Dynamic operating roles for internet of things (IoT) devices in a network

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12425297-B2
Application number	US-202217806720-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 13, 2022
Priority date	May 26, 2017
Publication date	Sep 23, 2025
Grant date	Sep 23, 2025

Abstract

This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for an internet of things (IoT) device. In some implementations, the IoT device can select an operating role for the first IoT device in a local network. The operating role may be selected from between an endpoint role and a relay role. The operating role may be dynamically selected by the first IoT device based whether the relay role would enhance connectivity for a client device that is within a wireless range of the first IoT device. The IoT device may participate in a self-organizing network (SON) and may coordinate with other devices in the SON to enhance wireless coverage for the client device based on a position of the client device relative to the one or more IoT devices.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for wireless communication by a first internet of things (IoT) device, comprising:
establishing a first communication link between the first IoT device and a first access point of a wireless local area network (WLAN), the first IoT device having an operating role of an endpoint role or a relay role;
selecting the relay role as the operating role for the first IoT device in the WLAN to serve a client device; and
after selecting the relay role:
operating the first IoT device as a second access point of the WLAN, wherein the second access point has a service set identifier or a passphrase of the first access point;
increasing signal power of the second access point for a wireless coverage area associated with the first IoT device;

establishing a second communication link via a wireless association between the first IoT device and the client device; and
bridging traffic associated with the client device via the first communication link and the second communication link.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the relay role as the operating role comprises:
changing the operating role of the first IoT device from the endpoint role to the relay role.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the WLAN is a self-organizing network (SON), and wherein selecting the relay role as the operating role includes communicating with a second IoT device utilizing a SON protocol.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the relay role as the operating role for the first IoT device includes:
coordinating between the first IoT device and one or more other IoT devices in the WLAN to select the relay role for the first IoT device in accordance with a position of the client device relative to the first IoT device and the one or more other IoT devices.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining to steer the client device from the first IoT device to a second network node in the WLAN; and
steering the client device to the second network node.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein determining to steer the client device includes:
determining a first link metric for the first communication link between the first IoT device and a central access point of the WLAN;
determining a second link metric for a third communication link between the second network node and the central access point; and
determining that the second network node would provide a higher quality of service for the client device based, at least in part, on a comparison of the first link metric and the second link metric.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
reducing signal power for a wireless coverage area associated with the first IoT device.

8. The method of claim 5 , further comprising, after steering the client device to the second network node:
changing the operating role of the first IoT device from the relay role to the endpoint role.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
enabling a wireless interface of the first IoT device in response to a request received via the first communication link between the first IoT device and the WLAN; and
utilizing the wireless interface to obtain diagnostic measurements associated with at least one other device in the WLAN.

10. An internet of things (IoT) device for wireless communication, comprising:
one or more memories storing processor-executable code; and
one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the IoT device to:
establish a first communication link between the IoT device and a first access point of a wireless local area network (WLAN), the IoT device having an operating role of an endpoint role or a relay role;
select the operating role for the IoT device in the WLAN as the relay role to serve a client device; and
after selecting the relay role:
operate the IoT device as a second access point of the WLAN, wherein the second access point has a service set identifier or a passphrase of the first access point,
increase signal power of the second access point for a wireless coverage area associated with the IoT device,

establish a second communication link via a wireless association between the IoT device and the client device; and
bridge traffic associated with the client device via the first communication link and the second communication link.

11. The IoT device of claim 10 , wherein, to select the relay role as the operating role, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the IoT device to:
change the operating role of the IoT device from the endpoint role to the relay role.

12. The IoT device of claim 10 , wherein the WLAN is a self-organizing network (SON), and wherein, to select the operating role as the relay role, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the IoT device to communicate with a second IoT device utilizing a SON protocol.

13. The IoT device of claim 10 , wherein, to select the relay role as the operating role, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the IoT device to:
coordinate between the IoT device and one or more other IoT devices in the WLAN to select the relay role for the IoT device based, at least in part, on a position of the client device relative to the IoT device and the one or more other IoT devices.

14. The IoT device of claim 10 , wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the IoT device to:
steer the client device from the IoT device to a second network node in the WLAN.

15. The IoT device of claim 14 , wherein, to steer the client device, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the IoT device to:
reduce power for a wireless coverage area associated with the IoT device.

16. The IoT device of claim 14 , wherein, to steer the client device, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the IoT device to:
increase power for a wireless coverage area associated with the IoT device.

17. The IoT device of claim 10 , wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the IoT device to:
transmit a message indicating a power level for a wireless coverage area associated with the IoT device.

18. The IoT device of claim 14 , wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the IoT device to:
receive a message indicating a network configuration associated with the second network node.

19. The IoT device of claim 10 , wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the IoT device to:
transmit, to one or more other IoT devices, a message indicating a network configuration associated with the IoT device.

20. The IoT device of claim 10 , wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the IoT device to:
obtain a first link metric for the first communication link between the IoT device and a central access point of the WLAN;
obtain a second link metric for a third communication link between a second network node and the central access point;
select the relay role when the IoT device would provide a h

Assignees

• Qualcomm Inc

Inventors

• Anantharaman Subramanian
• Natarajan Sreekanth

Classifications

• H04L12/283

  Processing of data at an internetworking point of a home automation network · CPC title

• H04L41/30

  Decision processes by autonomous network management units using voting and bidding · CPC title

• H04L12/2838

  Distribution of signals within a home automation network, e.g. involving splitting/multiplexing signals to/from different paths (adaptations of television systems for transmission by electric cable for domestic distribution H04N7/106; hybrid transport H04L12/6418; home network arrangements specially adapted for distribution of digital video signals H04N7/24) · CPC title

• H04L12/2807

  Exchanging configuration information on appliance services in a home automation network (arrangements for maintenance or administration involving network analysis for automatically determining the actual topology of a network H04L41/12; hardware or software tools for network management using graphical user interfaces H04L41/22; address allocation H04L61/50) · CPC title

• H04L12/2832

  Interconnection of the control functionalities between home networks (single bridge functionality H04L12/4625) · CPC title