Master device for using connection attribute of electronic accessories connections to facilitate locating an accessory

• US 9,860,932 B2
• Filed: 03/10/2017
• Issued: 01/02/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Kapoor, Daman, Watson, Robert D.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TUAN HOANG
• Application Number:
  US15/456,223
• Publication Number:
  US 20170188405A1
• Time in Patent Office: 298 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/385 for adaptation of a particular data processing system to different peripheral devices
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0277 Communication between units on a local network, e.g. Bluetooth, piconet, zigbee, Wireless Personal Area Networks [WPAN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/141 Setup of application sessions admission control or resource allocation in data switching networks H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/146 Markers for unambiguous identification of a particular session, e.g. session cookie or URL-encoding
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72516 with means for out-of-range alerting
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/07 Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/12 for distributing signals to two or more loudspeakers specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407
• 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 76/14 Direct-mode setup

Abstract

A connection-indicative signal can be received at a master electronic device from an electronic accessory. The connection-indicative signal can include a connection attribute indicative of a presence or characteristic of a connection between the electronic accessory and at least one other electronic accessory of the master electronic device. A location of the master electronic device can be determined at the master electronic device. The location can be stored at the master electronic device in association with the connection attribute. The master electronic device can detect a locate-accessory input that corresponds to a request to locate the at least one other electronic accessory; or that a locate-accessory condition is satisfied based on another connection attribute included in another connection-indicative signal received from the electronic accessory. The stored location can be retrieved in response to the detecting. A presentation that includes location information that corresponds to the stored location can be presented.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

determining, at a first time, that a first electronic accessory is to be designated as a primary accessory;

in response to the determination that the first electronic accessory is to be designated as the primary accessory, pairing, at a master electronic device, with the first electronic accessory;

communicating, at the master electronic device, with a second electronic accessory via the pairing with the first electronic accessory, each of the first electronic accessory and the second electronic accessory being a wearable electronic accessory and including;

a receiver configured to receive audio signals; and

a speaker configured to output at least part of the audio signals received;

dynamically determining, based on an assessment of a proximity of one or both of the first electronic accessory and the second electronic accessory to the master electronic device, whether the designation is to be changed to designate another electronic accessory as the primary accessory;

determining, as a result of the dynamic determination and at a second time with is after the first time, that the second electronic accessory is to be designated as the primary accessory;

in response to the determination that the second electronic accessory is to be designated as the primary accessory, pairing, at the master electronic device, with the second electronic accessory; and

communicating, at the master electronic device, with the first electronic accessory via the pairing with the second electronic accessory.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining that the second electronic accessory is to be designated as the primary accessory is based on a defined pairing order.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the first electronic accessory and the second electronic accessory includes an earphone.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

communicating with the second electronic accessory via the pairing with the first electronic accessory includes;

transmitting a first master-device signal from the master electronic device to the first electronic accessory, wherein the first master-device signal includes a primary channel to influence an operation of the first electronic accessory and a secondary channel to influence an operation of the second electronic accessory, and wherein the first master-device signal is not transmitted directly to the second electronic accessory; and

communicating with the first electronic accessory via the pairing with the second electronic accessory includes;

transmitting a second master-device signal from the master electronic device to the second electronic accessory, wherein the second master-device signal includes a primary channel to influence an operation of the second electronic accessory and a secondary channel to influence an operation of the first electronic accessory, and wherein the second master-device signal is not transmitted directly to the first electronic accessory.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein:

communicating with the second electronic accessory via the pairing with the first electronic accessory includes;

receiving, at the master electronic device, a first connection-indicative signal from the first electronic accessory that includes a first connection attribute that is indicative of a presence or a characteristic of an accessory-to-accessory connection between the first electronic accessory and the second electronic accessory; and

communicating with the first electronic accessory via the pairing with the second electronic accessory includes;

receiving, at the master electronic device, a second connection-indicative signal from the second electronic accessory that includes a second connection attribute that is indicative of a presence or a characteristic of the accessory-to-accessory connection between the first electronic accessory and the second electronic accessory.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein pairing with the first electronic accessory includes establishing a first Bluetooth Low Energy pairing, and wherein pairing with the second electronic accessory includes establishing a second Bluetooth Low Energy pairing.

7. A system, comprising:

one or more data processors; and

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium containing instructions which when executed on the one or more data processors, cause the one or more data processors to perform actions including;

determining, at a first time, that a first electronic accessory is to be designated as a primary accessory;

in response to the determination that the first electronic accessory is to be designated as the primary accessory, pairing, at a master electronic device, with the first electronic accessory;

communicating, at the master electronic device, with a second electronic accessory via the pairing with the first electronic accessory, each of the first electronic accessory and the second electronic accessory being a wearable electronic accessory and including;

a receiver configured to receive audio signals; and

a speaker configured to output at least part of the audio signals received;

dynamically determining whether the designation is to be changed to designate another electronic accessory as the primary accessory;

determining, as a result of the dynamic determination and at a second time with is after the first time, that the second electronic accessory is to be designated as the primary accessory;

in response to the determination that the second electronic accessory is to be designated as the primary accessory, pairing, at the master electronic device, with the second electronic accessory; and

communicating, at the master electronic device, with the first electronic accessory via the pairing with the second electronic accessory,

wherein communicating with the second electronic accessory via the pairing with the first electronic accessory includes transmitting a first master-device signal from the master electronic device to the first electronic accessory, wherein the first master-device signal includes a primary channel to influence an operation of the first electronic accessory and a secondary channel to influence an operation of the second electronic accessory, and wherein the first master-device signal is not transmitted directly to the second electronic accessory; and

wherein communicating with the first electronic accessory via the pairing with the second electronic accessory includes transmitting a second master-device signal from the master electronic device to the second electronic accessory, wherein the second master-device signal includes a primary channel to influence an operation of the second electronic accessory and a secondary channel to influence an operation of the first electronic accessory, and wherein the second master-device signal is not transmitted directly to the first electronic accessory.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the determining that the second electronic accessory is to be designated as the primary accessory is based on an assessment of a proximity of one or both of the first electronic accessory and the second electronic accessory to the master electronic device.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the determining that the second electronic accessory is to be designated as the primary accessory is based on a defined pairing order.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein each of the first electronic accessory and the second electronic accessory includes an earphone.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein:

communicating with the second electronic accessory via the pairing with the first electronic accessory further includes receiving, at the master electronic device, a first connection-indicative signal from the first electronic accessory that includes a first connection attribute that is indicative of a presence or a characteristic of an accessory-to-accessory connection between the first electronic accessory and the second electronic accessory; and

communicating with the first electronic accessory via the pairing with the second electronic accessory further includes receiving, at the master electronic device, a second connection-indicative signal from the second electronic accessory that includes a second connection attribute that is indicative of a presence or a characteristic of the accessory-to-accessory connection between the first electronic accessory and the second electronic accessory.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein pairing with the first electronic accessory includes establishing a first Bluetooth Low Energy pairing, and wherein pairing with the second electronic accessory includes establishing a second Bluetooth Low Energy pairing.

13. A computer-program product tangibly embodied in a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, including instructions configured to cause one or more data processors to perform actions including:

determining, at a first time, that a first electronic accessory is to be designated as a primary accessory;

in response to the determination that the first electronic accessory is to be designated as the primary accessory, pairing, at a master electronic device, with the first electronic accessory;

communicating, at the master electronic device, with a second electronic accessory via the pairing with the first electronic accessory, each of the first electronic accessory and the second electronic accessory being a wearable electronic accessory and including;

a receiver configured to receive audio signals; and

a speaker configured to output at least part of the audio signals received;

dynamically determining whether the designation is to be changed to designate another electronic accessory as the primary accessory;

determining, as a result of the dynamic determination and at a second time with is after the first time, that the second electronic accessory is to be designated as the primary accessory;

in response to the determination that the second electronic accessory is to be designated as the primary accessory, pairing, at the master electronic device, with the second electronic accessory; and

communicating, at the master electronic device, with the first electronic accessory via the pairing with the second electronic accessory,

wherein communicating with the second electronic accessory via the pairing with the first electronic accessory includes receiving, at the master electronic device, a first connection-indicative signal from the first electronic accessory that includes a first connection attribute that is indicative of a presence or a characteristic of an accessory-to-accessory connection between the first electronic accessory and the second electronic accessory; and

wherein communicating with the first electronic accessory via the pairing with the second electronic accessory includes receiving, at the master electronic device, a second connection-indicative signal from the second electronic accessory that includes a second connection attribute that is indicative of a presence or a characteristic of the accessory-to-accessory connection between the first electronic accessory and the second electronic accessory.

14. The computer-program product of claim 13, wherein the determining that the second electronic accessory is to be designated as the primary accessory is based on an assessment of a proximity of one or both of the first electronic accessory and the second electronic accessory to the master electronic device.

15. The computer-program product of claim 13, wherein the determining that the second electronic accessory is to be designated as the primary accessory is based on a defined pairing order.

16. The computer-program product of claim 13, wherein each of the first electronic accessory and the second electronic accessory includes an earphone.

17. The computer-program product of claim 13, wherein:

communicating with the second electronic accessory via the pairing with the first electronic accessory further includes transmitting a first master-device signal from the master electronic device to the first electronic accessory, wherein the first master-device signal includes a primary channel to influence an operation of the first electronic accessory and a secondary channel to influence an operation of the second electronic accessory, and wherein the first master-device signal is not transmitted directly to the second electronic accessory; and

communicating with the first electronic accessory via the pairing with the second electronic accessory further includes transmitting a second master-device signal from the master electronic device to the second electronic accessory, wherein the second master-device signal includes a primary channel to influence an operation of the second electronic accessory and a secondary channel to influence an operation of the first electronic accessory, and wherein the second master-device signal is not transmitted directly to the first electronic accessory.

18. The computer-program product of claim 13, wherein pairing with the first electronic accessory includes establishing a first Bluetooth Low Energy pairing, and wherein pairing with the second electronic accessory includes establishing a second Bluetooth Low Energy pairing.