INTERNET OF THINGS (IoT) DEVICE ACTIVATION AND MANAGEMENT

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017195424-A1
Application number	US-201514983717-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Dec 30, 2015
Priority date	Dec 30, 2015
Publication date	Jul 6, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

A user device, such as a smart phone, collects information about an Internet-of-things (IoT) device. The information may be obtained through a local wireless connection between the user device and the IoT device. The user device forwards, to an application server, a request to activate the IoT device over a service network, such as a wireless data network, and receives information for activating the IoT device. The user device uses the received information to activate the IoT device and collects data from the activated IoT devices. The user device may selectively report portions of the collected data to the application server, and may receive instruction updates. The user device may update the operation of the IoT device based on the received instruction updates.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method comprising:
identifying, by a processor associated with a user device, an attribute of an Internet-of-things (IoT) device; identifying, by the processor and based on the attribute, an application server from a plurality of application servers; generating, by the processor, an activation request based on the attribute of the IoT device, wherein the activation request relates to activating the IoT device; forwarding, by the processor, the activation request to the application server, wherein the activation request is forwarded via a service network; receiving, by the processor and from the application server, activation information for activating the IoT device; forwarding, by the processor, the activation information to the IoT device, wherein the activation information is not sent through the service network, and wherein the IoT device uses the activation information to become active; receiving, by the processor, data collected by the activated IoT device; generating, by the processor, a reporting message based on the data collected by the activated IoT device; and forwarding, by the processor, the reporting message to the application server via the service network.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the reporting message further includes:
providing a user interface (UI), wherein the UI presents portions of the data collected by the activated IoT device; receiving, through the UI, a user input selecting one of the portions of the data collected by the activated IoT device; and including the selected one of the portions of the data collected by the activated IoT device in the reporting message, wherein the reporting message excludes non-selected ones of the data collected by the activated IoT device.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the reporting message further includes:
identifying a status of the user device; and including, in the reporting message, information identifying the status of the user device.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the reporting message further includes:
receiving, by the processor, data collected by another IoT device; and including, in the reporting message, at least a portion of the data collected by another IoT device.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the activation information is received during a first time period, and wherein forwarding the activation information to the IoT device further includes:
storing the activation information during the first time period; receiving a user input during a second time period that is after the first time period; and forwarding the activation information to the IoT device during the second time period based on receiving the user input.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein forwarding the activation information to the IoT device further includes:
providing a user interface (UI), wherein the UI presents the activation information; receiving, through the UI, a user input identifying a modification to activation information; and forwarding the modified activation information to the IoT device.

7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the modification identifies an emergency situation, and wherein the modification causes the IoT device to forward a notification to the application server when the emergency situation is detected.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the attribute of the IoT device includes:
capturing an image of the IoT device; and processing the image to determine the attribute of the IoT device.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the attribute of the IoT device includes:
establishing a short-range connection between the user device and the IoT device; and obtaining data identifying the attribute from IoT device.

10 . A device comprising:
a memory to store one or more instructions; a first wireless interface to communicate via a local network; a second wireless interface to communicate via a service network that differs from the local network; and a processor configured to execute the one or more instructions to:
identify an attribute of an Internet-of-things (IoT) device that differs from the device;
identify, based on the attribute, an application server from a plurality of application servers;
generate an activation request based on the attribute of the IoT device, wherein the activation request relates to activating the IoT device;
forward the activation request to the application server using the second wireless interface;
receive, from the application server and using the second wireless interface, activation information for activating the IoT device;
forward, using the first wireless interface, the activation information to the IoT device, wherein the IoT device uses the activation information to become active;
receive, using the first wireless interface, data collected by the activated IoT device;
generate a reporting message based on the data collected by the activated IoT device; and
forward, using the second wireless interface, the reporting message to the application server.

11 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the processor, when generating the reporting message, is further configured to:
provide a user interface (UI), wherein the UI presents portions of the data collected by the activated IoT device; receive, through the UI, a user input selecting one of the portions of the data collected by the activated IoT device; and include the selected one of the portions of the data collected by the activated IoT device in the reporting message, wherein the reporting message excludes non-selected ones of the data collected by the activated IoT device.

12 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the processor, when generating the reporting message, is further configured to:
identify a status of the device; and include, in the reporting message, information identifying the status of the device.

13 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the processor, when generating the reporting message, is further configured to:
receive, via the first wireless interface, data collected by another IoT device; and include, in the reporting message, at least a portion of the data collected by another IoT device.

14 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the activation information is received during a first time period, and wherein the processor, when forwarding the activation information to the IoT device, is further configured to:
store the activation information during the first time period; receive a user input during a second time period that is after the first time period; and forward the activation information to the IoT device during the second time period based on receiving the user input.

15 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the processor, when forwarding the activation information to the IoT device, is further configured to:
provide a user interface (UI) presenting the activation information; receive, through the UI, a user input identifying a modification to activation information; and forward the modified activation information to the IoT device.

16 . The device of claim 15 , wherein the modification identifies an emergency situation, and wherein the modification causes the IoT device to forward a notification to the application server when the emergency situation is detected.

17 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the processor, when identifying the attribute of the IoT device, is further configured to:
capture an image of the IoT device; and process the image to determine the attribute of the IoT devi

Assignees

• Verizon Patent & Licensing Inc

Inventors

• Nasir Azim
• Turner Andre R
• Mckenna Daniel J

Classifications

• H04W4/80

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

• H04L67/10

  in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network (software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46) · CPC title

• H04L67/125 Primary

  involving control of end-device applications over a network · CPC title

• H04L67/34

  involving the movement of software or configuration parameters  (network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416) · CPC title

• H04L41/0806

  for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play · CPC title