Cross-Device Clipboard Sharing via BLE and WiFi
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Solution Overview
Problem
Data transfer between computing devices, such as laptops and smartphones, is often cumbersome and requires multiple steps, especially when users need to switch applications or devices, lacking a seamless and efficient method for sharing clipboard content.
Innovation Solution
Computing devices are configured to share clipboard data wirelessly between devices in proximity, using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for low-energy transfers and WiFi for larger data, with user interfaces indicating transfer progress and allowing cancellation, enabling seamless cut and paste operations across devices associated with the same user account.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If data is transferred between devices using traditional methods, then data transfer can be achieved, but the process requires multiple steps and multiple applications making it cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple data transfer operations into a unified clipboard sharing system. The clipboard on one device can directly share data with another device through a single copy-paste operation, eliminating the need for multiple separate applications and steps. The system merges the functionality of file transfer, messaging, and traditional clipboard operations into one seamless interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The clipboard sharing system provides universal data transfer capability across different device types and operating systems. The same copy-paste interface works for transferring various data types (text, images, files) between different devices, making the system multi-functional and eliminating the need for device-specific transfer methods.
2Ease of operation
If clipboard data is shared between devices, then seamless data transfer is achieved, but energy consumption increases due to wireless communication
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the data transfer mechanism based on clipboard data size. For small clipboard data, it uses low-energy Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication. For larger data sets, it switches to higher-bandwidth WiFi communication, optimizing energy consumption based on actual transfer requirements rather than using a fixed communication method.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes communication parameters (communication protocol, transmission power, data packet size) based on the clipboard data characteristics. This allows the system to minimize energy consumption by using appropriate communication parameters for each specific transfer scenario.
3Reliability
If large clipboard data is transferred, then complete data transfer is achieved, but transfer speed becomes slow
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically selects the communication protocol based on data size. For large clipboard data, it automatically switches to WiFi which provides higher transfer speeds while maintaining complete data transfer. For small data, it uses BLE for efficient transmission, ensuring optimal speed for each data size scenario.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary assessment of clipboard data size and characteristics before initiating transfer, allowing it to pre-select the optimal communication path and protocol. This preliminary action ensures that large data transfers use high-speed WiFi from the start, avoiding slow transfer speeds.
4Adaptability or versatility
If clipboard sharing is implemented across multiple devices, then data accessibility is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces a clipboard manager as an intermediary component that handles the complexity of cross-device data sharing. This manager mediates between the clipboard operations on different devices, managing data synchronization, format conversion, and transfer coordination, thereby enabling versatile cross-device sharing without exposing the underlying system complexity to users.
Data Source
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AI summary
A device (120, 130) may comprise at least one wireless transceiver, a memory configured to store a local pasteboard, and a processor. The processor may be configured to receive local selections of data (210) to be placed on a local pasteboard, broadcast advertisements indicating that the local data is on the local pasteboard, and wirelessly transmit the local data to remote device (130) pasteboards. The processor may also be configured to receive advertisements indicating that remote data is available on remote pasteboards of other devices (120), request the remote data in response to a paste command (320), wirelessly receive the remote data, and paste the remote data (210).