Methods and devices to establish and maintain connections with multiple communication devices
A communication device may include a processor configured to establish a connection with one or more peripheral devices in response to a disconnection from an external communication device, determine that the external communication device is connectable based on radio communication signals received from the external communication device, and encode a message to be transmitted to the one or more peripheral devices in response to the determination that the external communication device is connectable, wherein the message is configured to cause the one or more peripheral devices to perform a high duty cycle advertising in accordance with a Bluetooth communication protocol.
1 . A communication device comprising:
a memory;
a processor adaptable to:
establish a connection with one or more peripheral devices in response to a disconnection from an external communication device;
configure the one or more peripheral devices to perform communication events according to a low duty cycle for the established connection;
determine that the external communication device is connectable again based on radio communication signals received from the external communication device;
encode a message;
transmit the message to the one or more peripheral devices in response to the determination that the external communication device is connectable, wherein the message indicates a high duty cycle advertising mode and is adaptable to cause the one or more peripheral devices perform a high duty cycle advertising in accordance with a Bluetooth communication protocol to connect to the external communication device.
2 . The communication device of claim 1 ,
wherein the processor is further adaptable to configure the one or more peripheral devices to perform communication operations in a low power mode for the established connection;
wherein the low power mode comprises performing communication events according to the low duty cycle that is lower than the duty cycle of the high duty cycle advertisements.
3 . The communication device of claim 1 ,
wherein the processor is adaptable to establish the connection with the one or more peripheral devices when a first established connection that is established between the communication device and the external communication device is disconnected.
4 . The communication device of claim 1 ,
wherein the processor is further adaptable to determine that the external communication device is connectable based on at least one of a received advertisement packet, a received Bluetooth Low Energy, BLE, beacon, or received BLE signals from the external communication device.
5 . The communication device of claim 1 ,
wherein the processor is further adaptable to determine that the external communication device is connectable based on an estimated proximity to the external communication device.
6 . The communication device of claim 5 ,
wherein processor is further adaptable to estimate the proximity to the external communication device based on one or more reference signal strength indicators (RSSIs).
7 . The communication device of claim 1 ,
wherein the processor is further adaptable to decode a configuration message received from the external communication device, wherein the configuration message comprises information representing the one or more peripheral devices.
8 . The communication device of claim 1 ,
wherein the processor is further adaptable to configure the one or more peripheral devices using Generic Attribute Profile (GATT) transactions of the Bluetooth Low Energy communication protocol.
9 . The communication device of claim 1 ,
wherein the memory is adaptable to store primary device information representing one or more primary communication devices and secondary device information representing one or more secondary communication devices;
wherein the processor is further adaptable to establish a connection with the one or more primary communication devices, in which the communication device is adaptable to operate as a secondary device;
wherein the processor is further adaptable to establish a connection with the one or more secondary devices, in which the communication device is adaptable to operate as a primary device.
10 . The communication device of claim 1 ,
wherein the communication device is a BLE communication device.
11 . The communication device of claim 1 ,
wherein the message comprises at least one of an indication that the external communication device is connectable, an identifier of the external communication device, or an indication of an interval to be used for the high duty cycle advertising.
12 . The communication device of claim 1 ,
wherein the processor is further adaptable to determine that the external communication device is connectable based on an estimated proximity to the external communication device, wherein the estimated proximity is based on one or more reference signal strength indicators (RSSIs).
13 . The communication device of claim 1 ,
wherein the processor is further adaptable to configure the one or more peripheral devices using Generic Attribute Profile (GATT) transactions of the Bluetooth Low Energy communication protocol.
14 . The communication device of claim 1 ,
wherein the established connection with the one or more peripheral devices comprises a service level connection involving a radio frequency communication protocol (RFCOMM) over a logical link control and adaptation layer (L2CAP) connection.
15 . The communication device of claim 1 ,
wherein the processor is further adaptable to maintain connections with a plurality of external communication devices including the external communication device, and determine connectable external communication devices from the plurality of external communication devices.
16 . The communication device of claim 15 ,
wherein the processor is further adaptable to encode messages for peripheral devices that were connected to the connectable external communication devices to cause the peripheral devices to establish connections with the connectable external communication devices.
17 . The communication device of claim 1 ,
wherein the communication device comprises a docking station.
18 . The communication device of claim 1 ,
wherein the processor is further adaptable to cease the established connection with the one or more peripheral devices in response to the encoded message.
19 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising one or more instructions which, if executed by a processor, cause the processor to:
establish a connection with one or more peripheral devices in response to a disconnection from an external communication device;
configure the one or more peripheral devices to perform communication events according to a low duty cycle for the established connection;
determine that the external communication device is connectable again based on radio communication signals received from the external communication device;
encode a message;
transmit the message to the one or more peripheral devices in response to the determination that the external communication device is connectable, wherein the message indicates a high duty cycle advertising mode and is adaptable to cause the one or more peripheral devices to perform a high duty cycle advertising in accordance with a Bluetooth communication protocol to connect to the external communication device.
20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19 ,
wherein the instructions further cause the processor to configure the one or more peripheral devices to perform communication operations in a low power mode for the established connection; wherein the low power mode comprises performing communication events according to the low duty cycle that is lower than the duty cycle of the high duty cycle advertisements.