TW202325054A - Home network - Google Patents

Abstract

A home network includes a gateway and a wireless Bluetooth low energy (BLE) device. The wireless BLE device, adopting Bluetooth low energy protocol, is controlled by the gateway. When a user is at home, the gateway notifies the wireless BLE device to stop emitting an advertising signal; when the user is not at home, the gateway notifies the wireless BLE device to start emitting the advertising signal.

Description

home network

The present invention relates to a home network, in particular to a home network using the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol.

Smart home network or home automation system can be used to connect various electronic systems in the home, such as lighting, temperature control, entertainment, security, alarm, etc., to improve the quality of life, increase Convenience for personal productivity, enhanced home security and enhanced entertainment. The wireless connection technologies commonly used in smart home networks mainly include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and ZigBee. Among them, Wi-Fi has higher transmission rate and transmission distance, Bluetooth has higher security, and ZigBee has lower power consumption.

Bluetooth low energy (BLE) is a protocol for wireless personal area network technology, which is different from the classic Bluetooth protocol and uses a completely different communication technology. However, both can coexist in the same device, for example designed as a dual-mode device. Compared to traditional Bluetooth, Bluetooth low energy offers significantly lower power consumption and cost, but maintains a similar communication distance and uses the same radio frequency range. Due to their low power consumption, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) devices are generally battery-powered electronic devices that can use a button cell (or button battery) as a power supply.

According to the Bluetooth low energy protocol, two Bluetooth low energy (BLE) devices exchange information through broadcast advertising packets, so as to perform pairing. One of the Bluetooth low energy devices transmits the announcement packet, and the other Bluetooth low energy device listens to the announcement packet sent by the other party. According to the Bluetooth low energy protocol, the transmission of the announcement packet is repeated without stopping. Therefore, in the long run, the transmission of announcement packets still accounts for a considerable proportion of the total power consumption.

Therefore, it is urgent to propose a novel mechanism to further improve the energy consumption of the smart home network using the Bluetooth low energy protocol.

In view of the above, one of the objectives of the embodiments of the present invention is to provide a home network that can greatly reduce the power consumption of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) devices, thereby effectively extending the battery life.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the home network includes a gateway and a wireless Bluetooth low energy device. The wireless bluetooth low energy device is controlled by the gateway, and the wireless bluetooth low energy device adopts the bluetooth low energy protocol. When the user is at home, the gateway informs the wireless Bluetooth low energy device to stop transmitting the announcement signal; when the user is not at home, the gateway informs the wireless Bluetooth low energy device to start transmitting the announcement signal.

The first figure shows a system block diagram of a home network (home network) 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. A home network is generally called a smart home network, which is a type of local area network.

The home network 100 may include a gateway 11 for connecting to other networks using different communication protocols, usually to a higher-level network such as a wide area network or the Internet (Internet) 10.

According to one of the features of this embodiment, the home network 100 may include at least one wireless Bluetooth low energy (Bluetooth low energy, BLE) device 12 controlled by the gateway 11 in a wireless manner. The wireless bluetooth low energy device 12 adopts the bluetooth low energy (BLE) protocol, which has the advantages of low power consumption, so it is usually battery-powered, such as button cell or button battery. . In one embodiment, the wireless Bluetooth low energy device 12 can be a wireless security interface device, such as a wireless door lock or a keypad.

The home network 100 may also include other (non-Bluetooth low energy) devices 13, such as sensors, home appliances, security devices or alarms, controlled by the gateway wirelessly or wiredly 11.

In this embodiment, the home network 100 with the gateway 11 as the control center can be in one of the following three modes: home (home arm or home) mode, away from home (away) mode and disarm (disarm) mode. Wherein, the away-from-home mode indicates that the user is not at home, while other modes indicate that the user is at home. When in home mode, arm or activate some pre-selected sensors; when in away mode, activate all sensors; when in disarm mode, disarm all sensors. In other embodiments, the home network 100 can also set different types and numbers of modes, but at least one mode indicates that the user is not at home, and other modes indicate that the user is at home.

According to the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol, the wireless Bluetooth Low Energy device 12 transmits an advertising signal (or packet) to communicate with the mobile device 14 (with the Bluetooth Low Energy function). (such as a mobile phone) for pairing. When the pairing is successful, the mobile device 14 can control the wireless BLE device 12 , such as unlocking the door.

The second figure shows a flowchart of the method 200 for reducing power consumption of a home network according to the first embodiment of the present invention, which is applicable to the home network 100 in the first figure. In step 21, the gateway 11 notifies the wireless BLE device 12 to stop transmitting the announcement signal. Next, in step 22, the gateway 11 determines the current mode of the home network 100. If it is not in the away-from-home mode, it means that the user is at home, then the flow returns to step 21, and the transmission of the announcement signal is continuously stopped. In this way, the wireless Bluetooth low energy device 12 can greatly reduce power consumption, thereby effectively extending the life of the battery.

In step 22, if the home network 100 is in the away-from-home mode, it means that the user is not at home. At this time, step 23 is entered, and the gateway 11 notifies the wireless Bluetooth low energy device 12 to start transmitting an announcement signal. If no mobile device 14 is paired with the wireless Bluetooth low energy device 12 (step 24), the process returns to step 23, and the announcement signal is continuously transmitted. If the mobile device 14 is successfully paired with the wireless Bluetooth low energy device 12 (step 24), the gateway 11 releases the away-home mode, and the flow returns to step 21, and the gateway 11 notifies the wireless Bluetooth low energy device 12 to Stop emitting announcement signals.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of a method 300 for reducing power consumption of a home network according to a second embodiment of the present invention, which is applicable to the home network 100 in FIG. 1 . In step 31 , the gateway 11 samples the plural times and corresponding patterns of the home network 100 from its historical records to obtain sample data. Next, in step 32, apply machine learning (machine learning) technology in the field of artificial intelligence (artificial intelligence), use the sampling data as training data (training data), to obtain the expected time period (predicted time) of the home network 100 in each mode interval), as expected data.

In step 33, the gateway 11 notifies the wireless BLE device 12 to stop transmitting the announcement signal. Next, in step 34, the gateway 11 determines the expected mode corresponding to the current time of the home network 100 according to the expected data. If the expected mode is not the away-from-home mode, it means that the user is at home, then the flow returns to step 33, and the transmission of the announcement signal is continuously stopped. In this way, the wireless Bluetooth low energy device 12 can greatly reduce power consumption, thereby effectively extending the life of the battery.

In step 34, if the expected mode is the away-from-home mode, it means that the user is not at home. At this time, step 35 is entered, and the gateway 11 is at the preset time before the end of the expected time period of the away-home mode (for example, a few minutes before the end), The wireless BLE device 12 is notified to initiate transmission of the announcement signal. If no mobile device 14 is paired with the wireless Bluetooth low energy device 12 (step 36), the process returns to step 35, and the announcement signal is continuously transmitted. If the mobile device 14 is successfully paired with the wireless Bluetooth low energy device 12 (step 36), the gateway 11 releases the away-home mode, and the process returns to step 33, and the gateway 11 notifies the wireless Bluetooth low energy device 12 to Stop emitting announcement signals.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of a method 400 for reducing power consumption of a home network according to the third embodiment of the present invention, which is applicable to the home network 100 in FIG. 1 . In step 41 , the gateway 11 notifies the wireless BLE device 12 to stop transmitting the announcement signal. Next, in step 42, the gateway 11 obtains the geographical position (geographical position) of the user's mobile device 14 (such as a mobile phone) according to a location-based service (LBS). If the home network 100 is in the away-from-home mode and the geographic location is within the preset range, it means that the user is about to arrive home. At this time, step 43 is entered, and the gateway 11 notifies the wireless Bluetooth low energy device 12 to start transmitting an announcement signal. If no mobile device 14 is paired with the wireless Bluetooth low energy device 12 (step 44), the process returns to step 43, and the announcement signal is continuously transmitted. If the mobile device 14 is successfully paired with the wireless Bluetooth low energy device 12 (step 44), the gateway 11 releases the away-home mode, and the process returns to step 41, and the gateway 11 notifies the wireless Bluetooth low energy device 12 to Stop emitting announcement signals.

In step 42, if the home network 100 is not in the away-from-home mode, or the geographic location is not within the preset range, then the process goes back to step 41, and continues to stop transmitting the announcement signal. In this way, the wireless Bluetooth low energy device 12 can greatly reduce power consumption, thereby effectively extending the life of the battery.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of a method 500 for reducing power consumption of a home network according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, which is applicable to the home network 100 in FIG. 1 . In step 51, the gateway 11 receives the user's input to set the expected time away from home (indicating that the user is probably not at home during this time period) and the expected home time period (indicating that the user is likely to be at home during this time period).

In step 52, the gateway 11 notifies the wireless BLE device 12 to stop transmitting the announcement signal. Next, in step 53, the gateway 11 determines whether the current time is within the expected time away from home. If it is not in the expected period of leaving home, it means that the user is at home, then the process returns to step 52, and the transmission of the announcement signal is continuously stopped. In this way, the wireless Bluetooth low energy device 12 can greatly reduce power consumption, thereby effectively extending the life of the battery.

In step 53, if the current time is within the expected time away from home, it means that the user is not at home, and now enter step 54, the gateway 11 is at the preset time before the end of the expected time away from home (for example, a few minutes before the end) , to notify the wireless BLE device 12 to start transmitting the announcement signal. If no mobile device 14 is paired with the wireless Bluetooth low energy device 12 (step 55), the process returns to step 54, and the announcement signal is continuously transmitted. If the mobile device 14 is successfully paired with the wireless Bluetooth low energy device 12 (step 55), the gateway 11 releases the away-home mode, and the process returns to step 52, and the gateway 11 notifies the wireless Bluetooth low energy device 12 to Stop emitting announcement signals.

The above descriptions are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the patent scope of the present invention; all other equivalent changes or modifications that do not deviate from the spirit disclosed by the invention should be included in the following within the scope of the patent application.

100: Home Networking 10: Internet 11: Gateway 12:Wireless Bluetooth low energy device 13: Device 14:Mobile device 200: Power Consumption Reduction Method for Home Network 21: Stop emitting announcement signal 22: Is it in the away from home mode 23: Launch announcement signal 24: Whether the pairing is successful 300: Method for reducing power consumption of home network 31: Sampling complex time and corresponding mode 32:Use machine learning to get the expected period of each mode 33:Stop emitting announcement signal 34: Whether the expected mode at the current time is the away from home mode 35: Emit an announcement signal before the end of the expected mode 36: Whether the pairing is successful 400: Power Consumption Reduction Method for Home Network 41: Stop emitting announcement signal 42: Whether to leave home mode and the geographical location is within the preset range 43: Launch announcement signal 44: Whether the pairing is successful 500: Power Consumption Reduction Method for Home Network 51: Set time away from home 52:Stop emitting announcement signal 53: Whether the current time is within the expected time away from home 54: Emit the announcement signal before the end of the expected departure period 55: Whether the pairing is successful

The first figure shows a system block diagram of a home network according to an embodiment of the present invention. The second figure shows a flow chart of the method for reducing power consumption of a home network according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of a method for reducing power consumption of a home network according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of a method for reducing power consumption of a home network according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of a method for reducing power consumption of a home network according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

200: Power Consumption Reduction Method for Home Network

21: Stop emitting announcement signal

22: Is it in the away from home mode

23: Launch announcement signal

24: Whether the pairing is successful

Claims (15)

A home network consisting of: a gateway; and A wireless bluetooth low energy device controlled by the gateway, the wireless bluetooth low energy device adopts the bluetooth low energy protocol; Wherein, when the user is at home, the gateway notifies the wireless bluetooth low energy device to stop transmitting the announcement signal; when the user is not at home, the gateway informs the wireless bluetooth low energy device to start transmitting the announcement signal . Such as the home network of claim 1, wherein the home network can be in one of multiple modes, the plural modes include away from home mode and other modes, wherein the away from home mode indicates that the user is not at home, and the other modes indicate that the user is at home . As for the home network of claim 2, wherein the gateway performs the following steps: notify the wireless Bluetooth low energy device to stop emitting the announcement signal; and If in the away-from-home mode, notify the wireless BLE device to start transmitting an announcement signal. The home network of claim 3, wherein if the mobile device of the user is successfully paired with the wireless Bluetooth low energy device in the away-from-home mode, then notify the wireless Bluetooth low energy device to stop transmitting the announcement signal. As for the home network of claim 2, wherein the gateway performs the following steps: From historical records, sample multiple times and corresponding patterns to obtain sampling data; Applying machine learning, using the sampling data as training data to obtain the expected time period of each mode, as the expected data, to determine the expected mode corresponding to the current time; notify the wireless Bluetooth low energy device to stop emitting the announcement signal; and If the expected mode is the away mode, the wireless BLE device is notified to start transmitting the announcement signal before the expected period of the away mode ends. The home network of claim 5, wherein if the expected mode is the away-from-home mode and the user's mobile device is successfully paired with the wireless Bluetooth low energy device, then notify the wireless Bluetooth low energy device to stop transmitting Announcing the signal. As for the home network of claim 2, wherein the gateway performs the following steps: notify the wireless Bluetooth low energy device to stop emitting the announcement signal; and If the mobile device is in the away-from-home mode and the geographic location of the user's mobile device is within a preset range, the wireless Bluetooth low energy device is notified to start transmitting an announcement signal. The home network as claimed in claim 7, wherein if the home network is not in the away-from-home mode, or the geographic location is not within the preset range, then continuously stop transmitting the announcement signal. The home network as in claim 7, wherein if the user's mobile device is in the away-from-home mode and the geographic location of the user's mobile device is within the preset range and the user's mobile device is successfully paired with the wireless Bluetooth low energy device, The wireless BLE device is then notified to stop transmitting the announcement signal. For the home network of claim 1, wherein the gateway performs the following steps: receiving user input to set expected time away from home and expected time at home; and If the current time is within the expected time away from home, before the end of the expected time away from home, notify the wireless bluetooth low energy device to start transmitting the announcement signal. The home network of claim 10, wherein if the current time is within the expected time away from home and the user's mobile device is successfully paired with the wireless Bluetooth low energy device, then notify the wireless Bluetooth low energy device to stop emitting the announcement signal. The home network of claim 1, wherein the wireless Bluetooth low energy device includes a wireless security interface device. The home network of claim 12, wherein the wireless security interface device includes a wireless door lock or a keyboard. The home network of claim 1, wherein the wireless Bluetooth low energy device is powered by a battery. The home network of claim 14, wherein the battery comprises a button-type battery.

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