The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 25, 2011
Filed:
Jul. 29, 2005
Anton W. Krantz, Kirkland, WA (US);
Ari Pekka Niikkonen, Redmond, WA (US);
Mohammad Shabbir Alam, Redmond, WA (US);
Timothy M. Moore, Bellevue, WA (US);
Anton W. Krantz, Kirkland, WA (US);
Ari Pekka Niikkonen, Redmond, WA (US);
Mohammad Shabbir Alam, Redmond, WA (US);
Timothy M. Moore, Bellevue, WA (US);
Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA (US);
Abstract
A wireless access point may be configured to advertise, to mobile user devices, multiple wireless networks available through the wireless access point. For example, service set identifiers (SSIDs) may be specified within an information element (IE) of a communication such as, for example, an 802.11 beacon, broadcasted to mobile user devices. Such an IE may utilize the capability provided by IEEE 802.11 itself to use additional and flexible numbers of information elements within a beacon. Accordingly, networks that would otherwise remain hidden due to limitations of known wireless access points are made visible to mobile user devices. Configuring a wireless access point to advertise multiple available wireless networks, for example, by firmware upgrades, may serve as a viable and cost-effective interim solution and/or alternative to replacing a wireless access point with a wireless access point configured to implement virtual wireless access points.