Electronic device and method for controlling the electronic device

Abstract

An electronic device and a control method thereof are disclosed. The method for controlling the electronic device includes: monitoring the state of a communication connection with an access point (AP) device; based on an event of suspending the communication connection with the AP device, outputting a search message requesting information about at least one peripheral device within a specified range of the electronic device as a first non-audible frequency signal; based on receiving a response message in response to the search message from at least one peripheral device, determining a device that performs an operation of the AP device in the electronic device and at least one peripheral device based on performance information of at least one peripheral device included in the received response message and performance information of the electronic device; and based on the electronic device being determined as a device that performs the operation of the AP device, outputting information for the communication connection with the electronic device as a second non-audible frequency signal.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application is based on and claims the benefit of priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2019-0020342 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on February 21, 2019, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to an electronic device and a method for controlling the same. For example, the present disclosure relates to an electronic device that forms a network with peripheral devices and a method for controlling the electronic device. Background Art

[0004] Recent developments in technology have enabled multiple electronic devices to communicate data with each other.

[0005] Specifically, at least one of the multiple electronic devices can communicate data with another electronic device through a relay device (such as an access point (AP) device), or communicate data with an electronic device located in the near field through near-field wireless communication (such as Bluetooth).

[0006] The development of the Internet of Things (IoT) enables various electronic devices with IoT capabilities to communicate data through the same AP device.

[0007] Since various electronic devices are connected to each other through the AP device, events such as network failure and disconnection of communication with the AP device may occur due to an excessively high data processing rate of a specific electronic device or simultaneous data processing by many electronic devices.

[0008] Therefore, when such an event occurs, since a lot of time is required to recover from the event, there is a problem that data communication between electronic devices cannot be smoothly performed. Summary of the invention

[0009] Embodiments of the present disclosure address the above-mentioned necessity and are provided to quickly form a new network for data communication with peripheral devices in an electronic device when a network connected to the electronic device and the peripheral devices fails.

[0010] According to an example embodiment, a method for controlling an electronic device includes: monitoring the state of a communication connection with an access point (AP) device based on an event in which a communication connection with the AP device is suspended, outputting a search message for requesting information about at least one peripheral device within a specified range of the electronic device as a first non-audible frequency signal based on receiving a response message from at least one peripheral device in response to a search message, determining a device that performs operations of the AP device in the electronic device and the at least one peripheral device based on performance information of the at least one peripheral device included in the received response message and performance information of the electronic device, and outputting information for a communication connection with the electronic device as a second non-audible frequency signal based on the electronic device being determined as a device that performs operations of the AP device.

[0011] The search message may include at least one of identification information, address information, or performance information of the electronic device, and the response message may include at least one of identification information, address information, or performance information of at least one peripheral device.

[0012] The first non-audible frequency signal is configured to provide at least one of identification information, address information, or performance information of the electronic device using at least one of amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, or phase modulation of the non-audible frequency signal.

[0013] The outputting step may include determining the intensity of the first non-audible frequency signal by adjusting a volume intensity of a speaker provided in the electronic device.

[0014] The determining step may include: based on receiving a third non-audible frequency signal including a response message from a first peripheral device among the at least one peripheral device through a microphone, converting the third non-audible frequency signal into a digital signal, obtaining performance information of the first peripheral device including at least one of external Internet communication accessibility information, power information, data processing information of the first peripheral device, or information about the number of peripheral devices capable of sending and receiving messages included in the response message of the first peripheral device from the converted digital signal, and by comparing the performance information of the first peripheral device with the performance information of the electronic device, determining a device including information with a high priority between the first peripheral device and the electronic device as a device performing the operation of the AP device.

[0015] A first peripheral device of at least one peripheral device can output information included in a search message and a response message as a non-audible frequency signal after a random delay based on receiving a first non-audible frequency signal including a search message, wherein the response message includes at least one of identification (ID) information, address information or performance information of the first peripheral device.

[0016] The second non-audible frequency signal may include accessing ID and password information of the electronic device using at least one of amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, or phase modulation of the non-audible frequency signal.

[0017] The method may also include: performing the operation of the AP device based on a first peripheral device that identifies at least one peripheral device, outputting a notification message notifying that the operation of the AP device is performed by the first peripheral device as a non-audible frequency signal based on receiving a fourth non-audible frequency signal for a communication connection with the first peripheral device from the first peripheral device, converting the fourth non-audible frequency signal into a digital signal, obtaining ID and password information for the communication connection with the first peripheral device from the converted digital signal, and performing the communication connection with the first peripheral device based on the obtained ID and password.

[0018] The method may also include, based on receiving a fifth non-audible frequency signal for a search message from a first peripheral device among at least one peripheral device, outputting information included in the search message and a response message as a sixth non-audible frequency signal after a random delay, wherein the response message includes at least one of identification information, address information or performance information of the electronic device.

[0019] The method may further include outputting a notification message for disconnecting the communication connection with the electronic device as a non-audible frequency signal based on the suspended communication connection with the AP device in which the communication is established being resumed.

[0020] According to another example embodiment, an electronic device includes: an outputter including an output circuit; an inputter including an input circuit; a communicator including a communication circuit configured to perform communication with an access point (AP) device; and a processor configured to: monitor the state of a communication connection with the AP device, and based on an event of suspending communication with the AP device, based on receiving a response message from at least one peripheral device in response to the search message, control the outputter to output a search message for requesting information about at least one peripheral device within a specified range of the electronic device as a first non-audible frequency signal, based on performance information of at least one peripheral device included in the received response message and performance information of the electronic device, determine a device that performs operations of the AP device between the electronic device and the at least one peripheral device, and based on the electronic device being determined as a device that performs operations of the AP device, control the outputter to output information for the communication connection with the electronic device as a second non-audible frequency signal.

[0021] The search message may include at least one of identification information, address information, or performance information of the electronic device, and the response message may include at least one of identification information, address information, or performance information of at least one peripheral device.

[0022] The first non-audible frequency signal is configured to provide at least one of identification information, address information, or performance information of the electronic device using at least one of amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, or phase modulation of the non-audible frequency signal.

[0023] The outputter includes a speaker, and the processor is configured to determine the intensity of the first non-audible frequency signal by adjusting the volume intensity of the speaker provided in the electronic device.

[0024] The input includes a microphone, and the processor is further configured to, based on receiving a third non-audible frequency signal including a response message from a first peripheral device among at least one peripheral device through the microphone, convert the third non-audible frequency signal into a digital signal, obtain performance information of the first peripheral device including at least one of external Internet communication accessibility information, power information, data processing information of the first peripheral device, or information about the number of peripheral devices capable of sending and receiving messages including the response message of the first peripheral device from the converted digital signal, and determine a device including information with a high priority as a device that performs the operation of the AP device between the first peripheral device and the electronic device by comparing the performance information of the first peripheral device and the performance information of the electronic device.

[0025] A first peripheral device of the at least one peripheral device can be configured to, based on receiving a first non-audible frequency signal including a search message, output information included in a search message and a response message as a non-audible frequency signal after a random delay, wherein the response message includes at least one of identification (ID) information, address information or performance information of the first peripheral device.

[0026] The second non-audible frequency signal may include using at least one of amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, or phase modulation of the non-audible frequency signal to access identification and password information of the electronic device.

[0027] The processor is also configured to: based on identifying that a first peripheral device among the at least one peripheral device performs the operation of the AP device, based on receiving a fourth non-audible frequency signal for a communication connection with the first peripheral device from the first peripheral device, control the outputter to output a notification message notifying that the operation of the AP device is performed by the first peripheral device as a non-audible frequency signal, convert the fourth non-audible frequency signal into a digital signal, obtain ID and password information for the communication connection with the first peripheral device from the converted digital signal, and perform a communication connection with the first peripheral device based on the obtained ID and password.

[0028] The processor is also configured to: based on receiving a fifth non-audible frequency signal for a search message from a first peripheral device among at least one peripheral device, output the information included in the search message and the response message as a sixth non-audible frequency signal after a random delay, wherein the response message includes at least one of identification information, address information or performance information of the electronic device.

[0029] The processor is further configured to control the outputter to output a notification message for disconnecting the communication connection with the electronic device as a non-audible frequency signal based on the suspended communication connection with the AP device with which the communication was established being resumed.

[0030] As described above, according to an exemplary embodiment, if a communication connection with an AP device connected to an electronic apparatus and a peripheral device is suspended, the electronic apparatus may independently and quickly form a network for a communication connection with the peripheral device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] The above and other aspects, features and advantages of certain embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0032] Figure 1A is a diagram illustrating an example electronic device communicatively connected to an access point (AP) device connected to a peripheral device for performing data communication according to an embodiment;

[0033] Figure 1B is a block diagram illustrating an example electronic device according to an embodiment;

[0034] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example electronic device according to an embodiment;

[0035] Figure 3 is a flow chart illustrating an example method for forming a network with a peripheral device according to an embodiment;

[0036] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example method for determining, by an electronic device, a device operating as a SoftAP device according to an embodiment;

[0037] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example method by which an electronic device performs a communication connection with a peripheral device to operate as a SoftAP device according to an embodiment;

[0038] Figure 6 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an example operation of forming a network by an electronic device and peripheral equipment according to an embodiment; and

[0039] Figure 7is a signal flow diagram illustrating an example operation of forming a network by an electronic device and peripheral equipment according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] Hereinafter, various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to specific embodiments, but includes various modifications, equivalents and / or alternatives according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. In all drawings, similar components will be represented by similar reference numerals.

[0041] In the present disclosure, the expressions “have”, “may have”, “include” or “may include” may be used to indicate the existence of features (e.g., components such as values, functions, operations, parts, etc.) and do not exclude the existence of additional features.

[0042] In the present disclosure, the expression "A or B", "at least one of A and / or B", or "one or more of A and / or B", etc. includes all possible combinations of the listed items. For example, "A or B", "at least one of A and B", or "at least one of A or B" includes (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, and (3) at least one A and at least one B together.

[0043] In addition, the expressions "first", "second", etc. used in the present disclosure may indicate various components regardless of the order and / or importance of the components. The expressions "first", "second", etc. may be used to distinguish one component from other components and do not limit the corresponding components.

[0044] It should be understood that an element (e.g., a first element) is "operably or communicatively coupled / connected" to another element (e.g., a second element), meaning that any such element can be directly connected to another element or can be connected to the other element through another element (e.g., a third element). On the other hand, when an element (e.g., a first element) is "directly connected" or "directly accessed" to another element (e.g., a second element), it is understood that there are no other elements (e.g., a third element) between the other elements.

[0045] Here, the expression "configured to" may be used interchangeably with, for example, "suitable for", "capable of", "designed to", "adapted to", "made to", or "capable of". The expression "configured to" does not necessarily mean "specially designed to" in the hardware sense. On the contrary, in some cases, "device, configured to" may indicate that such a device can perform an action together with another device or component. For example, the expression "a processor configured to perform A, B, and C" may indicate a dedicated processor (e.g., an embedded processor) that performs the corresponding actions, or a general-purpose processor (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU) or an application processor (AP)) that can perform the corresponding actions by executing one or more software programs stored in a memory device.

[0046] The electronic device according to various example embodiments may include, but is not limited to, for example, at least one of the following: a smart phone, a tablet personal computer (PC), a mobile phone, a video phone, an artificial intelligence (AI) speaker, an e-book reader, a desktop PC, a laptop PC, a netbook computer, a workstation, a server, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable multimedia player (PMP), a moving picture experts group phase 1 or phase 2 (MPEG-1 or MPEG-2) audio layer 3 (MP3) player, a medical device, a camera, a wearable device, etc. According to various example embodiments of the present disclosure, the wearable device may include at least one of the following: an attachment type (e.g., a watch, a ring, a bracelet, a pleated bracelet, a necklace, glasses, a contact lens, or a head-mounted device (HMD)), a fabric or embedded clothing type (e.g., an electronic garment), a body attachment type (e.g., a skin pad or a tattoo), a bio-implantable circuit, etc. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the electronic device may be a household appliance. The household appliance may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: a television, a digital video disc (DVD) player, an audio, a refrigerator, an air conditioner, a vacuum cleaner, an oven, a microwave, a washing machine, an air purifier, a set-top box, a home automation control panel, a security control panel, a media box (e.g., Samsung HomeSync TM , Apple TV TM or Google TV TM), game consoles (e.g., Xbox TM , PlayStation TM ), electronic dictionaries, electronic keys, camcorders, electronic photo frames, etc.

[0047] In another example embodiment, the electronic device may include, but is not limited to, for example, at least one of the following: various medical devices (e.g., various portable medical measuring devices, such as blood glucose meters, heart rate meters, blood pressure meters, or temperature measuring devices, magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), capture devices, or ultrasonic devices, etc.), navigation systems, global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), event data recorders (EDR), flight data recorders (FDR), automotive infotainment equipment, marine electronic equipment (e.g., marine navigation equipment, gyrocompasses, etc.), aircraft, safety equipment, head units, industrial or household robots, drones, automatic teller machines (ATMs), points of sales in stores (Points of Sales of Stores, POS), Internet of Things (IoT) devices (e.g., light bulbs, various sensors, sprinkler equipment, fire alarms, thermostats, street lights, ovens, exercise equipment, hot water tanks, heaters, boilers, etc.), etc.

[0048] In the present disclosure, the term user may refer to a person using an electronic device or a device using an electronic device (eg, an artificial intelligence (AI) electronic device).

[0049] Figure 1A is a diagram illustrating an example electronic device that is communicatively connected to an access point (AP) device according to an embodiment, the access point (AP) device being connected to a peripheral device for performing data communication, and Figure 1B is a block diagram illustrating an example electronic device according to an embodiment.

[0050] The electronic device 100 may be a device located at home, and may be communicatively connected to the AP apparatus 20 for data communication.

[0051] According to an embodiment, the electronic device 100 may include a display device such as a smart phone, a smart TV, a digital video disc (DVD) player, a tablet personal computer, etc., or a smart home appliance such as a smart refrigerator, a smart air conditioner, a robot vacuum cleaner, an oven, a microwave oven, a smart washing machine, etc.

[0052] The electronic device 100 may be, for example, an AI speaker for controlling operations of a display apparatus and an intelligent electronic device.

[0053] In the present disclosure, a portable terminal device such as a smart phone is classified as the electronic apparatus 100 , and electronic devices such as a smart TV, a smart air conditioner, a smart refrigerator, and a robot cleaner are classified as the peripheral devices 10 .

[0054] like Figure 1A As shown, when connected to the AP device 20, the electronic apparatus 100 may perform data communication with the peripheral device 10 communicatively connected to the AP device 20 or an external device (not shown) such as a content server providing content.

[0055] like Figure 1B As shown, the electronic device 100 may include an inputter (eg, including an input circuit) 110 , an outputter (eg, including an output circuit) 120 , a communicator (eg, including a communication circuit) 130 , and a processor (eg, including a processing circuit) 140 .

[0056] The input device 110 may include various input circuits, and receives response messages from the electronic device 100 and at least one peripheral device 10 located around the electronic device 100 (e.g., within a specified range). The input device 110 may include various input circuits, including, for example, a microphone 111 (see, for example, Figure 2 ), and the response message may be included in the non-audible frequency signal. The inputter 110 may receive the non-audible frequency signal including the response message from at least one peripheral device 10 through the microphone 111.

[0057] The outputter 120 may include various output circuits, and transmits a search message for requesting information about the electronic device 100 and at least one peripheral device 10 located around the electronic device 100. For example, the outputter 120 may output the search message for requesting information about the electronic device 100 and at least one peripheral device 10 located within a specified range of the electronic device 100 as a non-audible frequency signal through the speaker 121 (see, for example, Figure 2 ).

[0058] The communicator 130 may include various communication circuits and communicate with the AP device 20 in a wireless or wired manner, and may send data to and / or receive data from an external device (not shown) and at least one peripheral device 10 through the communicatively connected AP device 20. The at least one peripheral device 10 may be the electronic apparatus 100 described herein. In the present disclosure, the peripheral device 10 is described as being different from the electronic apparatus 100.

[0059] The processor 140 may include various processing circuits and monitor the status of the communication connection with the AP device 20 .

[0060] When the processor 140 is communicatively connected to the AP device 20, the processor 140 periodically monitors whether the communication with the AP device 20 is normal. When an event of suspending the communication connection with the AP device 20 occurs through monitoring, the processor 140 can control the outputter 120 to output a search message for requesting information about at least one peripheral device 10 existing near the electronic apparatus 100 as a non-audible frequency signal (hereinafter, a first non-audible frequency signal).

[0061] Events for suspending the communication connection with the AP device 20 may include events of losing access to an external Internet network, Signal to (Interference) and Noise Ratio (S(I)NR) events, data throughput events, events of disabling a wireless communication module, and the like.

[0062] Events of losing access connection to the external Internet network may include an overloaded cloud server (not shown), an Internet network error, a network equipment failure, etc.

[0063] The S(I)NR event may be, for example, an event caused by signal interference due to the AP device 20, a connection error occurring within the communication range between the electronic apparatus 100 and the AP device 20, a radio channel characteristic causing a communication error due to simultaneous use of limited frequency channels available within the allocated frequency band, and the like.

[0064] The data throughput event may be, for example, an event in which a data processing speed requested by a plurality of peripheral devices 10 decreases when the AP device 20 simultaneously performs data processing of the plurality of peripheral devices 10 .

[0065] The data throughput event may be an event in which the ownership rate of data processing of a specific peripheral device 10 performed by the AP device 20 is high and data processing of the remaining peripheral devices 10 is not smoothly performed, so that the data processing speed requested by the plurality of peripheral devices 10 may be reduced.

[0066] The event that the wireless communication module is not activated is an event that the electronic apparatus 100 or the peripheral device 10 uses a wired communication network or an AP is not set in the electronic apparatus 100 or the peripheral device 10 .

[0067] The processor 140 may determine the status of the communication connection with the AP device 20, for example, based on the events described above.

[0068] When a response signal of the AP device 20 is not received through the communicator 130 within a predetermined threshold time, the processor 140 may determine that the communication connection with the AP device 20 is suspended.

[0069] When the S(I)NR value of the response signal of the AP device 20 received through the communicator 130 is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, the processor 140 may determine that the communication with the AP device 20 is suspended.

[0070] When the speed of data processing performed by the AP device 20 is less than a preset threshold speed, the processor 140 may determine that the communication connection with the AP device 20 is suspended.

[0071] If it is determined that the communication connection with the AP device 20 has been suspended, the processor 140 may control the outputter 120 to output a first non-audible frequency signal including a search message for requesting information about at least one peripheral device 10 existing around the electronic apparatus 100. Therefore, the outputter 120 may output the first non-audible frequency signal including the search message through the speaker 121.

[0072] The search message may include, for example, at least one of identification information, address information, and performance information of the electronic device 100. The identification information may be inherent identification (ID) information for identifying the electronic device 100, and the address information may be an Internet Protocol (IP) address for accessing the electronic device 100.

[0073] The performance information of the electronic device 100 may include at least one of the following: power information indicating the power budget of the electronic device 100, data processing information (the data processing information includes at least one of a central processing unit (CPU) processing speed, a CPU throughput, a random access memory (RAM) version), information about the number of peripheral devices 10 capable of sending and receiving messages, external Internet accessibility information, and artificial intelligence (AI) supportability information.

[0074] The first non-audible frequency signal including the search message may provide a search message including at least one of identification information, address information, and performance information of the electronic device 100 using at least one of amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, and phase modulation of the non-audible frequency signal.

[0075] The electronic apparatus 100 may be at least one peripheral device 10 as described above. At least one peripheral device 10 including the electronic apparatus 100 connected to the AP device 20 may monitor whether communication with the AP device 20 is connected.

[0076] The processor 140 , which controls the outputter 120 to output the first non-audible frequency signal including the search message through the speaker 121 , may determine the intensity of the first non-audible frequency signal by adjusting the volume intensity of the speaker 121 .

[0077] For example, when the volume intensity of the speaker 121 is set to a first level, the outputter 120 may output a first non-audible frequency signal within a range corresponding to the first level through the speaker 121 set to the first level volume intensity.

[0078] When the volume intensity of the speaker 121 is set to a second level higher than the first level, the outputter 120 may output the first inaudible frequency signal in a range wider than the range corresponding to the first level through the speaker 121 set to the second level volume intensity.

[0079] A peripheral device (hereinafter referred to as a first peripheral device) within a range corresponding to the volume intensity of the speaker 121 among the at least one peripheral device 10 may receive the first non-audible frequency signal output from the electronic apparatus 100 .

[0080] When the first non-audible frequency signal is received, the first peripheral device 11 (eg, see Figure 6 ) may output a non-audible frequency signal (hereinafter referred to as a third non-audible frequency signal) including a response message based on the search message included in the received first non-audible frequency signal.

[0081] Therefore, the inputter 110 may receive the third non-audible frequency signal including the response message output from the first peripheral device 11 through the microphone 111 .

[0082] When the third non-audible frequency signal is received, the processor 140 may determine whether another non-audible frequency signal is received within a preset threshold time after the third non-audible frequency signal is received.

[0083] As a result of the determination, if another non-audible frequency signal is not received within a predetermined threshold time, the processor 140 determines a device (hereinafter referred to as a SoftAP device) between the electronic device 100 and the first peripheral device 10 to perform the same operation as the AP device 20 based on the performance information of the first peripheral device 11 from the response message included in the received third non-audible frequency signal and the performance information of the electronic device 100.

[0084] The response message may include at least one of identification information and address information of the first peripheral device 10 and performance information of the first peripheral device 11 .

[0085] The performance information of the first peripheral device 10 may include at least one of the following: processing information (including power budget information, CPU processing speed, CPU throughput and RAM version of the first peripheral device 10), the number of peripheral devices 10 capable of sending and receiving messages, external Internet accessibility information and artificial intelligence (AI) supportability information.

[0086] When the electronic apparatus 100 is determined as a SoftAP device based on the performance information of the first peripheral device 11 and the performance information of the electronic apparatus 100 , the processor 140 controls the outputter 120 to output information for a communication connection with the electronic apparatus 100 as a second non-audible frequency signal.

[0087] The outputter 120 may output the second non-audible frequency signal including the response message through the speaker 121 .

[0088] The second non-audible frequency signal may be a signal providing ID and password information for connecting to the electronic apparatus 100 determined as a SoftAP device using at least one of amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, and phase modulation of the non-audible frequency signal.

[0089] When receiving the second non-audible frequency signal output from the electronic device 100, the first peripheral device 11 of the at least one peripheral device 10 may convert the received second non-audible frequency signal into a digital signal, and obtain ID and password information for accessing the electronic device 100 from the converted digital signal. The ID information may be, for example, service set identifier (SSID) information.

[0090] The first peripheral device 11 may also include media access control (MAC) address information for communicating with the electronic apparatus 100 and product information of the electronic apparatus 100 , etc., from the second non-audible frequency signal converted into a digital signal.

[0091] When the information is obtained, the first peripheral device 11 may perform a communication connection with the electronic apparatus 100 based on the obtained ID and password information.

[0092] The first peripheral device 11 communicating with the electronic apparatus 100 determined as a SoftAP device periodically monitors whether the communication connection with the AP device 20 whose communication has been suspended is restored. When the communication connection with the AP device 20 is restored by monitoring, the first peripheral device 11 outputs a notification message for disconnecting the communication with the electronic apparatus 100 as a non-audible frequency signal.

[0093] When the notification message for disconnecting the communication output from the first peripheral device 11 is received as the non-audible frequency signal, the processor 140 suspends the communication connection with the first peripheral device 11 and controls the outputter 120 to resume the communication with the AP device 20 .

[0094] The embodiment is not limited thereto, and after the electronic device 100 has been determined as a SoftAP device, the processor 140 periodically monitors whether the suspended communication connection with the AP device 20 is restored. When the communication connection with the AP device 20 is restored by monitoring, the processor 140 controls the outputter 120 to output a notification message for disconnection of the communication with the electronic device 100 as a non-audible frequency signal.

[0095] The outputter 120 outputs a non-audible frequency signal including a notification for disconnecting communication with the electronic device 100 through the speaker 121 .

[0096] When receiving the non-audible frequency signal including the notification message for disconnecting the communication with the electronic apparatus 100 , the first peripheral device 10 may suspend the communication connection with the electronic apparatus 100 and resume the communication with the AP device 20 .

[0097] Hereinafter, an operation of the processor 140 to determine a device that performs an operation as a SoftAP device among the first peripheral device 11 to which the response message is transmitted and the electronic apparatus 100 will be described in more detail.

[0098] As described above, when the communication connection with the AP device 20 is suspended, the processor 140 outputs the first non-audible frequency signal including the search message for requesting information about at least one peripheral device 10 within a specified range of the electronic apparatus 100 through the outputter 120 .

[0099] The first peripheral device 11 of the at least one peripheral device 10 may receive a first non-audible frequency signal output from the electronic apparatus 100. When receiving the first non-audible frequency signal, the first peripheral device 11 outputs a third non-audible frequency signal including a response message.

[0100] The response message may include identification information and address information of the first peripheral device 11, and performance information of the first peripheral device 11. The performance information of the first peripheral device 11 may include at least one of the following: power information indicating a power budget of the first peripheral device 11, data processing information (including at least one of a CPU processing speed, a CPU throughput, and a RAM version), the number of peripheral devices 10 capable of sending and receiving messages, external Internet accessibility information, and artificial intelligence (AI) supportability information.

[0101] When the third non-audible frequency signal including the response message is received through the microphone 111, the processor 140 converts the received third non-audible frequency signal into a digital signal.

[0102] The processor 140 may obtain the performance information of the first peripheral device 11 included in the response message of the first peripheral device 11 from the converted digital signal.

[0103] The processor 140 may compare the performance information of the first peripheral device 11 with the performance information of the electronic apparatus 100 .

[0104] As described above, the performance information of the first peripheral device 11 may include at least one of the following: power information indicating a power budget of the first peripheral device 11, data processing information including at least one of a CPU processing speed, a CPU throughput, and a RAM version, the number of peripheral devices 10 capable of sending and receiving messages, external Internet accessibility information, and artificial intelligence (AI) supportability information.

[0105] The performance information of the electronic device 100 may include at least one of the following: power information indicating a power budget of the first peripheral device 11, data processing information including at least one of a CPU processing speed, a CPU throughput, and a RAM version, the number of peripheral devices 10 capable of sending and receiving messages, external Internet accessibility information, and artificial intelligence (AI) supportability information.

[0106] The processor 140 may compare the performance information of the first peripheral device 11 and the performance information of the electronic apparatus 100 , and determine a device including information having a high priority as a SoftAP device among the first peripheral device 10 and the electronic apparatus 100 .

[0107] According to an embodiment, the processor 140 may determine a device including information corresponding to a priority among information included in the performance in formation of each of the first peripheral device 11 and the electronic apparatus 100 as a SoftAP device.

[0108] For example, the information included in the performance information may have a set priority in the order of power information, data processing information, the number of peripheral devices 10, external Internet accessibility information, and AI supportability information.

[0109] The performance information of the first peripheral device 11 may include the remaining information except the external Internet accessibility information, and the performance information of the electronic apparatus 100 may include the remaining information except the AI ​​supportability information.

[0110] The processor 140 may determine the electronic device 100 including the external Internet accessibility information among the first peripheral device 11 and the electronic apparatus 100 as a SoftAP device according to the priority condition.

[0111] According to another embodiment, based on information included in performance information of each of the first peripheral device 11 and the electronic device 100, if each of the first peripheral device 11 and the electronic device 100 includes the same information corresponding to the priority or does not include information corresponding to the priority, the processor 140 can determine a device that meets the predetermined conditions as a SoftAP device.

[0112] For example, power information and data processing information included in the performance information are used as information for determining whether a predetermined condition is met, and the quantity information of the peripheral devices 10, external Internet accessibility information, and AI supportability information as the remaining information can be prioritized in the order listed.

[0113] The performance information of each of the first peripheral device 11 and the electronic apparatus 100 may include the same information corresponding to the priority.

[0114] The processor 140 may determine that information corresponding to the priority included in the performance information of each of the first peripheral device 11 and the electronic apparatus 100 is the same, and determine a device satisfying a predetermined condition between the first peripheral device and the electronic apparatus 100 as a SoftAP device.

[0115] The processor 140 may refer to the power information included in the performance information of each of the first peripheral device 11 and the electronic apparatus 100 , and determine a device having more remaining battery amount between the first peripheral device 10 and the electronic apparatus 100 as a SoftAP device.

[0116] The processor 140 may refer to the data processing information included in the performance information of each of the first peripheral device and the electronic apparatus 100 , and determine a device having a faster CPU processing speed and less CPU usage between the first peripheral device and the electronic apparatus 100 as a SoftAP device.

[0117] The processor 140 may combine the power information and the data processing information included in the performance information of each of the first peripheral device and the electronic apparatus 100 , and determine one of the first peripheral device and the electronic apparatus 100 as a SoftAP device.

[0118] The processor 140 may refer to power information included in performance information of each of the first peripheral device and the electronic apparatus 100 , and determine a device having a remaining battery amount greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold between the first peripheral device and the electronic apparatus 100 as a SoftAP device.

[0119] If the remaining battery level of each of the first peripheral device 11 and the electronic device 100 is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, the processor 140 can determine a device with a high CPU processing speed and a device with a small CPU usage among the first peripheral device 11 and the electronic device 100 as a SoftAP device by referring to the data processing information included in the performance information of each of the first peripheral device 11 and the electronic device 100.

[0120] According to another embodiment, if a predetermined condition is satisfied based on information included in performance information of each of the first peripheral device 11 and the electronic apparatus 100 , the processor 140 may determine a device including information corresponding to the priority as a SoftAP device.

[0121] For example, power information and data processing information included in the performance information are used as information for determining whether a predetermined condition is met, and the quantity information of the peripheral devices 10, external Internet accessibility information, and AI supportability information as the remaining information can be prioritized in the order listed.

[0122] The processor 140 may determine whether the remaining battery amount of each of the first peripheral device 11 and the electronic apparatus 100 is greater than or equal to 30% (hereinafter referred to as a first condition) with reference to power information included in performance information of each of the first peripheral device 11 and the electronic apparatus 100 .

[0123] In addition, the processor 140 can determine whether the processing speed of the CPU corresponding to each of the first peripheral device 11 and the electronic device 100 is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold speed, and whether the corresponding CPU usage is less than a preset threshold (hereinafter referred to as the second condition) by referring to the data processing information included in the performance information of each of the first peripheral device 11 and the electronic device 100.

[0124] As a result of the determination, if it is determined between the first peripheral device 11 and the electronic apparatus 100 that the electronic apparatus 100 satisfies both the first condition and the second condition, the processor 140 may determine the electronic apparatus 100 as a SoftAP device.

[0125] When it is determined that both the first peripheral device 11 and the electronic apparatus 100 satisfy the first condition and the second condition, the processor 140 determines whether the performance information of each of the first peripheral device 11 and the electronic apparatus 100 includes information determined based on the priority.

[0126] As described above, the priority may be set in the order of the information on the number of peripheral devices 10 , the external Internet accessibility information, and the AI ​​supportability information.

[0127] The performance information of the first peripheral device 11 may include other information except the external Internet accessibility information among the information corresponding to the priority, and the performance information of the electronic apparatus 100 may include all the information corresponding to the priority.

[0128] The processor 140 may determine the electronic apparatus 100 as a SoftAP device.

[0129] When the electronic apparatus 100 is determined to be a SoftAP device, the processor 140 controls the outputter 120 to output information for a communication connection with the electronic apparatus 100 as a second non-audible frequency signal.

[0130] Therefore, the outputter 120 outputs the second non-audible frequency signal through the speaker 121. When receiving the second non-audible frequency signal output from the electronic apparatus 100, the first peripheral device 11 may convert the received second non-audible frequency signal into a digital signal, and obtain ID and password information for accessing the electronic apparatus 100 determined as a SoftAP device from the converted digital signal.

[0131] The first peripheral device 11 may perform a communication connection with the electronic apparatus 100 determined as a SoftAP device based on the obtained ID and password information.

[0132] According to an additional aspect, if a first non-audible frequency signal including a search message is received from the electronic device 100, then after a random delay, at least one peripheral device 10 will output a response message including at least one of the information included in the search message, identification information and address information of the first peripheral device 11, and performance information of the first peripheral device 11 as a non-audible frequency signal.

[0133] The non-audible frequency signal including the response message may be the third non-audible frequency signal as described above.

[0134] As described above, the electronic apparatus 100 may receive the third non-audible frequency signal including the output response message from the first peripheral device 11 .

[0135] In addition, the second peripheral device 12 (see, for example, Figure 6 ) can receive the third non-audible frequency signal including the response message output from the first peripheral device 11. The second peripheral device 12 can be a device located at a position where it is impossible to receive the first non-audible frequency signal including the search message output from the electronic apparatus 100 but can receive the third non-audible frequency signal including the response message output from the first peripheral device 11.

[0136] When receiving the third non-audible frequency signal including the response message output from the first peripheral device 11, the second peripheral device 12 may output the non-audible frequency signal including the response message.

[0137] The response message may include at least one of information included in the response message of the non-audible frequency signal output from the first peripheral device 11 , identification information and address information of the second peripheral device 12 , and performance information of the second peripheral device 12 .

[0138] When receiving the non-audible frequency signal output from the second peripheral device 12, the first peripheral device 11 obtains a response message included in the received non-audible frequency, and refers to the information included in the obtained response message to determine whether information related to the first peripheral device 11 is included. As a result of the determination, if information related to the first peripheral device 11 is included, the first peripheral device 11 outputs the response message obtained from the non-audible frequency signal received from the second peripheral device 12 as a third non-audible frequency signal.

[0139] When the third non-audible frequency signal is received through the inputter 110, the processor 140 may obtain a response message included in the received third non-audible frequency signal. Thereafter, the processor 140 compares the performance information of the first peripheral device 11 and the second peripheral device 12 included in the obtained response message with the performance information of the electronic apparatus 100, and determines a device to be operated as a SoftAP device.

[0140] The operation of determining the SoftAP has been described in detail above and will not be described further.

[0141] When the electronic apparatus 100 is determined to be a SoftAP device, the processor 140 outputs a second non-audible frequency signal including information for a communication connection with the electronic apparatus 100 through the outputter 120 .

[0142] The first peripheral device 11 located within a range capable of receiving the second non-audible frequency signal output from the electronic apparatus 100 may perform a communication connection with the electronic apparatus 100 based on information (ID and password) included in the received second non-audible frequency signal.

[0143] When receiving the second non-audible frequency signal output from the electronic apparatus 100 , the first peripheral device 11 may output the non-audible frequency signal including information of the first peripheral device 11 for communication connection with the electronic apparatus 100 and identification information of the first peripheral device 11 .

[0144] The first peripheral device 11 and the second peripheral device 12 located within a range capable of transmitting and receiving the non-audible frequency signal may perform a communication connection with the electronic apparatus 100 based on information included in the received second non-audible frequency signal.

[0145] When it is determined through the above embodiment that the first peripheral device 11 among the at least one peripheral device 10 performs the operation of the SoftAP device, the processor 140 controls the outputter 120 to output a notification message notifying that the operation of the SoftAP device is performed by the first peripheral device 110 as an inaudible frequency signal.

[0146] The outputter 120 may output a non-audible frequency signal including a notification message through the speaker 121 .

[0147] When receiving a non-audible frequency signal including a notification message notifying that an operation of the SoftAP device is performed by the first peripheral device 11 from the electronic apparatus 100 , the first peripheral device 11 outputs a fourth non-audible frequency signal for a communication connection with the first peripheral device 11 .

[0148] When the fourth non-audible frequency signal is received from the first peripheral device 11, the processor 140 may convert the received fourth non-audible frequency signal into a digital signal, and obtain an ID and a password for a communication connection with the first peripheral device 11 from the converted digital signal. The processor 140 may then perform a communication connection with the first peripheral device 11 based on the obtained ID and password for a communication connection with the first peripheral device 11.

[0149] The second peripheral device 12 located at a position where the non-audible frequency signal cannot be transmitted and received with the electronic apparatus 100 but can be transmitted and received with the first peripheral device 11 can receive the fourth non-audible frequency signal output from the first peripheral device 11. When the fourth non-audible frequency signal is received, the second peripheral device 12 can obtain the ID and password for the communication connection with the first peripheral device 11 from the fourth non-audible frequency signal as described above, and perform the communication connection with the first peripheral device 11 based on the obtained ID and password.

[0150] When a fifth non-audible frequency signal including a search message requesting information about at least one peripheral device 10 is received from a first peripheral device 11 among at least one peripheral device 10, after a random delay, the processor 140 controls the outputter 120 to output a response message including identification information of the electronic device 100 and at least one of performance information of the electronic device 100 as a sixth non-audible frequency signal.

[0151] After the random delay, the outputter 120 may output a response message including at least one of the identification information of the electronic device 100 and the performance information of the electronic device 100 as a sixth non-audible frequency signal through the speaker 121 .

[0152] When receiving the sixth non-audible frequency signal from the electronic apparatus 100 , the first peripheral device 11 may determine one of the electronic apparatus 100 and the first peripheral device 11 as a SoftAP device through the above-described embodiments.

[0153] Next, a specific configuration of the electronic device 100 will be described in more detail.

[0154] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example electronic device according to an embodiment.

[0155] The electronic device 100 may be any smart device, such as a smart TV (TV), a smart phone, a tablet PC, an AI speaker capable of controlling smart devices, etc., but is not limited thereto.

[0156] In the present disclosure, for convenience of description, the electronic apparatus 100 will be described as a smart device.

[0157] The inputter 110 may include various input circuits, and not only receives a non-audible frequency signal output from at least one peripheral device 10 , but also receives various user commands, and transmits them to the processor 140 .

[0158] The inputter 110 may include various input circuits including, for example, but not limited to, a microphone 111 , a manipulator 112 , a touch inputter 113 , and a user inputter 114 .

[0159] The microphone 111 may receive a non-audible frequency signal from at least one peripheral device 10 or receive a user's voice command.

[0160] The manipulator 112 may be implemented as a keyboard including various function keys, number keys, special keys, character keys, and the like.

[0161] When the display 122 to be described later is implemented as a touch screen, the touch inputter 113 may be implemented as a touch pad forming an interactive layer structure with the display 122. The touch inputter 113 may receive a selection command for icons related to various applications displayed through the display 122.

[0162] The user input 114 may receive an infrared (IR) signal or a radio frequency (FR) signal for controlling the operation of the electronic apparatus 100 from a remote control device (not shown).

[0163] The output device 120 may include various output circuits, including, for example but not limited to, Figure 2 A speaker 121 and a display 122 are shown.

[0164] As described above, the speaker 121 may output a corresponding non-audible frequency signal to output the non-audible frequency signal to at least one peripheral device 10 .

[0165] The speaker 121 may output audio data of multimedia contents. The speaker 121 is configured to output various notification sounds or voice messages as well as various audio data, and an audio processor (not shown) performs various processing operations such as decoding, amplification, noise filtering, etc. for the various audio data.

[0166] The display 122 may output video data of a multimedia content image processed by an image processor (not shown). The display 122 may display an execution screen including icons for executing each of a plurality of applications stored in the storage 170 described later, or various user interface (UI) screens for controlling the operation of the electronic device 100.

[0167] The display 122 may be implemented as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting display (OLED), or the like.

[0168] The display 122 may be coupled to at least one of a front region, a side region, and a rear region of the electronic device 100 in the form of a flexible display.

[0169] The feature of the flexible display may be that it can be bent, curved or rolled up without causing damage through a thin flexible substrate such as paper. Such a flexible display can be manufactured using a commonly used plastic substrate as well as a glass substrate. When a plastic substrate is used, a low-temperature manufacturing processor can be used to form the substrate without using an existing processor to prevent damage to the substrate. In addition, the glass substrate surrounding the flexible liquid crystal can be replaced with a plastic film to impart foldable flexibility. The advantage of the flexible display is that it can be made thin, lightweight, impact-resistant, and can be made into various shapes, such as being bent and curved.

[0170] The communicator 130 may include various communication circuits, and perform data communication with a peripheral device (not shown) such as a smart TV, a smart phone, a tablet PC, a content server (not shown), and the like.

[0171] The communicator 130 may include various communication circuits, including, for example but not limited to, a connector 133, including a wireless communication module 132, a near field communication module 131, and at least one of a wired communication module, such as a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), a Universal Serial Bus (USB), an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1394, etc.

[0172] The near field communication module 131 may include various near field communication circuits and may be configured to wirelessly perform near field communication with a peripheral device located at a close distance from the electronic device 100. The near field communication module 131 may include at least one of a Bluetooth module, an infrared data association (IrDA) module, a near field communication (NFC) module, a WI-FI module, and a Zigbee module.

[0173] The wireless communication module 132 may include various wireless communication circuits, and may be a module that connects to an external network through the AP device 20 according to a wireless communication protocol for performing communication, such as IEEE. The wireless communication module may also include a mobile communication module for connecting to a mobile communication network according to various mobile communication specifications for performing communication, such as third generation (3GT), third generation partnership project (3GPP), long term evolution (LTE), etc.

[0174] The communicator 130 may be implemented as various near field communication methods, and may adopt other communication techniques not mentioned in the present disclosure if necessary.

[0175] The connector 133 is configured to provide an interface with various source devices, such as USB 2.0, USB 3.0, HDMI, IEEE1394, etc. The connector 133 may receive data related to multimedia content transmitted from a content server (not shown) through a wired cable connected to the connector 133 according to a control command of the processor 140, or transmit data related to pre-stored multimedia content to an external recordable medium. The connector 133 may receive power from a power source through a wired cable physically connected to the connector 133.

[0176] The photographing unit 150 may include a camera for photographing the external environment of the electronic device 100. In this example, the photographing unit 150 may include a lens (not shown) through which an image is transmitted and an image sensor (not shown) for sensing the image transmitted through the lens. The image sensor (image) may be implemented with a charge coupled device (CCD) image sensor or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor. The image data obtained by the photographing unit 150 may be processed by an image processor (not shown).

[0177] The sensor 160 may include various sensors and / or sensing circuits, and may sense the motion of the electronic device 100. The sensor 160 may include, for example but not limited to, an accelerometer sensor, a magnetic sensor, a gyro sensor, etc., and sense the motion of the electronic device 100 using various sensors.

[0178] The accelerometer sensor is a sensor for measuring acceleration or impact strength of a moving electronic device 100, and is a basic sensor used in various transportation tools (such as vehicles, trains, airplanes, etc.) and control systems (such as robots) and electronic devices (such as smart phones and tablet PCs).

[0179] A magnetic sensor is an electronic compass that can sense azimuth using the earth's magnetic field and can be used for location tracking, three-dimensional (3D) video games, smart phones, radios, Global Positioning System (GPS), personal digital assistants (PDA), navigation devices, etc.

[0180] The gyro sensor is a sensor for applying rotation to an existing accelerometer to recognize six-axis directions, thereby recognizing more delicate and precise operations.

[0181] As described above, the storage 170 may store multimedia contents, an operating program for controlling the operation of the electronic device 100 , and the like.

[0182] If the electronic device 100 is turned on, the operating program may be a program read from the storage 170 and compiled to operate each configuration of the electronic device 100. The storage 170 may be implemented as at least one of a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), or a memory card (e.g., a secure digital (SD) card, a memory stick) removable to the electronic device 100, a nonvolatile memory, a volatile memory, a hard disk drive (HDD), or a solid state drive (SSD).

[0183] The above-mentioned processor 140 may include various processing circuits and control the overall operation of the electronic device 100 , or may be a processor capable of controlling the overall operation of the electronic device 100 .

[0184] The processor 140 may be coupled to the above configuration and may be implemented as a System On Chip (SOC, SoC).

[0185] Each configuration of the electronic device 100 that forms a network with at least one peripheral device 10 when the communication connection with the AP device 20 is disconnected has been described in more detail. Hereinafter, a method for forming a network with at least one peripheral device 10 in the electronic device 100 when the communication connection with the AP device 20 is suspended according to an embodiment will be described in detail.

[0186] Figure 3 is a flow chart illustrating an example method for forming a network with peripheral devices according to an embodiment.

[0187] like Figure 3 As shown, in operation S310, the electronic device 100 performs a communication connection with the AP device 20. Then, in operation S315, the electronic device monitors the communication connection state with the AP device 20 to determine whether there is an event to suspend the communication with the AP device 20.

[0188] The event of suspending the communication connection with the AP device 20 may be an event of loss of access connection with the external Internet network, an S(I)NR event, a data throughput event, an event that the wireless communication module is not activated, and the like.

[0189] If it is determined that an event has occurred in which the communication connection with the AP device 20 has been suspended, then in operation S320, the electronic device 100 outputs a search message for requesting information about at least one peripheral device 10 present around the electronic device 100 (for example, within a specified range of the electronic device 100) as a non-audible frequency signal (hereinafter referred to as a first non-audible frequency signal).

[0190] The search message may include at least one of identification information and address information of the electronic device 100 and performance information of the electronic device 100 .

[0191] The performance information of the electronic device 100 may include at least one of the following: power information indicating a power budget of the electronic device 100, data processing information including at least one of a CPU processing speed, a CPU throughput, and an available memory capacity, information on the number of peripheral devices 10 capable of sending and receiving messages between the peripheral devices 10 when a communication connection with the AP device 20 is suspended, external Internet accessibility information, and artificial intelligence (AI) supportability information.

[0192] The first non-audible frequency signal including the search message may provide a search message including at least one of identification information and address information of the electronic device 100 and performance information of the electronic device 100 using at least one of amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, and phase modulation of the non-audible frequency signal.

[0193] One method of providing information using amplitude modulation (AM) of a non-audible frequency signal is to diversify the amplitude of a carrier wave according to the size of a signal wave, include information in the amplitude of the diversified carrier wave, and transmit the diversified carrier wave.

[0194] One method of providing information using frequency modulation (FM) of a non-audible frequency signal is to diversify the frequency according to the size of the signal wave while keeping the amplitude constant and providing information.

[0195] One method of providing information using phase modulation of a non-audible frequency signal is to make an AC signal having a constant frequency have non-overlapping phases according to an input signal and transmit information through different phases. The electronic device 100 can determine the intensity of the first non-audible frequency signal including the search message by adjusting the volume intensity of a speaker provided in the electronic device 100.

[0196] At least one peripheral device 10 within the range corresponding to the volume intensity can output a non-audible frequency signal (hereinafter, a third non-audible frequency signal) including a response message based on the search message included in the received first non-audible frequency signal when receiving the first non-audible frequency signal.

[0197] The response message may include at least one of identification information and address information of the peripheral device 10 and performance information of the peripheral device 10 .

[0198] The performance information of the peripheral device 10 may include at least one of the following: power budget information, processing information including at least one of CPU processing speed, CPU throughput and RAM version, information about the number of peripheral devices 10 capable of sending and receiving messages, external Internet accessibility information, and AI supportability information.

[0199] When the third non-audible frequency signal is received, in operations S325 and S330, the electronic device 100 can obtain a response message included in the third non-audible frequency signal, and determine a device that performs the operation of the SoftAP device between the electronic device 100 and the first peripheral device 10 based on the performance information of the first peripheral device 11 included in the obtained response message and the performance information of the electronic device 100.

[0200] Before executing step S330 , the electronic device 100 may determine whether another inaudible frequency signal is received within a preset threshold time after receiving the third inaudible frequency signal.

[0201] As a result of the determination, when another non-audible frequency signal is not received within a preset threshold time, the electronic device 100 can execute step S330 to obtain a response message included in the third non-audible frequency signal, and based on the performance information of the first peripheral device 11 and the performance information of the electronic device 100 included in the obtained response message, determine one of the electronic device 100 and the first peripheral device 10 as a SoftAP device.

[0202] The electronic apparatus 100 may receive a third non-audible frequency signal including a response message output from the first peripheral device 11 among the at least one peripheral device 10 .

[0203] The electronic device 100 may convert the received third non-audible frequency signal into a digital signal. The electronic device 100 may obtain the performance information of the first peripheral device 11 included in the response message of the first peripheral device 11 from the converted digital signal.

[0204] The electronic apparatus 100 may compare the performance information of the first peripheral device 11 with the performance information of the electronic apparatus 100 .

[0205] The performance information of the first peripheral device 11 may include at least one of the following: power information indicating a power budget of the first peripheral device 11, data processing information including at least one of a CPU processing speed, a CPU throughput, and a RAM version, the number of peripheral devices 10 capable of sending and receiving messages, external Internet accessibility information, and artificial intelligence (AI) supportability information.

[0206] The performance information of the electronic device 100 may include at least one of the following: power information indicating a power budget of the first peripheral device 11, data processing information including at least one of a CPU processing speed, a CPU throughput, and a RAM version, the number of peripheral devices 10 capable of sending and receiving messages, external Internet accessibility information, or artificial intelligence (AI) supportability information.

[0207] The electronic apparatus 100 may compare the performance information of the first peripheral device 11 and the performance information of the electronic apparatus 100 and determine a device including information of a higher priority as a SoftAP device.

[0208] The operation of determining a device for performing the operation of a SoftAP device will be described in more detail below.

[0209] When the electronic device 100 is determined as a SoftAP device, in operations S335 and S340, the electronic device 100 outputs a non-audible frequency signal (hereinafter referred to as a second non-audible frequency signal) for a communication connection with the electronic device 100, and the non-audible frequency signal includes a notification message notifying that the electronic device 100 is determined as a SoftAP.

[0210] The notification message may include ID and password information for connecting to the electronic device 100 determined as a SoftAP device. However, the embodiment is not limited thereto, and the notification message may further include media access control (MAC) address information for communication connection with the electronic device 100, product information of the electronic device 100, etc.

[0211] The second non-audible frequency signal including the above information may be a signal providing ID and password information for accessing the electronic apparatus 100 determined as a SoftAP device using at least one of amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, and phase modulation of the non-audible frequency signal.

[0212] When receiving the second non-audible frequency signal output from the electronic device 100, the first peripheral device 11 located within the range in which the non-audible frequency signal can be transmitted and received with the electronic device 100 converts the received second non-audible frequency signal into a digital signal. The first peripheral device 11 obtains ID and password information for accessing the electronic device 100 from the converted digital signal, and performs a communication connection with the electronic device 100 based on the obtained ID and password information.

[0213] The first peripheral device 11 periodically monitors whether the suspended communication connection with the AP device 20 (communication connection with the electronic apparatus 100 as a SoftAP device) is restored. When the communication connection with the AP device 20 is restored by monitoring, the first peripheral device 10 outputs a notification message for disconnecting the communication with the electronic apparatus 100 as a non-audible frequency signal.

[0214] If a non-audible frequency signal including a notification message for disconnecting a communication connection output from the first peripheral device 11 is received, the electronic apparatus 100 may suspend the communication connection with the first peripheral device 11 and resume communication with the AP device 20 in operations S345 and S350 .

[0215] In the above-mentioned step S335 , if the first peripheral device 11 is determined as a SoftAP device, the electronic apparatus 100 outputs a non-audible frequency signal including a notification message notifying that the first peripheral device 11 is determined as a SoftAP device in operation S355 .

[0216] When receiving the non-audible frequency signal including the notification for notifying that the operation of the SoftAP device is performed, the first peripheral device 11 outputs a non-audible frequency signal for communication connection with the first peripheral device 11 (hereinafter referred to as a fourth non-audible frequency signal).

[0217] The electronic apparatus 100 performs a communication connection with the first peripheral device 11 based on information included in the fourth non-audible frequency signal output from the first peripheral device 11 .

[0218] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example method for determining, by an electronic apparatus, a device operating as a SoftAP device according to an embodiment.

[0219] like Figure 4 As shown, if a non-audible frequency signal (hereinafter referred to as a third non-audible frequency signal) including a response message is received from the first peripheral device 11 and no other non-audible frequency signal is received within a preset threshold time thereafter, the electronic device 100 converts the third frequency signal into a digital signal in operation S410.

[0220] In operation S420, the electronic apparatus 100 obtains the performance information of the first peripheral device 11 included in the response message from the converted digital signal. In operations S430 and S440, the electronic apparatus 100 compares the obtained performance information of the first peripheral device with the performance information of the electronic apparatus 100 to determine the device including higher priority information as the SoftAP device.

[0221] According to an embodiment, the electronic apparatus 100 may compare various information included in the performance information of the first peripheral device 11 and various information included in the performance information of the electronic apparatus 100 , and determine a device including information about a preset priority as a SoftAP device.

[0222] For example, the information included in the performance information may have set priorities in the order of power information, data processing information, information about the number of peripheral devices 10, external Internet accessibility information, and AI supportability information.

[0223] The performance information of the first peripheral device 11 may include the remaining information except the external Internet accessibility information, and the performance information of the electronic apparatus 100 may include all the information.

[0224] The electronic apparatus 100 may determine the electronic apparatus 100 including the high priority information as a SoftAP device between the first peripheral device 11 and the electronic apparatus 100 .

[0225] According to still another embodiment, if the electronic apparatus 100 satisfies a predetermined condition based on information included in performance information of each of the first peripheral device 11 and the electronic apparatus 100 , the electronic apparatus 100 may determine a device including information about a corresponding priority as a SoftAP device.

[0226] For example, power information and data processing information included in the performance information are used as information for determining whether predetermined conditions are met, and information about the number of peripheral devices 10, external Internet accessibility information, and AI supportability information as remaining information can be prioritized in the order listed.

[0227] The electronic device 100 can refer to the power information included in the performance information of each of the first peripheral device 11 and the electronic device 100 to determine whether the remaining battery amount to be supplied to each of the first peripheral device 11 and the electronic device 100 is, for example, 30% or more (hereinafter referred to as the first condition).

[0228] In addition, the electronic device 100 can determine whether the CPU processing speed corresponding to each of the first peripheral device 11 and the electronic device 100 is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold speed (hereinafter referred to as the second condition) by referring to the data processing information included in the performance information of each of the first peripheral device 11 and the electronic device 100.

[0229] As a result of the determination, if it is determined between the first peripheral device 11 and the electronic apparatus 100 that the electronic apparatus 100 satisfies both the first condition and the second condition, the processor 140 may determine the electronic apparatus 10 as a SoftAP device.

[0230] If the electronic apparatus 100 is determined as a SoftAP device by the embodiment, the electronic apparatus 100 outputs a second non-audible frequency signal including a notification message notifying that the electronic apparatus 100 is determined as a SoftAP device.

[0231] As described above, the notification message may include ID and password information for accessing the electronic apparatus 100 determined as the SoftAP device.

[0232] Therefore, when the first peripheral device 11 receives the second non-audible frequency signal output from the electronic device 100, the first peripheral device 11 converts the received second non-audible frequency signal into a digital signal, and obtains ID and password information for accessing the electronic device 100 from the converted digital signal. Thereafter, the first peripheral device 11 can perform a communication connection with the electronic device 100 based on the obtained ID and password information.

[0233] When the first peripheral device 11 is determined as a SoftAP device, the electronic apparatus 100 may perform a communication connection with the first peripheral device 10 determined as a SoftAP device by a method as shown below.

[0234] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example method of performing, by an electronic apparatus, a communication connection with a peripheral device to be operated as a SoftAP device according to an embodiment.

[0235] As described above, the first peripheral device 11 may be determined as a SoftAP device.

[0236] like Figure 5 As shown, in operation S510, the electronic apparatus 100 outputs a non-audible frequency signal including a notification message notifying that the first peripheral device 11 is determined as a SoftAP device.

[0237] Therefore, the first peripheral device 11 of the at least one peripheral device 10 confirms that the first peripheral device 11 has been determined as a SoftAP device and activates the AP mode based on the non-audible frequency signal output from the electronic apparatus 100. Then, the first peripheral device 11 outputs a non-audible frequency signal (hereinafter referred to as a fourth non-audible frequency signal) for communication connection with the first peripheral device 11 in which the AP mode is activated.

[0238] In operations S520 and S530, when receiving the fourth non-audible frequency signal output from the first peripheral device 11, the electronic apparatus 100 converts the received fourth non-audible frequency signal, and obtains information including an ID and a password for communication connection with the first peripheral device 11 from the converted digital signal. The electronic apparatus 100 can also obtain MAC address information for communication connection with the first peripheral device 11 from the fourth non-audible frequency signal converted into a digital signal, product information of the first peripheral device 11, and the like.

[0239] When the information is obtained, the electronic apparatus 100 performs a communication connection with the first peripheral device 11 based on the ID and the password in the obtained information, in operation S540 , in which the AP mode is activated.

[0240] Hereinafter, when an event of suspending a communication connection with the AP device 20 is generated in the electronic apparatus 100 according to the embodiment, an operation of forming a new network and the first and second peripheral devices 11 and 12 near the electronic apparatus 100 will be described in detail.

[0241] Figure 6 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an example of forming a network by an electronic device and peripheral equipment according to an embodiment.

[0242] like Figure 6 As shown, the electronic apparatus 100 communicating with the AP device 20 and the first peripheral device 11 and the second peripheral device 12 identical to the electronic apparatus 100 periodically monitor the communication connection state with the AP 20 and determine whether an event that the communication connection with the AP device 20 has been suspended occurs.

[0243] As a result of the determination, when an event occurs that the communication connection with the AP device 20 has been suspended (S610), the electronic device 100 and the first peripheral device 11 and the second peripheral device 12 output a non-audible frequency signal (hereinafter referred to as the first non-audible frequency signal) including a search message after a random delay.

[0244] The random delays occurring in the electronic apparatus 100 and the first and second peripheral devices 11 and 12 may be set to different times.

[0245] One of the electronic apparatus 100 and the first and second peripheral devices 11 and 12 set to have the fastest random delay may output a first non-audible frequency signal including an initial search message, and the other devices receiving the first non-audible frequency signal do not output the first non-audible frequency signal.

[0246] In the embodiment, it will be described that the electronic device 100 outputs the first non-audible frequency signal including the initial search message.

[0247] As described above, when the communication connection with the AP device 20 is suspended, the electronic apparatus 100 outputs the first non-audible frequency signal including the search message at operations S610 and S615.

[0248] The first peripheral device 11 of the first peripheral device 11 and the second peripheral device 12 may be located at a distance capable of receiving the first non-audible frequency signal output from the electronic apparatus 100. In this example, in operation S620, when the first non-audible frequency signal is received, the first peripheral device 11 outputs a non-audible frequency signal (hereinafter referred to as a second non-audible frequency signal) including a first response message based on the received first non-audible frequency signal.

[0249] The first response message included in the second non-audible frequency signal may include at least one of identification information and address information of the first peripheral device 11 and performance information of the first peripheral device 11 .

[0250] The first peripheral device 11 may be located within a range capable of transmitting and receiving non-audible frequency signals with the electronic apparatus 100 and the second peripheral device 12 .

[0251] The electronic apparatus 100 and the second peripheral device 12 receive the second non-audible frequency signal including the first response message.

[0252] When receiving the second non-audible frequency signal including the first response message output from the first peripheral device 11, the electronic apparatus 100 determines whether another non-audible frequency signal is received within a predetermined threshold time after receiving the corresponding signal.

[0253] When receiving the second non-audible frequency signal including the first response message, in operation S625, the second peripheral device 12 outputs a non-audible frequency signal including a second response message (hereinafter referred to as a third non-audible frequency signal) based on the first response message included in the received second non-audible frequency signal.

[0254] The second response message may include at least one of identification information and address information of the second peripheral device 12 and performance information of the second peripheral device 12 , as well as the information included in the first response message.

[0255] Therefore, when receiving the third non-audible frequency signal output from the second peripheral device 12 , the first peripheral device 11 located within the range capable of transmitting and receiving the non-audible frequency signal with the second peripheral device 12 outputs the received third non-audible frequency signal.

[0256] Therefore, the electronic apparatus 100 and the second peripheral device 12 located within a range capable of transmitting and receiving the non-audible frequency signal with the first peripheral device 11 may receive the third non-audible frequency signal output from the first peripheral device 11 .

[0257] The second peripheral device 12 determines that the received third non-audible frequency signal is a signal output from the second peripheral device 12 based on the second response message included in the third non-audible frequency signal output from the first peripheral device 11, and does not output a non-audible frequency signal including an additional response message.

[0258] When the electronic device 100 receives the third inaudible frequency signal including the second response message, the electronic device 100 determines that the second inaudible frequency signal including the previously received first response message is different from the second inaudible frequency signal based on information included in the received second response message.

[0259] Therefore, after receiving the third non-audible frequency signal including the second response message, the electronic device 100 determines whether another non-audible frequency signal is received within a predetermined threshold time.

[0260] As a result of the determination, if another non-audible frequency signal is not received within a predetermined threshold time after receiving the third non-audible frequency signal, in operation S630, the electronic device 100 determines a device to be operated as a SoftAP device based on the second response message included in the received third non-audible frequency signal.

[0261] The electronic device 100 converts the received third non-audible frequency signal into a digital signal, and obtains a second response message from the converted digital signal.

[0262] The electronic apparatus 100 compares the performance information of each of the first peripheral device 11 and the second peripheral device 12 included in the obtained second response message with the performance information of the electronic apparatus 100 .

[0263] The operation of determining a device to be operated as a SoftAP device by comparing the performance information of the first and second peripheral devices 11 and 12 with the performance information of the electronic apparatus 100 has been described above in detail, and thus the detailed description may not be repeated here.

[0264] When the electronic device 100 is determined to be a device to be operated as a SoftAP device by comparing the performance information of each of the first peripheral device 11 and the second peripheral device 12 with the performance information of the electronic device 100, in operation S635, the electronic device 100 executes the AP mode so that the first peripheral device 11 and the second peripheral device 12 are communicatively connected to the electronic device 100.

[0265] When the AP mode is executed, in operation S640, the electronic apparatus 100 outputs a non-audible frequency signal (hereinafter referred to as a fourth non-audible frequency signal) including a first notification message indicating that the electronic apparatus 100 has been determined as a SoftAP device.

[0266] The first notification message may include information of a device determined as the SoftAP device and information including an ID and a password for communication connection with the electronic apparatus 100 determined as the SoftAP device.

[0267] When receiving the fourth non-audible frequency signal output from the electronic device 100, the first peripheral device 11 located within the range capable of transmitting and receiving non-audible frequency signals with the electronic device 100 outputs the received fourth non-audible frequency signal. Therefore, the second peripheral device 12 located within the range capable of transmitting and receiving non-audible frequency signals with the first peripheral device 11 can receive the fourth non-audible frequency signal output from the first peripheral device 11.

[0268] When the fourth non-audible frequency signal output from the electronic device 100 is received in both the first peripheral device 11 and the second peripheral device 12, in operation S645, the first peripheral device 11 and the second peripheral device 12 perform a communication connection with the electronic device 100 determined as a SoftAP device based on the ID and password included in the first notification message included in the received fourth non-audible frequency signal.

[0269] In operation S650 , the first peripheral device 11 between the first peripheral device 11 and the second peripheral device 12 communicatively connected to the electronic apparatus 100 determined as the SoftAP device monitors whether the communication connection with the AP device 20 is restored.

[0270] When the communication connection with the AP device 20 is restored through the monitoring, the first peripheral device 11 outputs a second notification message for disconnecting the communication with the electronic apparatus 100 as a non-audible frequency signal (hereinafter referred to as a fifth non-audible frequency signal) in operation S655.

[0271] Therefore, the electronic apparatus 100 and the second peripheral device 12 located within the communicable range with the first peripheral device 11 may receive the fifth non-audible frequency signal output from the first peripheral device 11, and the electronic apparatus 100 deactivates the activated AP mode based on the received fifth non-audible frequency signal in operation S660.

[0272] Thereafter, the first peripheral device 11 outputting the fifth non-audible frequency signal and the electronic apparatus 100 and the second peripheral device 12 receiving the fifth non-audible frequency signal resume communication with the AP device 20 in operation S665 .

[0273] The embodiment is not limited thereto, and in the above step S650 , each of the first peripheral device 11 and the second peripheral device 12 communicatively coupled to the electronic apparatus 100 determined as a SoftAP device may monitor whether the communication connection with the AP device 20 is restored.

[0274] If the communication connection with the AP device 20 is restored through monitoring, the first peripheral device 11 and the second peripheral device 12 may output a fifth non-audible frequency signal. Therefore, when receiving the fifth non-audible frequency signal output from at least one of the first peripheral device 11 and the second peripheral device 12, the electronic device 100 may deactivate the activated AP mode based on the received fifth non-audible frequency signal.

[0275] The electronic apparatus 100 and the first and second peripheral devices 11 and 12 may resume communication with the AP device 20 .

[0276] Figure 7 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an example of forming a network by an electronic device and peripheral equipment according to an embodiment.

[0277] like Figure 7 As shown, the electronic apparatus 100 communicating with the AP device 20 and the first peripheral device 11 and the second peripheral device 12 identical to the electronic apparatus 100 periodically monitor the communication connection status with the AP device 20 to determine whether an event that the communication connection with the AP device 20 has been suspended occurs.

[0278] As a result of the determination, when an event occurs in which the communication connection with the AP device 20 is suspended, the electronic apparatus 100 and the first and second peripheral devices 11 and 12 output a non-audible frequency signal (hereinafter referred to as a first non-audible frequency signal) including a search message after a random delay.

[0279] The random delays occurring in the electronic apparatus 100 and the first and second peripheral devices 11 and 12 may be set to different times.

[0280] Therefore, the electronic apparatus 100 and one of the first and second peripheral devices 11 and 12 that is set to have the fastest random delay can output the first non-audible frequency signal including the initial search message, and the other devices that receive the first non-audible frequency signal do not output the first non-audible frequency signal.

[0281] In the present disclosure, it will be described that the electronic device 100 outputs the first non-audible frequency signal including the initial search message.

[0282] As described above, when the communication connection with the AP device 20 is suspended, the electronic apparatus 100 outputs the first non-audible frequency signal including the search message in operations S710 and S715.

[0283] The first peripheral device 11 between the first peripheral device 11 and the second peripheral device 12 may be located at a distance capable of receiving the first non-audible frequency signal output from the electronic apparatus 100. In this case, in operation S720, when the first non-audible frequency signal is received, the first peripheral device 11 outputs a non-audible frequency signal (hereinafter referred to as a second non-audible frequency signal) including a first response message based on the received first non-audible frequency signal.

[0284] The first response message included in the second non-audible frequency signal may include at least one of identification information and address information of the first peripheral device 11 and performance information of the first peripheral device 11 .

[0285] The first peripheral device 11 may be located within a range capable of receiving and transmitting non-audible frequency signals with the electronic apparatus 100 and the second peripheral device 12 .

[0286] In this example, the electronic apparatus 100 and the second peripheral device 12 receive the second non-audible frequency signal including the first response message.

[0287] When receiving the second non-audible frequency signal including the first response message output from the first peripheral device 11, the electronic apparatus 100 determines whether another non-audible frequency signal is received within a predetermined threshold time after receiving the corresponding signal.

[0288] When receiving the second non-audible frequency signal including the first response message, in operation S725, the second peripheral device 12 outputs a non-audible frequency signal including a second response message (hereinafter referred to as a third non-audible frequency signal) based on the first response message included in the received second non-audible frequency signal.

[0289] Here, the second response message may include at least one of identification information and address information of the second peripheral device 12 and performance information of the second peripheral device 12 , as well as the information included in the first response message.

[0290] Therefore, when receiving the third non-audible frequency signal output from the second peripheral device 12 , the first peripheral device 11 located within the range capable of transmitting and receiving the non-audible frequency signal with the second peripheral device 12 outputs the received third non-audible frequency signal.

[0291] Therefore, the electronic apparatus 100 and the second peripheral device 12 located within a range capable of transmitting and receiving the non-audible frequency signal with the first peripheral device 11 may receive the third non-audible frequency signal output from the first peripheral device 11 .

[0292] When the third non-audible frequency signal is received, the electronic apparatus 100 and the first and second peripheral devices 11 and 12 determine whether another frequency signal is received within a preset threshold time after the third non-audible frequency signal is received.

[0293] If another non-audible frequency signal is not received within a predetermined threshold time after receiving the third non-audible frequency signal, in operation S730, the electronic apparatus 100, the first peripheral device 11, and the second peripheral device 12 respectively determine a device to be operated as a SoftAP device based on the second response message included in the third non-audible frequency signal.

[0294] For example, the electronic apparatus 100 and the first and second peripheral devices 11 and 12 convert the received third non-audible frequency signal into digital signals, respectively, and then receive the second response message from the converted digital signals.

[0295] The electronic apparatus 100 and the first and second peripheral devices 11 and 12 compare the performance information corresponding to each of the electronic apparatus 100 and the first and second peripheral devices 11 and 12 , respectively.

[0296] In operation S735 , the electronic apparatus 100 and the device operating as the SoftAP device among the first and second peripheral devices 11 and 12 activates the AP mode to be communicably connected to the remaining devices.

[0297] In operation S740, the device in which the AP mode is executed outputs a non-audible frequency signal (hereinafter, a fourth non-audible frequency signal) including a first notification message notifying that the device is determined as a SoftAP device.

[0298] For example, the electronic apparatus 100 and the first peripheral device 11 between the first peripheral device 11 and the second peripheral device 12 may be a device determined as a SoftAP device.

[0299] In this example, the first peripheral device 11 outputs an inaudible frequency signal (hereinafter referred to as a fourth inaudible frequency signal) including a first notification message indicating that the first peripheral device 11 has been determined as a SoftAP device.

[0300] Here, the first notification message may include information about the device determined as the SoftAP device, and information including an ID and a password for communication connection with the first peripheral device 11 determined as the SoftAP device.

[0301] If a fourth non-audible frequency signal output from the first peripheral device 11 is received, in operation S745, the electronic device 100 and the second peripheral device 12 located within the range capable of sending and receiving the non-audible frequency signal perform a communication connection with the first peripheral device 11 determined as a SoftAP device based on the ID and password included in the first notification message included in the received fourth non-audible frequency signal.

[0302] Thereafter, the electronic device 100 between the electronic apparatus 100 communicatively connected to the first peripheral device 11 determined as the SoftAP device and the second peripheral device 12 monitors whether communication with the AP device 20 is restored in operation S750 .

[0303] If the communication connection with the AP device 20 is restored through the monitoring, the electronic apparatus 100 outputs a second notification message for disconnecting the communication with the first peripheral device 11 as a non-audible frequency signal (hereinafter referred to as a fifth non-audible frequency signal) in operation S755.

[0304] If the fifth non-audible frequency signal output from the electronic apparatus 100 is received, the first peripheral device 11 located within the range communicable with the electronic apparatus 100 outputs the received fifth non-audible frequency signal to the second peripheral device 12. Then, in operation S760, the first peripheral device 11 deactivates the activated AP mode based on the received fifth non-audible frequency signal.

[0305] In operation S765 , the electronic apparatus 100 outputting the fifth inaudible frequency signal, the first peripheral device 11 receiving the fifth inaudible frequency signal output from the electronic apparatus 100 , and the second peripheral device 12 receiving the fifth inaudible frequency signal through the first peripheral device 11 resume communication with the AP device 20 .

[0306] The embodiment is not limited thereto, and each of the electronic apparatus 100 and the second peripheral device 12 communicatively connected to the first peripheral device 11 determined as the SoftAP device in the above step S750 may monitor whether the communication connection with the AP device 20 is restored.

[0307] If the communication connection with the AP device 20 is restored through monitoring, the electronic device 100 and the second peripheral device 12 may output a fifth non-audible frequency signal. Therefore, when receiving the fifth non-audible frequency signal output from at least one of the electronic device 100 and the second peripheral device 12, the first peripheral device 11 may deactivate the activated AP mode based on the received fifth non-audible frequency signal.

[0308] The electronic apparatus 100 and the first and second peripheral devices 11 and 12 may resume communication with the AP device 20 .

[0309] Various embodiments may be implemented as software including instructions stored in a machine-readable storage medium that is readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). A device (including an electronic device (e.g., electronic device 100)) may call instructions from a storage medium and operate according to the called instructions. When the instructions are executed by a processor, the processor may use other components to perform functions corresponding to the instructions directly or under the control of the processor. The instructions may include code generated by a compiler or code executable by an interpreter. The machine-readable storage medium may be provided in the form of a non-transitory storage medium. A "non-transitory" storage medium may not include a signal and is tangible, but does not distinguish whether the data is permanently or temporarily stored in the storage medium.

[0310] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method disclosed herein may be provided in a computer program product. The computer program product may be traded between a seller and a buyer as a commodity. The computer program product may be distributed in the form of a machine-readable storage medium (e.g., a CD-ROM) or distributed through an application store (e.g., PlayStore). TM 、AppStore TM ) Online distribution. In the case of online distribution, at least part of the computer program product may be temporarily or at least temporarily stored in a storage medium (such as a manufacturer's server, a server in an application store, a memory in a relay server, etc.).

[0311] Each of the components according to the embodiment (e.g., a module or a program) may include one or more objects, and some of the above-mentioned subcomponents may be omitted, or other subcomponents may be further included in the embodiment. Alternatively or additionally, some components (e.g., modules or programs) may be integrated into one entity to perform the same or similar functions performed by each corresponding component before integration. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the operations performed by modules, programs or other components may be performed sequentially in a parallel, repeated or heuristic manner, or at least some operations may be performed in a different order, omitted or other operations may be added.

[0312] Although the present disclosure has been illustrated and described with reference to various exemplary embodiments, it should be understood that the various exemplary embodiments are intended to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes may be made in form and details without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, including the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method for controlling an electronic device, the method comprising: Monitor the status of the communication connection with the access point AP device; outputting, as a first non-audible frequency signal, a search message requesting information about at least one peripheral device within a specified range of the electronic apparatus based on an event of suspending the communication connection with the AP device; receiving a response message from at least one peripheral device in response to the search message; determining a device that performs the operation of the AP device among the electronic device and the at least one peripheral device based on the performance information of the at least one peripheral device and the performance information of the electronic device included in the received response message; as well as outputting information for a communication connection with the electronic device as a second non-audible frequency signal based on the electronic device being determined as a device that performs an operation of the AP device, Wherein, the determination includes: converting the third non-audible frequency signal including the response message from a first peripheral device among the at least one peripheral device through the microphone into a digital signal; and Performance information of the first peripheral device is obtained from the converted digital signal, the performance information of the first peripheral device including at least one of external Internet communication accessibility information, power information, data processing information of the first peripheral device, or information about the number of peripheral devices capable of sending and receiving messages included in a response message of the first peripheral device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein: The search message includes at least one of identification information, address information, or performance information of the electronic device, and The response message includes at least one of identification information, address information or performance information of at least one peripheral device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first non-audible frequency signal is configured to provide at least one of identification information, address information, or performance information of the electronic device using at least one of amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, or phase modulation of the non-audible frequency signal.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the outputting step comprises: The intensity of the first non-audible frequency signal is determined by adjusting the volume intensity of a speaker of the electronic device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining comprises: By comparing the performance information of the first peripheral device and the performance information of the electronic apparatus, a device including information having a high priority among the first peripheral device and the electronic apparatus is determined as a device that performs the operation of the AP device.

6. An electronic device comprising: An output device, including an output circuit; An input device, including an input circuit and a microphone; a communicator including a communication circuit configured to perform communication with an access point AP device; and The processor is configured as: monitoring a state of a communication connection with the AP device, and based on an occurrence of an event of suspending communication with the AP device, controlling the outputter to output a search message as a first non-audible frequency signal, the search message requesting information about at least one peripheral device within a specified range of the electronic apparatus, receiving a response message from at least one peripheral device in response to the search message, determining a device that performs the operation of the AP device among the electronic device and the at least one peripheral device based on the performance information of the at least one peripheral device and the performance information of the electronic device included in the received response message, and controlling the outputter to output information for a communication connection with the electronic device as a second non-audible frequency signal based on the electronic device being determined as a device that performs the operation of the AP device, Wherein, the processor is further configured to: converting the third non-audible frequency signal including the response message from a first peripheral device among the at least one peripheral device through the microphone into a digital signal, and Performance information of the first peripheral device is obtained from the converted digital signal, the performance information of the first peripheral device including at least one of external Internet communication accessibility information, power information, data processing information of the first peripheral device, or information about the number of peripheral devices capable of sending and receiving messages included in a response message of the first peripheral device.

7. The device according to claim 6, wherein: The search message includes at least one of identification information, address information, or performance information of the electronic device, and The response message includes at least one of identification information, address information or performance information of at least one peripheral device.

8. The device of claim 6, wherein the first non-audible frequency signal is configured to provide at least one of identification information, address information, or performance information of the electronic device using at least one of amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, or phase modulation of the non-audible frequency signal.

9. The device according to claim 6, wherein the output device comprises: speaker, The processor is configured to determine the intensity of the first non-audible frequency signal by adjusting the volume intensity of the speaker.

10. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the processor is further configured to: By comparing the performance information of the first peripheral device and the performance information of the electronic apparatus, a device including information having a high priority among the first peripheral device and the electronic apparatus is determined as a device that performs the operation of the AP device.

11. The device according to claim 6, wherein: Based on receiving a first non-audible frequency signal including the search message, a first peripheral device among the at least one peripheral device is configured to output the information included in the search message and a response message as a non-audible frequency signal after a random delay, and the response message includes at least one of identification ID information, address information or performance information of the first peripheral device.

12. The device of claim 6, wherein the second non-audible frequency signal includes identification and password information for accessing the electronic device using at least one of amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, or phase modulation of the non-audible frequency signal.

13. The device of claim 6, wherein: The processor is further configured to: Based on identifying that a first peripheral device among the at least one peripheral device performs the operation of the AP device, the outputter is controlled to output a notification message notifying that the operation of the AP device is performed by the first peripheral device as a non-audible frequency signal, based on receiving a fourth non-audible frequency signal for a communication connection with the first peripheral device from the first peripheral device, the fourth non-audible frequency signal is converted into a digital signal, ID and password information for the communication connection with the first peripheral device is obtained from the converted digital signal, and the communication connection with the first peripheral device is performed based on the obtained ID and password.

14. The device of claim 6, wherein: The processor is further configured to: After a random delay, based on receiving a fifth non-audible frequency signal for a search message from a first peripheral device among at least one peripheral device, the information included in the search message and the response message is output as a sixth non-audible frequency signal, and the response message includes at least one of identification information, address information or performance information of the electronic device.

15. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the processor is further configured to: The control outputter outputs a notification message for disconnecting the communication connection with the electronic device as a non-audible frequency signal based on the suspended communication connection with the AP device to which the communication connection was established being resumed.

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