System and method for an extender device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11546758-B2
Application number	US-202017061996-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 2, 2020
Priority date	May 31, 2018
Publication date	Jan 3, 2023
Grant date	Jan 3, 2023

Abstract

Many customers have difficulty setting up a new extender device in the customer premises environment to improve their multimedia service. Some embodiments include configuring an extender device based on existing WiFi network credentials to minimize errors. Some embodiments include an application for mobile devices that may enable the transfer of network credentials from existing multimedia devices on the WiFi network to configure a new extender device in real time. For example, the configuration may be based on a customer account, a corresponding environment, and corresponding multimedia devices associated with the customer account. The extender device may be configured with the network credentials (e.g., a WiFi service set identifier (SSID) and password) that is common to the corresponding multimedia devices associated with the customer account.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for an extender device, comprising:
a transceiver; and
one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver, and configured to:
receive, via the transceiver, a discovery message;
in response to the discovery message, transmit, via the transceiver, a response comprising an indication of an unconfigured state;
subsequent to the transmission, receive, via the transceiver, network credentials corresponding to a multimedia service account;
connect, via the transceiver, to a network using the network credentials;
associate with a multimedia device corresponding to the multimedia service account on the network; and
transition to a configured-ready-for placement state, wherein the extender device comprises a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) that correlate to indicators implying movement recommendations for placement of the extender device, wherein a first LED of the plurality of LEDs corresponds to a first connection quality indication between an access point (AP) and the extender device, and wherein a second LED of the plurality of LEDs corresponds to a second connection quality indication between the multimedia device and the extender device.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein to connect to the network, the one or more processors are configured to: associate with the AP on the network.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: measure connection quality metrics from the AP and the multimedia device; and
generate a network topology based at least on the connection quality metrics.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
log the network topology;
receive a network topology query; and
in response to the network topology query, transmit the log to an analytics server.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the network credentials comprise a login and password.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the discovery message is received via Bluetooth™ protocol or software enabled access point (SoftAP).

7. A method for an extender device, comprising:
receiving a discovery message;
in response to the discovery message, transmitting a response comprising an indication of an unconfigured state;
subsequent to the transmission, receiving network credentials corresponding to a multimedia service account;
connecting to a network using the network credentials;
associating with a multimedia device corresponding to the multimedia service account on the network; and
transitioning to a configured-ready-for placement state, wherein the extender device comprises a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) that correlate to indicators implying movement recommendations for placement of the extender device, wherein a first LED of the plurality of LEDs corresponds to a first connection quality indication between an access point (AP) and the extender device, and wherein a second LED of the plurality of LEDs corresponds to a second connection quality indication between the multimedia device and the extender device.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the connecting to the network comprises: associating with the AP on the network.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
measuring connection quality metrics from the AP and the multimedia device; and
generating a network topology based at least on the connection quality metrics.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
logging the network topology;
receiving a network topology query; and
in response to the network topology query, transmitting the log to an analytics server.

11. The method of claim 7 , wherein the network credentials comprise a login and password.

12. The method of claim 7 , wherein the discovery message is received via Bluetooth™ protocol or software enabled access point (SoftAP).

13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored therein, which when executed by one or more processors in an electronic device, cause the one or more processors to perform operations for an extender device, the operations comprising:
receiving a discovery message;
in response to the discovery message, transmitting a response comprising an indication of an unconfigured state;
subsequent to the transmission, receiving network credentials corresponding to a multimedia service account;
connecting to a network using the network credentials;
associating with a multimedia device corresponding to the multimedia service account on the network; and
transitioning to a configured-ready-for placement state, wherein the extender device comprises a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) that correlate to indicators implying movement recommendations for placement of the extender device, wherein a first LED of the plurality of LEDs corresponds to a first connection quality indication between an access point (AP) and the extender device, and wherein a second LED of the plurality of LEDs corresponds to a second connection quality indication between the multimedia device and the extender device.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the connecting to the network operation comprises: associating with the AP on the network.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14 , wherein the operations further comprise:
measuring connection quality metrics from the AP and the multimedia device; and
generating a network topology based at least on the connection quality metrics.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the operations further comprise:
logging the network topology;
receiving a network topology query; and
in response to the network topology query, transmitting the log to an analytics server corresponding to the multimedia service account.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the discovery message is received via Bluetooth™ protocol or software enabled access point (SoftAP).

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the operations further comprise:
turning off Bluetooth™ protocol or SoftAP; and
enabling simple service discovery protocol (SSDP) or external control protocol (ECP).

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the operations further comprise verifying the connection to the network, comprising:
receiving a query regarding an internet protocol (IP) address of the extender device; and
responding to the query with the IP address of the extender device.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the network credentials comprise a login and password.

Assignees

• Roku Inc

Inventors

• Chari Amalavoyal Narasimha
• Funk Jim
• Jagannathan Sujatha
• Huang Liang-Jong
• Schmidlapp Jason
• Thomas Tito
• Asnis Ilya

Classifications

• H04W88/085

  Access point devices with remote components · CPC title

• H04W8/005

  Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals · CPC title

• H04W12/37 Primary

  Managing security policies for mobile devices or for controlling mobile applications · CPC title

• H04W4/00

  Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor · CPC title

• H04W4/80

  Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication · CPC title