System and methods for a cloud based wireless personal area network service enabling context activity handoffs between devices

• US 9,185,742 B2
• Filed: 12/13/2012
• Issued: 11/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Das, Sujoy
• Primary Examiner(s): Brandt, Christopher M
• Application Number:
  US13/713,041
• Publication Number:
  US 20140171064A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,062 Days
• Field of Search: 455/426.1, 455/436, 370/331
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A system includes a cloud server component, operative to associate a plurality of devices with a single network identifier and define a network including each device. The cloud server component obtains and stores a device profile for each device, maintains a database including the stored device profiles and that has context activity information for each device, and receives updates of the context activity information from each device. A service module installed on each device of the network communicates with the cloud server component and is operative to monitor a respective device for context activity changes, provide updates of the respective device context activity to the cloud server component, and perform a context activity handoff with any one of the devices of the network that is a context active device, in response to context activity changes or status changes of the context active device recorded in the database.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

associating a plurality of devices as a network using a single network identifier to define the network;

creating a peer table comprising peer-to-peer connectivity information for each device of the plurality of devices and context activity information for at least one device of the plurality of devices;

sending the peer table to the plurality of devices;

monitoring, with a service module of each respective device of the plurality of devices, context activity;

receiving periodic updates from each service module, the periodic updates including at least one of battery power level, proximity, or last context activity;

updating the peer table and sending a peer table update to the plurality of devices; and

using the context activity information associated with the peer table to determine a candidate device form the plurality of devices for performing a context handoff where a context session is transferred to the candidate device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein creating a peer table comprises:

obtaining a device profile from each device of the plurality of devices and creating the peer table by getting the peer-to-peer connectivity information from the device profiles, the peer-to-peer connectivity information including hardware addresses for peer-to-peer connectivity.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving periodic updates from each service module comprises:

receiving an update from the at least one device for at least one context activity of the context activities;

a phone call, a chat session, an Internet browsing session, document editing, electronic book viewing, media playback, or a streaming media session.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

accessing content related to the context activity on the at least one device by a cloud based server via the service module of the at least one device; and

providing access to the content to a second device.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

creating a virtual map indicating a proximity for each device of the plurality of devices; and

using the virtual map to determine a candidate device from the plurality of devices for performing a context handoff.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising;

receiving a context handoff request from a first device of the plurality of devices; and

forwarding the context handoff request to a second device of the plurality of devices.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving the context activity update from the at least one device indicating a change in context activity;

sending a message to a second device service module to reconfigure the second device to launch an application corresponding to the change in context activity; and

updating the peer table to indicate the new context activity for the at least one device and for the second device.

8. A cloud based system, comprising:

a cloud based server and a non-volatile, non-transitory memory operatively coupled thereto, the cloud based server operative to;

associate a plurality of devices as a network using a single network identifier to define the network;

create a peer table and store the peer table in the memory, the peer table comprising peer-to-peer connectivity information for each device of the plurality of devices and context activity information for at least one device of the plurality of devices;

identify at least one device is a context active device;

send the peer table to the plurality of devices, which include a service module operative to monitor context activity on a respective device;

receive a context activity update from the at least one device, such update including information pertaining to at least one of battery level, proximity to another device in the network or last context activity, and update the peer table;

send a peer table update to the plurality of devices; and

perform a context activity handoff from at least one device that is a context active device to another at least one either device of the network in response to a context activity update.

9. The cloud based system of claim 8, wherein the cloud based server is further operative to:

obtain a device profile from each device of the plurality of devices and create the peer table by getting the peer-to-peer connectivity information from the device profiles, the peer-to-peer connectivity information including hardware addresses for peer-to-peer connectivity.

10. The cloud based system of claim 8, wherein the cloud based server is further operative to:

receive an update from the at least one device for at least one context activity of the context activities;

a phone call, a chat session, an Internet browsing session, document editing, electronic book viewing, media playback, or a streaming media session; and

receive periodic updates from each service module, the periodic updates including one of battery power level, proximity or last context activity.

11. The cloud based system of claim 8, wherein the cloud based server is further operative to:

access content related to the context activity on the at least one device via the service module of the at least one device; and

provide access to the content to a second device.

12. The cloud based system of claim 10, wherein the cloud based server is further operative to:

update the peer table using the periodic updates; and

send an updated peer table to each device of the plurality of devices via each service module.

13. The cloud based system of claim 8, wherein the cloud based server is further operative to:

receive the context activity update from the at least one device indicating a change in context activity;

send a message to a second device service module to reconfigure the second device to launch an application corresponding to the change in context activity; and

update the peer table to indicate the new context activity for the at least one device and for the second device.

14. The cloud based system of claim 8, wherein the service module is further operative to:

receive the peer table from the cloud based server and store the peer table in memory of a respective device.

15. The cloud based system of claim 8, wherein the service module is further operative to perform a context activity handoff operation with another device of the plurality of devices by:

detecting a context activity change or device status change of a context active device via the peer table; and

launching a device application related to the context activity of the context active device automatically to initiate context activity identical to the context activity of the context active device.

16. The cloud based system of claim 8, wherein the service module is further operative to:

access content related to the context activity on a second device via either a peer-to-peer connection initiated automatically using the peer-to-peer connectivity information contained in the peer table or via the cloud based server using the service modules of the context active device and the second device.

17. The cloud based system of claim 8, wherein the cloud based server is further operative to:

provide a graphical user interface (GUI) for display on any of the plurality of devices in communication with the cloud based server, the GUI including;

a navigable initial page having a plurality of selections;

a plurality of setting inputs for each device of the plurality of devices, navigable by selecting a specific device of the plurality of devices and providing corresponding setting selections for determining conditions under which context activity should be handed off from or to, the specific device; and

wherein the service module is operative to perform context handoff operations for the specific device based on settings provided for the specific device via the GUI.