WO2022238153A1

WO2022238153A1 - A method of and a node device for communicating network information to an uncommissioned node device to be added to a network and a method of joining an uncommissioned node device into a network

Info

Publication number: WO2022238153A1
Application number: PCT/EP2022/061619
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jean-Philippe Roland GAL
Original assignee: Signify Holding B.V.
Priority date: 2021-05-14
Filing date: 2022-04-29
Publication date: 2022-11-17

Abstract

A method of communicating network information to an uncommissioned node device to be added to a network, the network comprising a wireless access point, a commissioner device and at least one commissioned node device operatively interconnected with each other, the wireless access point configured to operate at least at a first frequency band, both the at least one commissioned node device and the uncommissioned node device configured to operate at the first frequency band, the uncommissioned node device not capable of listening to packets transmitted by the commissioner device. The method is performed by one of the at least one commissioned node device and comprises the steps of: receiving an instruction to communicate the network information to the uncommissioned node device from the commissioner device according to a protocol supported by the network, and communicating the network information to the uncommissioned node device over a wireless communication channel within the first frequency band.

Description

1

A METHOD OF AND A NODE DEVICE FOR COMMUNICATING NETWORK INFORMATION TO AN UNCOMMISSIONED NODE DEVICE TO BE ADDED TO A NETWORK AND A METHOD OF JOINING AN UNCOMMISSIONED NODE DEVICE INTO A NETWORK

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to the field of communication networks of interconnected node devices, and more specifically, to a method of and a node device for communicating network information to an uncommissioned node device to be added to a network and a method of joining an uncommissioned node device into a network.

BACKGROUND

Electric or electronic devices, such as lighting devices and Internet of Things, IoT, devices, and devices supporting enhanced Machine-Type Communication, eMTC, for example, all of which comprise data communication capabilities, are frequently deployed in networks comprised of a plurality of interconnected devices.

These devices, generally called node devices or terminal devices, or router devices, depending on their roles in different networks, may comprise a communication interface, such as a network adapter or transceiver module, for communication between node devices and possibly also with remote devices, such as a backend device or backend server.

The communication interface may operate in accordance with a network protocol for exchanging data by networked devices or nodes, such as designated ZigBee™, Bluetooth™, as well as Wi-Fi based protocols for wireless networks, and wired bus networks such as DALI™ (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface), DSI (Digital Serial Interface), DMX (Digital Multiplex), KNX (and KNX based systems), and proprietary communication technologies and protocols, for example.

The communication interface may further operate in accordance with a wireless mobile communication standard, such as designated 2G/3G/4G/5G cellular communication, and other long-range wireless communication technologies like Long Range Wide Area Network, LoRaWAN, and Narrowband IoT, NB-IoT, or proprietary communication technologies, and/or a wired data exchange communication technology, for example. 2

For a node device to join a secured wireless network, such as a Wi-Fi network, various approaches may be adopted.

Based on one method, a device to join the network is created as a Wi-Fi Access Point, AP, which allows a user to connect to the AP and to transmit Wi-Fi credentials to the device. The user then reconnects to a main AP such as a Home Wi-Fi router, and waits for the device to complete its pairing process. Such a process is cumbersome at best, and only works with one node device at a time. The process has to be repeated for each device that needs to be paired.

Alternatively, an approach making use of the User Datagram Protocol, UDP, broadcast protocol may also be used for paring a node device. According to this approach, a commissioner device such as a smartphone may broadcast regular encrypted UDP messages and use an algorithm to encode encrypted Wi-Fi credentials onto the UDP messages.

As an example, the Wi-Fi credentials may be encoded in a length of a UDP message. In that case, node devices in ‘pairing mode’ can capture those encrypted UDP frames using the Wi-Fi Radio Frequency, RF, level, and using the same algorithm for encoding the credentials to retrieve the credentials. This approach makes it possible to pair multiple node devices simultaneously, without the need of an end user to play around with the Wi-Fi setting of his/her smartphone.

However, the above approach works only when certain conditions are met, such as the node and the user’s phone being on the same 2.4Ghz Wi-Fi network, UDP broadcasting being enabled on the Wi-Fi router and so on. Those conditions are unfortunately less and less common, notably with the arrival of advanced Mesh Wi-Fi routers.

Moreover, other broadcasting mechanisms, such as Wi-Fi Public Action Frames, PAF, is also available. Adopting the PAF broadcasting, a Wi-Fi device can encode Wi-Fi credentials onto broadcasted PAF messages, which may be captured and decrypted by the devices to be paired using pre-shared keys. The main difficult here is that mobile phone software development kit, SDK, typically does not provide that low level of access to the Wi Fi stack.

For node devices supporting Bluetooth Low Energy, BLE, the BLE protocol may also be used to transmit Wi-Fi credentials. This also is done one by one, but the process can be automated, without having to ask the user to mess around with its smartphone settings. The limitation of this approach is that it only works on newer devices, and devices that have a Wi-Fi / BLE combo module. Legacy devices therefore cannot benefit from the advantages. 3

Therefore, there is a genuine need for a simple and versatile method of communicating network credentials to node devices to be joined into a wireless network which works for all kinds of node devices with wireless communication capabilities.

SUMMARY

In a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is presented a method of communicating network information to an uncommissioned node device to be added to a network, the network comprising a wireless access point, a commissioner device and at least one commissioned node device operatively interconnected with each other, the wireless access point configured to operate at least at a first frequency band, both the at least one commissioned node device and the uncommissioned node device configured to operate at the first frequency band, the uncommissioned node device not capable of listening to packets transmitted by the commissioner device, the method performed by one of the at least one commissioned node device and comprising the steps of: receiving an instruction to communicate the network information to the uncommissioned node device from the commissioner device according to a protocol supported by the network, and communicating the network information to the uncommissioned node device over a wireless communication channel within the first frequency band.

The present disclosure is based on the insight that network information required for joining or add an uncommissioned node device into a network can be supplied to the uncommissioned node device by way of a commissioned node device in the same network, in the case when it is not possible for the uncommissioned node device to listen to or capture data frames transmitted by the commissioner device, for example due to that the commissioner device and the uncommissioned node device operate at different frequencies.

To this end, the commissioner device sends a message or an instruction to a commissioned node device in the network, selected for assisting the commissioner device to join uncommissioned node devices into the network. The message instructs the commissioned node device to transmit the network information, which is already available to the commissioned node device, to the uncommissioned node device. This is done easily as both the commissioner device and the commissioned node device are connected to each other via the network.

Upon receiving the instruction from the commissioner device, the commissioned node device communicates the network information to any and all 4 uncommissioned node device, within its communication range, over a wireless communication channel within the first frequency band, at which the access point of the network also operates. This allows the uncommissioned node device afterwards to use the network information to get connected to the wireless access point, by way of communication with the wireless access point using the first frequency band.

The method as described above is especially suitable for commissioning node devices operating at the first frequency, such as legacy lighting devices operating at 2.4GHz, which is different than a second frequency that the commissioner device operates at, such as a mobile device operating at 5GHz. This situation may arise when the commissioner device is for example a mobile phone that is forced to operate on a less competitive frequency, that is, 5GHz, by the access point. Using the commissioned node device to transmit the network information to the uncommissioned node device resolves the difficult situation easily. It is advantageous in that cost of the network is kept low as no hardware update is required to the uncommissioned node devices.

In an example of the present discourse, the one of the at least one commissioned node device is selected by the commissioner device with reference to a physical distance, available from a plan view, between the one of the at least one commissioned node device and the uncommissioned node device. Alternatively, the selection can be done randomly.

In selecting a commissioned node device for assisting the commissioner device to communicate the network information to the uncommissioned node device, physical distance may be a first determining factor. It can be easily understood by those skilled in the art that a shorter distance between the selected commissioned node device and the uncommissioned node device to receive the network information helps to ensure good quality and efficiency of communication. As an example, a user of a mobile phone functioning as the commissioner device may identify a commissioned node device deployed in a same room as the node device to be commissioned, which may be done with reference to a plan view of the deployment of the node devices, for example.

In an example of the present discourse, the one of the at least one commissioned node device is selected by the commissioner device as having a highest Received Signal Strength Indicator, RSSI observed by the commissioner device from all of the at least one commissioned node device. 5

Using signal strength as a criterion for selecting a commissioned node device for assisting the commissioner device to transmit the network information also helps to ensure good communication quality and strength.

RRSI is a commonly used indicator of signal strength between operatively communicated node devices, which is readily available and can be conveniently used in selecting the commissioned node device for communicating the network information.

It can be contemplated by those skilled in the art that it is not always necessary for the commissioner device to select a specific commissioned node device to perform the method of the present disclosure. It can be configured that any node device, after being commissioned, will automatically perform the method as described above to communicate the network information to uncommissioned node devices waiting to join the network. Alternatively, all commissioned node devices perform the method as described above to communicate the network information to uncommissioned node devices waiting to join the network upon receiving instruction from the commissioner device. This may help to join uncommissioned node devices into the network more efficiently.

In an example of the present disclosure, communicating the network information to the uncommissioned node device comprises broadcasting the network information for a determined period over the wireless communication channel within the second frequency.

Broadcasting the network information allows every uncommissioned node device within a communication range of the selected one of the at least one commissioned node device to receive the network information and thereby join the network based on known procedures. This helps to significantly improve the efficiency of joining new node devices in the network.

In an example of the present disclosure, broadcasting the network information comprises broadcasting a series of broadcast packets encoding the network information.

As the uncommissioned node device has not been attached to the network yet, it cannot decrypt and access directly the content of a frame comprising the network information. Having the network information encoded in a series of broadcast packets allows the uncommissioned node device to obtain the network information without decrypting it. This facilitates the provision of the network information to the uncommissioned node device without compromising the security of the network. 6

In an example of the present disclosure, the network information is encoded in packet lengths of the series of broadcast packets of varied lengths or time intervals between consecutive ones of the series of broadcast packets.

The network information is “encoded” by varying lengths of broadcast packets of time intervals between consecutive broadcast packets. This can be implemented in an easy and straightforward manner, requiring no modification to the communication protocol.

In an example of the present disclosure, the network information comprises network credentials of the network, in particular a network identifier and a network key.

What is needed for an uncommissioned node device to join the network is generally network credentials, which may include a network identity such as a Service Set Identifier, SSID, and a network key such as a password, in the case of a Wi-Fi network, for example.

In an example of the present disclosure, both the commissioner device and the at least one commissioned node device support Wi-Fi protocol, the at least one commissioned node device is commissioned by way of information exchanged according to the Wi-Fi protocol.

A specific example of the method relates to a scenario where the wireless network and all the node devices including the commissioner device operate according to the wireless protocol. In this case, the at least one commissioned node device is joined or commissioned into the network according to the Wi-Fi protocol. This helps to keep the cost of the whole network low as the same type of node devices supporting the Wi-Fi protocol may be deployed in the network.

As an alternative, in an example of the present disclosure, the at least one commissioned node device further support at least one of Bluetooth, BLE, and ZigBee protocol, the at least one commissioned node device is commissioned by way of information exchanged according to one of Bluetooth, BLE and ZigBee protocol.

The example relates to a scenario where one of the node device supports more communication protocols, in addition to supporting the Wi-Fi protocol. In this case, a commissioned node device may be commissioned beforehand, leveraging a different and easier commissioning procedure, such as according to one of the Bluetooth, BLE or ZigBee protocols. Therefore, the commissioned node device may be selected to assist the commissioner device in joining other uncommissioned node devise into the network, by way of communicating the network information according the Wi-Fi protocol. The network can therefore benefit from the advantages of both communication protocols. 7

In an example of the present disclosure, the wireless access point and the commissioner device further support a second frequency band, the commissioned device is configured by the access point to operate at the second frequency band, in particular, the first frequency is a 2.4GHz band, the second frequency band is a 5GFHz band.

This specific example relates to a network where most node devices to join the network support only the legacy 2.4GHz Wi-Fi frequency band, while the access point and the commissioner device both supports the less competitive 5GHz band. In this case, the commissioned device leverages the communication capability of a commissioned node device which supports the 2.5GHz Wi-Fi frequency band to communicate the network information to other node devices using the 2.5GHz Wi-Fi frequency. This is especially advantages when the network comprises different type of node devices supporting different frequency bands and/or communication protocols.

In an example of the present disclosure, the commissioner device is located remotely from the at least one commissioned node device and the uncommissioned node device.

As the commissioner device only needs to communicate with the selected one of the at least one commissioned node device, it may be located remotely from site. More flexibility is thereby achieved, allowing a technician commissioning the network to perform the task remotely.

A second aspect of the present disclosure provides a node device for communicating network information to an uncommissioned node device to be added to a network according to the method of the first aspect of the present disclosure. The network comprises a wireless access point, a commissioner device and the node device operatively interconnected with each other, the wireless access point configured to operate at least at a first frequency band, both the node device and the uncommissioned node device configured to operate at the first frequency band, the uncommissioned node device not capable of listening to packets transmitted by the commissioner device.

A third aspect of the present disclosure provides method of joining an uncommissioned node device into a network based on network information communicated by the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure. The network comprises a wireless access point, a commissioner device and at least one commissioned node device operatively interconnected with each other, the wireless access point configured to operate at least at a first frequency band, both the node device and the uncommissioned node device configured to operate at the first frequency band, the uncommissioned node device not 8 capable of listening to packets transmitted by the commissioner device. The method comprising the steps of: receiving, by the uncommissioned node device, the network information communicated by the one of the at least one commissioned node device over the first wireless communication channel within the first frequency band, and joining, by the node device, the network using the network received information by communicating with the access point over the first wireless communication channel within the first frequency band.

It is to be noted that the uncommissioned node device may communicate with the Wi-Fi access point over a second wireless communication channel within the first frequency band. This depends on the Wi-Fi working mechanism.

In an example of the present disclosure, the node device comprises a lighting fixture.

The method allows legacy lighting fixtures supporting only the Wi-Fi protocol to be joined into the network in an easier and more convenient way.

In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program product is provided, comprising a computer readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

The above mentioned and other features and advantages of the disclosure will be best understood from the following description referring to the attached drawings. In the drawings, like reference numerals denote identical parts or parts performing an identical or comparable function or operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 schematically illustrates a diagram of an Internet of Things, IoT, network.

Fig. 2 schematically illustrates, in a flow chart type diagram, exemplary steps of a method of joining a new or uncommissioned node device in the network of Fig.1, by way of communicating network information to the node device in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 illustrates, schematically, an embodiment of a node device in accordance with the present disclosure.

Embodiments contemplated by the present disclosure will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The disclosed subject matter should not be construed as limited to only the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, the illustrated embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

The present disclosure is detailed below with reference to a network of a plurality of lighting devices functioning as node devices of the network and operating according to the Wi-Fi protocol. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present disclosure is not limited to a network of lighting devices, but is applicable for networks of a wide variety of node devices enabled with network communication connectivity, as indicated in the background part.

Figure 1 schematically illustrates a diagram of an Internet of Things, IoT, network 100, comprising an access point 101, a commissioner device 102 and a node device 103, all of which are operatively interconnected to each other. Also illustrated in Figure 1 are three node devices 104 to 106 to be joined into the network 100. The node devices may operate according to at least the Wi-Fi protocol and/or one or more of IoT protocols such as Bluetooth Low Energy, BLE, or ZigBee protocol.

For an uncommissioned node device 104 to 106 to join the network 100, network information such as a secured network credential has to be shared with the node device 104 to 106.

For a Wi-Fi network, a conventional “smart config” commissioning process may be used to join a new node device into the network. The “smart config” commissioning process works as follows.

The new node device is not commissioned or paired yet, as a result it cannot attach to a particular Wi-Fi Access Point or decrypt data from a Wi-Fi frame, but it can 'see' those frame passing by. The new node device waiting to join the network can therefore listen to all Wi-Fi frames (all Service Set Identifier, SSID), using its Radio Frequency capabilities.

A commissioner device configured for commissioning new node devices, such as a smart phone, starts sending User Datagram Protocol, UDP, broadcast frames to the Access Point, those frames have no target, and nobody needs to receive them.

The new node device, in its listening mode, will be able to capture the Wi-Fi frames containing those UDP broadcast messages. Though the new node device cannot decrypt and access the content of those frames, some data can still be 'encoded' in those 10 frames. Typically by sending 10 frames of varied length, 10 pieces of information are transferred to the listening new node device. The network credential can therefore be transferred to the new node device. A few seconds are enough to transmit the complete Wi-Fi credential this way, to one or multiple new node devices listening.

It is noted that part of the data, that is, the Wi-Fi credential being transferred successfully is time based. This means that the smart phone functioning as the commissioner device being delayed by some other tasks might result in a failed commissioning.

Moreover, the above commissioning process relies on the fact that the listening new device can capture the frames from the smartphone to the Wi-Fi access point or router, which may not be true in some cases.

As an example, new routers tend to force mobile phones to operate on the Wi Fi 5GHz band, while many legacy lighting devices normally operate on the 2.4Ghz band. As another example, the commissioner device may be located remotely from the new node devices. Under both scenarios the node devices simply cannot capture those frames transmitted by the commissioner device. The commissioning process as described above is thus stopped from working.

The present disclosure proposes an alternative method of communicating or transmitting the network information needed for a new node device to join the network to the new node device.

Figure 2 schematically illustrates, in a flow chart type diagram, exemplary steps of a method 20 of joining a new or uncommissioned node device in the network of Fig.l, by way of communicating network information to the node device in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The communicating of network information to the uncommissioned node device is performed by an existing already commissioned or paired node device, such as the node device 103 illustrated in Figure 1. The commissioned node device operates to assist the commissioner device to transmit the network information, such as a network credential or network key to node devices still to join the network.

Though only one commissioned node device is illustrated in the network 100 in Figure 1, it can be contemplated by those skilled in the art that the network 100 may comprise any number of commissioned node device and each of which may function to communicate the network information to a new node device. 11

For a Wi-Fi network, the commissioned node device supports at least the Wi Fi protocol. Its commissioning may be done in a conventional way known to those skilled in the art.

The commissioned node device may support a further IoT communication protocol, such as Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, BLE, ZigBee and so on. In this case, the commissioning of the commissioned node device may be performed according to the further protocol.

A node device, once commissioned using the network information communicated to it by way of the method according to the present disclosure, may also function to assist the commissioner device to communicate the network information to other uncommissioned node devices.

At step 21 “Selecting a commissioned node device by commissioner device”, the commissioner device selects a commissioned node device, which will assist the commissioner device to transmit the network information to uncommissioned node devices.

The commissioned node device may be selected based on its relative physical location to the uncommissioned node device or based on a signal strength that the commissioner device observed or received from the commissioned node device.

As an example, a smart phone functioning as the commissioner device may identify a commissioned node device, such as a lighting device, in the same room as the room that one node device to add into the network is located in. Alternatively, if no node device in that room is commissioned, the commissioner device may choose a commissioned device with the strongest RSSI signal.

Alternatively, as can be contemplated by those skilled in the art, it is not always necessary for the commissioner device to select a specific commissioned node device to perform the method of the present disclosure. It can be configured that any node device, after being commissioned, will automatically perform the method as described above to communicate the network information to uncommissioned node devices waiting to join the network. This may help to join uncommissioned node devices into the network more efficiently.

At step 22 “selected node device receiving instruction to communicate network information to uncommissioned node device”, the selected node device receives a message or instruction from the commissioner device, requesting the network information to be transmitted to the uncommissioned node device(s). 12

As an example, a user may employ an APP running on the mobile phone commissioner device to transmit a message to the selected commissioned node device, instructing the selected node device to start broadcasting messages comprising the network information.

It is noted the communication between the commissioner device and the selected node device is performed over the network, by way of a known protocol such as the Internet Protocol.

At step 23, “selected node device communicating the network information to the uncommissioned node device”, the selected commissioned node device starts to broadcasting message packets comprising the network information.

The network information may be encoded in the broadcasted packets according to the method as described above.

Specifically, the network information may be encoded in packet lengths of a series of broadcast packets or time intervals between consecutive ones of the series of broadcast packets.

For a Wi-Fi network, the network information may comprise network name and network key or password of the network.

At step 24, “Uncommissioned node device receiving and decoding broadcasted network information”, the network information broadcasted by the commissioned node device is received and decoded by the uncommissioned node device.

This is done using methods known to those skilled in the art and will not be elaborated here.

Following that, at step 25, “uncommissioned node device joining the network”, the uncommissioned node device uses the received network information to join the network. Specific procedure of joining the network is known to those skilled in the art and will not be elaborated here.

In comparison with the conventional method of using the commissioner device to communicate the network information to uncommissioned node devices, the method as described here of using an existing commissioned node device running a Real Time Operating System to transmitted the required network information, is proved to have a much better control. Tests show that success rate of the commissioning process using the commissioned device instead of the commissioner device is much higher.

It is noted that theoretically any node device in the network, once commissioned, may function to communicate the network information to uncommissioned 13 node devices to be joined into the network. In this sense, from the hardware’s perspective of view, there commissioned and uncommissioned node devices are not different.

Still, it is also possible that one or more node devices support a different communication protocol which may help to make the commissioning of such node devices easier. In this case, such node devices are commissioned first and then function as the commissioned node device to transmit the network information to uncommissioned node devices.

Figure 3 illustrates, schematically, a diagram of an embodiment of a node device or terminal device 30 arranged for operating in accordance with the present disclosure.

The node device 30 comprises a control part or control device 31 and a load such as a lighting fixture or lighting device 32, comprising a lighting module 33, preferably a Light Emitting Diode, LED, lighting module or a plurality of LED lighting modules, operation of which may be controlled by the control device 31 from or through a remote control device, such as a remote or backend server (not shown), for example.

The control device 31 operates a first communication interface 34, such as a first network adaptor or a transceiver, Tx/Rx 1, module, arranged for direct wireless message exchange or data packets 35 with other devices in the network such as an access point, a commissioner device or a further node device. Network protocols for exchanging data by networked devices or nodes may comprise ZigBee™, Bluetooth™, BLE, as well as Wi-Fi based protocols for wireless networks, and wired bus networks such as DALI™ (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface), DSI (Digital Serial Interface), DMX (Digital Multiplex), and KNX (or KNX based systems), and other proprietary protocols.

The first communication interface 34 may be arranged for wired message exchange 36, such as for data exchange over an Ethernet connection and the Internet, or the like.

Optionally, the control device 31 may operate a further communication interface 37 different than the first communication interface 34 such as a second network adapter or transceiver, Tx/Rx 2, module arranged for short-range wireless 38 or wired 39 exchange of messages or data packets with another node device in the network, i.e. so called inter-node device communication. As an example, when the first communication interface 34 operates according to the Wi-Fi based protocols, the further communication interface 37 may operate according to one or more of ZigBee™, Bluetooth™, BLE, or wired bus networks such as DALI™ (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface), DSI (Digital Serial Interface), 14

DMX (Digital Multiplex), and KNX (or KNX based systems), and other proprietary protocols.

The control device 31 further comprises at least one microprocessor, mR, or controller 40, and at least one data repository or storage or memory 41, among others for storing operational software and provisioning data or information, i.e., network information such as network credentials for provisioning or commissioning node devices of a network, computer program code instructions for operating the node device in accordance with the present disclosure, address information of the node device itself and other node devices, such as identifiers 43, IDs, Media Access Control, MAC, addresses and subscriber information of node devices. Instead of the repository 41, a separate memory or storage accessible to the at least one processor or controller 40 may be provided.

The at least one microprocessor or controller 40 communicatively interacts with and controls the communication interface 34, the further communication interface 37, and the at least one repository or storage 41 via an internal data communication and control bus 44 of the control device 31. The first 34 and second communication interface 37 may be arranged for transferring/forwarding messages and data, such as the network information, received by the node device 30 via the long first communication interface 34 to another node device via the second range communication interface 37.

The lighting fixture or lighting device 32 connects 45 to and is controlled from the data communication and control bus 43 by the at least one microprocessor or controller 40.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any electric load may be connected 45 to the control bus other than or in addition to a lighting fixture or lighting device 32, such as motor loads and (environmental) sensors of different type and/or measuring equipment, and the like.

The present disclosure is not limited to the examples as disclosed above, and can be modified and enhanced by those skilled in the art beyond the scope of the present disclosure as disclosed in the appended claims without having to apply inventive skills and for use in any data communication, data exchange and data processing environment, system or network.

Claims

15 CLAIMS:

1. A method of communicating Wi-Fi network information to an uncommissioned Wi-Fi node device to be added to a Wi-Fi network, the Wi-Fi network comprising a Wi-Fi access point, a commissioner device and a commissioned Wi-Fi node device, the Wi-Fi access point configured to operate at a first frequency band and a second frequency band, both the commissioned Wi-Fi node device and the uncommissioned Wi-Fi node device configured to operate at the first frequency band, the commissioner device communicating with the Wi-Fi access point at the second frequency band, the method performed by the commissioned Wi-Fi node device and comprising the steps of: receiving, via the Wi-Fi access point, an instruction from the commissioner device to communicate the Wi-Fi network information to the uncommissioned Wi-Fi node device, and communicating the Wi-Fi network information to the uncommissioned Wi-Fi node device over a wireless communication channel within the first frequency band; wherein communicating the Wi-Fi network information to the uncommissioned node device comprises broadcasting a series of broadcast packets encoding the Wi-Fi network information; wherein the Wi-Fi network information is encoded in packet lengths of the series of broadcast packets or time intervals between consecutive ones of the series of broadcast packets.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the Wi-Fi network comprises a plurality of commissioned Wi-Fi node devices, the commissioned Wi-Fi node device is selected by the commissioner device with reference to a physical distance, available from a plan view, between the commissioned Wi-Fi node device and the uncommissioned Wi-Fi node device.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the Wi-Fi network comprises a plurality of commissioned Wi-Fi node devices, the commissioned Wi-Fi node device is selected by the commissioner device as having a highest Received Signal Strength Indicator, 16

RSSI observed by the commissioner device from the plurality of commissioned Wi-Fi node devices.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the Wi-Fi network information comprises network credentials of the Wi-Fi network, in particular a network identity and a network key.

5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the commissioned Wi-Fi node device is commissioned by way of information exchanged according to the Wi-Fi protocol.

6. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first frequency band is a 2.4GHz band, the second frequency band is a 5GHz band.

7. The method according to claim 1 or 2, the commissioner device is located remotely from the commissioned Wi-Fi node device and the uncommissioned Wi-Fi node device.

8. A commissioned Wi-Fi node device for communicating Wi-Fi network information to an uncommissioned Wi-Fi node device to be added to a Wi-Fi network according to any of the previous claims 1 to 7, the Wi-Fi network comprising a Wi-Fi access point, a commissioner device and the commissioned Wi-Fi node device, the Wi-Fi access point configured to operate at a first frequency band and a second frequency band, both the commissioned Wi-Fi node device and the uncommissioned Wi-Fi node device configured to operate at the first frequency band, the commissioner device communicating with the Wi-Fi access point at the second frequency band.

9. A method of joining an uncommissioned Wi-Fi node device into a Wi-Fi network based on Wi-Fi network information communicated by the method according to any of the previous claims 1 - 7, the Wi-Fi network comprising a Wi-Fi access point, a commissioner device and a commissioned Wi-Fi node device, the Wi-Fi access point configured to operate at a first frequency band and a second first frequency band, both the commissioned Wi-Fi node device and the uncommissioned Wi-Fi node device configured to operate at the first frequency band, the commissioner device communicating with the Wi-Fi access point on the second frequency band, the method comprising: 17 receiving, by the uncommissioned Wi-Fi node device, the Wi-Fi network information communicated by the commissioned Wi-Fi node device over the first wireless communication channel within the first frequency band by decoding the Wi-Fi network information from packet lengths of a series of broadcast packets or time intervals between consecutive ones of a series of broadcast packets, the series of broadcast packets being broadcasted by the commissioned Wi-Fi node device and joining, by the uncommissioned Wi-Fi node device, the Wi-Fi network using the received Wi-Fi network information.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the uncommissioned node device comprises a lighting fixture.

11. An uncommissioned Wi-Fi node device to be added to a Wi-Fi network, configured to receive Wi-Fi network information from a commissioned Wi-Fi node device, according to claims 9 to 10, the Wi-Fi network comprising a Wi-Fi access point, a commissioner device and the commissioned Wi-Fi node device, the Wi-Fi access point configured to operate at a first frequency band and a second frequency band, both the uncommissioned Wi-Fi node device and the commissioned Wi-Fi node device configured to operate at the first frequency band, the commissioner device communicating with the Wi-Fi access point at the second frequency band.

12. A method of joining an uncommissioned Wi-Fi node device into a Wi-Fi network, the Wi-Fi network comprising a Wi-Fi access point, a commissioner device and a commissioned Wi-Fi node device, the Wi-Fi access point configured to operate at a first frequency band and a second frequency band, both the uncommissioned Wi-Fi node device and the commissioned Wi-Fi node device configured to operate at the first frequency band, the commissioner device communicating with the Wi-Fi access point at the second frequency band, the method comprising: instructing, by the commissioner device, the commissioned Wi-Fi node device via the Wi-Fi access point to communicating the Wi-Fi network information to the uncommissioned node device; broadcasting, by the commissioned Wi-Fi node device, a series of broadcast packets encoding the Wi-Fi network information over a first wireless communication channel within the first frequency band, wherein the Wi-Fi network information is encoded in packet 18 lengths of the series of broadcast packets or time intervals between consecutive ones of the series of broadcast packets; receiving, by the uncommissioned Wi-Fi node device, the Wi-Fi network information communicated by the commissioned Wi-Fi node device over the first wireless communication channel within the first frequency band by decoding the Wi-Fi network information from packet lengths of the series of broadcast packets or time intervals between consecutive ones of the series of broadcast packets; joining, by the uncommissioned Wi-Fi node device, the Wi-Fi network using the received Wi-Fi network information.

13. A Wi-Fi network for joining an uncommissioned Wi-Fi node device into the

Wi-Fi network, the Wi-Fi network comprising a Wi-Fi access point, a commissioner device and the commissioned Wi-Fi node device, the Wi-Fi access point configured to operate at a first frequency band and a second frequency band, both the uncommissioned Wi-Fi node device and the commissioned Wi-Fi node device configured to operate at the first frequency band, the commissioner device communicating with the Wi-Fi access point at the second frequency band, wherein the commissioner is configured to instruct the commissioned Wi-Fi node device via the Wi-Fi access point to communicate the Wi-Fi network information to the uncommissioned Wi-Fi node device; wherein the commissioned Wi-Fi device is configured to broadcast a series of broadcast packets encoding the Wi-Fi network information over a first wireless communication channel within the first frequency band, wherein the Wi-Fi network information is encoded in packet lengths of the series of broadcast packets or time intervals between consecutive ones of the series of broadcast packets; wherein the uncommissioned Wi-Fi node device is configured to receive the Wi-Fi network information communicated by the commissioned Wi-Fi node device over the first wireless communication channel within the first frequency band by decoding the Wi-Fi network information from packet lengths of the series of broadcast packets or time intervals between consecutive ones of the series of broadcast packets; and join the Wi-Fi network using the received Wi-Fi network information. 19

14. A computer program product, comprising a computer readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause said at least one processor to carry out the method according to any of the claims 1 - 7.

15. A computer program product, comprising a computer readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause said at least one processor to carry out the method according to any of the claims 9 - 10.