SonyPatent applicationNetworks & wirelessInterest 3/10

Sony patents method for phones to automatically pick a Wi-Fi hotspot leader

Sony describes a system where phones ask nearby devices if they are already sharing their internet connection. If a device is free, the phone connects to it as a 'slave' to share the connection, avoiding the need to manually set up which phone acts as the hotspot.

Why it mattersThis could make connecting multiple devices to a single internet source smoother by automatically selecting the best available phone to share the connection.

In the filing’s own words

A communication terminal apparatus includes a tethering processing unit configured to transmit a master device request signal to a communication terminal apparatus that is not executing tethering as a master device, and perform processing of starting tethering as a slave device via a tethering master device determined among communication terminal apparatuses to which the master device request signal is transmitted.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A communication terminal apparatus comprising a tethering processing unit configured to transmit a master device request signal to a communication terminal apparatus that is not executing tethering as a master device, and perform processing of starting tethering as a slave device via a tethering master device determined among communication terminal apparatuses to which the master device request signal is transmitted.

Facts

Company: Sony (SONY GROUP CORPORATION)
Official title: COMMUNICATION TERMINAL APPARATUS, TETHERING PROCESSING METHOD, AND PROGRAM
Publication number: US20260262116A1
Application number: 19163774
Filed: Mar 15, 2024
Published: Sep 3, 2026
Inventors: 3
Claims: 17

Classified under

H04W 76/14 Electricity & electronicsH04W 24/04 Electricity & electronicsH04W 64/006 Electricity & electronicsH04W 84/20 Electricity & electronics

Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.