Selecting wireless devices

• US 7,162,232 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2001
• Issued: 01/09/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Ramakesavan, Sundaram, Silvia, Phillip J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Appiah; Charles
• Assistant Examiner(s): Peaches; Randy
• Application Number:
  US09/895,584
• Publication Number:
  US 20030003902A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,020 Days
• Field of Search: 455/418, 455/419, 455/420, 455/426.2, 455/92, 455/186.1, 455/151.2, 455/151.1, 455/158.12, 455/416, 340/825.69, 340/825.71, 340/825.72, 348/734
• US Class Current: 455/420
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 Direct-mode setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

In the wireless communication system, a wireless selection device is able to select any of a plurality of sufficiently proximate wireless devices without the necessity to actually physically contact or operate any of those devices. Thus, a user may control any of a plurality of devices from a single wireless selection device. The wireless selection device may in some embodiments be a wireless pointing device or a wireless keyboard to mention two examples.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

remotely selecting one of a plurality of devices for wireless communications using a device having operators associated with at least two of said devices, and enabling different actuations of said operators to be interpreted selectively as either the selection of a device for communication or the programming of the operator to communicate upon actuation with a particular device.

2. The method of claim 1 including establishing an ad hoc wireless network between a plurality of processor-based devices.

3. The method of claim 1 including selecting one of said devices to communicate with using a wireless selection device.

4. The method of claim 3 including selecting one of said devices to communicate with using a wireless pointer.

5. The method of claim 1 including enabling a user to selectively identify sufficiently proximate devices.

6. The method of claim 1 including enabling a user to successively poll sufficiently proximate devices.

7. The method of claim 3 including enabling the user to program a plurality of operators on said wireless selection device, each of said operators being programmed with the identity of one of a plurality of sufficiently proximate devices.

8. The method of claim 7 including enabling a light to be activated when one of said operators is programmed.

9. The method of claim 3 including initially storing the identities of said proximate devices in a volatile memory and associating each device with a different operator on the wireless selection device.

10. An article comprising a medium storing instructions that, if executed, enable a processor-based system to:

remotely select one of a plurality of devices for wireless communications using a device having operators associated with at least two of said devices, and enable different actuations of said operators to be interpreted selectively as either the selection of a device for communication or the programming of the operator to communicate upon actuation with a particular device.

11. The article of claim 10 further storing instructions that enable the processor-based system to establish an ad hoc wireless network between a plurality of processor-based devices.

12. The article of claim 10 further storing instructions that enable the processor-based device to select one of said devices to communicate with using a wireless selection device.

13. The article of claim 12 further storing instructions that enable the processor-based system to select one of said devices to communicate with using a wireless pointer.

14. The article of claim 12 further storing instructions that enable the user to program a plurality of operators on said wireless selection device, each of said operators being programmable with the identity of one of a plurality of sufficiently proximate devices.

15. The article of claim 14 further storing instructions that enable a processor-based system to activate a light when one of said operators is programmed.

16. The article of claim 12 further storing instructions that enable the processor-based system to initially store the identities of proximate devices in a volatile memory and associate each device with a different operator on the wireless selection device.

17. The article of claim 16 further storing instructions that enable the processor-based system to detect a characteristic of the operation of an operator and in response to the detection of a characteristic, selectively determine whether to select a device or program a device to be selected by a particular selection operator.

18. The article of claim 10 further storing instructions that enable the processor-based system to enable a user to selectively identify sufficiently proximate devices.

19. The article of claim 10 further storing instructions that enable the processor-based system to enable a user to successively poll sufficiently proximate devices.

20. A system comprising:

a mouse apparatus;

a wireless interface coupled to said apparatus;

a controller, coupled to said wireless interface, to enumerate a plurality of devices for wireless communications and remotely select one of said devices to communicate with; and

a volatile storage and a nonvolatile storage, identifying information about sufficiently proximate devices is initially stored in said volatile storage and then is selectively transferred to said nonvolatile storage.

21. The system of claim 20 including a first operator to identify sufficiently proximate devices.

22. The system of claim 20 including a second operator to select one of a plurality of sufficiently proximate devices.

23. The system of claim 20 including a plurality of programmable operators, each of said operators being programmable to select one of a plurality of sufficiently proximate devices.

24. The system of claim 23 wherein said operators are buttons.

25. The system of claim 24 wherein said buttons illuminate when programmed.