Method and apparatus for connecting short-range wireless communication in terminal

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9591675-B2
Application number	US-201313973404-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 22, 2013
Priority date	Feb 21, 2013
Publication date	Mar 7, 2017
Grant date	Mar 7, 2017

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for connecting short-range wireless communication in a terminal are provided. The method includes connecting with an external device through a short-range wireless communication unit, and after connecting with the external device, providing information about at least one other connectable external device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for connecting short-range wireless communication in an electronic device, the method comprising:
connecting to a specific external device among a plurality of external devices discovered by a scan operation;
detecting at least one other connectable external device including connection information matching connection information stored in the electronic device, among a plurality of other external devices discovered while maintaining that the electronic device is connected with the specific external device,
wherein the detecting of the at least one other connectable external device comprises:
discovering, if an option to view the other connectable external devices is selected after connecting with the specific external device, the plurality of other external devices by the scan operation,
receiving network information for each of the plurality of other external devices through an Access Network Query Protocol (ANQP) procedure with an information server connected to each of the plurality of discovered external devices,
detecting network information including the connection information matching the connection information stored in the electronic device, and
detecting another external device corresponding to the detected network information as
the detected at least one other connectable external device.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the electronic device comprises a short-range wireless communication unit comprising a Wi-Fi communication unit.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one other connectable external device includes at least one of a Hotspot 2.0-supported Access Point (AP) and a Hotspot 2.0-unsupported AP.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
displaying a network list that shows information about the detected at least one other connectable external device and connection status information for the detected at least one other connectable external device;
connecting the at least one other connectable external device corresponding to the selected information on the network list; and
disconnecting the specific external device.

5. The method of claim 1 ,
wherein the connection information includes at least one of a connection method and an authentication scheme, and
wherein the connection status information includes at least one of a Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), a data rate, a billing status, and a network provider type.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one other connectable external device includes a Hotspot 2.0-supported Access Point (AP).

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the detecting of the at least one other connectable external device further comprises:
checking, after connecting with the specific external device, a connection status value of the specific external device;
detecting, if the connection status value of the specific external device is less than or equal to a threshold, external devices including connection information matching the connection information stored in the electronic device, among the plurality of external devices discovered by the scan operation; and
displaying a network list that shows information about the detected external devices and connection status information for each of the detected external devices.

8. The method of claim 7 ,
wherein the connection status value includes at least one of a Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) and a data rate,
wherein the connection information includes at least one of a connection method and an authentication scheme, and
wherein the connection status information includes at least one of the RSSI, the data rate, a billing status, and a network provider type.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the at least one other connectable external device includes a Hotspot 2.0-supported Access Point (AP).

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the discovering comprises:
sorting the plurality of discovered external devices depending on a type thereof;
detecting connectable external devices among the sorted external devices; and
displaying a network list that shows information about the at least one detected connectable external device and connection status information for each of the at least one detected connectable external device.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the connection status information includes at least one of a Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), a data rate, a billing status, and a network provider type.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the detecting of the at least one other connectable external device further comprises:
sorting the plurality of discovered external devices depending on the type thereof, into first external devices connected to an information server and second external devices unconnected to the information server;
detecting, as connectable external devices, first external devices including connection information matching connection information of the electronic device, among the sorted first external devices; and
detecting, as connectable external devices, second external devices whose previous connection information is stored in the electronic device, among the sorted second external devices.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the detecting of the first external devices comprises:
receiving network information for each of the sorted first external devices through an ANQP procedure with an information server connected to each of the sorted first external devices;
determining whether the connection information included in the network information matches the connection information stored in the electronic device;
detecting the network information including the connection information matching the connection information stored in the electronic device; and
detecting a first external device corresponding to the detected network information as a connectable external device.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the connection information includes at least one of a connection method and an authentication scheme.

15. The method of claim 12 , wherein a first external device includes a Hotspot 2.0-supported Access Point (AP), and a second external device includes a Hotspot 2.0-unsupported AP.

16. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
discovering, upon request for connecting short-range wireless communication, the plurality of external devices by the scan operation;
detecting location information of the electronic device;
detecting and connecting with an external device which is set in advance on a priority connection basis for the detected location information of the electronic device, among the plurality of discovered external devices;
upon a change in the location information of the electronic device, discovering the plurality of external devices by the scan operation; and
detecting and connecting with an external device which is set in advance on a priority connection basis depending on the changed location information of the electronic device, among the plurality of discovered external devices.

17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
setting, if short-range wireless communication is performed for a predetermined time or more after the electronic device is connected to a specific external device by short-range wireless communication, the specific external device as an external device which is set on a priority connection basis for the current location information of the electronic device.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the at least one other connectable external device includes a Hotspot 2.0-

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Jung Bu-Seop
• Bastin Edwin Joseph Vimal
• Jung Ji-Hyun

Classifications

• H04W76/10

  Connection setup · CPC title

• H04W48/20

  Selecting an access point · CPC title

• H04W8/005

  Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals · CPC title

• H04W88/06

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