Methods and systems for determining local device proximity

• US 20030065710A1
• Filed: 09/28/2001
• Published: 04/03/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Simpson, Shell S., Oakeson, Kenneth L., Sandfort, Patrick O., Klosterman, Elliot Lee
• Granted Patent: US 7,249,166 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4541 Directories for service discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

Methods and systems enable devices to discover each other when the devices are in a common location. Unique identifiers (UIDs) are associated with one or more location and each UID uniquely identifies a location. Devices that are located in a particular location that has a UID can register to create an association between the device and the UID. In turn, this creates an association between the device and a location. Subsequently, when another device (e.g. a laptop computer or PDA) enters the location, the device can discover the UID of the location and then ascertain which other devices are associated with that location.

Claims

1. A method of discovering local devices or services comprising:

associating at least one unique identifier with at least one location;

associating one or more device or service with said at least one unique identifier; and

providing an indication of said one or more device or service that are associated with said at least one unique identifier.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein associating said one or more device or service comprises associating multiple devices or services with said at least one unique identifier.

3. The method of claim 2, said associating multiple devices or services with said at least one unique identifier comprises associating multiple different devices or services with said at least one unique identifier.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said providing comprises:

receiving a message containing at least one unique identifier;

ascertaining said one or more device or service based upon said at least one unique identifier; and

replying to a sender of the message with a list of available devices or services for a location corresponding to said at least one unique identifier.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said acts of receiving and replying are accomplished via a network.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein said acts of receiving and replying are accomplished via the Internet.

7. One or more computer-readable media having computer-readable instructions thereon which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

associate at least one unique identifier with at least one location;

associate one or more device or service with said at least one unique identifier; and

provide an indication of said one or more device or service that are associated with said at least one unique identifier by;

receiving a message containing at least one unique identifier;

ascertaining said one or more device or service based upon said at least one unique identifier; and

replying to a sender of the message with a list of available devices or services for a location corresponding to said at least one unique identifier.

8. A server embodying the one or more computer-readable media of claim 7.

9. A method of discovering local devices or services comprising:

associating multiple unique identifiers with multiple related locations, each related location having a unique identifier;

associating one or more device or service with one or more of the unique identifiers, the one or more device or service being accessible from a location that corresponds to a unique identifier;

receiving a message from a client device that contains a unique identifier of one or more of the locations;

ascertaining from said unique identifier any devices or services that are associated with a location that corresponds to said unique identifier; and

replying to said client device with a list of available devices or services for the location.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said acts of receiving and replying are accomplished via a network.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein said acts of receiving and replying are accomplished via the Internet.

12. A method of facilitating discovery of local devices or services comprising:

providing a registry configured to maintain entries that associate unique identifiers with respective locations; and

registering one or more devices or services in the registry to provide one or more registrations, each registration defining an association between a device or service and a unique identifier.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said registering comprises receiving, via a network, one or more messages from said one or more devices or services, said one or more messages containing a unique identifier for a location and an identifier for said one or more devices or services.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said receiving, via a network, comprises receiving said messages via the Internet.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein said providing comprises providing at least portions of the device registry on one or more client devices that can use the device registry to ascertain one or more devices for a given location.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein said acts of providing and registering are performed by one or more servers.

17. One or more computer-readable media having computer-readable instructions thereon which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

provide a registry configured to maintain entries that associate unique identifiers with respective locations; and

register one or more devices or services in the registry to provide one or more registrations, each registration defining an association between a device or service and a unique identifier.

18. A method of discovering local devices comprising:

acquiring a unique identifier that is associated with a location for which one or more corresponding devices or services are desired to be discovered;

sending a message containing the unique identifier over a network and to an entity from which the devices or services can be discovered; and

receiving a reply from the entity, the reply containing a list of available devices or services for the location.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein said acquiring comprises receiving manually entered data comprising the unique identifier.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein said acquiring comprises automatically acquiring the unique identifier with the client device.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein said acts of sending and receiving comprise doing so via the Internet.

22. One or more computer-readable media having computer-readable instructions thereon which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

acquire a unique identifier that is associated with a location for which one or more corresponding devices or services are desired to be discovered;

send a message containing the unique identifier over the Internet and to an entity from which the devices or services can be discovered; and

receive a reply from the entity, the reply containing a list of available devices or services for the location.

23. A client device embodying the one or more computer-readable media of claim 22.

24. A system comprising:

one or more servers configured to receive and reply to messages from client devices;

a database operably associated with the one or more servers;

a registry maintained in the database and managed by the one or more servers;

the registry containing an association between unique identifiers and devices or services, each unique identifier being associated with a location from which corresponding associated devices or services can be accessed;

the one or more servers being configured to;

receive messages from client devices that contain one or more unique identifiers for a given location;

perform a database lookup operation on the registry using the unique identifier to ascertain which devices or services are associated with the unique identifier; and

reply to the messages with a list of available devices or services for a given location.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein said one or more servers are configured to receive and reply to the messages via the Internet.