Device provisioning

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9590857-B2
Application number	US-201414281050-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 19, 2014
Priority date	May 19, 2014
Publication date	Mar 7, 2017
Grant date	Mar 7, 2017

Abstract

The disclosure relates to provisioning end devices, such as wireless end devices. In one aspect, a wireless end device may be provisioned with a backend system without requiring a user to enter information to connect the wireless end device to a local wireless network. Moreover, the wireless end device may be provisioned with a single user action. In one example, the single action may be a single click on an activation portal. The single action may trigger the backend system to detect the wireless end device with the help of one or more gateways at one or more premises, and to associate the wireless end device with a user account. The backend system may also facilitate configuring the wireless end device to connect to the proper or desired network at a premises.

First claim

We claim:

1. A method comprising:
receiving, by a computing device, a request to incorporate a device into a network at a target premises;
determining, by the computing device based on the request, the target premises from a plurality of premises;
determining a set of two or more candidate gateways in proximity to the target premises;
monitoring, by the computing device, data received from the set of two or more candidate gateways to recognize information facilitating detection of the device; and
in response to the detection, transmitting network information of the network at the target premises to the device to allow the device to connect to the network.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the transmitting the network information comprises instructing a gateway at the target premises to transmit the network information to the device.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the transmitting the network information comprises transmitting a service set identifier (SSID) of the network at the target premises.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining the target premises is in response to a selection to activate the device through a portal.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining the target premises is in response to a selection to activate the device through a web portal accessible through the Internet.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing a portal that provides an option that, when selected, causes the request to be transmitted to the computing device.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing a portal through which the request is received, wherein the request indicates the target premises.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the receiving the request comprises receiving, from a gateway, information identifying the target premises, wherein the gateway is located at the target premises.

9. The method of claim 1 ,
wherein the receiving the request comprises receiving, from a gateway, an identifier of the gateway, wherein the gateway is located at the target premises, and
wherein the determining the target premises comprises determining that the identifier matches another identifier in a database that associates a plurality of identifiers with the plurality of premises.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the information facilitating the detection of the device comprises at least one of an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the device or descriptive information describing the device.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
associating the device with the target premises by updating a profile associated with the target premises to comprise the descriptive information.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining whether the information facilitating the detection of the device indicates that the device is connected to the network at the target premises or another network at another premises,
wherein the transmitting the network information of the network at the target premises to the device comprises, in response to determining that the device is connected to the another network at the another premises, causing the device to change a first SSID to a second SSID of the network at the target premises.

13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising transmitting, to a gateway, an instruction to output a message directing a user to turn on the device, wherein the gateway is located at the target premises.

14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
prior to recognizing the information facilitating the detection of the device, determining that a predetermined amount of time has elapsed since the monitoring began; and
after the determining that the predetermined amount of time has elapsed since the monitoring began, transmitting an instruction that directs a user to reset the device.

15. The method of claim 1 , further comprising instructing a gateway to transmit a hidden SSID.

16. A method comprising:
receiving, by a computing device, a request to activate a device at a target premises;
determining, by the computing device based on a location of the target premises, a plurality of candidate gateways within a geographical area;
monitoring, by the computing device, information received from the plurality of candidate gateways to determine whether the device is connected to one of the plurality of candidate gateways; and
in response to determining that the device is connected to one of the plurality of candidate gateways, transmitting, to the device, network information that is associated with a network at the target premises and that causes the device to connect to the network at the target premises.

17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
in response to determining that the device is connected to one of the plurality of candidate gateways, associating the device with a user account that is associated with the target premises.

18. A method comprising:
receiving, by a computing device, a request to connect a device to a network at a first premises;
in response to the receiving the request, determining, by the computing device based on a location of the first premises, a plurality of gateways within a certain distance of the first premises;
monitoring, by the computing device, data received from the plurality of gateways;
based on the monitoring, detecting the device; and
in response to the detecting, transmitting, to the device, network information, wherein the network information comprises information that enables the device to connect to the network at the first premises.

19. The method of claim 18 ,
wherein the detecting the device comprises determining that the device is connected to a gateway, of the plurality of gateways, at a second premises different from the first premises, and
wherein the transmitting the network information comprises causing the device to disconnect from the gateway at the second premises and connect to the network at the first premises, the network information comprising a service set identifier (SSID) of the network at the first premises.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the causing the device to disconnect from the gateway at the second premises and connect to the network at the first premises comprises causing the device to change from a hidden SSID, which is used to connect the device to the gateway, to the SSID of the network.

Assignees

• Comcast Cable Comm Llc

Inventors

• Lee Yiu Leung
• Wendt Chris

Classifications

• H04W84/12

  WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks] · CPC title

• H04L41/12 Primary

  Discovery or management of network topologies · CPC title

• H04L45/02

  Topology update or discovery · CPC title

• H04L12/4625 Primary

  Single bridge functionality, e.g. connection of two networks over a single bridge · CPC title