Apparatus and method for integrating short-range wireless personal area networks for a wireless local area network infrastructure
View Patent ↗A network system comprises a first logic block configured to provide a link to a first network via an access point of a wireless LAN and a second logic block configured to communicate with a first node of a second network and further configured to provide a link between the first node and the first network via the access point, wherein the network system is configured to maintain continuous connections to both the access point and the first node of the second network while receiving power. The second network can be a wireless personal area network with the second logic block configured to communicate with the first node using a modified communication protocol that is only partially compliant with an 802.11x communications protocol. Also provided is a wireless hub for integrating a wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) seamlessly into a wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) includes, in part, a wireless circuit compliant with the WLAN standard, a processor coupled to the wireless circuit and a memory module that is coupled to the wireless circuit and the processor. The WLAN standard can be an 802.11x standard. The software platform allows the wireless circuit to connect to the WPAN, without losing connectivity (such as association and synchronization) to the WLAN. The wireless circuit can be configured to connect to the WLAN and WPAN alternately.
1. A network-enabled power plug device comprising:
a housing into which electronic components can be housed internally;
a plug that can be inserted into a wall socket to obtain electrical power for the electronic components, wherein the plug is positioned to exit the housing to allow the plug to be inserted into the wall socket;
a wireless radio circuit that can send and receive data wirelessly;
a processing circuit that can process data received via the wireless radio circuit and can generate data to be transmitted by the wireless radio circuit, the processing circuit including logic for initiating and maintaining network connections with nodes of a wireless network external to the network-enabled power plug device, maintaining at least a first network connection using a first network protocol and a second network connection using a second network protocol, that can be maintained, at times, simultaneously with each other, wherein the second network protocol is an overlay protocol with respect to the first network protocol in that communications using the second network protocol are partially consistent, but not entirely consistent, with the first network protocol.
2. The network-enabled power plug device of claim 1 , wherein the first network protocol is an 802.11 wireless protocol and the second network protocol is a modification of the 802.11 wireless protocol that is not entirely compliant with the 802.11 wireless protocol of the first network but results in devices using lower average power consumption than if the 802.11 wireless protocol were used and can be maintained in a common wireless space as the 802.11 wireless protocol.
3. The network-enabled power plug device of claim 1 , wherein the first network connection provides a link via an access point of a wireless LAN and the second network connection provides a link to a personal area network serving power-constrained devices.