CN111372222A

CN111372222A - Device connection method and system, corresponding terminal device and server

Info

Publication number: CN111372222A
Application number: CN201911018851.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 郑思源
Original assignee: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd
Current assignee: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd
Priority date: 2019-10-24
Filing date: 2019-10-24
Publication date: 2020-07-03

Abstract

A device connection method, a system, a corresponding terminal device and a server are disclosed. The equipment connection method comprises the following steps: the second equipment acquires the connection request information of the first equipment; based on the connection request information, the second device acquires the connection information of the first device; and the second device connects with the first device based on the connection information. For example, the second device may obtain the device information and the distribution network information of the first device from an external server, and in particular, implement direct connection and subsequent operations for various types of first devices.

Description

Device connection method and system, corresponding terminal device and server

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of internet of things, and in particular, to a device connection method and system, and a corresponding terminal device and server.

Background

In recent years, internet of things (IoT) technology that can access a variety of devices or items has received much attention. The bluetooth device can be connected with the terminal device (for example, a distribution network) so as to facilitate the access of the bluetooth device to the internet of things, realize the centralized control of the terminal device on the access device, or realize various complex functions by means of the strong calculation power of the intelligent terminal. Herein, a distribution network refers to a process of accessing a network by an internet of things device, which is generally implemented via connection of the internet of things device and a terminal device (or a home internet of things central node such as a smart sound box).

In the prior art, although the terminal device can use the App installed thereon to implement connection between, for example, a smart speaker and a peripheral IoT device, the terminal device does not have the capability of automatically discovering the device, and in actual operation, a user is required to select a device item to be connected in the App, and the App and the device to be connected need to enter a distribution network state at the same time, thereby increasing the complexity of operation of device connection. In addition, the connection entries of different devices in the App are not uniform, thereby further increasing the inconvenience of connection operations.

Therefore, a solution for conveniently connecting devices is required.

Disclosure of Invention

The technical problem to be solved by the present disclosure is to provide an equipment connection scheme, which enables a terminal device to discover an internet of things device to be connected by itself, and directly execute a network distribution with the internet of things device through connection information acquired from the outside.

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a device connection method including: the second equipment acquires the connection request information of the first equipment; based on the connection request information, the second device acquires the connection information of the first device; and the second device connects with the first device based on the connection information. Thereby, a fast direct connection of the first device is achieved.

Optionally, based on the content included in the first data packet, the obtaining, by the second device, the connection information of the first device includes: based on the content contained in the first data packet, the second device obtains the connection information related to the first device from the outside, for example, obtains the connection information of the first device from a server. The acquired connection information of the first device may include: device information of the first device; and distribution network information of the first device.

Further, the server may update the status information of the first device based on the identification of the first device included in the first data packet.

Optionally, the second device may give a connection option with the first device based on the connection information; and after the connection option is selected, the second device connects with the first device. Specifically, the second device displays the model information of the first device included in the connection information on a display screen; and/or the second device gives a voice prompt for connecting the first device.

Optionally, the displaying, by the second device, the model information of the first device included in the connection information in the display screen includes: the second device displays model information of the first device in a pop-up box, and the pop-up box further displays at least one of the following: a picture of the first device; a unique identifier of the first device.

Optionally, the method may further include: the first device broadcasts a first data packet, where the first data packet includes the connection request information, and the second device acquires the connection request information of the first device includes: the second device receives the first data packet, and based on the connection request information, the second device acquiring the connection information of the first device includes: and the second equipment acquires the connection information of the first equipment based on the content contained in the first data packet.

The first device broadcasting the first data packet comprises: the method for broadcasting respective first data packets by a plurality of first devices simultaneously, wherein the receiving of the first data packets by the second devices comprises: the second device receives a first data packet from at least one first device of the plurality of first devices, and the second device acquires the connection information of the first device based on the content contained in the first data packet comprises: the second device acquires connection information of at least one of the plurality of first devices based on the content included in the acquired first packet, and the second device connecting with the first device based on the connection information includes: the second device connects with at least one of the plurality of first devices based on the connection information.

Optionally, the connecting, by the second device, with at least one of the plurality of first devices based on the connection information includes: the second equipment displays the connection options of the plurality of first equipment in the same page; after the connection option is selected, the second device connects with the selected first device.

Optionally, the receiving, by the second device, the first data packet from at least one of the plurality of first devices includes: the second device screens out first data packets from the at least one first device that meet a predetermined connection criterion.

Optionally, the method may further include: and starting the scanning function of the second device before the second device receives the first data packet.

Alternatively, the connection information may be sent for connection with other devices. Then, the method may further comprise: the second equipment sends the connection information to the terminal equipment; and the terminal device is connected with the first device based on the connection information. The terminal device may be one of: one of a plurality of first devices and configured to connect with other ones of the plurality of first devices based on the connection information; and other devices than the plurality of first devices.

Optionally, the method may further include: setting the first device to a to-be-connected state so that the first device broadcasts a first data packet; or after the second device acquires the connection information of the first device, setting the first device to be in a to-be-connected state.

Optionally, the method may further include: and receiving a state change instruction of the user to the connected first equipment, and changing the current state of the connected first equipment. Wherein changing the current state of the connected first device comprises at least one of: disconnecting the first device from the second device; turning off the first device; turning off a specific function of the first device; modifying a state of a first device for a particular user; and changing the working state of the first equipment. Receiving a state change instruction of a user to a connected first device comprises the following steps: displaying state change options of the connected first equipment to a user and receiving the selection of the corresponding options by the user; and/or receiving a user state change voice input instruction for the connected first device.

Optionally, the method may further include: and changing the current state of the first equipment according to the current scene information, wherein the first equipment is the equipment which is subjected to connection authentication with the second equipment. The current scene information includes scene information determined according to at least one of the following items; the current location of the user; the current time; the current weather; the current status of the user. The scene information may be determined at the cloud, or may be determined by the second device or an edge computing device to which the second device is connected.

Optionally, the method may further include: the second device performs facial recognition on the user; and performing interactive operation aiming at the first equipment with a user according to the face recognition result.

Optionally, the method may further include: displaying recommendation information to a user, the recommendation information being generated according to at least one of: connection information of the first device; an input instruction of the user; current scene information.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a device connection system comprising a first device and a second device, wherein the first device is configured to: broadcasting a first data packet; and completing a connection operation with the second device, the second device being configured to: receiving the first data packet; acquiring connection information of the first device based on the content contained in the first data packet; and connecting with the first device based on the connection information.

According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a method for a terminal device to connect to an internet of things device is provided, including: receiving a first data packet from the Internet of things equipment; acquiring connection information of the Internet of things equipment from the outside based on the content contained in the first data packet; and connecting with the Internet of things equipment based on the connection information.

According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a terminal device including: the first communication device is used for receiving a first data packet from the Internet of things equipment; the second communication device is used for acquiring the connection information of the Internet of things equipment from the outside based on the content contained in the first data packet; a processor to: and based on the connection information, connecting with the Internet of things equipment.

According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a server for: receiving content contained in a first data packet acquired by second equipment, wherein the first data packet is a data packet which is received by the second equipment and broadcasted by the first equipment; searching the connection information of the first equipment based on the content contained in the first data packet; and sending the connection information of the first equipment to the second equipment for connection between the second equipment and the first equipment.

According to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a device connection method including: displaying a device connection page in an application for device connection; in response to selection of a connection option of a device, scanning a connection broadcast packet of an Internet of things device and displaying the described connection option of the Internet of things device, wherein the connection option comprises device information of the Internet of things device inquired based on the connection broadcast packet;

and based on the selection of the connection option, using distribution network information to distribute the network to the Internet of things equipment and displaying a distribution network result, wherein the distribution network option is obtained based on the connection broadcast packet query.

Therefore, the equipment connection scheme can be used for finding the connection information of the Internet of things equipment through external acquisition scanning, so that the efficient network distribution of the Internet of things equipment is realized. Specifically, the terminal device may pop up information of one or more pieces of internet-of-things devices to be connected based on the acquired connection information, and directly complete the distribution network under the selection of the user.

Drawings

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent by describing in greater detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings, in which like reference numerals generally represent like parts throughout.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of device access authentication.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a device accessing an IoT.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a device having accessed an IoT as one node.

Fig. 4 shows a schematic diagram of device access authentication involving cloud participation.

Fig. 5 shows a schematic diagram of a device involved in cloud participation accessing an IoT.

Fig. 6 shows a schematic flow diagram of a device connection method according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 7 shows an example of a connection flow involved in the device connection system according to the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method for connecting a terminal device to an internet of things device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 9 shows a schematic diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the invention.

10A-C illustrate a multi-device connection application example in accordance with the present invention.

Detailed Description

Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure may be embodied in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.

Internet of things devices (e.g., smart IoT devices) need to access the internet through distribution network operations. Here, the distribution network may refer to a process in which an internet of things device is connected to a terminal device capable of accessing the internet or an internet of things node (e.g., a smart speaker serving as a central node) to implement internet access. For this reason, the internet-of-things device needs to be connected with the already-networked device.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of device access authentication. As shown in fig. 1, an internet of things device 100 as a first device needs to be connected with a terminal device 200 as a second device. In the present invention, "first" and "second" are intended to distinguish different objects of the same kind, not to make any implication on time or spatial order or importance, etc.

The internet-of-things device 100 may connect and communicate through short-distance data transmission (e.g., several centimeters to several hundred meters) with the terminal device 200 based on bluetooth, WiFi, infrared, etc. For example, the bluetooth scale 100 is connected to the smartphone 200 via bluetooth low energy protocol (BLE).

The connection between the first device and the second device shown in fig. 1 may be only the connection between the internet of things device 100 and the terminal device 200, for example, the connection between the bluetooth scale and the smartphone in the above example. In other embodiments, the connection may also be a connection for accessing an existing internet of things.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a device accessing an IoT. As shown in fig. 2, the IoT includes a plurality of nodes that are already networked, where the node 200 is, for example, a central smart node of the home internet of things, which can serve as a central device for connecting other internet of things devices and function as an edge computing or cloud communication relay. In the illustration of fig. 2, the node 200 may be a smart speaker that has connected thereto (e.g., via bluetooth) a television, a rice cooker, and a smart doorbell. It should be understood that fig. 2 is merely an illustration for ease of understanding. In other embodiments, the node 200 may also be an intelligent mobile terminal shown in fig. 1, for example, a mobile phone, and the invention is not limited thereto. For example, other connection manners may be adopted among the nodes in the IoT, and the present invention is not limited thereto. If an internet of things device (e.g., the bluetooth lamp 100 shown in the figure) wants to access an existing IoT, it needs to implement the authentication process of the device 100 joining the IoT through a short-distance data transmission (e.g., several centimeters to several hundred meters) with the node 200, and finally implement the result shown in fig. 3 that is already accessed as one node. Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a device having accessed an IoT as one node. As shown in fig. 3, the bluetooth lamp 100 has been authenticated by access and accesses one node as IoT. Herein, a device that has joined the IoT is referred to as a "node", and a device that wants to join the IoT (e.g., the bluetooth lamp 100) is referred to as a "device to be accessed" or an "internet of things device". An existing internet of things (IoT) may be an internet of things with a certain scope, such as an internet of things in one home, in one building, even in one campus, etc., as shown in fig. 2. In one embodiment, the internet of things device 100 may be a bluetooth mesh device, and the IoT is an existing bluetooth mesh network. The smart device, which is one node 200 in the bluetooth mesh network, may function as a provisioning device to access the IoT device 100 to be accessed to the existing bluetooth mesh network in conformity with the bluetooth mesh specification.

The process of device access also typically involves participation in the cloud. Fig. 4 shows a schematic diagram of device access authentication involving cloud participation. Fig. 5 shows a schematic diagram of a device involved in cloud participation accessing an IoT. In the embodiments shown in fig. 4 and 5, instead of completing authentication directly with the terminal device or the terminal device as one node in the IoT, the internet of things device 100 needs to implement an authentication process in which the device 100 connects with the terminal device 200 (such as the smart mobile device shown in fig. 4 and the smart speaker shown in fig. 5) or joins the IoT through short-range data transmission with the terminal device 200 and remote data transmission with the remote server 300 via the terminal device 200 (the oval dashed box in fig. 5 represents an object involved in the operation when the device 100 accesses the IoT), and finally implement connection and data transmission with the terminal device 200 or a result that the IoT is already accessed as one node shown in fig. 3. The remote server 300 may be a server farm for implementing specific functions, such as a cloud authentication platform when devices access an IoT or connect to a smart device.

It should be understood that at this time, the device to be accessed 100 is an internet of things device having a short-range communication capability (e.g., via bluetooth or a local area network), and the terminal or the internet of things device as a node 200 is based on the short-range communication capability and the communication capability with a remote server. The other devices in the IoT may be either. One example of the connection of the nodes in the IoT is shown in fig. 2, 3 and 5, but it should be understood that the nodes may be connected in other ways, and in case the short-range communication is implemented via WiFi communication, the node 200 may also communicate with the device to be accessed 100 via a router.

Examples of connecting internet of things devices are given above in connection with fig. 1-5. In the prior art, a plurality of internet of things devices generally need to be clicked, scanned and authenticated one by one to access, and different internet of things devices have different connection entries on a terminal device. Specifically, the terminal device may use the App installed thereon to implement connection to, for example, a smart speaker and a peripheral IoT device, but the terminal device does not have the capability of automatically discovering devices, and in actual operation, a user is required to select a device item to be connected in the App, and the App and the device to be connected need to enter a distribution network state at the same time, thereby increasing the operation complexity of device connection. In addition, the connection entries of different devices in the App are not uniform, thereby further increasing the inconvenience of connection operations.

For example, when a user a purchases a new smart speaker B and a new bluetooth lamp C at the same time, the user a needs to perform complicated and repeated operations in order to distribute a network for the smart speaker and the bluetooth lamp. For example, a user needs to install an internet of things management App on the terminal device of the user, open the App, enter an adding device page, first click an intelligent sound box option of a corresponding type in an intelligent sound box sub-page, place an intelligent sound box B in a distribution network state, and gradually complete connection authentication on the intelligent sound box B according to prompt operation on the App page. And then, the user needs to enter a lighting electrician sub-page in an adding device page of the App, select a Bluetooth lamp option of a corresponding model, place the Bluetooth lamp C in a distribution network state, and gradually complete connection authentication of the Bluetooth lamp C according to prompt operation on the App page. When a user purchases more internet of things devices, the user needs to select corresponding devices on different device sub-pages to complete repeated authentication operations, so as to realize device access.

The above operation is inconvenient and error-prone. Therefore, the equipment connection scheme is provided, and the terminal equipment can discover the Internet of things equipment to be connected by itself and directly execute the network distribution with the Internet of things equipment through the connection information acquired from the outside.

Fig. 6 shows a schematic flow diagram of a device connection method according to an embodiment of the invention. The method is suitable for the situation that the terminal equipment is connected with the Internet of things equipment based on various short-distance communication means (such as WiFi, Bluetooth mesh, infrared and the like), and is particularly suitable for connection authentication between the Bluetooth equipment serving as first equipment and an intelligent terminal serving as second equipment, namely the situation that the first equipment and the second equipment are connected along a Bluetooth protocol. For example, the method may be applied to connection authentication in which a bluetooth device as a first device joins an existing bluetooth mesh network through a second device (smart terminal) as a start authentication device with the identity of a node to be accessed, that is, in a case where the first and second devices connect following a bluetooth mesh protocol. Here, the smart terminal for accessing the internet of things device may be, for example, a smart phone installed with an internet of things management App, and the smart phone may be used for accessing a conventional internet of things device and a smart speaker generally used as a central node. In other embodiments, the smart terminal for accessing the internet of things device may be a smart sound box itself. The invention is not limited in this regard.

In step S610, the second device (e.g., the terminal device 200 in fig. 1 to 5) acquires connection request information of the first device (e.g., the to-be-connected internet-of-things device 100 in fig. 1 to 5). In step S620, based on the connection request information, the second device acquires connection information of the first device. In step S630, the second device connects with the first device based on the connection information.

Therefore, the second device can directly acquire the connection information of the first device by itself to complete the connection with the first device under the condition of acquiring the connection request of the first device. In other words, the connection information of the first device is automatically acquired after the second device acquires the connection request, rather than being acquired after the user clicks the specific model option of the first device. Therefore, the connection scheme of the application can avoid the operation that a user actively clicks the corresponding option of the first device on the second device to connect, and improves the convenience of access of the first device.

In different embodiments, the second device may obtain the connection request information of the first device in different manners. For example, the first device may make a distribution network request via a WiFi or bluetooth connection or even a two-dimensional code scan. In one embodiment, the first device may issue the distribution network request by actively broadcasting the first packet. Here, the first packet may include the connection request information. Then, in step S610, the second device may receive the first packet to obtain the connection request information of the first device. And the scanning function of the second device may be turned on before the second device receives the first packet. Subsequently, in step S620, the second device acquires the connection information of the first device based on the content included in the first data packet.

Here, the first device broadcasting the first data packet may be a regular broadcast used by the first device for connection authentication, or may be a silent broadcast automatically performed by the first device based on a predetermined rule. Here, the "regular broadcast" may refer to an action of issuing a broadcast packet conforming to a prescribed format in compliance with an existing broadcast discovery rule. The internet of things equipment performs a conventional broadcasting action when being set to a to-be-connected state, such as being powered on or being actively discovered. To ensure discovery, a conventional broadcast is broadcast at a high frequency of, for example, 40ms every 100ms, for a period of time (e.g., 1-10 minutes) after the device is operated. Other devices (e.g., terminal device 200) may begin a connection authentication process with the internet of things device upon receiving the broadcast. In contrast, "silent broadcasting" may refer to the act of issuing broadcast packets in addition to the regular broadcasting act. The term "silence" as used herein refers to silence for a user, that is, the internet of things device sends out a broadcast packet according to a predetermined rule without user participation. The silent broadcast may be automatically turned on by a state where the internet of things device has not connected any other device (or is not networked) beyond the normal broadcast time. Since the silent broadcast is a broadcast actively sent by the internet of things device to wait for the discovery of the terminal device, the silent broadcast needs to be continuously broadcast, for example, the silent broadcast is always broadcast in a state that the internet of things device is in a live working state. Therefore, the interval time of the silent broadcasting is long in consideration of energy saving. For example, a regular broadcast is a broadcast packet sent out at a high frequency for a predetermined period of time (e.g., 40ms every 100ms for 10 minutes after power-on), and a silent broadcast is a broadcast packet sent out at a lower frequency continuously (e.g., 100ms every 60s for 100 minutes without connection after power-on). Since the silent broadcast is a broadcast sent by the device itself, in order to prevent a misconnection, the first device may be set to a pending state, for example, powered on or activated for discovery, after the second device acquires the connection information of the first device.

In the embodiment of the invention, the second device can directly acquire the connection information of the first device by itself to complete the connection with the first device under the condition of acquiring the connection request of the first device. When the number of the devices that the second device supports connection is small, the connection information of all the devices available for connection may be stored locally in the second device, for example, included in an installation package of an internet of things device management App installed in the second device. Thus, the second device, after determining the model of the first device, e.g., based on the first data packet, may locally retrieve connection information for the model device and complete the connection with the device.

In a wider application scenario, the second device may preferably obtain the connection information of the first device from the outside. In one embodiment, the second device may obtain the connection information of the first device from, for example, a router or a central node of a local area network. For example, when a network of internet of things devices is distributed for a building, a central node of the building may be preloaded with connection information of various internet of things devices to be installed, so that the second device may obtain connection information of a first device of a corresponding model from a local area network connection for subsequent connection.

Alternatively or additionally, the second device may obtain connection information of the first device from a server (e.g., a cloud service platform). For this purpose, the second device may upload the content included in the first packet to the server, and accordingly acquire connection information for connecting the first device and the second device. In order to acquire the connection information of the first device, the server needs to know the model information of the first device. In one embodiment, the identity of the first device contained in the first data packet may be sent to the server. The identifier may be a distribution network identifier, for example, an identifier used to determine which distribution network file the device is directed to. In other embodiments, the first data packet may further include a manufacturer code of the first device, so that the second device knows a server (e.g., a manufacturer server or a cloud service platform compatible with the manufacturer product) to which the second device is to connect. In other embodiments, the device information (e.g., the unique identification code) contained in the first data packet may also be sent to the server, which may return information for the device itself (rather than just the device model), e.g., the device's MAC address, etc. to this end, the server may send back the device information to the server. At this time, the server may maintain a list of devices. The list may include a unique identifier for each factory device and other relevant information, such as secret data used to authenticate between the device and the cloud and to avoid over-the-air propagation. Under the condition that the information sent to the server by the second device includes the unique identification code of the first device, the state information of the first device on the server can be updated according to the current state of the first device reported by the second device. For example, from "factory" to "connected to XXX".

Here, the connection information of the first device, which is acquired from the outside (e.g., a server) by the second device, may refer to information for enabling the first device to connect with the second device, for example, distribution network information required for a distribution network. Alternatively or additionally, the connection information may also include device information of the first device itself, e.g. a picture, a model name, a unique identification code or a MAC address of the first device, etc. The distribution network information can be used by the second device for connection authentication with the first device, and the device information can be used for confirmation operation of the user. To this end, the second device connecting with the first device based on the connection information may include: based on the connection information, the second device gives a connection option with the first device; and after the connection option is selected, the second device connects with the first device. For example, the model information of the first device included in the connection information may be displayed in a display screen of the second device. Preferably, the second device may display the model information of the first device in a pop-up box, and may also display other related information of the first device, such as a picture of the first device, and a unique identifier and/or a MAC address of the first device in the pop-up box.

The device connection scheme of the invention is particularly suitable for the case of simultaneously starting the connection authentication (for example, distribution network operation) of a plurality of first devices and second devices. To this end, the plurality of first devices may broadcast respective first data packets simultaneously. Subsequently, the second device may receive a first data packet from at least one of the plurality of first devices. The second device acquires connection information of at least one of the plurality of first devices based on the content included in the acquired first packet. Subsequently, the second device connects with at least one first device among the plurality of first devices based on the connection information.

Specifically, the user may set a plurality of internet of things devices (first devices) to a distribution network state in general, for example, power on or activate discovery. At the same time (and also before or after), the second device may be set to a scan discovery state, i.e. the scanning functionality of the second device is turned on. The second device may then screen out first data packets from the at least one first device that meet the predetermined connection criteria, for example, regular broadcast packets of three internet of things devices. Subsequently, the second device can obtain the distribution network identifiers of the three internet of things devices from the broadcast packet, pull the corresponding three distribution network files from the cloud, and perform subsequent distribution network operation accordingly.

In particular, the second device may prompt the user for connection options for the first device and connect with user confirmation. In one embodiment, the connection option may be voice announced, for example, "bluetooth device A, B and C now request connection, please confirm". Alternatively or additionally, the options may be displayed in a display screen. For example, the second device may display connection options of multiple first devices, such as connection information of bluetooth devices A, B and C, in the same page of the respective apps. After the corresponding connection option is selected, the second device can connect with the selected first device without additional operation of the user. In some embodiments, the connection with the first device may be further enabled based on information maintained on the second device. For example, the internet of things management App may save WiFi connection information of the second device, and automatically fill in WiFi connection information required when the first device connects using the saved WiFi connection information.

In the device connection scheme of the invention, the second device may be an intelligent terminal such as a smart phone, and an App for device management of the internet of things may be installed in the intelligent terminal. Thus, the second device can realize connection with the first device under the corresponding interface of the App, that is, realize distribution network operation of the first device. Here, the first device is an internet of things device, is a device that requires access to the internet via connection authentication of the first device, and may include a conventional internet of things device such as a bluetooth lamp, and may further include a smart speaker device that is generally used as a central node of the internet of things. Thus, the second device (e.g., a smartphone) may send connection information to the smart speaker after completing a connection operation with the first device including the smart speaker. The smart speaker may be connected to the first device, for example, to other devices of the first device except for the smart speaker itself, based on the connection information.

In other embodiments, the second device may also be a smart sound box and may be configured to connect with other internet of things devices (as the first device). For example, the user can set a plurality of internet of things devices needing to be connected to a distribution network state, and input voice ' small X ' to the smart sound box, find teammates ', at this moment, the smart sound box can start a scanning function, receive a broadcast packet of the internet of things devices, pull corresponding distribution network information and device information from a cloud, display and broadcast the device information, and complete connection with the internet of things devices under the permission of the user.

In an embodiment of the present invention, a first device that has connected to a second device (currently in a connected state) or a first device that has completed connection authentication with the second device (currently not necessarily in a connected state) may be operated. For example, the user can directly complete the operation on the connected or connected device in the App for device connection management.

To this end, the connection method of the present invention may further include: and receiving a state change instruction of the user to the connected first equipment, and changing the current state of the connected first equipment. The state change option of the connected first device can be displayed for the user and the selection of the user for the corresponding option can be received, or the voice input instruction of the state change of the connected first device by the user can be directly received.

Altering the current state of the connected first device includes at least one of: disconnecting the first device from the second device; turning off the first device; turning off a specific function of the first device; modifying a state of a first device for a particular user; and changing the working state of the first equipment. For example, the user may directly input an instruction "turn off the bluetooth light of the kitchen" to the second device, thereby implementing the turn off of the first device; the cooling temperature of, for example, a smart air conditioner can be set; a teenager management mode may be entered, a key is pressed to turn off the entertainment system for children at home, etc.

Alternatively or additionally, the connection method of the present invention may further include: and changing the current state of the first equipment according to the current scene information, wherein the first equipment is the equipment which is subjected to connection authentication with the second equipment.

The current scene information may include scene information determined according to at least one of the following; the current location of the user; the current time; the current weather; the current status of the user. In practical applications, the context information may be determined by the second device or an edge computing device to which the second device is connected (e.g., a router in a home, a central node of a building, etc.).

The second device can learn the current location of the user based on the LSB and perform control for the bluetooth device in the home. For example, when the location information user is on a business trip or on vacation, the second device may turn off appliances that do not need to be turned on at home or set them to a power saving mode, e.g., turn off the heating function of the smart toilet seat. In a more refined control, the second device may choose to control lighting and temperature etc. in the home based on the user's current mobile location, e.g. entering a garage, a cell, an elevator, etc. For example, a smart light at a home door may be opened in advance when a user enters an elevator, or the like. In addition, intelligent settings may also be made according to the current time and weather, for example, turning on the indoor lighting system in the afternoon of a cloudy day.

Further, the second device performs facial recognition on a user, and may perform an interactive operation with the user with respect to the first device according to a result of the facial recognition. The above-described facial recognition may be used to determine the identity of the user in the first place, which is particularly useful when multiple people live in the home, and in other embodiments the second device may also determine the identity of the user by voiceprint. Thereby, the control right given to the current user (e.g., limited right in adolescent mode) can be determined, and the security of automatic control can be improved. The above-mentioned facial recognition information may be part of the current state or emotional information of the user, thereby giving corresponding control of the first device. For example, the second device may determine that the user is currently in a tired state through facial recognition and reading of the user's physical signs (and/or analysis of the user's intonation) by the worn device, and accordingly set the corresponding first device (e.g., lighting, voice-announcements, and music-playing devices) in the home to a "warm-care" state to give an environment that can let the user adequately relieve fatigue.

It should be understood that the above-described scene-based device operation may be performed via user confirmation (e.g., a pop-up box or a notification bar) or may be performed directly, for example, in the case of user setting. In addition, multiple acquisition parameters generally need to be considered together to acquire the current scene.

In addition, the method of the present invention may further comprise: and displaying the recommendation information to the user. The recommendation information is generated according to at least one of the following: connection information of the first device, an input instruction of the user; current scene information. For example, if a user has left a first device for a long period of time, the user may be prompted for the rest and asked if the user needs to sell the device, for example, on a free fish. In addition, recommendation can be performed according to an input instruction or scene information of a user, for example, under the condition that the existing equipment cannot meet the requirement of the user on air humidity, a corresponding humidifier or dryer is recommended for the user; recommending an air purifier or the like to the user in the case of heavy air pollution.

The present invention may also be embodied as a device connection system including a first device and a second device. The first device may be for: broadcasting a first data packet; and completing the connecting operation with the second device. The second device may then be configured to: receiving the first data packet; acquiring connection information of the first device based on the content contained in the first data packet; and connecting with the first device based on the connection information.

Preferably, the system may further comprise a server. The server may be configured to: acquiring the identification of the first device contained in the first data packet from the second device; and issuing the connection information of the first equipment to the second equipment. Further, the server may be further configured to: and updating the state information of the first equipment based on the identification of the first equipment contained in the first data packet.

Accordingly, the second device may be configured to: giving a connection option with the first device based on the connection information acquired from the server; and connecting with the first device after the connection option is selected.

Likewise, the first device may include a plurality of first devices, and the second device is configured to simultaneously connect with at least one first device complying with a predetermined connection standard.

The connection systems shown in fig. 1 to 3, as described above, can be regarded as device connection systems capable of implementing the solution of the present invention. The systems shown in fig. 4 and 5, which relate to the cloud (or server), can be regarded as a device connection system that can more preferably implement the solution of the present invention.

Fig. 7 shows an example of a connection flow involved in the device connection system according to the present invention. The device 1 in the figure corresponds to an internet of things device (first device) to be networked. App 2 corresponds to an internet of things device management App (second device) installed on the terminal device. The cloud device center 3 corresponds to a server.

First, at 1.1, the user sets device 1 to the distribution network state. At 1.2, open App 2, open the mobile phone Bluetooth to enter the scanning. The above steps 1.1 and 1.2 do not require a strict order.

At 2.1, device 1 continuously sends distribution network broadcasts, and App 2 will scan the bluetooth broadcasts of all surrounding devices through the mobile phone bluetooth. Subsequently, at 2.2, App 2 filters out the bluetooth broadcast in which the eidolon protocol standard is met, and acquires the distribution network identification from the broadcast according to the protocol. At 2.3, App 2 queries device 1 at cloud device center 3 through the distribution network identifier.

At 3.1, App 2 pulls relevant distribution network information from the cloud. After the distribution network information is acquired, at 3.2, the devices, including device icons, device names, device Mac addresses and the like, are popped out in App 2. The user can then click the device icon directly at 3.3 and thereby perform subsequent distribution network operations at 3.4.

Therefore, the internet of things equipment starts to send Bluetooth BLE or Bluetooth Mesh broadcast after entering a distribution network state, App on the terminal equipment can acquire distribution network identification from the broadcast meeting protocol specifications to cloud pulling equipment corresponding information after scanning the broadcast meeting the protocol specifications, and the user is actively informed in interactive modes such as a popup window after the inquiry result is obtained, so that the user can realize automatic discovery processes without limitation of types and quantity without selecting equipment. In other embodiments, the internet of things device may further utilize WiFi, two-dimensional codes and the like to perform network distribution.

The invention also can realize a method for connecting the terminal equipment with the Internet of things equipment.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method for connecting a terminal device to an internet of things device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The terminal device may be regarded as the action body that executes the method shown in fig. 8.

As shown in fig. 8, in step S810, a first data packet from an internet of things device is received.

In step S820, connection information of the internet of things device is obtained from the outside based on the content included in the first data packet.

In step S830, the internet of things device is connected based on the connection information.

In order to receive the data packets, scanning for the internet of things device can be started, and at least one first data packet which meets a preset connection standard is screened and received.

In order to obtain the connection information, the connection information of the internet of things device may be obtained from a server based on an identifier (e.g., a distribution network identifier) of the first device included in the first data packet, where the connection information includes device information of the internet of things device and distribution network information of the internet of things device. Then, a connection option of the internet of things device can be given based on the device information of the internet of things device; and after the connection option is selected, connecting with the Internet of things equipment according to the distribution network option.

Fig. 9 shows a schematic diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the invention. Wherein the terminal device can be used as the terminal 200 shown in fig. 1-5 and the device for executing the method described in fig. 8.

As shown in fig. 9, the terminal apparatus 900 may include a first communication device 910, a second communication device 920, and a processor 930.

The first communication device 910 is configured to receive a first data packet from an internet of things device. The second communication device 920 is configured to obtain connection information of the internet of things device from the outside based on the content included in the first data packet. Processor 930 is configured to: and based on the connection information, connecting with the Internet of things equipment. Preferably, the first communication device 910 may be a bluetooth communication module, and the second communication device may be a WiFi communication module.

Specifically, the second communication device 920 may be configured to obtain connection information of the internet of things device from a server based on the identifier included in the first data packet, where the connection information includes device information of the internet of things device and distribution network information of the internet of things device.

Preferably, the apparatus may further comprise: a display device for: based on the device information of the internet of things device, connection options of the internet of things device are displayed, and the processor 930 may be configured to: and after the connection option is selected, connecting with the Internet of things equipment according to the distribution network option.

The present invention can also be implemented as a method of operating a GUI. To this end, a device connection method may include: displaying a device connection page in an application for device connection; in response to selection of a connection option of a device, scanning a connection broadcast packet of an Internet of things device and displaying the described connection option of the Internet of things device, wherein the connection option comprises device information of the Internet of things device inquired based on the connection broadcast packet; and based on the selection of the connection option, using distribution network information to distribute the network to the Internet of things equipment and displaying a distribution network result, wherein the distribution network option is obtained based on the connection broadcast packet query.

According to the equipment connection method, under the condition that the scanning and the inquiring are carried out on the multiple Internet of things equipment at the same time, the connection options of the multiple Internet of things equipment are displayed on the same page, and based on the selection of the connection options of the multiple Internet of things equipment in the page by a user, the multiple Internet of things equipment is distributed and the distribution network result is displayed on the same page.

The method may further comprise: displaying a status change option of the connected device; and changing the current state of the equipment according to the selection of the state change option and displaying the current state.

10A-C illustrate a multi-device connection application example in accordance with the present invention. In the example of fig. 10, the terminal device 200 is a smartphone in which an internet of things device management App is installed. As shown in fig. 10A, the user has bought 5 internet of things devices of smart sound box, smart television, smart electric rice cooker, bluetooth doorbell, and bluetooth electric light at a time. The user can simultaneously place the 5 internet of things devices 100 in a discoverable state, and then the 5 devices each send their own broadcast packet. At the same time, the user opens the corresponding App in the terminal device 200 and clicks the find device button

The device 200 then scans the bluetooth broadcasts of all surrounding devices and filters out those that conform to the genie protocol standard. According to the protocol, the device 200 obtains the distribution network identification from the broadcast. Subsequently, the device 200 uploads the distribution network identifications of the 5 devices to the cloud 300. The cloud 300 issues the searched connection information to the device 200. The connection information includes device information of the device itself and distribution network information for distributing a network with the terminal device.

Device 200 can then pop up in App to display connection options for these 5 devices. Fig. 10B shows an example of the connection option. As shown, the connection options include picture and model information of the device, and checkboxes. In other embodiments, the connection information may also include, for example, a unique identification code of the device to help the user distinguish, for example, when multiple homogeneous devices are connected simultaneously. The user may choose to check all five devices.

Subsequently, under the condition that the subsequent operation of the user is not needed, the device 200 may automatically complete the network distribution with the five devices by using the obtained network distribution information, so as to access the 5 internet of things devices, i.e., the smart sound box, the smart television, the smart electric cooker, the bluetooth doorbell, and the bluetooth lamp, to the IoT as shown in fig. 10C.

The invention may also be implemented as a server for: receiving content contained in a first data packet acquired by second equipment, wherein the first data packet is a data packet which is received by the second equipment and broadcasted by the first equipment; searching the connection information of the first equipment based on the content contained in the first data packet; and sending the connection information of the first equipment to the second equipment for connection between the second equipment and the first equipment.

In one embodiment, the receiving the content included in the first data packet acquired by the second device includes: and receiving the distribution network identification of the first equipment contained in the first data packet acquired by the second equipment.

In one embodiment, the connection information of the first device found includes: device information of the first device for display on the second device; and the distribution network information of the first equipment is used for connecting the second equipment with the first equipment.

Further, the server may be further configured to: updating the usage status of the first device based on the connection of the second device with the first device.

The device connection scheme according to the present invention has been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings. The equipment connection scheme can be used for finding the connection information of the Internet of things equipment through external acquisition and scanning, so that the efficient network distribution of the Internet of things equipment is realized. Specifically, the terminal device may pop up information of one or more pieces of internet-of-things devices to be connected based on the acquired connection information, and directly complete the distribution network under the selection of the user.

Furthermore, the method according to the invention may also be implemented as a computer program or computer program product comprising computer program code instructions for carrying out the above-mentioned steps defined in the above-mentioned method of the invention.

Alternatively, the invention may also be embodied as a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium (or computer-readable storage medium, or machine-readable storage medium) having stored thereon executable code (or a computer program, or computer instruction code) which, when executed by a processor of an electronic device (or computing device, server, etc.), causes the processor to perform the steps of the above-described method according to the invention.

Those of skill would further appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems and methods according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems which perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

Having described embodiments of the present invention, the foregoing description is intended to be exemplary, not exhaustive, and not limited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein is chosen in order to best explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application, or improvements made to the technology in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A device connection method, comprising:

the second equipment acquires the connection request information of the first equipment;

based on the connection request information, the second device acquires the connection information of the first device; and

the second device connects with the first device based on the connection information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second device obtaining the connection information of the first device based on the content included in the first packet comprises:

based on the content contained in the first data packet, the second device obtains the relevant connection information of the first device from the outside.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the second device obtaining the connection information related to the first device from the outside based on the content included in the first packet comprises:

and based on the identification of the first equipment contained in the first data packet, the second equipment acquires the connection information of the first equipment from a server.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the obtaining of the connection information of the first device comprises:

device information of the first device; and

network distribution information of the first device.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

and the server updates the state information of the first equipment based on the identification of the first equipment contained in the first data packet.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the second device connecting with the first device based on the connection information comprises:

based on the connection information, the second device gives a connection option with the first device; and

after the connection option is selected, the second device connects with the first device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the second device presenting connection options with the first device based on the connection information comprises:

the second equipment displays the model information of the first equipment contained in the connection information in a display screen; and/or

And the second equipment gives a voice prompt for connecting the first equipment.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the second device displaying the model information of the first device included in the connection information in a display screen comprises:

the second device displays model information of the first device in a pop-up box, and the pop-up box further displays at least one of the following:

a picture of the first device;

a unique identifier of the first device.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the first device broadcasts a first data packet comprising the connection request information, wherein,

the second device obtaining the connection request information of the first device includes:

the second device receives the first data packet, and

based on the connection request information, the second device obtaining the connection information of the first device includes:

and the second equipment acquires the connection information of the first equipment based on the content contained in the first data packet.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first device broadcasting the first packet comprises:

a plurality of first devices simultaneously broadcast respective first data packets,

the second device receiving the first data packet comprises:

the second device receiving a first data packet from at least one of the plurality of first devices,

the obtaining, by the second device, connection information of the first device based on the content included in the first packet includes:

the second device acquires connection information of at least one of the plurality of first devices based on the content included in the acquired first packet, and

the second device connecting with the first device based on the connection information includes:

the second device connects with at least one of the plurality of first devices based on the connection information.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the second device connecting with at least one of the plurality of first devices based on the connection information comprises:

the second equipment displays the connection options of the plurality of first equipment in the same page;

after the connection option is selected, the second device connects with the selected first device.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the second device receiving the first data packet from the at least one of the plurality of first devices comprises:

the second device screens out first data packets from the at least one first device that meet a predetermined connection criterion.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

and starting the scanning function of the second device before the second device receives the first data packet.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the second equipment sends the connection information to the terminal equipment; and

and the terminal equipment is connected with the first equipment based on the connection information.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the terminal device is one of:

one of a plurality of first devices and configured to connect with other ones of the plurality of first devices based on the connection information; and

other devices than the plurality of first devices.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

setting the first device to a to-be-connected state so that the first device broadcasts a first data packet; or

And after the second equipment acquires the connection information of the first equipment, setting the first equipment to be in a to-be-connected state.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising: and receiving a state change instruction of the user to the connected first equipment, and changing the current state of the connected first equipment.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein altering the current state of the connected first device comprises at least one of:

disconnecting the first device from the second device;

turning off the first device;

turning off a specific function of the first device;

modifying a state of a first device for a particular user;

and changing the working state of the first equipment.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein receiving a user state change instruction for the connected first device comprises:

displaying state change options of the connected first equipment to a user and receiving the selection of the corresponding options by the user; and/or

And receiving a state change voice input instruction of the first connected device from the user.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

and changing the current state of the first equipment according to the current scene information, wherein the first equipment is the equipment which is subjected to connection authentication with the second equipment.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the current context information includes context information determined according to at least one of;

the current location of the user;

the current time;

the current weather;

the current status of the user.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the context information is determined by the second device or an edge computing device to which the second device is connected.

23. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the second device performs facial recognition on the user; and

and performing interactive operation aiming at the first equipment with a user according to the face recognition result.

24. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying recommendation information to a user, the recommendation information being generated according to at least one of:

connection information of the first device;

an input instruction of the user;

current scene information.

25. A device connection system comprising a first device and a second device, wherein,

the first device is to:

broadcasting a first data packet; and

completing a connection operation with the second device,

the second device is to:

receiving the first data packet;

acquiring connection information of the first device based on the content contained in the first data packet; and

connecting with the first device based on the connection information.

26. The system of claim 25, further comprising: the server is provided with a plurality of servers,

the server is configured to:

acquiring the identification of the first device contained in the first data packet from the second device; and

and issuing the connection information of the first equipment to the second equipment.

27. The system of claim 25, wherein the second device is further to:

giving a connection option with the first device based on the connection information acquired from the server; and

connecting with the first device after the connection option is selected.

28. The system of claim 25, wherein the first device comprises a plurality of first devices and the second device is configured to simultaneously connect with at least one first device that conforms to a predetermined connection standard.

29. The system of claim 25, wherein the second device changes a current state of the first device according to a user instruction and/or a current scenario, the first device being a device that has performed connection authentication with the second device.

30. A method for connecting terminal equipment with Internet of things equipment comprises the following steps:

receiving a first data packet from the Internet of things equipment;

acquiring connection information of the Internet of things equipment from the outside based on the content contained in the first data packet; and

and based on the connection information, connecting with the Internet of things equipment.

31. The method of claim 30, further comprising:

initiate a scan for the Internet of things device, an

Receiving a first data packet from an internet of things device comprises:

at least one first data packet which meets the preset connection standard is screened and received.

32. A terminal device, comprising:

the first communication device is used for receiving a first data packet from the Internet of things equipment;

the second communication device is used for acquiring the connection information of the Internet of things equipment from the outside based on the content contained in the first data packet;

a processor to:

33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the first communication device is a bluetooth communication module and the second communication device is a WiFi communication module.

34. A server for:

receiving content contained in a first data packet acquired by second equipment, wherein the first data packet is a data packet which is received by the second equipment and broadcasted by the first equipment;

searching the connection information of the first equipment based on the content contained in the first data packet; and

and sending the connection information of the first equipment to the second equipment for the connection between the second equipment and the first equipment.

35. The server of claim 34, wherein receiving the content included in the first data packet acquired by the second device comprises:

receiving a distribution network identifier of a first device, which is included in a first data packet acquired by a second device, wherein the searched connection information of the first device includes:

device information of the first device for display on the second device; and

and the distribution network information of the first equipment is used for connecting the second equipment with the first equipment.

36. A device connection method, comprising:

displaying a device connection page in an application for device connection;

in response to selection of a connection option of a device, scanning a connection broadcast packet of an Internet of things device and displaying the described connection option of the Internet of things device, wherein the connection option comprises device information of the Internet of things device inquired based on the connection broadcast packet;

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the device connection method displays connection options for multiple internet of things devices on the same page if the scanning and querying are performed for the multiple internet of things devices simultaneously, and performs network distribution for the multiple internet of things devices and displays the network distribution result on the same page based on user selection of the connection options for the multiple internet of things devices in the page.

38. The method of claim 36, further comprising:

displaying a status change option of the connected device; and

and changing the current state of the equipment according to the selection of the state change option and displaying the current state.