Mobile device and electronic device for wireless communication and operation method thereof

Abstract

An electronic device, a mobile device and an operation method thereof are provided. The mobile device includes: a communication interface; a memory storing one or more instructions; and a processor configured to execute the one or more instructions stored in the memory to: connect to an electronic device to be wirelessly connected to an access point (AP) through the communication interface; obtain an AP list including one or more APs, each of the one or more APs having a connection history with the mobile device; identify one or more selected APs from the AP list with a connection history as candidate APs, and create a candidate AP list including information about the identified one or more candidate APs; and send the candidate AP list and information related to a home AP indicating an AP currently connected to the mobile device to the electronic device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Various embodiments of the present disclosure relate to mobile devices, electronic devices, and operating methods thereof, and more particularly, to mobile devices and electronic devices for Wi-Fi connection and operating methods thereof. Background Art

[0002] Recent access point (AP) products are equipped with a multi-band solution, by which a single AP can broadcast wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) signals in the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. For Wi-Fi communication, a basic service set identifier (BSSID) indicating a media access control (MAC) address of an AP is generally used for communication between terminals. An AP supporting multi-bands allocates BSSIDs for different frequencies, and terminals can connect by distinguishing frequency bands by different BSSIDs.

[0003] Generally, since the 2.4GHz wireless band uses a low frequency with a long wavelength, it has better reflection and refraction capabilities to avoid obstacles compared to the 5GHz band, so it has a reception range and provides a wider coverage. However, due to severe signal interference between many nearby APs or smart devices using the same frequency, the 2.4GHz wireless band often has a problem of rapid speed reduction. On the contrary, although the reception rate of the 5GHz band is reduced when there are obstacles such as walls blocking the signal path because the 5GHz band is easily affected by diffraction and reflection compared to the 2.4GHz band, the 5GHz band has better signal reception on a straight path without obstacles, and maintains a faster and more reliable radio speed because the signal interference is less than the 2.4GHz band. In summary, the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands have their own advantages and disadvantages according to their properties, and the band with the best performance may change depending on the location and type of the terminal.

[0004] Typically, in order to perform a Wi-Fi connection of a device, a user needs to access a menu related to the Wi-Fi connection provided by the device to scan nearby APs, select the AP to be connected from the AP list output on the device, and enter the preset password of the AP. For smart home appliances without a display, it is difficult for users to perform AP selection or password input operations, so the Wi-Fi connection is automatically performed by using an external device such as a mobile device. In addition, in order to solve the discomfort of remote control input, some smart TVs also include a function to easily perform Wi-Fi connection through a mobile device. When the mobile device reads information about the connected Wi-Fi (AP name, password information, etc.) and sends it to the home appliance, the home appliance is able to perform an automatic Wi-Fi connection based on the Wi-Fi information sent from the mobile device without the user selecting an AP and entering a password. Summary of the invention

[0005] [Technical issues]

[0006] There are some needs for mobile devices, electronic devices, and operating methods thereof, which allow for automatic wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) connection of electronic devices by selecting an optimal access point (AP) by considering the environment surrounding the electronic device.

[0007] [Technical solution]

[0008] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an electronic device, a mobile device, a method for operating the electronic device, and a method for operating the mobile device are provided. The mobile device includes: a communication interface; a memory storing one or more instructions; and a processor configured to execute one or more instructions stored in the memory to: connect to an electronic device to be wirelessly connected to an access point (AP) through the communication interface; obtain an AP list including one or more APs, the mobile device having a history of connecting to each of the one or more APs; identify one or more selected APs as candidate APs from the AP list with connection history, and create a candidate AP list including information about the identified one or more candidate APs; and send the candidate AP list and information related to the home AP indicating the AP currently connected to the mobile device to the electronic device.

[0009] [Beneficial Effects]

[0010] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an electronic device can perform automatic Wi-Fi connection through a mobile device and connect to a wireless AP with optimal performance. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] The above and other aspects, features and advantages of certain embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent through the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0012] Figure 1A is a reference diagram for explaining a system in which an electronic device is wirelessly connected to an access point (AP) by using a mobile device;

[0013] Figure 1B is a reference diagram for explaining a system in which an electronic device is wirelessly connected to an AP by using a mobile device;

[0014] Figure 2 is a schematic block diagram of a system including a mobile device and an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0015] Figure 3 It is shown Figure 2 A block diagram of a detailed configuration of a mobile device is shown;

[0016] Figure 4is a flow chart illustrating the operation of a mobile device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating operations between a mobile device and an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 7 An operation for establishing a communication connection between a mobile device and an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0020] Figure 8 An operation for establishing a communication connection between a mobile device and an electronic device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0021] Fig. 9 illustrates the operation of a mobile device for creating a candidate AP list according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0022] Fig. 10A An example of a scan AP list created by an electronic device is shown;

[0023] Fig. 10B An example of an AP list with a mobile connection history is shown;

[0024] Fig. 10C An example of a candidate AP list according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0025] Fig.11 An operation of a mobile device for creating a candidate AP list according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0026] Fig.12 illustrates the operation of a mobile device sending a candidate AP list according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0027] Fig.13 illustrates the operation of an electronic device selecting and connecting to a candidate AP to be wirelessly connected according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0028] Fig.14 Showing details of the operation of an electronic device selecting and connecting to a candidate AP to be wirelessly connected according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0029] Fig.15 illustrates details of operations of an electronic device selecting and connecting to a candidate AP to be wirelessly connected according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0030] Fig.16Details of operations of an electronic device selecting and connecting to a candidate AP for wireless connection according to another embodiment of the present disclosure are shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a mobile device includes: a communication interface; a memory storing one or more instructions; and a processor configured to execute one or more instructions stored in the memory to: connect to an electronic device to be wirelessly connected to an access point (AP) through the communication interface; obtain an AP list including one or more APs, the mobile device having a history of connecting to each of the one or more APs; identify one or more selected APs as candidate APs from the AP list having a connection history with the mobile device, and create a candidate AP list including information about the identified one or more candidate APs; and send the candidate AP list and information related to the home AP indicating the AP currently connected to the mobile device to the electronic device.

[0032] The processor may also be configured to execute one or more instructions to: when creating a candidate AP list, receive from an electronic device a scanned AP list including one or more APs scanned by an electronic device performing a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) channel scan; and match the AP list with a connection history with the scanned AP list and identify one or more matching APs as candidate APs.

[0033] The processor may also be configured to execute one or more instructions to: when creating a candidate AP list, create a scanned AP list including one or more APs scanned by performing a Wi-Fi channel scan; and match the AP list with a connection history with the scanned AP list and identify one or more matching APs as candidate APs.

[0034] The processor may also be configured to execute one or more instructions to: identify one or more APs having wireless communication quality equal to or higher than a threshold as candidate APs from the AP list with connection history; and create a candidate AP list including information about the identified one or more candidate APs.

[0035] The processor may be further configured to execute one or more instructions to: select one or more candidate APs from the candidate AP list according to a predetermined priority, and create an adjusted candidate AP list including the selected one or more candidate APs.

[0036] The candidate AP list and the information about the home AP transmitted to the electronic device may include: a basic service set identifier (BSSID); a channel number and a password of each AP; and information about whether the AP is a home AP.

[0037] The candidate AP list and the information about the home AP sent to the electronic device also include information about the wireless communication quality of each AP.

[0038] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, an electronic device includes: a communication interface; a memory storing one or more instructions; and a processor configured to execute one or more instructions stored in the memory to: connect to a mobile device through the communication interface; receive a candidate access point (AP) list and information related to a home AP indicating an AP currently connected to the mobile device from the mobile device, the candidate access point (AP) list including information about one or more candidate APs selected from one or more APs having a connection history of the mobile device with each of them; select an AP to which the electronic device is to be wirelessly connected based on the candidate AP list received from the mobile device and the information related to the home AP; and wirelessly connect to the selected AP.

[0039] The processor may also be configured to execute one or more instructions to: create a scanned AP list including one or more scanned APs by performing a Wi-Fi channel scan, and send the scanned AP list to the mobile device, and a candidate AP list received from the mobile device includes one or more APs as candidate APs, and the candidate APs are matched between the one or more APs having a connection history of the mobile device with each of them and the scanned AP list.

[0040] The candidate AP list received from the mobile device may include one or more APs as candidate APs that match one or more APs having a connection history of the mobile device with each of them and one or more APs scanned by the mobile device.

[0041] The candidate AP list and the information about the home AP received from the mobile device may include: a basic service set identifier (BSSID); a channel number and a password for each AP; and information about whether the AP is a home AP.

[0042] The processor may be further configured to execute the one or more instructions to: when selecting an AP to which the electronic device is to wirelessly connect, based on a candidate AP list and home AP information received from the mobile device, identify the home AP as the AP to which the wireless connection is to be made when the home AP has a 5 GHz frequency band and the quality of wireless communication is equal to or higher than a threshold.

[0043] The processor can also be configured to execute one or more instructions to: when selecting an AP to which the electronic device is to wirelessly connect, based on the candidate AP list and home AP information received from the mobile device, when the home AP is in the 2.4 GHz frequency band and corresponds to a multi-band AP, identify a candidate AP with a 5 GHz frequency band in the home AP from the candidate AP list as the AP to be wirelessly connected.

[0044] The processor may also be configured to execute one or more instructions to compare the BSSIDs of one or more candidate APs included in the candidate AP list with the BSSID of the home AP, and determine that the home AP is a multi-band AP when a certain number or more bytes match.

[0045] The processor can also be configured to execute one or more instructions to: when selecting an AP to which the electronic device is to wirelessly connect, based on the candidate AP list and home AP information received from the mobile device, when the wireless communication quality of the home AP or a candidate AP with a 5 GHz frequency band among the home APs is lower than a threshold, select a candidate AP from the candidate AP list as the AP to be wirelessly connected based on the wireless communication quality information.

[0046] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, an operating method of a mobile device includes: connecting to an electronic device to be wirelessly connected to an access point (AP); obtaining an AP list including one or more APs each of which has a connection history with the mobile device; determining one or more APs selected from the AP list with a connection history as candidate APs, and creating a candidate AP list including information related to the determined candidate APs; and sending the created candidate AP list and information related to a home AP indicating an AP currently connected to the mobile device to the electronic device.

[0047] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, an operating method of an electronic device includes: connecting with a mobile device through a communication interface; receiving a candidate AP list and information related to a home AP indicating an AP currently connected to the mobile device from the mobile device, the candidate AP list including information about one or more candidate APs selected from one or more APs each having a connection history; selecting an AP to which the electronic device is to wirelessly connect based on the candidate AP list and the home AP information received from the mobile device; and wirelessly connecting to the selected AP.

[0048] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer program product including a computer-readable recording medium is provided, on which a program for executing an operation method of a mobile device is stored. The program executes the operation method of the mobile device, including: connecting to an electronic device to be wirelessly connected to an access point (AP); obtaining an AP list including one or more APs each having a connection history with the mobile device; determining one or more APs selected from the AP list with a connection history as candidate APs, and creating a candidate AP list including information related to the determined one or more candidate APs; and sending the created candidate AP list and information related to a home AP indicating an AP currently connected to the mobile device to the electronic device.

[0049] Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the embodiments presented in the disclosure.

[0050] Prior to a detailed description of the embodiments of the present disclosure, terms used herein will be described.

[0051] Considering the principle of the present disclosure, these terms are selected as common terms that are now widely used, however, these terms may depend on the intention of ordinary technicians in the field, judicial precedents, the emergence of new technologies, etc. Some of the terms used herein are selected by the applicant, in which case they will be explained in detail later. Therefore, throughout the specification of the present disclosure, the terms should be defined based on their meanings and descriptions.

[0052] The term "include (or include)" or "include (or include)" is inclusive or open-ended and does not exclude additional, unlisted elements or method steps. "Unit", "module", "block" and the like used herein each represent a unit for processing at least one function or operation, and can be implemented in hardware, software or a combination thereof.

[0053] Throughout the disclosure, the expression "at least one of a, b, or c" means only a, only b, only c, both a and b, both a and c, both b and c, all of a, b, and c, or variations thereof.

[0054] Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings that are easily practiced by those of ordinary skill in the art. However, the present disclosure can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments of the present disclosure to be discussed herein. In the accompanying drawings, for the sake of clarity, parts not related to the description are omitted, and the same reference numerals refer to the same elements throughout the specification.

[0055] The term "user" as used herein refers to a person who controls the function or operation of a mobile device or electronic device, including a viewer, an administrator, or an installation engineer.

[0056] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a mobile device, an electronic device, and an operating method thereof, which allow an optimal access point (AP) to be selected by considering an environment surrounding the electronic device to achieve automatic Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) connection of the electronic device.

[0057] Figure 1A is a reference diagram for explaining a system in which an electronic device is wirelessly connected to an access point (AP) by using a mobile device.

[0058] Reference Figure 1A , the system includes a mobile device 100, an electronic device 200, and access points (APs) AP1, AP2, AP3, AP4, and AP5.

[0059] The mobile device 100 may include any type of user equipment (or terminal) including a processor and a communication module for communicating with another external device. For example, the mobile device 100 may include a portable device such as a mobile phone, a notebook, a handset, a headset, a speaker, etc.

[0060] The electronic device 200 may include any device including a processor and a communication module for communicating with another external device. For example, the electronic device 200 may include a home appliance such as a television, a speaker, a refrigerator, a washing machine, and the like.

[0061] Reference Figure 1A , the mobile device 100 is currently Wi-Fi connected to AP1, which acts as a 2.4GHz AP among the APs. Wi-Fi stands for Wireless Fidelity, which is a technology that enables wireless broadband Internet access for devices using a local area network (LAN) without dedicated lines or telephone lines. Wi-Fi communication refers to communication between an AP that basically forwards wireless signals and a user device that receives user services. Wi-Fi communication uses the 2.4GHz or 5GHz frequency band.

[0062] The user can directly control the electronic device 200 to connect to one of the APs with Wi-Fi, or the electronic device 200 can use the mobile device 100 to make a Wi-Fi connection.

[0063] For normal Wi-Fi automatic connection by mobile device 100, mobile device 100 sends information about the Wi-Fi connection that mobile device 100 currently has (in this example, information about AP1) to electronic device 200. Therefore, although electronic device 200 has an opportunity to select an AP with better signal quality from other nearby APs (AP2, AP3, AP4, and AP5), since electronic device 200 does not receive information about other nearby APs from mobile device 100 but only receives information about AP1, electronic device 200 can only wirelessly connect to AP1 connected to mobile device 100. For example, when mobile device 100 is connected to the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band, even when the AP is a multi-band AP that also supports the 5 GHz band, mobile device 100 only provides electronic device 200 with information about the 2.4 GHz AP connected to mobile device 100, thereby limiting electronic device 200 to connect to only the 2.4 GHz AP.

[0064] As such, conventionally provided is a method for transmitting only information about Wi-Fi connected to the mobile device 100 without considering the Wi-Fi connection environment of the electronic device 200 that makes the actual Wi-Fi connection. When the mobile device performs automatic Wi-Fi connection while being connected with a radio frequency in the 2.4 GHz band in a bad wireless environment, the electronic device 200 that has received the Wi-Fi information also has limited options for connecting to the bad Wi-Fi environment.

[0065] Figure 1B is a reference diagram for explaining a system in which an electronic device is wirelessly connected to an AP by using a mobile device.

[0066] Reference Figure 1B , the mobile device 100 is currently Wi-Fi connected to AP1 among the APs, which serves as a 2.4 GHz AP.

[0067] For Figure 1A As shown in the automatic connection through the Wi-Fi of the mobile device 100, the mobile device 100 sends information about the Wi-Fi to which the mobile device 100 is connected (ie, information about AP1 acting as a 2.4 GHz AP), but Figure 1B In the example of , the mobile device 100 can provide not only information about the 2.4 GHz AP to which it is connected, but also information about another AP (ie, a 5 GHz AP) included in the multi-band AP1, and information about one or more nearby APs (ie, AP2, AP3, AP4, and AP5).

[0068] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the mobile device 100 collects information about APs that can be used for wireless connection to provide to the electronic device 200 , the mobile device 100 may use information of APs that respectively have a connection history with the mobile device 100 .

[0069] In addition, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile device 100 may use an AP list scanned by the electronic device 200 or an AP list scanned by the mobile device 100 .

[0070] In addition, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile device 100 may provide all or some of the collected information about the APs to the electronic device 200, or provide the collected information about the APs by placing the APs in sequence.

[0071] Therefore, the electronic device 200 can select an AP with the best performance not only from the 2.4 GHz AP of AP1 currently connected to the mobile device 100, but also from the 5 GHz AP of AP1 and other nearby APs (i.e., AP2, AP3, AP4, and AP5). For example, when the Wi-Fi frequency band of AP1 currently connected to the mobile device 100 is the 2.4 GHz frequency band and AP1 supports multiple frequency bands, the mobile device 100 can be wirelessly connected by using the 5 GHz frequency band of AP1.

[0072] Figure 2 is a schematic block diagram of a system including a mobile device and an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0073] Reference Figure 2 The system may include a mobile device 100, an electronic device 200, an AP 300, a short-range communication network 20 for communication between the mobile device 100 and the electronic device 200, and a wireless communication network 10 for communication between the mobile device 100 or the electronic device 200 and the AP 300.

[0074] AP 300 refers to a wireless AP (WAP), which is a device that enables wireless devices to connect to wired devices based on the relevant standards of using Wi-Fi in computer networks. WAP is usually connected to a router through a wired network, and can relay data between wireless devices and wired devices such as computers, printers, etc. in the network.

[0075] The wireless communication network 10 uses Wi-Fi. Also, Wi-Fi stands for Wireless Fidelity, which is a technology that enables wireless broadband Internet access for devices using a LAN (Local Area Network) without dedicated lines or telephone lines. Wi-Fi communication refers to communication between an AP that basically forwards wireless signals and a user device that receives user services. Wi-Fi communication uses a 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz frequency band.

[0076] The short-range communication network 20 enables communication between the mobile device 100 and the electronic device 200 within a short distance, and may use, for example, Bluetooth (BT), Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), soft AP, near field communication (NFC), Wi-Fi Direct, etc. Soft AP stands for software-enabled AP, which refers to software that enables a computer, not a router, to act as a wireless AP.

[0077] The mobile device 100 includes a controller 130 and a communication interface 150 .

[0078] The communication interface 150 includes a plurality of communication modules for performing a Wi-Fi connection with an AP, communicating with a BT device, or performing Wi-Fi peer-to-peer (P2P) communication with a peer device.

[0079] For example, the communication interface 150 may include a Wi-Fi module for wireless communication with the AP 300 through the wireless communication network 10 , and a short-range communication module for short-range wireless communication with the electronic device 200 through the short-range communication network 20 .

[0080] The mobile device 100 may be connected to one of the APs through the wireless communication network 10. For example, the mobile device 100 may be connected to AP1. The mobile device 100 connected to AP1 may have a password stored for connecting to AP1. The mobile device 100 may later terminate the connection with AP1 and connect to AP2, and even in this case, the mobile device 100 may still have information about the AP1 that was once connected to the mobile device 100. The mobile device 100 may store information about one or more APs, and the mobile device 100 has a history of connection with each of them. The information about the one or more APs that were once connected may include a basic service set identifier (BSSID), a channel number of each AP, a password, etc.

[0081] Controller 130 may include one or more processors that control communication interface 150 .

[0082] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller 130 may be connected to the electronic device 200 through the communication interface 150 to wirelessly connect to an AP; obtain a list of one or more APs, each of which the mobile device has a history of connection with; determine one or more APs from the list of previously connected APs as candidate APs, and create a candidate AP list including information about the one or more candidate APs. The candidate AP list and home AP information including information about the home AP currently connected to the mobile device 100 are sent to the electronic device 200. The home AP information may be included in the candidate AP list.

[0083] In this way, the mobile device 100 not only provides the electronic device 200 with information about the home AP currently connected to the mobile device 100, but also provides the electronic device 200 with information about candidate APs selected from the APs that have been connected to the mobile device 100, and the electronic device 200 can use the received information about the APs to select the AP that can provide the best performance for the electronic device 200.

[0084] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, in order to create a candidate AP list, the controller 130 may receive, from the electronic device 200, a list of one or more APs scanned by the electronic device 200 that performs Wi-Fi channel scanning, and determine that the candidate APs are one or more APs that match between the list of each AP having a connection history and the list of scanned APs.

[0085] In this way, since the mobile device 100 determines candidate APs by considering not only each AP that has been connected to the mobile device 100, but also information about the APs scanned by the electronic device 200, the mobile device 100 can reflect the information about the APs suitable for the network environment of the electronic device 200 on the candidate AP list to be provided to the electronic device 200.

[0086] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, in order to create a candidate AP list, the controller 130 may create a list of one or more APs scanned by performing Wi-Fi channel scanning, and determine that the candidate APs are one or more APs that match between the list of each AP having a connection history and the list of scanned APs.

[0087] For example, in the event that mobile device 100 cannot receive a list of scanned APs from electronic device 200, mobile device 100 may determine candidate APs by considering not only information about each AP that has been connected to mobile device 100, but also information about APs scanned by mobile device 100.

[0088] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, in order to create a candidate AP list, the controller 130 may determine that the candidate APs are one or more APs in the AP list with connection history whose wireless communication quality is higher than a threshold, and create a candidate AP list including information related to the determined one or more candidate APs.

[0089] Since the mobile device 100 determines that not all but some of the APs that have been connected to the mobile device 100 have a wireless communication quality higher than the threshold, the amount of data transmitted from the candidate AP list to the electronic device 200 can be reduced, so that the electronic device 200 can effectively select an AP for wireless communication from the APs with wireless communication quality higher than the threshold.

[0090] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller 130 may place one or more candidate APs on the candidate AP list according to certain priorities to form a candidate AP list in which the candidate APs are placed in order of priority.

[0091] Since the mobile device 100 provides the candidate AP list in which the candidate APs are placed in order of priority, the electronic device 200 receiving the sequentially placed candidate AP list can more efficiently select an AP for wireless communication.

[0092] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the list of candidate APs and home AP information sent to the electronic device 200 may include BSSID, channel number and password of each AP, and information indicating whether the AP is a home AP. The home AP refers to the AP currently connected to the mobile device 100.

[0093] BSSID refers to an identifier that identifies a basic service set or network ID in a wireless LAN standard and generally refers to a MAC address of an AP. An AP supporting multiple bands has a different BSSID for each band, and a terminal can connect to the bands by distinguishing the bands by different BSSIDs.

[0094] The channel number may include a frequency band and a channel number of a communication channel used by the AP.

[0095] The password includes password information required for authentication to access the AP.

[0096] The information indicating whether the AP is the home AP is information indicating whether the AP is the home AP currently connected to the mobile device 100 .

[0097] The electronic device 200 includes a controller 250 and a communication interface 230 .

[0098] The communication interface 230 includes a plurality of communication modules for performing a Wi-Fi connection with an AP, communicating with a BT device, or performing Wi-Fi peer-to-peer (P2P) communication with a peer device.

[0099] For example, the communication interface 230 may include a Wi-Fi module for wirelessly communicating with the AP 300 through the wireless communication network 10 , and a short-range communication module for short-range wireless communication with the electronic device 200 through the short-range communication network 20 .

[0100] Controller 250 may include one or more processors that control communication interface 230 .

[0101] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller 250 can be connected to the mobile device 100 via the communication interface 230, and is used to receive from the mobile device 100 a candidate AP list including information about one or more candidate APs selected from APs that have been connected to the mobile device 100 and home AP information about the home AP currently connected to the mobile device 100, select an AP for wireless connection for the electronic device 200 based on the candidate AP list and the home AP information, and wirelessly connect to the selected AP.

[0102] In this way, the electronic device 200 not only receives information about the home AP currently connected to the mobile device 100, but also receives information about candidate APs selected from APs previously connected to the mobile device 100, and uses the received information about the APs to select an AP that can provide the best performance for the electronic device 200.

[0103] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, in order to help the mobile device 100 create a candidate AP list, the controller 250 may perform Wi-Fi channel scanning and create a scan AP list including one or more scan APs, and send the list to the mobile device 100. The candidate AP list received from the mobile device 100 may include one or more APs that match between the list of one or more APs that were connected to the mobile device 100 and the scan AP list as candidate APs.

[0104] In this way, since the mobile device 100 determines candidate APs by considering not only each AP that has been connected to the mobile device 100 but also information about the APs scanned by the electronic device 200, the mobile device 100 can reflect information about APs suitable for the network environment of the electronic device 200 on the candidate AP list to be provided to the electronic device 200.

[0105] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the candidate AP list received from the mobile device 100 may include one or more candidate APs that match between one or more APs that were once connected to the mobile device 100 and one or more APs scanned by the mobile device 100 .

[0106] For example, in the case where the mobile device 100 cannot receive the scanned AP list from the electronic device 200, the mobile device 100 may transmit a candidate AP list determined by considering not only APs that were connected to the mobile device 100 but also APs scanned by the mobile device 100.

[0107] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the candidate AP list and the home AP information received from the mobile device 100 may include a service set identifier (SSID), a channel number and a password of each AP, and information indicating whether the AP is a home AP.

[0108] When the electronic device 200 receives the SSID, the channel number and password of each AP, and information indicating whether the AP is a home AP from the mobile device 100, the electronic device 200 can determine whether the AP in the AP information received from the mobile device 100 is a home AP, and use the password to wirelessly connect to the AP.

[0109] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, for the electronic device 200 to select an AP for wireless connection based on the candidate AP list and home AP information received from the mobile device 100, when the home AP has a 5 GHz frequency band and a higher level of wireless communication quality, the controller 250 may determine that the home AP is the AP to be wirelessly connected.

[0110] In another embodiment of the present disclosure, for the electronic device 200 to select an AP for wireless connection based on the candidate AP list and home AP information received from the mobile device 100, when the home AP is a multi-band AP, the controller 250 can determine that the candidate AP with a 5 GHz frequency band in the home AP is the AP for wireless connection in the candidate AP list.

[0111] Since the electronic device 200 receives not only information about the home AP but also information about the candidate AP list from the mobile device 100, when the home AP is a multi-band AP, the electronic device 200 may select an optimal AP for wireless connection using the information about the candidate AP list.

[0112] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller 250 may compare the BSSIDs of one or more candidate APs included in the candidate AP list with the BSSID of the home AP, and determine that the home AP is a multi-band AP when the matched bytes are more than a specific byte.

[0113] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the electronic device 200 selects an AP for wireless connection based on the candidate AP list and the belonging AP information received from the mobile device 100. When the wireless communication quality of the belonging AP or the candidate AP with a 5 GHz frequency band among the belonging APs is less than a threshold, the controller 250 may select a candidate AP from the candidate AP list with the best wireless communication quality as the AP for wireless connection.

[0114] Figure 3 It is shown Figure 2 A block diagram of a detailed configuration of the mobile device 100 is shown.

[0115] Reference Figure 3 , the mobile device 100 may include a display 110, a memory 120, an audio processor 115, an audio output device 125, a controller 130, a transmitting / receiving antenna 140, a communication interface 150, a detector 160, an input / output interface (input / output device) 170, a video processor 180 and a user input interface 190.

[0116] The video processor 180 processes video data received by the mobile device 100. The video processor 180 may perform various image processing such as decoding, scaling, noise filtering, frame rate conversion, resolution conversion, etc. on the video data.

[0117] The display 110 may output video, content included in a broadcast signal, such as a video image received through the communication interface 150 or the input / output interface (input / output device) 170 , or an image stored in the memory 120 under the control of the controller 130 .

[0118] The display 110 converts an image signal, a data signal, an on-screen display (OSD) signal, a control signal, etc. processed by the controller 130 into a driving signal. The display 110 may be implemented by a plasma display panel (PDP), a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a flexible display, or a three-dimensional (3D) display, etc. In addition, the display 110 may have a touch screen for an input device as well as an output device.

[0119] The audio processor 115 processes audio data. For example, the audio processor 115 may perform various processes on the audio data, such as decoding, amplification, noise filtering, etc. The audio processor 115 may include a plurality of audio processing modules to process audio for different contents.

[0120] The audio output device 125 outputs audio included in the broadcast signal under the control of the controller 130. The audio output device 125 may output audio (e.g., voice or sound) received through the communication device 150 or the input / output interface (input / output device) 170. In addition, the audio output device 125 may output audio stored in the memory 120 under the control of the controller 130. The audio output device 125 may include at least one of a speaker 126, a headphone output terminal 127, or a Sony / Philips digital interface (S / PDIF) 128, or a combination thereof.

[0121] The transmit / receive antenna 140 receives signals transmitted by other devices or transmits signals to other devices. The transmit / receive antenna 140 may include one or more antennas. Therefore, the mobile device 100 may support a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system.

[0122] The communication interface 150 may include one or more modules that allow wireless communication between wireless communication systems or between the mobile device 100 and a network in which another electronic device is located. For example, the communication interface 150 may include a broadcast receiving module 151, a mobile communication module 152, a wireless Internet module 153, and a short-range communication module 154. The communication interface 150 may also be referred to as a transceiver.

[0123] The broadcast receiving module 151 receives a broadcast signal and / or broadcast associated information from an external broadcast management server on a broadcast channel. The broadcast signal may include a TV broadcast signal, a radio broadcast signal, a data broadcast signal, and a combination thereof.

[0124] The mobile communication module 152 transmits or receives wireless signals to or from at least one of a base station, an external terminal or a server in a mobile communication network. The wireless signals may include voice call signals, video call signals, or different types of data involved in the transmission / reception of text / multimedia messages.

[0125] The wireless Internet module 153 refers to a module for wireless Internet access that can be built inside or outside the device. Wireless Internet technology can adopt wireless LAN (WLAN), Wi-Fi, wireless broadband (Wibro), world interoperability for microwave access (Wimax), high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA), etc. The device can perform Wi-Fi connection with another device through the wireless Internet module 153. For example, the controller 130 can communicate with one or more APs 300 using the wireless Internet module 153.

[0126] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the wireless Internet module 153 may scan one or more APs under the control of the controller 130. Through AP scanning, the mobile device 100 may obtain information about nearby APs by sending a detection signal and receiving a response signal to the detection signal. For example, for a Wi-Fi full scan, the wireless Internet module 153 may send a detection request signal on each of all communication channels and receive a response signal returned by the detection, thereby identifying the AP that sent the detection response signal and the channel information corresponding to the AP.

[0127] The short-range communication module 154 refers to a module for short-range communication. For short-range communication technology, Bluetooth, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Infrared Data Association (IrDA), Ultra Wideband (UWB), ZigBee, etc. may be used.

[0128] For example, the controller 130 may communicate with the electronic device 200 using the short-range communication module 154 , so that it may receive a scanned AP list from the electronic device 200 or send a candidate AP list to the electronic device 200 .

[0129] The detector 160 may detect a user's voice, a user's image, or a user's interaction, and may include a microphone 161 , a camera 162 , and a light receiver 163 .

[0130] The microphone 161 receives a voice uttered by the user. The microphone 161 may convert the received voice into an electric signal and output the electric signal to the controller 130. The user's voice may include, for example, a voice corresponding to a menu or function of the mobile device 100.

[0131] The camera 162 may receive images, such as continuous frames, corresponding to the user's motion (including gestures within the camera recognition range). The controller 130 may select a menu displayed on the mobile device 100 based on the received motion recognition result, or perform control corresponding to the motion recognition result.

[0132] The optical receiver 163 receives an optical signal (including a control signal) from an external remote control device.

[0133] The input / output interface (input / output device) 170 receives video (e.g., moving images), audio (e.g., voice, music, etc.), additional information (e.g., electronic program guide (EPG)), etc. from the outside of the mobile device 100 under the control of the controller 130. The input / output interface (input / output device) 170 may include one of a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) port 171, a component (component jack) 172, a personal computer (PC) port 173, and a universal serial bus (USB) port 174. The input / output interface (input / output device) 170 may include a combination of the HDMI port 171, the component jack 172, the PC port 173, and the USB port 174.

[0134] The memory 120 may store various data, programs or applications for driving and controlling the mobile device 100 under the control of the controller 130. The memory 120 may store signals or data input or output according to operations of the video processor 180, the display 110, the audio processor 115, the audio output device 125, the antenna 140, the communication interface 150, the detector 160, and the input / output interface (input / output device) 170.

[0135] The memory 120 may store an operating system for controlling the mobile device 100 and the controller 130, applications provided by the manufacturer by default or downloaded from the outside, a graphical user interface (GUI) related to the application, objects providing the GUI (e.g., images, texts, icons, buttons, etc.), user information, documents, databases, or related data.

[0136] The memory 120 includes a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), or a memory card (e.g., a micro secure digital (SD) card, a USB memory not shown) attached to the mobile device 100. The memory 120 may also include a nonvolatile memory, a volatile memory, a hard disk drive (HDD), or a solid state drive (SSD).

[0137] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, Figure 3 As mentioned above, the memory 120 may include one or more instructions to execute the functions of the controller 130 .

[0138] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the memory 120 may store a list of one or more APs, each of which the mobile device 100 has a history of wirelessly connecting to.

[0139] The controller 130 may control general operations of the mobile device 100 and signal flows between internal components of the mobile device 100 and process data. The controller 130 may execute an operating system (OS) and various applications stored in the memory 120 at a user request or when a predetermined condition is satisfied.

[0140] The controller 130 may include a RAM storing a signal or data received from outside the mobile device 100 or a storage sector for corresponding to various tasks performed in the mobile device 100 , a ROM storing a control program for controlling the mobile device 100 , and a processor.

[0141] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller 130 may create a candidate AP list to provide to the electronic device 200 by executing one or more instructions stored in the memory 120 , and transmit the list to the electronic device 200 .

[0142] The candidate AP list can be created in many different ways.

[0143] For example, the candidate AP list may include information about one or more candidate APs selected from APs to each of which the mobile device 100 has a history of connecting. The one or more candidate APs may include an AP that overlaps with an AP scanned by the electronic device 200. Alternatively, the one or more candidate APs may include an AP that overlaps with an AP scanned by the mobile device 100.

[0144] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, when transmitting the candidate AP list, the controller 130 may provide a list of all candidate APs, or provide a list of candidate APs reaching a certain communication quality level, or provide a list of candidate APs by placing the candidate APs in a specific order.

[0145] The processor may include multiple processors. For example, the processor may be implemented with a main processor (not shown) and a sub-processor (not shown) activated in sleep mode. The controller 130 may also be referred to as a microcontroller, a microprocessor, etc., which may be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof.

[0146] The block diagram of the mobile device 100 is merely an example implemented in the embodiments of the present disclosure. According to the actual specifications of the mobile device 100, the components of the block diagram may be merged, added, or omitted. In other words, two or more components may be merged into one component, or a single component may be split into two or more components as needed. The functions performed in the blocks are shown for explaining the embodiments of the present disclosure, and the present disclosure is not limited to the detailed operations or components corresponding to the blocks.

[0147] The detailed block diagram of the electronic device 200 may be similar to Figure 3 The block diagram of the mobile device 100 shown in FIG. Figure 2 As described above, the memory of the electronic device 200 may store one or more instructions to perform operations of the electronic device 200, and the controller of the electronic device 200 may execute the one or more instructions stored in the memory.

[0148] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the mobile device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0149] Reference Figure 4 In operation 410, the mobile device 100 is connected to the electronic device 200 to be connected to the AP through the communication interface. For automatic Wi-Fi connection by the mobile device 100, the mobile device 100 is directly connected to the electronic device 200 using a communication scheme such as BLE, BT, soft AP, etc. However, it is not limited to the communication scheme, and any technology that allows the mobile device 100 to communicate with the electronic device 200 may be used.

[0150] For example, the mobile device 100 may be connected to the electronic device 200 by executing an application that adds a device to the mobile device 100 .

[0151] For example, during an initialization operation of the electronic device 200 after the electronic device 200 is powered on, the mobile device 100 may be connected to the electronic device 200 .

[0152] In operation 420, the mobile device 100 obtains a list of one or more APs that respectively have a connection history with the mobile device 100. For example, the mobile device 100 may obtain the AP list with a connection history from the memory 120. The mobile device 100 may store connection information about APs that have been connected to the mobile device 100 in the memory, and obtain the AP list with a connection history based on the connection information stored in the memory.

[0153] In operation 430, the mobile device 100 determines one or more APs selected from the AP list having a connection history as candidate APs, and creates a candidate AP list including information on the determined one or more candidate APs.

[0154] For example, the mobile device 100 may receive a scanned AP list including information about APs scanned by the electronic device 200 from the electronic device 200, compare the scanned AP list with an AP list with connection history to determine matches as candidate APs, and create a candidate AP list having the candidate APs.

[0155] In another example, when a list of scanned APs is not received from the electronic device 200, the mobile device 100 may scan APs on its own to create a scanned AP list, compare the scanned AP list with a list of APs with connection history to determine matching items as candidate APs, and create a candidate AP list including the candidate APs.

[0156] In operation 440, the mobile device 100 may transmit the candidate AP list and information about the home AP currently connected to the mobile device 100 to the electronic device 200. Likewise, the home AP refers to the AP currently connected to the mobile device 100, and its information may or may not be included in the candidate AP list created in operation 430. In the case where the home AP information is included in the candidate AP list, the mobile device 100 may transmit the candidate AP list. Otherwise, when the home AP information is not included in the candidate AP list, the mobile device 100 may transmit the information related to the home AP together with the candidate AP list.

[0157] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the electronic device 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0158] Reference Figure 5 , in operation 510, the electronic device 200 is connected to the mobile device 100 through a communication interface.

[0159] For example, the electronic device 200 may be directly connected to the mobile device 100 to perform automatic Wi-Fi connection through the mobile device 100, and the connection between the electronic device 200 and the mobile device 100 may be implemented using BLE, BT, soft AP, etc.

[0160] In operation 520 , the electronic device 200 receives a candidate AP list including information on one or more candidate APs selected from one or more APs connected to the mobile device 100 and information on a home AP currently connected to the mobile device 100 from the mobile device 100 .

[0161] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the candidate AP list received by the electronic device 200 may include one or more candidate APs selected as APs that match between a scanned AP list including one or more APs scanned by the electronic device 200 and a list of APs that were once connected to the mobile device 100. To this end, the electronic device 200 may perform a Wi-Fi full scan and send the scanned AP list to the mobile device 100.

[0162] In operation 530 , the electronic device 200 may select an AP for wireless connection based on the candidate AP list and the home AP information received from the mobile device 100 .

[0163] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the home AP has a 5 GHz frequency band and the wireless communication quality is good, the electronic device 200 may select the home AP for wireless connection.

[0164] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the home AP is a 2.4 GHz AP and constitutes a multi-band AP, the electronic device 200 may select a 5 GHz AP from among the multi-band APs for wireless connection.

[0165] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the home AP (2.4 GHz AP) constituting the multi-band AP has poor wireless communication quality, the electronic device 200 may select a candidate AP having the best wireless communication quality from among the candidate APs to wirelessly connect to the electronic device 200 .

[0166] In operation 540, the electronic device 200 wirelessly connects to the selected AP. The electronic device 200 may use the password included in the candidate AP list received from the mobile device 100 to wirelessly connect to the AP selected in operation 530.

[0167] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating operations between the mobile device 100 and the electronic device 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0168] Reference Figure 6 , in operation 610, the mobile device 100 and the electronic device 200 establish a communication connection. When not in a Wi-Fi connection state, the electronic device 200 can use connection technologies such as BLE, BT, soft AP, etc. to directly connect to an external device such as the mobile device 100 to exchange data with the mobile device 100. In practice, the direct connection between the mobile device 100 and the electronic device 200 can be performed by the mobile device 100 running a device addition application to add the mobile device 100 to the electronic device 200, or by the electronic device 200 scanning nearby devices when it is powered on and performs an initialization operation.

[0169] In operation 620, the mobile device 100 creates a candidate AP list.

[0170] In operation 630 , the mobile device 100 transmits the home AP information and the candidate AP list to the electronic device 200 .

[0171] In operation 640, the electronic device 200 selects an AP for wireless connection based on the home AP information and the candidate AP list, and performs wireless connection with the selected AP.

[0172] Figure 7 Operation 610 for communication connection between the mobile device 100 and the electronic device 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0173] Reference Figure 7 , in operation 710, the electronic device 200 is turned on.

[0174] In operation 720 , the electronic device 200 establishes a communication connection with the mobile device 100 through an initialization operation.

[0175] For example, when an electronic device that is already in power saving mode or standby mode receives input (such as a power-on input) from a user, the electronic device 200 starts an initialization operation. The initialization operation may include, for example, a power-on operation. In the initialization operation, the electronic device 200 may prepare to execute a function in response to an input from a user when an input is received by loading an operating system or one or more applications onto a memory. In addition, in the initialization operation, the electronic device 200 may use a short-range communication function to discover external devices around the electronic device 200 and establish a connection with the discovered external devices.

[0176] For example, the electronic device 200 can scan the devices capable of performing BLE communication around the electronic device 200 and establish a communication connection with the BLE device. In this case, the electronic device 200 can use the BLE module to scan the nearby mobile device 100 and establish a communication connection with the mobile device 100.

[0177] Figure 8 Operation 610 of connecting for communication between the mobile device 100 and the electronic device 200 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0178] Reference Figure 8 , in operation 810, the mobile device 100 may execute an application for adding an external device.

[0179] In operation 820 , the mobile device 100 establishes a connection with the electronic device 200 for communication through an operation of adding the electronic device 200 .

[0180] For example, when the user inputs a command to the mobile device 100 to run a device adding application, the mobile device 100 may execute the application to add the electronic device 200. When the mobile device 100 scans for external devices using, for example, BLE GATT, the electronic device 200 may respond to the scanning request. Upon receiving a response from the electronic device 200, the mobile device 100 may provide the user with an output indicating that the electronic device 200 has been found. When the user inputs, for example, a corresponding PIN number to the mobile device 100, a communication connection between the mobile device 100 and the electronic device 200 may be completed.

[0181] Fig. 9 Operation 620 of creating a candidate AP list by a mobile device is shown in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0182] Reference Fig. 9 , in operation 910 , the mobile device 100 sends a request for scanning an AP list to the electronic device 200 connected in operation 610 .

[0183] In operation 920, upon receiving a request for a scan AP list from the mobile device 100, the electronic device 200 performs a Wi-Fi full scan operation. A Wi-Fi full scan operation refers to performing a Wi-Fi scan on all nearby devices on all channels. For example, the electronic device 200 sends a probe request frame on all channels from channel number 1 to channel number 161. The AP that receives the probe request frame from the electronic device 200 may send a probe response frame to the electronic device 200. For example, when a probe response frame returned due to sending a probe request frame on channel number 5 is received from the AP, the electronic device 200 may recognize that there is an available AP nearby that communicates using channel number 5. For example, when the electronic device 200 receives a probe response frame for a probe request frame on channel numbers 6, 11, and 149, the electronic device 200 may create a scan AP list including APs corresponding to channel numbers 6, 11, and 149. Those APs that are identified as being available for communication may be referred to as scanned APs.

[0184] Through the Wi-Fi full scan operation, the electronic device 200 can identify nearby APs and corresponding channels that can be used for communication.

[0185] In operation 930, the electronic device 200 determines and stores the signal quality of the wireless communication of each scanned AP. The information on the wireless communication quality of the scanned AP may include a signal-to-noise ratio, a link speed, and the like.

[0186] In operation 940, the electronic device 200 creates a scanned AP list based on the information about the APs scanned in operation 920 and the signal quality of wireless communication determined for each scanned AP in operation 930. An example of a scanned AP list is shown in FIG. Fig. 10A Shown in.

[0187] Fig. 10A A scan AP list created by the electronic device 200 is shown.

[0188] Reference Fig. 10A , the scanned AP list 1010 includes information about one or more scanned APs. The information about the AP may include SSID 1011, channel 1012, BSSID 1013, and signal quality information 1014.

[0189] The SSID refers to an identifier used for a connection between a wireless terminal and an AP, which a service provider uses to distinguish a wireless cell from many different wireless cells.

[0190] Channel 1012 may refer to a channel number and frequency band used for communicating with an AP.

[0191] BSSID 1013 refers to the MAC address of the AP.

[0192] Signal quality information 1014 may refer to the signal quality of wireless communication determined for the AP, including signal-to-noise ratio, link speed, etc.

[0193] Reference Fig. 10A , the scanned AP list 1010 includes information about a plurality of scanned APs from AP#1 to AP#n. For example, the first AP on the scanned AP list 1010 is shown as an AP communicating on channel number 6 in the 2.4 GHz frequency band.

[0194] In operation 950 , the electronic device 200 transmits the scan AP list 1010 created in operation 940 to the mobile device 100 .

[0195] The scanned AP list 1010 may include information about one or more scanned APs. The electronic device 200 may transmit the entire scanned AP list 1010 without modification, or transmit some of the scanned AP list 1010.

[0196] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the electronic device 200 may send the entire scan AP list 1010 created in operation 940 to the mobile device 100 without omission. Although the scan AP list includes information about many APs, the electronic device 200 may provide the complete scan AP list to the mobile device 100 without modification, addition, or omission, so that the mobile device 100 selects a candidate AP by itself.

[0197] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the electronic device 200 may place the APs included on the scan AP list in order of better signal quality and provide the ordered list to the mobile device 100. Upon receiving the ordered list, the mobile device 100 may quickly delete APs with lower quality levels from the ordered list.

[0198] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the electronic device 200 may select an AP with a signal quality higher than a threshold value from the scanned APs, and provide the selected AP list to the mobile device 100. Since an AP with a signal quality lower than the threshold value is less likely to be selected for communication, providing the mobile device 100 with an AP list with better signal quality rather than providing a large number of entire scanned AP lists may help reduce the amount of data transmission.

[0199] In operation 960, the mobile device 100 obtains a list of APs each having a mobile connection history, the AP list including information about one or more APs that have been connected to the mobile device 100. An example of an AP list having a mobile connection history is shown in FIG. Fig. 10B Shown in.

[0200] Fig. 10BAn example of a list of APs each having a mobile connection history 1020 is shown.

[0201] The list of APs having the mobile connection history 1020 may include information on one or more APs that the mobile device 100 has connected to, the information of the APs including an SSID 1021 , a password 1022 , a channel 1023 , and a BSSID 1024 .

[0202] Compared with the information about the AP included in the scanned AP list 1010, the information about the AP included in the AP list with mobile connection history also includes a password 1022 item. Since the AP with mobile connection history has been connected to the mobile device 100, the mobile device 100 may already have password information for connecting to the AP. When the mobile device 100 provides the password information to the electronic device 200, the electronic device 200 can establish a connection with the AP.

[0203] In operation 970, the mobile device 100 creates a candidate AP list based on the AP list having a mobile connection history and the scanned AP list.

[0204] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile device 100 may compare the AP list with the scanned AP list to find a matching AP, and create a candidate AP list based on information about the matching AP. Specifically, the mobile device 100 may have password information of the AP that was once connected to the mobile device 100, find the same AP from the APs scanned by the electronic device 200, and select the AP as a candidate AP.

[0205] Therefore, the mobile device 100 does not need to send APs of channels and frequency bands that have not been Wi-Fi scanned by the electronic device 200. Therefore, the mobile device 100 may not send all AP lists that have been connected to the mobile device 100 to the electronic device 200, but may create a candidate AP list including APs directly scanned by the electronic device 200. When the scan AP list is not received from the electronic device 200, the mobile device 100 may perform scanning by itself and create a candidate AP list by comparing the AP list scanned by the mobile device 100 with the AP list that has been connected to the mobile device 100. Fig.11 This example is further described.

[0206] An example of a candidate AP list created by mobile device 100 is shown in Fig. 10C Shown in.

[0207] Fig. 10C An example of a candidate AP list according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0208] Reference Fig. 10CThe candidate AP list 1030 may include one or more candidate APs, and the information about the candidate APs may include SSID 1031, password 1032, channel 1033, BSSID 1034, information 1035 about whether the AP is a home AP, information 1036 about whether the AP is a candidate AP, and signal quality information 1037.

[0209] When will Fig. 10A The AP information included in the scan AP list 1010 is similar to the AP information shown in FIG. Fig. 10B By comparing the AP information included in the AP list with mobile connection history 1020 shown in FIG. 1 , it can be seen that four APs (AP#1_2.4, AP#1_5, AP#2, AP#3) are matched between the two lists. Since the mobile device 100 has been connected to four APs, passwords for the four APs are stored, and the four APs also represent the APs scanned by the electronic device 200. Therefore, the mobile device 100 can determine the matched four APs as candidate APs. The mobile device 100 can also create a candidate AP list including information about the matched four APs.

[0210] Despite Fig. 10C In the example, the information 1035 about whether the AP is a home AP and the information about whether the AP is a candidate AP are provided in separate fields, but they may be provided in a single field. In the latter case, for example, "1" indicates that the AP is a home AP, and "0" indicates that the AP is a candidate AP. The home AP refers to the AP currently connected to the mobile device 100. The candidate AP refers to the AP that is selected in the scan AP list 1010 and the candidate AP list 1020. Fig. 10B The APs that match between the AP lists with mobile connection history 1020 shown in FIG. 1020 may include a home AP among the matched APs. Fig. 10C , the candidate AP list 1030 includes matching candidate APs, where AP#1.24 represents the home AP.

[0211] When there is an AP currently connected to the mobile device 100 among the matching candidate APs, the mobile device 100 may indicate the AP as a home AP. When there is no AP currently connected to the mobile device 100 among the matching candidate APs, the mobile device 100 may add the home AP information to the candidate AP list.

[0212] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, in order to create a candidate AP list, the mobile device 100 may find all APs that match between the AP information included in the scanned AP list 1010 and the AP information included in the AP list with mobile connection history 1020, select all matching APs as candidate APs, and create a candidate AP list including the selected candidate APs.

[0213] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile device 100 may select some, but not all, of the matching APs having signal qualities higher than a certain threshold as candidate APs, and create a candidate AP list including the selected candidate APs.

[0214] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile device 100 may determine all matching APs as candidate APs and include them in a candidate AP list, and place the candidate APs in the candidate AP list in order of signal quality.

[0215] Fig.11 Operation 620 of creating a candidate AP list by the mobile device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0216] Reference Fig.11 , in operation 1110, the mobile device 100 obtains a list of APs having a mobile connection history.

[0217] In operation 1120, the mobile device 100 performs a Wi-Fi full scan on the APs around the mobile device 100. When the mobile device 100 fails to receive the scan AP list from the electronic device 200 for some reason, the mobile device 100 may create a scan AP list by performing a Wi-Fi full scan on its own. Fig. 9 The Wi-Fi full scan operation of the electronic device 200 is the same.

[0218] In operation 1130 , the mobile device 100 creates a scan AP list using information on APs scanned through the Wi-Fi full scan in operation 1120 .

[0219] In operation 1140, the mobile device 100 creates a candidate AP list based on the AP list with mobile connection history and the scanned AP list. The candidate AP list can be found in the above referenced Fig. 9 Created in the method described.

[0220] Fig.12 Operation 630 of transmitting a candidate AP list by the mobile device 100 is shown according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0221] Reference Fig.12 In operation 1210, the candidate AP list and the home AP information created by the mobile device 100 are sent to the electronic device 200. For example, the mobile device 100 may send the candidate AP list and the home AP information to the electronic device 200. Fig. 10C The candidate AP list shown is sent to the electronic device 200. Fig. 10CIn the example of , the candidate AP list includes information related to the home AP. In this example, the following AP represents the home IP: the information 1035 related to whether the AP is the home AP is shown as "0", and the SSID is shown as "AP#1_2.4".

[0222] Fig.13 Operation 640 of selecting and wirelessly connecting to a candidate AP by the electronic device 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0223] Reference Fig.13 , in operation 1310, upon receiving the home AP information and the candidate AP list from the mobile device 100, the electronic device 200 selects an AP for wireless connection based on the home AP information and the candidate AP list.

[0224] For example, the electronic device 200 may check the home AP information and determine whether the home AP is in the 5 GHz band or in the 2.4 GHz band.

[0225] When the home AP is in the 5 GHz frequency band and has good wireless communication quality, the home AP may be selected for wireless connection.

[0226] When the home AP is in the 2.4 GHz band, it can be determined whether the home AP is a multi-band AP. When the home AP is one of the multi-band APs, another AP with a 5 GHz band in the multi-band AP can be selected for wireless connection.

[0227] However, when both the 5 GHz home AP and the 5 GHz multi-band AP have poor signal quality, the electronic device 200 may select a candidate AP having the best signal quality from among the candidate APs other than the home AP for wireless connection.

[0228] In operation 1320, the electronic device 200 performs a wireless connection with the selected AP.

[0229] In operation 1330, the electronic device 200 performs a wireless connection with the selected AP by transmitting a password to the selected AP.

[0230] Fig.14 Details of operation 640 of selecting and wirelessly connecting to a candidate AP by the electronic device 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are shown.

[0231] Reference Fig.14 In operation 1410, when the home AP has a 5 GHz frequency band and the signal quality is higher than the threshold, the electronic device 200 selects the home AP for wireless connection. The electronic device 200 may determine the home AP and the frequency band of the home AP based on the home AP information received from the mobile device 100.

[0232] In operation 1420, the electronic device 200 performs a wireless connection with the selected 5 GHz AP.

[0233] In operation 1430 , the electronic device 200 attempts to make a wireless connection with the selected 5 GHz AP by sending a password to the AP. The electronic device 200 may determine the password of the home AP based on the home AP information received from the mobile device 100 .

[0234] When the home AP is at 5 GHz and has good signal quality, a wireless connection can be made with the 5 GHz home AP in both cases where the home AP is a single-band AP and where the home AP is a multi-band AP that also supports the 2.4 GHz band.

[0235] Therefore, in Fig.14 In the example of FIG. 1 , the electronic device 200 may be equivalently connected to the 5 GHz AP of the home AP to which the mobile device 100 is connected.

[0236] Fig.15 Details of operation 640 of selecting and wirelessly connecting to a candidate AP by the electronic device 200 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure are shown.

[0237] Reference Fig.15 In operation 1510, when the home AP is in the 2.4 GHz band and supports multiple bands, the electronic device 200 selects a 5 GHz AP for wireless connection.

[0238] The electronic device 200 may determine whether the home AP is a multi-band supported AP based on the information on the candidate AP list received from the mobile device 100 .

[0239] The electronic device 200 may check the BSSID 1034 of the candidate AP included in the candidate AP list 1030 and compare it with the BSSID of the home AP 320 connected to the mobile device 100, and when the BSSID of the candidate AP matches the BSSID of the home AP by more than a certain byte (e.g., 5 bytes or more), determine that the home AP belongs to the multi-band AP 310. Then, the electronic device 200 may select the candidate AP 330 having the 5 GHz band among the multi-band AP 310 for wireless connection.

[0240] Back to Fig. 10C , in the candidate AP list 1030, the bytes of the BSSID of the second AP matching the BSSID of the home AP are 5 bytes or more, and the first AP and the second AP end with different values ​​"7d" and "7e", respectively. Therefore, the electronic device 200 can determine that the home AP is one of the multi-band APs supporting the 2.4 GHz band and the 5 GHz band.

[0241] In operation 1520, the electronic device 200 performs a wireless connection with the selected 5 GHz AP.

[0242] In operation 1530 , the electronic device 200 sends a password “222222222” to the 5 GHz AP to try to wirelessly connect to the 5 GHz AP instead of the 2.4 GHz AP currently connected to the mobile device 100 .

[0243] exist Fig.15 In the example shown, the mobile device 100 may then connect to a 2.4 GHz AP 320 in the multi-band AP 310 , while the electronic device 200 may connect to a 5 GHz AP 330 in the multi-band AP 310 .

[0244] Fig.16 Details of operation 640 of selecting and wirelessly connecting to a candidate AP by the electronic device 200 are shown according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0245] Reference Fig.16 In operation 1610, when the signal qualities of the home AP and the multi-band AP are both poor, the electronic device 200 selects a candidate AP with better signal quality from the candidate APs for wireless connection.

[0246] For example, based on Fig. 10C The candidate AP list 1030 is shown. When the home AP signal quality is poor and the 5 GHz AP signal quality of the multi-band AP is also poor, the electronic device 200 may select a candidate AP with the best signal quality from the candidate APs other than the home AP and the multi-band AP. Fig. 10C In the example of , a candidate AP with better signal quality can be selected from the candidate APs (AP#2 and AP#3).

[0247] In operation 1620, the electronic device 200 performs a wireless connection with the selected AP.

[0248] In operation 1630, the electronic device 200 attempts to wirelessly connect to the selected AP by transmitting a password corresponding to the selected AP to the selected AP.

[0249] Therefore, in Fig.16 In the example of , the electronic device 200 may be connected to one of the candidate APs other than the home AP 320 connected to the mobile device 100 or the multi-band AP 310 .

[0250] The operating method of the mobile device and electronic device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure can be implemented in the program instructions executed by various computing devices and recorded in the computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, etc., alone or in combination. The program instructions recorded on the computer-readable medium may be specially designed and configured for the present disclosure, or may be known to ordinary technicians in the field of computer software. Examples of computer-readable recording media include read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), compact disk (CD)-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage device, etc. The computer-readable recording medium may also be distributed on a network-connected computer system, so as to store and execute computer-readable codes in a distributed manner. Examples of program instructions include not only machine language codes, but also high-level language codes that can be executed by various computing devices using interpreters.

[0251] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an electronic device may be connected to a wireless AP with optimal performance by performing automatic Wi-Fi connection through a mobile device.

[0252] Several embodiments of the present disclosure have been described, but it should be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments of the present disclosure described, but may include not only the attached claims, but also equivalent forms.

Claims

1. A mobile device, comprising: Communication interface; a memory storing one or more instructions; as well as a processor configured to execute the one or more instructions stored in the memory to: Connecting to an electronic device to be wirelessly connected to an access point AP through the communication interface; obtaining an AP list including one or more APs having a connection history with the mobile device; identifying selected one or more APs as candidate APs from the AP list including the one or more APs having a connection history with the mobile device, and creating a candidate AP list including information related to the selected one or more APs identified as the candidate APs; and sending the candidate AP list and information related to the home AP currently connected to the mobile device to the electronic device, Wherein, based on the candidate AP list received from the mobile device and the information related to the home AP, the electronic device selects the AP to be wirelessly connected in the following manner: When the home AP is in the 2.4 GHz frequency band, determining whether the home AP constitutes a multi-band AP, and When the home AP constitutes a multi-band AP, another AP having a 5 GHz frequency band in the multi-band AP is selected from the candidate AP list for wireless connection.

2. The mobile device according to claim 1, wherein: The processor is further configured to: receiving, from the electronic device performing Wi-Fi channel scanning, a scanned AP list including one or more scanned APs for use in the candidate AP list; as well as The AP list including the one or more APs having the connection history is compared with the scanned AP list including the one or more scanned APs, and matching one or more APs are identified as the candidate APs.

3. The mobile device according to claim 1, wherein: The processor is further configured to: creating a scanned AP list including one or more APs scanned by performing Wi-Fi channel scanning, for use in the candidate AP list; and The AP list having the connection history is compared with the scanned AP list, and one or more matching APs are identified as the candidate APs.

4. The mobile device according to claim 1, wherein: The processor is further configured to: identifying one or more APs having wireless communication quality equal to or higher than a threshold value as the candidate APs from the AP list including the one or more APs having the connection history; The candidate AP list is created to include information about one or more APs whose identified wireless communication quality is equal to or higher than the threshold.

5. The mobile device according to claim 1, wherein: The processor is further configured to: selecting one or more candidate APs from the candidate AP list according to a predetermined priority; and An adjusted candidate AP list including the selected one or more candidate APs is created according to the predetermined priority.

6. The mobile device according to claim 1, characterized in that The candidate AP list and the information related to the home AP sent to the electronic device include: Basic service set identifier BSSID; The channel number and password for each AP; and Information related to whether each AP is the home AP.

7. The mobile device according to claim 6, wherein: The candidate AP list and the information related to the home AP sent to the electronic device also include: Information about the quality of wireless communication for each AP.

8. An electronic device comprising: Communication interface; a memory storing one or more instructions; as well as a processor configured to execute the one or more instructions stored in the memory to: connecting to a mobile device via the communication interface; receiving, from the mobile device, a candidate access point AP list and information about a home AP currently connected to the mobile device, the candidate access point AP list including information about one or more candidate APs selected from one or more APs having a connection history with the mobile device; selecting an AP to which the electronic device is to wirelessly connect based on the candidate AP list received from the mobile device and the information related to the home AP; Wirelessly connect to the selected AP, Wherein, selecting an AP to which the electronic device is to be wirelessly connected comprises: When the home AP is in the 2.4 GHz frequency band, determining whether the home AP constitutes a multi-band AP, and When the home AP constitutes a multi-band AP, another AP having a 5 GHz frequency band in the multi-band AP is selected from the candidate AP list for wireless connection.

9. The electronic device according to claim 8, wherein: The processor is further configured to: creating a scan AP list including one or more scan APs by performing a Wi-Fi channel scan, and sending the scan AP list to the mobile device, The candidate AP list received from the mobile device includes one or more APs as the candidate APs, and the candidate APs match the one or more APs having a connection history with the mobile device and the scanned AP list.

10. The electronic device according to claim 8, wherein: The candidate AP list received from the mobile device includes one or more APs as the candidate APs, the candidate APs matching the one or more APs having a connection history with the mobile device and one or more APs scanned by the mobile device.

11. The electronic device according to claim 8, wherein: The candidate AP list and the information related to the home AP received from the mobile device include: Basic service set identifier BSSID; The channel number and password for each AP; and Information related to whether each AP is the home AP.

12. The electronic device according to claim 8, wherein: The processor is further configured to: In order to select the AP to which the electronic device wants to wirelessly connect, based on the candidate AP list received from the mobile device and information related to the home AP, when the home AP has a 5 GHz frequency band and the wireless communication quality is equal to or higher than a threshold, the home AP is identified as the selected AP to be wirelessly connected.

13. A method for operating a mobile device, the method comprising: Connect to an electronic device that is to be wirelessly connected to an access point AP; obtaining an AP list including one or more APs having a connection history with the mobile device; determining one or more APs selected from the AP list having a connection history with the mobile device as candidate APs, and creating a candidate AP list including information related to the determined candidate APs; as well as sending the created candidate AP list and information about the home AP currently connected to the mobile device to the electronic device, Wherein, based on the candidate AP list received from the mobile device and the information related to the home AP, the electronic device selects the AP to be wirelessly connected in the following manner: When the home AP is in the 2.4 GHz frequency band, determining whether the home AP constitutes a multi-band AP, and When the home AP constitutes a multi-band AP, another AP having a 5 GHz frequency band in the multi-band AP is selected from the candidate AP list for wireless connection.

14. An operating method of an electronic device, the operating method comprising: Connecting with a mobile device via a communication interface; receiving a candidate AP list from the mobile device, the candidate AP list including information about one or more candidate APs selected from one or more APs having a history of connection with the mobile device, and information about a home AP currently connected to the mobile device; Selecting an AP to which the electronic device is to wirelessly connect based on the candidate AP list and the home AP information received from the mobile device; as well as Wirelessly connect to the selected AP, Wherein, selecting an AP to which the electronic device is to be wirelessly connected comprises: When the home AP is in the 2.4 GHz frequency band, determining whether the home AP constitutes a multi-band AP, and When the home AP constitutes a multi-band AP, another AP having a 5 GHz frequency band in the multi-band AP is selected from the candidate AP list for wireless connection.

15. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having stored thereon a program for executing an operating method of a mobile device, the operating method comprising: Connect to an electronic device that is to be wirelessly connected to an access point AP; obtaining an AP list including one or more APs having a connection history with the mobile device; determining the one or more APs selected from the AP list having a connection history with the mobile device as candidate APs, and creating a candidate AP list including information related to the determined candidate APs; as well as sending the created candidate AP list and information about the home AP currently connected to the mobile device to the electronic device, Wherein, based on the candidate AP list received from the mobile device and the information related to the home AP, the electronic device selects the AP to be wirelessly connected in the following manner: When the home AP is in the 2.4 GHz frequency band, determining whether the home AP constitutes a multi-band AP, and When the home AP constitutes a multi-band AP, another AP having a 5 GHz frequency band in the multi-band AP is selected from the candidate AP list for wireless connection.

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