DEVICE-CENTRIC OR INTERACTIVE DISCOVERY

• US 20140134947A1
• Filed: 11/09/2012
• Published: 05/15/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Stouder-Studenmund, William R.
• Granted Patent: US 9,258,693 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/41.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• 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 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals

Abstract

Methods and apparatus are provided for discovering computing devices in a local area. The disclosed methods include receiving, by a first device, a request to provide discovery information, generating, by the first device, the discovery information, wherein the discovery information includes a communication address of the first device, and providing, by the first device, the discovery information using a short-range protocol that can be received only within a defined distance of the first device. The methods can further include receiving, by a second device, the discovery information, wherein the second device is located within the defined distance of the first device, extracting, by the second device, the communication address of the first device from the discovery information, and initiating, by the second device, communication with the first device using the communication address and a communication protocol associated with the address.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a first device, a request to provide discovery information;

generating, by the first device, the discovery information, wherein the discovery information includes a communication address of the first device; and

providing, by the first device, the discovery information using a short-range protocol that can be received only within a defined distance of the first device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the request to provide discovery information comprises detecting physical interaction with the first device by a user.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the physical interaction comprises pressing a button located on the first device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the short-range protocol uses optical image recognition, and generating the discovery information comprises:

generating an image based upon the communication address of the first device, and

providing the discovery information comprises displaying the image on a display of the first device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the short-range protocol uses near-field communication, and receiving a request to provide discovery information comprises:

receiving a request to establish a near-field communication channel from a second device located in close proximity to the first device,

generating the discovery information comprises generating near-field communication data that includes the communication address of the first device, and

providing the discovery information comprises transmitting the discovery information to the second device via a near-field communication data exchange.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the short-range protocol uses Bluetooth®

-based communication, and receiving the request to provide discovery information comprises;

detecting physical interaction with the first device by a user,

generating the discovery information comprises generating data in a Bluetooth format, wherein the data includes the communication address of the first device, and

providing the discovery information comprises transmitting the discovery information to the second device via Bluetooth without Bluetooth pairing between the first and second devices.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the short-range protocol uses Bonjour®

-based communication, and generating the discovery information comprises;

setting the communication address in the discovery information to a service name that describes a service provided by the first device, and a service entity that includes information needed to access the service; and

providing the discovery information comprises transmitting the discovery information to the second device via the Bonjour protocol.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by a second device, the discovery information, wherein the second device is located within the defined distance of the first device;

extracting, by the second device, the communication address of the first device from the discovery information; and

initiating, by the second device, communication with the first device using the communication address and a communication protocol associated with the address.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the short-range protocol uses optical image recognition, and receiving the discovery information comprises:

optically recognizing an image displayed on the first device, and

extracting the communication address comprises decoding the image and identifying the communication address and communication protocol based upon the decoded image.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the short-range protocol uses near-field communication, and receiving the discovery information comprises:

receiving near-field communication data from the first device, and

extracting the communication address comprises decoding the communication address from the near-field communication data.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the short-range protocol uses Bluetooth-based communication, and receiving the discovery information comprises:

receiving Bluetooth data from the first device without a pairing between the first and second devices, and

extracting the communication address comprises decoding the discovery information from the Bluetooth data.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the short-range protocol uses Bonjour-based communication,

extracting the communication address of the first device comprises:

extracting a service name and a service entity from the discovery information,

determining if the service is of interest based upon the service name, and

performing a Bonjour service resolution to resolve the service identity into information needed to access the service in response to determining that the service is of interest; and

initiating communication with the first device comprises initiating communication with the first device using the information needed to access the service.

13. A system comprising:

a first device having a first processor configured to;

receive a request to provide discovery information;

generate the discovery information, wherein the discovery information includes a communication address of the first device; and

provide the discovery information using a short-range protocol that can be received only within a defined distance of the first device.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the first processor is further configured to detect physical interaction with the first device by a user to receive the request to provide discovery information.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the short-range protocol uses optical image recognition, and the first processor is further configured to:

generate an image based upon the communication address of the first device to generate the discovery information, and

display the image on a display of the first device to provide the discovery information.

16. The system of claim 13, further comprising:

a second device having a second processor configured to;

receive the discovery information, wherein the second device is located within the defined distance of the first device;

extract the communication address of the first device from the discovery information; and

initiate communication with the first device using the communication address and a communication protocol associated with the address.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the short-range protocol uses optical image recognition, and the second device is further configured to:

optically recognize an image displayed on the first device to receive the discovery information, and

decode the image and identifying the communication address and communication protocol based upon the decoded image to extract the communication address.

18. A non-transitory computer readable medium for a computer system, the non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon computer program code executable by a client processor on a client device, the computer program code executable by the client processor comprising:

computer program code that causes the client processor to send a request for discovery information to a server device located within a defined distance of the client device;

computer program code that causes the client processor to receive discovery information from the server device;

computer program code that causes the client processor to extract a communication address of the server device from the discovery information; and

computer program code that causes the client processor to initiate communication with the server device using the communication address and a communication protocol associated with the address.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 18, the computer readable medium further having stored thereon computer program code executable by a server processor on the server device, the computer program code executable by the server processor comprising:

computer program code that causes the server processor to receive a request to provide discovery information;

computer program code that causes the server processor to generate the discovery information, wherein the discovery information includes a communication address of the server device; and

computer program code that causes the server processor to provide the discovery information using a short-range protocol that can be received only within a defined distance of the server device.