by a user interface of selected ones of the one or more wireless peripheral devices capable of performing services required by the identified application.

21. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

providing, by the wireless dockee device, information resulting from the analysis, to the one or more wireless peripheral devices, for automatically performing an action with respect to one or more of the wireless peripheral devices capable of performing services required by the identified application.

22. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

analyzing, by the wireless dockee device, the received capability-related information, the identification of the application, and user preferences associated with the identified application; and

providing, by the wireless dockee device, information resulting from the analysis, to the one or more wireless peripheral devices, for automatically performing an action with respect to one or more of the wireless peripheral devices capable of performing services required by the identified application and capable of providing the user preferences associated with the identified application.

23. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

transmitting by the wireless dockee device, to the wireless docking center device, a request to allocate one or more wireless peripheral devices, according to the identified application;

receiving, by the wireless dockee device, from the wireless docking center device, an identity of one or more wireless peripheral devices that can satisfy the request; and

performing, by the wireless dockee device, either a display to the user of the identity of one or more wireless peripheral devices that can satisfy the request or an automatic selection of the one or more wireless peripheral devices that can satisfy the request.

24. The method of claim 19, wherein the wireless dockee device receives from one or more wireless peripheral devices, capability-related information characterizing the one or more wireless peripheral devices.

25. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor;

at least one memory including computer program code;

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to;

receive from a wireless docking center device, capability-related information characterizing one or more wireless peripheral devices;

analyze the capability-related information characterizing the one or more wireless peripheral devices and an identification of an application to be executed by the apparatus; and

perform an action with respect to one or more wireless peripheral devices capable of performing services required by the application to be executed by the apparatus, based on the analysis.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, further comprising:

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to;

present information resulting from the analysis, for user notification/information by a user interface of selected ones of the one or more wireless peripheral devices capable of performing services required by the identified application.

27. The apparatus of claim 25, further comprising:

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to;

provide information resulting from the analysis, to the one or more wireless peripheral devices, for automatically performing an action with respect to one or more of the wireless peripheral devices capable of performing services required by the identified application.

28. The apparatus of claim 25, further comprising:

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to;

analyze the received capability-related information, the identification of the application, and user preferences associated with the identified application; and

provide information resulting from the analysis, to the one or more wireless peripheral devices, for automatically performing an action with respect to one or more of the wireless peripheral devices capable of performing services required by the identified application and capable of providing the user preferences associated with the identified application.

29. The apparatus of claim 25, further comprising:

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to;

transmit to the wireless docking center device, a request to allocate one or more wireless peripheral devices, according to the identified application;

receive from the wireless docking center device, an identity of one or more wireless peripheral devices that can satisfy the request; and

perform either a display to the user of the identity of one or more wireless peripheral devices that can satisfy the request or an automatic selection of the one or more wireless peripheral devices that can satisfy the request.

30. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the apparatus receives from one or more wireless peripheral devices, capability-related information characterizing the one or more wireless peripheral devices.

31. A computer program product comprising computer executable program code recorded on a computer readable non-transitory storage medium, the computer executable program code comprising:

code for receiving, by a wireless dockee device, from a wireless docking center device, capability-related information characterizing one or more wireless peripheral devices;

analyzing, by the wireless dockee device, the capability-related information characterizing the one or more wireless peripheral devices and an identification of an application to be executed by the wireless dockee device; and

performing, by the wireless dockee device, an action with respect to one or more wireless peripheral devices capable of performing services required by the application to be executed by the wireless dockee device, based on the analysis.

32. The computer program product of claim 31, further comprising:

code for presenting, by the wireless dockee device, information resulting from the analysis, for user notification/information by a user interface of selected ones of the one or more wireless peripheral devices capable of performing services required by the identified application.

33. The computer program product of claim 31, further comprising:

code for providing, by the wireless dockee device, information resulting from the analysis, to the one or more wireless peripheral devices, for automatically performing an action with respect to one or more of the wireless peripheral devices capable of performing services required by the identified application.

34. The computer program product of claim 31, further comprising:

code for analyzing, by the wireless dockee device, the received capability-related information, the identification of the application, and user preferences associated with the identified application; and

code for providing, by the wireless dockee device, information resulting from the analysis, to the one or more wireless peripheral devices, for automatically performing an action with respect to one or more of the wireless peripheral devices capable of performing services required by the identified application and capable of providing the user preferences associated with the identified application.

35. The computer program product of claim 31, further comprising:

code for transmitting by the wireless dockee device, to the wireless docking center device, a request to allocate one or more wireless peripheral devices, according to the identified application;

code for receiving, by the wireless dockee device, from the wireless docking center device, an identity of one or more wireless peripheral devices that can satisfy the request; and

code for performing, by the wireless dockee device, either a display to the user of the identity of one or more wireless peripheral devices that can satisfy the request or an automatic selection of the one or more wireless peripheral devices that can satisfy the request.

36. The computer program product of claim 31, wherein the wireless dockee device receives from one or more wireless peripheral devices, capability-related information characterizing the one or more wireless peripheral devices.

37. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a wireless peripheral device, a request from a wireless docking center device, to activate and announce its availability to a user, according to an identified application;

activating and announcing, by the wireless peripheral device, its availability to the user, according to the identified application; and

transmitting, by the wireless peripheral device, to the wireless docking center device, in response to the request, an acknowledgement of the request, that the wireless peripheral devices can satisfy the request.

38. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor;

at least one memory including computer program code;

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to;

receive a request from a wireless docking center device, to activate and announce its availability to a user, according to an identified application;

activate and announce its availability to the user, according to the identified application; and

transmit to the wireless docking center device, in response to the request, an acknowledgement of the request, that the apparatus can satisfy the request.

39. A computer program product comprising computer executable program code recorded on a computer readable non-transitory storage medium, the computer executable program code comprising:

code for receiving, by a wireless peripheral device, a request from a wireless docking center device, to activate and announce its availability to a user, according to an identified application;

code for activating and announcing, by the wireless peripheral device, its availability to the user, according to the identified application; and

code for transmitting, by the wireless peripheral device, to the wireless docking center device, in response to the request, an acknowledgement of the request, that the wireless peripheral devices can satisfy the request.

40. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a wireless dockee device, from a wireless docking center device, capability-related information characterizing one or more wireless peripheral devices, wherein a battery-powered automobile is one of the one or more peripheral devices;

analyzing, by the wireless dockee device, the capability-related information characterizing the battery-powered automobile and an identification of an application to be executed by the wireless dockee device, including a map/navigation application; and

performing, by the wireless dockee device, an action with respect to the battery-powered automobile, capable of performing services required by the map/navigation application to be executed by the wireless dockee device, based on the analysis, including finding a route for driving based on the map/navigation application.