Wireless scan and advertisement in electronic devices

• US 9,491,607 B2
• Filed: 02/16/2012
• Issued: 11/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Vandwalle, Pierre B., Dominguez, Charles F., Thomas, Tito, Hartman, Christiaan A.
• Primary Examiner(s): KADING, JOSHUA A
• Application Number:
  US13/398,545
• Publication Number:
  US 20130215757A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,727 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/244 using a network of reference devices, e.g. beaconing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals

Abstract

An electronic device performs a scan of each wireless channel in a sequence of wireless channels to detect advertising frames transmitted from other electronic devices. When performing the scan, the electronic device waits for a next transmit time. After the next transmit time, the electronic device configures the electronic device to monitor a next wireless channel from the sequence of wireless channels. The electronic device then monitors the next wireless channel for the advertising frames for a scanning time interval, wherein a duration of the scanning time interval is set in accordance with one or more transmit times used for transmitting advertising frames on the wireless channels in the sequence of wireless channels. When wireless channels from the sequence of wireless channels remain to be scanned, the electronic device returns to wait for a next transmit time.

Claims

1. A method for wirelessly communicating between electronic devices, comprising:

configuring a first electronic device to transmit advertising frames on a home wireless channel, wherein the home wireless channel is one wireless channel in a sequence of wireless channels associated with a plurality of electronic devices;

identifying, with the first electronic device, the sequence of wireless channels;

scanning, with the first electronic device, the sequence of wireless channels by;

configuring, after a first transmit time, the first electronic device to monitor a first wireless channel in the sequence of wireless channels;

monitoring, during a first scanning time interval, the first wireless channel for an advertising frame sent from an electronic device associated with the first wireless channel; and

configuring, after the first scanning time interval, the first electronic device to transmit an advertising frame on the home wireless channel during a second transmit time following the first scanning time interval, wherein the duration of time between the first transmit time and the second transmit time is a transmit interval, and wherein each wireless channel in the sequence of wireless channels has a unique transmit interval duration.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein scanning with the first electronic device further comprises:

transmitting, on the first electronic device'"'"'s home wireless channel, an advertising frame during the first transmit time.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the sequence of wireless channels comprise wireless channels from a predetermined group of social wireless channels, and wherein the first electronic device'"'"'s home wireless channel is a channel from the group of social wireless channels.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein configuring the first electronic device to monitor the first wireless channel in the sequence of wireless channels further comprises:

waiting a predetermined time after the first transmit time before configuring the electronic device to monitor the first wireless channel.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the duration of the first scanning time interval is equal to the transmit interval minus an overhead value, wherein the overhead value comprises a sum of:

a time for configuring the first electronic device to transmit on the first electronic device'"'"'s home wireless channel;

a time for transmitting an advertising frame on the first electronic device'"'"'s home wireless channel; and

a time for configuring the first electronic device to monitor the first wireless channel in the sequence of wireless channels.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first scanning time interval is a predetermined multiple of the overhead value.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the advertising frame sent by the electronic device associated with the first wireless channel comprises information for communicating with the electronic device associated with the first wireless channel.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

generating, by the first electronic device, the sequence of wireless channels, wherein the sequence of wireless channels comprises a plurality of subsequences, each subsequence comprising a group of social wireless channels arranged in a predetermined order.

9. An electronic device that wirelessly communicates with other electronic devices, comprising:

a first electronic device comprising a processing subsystem configured to;

configure a first electronic device to transmit advertising frames on a home wireless channel, wherein the home wireless channel is one wireless channel in a sequence of wireless channels associated with a plurality of electronic devices;

identify, with the first electronic device, the sequence of wireless channels;

scan, with the first electronic device, the sequence of wireless channels by;

configuring, after a first transmit time, the first electronic device to monitor a first wireless channel in the sequence of wireless channels;

monitoring, during a first scanning time interval, the first wireless channel for an advertising frame sent from an electronic device associated with the first wireless channel; and

configuring, after the first scanning time interval, the first electronic device to transmit an advertising frame on the home wireless channel during a second transmit time following the first scanning time interval, wherein the duration of time between the first transmit time and the second transmit time is a transmit interval, and wherein each wireless channel in the sequence of wireless channels has a unique transmit interval duration.

10. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the processing subsystem is further configured to:

transmit, on the first electronic device'"'"'s home wireless channel, an advertising frame during the first transmit time.

11. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the sequence of wireless channels comprise wireless channels from a predetermined group of social wireless channels, and wherein the first electronic device'"'"'s home wireless channel is a channel from the group of social wireless channels.

12. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein, when configuring the first electronic device to monitor the first wireless channel in the sequence of wireless channels, the processing subsystem is further configured to:

wait a predetermined time after the first transmit time before configuring the electronic device to monitor the first wireless channel.

13. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the duration of the first scanning time interval is equal to the transmit interval minus an overhead value, wherein the overhead value comprises a sum of:

a time for configuring the first electronic device to transmit on the first electronic device'"'"'s home wireless channel;

a time for transmitting an advertising frame on the first electronic device'"'"'s home wireless channel; and

a time for configuring the first electronic device to monitor the first wireless channel in the sequence of wireless channels.

14. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the first scanning time interval is a predetermined multiple of the overhead value.

15. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the advertising frame sent by the electronic device associated with the first wireless channel comprises information for communicating with the electronic device associated with the first wireless channel.

16. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the processing subsystem is further configured to generate, by the first electronic device, the sequence of wireless channels, wherein the sequence of wireless channels comprises a plurality of subsequences, each subsequence comprising a group of social wireless channels arranged in a predetermined order.

17. A networking subsystem in an electronic device, comprising:

a first radio; and

a configuration mechanism coupled to the first radio configured to;

cause, after a first transmit time, the first radio to monitor a first wireless channel in a sequence of wireless channels;

cause, during a first scanning time interval, the first radio to monitor the first wireless channel for an advertising frame sent from a second radio associated with the first wireless channel; and

cause, after the first scanning time interval, the first radio to transmit an advertising frame during a second transmit time on a home wireless channel following the first scanning time interval, wherein the home wireless channel is one wireless channel in the sequence of wireless channels, wherein the duration of time between the first transmit time and the second transmit time is a transmit interval, and wherein the each wireless channel in the sequence of wireless channels has a unique transmit interval duration.

18. The networking subsystem of claim 17, wherein the configuration mechanism is further configured to transmit, on the first radio'"'"'s home wireless channel, an advertising frame during the first transmit time.

19. The networking subsystem of claim 18, wherein the sequence of wireless channels comprises wireless channels from a predetermined group of social wireless channels, and wherein the radio'"'"'s home wireless channel is a channel from the group of social wireless channels.

20. The networking subsystem of claim 18, wherein the configuration mechanism is further configured to:

wait a predetermined time after the first transmit time before configuring the first radio to monitor the first wireless channel.

21. The networking subsystem of claim 18, wherein the duration of the first scanning time interval is equal to the transmit interval minus an overhead value, wherein the overhead value comprises a sum of:

a time for configuring the radio to transmit on the radio'"'"'s home wireless channel;

a time for transmitting an advertising frame on the radio'"'"'s home wireless channel; and

a time for configuring the radio to monitor the first wireless channel in the sequence of wireless channels.

22. The networking subsystem of claim 21, wherein the first scanning time interval is a predetermined multiple of the overhead value.

23. The networking subsystem of claim 17, wherein the advertising frame sent by the second radio comprises information for communicating with the first radio.

24. The networking subsystem of claim 17, wherein the sequence of wireless channels comprises a plurality of subsequences, each subsequence comprising a group of social wireless channels arranged in a predetermined order.