PROXIMITY DETECTION BY MOBILE DEVICES

• US 20140253813A1
• Filed: 03/08/2013
• Published: 09/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Bakar, Majd
• Granted Patent: US 9,496,968 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/734
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 14/00 Transmission systems not characterised by the medium used for transmission details thereof H04B1/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• 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

A processor of a mobile device initiates a listening session including listening for a message from a remote service and receiving the message from the remote service. The message indicates that a first device is within a predetermined range of the mobile device. In response to receiving the message from the remote service, a network session is automatically initiated. The network session includes obtaining a signature via the network, the signature being uniquely associated with the first device. In response to obtaining the signature via the network, the mobile device initiates an access session with the first device, including utilizing the signature to present a user interface on the mobile device that includes access to the first device. The access session is automatically terminated in response to detecting a change in the listening session.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

initiating, by a processor of a mobile device, a listening session including listening for a message from a remote service and receiving the message from the remote service, the message indicating that a first device is within a predetermined range of the mobile device;

in response to receiving the message from the remote service, automatically initiating a network session, the network session including obtaining a signature via the network, the signature being uniquely associated with the first device;

in response to obtaining the signature via the network, initiating, by the mobile device, an access session with the first device, including utilizing the signature to present a user interface on the mobile device that includes access to the first device; and

automatically terminating the access session in response to detecting a change in the listening session.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the network includes at least one of a WIFI network, a BLUETOOTH network, an audio network, or a near field communication network.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the service, a location of the mobile device based on a signal from the mobile device.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the service, a registration of a location of the first device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the signature is a unique pattern and includes access information that allows the mobile device to automatically access and pair with the first device.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting a pairing session between the mobile device and the first device;

determining that the mobile device is no longer within the predetermined range of the first device; and

in response to the determining, terminating the pairing session.

7. A system comprising:

at least one processor; and

a memory that stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to perform operations of;

in response to receiving a notification from a remote server, initiating a listening session including listening for a signal from a media player device and receiving the signal from the media player device;

initiating a communication session, the communication session including locating, via a network, a unique signature associated with the media player device;

initiating an access session with the media player device, including utilizing the signature to present a user interface that includes access to the media player device; and

automatically terminating the access session in response to detecting a change in the listening session.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise:

automatically initiating the communication session in response to locating the signal associated with the media player device.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the signal is an audio signal.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the receiving includes detecting the audio signal by a microphone of the system.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the signal is a WIFI signal.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein the signal is a combination of at least two of a WIFI signal, a radio frequency signal, an infrared signal, an audio signal, and a BLUETOOTH signal.

13. The system of claim 7, wherein the notification includes a message that the media player device is within a predetermined range of the system.

14. The system of claim 7, further comprising:

determining that the system is no longer within a predetermined range of the media player device; and

in response to determining that the system is no longer within the predetermined range, automatically terminating the access session.

15. The system of claim 7, further comprising:

terminating the access session after a predetermined amount of time.

16. A non-transitory computer readable medium containing instructions that, when executed by a processor of a computing device, cause the computing device to:

initiate a listening session including listening for a message from a service and receiving the message from a remote service, the message indicating that a media player device is within a predetermined range of a mobile device;

in response to receiving the message, automatically initiate a network session, the network session including obtaining a signature via the network, the signature being uniquely associated with the media player device;

in response to obtaining the signature via the network, initiate, by the mobile device, an access session with the media player device, including utilizing the signature to present a user interface on the mobile device that includes access to the media player device; and

automatically terminate the access session in response to detecting a change in the listening session.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to:

send, to the remote service, a set of location data associated with the computing device.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the signature is a combination of two or more near field communication signals, WIFI signals, BLUETOOTH signals, visual signals or audio signals.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the signature is a unique pattern and includes access information that allows the mobile device to automatically access and pair with the media player device.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to:

determine that the computing device is no longer within a predetermined range of the media player device; and

in response to determining that the computing device is no longer within the predetermined range, automatically terminate the access session.