a2) United States Patent
`US 6,600,902 B1
`(10) Patent No.:
`Jul. 29, 2003
`(45) Date of Patent:
`Bell
`
`US006600902B1
`
`(54) MULTIPLE LINK DATA OBJECT
`CONVEYING METHOD FOR CONVEYING
`DATA OBJECTS TO WIRELESS STATIONS
`
`(75)
`
`Inventor:
`
`John R. Bell, Fremont, CA (US)
`
`“Specification of the Bluetooth System—Profiles”, V1,0A,
`Jul. 26, 1999.
`
`Vcard and Vcalendar, Website HTTP://WWW.IMC.ORG/
`PDI/, Oct. 18, 1999.
`
`(73) Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.,
`Eindhoven (NL)
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`(*) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`US.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
`
`Primary Examiner—William Trost
`Assistant Examiner—Rafael Perez-Gutierrez
`
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Kevin Simons
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 09/425,658
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`Oct. 22, 1999
`
`A wireless system comprises a numberof wireless stations
`for communication with each other through short-range
`Int. Ch? ore H04B 5/00; H04M 1/68
`(51)
`wireless links. In a multiple link data object conveying
`(52) U.S. Ch.eee 455/41; 455/411; 455/517
`method,
`in a data conveying session, a first short-range
`(58) Field of Search... 455/41, 411, 566,
`wireless link is set up betweenafirst and a second wireless
`455/567, 410, 517; 380/247, 270
`station of the wireless system. Uponsetting up of the first
`short-range wireless link, first and second personal identi-
`fication codes are respectively entered in the first and second
`wireless stations. Thereafter, a data connection through the
`first wireless link is only set up if the first and second entered
`personal
`identification codes are the same.
`If the data
`connection is set up the first personal identification code is
`stored for later use in the session, and the data object is
`conveyed through the first wireless link. Then, while using
`the stored first personal identification code, at least a sub-
`sequent short-range wireless link is set up from the first
`wireless station to a third wireless station. After checking
`whetherthe third wireless station returned the same personal
`identification code as the re-usedfirst personalidentification
`code, the same type of data object is conveyed through the
`subsequent wireless link.
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`4/1999 Hallet al. we 713/201
`5,898,831 A *
`5,982,520 A * 11/1999 Weiser etal. .....
`w. 359/172
`6,331,972 B1 * 12/2001 Harris etal. ......
`«. 370/313
`6,334,046 B1 * 12/2001 Philipson et al.
`............. 455/66
`6,434,159 Bl *
`8/2002 Woodward et al.
`......... 455/414
`
`
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`WO
`WO
`
`97/04602
`99/29127
`
`2/1997
`6/1999 eee H04Q/7/22
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`“Specification of the Bluetooth System Core”, vol. 1.0A,
`Jul. 26, 1999.
`“IR DA Objet Exchange Protocol”, Infrared Data Associa-
`tion, Mar. 18, 1999, vol. 1.2.
`
`18 Claims, 2 Drawing Sheets
`
`
`
`
`(VCALENDAR)
`2
`
`"OER 34
`+ FuciOn t-7Ve
`
`
`
`
`
`
`LINKS’
`AUTHENTICATED? (PINSTHE
`SAME?)
`
`SERVICE DISCOVERY: OBTAIN BUSINESS.
`
`
`CARD CAPABILITY FROM REMOTE DEVICE
`
`
`
`
`
`
`RECENT
`a
`
`
`PREVIDUS LINK?
`
`
`
`
`
`a
` SWAP-CARDS
` [OR SEND, OF RECEIVE
`
`
`
`
`APPL-1011 / Page 1 of 8
`Apple v. Uniloc
`
`APPL-1011 / Page 1 of 8
`Apple v. Uniloc
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jul. 29, 2003
`
`Sheet 1 of 2
`
`US 6,600,902 B1
`
`
`
`
`
`CELLULAR
`RADIO
`NETWORK
`
`TELEPHONY
`
`WIRELESS
`STATION
`
`
`PUBLIC SWITCHED
`
`/
`WIRELESS|
`\
`NETWORK
`
`77 STATION|/SHORTRANGE “
`
`
`WIRELESS ~~~
`/
`-
`SYSTEM
`\
`bY
`FIG. 1 et
`STATION
`
`ROM MEMORY WIRELESS
`
`
`BTRADIO |,
`TRANSCENER LES
`
`
`P||ae,AL
`
`
`
`
`
`USER
`INPUT
`INTERFACE
`
`2
`
`LED
`
`IDA
`
`
`
`AACRECEIVED SIGNAL STRENGTH
`
`MEASURING MEANS
`
`HG. 2
`
`APPL-1011 / Page 2 of 8
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`APPL-1011 / Page 2 of 8
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jul. 29, 2003
`
`Sheet 2 of 2
`
`US 6,600,902 B1
`
`30
`
`START
`
`31
`
`INITIALIZE BLUETOOTH
`
`
`waUSER COMMAND?
`a
`van}
`(vCALENDAR)
`
`
`3H
`|
`!
`' OTHER
`| 34
`
`BUSINESS CARDS?
`FUNCTION +7
`
`
`
`SEARCa T00
`LONG?
`YES
`
`REMOTE
`DEVICE FOUND?
`YES
`
`SEARCH FOR REMOTE DEVICES
`
`%
`
`YES
`
`INITIALIZE LINK
`
`39
`
`fect
`PREVIOUS LINK?
`
`<<
`
`YES (USE PREVIOUSPIN)
`
`AND STORE
`PINT
`
`OBTAINPIV FROM USER
`
`AUTHENTICATE LINK
`
`
`
`42
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`LINKS
`
`alate (PINs THE
`]
`
`YES
`
`SERVICE DISCOVERY: OBTAIN BUSINESS
`CARD CAPABILITY FROM REMOTE DEVICE
`
`REMOTE
`DEVICE ABLE TO SWAP BUSINESS
`CARDS?
`
`43
`PIN2, PINS, PIN4
`
`P~“4
`
`45
`
`YES
`
`OR SEND, OR RECEIVE
`
`F| G. 3
`
`APPL-1011 / Page 3 of 8
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`APPL-1011 / Page 3 of 8
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`

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`US 6,600,902 B1
`
`1
`MULTIPLE LINK DATA OBJECT
`CONVEYING METHOD FOR CONVEYING
`DATA OBJECTS TO WIRELESS STATIONS
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`1. Field of the Invention
`
`The present invention relates to a method of conveying
`data objects to wireless stations through short-range wireless
`links such asradio links, infra-red links, or any other suitable
`wireless links or combinations of different types of wireless
`links. The short-range wireless links can be wireless links in
`accordance with the so-called Bluetooth Specification, or
`any other suitable short-range wireless link. The wireless
`stations can be cellular or cordless phones, personal
`computers, PDAs,laptops, palm pilots, or any other suitable
`portable devices.
`The present invention further relates to a wireless system
`and to wireless stations for implementing the method.
`2. Description of the Related Art
`The well-known OSI, Open System Reference model of
`layers distinguishes seven layers, a physicallayer, a data link
`layer, a network layer, a transport layer, a session layer, a
`presentation layer and an application layer. Depending on a
`particular application, several layers may be combined as a
`single layer. In accordance with the OSI reference model,
`the physical data flow between system entities occurs
`through all layers between entities, whereas the logical data
`flow is defined as a peer to peer communication between
`corresponding layers of the entities.
`The Bluetooth Specification, “Specification of the Blue-
`tooth System—Core”, v1.0A,Jul. 26th, 1999, pp. 41-45 and
`47, describes a short-range wireless system. In Bluetooth,
`the range of a wireless link is typically in the order of a few
`meters. On page 41, a general description of BT, Bluetooth,
`a short-range radio link, is given. On page 42, a BT piconet
`with masters and slaves is shown. On pages 43-45, the BT
`physical channel, with time slots,
`is shown. Page 45
`describes types of links between masters and slaves, a
`master being a link initiator, and a slave being the device
`accessed by the master.
`In this respect, a master/slave
`relationship exists between devices when a Bluetooth link is
`established. Once a link has been established, a communi-
`cation can be initiated by a client or by a server, a client/
`server relationship existing between applications of the
`devices involved in a link. In terms of Bluetooth, depending
`on the device initiating a Bluetooth link, either the server or
`the client is a master, the other one of the server/client then
`being a slave. In the server/client relationship,
`the client
`sends requests to the server, and the server responds to such
`requests. As described on page 47, information is exchanged
`through packets, e.g., using a serial port profile or a more
`complex object exchange profile as defined in Bluetooth.
`The Bluetooth Specification, “Specification of the Blue-
`tooth System—Profiles”, v1.0A, Jul. 26th, 1999, pp.,
`describes protocol profiles in Bluetooth. On page 26, a PIN,
`1.e., a passkey is described that is used to authenticate two
`BT devices to each other. The PIN is used in a so-called
`
`pairing procedure. Pairing is described on page 28. In a
`pairing procedure both users involved in a wireless link
`should enter the same PIN in the respective devices of the
`link. A Service Discovery Protocolis startedto find the other
`one of the client/server pair. Upon the service discovery
`procedure, as defined on page 66, that is used to locate
`services that are available on or via devices in the vicinity of
`a BT enabled device, establishment procedures as defined on
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`page 45 are performed. First a link establishment procedure
`is performed to establish a physical link between two BT
`devices. Then, a channel establishment procedure is per-
`formedto establish a BT channel,i.e., a logicallink, between
`the two BT devicesis established. Thereafter, a connection
`establishment procedure is performed to establish a connec-
`tion between applications on the two BT devices. Between
`a connection request from one of the BT devices and a
`connection acknowledgement of the other BT device, an
`authentication procedure may be performed. On pages
`336-348 Object Exchangeprofiles are described to be used
`by applications running on BT devices, such as Object Push
`and Object Pull devices. An object push profile can be used
`by a BT enabled mobile phone to push an object to another
`BT device. An object pull profile can be used by a mobile
`phoneto pull an object from another mobile phone. With the
`object profiles push and pull, information such as business
`card information, calendar information, or any other useful
`information can be sent to, received from a BT device, or can
`be exchanged between BT devices, exchange being defined
`as a push of a business card followedbya pull of a business
`card. On page 346, object push features are described, such
`a phone book applications should support vCard, calendar
`applications that should support vCalendar, messaging
`applications that should support vMessage, and notes appli-
`cations that should support vNote.
`Instead of a short-range radio link, also other short-range
`links such as an infra-red link are known, e.g., the IrDA
`Standard as described in the IrOBEX Specification “IrDA
`Object Exchange Protocol’, Version 1.2, Counterpoint Sys-
`tems Foundry, Inc and Microsoft Corporation, Mar. 18,
`1999. In the IrOBEX specification four OBEX commands
`are described that can be used to exchange data in a
`short-range infra red link, the so-called CONNECT, PUT,
`GET, and DISCONNECToperations. In Section 3.3 OBEX
`operations and opcode definitions are given, and more
`particularly Section 3.3.1 on page 23 describes the CON-
`NECToperation, Section 3.3.2 on page 26 describes the
`DISCONNECToperation, Section 3.3.3 on pages 26 and 27
`describes the PUT operation, and Section 3.3.4 on page 29
`describes the GET operation. IrDA has been adapted to
`Bluetooth.
`In Bluetooth, corresponding commands are
`described, PUSH corresponding to PUT, and PULLcorre-
`sponding to GET of the IrOBEXspecification. On page 45
`of the IrOBEX specification, examples are given of
`CONNECT, PUT, and GET client requests and server
`responses. A so-called vCard object in ITrOBEXis defining
`a format of a business card that may include a name,
`telephone and fax numbers, e-mail addresses, and other
`types of information. On page 337 of said Bluetooth
`Specification—Profiles, referred is to the BT IrDA Interop-
`erability Specification.
`In the PCT patent application WO 99/29127, a methodis
`disclosed for sending tagged information to a cellulartele-
`phone through a short message in a short message service.
`As described from page7,line 24 to page 8, line 18 of WO
`99/29127, one type of short message is tagged with a header
`identifying the message as a standardized electronic busi-
`ness card. Such standardized electronic business cards are
`known as vCards as indicated above, and are described in
`more detail by Internet Mail Consortium.
`vCard and vCalendarare further described on the website
`of the Internet Mail Consortium. vCard and vCalendar are
`
`registered trademarks of the Internet Mail Consortium.
`In the PCT patent application WO 97/04602 a method for
`use in a cellular telephone is disclosed in which PIN,
`Personal Identification Number, usage is reduced in order to
`
`APPL-1011 / Page 4 of 8
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`US 6,600,902 B1
`
`3
`reduce the chance to intercept PINs on an air interface
`between the cellular telephone and a cellular telephony
`network. In this method, a user or subscriber of the cellular
`telephoneis only required to enter a PIN whena call is made
`to a telephone numbernotpreviously stored in a separate
`calling or contact list of the cellular telephone, i.e., a call
`setup routine of the cellular telephone then bypasses the PIN
`request and connects such calls. See WO 97/04602, page 2,
`lines 5-25.
`
`SUMMARYOF THE INVENTION
`
`It is an object of the invention to provide a simple multiple
`link data object conveying method for use in a wireless
`system of a type in which wireless links are authorized
`through matching personal
`identification codes, without
`tedious and repetitious entering of personal identification
`codes for individual links.
`
`It is another object of the invention to provide such a
`method wherein for all wireless links the same data object
`conveying task is performed.
`It is still another object of the invention to perform the
`data object conveying task for all involved wireless links
`within a predetermined time, particularly within a time
`period in the order of minutes orless.
`It is still another object of the invention to use an agreed
`personal identification codefor all wireless links involved in
`a data object conveying task as agreed upon byusersof the
`wireless stations involved in the wireless links.
`
`It is still another object of the invention to convey, i.e.,
`receive, transmit, or exchange, data objects of different types
`such as virtual business cards, virtual calendars, virtual
`notes, or any other suitable data objects.
`In accordance with the invention, an application driven
`multiple link data object conveying methodis provided, for
`use in a wireless system comprising a plurality of wireless
`stations for communicating with each other through short-
`range wireless links, said method comprising:
`setting up a first short-range wireless link betweena first
`and a second wireless station, while entering a first personal
`identification code in said first wireless station and a second
`
`identification code in said second wireless station, and only
`establishing a data connection through said first short-range
`wireless link between said first and second wirelessstations
`
`whensaid first and second personal identification codes are
`the same;
`upon a successful establishment of said data connection,
`running an application in one of said first and second
`wireless devices, said application initiatinga first data object
`conveying task between said first and second wireless sta-
`tion;
`through said application at least setting up a subsequent
`short-range wireless link to a third wireless station, while,
`using a stored personal identification code that is the same
`as said first and second personal identification code, and,
`after checking whether said third wireless station returns a
`personal identification code that is the same as said stored
`personal
`identification code,
`initiating performance of a
`further data object conveying task between said first and
`third wireless stations.
`
`In a preferred embodiment, the same data object convey-
`ing task is performed for all wireless links involved in a
`conveying session, a data object being a virtual business
`card, for instance. In such a data object conveying task,
`some wireless stations may only receive or transmit business
`card information, and other wireless stations may exchange
`business card information.
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`Typically, a data object conveying task is ended, either
`manually or automatically in the orderof thirty secondsafter
`the last session between the wireless stations involved.
`
`The method can be initiated manually, but also
`automatically, when two or more wirelessstations to become
`involved in a data object conveying session make requests
`for such a session within a short period of time, within thirty
`seconds, for instance.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`FIG. 1 showsa wireless system with a numberof wireless
`stations in accordance with the present invention.
`FIG. 2 showsa functional block diagram of a wireless
`station in accordance with the present invention.
`FIG. 3 shows a flow chart
`to illustrate a method in
`accordance with the present invention.
`Throughout the figures the same reference numerals are
`used for the same features.
`
`DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED
`EMBODIMENT
`
`FIG. 1 showsa wireless system 1 including a short-range
`wireless system 2 with a numberof wirelessstations 3, 4, 5,
`and 6. Shownis the wireless station 3 communicating with
`the wireless stations 4, 5, and 6 through respective short-
`range multiple wireless links 7, 8, and 9. In addition thereto,
`the wireless station can be configured to communicate with
`a cellular radio network 10, or any other suitable network.
`The shown cellular radio network 10 may be coupled to a
`public switched telephony network 11. The wireless stations
`3, 4, 5, and 6 can also be configured for short-range wireless
`communication only. Preferably, through the wireless links
`7, 8, and 9 air interface protocols are performed in accor-
`dance with said Bluetooth Specification. Alternatively, other
`suitable short-range wireless link protocols may be used
`such as according to the so-called HomeRF Standard. The
`short-range wireless links 7, 8, and 9 can be radio links,
`infrared links, or any other suitable wireless links, or com-
`binations thereof.
`
`FIG 2. showsa functional block diagram of the wireless
`station 3 in accordance with the present
`invention. The
`wireless stations 4, 5, and 6 are similar in construction and
`operation. The wireless stations can be cellular phones,
`personal computers, PDAs, or any other suitable portable
`device configured and programmedto implementthe present
`invention. The wireless station 3 comprises a cellular radio
`transceiver 20, a Bluetooth (BT)radio transceiver 21, and an
`IrDAinfrared transceiver 22 with a Light Emitting Diode
`(LED) 23 for transmitting and receiving modulated infrared
`signals. The transceivers 20, 21 and 22 comprise receive and
`transmit circuitry,
`including mixers, modulators,
`demodulators, analog-to-digital converters, and digital-to-
`analog converters so that
`the transceivers can transmit
`digital signals generated by processing means 24 and can
`provide digital signals to the processing means 24. Such
`transceivercircuitry is well knownandis not shownin detail
`here. The BT transceiver 21 is configured to operate in
`accordance with said Bluetooth Specification and the IrDA
`transceiver 22 is configured to operate in accordance with
`said IrDA Specification. The wireless station 3 further
`comprises a random access memory (RAM) 25for storing
`volatile data with a memory part 25A for storing non-
`volatile data, a ROM-memory 26 comprising an application
`27, a display 28, and a user input interface 29 such as a
`keyboard or other suitable input means and display control
`
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`US 6,600,902 B1
`
`5
`means, the RAM 25, the ROM 26, the display 28, and the
`user input
`interface 29 being coupled to the processing
`means 24. The non-volatile memory 25A may comprise a
`phone book. The transceivers 20, 21, and 22 respectively
`comprise receive signal strength measurement means. The
`application 27, that is distributed over the wireless stations
`3, 4, 5, and 6 involved in the multiple link, is a computer
`program implementing a multiple link data object conveying
`method according to the invention.
`FIG. 3 shows a flow chart
`to illustrate a method in
`
`according to the present invention, implemented as a pro-
`grammed application distributed over the wireless stations
`involved in a multiple wireless link formed by the wireless
`links 7, 8, and 9. In the example given all individual wireless
`station searches, discoveries, link set-ups, data connection
`establishments, and authentication procedures are in accor-
`dance with said Bluetooth Specification. In accordance with
`the invention, a data object to be conveyed can be a virtual
`business card vCard, or also virtual calendar information
`vCalendar, as shown, or any other suitable virtual informa-
`tion. The data format of vCard and vCalendar as such is
`knownfrom said Internet Mail Consortium. In block 390, the
`wireless station 3 is switched on, e.g.,
`to perform a data
`object conveying task,
`in the example given,
`to swap,
`receive, or transmit virtual business cardsor virtual calendar
`information. In accordance with the invention, a typical
`situation is multiple conveyance, 1.e., sending, receiving, or
`swapping of such business card or calendar information
`among multiple wireless stations, by users involved in a
`business meeting or the like. In block 31, Bluetooth is
`initialized in the wireless station 3. In block 32 it is tested
`whether an event occurred, such as the user of the wireless
`station 3 interacting with the user input interface 29. In block
`33 the eventis tested, e.g., the user desiring to convey virtual
`businesscards.If this is not the case, in block 34 another task
`is performed, such as displaying another screen on the
`display 28, making a phonecall, or performing another data
`conveyance task such as conveying virtual calendar infor-
`mation. If the selected task 1s conveying virtual business
`cards,
`in block 35,
`the wireless station searches for all
`remote wireless stations. In block 36 it is tested whether a
`remote wireless station is found. If not, in block 37 it is
`tested whether a search for wireless stations takes too long.
`Such a situation arises when no other wireless stations are
`in-range of the wireless station 3. If the search takes too
`long, the block 37 returns to the block 32 to wait for a user
`action. In block 38 it is tested whether the found remote
`wireless station is new, where a new wireless station does
`not concurrently havea link with the wireless station 3. If the
`found remote wireless station or device is not new, in block
`38A it is tested whether the device already swapped cards.
`If so, the search returns to the block 35 in order to search for
`other remote devices. If this is not
`the case, a service
`discovery procedure is performed as will be described later
`on. If a new remote wireless station has been found, say the
`wireless station 4, in block 39 the wireless link 7 between the
`wireless stations 3 and 4 is initialized. Thereafter, in block
`40 it is tested if a recent previous link has been established,
`within the last thirty seconds or so. This is because in a
`typical situation of exchanging business cards in a meeting,
`the users first agree on a commonpersonal identification
`code to be used in the multiple link data conveying method
`according to the invention, and then start exchanging busi-
`ness card information. The whole process of electronically
`exchanging is a relatively quick process. So, if the previous
`link has not beenset up recently, it was mostlikely used for
`other purposes. If there had not been established a recent
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`previous link, the actual situation uptill now,in block 41 the
`user of the wireless station 3 is prompted to enter a personal
`identification code PIN1. Upon entering the PIN-code PIN1,
`the code PIN1 is stored in the memory 25. If there was a
`recent previous link capable of conveying business card
`information,
`the PIN-code PIN1 stored with the recent
`previouslink is used in a process to authenticate a currently
`found new and business card conveying capable link. In
`block 42 the currently found business card capable link is
`authenticated. In this authentication process, the user of the
`found wireless station is prompted to enter a PIN-code. In
`the example given, it is assumed that all remote wireless
`stations are capable of conveying business card information
`and that respective users of the wireless stations 4, 5 and 6
`enter PIN-codes PIN2, PIN3, and PIN4. It is further assumed
`that, first, the wireless station 4 was found and thereafter the
`wireless stations 6 and 5, in that order. In block 43 it is
`successively tested with each found remote wireless station
`whether the PIN-code entered by the user of the wireless
`station 3, the PIN-code PIN1, is the same as the PIN-code
`entered by the users of the remote wireless stations 4, 6, and
`5. Assume the user of the wireless stations 4 and 5 shortly
`after another entered the same PIN-code as the PIN-code
`PIN1, and the user of the wireless station 6 entered a
`different PIN-code. Then,initially the wirelessstations 3, 4,
`and,5 are involved in the business card conveyingtask. If
`shortly after the last data conveyance task, within a period
`of thirty seconds, the user of the wireless station 6 re-enters
`a then same PIN-code, the wireless station 6 is eventually
`involved in the business card conveying session. Thus,if in
`a data object conveying process links are made shortly after
`another, for the same service, so that a succession of links
`forms a data object exchange session,
`the user of the
`wireless station 3 only hasto enter a single PIN-codethatis
`automatically used to authenticate links succeeding a recent
`previous link. The application proceeds in block 44 with a
`so-called Bluetooth Service Discovery Procedure as
`described on page 66 of said Bluetooth Specification—
`Profiles. In the Service Discovery Procedure, in an in itself
`known manner, services on or via the wireless station 4 are
`located. In the example given, in block 45, it is checked
`whether the wireless station 4 is capable of performing the
`virtual business card conveying service or task. If not, the
`block 45 returnsto the block 35 in orderto search for another
`remote wireless station. If the wireless station 4 is capable
`of performing the business card conveying service or task,
`in block 46 the actual data conveying task is performed. In
`the example given, the data conveying task can be swapping
`business card information,
`i.e., exchanging information,
`between two wireless stations, using the Bluetooth Object
`Push followed by the BT Object Pull, or can be a receiving
`only task using the BT Object Pull, or can be a sending only
`task using the BT Object Push, or any combination of data
`conveying tasks, depending on the particular needs of the
`users in a given session. In IrDA, the commands PUT and
`GETare defined that are similar to the BT Objects PUSH
`and PULL.Preferably, within one session, all data convey-
`ing tasks are the same. This is important to prevent links
`being made for other unauthorized purposes. For example it
`should not be possible for the wireless station 3 to swap
`business cards with one remote wireless station and receive
`calendar information from another wireless station, in one
`session. Service discovery and card swapping is also per-
`formed for a device that was found notto be newin the block
`
`38 and that had not already swapped cards, provided that
`such a device is capable of swapping cards.
`In accordance with the invention, a data conveying ses-
`sion can be initiated manually bythe user of the wireless
`
`APPL-1011 / Page 6 of 8
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`APPL-1011 / Page 6 of 8
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`

`

`US 6,600,902 B1
`
`7
`station 3. In this embodiment, guest book application soft-
`ware includedin the application stored in the memory 27 has
`a special business card exchange option selectable by the
`user through the user input interface of the wireless station
`3. After the user enters a PIN-code, the application auto-
`matically performs the complete session. In another embodi-
`ment a data conveying session is initiated.
`In this
`embodiment, a session is automatically started after two or
`more link requests made within a short period of time,
`within thirty seconds, for instance. Requests can be made by
`the user of the wireless station 3 or by users of the remote
`wireless stations 4, 5, and 6. In an embodiment, the session
`can be ended manually, by the user of the wireless station 3
`ending the session through the user input
`interface.
`In
`another embodiment, the session can be ended automatically
`by the application, for example a short period in the order of
`thirty seconds after the last data conveying task in the
`session. In Bluetooth, the multiple link data object convey-
`ing method applies to new so-called temporary links only,
`not to so-called semi-permanent links. The application is
`programmed such that currently active links need not be
`interrupted or effected in any way. A wireless station could
`have a link to a PC to access the Internet at the same time
`business cards are exchanged with other wireless stations.
`In view of the foregoing it will be evident to a person
`skilled in the art that various modifications may be made
`within the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter
`defined by the appended claimsandthat the inventionis thus
`not limited to the examples provided. The word “compris-
`ing” does not exclude the presence of other elements or steps
`than those listed in a claim.
`Whatis claimed is:
`1. In a wireless system comprising a plurality of wireless
`stations for communication with each other through short-
`range wireless links, an application driven multiple link data
`object conveying method, said method comprising:
`setting up a first short-range wireless link betweena first
`and a second wireless station, while entering a first
`personalidentification codein said first wireless station
`and a secondidentification code in said second wireless
`station, and only establishing a data connection through
`said first short-range wireless link between said first
`and second wireless stations whensaid first and second
`
`personal identification codes are the same;
`upon successful establishment of said data connection,
`running an application in one of said first and second
`wireless devices, said application initiating a first data
`object conveying task between said first and second
`wireless stations;
`through said application at least setting up a subsequent
`short-range wireless link to a third wireless station,
`while using a stored personal identification code that is
`the sameassaid first and second personalidentification
`code, and, after checking whether said third wireless
`station returns a personalidentification code that is the
`same as said stored personal identification code, initi-
`ating performance of a further data object conveying
`task between said first and third wireless stations; and
`before setting up said subsequent short-range wireless
`link, checking whether a predetermined time has
`elapsed after said setting up of said first short-range
`wireless link, and presenting a user of said application
`with said stored personal identification code if said
`predetermined time has not elapsed.
`2. A wireless system comprising:
`a plurality of wireless stations for communicating with
`each other through short-range wireless links;
`
`8
`means for setting up a first short-range wireless link
`between a first and a second wireless station of said
`
`plurality of wireless stations;
`means for checking whether a predetermined time has
`elapsed after said setting up of said first short-range
`wireless link;
`means for setting up at least a subsequent short-range
`wireless link between said first wireless station and a
`
`third wireless station of said plurality of wireless
`stations, and wherein:
`said first and second wireless stations comprising
`means for entering a first and a second personal
`identification code, respectively, said first wireless
`station comprising meansfor only establishing a data
`connection through said first short-range wireless
`link when said entered first and second personal
`identification codes are the same, and, upon success-
`ful establishment of said data connection, means for
`running an application for conveying a data object
`between said first and second wireless stations, and
`means for storing a stored personal identification
`code that is the sameassaid first and second iden-
`tification codes, and
`said application being configured to automatically ini-
`tiate said meansfor said setting up said at least said
`subsequent short-range wireless link between said
`first and third wireless stations, while using said
`stored personal identification code, if said predeter-
`mined time has not elapsed.
`3. In a wireless system comprising a plurality of wireless
`stations for communication with each other through short-
`range wireless links, an application driven multiple link data
`object conveying method, said method comprising:
`setting up a first short-range wireless link betweena first
`and a second wireless station, while entering a first
`personal identification code in said first wireless station
`and a second personalidentification code in said second
`wireless station, and only establishing a data connec-
`tion throughsaid first short-range wireless link between
`said first and second wireless stations when said first
`
`and second personal identification codes are the same;
`upon successful establishment of said data connection,
`running an application in one of said first and second
`wireless devices, said application initiating a