Visible light communication method and system based on controllable light source of intelligent equipment

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of wireless communication, and particularly discloses a visible light communication method and system based on a controllable light source of intelligent equipment. The method comprises the following steps: on intelligent equipment, acquiring / generating data through an APP or a webpage, controlling an equipment screen or a light supplement lamp to flicker at a high frequency, and encoding the data into a light signal to be sent out; at a receiving device end, the data is received and decoded through a photosensitive element. The core improvement is that a receiving end can be integrated with an LED besides a photosensitive element, so that the receiving end can receive data from intelligent equipment and can also serve as a sending source to transmit self configuration or state data to other receiving equipment through an optical signal, and a visible light communication chain between the equipment is formed. The method has the advantages that hardware of the receiving end is extremely simplified, the configuration process is extremely convenient, data synchronization between low-cost devices is creatively supported, and the problems that simple Internet of Things devices are difficult to configure, high in cost and incapable of achieving networking conveniently are perfectly solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and specifically to a visible light communication method and system that utilizes a controllable light source of a smart device (such as a smartphone or tablet) as a transmitter to perform data configuration to a receiver with minimal hardware configuration and supports communication between receivers. Background Technology

[0002] In the era of the Internet of Things (IoT), numerous embedded devices, such as electronic clocks, thermometers, hygrometers, smart switches, and electronic price tags, need to receive initial configuration information (e.g., time, date, location, Wi-Fi password, operating parameters, etc.). Currently, there are various technical solutions for configuring these devices, but each has significant drawbacks: 1. Physical button configuration: Operation is carried out through a small number of buttons on the device, which is cumbersome, results in a poor user experience, and is prone to errors.

[0003] 2. RF module configuration (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi): This requires integrating the corresponding RF module into the receiving device, significantly increasing hardware costs and circuit complexity. Furthermore, the pairing process (e.g., searching for devices, entering passwords, etc.) is quite demanding for non-technical personnel.

[0004] 3. Infrared communication configuration: Requires dedicated infrared transmitters and receivers, strict alignment requirements, and is susceptible to ambient light interference.

[0005] 4. NFC (Near Field Communication) Configuration: Although the configuration is convenient, it requires the receiver to integrate an NFC chip, which increases the hardware cost.

[0006] Visible light communication technology typically uses dedicated LED lights as a light source, but equipping dedicated LED lights for transmitting information is uneconomical and limits application scenarios. Furthermore, the methods mentioned above fail to fully utilize the powerful network access capabilities and user-friendly input interfaces of devices such as smartphones, and all solutions focus on "centralized" configuration, meaning each device must interact independently with the host (such as a mobile phone), making convenient data synchronization and sharing between devices impossible.

[0007] To more intuitively illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of each solution, the table below compares the key features of common configuration solutions: Configuration Scheme receiver hardware cost Configuration process complexity Is dedicated hardware required? Transmission rate Security Typical application scenarios physical buttons Extremely low high no Extremely low (manual input) High (physical isolation) Simple device setup Bluetooth / Wi-Fi High (requires RF module) Medium to high (requires matching) yes High (>1 Mbps) (Requires encryption) Smart home, wearable devices Infrared communication Medium (requires infrared receiver) (Needs to be aligned) yes Medium (~1 kbps) High (directional) Remote control, early device configuration NFC (Requires NFC chip) Low (touch-to-fit) yes (~424kbps) High (close range) Payment, access control, device pairing This solution (visible light) Extremely low (photosensitive element only) Low (Alignment is transmission) No (using existing light sources) Low (1~10 bytes / second) High (directional, physical isolation) Low-cost equipment configuration As can be seen from the table, this solution has significant advantages in terms of receiver hardware cost, ease of configuration, security, and the added inter-device communication capability. Although the transmission rate is relatively low (1~10 bytes per second), it is perfectly adequate for configurations and synchronization scenarios with small transmission volumes.

[0008] Therefore, there is an urgent need in this field for a new data transmission scheme that can simultaneously achieve extremely simplified receiving end hardware, extremely simplified configuration process, support data synchronization between devices, and leverage the intelligent advantages of the sending end. Summary of the Invention

[0009] To address the aforementioned problems, this invention proposes a visible light communication method and system based on a controllable light source from an intelligent device.

[0010] The technical solution adopted in this invention is: A visible light communication method based on a controllable light source of a smart device specifically includes the following steps: First transmission step: On the smart device, data to be transmitted is acquired, generated, or input through an application or web application; the emission state of a controllable light source on the smart device is controlled to switch between at least two different states at a certain frequency, thereby encoding the data to be transmitted into a first modulated optical signal and transmitting it; First receiving and second transmitting steps: The first modulated optical signal is received by a photosensitive element on the first receiving device and converted into a first electrical signal; the first electrical signal is processed to reconstruct the data to be transmitted; wherein, the first receiving device also integrates an LED, and the first receiving device can control its integrated LED to encode its stored configuration data or status data into a second modulated optical signal and transmit it; Second receiving step: Receive the second modulated optical signal from the first receiving device through the photosensitive element on the second receiving device, and convert it into a second electrical signal; process the second electrical signal to restore the configuration data or status data.

[0011] Furthermore, the controllable light source is a designated area on the display screen of the smart device, or a camera fill light of the smart device.

[0012] Furthermore, when the controllable light source is a designated area on the display screen, the symbol rate of the modulated optical signal is no higher than 1 / N of the display screen refresh rate, where N is a positive integer greater than 2, preferably N=4, 8, or 16. This ensures that the screen can complete multiple full refreshes within each data bit cycle, forming a stable and uniform light pulse. Considering the typical screen refresh rate (60Hz) and symbol rate limitations, the actual transmission rate of this solution is relatively low, approximately 1~10 bytes per second, suitable for small data volume configurations and synchronization scenarios.

[0013] Furthermore, the acquisition of the data to be transmitted includes: automatically acquiring one or more of the following from an Internet server through the network connection of the smart device: current time, time zone, and geographical location information.

[0014] Furthermore, acquiring the data to be transmitted includes receiving configuration information input by the user through the graphical user interface provided by the smart device.

[0015] Furthermore, the first sending step is performed by a web application, which is triggered by a user scanning a QR code attached to the first or second receiving device.

[0016] Furthermore, the modulation method is on / off keying, pulse position modulation, or color shift keying.

[0017] Furthermore, before data transmission, a synchronization header signal of a specific frequency is sent first, which is used by the receiving end for clock synchronization and signal identification.

[0018] Furthermore, this technical solution also provides a communication system for implementing visible light communication methods, including: Transmitter: Includes a smart device, which includes a controllable light source and an application or accessible web application installed thereon; the application or web application is configured to: acquire or generate data to be transmitted, and generate control commands based on the data to control the controllable light source to produce high-frequency brightness / color changes, thereby encoding the data into a modulated light signal for transmission.

[0019] Receiver: Includes a microcontroller, a photosensitive element electrically connected to the microcontroller, and an LED optionally electrically connected to the microcontroller; the photosensitive element is used to receive the modulated optical signal and convert it into an analog electrical signal; the microcontroller is configured to sample, shape, demodulate, and decode the analog electrical signal to recover the data to be transmitted; the microcontroller is also configured to control the LED to encode its stored data into an optical signal and transmit it, thereby enabling communication with other receiving devices.

[0020] Furthermore, the receiving end is integrated into one of the following devices: an electronic clock, a temperature and humidity sensor, a smart switch, an electronic price tag, a toy, or an Internet of Things (IoT) terminal device.

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: 1. Extremely low hardware cost and enhanced functionality at the receiver: The core of the receiver only requires a cheap photosensitive element and a basic microcontroller to achieve data reception. By optionally adding a low-cost LED, the receiver can be equipped with transmission capability, enabling data synchronization between devices and forming a simple visible light communication network, while the total cost is far lower than that of radio frequency solutions.

[0022] 2. The configuration and synchronization process is extremely simple: Users can easily configure the first device using their mobile phones. Subsequently, the device can "clone" the configuration information to other similar devices via optical signals, greatly simplifying the deployment and update process for batch devices.

[0023] 3. Make full use of the intelligence of the transmitting end: Creatively utilize the powerful functions of intelligent transmitting end devices to automatically obtain accurate information from the network (such as network time and geographical location) or input information through their user-friendly touch screen, fundamentally solving the pain points of "no network and difficult input" for simple IoT devices.

[0024] 4. Safe and reliable: Optical communication has inherent directionality and physical isolation, making data difficult to intercept remotely and providing strong resistance to electromagnetic interference. Communication between devices also possesses these characteristics.

[0025] 5. Significantly Expanded Application Scenarios: This solution is not only suitable for the initial configuration of low-cost, high-volume IoT devices, but also for data synchronization between devices. For example, it can synchronize the time information of a calibrated electronic clock with other clocks throughout a room; transmit the calibration parameters of a primary thermometer and hygrometer to a secondary thermometer and hygrometer; and transmit simple interactive commands between smart toys. Attached Figure Description

[0026] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on the structures shown in these drawings without creative effort.

[0027] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the system of the present invention (including communication between devices). Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating the data encoding and modulation process at the transmitting end (smart device) of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a flowchart of the signal reception, processing, and forwarding (optional) process at the receiver end of the present invention; Figure 4 a and Figure 4 b shows a schematic diagram of two different communication areas (full-screen mode and partial color block mode); Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the frame structure for data transmission (including preamble and bit data); Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration scenario for launching a web application by scanning a QR code. Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram illustrating a scenario where receiving devices synchronize data via LEDs.

[0028] The realization of the objective, functional features and advantages of the present invention will be further explained in conjunction with the embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. Detailed Implementation

[0029] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0030] It should be noted that all directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, back, etc.) in the embodiments of the present invention are only used to explain the relative positional relationship and movement of each component in a certain specific posture (as shown in the figure). If the specific posture changes, the directional indication will also change accordingly.

[0031] Furthermore, the use of terms such as "first" and "second" in this invention is for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, a feature defined with "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of that feature. Additionally, the technical solutions of the various embodiments can be combined with each other, but only on the basis of being achievable by those skilled in the art. When the combination of technical solutions is contradictory or impossible to implement, such a combination of technical solutions should be considered non-existent and not within the scope of protection claimed by this invention.

[0032] A visible light communication method based on a controllable light source in a smart device specifically includes the following steps: First transmission step: On the smart device, data to be transmitted is acquired, generated, or input through an application or web application; the light emission state of the controllable light source on the smart device is controlled to switch between at least two different states at a certain frequency, thereby encoding the data to be transmitted into a first modulated optical signal and transmitting it; First reception and second transmission step: The first modulated optical signal is received through a photosensitive element on a first receiving device and converted into a first electrical signal; the first electrical signal is processed to reconstruct the data to be transmitted; wherein, the first receiving device also integrates an LED, and the first receiving device can control its integrated LED to encode its stored configuration data or status data into a second modulated optical signal and transmit it; Second reception step: The second modulated optical signal from the first receiving device is received through a photosensitive element on a second receiving device and converted into a second electrical signal; the second electrical signal is processed to reconstruct the configuration data or status data.

[0033] Specifically, the controllable light source is a designated area on the display screen of the smart device, or the camera fill light of the smart device. When the controllable light source is a designated area on the display screen, the symbol rate of the modulated light signal is no higher than 1 / N of the display screen refresh rate, where N is a positive integer greater than 2, preferably N=4, 8, or 16. This ensures that the screen can complete multiple full refreshes within each data bit cycle, forming a stable and uniform light pulse. Considering the typical screen refresh rate (60Hz) and symbol rate limitations, the actual transmission rate of this solution is relatively low, approximately 1~10 bytes per second, suitable for small data volume configurations and synchronization scenarios.

[0034] Specifically, acquiring the data to be transmitted includes: automatically obtaining one or more of the following from an Internet server through the network connection of the smart device: current time, time zone, and geographical location information; or receiving configuration information input by the user through the graphical user interface provided by the smart device.

[0035] Specifically, the first sending step is executed by a web application, which is triggered by a user scanning a QR code attached to the first or second receiving device.

[0036] Specifically, the modulation methods are on / off keying, pulse position modulation, or color shift keying.

[0037] Specifically, before data transmission, a synchronization header signal of a specific frequency is sent first, which is used by the receiving end for clock synchronization and signal identification.

[0038] Furthermore, this technical solution also provides a communication system for implementing visible light communication methods, including: Transmitter: Includes a smart device, which includes a controllable light source and an application or accessible web application installed thereon; the application or web application is configured to: acquire or generate data to be transmitted, and generate control commands based on the data to control the controllable light source to produce high-frequency brightness / color changes, thereby encoding the data into a modulated light signal for transmission.

[0039] Receiver: Includes a microcontroller, a photosensitive element electrically connected to the microcontroller, and an LED optionally electrically connected to the microcontroller; the photosensitive element is used to receive the modulated optical signal and convert it into an analog electrical signal; the microcontroller is configured to sample, shape, demodulate, and decode the analog electrical signal to recover the data to be transmitted; the microcontroller is also configured to control the LED to encode its stored data into an optical signal and transmit it, thereby enabling communication with other receiving devices.

[0040] Specifically, the receiving end is integrated into one of the following devices: electronic clock, temperature and humidity sensor, smart switch, electronic price tag, toy, or Internet of Things terminal device.

[0041] Example 1: Automatically set network time and location for electronic clocks and synchronize them with other electronic clocks.

[0042] See Figure 1 and Figure 7 The system includes a transmitter (smartphone 100) and a receiver (electronic clocks 200A and 200B). The display screen 110 of the smartphone 100 serves as a controllable light source. Both the electronic clocks 200A and 200B integrate a photosensitive element 210, a microcontroller 220, and an LED 230.

[0043] Sender workflow (see) Figure 2 ): 1. The user opens the dedicated APP on their mobile phone.

[0044] 2. The APP automatically obtains the current UTC time, accurate to the second, from the Internet time server through the phone's network connection, and calculates the local time based on the phone's time zone or GPS information.

[0045] 3. The app packages the date and time data into frames according to a predefined communication protocol. Frame structure ( Figure 5 It includes: preamble, synchronization header and data area (OOK modulated data using Manchester encoding).

[0046] 4. The APP controls the entire area of ​​the mobile phone display screen 110 ( Figure 4 a) The system switches rapidly between full brightness and full darkness according to the encoded data stream. The symbol rate is set to 1 / 8 of the screen refresh rate, i.e., 7.5bps.

[0047] The workflow of the first receiving end (electronic clock 200A) (see...) Figure 3 ): 1. The user aligns the photosensitive element 210 window of the electronic clock 200A with the mobile phone screen.

[0048] 2. The photosensitive element 210 senses the changes in brightness of the screen and generates a corresponding weak current signal.

[0049] 3. After amplification and filtering, the signal is sent to the ADC pin of the microcontroller 220.

[0050] 4. The program of microcontroller 220 determines the start of the signal by recognizing the preamble, locks the synchronization header frequency, and establishes bit synchronization.

[0051] 5. The program samples and demodulates the subsequent data area to obtain the correct time and date information and writes it into the real-time clock module.

[0052] The second sending and receiving step (inter-device synchronization, see [link]). Figure 7 ): 1. The user aligns the LED 230 window of the pre-set electronic clock 200A with the photosensitive element window of the un-set electronic clock 200B.

[0053] 2. The user triggers the "send time" command on the 200A (e.g., by long-pressing a button).

[0054] 3. The microcontroller 220 of the electronic clock 200A reads the current time and date data from its memory and controls its integrated LED 230 to flash at a high frequency to send out the data.

[0055] 4. The electronic clock 200B receives the light signal through its photosensitive element 210 and decodes it via the microcontroller 220 to complete the time setting. In this way, rapid and accurate synchronization of all electronic clocks in a room can be achieved.

[0056] Example 2: Configure smart switch timed tasks via QR code webpage.

[0057] See Figure 6 The receiving device is a smart socket 300, with a QR code 310 printed on its casing.

[0058] 1. Users scan the QR code with their smartphones, and the browser automatically redirects to a configuration webpage.

[0059] 2. This webpage requests permission to control the phone's camera flash (120). After the user grants permission, the webpage displays a user-friendly timer setting interface.

[0060] 3. Users can set the webpage to "open at 18:00 and close at 23:00 every Monday to Friday".

[0061] 4. The user clicks the "Send" button. The web application encodes this complex timing instruction and controls the phone's camera flash 120 to blink at a high frequency.

[0062] 5. The photosensitive element inside the smart socket 300 receives light signals, decodes them, and then obtains, stores, and executes timed tasks.

[0063] (Supplementary scenario for device synchronization): If another smart socket also needs the same timed task, the user can position the light-sensing windows of the two sockets opposite each other and trigger "shared settings" on the configured socket. The timed task light will then be transmitted to the other socket via its LED.

[0064] Example 3: Manually inputting configuration information and sharing between devices.

[0065] For devices requiring personalized configuration, such as a temperature and humidity sensor that needs a device name set, the user can enter "living room temperature and humidity meter" in a mobile app. The transmitter encodes this information and sends it out via light signals, which are then received and stored by the receiver. Afterward, the temperature and humidity sensor can use its LED to transmit the name "living room temperature and humidity meter" to a compatible LCD display terminal, enabling automatic device identification and pairing.

[0066] In addition, this technical solution can also transmit or receive initial configuration information via sound.

[0067] As can be seen from the above description, the embodiments of the present invention achieve the following technical effects: 1. Extremely low hardware cost and enhanced functionality at the receiver: The core of the receiver only requires a cheap photosensitive element and a basic microcontroller to achieve data reception. By optionally adding a low-cost LED, the receiver can be equipped with transmission capability, enabling data synchronization between devices and forming a simple visible light communication network, while the total cost is far lower than that of radio frequency solutions.

[0068] 2. The configuration and synchronization process is extremely simple: Users can easily configure the first device using their mobile phones. Subsequently, the device can "clone" the configuration information to other similar devices via optical signals, greatly simplifying the deployment and update process for batch devices.

[0069] 3. Make full use of the intelligence of the transmitting end: Creatively utilize the powerful functions of intelligent transmitting end devices to automatically obtain accurate information from the network (such as network time and geographical location) or input information through their user-friendly touch screen, fundamentally solving the pain points of "no network and difficult input" for simple IoT devices.

[0070] 4. Safe and reliable: Optical communication has inherent directionality and physical isolation, making data difficult to intercept remotely and providing strong resistance to electromagnetic interference. Communication between devices also possesses these characteristics.

[0071] 5. Significantly Expanded Application Scenarios: This solution is not only suitable for the initial configuration of low-cost, high-volume IoT devices, but also for data synchronization between devices. For example, it can synchronize the time information of a calibrated electronic clock with other clocks throughout a room; transmit the calibration parameters of a primary thermometer and hygrometer to a secondary thermometer and hygrometer; and transmit simple interactive commands between smart toys.

[0072] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the scope of the claims.

[0073] The product names described above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and do not limit the patent scope of the present invention. All equivalent structural transformations made using the contents of the present invention's specification and drawings under the inventive concept of the present invention, or direct / indirect applications in other related technical fields, are included within the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A visible light communication method based on a controllable light source of a smart device, characterized in that, Specifically, the steps include the following: First transmission step: On a smart device, data to be transmitted is acquired or generated through an application or web application; the emission state of a controllable light source on the smart device is controlled to switch between at least two different states at a frequency higher than the persistence of vision of the human eye, thereby encoding the data to be transmitted into a first modulated optical signal and transmitting it. First receiving and second transmitting steps: The first modulated optical signal is received by a photosensitive element on the first receiving device and converted into a first electrical signal; the first electrical signal is processed to restore the data to be transmitted; wherein, the first receiving device also integrates an LED, and the first receiving device can control its integrated LED to encode its stored configuration data or status data into a second modulated optical signal and transmit it. The second receiving step involves receiving the second modulated optical signal from the first receiving device via a photosensitive element on the second receiving device and converting it into a second electrical signal; then processing the second electrical signal to reconstruct the configuration data or status data.

2. The visible light communication method based on a controllable light source of an intelligent device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The controllable light source is a designated area on the display screen of the smart device, or the fill light of the camera of the smart device.

3. The visible light communication method based on a controllable light source of an intelligent device according to claim 2, characterized in that, When the controllable light source is a designated area on the display screen, the symbol rate of the modulated light signal is no higher than 1 / N of the display screen refresh rate, where N is a positive integer greater than 2.

4. The visible light communication method based on a controllable light source of an intelligent device according to claim 3, characterized in that, The N is 4, 8, or 16.

5. A visible light communication method based on a controllable light source of an intelligent device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The acquisition of data to be transmitted includes: automatically obtaining one or more of the following from an Internet server through the network connection of the smart device: current time, time zone, and geographical location information.

6. A visible light communication method based on a controllable light source of an intelligent device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The acquisition of data to be transmitted includes receiving configuration information input by the user through the graphical user interface provided by the smart device.

7. A visible light communication method based on a controllable light source of an intelligent device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first sending step is performed by a web application, which is triggered by a user scanning a QR code attached to the first or second receiving device.

8. A visible light communication system for implementing the method of any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, include: The transmitting end includes a smart device, which includes a controllable light source and an application or an accessible web application configured to perform the first transmitting step. The receiving end includes a photosensitive element, a microcontroller, and an LED. The photosensitive element and the LED are electrically connected to the microcontroller. The photosensitive element is used to receive optical signals. The microcontroller is configured to perform the first receiving and second transmitting steps and the processing operations in the second receiving step, and can control the LED to emit optical signals.

9. The visible light communication system according to claim 8, characterized in that, The receiver is integrated into one of the following devices: electronic clock, temperature and humidity sensor, smart switch, electronic price tag, toy, or Internet of Things (IoT) terminal device.

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