Configuring remote electronic devices by peer electronic devices in a networked environment

Abstract

The present invention is entitled "Configuring Remote Electronic Devices by Peer Electronic Devices in a Networked Environment." The present invention describes a method for bulk configuring a plurality of electronic devices. The method can include initializing, by a first computing device, a communication network based on predefined configuration parameters. The predefined configuration parameters are associated with a first instance of an application on the first computing device. Further, the method includes identifying, by the first computing device, an initialization of a second instance of the application at a second computing device. In response to identifying the initialization of the second instance of the application at the second computing device, the method includes transmitting, by the first computing device, configuration settings for the second computing device over the secure communication network. In this regard, the configuration settings can include at least the predefined configuration parameters for configuring the second computing device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The exemplary embodiments described herein relate generally to systems, methods, and apparatus for configuring electronic devices in a networked environment, and more specifically, to configuring electronic devices by peer electronic devices in a networked environment. Background Technology

[0002] Typically, electronic devices (such as, but not limited to, handheld devices, portable data terminals, barcode scanners, RFID readers, imagers, mobile devices, smartphones, laptops, etc.) are debugged and / or configured before first use, or sometimes periodically based on the latest updates to their configuration settings. Debugging generally refers to the process used to initialize or customize an electronic device to operate in a desired manner within a networked environment. Configuration refers to the process used to make configuration data available for download to an electronic device, thereby allowing the device to function appropriately as needed. For this purpose, configuration data may be provided to the electronic device to configure it, depending on its purpose and intended use. Configuring electronic devices involves associated limitations and challenges. Summary of the Invention

[0003] A brief summary of the invention is provided below to offer a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosed material handling system. This summary is not an exhaustive overview and is neither intended to identify key or critical elements nor to describe the scope of such elements. Its purpose is to serve as an introduction to the detailed embodiments provided below, presenting some concepts of the described features in a simplified form.

[0004] The various exemplary embodiments described herein relate to a method for configuring multiple electronic devices. The method may include initializing a communication network by a first computing device among the multiple electronic devices based on predefined configuration parameters associated with a first instance of an application on the first computing device. The method may also include initializing a second instance of the application on a second computing device by the first computing device. In this regard, the identification of the second instance of the application to be initialized may be based on a connection request received from the second computing device via the communication network. Furthermore, in response to the initialization of the second instance of the application on the second computing device, the method may include sending configuration settings for the second computing device by the first computing device via a secure communication network. In this regard, the configuration settings may include at least predefined configuration parameters.

[0005] According to some exemplary implementations, predefined configuration parameters may include at least one of network name, service set identifier (SSID), and network security type.

[0006] In some exemplary embodiments, the method may include encrypting predefined configuration parameters by a first computing device using a first key shared among multiple electronic devices. Furthermore, the method may include the first computing device scanning for incoming connection requests to establish a connection with the first computing device via a communication network. The method may also include receiving a connection request from a second computing device at the first computing device. The method may further include the first computing device authenticating the second computing device based on the identification of predefined configuration parameters in the connection request.

[0007] According to some exemplary embodiments, the method may further include providing predefined configuration parameters via a user interface of the first computing device. Furthermore, the method may include configuring the first computing device based on the predefined configuration parameters. In response to the configuration of the first computing device, the method may include initializing a communication network for communication with a plurality of electronic devices. Additionally, in response to establishing a secure communication network between the first and second computing devices, the method may include sharing configuration settings from the first computing device to the second computing device via the secure communication network.

[0008] In some exemplary embodiments, the method may include establishing a connection between a first computing device and a second computing device via a secure communication network. This connection may be established to exchange communication data including configuration settings for the second computing device. In this regard, in some exemplary embodiments, the secure communication network may be established based on the exchange of private keys, public keys, and session keys between the first and second computing devices.

[0009] According to some exemplary embodiments, establishing a secure communication network can be performed based on a method comprising: receiving an encrypted temporary key from a second computing device at a first computing device. In this respect, the encrypted temporary key may correspond to a temporary key encrypted using a public key shared between the first and second computing devices. Furthermore, the method may include decrypting the encrypted temporary key received at the first computing device using a private key of the first computing device. The method may also include generating an encrypted session key by encrypting a session key by the first computing device. The decrypted temporary key can be used to encrypt the session key. Furthermore, the method may include sending the encrypted session key to the second computing device by the first computing device. The method may also include verifying a configuration request received from the second computing device by the first computing device based on the identification of the session key in the configuration request. Furthermore, the method for establishing a secure communication network may include sending communication data including configuration settings by the first computing device. In this respect, the communication data is encrypted using the session key.

[0010] In some exemplary embodiments, the configuration settings may correspond to at least one of volume control settings, network configuration settings, sound preference settings, and connection preference settings associated with the second computing device.

[0011] Some exemplary embodiments described herein relate to a system for configuring multiple electronic devices. The system may include a memory storing computer-executable instructions. In this regard, the computer-executable instructions, when executed, are capable of performing operations that may include initializing a communication network based on predefined configuration parameters associated with a first instance of an application on a first computing device. Additionally, the computer-executable instructions are capable of performing operations that may include transmitting configuration settings for a second computing device via a secure communication network. This may be accomplished in response to initialization recognizing a second instance of the application at a second computing device communicatively coupled to the first computing device. For this purpose, the configuration settings mentioned herein may include at least predefined configuration parameters.

[0012] In some exemplary implementations, the initialization of a second instance of the application at a second computing device may be identified based on receiving a connection request from the second computing device via a communication network.

[0013] According to some exemplary implementations, predefined configuration parameters may include at least one of network name, service set identifier (SSID), and network security type.

[0014] According to some exemplary embodiments, the processing unit can execute computer-executable instructions to perform operations, which may include encrypting predefined configuration parameters using a first key shared among multiple electronic devices. The multiple electronic devices mentioned herein may include a first computing device and a second computing device. Furthermore, the computer-executable instructions can perform operations that may include scanning for incoming connection requests via a communication network and receiving connection requests to establish a connection with a second computing device. Additionally, the computer-executable instructions can perform operations that may include authenticating the second computing device based on the identification of predefined configuration parameters in the connection request.

[0015] In some exemplary embodiments, the system may include multiple electronic devices, which may include a first computing device and a second computing device communicatively coupled via a communication network. In some exemplary embodiments, the first computing device may include a memory and a processing unit that executes computer-executable instructions to perform operations, which may include establishing a connection between the first and second computing devices via a secure communication network to exchange communication data including configuration settings of the second computing device.

[0016] In some exemplary embodiments, the processing unit may execute computer-executable instructions to perform operations including establishing a secure communication network based on exchanging private keys, public keys, and session keys between a first computing device and a second computing device.

[0017] According to some exemplary embodiments, the processing unit can execute computer-executable instructions to perform operations, which may include providing predefined configuration parameters via a user interface. The operations may also include configuring a first computing device based on the predefined configuration parameters. Furthermore, in response to the configuration of the first computing device, the operations may include initializing a wireless access point by the first computing device to communicate with a plurality of electronic devices via a communication network. Additionally, in some examples, the operations may include sharing configuration settings of the first computing device via a secure communication network established between the first and second computing devices.

[0018] According to some exemplary embodiments described herein, the processing unit may execute computer-executable instructions to perform an operation that may include receiving an encrypted temporary key from a second computing device at a first computing device. In this respect, the encrypted temporary key corresponds to a temporary key encrypted using a public key shared between the first and second computing devices. Furthermore, the processing unit may execute computer-executable instructions to perform an operation that may include decrypting the encrypted temporary key received at the first computing device using the private key of the first computing device. The operation may also include encrypting a session key by the first computing device using the decrypted temporary key to generate an encrypted session key. Additionally, the operation may include sending the encrypted session key to the second computing device by the first computing device, and verifying a configuration request received from the second computing device by the first computing device based on the identification of the session key in the configuration request. In some examples, the operation may also include sending communication data including configuration settings by the first computing device. In this respect, the session key may be used to encrypt the communication data.

[0019] In some exemplary embodiments, the configuration settings may correspond to at least one of volume control settings, network configuration settings, sound preference settings, and connection preference settings associated with the second computing device.

[0020] Some exemplary embodiments described herein relate to a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions thereon. In response to execution by a processor, the computer-executable instructions perform operations that may include initializing a wireless access point by a first computing device based on predefined configuration parameters associated with a first instance of an application on the first computing device. Furthermore, the operation may include initializing a second instance of the application on the second computing device by the first computing device based on a connection request received from a second computing device for connecting to the wireless access point. Additionally, the operation includes: in response to initializing the second instance of the application on the second computing device, the first computing device sending configuration settings for the second computing device via a secure communication network.

[0021] According to some exemplary embodiments, in response to processor execution, computer-executable instructions can perform operations, which may further include encrypting predefined configuration parameters using a first key shared among multiple electronic devices. The operations may also include scanning for incoming connection requests from electronic devices among the multiple electronic devices for establishing a connection with a wireless access point. Furthermore, the operations may include authenticating electronic devices based on the identification of predefined configuration parameters in the connection requests.

[0022] In some exemplary embodiments, predefined configuration parameters may include at least one of the network name associated with the wireless access point, the Service Set Identifier (SSID), and the network security type. Furthermore, in some exemplary embodiments, configuration settings may correspond to at least one of the volume control settings, network configuration settings, sound preference settings, and connection preference settings associated with the second computing device.

[0023] The above description of the invention is provided merely to outline some exemplary embodiments to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of this disclosure. Therefore, it should be understood that the above embodiments are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting the scope or substance of this disclosure in any way. It should be understood that, in addition to those summarized herein, the scope of this disclosure covers many possible embodiments, some of which will be further described below. Attached Figure Description

[0024] The description of the exemplary embodiments can be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that, for simplicity and clarity of illustration, the elements shown in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some elements are exaggerated relative to others. Embodiments incorporating the teachings of this disclosure are shown and described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0025] Figure 1An exemplary system comprising multiple electronic devices, including a computing device to be configured, is illustrated according to some exemplary embodiments described herein.

[0026] Figure 2 An exemplary flowchart illustrating a method for configuring a computing device according to some exemplary embodiments described herein is shown.

[0027] Figure 3 An exemplary flowchart is shown according to some exemplary embodiments described herein, illustrating a method for configuring a first computing device to initialize a communication network for communication with a plurality of electronic devices trusted by the first computing device.

[0028] Figure 4 An exemplary flowchart is shown according to some exemplary embodiments described herein, illustrating a method for a first computing device to authenticate a second computing device to use a communication network initialized by the first computing device.

[0029] Figure 5 An exemplary flowchart is shown, illustrating a method for exchanging secure keys between a first computing device and a second computing device, according to some exemplary embodiments described herein.

[0030] Figure 6 An exemplary message flow diagram is shown according to some exemplary embodiments described herein, which represents communication between a master device and a client device in a plurality of electronic devices for configuring a client device.

[0031] Figure 7 An exemplary scenario is illustrated according to some exemplary embodiments described herein, illustrating communication between a first computing device and the remaining electronic devices among a plurality of electronic devices for sharing configuration settings via a secure communication network.

[0032] Figure 8 Another example scenario is shown according to some exemplary embodiments described herein, which represents the sharing of configuration settings from a first computing device to the remaining electronic devices among a plurality of electronic devices, and the configuration set by the remaining electronic devices among the plurality of electronic devices.

[0033] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of an exemplary electronic device among several exemplary embodiments described herein is shown.

[0034] Figure 10 A schematic diagram of an exemplary computing device according to some exemplary embodiments described herein is shown.

[0035] Figure 11Exemplary views are shown according to some exemplary embodiments described herein, illustrating user interfaces for various instances of applications used to configure multiple electronic devices. Detailed Implementation

[0036] Some embodiments of this disclosure will be described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate some, but not all, embodiments of this disclosure. In fact, this disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided to enable this disclosure to meet applicable legal requirements. Unless otherwise specified, the terms “or” and “optionally” are used herein in the sense of alternatives and combinations. The terms “illustrative” and “exemplary” are used to refer to examples without an indication of quality level. Throughout the document, similar reference numerals refer to similar elements.

[0037] The components shown in the accompanying drawings represent components that may or may not be present in the various embodiments of this disclosure described herein, such that the embodiments may include fewer or more components than those shown in the drawings without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0038] The terms “computing device” or “client device” or “electronic device”, which may be used interchangeably below, refer to any or all programmable logic controllers (PLCs), programmable automation controllers (PACs), industrial computers, desktop computers, personal data assistants (PDAs), laptops, tablets, smartbooks, handheld computers, personal computers, barcode readers, scanners, tag readers, imagers, radio frequency identification (RFID readers or interrogators), vehicle computers, wearable barcode scanners, wearable tag readers, point-of-sale (POS) terminals, headset devices, and similar electronic devices equipped with at least one processor configured to perform the various operations described herein.

[0039] In some exemplary embodiments, a computing device may refer to an electronic device that has more processing power and data storage capacity compared to an electronic device. In this respect, in some exemplary embodiments, an electronic device may correspond to an electronic device that can operate at low power and has fewer computing and data storage resources.

[0040] For the sake of brevity, this document uses the interchangeable terms "computing platform" or "master device" to describe various implementations. The term "computing platform" may be used herein to refer to any computing device or a distributed network of computing devices capable of functioning as a server (such as a master switch server, web server, mail server, document server, or any other type of server). A computing platform may be a dedicated computing device or a computing device that includes a server module (e.g., running an application that may enable the computing device to operate as a server). A server module (e.g., a server application) may be a full-featured server module or a lightweight or auxiliary server module (e.g., a lightweight or auxiliary server application) configured to provide synchronization services between dynamic databases on the computing device. A lightweight or auxiliary server may be a simplified version of server-type functionality, implemented on a computing device such as a smartphone, thereby enabling it to act as an internet server (e.g., an enterprise email server) only when necessary to provide the functionality described herein.

[0041] In some exemplary embodiments, a computing platform may correspond to any of an industrial computer, a cloud-based platform, an external computer, a standalone computing device, etc. In some exemplary embodiments, a host device or computing platform may also refer to any electronic device as described herein.

[0042] The term "access point" refers to a gateway device in a network of electronic devices that can communicate directly with one or more electronic devices and can also communicate (directly or alternatively via a communication network such as the Internet) with a network establishment service (e.g., an Internet service provider). A network establishment service can refer to a server system capable of managing the deployment of one or more electronic devices throughout a physical environment. The network establishment service can be a distributed system in which multiple operations are performed by utilizing multiple computing resources deployed on a network and / or a cloud-based platform or cloud-based service (such as Software-Based Services (SaaS), Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), or Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)). According to some exemplary embodiments described herein, any electronic device can operate as an access point with the capabilities described herein.

[0043] Typically, configuring electronic devices involves the administrator (e.g., a server or remote device) providing configuration data to the device. For example, in some cases, the electronic device can be configured manually by taking it to a service center or support center. This manual configuration may involve physically connecting a host device (e.g., a laptop or PDA) to the electronic device and uploading configuration data from the host device to the electronic device. However, this can be challenging and undesirable because it requires an easily accessible connection interface (such as a serial port, USB port, or parallel port). Furthermore, it requires providing the latest or desired version of configuration data at the host device at a given point in time and typically requires a reasonable level of technical expertise to implement.

[0044] Alternatively, in some cases, configuration data can be provided to the electronic device by a master device (e.g., a remote device or server) via a communication network. In such cases, the electronic device can self-configure because it receives configuration data from the remote device. However, configuring electronic devices by providing configuration data via a communication network presents practical difficulties, such as failure or malfunction at the remote device, unavailability of the remote device, or network bandwidth issues.

[0045] The various exemplary embodiments described herein relate to methods for configuring multiple electronic devices using a computing device from among multiple electronic devices. In other words, according to the exemplary embodiments described herein, a first electronic device among a batch of multiple electronic devices may be configured first, enabling the remaining electronic devices to be configured in a networked environment. In this regard, the first computing device among the multiple electronic devices (e.g., but not limited to a first industrial device) may be configured to initialize a communication network (e.g., but not limited to a wireless access point or wireless hotspot). In this regard, the remaining electronic devices among the multiple electronic devices (e.g., other industrial devices) may use this communication network to communicate with the first computing device. In some examples, the first computing device may initialize the communication network based on at least one configuration parameter (e.g., network name, Security Service Set Identifier (SSID), and / or network security type (e.g., WPA2PSK)). This configuration parameter may be encrypted and is known to the remaining electronic devices. For this purpose, in some exemplary embodiments, the communication network may be initialized based on the launch of a first instance of an application (e.g., a mobile application) on the first computing device. Additionally, predefined configuration parameters may be associated with the first instance of an application on the first computing device.

[0046] Additionally, in some exemplary embodiments, the first computing device may recognize the initialization of a second instance of an application on the second computing device. In other words, the first computing device may recognize that a second instance of the same application (possibly previously executed on the first computing device) has been initialized on the second computing device. In this regard, in response to recognizing the second instance of the application on the second computing device, the first computing device may send configuration settings of the second computing device to the second computing device via a secure communication network. According to some exemplary embodiments described herein, a secure communication network is established between the first and second computing devices using a secure key exchange process, the details of which will be described later in this specification.

[0047] By implementing the various exemplary embodiments described herein, multiple electronic devices can be configured and debugged in batches at any time. The electronic devices can be configured using various instances of the same application that can execute on the respective electronic devices among the multiple electronic devices 102-10N. To this end, according to the various exemplary embodiments described herein, a first instance of the application can be launched on a first computing device (e.g., in response to an initial boot or manually based on user input) to configure the first computing device. When the first computing device is configured, the remaining electronic devices can be automatically or self-configured based on (a) the initialization of various instances of the same application launched on the remaining devices, and (b) information about the initialization of second and subsequent instances of the same application found on other devices from the first instance of the application running on the first computing device. In this respect, in some examples, various instances of the same application can be self-initialized in response to the initial boot of the remaining electronic devices among the multiple electronic devices 102-10N.

[0048] Figure 1An exemplary system 100 according to some exemplary embodiments described herein is illustrated, the system including multiple electronic devices (102, 104…10N) that may be in a networked environment. According to some exemplary embodiments described herein, the multiple electronic devices 102-10N may include a computing device 102, which will be configured (e.g.) for a primary purpose or configured based on periodic changes in configuration settings. According to various exemplary embodiments, during configuration, the computing device 102 may operate as a master device to share configuration settings to configure the remaining electronic devices among the multiple electronic devices 102-10N. According to some exemplary embodiments, the networked environment mentioned herein may correspond to a peer-to-peer (P2P) network of electronic devices 102-10N that can be communicatively coupled via a communication network 103. Therefore, the multiple electronic devices 102-10N in the networked environment may correspond to a device that can be debugged and / or configured to perform specific functions in an operational environment (e.g., an industrial environment). For example, in some examples, multiple electronic devices 102-10N may correspond to industrial devices that can be used by workers in industrial environments (such as, but not limited to, warehouses, manufacturing plants, or distribution centers), such as handheld devices, tag scanners, RFID readers, PDTs, etc.

[0049] As shown in the figure, one or more of a plurality of electronic devices 102-10N can be communicatively coupled to the remaining electronic devices in the plurality of electronic devices 102-10N via a communication network 103. In some exemplary embodiments, the communication network 103 may correspond to a medium through which content and messages can flow between various electronic devices (e.g., computing device 102 and / or the plurality of electronic devices 102-10N) in system 100 or a networked environment.

[0050] In some exemplary embodiments, the communication network 103 may include, but is not limited to, Wi-Fi networks, piconet, personal area networks (PANs), Zigbee, and Scatternet. In some examples, the communication network 103 may be a near-field wireless network through which multiple electronic devices 102-10N can communicate with each other using one or more communication protocols (such as, but not limited to, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Zigbee, and Z-Wave). In some examples, the communication network 103 may correspond to a network through which multiple electronic devices 102-10N can communicate with each other using various other wired and wireless communication protocols (such as Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol (TCP / IP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), and 2G, 3G, or 4G communication protocols). In some examples, the communication network 103 may correspond to any communication network, such as, but not limited to, LoRa, cellular (NB-IoT, LTE-M, leaky coaxial cable, etc.).

[0051] According to the various exemplary embodiments described herein, any of the plurality of electronic devices 102-10N (e.g., but not limited to computing device 102) can initialize communication network 103, through which one or more of the plurality of electronic devices 102-10N can communicate with computing device 102. In some exemplary embodiments, communication network 103 may be initialized by a first computing device 102-1. For example, in some examples, instances of mobile applications or system processes or services on the first computing device may facilitate the initialization or setup of communication network 103 when the first computing device is booted, after a system reset, or after a periodic system update.

[0052] Alternatively and / or in some exemplary embodiments, computing device 102 may initialize communication network 103 based on the triggering of an event, such as, but not limited to, user input or scanning of certain configuration flags. In this regard, in some examples, a user may provide input instructing computing device 102 to operate as a master device, thereby initializing communication network 103. For this purpose, according to some examples, the electronic device that initializes communication network 103 among a plurality of electronic devices 102-10N may be configured as an access point (e.g., a Wi-Fi access point or Wi-Fi hotspot), and the remaining electronic devices among the plurality of electronic devices may establish connections to that access point.

[0053] According to some exemplary embodiments, any one or more of the plurality of electronic devices 102-10N can enable the configuration of the remaining electronic devices among the plurality of electronic devices 102-10N that are communicatively coupled to each other via a communication network 103. In this regard, in some exemplary embodiments, the computing device 102 can operate as a master device and can share configuration settings to configure the remaining electronic devices among the plurality of electronic devices 102-10N. For this purpose, according to some exemplary embodiments described herein, a secure communication network 105 (in addition to the communication network 103) can be used to share configuration settings, which can be configured to ensure confidentiality and maintain the integrity of the configuration settings shared through the secure communication network 105. In some exemplary embodiments, the secure communication network 105 may correspond to the communication network 103 itself; however, in such cases, a secure communication protocol (i.e., based on a secret key exchange process) can be used to transmit data (such as configuration settings) between a sender (e.g., the first computing device 102) and a receiver (e.g., the remaining electronic devices among the plurality of electronic devices 102-10N), the details of which will be further described. For more details on the initialization of communication network 103 and the establishment of secure communication network 105, please refer to [link / reference]. Figures 2 to 10 Describe it.

[0054] Examplely, system 100 may also include a computing platform 106. In some exemplary embodiments, one or more of the plurality of electronic devices 102-10N may be communicatively coupled to computing platform 106 via communication network 103. In some examples, computing platform 106 may correspond to a remote server or electronic device used by a manager in an industrial environment. In some exemplary embodiments, computing platform 106 may correspond to a data analytics platform configured to receive data from one or more of the plurality of electronic devices 102-10N, perform analysis on the data, and provide action plans to the plurality of electronic devices 102-10N. In some exemplary embodiments, computing platform 106 may generate configuration settings or updates to configuration settings for the plurality of electronic devices 102-10N.

[0055] According to some exemplary embodiments, computing device 102 may include at least one of a processing unit 110, a sensor unit 108, a memory 112, an input / output circuit 114, and a communication circuit 116. In some examples, one or more of the sensor unit 108, memory 112, input / output circuit 114, and communication circuit 116 may be communicatively coupled to the processing unit 110. Furthermore, computing platform 106 may also include a processing unit 118 and / or one or more similar components, such as the memory 112, sensor unit 108, communication circuit 110, input / output circuit 114, etc., as described with reference to computing device 102.

[0056] According to some exemplary embodiments, the processing unit 116 mentioned herein may correspond to any computing processing unit or device, including but not limited to: a single-core processor; a single-core processor with software multithreading capabilities; a multi-core processor; a multi-core processor with software multithreading capabilities; a multi-core processor utilizing hardware multithreading technology; a parallel platform; and a parallel platform with distributed shared memory. Additionally, the processing unit 116 may refer to an integrated circuit, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic controller (PLC), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. In some examples, the processing unit 116 may also utilize nanoscale architectures, such as, but not limited to, molecular and quantum dot-based transistors, switches, and gates, to optimize space utilization or enhance the performance of user equipment.

[0057] According to some exemplary embodiments, sensor unit 108 may include multiple sensors, such as imaging devices (e.g., color cameras and / or depth cameras), photocells, fill sensors, volume sensors, speed sensors, RFID interrogators, scanning engines, barcode scanners, tag readers, etc.

[0058] Furthermore, the communication circuit 116 mentioned herein may be configured to receive data from the network and / or any other device, circuit, or module communicating via the communication network 103, and / or transmit data to the network and / or any other device, circuit, or module communicating via the communication network 103. To this end, in some exemplary embodiments, the communication circuit 116 mentioned herein may be any means, such as a device or circuit, embodied in the hardware or hardware and software combination associated with a corresponding component of system 100. In some examples, the communication circuit 116 may include a network interface for enabling communication with a wired or wireless communication network. For example, the communication circuit may include one or more network interface cards, antennas, buses, switches, routers, modems, and supporting hardware and / or software, or any other device suitable for enabling communication via the communication network 103. Additionally or alternatively, the communication circuit 116 may include circuitry for interacting with one or more antennas to enable signal transmission via one or more antennas or to process signal reception received via one or more antennas. These signals may be received by any component and / or processing unit 110 of system 100 using various wireless personal area network (PAN) technologies (such as, but not limited to, those mentioned above). Transmitted via communication network 103 from version 1.0 to 3.0, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), infrared wireless (e.g., IrDA), ultra-wideband (UWB), inductive wireless transmission, etc., or via wired communication technologies (e.g., data fieldbus, cable, etc.).

[0059] In some embodiments, I / O circuitry 114 may then communicate with processing unit 110 to provide output to a user, and in some embodiments, to receive indications of user input. I / O circuitry 114 may include a user interface and may include a display, which may include a web user interface, mobile application, client device, etc. In some embodiments, I / O circuitry 114 may also include a keypad, joystick, touchscreen, touch area, softkeys, microphone, speaker, or other input / output mechanism. In some examples, processing unit 110 and / or user interface circuitry including a processor associated with I / O circuitry 114 may be configured to control one or more functions of one or more user interface elements associated with I / O circuitry 114 via computer program instructions (e.g., software and / or firmware) stored in memory 112 accessible to processing unit 110. See also... Figures 9 to 10 Further details are described regarding the components of the computing device 102 and / or multiple electronic devices (102-10N).

[0060] Figures 2 to 5 An exemplary embodiment of the invention is shown, consisting of, such as Figure 1An exemplary flowchart illustrating the operations performed by a plurality of electronic devices (102-10N). It should be understood that each block in the flowchart, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart, can be implemented by various means, such as hardware, firmware, one or more processors, circuitry, and / or other means associated with the execution of software including one or more computer program instructions. For example, one or more of the processes described above can be embodied by computer program instructions. In this regard, the computer program instructions embodying the processes described above can be stored in the memory of a device employing an embodiment of the present invention and executed by a processor in the device. It is understood that any such computer program instructions can be loaded onto a computer or other programmable device (e.g., hardware) to produce a machine such that the resulting computer or other programmable device is used to implement the functions specified in one or more flowchart blocks. These computer program instructions can also be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage memory that can instruct the computer or other programmable device to operate in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage memory produce an article of writing whose execution implements the functions specified in one or more flowchart blocks. Computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable device to cause a series of operations to be performed on the computer or other programmable device, thereby producing a computer-implemented method, such that the instructions, which execute on the computer or other programmable device, provide operations for implementing the functions specified in one or more flowchart blocks. Therefore, Figures 2 to 5 When executed, the operation transforms the computer or processing circuitry into a specific machine configured to perform exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Therefore, Figures 2 to 5 The operation defines the algorithm used to configure a computer or processor to perform the exemplary implementation scheme. In some cases, an instance of a processor may be provided for a general-purpose computer that performs... Figures 2 to 5 The algorithm transforms a general-purpose computer into a specific machine configured to execute an exemplary implementation.

[0061] Therefore, the boxes in a flowchart support combinations of devices for performing a specified function and combinations of operations for performing the specified function. It will also be understood that one or more boxes in a flowchart, as well as combinations of boxes in a flowchart, can be implemented by a hardware-based dedicated computer system or a combination of dedicated hardware and computer instructions to perform the specified function.

[0062] Figure 2An exemplary flowchart illustrating a method 200 for configuring a computing device 104 according to some exemplary embodiments described herein is shown. Inventively, method 200 begins at step 202. At step 204, computing device 102 (hereinafter referred to as the first computing device 102) among a plurality of electronic devices 102-10N may include means, such as processing unit 110, for initializing a communication network 103 based on predefined configuration parameters. In some examples, the predefined configuration parameters herein correspond to parameters (e.g., but not limited to SSID, network name, network security type, etc.) upon which one of the plurality of electronic devices (102-10N) may be configured to use the communication network 103. In some examples, the predefined configuration parameters may correspond to configuration parameters provided or selected by a user of the master device (i.e., the first computing device 102).

[0063] According to some exemplary embodiments, predefined configuration parameters may be associated with a first instance of an application on the first computing device 102. In this regard, in some examples, the application may correspond to a mobile application or system process that can be programmed to configure network settings for the first computing device 102. In some examples, the application may execute automatically in response to an initial boot or firmware update of the first computing device and / or the remaining electronic devices in the plurality of electronic devices 102-10N. Additionally, in some examples, the application may provide a user interface for setting up a communication network 103 for the first computing device 102. (See reference...) Figure 11 More details about the application's user interface are described.

[0064] In some exemplary embodiments, predefined configuration parameters may correspond to network configuration parameters used to configure network settings for a communication network through which electronic devices can communicate. For example, in some examples, the predefined configuration may include at least one of a network name, a Service Set Identifier (SSID), and a network security type. In this respect, the communication network 103 may be configured based on the predefined configuration parameters. In some examples, the communication network 103 may be initialized based on the occurrence of an event. For example, in some examples, the processing unit 110 may initialize the communication network 103 based on receiving predefined configuration parameters (as input from a user). In this respect, the processing unit 110 may receive input from the user corresponding to the predefined configuration parameters via input / output circuitry 114.

[0065] In some exemplary scenarios, the communication network 103 can be initialized in a networked environment where multiple electronic devices can be configured by a manager to perform a series of prescribed steps in industrial operations. In this regard, predefined parameters for setting up the communication network 103 can be pre-shared or known among trusted electronic devices within the networked environment, ensuring that only trusted devices can utilize the communication network 103 for data communication.

[0066] Moving to step 206, the first computing device 102 may include means, such as processing unit 110, for identifying the initialization of a second instance of an application at the second computing device 104 among a plurality of electronic devices (102-10N). In this respect, in some examples, the first computing device 102 may identify the initialization of the second instance of the application at the second computing device 104 based on receiving a connection request from the second computing device 104. For this purpose, according to some examples, the initialization of the communication network 103 at step 204 may enable the first computing device 102 to operate as a wireless access point. In this respect, the remaining electronic devices among the plurality of electronic devices 102-10N may attempt to establish a connection with the wireless access point. Therefore, at step 206, the first computing device 102 may receive such a connection request from one or more of the plurality of electronic devices 102-10N for establishing a connection with the first computing device 102 and for communicating via the communication network 103.

[0067] Moving to step 208, the first computing device 102 may include means, such as processing unit 110, that enable the transmission of configuration settings for the second computing device 104 via the secure communication network 105. In this regard, in some exemplary embodiments, the configuration settings may include at least predefined configuration parameters upon which the first computing device 102 initializes the communication network 103. In other words, the first computing device 102 may share the same configuration settings as the basis for initializing the communication network 103 with the second computing device 104, enabling the second computing device 104 to also use the same communication network 103 for data communication. In other words, according to some exemplary embodiments, the second computing device 104 may receive configuration settings to configure its communication circuitry (e.g., similar to communication circuitry 116), enabling the second computing device 104 to connect to and utilize the communication network 103 for data communication.

[0068] In some examples, communication network 103 may correspond to a wireless network. For this purpose, initializing the wireless network may involve configuring a Wi-Fi hotspot at the first computing device 102. In this respect, the second computing device 104 may send a connection request to the first computing device 102 to connect to the Wi-Fi hotspot. Furthermore, in response to connecting to the Wi-Fi hotspot, the first computing device 102 may share configuration settings (e.g., network settings including SSID, network name, network security type, password, etc.) with the second computing device 104 via a secure communication network 105. These configuration settings can be used to configure the second computing device 104. Method 200 stops at step 210.

[0069] Figure 3 An exemplary flowchart is shown according to some exemplary embodiments described herein, illustrating a method 300 for configuring a first computing device 102 to initialize a communication network 103, wherein the communication network is used to communicate with a plurality of electronic devices (102-10N) trusted by the first computing device 102.

[0070] The method begins at step 302. At step 304, the first computing device 102 may include means for providing predefined configuration parameters to the processing unit 110, such as a user interface for input / output circuitry 114. The predefined configuration parameters may include parameters associated with an access point (e.g., a wireless access point) provided by the first computing device 102. For example, the predefined parameters may be network configuration settings typically used to configure the communication network 103, including at least one of network name, username, password, network security type, SSID, etc. In some examples, the predefined parameters may be encrypted, predefined, and known to one or more trusted devices in the networking environment, such that trusted devices can use the predefined parameters for network configuration, and untrusted devices cannot use the predefined parameters.

[0071] Based on the various exemplary embodiments described herein, the scope of this disclosure is not limited to predefined parameters as network parameters. Rather, the predefined parameters may correspond to any configuration parameters that form the basis for configuring the first computing device 102 to operate the desired functions. For example, in some examples, predefined parameters provided by the user interface may correspond to system parameters associated with the operation of the first computing device, such as the selection of the system language, network connection preferences to be used as default settings, voice preferences for the first computing device 102, tag scanning settings, barcode configuration settings, etc. Reference Figure 11 Further details are described regarding the provision of predefined configuration parameters using the user interface of the first computing device 102.

[0072] At step 306, the first computing device 102 may include means, such as processing unit 110, for configuring the first computing device 102 based on predefined configuration parameters provided via a user interface at step 304. At step 308, the first computing device 102 may include means, such as processing unit 110, for initializing a communication network 103. Therefore, in response to the initialization of the communication network 103, the first computing device 102 may communicate with one or more of a plurality of electronic devices 102-10N. According to some exemplary embodiments, the initialization of the communication network 103 may correspond to the first computing device 102 activating a network access point (e.g., a Wi-Fi hotspot). In this regard, in some examples, the access point may be configured to provide network access (e.g., internet access) provided by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) or a wireless local area network to one or more of the plurality of electronic devices 102-10N in a networked environment.

[0073] Moving to step 310, the processing unit 110 of the first computing device 102 enables the sharing of configuration settings to the second computing device 104 via a secure communication network 103 through a communication circuit 116. In this regard, for sharing configuration settings, according to some exemplary embodiments, the first computing device 102 may establish a secure connection with the second computing device 104, ensuring that the configuration settings are not compromised or lose confidentiality during transmission. For this purpose, configuration settings can be shared via a secure communication network 105 established between the first computing device 102 and the second computing device 104 based on a secure key exchange process, details of which refer to [reference needed]. Figure 4 The method is described below. The process stops at step 312.

[0074] According to some exemplary embodiments, a communication network 103 initialized by the first computing device 102 may be desired (e.g., such as...). Figure 3 Step 308 or Figure 2 The settings described in step 204 can be used by trusted devices or debugging devices among the multiple electronic devices 102-10N, but not by malicious or unidentifiable electronic devices. Furthermore, it may be desirable to maintain the confidentiality and integrity of the configuration settings when sharing settings between two electronic devices (e.g., first computing device 102 and second computing device 104) at step 310. In other words, configuration settings can be shared by the first computing device 102 in response to determining that the second computing device 104 is a trusted device and not a malicious node in the networked environment. In this regard, according to some exemplary embodiments, the first computing device 102 can authenticate the second computing device 104 as a trusted device; details of this operation can be found in [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 4 Please provide an explanation.

[0075] Figure 4An exemplary flowchart according to some exemplary embodiments described herein is shown, illustrating a method 400 for a first computing device 102 to authenticate a second computing device 104 to use a communication network initialized by the first computing device. Method 400 begins at step 402. At step 404, the first computing device may include means, such as a processing unit 110, for encrypting predefined configuration parameters using a first key shared among a plurality of electronic devices 102-10N. For example, the first computing device 102 may use the first key to encrypt one or more of network names, SSIDs, passwords, etc.

[0076] In some examples, the public key and its corresponding private key pair may be shared and known between trusted devices. For example, public and private key information may be shared between trusted electronic devices when the electronic device is manufactured by an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) or during firmware configuration of the electronic device. In some examples, the first key may correspond to the private key of the first computing device 102, which may be used by the first computing device to encrypt predefined configuration parameters. According to some exemplary embodiments, the predefined configuration parameters may be encrypted by the first computing device 102 after the initialization of the communication network 103. In other words, the first computing device 102 may initialize an access point for communication and subsequently encrypt the configuration parameters to be used for connecting to the access point.

[0077] At step 406, processing unit 110 may scan for incoming connection requests for establishing a connection with the first computing device 102 via communication network 103 through communication circuit 116. In this respect, processing unit 110 may wait for incoming connection requests for connecting to the access point.

[0078] Moving to step 408, processing unit 110 may receive a connection request from second computing device 104 via communication circuitry 116. In some examples, the incoming connection request may correspond to a TCP / IP handshake request from second computing device 104 to establish a connection with first computing device. In this regard, the incoming connection request may include fields such as source address, destination address, source physical address (MAC address), payload information, and other such information.

[0079] At step 410, the first computing device 102 may include means, such as processing unit 110, for authenticating the second computing device 104 based on the identification of predefined configuration parameters in the connection request. In this regard, processing unit 110 may be configured to parse the connection request received at step 408 to determine at least predefined configuration parameters that will be present in the connection request.

[0080] For example, in some examples, the connection request may include at least one of the SSID, network name, password, etc., used by the first computing device 102 to initialize the communication network 103. Since the predefined configuration parameters are encrypted by the first computing device 102, the identification of the predefined configuration parameters in the connection request in step 410 may instruct the second computing device 104 to successfully decrypt the predefined configuration parameters. To this end, the second computing device 104 may enable the use of a second key (e.g., a public key shared among trusted devices) to decrypt the encrypted configuration parameters and send a connection request including the decrypted configuration parameters to the first computing device. Therefore, the first computing device 102 can authenticate the second computing device 104 as a trusted device. In some exemplary embodiments, in response to authentication, the first computing device 102 may enable the sharing of configuration settings with the second computing device 104. The method stops at step 412.

[0081] Figure 5 An exemplary flowchart is shown according to some example embodiments described herein, illustrating a method 500 for secure key exchange between a first computing device 102 and a second computing device 104, for sharing configuration settings to the second computing device 104. According to some exemplary embodiments, based on the secure key exchange, a secure communication network 105 can be established and utilized by multiple electronic devices 102-10N, thereby enabling data communication and secure data sharing among the multiple electronic devices 102-10N.

[0082] At step 502, the first computing device 102 may include means, such as processing unit 110, for receiving an encrypted temporary key from the second computing device 104 via communication circuitry 116. In this respect, the encrypted temporary key corresponds to a temporary key generated by and subsequently encrypted by the second computing device 104. In some examples, the encrypted temporary key may include any one of numbers, letters, alphanumeric characters, special characters, and / or combinations thereof.

[0083] At step 504, processing unit 110 may decrypt the encrypted temporary key received from second computing device 104. In this regard, in some examples, the encrypted temporary key may correspond to a temporary key encrypted by second computing device 104 using a public key shared among multiple electronic devices. Therefore, in some exemplary embodiments, at step 504, processing unit 110 may use the private key of first computing device 102 to decrypt the encrypted temporary key.

[0084] The method at step 508 may include encrypting the session key by the processing unit 110 using the temporary key decrypted at step 506. The processing unit 110 may encrypt the session key to generate an encrypted session key. In this respect, the session key may be generated by the processing unit 110 and may indicate the session of data communication to be initiated at the first computing device 102.

[0085] At step 510, the first computing device 102 may include means, such as processing unit 110, for causing an encrypted session key to be sent to a second computing device via communication circuitry 116. In this regard, in some exemplary embodiments, the encrypted session key may be received by the second computing device and decrypted using a temporary key known to the second computing device. By decrypting the encrypted session key, the second computing device 104 may know the session key and use it for data communication with the first computing device 102. For example, in some exemplary embodiments, the second computing device 102 may send a configuration request to the first computing device. In some examples, the configuration request may indicate a request for sharing configuration settings of the second computing device 104.

[0086] Furthermore, in some examples, at step 512, processing unit 110 may verify the configuration request received from second computing device 104. In some examples, the configuration request may include a header, a destination address (e.g., the IP address or physical address of first computing device 102), a source address (the physical address or IP address of second computing device 104), a payload (which may include a set of configuration parameters associated with the requested configuration settings), a tag value identifier identifying the request as a request for sharing configuration settings, a session key, etc. In this regard, processing unit 110 of second computing device 104 may parse the connection request received from second computing device 104 and identify the session key in the connection request.

[0087] Therefore, if the session key is present in the connection request received from the second computing device 104, the processing unit 110 can verify the second computing device 104 as a trusted electronic device. In some examples, the processing unit 110 can match the session key identified from the connection request with a local version of the session key generated by the first computing device 102 at step 508. Alternatively, if the connection request received at step 512 does not contain a session key or contains an invalid session key, the processing unit 110 can mark the second computing device 104 as an untrusted electronic device.

[0088] Moving to step 514, in response to the second computing device 104 being verified as a trusted electronic device, processing unit 110 may share configuration settings with the second computing device 104. Furthermore, in some examples, the configuration settings received from the first computing device 102 can be used to configure the second computing device 104 for a desired purpose. The method stops at step 516.

[0089] Figure 6 An exemplary message flow diagram 600 is shown according to some example embodiments described herein, representing communication between a master device 602 and a client device 604. In other words, message flow diagram 600 illustrates a sequence of message and data communications between the master device 602 and the client device 604. According to some examples, a limited set of process threads may be executed at each of the master device 602 and the client device 604 to perform some operation (e.g., but not limited to...). Figures 2 to 5 (One or more steps of methods 200, 300, 400, and 500 described herein). In this regard, message flow diagram 600 also represents a finite sequence of events for each process thread that can be executed by the processing unit of the respective device. Illustratively, process threads that can be executed on master device 602 are represented by vertical lines 606, and process threads that can be executed on client device 604 are represented by vertical lines 608. Furthermore, horizontal lines in message flow diagram 600 represent messages transmitted between master device 602 and client device 604, or data processed at the respective devices.

[0090] According to some exemplary embodiments, the master device 602 and the client device 604 may come from multiple electronic devices 102-10N, such as Figure 1 As described in [reference]. For example, in an exemplary embodiment, master device 602 may correspond to a first computing device 102, and client device 604 may correspond to a second computing device 104. Therefore, master device 602 may be configured to perform [actions as described in reference]. Figures 1 to 5 The first computing device 102 in the process of performing the operations described above, and the client device 604 can be configured to perform the operations as described in the reference. Figures 1 to 5 The operation described in the second computing device 104.

[0091] In one exemplary scenario, multiple electronic devices 102-10N may operate in an industrial environment such as a warehouse or inventory. In this regard, workers can use the multiple electronic devices 102-10N to improve their productivity when performing various operations, such as, but not limited to, packaging positioning, restocking shelves, preparing inventory, and shipping processing. In such cases, workflows including task steps may be executed in the form of visual instructions and / or provided to workers in the form of voice-based instructions on the multiple electronic devices 102-10N. In such an exemplary scenario, the master device 602 may be an electronic device among the multiple electronic devices 102-10N that can operate as a central server managed by a store manager, and the client device 604 may be any electronic device among the multiple electronic devices 102-10N that can be used by the worker. In this regard, workers may receive instructions in the form of audio and / or visual instructions for performing various operations within the inventory on the client device 604, and the worker may respond to these instructions using the input / output circuitry of the client device 604.

[0092] In some exemplary embodiments, master device 602 may correspond to an electronic device that may have significantly more resources (e.g., memory, battery life, network connectivity, etc.) compared to client device 604. Furthermore, according to some exemplary embodiments, master device 602 may correspond to one of a plurality of electronic devices 102-10N, which may be initially configured based on predefined configuration settings, and these configuration settings may be further shared with the remaining electronic devices in the plurality of electronic devices 102-10N.

[0093] Examplely, at step 610, the master device 602 may generate configuration settings. According to some exemplary embodiments, the configuration settings may correspond to settings for: network settings configuration (e.g., Wi-Fi configuration, wired network configuration), network preferences for data transmission settings (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, etc.), system sounds (e.g., ringtone volume, device volume, call volume, alarm volume, etc.), system language (e.g., English, Chinese, Hindi, etc.), and other similar device settings. According to some exemplary embodiments, the configuration settings may be generated at the master device 602 in response to receiving input defining configuration parameters via input / output circuitry 114. Alternatively, in some exemplary embodiments, the configuration settings may be automatically generated during the initial setup or boot of the master device 602. In some exemplary embodiments, the configuration settings may be generated in response to scanning and decoding a configuration marker (e.g., a QR code or barcode provided by the OEM).

[0094] When generating configuration settings, the master device 602 can be configured to operate according to configuration parameters defined in the configuration settings. For example, if the configuration settings correspond to network settings, the master device 602 can initialize a communication network or access point defined in the configuration settings during configuration and can use that communication network to transmit data. According to some examples, the configuration settings may correspond to wireless network configuration settings, and the master device 602 can initialize a wireless communication network (e.g., a Wi-Fi hotspot or near-field access point) based on these wireless network configuration settings. Therefore, at step 612, the master device 602 can activate a Wi-Fi hotspot, and one or more of the plurality of electronic devices 102-10N can connect to the hotspot for data communication with the master device 602.

[0095] At step 614, in some exemplary embodiments, client device 604 may generate a connection request to connect to a Wi-Fi hotspot initialized at master device 602. In this respect, the connection request may correspond to a message sent from client device 604 based on a TCP / IP handshake protocol. In some examples, the connection request may correspond to a data packet including a header, source address, destination address, request identifier, etc. In some exemplary embodiments, master device 602 may communicate with a reference... Figures 2 to 5 A similar method is used to receive a connection request from client device 604. In some exemplary embodiments, the connection request may also include, as referenced... Figure 5 The encrypted session key.

[0096] In response to receiving a connection request from client device 604, at step 616, master device 602 may send configuration settings to client device 604. The configuration settings may include one or more configuration parameters (such as, but not limited to, network name, SSID, password, network security type), based on which client device 604 may connect to the Wi-Fi hotspot initiated by master device 602. In some examples, the configuration settings sent from master device 602 to client device 604 may also include, for example, system sound settings, language settings, power management settings, etc., associated with client device 604. Additionally, at step 618, client device 604 may apply the configuration settings and may be configured based on them. Furthermore, client device 604 may disconnect from the Wi-Fi hotspot.

[0097] Figure 7An exemplary scenario 700 is illustrated according to some example embodiments described herein, representing communication between a first computing device 102 and the remaining electronic devices among a plurality of electronic devices 102-10N. Illustratively, in instance 702, the first view 700 depicts a wireless access point initialized by the first computing device 102. In some examples, the wireless access point initialized at the first computing device 102 may correspond to a Wi-Fi hotspot. According to some exemplary embodiments, in response to initializing the wireless access point, the communication circuitry 116 of the first computing device 102 may perform data communication using the communication network 103. For this purpose, the first computing device 102 may perform data communication by executing a reference... Figures 2 to 6 The steps described are used to initialize the wireless access point.

[0098] For example, in instance 702, input / output circuitry 114 can be used to define configuration parameters for initializing the wireless access point, such as, but not limited to, SSID, network security type, network name, and password. In some examples, the wireless access point may be initialized based on encrypted configuration parameters. For example, in some examples, one or more configuration parameters (e.g., network name, SSID, password, etc.) may be encrypted for initialization, such that only trusted devices can use the Wi-Fi hotspot for data communication. For this purpose, the keys used to encrypt and decrypt the configuration parameters are known to the trusted devices. In some examples, the encrypted configuration parameters may be installed or built into all trusted electronic devices by the OEM. In some exemplary embodiments, connection requests from the remaining electronic devices in the plurality of electronic devices 102-10N or new electronic devices from the OEM may be automatically sent in response to the initial boot of the respective device. For this purpose, the application generating the connection request may be automatically executed (e.g., as a backend service) during the initial boot of the remaining electronic devices in the plurality of electronic devices 102-10N that can operate as client devices.

[0099] Second view 720 shows a first computing device 102 waiting for the remaining electronic devices among a plurality of electronic devices 102-10N to connect to a wireless access point (e.g., a Wi-Fi hotspot). In this respect, in some examples, the first computing device 102 may connect to... Figure 4The process described in step 406 scans for incoming connection requests from one or more of the multiple electronic devices 102-10N to connect to the Wi-Fi hotspot. For this purpose, in example 704, one or more electronic devices (e.g., the second computing device 104 and computing device 10N) may send communication requests to connect to the Wi-Fi hotspot initialized by the first computing device 102. In some examples, where the second computing device 104 and computing device 10N are trusted devices, the configuration parameters associated with the Wi-Fi hotspot may be decrypted by the second computing device 104 and computing device 10N to connect to the Wi-Fi hotspot.

[0100] Third view 750 schematically illustrates a secret key exchange process for sharing configuration settings that can be performed between a first computing device 102 and a plurality of electronic devices 102-10N. According to some exemplary embodiments, when connected to a Wi-Fi hotspot (as shown in second view 720), the first computing device 102 can share configuration settings for the remaining electronic devices among the plurality of electronic devices 102-10N via a secure communication channel (e.g., a secure communication network 105). For this purpose, a secret key exchange process can be performed among the plurality of electronic devices 102-10N, as shown in third view 750 (i.e., to initiate data communication related to configuration settings). In other words, although the plurality of electronic devices 102-10N may initially connect to a Wi-Fi hotspot and communicate via the communication network 103 provided by that Wi-Fi hotspot, in order to share configuration settings, a secret key exchange process can be performed based on, for example... Figure 5 The secret key exchange process, shown in the third view 750, uses a secret key to perform data communication. Therefore, configuration settings can be shared through a secure communication network 105 established between multiple electronic devices 102-10N based on this secret key exchange process. This operation ensures that configuration settings can be shared with trusted devices, and that malicious devices may not intrude on data communication. As shown, in example 706, the first computing device 102 and the remaining electronic devices among the multiple electronic devices 102 can perform the secret key exchange process (e.g., Figure 5 (as described above), and in another instance 708, a socket connection is established with the first computing device 102. Figure 8 The document shows and describes more details about the configuration settings and sharing.

[0101] Figure 8 Another exemplary scenario representing the first view 800 is shown, illustrating the sharing of configuration settings from the first computing device 102 (e.g., the host device) to the remaining electronic devices in a plurality of electronic devices 104-10N. Figure 8Another exemplary scenario according to some example embodiments described herein is also shown, illustrating a second view 820 depicting a configuration set up by the remaining electronic devices among the plurality of electronic devices 104-10N. Illustratively, a first view 800 depicts, at step 802, the transmission of encrypted data from the first computing device 102 to the remaining electronic devices among the plurality of electronic devices 104-10N. In this respect, as shown, the remaining electronic devices among the plurality of electronic devices 104-10N can be connected to (or establish a socket connection with) the first computing device 102 via a secure communication network 105. References may be used. Figure 5 The steps described herein establish a socket connection based on a secret key exchange process. In some exemplary embodiments, the encrypted data may correspond to configuration settings or configuration data shared by the first computing device 102 for configuring the remaining electronic devices among the plurality of electronic devices 104-10N. For this purpose, in some examples, a session key (e.g., an encrypted session key, as referenced) may be used. Figure 5 The above) is used to encrypt the configuration settings.

[0102] Furthermore, as shown in the figure, at step 804, the remaining electronic devices among the plurality of electronic devices 104-10N can use a session key to decrypt encrypted data to access configuration settings. In some examples, configuration settings may include, but are not limited to, those shared by the first computing device 102 to configure the remaining electronic devices among the plurality of electronic devices 104-10N to use the SSID, security password, etc. of an access point or hotspot. Therefore, as shown in the second view 820, at step 806, the remaining electronic devices among the plurality of electronic devices 104-10N can be configured using the configuration settings (e.g., SSID and security password) decrypted at step 804. In some examples, based on the configuration, the remaining electronic devices among the plurality of electronic devices 104-10N can remain connected to the Wi-Fi access point or hotspot initialized at the first computing device 102.

[0103] By implementing the embodiments described herein, in an industrial environment, multiple electronic devices (e.g., multiple electronic devices 102-10N) can be simultaneously (e.g., in batches) configured and commissioned for a desired purpose at some point. In other words, when configuring one device (e.g., the first computing device 102), the remaining electronic devices (e.g., the second computing device 104, electronic device 104, etc.) can be configured based on the configuration settings generated by the first configured device (i.e., the first computing device). In this regard, configuring the multiple electronic devices 102-10N described herein may include, for example, but not limited to: setting the system language, controlling network priority (e.g., Bluetooth or NFC), adjusting the system volume, controlling device location availability, configuring the electronic devices to connect to a specific network, installing applications, configuring the electronic devices to download certain files from a defined local network, restarting the electronic devices, etc.

[0104] Figure 9 A schematic diagram 900 of an exemplary electronic device among several exemplary embodiments described herein is shown. In some examples, the electronic device may correspond to a mobile handheld device. In some exemplary embodiments, Figure 9 The electronic device shown may be as referenced. Figures 1 to 8 Any of the plurality of electronic devices 102-10N. For example, in some embodiments, Figure 9 The mobile handheld device shown may correspond to, as in the reference Figures 1 to 8 The first computing device 102 or the second computing device 104.

[0105] According to some exemplary implementations Figure 9 A schematic block diagram of an exemplary end-user device according to some embodiments described herein is shown. This end-user device may be a user device such as a first computing device 102 (e.g., a mobile handheld device) capable of connecting to a communication network (103 and / or 105). Although Figure 9 A mobile handheld device is shown, but it should be understood that other devices may also be used. Figure 1 Any electronic device described herein, and the mobile handheld device is only shown to provide context for implementations of the various embodiments described herein. Therefore, the following discussion is intended to provide a brief general description of examples of suitable environments 900 in which the various embodiments may be implemented. While this specification includes a general context of computer-executable instructions embodied on a machine-readable storage medium, those skilled in the art will recognize that the various embodiments may also be implemented in combination with other program modules and / or as a combination of hardware and software.

[0106] Generally, an application (e.g., a program module) may include routines, programs, components, data structures, etc., that perform a specific task or implement a specific abstract data type according to exemplary embodiments described herein. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the methods described herein can be practiced with other system configurations, including single-processor or multi-processor systems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, personal computers, handheld computing devices, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, etc., each operatively coupled to one or more associated devices.

[0107] According to some exemplary embodiments, the first computing device 102 may generally include a variety of machine-readable media. Machine-readable media can be any available storage medium accessible by a computer, and includes volatile and non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example, and not limitation, computer-readable media may include computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media may include volatile and / or non-volatile media, removable and / or non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storing information (such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data). Computer storage media may include, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other storage technologies, CD ROM, digital video disk (DVD) or other optical disc storage devices, magnetic tape cassettes, magnetic tape, disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store desired information and is accessible by a computer.

[0108] According to some exemplary embodiments described herein, communication media typically embody computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in modulated data signals (such as carrier waves or other transmission mechanisms), and include any information delivery medium. In this regard, the term "modulated data signal" may correspond to a signal that sets or alters one or more characteristics of the signal in a manner that encodes information within the signal. By way of example and not limitation, communication media include wired media (such as wired networks or direct wired connections) and wireless media (such as acoustic, RF, infrared, and other wireless media). Any combination of the foregoing media may also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0109] According to some exemplary embodiments, the mobile handheld device may include a processor 902 for controlling and processing all onboard operations and functions. A memory 904 is connected to the processor 902 for storing data and one or more applications 906 (e.g., video player software, user feedback component software, etc.). Other applications may include voice recognition of predetermined voice commands that facilitate the initiation of user feedback signals. Applications 906 may be stored in memory 904 and / or firmware 908, and executed by the processor 902 from one or both of memory 904 and firmware 908. Firmware 908 may also store startup code for execution when the mobile handheld device is initialized. A communication component 910 is connected to the processor 902 to facilitate wired / wireless communication with external systems (e.g., cellular networks, VoIP networks, etc.). Here, the communication component 910 may also include a suitable cellular transceiver 911 (e.g., a GSM transceiver) and / or an unlicensed transceiver 913 (e.g., Wi-Fi, WiMax) for corresponding signal communication. The mobile handheld device can be a device with mobile communication capabilities (such as a cellular phone, PDA), as well as a messaging-centric device. The communication component 910 also facilitates the reception of communications from terrestrial radio networks (e.g., broadcasting), digital satellite radio networks, and Internet-based radio service networks.

[0110] The mobile handheld device may also include a display 912 for displaying text, images, video, telephone functions (e.g., caller ID function), settings functions, and for user input. For example, the display 912 may also be referred to as a "screen," which is adapted to present multimedia content (e.g., music metadata, messages, wallpapers, graphics, etc.). The display 912 may also display video and facilitate the generation, editing, and sharing of video quotes. A serial I / O interface 914 is provided in communication with the processor 902 to facilitate wired and / or wireless serial communication (e.g., USB and / or IEEE 1394) via hardwired connections to other serial input devices (e.g., keyboard, keypad, and mouse). This, for example, supports updates and troubleshooting of the mobile handheld device. Audio functionality is provided via an audio I / O component 916, which may include a speaker for outputting audio signals related to, for example, instructing the user to press the correct key or key combination to initiate a user feedback signal. The audio I / O component 916 also facilitates the input of audio signals via a microphone for recording data and / or telephone voice data, as well as voice signals for inputting telephone conversations.

[0111] The mobile handheld device may also include a slot interface 918 for receiving a Card Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) or a SiC (Subscriber Identity Component) of form factor 920, and for interfacing the SIM card 920 with the processor 902. However, it should be understood that the SIM card 920 can be manufactured into the mobile handheld device and can be updated by downloading data and software.

[0112] Mobile handheld devices can also process IP data traffic via the communication component 910 to accommodate IP traffic from IP networks (such as the Internet, corporate intranets, home networks, personal area networks, etc.) via ISPs or broadband cable providers. Therefore, VoIP traffic can be utilized by mobile handheld devices, and IP-based multimedia content can be received in either encoded or decoded formats.

[0113] A video processing component 922 (e.g., a camera) may be provided for decoding encoded multimedia content. The video processing component 922 may facilitate the generation, editing, and sharing of video quotes. The mobile handheld device also includes a power supply 924 in the form of a battery and / or AC power subsystem, which can be connected to an external power system or charging device (not shown) via a power I / O component 926.

[0114] According to some exemplary embodiments, the mobile handheld device may also include a video component 930 for processing received video content and for recording and transmitting video content. For example, the video component 930 may facilitate the generation, editing, and sharing of video quotes. In some exemplary embodiments, a location tracking component 932 facilitates the geographical positioning of the mobile handheld device. As described above, this may occur when a user initiates a feedback signal automatically or manually. According to some exemplary embodiments, a user input component 934 facilitates the user initiating a quality feedback signal. In this regard, in some examples, the user input component 934 may also facilitate the generation, editing, and sharing of video quotes. According to the various exemplary embodiments described herein, the user input component 934 may include such conventional input device technologies as keypads, keyboards, mice, styluses, and / or touchscreens.

[0115] Referring again to application 906, hysteresis component 936 facilitates the analysis and processing of hysteresis data used to determine when an association with an access point occurs. A software triggering component 938 may be provided, which facilitates the activation of hysteresis component 938 when Wi-Fi transceiver 913 detects an access point beacon. SIP client 940 enables the mobile handheld device to support the SIP protocol and register subscribers via a SIP registration management server. In some exemplary embodiments, application 906 may also include client 942, which provides at least the ability to discover, play, and store multimedia content (e.g., music).

[0116] In some exemplary embodiments, as described above, the mobile handheld device associated with the communication component 910 includes an indoor network radio transceiver 913 (e.g., a Wi-Fi transceiver). This functionality can support indoor radio links such as IEEE 802.11 for dual-mode GSM handheld devices. In some exemplary embodiments, the mobile handheld device can be adapted to at least satellite radio services, and can combine wireless voice and digital radio chipsets into a single handheld device.

[0117] Figure 10 A schematic diagram 1000 of an exemplary computing device 1001 among a plurality of electronic devices 102-10N according to some exemplary embodiments described herein is shown. In some examples, the computing device 1001 may correspond to a computer. In some exemplary embodiments, Figure 10 The computing device 1001 shown may be as referenced. Figures 1 to 9 Any of the plurality of electronic devices 102-10N. For example, in some embodiments, Figure 10 The computing device 1001 shown may correspond to, as in the reference Figures 1 to 9 The first computing device 102 or the second computing device 104.

[0118] See now Figure 10 The figure illustrates a block diagram of a computing device 1001 operable to perform the functions and operations described in the example embodiments. In some exemplary embodiments, the computing device 1001 may provide networking and communication capabilities between a wired or wireless communication network and a server and / or communication devices. To provide additional context for its various aspects, Figure 10 The following discussion is intended to provide a brief, general description of a suitable computing environment in which various aspects of the implementation scheme can be implemented to facilitate the establishment of transactions between an entity and a third party. While the above description is in the general context of computer-executable instructions that can run on one or more computers, those skilled in the art will recognize that various implementation schemes can also be implemented in combination with other program modules and / or as a combination of hardware and software.

[0119] According to the exemplary embodiments described, the program module includes routines, programs, components, data structures, etc., that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will recognize that the method of the present invention can be practiced with other computer system configurations, including single-processor or multi-processor computer systems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, personal computers, handheld computing devices, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, etc., each operatively coupled to one or more associated devices.

[0120] The illustrative aspects of various implementation schemes can also be practiced in distributed computing environments, where certain tasks are performed by remote processing devices linked via a communication network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules can reside in both local and remote memory storage devices.

[0121] According to some exemplary embodiments, computing devices typically include various media, which may include computer-readable storage media or communication media, these two terms are used differently from each other herein, as described below.

[0122] According to some exemplary embodiments, a computer-readable storage medium can be any available storage medium accessible by a computer, and includes volatile and non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example and not limitation, a computer-readable storage medium can be implemented in conjunction with any method or technology for storing information, such as computer-readable instructions, program modules, structured data, or unstructured data. Computer-readable storage media may include, but are not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technologies, CD-ROM, digital versatile optical disc (DVD) or other optical disc storage devices, magnetic tape cassettes, magnetic tape, disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices, or other tangible and / or non-transitory media that can be used to store desired information. A computer-readable storage medium can be accessed by one or more local or remote computing devices (e.g., via access requests, queries, or other data retrieval protocols) to perform various operations on the information stored on the medium.

[0123] In some examples, communication media may embody computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other structured or unstructured data in data signals (such as modulated data signals, e.g., carrier waves or other transmission mechanisms), and include any information delivery or transport medium. The term "modulated data signal" or a signal is a signal that sets or alters one or more characteristics of a signal in a manner that encodes information in one or more signals. By way of example and not limitation, communication media include wired media (such as wired networks or direct wired connections) and wireless media (such as acoustic, RF, infrared, and other wireless media).

[0124] refer to Figure 10 Implementing the various aspects described herein with respect to end-user equipment may include a computing device 1001, which includes a processing unit 1004, a system memory 1006, and a system bus 1008. The system bus 1008 may be configured to couple system components, including but not limited to the system memory 1006, to the processing unit 1004. In some exemplary embodiments, the processing unit 1004 may be any of a variety of commercially available processors. Therefore, in some examples, dual-microprocessor and other multiprocessor architectures may also be used as the processing unit 1004.

[0125] According to some exemplary embodiments, system bus 1008 may be any of several types of bus structures that can be further interconnected to a memory bus (with or without a memory controller), a peripheral bus, and a local bus, using any of a variety of commercially available bus architectures. In some examples, system memory 1006 may include read-only memory (ROM) 1027 and random access memory (RAM) 1012. According to some exemplary embodiments, a basic input / output system (BIOS) is stored in non-volatile memory 1027 (such as ROM, EPROM, EEPROM), which contains basic routines that facilitate the transfer of information between elements within computing device 1001 (such as during startup). RAM 1012 may also include high-speed RAM, such as static RAM for caching data.

[0126] According to some exemplary embodiments, computing device 1001 may also include an internal hard disk drive (HDD) 1014 (e.g., EIDE, SATA), which may also be configured for external use within a suitable chassis (not shown), a floppy disk drive (FDD) 1016 (e.g., reading from or writing to a removable disk 1018), and an optical disk drive 1020 (e.g., reading from a CD-ROM 1022, or reading from or writing to other mass-produced optical media such as a DVD). In some examples, hard disk drive 1014, disk drive 1016, and optical disk drive 1020 may be connected to system bus 1008 via hard disk drive interface 1024, disk drive interface 1026, and optical disk drive interface 1028, respectively. According to some exemplary embodiments, interface 1024 for an external drive implementation may include at least one or both of Universal Serial Bus (USB) and IEEE 1394 interface technologies. Other external drive connection technologies are also contemplated in the subject embodiments.

[0127] According to some exemplary embodiments described herein, the drive and its associated computer-readable medium provide non-volatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executable instructions, etc. For computing device 1001, the drive and medium are adapted to store any data in a suitable digital format. Although the above description of computer-readable media refers to HDDs, removable disks, and removable optical media (such as CDs or DVDs), those skilled in the art will understand that other types of media readable by computing device 1001 (such as zip drives, magnetic tape cassettes, flash memory cards, magnetic tapes, etc.) may also be used in the exemplary operating environment. Furthermore, any such media may contain computer-executable instructions for performing the methods of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0128] In some exemplary embodiments, multiple program modules may be stored in the drive and RAM 1012, including an operating system 1030, one or more applications 1032, other program modules 1034, and program data 1036. Therefore, in some examples, all or part of the operating system, applications, modules, and / or data may also be cached in RAM 1012. It should be understood that various embodiments may be implemented using a variety of commercially available operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0129] According to some exemplary embodiments, a user can input commands and information into the computing device 1001 via one or more wired / wireless input devices (e.g., keyboard 1038) and pointing devices (such as mouse 1040). Other input devices (not shown) may include microphones, IR remote controls, joysticks, game controllers, styluses, touchscreens, etc. In some examples, these and other input devices are typically connected to the processing unit 1004 via an input device interface 1042 coupled to the system bus 1008, but may be connected via other interfaces such as parallel ports, IEEE 1394 serial ports, game ports, USB ports, IR interfaces, etc.

[0130] According to some exemplary embodiments, monitor 1044 or other types of display devices may also be connected to system bus 1008 via an interface (such as video adapter 1046). In addition to monitor 1044, computing device 1001 may also include other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers, printers, etc.

[0131] According to some exemplary embodiments, computing device 1001 can operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers (such as one or more remote computers 1048) via wired and / or wireless communications. In some examples, the one or more remote computers 1048 may be workstations, server computers, routers, personal computers, portable computers, microprocessor-based entertainment devices, peer-to-peer devices, or other public network nodes, and generally include many or all of the elements described with respect to computers, although for simplicity only memory / storage device 1050 is shown. According to some exemplary embodiments, the depicted logical connections include wired / wireless connections to a local area network (LAN) 1052 and / or a larger network (e.g., a wide area network (WAN) 1054). Such LAN and WAN networking environments are common in offices and companies and facilitate enterprise-wide computer networks (such as corporate intranets) all of which can be connected to global communications networks, such as the Internet.

[0132] In some examples, when used in a LAN networking environment, computing device 1001 can be connected to local area network 1052 via a wired and / or wireless communication network interface or adapter 1056. Adapter 1056 facilitates wired or wireless communication with LAN 1052, which may also include a wireless access point configured thereon for communicating with wireless adapter 1056.

[0133] In an alternative example, when used in a WAN networking environment, computing device 1001 may include modem 1058, or a communication server connectable to WAN 1054, or other means for establishing communication via WAN 1054, such as via the Internet. Modem 1058 may be an internal or external wired or wireless device connected to system bus 1008 via input device interface 1042. In a networking environment, program modules depicted with respect to the computer or parts thereof may be stored in remote memory / storage device 1050. It should be understood that the network connections shown are exemplary, and other means for establishing communication links between computers may be used.

[0134] According to some exemplary embodiments, computing device 1001 is operable to communicate with any wireless device or entity operatively configured in wireless communication, such as a printer, scanner, desktop and / or laptop computer, portable data assistant, communication satellite, any device or location associated with wirelessly detectable tag information (e.g., kiosks, newspaper stands, restrooms), and telephone. This may also include at least Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. TMWireless technology. Therefore, the communication can be a predefined structure like a conventional network, or simply self-organizing communication between at least two devices.

[0135] According to some exemplary embodiments, Wi-Fi, or Wireless Fidelity, allows connection to the Internet from a sofa at home, a bed in a hotel room, or a conference room in the workplace without a network cable. For this purpose, Wi-Fi as referred to herein is a wireless technology similar to that used in mobile phones, which enables such devices (e.g., computers) to send and receive data indoors and outdoors, wherever they are within range of a base station. Wi-Fi networks use a radio technology known as IEEE 802.11 (a, b, g, n, etc.) to provide secure, reliable, and fast wireless connectivity. Furthermore, according to some exemplary embodiments described herein, Wi-Fi networks can be used to connect computers or multiple electronic devices 102-10N to each other, to the Internet, and to wired networks (which use IEEE 802.3 or Ethernet). Wi-Fi networks operate at data rates of, for example, 11 Mbps (802.11b) or 54 Mbps (802.11a) in unlicensed 2.4 and 5 GHz radio bands, or on products that include two bands (dual-band), thus providing real-world performance similar to the basic “10BaseT” wired Ethernet used in many offices.

[0136] Figure 11 Exemplary views (1100, 1120, and 1150) are shown according to some exemplary embodiments described herein, illustrating user interfaces for various instances of an application for configuring the first computing device 102. Examplely, first view 1100 depicts a user interface for a first instance of an application for initializing a communication network 103, such as... Figures 2 to 8 As stated above.

[0137] In some exemplary embodiments, the input / output circuitry 114 of the first computing device 102 may be used by a user to provide network configuration parameters (such as, but not limited to, Wi-Fi security, Wi-Fi SSID, and Wi-Fi password) for setting an access point (e.g., a wireless access point or Wi-Fi hotspot) at the first computing device 102. In some exemplary embodiments, the network configuration parameters may be built into multiple electronic devices 102-10N, and when the device is turned on, an application may automatically initiate network configuration at the electronic device (102-10N) to configure the device based on the network configuration parameters. Illustratively, second view 1120 depicts another user interface for a second instance of an application for configuring network priority settings for multiple electronic devices 102-10N. In this regard, in some examples, the connectivity preferences of the electronic devices (e.g., Bluetooth or NFC) may be configured manually or automatically by the application.

[0138] Third view 1150 shows another user interface for a third instance of an application for configuring the sound preferences (e.g., media volume, call volume, alarm volume, ringtone volume) of multiple electronic devices 102-10N. In this respect, in some examples, the sound preferences of the electronic devices can be configured manually or automatically by the application.

[0139] According to the various exemplary embodiments described herein, a first electronic device (e.g., a first computing device 102) may be initially configured and may further share configuration settings (shown in views 800, 820, and 850) with one or more remaining electronic devices communicatively coupled to the first computing device 102. In this regard, the remaining one or more electronic devices (102-10N) may be communicatively coupled to the first computing device 102 and may be configured as previously referenced. Figures 2 to 7 The configuration settings are received in the manner described above. For example, in some exemplary embodiments, configuration settings may be shared by the same application in response to identifying other instances of the application launched on the remaining electronic devices among the plurality of electronic devices 102-10N and knowing information associated with other instances of the application on the remaining electronic devices.

[0140] In some exemplary embodiments, the application of multiple electronic devices 102-10N can provide with Figure 11A similar user interface is shown, used to configure multiple electronic devices 102-10N by inputting configuration files (e.g., XML files, APKs, etc.). For example, in some embodiments, the configuration file can be entered on a first instance of an application at a first computing device 102 via input / output circuitry 114 to configure the first computing device 102. Furthermore, in response to identifying a second instance of the same application to be initialized at a second computing device 104, the configuration file can be accessed by the first computing device 102 with reference to... Figures 2 to 8 The method described is automatically shared to the second computing device 104.

[0141] In some examples, the configuration file may be stored on a remote server, for example, such as Figure 1 The computing platform 106 is described above. For this purpose, the application on the first computing device 102 can be configured to extract configuration files from the computing platform 106 and share them with the remaining electronic devices in the plurality of electronic devices 102-10N.

[0142] As used herein, the terms “system,” “component,” “interface,” etc., are generally intended to refer to a computer-related entity or an entity associated with an operable machine having one or more specific functions. Entities disclosed herein can be hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, a component can be, but is not limited to, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable file, an execution thread, a program, and / or a computer. For illustration, both an application running on a server and a server can be components. One or more components may reside in an executing process and / or thread, and components may be located on a single computer and / or distributed across two or more computers. These components may also execute from various computer-readable storage media on which various data structures are stored. Components can communicate via local and / or remote processes, such as according to signals having one or more data packets (e.g., data from a component interacting with a local system, another component in a distributed system, and / or interacting with other systems via signals across a network (such as the Internet). As another example, a component can be a device having specific functions provided by mechanical parts operated by electrical or electronic circuitry, which is operated by one or more software or firmware applications executed by a processor, wherein the processor may be internal or external to the device and executes at least a portion of the software or firmware application. As yet another example, a component can be a device that provides specific functions through electronic components rather than mechanical parts, the electronic components including a processor to execute software or firmware that at least partially endows the electronic components with functionality. An interface may include input / output (I / O) components and associated processors, applications, and / or API components.

[0143] Furthermore, the subject matter disclosed in this invention can be implemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture for controlling a computer to implement the subject matter disclosed in this invention, using standard programming and / or engineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof. As used herein, the term "article of manufacture" is intended to cover a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, computer-readable carrier, or computer-readable medium. For example, a computer-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, magnetic storage devices, such as hard disks; floppy disks; one or more magnetic stripes; optical disks (e.g., optical discs (CDs), digital video discs (DVDs), Blu-ray discs). TM (BD)); smart cards; flash memory devices (e.g., cards, sticks, key drives); and / or analog storage devices and / or virtual devices of any of the aforementioned computer-readable media.

[0144] As used in this subject matter specification, the term "processor" can refer to virtually any computing processing unit or device, including, but not limited to: a single-core processor; a single-core processor with software multithreading capabilities; a multi-core processor; a multi-core processor with software multithreading capabilities; a multi-core processor utilizing hardware multithreading technology; a parallel platform; and a parallel platform with distributed shared memory. Additionally, a processor can refer to an integrated circuit, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic controller (PLC), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. Processors can utilize nanoscale architectures, such as, but not limited to, molecular and quantum dot-based transistors, switches, and gates, to optimize space utilization or enhance the performance of user devices. Processors can also be implemented as a combination of computing processing units.

[0145] In this specification, terms such as “storage,” “data storage,” “data storage device,” “database,” “repository,” “queue,” and virtually any other information storage component relating to the operation and function of a component, refer to a “memory component” or an entity embodied in “memory” or a component that includes memory. It should be understood that the memory component described herein may be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. Furthermore, storage components or storage elements may be removable or fixed. Additionally, memory may be internal or external to a device or component, or may be removable or fixed. Memory may include various types of media that can be read by a computer, such as hard disk drives, zip drives, magnetic tape cassettes, flash memory cards, or other types of memory cards, cassette tapes, etc.

[0146] By way of illustration and not limitation, non-volatile memory may include read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable ROM (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory may include random access memory (RAM) that acts as an external cache memory. By way of illustration and not limitation, RAM is provided in a variety of forms, such as synchronous RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct Rambus RAM (DRRAM). Furthermore, the memory components disclosed in the systems or methods herein are intended to include, but are not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0147] Specifically, and with respect to the various functions performed by the aforementioned components, devices, circuits, systems, etc., unless otherwise stated, the terminology used to describe such components (including references to "device") is intended to correspond to any component that, although not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure (which performs functions in exemplary aspects of the embodiments shown herein), still performs the specific functions of the component (e.g., functionally equivalent). In this regard, it will also be appreciated that embodiments include systems having computer-executable instructions for performing actions and / or events of various methods, as well as computer-readable media.

[0148] Computing devices typically include a variety of media, which may include computer-readable storage media and / or communication media, these two terms being used differently herein, as described below. A computer-readable storage medium can be any available storage medium accessible by a computer and includes volatile and non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example and not limitation, a computer-readable storage medium can be implemented in combination with any method or technology used for storing information such as computer-readable instructions, program modules, structured data, or unstructured data. Computer-readable storage media may include, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technologies, CD ROM, digital versatile optical disc (DVD) or other optical disc storage devices, magnetic tape cassettes, magnetic tape, disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices, or other tangible and / or non-transitory media that can be used to store desired information. A computer-readable storage medium can be accessed by one or more local or remote computing devices (e.g., via access requests, queries, or other data retrieval protocols) to perform various operations on the information stored on that medium.

[0149] On the other hand, communication media typically embody computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other structured or unstructured data in data signals (such as modulated data signals, for example, carrier waves or other transmission mechanisms), and include any information delivery or transport medium. The term "modulated data signal" or a signal is a signal that sets or alters one or more characteristics of a signal in a manner that encodes information within one or more signals. By way of example and not limitation, communication media include wired media (such as wired networks or direct wired connections) and wireless media (such as acoustic, RF, infrared, and other wireless media).

[0150] Additionally, terms such as “user equipment,” “user device,” “mobile device,” “station,” “access terminal,” “terminal,” “handheld device,” and similar terms generally refer to wireless devices used by subscribers or users of a wireless communication network or service to receive or transmit data, control, voice, video, sound, games, or substantially any data or signaling stream. The foregoing terms are used interchangeably in this specification and the associated drawings. Similarly, the terms “access point,” “node B,” “base station,” “evolved node B,” “cell,” “cell site,” etc., are used interchangeably in this application and refer to a wireless network component or device serving a group of subscriber stations and receiving data, control, voice, video, sound, games, or substantially any data or signaling stream from them. Data and signaling streams may be packetized or frame-based streams. It should be noted that in this specification and the accompanying drawings, the context or explicit distinction is provided for an access point or base station serving a mobile device in an outdoor environment and receiving data from it, versus an access point or base station operating in a restricted (primarily indoor) environment covered in an outdoor coverage area. Data and signaling streams may be packetized or frame-based streams.

[0151] Furthermore, the terms “user,” “subscriber,” “customer,” “consumer,” etc., are used interchangeably throughout this specification unless the context ensures one or more specific distinctions between these terms. It should be understood that such terms may refer to human entities that can provide simulated vision, voice recognition, etc., associated devices, or automated components supported by artificial intelligence (e.g., the ability to reason based on complex mathematical formal systems). Additionally, in this application, the terms “wireless network” and “network” are used interchangeably, where such distinctions are made explicit for clarity of purpose.

[0152] Furthermore, the term “exemplary” as used herein means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs. Rather, the use of the term “exemplary” is intended to present the concept in a specific manner. As used in this application, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or.” That is, unless otherwise stated or clearly apparent from the context, “X adopts A or B” is intended to mean any natural inclusive arrangement. That is, if X adopts A; X adopts B; or X adopts both A and B, then “X adopts A or B” is satisfied in any of the foregoing cases. Furthermore, the articles “a” and “an” used in this application and the appended claims should generally be interpreted as meaning “one or more” unless otherwise stated or clearly apparent from the context to the singular form.

[0153] Furthermore, while a particular feature may be disclosed with respect to only one of several embodiments, such features may be combined with one or more other features of other embodiments, as may be desired or advantageous for any given or particular application. Moreover, within the scope of the terms "comprising" and "including" and their variations used in the detailed description or claims, such terms are intended to be included in a manner similar to the term "comprising".

[0154] The foregoing description and corresponding drawings of the various embodiments of this disclosure, as well as the content described in the abstract of the specification, are presented herein for illustrative purposes and are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed embodiments to the precise form disclosed. It should be understood that those skilled in the art will recognize that other embodiments with modifications, substitutions, combinations, and additions can be implemented to perform the same, similar, alternative, or substituted functions of the disclosed subject matter, and are therefore considered to be within the scope of this disclosure. Therefore, the disclosed subject matter should not be limited to any single embodiment described herein, but should be interpreted in accordance with the breadth and scope of the following claims.

[0155] It should be noted that, as used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural indicators unless otherwise expressly stated.

[0156] References to “one embodiment,” “implementation,” “multiple embodiments,” or “one or more embodiments” in this specification are intended to indicate that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of this disclosure. The appearance of such phrases in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it a single or alternative embodiment mutually exclusive with other embodiments. Furthermore, various features that may be presented by some embodiments but not by others are described.

[0157] It should be noted that, when used in this disclosure, the terms “comprising,” “including,” and other derivatives of the root term “comprising” are intended to be open-ended terms that specify the presence of any of the said features, elements, integers, steps, or components, and are not intended to exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, integers, steps, components, or groups thereof.

[0158] This document discloses detailed embodiments; however, it should be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein are merely exemplary embodiments, and these embodiments may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, the specific structural and functional details disclosed herein should not be construed as limiting, but merely as the basis for the claims.

[0159] While it is obvious that the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein achieve the above objectives, it should be understood that many modifications and other embodiments can be devised by those skilled in the art. Therefore, it should be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and embodiments that fall within the substance and scope of this disclosure.

Claims

1. A method for configuring multiple electronic devices, comprising: A configuration setting defining one or more configuration parameters is generated by a first computing device among the plurality of electronic devices; The communication network is initialized based on at least one configuration parameter associated with a first instance of an application on the first computing device, wherein the initialization of the communication network is performed by the first computer device by initializing a hotspot or access point defined in the configuration settings. The first computing device identifies the initialization of a second instance of the application at the second computing device based on a connection request received from the second computing device via the communication network; and In response to the initialization of identifying a second instance of the application at the second computing device, a secure communication network is established between the first computing device and the second computing device based on the secure key exchange between the first computing device and the second computing device, and the configuration settings of the second computing device are sent by the first computing device through the established secure communication network; The security key exchange mentioned above is based on the following: At the first computing device, an encrypted temporary key is received from the second computing device, wherein the encrypted temporary key corresponds to a temporary key encrypted using a public key shared between the first and second computing devices; Use the private key of the first computing device to decrypt the encrypted temporary key received at the first computing device; The first computing device uses the decrypted temporary key to encrypt the session key to generate an encrypted session key; The first computing device sends an encrypted session key to the second computing device; The configuration request is verified by the first computing device based on the identification of the session key in the configuration request received from the second computing device; and In response to the configuration verification request, the first computing device sends the configuration settings to the second computing device through the secure communication network.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one configuration parameter includes at least one of network name, service set identifier (SSID), and network security type.

3. The method according to claim 1, comprising: The first computing device encrypts the at least one configuration parameter using a first key shared among the plurality of electronic devices; The first computing device scans for incoming connection requests to establish a connection with the first computer device through the communication network; Receive a connection request from the second computing device at the first computing device; and The second computing device is authenticated by the first computing device based on the identification of at least one configuration parameter in the connection request.

4. The method according to claim 1, comprising: The at least one configuration parameter is provided via the user interface of the first computing device; Configure the first computing device based on the at least one configuration parameter; and When configuring the first computing device, the communication network is initialized to communicate with the plurality of electronic devices; and In response to the establishment of the secure communication network between the first computing device and the second computing device, the first computing device shares the configuration settings with the second computing device through the secure communication network.

5. The method according to claim 1, comprising: A connection is established between the first computing device and the second computing device through the secure communication network to exchange communication data including the configuration settings of the second computing device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration settings correspond to at least one of volume control settings, network configuration settings, sound preference settings, and connection preference settings.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending configuration settings for the second computing device from the first device to the second device via the secure communication network, wherein the configuration settings include at least predefined configuration parameters.

8. A system for configuring multiple electronic devices, comprising: Memory, the memory storing computer-executable instructions; and The processing unit executes the computer-executable instructions to perform the following operations: Generate configuration settings that define one or more configuration parameters; The communication network is initialized based on at least one configuration parameter associated with a first instance of an application on the first computing device, and the initialization of the communication network is performed by initializing a hotspot or access point defined in the configuration settings by the first computing device. In response to the initialization of identifying a second instance of the application at a second computing device that is communicatively coupled to the first computing device, a secure communication network is established between the first computing device and the second computing device based on the secure key exchange between the first computing device and the second computing device, and the configuration settings of the second computing device are sent through the secure communication network established between the first computing device and the second computing device based on the secure key exchange between the first computing device and the second computing device. The security key exchange mentioned above is based on the following: At the first computing device, an encrypted temporary key is received from the second computing device, wherein the encrypted temporary key corresponds to a temporary key encrypted using a public key shared between the first and second computing devices; Use the private key of the first computing device to decrypt the encrypted temporary key received at the first computing device; The first computing device uses the decrypted temporary key to encrypt the session key to generate an encrypted session key; The first computing device sends an encrypted session key to the second computing device; The configuration request is verified by the first computing device based on the identification of the session key in the configuration request received from the second computing device; and In response to the configuration verification request, the first computing device sends the configuration settings to the second computing device through the secure communication network.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the processing unit executes the computer-executable instructions to perform the following operations: The at least one configuration parameter is encrypted using a first key shared among multiple electronic devices, including a first computing device and a second computing device. The communication network scans for incoming connection requests; Receive a connection request to establish a connection with the second computing device; and The second computing device is authenticated based on the identification of at least one configuration parameter in the connection request.

10. The system according to claim 8, comprising: Multiple electronic devices, including a first computing device and a second computing device communicatively coupled via a communication network, wherein the first computing device includes a memory and a processing unit that executes computer-executable instructions to perform operations including: A connection is established between the first computing device and the second computing device through the secure communication network to exchange communication data including the configuration settings of the second computing device.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the processing unit executes the computer-executable instructions to perform the following operations: The at least one configuration parameter is provided via a user interface; Configure the first computing device based on the at least one configuration parameter; and In response to the configuration of the first computing device, the first computer device initializes a wireless access point to communicate with multiple electronic devices through the communication network; and In response to establishing the secure communication network between the first computing device and the second computing device, the configuration settings of the second computing device are shared through the secure communication network.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the operation further includes sending configuration settings of a second computing device in response to the identification, wherein the configuration settings include at least predefined configuration parameters.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions thereon, the computer-executable instructions performing the following operations in response to execution by a processor: A configuration setting defining one or more configuration parameters is generated by a first computing device among multiple electronic devices; The communication network is initialized based on at least one configuration parameter associated with a first instance of an application on the first computing device, wherein the initialization of the communication network is performed by the first computer device by initializing a hotspot or access point defined in the configuration settings. The first computing device identifies the initialization of a second instance of the application at the second computing device based on a connection request received from the second computing device and connected to a wireless access point; and In response to the initialization of identifying a second instance of the application at the second computing device, the configuration settings of the second computing device are sent by the first computing device through a secure communication network based on a secure key exchange; The security key exchange mentioned above is based on the following: At the first computing device, an encrypted temporary key is received from the second computing device, wherein the encrypted temporary key corresponds to a temporary key encrypted using a public key shared between the first and second computing devices; Use the private key of the first computing device to decrypt the encrypted temporary key received at the first computing device; The first computing device uses the decrypted temporary key to encrypt the session key to generate an encrypted session key; The first computing device sends an encrypted session key to the second computing device; The configuration request is verified by the first computing device based on the identification of the session key in the configuration request received from the second computing device; and In response to the configuration verification request, the first computing device sends the configuration settings to the second computing device through the secure communication network.

14. A method for configuring a plurality of electronic devices, the method comprising: A configuration setting defining one or more configuration parameters is generated by a first computing device among the plurality of electronic devices; The communication network is initialized based on at least one configuration parameter associated with a first instance of an application on the first computing device, wherein the initialization of the communication network is performed by the first computer device by initializing a hotspot or access point defined in the configuration settings. The first computing device identifies the initialization of a second instance of the application at the second computing device based on a connection request received from the second computing device via the communication network; and In response to the initialization of identifying a second instance of the application at the second computing device, the configuration settings of the second computing device are transmitted by the first computing device through a secure communication network different from the communication network.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the at least one configuration parameter includes at least one of network name, service set identifier (SSID), and network security type.

16. The method of claim 14, comprising: The first computing device encrypts the at least one configuration parameter using a first key shared among the plurality of electronic devices; The first computing device scans for incoming connection requests to establish a connection with the first computer device through the communication network; Receive a connection request from the second computing device at the first computing device; and The second computing device is authenticated by the first computing device based on the identification of at least one configuration parameter in the connection request.

17. The method of claim 14, comprising: A connection is established between the first computing device and the second computing device through the secure communication network to exchange communication data including the configuration settings of the second computing device.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the configuration settings correspond to at least one of volume control settings, network configuration settings, sound preference settings, and connection preference settings.

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