Google Inc.

Girts Folkmanis

Paul Heninwolf

Michael George Sleator

Ross Koningstein

James Schmalzried

Matthew Ryan Casey

John Mishanski

A way of synchronizing action execution across networked nodes using relative time. A command and a first time value can be received at a first networked device, where the first time value can correspond to a relative time at which an action is to occur. The command can be forwarded to another, second networked device along with a second relative time value that has been adjusted to take into account the elapsed time between the receipt of the command at the first device and the sending of the command to the second device. The action, which can include one or more events, can be caused to take place upon the execution of the command at about the first time value after the command was received at the first device and at about the second time value after the command was received at the second device.

Synchronizing action execution across networked nodes using relative time

A method and system are described that allow a device operating in coordination with other devices to synchronize the devices operation with the other devices. A controllable device processor may determine that a received data packet is a retransmission of an initial control command data packet. The processor may obtain from the retransmitted data packet a start value and a time indicator related to performance of the operation. A ramp rate related to the operation to be performed may be obtained. Using the time indicator, an adjusted ramp rate may be calculated. An output value for the device may be set based on the start value, the adjusted ramp rate, and the time indicator. The adjusted ramp rate may result in completing the operation at substantially the same time as though the device received the original command.

System and method for synchronizing multi-level output devices in an unreliable network

The disclosed subject matter may provide a system and methods for commissioning a device or appliance into a network. A processor may detect the insertion of a removable device into a data receptacle of a first device. The first device may be an appliance or a network controller. Information may be retrieved from or delivered to the removable device. The information may be information specific to the appliance, such as model number, or may be information related to the network controller. For example, information delivered from the network controller to the removable device may include a network address assignment and network protocol to be used by an appliance when the appliance communicates with the network. The removable device may be removed from the first device and inserted into a data receptacle of a second device.

Device commissioning

Collisions in wireless networks may be avoided by stacking acknowledge messages, relaying the stacked acknowledge messages, and reducing the number of acknowledge frames transmitted as a result of successful stacked acknowledge message transmissions. Additionally, a blind relay setup may be implemented to increase successful transmission rates such that a relay node in a transmission chain is configured to relay a frame without addressing the relay to a specific node. Non-neighboring nodes may receive frames out of order and relay the frames despite the out of order delivery.

Multi-cast optimized medium access method for wireless network

Collisions in wireless networks may be avoided by limiting competing transmissions at the same time or within a temporally proximate time range. A relay schedule may be transmitted with each frame in a transmission chain, the relay schedule containing transmission time information such that each participating node in the transmission chain has designated transmission times. The transmission times may be different such that transmissions are spaced out in an effective manner. A non-participant node may receive the transmission with the relay schedule and may delay transmissions during conflicting times based on the relay schedule.

Multi-listener wireless medium access method

A first portion of a cryptographic key can be conveyed through a secure channel to a device that can interact with a home network. After the first portion is received, a prompt can be sent by the recipient of the portion through a non-secure channel to the sender of the portion to send a second portion of the key. The cryptographic key can be constituted from the received portions and used by the device to secure communications with home network.

Communicating a secret

A computing device can detect an event associated with an alert sound, and responsive to detecting the event, identify the alert sound associated with the detected event. The alert sound includes one or more control tones that are configured to communicate occurrence of the event to a hearing aid device within audio range of the computing device. The computing device outputs the alert sound via a speaker of the computing device, such that a hearing aid device can detect the one or more control tones and, in response, the hearing aid device can generate and output an audible indication associated with the detected one or more control tones.

Transmitting audio control data to a hearing aid

In transferring data between a first computing device having a first clock generator component and a second computing device having a second clock generator component, timing information is generated by at least the first clock generator component and is shared over a communication channel with the second computing device to synchronize the first and second clock generator components. Upon detecting that power available to the first computing device has fallen below a designated threshold level, the first computing device enters a power loss mode. Upon entering the power loss mode, the first computing device selectively inactivates one or more designated components by a power module while continuing operation of at least the first clock generator component to maintain the synchronizing timing information associated with the second clock generator component.

Maintaining clock synchronization between computing devices

A computer implemented system and method are provided for password pre-verification on the client side in client-server applications. An example system comprises a translation module configured to translate user input, in the form of a character string that can represent a password, to obtain a symbolic representation of the user input. The example system also comprises an output module configured to receive the symbolic representation from the translation module and, based on the user input, provide output to the user in the form of visual, audio or haptic cues. Such cues can alert a user as to whether or not the input character string is correctly entered. In a further example embodiment, a system can further comprise a comparison module configured to compare an existing symbolic representation with the symbolic representation generated from the user input by the translation module.

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San Francisco, CA, United States of America

Girts Folkmanis