Bluetooth LE scanning module

The nRF Desktop’s Bluetooth LE scanning module is based on the nRF Connect SDK’s Scanning module.

Use the Bluetooth LE scanning module to:

  • Apply scanning filters.

  • Control the Bluetooth scanning.

  • Initiate the Bluetooth connections.

This module can only be used by an nRF Desktop central.

Module events

Source Module

Input Event

This Module

Output Event

Sink Module

Bluetooth LE discovery module

ble_discovery_complete_event

ble_scan

Bluetooth LE advertising module

ble_peer_event

Bluetooth LE state module

Bluetooth LE bond module

ble_peer_operation_event

HID forward module

hid_report_event

HID state module

Source modules for module_state_event

module_state_event

ble_peer_search_event

LED state module

module_state_event

Sink modules for module_state_event

Note

See the Overview: Firmware architecture for more information about the event-based communication in the nRF Desktop application and about how to read this table.

Configuration

Complete the following steps to enable the Bluetooth LE scanning module:

  1. Configure Bluetooth, as described in Bluetooth in nRF Desktop.

  2. Enable the following configuration options:

    These options are used by the nRF Connect SDK’s Scanning module.

  3. Configure the number of scan filters based on the Bluetooth address (CONFIG_BT_SCAN_ADDRESS_CNT). The value must be equal to the number of Bluetooth bonds. The number of Bluetooth bonds is defined by the CONFIG_BT_MAX_PAIRED Kconfig option. The Bluetooth LE scanning module module uses the Bluetooth address filters to look for bonded peripherals.

  4. Configure the number of scan filters based on the Bluetooth name (CONFIG_BT_SCAN_NAME_CNT). The Bluetooth LE scanning module module uses Bluetooth name filters to look for unbonded peripherals. The value must be equal to the number of peripheral types the nRF Desktop central connects to. The peripheral type may be either a mouse or a keyboard.

  5. If you want to limit the number of attempts to connect to a device, you can enable the connection attempt filter with the CONFIG_BT_SCAN_CONN_ATTEMPTS_FILTER Kconfig option. After the predefined number of disconnections or connection failures, the nRF Desktop central will no longer try to connect with the given peripheral device. This is done to prevent connecting and disconnecting with a peripheral in a never-ending loop.

    You can further configure this setting with the following Kconfig options:

    The Scanning module counts all disconnections for a peripheral. The Bluetooth LE scanning module uses bt_scan_conn_attempts_filter_clear() to clear all the connection attempt counters on the following occasions:

    • After a successful peripheral discovery takes place (on ble_discovery_complete_event).

    • When you request scan start or peer erase.

    If filters are not cleared by the application, the Bluetooth Central will be unable to reconnect to the peripheral after exceeding the maximum connection attempts.

  6. Configure the maximum number of bonded mice (CONFIG_DESKTOP_BLE_SCAN_MOUSE_LIMIT) and keyboards (CONFIG_DESKTOP_BLE_SCAN_KEYBOARD_LIMIT) for the nRF Desktop central. By default, the nRF Desktop central connects and bonds with only one mouse and one keyboard.

  7. Define the Bluetooth name filters in the ble_scan_def.h file that is located in the board-specific directory in the application configuration directory. You must define a Bluetooth name filter for every peripheral type the nRF Desktop central connects to. For an example, see configuration/nrf52840dongle_nrf52840/ble_scan_def.h.

    Note

    The Bluetooth device name for given peripheral is defined as the CONFIG_BT_DEVICE_NAME Kconfig option in the peripheral’s configuration. For more detailed information about the Bluetooth advertising configuration in the nRF Desktop application, see the Bluetooth LE advertising module documentation.

  8. Set the CONFIG_DESKTOP_BLE_SCANNING_ENABLE option to enable the Bluetooth LE scanning module module.

By default, the nRF Desktop central always looks for both bonded and unbonded peripherals. You can set the CONFIG_DESKTOP_BLE_NEW_PEER_SCAN_REQUEST option to make the device look for unbonded peripherals only on user request. The request is submitted by Bluetooth LE bond module as ble_peer_operation_event with ble_peer_operation_event.op set to PEER_OPERATION_SCAN_REQUEST.

The central always looks for new bonds also after the bond erase (on ble_peer_operation_event with ble_peer_operation_event.op set to PEER_OPERATION_ERASED). If CONFIG_DESKTOP_BLE_NEW_PEER_SCAN_REQUEST is enabled, you can also set the CONFIG_DESKTOP_BLE_NEW_PEER_SCAN_ON_BOOT option to make the central scan for new peers after every boot.

The following scanning scenarios are possible:

  • If no peripheral is connected, the central scans for the peripheral devices without interruption.

  • If a peripheral is connected, the scanning is triggered periodically. If none of the connected peripherals is in use for at least CONFIG_DESKTOP_BLE_SCAN_START_TIMEOUT_S, the scanning is started.

Scanning not started

The scanning will not start if one of the following conditions occurs:

  • There are no more free Bluetooth connections.

  • The Bluetooth LE discovery module is in the process of discovering a peer.

  • The central is going to scan only for bonded peers and all the bonded peers are already connected.

The number of Bluetooth connections is defined as the CONFIG_BT_MAX_CONN Kconfig option.

Scanning interrupted

The scanning is interrupted if one of the following conditions occurs:

  • A connected peripheral is in use. Scanning in this situation will have a negative impact on user experience.

  • The maximum scan duration specified by CONFIG_DESKTOP_BLE_SCAN_DURATION_S times out.

The scanning is never interrupted if there is no connected Bluetooth peer.

Implementation details

The Bluetooth LE scanning module module stores the following information for every bonded peer:

  • Peripheral Bluetooth address.

  • Peripheral type (mouse or keyboard).

  • Information about Low Latency Packet Mode (LLPM) support.

The module uses Zephyr’s Settings subsystem to store the information in the non-volatile memory. This information is required to filter out unbonded devices, because the nRF Desktop central connects and bonds only with a defined number of mice and keyboards.

Bluetooth connection interval

After the scan filter match, the following happens:

  1. The scanning is stopped and the nRF Connect SDK’s Scanning module automatically establishes the Bluetooth connection with the peripheral. The initial Bluetooth connection interval is set by default to 7.5 ms, that is to the shortest connection interval allowed by the Bluetooth specification.

  2. The connection is secured.

  3. The peer discovery is started.

  4. After the Bluetooth LE discovery module completes the peer discovery, the Bluetooth LE connection parameters module receives the ble_discovery_complete_event and updates the Bluetooth connection interval.

Important

If a Bluetooth peer is aready connected with a 1-ms connection interval, the next peer is connected with a 10-ms connection interval instead of 7.5 ms. The peer is connected with a 10-ms connection interval also in case CONFIG_BT_MAX_CONN is set to value greater than 2 and CONFIG_DESKTOP_BLE_USE_LLPM Kconfig option is enabled. This is required to avoid Bluetooth scheduling issues that may lead to HID input report rate drops and disconnections.

At this point, the scanning can be restarted.