Method and apparatus for managing wireless router and device connected thereto

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10477599-B2
Application number	US-201815907019-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 27, 2018
Priority date	Feb 27, 2017
Publication date	Nov 12, 2019
Grant date	Nov 12, 2019

Abstract

An electronic device includes a housing, a wireless communication circuit, a wired communication interface, a processor, and a memory. The memory stores instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to connect with an external device by using the wireless communication circuit or the wired communication interface, to receive first information to set the electronic device as an access point (AP) from the external device, to receive second information on another AP from the external device, to configure the electronic device by using the first information, and to wirelessly broadcast a signal by using the wireless communication circuit, to allow wireless devices to connect to the AP.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device comprising:
a housing;
a wireless communication circuit positioned inside the housing and configured to support a wireless communication protocol with a coverage of up to approximately 100 meters;
a wired communication interface positioned inside the housing;
a processor positioned inside the housing and operatively connected to the wireless communication circuit and the wired communication interface; and
a memory positioned inside the housing and electrically connected to or integrated with the processor,
wherein the memory stores instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to:
connect with an external device by using the wireless communication circuit or the wired communication interface,
receive first information to set the electronic device as an access point (AP) from the external device,
receive second information on another AP from the external device,
configure the electronic device by using the first information, and
wirelessly broadcast a signal by using the wireless communication circuit, to allow wireless devices to connect to the AP,
wherein the signal includes:
a header; and
a frame body including:
a service set identifier (SSID) provided based at least partly on the first information, and
information provided based at least partly on the second information.

2. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the wireless communication protocol includes at least one of Bluetooth, ZigBee, wireless highway addressable remote transducer (HART), near field communication (NFC), wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), and Wi-Fi Direct.

3. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the wireless communication protocol is a version of Wi-Fi protocol, and
wherein the information provided based at least partly on the second information is a vendor specific information element (VSIE) defined by the Wi-Fi protocol.

4. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the signal further includes a frame check sequence (FCS).

5. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the second information includes an SSID of the another AP.

6. The electronic device of claim 5 , wherein, if the SSID of the another AP exceeds a specified length, the signal includes a part, which corresponds to the specified length, of the SSID of the another AP in the frame body.

7. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the electronic device is an access point.

8. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to:
receive a probe request using the second information from at least one device of the wireless devices;
transmit a probe response to the at least one device of the wireless devices in response to the received probe request; and
provide a wireless network service with respect to the at least one device of the wireless devices.

9. An electronic device comprising:
a housing;
a wireless communication circuit positioned inside the housing and configured to support a wireless communication protocol with a coverage of up to approximately 100 meters;
a processor positioned inside the housing and operatively connected to the wireless communication circuit; and
a memory positioned inside the housing and electrically connected to or integrated with the processor,
wherein the memory stores instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to:
connect wirelessly with a first access point (AP) including a first service set identifier (SSID) by using the wireless communication circuit,
determine that wireless connection to the first AP is discontinued,
scan a broadcast signal from a second AP,
wherein the broadcast signal includes:
a header; and
a frame body including a second SSID, and information element;

determine that the information element includes the first SSID, and
transmit, to the second AP, a request signal including a probe request frame associated with the first SSID to connect wirelessly with the second AP by using the wireless communication circuit when the information element includes the first SSID.

10. The electronic device of claim 9 , wherein the electronic device is any one of an air conditioner, a refrigerator, a washing machine, a television (TV), a personal computer (PC), and a laptop.

11. An electronic device comprising:
a housing;
a touchscreen display exposed through the housing;
a wireless communication circuit positioned inside the housing and configured to support a wireless communication protocol with a coverage of up to approximately 100 meters;
a processor positioned inside the housing and operatively connected to the touchscreen display and the wireless communication circuit; and
a memory positioned inside the housing and electrically connected to the processor,
wherein the memory stores instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to:
connect wirelessly with a first access point (AP) broadcasting a first service set identifier (SSID) by using the wireless communication circuit,
store the first SSID in the memory,
connect wirelessly with a second AP by using the wireless communication circuit,
set up the second AP by using a second SSID that is generated automatically or is provided by a user through the touchscreen display, and
provide the first SSID to the second AP to allow the second AP to connect with external devices previously connected to the first AP using the first SSID.

12. The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the electronic device is configured to:
connect wirelessly with the second AP based on any one wireless communication protocol of Zigbee, BLE, and Wi-Fi.

13. The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the electronic device is configured to:
display a user interface (UI) to provide information of the first AP in the touchscreen display.

14. The electronic device of claim 13 , wherein the electronic device is configured to:
if a user input to agree to provide the information of the first AP is provided through the UI, provide the information on the first AP to the second AP.

15. The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the electronic device is configured to:
provide information of the first AP to the second AP based on location information of the electronic device and a connection history of an AP that the electronic device uses in the past.

16. The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the electronic device is configured to:
provide information of the first AP to the second AP based on a connection time of an AP that the electronic device uses in the past.

17. The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the electronic device is configured to:
compare a list of access points that the electronic device scans in the past and a list of currently scanned access points; and
provide information of the first AP to the second AP based on a result of the comparison.

18. The electronic device of claim 17 , wherein the electronic device is configured to:
provide information on at least one AP not scanned currently according to the result of the comparison to the second AP as first information.

19. The electronic device of claim 18 , wherein the electronic device is configured to:
if the result of the comparison indicates that only the first AP exists as an AP not scanned currently, automatically provide the first information to the second AP.

20. The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the electronic device is a smartphone or a tablet.

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Park Jin Hyun
• Yoon Ye Ji
• Kang Min Ho
• Lim Jun Hak
• Chae Won Tae
• Choi Jong Mu
• Choi Bo Kun
• Kang Doo Suk
• Lee Sun Key

Classifications

• H04W76/11 Primary

  Allocation or use of connection identifiers · CPC title

• H04W88/08

  Access point devices · CPC title

• H04W84/12

  WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks] · CPC title

• H04W12/06

  Authentication · CPC title

• H04W12/08

  Access security · CPC title