Pairing authentication system and method for home appliances

Abstract

A pairing authentication system and a method for home appliances are provided. The pairing authentication system includes a plurality of home appliances, a server and a user terminal. The server performs a pre-pairing authentication procedure with each of home appliances for generating background pairing information corresponding to each of home appliances on the server and generating home appliance pairing information on the home appliance. The user terminal is electrically connected to the server through an application program and sends a pairing request signal to the server. The server adjusts the home appliance pairing information according to the pairing request signal and the background pairing information, so that the user terminal and the home appliance complete the pairing authentication.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This invention relates to the technical field of pairing authentication, and more particularly to a pairing authentication system and method for home appliances. [Previous Technology]

[0002] With the development of the Internet of Things (IoT) concept, home appliances that can be connected to the Internet, such as vacuum cleaners, washing machines, refrigerators, air conditioners, and televisions, are gradually becoming more widespread. Therefore, the current control method for home appliances has gradually changed from traditional remote controls to user terminals such as smartphones.

[0003] In order for a user terminal to control home appliances such as vacuum cleaners, washing machines, refrigerators, air conditioners, and televisions, a pairing and authentication process is required between the user terminal and the appliance. During this process, the user typically needs to use their terminal to read a barcode on the appliance, followed by a waiting period for the pairing process to complete. During this waiting period, the user is often unable or must avoid performing other operations on the terminal, which can be inconvenient.

[0004] In summary, the inventors of this invention have conceived and designed a pairing and authentication system and method for home appliances in order to improve upon the deficiencies of known technologies and thereby enhance their implementation and utilization in industry. [Summary of the Invention]

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a home appliance pairing and authentication system and method to improve the aforementioned problems.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a home appliance pairing and authentication system, comprising a plurality of home appliances, a server, and a user terminal. Each home appliance has a first wireless transmission module and home appliance pairing information. Each home appliance connects to a wide area network or a near field communication network using the first wireless transmission module. The server performs a pre-pairing authentication procedure on each home appliance through the first wireless transmission module, generating background pairing information corresponding to each home appliance on the server and generating the home appliance pairing information on the home appliance. The user terminal has a second wireless transmission module and an application provided by the server. The user terminal is electrically connected to the server through the application and the second wireless transmission module. The user terminal uses the application to send a pairing request signal. The server adjusts the home appliance pairing information corresponding to the pairing request signal based on the pairing request signal and the background pairing information, so that the user terminal and the home appliance can complete pairing authentication.

[0007] Preferably, the pairing request signal includes terminal identification information of the user terminal.

[0008] Preferably, when the server performs the pre-pairing authentication procedure with the home appliance, it generates a home appliance identification number, and the pairing request signal contains the home appliance identification number corresponding to the home appliance to be paired.

[0009] Preferably, when the pairing request signal is generated, the user terminal scans whether the home appliance exists within the range of the near-field communication network of the user terminal; if so, the home appliance identification information of the home appliance existing within the range of the near-field communication network is included in the pairing request signal.

[0010] Preferably, the near-field communication network is a Bluetooth communication network.

[0011] Based on the above objectives, the present invention further provides a method for pairing and authenticating home appliances, comprising the following steps: performing a pre-pairing authentication procedure on a home appliance through a server to generate background pairing information corresponding to the home appliance on the server and generating home appliance pairing information on the home appliance; using a user terminal to send a pairing request signal through an application provided by the server; and the server adjusting the home appliance pairing information corresponding to the pairing request signal based on the pairing request signal and the background pairing information, thereby enabling the user terminal and the home appliance to complete pairing and authentication.

[0012] Preferably, the pairing request signal includes terminal identification information of the user terminal.

[0013] Preferably, when the server performs the pre-pairing authentication procedure with the home appliance, it generates a home appliance identification number; the home appliance pairing authentication method further includes the following steps: inputting the home appliance identification number and generating a pairing request signal containing the home appliance identification number.

[0014] Preferably, the home appliance pairing authentication method of the present invention further includes the following steps: the user terminal scans whether the home appliance exists in the range of the user terminal's near-field communication network; if so, the home appliance identification information of the home appliance existing in the range of the near-field communication network is included in the pairing request signal.

[0015] Preferably, the near-field communication network is a Bluetooth communication network.

[0016] The technical features of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments and accompanying drawings, so that those skilled in the art can easily understand the purpose, technical features and advantages of the present invention.

Implementation Method

[0018] The advantages, features and technical methods of the present invention will be more readily understood by referring to the exemplary embodiments and the accompanying drawings. The present invention may be implemented in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, the embodiments provided will make this disclosure more thorough, complete and fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. The present invention will be defined only by the appended claims.

[0019] It should be understood that although the terms "first," "second," etc., may be used in this invention to describe various elements, components, regions, sections, layers, and / or portions, these elements, components, regions, sections, layers, and / or portions should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region, section, layer, and / or portion from another element, component, region, section, layer, and / or portion.

[0020] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used in this invention (including technical and scientific terms) have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. It will be further understood that terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant technology and this invention, and will not be interpreted as having an idealized or overly formal meaning unless expressly defined herein.

[0021] Please refer to Figure 1, which is a block diagram of the home appliance pairing and authentication system of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the home appliance pairing and authentication system 1 of the present invention mainly includes a plurality of home appliances 11, a server 12, and a user terminal 13.

[0022] The plurality of home appliances 11 may be vacuum cleaners, washing machines, refrigerators, air conditioners, air purifiers, electric fans, televisions, etc. Each home appliance 11 has a first wireless transmission module 111 and home appliance pairing information 112. Each home appliance 11 uses the first wireless transmission module 111 to connect to a wide area communication network 21 or a near field communication network 22; for example, the wide area communication network 21 may be connected to a local area network such as Wi-Fi, and then connected to the Internet, or the wide area communication network 21 may be connected to a 3G, 4G, 5G, etc., and then connected to the Internet; for example, the near field communication network 22 may be a Bluetooth communication network, etc.

[0023] The server 12 performs a pre-pairing authentication process 121 on each of the home appliances 11 through the first wireless transmission module 111, thereby generating background pairing information corresponding to each of the home appliances 11 on the server 12 and generating home appliance pairing information 112 on the home appliances 11. Preferably, the server 12 can be established or provided by the supplier or manufacturer of the home appliances 11, so as to enable the pre-pairing authentication process 121 during or after production.

[0024] The user terminal 13 can be an electronic device such as a smartphone, tablet computer, or laptop computer, preferably a smartphone. The user terminal 13 has a second wireless transmission module 131 and an application 132 provided by the server 12; that is, the application 132 is preferably created or provided by the supplier or manufacturer of the home appliance 11, and can be placed in the cloud or other suitable location for users to download and install. The user terminal 13 is electrically connected to the server 12 through the application 132 and the second wireless transmission module 131. Thereby, the user terminal 13 can use the application 132 to send a pairing request signal 133 to the server 12. When the server 12 receives the pairing request signal 133, the server 12 adjusts the home appliance pairing information 112 corresponding to the home appliance 11 based on the pairing request signal 133 and the background pairing information 122, so that the user terminal 13 and the home appliance 11 complete pairing authentication.

[0025] Incidentally, in order to enable the home appliance 11 to electrically connect to the server 12 via the wide area communication network 21 before the user terminal 13 is paired with the home appliance 11, the user can temporarily connect to the home appliance 11 through the application 132 in the user terminal 13 and in conjunction with the near field communication network 22 such as Bluetooth. The user can then directly import or export relevant information from the current network connection of the user terminal 13, such as the SSID and password of the Wi-Fi network on a smartphone; or, the user can directly input the Wi-Fi SSID and password into the home appliance 11 through the user terminal 13, so that the home appliance 11 can electrically connect to the server 12 via the wide area communication network 21. In the subsequent process, the server 12 can adjust the home appliance pairing information 112 of the home appliance 11 corresponding to the pairing request signal 133; or, for example, through hotspot sharing.

[0026] It is worth mentioning that the appliance pairing information 112 can also be stored on the server 12. After the server 12 adjusts the appliance pairing information 112 of the appliance 11 in response to the pairing request signal 133, the appliance pairing information 112 is then transmitted to the appliance 11 for storage or to replace the original appliance pairing information 112.

[0027] The home appliance pairing and authentication system 1 of the present invention uses a server 12 to perform a pre-pairing and authentication procedure 121 on each home appliance 11 at the front end. So when a user purchases a home appliance 11, he or she can easily and quickly use the application 132 to select the purchased home appliance 11, and thus quickly complete the pairing and authentication between the user terminal 13 and the home appliance 11.

[0028] Please refer to Figure 2, which is a block diagram of the first embodiment of the home appliance pairing and authentication system of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the home appliance pairing and authentication system 1 of the present invention mainly includes a plurality of home appliances 11, a server 12, and a user terminal 13.

[0029] The pairing request signal 133 includes terminal identification information 134 of the user terminal 13. Furthermore, when the server 12 performs the pre-pairing authentication procedure 121 with the home appliance 11, it generates an appliance identification serial number 123. The appliance identification serial number 123 can be a string of alphanumeric characters or a two-dimensional barcode, etc., and can be set on the outer surface of the home appliance 11 for easy viewing by the user. The pairing request signal 133 includes the appliance identification serial number 123 corresponding to the home appliance 11 to be paired.

[0030] In other words, after a user purchases home appliance 11 and connects it electrically to server 12 via wide area communication network 21 through the above-described or other suitable means, the user can input the home appliance identification serial number 123, such as a string of alphanumeric characters, using the application 132 of user terminal 13, or read the home appliance identification serial number 123, such as a two-dimensional barcode, through the camera module of user terminal 13. Therefore, the application 132 of user terminal 13 can generate a pairing request signal 133 containing the home appliance identification serial number 123 corresponding to the home appliance 11 to be paired and the terminal identification information 134 of user terminal 13, and send it to server 12.

[0031] Please refer to Figure 3, which is a block diagram of a second embodiment of the home appliance pairing and authentication system of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the home appliance pairing and authentication system 1 of the present invention mainly includes a plurality of home appliances 11, a server 12, and a user terminal 13.

[0032] The pairing request signal 133 includes a terminal identification information 134 of the user terminal 13. When the pairing request signal 133 is generated, the user terminal 13 scans the range of the near-field communication network 22 of the user terminal 13 to see if the home appliance 11 exists; if so, the home appliance identification information 113 of the home appliance 11 existing in the range of the near-field communication network 22 is included in the pairing request signal 133.

[0033] In other words, when a user purchases home appliance 11 and connects it electrically to server 12 via wide area communication network 21 through the above-described or other suitable means, the user can turn on the Bluetooth of user terminal 13 and use user terminal 13 or its application 132 to view the devices within the Bluetooth of user terminal 13, and select the home appliance 11 to be paired to obtain information such as home appliance identification information 113. Therefore, application 132 of user terminal 13 can generate a pairing request signal 133 containing the home appliance identification information 113 corresponding to the home appliance 11 to be paired and the terminal identification information 134 of user terminal 13, and send it to server 12. Incidentally, the home appliance identification information 113 may be the same as or different from the home appliance identification serial number 123 in the previous embodiment; its main purpose is to identify each home appliance 11.

[0034] Please refer to Figure 4, which is a schematic diagram of the first step of the home appliance pairing and authentication method of the present invention.

[0035] As shown in the figure, a home appliance pairing authentication method of the present invention includes the following steps: (S11) performing a pre-pairing authentication procedure on the home appliance through a server to generate background pairing information corresponding to the home appliance on the server and generate home appliance pairing information on the home appliance; (S12) inputting the home appliance identification number through an application provided by the server to generate a pairing request signal including the home appliance identification number and terminal identification information; (S13) issuing a pairing request signal; and (S14) the server adjusting the home appliance pairing information corresponding to the pairing request signal based on the pairing request signal and the background pairing information, thereby enabling the user terminal and the home appliance to complete pairing authentication.

[0036] Please refer to Figure 5, which is a schematic diagram of the second step of the home appliance pairing and authentication method of the present invention.

[0037] As shown in the figure, a home appliance pairing authentication method of the present invention includes the following steps: (S21) performing a pre-pairing authentication procedure on the home appliance through a server to generate background pairing information corresponding to the home appliance on the server and generate home appliance pairing information on the home appliance; (S22) scanning whether the home appliance exists in the range of the near-field communication network of the user terminal and selecting the home appliance to generate a pairing request signal including home appliance identification information and terminal identification information; (S23) issuing a pairing request signal; and (S24) the server adjusts the home appliance pairing information corresponding to the pairing request signal based on the pairing request signal and the background pairing information, thereby enabling the user terminal and the home appliance to complete pairing authentication.

[0038] Specifically, the home appliance pairing and authentication method provided in the embodiments of the present invention is used to execute the home appliance pairing and authentication system in the above-mentioned corresponding embodiments. Therefore, the specific steps of the home appliance pairing and authentication method provided in the embodiments of the present invention are the same as or similar to those in the above-mentioned corresponding embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0039] Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that each embodiment can be implemented by software plus necessary general-purpose hardware platforms, and of course, it can also be implemented by hardware. Based on this understanding, the above technical solutions, in essence or the part that contributes to the prior art, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as ROM / RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk, etc., including several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in various embodiments or some parts of the embodiments.

[0040] The above description is merely illustrative and not restrictive. Any equivalent modifications or alterations made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention shall be included in the appended claims. [Simplified Explanation of the Diagram]

[0017] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments of the present invention 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 these drawings. Figure 1 is a block diagram of the home appliance pairing and authentication system of the present invention. Figure 2 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of the home appliance pairing and authentication system of the present invention. Figure 3 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of the home appliance pairing and authentication system of the present invention. Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the first step of the home appliance pairing and authentication method of the present invention. Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the second step of the home appliance pairing and authentication method of the present invention.

Claims

1. A home appliance pairing and authentication system, comprising: a plurality of home appliances, each home appliance having a first wireless transmission module and home appliance pairing information, each home appliance connecting to a wide area communication network or a near field communication network via the first wireless transmission module; a server performing a pre-pairing authentication procedure on each home appliance via the first wireless transmission module to generate background pairing information corresponding to each home appliance on the server and to generate the home appliance pairing information on the home appliance; and a user terminal having a second wireless transmission module and an application provided by the server, and electrically connected to the server via the application and the second wireless transmission module, the user terminal sending a pairing request signal via the application, the server adjusting the home appliance pairing information corresponding to the pairing request signal based on the pairing request signal and the background pairing information, thereby enabling the user terminal to complete pairing and authentication with the home appliance.

2. The home appliance pairing and authentication system as described in claim 1, wherein the pairing request signal includes terminal identification information of the user terminal.

3. The home appliance pairing and authentication system as described in claim 2, wherein when the server performs the pre-pairing and authentication procedure with the home appliance, it generates a home appliance identification number, and the pairing request signal includes the home appliance identification number corresponding to the home appliance to be paired.

4. The home appliance pairing and authentication system as described in claim 2, wherein when the pairing request signal is generated, the user terminal scans whether the home appliance exists within the range of the near-field communication network of the user terminal; if so, the home appliance identification information of the home appliance existing within the range of the near-field communication network is included in the pairing request signal.

5. The home appliance pairing and authentication system as described in claim 4, wherein the near-field communication network is a Bluetooth communication network.

6. A method for pairing and authenticating home appliances, comprising the following steps: performing a pre-pairing authentication procedure on a home appliance through a server to generate background pairing information corresponding to the home appliance on the server and generating home appliance pairing information on the home appliance; using a user terminal to send a pairing request signal through an application provided by the server; and the server adjusting the home appliance pairing information corresponding to the pairing request signal based on the pairing request signal and the background pairing information, thereby enabling the user terminal and the home appliance to complete pairing and authentication.

7. The home appliance pairing and authentication method as described in claim 6, wherein the pairing request signal includes terminal identification information of the user terminal.

8. The home appliance pairing authentication method as described in claim 7, wherein when the server performs the pre-pairing authentication procedure with the home appliance, a home appliance identification number is generated, and the home appliance pairing authentication method further includes the following steps: inputting the home appliance identification number and generating the pairing request signal containing the home appliance identification number.

9. The home appliance pairing and authentication method as described in claim 7 further includes the following steps: The user terminal scans whether the home appliance exists within the range of a near-field communication network of the user terminal; If so, the home appliance identification information of the home appliance existing within the range of the near-field communication network is included in the pairing request signal.

10. The home appliance pairing and authentication method as described in claim 9, wherein the near-field communication network is a Bluetooth communication network.

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