WO2017050079A1

WO2017050079A1 - A system, apparatus and a method for group formationdata sharing within the group

Info

Publication number: WO2017050079A1
Application number: PCT/CN2016/096265
Authority: WO
Inventors: Syma Tresa KURIAN; Umesh Srinivasan
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2015-09-21
Filing date: 2016-08-22
Publication date: 2017-03-30
Also published as: CN108028874A

Abstract

In one implementation, the present invention provides a method, performed by a data processing apparatus, for data sharing within an ad hoc network. The method comprising detecting (902) formation of the ad hoc network between at least two or more mobile devices; pairing (904) the data processing apparatus with the two or more devices based on at least one profile of the data processing apparatus and the two or more devices to form the ad hoc network; downloading (906), by data processing apparatus, the data from at least one server, wherein the data processing apparatus is a master device, and the other devices selected from the two or more devices are client devices; sharing (908), the data downloaded with the client devices paired and based on at least one Internet media type of the data processing apparatus pre-selected and the Internet media type of the two or more devices pre-selected.

Description

A SYSTEM, APPARATUS AND A METHOD FOR GROUP FORMATIONDATA SHARING WITHIN THE GROUP

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present subject matter described herein, in general, relates to data communications between electronic devices, and more particularly, to systems, methods, and apparatuses to the formation of data sharing groups and sharing/communicating the data between the data sharing groups formed.

BACKGROUND

Almost all the modern wireless devices are adaptable to communicate and share information with one another. The wireless devices are capable of sharing interests and activities or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others, interacting with one another by chat, messaging, email, video, voice chat, file sharing, blogging and discussion groups, and the like.

Some conventionally available wireless devices include a positioning system, such as a Global Positioning System (GPS) , which helps to determine the wireless device’s current geographic location and display a map showing a marker for the wireless device’s current geographical location. As the user moves to a different location, the positioning system recalculates the current location of the user, and refreshes a displayed map to reflect the updated location of the user.

Some conventionally available wireless devices also allow location-sharing among users who have agreed to become “location-sharing friends” with one another. For example, two users can register with a location information server and agree to share their geographical locations with each other. The location information server maintains a database of location information submitted by the respective mobile devices associated with the two users. The location information server will forward the location information of one user to the other user either upon request, on a schedule, or upon receiving a submission of a location update. Each user can view the location-sharing friend's location on a map displayed on the user's own mobile device.

As a well-known drawback of the advanced conventionally available wireless devices is that, most of the time when multiple users (having different wireless devices) stays together, especially during their office time or when they are at home or travels in groups, every user will use their own data connection and GPS services i.e., different data connections and different GPS services. However, most of the time an essential drawback stays unnoticed is that, many times a data usage or a GPS usage will be similar for the group people/users staying together. For example, a location data is almost same for all the people travelling in a car. Usage of different data connections and different GPS services incurs wastage of data usage (on per user device basis) and wastage of battery (on per user device basis) for such activities.

Hence, a major technical issue available in the prior-art, specifically for the group of users staying together within a particular limited proximity, is that there is no such mechanism available which enables to share the data which may be similar/common for users of the group, especially when there is no need for all the users in the group to be always connected to data and GPS and drain their battery.

There are various technical solutions available in the prior-art to solve the above mentioned technical issue. As per the prior-art techniques, the users can download their own data for example location (i.e., via GPS and AGPS) and other internet data, and share the data between one or more user devices using available techniques, such as Wi-fi Hotspot, and the like.

However, in spite of the available techniques, like Wi-fi Hotspot, for sharing the data, the sharing user incurs data usage for both his and the shared data usage and battery usage. Ultimately, the issue of efficiently sharing the similar/common data between the users of the group or the users within a proximity of the sharing device, without being always connected to the data and/or GPS and drain their battery, still exists.

A few scenarios based on some real time problems faced by many wireless mobile device users are explained below:

Problem 1: Jen and Derrick are close friends and they stay together. They are suing similar apps like e –shopping apps, games, new apps etc. Whenever any application upgrades comes from market, both of them gets notification together. They may download it then itself or sometimes they just wait to get a free Wifi. Since they always download separately both of them lose data and Battery.

Problem 2: Ashley, Anne and Ben are good friends and they planned to go for a trip to Goa by car. All three friends are of social network freaks and wanted to update their and check-in each location in status in social network. To do check-in location they have been using their own GPS location tracker. All have their GPS ON always. Since GPS is ON throughout the trip, the battery of all the three friends gets drained.

Problem 3: Anne and Ashley are friends and they stay together in one house. They both are interested in playing mobile games. Whenever any new game is available in market, they used to download. Usually mobile games application size is also big and it used to take more time to download. Apart from that the downloading over Data will drain more data. So in the current solutions both Anne ad Ashley has to download separately it doubled the battery usage and data usage.

Hence, the major technical issues available in the techniques of the prior-art, and needs consideration in view of the wireless mobile devices are battery usage and data usage are the one of the most important consideration for a wireless mobile device user. For example, a smart-phone user staying with his family at home, with is co-worker at office and friends during travel does not have a mechanism to share his location or common non-personal data with them when he in their proximity. This reduces the efficiency of the entire system (user uses more battery, data and servers load on the operator side) .

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce concepts related to systems, apparatuses and methods for group formation data sharing within the group, and are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify essential features of the claimed subject matter nor is it intended for use in determining or limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter.

In order to provide a technical solution to the above mentioned technical problems, one aspect of the present invention is to provide a system, method and apparatus for connecting all the devices which are within a Bluetooth vicinity level, pairing these devices, and sharing the data via., a Bluetooth profile, wherein one device can act as a master and others devices as clients, thereby enabling any common data to be shared across the devices.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a system, method and apparatus for sharing of non-personal/non-private data like location information (GPS and AGPS) .

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a system, method and apparatus for sharing of non-personal/non-private data like application downloads (such as application upgrades on Google play or Apple App-store) .

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a system, method and apparatus for sharing of non-personal/non-private data like weather information (by weather apps) , user specific downloads (themes, pictures documents) , news information (required by common news apps) .

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a system, method and apparatus for sharing of non-personal/non-private data based on two type of Bluetooth profiles:

a) Share Data LE Profile: For the data sharing which involves only location sharing need only very smaller amount of data needs to be shared. In this case we need to use only Bluetooth low Power Profiles, which has even lesser power consumption compared to normal Bluetooth profile.

b) Share data Profile: For the data sharing which involves more data to be shared, “Bluetooth Data Share Profile” is used.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a system, method and apparatus for sharing of non-personal/non-private data based on an Internet media type, preferably a Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) , selected from a group of mime types comprising datashare/app, datashare/gps, datashare/news, datashare/app_android, datashare/app_windows, datashare/weather, or any combination thereof.

Yet another aspect of the present invention is to provide the devices having a Bluetooth Profile defined only for data sharing.

Still another aspect of the present invention is to provide the devices having a Sharing Manager to control the data flow across devices via Bluetooth.

Accordingly, in one implementation, the present invention provides a method for data sharing within an ad hoc network. The method comprises:

· detecting formation of the ad hoc network between at least two or more mobile devices；

· pairing the two or more devices based on matching of at least one profile of the two or more devices to form the ad hoc network；

· downloading, by at least one first device selected from the two or more devices, the data from at least one server, wherein the first device is a master device, and the other devices selected from the two or more devices are client devices；

· sharing, by the master device, the data downloaded with the client devices paired and based on at least one Internet media type of the master device pre-selected and at least one Internet media type of the client devices pre-selected.

In one implementation, the present invention provides a data processing apparatus for data sharing within an ad hoc network of mobile devices. The data processing apparatus comprises a processor, a memory coupled to the processor for executing a plurality of modules present in the memory. The plurality of modules comprises a profile module, an Internet media type module, a detection module, a pairing module, data download module, and a sharing manager. The profile module configured to set at least one profile for the data processing apparatus. The Internet media type module is configured to set at least one Internet media type supported by the data processing apparatus, wherein the Internet media type is preferably a Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) . The detection module is configured to detect formation of the ad hoc network between at least two or more mobile devices. The pairing module configured to pair the data processing apparatus with the two or more devices based on at least one profile of the data processing apparatus and at least one profile of two or more devices to form the ad hoc network. The data download module configured to download the data from at least one server. The sharing manager configured to share the data downloaded with the client devices paired and based on at least one Internet media type of the data processing apparatus pre-selected and at least one Internet media type of the two or more devices pre-selected, wherein the Internet media type is preferably a Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) .

In one implementation, the present invention provides a method, performed by one or more data processing apparatus, for data sharing within an ad hoc network. The method comprises:

· detecting, by data processing apparatus, formation of the ad hoc network between at least two or more mobile devices；

· pairing the data processing apparatus with the two or more devices based on at least one profile of the data processing apparatus and the two or more devices to form the ad hoc network；

· downloading, by data processing apparatus, the data from at least one server, wherein the data processing apparatus is a master device, and the other devices selected from the two or more devices are client devices；

· sharing, by the data processing apparatus, the data downloaded with the client devices paired and based on at least one Internet media type of the data processing apparatus pre-selected and at least one Internet media type of the two or more devices pre-selected.

· pairing the data processing apparatus with the two or more devices based on at least one profile of the data processing apparatus and at least one profile of the two or more devices to form the ad hoc network, wherein the profile is a Bluetooth profile selected from a Bluetooth low power profile and/or a Bluetooth data share profile；

· sharing, by the data processing apparatus, the data downloaded with the client devices paired and based on at least one Internet media type of the data processing apparatus pre-selected and at least one Internet media type of the two or more devices pre-selected, wherein the Internet media type is preferably a Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) .

In one implementation, the present invention provides a system having one or more processors, and a memory having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the processors to perform operations comprising:

In contrast to the prior-art techniques available, with the present invention, any data which can be used commonly across phones within a Bluetooth vicinity level can be transferred and/or used over Bluetooth instead of Data connection. This will reduce the battery drainage/usage and data usage, enhancing the life of the phones.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit (s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer like features and components.

Figure 1 illustrates a GPS data sharing high level diagram, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.

Figure 2illustratesan internet application data sharing high level diagram, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.

Figure 3 illustrates a device’s high level diagram, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.

Figure 4 illustrates a system/a data processing apparatus for data sharing within an ad hoc network of mobile devices, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.

Figure 5 illustrates a device registration and device pairing flow, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.

Figure 6 illustrates a new master setting flow, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.

Figure 7 illustrates an application data sharing flow, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.

Figure 8 illustrates a GPS data sharing flow, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.

Figure 9 illustrates a method for data sharing within an ad hoc network, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.

Figure 10 illustrates a method for pairing of devices to form the ad hoc network, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.

Figure 11 illustrates a data sharing flow after the devices are paired, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.

It is to be understood that the attached drawings are for purposes of illustrating the concepts of the invention and may not be to scale.

Detailed Description of the Drawings

The following clearly describes the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Apparently, the described embodiments are merely a part rather than all of the embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

The invention can be implemented in numerous ways, including as a process, an apparatus, a system, a composition of matter, a computer readable medium such as a computer readable storage medium or a computer network wherein program instructions are sent over optical or electronic communication links. In this specification, these implementations, or any other form that the invention may take, may be referred to as techniques. In general, the order of the steps of disclosed processes may be altered within the scope of the invention.

A detailed description of one or more embodiments of the invention is provided below along with accompanying figures that illustrate the principles of the invention. The invention is described in connection with such embodiments, but the invention is not limited to any embodiment. The scope of the invention is limited only by the claims and the invention encompasses numerous alternatives, modifications and equivalents. Numerous specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. These details are provided for the purpose of example and the invention may be practiced according to the claims without some or all of these specific details. For the purpose of clarity, technical material that is known in the technical fields related to the invention has not been described in detail so that the invention is not unnecessarily obscured.

Systems, apparatuses and methods for group formation data sharing within the group are disclosed.

While aspects are described for system, apparatus and method for group formation data sharing within the group, the present invention may be implemented in any number of different computing systems, environments, and/or configurations, the embodiments are described in the context of the following exemplary systems, apparatus, and methods.

In one implementation, the present invention enables the devices which are within a Bluetooth vicinity level to share data via a Bluetooth profile and get paired. One device may act as a master and other device may acts clients. So any common data that is non-personal or non-private may be shared across the device connected. The devices under one circle may be paired within a Bluetooth profile authenticated by at least one password.

It may be understood by the person skilled in the art that, the conventionally available wireless devices may operate in an ad hoc mode (e.g., forming Bluetooth personal area network (PAN) or piconet) which allows wireless devices within range of each other to discover and communicate in peer-to-peer fashion without involving central access points. Hence, the details of Bluetooth personal area network (PAN) or piconet is not provided in this application, and shall not restrict the scope of present invention, however, the details related to the present invention and required to demonstrate the working of the present invention are clearly and fairly disclosed in this application.

In one example, all devices with in the Bluetooth paired area may have similar GPS information. So as per the present invention, only the master device needs to connect to the server and gather GPS information, and then the master device shares the GPS information to other devices paired by Bluetooth.

In other example, the devices with in the Bluetooth paired area may installed similar applications. If there is any application upgrade, as per the present invention, the upgrade may be downloaded/done in the master device and the data related to the application may be shared to other devices paired.

In one implementation the present invention may enable sharing of non-personal/non-private data. The non-personal/non-private data may include but not limited to data like location information (GPS and AGPS) , application downloads (such as application upgrades on Google play or Apple App-store) , weather information (by weather apps) , user specific downloads (themes, pictures documents) , news information (required by common news apps) . However, it may be understood by the person skilled in that art that, the preceding non-personal/non-private data is provided just as an example, and shall limit the scope of the present invention. Further, the non-personal/non-private data may vary from group to group or person to person.

In one implementation the present invention may share the non-personal/non-private data based on two type of Bluetooth profiles:

a) Share Data LE Profile: For the data sharing which involves only location sharing need only very smaller amount of data needs to be shared. In this case we need to use only Bluetooth low Power Profiles, which has even lesser power consumption compared to normal Bluetooth profile. In one implementation, the share data LE profile is a low power profile similar to Bluetooth LE. This mode may be used only as advertising mode and not as connection mode. In one example, the share data LE profile may also be include BLE Packet format, and may use the “major” and “minor” fields which are the user data and holds 4 bytes to share GPS information.

b) Share data Profile: For the data sharing which involves more data to be shared, “Bluetooth Data Share Profile” is used. In one implementation, share data profile may be used for huge data transfer. For example, this profile may be same as File Transfer Profile.

In one implementation the present invention may share the non-personal/non-private data based on an Internet media type, preferably a Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) , selected from a group of mime types comprising datashare/app, datashare/gps, datashare/news, datashare/app_android, datashare/app_windows, datashare/weather, or any combination thereof.

In one example:

· datashare/app_windows -This may be used to share window.

· applicationsdatashare/app_ioS -This may be used to share ioS applications.

· datashare/gps -This may be used to share GPS information.

· datashare/weather -This may be used to share weather information. It uses basic text mimetype format.

· datashare/news -This may be used to share news information. It uses basic text mimetype format.

· datashare/app_android -This may be used to share android applications.

In one implementation, only MIME types which do not use personal data may be supported to make sure personal data is not transferred.

In one implementation, same data sharing profile need not be used for data to synchronize application data which needs personal information, such as, e-mail accounts details.

In one implementation the present invention may provide the devices having a Bluetooth Profile defined only for data sharing.

In one implementation the present invention may provide the devices having a Sharing Manager to control the data flow across devices via Bluetooth.

By the implementation of the present invention, the real time problems faced by many wireless mobile device users, as discussed in the preceding background section, may be solved efficiently as below:

Solution for Problem 1: Jen and Derrick are connected over “Bluetooth Data Sharing Profile” , as disclosed in the present invention, with Jen as master. Jen and Derrick both got an application upgrade notification for example, “amazon app upgrade” . Jen downloads the new application upgrade and send the notification to Derrick. Derrick downloads the application from Jen via. Bluetooth as disclosed in the present invention. In this process, Derrick did not lose any data and also does not drain his battery. Derrick is happy.

Solution for Problem 2: Ashley, Anne and Ben are connected over “Bluetooth LE Location Sharing Profile” , as disclosed in the present invention, as Ashley as master. In their full journey only Ashley made uses her GPS. Even though Anne’s GPS was on, it didn’ t get used effectively. Anne and Ben could shares location information from Ashley and use all the location based features Maps/Check-in via. the location data shared by Ashley. Anne and Ben had good battery all the journey. Anne and Ben are happy.

Solution for Problem 3: Anne and Ashley are connected over “Bluetooth Data Sharing Profile” , as disclosed in the present invention. Anne found a new game application in Market. She downloaded it. Anne’s phone sends one notification to Ashley’s phone. Ashley accepted it and the application got downloaded in Ashley’s phone also. Ashley did not lose any data and not drainage of battery. Ashley is happy.

Referring now to figure 1, a GPS data sharing high level diagram, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter is illustrated. In one implementation, the group of mobiles within a vicinity level may be connected in at least one group by Bluetooth profile. As shown in figure 1, one device may act as the master device. The master device will connect to the GPS/AGPS server to download GPS locations. The master will share the same location information downloaded from GPS/AGPS across the group over Bluetooth.

Referring now to figure 2, an internet application data sharing high level diagram, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter is illustrated. In one implementation, the group of mobiles within a vicinity level may be connected in a group by at least one Bluetooth profile. As showing in figure 2, one device will act as the master device. The master device may connect to the application server to download new applications or application upgrades. The master may share the same application data downloaded from the application Server across the group over Bluetooth.

Referring now to figure 3, a device’s high level diagram, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter is illustrated. In one implementation, as shown in figure 3, each device may have a Bluetooth Profile defined only for data sharing. Apart from that there may be a sharing manager to control the data flow across devices via. Bluetooth.

a) Share Data LE Profile: For the data sharing which involves only location sharing need only very smaller amount of data needs to be shared. In this case only Bluetooth low Power Profiles may be used, which even lesser power consumption has compared to normal Bluetooth profile.

b) Share data Profile: For the data sharing which involves more data to be shared, “Bluetooth Data Share Profile” may be used.

Referring now to figure 4, a system/a data processing apparatus for data sharing within an ad hoc network of mobile devices, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter is illustrated. In one implementation, the present invention provides a data processing apparatus (400) for data sharing within an ad hoc network of mobile devices. The data processing apparatus (400) comprises a processor (402) , a memory (406) coupled to the processor for executing a plurality of modules present in the memory.

In one implementation, the present invention provides a system (400) having one or more processors (402) , and a memory (406) having instructions stored thereon.

Although the present subject matter is explained considering that the device pairing and data sharing is achieved by the system/the data processing apparatus (400) , it may be understood that the system/the data processing apparatus (400) may also be implemented in a variety of computing systems, such as a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a notebook, a workstation, a mainframe computer, a server, a network server, and the like. It will be understood that the system/the data processing apparatus (400) may be accessed by multiple users through one or more user devices (not shown) or application residing in those device (not shown) . Examples of the system/a data processing apparatus (400) may include, but are not limited to, a portable computer, a personal may be communicatively coupled to other devices through a network (not shown) .

In one implementation, the network may be a wireless network, a wired network or a combination thereof. The network can be implemented as one of the different types of networks, such as intranet, local area network (LAN) , wide area network (WAN) , the internet, and the like. The network may either be a dedicated network or a shared network. The shared network represents an association of the different types of networks that use a variety of protocols, for example, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) , Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) , Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) , and the like, to communicate with one another. Further the network may include a variety of network devices, including routers, bridges, servers, computing devices, storage devices, and the like.

In one implementation, the system/the data processing apparatus (400) may include the processor (402) , an interface (404) , and a memory (406) . The processor (402) may be implemented as one or more microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units, state machines, logic circuitries, and/or any devices that manipulate signals based on operational instructions. Among other capabilities, the at least one processor (402) is configured to fetch and execute computer-readable instructions stored in the memory (406) .

The interface (404) may include a variety of software and hardware interfaces, for example, a web interface, a graphical user interface, and the like. The interface (404) may allow the system/the data processing apparatus (400) to interact with a user directly or through the client devices. Further, the interface (404) may enable the system/the data processing apparatus (400) to communicate with other computing devices, such as web servers and external data servers (not shown) . The interface (404) can facilitate multiple communications within a wide variety of networks and protocol types, including wired networks, for example, LAN, cable, etc., and wireless networks, such as WLAN, cellular, or satellite. The interface (404) may include one or more ports for connecting a number of devices to one another or to another server.

The memory (406) may include any computer-readable medium known in the art including, for example, volatile memory, such as static random access memory (SRAM) and dynamic random access memory (DRAM) , and/or non-volatile memory, such as read only memory (ROM) , erasable programmable ROM, flash memories, hard disks, optical disks, and magnetic tapes. The memory (406) may include plurality of modules. The modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc., which perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. In one implementation, the modules may include the plurality of modules comprises a profile module (408) , an Internet media type module (410) , a detection module (412) , a pairing module (414) , data download module (416) , and a sharing manager (418) .

In one implementation, the profile module (408) is configured to set at least one profile for the data processing apparatus. The profile may be selected from the Bluetooth profiles below:

In one implementation, the Internet media type module (410) is configured to set at least one Internet media type supported by the data processing apparatus, wherein the Internet media type is preferably a Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) . The Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) , may be selected from a group of mime types comprising datashare/app, datashare/gps, datashare/news, datashare/app_android, datashare/app_windows, datashare/weather, or any combination thereof.

It may be understood by the person skilled in that art that, after pairing with the devices, the information shared may be the same information shared during the convention pairing of the devices using Bluetooth technology.

In one implementation, the detection module (412) is configured to detect formation of the ad hoc network between at least two or more mobile devices.

In one implementation, the pairing module (414) is configured to pair the data processing apparatus with the two or more devices based on at least one profile of the data processing apparatus and at least one profile of two or more devices to form the ad hoc network.

In one implementation, the data download module (416) configured to download the data from at least one server.

In one implementation, the sharing manager (418) configured to share the data downloaded with the client devices paired and based on at least one Internet media type of the data processing apparatus pre-selected and at least one Internet media type of the two or more devices pre-selected, wherein the Internet media type is preferably a Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) .

In one implementation, the data processing apparatus may be a master device, and the other devices selected from the two or more devices are client devices.

In one implementation, the detection module may further configured to discover the two or more devices in range of each other； and if found in range, communicate in peer-to-peer fashion using a Bluetooth network connection.

In one implementation, the data may selected from a location information, software application related data, at least one non-private/secret user data, or any combination thereof.

In one implementation, the server may be at least one of a Global Positioning System (GPS) , an Assisted GPS (AGPS) , virtual server, cloud services, physical server, or any combination thereof.

In one implementation, the pairing module may be further configured to:

· determine the profile of the two or more devices；

· determine the Internet media type, wherein the Internet media type is pre-defined and/or pre-selected by the two or more devices；

· identify at least two or more devices from the two or more devices matching the profile and the Internet media type of the two or more devices with the profile and the Internet media type of the data processing apparatus； thereby

· pair with the two or more devices based on matching profile and matching Internet media type of the two or more devices in the ad hoc network.

In one implementation, the Bluetooth low power profile may be a location sharing profile, and the Bluetooth data share profile may be a data sharing profile.

In one implementation, the pairing module may be further configured to generate at least one password and transmit a pairing request along with the password generated to the two or more devices, wherein a successful pairing is achieved when the two or more devices accepts the pairing request using the password.

In one implementation, the system/apparatus (400) may further comprises a new master setting module (420) which may be configured to:

· check a signal strength of the data processing apparatus while downloading the data；

· seek, if the signal strength is dipping below a certain level, a new master by communicating a message within the Ad hoc network； in response to the message；

· receive respective signal strengths of the two or more device in the Ad hoc network；

· compare the respective signal strengths received from the devices for selecting a strongest signal strength amongst the respective signal strength received；

· select the new master associated with the strongest signal strength based on the comparison； and

· update the new masters information to the two or more device in the Ad hoc network.

It may be understood by the person skilled in that art that, the data signal level can be based on two items. One item is the Network type, such as G, E, 2G, 3G, H, 4G, and the other is the RAT component. The Network typecan be identified by the RAT component. . for example, if the RAT type is higher that means it have the highest network speed. 3G network will be always faster than 2G. Further, if all devices are in same RAT, then the network throughput needs to be measured. It is the packets downloaded per second. However, the details of the detection of the data signal level is not included in the patent application to avoid the complexity in understanding the present invention.

In one implementation, the sharing manager may be further configured to transmit at least one notification to the two or more devices in the Ad hoc network paired with the matching profile and matching Internet media type； and share, on acceptance of the notification by at least one device the two or more devices in the Ad hoc network paired, the data downloaded.

In one implementation, the data downloaded may be deleted after a pre-defined time interval of sharing.

Referring now to figure 5, a device registration and device pairing flow, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter is illustrated. In one implementation, the registration flow for the pairing of the devices to form the ad hoc network is as give below:

1. The devices among the group must first define a Bluetooth Profile.

2. Each device needs to define its supported mime types

3. Scan for devices which supports same Bluetooth Profile sin its vicinity

4. If any devices are found, generate a password and send the pair request from one device to another

5. The receiver device accept the pairing request by entering password

6. The devices got successfully paired.

In one implementation, as shown in figure 5, the device A and device B defines the data sharing profile i.e., the Bluetooth profiles, respectively. The profiles may be selected from Share Data LE Profile or share data profile. The profile may be selected by all the devices, for example device A and B respectively, which are present in the proximity or specifically within the Bluetooth range.

Once the profile are selected, the MIME type or the internet types for data sharing are selected by the devices A and B. The MIME types may be selected from the types which may be supported for the devices. The MIME types may be selected from the types mentioned in above sections.

Once the MIME types are selected, the devices having similar Bluetooth profile are searched. In one implementation, the devices having similar Bluetooth profile and similar MIME types within the range of Bluetooth are searched. When the device having similar Bluetooth profile and/or similar MIME is found, for example device B in case as shown in figure 5, the device A sends a pairing request to the device B. The device A, on detection of device B may generate a password for authentication, and may send a pairing request along with the password generated to the device B.

Once the device B receives the pairing request and the password, the device B may accept the pairing request by entering the password received. In one implementation, if the device B does not wish to accept the pairing request, the device B may reject the pairing request.

In one implementation, as shown in figure 5, when the device B accepts the pairing request, may be by entering the password, the two devices i.e., A and B are paired and may share data between each other. The device A and B may share data between the each other based on the pre-selected Bluetooth profile and/or based on the MEME types pre-selected.

Referring now to figure 6, a new master setting flow, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter is illustrated. In one implementation, by default the device which accepts the first pairing request in that group may be treated as master device. However, while downloading the data from any server, the master device is configured to check for data level or signal level dipping. If the data level is dipping beyond a certain level, the master sends a “New master seeking message” , to all devices in the group. On receipt of this message, each client devices checks their own data signal level and returns back this information to master device. The master device compares data from each client and find out the “best master device” having/with strongest signal. Once, the new master is decided, the master device sends the “Set New Master” information to the “Best master” . Thereafter, the master sends the “New Master device’s information to all the clients in the network.

Referring now to figure 7an application data sharing flow, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter is illustrated. In one implementation, the application data sharing according to the present invention takes place in the manner mentioned below:

1. Master device downloads a new application or upgrades one application by downloading the data from any server.

2. Master device sends a notification with the information of the data downloaded to all Bluetooth paired devices registered with same mime type in the network.

3. The client devices receives notification in each device. The client devices may then accept /reject the notification based on their requirement.

4. On acceptance by the client device/s, the master device then transfers “App Data” (application data) from master to all client devices which accept the notification.

5. If master receives Accept/Reject or timeout from all paired devices, the temporary data i.e., the downloaded data is deleted after a pre-defined interval of time.

Referring now to figure 8, a GPS data sharing flow, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter is illustrated. In one implementation, when a client device is willing to receive any information from the master device it sends a specific MIME type along with the request to the master. For example, as shown in figure 8, the client device, sends a registration request to the master device for GPS information. The client device may download the GPS information directly from server until the confirmation message from master. Upon successfully registration, or upon receiving confirmation message from the master device, the client stops downloading the GPS information from server. The master device sends the GPS information in regular intervals to the client device.

Figure 9illustrates a method for data sharing within an ad hoc network, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. The method may be described in the general context of computer executable instructions. Generally, computer executable instructions can include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, procedures, modules, functions, etc.， that perform particular functions or implement particular abstract data types. The method may also be practiced in a distributed computing environment where functions are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, computer executable instructions may be located in both local and remote computer storage media, including memory storage devices.

The order in which the method is described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks can be combined in any order to implement the method or alternate methods. Additionally, individual blocks may be deleted from the method without departing from the protection scope of the subject matter described herein. Furthermore, the method can be implemented in any suitable hardware, software, firmware, or combination thereof. However, for ease of explanation, in the embodiments described below, the method may be considered to be implemented in the above described system/apparatus (400) .

At block 902, aformation of the ad hoc network between at least two or more mobile devices is detected.

At block 904, the two or more devices based on matching of at least one profile of the two or more devices to form the ad hoc network are paired.

At block 906, the data from at least one server is downloaded by at least one first device selected from the two or more devices, wherein the first device is a master device, and the other devices selected from the two or more devices are client devices.

At block 908, the data downloaded is shared with the client devices paired and based on at least one Internet media type of the master device pre-selected and at least one Internet media type of the client devices pre-selected.

In one implementation, the profile is a Bluetooth profile selected from a Bluetooth low power profile and/or a Bluetooth data share profile.

In one implementation, detecting further comprises: discovering the two or more devices in range of each other and if found in range, communicating in peer-to-peer fashion using a Bluetooth network connection.

In one implementation, the ad hoc network is preferably a Bluetooth personal area network (PAN) or piconet.

In one implementation, the data is selected from a location information, software application related data, at least one non-private/secret user data, or any combination thereof.

In one implementation, the server is at least one of a Global Positioning System (GPS) , an Assisted GPS (AGPS) , virtual server, cloud services, physical server, or any combination thereof.

In one implementation, the Bluetooth low power profile is a location sharing profile.

In one implementation, the Bluetooth data share profile is a data sharing profile.

In one implementation, the Internet media type is preferably a Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) , selected from a group of mime types comprising datashare/app, datashare/gps, datashare/news, datashare/app_android, datashare/app_windows, datashare/weather, or any combination thereof.

In one implementation, the master device is a device that accepts a pairing request in the ad hoc network.

In one implementation, the method further comprises:

· checking, by the master device, a signal strength while downloading data, wherein, if the signal strength is dipping below a certain level, the method for checking further comprises:

· seeking a new master by communicating a message within the Ad hoc network； in response to the message；

· receiving, by the master device, respective signal strengths of the two or more device in the Ad hoc network

· comparing, by the master device, the respective signal strengths received from the devices for selecting a strongest signal strength amongst the respective signal strength received；

· selecting, by the master device, the new master associated with the strongest signal strength based on the comparison； and

· updating, by the master device, the new masters information to the devices in the Ad hoc network.

In one implementation, the method further comprises deleting the data downloaded after a pre-defined time interval of sharing.

Figure 10illustrates a method for pairing (904) of devices to form the ad hoc network, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.

At step 1002, the profile of the two or more devices are determined, wherein the profile is at least one of a Bluetooth low power profile and/or a Bluetooth data share profile.

At step 1004, the Internet media type are determined, wherein the Internet media type is pre-defined and/or pre-selected by the two or more devices.

At step 1006, at least two or more devices from the two or more devices matching the profile with the profile of the master device are identified.

At step 1008, at least one password is generated by the master device.

At step 1010, apairing request along with the password generated is transmitted to the two or more devices, wherein a successful pairing is achieved when the two or more devices accepts the pairing request using the password.

Figure 11 illustrates a data sharing (908) flow after the devices are paired, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.

On successful pairing, at step 1102, at least one notification is transmitted to the devices in the Ad hoc network paired with the similar profile and having similar Internet media type.

At step 1104, on acceptance of the notification, the data downloaded is shared by at least one device in the Ad hoc network paired.

Apart from what is explained above, the present invention also include the below mentioned advantages:

The present invention enables for the any data which can be used commonly across phones within a vicinity level can be transferred or used can be done over Bluetooth instead of data connection. This will reduce the battery and data usage.

The present invention saves data. Since only master needs to connect to server and download data, the total data consumption will be less.

The present invention saves battery. Since data and location sensors are idle in client devices

The present invention reduces server load. Since in a group, only one user downloads the data from server

The present invention can be used across different connectivity profiles like Wi-Fi Direct, NFC etc. as the base.

A person of ordinary skill in the art may be aware that in combination with the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in this specification, units and algorithm steps may be implemented by electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are performed by hardware or software depends on the particular applications and design constraint conditions of the technical solution. A person skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the described functions for each particular application, but it should not be considered that the implementation goes beyond the scope of the present invention.

It may be clearly understood by a person skilled in the art that for the purpose of convenient and brief description, for a detailed working process of the foregoing system, apparatus, and unit, reference may be made to a corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments, and details are not described herein again.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus, and method may be implemented in other manners. For example, the described apparatus embodiment is merely exemplary. For example, the unit division is merely logical function division and may be other division in actual implementation. For example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not performed. In addition, the displayed or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections may be implemented through some interfaces. The indirect couplings or communication connections between the apparatuses or units may be implemented in electronic, mechanical, or other forms.

When the functions are implemented in a form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, the functions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on such an understanding, the technical solutions of the present invention essentially, or the part contributing to the prior art, or a part of the technical solutions may be implemented in a form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium, and includes several instructions for instructing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to perform all or a part of the steps of the methods described in the embodiment of the present invention. The foregoing storage medium includes: any medium that can store program code, such as a USB flash drive, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (Read-Only Memory, ROM) , a random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM) , a magnetic disk, or an optical disc.

Although implementations for systems, apparatuses and methods for group formation data sharing within the group have been described in language specific to structural features and/or methods, it is to be understood that the appended claims are not necessarily limited to the specific features or methods described. Rather, the specific features and methods are disclosed as examples of implementations ofthe systems, apparatuses and methods for group formation data sharing within the group.

Claims

A method for data sharing within an ad hoc network, the method comprising:

detecting (902) formation of the ad hoc network between at least two or more mobile devices；

pairing (904) the two or more devices based on matching of at least one profile of the two or more devices to form the ad hoc network；

downloading (906) , by at least one first device selected from the two or more devices, the data from at least one server, wherein the first device is a master device, and the other devices selected from the two or more devices are client devices；

sharing (908) , by the master device, the data downloaded with the client devices paired and based on at least one Internet media type of the master device pre-selected and at least one Internet media type of the client devices pre-selected.
The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the profile is a Bluetooth profile selected from a Bluetooth low power profile and/or a Bluetooth data share profile.
The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein, detecting further comprises: discovering the two or more devices in range of each other and if found in range, communicating in peer-to-peer fashion using a Bluetooth network connection.
The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ad hoc network is preferably a Bluetooth personal area network (PAN) or piconet.
The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the data is selected from a location information, software application related data, at least one non-private/secret user data, or any combination thereof.
The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the server is at least one of a Global Positioning System (GPS) , an Assisted GPS (AGPS) , virtual server, cloud services, physical server, or any combination thereof.
The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pairing (904) further comprises:

determining (1002) the profile of the two or more devices, wherein the profile is at least one of a Bluetooth low power profile and/or a Bluetooth data share profile；

determining (1004) the Internet media type, wherein the Internet media type is pre-defined and/or pre-selected by the two or more devices；

identifying (1006) at least two or more devices from the two or more devices matching the profile with the profile of the master device； thereby

pairing (904) the master device with the client devices based on the matching of the profile.
The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the Bluetooth low power profile is a location sharing profile.
The method as claimed in claim 5 and 7, wherein the Bluetooth data share profile is a data sharing profile.
The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the Internet media type is preferably a Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) , selected from a group of mime types comprising datashare/app, datashare/gps, datashare/news, datashare/app_android, datashare/app_windows, datashare/weather, or any combination thereof.
The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the pairing the two or more devices further comprises:

generating (1008) at least one password and transmitting (1010) a pairing request along with the password generated to the two or more devices, wherein a successful pairing is achieved when the two or more devices accepts the pairing request using the password.
The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the master device is a device that accepts a pairing request in the ad hoc network.
The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprises checking, by the master device, a signal strength while downloading data, wherein, if the signal strength is dipping below a certain level, the method for checking further comprises:

seeking a new master by communicating a message within the Ad hoc network； in response to the message；

receiving, by the master device, respective signal strengths of the two or more device in the Ad hoc network

comparing, by the master device, the respective signal strengths received from the devices for selecting a strongest signal strength amongst the respective signal strength received；

selecting, by the master device, the new master associated with the strongest signal strength based on the comparison； and

updating, by the master device, the new master’s information to the devices in the Ad hoc network.
The method as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein, sharing (908) the data downloaded, further comprises:

transmitting (1102) , by the master device, at least one notification to the devices in the Ad hoc network paired with the similar profile and having similar Internet media type； and

sharing (1104) , by the master device, on acceptance of the notification by at least one device in the Ad hoc network paired, the data downloaded.
The method as claimed in any of the preceding claims, further comprises, deleting the data downloaded after a pre-defined time interval of sharing.
A data processing apparatus (400) for data sharing within an ad hoc network of mobile devices, the data processing apparatus comprising:

a processor (402) ；

a memory (406) coupled to the processor for executing a plurality of modules present in the memory, the plurality of modules comprising:

a profile module (408) configured to set at least one profile for the data processing apparatus；

an Internet media type module (410) configured to set at least one Internet media type supported by the data processing apparatus, wherein the Internet media type is preferably a Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) ；

a detection module (412) configured to detect formation of the ad hoc network between at least two or more mobile devices；

a pairing module (414) configured to pair the data processing apparatus with the two or more devices based on at least one profile of the data processing apparatus and at least one profile of two or more devices to form the ad hoc network；

a data download module (416) configured to download the data from at least one server；

a sharing manager (418) configured to share the data downloaded with the client devices paired and based on at least one Internet media type of the data processing apparatus pre-selected and at least one Internet media type of the two or more devices pre-selected, wherein the Internet media type is preferably a Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) .
The data processing apparatus as claimed in claim 16, wherein the data processing apparatus is a master device, and the other devices selected from the two or more devices are client devices.
The data processing apparatus as claimed in claim 16, wherein the profile is a Bluetooth profile selected from a Bluetooth low power profile and/or a Bluetooth data share profile.
The data processing apparatus as claimed in claim 16, wherein the detection module is further configured to:

discover the two or more devices in range of each other； and if found in range, communicate in peer-to-peer fashion using a Bluetooth network connection.
The data processing apparatus as claimed in claim 16, wherein the data is selected from a location information, software application related data, at least one non-private/secret user data, or any combination thereof.
The data processing apparatus as claimed in claim 16, wherein the server is at least one of a Global Positioning System (GPS) , an Assisted GPS (AGPS) , virtual server, cloud services, physical server, or any combination thereof.
The data processing apparatus as claimed in claim 16, wherein the pairing module is further configured to:

determine the profile of the two or more devices；

determine the Internet media type, wherein the Internet media type is pre-defined and/or pre-selected by the two or more devices；

identify at least two or more devices from the two or more devices matching the profile and the Internet media type of the two or more devices with the profile and the Internet media type of the data processing apparatus； thereby

pair with the two or more devices based on matching profile and matching Internet media type of the two or more devices in the ad hoc network.
The data processing apparatus as claimed in claim 22, wherein the Bluetooth low power profile is a location sharing profile, and the Bluetooth data share profile is a data sharing profile.
The data processing apparatus as claimed in claim 16, wherein the Internet media type is preferably a Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) , selected from a group of mime types comprising datashare/app, datashare/gps, datashare/news, datashare/app_android, datashare/app_windows, datashare/weather, or any combination thereof.
The data processing apparatus as claimed in claim 16 and 22, wherein the pairing module is further configured to generate at least one password and transmit a pairing request along with the password generated to the two or more devices, wherein a successful pairing is achieved when the two or more devices accepts the pairing request using the password.
The data processing apparatus as claimed in claim 16, further comprises a new master setting module (420) configured to:

check a signal strength of the data processing apparatus while downloading the data；

seek, if the signal strength is dipping below a certain level, a new master by communicating a message within the Ad hoc network； in response to the message；

receive respective signal strengths of the two or more device in the Ad hoc network；

compare the respective signal strengths received from the devices for selecting a strongest signal strength amongst the respective signal strength received；

select the new master associated with the strongest signal strength based on the comparison； and

update the new masters information to the two or more device in the Ad hoc network.
The data processing apparatus as claimed in claim 16, wherein the sharing manager is further configured to:

transmit at least one notification to the two or more devices in the Ad hoc network paired with the matching profile and matching Internet media type； and

share, on acceptance of the notification by at least one device the two or more devices in the Ad hoc network paired, the data downloaded.
The data processing apparatus as claimed in claim 16, further configured to delete the data downloaded after a pre-defined time interval of sharing.
A method, performed by one or more data processing apparatus, for data sharing within an ad hoc network, the method comprising:

detecting (902) , by data processing apparatus, formation of the ad hoc network between at least two or more mobile devices；

pairing (904) the data processing apparatus with the two or more devices based on at least one profile of the data processing apparatus and the two or more devices to form the ad hoc network；

downloading (906) , by data processing apparatus, the data from at least one server, wherein the data processing apparatus is a master device, and the other devices selected from the two or more devices are client devices；

sharing (908) , by the data processing apparatus, the data downloaded with the client devices paired and based on at least one Internet media type of the data processing apparatus pre-selected and at least one Internet media type of the two or more devices pre-selected.
The method as claimed in claim 29, wherein the pairing (904) further comprises:

determining (1002) , by the data processing apparatus, the profile of the two or more devices, wherein the profile is at least one of a Bluetooth low power profile and/or a Bluetooth data share profile；

determining (1004) , by the data processing apparatus, the Internet media type, wherein the Internet media type is pre-defined by the two or more devices；

identifying (1006) , by the data processing apparatus, at least two or more devices from the two or more devices matching the profile and the Internet media type of the two or more devices with the profile and the Internet media type of the data processing apparatus； thereby

pairing (904) , by the data processing apparatus, with the two or more devices based on matching profile and matching Internet media type of the two or more devices in the ad hoc network.
The method as claimed in claim 29, further comprises checking, by the master device, a signal strength while downloading data, wherein, if the signal strength is dipping below a certain level, the method for checking further comprises:

seeking a new master by communicating a message within the Ad hoc network； in response to the message；

checking, by the two or more devices in the Ad hoc network, for respective signal strengths； and thereby

transmitting, by the two or more devices, the respective signal strength to the master device；

comparing, by the master device, the respective signal strengths received from the devices for selecting a strongest signal strength amongst the respective signal strength received；

choosing, by the master device, the new master associated with the strongest signal strength based on the comparison, wherein the new master is selected from the two or more devices； and

updating, by the master device, the new masters information to the two or more devices in the Ad hoc network.
A method, performed by one or more data processing apparatus, for data sharing within an ad hoc network, the method comprising:

detecting (902) , by data processing apparatus, formation of the ad hoc network between at least two or more mobile devices；

pairing (904) , the data processing apparatus with the two or more devices based on at least one profile of the data processing apparatus and at least one profile of the two or more devices to form the ad hoc network, wherein the profile is a Bluetooth profile selected from a Bluetooth low power profile and/or a Bluetooth data share profile；

downloading (906) , by data processing apparatus, the data from at least one server, wherein the data processing apparatus is a master device, and the other devices selected from the two or more devices are client devices；

sharing (908) , by the data processing apparatus, the data downloaded with the client devices paired and based on at least one Internet media type of the data processing apparatus pre-selected and at least one Internet media type of the two or more devices pre-selected, wherein the Internet media type is preferably a Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) .
A system (400) , comprising:

one or more processors；

a memory having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the processors to perform operations comprising:

detecting (902) , by data processing apparatus, formation of the ad hoc network between at least two or more mobile devices；

pairing (904) the data processing apparatus with the two or more devices based on at least one profile of the data processing apparatus and at least one profile of the two or more devices to form the ad hoc network, wherein the profile is a Bluetooth profile selected from a Bluetooth low power profile and/or a Bluetooth data share profile；

downloading (906) , by data processing apparatus, the data from at least one server, wherein the data processing apparatus is a master device, and the other devices selected from the two or more devices are client devices；

sharing (908) , by the data processing apparatus, the data downloaded with the client devices paired and based on at least one Internet media type of the data processing apparatus pre-selected and at least one Internet media type of the two or more devices pre-selected, wherein the Internet media type is preferably a Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) .