CN1883123A - Method and device for identifying and pairing bluetooth devices - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of revealing the device identity of a recipient Bluetooth device (1). When the recipient device is turned on, it displays the device identity. A user enters the device identity of the recipient device into a sending Bluetooth device in order to establish the initial communication link between the sending and recipient devices. Once the initial communication link is established, the devices are paired. It is no longer necessary to enter the device identity of the recipient device into the sending device in order to establish further communication link. Furthermore, if the recipient device has already been turned on when the user wants to establish the initial commlnication link, the device identity is displayed when the user sends a message or signal from the sending device to the recipient device.

Description

Method and device for identifying and pairing bluetooth devices

field of invention

The present invention relates generally to so-called Bluetooth communication systems operating at radio frequencies around 2.45 GHz, and more particularly to identifying another Bluetooth device when communicating with another Bluetooth device.

Background of the invention

The Bluetooth system provides a communication channel between two electronic devices over a short-range radio link. In particular, Bluetooth systems operate in the radio frequency range around 2.45 GHz in the unlicensed Industrial Scientific and Medical (ISM) band. Bluetooth radio links are intended to replace cables between portable and/or fixed electronic devices. Portable devices include mobile phones, communicators, audio headsets and microphones, laptop computers, other GEOS-based or palm OS-based devices, and devices with different operating systems.

Bluetooth operating frequencies are available all over the world, but the allowable bandwidth and available RF channels of the Bluetooth frequency band may vary from country to country. The global Bluetooth operating frequency is within the range of 2400MHz-2497MHz. In the United States and Europe, the bandwidth of the available frequency band is 83.7 MHz, and the frequency band is divided into 79 RF channels spaced 1 MHz apart. Bluetooth network arrangements can be point-to-point or point-to-multipoint to provide connectivity links between multiple electronic devices. 2-8 devices may be operatively connected into the piconet, where during a given period one device acts as a master and the others act as slaves. Several piconets can form a larger communication network called a scatternet, with each piconet maintaining its independence. The baseband protocol of the Bluetooth system combines circuit switching and packet switching. Circuit switching can be either synchronous or asynchronous. A physical channel can support up to three synchronous data (logical) channels, or one synchronous and one asynchronous data channel. Each synchronous channel is capable of supporting a transfer rate of 64kb/s, while an asynchronous channel has a transfer rate of up to 721kb/s in one direction and 57.6kb/s in the opposite direction. If the link is symmetrical, the asynchronous channel can support a transmission rate of 432.6kb/s. A typical Bluetooth system includes a radio link, a link control unit and support units for link management and host terminal interface functions. The Bluetooth link controller completes the baseband protocol and other low-level routing. Link layer messages for link establishment and control are defined in the Link Manager Protocol (LMP). To overcome the difficulties of radio noise interference and signal fading, frequency hopping is currently used to make the connection more robust.

Currently, a pseudo-random hopping sequence across the Bluetooth bandwidth utilizes each of the 79 RF channels. This hopping sequence is unique to each piconet and is determined by the Bluetooth device address of the master, whose clock is used to determine the phase of the hopping sequence. The channel is divided into time slots of 625 μs long and numbered according to the master clock, where each time slot corresponds to an RF hop, where each successive hop corresponds to a different RF hop. The rated jump rate is 1600 jumps/second. All Bluetooth devices joining the piconet are time-synchronized and hop-synchronized to the channel. The slot numbers range from 0 to 2 ²⁷ -1 and cycle with a 2 ²⁷ long period. During a time slot, the master and slave can transmit packets. A packet transmitted by a master device or a packet transmitted by a slave device can be extended to 5 time slots. RF frequency hopping remains constant during packet transmission.

When a Bluetooth device communicates with another Bluetooth device, one is the sending device and the other is the receiving device. When pairing a sending device and a receiving device, it is necessary to identify the sending device. This is necessary because without such identification and pairing, it is possible to accidentally connect a sending device in someone's home to a receiving device in a next-door neighbor, which is right behind the wall of the residence. For example, if the sending device is used to send images to a bluetooth image viewer, it is undesirable for the images to accidentally appear on a neighbor's screen.

Typically, when an end user wishes to establish communication between a sending Bluetooth device and a receiving Bluetooth device, the user should key in the identity of the receiving device to the sending device. In the example illustrated above, the communication between the image transmitter and the image viewer can only be established after the end user enters his or her own image viewer's identification code into the image transmitting device. Because each image viewer has its unique identification code, it is extremely unlikely that an end user will accidentally send his or her image to a neighbor's image viewer. In the above example the sending device could be a mobile phone and the image viewer could be a TVDongle.

In a household with multiple Bluetooth devices, the end user of the device must know the identification code for each device that can or will be used as a receiving device. For example, the identification code may be the last N digits of the serial number of the Bluetooth device. For practical reasons, the serial number may be on a label inside the battery compartment, or on a label on the bottom of the device. In order to find out the serial number, the end user may have to remove the battery from the battery compartment or have to turn over the heavy device.

There is thus provided a method and apparatus for presenting the identification code of a Bluetooth device whenever a user wants to access a Bluetooth device without requiring the end user to remember the identification code or go through multiple unnecessary steps to find all Bluetooth devices. The above code is very beneficial and desirable.

Contents of the invention

The present invention provides a method and device for exposing the device identity of a receiving Bluetooth device to allow a user to use the device identity to establish an initial communication link between a receiving device and a sending Bluetooth device.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of providing an identity of a communication device in a wireless communication system for establishing a communication link between the communication device and another communication device based on the identity of the communication device. The method includes:

providing a signal in the communication device in response to an action on the communication device; and

In response to the signal, the identity is output in a perceptually noticeable form to allow the user to establish a communication link using the outputted identity.

According to the invention, said outputting step comprises displaying a visual message indicating the identity on a display device or announcing an audible message indicating the identity on a sound emitting device. The display device may be a display screen on or operatively connected to the communication device.

According to the present invention, the action may be powering on the communication device, and the action may also be sending a communication signal from another communication device to the communication device.

According to the invention, the communication link comprises an initial communication link for pairing the communication device with another communication device, wherein said outputting step is performed as long as the communication link is the original communication link.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of establishing an initial communication link between a first communication device and a second communication device, the first communication device having a device identity. The method is characterized in that,

outputting the device identity in a perceptually noticeable form in response to an action on the first communication device; and

Information indicative of the identity of the output is provided to the second communications device.

According to the present invention, the information providing step is performed by a user.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a communication device with a device identity in a wireless communication system is provided, and the wireless communication system includes at least one other communication device for communicating with the communication device. The communication device is characterized in that,

a storage device to hold data indicative of the identity of the device; and

an output device operatively connected to a storage device for providing information in a perceptually noticeable form indicative of the identity of the device so as to allow a user to establish a communication between the communication device and another communication device using the provided information Initial communication link.

According to the invention, the communication device comprises a display device operatively connected to the output device for displaying a visual message indicative of the identity of the device. Alternatively, the output device is operatively connected to a display device for displaying a visual message on the display device indicating the identity of the device.

The invention will become apparent after reading the description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings 1a-2b.

Description of drawings

Figure 1a is a schematic representation illustrating a Bluetooth communication system comprising a sending device and a receiving device having a screen for displaying its identification code.

Figure 1b is a schematic representation illustrating a Bluetooth communication system comprising a sending device and a receiving device, wherein the receiving device has no screen for displaying its identification code.

Figure 2a is a schematic representation illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2b is a schematic representation illustrating an alternative embodiment of the invention.

Detailed description of the invention

FIG. 1 a is a schematic representation illustrating a receiving device 20 and a sending device 80 in a Bluetooth communication network 10 . As shown, the sending device 80 is a mobile phone, and the receiving device 20 is a Bluetooth television (TV) (or Bluetooth image frame, media frame, image display device, image receiving device, etc.). The mobile phone 80 can send the image to the TV 20 for display. When an end user wishes to establish a communication link between receiving device 20 and transmitting device 80, both devices should be powered on. When the two devices are paired for communication for the first time, the identity of the receiving device 20 must be entered into the sending device 80 . According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, when the power of the receiving device 20 is turned on, the identification code 40 of the receiving device 20 is automatically displayed on the screen 22 for at least a period of time, which is long enough for the end user to see and use the identification code 40 . To initiate communication between devices 20 and 80 , the end user then enters identification code 40 into sending device 80 . In this way, devices 20 and 80 are paired. By automatically displaying the identification code 40, the end user can easily find out the identification code of the receiving device. In this case, the identification code 40 of the receiving device 20 is used as the device address. The link key is preferably generated in the memory 82 of the sending device 80 after the sending device 80 has been paired with the receiving device 20 . Likewise, a link key is generated in the memory 58 of the receiving device 20 (see Figures 2a and 2b). For example, the link key in the memory 82 of the sending device 80 may be the Bluetooth address of the sending device 80 and the identification code 40 of the receiving device 20 . In this way, when the receiving device 20 and the sending device 80 are later linked again, it is possible for the sending device 80 to recognize the receiving device 20 as an authorized recipient by remembering the earlier pairing.

It should be noted that receiving device 20 can be powered on by manually toggling power on switch 24 or by activating a remote on/off switch 26 using a remote control (not shown). Although it is preferred that the identification code 40 is revealed when the receiving device 20 is turned on, it is also possible to reveal the identification code 40 by pressing the button 28 . In that regard, the identification code 40 is presented to the end user whenever the end user takes an action on the receiving device 20 that generates a signal causing the identification code 40 to be presented. In addition, if the receiving device 20 is powered on when the end user wants to establish communication between the receiving device 20 and another sending device 80', then the receiving device 20 The identification code 40 is displayed automatically. Therefore, the end user does not have to turn off the receiving device 20 in order to see the identification code 40, and then turn the receiving device 20 back on again. However, if the sending device 80' has previously been paired with the receiving device 20, then the receiving device 20 need not display its identification code 40.

It should be noted that some Bluetooth receiving devices may not have a screen to display the identification code. For example, a Bluetooth TV Dongle or video receiver connected to a non-Bluetooth TV can be used to receive images from a Bluetooth sending device and transfer the received images to the TV for display. As shown in Figure 1b, the receiving device 20' has no screen, but it can use the screen 32 of the connected television 30 to display the identification code 40.

Figure 2a is a schematic representation illustrating an identification code presentation mechanism according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2a, the receiving device 20 has a power source (or one or more batteries, or a charger) 50, which can be turned on by a manual switch 24 or a remote control switch 26. When the power is on, it supplies a signal 130 to the signal generator 52 . Signal generator 52 supplies signal 140 to display driver 56 . The receiving device 20 has storage means 54 for storing an electrically readable code indicative of the identification code 40 of the receiving device. In response to signal 140 , display driver 56 reads the identification code from storage device 54 and generates digital data 150 for display on screen 22 . The receiving device 20 preferably generates the link key in its memory 58 after pairing with the sending device. In this way, when the already paired sending device later wants to link with the receiving device 20, the receiving device 20 will no longer display its identification code 40. The identification code 40 can be displayed if the receiving device is a Bluetooth television set with a picture display screen (Fig. 1a) or a Bluetooth video receiver connected to a non-Bluetooth device with a picture display screen (Fig. 1b). However, if the receiving device 20 does not have such a display screen or is not associated with a screen, it is possible to provide a small screen (eg, an 8-segment alphanumeric display) on the receiving device to display the identification code. Alternatively, the identification code 40 can be presented as a sound 62 through a speaker 60 as shown in Fig. 2b. As shown in FIG. 2b, signal 140 is supplied to speech generator 66 which announces the identification code through speaker 60 one or more times. If the end user misses the announcement, he or she can press button 28 to listen to signal 140 again.

As mentioned above, in an initial session, after entering the receiving device's identification code into the sending device, a communication link between the two devices can be established based on the associated link key. Since the link key indicating the identification code of the receiving device is stored in the sending device, it is not necessary to enter the same receiving device's identification code in future sessions. The receiving device can be programmed to automatically receive all sent messages or images from ever paired sending devices. However, when a new sending device attempts to establish a communication link with the receiving device, the receiving device will present the identification code to allow the user to enter the code into the new sending device.

After the initial pairing, the receiving device 20 is able to find out the device address of the sending device 80 . In that case, the roles of devices 20 and 80 could be reversed, if desired.

As noted above, each Bluetooth device has storage means to hold one or more link keys associated with other Bluetooth devices with which it has previously been paired. For example, link keys associated with 10 already paired devices can be saved. If more devices are to be paired, then, for example, the identification codes of already paired devices can be deleted according to the first-in-first-out principle.

In summary, the present invention provides a method and device for presenting an identification code of a wireless communication device in a perceptually noticeable form in response to an end user's actions on the device. For example, the perceptually noticeable form may be a display on a display device, or an announcement on a speaker. The action may be turning on the power of the device, or pressing a certain button on the device.

The invention is applicable to bluetooth system and other local wireless connection carriers. For example, the sending device may be a mobile terminal, an image acquisition device, and an image storage device. For example, the receiving device may be an image viewer, or an image receiver. However, the sending device may be a sound recording or storage system and the receiving device may be a sound producing system.

Accordingly, although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other various changes, omissions and variations in form and detail may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. scope.

Claims (26)

1. a method that represents the identity of communication equipment in wireless communication system is used for setting up communication link based on the identity of this communication equipment between this communication equipment and another communication equipment, and described method is characterised in that:

In response to the action on the communication equipment, in communication equipment, provide signal; With

In response to this signal, with the form that can notice on sense organ output identity, so that the identity of this output can be used for setting up communication link.

2. the described method of claim 1 is characterized in that, described action comprises communication equipment is powered up.

3. the described method of claim 1 is characterized in that, described communication equipment comprises display device, and described output is included in the visible message that shows the indication identity on the display device.

4. the described method of claim 1, it is characterized in that: described communication equipment is operably connected to display device, and described output comprise will the indication identity information send to display device so that allow display device to show the visible message of this information of indication.

5. the described method of claim 1 is characterized in that, described communication equipment has comprised audible device, and described output is included in the message of hearing of declaration indication identity on the audible device.

6. the described method of claim 1 is characterized in that, described action comprises from described another communication equipment transmission signal of communication to described communication equipment.

7. the described method of claim 1 is characterized in that, described communication equipment and another communication equipment are bluetooth equipments.

8. the described method of claim 1 is characterized in that, described communication equipment comprises a bluetooth image receiver.

9. the described method of claim 1 is characterized in that, described communication equipment comprises a blue tooth television machine.

10. the described method of claim 5 is characterized in that, communication link comprises the initial communication link that is used for communication equipment and the pairing of another communication equipment, wherein as long as communication link is an initial communication link, carries out described output so.

11. a method of setting up initial communication link between first communication equipment and second communication equipment, first communication equipment has equipment identities, and described method is characterised in that:

In response to the action on first communication equipment, with the form that can notice on the sense organ export this equipment identities and

The information of this output identity of indication is provided to second communication equipment.

12. the described method of claim 11 is characterized in that, described action comprises first communication equipment is powered up.

13. the described method of claim 11 is characterized in that, described action comprises from second communication equipment and transmits a signal to first communication equipment.

14. the described method of claim 11 is characterized in that, carrying out described information by the user provides.

15. the described method of claim 11 is characterized in that first communication equipment comprises the image-watching device.

16. the described method of claim 11 is characterized in that first communication equipment comprises image receiver.

17. the described method of claim 11 is characterized in that first communication equipment comprises the blue tooth television machine.

18. the described method of claim 11 is characterized in that first communication equipment comprises the bluetooth image display.

19. the described method of claim 11 is characterized in that, first communication equipment comprises the bluetooth image receiver that is operably connected to image display.

20. the described method of claim 11 is characterized in that second communication equipment comprises portable terminal.

21. a communication equipment that has equipment identities in wireless communication system, this wireless communication system comprise that another communication equipment is used for and this communication apparatus communication at least, described communication equipment is characterised in that:

Memory device is used for preserving the data of indicating equipment identity; With

Output equipment, be operably connected to this memory device, provide the information of indicating equipment identity with the form that can notice on the sense organ, so that allow the user to use the information that is provided between this communication equipment and this another communication equipment, to set up initial communication link.

22. the described communication equipment of claim 21, its feature also are, are operably connected to the display device of output equipment, are used for showing the visible message of indicating equipment identity.

23. the described communication equipment of claim 21 is characterized in that described output equipment is operably connected to display device, is used for showing on display device the visible message of indicating equipment identity.

24. the described communication equipment of claim 21 comprises the image-watching device.

25. the described communication equipment of claim 21 comprises image receiver.

26. the described communication equipment of claim 21 comprises the bluetooth image receiver that is operably connected to non-bluetooth image display.

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