IP Library › Granted Patent US 10,306,687
Granted Patent B2
US 10,306,687 · App. 15/167,437 · Granted May 28, 2019

Transmitting athletic data using non-connected state of discovery signal

Inventors: Keith Folske (Wilsonville, OR); Summer Schneider (Portland, OR); Rachel Blackman (Seattle, WA)
Assignee: NIKE, Inc.
H04W76/14A43B3/0005G06F1/163H04W4/023H04W8/005A63B2225/50
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,306,687
App. No.
15/167,437
Granted
May 28, 2019
Kind
B2
Abstract

Systems and methods for locating a wireless device in a “noisy environment” is provided. Embodiments relate to locating and wirelessly transmitting signals to a fitness device located proximate to other electronic devices is disclosed. In one embodiment, advertisement tokens and RSSI can be used for signal strength indication and then transmit a specific signal to the device. Examples include imprinting the fitness device to have a unique wireless identifier.

Claims (61)

1. An electronic device comprising:

a processor;

a transceiver configured to wirelessly receive electronic information via a direct connection with a second electronic device using a transmission protocol that can perform at least one of:

transmitting an advertising beacon that identifies the transceiver as associated with the electronic device; or

receiving an advertising beacon that identifies a transceiver as associated with a second electronic device,

wherein identification of an advertising beacon is utilized in an establishment of a direct connection between the electronic device and the second electronic device; and

a computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions that when executed by the processor perform at least:

receive a plurality of advertising beacons from a plurality of electronic devices without establishing a direct connection with any of the plurality of electronic devices;

determine that each electronic device, of the plurality of electronic devices, is available for pairing based on a determination that each electronic device, of the plurality of electronic devices, is a first type of fitness device that utilizes a non-unique identifying string in its advertising beacon;

generate a first list of devices, the first list of devices comprising the plurality of electronic devices;

filter the first list of devices to generate a second list of devices, wherein the filtering comprises determining, from the plurality of electronic devices, a sub-set of electronic devices that each have a signal strength above a threshold value, and wherein the second list of devices comprises at least the second electronic device and a third electronic device;

select, from the second electronic device and the third electronic device, and based on a first signal strength associated with the second electronic device and a second signal strength associated with the third electronic device, a pairing device;

connect to the pairing device using a first communication protocol;

transmit a command to the pairing device, the command configured to provide an output on the pairing device;

responsive to transmitting the command, receive a user input indicating that the pairing device is not outputting a specific output signal;

responsive to the user input indicating that the pairing device is not outputting the specific output signal, disconnect from the pairing device and select, from the second list of devices, a second pairing device; and

connect to the second pairing device.

2. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the first signal strength and second signal strength are determined based on RSSI packets.

3. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the command transmitted to the pairing device is configured to cause an illumination of a light source on the pairing device.

4. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the command transmitted to the pairing device configured to provide an output on the pairing device comprises transmitting a command configured to alter a graphical user interface of the pairing device.

5. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the computer-readable medium further comprises computer-executable instructions that when executed, cause the processor to at least:

receive a unique string from a user providing a user input into a user interface; and

transmit the unique string to the pairing device.

6. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the computer-readable medium further comprises computer-executable instructions that when executed, cause the processor to at least:

determine a unique string comprising information derived from an athletic attribute of a user associated with the pairing device; and

transmit the unique string to the pairing device.

7. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the computer-readable medium further comprises computer-executable instructions that when executed, cause the processor to at least:

during imprinting, request a platform identification for the pairing device;

receive the platform identification, and in response request an authentication key.

8. The electronic device of claim 7 , wherein the computer-readable medium further comprises computer-executable instructions that when executed, cause the processor to at least:

during imprinting, create a discovery token for the pairing device.

9. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the computer-readable medium further comprises computer-executable instructions that when executed, cause the processor to at least:

prior to finalizing imprinting, request demographic information from a user.

10. A method comprising:

receiving, from a plurality of electronic devices, a plurality of advertising beacons each identifying a transceiver associated with a respective electronic device of the plurality of electronic devices, without establishing a direct connection with any of the plurality of electronic devices;

determining that each electronic device, of the plurality of electronic devices, is available for pairing based on a determination that each electronic device, of the plurality of electronic devices, is a first type of fitness device that utilize a non-unique identifying string in its advertising beacon;

generating a first list of devices comprising the plurality of electronic devices;

filtering the first list of devices to generate a second list of devices, wherein the filtering comprises determining, from the plurality of electronic devices, a sub-set of electronic devices that each have a signal strength above a threshold value, and wherein the second list of devices comprises at least a first electronic device and a second electronic device;

selecting, from the first electronic device and the second electronic device, and based on a first signal strength associated with the first electronic device and a second signal strength associated with the second electronic device, a pairing device;

connecting to the pairing device using a first communication protocol;

transmitting a command to the pairing device, the command configured to provide an output on the pairing device;

responsive to transmitting the command, receiving a user input indicating that the pairing device is not outputting a specific output signal;

responsive to the user input indicating that the pairing device is not outputting the specific output signal, disconnecting from the pairing device and selecting, from the second list of devices, a second pairing device; and

connecting to the second pairing device.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the first signal strength and second signal strength are determined based on RSSI packets.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the command transmitted to the pairing device is configured to cause an illumination of a light source on the pairing device.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the command transmitted to the pairing device configured to provide an output on the pairing device comprises transmitting a command configured to alter a graphical user interface of the pairing device.

14. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

receiving a unique string from a user providing a user input into a user interface; and

transmitting the unique string to the pairing device.

15. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

determining a unique string comprising information derived from an athletic attribute of a user associated with the pairing device; and

transmitting the unique string to the pairing device.

16. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

requesting, during imprinting, a platform identification for the pairing device;

receiving the platform identification; and

requesting an authentication key in response to receiving the platform identification.

17. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

creating, during imprinting, a discovery token for the pairing device.

18. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

requesting demographic information from a user.

Assignments (3)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 17, 2017
From: FOLSKE, KEITH; SCHNEIDER, SUMMER
To: NIKE, INC.
Reel/Frame 041285/0001 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 17, 2017
From: BLACKMAN, RACHEL
To: SYNAPSE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT INC.
Reel/Frame 041285/0054 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 17, 2017
From: SYNAPSE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT INC.
To: NIKE, INC.
Reel/Frame 041285/0098 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 62167943 · May 29, 2015
Related Publication 20160353503A1 · Dec 1, 2016
Cited By (1)
US 12,310,700