IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,641,405
Granted Patent B2
US 12,641,405 · App. 18/371,874 · Granted May 26, 2026

Wireless accessory advertisements

Inventors: Marco Soldano (Cupertino, CA); Shawn G. Fink (Cupertino, CA); Anita G. Desai (Cupertino, CA); Antonio R. De Lima Fernandes (Cupertino, CA); Siva Ganesh Movva (Cupertino, CA); Ariane Cotte (Cupertino, CA)
Assignee: Apple Inc.
H04W8/005H04W72/20H04W76/14
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,641,405
App. No.
18/371,874
Granted
May 26, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

Systems, methods, devices and non-transitory, computer-readable storage mediums are disclosed for identifying, by a processor of a wireless device that is coupled with a charging case, an enable command received from the charging case; and transmitting, by the processor based on the enable command, an advertisement signal that includes information related to an identification of the wireless device.

Claims (48)

1 . An apparatus comprising processing circuitry and memory on which are stored instructions that are operable, when executed by the processing circuitry, to cause the processing circuitry to perform operations comprising:

identifying a wake command received from a charging case communicatively coupled to a wireless device that comprises the processing circuitry and has transmission of one or more advertisement signals disabled;

entering, based on the wake command, an awake operational state that causes the wireless device to monitor for an enable command;

identifying, while in and after entering the awake operational state, an enable command a) received from the charging case and b) that indicates that the one or more advertisement signals for the wireless device should be enabled; and

preparing for transmission, responsive to identifying the enable command, an advertisement signal that includes information related to an identification of the wireless device.

2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise:

determining an establishment of a wireless connection between the wireless device and a second wireless device; and

preparing for transmission to the charging case, in response at least in part to determining the establishment of the wireless connection, a wait command to cause the charging case to wait to send a disable command to the wireless device.

3 . The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein determining the establishment of the wireless connection comprises determining that the wireless device established the wireless connection with the second wireless device while the advertisement signal was transmitted.

4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise identifying a power signal received from the charging case substantially concurrently with the transmission of the advertisement signal.

5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise:

identifying a disable command received from the charging case; and

generating a stop command for a transceiver included in the wireless device that causes the transceiver to stop a transmission of the advertisement signal based on the disable command.

6 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise:

identifying, after a transmission of the advertisement signal, a sleep command received from the charging case; and

entering, based on the sleep command, a sleep operational state that causes the wireless device to skip monitoring for the enable command.

7 . An apparatus comprising processing circuitry and memory on which are stored instructions that are operable, when executed by the processing circuitry, to cause the processing circuitry to perform operations comprising:

determining that an interval timer has elapsed;

identifying a first wireless device a) from one or more wireless devices communicatively coupled with a charging device that comprises the processing circuitry and b) that has transmission of one or more advertisement signals disabled; and

preparing for transmission to the first wireless device, based on identifying that the interval timer has elapsed, an enable command that indicates that the one or more advertisement signals should be enabled and that, when received by the first wireless device, causes the first wireless device to prepare a transmission of an advertisement signal.

8 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the operations further comprise:

determining that an advertisement duration timer elapsed; and

preparing for transmission to the first wireless device, responsive at least in part to determining that the advertisement duration timer elapsed, a disable command for transmission to the first wireless device to cause the first wireless device to stop transmitting the advertisement signal.

9 . The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the operations further comprise:

determining that a total duration timer elapsed; and

responsive at least in part to determining that the total duration time elapsed, stopping the interval timer and the total duration timer.

10 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein:

the one or more wireless devices comprise the first wireless device and a second wireless device; and

the operations further comprise:

determining that the first wireless device and the second wireless device are not coupled; and

preparing for transmission to the second wireless device and in response at least in part to determining that the first wireless device and the second wireless device are not coupled, a second enable command to cause the second wireless device to prepare a transmission of a second advertisement signal.

11 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein:

the one or more wireless devices comprise the first wireless device and a second wireless device; and

wherein identifying the first wireless device comprises determining a power level of the first wireless device and a power level of the second wireless device.

12 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein:

the one or more wireless devices comprise the first wireless device and a second wireless device; and

wherein identifying the first wireless device comprises determining that the first wireless device is coupled with the charging device and the second wireless device is not coupled with the charging device.

13 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein:

the one or more wireless devices comprise the first wireless device and a second wireless device; and

wherein identifying the first wireless device comprises determining which wireless device of the first wireless device and the second wireless device transmitted a previous advertisement signal.

14 . An apparatus comprising processing circuitry and memory on which are stored instructions that are operable, when executed by the processing circuitry, to cause the processing circuitry to perform operations comprising:

identifying an enable command a) received from a charging case communicatively coupled to a wireless device that comprises the processing circuitry and has transmission of one or more advertisement signals disabled and b) that indicates that the one or more advertisement signals should be enabled; and

preparing for transmission, responsive to identifying the enable command, an advertisement signal that includes information related to a status of the wireless device and a status of another wireless device.

15 . The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the advertisement signal includes a first portion related to the status of the wireless device and a second portion related to the status of the other wireless device.

16 . The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the information related to the status of the wireless device includes information related to whether the wireless device is coupled with the other wireless device.

17 . The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the information related to the status of the wireless device includes information related to whether the wireless device is coupled with the charging case.

18 . The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the information related to the status of the other wireless device includes information related to an identification of the other wireless device.

19 . The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the information related to the status of the wireless device or the status of the other wireless device includes an indication of whether the wireless device and other wireless device are wirelessly communicatively coupled with one another.

Continuity (3)
Continuation 17715164 · Apr 7, 2022
Provisional Application 63182661 · Apr 30, 2021
Related Publication 20240015496A1 · Jan 11, 2024
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