Information exchange between non-networked devices through an intermediary device via a piconet

• US 7,152,110 B2
• Filed: 04/18/2001
• Issued: 12/19/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. (d/b/a DJI) (iFlight Technology Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Pierce, Shaun D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cardone, Jason
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pollack, Melvin H.
• Application Number:
  US09/681,510
• Publication Number:
  US 20020156861A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,071 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/208, 709211-213, 709/219, 709227-229, 709/249, 709/250, 710/110, 710/306, 370/310
• US Class Current: 709/227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/00 Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00

Abstract

Information exchange among non-networked devices is disclosed. The information exchange occurs through instantaneous networks, like piconets, established between the non-networked devices and an intermediary device. For example, the intermediary device receives information from a first device during a piconet including it and the first device. This piconet dissipates, and another piconet is established between the intermediary device and a second device. During this piconet, the intermediary provides the information it received from the first device to the second device. The second device has received information from the first device, even though these devices have not networked themselves in an ad hoc network like a piconet or a scatternet.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

establishing an instantaneous network between a first mobile device and a second mobile device, each mobile device having ad hoc networking capability;

sending first information in a nodal tree structure from the first mobile device to the second mobile device automatically, the first information including at least information received by the first mobile device from one or more third devices other than the first mobile device and the second mobile device during at least one instantaneous network previously established between the first mobile device and the one or more third devices; and

,

storing the first information at the second mobile device in a second tree data structure;

wherein the first mobile device is not part of the at least one instantaneous network previously established between the first mobile device and the one or more third devices during the establishing and the sending; and

wherein the second tree data structure has multiple nodes such that a number of levels in the second tree data structure between two nodes of the multiple nodes indicates a degree of separation between two devices that are represented by the two nodes.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the instantaneous network between the first mobile device and the second mobile device is a piconet.

3. The method of claim 1, flirther comprising:

sending second information in a nodal tree structure from the second mobile device to the first mobile device automatically, the second information including at least information received by the second mobile device from one or more fourth devices other than the first mobile device and the second mobile device during at least one instantaneous network previously established between the second mobile device and the one or more fourth devices; and

,

storing the second information at the first mobile device in a first tree data structure in which the first information has already been stored.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first information is stored at the second mobile device in the second tree data structure in which the second information has already been stored.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first information includes identity information regarding each of the one or more third devices and identity information regarding the first mobile device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first information includes one or more of:

advertising information and dating information.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein each node of the nodal tree structure of the first information contains an associated decay value, such that information contained in the node decays over time and the node is deleted upon expiration.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein storing the first information at the second mobile device comprises copying each node of the first information into the second tree data structure, including the associated decay value contained in the node.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein storing the first information at the second mobile device comprises copying each node of the first information into the second tree data structure, and updating the associated decay value contained in the node.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more third devices is a mobile device.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more third devices is a stationary device.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the first information decays over time, such that the first information is deleted upon expiration.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the first information is formatted according to a markup language.

5. A method comprising:

establishing an instantaneous network between a first mobile device and a second mobile device, each mobile device having ad hoc networking capability;

sending first information from the first mobile device to the second mobile device automatically, the first information including at least information received by the first mobile device from one or more third devices other than the first mobile device and the second mobile device during at least one instantaneous network previously established between the first mobile device and the one or more third devices; and

,

storing the first information at the second mobile device in a second tree data structure;

wherein the first mobile device is not part of the at least one instantaneous network previously established between the first mobile device and the one or more third devices during the establishing and the sending first information;

further comprising;

sending second information from the second mobile device to the first mobile device, the second information including at least information received by the second mobile device from one or more fourth devices other than the first mobile device and the second mobile device during at least one instantaneous network previously established between the second mobile device and the one or more fourth devices; and

,

storing the second information at the first mobile device in a first tree data structure in which the first information has already been stored

wherein the first information is stored at the second mobile device in the second tree data structure in which the second information has already been stored; and

wherein each of the first tree data structure at the first mobile device and the second tree data structure at the second mobile device indicate how many degrees of separation there are between given nodes stored in the first and second tree data structures and nodes representing the first and second mobile devices, respectively.

15. A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon for execution by a processor of a first device having ad hoc networking capability to perform a method comprising:

establishing an instantaneous network with a second device having ad hoc networking capability;

exchanging configuration information with the second device, each of the first device and the second device having a current configuration selected from at least a send-only configuration and a send-and-receive configuration;

in response to determining that the current configuration of the second device is the send-and-receive configuration, automatically

sending first information in a nodal tree structure to the second device, the first information including at least information received by the first device from one or more third devices other than the first device and the second device during at least one instantaneous network previously established between the first device and the one or more third devices; and

, in response to determining that the current configuration of the first device is the send-and-receive configuration, automatically

receiving second information in a nodal tree structure from the second device;

storing the second information in a first tree data structure;

wherein the first device is not part of the at least one instantaneous network previously established between the first device and the one or more third devices during the establishing, the exchanging, and the sending; and

wherein the first tree data structure has multiple nodes such that a number of levels in the first tree data structure between two nodes of the multiple nodes indicates a degree of separation between two devices that are represented by the two nodes.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the instantaneous network established with the second device is a piconet.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the second information includes at least information received by the second device from one or more fourth devices other than the first device and the second device during at least one instantaneous network previously established between the second device and the one or more fourth devices.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the first information has already been stored in the first tree data structure.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein each node of the nodal tree structures of the first information and the second information contains an associated decay value, such that information contained in the node decays over time and the node is deleted upon expiration.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein storing the second information in the first tree data structure comprises copying each node of the second information into the first tree data structure, including the associated decay value contained in each node.

21. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein storing the second information in the first tree data structure comprises copying each node of the second information into the first tree data structure, and updating the associated decay value contained in each node.

22. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein at least one of the first device and the second device is a mobile device.

23. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein at least one of the first device and the second device is a stationary device.

24. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the first device has Bluetooth communication capability that enables the ad hoc networking capability.

25. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the first device has 802.11b communication capability that enables the ad hoc networking capability.

37. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein a number of levels down a given node is from a top-most node of the first tree data structure indicates how many degrees of separation there are between a given device represented by the given node and the first device.

26. A device comprising:

a communications component enabling ad hoc networking capability;

a memory storing a computer program to establish an instantaneous network with a second device using the ad hoc networking capability, to automatically send first infonnation in a nodal tree structure from a first tree data structure stored in the memory where the second device has a receiving configuration, and to automatically receive second information in a nodal tree structure from the second device and store the second information in the first tree data structure where the device has a receiving configuration; and

,

a processor executing the computer program from the memory, the first information including at least information received by the device from one or more third devices other than the device and the second device during at least one instantaneous network previously established between the device and the one or more third devices;

wherein the device is not part of the at least one instantaneous network previously established between the device and the one or more third devices when the first information is sent from the first tree data structure stored in the memory or when the second information is received from the second; and

wherein the first tree data structure has multiple nodes such that a number of levels in the first tree data structure between two nodes of the multiple nodes indicates a degree of separation between two devices that are represented by the two nodes.

27. The device of claim 26, wherein the instantaneous network established with the second device is a piconet.

28. The device of claim 26, wherein the device is a mobile device selected from a group of mobile devices comprising:

a wireless phone and a personal-digital assistant (PDA) device.

29. The device of claim 26, wherein each node of the nodal tee structures of the first information and the second information contains an associated decay value, such that information contained in the node decays over time and the node is deleted upon expfration.

30. The device of claim 26, further comprising one or more of:

an input component, and a display component.

38. The device of claim 29, wherein a number of levels down from a top-most node of the first tree data structure that a particular node representing a particular device of the one or more third devices is indicates how many degrees of separation there are between the particular device and the device.

31. A method for communicating information from a first device to a second mobile device via an intermediary mobile device, each of the first device, the second mobile device and the intermediary mobile device having ad hoc networking capability, the method comprising:

providing a first ad hoc network including at least the first device and the intermediary mobile device;

automatically transmitting information in a nodal tree structure from the first device to the intermediary mobile device though the first ad hoc network through which the information is provided from the first device to the intermediary mobile device;

storing the information in an intermediary tree data structure at the intermediary mobile device;

permitting the first ad hoc network to dissipate at least with respect to the intermediary mobile device;

establishing, after the permitting, a second ad hoc network including at least the intermediary mobile device and the second mobile device; and

,

automatically sending the information from the intermediary tree data structure at the intermediary mobile device to the second mobile device;

wherein the intermediary tree data structure has multiple nodes such that a number of levels in the intermediary tree data structure between two nodes of the multiple nodes indicates a degree of separation between two devices that are represented by the two nodes.

39. The method of claim 31, further comprising:

storing the information in a second tree data structure at the second mobile device;

wherein the second tree data structure has multiple nodes such that a number of levels in the second tree data structure between two nodes of the multiple nodes indicates a degree of separation between two devices that are represented by the two nodes.

32. A mobile device that is capable of acting as an intermediary and that is configured to enable it to perform actions comprising:

establishing a first instantaneous network including at least the intermediary mobile device and a second mobile device;

automatically receiving information in a nodal tree structure at the intermediary mobile device from the second mobile device via the first instantaneous network;

storing the information in an intermediary tree data structure at the intermediary mobile device;

terminating the first instantaneous network at least with respect to the second mobile device;

establishing, after the terminating action, a second instantaneous network including at least the intermediary mobile device and a third mobile device; and

,

automatically sending, after the establishing a second instantaneous network action, the information in a nodal tree structure from the intermediary tree data structure at the intermediary mobile device to the third mobile device via the second instantaneous network;

wherein the intermediary tree data structure has multiple nodes such that a number of levels in the intermediary tree data structure between two nodes of the multiple nodes indicates a degree of separation between two devices that are represented by the two nodes.

33. The mobile device of claim 32, wherein the information in the nodal tree structure includes multiple nodes representing multiple devices, including an intermediary node representing the intermediary mobile device and a second node representing the second mobile device;

and wherein the intermediary node comprises a top-most node of the intermediary tree data structure and the second node is directly connected to the intermediary node to indicate that the intermediary mobile device directly communicated with the second mobile device.

34. The mobile device of claim 32, wherein the information comprises identity information of the second mobile device.

35. The mobile device of claim 32, wherein the information is directed to at least one node comprising the second mobile device, the information including an associated decay value such that the information about the second mobile device decays over time and the information about the second mobile device may be deleted upon expiration of the associated decay value.

36. The mobile device of claim 32, wherein the information compnses one or more of:

advertising information and dating information.

40. The mobile device of claim 32, wherein a top-most node of the intermediary tree data structure represents the intermediary mobile device;

and wherein a number of levels that a particular node representing a particular device is down from the top-most node indicates how many degrees of separation there are between the intermediary mobile device and the particular device.