Pairing groups of accessories

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12143895-B2
Application number	US-202117508334-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 22, 2021
Priority date	Jun 4, 2021
Publication date	Nov 12, 2024
Grant date	Nov 12, 2024

Abstract

Embodiments that relate to pairing and finding a group of accessory devices are described. In an embodiment, a pairing status is received from a first accessory device, a request is sent to the first accessory device for information on a number of accessory devices in a device group and a number of accessory devices that are proximate to the first accessory device in the device group, information on a second accessory device in the device group is received, a continue pairing message is sent to the second accessory device if the second accessory device is proximate, and a device group profile is created with information on the number of parts and received information on the second accessory device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for finding a device group, the method comprising:
receiving an indication that a first accessory device is part of a device group, wherein the first accessory device is connected to a second accessory device in the device group;
receiving a beacon signal from the first accessory device in the device group, wherein the beacon signal includes at least connection status information between the first accessory device and the second accessory device;
determining, based on the at least connection status information, to attribute location data for the first accessory device to the second accessory device; and
storing the location data corresponding to the beacon signal for the device group.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein a plurality of accessory devices in the device group are physically connected, the plurality of accessory devices includes the first accessory device and second accessory device.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein RSSI information is determined from the beacon signal, and wherein the beacon signal comprises an advertisement including RSSI information.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
presenting the location data on the device group in a user interface.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
requesting storage of the location data on the device group with device locator services.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:
generating at least one key for at least one accessory device in the device group;
requesting a device locator service to send the location data corresponding to the at least one key; and
receiving and presenting the location data on the device group.

7. The method of claim 1 ,
wherein the first accessory device is wirelessly connected to a second accessory device in the device group.

8. A method for finding a group of devices, the method comprising:
receiving an indication that a first accessory device is part of a device group;
receiving at least connection status information indicating the first accessory device is not connected to another accessory device in the device group;
determining, based on the at least connection status information, not to attribute first location data for the first accessory device to the second accessory device;
receiving a first beacon signal from the first accessory device in the device group;
receiving a second beacon signal from a second accessory device in the device group; and
storing first location data corresponding to the first beacon signal and second location data from the second beacon signal for the device group.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
presenting the first location data and the second location data on the device group in a user interface.

10. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
requesting storage of the first location data and the second location data on the device group with device locator services.

11. A non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions to cause one or more processors of an electronic device to perform operations comprising:
receiving an indication that a first accessory device is part of a device group, wherein the first accessory device is connected to a second accessory device in the device group;
receiving a beacon signal from the first accessory device in the device group, wherein the beacon signal includes at least connection status information between the first accessory device and the second accessory device;
determining, based on the at least connection status information, to attribute location data for the first accessory device to the second accessory device; and
storing the location data corresponding to the beacon signal for the device group.

12. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein a plurality of accessory devices in the device group are physically connected, the plurality of accessory devices includes the first accessory device and the second accessory device.

13. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein RSSI information is determined from the beacon signal, and wherein the beacon signal comprises an advertisement including RSSI information.

14. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 11 , the operations further comprising:
presenting the location data on the device group in a user interface.

15. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 11 , the operations further comprising:
requesting storage of the location data on the device group with device locator services.

16. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15 , the operations further comprising:
generating at least one key for at least one accessory device in the device group;
requesting a device locator service to send the location data corresponding to the at least one key; and
receiving and presenting the location data on the device group.

17. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the first accessory device is wirelessly connected to a second accessory device in the device group.

18. An electronic device, the electronic device comprising:
a memory to store instructions for execution;
one or more processors to execute the instructions stored in memory, wherein the instructions, when executed cause the one or more processors to:
receive an indication that a first accessory device is part of a device group, wherein the first accessory device is connected to a second accessory device in the device group;
receive a beacon signal from the first accessory device in the device group, wherein the beacon signal includes at least connection status information between the first accessory device and the second accessory device;
determine, based on the at least connection status information, to attribute location data for the first accessory device to the second accessory device; and
store the location data corresponding to the beacon signal for the device group.

19. The electronic device of claim 18 , wherein a plurality of accessory devices in the device group are physically connected, the plurality of accessory devices includes the first accessory device and the second accessory device.

20. The electronic device of claim 18 , wherein RSSI information is determined from the beacon signal, and wherein the beacon signal comprises an advertisement including RSSI information.

21. The electronic device of claim 18 , the instructions further cause the one or more processors to: presenting the location data on the device group in a user interface.

22. The electronic device of claim 18 , the instructions further cause the one or more processors to:
requesting storage of the location data on the device group with device locator services.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Movva Siva Ganesh
• Ertan Tunc
• Cotte Ariane
• Nguyen Kerry
• Desai Anita
• Laver Steven Douglas
• Ledvina Brent
• Victa Kenneth U
• Chiu Ping-Ko
• Kałużny Michał Adam

Classifications

• H04W12/50 Primary

  Secure pairing of devices · CPC title

• H04W76/14

  Direct-mode setup · CPC title

• H04B17/318

  Received signal strength · CPC title

• H04L63/065

  for group communications (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key management involving conference or group key H04L9/0833) · CPC title

• H04W4/80

  Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication · CPC title