This specification relates generally to facilitating the initiation of a wireless communication session between two devices
Many types of short-range, or local, wireless communication systems are well known in the art. These include Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, near field communication (NFC), Wi-Fi and other types of wireless local area networks (WLANs).
In a first aspect, this specification describes an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to receive a signal indicative of a request to initiate a wireless communication session using an antenna of a first wireless communication device, and responsive to the signal, to cause an indicator to be displayed on a display of the first wireless communication device, the indicator being configured to indicate to a user an orientation of the first wireless communication device with respect to a second communication device for facilitating the initiation of a wireless communication session between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device using the antenna.
The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to measure a strength of a signal received at the antenna from the second wireless communication device and to cause an indication of the measured signal strength to be provided to the user of the first wireless communication device.
The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to determine if a measured strength of the received signal is above a predetermined threshold, and when the measured strength of the received signal is above the predetermined threshold, to initiate a wireless communication session with the second wireless communication device. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to cause an indication of the initiation of the wireless communication session to be provided to the user of the first wireless communication device.
In a second aspect, this specification describes, a method comprising receiving a signal indicative of a request to initiate a wireless communication session using an antenna of a first wireless communication device, and responding to the signal by causing an indicator to be displayed on a display of the first wireless communication device, the indicator being configured to indicate to a user an orientation of the first wireless communication device with respect to a second communication device for facilitating the initiation of a wireless communication session between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device using the antenna.
The method may further comprise measuring a strength of a signal received at the antenna from the second wireless communication device, and causing an indication of the measured signal strength to be provided to the user of the first wireless communication device.
The method may further comprise determining if a measured strength of the received signal is above a predetermined threshold, and when the measured strength of the received signal is above the predetermined threshold, initiating a wireless communication session with the second wireless communication device. The method may comprise causing an indication of the initiation of the wireless communication session to be provided to the user of the first wireless communication device.
In a third aspect, this specification describes computer-readable code which, when executed by computing apparatus, causes the computing apparatus to perform a method in accordance with the second aspect.
In a fourth aspect, the specification describes a non-transitory computer readable memory medium having computer readable instructions stored thereon, the computer readable instructions, when executed by at least one processor, causing the at least one processor to receive a signal indicative of a request to initiate a wireless communication session using an antenna of a first wireless communication device, and responsive to the signal, to cause an indicator to be displayed on a display of the first wireless communication device, the indicator being configured to indicate to a user an orientation of the first wireless communication device with respect to a second communication device for facilitating the initiation of a wireless communication session between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device using the antenna.
In a fifth aspect, this specification describes apparatus comprising means for receiving a signal indicative of a request to initiate a wireless communication session using an antenna of a first wireless communication device, and means for responding to the signal by causing an indicator to be displayed on a display of the first wireless communication device, the indicator being configured to indicate to a user an orientation of the first wireless communication device with respect to a second communication device for facilitating the initiation of a wireless communication session between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device using the antenna.
In a sixth aspect, this specification describes apparatus configured to cause the apparatus to receive a signal indicative of a request to initiate a wireless communication session using an antenna of a first wireless communication device, and responsive to the signal, to cause an indicator to be displayed on a display of the first wireless communication device, the indicator being configured to indicate to a user an orientation of the first wireless communication device with respect to a second communication device for facilitating the initiation of a wireless communication session between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device using the antenna.
In any of the first to sixth aspects, the indicator may be configured to indicate the orientation by indicating a location on the first wireless communication device at which a strength of a field produced by the antenna is sufficiently large to allow a wireless communication session to be initiated with a second wireless communication device. The indicator may be configured to indicate to the user a location on the first wireless communication device at which the strength of the field produced by the antenna is at a maximum.
In any of the first to sixth aspects, the request to initiate the wireless communication session may comprise a user input received at a user interface of the first wireless communications device. Alternatively, he request to initiate the wireless communication session may comprise an inquiry packet received at the antenna of the first wireless communication device from the second wireless communication device.
In any of the first to sixth aspects, the indicator may be configured to indicate a location of the antenna of the first device.
For a more complete understanding of example embodiments, reference is now made to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
In the description and drawings, like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.
The apparatus 1 comprises a controller 10 and at least one non-transitory memory medium 12. The controller 10 is operable, under the control of computer readable code 12A stored on the at least one memory medium 12, to control the various other components of the apparatus 1. The controller 10 comprises at least one processor 10A which is configured to execute the computer readable code 12A and thereby to cause actions to be performed by the other components. The controller 10 may also comprise one or more application specific integrated circuits (not shown). The at least one non-transitory memory medium 12 comprises one or more discreet memory media such as, but not limited to, ROM, RAM, flash memory and optical storage.
The apparatus 1 may be part of a wireless communication device such as a mobile telephone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA) or any other type of wireless communication device. As such, in this example, the apparatus 1 comprises an antenna 14 and a wireless communication module 16. The antenna 14 and the wireless communication module 16 are operable under the control of the controller 10 initiate and sustain a wireless communication session with another wireless communication device (not shown). The antenna 14 and the wireless communication module 16 may be configured to operate using any appropriate short range, or local, wireless communication protocol. Such protocols include, but are not limited to, Bluetooth, Bluetooth low energy, near field communication (NFC), Wi-Fi and WLAN. A wireless communication session is a session in which content is transferred over an air interface between two wireless communication devices. As such, if we consider the Bluetooth protocol, a wireless communication session may not include the inquiry process that may be used to set up the Bluetooth communication session.
The apparatus 1 may also comprise a user interface 18 including a display 18-1 and a user-input interface 18-2. The user-input interface 18-2 may be of any suitable type including, but not limited to a touch and/or hover interface and/or one or more mechanical keys. The user interface 18 is operable under the control of the controller 10. As such, the controller 10 may be configured to send signals to the display 18-1 so as to cause images to be displayed on the display 18-1. The controller 10 may also be operable to receive signals indicative of user inputs from the user input-interface 18-2 and to cause actions to occur in accordance with user inputs.
The apparatus 1 may comprise one or more other components including, but not limited to, a speaker 20 for providing audio outputs to the user and a battery 22 for providing power to the apparatus 1. It will also be appreciated that the apparatus 1 may comprise other components such as one or more additional antennas (not shown). The one or more additional antennas may be configured to communicate with other devices over a cellular communications network or another type of long-range communications network. One or more of the additional antennas may be configured for short-range or local wireless communication using, for example, NFC, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.
The strengths of radio frequency (RF) signals omitted by short, or local, range communication antennas, such as the antenna 14 of
In step S2, the controller 10 responds to receipt of this signal by causing an indicator (such as the example indicators 40, 50 of
In the example of
In examples in which the indicator 50 is displayed as close as possible to the location of maximum field strength, such as that shown in
Returning now to
Next, in step S4, the controller determines if an indication of the received signal strength (RSSI) is above a threshold RSSI at which the communication session is initiated. In some examples, the RSSI threshold may be so high that the two devices must be in very close proximity, for example touching, before a communication session can be initiated. In some cases the threshold may only be surpassed when the devices 2 are in very close proximity and when the antennas 14 of the two devices are facing one another.
If, in step S4, it is determined that the RSSI is below the RSSI threshold the controller 10 proceeds to step S5, in which an indication of this is caused to be provided to the user. This indication may be provided in any suitable way, for example, via the display, the speaker and/or a vibration module. In some examples, this indication is provided by adapting the appearance of the indicator 40, 50 displayed in step S2. For example, the colour of all or part of the indicator 40, 50 may be adapted to indicate that the RSSI is below the threshold. In some examples, all or part of the indicator may be displayed in the colour red when the RSSI is below the threshold.
Subsequent to step S4, the controller returns to step S3 in which the RSSI is once again measured.
If, in step S4, it is determined that the RSSI is above the threshold, the controller 10 proceeds to step S6. In step S6, the controller 10 causes this fact to be indicated to the user. As described with reference to step S5, this may be achieved in any suitable way. One such way is to adapt the appearance of the indicator 40, 50, for example by changing the colour of all or a part of the indicator 40, 50 to green.
In some examples, the controller 10 may cause a value of the RSSI to be indicated. In some instances the RSSI threshold may also be indicated. For example, the value of the measured RSSI, and optionally also the threshold, may be indicated using numerals displayed on the display. Alternatively, the value of the RSSI relative to the threshold may be indicated. In some examples, the value of the measured RSSI may be indicated by adapting the size of all or part of the indicator 40, 50 based on the RSSI. For example, the size of the relevant part of the indicator may be proportional to the measured RSSI. In these examples, the threshold may also be indicated by displaying an outline indicating the size at which the relevant part of the indicator 40, 50 would be if the RSSI were equal to the threshold. In alternative examples, the value of the RSSI and/or the RSSI value relative to the threshold may be indicated in any suitable way using, for example animations or graphics on the display 18-1 and audio data provided by the speaker 20, a vibration module (not shown) or LEDs provided on the device (not shown).
Subsequent to step S6, the controller 10 proceeds to step S7 in which the wireless communication session is initiated. After this the method ends.
In some examples, the method of
It will of course be appreciated that the method illustrated in
As will be understood, the above example embodiments facilitate the initiation of wireless communication sessions between two devices. This is because the indicator 40, 50 indicates to the user the orientation at which the device 2 should be held relative to the other device. In addition, the indicator 40, 50 indicates to the user a region of their device 2 over which they should not place their hand when attempting to initiate a wireless communication session. Thus, attenuation of the field due to the antenna may be reduced. Also, when example embodiments described herein are used in short range communication systems which have a signal strength threshold that must be surpassed before a communication session can be initiated, the threshold may be set to a higher level. Consequently, the chance of pairing with an incorrect device may be reduced.
It should be realized that the foregoing embodiments should not be construed as limiting. Other variations and modifications will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reading the present application. Moreover, the disclosure of the present application should be understood to include any novel features or any novel combination of features either explicitly or implicitly disclosed herein or any generalization thereof and during the prosecution of the present application or of any application derived therefrom, new claims may be formulated to cover any such features and/or combination of such features.