Intelligent pairing of electronic devices

• US 8,630,586 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2010
• Issued: 01/14/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Dvortsov, Eugene, Rottler, Benjamin A., Ingrassia, Michael I. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): HSIEH, PING Y
• Application Number:
  US12/872,481
• Publication Number:
  US 20120050153A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,232 Days
• Field of Search: 455/41.1, 455/41.2, 455/41.3, 455/550.1, 455/556.2, 702/141
• US Class Current: 455/41.2
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/16 Use of wireless transmission of display information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0492 by using a location-limited connection, e.g. near-field communication or limited proximity of entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/50 Secure pairing of devices

Abstract

An intelligent pairing between a first device and a target second device is described. The intelligent pairing can use information provided by a plurality of second devices responding to a connection request by the first device where only one of the plurality of responding second devices is the target second device. The information can include a motion signature, a first device identifier, and a second device identifier.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

sharing information between a first device and a second device during an initial pairing operation, wherein the shared information is motion data;

generating the motion data by,

mechanically associating the first device and the second device,

moving the first device and second device, while mechanically associated, such that first device

and the second device experience correlated movements,

recording the movements of the first device, including associated timing information, as first device motion

data, and the movements of the second device, including associated timing information, as second device motion data,

retaining the first device motion data as a first device motion signature in

the first device and the second device motion data as a second device motion signature in the second device;

wirelessly linking the first and the second devices using at least some of the shared information; and

after the wireless link has been severed, re-establishing the wireless link between only the first and the second devices using at least some of the shared information at a subsequent pairing operation.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the first device is a personal media device (PMD) and wherein the second device is a sport device(SD), the sport device including at least one sensor.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the shared information is at least one of the following:

a list that includes at least one preferred personal media device identifier (PMD_ID), an input command pattern, information related to current proximity of the first device and the second device, a list that includes at least one PMD_ID corresponding the PMD recently paired with a target SD, a preferred PMD_ID, and a preferred sport device identifier (SD_ID).

4. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

using the first motion signature and the second motion signature to subsequently pair the first device and the second device.

5. The method as recited in claim 4, further comprising:

broadcasting a pairing request by the first device, the pairing request including at least a request for a motion signature;

receiving the motion signature from a responding second device;

comparing the received motion signature to the motion signature retained in the first device; and

pairing the first device and the responding second device when the received motion signature effectively matches the motion signature retained in the first device.

6. The method as recited in claim 5, further comprising:

comparing the first and the second time stamps when the comparing indicates that the received motion signature does not effectively match the motion signature retained in the first device; and

pairing the first device and the second device when the comparing of the first and the second time stamps indicates that the received motion signature and the motion signature retained in the first device were created concurrently with each other.

7. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the mechanically associating the first device and the second device comprises:

holding the first device in a first hand; and

concurrently holding the second device in a second hand different from the first hand.

8. A portable media device, comprising:

a processor, wherein the processor causes the portable media device to pair with a target remote device by causing the portable media device to, receive connection packets from each of a plurality of remote devices only one of which is the target remote device, wherein each of the connection packets includes information associated with the corresponding remote device, analyze the received information, identify the target remote device based on the analysis; and

pair only with the target remote device; and

a motion detector, the motion detector arranged to detect motion of the portable media device, the motion detector converting the detected motion into motion data retained in the memory device, wherein during a shake to pair pairing operation between the portable media player and the target remote device the portable media player and the target remote device are mechanically associated with each other such the both the portable media player and the target remote device undergo correlated movements that the motion detector senses and converts to motion data, the motion data retained in the memory device as a portable media player motion signature.

9. The portable media device as recited in claim 8, wherein the portable media device further comprises:

a wireless interface arranged to transmit and receive wireless signals.

10. The portable media device as recited in claim 8, wherein the portable media device is not wireless capable, the portable media device being electrically connected to a wireless capable external circuit arranged to transmit and receive the wireless signals.

11. The portable media player as recited in claim 10, wherein after the wireless link is established, the portable media player forwards a copy of the portable media player motion signature to the target remote device that the target remote device retains as a target remote device motion signature.

12. The portable media player as recited in claim 11, wherein the portable media player uses the remote device motion signature to identify the target remote device by comparing the received remote device motion signature with the received remote device motion signature.

13. The portable media player as recited in claim 10, wherein during a subsequent pairing, the portable media player receives a remote device motion signature and uses the remote device motion signature to identify the target remote device.

14. The portable media player as recited in claim 13, wherein the comparing indentifies identifies the target remote device when the comparing indicates that the received remote device motion signature essentially matches the motion signature retained in the personal media device.

15. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein the first device is a personal media device (PMD) and wherein the second device is a sport device(SD), the sport device including at least one sensor.

16. The computer readable medium as recited in claim 8, wherein the shared information is a motion signature.

17. Non-transitory computer readable medium for storing computer code executed by a processor in a portable device for pairing with a target remote device, comprising:

computer code for sharing information between a first device and a second device during an initial pairing operation;

at the initial pairing operation the first and second devices are mechanically coupled together such that the mechanically coupled first device and second device experience correlated movements, the computer code reciting;

computer code for recording the movements including associated timing information as motion data; and

computer code for retaining the motion data as an initial motion signature in the first device and the second device;

computer code for wirelessly linking the first and the second devices using at least some of the shared information; and

computer code for after the wireless link has been severed, re-establishing the wireless link between only the first and the second devices using at least some of the shared information at a subsequent pairing operation.

18. A method performed by a personal media device (PMD) to intelligently pair with only a target remote device, the method comprising:

generating motion data at the PMD by;

moving the PMD, while the PMD is mechanically associated with a target remote sport device, such that the PMD and the target remote sport device experience correlated movements,

recording the movements of the PMD, including associated timing information, as PMD motion data,

retaining the PMD motion data as a PMD motion signature in the PMD;

listening for connection packets from a plurality of remote sport devices only one of which is the target remote sport device, wherein each of the connection packets includes motion data;

analyzing the motion data to identify the target remote sport device, wherein analyzing the motion data includes comparing the PMD motion signature against a motion signature for a remote sport device;

pairing only with the target remote sport device.

19. A physical activity monitoring system, comprising:

a portable media device, the portable media device arranged to wirelessly communicate with a first remote physical activity device over an initial wireless link in response to an initial pairing operation, wherein subsequent to the initial pairing and after the initial wireless link has been severed, the portable media device re-establishes a subsequent wireless link only with the first remote physical activity device by broadcasting a request for information, operating on information received in response to the broadcasted information request, the information being received from a plurality of remote physical activity devices only one of which is the initial remote physical activity device, and using the operated on information to broadcast a connection acceptance command that only the first remote physical activity device responds with a connection acknowledgment;

wherein the portable media device is configured to perform an initial paring operation to obtain motion data by,

moving the portable media device while the portable media device is mechanically associated with the initial remote physical activity device, such that the portable media device and the initial remote physical activity device experience correlated movements,

recording the movements of the portable media device, including associated timing information, as portable media device motion data,

retaining the portable media device motion data as a portable media device motion signature in the portable media device;

wherein, while operating on the information received in response to the broadcasted information request, the portable media device is configured to identify the initial remote physical activity device by attempting to match the portable media device motion signature with a corresponding motion signature contained in the received information.