Efficient piconet formation and maintenance in a bluetooth wireless network
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- transmitting a command from a master device of a first piconet to a first slave device in the first piconet indicative of a desire to establish a helper piconet;
establishing said first slave device of the first piconet as the master device of the helper piconet;
transmitting a command from the master device of the first piconet to a second slave device of the first piconet to join the helper piconet;
establishing said second slave device of the first piconet as a slave device of the helper piconet;
communicating from the master device of the first piconet to the slave device of the helper piconet through the master device of the helper piconet wherein the master device of the helper piconet remains a slave device of the first piconet.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention is addressing the problem of efficient formation and maintenance of piconets with assistance from the master of an already existing piconet. The master of an existing piconet initiates the formation of a new helper piconet by at least two of its slaves. One of the slaves of the existing piconet becomes the master of the newly formed helper piconet and the other slave becomes a slave of the helper piconet. This process can be used to expand the number of Bluetooth devices that can use an Internet access point. It can also be used to permit two slave devices to communicate directly with one another so as not to unnecessarily use bandwidth available through the master. Finally, the method and system could be used to provide a method of efficient hand-off from one piconet to another.
18 Citations
34 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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transmitting a command from a master device of a first piconet to a first slave device in the first piconet indicative of a desire to establish a helper piconet; establishing said first slave device of the first piconet as the master device of the helper piconet; transmitting a command from the master device of the first piconet to a second slave device of the first piconet to join the helper piconet; establishing said second slave device of the first piconet as a slave device of the helper piconet; communicating from the master device of the first piconet to the slave device of the helper piconet through the master device of the helper piconet wherein the master device of the helper piconet remains a slave device of the first piconet. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A network communication apparatus comprising:
a master device in a network comprising at least one piconet having at least one slave device, the master device configured to; operate as the master device of a first piconet; transmit a command to a first slave device in the first piconet, the command indicative of a desire to establish a helper piconet, wherein the first slave device operates as the master device of the helper piconet and as a slave device in the first piconet; and transmit a command to a second slave device in the first piconet to join the helper piconet as a slave device in the helper piconet. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A network communication apparatus comprising:
a first slave device in a network comprising at least one piconet having a master device and at least one slave device, the first slave device configured to; operate as a first slave device in a first piconet; receive a command from the master device of the first piconet indicative of a desire to establish a helper piconet, wherein the first slave device is configured to operate as a master device of the helper piconet and as a slave device in the first piconet in response to receiving the command; establish the helper piconet with a second slave device in the first piconet, the second slave device in the first piconet operating as a slave device in the helper piconet in response to receiving a request to do so by the master device of the first piconet. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A network communication apparatus comprising:
a first slave device configured to communicate with a network comprising at least one piconet having a master device and at least a second slave device, the first slave device configured to; operate as a slave device in a first piconet; receive a command from the master device of the first piconet to form a helper piconet, wherein in response to receiving the command to form the helper piconet, the first slave device in the first piconet is configured to form the helper piconet as a master device in the helper piconet and as a slave device in the first piconet, wherein a slave device of the helper piconet comprises the second slave device in the first piconet. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
Specification