Method of dynamically locating and connecting to a wireless device

• US 7,746,834 B1
• Filed: 03/17/2003
• Issued: 06/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: 3Com Corporation (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Scribner, Thomas, Moore, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Ngo; Ricky
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, PHUONGCHAU BA
• Application Number:
  US10/390,052
• Time in Patent Office: 2,661 Days
• Field of Search: 370328-329, 370/331, 370/338, 370/401, 370/468, 370/522, 455/99, 455/345, 455/422.1, 455/423
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/246 Connectivity information discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/02 Arrangements for increasing efficiency of notification or paging channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/22 with access to wired networks

Abstract

A method for wirelessly connecting a computer network to a destination device located at an unknown location in response to a request from a requesting device. The method of the present invention creates a more versatile wireless computer network by enabling devices within the computer network to efficiently wirelessly connect to mobile devices that are not connected to the computer network but are in range of at least one wireless access point. Therefore, the network can efficiently dynamically adjust to the movement of particular wireless devices throughout the network. Likewise, the method effectively increases the capabilities of the network by enabling devices within the network to efficiently connect with devices that are not actively communicating with the network. The method includes a series of searching routines which are performed at each access point to locate the destination device.

Claims

1. In a computer network having at least one Bluetooth compatible wireless access point, a method for connecting to a Bluetooth compatible destination device located at an unknown location to the computer network, the method comprising the acts of:

transmitting a wireless discovery request, said request originating from a device connected to the network by a wired connection and including a device identifier for the Bluetooth compatible destination device, throughout the computer network to determine whether the Bluetooth compatible destination device is already connected to the computer network, wherein if the Bluetooth compatible destination device does not respond to the wireless discovery request within a certain period of time, the transmitting further comprises;

transmitting, if no response to the wireless discovery request is received from the Bluetooth compatible destination device, a Bluetooth direct connection request containing the device identifier over the at least one Bluetooth compatible wireless access points within the computer network for a specified number of iterations; and

automatically establishing by the Bluetooth compatible destination device, in response to the Bluetooth direct connection request, a connection between the Bluetooth compatible destination device and the computer network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer network includes at least one IEEE 802.11 access point.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the destination device is a portable computer device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the destination device is a personal digital assistant.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the location is the specific subnet location.