US 2010/0136953 A1 · NETWORK-INTELLIGENT SCANNER

Abstract

A piconet communications system (e.g. Bluetooth®) is used to distribute information to mobile user devices 1 which advertise (10) that they require the information available. In a reversal of the conventional information provision protocols, the information provider 2 scans for user devices receptive to such data (21), and transmit the required data (27), only to such devices that require it. The information provider 2 also has provision to ensure that it transmits the information to each user device only once (step 26). By having the information provider performing the scanning, and only transmitting data to user devices that have indicated they will accept it, and have not already received it, the power consumption of the mobile devices is minimised as they do not need to perform any scanning or information-filtering operations, these being performed by the fixed information provider terminal.

Claims19

Dependent claims

A method of operating a wireless communications system wherein:

at least one device (1) of a first type generates a transmittable request for a specified data type, at least one device (2) of a second type generates and transmits a scanning signal indicative that the device seeks devices of the first type requiring information,
on detection of the scanning signal, a device of the first type transmits the request to the device of the second type specifying the data required, and on receiving the request, the device of the second type determines whether it has data of the type specified in the request and, if it has such data, transmits it to the device of the first type.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Network-intelligent scanner

Life of this patent

Network-intelligent scanner

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims19