Efficient piconet formation and maintenance in a bluetooth wireless network
US7978647B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 11, 2007 |
| Grant date | Jul 12, 2011 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 8, 2030 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04W84/20
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The invention is addressing the problem of efficient formation and maintenance of piconets with assistance from the master of an already existing piconet. The master of an existing piconet initiates the formation of a new helper piconet by at least two of its slaves. One of the slaves of the existing piconet becomes the master of the newly formed helper piconet and the other slave becomes a slave of the helper piconet. This process can be used to expand the number of Bluetooth devices that can use an Internet access point. It can also be used to permit two slave devices to communicate directly with one another so as not to unnecessarily use bandwidth available through the master. Finally, the method and system could be used to provide a method of efficient hand-off from one piconet to another.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.