Network configuration method performed by a user equipment and by a speaker device

Abstract

A network configuration method performed by a user equipment and a network configuration method performed by a speaker device are provided. The method uses a Wi-Fi direct connection for direct communication between speaker devices to form a Wi-Fi direct group consisting of all speaker devices, and configures a first speaker device as a group owner (GO) device in the Wi-Fi direct group to directly communicate with the user equipment, where the direct communication employs a Bluetooth connection. Based on such a system design, the user equipment transmits network configuration information to other speaker devices in need of network configuration through the GO speaker device, for the other speaker devices to connect to a Wi-Fi network based on the network configuration information, thereby implementing a network configuration process for multiple speaker devices. The method can significantly improve the efficiency of speaker network configuration, while the speaker devices also enjoy the convenience of joining or leaving the Wi-Fi direct network at any time.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of communications, and more specifically, to network configuration methods performed by user equipment and network configuration methods performed by speaker devices. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, Wi-Fi speakers are gaining popularity in smart home and commercial environments due to their convenience and high-quality audio transmission. Users can easily configure these speakers via smartphone apps to connect them to their home or office Wi-Fi networks and enjoy a smooth music playback experience. However, as the number of Wi-Fi-enabled speakers increases, existing network configuration methods are facing significant challenges.

[0003] Therefore, there is a need for an efficient and convenient method for configuring Wi-Fi speakers to provide users with a better configuration experience. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Embodiments of this disclosure provide a network configuration method performed by a user equipment and a network configuration method performed by a speaker device.

[0005] Embodiments of this disclosure provide a network configuration method performed by a user equipment, comprising: establishing a Bluetooth connection with a first speaker device among a plurality of speaker devices, wherein the first speaker device is connected to each of the other speaker devices among the plurality of speaker devices via a Wi-Fi Direct connection; sending Wi-Fi network configuration information to the first speaker device via the Bluetooth connection, wherein the first speaker device connects to a Wi-Fi network based on the Wi-Fi network configuration information, and the first speaker device sends the Wi-Fi network configuration information to one or more other speaker devices among the plurality of speaker devices via the Wi-Fi Direct connection, so that the one or more other speaker devices connect to the Wi-Fi network based on the Wi-Fi network configuration information.

[0006] Embodiments of this disclosure provide a network configuration method performed by a speaker device, comprising: in response to a connection request from a user device, establishing a Bluetooth connection with the user device, wherein the first speaker device is connected to one or more speaker devices via a Wi-Fi Direct connection; receiving Wi-Fi network configuration information from the user device via the Bluetooth connection, and connecting to a Wi-Fi network based on the Wi-Fi network configuration information; and sending the Wi-Fi network configuration information to at least one of the one or more speaker devices via the Wi-Fi Direct connection, so that the at least one speaker device can connect to the Wi-Fi network based on the Wi-Fi network configuration information.

[0007] Embodiments of this disclosure provide a network configuration apparatus, which includes corresponding components for performing the network configuration method described above.

[0008] Embodiments of this disclosure provide a network configuration device, including: one or more processors; and one or more memories, wherein the one or more memories store a computer-executable program, and when the processor executes the computer-executable program, it performs the network configuration method as described above.

[0009] Embodiments of this disclosure provide a computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, are used to implement the network configuration method described above.

[0010] Embodiments of this disclosure provide a computer program product or computer program including computer instructions stored in a computer-readable storage medium. A processor of a computer device reads the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium and executes the computer instructions, causing the computer device to perform a network configuration method according to embodiments of this disclosure.

[0011] The method provided in the embodiments of this disclosure uses Wi-Fi Direct for direct communication between speaker devices to form a Wi-Fi Direct group consisting of all speaker devices. A first speaker device is configured as the group owner (GO) device in this Wi-Fi Direct group to communicate directly with the user device via Bluetooth. Based on this system design, the user device transmits network configuration information through the GO speaker device to other speaker devices that require network configuration, enabling these other speaker devices to connect to the Wi-Fi network based on the network configuration information, thereby realizing a network configuration process for multiple speaker devices.

[0012] By combining Wi-Fi Direct and BLE for multi-speaker network configuration, including initial speaker device discovery and pairing between GO speaker devices and user devices using Bluetooth connectivity, and enabling speaker devices to connect directly without the support of a central network infrastructure using Wi-Fi Direct, the method provided by embodiments of this disclosure enables efficient communication between user devices and GO speaker devices, as well as between GO speaker devices and other speaker devices in the speaker system. This includes synchronizing speaker device information, sharing network configuration information, and parallel processing of network connections, significantly improving speaker network configuration efficiency. Speaker devices also enjoy the convenience of joining or leaving the Wi-Fi Direct network at any time. Based on the network configuration method provided by embodiments of this disclosure, users can configure Wi-Fi networks for multiple speaker devices at once using user devices (e.g., smartphone apps), greatly simplifying and accelerating the speaker device network configuration process. Attached Figure Description

[0013] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this disclosure, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are merely some exemplary embodiments of this disclosure. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative effort.

[0014] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating a scenario of wireless audio playback using a speaker system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0015] Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating a network configuration method performed by a user equipment according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0016] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating a network configuration method performed by a speaker device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 4 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating a network configuration method in a first configuration scenario according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 5 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating a network configuration method in a second configuration scenario according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 6 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating the establishment of a Wi-Fi direct connection between speakers according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 7This is a schematic flowchart illustrating the establishment of a Bluetooth connection between a user equipment and a speaker according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a network configuration device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown; and

[0022] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of the architecture of an exemplary computing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0023] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this disclosure more apparent, exemplary embodiments according to this disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are merely some embodiments of this disclosure, and not all embodiments of this disclosure. It should be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the exemplary embodiments described herein.

[0024] In this specification and accompanying drawings, steps and elements that are substantially the same or similar are indicated by the same or similar reference numerals, and repeated descriptions of these steps and elements are omitted. Furthermore, in the description of this disclosure, the terms "first," "second," etc., are used only to distinguish descriptions and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or order.

[0025] In embodiments of this disclosure, the terms "module" or "unit" refer to a computer program or part of a computer program that has a predetermined function and works in conjunction with other related parts to achieve a predetermined objective, and can be implemented wholly or partially using software, hardware (such as processing circuitry or memory), or a combination thereof. Similarly, a processor (or multiple processors or memory) can be used to implement one or more modules or units. Furthermore, each module or unit can be part of an overall module or unit that includes the functionality of that module or unit.

[0026] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing embodiments of the invention only and is not intended to limit the invention.

[0027] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating a scenario of wireless audio playback using a speaker system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] In today's smart home and business environments, the demand for wireless audio playback is constantly increasing, and Wi-Fi-enabled speakers are becoming increasingly popular due to their convenience and high-quality audio transmission. For example... Figure 1As shown, user 102 can interact with speaker system 120 through user device 110, where speaker system 120 may include multiple Wi-Fi speaker devices (e.g., speaker 1, speaker 2, ..., speaker N). For example, the user can conveniently configure and manage speaker device settings, select playlists, control volume, and other functions through a mobile application. User device 110 and speaker system 120 can be connected to the same Wi-Fi network 130 (e.g., a home or office Wi-Fi network), allowing user 102 to send control commands to speaker system 120 via Wi-Fi network 130 using user device 110 to control the speakers. Optionally, user device 110 may specifically include smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktop computers, in-vehicle terminals, wearable devices, etc., but is not limited to these. The user terminal may also be a client with a browser or various applications (including system applications and third-party applications) installed.

[0029] As mentioned above, this multi-speaker configuration of a speaker system allows users to create stereo sound or zone playback within one or more rooms, achieving a seamless music experience. However, with the increasing number of Wi-Fi speakers in speaker systems, existing network configuration methods for these speakers are facing significant challenges.

[0030] Traditionally, most Wi-Fi speaker network configuration processes rely on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology, which establishes a connection between the speaker device and a smartphone app to set the parameters required for the speaker to connect to a Wi-Fi network. BLE is widely used in the initial setup of various devices due to its low-power characteristics. However, a key bottleneck for BLE in speaker network configuration lies in its connectivity performance. While BLE is suitable for quick pairing and setup of a single device, its efficiency drops significantly when configuring multiple devices simultaneously. Using BLE may not present noticeable problems when configuring a small number of Wi-Fi speakers (e.g., one or two). However, when establishing network connections for more speakers simultaneously, the process becomes cumbersome and time-consuming. This is because BLE is designed to establish a stable connection with only one device at a time. Therefore, in multi-device scenarios, users need to repeatedly switch connections between different devices to continuously complete the Wi-Fi setup for each speaker. This configuration method is not only inefficient but also significantly degrades the user experience, especially when multiple speaker devices need to be configured quickly for synchronized music playback or other integrated applications.

[0031] Therefore, a new method for configuring multi-speaker Wi-Fi is needed, which should be able to overcome the bottleneck of BLE technology in multi-speaker device configuration environments, thereby providing a more efficient and user-friendly way to set up network connections for multiple Wi-Fi speakers.

[0032] Based on this, this disclosure provides a rapid network configuration method for a loudspeaker system. This method uses Wi-Fi Direct for direct communication between loudspeaker devices to form a Wi-Fi Direct group consisting of all loudspeaker devices. A first loudspeaker device is configured as the group owner (GO) device within this Wi-Fi Direct group to communicate directly with a user device via Bluetooth. Based on this system design, the user device transmits network configuration information through the GO loudspeaker device to other loudspeaker devices that require network configuration. These other loudspeaker devices then connect to the Wi-Fi network based on the network configuration information, thereby enabling a network configuration process for multiple loudspeaker devices.

[0033] By combining Wi-Fi Direct and BLE for multi-speaker network configuration, including initial speaker device discovery and pairing between GO speaker devices and user devices using Bluetooth connectivity, and enabling speaker devices to connect directly without the support of a central network infrastructure using Wi-Fi Direct, efficient communication is achieved between user devices and GO speaker devices, as well as between GO speaker devices and other speaker devices in the speaker system. This includes synchronizing speaker device information, sharing network configuration information, and parallel processing of network connections, significantly improving speaker network configuration efficiency. Speaker devices also enjoy the convenience of joining or leaving the Wi-Fi Direct network at any time. Based on the network configuration method disclosed herein, users can configure a Wi-Fi network for multiple speaker devices at once using user devices (e.g., smartphone apps), greatly simplifying and accelerating the speaker device network configuration process.

[0034] Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating a network configuration method 200 performed by a user equipment according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating a network configuration method 300 performed by a speaker device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0035] As described above, the network configuration method of this disclosure can be implemented jointly by the user equipment and the speaker device. Therefore, the network configuration method of this disclosure will be described below from the perspective of the corresponding operations on the user equipment side and the speaker device side.

[0036] First, such as Figure 2 As shown, it illustrates the operations performed on the user equipment side, including steps S202 and S204. (As...) Figure 3 As shown, it illustrates the operations performed at the speaker device end, including steps S302, S304, and S306.

[0037] Specifically, in step S202, the user equipment can establish a Bluetooth connection with a first speaker device among a plurality of speaker devices, wherein the first speaker device can be connected to each of the other speaker devices among the plurality of speaker devices via Wi-Fi Direct Connection.

[0038] Optionally, the aforementioned multiple speaker devices can be speaker devices supporting Wi-Fi Direct, which can be connected via a Wi-Fi Direct network to form a peer-to-peer (P2P) group structure including a central Group Owner (GO) device and multiple Group Client (GC) devices. The first speaker device can act as the GO device in the Wi-Fi Direct network, responsible for establishing and maintaining the network, managing device connection requests, and handling network security and data transmission settings. The other speaker devices can act as GC devices in the Wi-Fi Direct network, i.e., devices that join the network created by the GO device.

[0039] Optionally, in the system disclosed herein, a Bluetooth connection can be established between a user device and a first speaker device, which is a GO device in a Wi-Fi Direct network. For example, a user can establish a connection with the speaker device using Bluetooth (e.g., Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology, by way of example and not limitation) via a user device (e.g., an application (APP) on a smartphone). Bluetooth connections leverage their low power consumption to facilitate discovery and connection by the user device to the speaker device. Specifically, when both the speaker device and the user device support BLE technology, taking the establishment of a BLE connection between the user device and the first speaker device as an example, BLE broadcasting from the speaker device can be integrated into the discovery, connection, and data exchange process between the user device and the speaker device, as will be described below.

[0040] Considering that Wi-Fi Direct technology allows devices to communicate directly without a central network infrastructure, and that there are multiple ways to form a Wi-Fi Direct group, each with its own unique characteristics and applicable scenarios, this disclosure will determine the Wi-Fi Direct group formation method applicable to the network configuration method of this disclosure.

[0041] Optionally, connection speed and group formation efficiency can be key factors in selecting the Wi-Fi Direct group formation method. Wi-Fi Direct group formation can include three common methods: standard group formation, autonomous group owner mode, and persistent group mode. Standard group formation relies on device discovery and negotiation, automatically selecting the GO (Goal Provider). This method offers the highest flexibility, dynamically adjusting based on device capabilities and network conditions, but its connection speed is relatively slow, suitable for general scenarios where connection speed requirements are not high. Autonomous group owner mode pre-specifies or actively declares the GO device, omitting the negotiation process and significantly improving connection speed. This mode is particularly suitable for scenarios with fixed configurations and requiring rapid connection establishment, such as when devices need to share data immediately. Persistent group mode allows devices to store group configuration information, enabling rapid reconnection and avoiding repeated negotiation. This mode is suitable for devices that frequently need reconnection, such as smart home devices, greatly improving the user experience. Each of the three group formation methods has its own focus; for example, standard group formation provides the greatest flexibility but has a slower connection speed; autonomous mode and persistent group mode offer faster connection speeds, especially suitable for scenarios requiring rapid connection establishment. Therefore, in applications requiring high connection speeds, the autonomous group owner mode is a better choice. That is, in the network configuration method of this disclosure, the autonomous group owner mode can be used to select GO devices in a specific way without needing to negotiate with other speaker devices, as will be described below.

[0042] Correspondingly, in step S302, in response to a connection request from a user device, the speaker device can establish a Bluetooth connection with the user device, wherein the first speaker device can be connected to one or more speaker devices via Wi-Fi Direct.

[0043] In other words, to achieve rapid network configuration between user equipment and speaker devices, this disclosure transforms the traditional one-to-one network configuration method—where user equipment uses BLE connections to repeatedly switch between different devices to sequentially and individually complete Wi-Fi settings for each speaker device—into a hierarchical network configuration process from the user equipment to the GO device, and from the GO device to each GC device requiring network configuration. This leverages the low-power characteristics of BLE technology while addressing the inefficiency caused by the connectivity limitations of BLE. Specifically, by utilizing a Wi-Fi direct network to synchronize configuration information from the GO device to multiple GC devices, parallel network configuration of multiple GC devices can be achieved, significantly improving configuration efficiency.

[0044] In step S204, Wi-Fi network configuration information can be sent to the first speaker device via the Bluetooth connection. The first speaker device connects to the Wi-Fi network based on the Wi-Fi network configuration information, and the first speaker device sends the Wi-Fi network configuration information to one or more other speaker devices among the plurality of speaker devices via the Wi-Fi Direct connection, so that the one or more other speaker devices can connect to the Wi-Fi network based on the Wi-Fi network configuration information.

[0045] Optionally, the GO device can be used as an information relay to transmit the Wi-Fi network configuration information received from the user device to the GC device, thereby enabling fast Wi-Fi network configuration of the GC device within the group.

[0046] Correspondingly, for the speaker device, in step S304, the speaker device can receive Wi-Fi network configuration information from the user equipment via the Bluetooth connection, and connect to the Wi-Fi network based on the Wi-Fi network configuration information.

[0047] Specifically, after receiving the Wi-Fi configuration information, the GO device can immediately use this information to connect to the Wi-Fi network specified in the Wi-Fi network configuration information.

[0048] Correspondingly, for the speaker device, in step S306, the speaker device can send the Wi-Fi network configuration information to at least one of the one or more speaker devices through the Wi-Fi Direct connection, so that the at least one speaker device can connect to the Wi-Fi network based on the Wi-Fi network configuration information.

[0049] Furthermore, as the central hub of the Wi-Fi Direct network, the GO device can also manage and maintain network connectivity. After successfully connecting to the Wi-Fi network, the GO device can broadcast or direct the received Wi-Fi network configuration information to various GC devices that require network configuration via the Wi-Fi Direct connection. Therefore, GC devices do not need to establish separate connections with user devices; instead, they can directly obtain configuration information from the GO device.

[0050] After receiving Wi-Fi network configuration information from the GO device, the GC device can immediately use this information to connect to the specified Wi-Fi network. This parallel configuration method allows multiple GC devices to connect to the Wi-Fi network simultaneously, significantly improving configuration efficiency.

[0051] By combining Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Direct technologies, this disclosed network configuration method overcomes the efficiency bottleneck of traditional one-to-one configuration. Bluetooth establishes a rapid connection between user devices and speaker devices, while Wi-Fi Direct enables rapid sharing and parallel configuration of configuration information among speaker devices. Based on this, user devices only need to configure the GO (Go-Organizer) device, which then transmits the information to other GC (Controller-Organizer) devices. This achieves hierarchical network configuration from user devices to GO devices, and then from GO devices to multiple GC devices, significantly improving the Wi-Fi network configuration efficiency of speaker device clusters. This distributed configuration scheme not only significantly enhances the user experience but also provides an effective solution for the rapid network deployment of large-scale speaker devices.

[0052] Considering that the order in which the Bluetooth connection is established between the user equipment and the speaker device and the Wi-Fi Direct connection is established between the speaker devices will affect the specific implementation of the above steps in the network configuration method of this disclosure, the following will further introduce the network configuration method of this disclosure by setting up different scenarios according to the different orders of these two connection establishments. Specifically, Figure 4 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating a network configuration method in a first configuration scenario according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 5 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating a network configuration method in a second configuration scenario according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Wherein, Figure 4 This corresponds to scenario 400, where the establishment of a Bluetooth connection between the user device and the speaker device occurs before the establishment of a Wi-Fi Direct connection between the speaker devices. Figure 5 This corresponds to scenario 500, where the establishment of a Wi-Fi direct connection between speaker devices occurs before the establishment of a Bluetooth connection between the user device and the speaker device. It should be noted that this is an example, not a limitation. Figure 4 and Figure 5 Only three speaker devices are schematically shown. Those skilled in the art will understand that actual applications may include more or fewer speaker devices, and this disclosure does not impose any specific limitations on this.

[0053] Scenario 400 includes user equipment 402 and speakers 412, 414, and 416. The user equipment 402 may specifically be, for example, a particular smartphone app, through which the user initiates a network configuration process to connect to and configure the speaker devices.

[0054] First, in scenario 400, multiple speaker devices (speakers 412, 414, and 416) can enter BLE broadcast mode after powering on, broadcasting their connectability status so that other devices can pick up this information. Correspondingly, user equipment 402 can activate BLE mode and begin device scanning and discovery. At this time, the user app can send a BLE scan request to search for connectable BLE speaker devices in the vicinity. When the user equipment discovers a target speaker, it can create a BLE connection request and send it to the target speaker to seek a connection. Upon receiving the BLE connection request, the target speaker can respond and establish a BLE connection with the user equipment.

[0055] Optionally, in scenario 400, user equipment 402 may establish a BLE connection with any one of the plurality of speakers, which may depend, for example, on the results of user equipment 402’s scan of the speaker devices in BLE mode (e.g., the first speaker device discovered), and this disclosure does not limit this.

[0056] According to an embodiment of this disclosure, in response to the first speaker device establishing the Bluetooth connection with the user equipment, the first speaker device enters group owner mode and establishes a Wi-Fi Direct connection with each of the other speaker devices.

[0057] Optionally, after the user equipment 402 is successfully connected to, for example, the speaker 412, the speaker 412 can be designated as a GO device, at which point it can enter GO mode to prepare for subsequent GC device connections.

[0058] Figure 6 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating the establishment of a Wi-Fi Direct connection between speakers according to embodiments of the present disclosure. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the first speaker device may establish a Wi-Fi Direct connection with one or more speaker devices by: registering one or more services for the one or more speaker devices to find the first speaker device through a service discovery process; receiving a connection request from the one or more speaker devices through the service discovery process; and establishing a Wi-Fi Direct connection with the one or more speaker devices in response to the connection request.

[0059] Figure 6 The process of establishing a Wi-Fi Direct connection between speaker devices is illustrated using a GO device (speaker (GO)) 610 and a GC device (speaker (GC)) 650 as an example. The GC device 650 can correspond to... Figure 4 Any GC device in the system. For example... Figure 6As shown, in the initial state, all speaker devices can be set to GC mode. In step 612, GO device 610 can be triggered by a user or other conditions to set itself as a GO device and enter GO mode, enabling GO device 610 to accept connection requests and manage all speaker devices connected to it. Correspondingly, other speaker devices can be set as GC devices. Next, in step 614, after successfully entering GO mode, GO device 610 can actively register one or more services, allowing other devices (GC devices) to find these services through the service discovery mechanism.

[0060] Correspondingly, in step 652, the GC device 650 can initiate a service discovery process based on the device's status (e.g., power-on or user-triggered) to find nearby GO devices and the services they provide. Through the service discovery mechanism, the GC device can identify and access the services provided by the GO. Therefore, during the service discovery process, once the GC device 650 discovers a service provided by the GO device 610, it can request a connection to the GO device 610 in step 654 based on the discovered service information.

[0061] Therefore, GO device 610 can accept a connection request from GC device 650 in step 616, thereby establishing a Wi-Fi Direct connection with GC device 650. Correspondingly, GC device 650 can complete the Wi-Fi Direct connection with GO device 610 in step 656.

[0062] After the Wi-Fi Direct connection is established, the GO device 610 and the GC device 650 can exchange data in steps 618 and 658, and can disconnect in steps 620 and 660 as needed. If a connection is needed again, the above process can be repeated.

[0063] Through the above process, return to Figure 4 After establishing a BLE connection with user equipment 402, speaker 412 can set itself as a GO device and register services on it, thereby establishing a Wi-Fi Direct connection with other speaker devices (speakers 414 and 416).

[0064] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the network configuration method performed by the speaker device may further include: receiving device information of the one or more speaker devices from the one or more speaker devices via the Wi-Fi Direct connection; and sending the device information of the one or more speaker devices to the user equipment via the Bluetooth connection.

[0065] Optionally, through a Wi-Fi direct connection between speakers, the GO device can receive device information (e.g., device ID and device name) from other GC devices. Furthermore, the GO device can use a BLE connection to send its own device information and that of all GC devices in its group to the user device 402 to ensure that the user is aware of all available speaker devices.

[0066] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the network configuration method performed by a user equipment may further include: receiving device information of a plurality of speaker devices from a first speaker device via the Bluetooth connection, wherein the device information of the plurality of speaker devices includes device information received by the first speaker device from other speaker devices among the plurality of speaker devices via the Wi-Fi Direct connection; based on the device information of the plurality of speaker devices, selecting one or more other speaker devices from the plurality of speaker devices for network configuration; wherein the Wi-Fi network configuration information includes indication information for the one or more other speaker devices and key information of a router associated with the Wi-Fi network.

[0067] Optionally, after user equipment 402 receives device information about available speaker devices from the GO device, it can display a list of all available speaker devices (e.g., speakers 412, 414, and 416) on its user interface, and then select one or more speaker devices from these devices for Wi-Fi network configuration. For example, the user can select some or all of the available speaker devices for network configuration. Furthermore, the user can also select the Wi-Fi network that these speaker devices should connect to.

[0068] Optionally, based on the above selection, user equipment 402 may send to the GO device indication information for the selected speaker device (e.g., the device ID of the speaker device, etc.) and configuration information of the Wi-Fi network to which these speaker devices are to connect (e.g., key information of the router associated with the Wi-Fi network (such as SSID, password, etc.)).

[0069] Optionally, in response to receiving Wi-Fi network configuration information, the GO device (speaker 412) can obtain all the information required to connect to the Wi-Fi network and configure the network accordingly to connect to the appropriate router.

[0070] Optionally, after the GO device (speaker 412) connects to the Wi-Fi network (or, in other words, to the router), the GO device (speaker 412) can send the Wi-Fi network configuration information (e.g., more specifically, the router's key information) in parallel to the speaker devices indicated in the Wi-Fi network configuration information, i.e., one or more speaker devices for which Wi-Fi network configuration is to be performed.

[0071] Optionally, after receiving the Wi-Fi network configuration information, each speaker device that needs to be configured for the Wi-Fi network can connect to the corresponding router locally based on the router information in the Wi-Fi network configuration information to connect to the user-specified Wi-Fi network, thereby completing the network configuration.

[0072] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the network configuration method performed by a speaker device may further include: disconnecting the Wi-Fi direct connection from the speaker device after any of the one or more speaker devices has been connected to the Wi-Fi network.

[0073] Optionally, after the speaker device to be configured for network successfully connects to the Wi-Fi network, the GO device (speaker 412) can disconnect the Wi-Fi direct connection from the speaker device, and the speaker device can leave the previously established P2P group, because the speaker device can maintain long-term stable communication with the GO device through the connected Wi-Fi network, without needing the Wi-Fi direct connection anymore.

[0074] According to embodiments of this disclosure, any of the one or more speaker devices stops Bluetooth broadcasting after connecting to the Wi-Fi network.

[0075] Optionally, once all speakers to be network configured have successfully connected to the Wi-Fi network, the GO device (speaker 412) can disband the previously established P2P group, actively disconnect the BLE connection with user equipment 402, and stop BLE broadcasting. Other speakers can also stop BLE broadcasting to maintain long-term stable communication via the Wi-Fi network connection.

[0076] Based on the above reference Figure 4 The aforementioned process enables rapid Wi-Fi network configuration for multiple speaker devices in scenarios where the Bluetooth connection between the user device and the speaker device is established before the Wi-Fi Direct connection between the speaker devices is established.

[0077] Scenario 500, which establishes a Wi-Fi direct connection between speaker devices prior to establishing a Bluetooth connection between the user equipment and the speaker devices, includes user equipment 502 and speakers 512, 514, and 516. Specifically, user equipment 502 can be, for example, a specific smartphone app, through which the user initiates a network configuration process to connect and configure with the speaker devices.

[0078] First, in scenario 500, multiple speaker devices (speakers 512, 514, and 516) can enter BLE broadcast mode after powering on, broadcasting their connectability status so that other devices can capture this information. Correspondingly, user equipment 402 can activate BLE mode and begin device scanning and discovery.

[0079] In this case, unlike scenario 400 above, a specific speaker device among multiple speaker devices can be set as a GO device and enter GO mode before any of the speaker devices establishes a Bluetooth connection with the user device.

[0080] According to an embodiment of this disclosure, before establishing the Bluetooth connection with the user equipment, in response to the first speaker device being preset, actively declared, or selected as a group owner by the user equipment, the first speaker device enters group owner mode and establishes a Wi-Fi Direct connection with each of the other speaker devices.

[0081] Optionally, the first speaker device (e.g., Figure 5 The speaker (512) can be pre-defined as a GO device, for example, through pre-setting of the speaker device, by the speaker device actively declaring itself, or by the user selecting the speaker device as a GO device in a specific way.

[0082] According to an embodiment of this disclosure, the first speaker device is selected as the group owner via the user equipment based on the user triggering a button on the first speaker device.

[0083] Optionally, the aforementioned specific method can be triggered by a specific button pre-arranged on the speaker device. For example, the speaker device may be pre-arranged with combination buttons or other buttons, allowing the user to set the speaker device as a GO device by triggering the button. Of course, other methods can also be used to configure the speaker device as a GO device, and this disclosure does not limit this.

[0084] Optionally, after the speaker device is set as a GO device and enters GO mode, the GO device can establish a Wi-Fi Direct connection with other speaker devices. For example, the Wi-Fi Direct connection process can be referenced as above. Figure 6As shown, this disclosure will not elaborate further.

[0085] like Figure 5 As shown, taking the user's active selection of a GO device as an example, speaker 512 sets itself as a GO device based on the user's selection and registers services on it to establish a Wi-Fi Direct connection with other GC devices (speakers 514 and 516) and receive corresponding device information from each GC device through the Wi-Fi Direct connection.

[0086] According to embodiments of this disclosure, any of the one or more speaker devices stops Bluetooth broadcasting after establishing the Wi-Fi Direct connection with the first speaker device.

[0087] Optionally, to prevent user equipment from connecting to GC devices instead of GO devices when scanning and discovering in BLE mode, in embodiments of this disclosure, each GC device may immediately stop BLE broadcasting after connecting to the GO device, so as to retain only the BLE broadcasting of the GO device, ensuring that the GO device can connect to the user equipment via BLE.

[0088] Optionally, in scenario 500, user equipment 502 can establish a BLE connection with the GO device. Figure 7 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating the establishment of a Bluetooth connection between a user equipment and a speaker according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0089] like Figure 7 As shown, taking a smartphone app as an example, when a user launches the smartphone app 710, the system can check whether the BLE function is enabled. If the BLE function is not enabled, the system can prompt the user to ensure that the Bluetooth function is enabled.

[0090] Optionally, the speaker device can be activated in response to power-on or user triggering, entering Bluetooth broadcast mode, as shown in step 752, to announce its presence to nearby BLE-enabled devices and enter a waiting state, ready to receive connection requests from other devices, ensuring the visibility of devices to each other, as shown in step 754. For example, the speaker device can broadcast information including the speaker's name, its service and characteristics' UUID, and possibly other metadata (such as device type or function) to ensure that the smartphone app can identify the device.

[0091] Optionally, after enabling Bluetooth on the smartphone app 710, it can enter the service discovery phase and begin searching for nearby BLE devices, including BLE speakers. For example, the smartphone app 710 can issue a scan request and listen for broadcasts from nearby BLE devices.

[0092] Optionally, the smartphone app 710 can discover BLE speakers and retrieve their broadcast information through the scanning process, and identify them as target devices based on the broadcast information. For example, in scenario 500, the target speaker device can be identified by comparing the identity information of pre-selected GO devices with the broadcast information of each BLE speaker device.

[0093] Optionally, after identifying the target speaker device, the smartphone APP 710 can initiate a connection request to the target speaker device (e.g., speaker 750), as shown in step 714.

[0094] Optionally, the speaker 750 can verify and respond upon receiving a connection request. If the connection request is accepted, the speaker 750 can establish a BLE connection with the smartphone app 710, and the smartphone app 710 can determine that the connection is successful based on the received confirmation signal, as shown in steps 716 and 756.

[0095] Next, the smartphone app 710 can begin data interaction with the speaker 750, as shown in steps 718 and 758. For example, the user can control the operation of the speaker device through the smartphone app, such as setting Wi-Fi information (such as SSID and password), adjusting volume, and playing and pausing music.

[0096] Optionally, after all data interaction is complete, the smartphone app or speaker device can proactively initiate a disconnection operation, as shown in steps 720 and 760, to release resources and close the BLE connection. For example, the user can choose to manually disconnect, or the system can automatically disconnect after the task is completed to maintain the normal operation and responsiveness of the device.

[0097] Based on this, direct Wi-Fi connection between speaker devices and BLE connection between user devices and GO devices can be achieved.

[0098] Next, the GO device (speaker 512) can use the BLE connection to send device information of itself and all GC devices in its group to the user device 502 to ensure that the user is aware of all available speaker devices.

[0099] Optionally, after the user equipment 502 receives device information about available speaker devices from the GO device (speaker 512), it can display a list of all available speaker devices (e.g., speakers 512, 514, and 516) on its user interface, and then select one or more speaker devices from these speaker devices for Wi-Fi network configuration. For example, the user can select some or all of the available speaker devices for network configuration. Furthermore, the user can also select the Wi-Fi network that these speaker devices want to connect to.

[0100] Optionally, based on the above selection, the user equipment 502 may send to the GO device (speaker 512) indication information for the selected speaker device (e.g., the device ID of the speaker device, etc.) and configuration information of the Wi-Fi network to which these speaker devices are to connect (e.g., key information of the router associated with the Wi-Fi network (such as SSID, password, etc.)).

[0101] Optionally, in response to receiving Wi-Fi network configuration information, the GO device (speaker 512) can obtain all the information required to connect to the Wi-Fi network and configure the network accordingly to connect to the appropriate router.

[0102] Optionally, after the GO device (speaker 512) connects to the Wi-Fi network (or, in other words, to the router), the GO device (speaker 512) can send the Wi-Fi network configuration information (e.g., more specifically, the router's key information) in parallel to the speaker devices indicated in the Wi-Fi network configuration information, i.e., one or more speaker devices for which Wi-Fi network configuration is to be performed.

[0103] Optionally, after receiving the Wi-Fi network configuration information, each speaker device that needs to be configured for the Wi-Fi network can connect to the corresponding router locally based on the router information in the Wi-Fi network configuration information to connect to the user-specified Wi-Fi network, thereby completing the network configuration.

[0104] Optionally, after the speaker device to be configured for network successfully connects to the Wi-Fi network, the GO device (speaker 512) can disconnect the Wi-Fi direct connection from the speaker device, and the speaker device can leave the previously established P2P group, because the speaker device can maintain long-term stable communication with the GO device through the connected Wi-Fi network, without needing the Wi-Fi direct connection anymore.

[0105] Alternatively, once all speakers to be configured for network have successfully connected to the Wi-Fi network, the GO device (speaker 512) can disband the previously established P2P group, actively disconnect the BLE connection with user equipment 502, and stop BLE broadcasting.

[0106] Based on the above reference Figure 5 The aforementioned process enables rapid Wi-Fi network configuration for multiple speaker devices in scenarios where the establishment of a Wi-Fi direct connection between speaker devices precedes the establishment of a Bluetooth connection between the user device and the speaker device.

[0107] The above description, using two scenarios, illustrates the specific implementation of the network configuration method disclosed herein, aiming to optimize the network configuration process under different conditions and ensure the flexibility and convenience of user operation. Specifically, users can establish a connection with the GO device using BLE technology via a user device (e.g., a smartphone application (APP)). Once connected, the user device can access information from all GC devices. Then, the user can simultaneously configure Wi-Fi networks for multiple speaker devices. For example, the user can easily input Wi-Fi information (e.g., Wi-Fi SSID and password) into the smartphone APP, which can then be sent to the GO device. The GO device then synchronizes the key network configuration details with all GC devices requiring network configuration. Because Wi-Fi Direct supports direct communication between devices, this information synchronization can be completed almost in real time, enabling fast and efficient parallel network connection configuration. The network configuration method disclosed herein, combining Wi-Fi Direct and BLE, effectively addresses the inefficiencies associated with configuring networks with multiple speaker devices via point-to-point BLE connections. It not only optimizes the user experience and reduces configuration time, but also provides an efficient and feasible solution for multi-device configuration scenarios in smart home and commercial environments, especially for multi-channel setups based on audio systems consisting of multiple speakers.

[0108] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a network configuration apparatus (not shown) is also provided. According to embodiments of this disclosure, the network configuration apparatus may include various components for performing the network configuration method described above.

[0109] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a network configuration device is also provided. Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a network configuration device 2000 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0110] like Figure 8As shown, the network configuration device 2000 may include one or more processors 2010 and one or more memories 2020. The memories 2020 store computer-readable code that, when executed by the one or more processors 2010, can perform the network configuration method as described above.

[0111] The processor in the embodiments of this disclosure can be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. The processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an off-the-shelf programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. It can implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of this application. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, and can be based on an x86 architecture or an ARM architecture.

[0112] In general, the various exemplary embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuitry, software, firmware, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects can be implemented in hardware, while others can be implemented in firmware or software that can be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. When aspects of embodiments of this disclosure are illustrated or described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other graphical representation, it will be understood that the blocks, apparatuses, systems, techniques, or methods described herein can be implemented as non-limiting examples in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuitry or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0113] For example, the method or apparatus according to embodiments of this disclosure can also be used by means of Figure 9 The architecture of the computing device 3000 shown is used for implementation. For example... Figure 9 As shown, the computing device 3000 may include a bus 3010, one or more CPUs 3020, a read-only memory (ROM) 3030, a random access memory (RAM) 3040, a communication port 3050 connected to a network, an input / output component 3060, a hard disk 3070, etc. The storage devices in the computing device 3000, such as the ROM 3030 or the hard disk 3070, may store various data or files used for processing and / or communication of the network configuration method provided in this disclosure, as well as program instructions executed by the CPU. The computing device 3000 may also include a user interface 3080. Of course, Figure 9 The architecture shown is merely exemplary and can be omitted as needed when implementing different devices. Figure 9 One or more components in the computing device shown.

[0114] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided. The computer storage medium stores computer-readable instructions. When the computer-readable instructions are executed by a processor, a network configuration method according to embodiments of this disclosure described with reference to the above-drawn figures can be performed. The computer-readable storage medium in the embodiments of this disclosure may be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. Non-volatile memory may be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory may be random access memory (RAM), which serves as an external cache. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDRSDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous linked dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct memory bus random access memory (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory used in the methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0115] Embodiments of this disclosure also provide a computer program product or computer program including computer instructions stored in a computer-readable storage medium. A processor of a computer device reads the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium and executes the computer instructions, causing the computer device to perform a network configuration method according to embodiments of this disclosure.

[0116] Embodiments of this disclosure provide a network configuration method performed by a user equipment and a network configuration method performed by a speaker device.

[0117] The method provided in the embodiments of this disclosure uses Wi-Fi Direct for direct communication between speaker devices to form a Wi-Fi Direct group consisting of all speaker devices. A first speaker device is configured as the group owner (GO) device in this Wi-Fi Direct group to communicate directly with the user device via Bluetooth. Based on this system design, the user device transmits network configuration information through the GO speaker device to other speaker devices that require network configuration, enabling these other speaker devices to connect to the Wi-Fi network based on the network configuration information, thereby realizing a network configuration process for multiple speaker devices.

[0118] By combining Wi-Fi Direct and BLE for multi-speaker network configuration, including initial speaker device discovery and pairing between GO speaker devices and user devices using Bluetooth connectivity, and enabling speaker devices to connect directly without the support of a central network infrastructure using Wi-Fi Direct, the method provided by embodiments of this disclosure enables efficient communication between user devices and GO speaker devices, as well as between GO speaker devices and other speaker devices in the speaker system. This includes synchronizing speaker device information, sharing network configuration information, and parallel processing of network connections, significantly improving speaker network configuration efficiency. Speaker devices also enjoy the convenience of joining or leaving the Wi-Fi Direct network at any time. Based on the network configuration method provided by embodiments of this disclosure, users can configure Wi-Fi networks for multiple speaker devices at once using user devices (e.g., smartphone apps), greatly simplifying and accelerating the speaker device network configuration process.

[0119] It should be noted that the flowcharts and block diagrams in the accompanying drawings illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of this disclosure. In this regard, each block in a flowchart or block diagram may represent a module, segment, or portion of code containing at least one executable instruction for implementing a specified logical function. It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions indicated in the blocks may occur in a different order than those indicated in the drawings. For example, two consecutively indicated blocks may actually be executed substantially in parallel, and they may sometimes be executed in reverse order, depending on the functions involved. It should also be noted that each block in the block diagrams and / or flowcharts, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and / or flowcharts, can be implemented using a dedicated hardware-based system that performs the specified function or operation, or using a combination of dedicated hardware and computer instructions.

[0120] In general, the various exemplary embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuitry, software, firmware, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects can be implemented in hardware, while others can be implemented in firmware or software that can be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. When aspects of embodiments of this disclosure are illustrated or described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other graphical representation, it will be understood that the blocks, apparatuses, systems, techniques, or methods described herein can be implemented as non-limiting examples in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuitry or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0121] The exemplary embodiments of this disclosure described in detail above are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and combinations of these embodiments or their features can be made without departing from the principles and spirit of this disclosure, and such modifications should fall within the scope of this disclosure.

Claims

1. A network configuration method performed by a user equipment, comprising: Establish a Bluetooth connection with a first speaker device among a plurality of speaker devices, wherein the first speaker device is connected to each of the other speaker devices among the plurality of speaker devices via a Wi-Fi Direct connection; and The first speaker device sends Wi-Fi network configuration information to the first speaker device via the Bluetooth connection, wherein the first speaker device connects to the Wi-Fi network based on the Wi-Fi network configuration information, and the first speaker device sends the Wi-Fi network configuration information to one or more other speaker devices among the plurality of speaker devices via the Wi-Fi Direct connection, so that the one or more other speaker devices can connect to the Wi-Fi network based on the Wi-Fi network configuration information.

2. The method as described in claim 1, wherein, In response to the first speaker device establishing the Bluetooth connection with the user equipment, the first speaker device enters group owner mode and establishes a Wi-Fi Direct connection with each of the other speaker devices.

3. The method as described in claim 1, wherein, Before establishing the Bluetooth connection with the user equipment, in response to the first speaker device being preset, actively declared, or selected as a group owner by the user equipment, the first speaker device enters group owner mode and establishes a Wi-Fi Direct connection with each of the other speaker devices.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, The first speaker device is selected as the group owner via the user device based on the user triggering a button on the first speaker device.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: Device information of the plurality of speaker devices is received from the first speaker device via the Bluetooth connection, wherein the device information of the plurality of speaker devices includes device information received by the first speaker device from other speaker devices among the plurality of speaker devices via the Wi-Fi Direct connection; and Based on the device information of the multiple speaker devices, the user selects one or more other speaker devices from the multiple speaker devices to be configured for network settings. The Wi-Fi network configuration information includes indication information for the one or more other speaker devices, and key information for the router associated with the Wi-Fi network.

6. A network configuration method performed by a first loudspeaker device, comprising: In response to a connection request from a user equipment, a Bluetooth connection is established with the user equipment, wherein the first speaker device is connected to one or more speaker devices via Wi-Fi Direct connection; Receives Wi-Fi network configuration information from the user equipment via the Bluetooth connection, and connects to the Wi-Fi network based on the Wi-Fi network configuration information; and The Wi-Fi network configuration information is sent to at least one of the one or more speaker devices via the Wi-Fi Direct connection, so that the at least one speaker device can connect to the Wi-Fi network based on the Wi-Fi network configuration information.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising: In response to the first speaker device establishing the Bluetooth connection with the user equipment, the first speaker device enters group owner mode and establishes a Wi-Fi Direct connection with each of the one or more speaker devices.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising: Before establishing the Bluetooth connection with the user equipment, in response to the first speaker device being preset, actively declared, or selected as a group owner by the user equipment, the first speaker device enters group owner mode and establishes a Wi-Fi Direct connection with each of the one or more speaker devices.

9. The method of claim 7 or 8, wherein, The first speaker device establishes a Wi-Fi Direct connection with the one or more speaker devices in the following manner: Register one or more services so that the one or more speaker devices can find the first speaker device through a service discovery process; Receive connection requests from the one or more speaker devices through the service discovery process; as well as In response to the connection request, a Wi-Fi Direct connection is established with the one or more speaker devices.

10. The method of claim 6, further comprising: Receive device information of one or more speaker devices from the one or more speaker devices via the Wi-Fi Direct connection; The device information of the one or more speaker devices is sent to the user device via the Bluetooth connection.

11. The method of claim 6, further comprising: After any of the one or more speaker devices is connected to the Wi-Fi network, the Wi-Fi direct connection is disconnected from the speaker device.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein, Any of the one or more speaker devices shall stop Bluetooth broadcasting after connecting to the Wi-Fi network.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein, Any of the one or more speaker devices stops Bluetooth broadcasting after establishing the Wi-Fi Direct connection with the first speaker device.

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