Automatic network and device configuration for handheld devices based on bluetooth device proximity

• US 7,925,212 B2
• Filed: 03/07/2005
• Issued: 04/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Eisenbach, Andre
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAM, TUAN
• Application Number:
  US11/073,647
• Publication Number:
  US 20060199536A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,227 Days
• Field of Search: 455/11.1, 455/13.1, 455/41.1, 455/41.2, 455/41.3, 455/410, 455/411, 455/551, 455/552.1, 455/553.1, 455/168.1, 370/328, 370/338
• US Class Current: 455/41.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6066 including a wireless connection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/18 Negotiating wireless communication parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/245 from a network towards a terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and system for automatically configuring Bluetooth devices for communication to an outside network is described. A Bluetooth device is paired with a “trusted” Bluetooth device. When paired devices are found, the Bluetooth device automatically configures itself to use the lowest cost connection option from the available set of paired devices that are in proximity with the Bluetooth handheld device. If no device is found, the Bluetooth device may revert to a built-in access method. The network accessed can be the internet or an office network such as an 802.11 network.

Claims

1. A method of connecting a Bluetooth device to a wide area network, comprising:

manually pairing a first Bluetooth device and a second Bluetooth device using Bluetooth communications, the second Bluetooth device being operatively coupled to the wide area network, wherein the first Bluetooth device is a Bluetooth-enabled cellular phone;

designating communication configuration parameters for use by the first Bluetooth device in connecting to the wide area network through the second Bluetooth device, wherein said first Bluetooth device sets up the second Bluetooth device for wide area network access, and wherein the first Bluetooth device configures itself to use communications facilities of the second Bluetooth device;

using the Bluetooth communications to determine when the first Bluetooth device is in proximity with the second Bluetooth device;

switching from the Bluetooth communications to 802.11 communications in communicating with the second Bluetooth device after it is determined, using the Bluetooth communications, that the first Bluetooth device is in proximity with the second Bluetooth device, the switching including automatically configuring the first Bluetooth device and the second Bluetooth device to set up a network connection between the first Bluetooth device and the wide area network through the second Bluetooth device in which the first Bluetooth device and the second Bluetooth device communicate with each other using 802.11 communications; and

pairing the first Bluetooth device with a plurality of the second Bluetooth devices, wherein the Bluetooth-enabled cellular phone connects to the network through a particular second Bluetooth device that has the best network access, wherein the best network access is based on a relative weight given to each of a speed, a link type and a dollar cost for each second Bluetooth device, and wherein each relative weight is determined by user input preferences.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the Bluetooth-enabled cellular phone is in inquiry scan mode when determining when the first Bluetooth device is in proximity with one of the second Bluetooth devices.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the Bluetooth device chooses from the plurality of second Bluetooth devices based on which device has a lowest virtual cost link to the wide area network.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the network connection comprises an Internet connection, an 802.11 network connection or a wireless network connection.

5. A method of connecting a Bluetooth device to a wide area network, comprising:

manually pairing a first Bluetooth device and a second Bluetooth device using Bluetooth communications, the second Bluetooth device being operatively coupled to the wide area network, wherein the first Bluetooth device is a Bluetooth-enabled cellular phone;

designating communication configuration parameters for use by the first Bluetooth device in connecting to the wide area network through the second Bluetooth device, wherein the first Bluetooth device sets up the second Bluetooth device for wide area network access, and wherein the first Bluetooth device configures itself to use communications facilities of the second Bluetooth device;

using the Bluetooth communications to determine when the first Bluetooth device is in proximity with the second Bluetooth device;

switching from the Bluetooth communications to 802.11 communications in communicating with the second Bluetooth device after it is determined, using the Bluetooth communications, that the first Bluetooth device is in proximity with the second Bluetooth device, the switching including automatically configuring the first Bluetooth device and the second Bluetooth device to set up a network connection between the first Bluetooth device and the wide area network through the second Bluetooth device in which the first Bluetooth device and the second Bluetooth device communicate with each other using 802.11 communications; and

pairing the first Bluetooth device with a plurality of the second Bluetooth devices, wherein the Bluetooth-enabled cellular phone connects to the network through a particular second Bluetooth device that has a lowest virtual cost associated with connecting to the network, wherein each Bluetooth second device has a virtual cost that is a function of link speed, link type and dollar cost, and wherein, once the second Bluetooth device with the lowest virtual cost is chosen, setting up the network connection as a VPN.

6. The method of claim 5, comprising:

if the first Bluetooth device does not detect any of the second Bluetooth devices, using dial-up networking to access the wide area network.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the network connection comprises an Internet connection, an 802.11 network connection or a wireless network connection.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein, if no paired device is in proximity, the first Bluetooth device connects to the wide area network by selecting a mode based on built-in capabilities of the first Bluetooth device.

9. A system for automatically connecting a Bluetooth device to a network, comprising paired Bluetooth devices, wherein a second device of the devices is operatively coupled to the network, wherein a first device of the devices is configured with the capabilities of the second device to connect the first device to a network through the second device, wherein the first device is a Bluetooth-enabled cellular phone, wherein the first device is automatically configured to use a network access mode of the second device when the first and second devices are in proximity to each other, wherein the first device sets up the second device for network access, wherein the first device configures itself to use communications facilities of the second device, wherein the first device uses Bluetooth communication techniques to determine whether the second device is in proximity to the first device, wherein the first device switches from the Bluetooth communication techniques to 802.11 communication techniques in communicating with the second device after it has been determined, using the Bluetooth communication techniques, that said second device is in proximity with the first device, wherein the first device uses the 802.11 communication techniques to connect with the second device to facilitate connecting the first device with the network, wherein the second device comprises a plurality of second devices, wherein the first device connects to the network through a particular second device that has a lowest virtual cost associated with connecting to the network, wherein each second device has a virtual cost that is a function of link speed, link type and dollar cost, and wherein, once the second device with the lowest virtual cost is chosen, setting up the network connection as a VPN.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the Bluetooth-enabled cellular phone being in inquiry scan mode when determining whether any of the second devices are in proximity.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the first device maintains connectivity with the network as the first device moves from proximity of one of the second devices to the proximity of another of the second devices.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the first device connects to the network using a built-in access mode if none of the second devices is found.

13. A system for automatically connecting a Bluetooth device to a network, comprising paired Bluetooth devices, wherein a second device of the devices is operatively coupled to the network, wherein a first device of the devices is configured with the capabilities of the second device to connect the first device to a network through the second device, wherein the first device is a Bluetooth-enabled cellular phone, wherein the first device is automatically configured to use a network access mode of the second device when the first and second devices are in proximity to each other, wherein the first device sets up the second device for network access, wherein the first device configures itself to use communications facilities of the second device, wherein the first device uses Bluetooth communication techniques to determine whether the second device is in proximity to the first device, wherein the first device switches from the Bluetooth communication techniques to 802.11 communication techniques in communicating with the second device after it has been determined, using the Bluetooth communication techniques, that said second device is in proximity with the first device, wherein the first device uses the 802.11 communication techniques to connect with the second device to facilitate connecting the first device with the network, wherein the second device comprises a plurality of second devices, wherein the first device connects to the network through the second device that has the best network access, wherein the best network access is based on a relative weight given to each of a speed, a link type and a dollar cost for each second device, and wherein each relative weight is determined by user input preferences.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein, if the first device does not detect any of the second devices, the first device is configured to use dial-up networking to access the network.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the network comprises an 802.11 network, an Internet or a local area network.

16. The system of claim 13,

wherein the first device is capable of connecting to the network without going through the second devices by using a built-in access mode, and

wherein the first device automatically determines whether to connect to the network through one of the second devices or through the built-in access mode based on a weighting of connection parameters.

17. An integrated circuit that includes an application layer that performs a method, the method comprising:

pairing a first Bluetooth device and a second Bluetooth device, the first Bluetooth device being a Bluetooth-enabled cellular phone, the second Bluetooth device being operatively coupled to a wide area network, wherein the first Bluetooth device sets up the second Bluetooth device for wide area network access, and wherein the first Bluetooth device configures itself to use communications facilities of the second Bluetooth device;

determining when the first Bluetooth device is in proximity with the second Bluetooth device using Bluetooth communication techniques; and

switching from Bluetooth communication techniques to 802.11 communications in communications between the first and second Bluetooth devices after it is determined, using the Bluetooth communication techniques, that the first Bluetooth device is in proximity with the second Bluetooth device, the switching including automatically configuring the first and second Bluetooth devices to set up a network connection between the first Bluetooth device and the wide area network through the second Bluetooth device in which the first Bluetooth device and the second Bluetooth device communicate with each other using the 802.11 communications, wherein the integrated circuit is paired with a plurality of second Bluetooth devices, wherein the Bluetooth-enabled cellular phone connects to the wide area network through a particular second Bluetooth device that has the best network access, wherein the best network access is based on a relative weight given to each of a speed, a link type and a dollar cost for each second Bluetooth device, and wherein each relative weight is determined by user input preferences.

18. The integrated circuit of claim 17, wherein, if the first Bluetooth device does not detect any of the second Bluetooth devices, the first Bluetooth device uses dial-up networking to access the wide area network.

19. The integrated circuit of claim 18, wherein the integrated circuit chooses a lowest cost connection from among the plurality of second Bluetooth devices.

20. The integrated circuit of claim 17, wherein the integrated circuit selects a built-in communication mode in the event that none of the plurality of second Bluetooth devices are found.

21. The integrated circuit of claim 17, wherein the network comprises the Internet or a local area network.

22. The integrated circuit of claim 17, wherein the Bluetooth-enabled cellular phone is in inquiry scan mode when determining when the first Bluetooth device is in proximity with one of the second Bluetooth devices.