Systems and methods for wireless communication interoperability

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016295351-A1
Application number	US-201514678795-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Apr 3, 2015
Priority date	Apr 3, 2015
Publication date	Oct 6, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A method for wireless communication is described. The method includes receiving a signal from a short-range transmit device using a first communication technology. The signal indicates proximity and characteristics of a remote device that uses a second communications technology. The method also includes configuring a controller according to the signal for communications with the remote device using the second communications technology.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method for wireless communication, comprising:
receiving a signal from a short-range transmit device using a first communication technology, wherein the signal indicates proximity and characteristics of a remote device that uses a second communications technology; determining, based on the signal, that a first configuration used by a controller for the second communications technology is incompatible with the remote device; and configuring the controller, based on the signal, to use a second configuration for the second communications technology that is interoperable with the remote device.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first communication technology has a longer range than the second communications technology.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the signal comprises an identifier that identifies the characteristics of the second communications technology used by the remote device.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the short-range transmit device is a Bluetooth low energy beacon and the remote device is a remote near-field communication (NFC) device.

5 . (canceled)

6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining configuration information for the second communication technology based on the signal.

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising reconfiguring the controller with the first configuration upon leaving a transmission range of the short-range transmit device.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein configuring the controller comprises changing one or more radio frequency (RF) parameters of the controller.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a Bluetooth low energy controller provides the signal to a device host, wherein the device host configures the controller according to the signal.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a Bluetooth low energy controller is directly connected to the controller via a single wire protocol (SWP) interface, wherein configuring the controller for communications with the remote device occurs without powering up a device host.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the remote device is a near-field communication (NFC) reader used in a mass transit system to implement ticketing transactions, wherein the second configuration that is interoperable with the NFC reader is applied to the controller in lieu of the first configuration.

12 . A wireless communication device, comprising:
a processor; memory in electronic communication with the processor; and instructions stored in the memory, the instructions being executable by the processor to: receive a signal from a short-range transmit device using a first communication technology, wherein the signal indicates proximity and characteristics of a remote device that uses a second communications technology; determine, based on the signal, that a first configuration used by a controller for the second communications technology is incompatible with the remote device; and configure the controller, based on the signal, to use a second configuration for the second communications technology that is interoperable with the remote device.

13 . The wireless communication device of claim 12 , wherein the first communication technology has a longer range than the second communications technology.

14 . The wireless communication device of claim 12 , wherein the signal comprises an identifier that identifies the characteristics of the second communications technology used by the remote device.

15 . The wireless communication device of claim 12 , wherein the short-range transmit device is a Bluetooth low energy beacon and the remote device is a remote near-field communication (NFC) device.

16 . (canceled)

17 . The wireless communication device of claim 12 , wherein the instructions executable to configure the controller comprise instructions executable to change one or more radio frequency (RF) parameters of the controller.

18 . The wireless communication device of claim 12 , wherein the remote device is a near-field communication (NFC) reader used in a mass transit system to implement ticketing transactions, wherein the second configuration that is interoperable with the NFC reader is applied to the controller in lieu of the first configuration.

19 . A computer-program product for wireless communication, comprising a non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium having instructions thereon, the instructions comprising:
code for causing a wireless communication device to receive a signal from a short-range transmit device using a first communication technology, wherein the signal indicates proximity and characteristics of a remote device that uses a second communications technology; code for causing the wireless communication device to determine, based on the signal, that a first configuration used by a controller for the second communications technology is incompatible with the remote device; and code for causing the wireless communication device to configure the controller based on the signal, to use a second configuration for the second communications technology that is interoperable with the remote device.

20 . The computer-program product of claim 19 , wherein the first communication technology has a longer range than the second communications technology.

21 . The computer-program product of claim 19 , wherein the signal comprises an identifier that identifies the characteristics of the second communications technology used by the remote device.

22 . The computer-program product of claim 19 , wherein the short-range transmit device is a Bluetooth low energy beacon and the remote device is a remote near-field communication (NFC) device.

23 . (canceled)

24 . The computer-program product of claim 19 , wherein the code for causing the wireless communication device to configure the controller comprises code for causing the wireless communication device to change one or more radio frequency (RF) parameters of the controller.

25 . An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:
means for receiving a signal from a short-range transmit device using a first communication technology, wherein the signal indicates proximity and characteristics of a remote device that uses a second communications technology; means for determining, based on the signal, that a first configuration used by a controller for the second communications technology is incompatible with the remote device; and means for configuring the controller, based on the signal, to use a second configuration for the second communications technology that is interoperable with the remote device.

26 . The apparatus of claim 25 , wherein the first communication technology has a longer range than the second communications technology.

27 . The apparatus of claim 25 , wherein the signal comprises an identifier that identifies the characteristics of the second communications technology used by the remote device.

28 . The apparatus of claim 25 , wherein the short-range transmit device is a Bluetooth low energy beacon and the remote device is a remote near-field communication (NFC) device.

29 . (canceled)

30 . The apparatus of claim 25 , wherein the means for configuring the controller comprise means for changing one or more radio frequency (RF) parameters of the controller.

Assignees

• Qualcomm Inc

Inventors

• O'Donoghue Jeremy Robin Christopher

Classifications

• H04W4/008 Primary

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04W88/06

  adapted for operation in multiple networks {or having at least two operational modes}, e.g. multi-mode terminals · CPC title

• H04W4/80 Primary

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

• H04W84/18

  Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks · CPC title

• H04W12/35

  Protecting application or service provisioning, e.g. securing SIM application provisioning · CPC title