Pairing with directional code sequence

• US 8,634,777 B2
• Filed: 09/26/2011
• Issued: 01/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ekbatani, Siavash, Hansen, Christopher
• Primary Examiner(s): Alam, Fayyaz
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bilodeau, David
• Application Number:
  US13/245,277
• Publication Number:
  US 20130078923A1
• Time in Patent Office: 848 Days
• Field of Search: 455/41.2
• US Class Current: 455/41.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 Direct-mode setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals

Abstract

Disclosed are various embodiments of pairing with a directional code sequence. In one embodiment a method includes discovering that a user device is within proximity of a pairing device. A directional code sequence based upon variations in the position of the user device is obtained and a communication link is established between the user device and the pairing device in response to the directional code sequence. In another embodiment, a system includes a user device and a pairing device configured to establish a communication link with the user device in response to a sequence of position variations of the user device. In another embodiment, a method includes obtaining a sequence of characters corresponding to a directional code sequence from a pairing device and transmitting a signal from a user device to the pairing device from a sequence of positions corresponding to the sequence of characters.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

discovering, by processing circuitry of a stationary pairing device, that a handheld user device is within proximity of the stationary pairing device;

sending, by the processing circuitry, a directional code sequence to the handheld user device;

obtaining, by the processing circuitry, the directional code sequence from the handheld user device, the directional code sequence based upon predefined variations in position of the handheld user device during a series of predefined time frames; and

establishing, by the processing circuitry, a communication link between the handheld user device and the stationary pairing device in response to the directional code sequence.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the position of the handheld user device is varied between a predefined number of spatial segments.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining the directional code sequence comprises:

obtaining, during a first time frame of the series of predefined time frames, a signal from the handheld user device in a first position corresponding to a first spatial segment; and

obtaining, during a second time frame of the series of predefined time frames, a signal from the handheld user device in a second position corresponding to a second spatial segment.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first and second time frames are consecutive time frames of the series of predefined time frames.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the first and second spatial segments are vertically displaced.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the first and second spatial segments are horizontally displaced.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining the directional code sequence comprises:

obtaining a signal from the handheld user device at each time frame of the series of predefined time frames;

resolving a direction of transmission for each of the obtained signals; and

determining the directional code sequence based at least in part upon the resolved direction of transmission corresponding to each time frame of the series of predefined time frames.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the each of the obtained signals includes a predefined polarization.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising authenticating the handheld user device based upon the predefined polarizations over the series of predefined time frames.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

discovering a plurality of user devices within proximity of the stationary pairing device; and

excluding at least one of the plurality of user devices based upon identified characteristics of the at least one user device.

11. A system, comprising:

a handheld user device comprising a transceiver; and

a pairing device comprising a multiple antenna transceiver, the pairing device configured to;

provide a directional code sequence comprising a plurality of characters, each character corresponding to a predefined user device position;

receive a signal transmitted from the handheld user device at each of a sequence of the predefined user device positions, each of the sequence of predefined user device positions corresponding to a respective character of the plurality of characters of the directional code sequence; and

establish a communication link with the handheld user device in response to a sequence of position variations of the handheld user device, the sequence of position variations determined based upon the signal transmitted at each of the sequence of predefined user device positions.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the pairing device is further configured to resolve a position of the handheld user device during each time frame of a series of time frames based upon the signal transmitted from the handheld user at each of the sequence of the predefined user device positions.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the signal is transmitted by the handheld user device from each of the sequence of the predefined user device positions during a corresponding time frame of the series of time frames.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the handheld user device transmits the signal at each of the sequence of the predefined user device positions in response to a prompt from the pairing device.

15. The system of claim 11, further comprising a plurality of pairing devices, each of the plurality of pairing devices configured to provide a unique directional code sequence, wherein each of the plurality of pairing devices is configured to establish a communication link with the handheld user device in response to a different sequence of position variations of the handheld user device corresponding to the unique directional code sequence.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the pairing device is configured to:

discover a plurality of user devices within proximity of the pairing device; and

prioritize the plurality of user devices based at least in part upon identified characteristics of the user devices.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the communication link is configured based at least in part upon mobility characteristics of the handheld user device.

18. A method, comprising:

obtaining a sequence of characters from a stationary pairing device, the sequence of characters corresponding to a directional code sequence;

transmitting, via a transceiver of a handheld user device, a signal from the handheld user device to the stationary pairing device, at each position of a predefined sequence of user device positions, each position corresponding to a respective character of the sequence of characters; and

establishing, via the transceiver, a communication link between the handheld user device and the pairing device based at least in part upon verification of the sequence of user device positions.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the position of the handheld user device is varied based upon a predefined time frame.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the predefined sequence of user device positions are in a plane comprising vertical and horizontal spatial segments.