Patent attributes
A method and system whereby an initiator device discovers the user-friendly name of another device in a wireless network of devices, such as a Bluetooth network. Initially, the initiator device broadcasts an inquiry message that is received by the other device (the responding device). The responding device provides its address in response to the inquiry. The initiator device then transmits a page, followed by a name request, to the responding device. The responding device provides its user-friendly name in response to the name request. The initiator device stores (e.g., caches) the address and the associated user-friendly name in a memory cache. When the initiator device subsequently sends an inquiry message that is received by the responding device, the responding device will provide its address to the initiator device. However, instead of sending a name request, the initiator device can retrieve the user-friendly name from the memory cache based on the address. Thus, the number of messages needed for the name discovery process is reduced, allowing the process to be performed more quickly and conserving the battery resources of the initiator and responding devices. In addition, potential errors associated with the name requests can be reduced or eliminated.
