Paging auto-acknowledgement

A method, comprising:

• transmitting, according to a protocol for establishing a connection between a transceiver and a slave device based on a channel hopping sequence, on a first channel, a synchronization packet to the slave device, where the synchronization packet specifies a second channel on which a subsequent packet will be transmitted to the slave device, wherein the second channel is defined by the channel hopping sequence;
• wherein the protocol specifies that the slave device is to send an acknowledgement to the synchronization packet on the first channel prior to switching to the second channel and based on the acknowledgement being received by the transceiver, i) cause the transceiver to transmit the subsequent packet to the slave device on the second channel and ii) receive a response to the subsequent packet on the second channel to establish the connection between the transceiver and the slave device based on the channel hopping sequence;
• and
• when i) predetermined automatic acknowledgement criteria are met, and ii) no acknowledgment to the synchronization packet has been received by the transceiver on the first channel from the slave device, causing the transceiver to transmit the subsequent packet to the slave device on the second channel specified by the synchronization packet transmitted on the first channel, wherein the predetermined automatic acknowledgement criteria specify that the transceiver is to automatically switch from the first channel to the second channel specified by the synchronization packet transmitted on the first channel for transmitting the subsequent packet in response to a predetermined number of transmissions of the synchronization packet having occurred over the first channel without the transmitter having received the acknowledgement to the synchronization packet from the slave device, and based on transmission of the subsequent packet on the second channel, receive the response to the subsequent packet from the slave device on the second channel to establish the connection between the transceiver and the slave device based on the channel hopping sequence.

An integrated circuit device comprising:

• a first integrated circuit that includes an antenna configured to send and receive signals in at least an Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) frequency band;
• a second integrated circuit that includes a Bluetooth transceiver configured to communicate by way of the antenna;
• and
• a third integrated circuit that includes hardware embodying auto-ACK logic for establishing a connection between a transceiver and a slave device based on a channel hopping sequence, the auto-ACK logic configured to:
• cause the transceiver to transmit, on a first channel, a synchronization packet to a slave device, where the synchronization packet specifies a second channel on which a subsequent packet will be transmitted to the slave device and where the second channel is defined by the channel hopping sequence, receive, by the transceiver, an acknowledgement to the synchronization packet on the first channel, and based on the acknowledgement being received i) cause the transceiver to transmit the subsequent packet to the slave device on the second channel;
• and ii) receive a response to the subsequent packet on the second channel to establish the connection between the transceiver and the slave device based on the channel hopping sequence;
• determine whether automatic acknowledgement criteria are met, where the automatic acknowledgement criteria are independent of communications received from the slave device, and wherein the automatic acknowledgement criteria specify that the transceiver is to automatically switch from the first channel to the second channel specified by the synchronization packet transmitted on the first channel for transmitting the subsequent packet in response to a predetermined number of transmissions of the synchronization packet having occurred over the first channel without the transmitter having received acknowledgement to the synchronization packet from the slave device, and
• when i) the automatic acknowledgement criteria are met, and ii) no acknowledgment to the synchronization packet has been received by the transceiver on the first channel from the slave device, cause the Bluetooth transceiver to transmit the subsequent packet to the slave device on the second channel specified by the synchronization packet transmitted on the first channel without the transmitter having received the acknowledgement to the synchronization packet from the slave device;
• and based on transmission on the second channel, receive the response to the subsequent packet from the slave device on the second channel to establish the connection between the transceiver and the slave device based on the channel hopping sequence.