Techniques for automatically establishing a long-lasting connection across computing devices configured for short-range wireless communication

• US 9,125,180 B1
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Issued: 09/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Hamilton, Jeffrey W., Pelly, Nicholas J., Dodson, Benjamin J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Meky, Moustafa M
• Application Number:
  US13/834,900
• Time in Patent Office: 900 Days
• Field of Search: 709200-203, 709217-227, 709/228, 455/41.2, 455/436, 455/439, 455/442
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/72 for local intradevice communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/04 including near field communication means, e.g. RFID
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals

Abstract

A computer-implemented technique includes initiating, at a first computing device including one or more processors, communication with a second computing device via a short-range wireless communication protocol. The technique includes receiving, at the first computing device, a set of information from the second computing device via the short-range wireless communication protocol, the set of information including a port address for communication with a first application currently executing in a foreground at the second computing device via another wireless communication protocol. The technique also includes automatically configuring, at the first computing device and in response to receiving the set of information from the second computing device via the short-range wireless communication protocol, communication between a second application at the first computing device and the first application executing at the second computing device via the other wireless communication protocol using the set of information.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

initiating, at a first computing device including one or more processors, communication with a second computing device via a short-range wireless communication protocol;

receiving, at the first computing device, a set of information from the second computing device via the short-range wireless communication protocol, the set of information indicating;

(i) a first application currently executing in a foreground at the second computing device,

(ii) a unique identifier for the second computing device, and

(iii) a port address for communication with the first application executing at the second computing device via another wireless communication protocol; and

automatically configuring, at the first computing device and in response to receiving the set of information from the second computing device via the short-range wireless communication protocol, communication between a second application at the first computing device and the first application executing at the second computing device via the other wireless communication protocol using the set of information,

wherein the first application and the second application are a same type of software application.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the automatically configuring includes automatically configuring, at the first computing device, communication between the second application executing at the first computing device and the first application executing at the second computing device via the other wireless communication protocol using the port address.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the short-range wireless communication protocol is near field communication (NFC), wherein the other wireless communication protocol is Bluetooth, and wherein the port address for communication with the second computing device is a listening Bluetooth socket for the first application executing at the second computing device.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the automatically configuring further includes:

generating, at the second application executing at the first computing device, a callback for the port address; and

sending, to the second application executing at the first computing device, a reply to the callback including the port address specified by the set of information from the second computing device.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, at the first computing device, whether the second application is installed at the first computing device; and

obtaining, at the first computing device, the second application when the second application is not installed at the first computing device.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, further comprising determining, at the first computing device, whether the second application is currently executing in a foreground at the first computing device.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, further comprising launching, at the first computing device and in response to receiving the set of information from the second computing device, the second application when the second application is not currently executing at the first computing device.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, further comprising transitioning, at the first computing device and in response to receiving the set of information from the second computing device, the second application to the foreground at the first computing device when the second application is currently executing in a background at the first computing device.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising communicating between the second application executing at the first computing device and the first application executing at the second computing device via the short-range wireless communication protocol when the first and second computing devices are within a predetermined distance from each other.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising communicating between the second application executing at the first computing device and the first application executing at the second computing device via the other wireless communication protocol when the first and second computing devices are outside of the predetermined distance from each other.

11. A first computing device, comprising:

a communication device configured to;

initiate communication with a second computing device via a short-range wireless communication protocol; and

receive a set of information from the second computing device via the short-range wireless communication protocol, the set of information indicating;

(i) a first application currently executing in a foreground at the second computing device,

(ii) a unique identifier for the second computing device, and

(iii) a port address for communication with the first application executing at the second computing device via another wireless communication protocol; and

one or more processors configured to, in response to receiving the set of information from the second computing device via the short-range wireless communication protocol, automatically configure the communication device for communication between a second application at the first computing device and the first application executing at the second computing device via the other wireless communication protocol using the set of information,

wherein the first application and the second application are a same type of software application.

12. The first computing device of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors are configured to automatically configure the communication device for communication between the second application executing at the first computing device and the first application executing at the second computing device via the other wireless communication protocol using the port address.

13. The first computing device of claim 12, wherein the short-range wireless communication protocol is near field communication (NFC), wherein the other wireless communication protocol is Bluetooth, and wherein the port address for communication by the communication device with the second computing device is a listening Bluetooth socket for the first application executing at the second computing device.

14. The first computing device of claim 12, wherein the one or more processors are configured to automatically configure the communication device for communication between the second application executing at the first computing device and the first application executing at the second computing device via the other wireless communication protocol by:

generating, at the second application executing at the first computing device, a callback for the port address; and

sending, to the second application executing at the first computing device, a reply to the callback including the port address specified by the set of information from the second computing device.

15. The first computing device of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to determine whether the second application is installed at the first computing device, and wherein the communication device is further configured to obtain the second application when the second application is not installed at the first computing device.

16. The first computing device of claim 15, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to determine whether the second application is currently executing in a foreground at the first computing device.

17. The first computing device of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to launch the second application in response to receiving the set of information from the second computing device and when the second application is not currently executing at the first computing device.

18. The first computing device of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to transition the second application to the foreground at the first computing device in response to receiving the set of information from the second computing device and when the second application is currently executing in a background at the first computing device.

19. The first computing device of claim 11, wherein the communication device is further configured to communicate between the second application executing at the first computing device and the first application executing at the second computing device via the short-range wireless communication protocol when the first and second computing devices are within a predetermined distance from each other.

20. The first computing device of claim 19, wherein the communication device is further configured to communicate between the second application executing at the first computing device and the first application executing at the second computing device via the other wireless communication protocol when the first and second computing devices are outside of the predetermined distance from each other.